《Re: Level 100 Farmer》


 Chapter 1 - A Boring Life

    Li ended each of his meaningless days by reclining in his chair and meditating by thinking of nothing. He pushed his whole back on the chair, and its velvety cushioning supported him, soothing his muscles.


    An in-built massage system in the chair sensed his weight and scanned his body, determining which muscles were tightest and in need of most relief. Apress patch on his knee applied pain relief for a nasty wound he had suffered inbat many years ago. A stray bullet had shoved itself right in his kneecap. A supposedly banned bullet - the type that left nasty bits of self-replicating shrapnel festering in the wound - but nobody ever listened to rules when war really came around.


    Nothingness came to Li in gradual waves. He imagined it was like the seaside waves he had seen in history videos where impossibly blue waves flowed gradually towards shore, covering it bit by bit until finally, there was just water, settled and gentle.


    Li sighed as the pain in his knee faded and the tightness in his muscles dispersed. Nothingness came to him easier now. Thinking of nothing made him calm, and calm was something this world sorely needed, something he needed.


    2100 had just started a month ago, and at first, people were hopeful. The start of a new century. Maybe there would be change. Fewer proxy wars between superpowers in the East and West. Fewer natural disasters from a climate and that teetered at the brink of destruction.


    Well, none of that happened. The world was still in the same chaos it had been in for the past fifty years. The sun still never shone, covered as it was under thick smog that was ck as tar and reached deep into the lungs like poisonous tendrils, spreading a rattling cough among all those too poor to afford a proper mask.


    Li, though, was fine. As far as material need went, he didn''t want for anything. Working as a gene engineer for Sino Biocultures, thergestpany in China for gically modified crops, his sry was nothing to scoff at. It let him dive deep into the materialistic, consumerist culture of the world, letting him buy arge apartment in the richestplexes where electrified, sentry-guarded gates warded off the poor.


    But material wants never satisfied Li. His parents had been in thest generation to grow up in the green age, when the birds still sang and the forests were still tall. They had been farmers who had moved to the cities for better jobs.


    Ining to the cities penniless but filled with drive for a better future for themselves, they sacrificed their time and health toiling away as delivery drivers, cashiers, and whatever odd job they could scrap up. But what they didn''t sacrifice were their memories of a world far quieter, bluer, and greener than the sooty dim of the city.


    When they had Li, they had gifted him these memories. He grew up with stories of great and green forests where his father had yed. Streams gurgling and blue that were clear like crystal and fresher than any bottled and treated water. Flowers of all colors that bloomed across rolling hillsides. Little animals that scurried across the ground and chatty birds that streaked through skies blue and filled with the warmth and light of a golden-yellow sun.


    Li had fallen in love with these stories and when he was little, had said he wanted to be a farmer just like his parents once were. A ridiculous dream. His parents hadughed at him just as they would if he had said he wanted to rule the world: both dreams were equally impossible.


    They told him how nobody worked the fields anymore, that big, loud machines had cleared down the forests. The birds had choked on the smog. That the oceans were empty and bustling with great barges of stic asrge as inds. The only crops were now grown inbs, engineered to perfection to withstand the burdens that man had ced upon them in the first ce.


    As Li grew up, he fell in line with the rest of the world but never truly gave up his childish dreams. He studied hard and well and excelled, getting into a top university. There, he studied nt science and horticulture, thinking that maybe, just maybe, he could innovate a way to bring back those green forests and those colorful flowers he had always heard of but never seen.


    Granted, he did avidly watch and research them through videos that detailed the past, but he would ultimately never see them with his own two eyes.


    But reality was a harsh teacher. After graduating, Li had been drafted into a war. He fought for two years before an injury sent him out ofmission. Then his parents'' health began failing.


    They had started coughing - the city smog had caught up to them. He went back to university and changed his studies to something more profitable ¨C gene engineering. He gained a job at Sino Biocultures and provided for his parents until they passed - that was the most he could do for the people who had raised him and sacrificed so much for him, but almost everyday, he wished he could have done more for them.


    And then, Li had nothing he truly valued. He had money and prestige and all the benefits that came with it. An expensive car, tailored clothes, nice home, and more women than he could count, but none of it had any value, any substance.


    It was empty.


    He could never make his dreamse true. The dreams his parents had grown within him, dreams of a world bygone with technology''s cold progress.


    He could never hold a rabbit in his hands or watch a flower grow from seed to bloom. He could never walk by groves of trees towering and full of green, bushy leaves. He could never swim in oceans vast and blue, teeming with fish.


    Perhaps because he recognized how little power he truly had to change the world, heshed out against it. He began to hate the mega corporations and their unending greed that had blotted out the skies and choked out the forests. He began to despise all those people that had sacrificed the beautiful world around them just for a little bit of convenience. He ended up with no friends, only acquaintances, and he felt himself an empty soul in an empty shell, working every day to live and yet never truly living.


    Because no matter what he felt, no matter how hard he worked, he could still never change the world, and so, he had no choice but to give up, to fall into ce as another cog in the system.


    Li turned to virtual reality. Elden World, the top VRMMORPG of the video game industry, let him sink his teeth into a world that was not his, where he could make the impossible possible. Where the grasses were still green and the skies still blue. He threw all his free time, money, and passion into it.


    Li pushed his rolling massage chair up to his desk. He reached forwards and put on his VR headset. The sleek design of the visor nestled snugly around his head. He heard a click as the headset synced its electrical signals with his nervous system, allowing him to truly experience an entirely different reality through not just sight and sound but also smell, taste, and feeling. He gave a mentalmand for hisputer to boot up and start Elden World.


    This was when he felt most alive.

 Chapter 2 - Elden World

    Li opened his eyes to a whole different reality - Elden World. He stood in the midst of a wondrous garden that would never have been possible in the real world.


    Flowers and ferns and vines and herbs of all kinds and colors and shapes dotted the garden, organized into neat little square patches walled with gold-engraved marble. Rustic, worn and beaten dirt paths ran around and joined each patch, forming into a neat grid that connected every grove to the other.


    Gurgling from flowing water echoed through the air. The water trickled from fountains ced in the center of each garden grove, their forms carved from snow white baster and shaped into the maws of wondrous beasts.


    Here was Li''s greatest work. His time and passion manifested. His blood, sweat, and tears over five years crystallized. His guild ¨C the Arboretum. He was currently located in the Inner Sanctum, the most important and central location of the guild. It was meeting ce for the guild''s executives, the treasury, and Li''s garden all in one.


    Over the years, he had gathered the rarest types of nts in Elden World and nted them here. These were nts that could be fashioned into the highest tier of crafting materials and certain coveted Celestial-ss items required these unique materials to create. Many of these nts were also the only ones of their kind, won from one-time events or auctions that Li had paid no small price to obtain in both effort and money.


    Li looked to the horizon. Tall trees rose up almost like gate walls. They were twisted and gnarly with the faces of what seemed to be agonized humans etched into their bark. Beyond them was an entire forest of these haunting trees - the Medial Sanctum.


    Arboretum''s structure was that of a concentric circle with threeyers. The Inner Sanctum where Li currently stood was the smallest and innermost circle. The Medial was the forest surrounding it, full of wild beasts acting as guards. Then there was the Outer Sanctum, a great big moat teeming with fish both deadly and harmless, outlining the forest.


    Mostly cosmetic choices, really. Guilds couldn''t be invaded unless in agreed upon guild wars, but the idea of having some kind of indestructible fortress was still appealing.


    As far as guilds went, though, Arboretum didn''t rank highly. Li, though apetentbatant, wasn''t even the highest ranked yer in the guild. That title belonged to Oceanmaster or perhaps //BEAST//, creators and maintainers of the Outer and Medial sanctums respectively and two of Li''s closest friends and executive members of the guild''s board.


    But there was no argument as to who the most important yer was.


    Arboretum was one of the wealthiest guilds around despite not having any tournament record. That was almost solely because of Li''s gargantuan efforts. By stockpiling and gathering all these rare, one-of-a-kind herbs and materials over hundreds of hours and thousands of dors, he guaranteed that the guild had sole control over their supply.


    Farming them was easy. ce them in a garden, let time pass, and vo ¨C copies of them emerged. But Arboretum tightly controlled who got these materials, jacking up their prices and preventing seeds from ever getting out, only ever selling crafting materials that could never be nted.


    To that end, most of the guild''s other membership was that of crafters and cksmiths, not warriors and mages.


    Li looked down at his hands, the very hands that had built this ce up from the dirt. They were dark branches wreathed with moldy vines and dotted with curved thorns. His three fingers were long, spindly branches that ended in giant ws of splintery wood. He was an Elder Leshen, one of the highest forms of the treant race.


    Li had chosen the race because of their lore, mainly. Treants were defenders of the green. They felt the flow of life and death deeply and cherished the sacredness of nature. They were the embodiment of the forest and earth and served as a reminder of untamed wilds that had long since been demolished in the real world.


    Though perhaps not an incredibly efficient race forbat, Li''s passion for nature overtook any regrets he might have had in not being as good at PvP or PvE as others.


    And it was passion that separated him from the average yer. Many yers here came for just fun and games. But for Li, this was quite literally his dream. A second life. A world where he could see the greens and blues he had always wished for and truly grow something from soil that wasn''t barren.


    Even so, in the end, he knew even this was fake.


    Though Li could see the beautifully vibrant world around him, there were still imperfections. Grainy pixetions where rendering wasn''tplete. Colors, that though they were bright and beautiful, weren''t quite real. Though he could smell the fragrant flowers and touch their soft petals, the sensations were faint ¨C strong sensory stimuli was banned frommercial VR.


    Li sighed, the leaves on his shoulders rustling. He couldn''t think about what he didn''t have so much. Instead, he focused on what he always did. Keeping inventory of his current nts and nting more. He carried around a pouch full of rare seeds - quite possibly one of the most expensive items in the entire Elden Worldmunity - while scrutinizing a sticky note brought up on his interface that detailed the location and contents of every square patch of dirt.


    The work was soothing. There was a certain harmony and monotony to the simplicity of just walking around, making sure things were in order, and nting life where it was needed. It was a massive contrastpared to theplicated tumble of his work life and the dizzying buzz of keeping up with the chaos of current events.


    It gave him peace and he felt that this was the closest thing he would ever get to to farming, to living the life his father had tilling the soils with callused, dirt-creased hand.


    After a few minutes, Li something jolted him from his routine. Behind one of the garden patches was what he identified as a glitched spot. There was a small patch ofplete darkness where nothing was rendered. Sometimes these patches appeared and generally they didn''t affect the game, but they were annoying to deal with because they could block important visual cues for enemy spells.


    Li thought about reporting the glitched area to moderators but decided against it. He was feeling a little curious today. Without thinking much of it, he stepped into the void, not knowing that he would never step back out.

 Chapter 3 - New World

    Floating.


    That was what Li felt as his consciousness drifted through what felt like nothingness. Around him was darkness. A murky darkness that seemed to have substance, shimmering almost like waves of ck water. But he had no arms to move with, no body even to feel and touch. It was just his mind''s eye that seemed to drift and see.


    Li felt an incredible sense of disorientation. It was like he was in a fever dream, the world around him shaky and straddling the line between reality and imagination. Here, a voice resonated through his head, etching into the very essence of his thoughts.


    "Oh Great Outworlder, I hope you may forgive us for pulling you from your world, but our need is dire."


    Li couldn''t tell whether the voice was male or female or whether it even belonged to one person or not. It was a little distorted, filled with static.


    "We grant you flesh and blood to walk among us. We grant you knowledge so that you may understand us and this world. We call upon you to deliver us from our woes. Our world lies at the brink of destruction. Civilization hangs in the bnce. The cries of thousands echo out for you. We-"


    The voice crackled before cutting off. As soon as the voice stopped, the world returned.


    A sh of colors invaded Li in an instant as the darkness disappeared. It was incredibly disorienting gaining all five senses and a body in a single instant and he wondered it was a miracle that he did not immediately vomit his guts out.


    Li thought to blink but realized that he physically could not. He touched his face instinctively. His hands felt cold bone. He looked at his hands again.


    Branches. The hands of a Leshen. He looked around, startled. He processed things in chunks. First, he was outside. Second, it was nighttime. Third, he was in the middle of a great forest, but this was far different from anything in a game. None of his senses were dampened.


    In fact, they were sharpened. He could so very clearly hear the wind rustling between the branches of the trees, singing out a ghostly symphony of whistles. The trees around him, their scraggly bark and their leaves, were so vividly clear, so incredibly green and ck and detailed beyond anythingputer graphics could provide. He could feel the soil soft and moist under his bare feet. He could smell the earthiness of the dirt.


    As absolutely unbelievable as it was, he knew this wasn''t the game.


    And not just because of his senses. Whatever crazy fever dream he had hadn''t just talked to his head, it had given him knowledge. He knew that he had been summoned into an entirely new world and part of the summoning ritual involved limiting any panic of confusion in being brought to a foreign world.


    He got the feeling that he was supposed to know more like where he was and what he was actually supposed to do, but something had gone wrong, leaving him free to do as he pleased.


    Li''s first reaction was to walk up to a tree and ce his palm on its trunk. He realized then how distinctly inhuman he was. He was almost three meters tall with a bodyprised of wood, leaves, and bones.


    Leshen were not friendly creatures. Nor were they particrly pleasant to look at. They were ghostly and sinister. If nature was embodied through the cycle of life and death, then the Leshen was death incarnate.


    Li''s head was a bare deer''s skull lined with spiked antlers made of twisted wood. Various small branches sprouted from his body but instead of blossoming flowers, they held onto skulls of creatures both bestial and humanoid.


    But Li didn''t mind his body much. It felt as natural as if it were his own. There were still a few habits he had such as wanting to blink but being unable to considering he had a skull for a head, but these he felt would fade in time. What took up most of his attention was the world around him.


    It was stunning. Li had never, ever seen a forest in real life. He had always seen them in virtual reality and historical videos and documents, but he had never dreamed he would ever be able to stand by a real tree and touch it. It was almost mythical to see something that had been lost in his world.


    Nature was every bit as wondrous and beautiful as Li had hoped it was. Even more so than he had hoped. Warm emotions of wonder and happiness swelled within him, and he resisted an urge to cry tears of joy even knowing that his skull-head could never produce tears.


    If the only thing Li could do was be in this forest and admire it for eternity, he would still be content.


    Li tensed up.


    He could sense something. He instinctively attempted to look at the upper corner of his vision where a minimap would be, but of course it wasn''t there. He had an idea that he had all the abilities of his game character, but he wasn''t entirely sure what it felt like to use them.


    Right now, something was triggering his passive [Forestborn Sense] that allowed him to detect hostile presences in a wide radius around him provided he was in a forest.


    In the game, Li''s [Forestborn Sense] would manifest as a red dot marked on his minimap, but now it was more like an instinctive tug. When he followed his instincts towards the presence, the instinctive tug grew stronger, telling him he was closer.


    Li sauntered through the forest silently and swiftly. In-game, Leshen could ignore all unit-collision in a forest due to their spectral nature, letting them move through trees and individuals. He could do just the same, his body phasing through the woods. It felt a little odd to see solid objects simply pass through him, but he got used to it.


    After a minute, Li found himself on the edge of the forest. Beyond ity a wide dirt road. He was cautious. Though he knew that he had all the powers of his level 100 game character and the voice that had summoned him called him great, he didn''t know for certain how strong anything else was in this world.


    Li hid between trees and peered into the road. Leshen also had natural stealth in forests, so he wasn''t too worried of being spotted. If he was, he could also immediately escape and defend himself using an arsenal of other abilities.


    He saw an upturned wooden wagon, its wheels creaking uselessly in the air. Various kinds of vegetablesy scattered everywhere. Li could recognize some of them from his own world ¨C carrots, cabbage, tomatoes ¨C and others, he could recognize as belonging to Elden World.


    It was impressive just how clearly he could see them, making out their details and colors, and he guessed that it was due to his species'' natural night vision.


    Surrounding the wagon were several men. Their clothing was medieval in nature and Li recognized they wore items from Elden World. Common Tunic, Common Cloak, Common Trousers, and so on. All of these were starter items, worth absolutely nothing past the first few levels.


    The men routinely shifted their weight from one foot to the other. Some of them pulled at their hoods often to make sure the cloth was over their faces. All of them no doubt were ready to run, scared at being caught doing something wrong.


    One of the men knelt down and started shouting, amon dagger bared in his hand. "Pay up, grandpa. You knows thew down here now. Drosso needs his tax."


    Li spotted who the man was talking to. It was an old man crumpled on the ground, his hands clutched around his stomach. It was obvious he had been keeled over by a blow to his belly. He too was dressed inmon items. Wrinkles wreathed his hands and his face.


    His bald head was marked with spots and scars. He was aging but still rtively stout, having a wide build used to manualbor. Even so, he couldn''t fight multiple properly armed men.


    "Curse you," spat the old man throughbored breaths. "I only answer to the Duchess''s goodw, not to some deserter styling himself a bandit king."


    The bandit bared his dagger in one hand and reached out an expectant hand in the other. "Choose your words wisely. Duchess''s perfumed knights won''t be saving you anytime soon. Now give us coin. 10 silvers should let you hold onto your miserable life."


    The old man chuckled, baring a smile that had precious few teeth left.


    "Something funny?" the bandit said, the dagger nearing closer to the old man''s throat.


    "You think an old farmer like me has 10 silvers?" The old man weakly sat himself up. "You''re all delusional." He scrunched his nose. "And you all smell like pigs. Clean yourselves up and get real jobs."


    "Dale, just kill him and take his things," said another bandit. He licked his dirt-caked lips. "We can sell them at the marketter. Maybe cook ourselves a good stew first."


    Li didn''t need to hear more. He could see his father in this old man. They were both men of the earth, farmers, strong and hardy like the dirt. He would not let low-lives that lived only off the work of others kill such a man.


    As anger and killing intent coursed through Li, it became apparent how to use his spells and skills. All he had to do was think of the spell he wanted and it would manifest.


    First, he casted [Power Sense], gauging the levels and stats of these bandits.


    Their abilities manifested in his head as character profiles.


    _______________


    Name: Bandit


    Level: 8


    Race: Human


    ss: None


    Specialties: None


    Stats:


    STR- 20


    AGI- 15


    INT- 5


    Resistances:


    Armor- 5


    Magic - 0


    Spirit- 0


    Items:


    Common Tunic (Chest)


    Common Trousers (Legs)


    Common Cloak (essory)


    Weapons:


    Dagger [Common] (One-Handed)


    ____________________


    The mismatch between these bandits and Li was like the size difference between an ant and a mountain.


    These bandits did not even have a ss - that was unlocked at level 10 - and specializations, or subsses as they weremonly known, were unlocked at level 20.


    In contrast, Li was a level 100 Mage and Warrior hybrid with specializations as a Druid, Summoner, and Shapeshifter. His stats were absolutely maxed out. He had note with all his items, just his coin and what was merely on his person at the time of his summoning, but that was more than enough to deal with anything of this caliber.


    His usually worn gear, though not equipped right now, was Celestial in rank, the rarest and strongest in all of Elden World, attainable only through hundreds of hours of grinding.


    With his strength stat, Li could kill each of these bandits with single swipes of his ws. He could let them beat on him for a thousand years and they would never even damage him. With his agility stat, the bandits would never even be able to hit him in the first ce nor would they ever be able to evade his attacks. With his insight stat, every single one of his offensive spells would turn these men into bloody smears on the ground or break their minds irreparably.


    With a flourish of his hand, Li casted [Blood Root]. He could feel some of his mana expending. In Elden World''s lore, mana was one''s willpower, and the more one spent of it, the more mentally tired one became. Of course, in the game, mana use was just depicted through a blue bar in the HUD, but in this new world, it felt as it would in lore. He could feel just a little tired, as if he had spent minor brainpower looking at a document for 10 minutes.


    Li stepped out of the forest just as [Blood Root] activated. A wooden root burst up from the earth beneath the bandit threatening the old man. The root, shaped like a stake, drove straight through the bandit and reached high, skewering the bandit''s body and leaving it hanging limp in the air at the tip of the root like a macabre flower.


    The root absorbed the bandit''s blood, draining the corpse until it was nothing more than a withered husk. The blood flowed down the root and the leafy tendril pulsed grotesquely like a vein, glowing shades of crimson as it suckled hungrily.


    The next [Blood Root] would now be even stronger. The more units it killed, the deadlier it became. Li felt no remorse killing these men. He had fought in the front-lines of war and knew what it meant to take life. One of the lessons he took to heart from war was that some lives were simply just worthless.


    The bandits cried out in shock as they backed away from their impaled friend. Focused on the gruesome scene in front of them, the bandits did not register Li''s presence, and one of them stepped back into him.


    The bandit froze before he slowly looked up to see an antlered skull peering down at him, the empty eye sockets ck like voids that seemed to suck the very soul out of his being. Before he could scream, Li grabbed his head. The bandit felt so tiny and weak in Li''s grip.


    Li crushed the bandit''s head to a pulp and tossed his corpse away. It sailed several dozen meters before bursting apart on a tree trunk.


    "Run!" screamed one of the bandits.


    Li raised a finger, and another [Blood Root] emerged, tearing through the bandit''s navel and bursting through his mouth, effectively silencing him.


    But the call had been made, and the bandits scrambled away, their eyes wide with panic and their mouths open in terror.


    Li was confident now that he had a hang of how to cast his abilities. He waved his hand and cast [Murder]. He watched as the bandits disappeared into the forest. He could give chase, but there was no use. They were all soon to be dead anyway. He instead knelt by the old man.


    In the distance, a murder of demonic crows formed, raging through the forests and tracking down each and every bandit, tearing them limb from limb and wearing them down to the bone like a flying meat grinder.


    "Are you okay?" said Li as he gently provided support for the old man''s back and helped him stand.


    "Aye, I am, young''un," said the old man as he thankfully patted Li''s tree trunk of an arm. "My, you''re a bigd. And is this armor? Never felt the kind before."


    The old man''s forehead wrinkled in confusion as his fingers moved up and down Li''s arm. His stare was nk, looking only straight forwards.


    Li realized then that the man was blind. And thankfully too as he figured that the old man would also have been terrified if he could see Li.


    "Oh, just give me a second," said Li as he gently pushed the old man aside. Li didn''t want to shock the old man any further so he used his Shapeshifter abilities to morph into a human shape. In-game, this meant that he turned into a character model that he had created which had been modeled after his own features.


    The problem was, the model looked definitely East Asian, and from what Li could see, the people here were Western European. He didn''t have any other human forms he could shift to since in-game, it was useless outside of cosmetics to have more than one. But this was a problem to ponderter.


    Right now, Li''s priority was to help this old man.


    "I figured my armor was hurting you, so I took it off," said Li as he held the old man''s arm to give him support. "Feeling better?"


    "Armor? Exins why your arm felt strange. You must be a knight then, thank the royal highness for your lot." The old manughed. "And no doubt you''re a kind youngd too. It''s fine if you kept your armor on, though ¨C knight''s pride and all. Old and blind I may be, I''m no cripple yet. But I could still use some help. If it''s no burden to you, mind helping me load my wagon again?"


    They loaded the wagon quickly. The old man, despite having a bruise swelling in his stomach, worked quickly and efficiently, obviously afraid the bandits mighte back. Li was surprised at how nimbly the old man navigated his surroundings.


    He would cock his head every now and then as he tracked his broad hands across the dirt, using hearing and touch to locate each and every herb and vegetable he needed. Li realized then that the humans of this world were considerably more capable than those in his, stronger with sharper senses that allowed them to navigate themselves even while blind.


    When the wagon finished loading, the old man sighed as he held the handles. It was a manually pushed wagon, and Li tapped the old man''s shoulder.


    "I can do that for you," Li said


    "I''m no cripple, son," said the old man.


    "Then the least I can do is escort you back to your home," said Li as his artificially human face smiled.


    "I''m no cripple, but I am old, I admit. I''ll take that offer, aye. Lost my fighting prowess years ago, but by the gods, you should have seen me when I was young and spry," said the old man.


    The old man had a certain dignity to him that Li respected. It so very much reminded him of his father in his old age, when he coughed like mad and his arms shook so much but still insisted on loading up his delivery bike day after day. The dignity of a man who took pride in his work and himself no matter how humble it was.

 Chapter 4 - A Dream Fulfilled

    As Li and the old man traveled to town, they talked. Or, as it was, the old man ¨C Old Thane as he was called, for it seemed that his advanced age had be part of his identity ¨C talked and Li listened. Old Thane liked to talk.


    Maybe it was because he was blind, but he talked with expression. His hands gestured wildly and his wizened brows leaped up and down, urately conveying a vast breadth of emotions.


    When Old Thane spoke of his young adventuring days, Li could see in how he raised his brows and screwed his lips the struggle of ying an Orc Chieftain.


    When he told the story of histe wife, how she had passed in a particrly bad winter when the winds were cold and sharp like knives, the sadness of times and love lost was visible, etched in the aged creases of his crow''s feet and echoing in the mncholy of his voice.


    Old Thane spoke of more than just himself, too. He spoke of the world, of its quarrels and events. They were right now in the duchy of Soleil ruled by the duchess Vivienne.


    The duchy used to be part of the Republic, an empire to the north, but a rebellion a decade ago had made it an independent territory almost asrge as a kingdom.


    The Republic was a multiracial council of several different races with elves at their head. Humans used to upy a head seat at the council as well, but their secession was what created Soleil. Now, the two territories upied a state of tense friendship, trading goods and diplomats but always ready to have skirmishes here and there over silly disputes overnd.


    The ce that they were headed to was a town called Riviera. A modestly sizedmunity located in the western territory of Soleil. It was a peaceful ce as far as things went, isted from border skirmishes with the Republic to the north. The only problem were bandits and monsters, but the duchess''s knights often took care of them.


    Old Thane stopped the wagon when the moon shone brightest. He wiped a thin sheen of sweat off his forehead and took in a hungry breath of the cool, crisp night air. Li did the same, appreciating just how clean the air felt. Nothing like the smog of his world.


    "So, young''un, or rather, I should call you by your name. Li, what''s your story? Your name sounds foreign. You must have quite the adventures to your credit."


    "Ie from and far away," started Li, carefully choosing his words.


    "To the East, right? That''s where your namees from." Old Thane stroked his scraggly, grey-dotted beard. "A mystical ce, I hear, where three great kingdoms of jade, gold, and pearl fight unending wars for dominance. Old adventurer''s tales say that they have dragons asrge as mountains that rain down gold and good fortune to all that pray to them. They say that their kings live in towers that reach the skies."


    "To be honest, my memories of home are very faint," said Li slowly. He knew nothing of this world, but he reasoned that he would be safest if he tried pretending to be part of it. He didn''t like standing out in his past life, and he sure as hell wouldn''t want to stand out here where he knew nothing of the world.


    "Oh, how does thate to be?"


    Li remembered all the details of Elden World and its lore, but from what he could tell, this world was entirely different. In the game, there was no Soleil or Republic. It seemed that though this world took the magic system of the game, its history had divergedpletely from it. But he was quick on his feet and tried to lie his way into belonging regardless.


    Just the right amount of vagueness and sob story to keep the questions against him low.


    "I was exiled at a young age, I''m afraid. My parents hadmitted crimes against the state, and, through a small mercy, I was the only one allowed to leave alive."


    Li nodded to himself. This way, he could absolve himself of knowing anything about the East while at the same time having a solid excuse to not know anything about the West. It also cut all ties he could have in the world, so he didn''t have to make up any family or friends.


    Old Thane shook his head. "Exiled? How old are you? Judging by your voice, you don''t even sound as if you''ve passed twenty summers."


    "I''m exactly twenty, sure," said Li. His real-life age was thirty, but the younger he came off as, the better. It meant he didn''t have to know much about the world. He had always had a soft-spoken voice, and he guessed that Old Thane thought he was young because of that.


    "Twenty? And it must take years and years to travel from the far East to here. A boy left to the wilds, thrown to and unknown. You must have learned to fight on the road. So much suffering all because of the sins of your parents." Old Thane bowed his head. "Tell me, do you have anything to your name? Somewhere to go? Coin to your name?"


    "No," said Li simply. "I have nothing. I''ll have to find my way around this ce and figure out what I want to do."


    Old Thane furrowed his brows as he stared at the ground. He spent a minute like that, thinking hard.


    "Come with me, Li. Right outside Riviera, I have a small farm. I can''t work the fields like I used to, not with my eyes dead and my arms growing thinner by the year. Sooner orter, the years shall take me and return me to the dirt.


    When that happens, I want to have a spry youngd I can pass the ce down to. No sons do I have to my name, so while I understand it is not very much, I offer you a roof and, when I sod off to the afterlife, a farm. Now, what do you say to that?"


    "I would want nothing else in the world," said Li, overwhelmed at the sudden offer.


    This was his dream. As if cosmic fate had heard his prayers, he could now be a farmer. What was impossible in his old life was now his. He could nt and grow life, real life, not just video game pixels, and watch the waxing and waning of seasons as the life around him grew.


    For the first time since his parents passed, he felt happy. Truly happy, fulfilled at a deep, almost spiritual level.


    Old Thaneughed. "Nothing else in the world? You''ve got small ambitions, my friend, but I admire that. It''s no good to be weighed down by heavy dreams. Come, let''s head to Riviera. My old back is looking forward taking a rest with a strong young''un like you to man the plows."


    And so they went, starting the story of a peculiar young farmer whose power could rock the world.

 Chapter 5 - A Farmers Toils I

    Over the course of a month, Li dove into the world of farming with reckless abandon.


    At first, it was almost like sitting through university lectures, simply following Old Thane throughout the day and listening to exnations of what he did. Whatever Old Thane taught him, Li absorbed like a sponge.


    Li realized very soon that he knew precious little of actual farming. He knew the hard science behind it because he had studied it, but actually getting his hands dirty was a whole different beast.


    There were so many things that had not been mentioned in his textbooks. Mostly because farming by hand had long been eradicated, reced with efficient machinery and GMO crops. He knew that a field had to be plowed, but he didn''t know the exact pattern of furrows to make in thend to maximize growth. He knew seeds had to be sown, but he didn''t know how deep to dig to nt in and how far apart each seed should be.


    Inparison, the farming system in the Elden World game which consisted only of nting, watering, and growing was a joke.


    Old Thane grew wheat, or rather, tried to grow wheat. He hadn''t had a sessful harvest in almost twenty years, not since he had lost his wife and, very soon after, his sight. He still plowed the field and sowed the seeds, but it was more of a formality at this point, an ode to his pride that he could still get out there and sweat.


    Losing his sight meant that he couldn''t efficiently put in the time and care to grow the wheat, soe every year during this time when summer was at its wane, his crop never seemed to take to life and his fields were dull and lifeless.


    It was actually a wonder that Old Thane could survive, but he managed with berries. To the left of the cottage was arge garden fenced with thin wood. In it, blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries grew aplenty, dotting great big bushes of green with shiny spots of red and blue.


    Old Thane could manage the berries well enough even while blind, knowing with almost a supernatural sense the fullness of a bush and how and where to prune it. Because the garden wasparatively much smaller than the field, it was also a manageable workload for a blind man.


    There were two sections in the berry garden. One for those ripe and another for those growing. Combined, they provided a yearlong supply of food and, most importantly, were valuable to trade for necessities like vegetables, meat, and bread. Li had actually first met him on the forest trail on a return trip from having traded much of his berries for needed goods and foodstuffs.


    To the right of the cottage was another garden, but it had fallen into disarray. There was a rotted fence that barely managed to contain massive growths of weeds.


    Old Thane had exined that histe wife had been a herbalist and used it to grow her herbs, but when she died, her knowledge went with her. Old Thane had tried to keep the herbs alive, but he was a farmer of the earth, of wheat and berries, not the mystical, of goblinseed x and emberbloom roots.


    As Li learned and listened, he knew that in all reality, he could make everything grow aplenty. He was a druid of the highest caliber and among his spell arsenal was [Wild Growth] which would massively elerate the growth of any nt. He could summon creatures to kill any pests. He could even change the weather to never make harvests fail. He also had been transported here with his prized seedbag containing the rarest nts in Elden World, but judging by the equipment level of this new world, nting anything from that bag was a surefire way to get massively unwanted attention.


    Li didn''t want to do that and he didn''t want to use godlike magic to make things work for him. He wanted to live a simple life with his own two hands and nothing more. He was satisfied enough already with his current life that many times he forgot he likely had the power topletely rule this world.


    And just like that, Li, level 100 mage, controller of the cycle of life and death, eldritch druid of the dark arts, became a simple farmer. He fell into a simple routine, waking up at first light to help Old Thane pluck weeds from the field.


    Considering it waste summer, the wheat should already have grown out into golden stalks by now, almost ready for harvesting, but it seemed Old Thane''s field was barren once more. Li mostly went to the berry garden and pruned bushes that were getting too thick, always reying the techniques that Old Thane had taught him.


    Sunlight faded quickly, even during summer. Li realized just how much longer days were in a world where electronic lights stood everywhere. Here, where the only light came from the sun, fireces, and the asionalntern, the days ended almost as soon as afternoon came. When the sun began to set, painting the sky in beautiful ambers and warm oranges, Li and Old Thane went back to the cottage, washed up in arge wooden basin ced outside, and had dinner.


    "Today marks the end of month 1 of your apprenticeship," said Old Thane as he felt around the table for a loaf of bread. His tawny hand found a breadbasket and withdrew a loaf. He plunged a dull knife into homemade blueberry jam and spread it across the loaf. "How are you liking it?"


    "It''s all that I expected and more," said Li. He also grabbed a loaf and tore it in half. He always ate little so that there was enough food for Old Thane. In the first ce, Li didn''t have to eat. As a spectral being, he faced no hunger or thirst. But he couldn''t let Old Thane know that. "ce is surprisingly big. I thought life would be much rougher, but it''s truly interesting how magic makes things easier."


    It was true that Li thought medieval life was horrible. All the historical documents suggested that. Limited ess to food, clean water, and medical science meant people in this age died faster and more often. But in this new world, the presence of magic alleviated many of these issues.


    Old Thane''s pantry had a vitality rune inscribed on it that slowed food in it from spoiling. Quite like a refrigerator, actually. Then there was the water. By buying pebbles enchanted with purification runes at the local runesmith, one could drop them in buckets of water and purify them of parasites and scum.


    The vitality and purification runes in the game were only used to give weapons extra durability and holy damage respectively, so it was interesting how the magic in Elden World was adapted to life.


    There also wasn''t ack of water ¨C Riviera had a magically operated aqueduct system that linked to a nearbyke. It was just a matter of hauling buckets of water from the city to the cottage, but Li''s supernatural strength made short work of that.


    Honestly, Li did feel like he was cheating in some regard. He never had to eat or sleep. He never tired. He was stronger and faster than any man. There was no risk involved for him. If his harvest failed, he wasn''t in risk of starving.


    But he still loved the actual job aspect of the work. He didn''t treat farming so much as a means of survival as it was an art. His passion didn''te from a basic need to keep himself alive but an appreciation of the beauty of working with precious nature that had rotted away in his world.


    There was also another thing that Li couldn''t quite ce. He was changing. The more time he spent here, the more he grew connected to the nts around him. He could feel their life emanating strongly like the warmth of human''s skin. If he focused, he felt like he could even hear their breathing, how they breathed in carbon dioxide through their stomata and breathed out pure and clean oxygen. He enjoyed these feelings and didn''t think too much of them.


    Nor did he think of anything else rted to himself. He didn''t agonize over the nature of his vast power or how his human mind would work in the body of an eldritch forest creature that was both demon and god.


    There were certain things he was grateful for such as the fact that his race had Allspeak, allowing him tomunicate both verbally and in written form to any sentient being, but if it didn''t directly affect his farming, he thought little of it.


    Old Thane chewed on his bread absent-mindedly. "d to hear mypany hasn''t worn you out yet. Couldn''t say the same about some others, hah! It also warms my heart that you''re here, Li, and you''re right: the cottage is big."


    He sighed.


    "It was meant to house a family. Fate, though, is a fickle mistress. She blesses me with Aine, the most beautiful woman I ever knew ¨C you should have seen her, radiant as the sun, hair gold like summer wheat - as wife but makes her barren and takes her away far too early. I still hate how she went. How I just lost her to that snowstorm. Couldn''t even find her body to bury her and give her good spirit some respect."


    Li cupped his hands together as a solemn gesture. Old Thane still grieved for his lost wife and remembering her still opened old wounds. It was the only time he was ever vulnerable or down, any other time he was as cheery as the sun. But Li had rummaged through the cottage and nned a way to maybe make things better.


    "You know, I was looking through some books in the storage," said Li.


    "Which ones?" said Old Thane. "I hope you don''t judge an old man too much for his taste in indecent literature when he was young. Gods, I remember how Aine tried to burn all of it when she found them. But an adventurer always knows how to keep his supplies safe."


    Old Thane let out a heartyugh. Hisugh always sounded far younger than he did.


    "Not those, books from your wife," said Li, smiling. Old Thane grew quiet. Li continued. "Aine was a herbalist, right? She has so many books about what herbs to grow for elixirs and salves. All of them marked with so many notes. It''s obvious she loved her work."


    Old Thane leaned back in his chair. The rickety thing squeaked under his weight. "Aye, that she did. Damn good at it, too. My hardheaded brain was never suited to remembering all those details about this flower or that herb, but Aine was mighty sharp. A genius, I reckon, and she loved those herbs like they were children. It was no wonder adventurers mored toe here for elixir ingredients."


    He shook his head and tugged at his beard. "A crying shame I grew blind and let them rot. My only real memory of her, and I let them rot. My only real regret in life, I should say."


    "I want to start the herb garden again," said Li. "Her notes are detailed enough that I can easily start it again. Most importantly, though, I want to honor Aine''s memory for you. I know it doesn''t make up for the fact that she never received a proper burial, but the very least we could do is bless her memory by continuing her legacy."


    Old Thane took a few seconds to digest what Li said. He put his bread down. He buried his face into his callused hands. At first, Li thought he was crying, maybe overwhelmed with emotion, but that wasn''t the case. He breathed in calm, even intervals, but there was still a tenseness to his silence that made it awkward for Li to say anything.


    After a minute, Old Thane dropped his hands to his sides, shook his head vigorously as if to rouse himself awake.


    "Forgive me, Li," he said. "That was unseemly."


    Li leaned forwards, ready to stand and help the aging man with anything. "You okay?"


    Old Thane smiled, defusing any tension in the air. "No need to worry,d. I was just thinking how utterly daft I was for never even thinking to rent those herbs since you got here. I always cursed myself for my blindness, always telling myself as those herbs rotted that one day, if I ever had the means, I would rent Aine''s life''s work, and yet, when you came into my home, the only thing I could think about was my own legacy.


    All I cared was for you to tend to my own farm. As soon as you came here, I should have gotten on my knees and begged you to rent those herbs."


    Old Thane pushed his chair in with renewed energy. "But no more shall I wallow in self-pity and mistakes. Come, Li! Let us dally no longer! We will head to the nearest vige and buy all the seeds we need. Tomorrow, we will clear that weed-infested garden and make it fit for Aine''s glorious memory!"


    "Now?" said Li. "I don''t mean to bezy, I''m just worried. It''s dark out, and dark is when vermin crawl out. The bandits I took care of might not be all of them. Why don''t we go to Riviera instead? The city marketce is open day and night with knightsguard patrolling about."


    "Bah, those city cheats charge outrageous amounts for everything," said Old Thane with disdain. "And they only take coin, which I have precious little of. It''s easier for me to trade our berries off. As for safety, I reckon the two of us could give any ragtag group of skinny bandit thugs a beating hard enough to rouse them into proper work."


    "Well, I guess that makes sense." Li said this more to keep the old man happy. If he wanted, he could use the ample coin in his inventory to pay, but then he would have to answer where he got the coin, and he didn''t want to think too hard of an excuse. And it was true that there was no bandit that could pose a serious threat to Li.


    "That''s the spirit,d!" Old Thane rushed into his room and came out wearing a thick tunic over his linen shirt. "Wear something warm and let''s go load the wagon! My, how my blood boils, I thought I lost this impulsive drive when I settled down!"

 Chapter 6 - A Farmers Toils II

    Li and Old Thane followed the main road their cottage stood by. It led out from Riviera''s main gate and into a great forest called the Winterwoods, so called for how unnaturally cold it became during winters.


    "You should feel the grass during winter," said Old Thane as he pulled his wagon. It was loaded to the brim with berries. His boots crushed thickets of tall grass underfoot with each step. "Some adventurerse out of here and need to have their feet cut. The cold rot turns them ck and as hard and brittle as ice."


    "And how do you manage?" said Li. Cold rot, as far as Li could tell from the symptoms he''d heard and read about, was what the people of this world called gangrene. He walked by Old Thane, feeling a little bad he wasn''t doing any work other than being on guard duty, but the old man was too stubborn to let go of the wagon.


    "I''m from the north,d," said Old Thane with pride. "We brave winters far harsher than what these southern pups yelp at."


    Gritting his teeth, Old Thane picked up the pace as he hefted the wagon through the Winterwoods. Normally, he talked much while walking, but right now, he was focused on getting to Modeste, the nearest vige, as soon as possible.


    Li did notice that Old Thane''s ent was far different than anyone else''s here. In real life terms, Old Thane''s ent sounded Scottish while the regr Rivieran had a heavy French ent. Li''s ent was apparently quite eloquent, sounding proper and enunciated like a noble.


    Li didn''t have much chance to really explore this world, busy as he was with farming, so he still learned many things as he went. He barely interacted with anyone other than Old Thane, and, on the old man''s rmendation, always wore a hood when he went outside to prevent people from noticing that he was foreign. On top of that, he had switched out his Celestial robes to shabbymon wear to fit in.


    But really, in the end, he didn''t care much about the world - his only world was the farm.


    The trip to Modeste was two hours long on foot, but just shy of an hour in, there came a problem.


    The road was blocked.


    Not by bandits, thankfully, but knights. Three knights stood guard on the road, their des and shields drawn. Their armor glinted silver under the moonlight, their thick, bucket-shaped helms


    Behind them, the forest had been cleared just enough to form a rudimentary camp. There were eight tents emzoned with insignia bearing a purple rose. The coat of arms of the Lys, ruling family of Riviera. One of the four major noble families under the duchess Vivienne.


    In the middle of the tents was a zing campfire with a pot of stew boiling atop it. Amid a makeshift bench hewn out of a fallen log, six more knights sat, chatting and drinking with their armor off.


    "Halt," said one of the guarding knightszily. It was evident he was quite tired. "The road is blocked on order of lord Dnce Lys."


    "Nonsense!" eximed Old Thane. He dropped the wagon and walked up to the knight. The knight stiffened a little but rxed when he realized Old Thane was blind. "For what reason?"


    "We''re on royal assignment to rid these woods of the deserter Drosso and his band of thieves." The knight took a pitying look at Old Thane. "If you wish to spend the night in our camp and head back under the safety of the sun, you may."


    "A good offer, my friend, but pray, do tell, how long will this blockadest?" said Old Thane, his brows furrowed in anxiety.


    "The bandit scum here multiply and hide like rats. Lord Lys intends to root out every single thug and hang them in the name of the good duchess."


    "How long?"


    The knight shifted ufortably. "Perhaps two weeks, maybe more. But fear not, we, the knights of Lys, are renowned for our dework. You shall walk this road untouched very soon."


    Old Thane shook his head and came back to Li. "This is awful."


    "Why?" said Li. "Can''t wee back in a week or whenever they''re done?"


    "Our food, Li. It''s been a month since I made this tripst, when I met you. We''re running out. We''ll have to trade at Riviera, but my berries will fetch so little coin that even two days'' worth of bread will be hard toe by."


    Li understood. He hadn''t cared that the food was running out because he didn''t need it to survive. Old Thane probably thought Li was just being polite. Li felt a twinge of guilt for not considering that Old Thane was only human.


    "Two weeks, maybe more ¨C with two of us eating, we''ll have nothing," worried Old Thane. "I may have to sell the field, barren as it may be."


    That settled it. For almost thirty years, he had dreamed of being a farmer, and now he was living his dream. The farm was his passion. His golden treasure. His art.


    Nothing, absolutely nothing, would stand between Li and the farm. Not lords, not kings, not demons, not gods, least of all bandits.


    Li reached out and squeezed Old Thane''s shoulder. "Don''t worry, old man, you won''t have to sacrifice anything. Stay the night at this camp where you''ll be safe."


    Old Thane grabbed Li''s arm with trembling hands. "Don''t do anything stupid,d."


    "Don''t you worry." Li smiled as he pried Old Thane''s hands away. He patted the old man''s back and cast [Deathbloom Triggerseed], cing a nondescript, tiny little ck seed on his shirt. If the old man was attacked, then the seed would sprout, protecting him in an enclosure of defensive vines.


    "I make this promise to you," said Li as he started walking away, down the road and into the dark. "You wanted your farm to live beyond you, right? To pass it down to me and see your life''s work continue. Well, I swear to you that your farm will never fall."


    Something came over Li. His words felt strange, almost disembodied, as if someone else was speaking for him, but he knew that they were the words he wanted to speak.


    "Your work will triumph over the tests of time. It will bloom when kingdoms wither. It will stand when gods fall. When the Cycle waxes and life flowers, your work will bear fruits than to awe man and beast alike. When the Cycle wanes and life withers, your work will still remain fresh and green, reigning supreme over death itself. This, I promise and more."


    Whatever came over him left almost as soon as it arose, and Li left Old Thane in an understandably confused state. Li understood that he would have to exin what he did and what he saidter, but over a month of living with Old Thane, he trusted the kindly old man to keep his lips sealed.


    For now, Li had some pest control to do.

 Chapter 7 - The Bandit King

    Drosso stroked the woman''s neck with his longsword, just gently enough so that he didn''t draw blood but made her know that her life was in his hands. She was on her knees, naked and with her arms restrained behind her in chains. Her hair swayed at uneven ends, torn from abuse. Her skin, pale like the moon, acted as a canvas upon which was painted ck bruises and red cuts.


    Drosso towered over her. He was savagery incarnate, muscled like a bear and armored in the pelts of wild predators. His jaw was like a brick, wide and stout, but his eyes were beady ck things that oozed with heartless hunger.


    "So Lord Lys has asked the Adventurer''s guild to put a contract on me," said Drosso with a fanged grin. "Does your kind not hunt only monsters? Do they no longer believe me human? I daresay I don''t know whether to be ttered or not."


    "You''ve killed too many innocents to be called human anymore," said the woman as she gritted her teeth and started squirming against her chains. She winced in pain. The skin on her arms had long since worn away from struggling against the chains.


    Although her build was athletic, it was not that of a warrior. She had the lithe and agile figure of a ranger. Not nearly enough power to break through ironborn chains that mped tight upon her arms.


    "As a knight, I served Soleil faithfully for the better part of my youth. I fought against the beastmen, elves, orcs, dwarves and all the other savage fiends thatid waste to our fields, children and women.


    But what do I see? When the savages form a united Republic, Soleil, led by a dainty little duchess who has never touched a sword, shakes in fear and sues for peace. She wishes to forgive the beasts for all their sins against us. And yet when I see this injustice and desert, it is I that bes the monster. Ironic, no?"


    Drosso withdrew his de from her neck. His smile faded. "But I will bring change, and change cannot be built without the body of innocents to hold it up."


    "Oh, so this is change?" spat the woman. She jutted her head out, pointing at the horde of bandits surrounding them, their eyes glued to her with obvious intent. "Hiding in the woods and stealing from the poor? What else do you tell yourself to sleep at night?"


    Drosso snorted. "Silly little girl. The banditry is a front. It is meant to draw attention. I knew that when enough peasants cried out, Lys would have to act, and so he did. He sent you. You and your now dead party. And on the tails of your failuree riding the knights of Lys."


    "Congrattions, you''ve gotten the attention you deserved. Gods, you sound like a little child throwing a tantrum. But now what? By some miracle, your band of half-wits beats back the knights. Then what? More knightse. Then more of us. Until there are none of you. On that day, my soul willugh upon your corpse."


    "You think too little of me." Drosso beckoned to his bandits, and a procession of the came forwards carrying two bodies. One was a slight young man dressed in robes. Another was a woman garbed in hefty te with enough muscle on her bones to put most men to shame. They dumped the bodies in front of Drosso.


    The woman looked away from the corpses. "You vile bastard. Do you get off on parading my dead partners like this?"


    "No. I am not ruled by such base and human emotions anymore. All I do, I do for a reason." Drosso sheathed his sword and knelt down to pick up the corpse of the young man. He raised the corpse high in the air, his bear-like hand cupping the head like an apple. "Come forward, O great Zagan, and receive your sacrifice. [Dark Ritual]."


    Drosso''s arm convulsed, the muscles rippling and quaking like worms. The skin started to tear apart, revealing sleek, ck tendrils underneath that wriggled out, slithering around the arm until it waspletely covered in a mass of eel-like creatures with mouths lined with fangs that snapped incessantly, ever hungry.


    The worms surged forwards and savagely tore into the corpse. The corpse disappeared into the mouths of the creatures with terrifying speed and efficiency.


    Within seconds, the corpse had disappeared. There were not even bloodstains upon the forest floor ¨C a testament to the worms'' ravenous hunger.


    As the worms retracted back into his arm, Drosso shuddered. What was once a man had been digested as liquid ck and thick as tar that traveled from his arm throughout his body, making all his veins ck and grotesquely visible through his skin.


    "Such power," said Drosso as he licked his lips. "I can feel my mana growing. My insight grows sharper."


    He opened his palm and focused. Wind began swirling around, gaining solid form as it condensed into a pressurized ball ready to be shaped into a de and shot forwards like an arrow.


    "Such a useful spell, this [Wind de] is. Many of my men fell to it, but now it is mine. Consuming peasants has given me strength, but now they are not enough. You see now why I desire attention? Lys will throw knights at me, and I shall consume then, and then he will be forced to send more to their deaths. Before his pride can stop him, I will have be powerful enough to topple his rule over Riviera."


    The woman''s face nched in horror as she stared at Drosso''s arm. "You really aren''t human anymore. You would sell your soul to a demon just for vengeance?"


    Drosso sighed in impatience. "Not vengeance. Change."


    With a casual flick of his wrist, he cast [Wind de]. The almost invisible scythe of wind shed past the woman. Her head, an expression of horror still etched upon it, separated from her neck and fell to the forest floor.


    Drosso unsheathed his de and thrust it in the air. "Come, now, brothers! Today, we are bandits no more! We hide no more! We will show these perfumed knights what real men fight like! Today is the first of many battles. We may bleed and we may fall, but in the end, we will take Riviera and show the duchess that her precious savages deserve nothing but the ends of our des!"


    His voice roared throughout the forest, powered by an inhuman force. The bandits cheered along, some out of excitement, others out of fear.

 Chapter 8 - Pest Control

    Drosso surged towards the knight encampment. A horde of bandits followed behind him, their many torches flickering in the dark of night. Dozens of pairs of boots crunched the forest grass underfoot as they followed him. He knew from scouts he had sent that the knights did not expect much of a fight. Many of them were still at camp, probably getting drunk off of wine. They believed they were just here to execute somemon criminal rabble.


    Drosso smirked as he barreled through the forest, sometimes mming straight through trees if they stood in his way and shattering them apart with brute force alone. After absorbing the ranger, her mage, and warriorpanion, he had grown far, far stronger. None of these knights knew what they were in for. They would all be food for Zagan, and the demon, as per their contract, would grant him strength.


    "Onwards, brothers!" roared Drosso as he mmed into another tree, reducing it into a shower of splinters.


    The bandits behind him carried his cry, galvanized by the overwhelming power he showed.


    But there was something wrong. Drosso felt that their cries were quieter than usual. He was no fool: he knew some of them followed him out of fear, but still, things were too quiet. Then the footsteps around him began to disappear.


    Drosso stopped. A cold sweat had formed on his back. This was instinct telling him something was wrong. He turned around.


    Complete darkness. He strained his eyes for any stray torchlights and his ears for the footsteps of his brothers.


    Nothing. Just the dark of the forest looking back at him, the gnarled trunks haunting in their expressions.


    If was as if his bandits, a formidable force numbering fifty, had simply ceased to exist. There were no traces of them, no stray boots, no leftover torches, no bloodstains, justplete and utter nothingness.


    Drosso immediately took up a battle stance, his sword out in front of him as he slowly circled around, trying to make sense of what was happening. Perhaps he was under the effects of an illusion?


    "Great Zagan," said Drosso. "Do you sense any foul magic upon us?"


    Zagan''s voice resonated from his arm as a throaty growl. "No such thing, my subject. But have no fear, for the power I have vested within you eclipses any that mere mortals of flesh and blood can muster."


    Drosso squinted as he tried to peer into the dark of the forest. With Zagan empowering him, he had always felt secure in the darkness because he knew that he was the one to fear in the dark. But now, that old, familiar, human sensation ¨C the fear of the unknown ¨C came back to his icy heart, and it made him sweat.


    But he was no green boy. He knew battle. When he was a knight, he had fought against forest elves and watched as hispatriots were dropped seemingly out of nowhere by arrows that fell like rain among the trees. His training kicked in and he immediately rushed to a clearing in the forest.


    In a clearing, any hidden opponents had to make their presence known, and if they used bows or magic, then the direction of their attack became more obvious.


    The clearing was nice and spacious. Easily forty paces across with grass growing low so as to maximize visibility. The moon shone high and bright, illuminating the clearing like a stagelight. He stood at the center of this theater of nature, watching the ring of trees around him for an unwee audience.


    Though he believed he had long since discarded his humanity for demonic power, he still felt very real, very primal, very human instincts telling him the forest around him was a prison, the ring of trees walls to enclose him in for ughter. His skin crawled and his muscles shivered.


    Dead silence hung in the air. Not even insects chirped. The grasses themselves felt unwee, picking at his feet, hungry to devour his corpse.


    A figure emerged from the trees. It walked slowly and leisurely. Drosso could make it out as human. Tall with a slender build, but with shoulders broad enough to make it obvious it was a man. Without any hesitation, he used the palm of his non-sword hand to gather wind.


    The winds whistled as they swirled and coalesced around a single point above his palm, condensing into an almost solid sphere.


    Drosso willed the sphere into a sickle-shaped de and cast [Wind de], ejecting the deadly projectile towards the figure. He breathed hard as his vision shook a little. He was a warrior by ss and death knight by specialty, so his mana reserves weren''t up to par. The stolen spell taxed him heavily, but it was a deadly one. No knight, regardless of the thickness of his armor, would ever stand up to it.


    The de of condensed wind whistled forwards, howling as it crashed into the figure. The condensed wind blew apart as it collided with the figure, fizzling out into gentle winds.


    Drosso grunted. His battle-worn mind worked quickly. He deduced that this man held some form of magic resistance. Perhaps a ring or amulet as mere magic resistant robes were not enough to withstand an offensive Celesium-rank spell.


    No matter. He preferred beating and hacking his enemies to death. Made it more personal. He grinned, swallowing down instincts that screamed at him to run and instead rousing himself into a battling rage. He grasped his longsword in both hands and charged.


    The figure did not do anything but walk forwards. Did not pick up his pace, tense up, get into guard, cast a spell ¨C nothing. As the figure came into closer view, Drosso did not understand why he felt such fear. Dirt-caked boots, worn leather trousers, tattered linen shirt, and roughly hewn hood were the only things on this man. Nothing of worth.


    Drosso wondered for just a second whether this was some unlucky peasant who had entered the woods in some delirium of drunkenness. No matter. He brought his de straight down on the figure''s head, aiming to cleave the unlucky sod in two down the middle.


    "What!?" Drosso''s eyes, small and squinty as they were, managed to widen immensely.


    He had sundered down at this peasant with all his might, with power fueled from the blood of almost a hundred sacrificed souls.


    But the figure had simply raised his arm and grabbed the sword with his hand. An explosive and metallic burst of sound emanated as Drosso''s de mmed into a hand that seemed indestructible, solid like mithril.


    The man pinched the de between his thumb and index finger. Drosso grunted as he tried pushing back to pry his de free. He dug his feet into the dirt and as his muscles strained and his sweat poured, his feet caved craters into the forest floor ¨C a testament to his immense power.


    But it was nothingpared to this man.


    No matter what Drosso did, he could not twist the de from the man''s mocking grip.


    A sh of pain. He felt his vision go white as he roared in agony. He took steps back, his body feeling lighter. With shaky sight, he looked at the man.


    The man held Drosso''s sword. Still gripping the handle to it was Drosso''s tree trunk of an arm, cleanly dismembered at the shoulder joint.


    Drosso took a few seconds to register what had happened. Pure shock had slowed his thinking. It was only when he felt the pain of blood spurting out of his empty arm socket that he regained his senses.


    "Who are you?" said Drosso as he used his demonic hand to press hard at his wound, attempting futilely to staunch the bleeding. The crimson liquid leaked between his fingers, dripping onto forest grass hungry for more. "Your equipment is cheap ¨C it''s obvious you''re using an illusion to conceal its true power. But your strength is formidable, too. You''re a Hero, aren''t you? How much did the duchess pay to use you has a hound dog? Did she whore herself out like her kingdom?"


    The man tossed Drosso''s arm behind him. He took a step forwards and Drosso took three steps back.


    "Hero? Nothing like that." The man stopped. Drosso didn''t know if he was hallucinating, but he felt he could see the grasses growing around the stranger, curling around his feet affectionately. "I''m just a farmer here to pluck out some weeds."


    "You dare mock me?" said Drosso. He knew he should run, every instinct in him told him to run, but his instincts also told him that he couldn''t outrun this man. He had to stand and fight. "I did not expect to face a Hero so early, but so be it. Zagan, draw upon the souls we have feasted upon. [Demonic Transmogrification]."


    Drosso''s demonic arm shook uncontrobly before exploding into a mass of writhing, serpentine darkness. It slithered over his entire body, covering him in waving undtions of ck until he was no longer humanoid but instead a brutish mass of amorphous darkness. He howled into the air, his voicepletely bestial.


    With the howl, his form stabilized, the darkness regenerating his lost arm and molding his limbs into monstrous things covered in coal ck fur and brutish ws. His body lost its armor and became that of a beast''s, doubling in muscle mass and covering itself with a protective hide of thick ck fur.


    His head had be lycanthropic, his eyes glowing a feral red and his jaws lined with serrated fangs long and sharp like daggers.


    He stood almost as tall as a tree and three times as wide. His sinews coiled monstrously under his fur and his breath came out in deep, rattling clouds purple and noxious.


    "A hundred souls have I devoured to be reborn in Zagan''s form," said Drosso, his voiceced with a guttural growl. "My strength surges. No knight will fell me. No mage will y me. Not even you, a Hero, will match me. "


    "Are we doing transformations now?" said the man. Compared to Drosso''s new demonic form, the man was tiny. Not even a quarter of his size. But the man sounded bored. "I see. You think strength is everything? That bigger is better? I can y that game too - [Shapeshift: Fist of Ymir]"


    The man held a fist to the sky. It began morphing. The linen sleeve tore apart and disintegrated into nothingness, revealing a bare, human arm. Then the arm grew. As it grew, it changed, the skin bing blue like the ocean.


    All the elements of the world began sprouting on that arm ¨C crystals of ice emerged like warts, cracks of igneous magma red like scars, and vines grew like hairs.


    And then, the arm grew even more. It grew and it grew.


    Drosso''s jaws opened wide as he took steps back. He kept looking higher and higher. Soon, a great shadow was cast over him. The fist stood high in the sky like some colossal obelisk, blotting out the moon. It was like a floating mountain, an image of the primordial giant from whose body was fashioned all thends of oceans of the world.


    Compared to that, Drosso felt impossibly small. He knew now that he was nothing. All his dreams of enacting change, of toppling kingdoms, meant nothing. Compared to creation incarnate, he was no more important than an ant.


    The fist began to lower slowly and surely like a meteor. Finally, fear overtook him, and he ran. He ran faster than he had ever done so in life, even faster than he had so many years ago when he deserted, but he knew as the shadow of the fist grew darker around him that his fate was to go return to the earth, mashed into a fertilizing pulp for the soil.

 Chapter 9 - Summons

    Li had to admit he was surprised at what he had done.


    Firstly, there was the matter of getting rid of the weaker bandits. Li snapped his fingers and the ground beside him broke apart. The head of a gargantuan ant emerged, almost as big as a fully-grown man on its own. It was a wonder to think how massive the rest of the ant''s body was beneath the ground.


    This was a Trapjaw Myrmeke, part of a race of giant ants called the Myrmeke and known for massive jaws that curled out from the sides of its head like hairy pincers. They clicked together rapidly, mimicking a purring sound. Li pet the myrmeke''s head and itspound eyes closed in satisfaction.


    This particr summon was based off the real-life antlion which consumed its prey by dragging them underground.


    It was level 60 and not much use offensively but was incredibly useful for potentially rooting an enemy in ce for a few valuable seconds. However, when set loose on bandits that were barely level fifteen, it became a vicious engine of destruction, instantly dragging down the helpless bandits at breakneck speeds before they even knew what had hit them.


    This was the first time Li had summoned an actual creature. He knew when he summoned nts that after a certain time, they seemed to wither away into nothingness unless he cast a spell like [Wild Growth] on them. However, sentient creatures seemed to be a permanent existence.


    Li patted the myrmeke''s head onest time and said, "Go on now, be free. You did great."


    The myrmeke clicked its jaws and looked down. And another interesting thing. This summons were no longer just artificial constructs. By virtue of being alive, they could express their thoughts and feelings that theymunicated to Li through a special, telepathic summoning bond.


    "You want to stay with me?" said Li.


    The myrmeke nodded its massive head up and down.


    "You''ll draw way too much attention," said Li. "I can''t have you around the farm either, as much as I would like it. You''d cause a city-wide panic."


    The myrmeke shook its head from side to side.


    "You promise you won''t make a fuss?" Li thought about it for a bit. The ant was quite persistent. "Well, how about we make apromise. You stay out here in the forest, okay? But every so often, I''lle visit you."


    Pleased, the ant nodded before submerging underground.


    And now there was the matter of how Li had dealt with the bandit leader. He looked across his handiwork.


    Before him, the [Fist of Ymir] had carved a crater into thend. It really was as if a meteor hadnded. The ground was scorched, crisscrossed with red hot patterns of molten rock. Embers sparked in the air and smoke smelling heavily of burned vegetation traveled with the wind.


    The entire clearing ¨C 40 meters across, give or take ¨C and far more had been annihted. Li knew that [Fist of Ymir], an A+ ranked spell requiring a druid at a minimum of level 80, was a highly destructive area of effect spell that dealt massive crushing damage in a 100-unit radius. What was most interesting was that in the game, what an unit meant was unclear. It was a video game unit of distance measurement, after all, but now it was clear that judging from the crater that the spell had made that one unit was roughly equal to one meter.


    Li nodded as he saw water begin to well up from the base of the crater. The [Fist of Ymir], like many druidic spells, was both offensive and defensive. Any area affected by the crater would spawn a spring of healing waters, making it incredibly useful for dungeons where mass healing was a precious resource.


    The water level rose rapidly, filling up the entire within a minute. Even in the dark, Li felt awestruck at the water. It sparkled under the moonlight in shades of sapphire and emerald. It looked more beautiful and precious than any gemstone that he had bought in his previous life.


    The water''s edge began to shimmer. A ck mass emerged from the water, breaking the sheen of gemstone wonder with its ugly darkness. It copsed on the forest floor.


    Li walked up to it and got a good look at it. It was the demon that had been empowering the bandit. He knew that parasitic creatures and demons could survive their hosts being killed in the game at the cost of being weakened, and so it seemed the same had urred here.


    The demon had shrunk down to the size and shape of arge but normal dog. It panted in exhaustion as it cast a beady yellow eye to Li.


    "To think that a mere human has brought me, Zagan, the devourer of souls, so low," muttered the demon. "But mark my words, mortal, this is the mere beginning. The Burning One has awoken and his demonic legions rise at his beckon. Your lives will be forfeit soon enough."


    "Burning One, demons, mortals, legions, whatever," said Li. "Cut the dramatic crap, okay? I don''t care about any of it. And you tell this ''Burning One'' or whatever that he''s wee to do what he wants so long as he doesn''t go anywhere near my farm."


    "You talk as if you will spare me," said Zagan.


    "You''re the one that mentioned legions," said Li, shrugging. "There''s more of you, so there''s no point killing you if more of you are just going to show up anyway. So I''ll give you a job in exchange for your life: tell all your burning friends that they are not wee to make a mess of my farm."


    Zagan weakly stood on his four legs. "You wille to regret this decision, human."


    Li raised a finger. "And another thing. I don''t know if this will convince you to do your job better or not, but I''m not human."


    He turned off his shapeshifting and reverted back to his base form. His human began to melt off of him as he grew several heads taller. The skin sloughed off, revealing bark. Vines and leaves began growing, gathering particrly around his chest like a mantle of nature.


    His bare skull was human in shape for a mere second before the bone warped its dimensions, the nose and jaw elongating into the skull of a deer. Branches sprouted from the skull''s sides, twisting into great antlers wreathed with ethereal glowing dots reminiscent of fireflies.


    Li realized that he had not entered back into this form in quite a while. But he could not lie that it felt far more natural. His human form was like wearing clothes that did not quite fit him. His true essence and nature were that of a primordial being of higher existence, higher even than that of gods and demons, of dominion over the cycle of life and death. The skulls of many creatures dangled at his neck, held up by thorns that acted like hooks.


    They were the skulls of mighty beasts, of dragons and giants, all condensed down in size and worn as macabre ornaments like shrunken heads. There were also skulls of gods, their halos still twinkling above them, and of demons, their horns still intact. These were purely cosmetic decorations in Elden World that Li had paida pretty price for, but here, they seemed to radiate their own power.


    The grasses around where he stood wilted and grew at random. Flowers bloomed and dried up. The very air became still. Life and death flowed at random around him.


    Zagan shivered uncontrobly. The demon''s tail tucked between his legs and he had trouble breathing, crushed by the raw power emanating from this being that stood beyond even gods and demons.


    Li could see now that his mere existence could change the world around him. He extended an oaken arm towards the demon wolf, and the demon whimpered, its ears ttening in surrender.


    "ording to your lore," said Li. "Demons are highly hierarchical creatures, exining why every so often, a particrly strong one takes a leadership role and calls himself demon king or, in your case, is a little more of a drama queen and calls himself ''Burning One.'' Your kind respects power above all else. Is that true?"


    "It is true," croaked out Zagan. Even speaking was difficult in the presence of such overwhelming power.


    Li extended his branch-like arm out, pointing to the distance. "Then you should listen to me. Do your job and tell your friends that this area is off limits."


    "I will," said Zagan. He lowered his head, snout touching the grass. "To believe that I was fool enough to mistake you for human. I beseech you to forgive me, oh Elder One, lord over the great Cycle. If you will only grant me mercy, I will devote myself to your strength. I will follow you to the ends of this world, through the fires of battle and the winds of change."


    "Look, I only gave you one job," said Li as he scratched his skull-head. "Just go back and tell your guys that they can''te here."


    "What you ask I shall do." Zagan whimpered. "But Elder One, I know it is much for a lowly demon such as myself to ask of you anything, but truly, I live to serve. Lead me into your dominion. You will not regret it."


    "You''re really stubborn, aren''t you?" Li crossed his arms and reflected for a few seconds. "I can''t be having anything draw attention to my farm. I already rejected a myrmeke because of that. But well-"


    Li took a closer look at the demon. Right now, it wasn''t that much distinguishable from a regr old dog. A little big and, well, demonic looking, but overall, not too suspicious. Far less suspicious than an ant the size of a house, in any case.


    "Okay then. Every farm needs a good farm hound, so I guess that''s what you''ll be." Li pointed impatiently away. "Now shoo, let your buddies know what''s going on."

 Chapter 10 - Onward

    Li watched as Zagan headed back home. As it was, the demon had to cross the water, and so it did with resolute will now that it had pledged itself to Li, doggy paddling away with all its might. Li turned and moved in the opposite direction, back to the main road where he could tend to Old Thane again.


    As he walked through the forest, he shifted back to his human form. He shrank to a tall but human size and his bark peeled off, revealing his human skin, as if it had been there all along. His deer skull head shifted back to the dimensions of a human skull and flesh and skin grew out until he looked presentable to any regr man or woman.


    The knight encampment was a pitiful sight. When Li burst out from the forest, kicking his boots on the worn dirt path to get off mud and leaves, he saw that the knights on guard duty had left. In quite the hurry, too. Their swords had been dropped on the dirt path. Recently, too, by the looks of how little dust covered the shining steel.


    Li hurried to the encampment and saw that the knights had all peeled their armor off, tossing it every which way, gauntlets, helms, greaves all littering the ground. The fire had been put out and the pot of stew that had once rested atop it was upturned, spilling its savory contents all over the grass.


    Li explored the camp and found the knights. They were unarmored and unarmed, huddled together behind several tents. The moon was bright enough that even without Li''s night vision, he could make out most things clearly. All the knights were terrified, shaking in their boots.


    "What''s going on?" said Li as he walked up the ring of scared knights.


    "What are you doing!?" said one of the knights as he looked up at Li, the whites of his eyes


    prominent. "Get to cover!"


    Li arched a brow. "For what?"


    "There was an earthquake!" continued the knight, his tone urgent and hurried. "And Alexandre reported that he witnessed a star stone! If you do not take cover, the fire wave may yet take you!"


    "Seems like a crock of shite to me," said another knight. He squatted behind the tent with his armszily crossed. He had a grizzled look about him. Straight and unyielding posture. Cracked lips twisted into a permanent scowl. "Gods know Alexandre sees all kinds of rubbish with how much hooch he drinks. And if he really did see a star stone, the fire wave would have melted us all alive long ago. And cover? Fat lot of good these tents would have done."


    "But you cannot deny the earthquake happened! Thend buckled like an unyielding steed."


    "And now it shakes no more. How about we stop shivering in our breeches and do our job, eh? I, for one, would like to be paid the bonus for bringing back some fresh bandit heads."


    Li understood now. The [Fist of Ymir] had momentarily shed a massive stone-like structure in the sky, visible even from the camp, and with the ensuing earthquakeing from its impact, these knights thought a meteor had struck, hence all the cowering. But it wasn''t his job to tell the knights had really happened. All he really cared about was Old Thane who was notably absent from the group of knights.


    "Tell me, where did the old man go?" asked Li.


    A knight, the one that had urged Li to cover, answered as he scratched his blonde curls. "I truly am sorry, but he walked out of camp when the earth started shaking. I tried to tell him to stay in cover with us, but he was convinced that being out in the open was safer. Very stubborn man, he is."


    Li didn''t worry much about Old Thane''s safety. The earthquake itself wouldn''t have done any real damage to thend and the [Fist of Ymir] wasn''t a meteor, despite how simr it seemed. There would be no fiery shockwave to worry about.


    "Stubborn, that he is," said Li. "Well then, I''m off to keep track of him. Stay safe out there, all of you."


    "Much thanks, stranger," said the knight. Upon seeing Li so calm, the knight regained hisposure and called out to the rest of hispanions. With hisposure back, it was evident from the way his voice projected so powerfully that he was theirmander. "Arm yourselves again, men! We move out quick, while the moonlight still shines, and hunt these bandit scum. No doubt they will be cowering from the earthquake!''


    The knights let out a rousing cry as they scrambled to pick their armor and swords off the ground.


    --------


    Li found Old Thane standing smack in the middle of the road, past the knight encampment. He had nted his feet wide apart and was taking in heavy but slowly regted breaths. One arm securely held his wagon of berries while another was out in front of him with palm open to bnce himself. It looked a little ridiculous, like he was doing yoga, and that image brought a tiny smile to Li.


    "Old Thane," called out Li.


    "Oh, Li, is that you?"


    "Good to see your hearing''s still fine. Who knows what I''d do if you were blind and deaf. What''re you even doing out here?"


    "Waiting out the quake. Always best to wait out a quake in the open and alone where bodies can''t pile atop each other. Those poor young knights. Thought the quakes were from a star stone and stood there shaking like fools! Southern pups have probably never even seen a proper star stone, but I have, and let me tell you,d, you''re dead before you can even feel the earth shake."


    Old Thane shrugged. "And I suppose the quake was also a good excuse to get past the knights while they cowered."


    "Smart. Well, earthquake''s over, old man. You can stop the yoga now."


    "Yoga?" Old Thane shook his shoulders and stood normally. "Sounds foreign. Some kind of Eastern practice?"


    "You could say that." Li figured it wasn''t worth trying to make up an exnation for what yoga was.


    "Interesting! You should tell me more when we''re done buying our herbs!"


    "You sure you still want to go? You''re not too shocked or anything, right?"


    Old Thaneughed. "Normally, I would consider an earthquake a bad omen, that is true. But that it came right after you said so resolutely you would deal with those bandits eases my mind."


    "You think the earthquake came from me?" Li knew that it was obvious for Old Thane to corrte the two. It was far too suspicious that he had made a grand speech about securing the future of the farm and then right after, an earthquake pops up.


    "Mark my words, Li, I do not question your origins or strengths and what you can or cannot do. I understand what it means to be different. I will only expect of you what I would expect from any old regrd. And if that earthquake dide from you, then all I can say is that I am d to have a capable young man such as yourself defending the farm," said Old Thane with a smile. "But enough, we can talk of thister. Right now, we should think about what we set out to do in the first ce."


    "You''re damn right, old man."


    And so Li and Old Thane started travelling once more, as if nothing had happened, with Old Thane tugging the wagon along and telling Li a stories about his adventuresome past.

 Chapter 11 - Got A Little Herb?

    Old Thane grunted as he carried his wagon uphill. The slope was rtively steep, almost forty-five degrees, give or take, and Li worried for a second that the old man''s knees would just copse on him. However, the elderly farmer had plenty of life pumping through his veins. His shoulders, rounded with muscle as they were, stood as a testament of a lifetime of conditioning and a bulwark against his advanced years.


    "Don''t worry about me, youngd," said Old Thane. He maintained a slow and steady pace up. Thankfully, the grass on the hill was rough and thick, perfect for maintaining traction. "I make this trip every month when the food runs low. Never had an injury."


    Li walked a few paces behind just to make sure he could catch the old man if he slipped back. "And you don''t mind me, old man. Just treat me like insurance and keep your eyes, I mean ears on the road. Anyways, how long do we have to go? It''s been an hour, almost, and we already put in an hour getting to the knights in the first ce."


    "Patience, my boy. Just up this slope. Modeste lies atop rolling hills, but none are as steep as this one, so on the brighter side, the trip down will be much easier."


    "I know youe all the way out here to avoid getting scammed by the marketce at Riviera, but is it really worth it? There''lle a time when you can''t make this trip, you know."


    Li put a hand into his trouser pocket and willed coins from his inventory. He felt their cold metal scrape against his flesh. Taking items out of his game inventory was still a strange process. He had to think of the item, very clearly visualize it in his head and remember its name, and then think about wanting it. It would then just magically materialize in whatever storage he had on him, which in his case, usually meant his pockets.


    Thankfully, the coins in Elden World were the exact same coins here, although there were only gold coins in the game whereas there seemed to be other denominations such as bronzes and silvers here. He had thought about giving Old Thane some coins, storing them here and there and making up a story of how he had gotten them, but he had decided against it. It would hurt the old man''s pride if he found out it was essentially a donation and Li didn''t want him to start asking questions either.


    "Aye, and that''s why I roped you into the farm, hah! To take care of me when my bones grow brittle." Old Thaneughed. "Just a jest,d. When the timees that I can''t stand on my own two feet anymore, well, that''ll be my time. The young burdening themselves to care for the old is the greatest waste of youth I can ever think of, and to be honest, I would rather sod off with my dignity intact without anyone else wiping my arse for me."


    Old Thane paused and wiped a sheen of sweat from his wrinkled forehead. "And you don''t get much better deals on herbs than here, Li, trust me. When the Duchess came into power, she tightened the tradews with a mighty hand. Restricted the sale of valuables like herb seeds to cities and their growth to viges on city outskirts. That''s where she can have her lords keep a close eye on em'', after all."


    "Any reason why? Can''t see why anyone would get their underwear in a twist over some sprigs to put in their tea."


    "That''s the basic usage of herbs, aye, but the valuable ones, the ones with magic flowing through their roots, are precious like gold and dangerous in the wrong hands. Before the Duchess, it wasn''t rare to see dens of addicts in every vige and city full of skinny fools wasted away from smoking mist poppy. But on the other hand, that very same mist poppy can distill into an elixir capable of turning even the most cowardly of soldiers into fearless heroes or ease the sharpest of pains."


    "Basically, the duchess wants to control the supply and the distribution," said Li as he recalled his economics sses from university. He had taken a couple introductory ones just out of curiosity, but he could confidently admit he had a basic functioning knowledge of how trade was done.


    Old Thane scratched his beard. "Precisely. And, to be honest, Li, it makes my instincts worried. She''s done it all under the guise of tightening up drugws, improving public health and morality and all that good talk, but I daresay this has all the stench of a war to it."


    Li raised a brow. "And why do you say that?"


    "Elixirs make or break wars. Spiking an army''s soup is enough to render them more powerful twice or thricefold. Poisoning it can put them to sleep for a right rout. During peacetime, nobody cares that some folk choose to spend their idle time sting their minds to the heavens, gods know the nobles have a fondness for it despite all their flowery appearances, but if I was the Duchess and at war, or preparing for it, I would take every single seed and herb to make sure all of it goes to the soldiers and not into the mouths of lowly addicts."


    Li nodded with minor interest. It was nice to know the politics revolving around this world, but it was like reading about game lore or trivia. It didn''t feel too consequential to him. Perhaps because he was so powerful, he didn''t know, but he was more interested in why Modeste was the best ce to get herb seeds.


    "Then why Modeste for herbs? What''s a vige out in the woods got over the Rivieran marketce that probably has the crown''s support for gathering seeds?"


    Old Thane began lugging the wagon back up the hill again. His jaw was set, and his brows were furrowed. Li wondered if he had said something wrong.


    "Thew is looser there," said Old Thane quietly. "Forgive me, Li, I was not too forthright: not only do I have little coin, but no official pharmacy will sell a simple farmer like me anything. Perhaps my wife as a proper herbalist, but not me. In Modeste, I know a man from my adventuring days, a right scoundrel he is, I daresay, but he is willing to weave around the Duchess''s goodw to sell the seeds we need."


    They walked a few paces in silence.


    "I''ve been thinking about it," said Li. "But going out into the boonies to meet a questionable guy ti get some illegal nts? Really sounds like a drug deal."


    Old Thane shrugged as much as his shoulders would allow while tugging the wagon along. "Such is life, Li. We make do with what it grants us, and sometimes, many times, really, it is not generous."


    Li knew that Old Thane wasn''t proud of this. He knew that the old man had thought the bandits and their ilk as lowlives, but he had to resort to more of the same to get what he needed. To Li, it didn''t matter much where the seeds came from so long as they got them, and they didn''t draw too much unneeded attention.


    There was also a part of him that thought agonizing overws drawn up by such lesser beings was ridiculous to invest much thought about, but he shook that part of him off. He wanted to farm without using his powers as much as possible, after all.


    "That''s true," said Li nonchntly. He knew Old Thane would appreciate that his voice had not even the slightest shred of judgement in it. He eyed Old Thane''s wagon. "And we''re going to be paying for this drug deal with¡­berries?"


    Old Thane smiled. "What? You think I have some illegal coin stashed away anywhere? Hah, no such thing, Li - I''m just a farmer, after all. Coin holds little merit to those who sell in the shadows. If any authority finds that your coin came to be through questionable means, then at best, you will be penniless, at worst, you will find yourself at the gallows. But food? Everybody needs food, especially now when times are as hard as they are with the rise of the Republic straining Soleil."


    Old Thane pointed upwards. "We''re here! I can feel thend has leveled and the grasses worn away. This is the familiar earth right in front of Modeste''s gates. Tell me, Li, how does it look?"


    Li took a look and said the first word that came to his mind.


    "Strange."

 Chapter 12 - A Deal Gone Wrongly Right

    Li pressed his hands to the vige gates. They were made of solid iron but when he applied even the slightest bit of pressure, they groaned and creaked. Beside the gate and stretching all around the vige was a rudimentary wall of hardened y about as high as a man but not nearly high enough that a healthy man couldn''t pull themselves up over it if they tried.


    Not a vige with many resources, that was for sure. Li knew it was unfair topare a simple vige to a city, but Riviera was absolutely majestic inparison, with towering stone walls lined with archers uniformed in blue and gates of reinforced oak barred with thick bolts of heavy iron.


    But Li had expected this. Viges weren''t known to be rich, after all. Even in his world, when they were still amon existence, they had little resourcespared to urban areas. What did surprise him was how utterly quiet it was.


    Li peeked through the gate bars. He understood that it was night, but there would still be some activity. He had been here a month now, and he knew that night was when people let loose after a day of hard manualbor. They mored at their taverns, drinking their woes away or putting up toasts to their sesses.


    There would always be atleast a few lights. Somenterns hung by the sides of homes where perhaps a farmer had to tend to an unruly animal, or maybe a cksmith needed to finish out an express order.


    But there was no such activity. Li saw the cottages silent and still, wreathed in utter dark. His superhuman eyesight, even with night vision, caught nothing. His inhuman hearing heard only the night breeze and the creaking of a few doors left open in a haphazard hurry.


    Old Thane parked his cart outside the walls and stood by Li. He cocked his head.


    "Aye, something is mighty strange. Gate closed without a sentry, doors creaking at night, and no footsteps to be heard. Vige is empty, seems to me."


    "Well, we aren''t turning back now, are we?" said Li as he tested the integrity of the gate, putting in just enough force to get it to groan especially hard.


    "Did I ever say that?" Old Thane smirked. "Make sure to put your hood up before you break in. Wouldn''t want any stragglers, if there even be any, to panic."


    "Good to see you''ve still got life in you, old man." Li put his hood on and pressed his palm to the center of the gate, where both halves lined up, and pushed. His immense might easily pried apart whatever lock was on the other side, and the gates flung open.


    Li and Old Thane, wagon faithfully carried behind him, stepped into the vige. The gates led to paths dug out in the grass that weaved through the residential area of the vige. Small cottages of y with thatch roofs stood in precise order with every resident getting the same amount ofnd to build on.


    All the cottages were empty. Not a single living thing stirred within them. Not men, not women, not children, not animals.


    "The vigers ran," said Old Thane as they passed by yet another ghost cottage with its door swinging open in the wind. "In a mighty hurry, too. Left all their doors open. Has to be bandits. If it was a monster, they would have stayed ¨C monsters don''t like to sit in human settled areas for long.


    But bandits? They''ll sit here and take the women, the food, and the drink. Can''t help that they''ll make a mess of the fields and steal some things here and there, but it''s better than losing your life, women, and children."


    "You think your dealer, I mean, merchant is still here? I don''t put a lot of faith for criminals to brave bandits."


    "Oh, I''m sure of it. Scoundrel would''ve tried to sell to them, too."


    Eventually, they did find their merchant of questionable reputation.


    He was by the gate at the opposite end of the vige.


    Li looked him over from a distance as Old Thane walked up to him. The merchant sat atop a ck horse that, from its jutting ribs, looked like it could use a few more meals. Tied behind it was a wagon very simr to Old Thane''s. A tattered cloth tarp covered its contents, but it was evident that there was very little to cover.


    The merchant himself reminded Li of a weasel. He was thin andnky with a small, round face with shifty little blue eyes that never seemed to settle on one spot. Despite being a man of evident age with greying locks, he maintained a sense of youth with a natural pudginess to his cheeks that was reminiscent of baby fat.


    Old Thane greeted the man, but the merchant did not respond. Instead, his gaze locked in on Li. Old Thane noticed and waved Li over.


    Li shrugged and came forwards.


    "Who''s this?" said the merchant. His voice was surprisingly deep with a gravelly rasp to it.


    Old Thane slung an arm around Li''s shoulder and brought him close. "A nice youngd who''s decided to help me with the farm."


    The man gave another look at Li, but this one was just a quick nce. He dismounted his horse with practiced agility, settling on the ground like a fallen feather. He wore an abnormally long cloak that fluttered as it settled down with him, ending at his ankles.


    "To think the Bloodfist needs a farmhand now, eh?" said the man. "I about died of surprise when I''d heard you''d dropped your fists and taken up a plow, but time is a right old bitch, isn''t it?"


    Old Thane said surprisingly seriously, "Enough with the pleasantries, Vincentio. Do you have seeds?"


    Vincentio sauntered over to his wagon and put a gloved hand over the tarp. "What''s this? You want to get high? Memories of the war not treating you well? Maybe it''s the dead wife?


    But no worries, I have seeds. Only thing I have left, really. Tried selling those bandits some, but their leader came up to me all big and tough going on about how they were there for change and that they weren''t addicts.


    He scowled. "Gods, if only they were addicts. Instead, they steal my food and water."


    "I''m in no mood to talk," said Old Thane. "Just show me the seeds. We''d both be better off going our own ways sooner rather thanter."


    Vincentio shrugged. He lifted the tarp slightly and pushed his skinny arm into it, rummaging around before taking out a small ss jar and cing it atop the tarp. He repeated this process until there were three jars, all filled halfway with seeds.


    "Spriteseed, Milk Poppy, and Fumegrass," said Vincentio proudly. "Hidden among anise, bay leaves,dine, chamomile, fennel, and other useless junk."


    Old Thane jutted a thumb back to his own wagon. "Berries."


    Vincentio carefully put the jaws back under the tarp and went to Old Thane''s cart, inspecting the berries and smelling them. He licked his lips.


    "You''re lucky I''m hungry, Thane, or else this wouldn''t nearly be enough. Prices have gone up, you see." Vincentio ced a hand on the berries and smiled. "But as it stands, I can offer you quite the ravishing deal. All of this and you can have the seeds."


    Old Thane''s jaw set as he exhaled slowly. "All of it?"


    Vincentio took a handful of berries and popped them into his mouth. He started chewing loudly. "Your hearing going? Yes, all of it. You have no idea how much coin I could make off of this if I went to Riviera. It''s a right sin that I should be selling it to you for just berries."


    Vincentio took another handful of berries but Li stopped him, grabbing his arm.


    "You don''t get to eat those without paying first," said Li as he squeezed just hard enough to make the man yelp and withdraw his hand as if he had touched hot fire.


    Old Thane put a hand on Li''s back. "It''s okay, youngd."


    Li shook his head. "No. I won''t see you be disrespected."


    "Disrespect?" said Vincentio. "Rubbish. I am the one being disrespected here at my very own stall, of all ces! What are you? Some mercenary? Bandit, perhaps? Maybe even a knight undercover? Remove your hood, or the deal is off."


    Li sighed and tore it off. He was tired of hiding his face, anyway. He could stomach doing it for regr people, especially with Old Thane''s urging, but in front of a lowlife like this, he couldn''t do it.


    "A foreigner?" said Vincentio. He crossed his arms and spat into the dirt. "A bloody foreigner, eh? Look at that sickly pale skin. The demon-ck hair. The crooked eyes." He clicked his tongue. "You consort with trash such as this, Thane?"


    Before Li could separate Vincentio''s head from his body, Old Thane had lunged forwards.


    Old Thane tackled Vincentio. Hard.


    Vincentio practically flipped in the air as he mmed into the dirt, the breath knocked out of him. Old Thane immediately leaped atop the man and began mming his fists down. His muscles bulged and he loosed a roar more animal than man as he mauled Vincentio, his trunk-like arms and rock-solid fists shattering Vincentio''s jaw, knocking in teeth, and fracturing his skull.


    Vincentio, despite taking a heavy beating, moved his arms under his cloak and withdrew a dagger. Li opened his palm as he readied to cast a spell, but the [Deathbloom Triggerseed] that he had nted on Old Thane activated.


    In an instant, masses of ck vines emerged from Old Thane''s shirt back and honed in on his aggressor. Their tips ended in thorns that were asrge as spearheads, and they stabbed into Vincentio with savage energy, stopping him from even screaming, punching him full of holes again and again until the body just fell apart, unable to hold itself together.


    The vines retracted as quickly as they hade, funneling back into the seed on Old Thane''s back. The seed unstuck from the old man''s shirt and disintegrated in the wind.


    Vincentio''s horse whinnied as it smelled blood.


    Old Thane stood up shakily. "I''m¡­I''m sorryd. I let my temper get to me. When I heard that vile filth spewing from his mouth, I just couldn''t stand there."


    Li squeezed Old Thane''s shoulder and went to the horse, grabbing its reigns and calming it down.


    "It''s alright, old man. He was going to be a dead man no matter what happened. Thanks for having my back, though. And I mean it. You know that I''m far stronger than you, but you still stood up for me. Honestly, I feel a little bad that I even had to make you spend the effort, old as you are."


    Old Thane wiped his bloody hands down on his trousers and smiled. "Like I said, youngd. I know what it means to be different. I''ll not have anyone insult your honor or your person like that while I walk, even if they be the mightiest of knights. But enough of that. Get the seeds, Li, and let''s leave before any patrolling knightes to harass us.

 Chapter 13 - A Troubling Decree

    Li swiped the jars of seeds from Vincentio''s cart and ced them in his pocket. That triggered his inventory to activate, and the jars disappeared, absorbing into a dimensional void where it joined a plethora of items. He forgot that he had to consciously think about not using his inventory to appear like a normal person, but he couldn''t deny that it was convenient either.


    Plus, he figured with contraband like this, it was better to have it somewhere the ordinary person couldn''t see.


    Old Thane stood by Vincentio''s horse, putting a hand on the animal''s skinny nk and calming it. The horse looked down demurely, afraid to look at its master''s corpse. The old man ran his hand across the horse''s hide and shook his head.


    "You''ve taken a mighty manyshes, poor thing," said Old Thane. He unstrapped the horse from the wagon and put a hand on its rump. "I would set you free, but you''re no wild animal. You''d waste away out in those wilds."


    "Then let''s keep him," said Li. "Let him pull your wagon instead. Would make life a lot easier for you."


    "Aye, that''s true, but my riding days have wasted away, Li. Unless my feet are nted on the earth, I cannot see."


    "That''s no issue. I''ll guide the horse."


    "My muscles will waste away if I don''t keep them active."


    Li came up to Old Thane and pped his back casually. "Stop being so stubborn, old man. I know you want to do things yourself, but you''ve earned at least this."


    "I suppose so," grumbled Old Thane. He felt around the horse, getting a good mental image of the animal''s dimensions. When he was satisfied, he jumped atop the saddle with surprising dexterity. It was obvious it was a well-practiced movement.


    "And you say your riding days are over?" remarked Li. "You know, sometimes I can''t even tell your blind.


    Old Thaneughed and flexed his arms atop the horse. The peaks of his biceps strained against his shirt. "It''s all conditioning, my boy. Make sure to keep yourself healthy so that you''ll end up like me!"


    "Yeah, yeah," said Li as he rolled his eyes. Although Old Thane had kept his body in excellent health, he was still an old man, talking to Li with that familiar didactic tone that most old people adopted with younger generations. It was pretty endearing, honestly.


    Li grabbed the horse''s curb rein and tugged. It obeyed, adopting a gentle pace back towards Old Thane''s wagon.


    "Is the ride smooth?" asked Li as he strapped the horse''s harness to the berry cart. He had never handled a horse before, but the beast was remarkably tame, and the harness was very intuitive. It didn''t take many tries before he figured out what went where.


    "Smooth as a babe''s bottom,"mented Old Thane. "Vincentio, scoundrel he was, always had a way of training his steeds well."


    "Great, now I won''t have to constantly worry about you blowing your knees out," said Li with a smile. He took a sidelong nce to Vincentio''s mangled corpse. "About the body¡­"


    Old Thane sniffed the heavy stench of iron in the air and scowled. "There are no witnesses in this vige and knights will think little of a criminal mauled by what seems to be a beast. I say we let the fool rot."


    "We think alike," said Li as he tugged the horse''s reigns and led it out of the vige.


    The way back to Riviera was uneventful. The moon, still full and bright, guided their way. They had fully expected the knights to be upholding the blockade again, but the encampment was eerily empty. A thankful blessing, too, as Li was tired of dealing with unnecessary obstacles anymore.


    All he wanted to do was get back to his daily farming routine.


    When they arrived at their cottage, Li tied the horse to a fencepost ¨C a temporary arrangement until he could build a stable. Old Thane, tired from the tumultuous night, went straight to sleep, dropping on his bed of hay and animal skins and going into a heavy snore.


    As the old man slept, Li took a cursory nce of his room, making sure everything was in order. It was a small room. He figured more than two people would feel extremely cramped in it. There was an old bookcase ¨C recently dusted now that Li was there ¨C and this was what he checked up on, making sure the books were all there.


    Obviously, Old Thane had no use for books anymore, but he valued these for they were his wife''s. The books covered a vast breadth of topics. There were a few obvious books such as [The Herbs of the Wilds] and [Elementary Elixir Brewing], but nestled among there were tomes such as [The Codified Laws of Soleil, 1020], and [The Collected Histories of Man].


    Old Thane had spoken many praises about his wife''s abilities, but he had spoken precious little about her origins. From her readings, Li could theorize she had been a foreigner of some kind, unustomed to the ways of thisnd.


    Exined why the old man was so fierce about defending Li from discrimination.


    Li, having taken full ount of the books, silently left the room, closing the wooden door behind him. He settled into his own quarters. It was farrger than Old Thane''s with a proper woolen bed elevated off the ground with stubby wooden legs. Despite being arger room, however, there was nothing in it aside from the bed.


    Li knew the story. Old Thane had built this entire cottage from the ground up and had fashioned this room for his and Aine''s child. From howrge the room was, it was evident that Old Thane was willing to give any child of his considerable love. But unfortunately, Aine had proved infertile, but that had not prevented Old Thane from loving her any less until her passing.


    Li sat on the bed. He did not need to sleep for he was not truly human, but he could mimic such a state as part of his shapeshifting abilities. Tonight confirmed something he had been theorizing for the month: his thinking was changing the longer he stayed in this world in his inhuman body.


    He felt absolutely nothing when ughtering the bandits or seeing Vincentio dead. He had killed before in his past life as a soldier, but regardless of how many people he killed, he still felt something, some numbness, maybe, but now, there was truly nothing. He merely saw meaning in their deaths. Their bodies went back to the earth, nourishing the soil.


    There were times he felt the life around him strongly. Sometimes when he weeded, he felt he could hear the very earth''s heartbeat. There were times when he could hear the march of death.


    Once, he had wandered upon an old stray and could hear the life leaking out of the mutt, how with each of its heartbeats, it drew upon an ever-wilting store of life. He could vividly see how the dog would die, copsed on the road within a week.


    However he was changing, he did not mind so much as long as it did not affect his day to day routine. In fact, he enjoyed being able to listen to the life around him as he tended to the berry bushes and fields.


    Perhaps most of all, he thought as he smiled, readying to sleep, he could still appreciate Old Thane.


    Li knew, even if Old Thane didn''t ever say it out loud, that he thought of Li as the son he never had. That the old man was willing to give up anything and everything for Li. That was a type of devotion that Li was familiar with from his own father who had given up so much to see him seed. It was a devotion that Li could always appreciate no matter whether he was man or god or demon.


    ________________


    A week passed with Li hard at the work he loved.


    Li had cleared out the dpidated herb garden, uprooting all the invasive vines and weeds, and began nting the herbs. From reading Aine''s books, he knew that the herbs required soils that drained well, but thend had clumped up and be dry and hard from a drought that had struck a year ago. Pouring water on it resulted in puddles as the hardened dirt refused to let the liquid through.


    Li had taken some peat he dredged up from the forests and mixed it with the horse''s manure to create a nourishing and soft mixture. He then used a plow to upturn the herb garden''s soil, discarding the dried topsoil entirely.


    The soil beneath wasn''t much better, but it could bebined with the peat and manure mixture to form a richly ck, mushy dirt that hungrily drank water, letting it seep through without forming any puddles.


    Here, Li had nted most of the seeds. The magical seeds, however, he had decided to grow inside, taking some of the soil he had created and potting it. Old Thane had cautioned against letting them grow outside as until Li could gain the appropriate certifications as a herbalist, he could not have illegal substances just sitting out in the open.


    Now, getting the certifications was a pesky task that Li felt little enthusiasm doing. It consisted of studying and then taking a test. Many of the upations under Soleil were based off of meritocracy supported by bureaucracy, and so standardized tests became the norm for testing an individual''s capacity to be a professional at anything. Even cksmiths had to take tests, although those were more live demonstration than ink and paper tests.


    Thankfully, Li retained a sharp mind. He had always had a knack for studying in his old life, and his memory was even better here. The test was also mostly rote memorization, so he figured he just needed another week before he could pass the test.


    One particrly sunny day, however, when Li was holed up in his room poring through Aine''s books, he heard a massivemotion outside. Things had been strangely loud over the week with a lot more foot traffic than usual, but this was on a whole different level. He figured there were dozens of people outside moving in a single procession. The groaning of some ungodlyrge contraption also followed them.


    "By the gods, what''s that ruckus!?" eximed Thane from his quarters through a cough. He had gotten a minor fever, so he was staying inside for the day.


    "I''ll check on it," said Li as he put on his hood and stepped outside.


    There were three gangs of adventurers, bronze and silver medallions hanging at their necks. They were a bnced group of warriors, mages, rangers, assassins, and temrs. He nodded in recognition as he saw the basic party mechanics he had once dealt with in Elden World: tanky warriors up front with temrs to heal and rangers and mages at the back for damage while assassins scouted the battlefield.


    Behind them followed apany of knights. Knights of Lys, judging by their sky-blue cloaks. While the adventurers took up a leisurely stroll, the knights marched in drilled order. They escorted a massive ballista carried by four horses ¨C the source of the groaning wood.


    "Can I ask what''s going on?" called out Li.


    One of the marching knights broke rank briefly and handed Li a paper before heading back to hispany. Li observed that he held a whole stack of the papers under his arm.


    Shrugging, Li looked at the paper. Flowery cursive writing dotted the paper and a fanciful seal shaped in the image of a dove marked the bottom. An official decree from Dnce Lys, lord of Riviera.


    "Greetings, good citizen,


    Do not be rmed. This force travels not from unwanted invasion or demons or other such urgent ills. There is merely a monster in the Winterwoods, but do not fear. It does not move for it merely guards ake that has emerged deep within the forest. In addition, our Astrologers predict that it will not be any threat to human settlements nor to this great city.


    However, until the beast is subdued, the main paths running through Winterwoods are closed for public travel. I understand that some livelihoods depend on the bounty of the forest but ensure you do not interfere with the hunt and understand that you enter the woods on your own peril.


    Below, you will find a depiction of the beast. It is advised you flee immediately upon seeing it and inform any knights or adventurers of its whereabouts.


    Stay safe and be well, good citizen.


    Glory to the Duchess and may the light of Soleil be unending,


    Lord Dnce Lys."


    Li took a glimpse at the beast''s appearance. It was sketched on the paper with enough detail that it was unmistakable what it was. Li groaned internally. He had been focusing far too much on the farm this week and not paying attention at all to the outside world around him. Another consequence of his changing mind - he''d started to think current events and politics as meaningless and tuned them out.


    He looked at a drawing of a giant ant: it was the Myrmeke he had summoned. Immediate worry swarmed Li, not because he feared for the ant, but because he knew that it was sufficiently strong enough to easily cleave through this group of adventurers and knights, and if they all died, who knew what kind of ruckus that would cause.


    The good thing was, over the week, Li had been thinking of ways to put the ant to work on the farm without making its presence obvious, and now he had pretty strong incentive to put his ns to work.

 Chapter 14 - Options

    Li stepped back into the cottage and watched from the windows as the procession moved onwards.


    "Well, what is it,d?" asked Old Thane. His voice came out a little muffled from behind his room''s door. He had insisted on keeping himself quarantined so as to not give Li his sickness.


    Li took another nce at the decree and ced it on the dinner table. "Nothing much. Lord Lys gathered up apany of his knights and a whole crowd of adventurers to kill a monster in the Winterwoods."


    "Is it serious?"


    "Will it hurt our farm any? Not in the near future. But the road will be blocked until the monster''s been dealt with." Li leaned against the table and looked up. Habit it was, he did this when thinking. "I''m going to be going out for a bit, that okay?"


    Old Thane was silent for a bit. "Of course,d. You''ve done an excellent job with everything already. You deserve a break."


    As Li made sure his hood was secure over his head, Old Thane called out again.


    "Li, I do have a favor to ask, if you''ll honor it."


    "Want me to bring some chicken? We could get a soup going for your cold."


    "That would help too, but no, it may be selfish of me, but could you make sure that the adventurers do not die?"


    Li nodded.


    They hadn''t talked about what Li had done to those bandits in the forest, but Old Thane was no fool. The old man knew that Li was incredibly powerful, but he honored his word in not treating Li any differently. He never asked questions either or made reference to Li''s strength.


    Old Thane, sharp as he was, knew that Li was going to do something about this situation. The fact that he was willing to just say it out in the open like this spoke volumes of how much he wanted to keep those adventurers, people he still consideredrades and brothers in arms, safe.


    "I can''t guarantee anything," said Li. "But I''ll try my best."


    "Thank you, youngd. You''ve been a great help to me, far more than I deserve, truly." Old Thane''s voice lightened up. "And don''t forget the chicken."


    _____


    Li followed far behind the procession. It was unfortunate, but he didn''t have spells rted to stealth. Elden World''s bnce separated what sses could do quite well, and stealth was strictly in the domain of the Assassin ss. All the spells he learned had been focused onbat, shapeshifting, and summoning.


    Li sort of regretted being such a tryhard in Elden World and only having shapeshifting spells that turned him into terrifying monsters. Although, if he assumed his true form, he did possess a passive called [Spectral Form] that allowed him to turn invisible in forests, but he couldn''t just turn into some godlike being in the middle of the road.


    He would have to wait until they entered the forest and then follow behind.


    While the noisy procession made its way to the Winterwoods, Li got a general sense of their strength. The knights all ranged from level 25-30, with a few of them being just above 30. This seemed to be the standard of strength for the average professionally trained fighter in this world.


    Coincidentally, it lined up well with game mechanics. At level 10, Elden World characters could choose their primary ss and at 20, they could gain their first specialization or subss.


    It was apparent that these knights had chosen to be warriors for their primary sses and specialized as knights at level 20, making them incredibly bnced fighters who struck a fine bnce between the durability of barbarians and the deadly lethality of duelists.


    The adventurers, on the other hand, were significantly stronger. The ones with bronze medallions were at minimum level 30, which was to be expected. From Old Thane''s stories about his past adventuring life, Li knew that adventurers stood at the high end of what humanity could achieve.


    Which made sense, considering that they had to put their lives on the line against fierce beasts whose raw strength far eclipsed theirs. Every single adventurer had to take rigorous training in guilds for at least five years before even going on their first hunt, honing not only their bodies and magic, but also drilling into their heads every countermeasure for every known type of monster.


    They were specialists through and through, highly respected, well-paid, and short-lived.


    What caught Li''s attention in particr was the presence of three silver-ranked adventurers. They each headed one of the three parties and individually ranged from levels 40 to 45. He knew that to graduate from bronze to silver was no simple task. It involved sessfully finishing hunts that saved entire viges or cities. The glory involved with such feats made them celebrities.


    Even more reason to ensure the adventurers didn''t die. If the silvers died, it would draw massive amounts of unwanted attention. He knew he had to get back the Myrmeke ¨C it was his responsibility, after all, having created the creature ¨C but he had to do it in a way that preferably nobody died.


    Well, nobody important at least.


    It took a good half hour for the procession to make their way into the forest, slowed down as they were by the ballista. By the time they had went deep enough into the woods that the forests swallowed them up, deafening their ruckus, it was mid-afternoon, the sun hanging sleepily in the sky, ready to turn amber and sink in an hour or two.


    Li mentally made a note that it would be time to water his herbs when the sun set, when it was cool and the bright rays wouldn''t evaporate the water, before he stepped up to the edge of the forest and shed his mortal skin.


    There was nobody around to see him ¨C everyone in the city or surrounding viges had holed up in their houses, having received the decree and gotten terrified at the mere idea that a monster powerful enough to draw such a hefty force existed nearby.


    Li walked into the forest, and it weed him. He could feel the trees bowing their leaves to him. Little nts sprouted beneath his oaken legs as he traversed the woods.


    Every so often, small game such as rabbits or songbirds would nuzzle at his feet or flutter about his ear, offering their worship to the Elder Leshen, the greatest of forest spirits, an Old One beyond gods and demons, before scampering away.


    His form flickered, hovering between the ethereal and the physical. Parts of him alternated between being solid or see-through at random. [Spectral Form] in Elden World granted him increased dodge chance at the cost of lowering the effectiveness of worn armor as well as out ofbat invisibility in forests, but here, it seemed that the nature could still perceive him.


    It was a pleasant feeling, being the object of such reverence. Li could feel that when he entered the forest in this form, he became its heart, the nucleus upon which countless threads of life all intersected. If he focused, though faint, he could feel the beating hearts of every single forest creature and nt no matter how small orrge.


    And it was through this sense that he located the Myrmeke.


    ______


    Li stood concealed amidst the trees that formed a great ring around theke that his [Fist of Ymir] had formed. He peered out to see the Myrmeke sleeping in front of theke, its tawny head tucked among its front legs. It must have decided to guard theke because it recognized the spell as Li''s.


    Li''s [Forestborn Sense] told him that the adventurers were lying in wait at the other side of the clearing, across theke and in front of the Myrmeke, hidden amidst the trees and shrubbery. The ballista and the knights stood much further back, likely to prevent the Myrmeke from hearing the loud approach of such a clumsy andrge contraption.


    Li weighed his options. He couldn''t send directmands to the Myrmeke from this far a distance, mimicking a game mechanic that mobile summoned creatures above level 50 couldn''t be controlled outside a certain distance from the yer.


    In the game, it prevented groups of summoners from just spamming summons and sending them to harass other yers from the other side of the map or arena.


    However, here, it was a nuisance.


    The Myrmeke was far out enough where tomunicate with it, Li had to step out of his forest cover and then cross theke by hovering over it like some deathly ghost, and if he did that, he had no illusion that they would try and attack him or run in terror.


    Either way, it meant that they would have to report that there was an iprehensibly powerful existence in the forest that could even control a level 60 monster.


    Unless Li just killed all of them to prevent witnesses, but that was off the table too if he could help it. An extreme response like that would probably bring entire armies down to the forest, and that was thest thing he wanted.


    Potentially, as an Eldritch Druid, he could cast curses on them to ward them away, but all his curses were A-ranked, meant for use by those level 70 and above. Most, if not all of his curses would permanently cripple or t out kill these humans.


    Another option was to remotely summon nts to ward off the humans, but the nt summons that Li could cast over long distances were autonomous and highly specialized for dealing damage.


    One Vilespore or Mantrap would drive these humans back for sure, but there was no way of limiting the damage they would do, potentially causing unwanted deaths and spreading more panic that the Winterwoods had be a deathtrap, probably halting any movement in and out of it while warranting even more adventurers and knights toe along.


    It was like he was living in a world of ss. Everything was just so fragile.


    Li did manage to think of a rudimentary n, but before he could work the kinks out of it, the adventurers attacked, rushing out of the woods with their weapons drawn and their staffs glowing with mystical energy.


    The absolute and utter fools. Did they not understand that the Myrmeke outleveled them? At the very least, half of them were happily charging into their deaths.


    Li palmed his face with his leafy hand before he too sprung into action.

 Chapter 15 - Adventurers

    Li re-assumed human form in a sh of green and leaped out of the forest. If he started barreling out there as some kind of demonic god creature, he was sure that every single person out there would panic and spread news about him. Even if he had to use his powers, at the least, it would be easier for the humans to ept his exnations if he was also human like them.


    One second would be all it took for the Myrmeke to gut one of the adventurers, and if that unlucky idiot was silver-ranked, then hordes of fans would be crying about it the next day.


    Li''s hood fluttered against his head as he moved, and he tore it off in annoyance. When he stopped the Myrmeke, the adventurers and knights would demand him to remove the hood anyway, and he was sick and tired of hiding his face. He had modeled it after his own features, features that his parents had honored him with, so why should he be afraid to show them?


    His gargantuan physical strength kicked in as he thundered forwards, his every step blowing out squalls of wind and explosive force that dredged up dirt and foliage. He had to cross the entireke to get to the Myrmeke, and though he could sprint around the water''s edge to hide some of his speed, that wasted time.


    To truly get a happy ending where blood wasn''t spilled, he had to give up some secrets about his power.


    Li didn''t stop when his boots touched the water''s surface. He kept running. For a nanosecond, he closed his eyes, wondering if what he envisioned in his head would work.


    It did.


    Massive geysers of water burst behind him as he sprinted across the water''s surface. Running across the water slowed him down a little, but even then, he estimated just below ten seconds to reach the other side of the entireke.


    While he made his mad dash, he focused on the scene across theke, his potent eyes zooming into the disaster.


    The Myrmeke was fully awake now and screeched out a threatening roar that pierced that shook the branches of the trees in the clearing. Birds fluttered out from the treetops, sensing the danger.


    Several magic circles manifested above the Myrmeke. Bolts of electrical energy and sweltering streams of fire emerged, engulfing the entire clearing in a fiery explosion wreathed with crackling shocks. Li recognized the spells. One was [Pir of Fire] and the other [Rain of Lightning], both C and D ranked spells respectively.


    Li didn''t worry. The Myrmeke would take little to no damage from low ranked spellsing from beings that were twenty or more levels below it. The Myrmeke swung its massive jaw from side to side with incredible force and speed, unleashing gales that killed the ze that had erupted around it.


    The fire had been a distraction. Using the second of time it had purchased, one of the adventurers, the biggest and sturdiest looking of them all, garbed in heavy ck te-mail and wielding a silver greatshield, stood bravely in front of the Myrmeke and nted his shield into the ground.


    A young woman, a Temr it seemed by her immacte white robes and chainmail, raised a in wooden stave and cast a defensive buff on the knight, wreathing him in an aura of golden energy.


    Li understood how this was working. The adventurers weren''t rushing in without a n. As far as strategies went, this was actually quite safe. The armored adventurer, most likely a warrior with tanking specialties, would attract the Myrmeke''s attention while more fragile damage dealers would attempt to deal damage from as far behind as they could, alternating between different damage types to scope out weaknesses.


    The only issue with this elementary gamey was that it relied entirely on the tank''s ability to keep his defenses up.


    Perhaps on a level 50 monster, this strategy was viable. Good, even.


    However, at level 60, the Myrmeke simply out-statted the adventurers too much. One blow would punch through any damage reduction buff and deal massive damage to the tank. Li understood that in the game-world, you only died when your health reached 0, but here, where game mechanics meshed with elements of real life, a severe enough wound could lead to death through blood loss or straight up tear through vital organs.


    The warrior steadied his stance behind the greatshield and withdrew an elixir from a belt pouch. It glowed a pearly white under the sun.


    By now, Li was close enough to see a sh of silver dangling from the knight. Not good. He was one of the silvers that absolutely had to survive. Li put more power into his legs as he hurried his pace. That elixir also confirmed his suspicions: these adventurers didn''t have any ess to meta-spells such as [Power Sense] or [Assess Danger] which allowed yers in the game to gauge the levels, strengths, and weaknesses of unknown enemies.


    The elixir, a [Cave Ward], was a thrown potion that blinded most enemies, but was particrly effective on creatures used to the dark of caves, stunning them. It was reasonable to assume that the Myrmeke was a regr insect-creature that dwelled in the dark, but as a Trapjaw variant used to digging through the earth, it possessed the [Tremor Sense] passive that made it immune to blinds.


    Li was very close now, just a couple of seconds away, but stillte.


    The Myrmeke charged and used its jaws to m into the knight like a raging bull. The knight soared almost a dozen meters into the air before he crashed into the ground with a ringing ng as his armor collided with solid earth.


    Li jumped from the water with explosive force andnded at the water''s edge, a shower of ploughed up water trickling around him like rain. He reached out an arm towards the Myrmeke to issue amand as it skittered right in front of the unmoving knight, its jaws open to slice the fallen knight into two.


    But Li''s hand froze in the air as he witnessed the temr throw her staff behind her, roll up her white sleeves, and leap in front of the fallen knight. She too had a silver medallion hanging at her neck.


    The Myrmeke''s jaws closed in on her, but instead of conjuring up a barrier, she stuck her arms out to her sides and used her bare hands to grab each jaw, stopping them from snapping half-way.


    The Myrmeke''s jaws trembled as it channeled its might into them, but the temr stood firm, her lips pursed with heavy effort. The ground beneath her shattered as she countered the Myrmeke''s strength.


    The scene unfolding before Li made no sense. The Temr, even as a silver rank, was still what? Level 40? Maybe 45? He didn''t even remember the exact details of her stats from when he had checked them before the adventurers roamed into the forest. She wasn''t anything special, and yet she had enough brute force to contend with a monster that likely had three times as much raw power.


    This was the first time that he considered that there might have been mechanicspletely unique to this world.


    Li, his curiosity finally piqued just a little bit, still knew he couldn''t let this scene keep ying. The Myrmeke was winning against the temr, its jaws inching closer and closer to crushing her. Hemanded the Myrmeke to stop and return to him, waving his hand and beckoning the creature toe by its master''s side.


    Almost immediately, the giant ant scurried towards Li, as if it hadpletely forgotten about the adventurers, and nuzzled its head into his chest.


    He stroked the creature''s head. It looked like it would feel smooth, but the ant''s carapace had many sensory hairs lining it that didn''t feel too different from fur. Now close to the creature, he could feel their summoning link.


    He channeled his thoughts to the ant, ''Go underground, but stay just close enough to me so that you can hear me.''


    The Myrmeke clicked its jaws in understanding before it buried them into the earth. The dirt separated almost magically around the ant as it sunk underground almost as if it fallen into fast-acting quicksand, leaving no holes or any traces that it had been aboveground.


    The adventurers hiding out in the forest growth, the mages, assassins, and rangers, stepped out into the clearing. The temr went back to the injured tank and knelt by him, cing a gentle hand on his helm and whispering out a healing spell.


    The adventurers stared at Li with quizzical wonder mixed with fear. They were cautious, to be sure, keeping their distance as Li had shown the power to run across water, leap a dozen meters in the air, and tame a beast that was one step away from ughtering every single one of them.


    Li''s mind raced as he started formting answers to the round of interrogation he was about to face.


    Finally, one of the adventurers stepped closer to Li with hesitating steps. A woman, Li could tell, but barely considering that her body was concealed under a ck cloak and her face shrouded by a fukumen.


    The only tell-tale signs were her angr, feminine facial structure and long silvery hair tied back into a ponytail.


    "I know you," she said, her ruby red eyes blinking.


    "Well, I don''t know you," replied Li instinctively before he coughed into his hand, reminding himself to be a little more polite. "Ahem. I mean that I don''t believe we''ve met before."


    "You''re the man on Old Thane''s farm! I catch you out in the field sometimes when I''m travelling by the main road. I never knew you were a man of such power."


    Li raised a brow. "Uh-huh."


    The adventurer looked away from Li. "My apologies. That sounded rather¡­unsettling. I''m no stalker, I assure you. My party and I, when we were children, we loved ying on that farm, back when his wife was still alive. Gods, she was good to us, and it hurt dearly so to have her go so early. I like to keep watch over the farm sometimes, to make sure Old Thane is doing fine."


    "Doesn''t look like the old man was getting much help before I got there."


    "He''s a stubborn man. I doubt he would have ever taken our coin or help. It''s a wonder he even took you in."


    "People tend to bend their principles a little when their lives are saved."


    The woman raised a hand to her mask-covered mouth. "My! You saved his life?" She gave a half bow, bending at the waist. "Great stranger from the East, I have to extend you thanks from the depths of my heart."


    Li was surprised that there wasn''t more ruckus about the fact that he was foreign. It had seemed to be a big deal to Vincentio, but not so much to the adventurers. In fact, as the woman kept talking to him, the adventurers behind her became more and morefortable, knowing that he lived here in Riviera and was just like them.


    The truth was obviously far different, but Li allowed them to hold onto the illusion that he was like them. It would make themfortable. He couldn''t even imagine the amount of rm he would have caused if he stood out here in his true form.


    "You''re not, well, surprised to see me? I''m a little different, no?" said Li.


    "Surprised? Of course. I am in wonder to see a man of the East for the first time with my eyes. We have records of your people, but none from our generation have set sight upon your kin. But I do understand your concern. As a foreigner, surely you must have suffered some ill-begotten words thrown at you by themon rabble," said the woman as she straightened her posture back up.


    She gestured back to the small crowd of adventurers behind her. They hade closer now,fortable with Li''s presence. "But as adventurers, we travel far and wide. We have long learned to understand that the arch of one''s brow or the color of one''s skin is no judgement of the character."


    "That don''t count for Elven scum, though," spat out one of the adventurers as he pushed in front of the woman. He was a tall man with simr build to Li, beingnky but athletic. Hisplexion, however, was much darker than Li''s, being a tanned bronze.


    He was dressed in animal skins and leather armor, but it was light, exposing significant chunks of a heavily tattooed body. A wooden longbow at his back was a telltale sign that he was a ranger.


    "And you," said the man as he stood directly in front of Li. "I can give ya thanks for keeping the old grump alive, but how do ya exin what just happened? Sprinting cross'' the water like some devil and then gettin'' that beast all ferocious like down to being as tame as a puppy?"


    By this time, Li had made something up in his head.


    "Where Ie from, there are certain martial arts that let people perform impossible tasks such as walking on water," he said, recalling fantastical tales in webnovels and wuxia literature he once killed spare time reading. "Taming the monster is also one of the powers I learned. There are a great many monsters in the east, so all of us grow up knowing how to tame creatures. If you want specifics about my powers, though, well, I''ve been away from home for quite a while and so my memories aren''t the best. Even if I did remember, I''m sorry to say but I can''t just share state secrets."


    "I ain''t heard of no Eastern beast taming powers, though," said the man. Li began to feel worried before the man shrugged and said, "But then again, ain''t nobody seen an Easterner in the flesh in years and years, so who am I to be judging."


    The man suddenly fell backwards. The temr from before had yanked him back by what looked like a tiger pelt around his neck. With her other arm, she hoisted the fallen tank ¨C full set of temail included - over her shoulder withplete ease.


    "Gods damn it, Jeanne, I was just curious bout'' this here foreigner, okay?"ined the man as the temr held him back. He didn''t try to struggle. It was evident from his expression of defeat that he knew he couldn''t escape even if he tried.


    Jeanne smiled to Li as she flicked her head back, pushing long blonde locks away from her eyes. "Apologies for my friend''s rudeness, good sir, and have no worries: a friend of Thane is a friend of ours.


    But most all, I have to extend you my gratitude for saving our lives. Were it not for you, surely that monster would have in most of us. s, it seemed we were far too confident in dealing with the creature. Though pray, do tell, where did you send it?"


    "Away," said Li vaguely. "Far, far away. It won''t bother any of you anymore."


    Jeanne nodded in appreciation before she raised her voice so that it projected to all the adventurers. "By my honor, I have deemed this man rightly and just! Ask of him no more!"


    She gestured to the white-haired and ck-cloaked woman to go to Li. "Sylvie, can you guide him out of the forest? Keep him away from the knights, would you? I can get the adventurers to listen to me, but when the knights finally muster enough courage to show up here, I fear they will be a much more hard-headed lot."


    "Understood," Sylvie said with a curt bow, shorter than the one she had given Li. She grasped Li''s arm and motioned to the forests, away from where the knights were no doubt still guarding a ballista that they had no use for anymore. "Come with me. I can cover you with stealth, but you mustn''t stray very far. Is that fine?"


    Li nodded and followed Sylvie, surprised that things had worked out so well. He didn''t even have to lie that much.


    When they stepped into the thick of the forest, Sylvie raised her free hand so that it was directly in front of her forehead, almost like she was in prayer. Li recognized this gesture.


    It was what Assassins that specialized as Ninjas did to cast their spells. This also exined the fact that she wore a fukumen on her face. But all of these concepts were fundamentally Eastern and yet Sylvie didn''t seem to know anything about the East. A curious thing.


    "[Cloud Arts: Windwalk]"


    Wispy mist materialized around Li and Sylvie, obscuring their presences in a fog. Outsiders would see them as hazy silhouettes at best, so faint that they might even second-guess themselves into thinking they had just seen ghosts.

 Chapter 16 - Visitors

    "You''re a quiet one, aren''t you?" said Sylvie.


    Li shrugged, focusing mostly on the Myrmeke that followed them from underground, almost swimming through the earth. Thankfully, it seemed, Sylvie''s level was too low to possess the necessary detection skills to find out that the beast she and herrades had been hunting was just beneath their feet.


    "No questions to ask? About us? About thisnd?" she said as she daintily skipped over an exposed tree branch.


    They had been making their way out for the forest for almost half an hour now. He had noticed every now and then that Sylvie would give him a nce, her redden eyes blinking as if she expected him to say something. He had responded only with quiet nods, not wanting to slow down their pace.


    Li, being much taller than her, just took a big step over the branch and said, "Will the roads be open again? Now that this whole situation''s been solved, after all. I''d like to be able to buy food so that Old Thane doesn''t have to survive off berries."


    "Certainly. Without the monster impeding traffic, there is no reason for the travel block to continue. But I am curious, why not buy at the marketce? Riviera isn''t the royal capitol, by any measure, but it''s got everything you''d be wanting for."


    "Old Thane doesn''t have the coin for it. Hasn''t sessfully grown wheat in a while so he doesn''t get money from the crown when harvest rolls around. Until I get my herbalist''s license, we can only grow berries, and they don''t exchange well for coin."


    Sylvie withdrew a dagger from under her cloak and sliced apart a few low-hanging vines, holding them aside for Li. He gave her an acknowledging nod before passing through.


    "Hm." Sylvie absent-mindedly yed with her dagger by spinning it around her fingers. "An herbalist? I hear the exam is quite difficult."


    Li smirked. He had always been book smart in his past life, and now, he had an even better memory. A test meant to challenge people who had medieval levels of education was nothing to him.


    "The test itself is elementary," he said. "I like to think I know a thing or two about studying. I''ve seen the exam format and it''s all just pure memorization. What''s this herb and what can it be made into ¨C things like that. And you only need to get sixty percent right to pass? I''d like to say that''s almost a joke."


    Sylvie cocked her head. "You''re studying off Aine''s tomes, right? That grants you an incredible advantage, it does. The greatest block to many professions is ess to reliable tomes. Your average peasant cannot afford the luxury of such tomes, and you have at your fingertips the notes of perhaps the greatest herbalist that set foot upon Riviera."


    "Greatest?" said Li. Of course, he could see that Aine had incredible dedication and experience to her craft. Every single page of her books was packed with notes that detailed things that weren''t on the pages. Details that she had learned through first-hand experience.


    The book might have identified a herb and its uses, but would have precious little information on how to grow it. But Aine had filled in every nk spot of knowledge.


    But he hadn''t thought about how Aine had fit in skill against others of her trade, just that her notes were incredibly detailed and useful. She definitely had an academic''s sense about her.


    "The indisputable greatest," Sylvie nodded. "When I saw her work, it was almost like she had a magical touch. She knew just which nts needed care and when, almost as if she could feel the ebb and flow of their lives. To adventurers like us, good-quality herbs are a necessity for elixirs.


    Most city pharmacies sell things at bulk, and so the quality takes quite the blow. But with Aine, there was a guarantee that her herbs had been grown with all the loving care that a mother would bestow her children."


    "Well, I don''t know about motherly love, but I have her notes, and I''m pretty confident I can do just as well." Li clicked his tongue. "Just need to get the license."


    Sylvie put a hand to her mask and cocked her head, as if she was thinking about something. What it was, though, she didn''t let on.


    "I look forward to buying from you in the future¡­ah, I didn''t catch your name. Forgive me."


    "It''s Li."


    "Li. Hmm. Li," she repeated, nodding. "Certainly an Eastern name, and, as expected, very pretty too. Well, Li, it looks as though we''ve reached the end of the forest."


    Li stepped out from the forest to t and grassy meadows. Ahead were rolling ins filled with verdant grasses dotted with summer flowers. He could see fields dotting thendscape and, in the distance, Riviera''s walls looming high.


    "Where will you go now?" said Sylvie. She kept under the shade of the forest, her ck-clothed figure almost melding into the shadows. "Back to the farm, I suppose?"


    "First, I have to buy some chicken at the market," replied Li, remembering Old Thane''s other request. "Old man''s a little under the weather. Would do well with some soup."


    "Oh my," said Sylvie. "Sick? Age really must have caught up with him. I understand you are quite capable, but please, would you tell him that if he needs it, that we are always ready to help him? We owe him the offer, at the least."


    "Last I checked, nobody''s given him any help ever since his wife died," Li said. "Figure if you all cared, you''d have helped him out beforehand. He''s not one for charity either, and I''m doing a good enough job keeping his farm going."


    "Please, do not see us in bad light. Circumstances had pulled us away from him. But I understand" Sylvie pulled down her mask. Her lips were as red as her eyes. "Then, could you tell him just this? Tell him that his little troublemakers havee back home."


    _____


    "How were the fields?" asked Old Thane as he sat cross-armed on a chair by the dinner table.


    The sun had set by now and Li had returned to the house, having finished watering his herbs and weeding the fields. But that wasn''t the only thing he had done.


    "Fields are looking incredible. I guarantee you thate next nting season, you''ll be growing some of the best wheat around town."


    "You''ve a good spirit on you,d. I look forward to our mighty sess."


    Li smiled. He had finally figured out the reason why the wheat fields hadn''t produced anything in years. It was because the topsoil waspletely barren. When he focused, he couldn''t hear any life beating in the earth. Even weeds were hesitant to make their homes there.


    But far underneath, the earth was still rich and bountiful, packed with dissolved minerals and nutrients that had never before seen the surface. And he now had a new helper to push all that soil up: the Myrmeke.


    Over a few hours, the Myrmeke had buried the barren topsoil and reced it with rich, dark-brown soil. Li had tried to tear off the topsoil with brute force, but it would have attracted far too much attention, needing a disy of superhuman strength he was unwilling to show out in the open.


    But the Myrmeke could shift the earth like water and do it all from the secrecy of underground. When the ant had finished recing the soil of the field, Li had let its head poke out and given it a good pat. That was all it needed to be happy.


    Li had worried a little about how to feed such a creature, but realized that it simply ate dirt, treating flesh like delicacies that it liked but didn''t need.


    "Oh, and the roadblocks gone. The adventurers chased off the monster," said Li. "I also met some people you might know. Little troublemakers, they called themselves? Ring a bell?"


    "Really now!" said Old Thane as he leaned forward in his chair and pped his knee with vigorous force. "Those three?"


    "Careful, old man. You might break your knee like that," Li said as he tended to a pot boiling in the firece. Inside was the chicken and a few vegetables he had bought at the marketce.


    Old Thane didn''t have many coins, but what he did have, he let Li use them freely, and Li had decided that this soup was worth it to make Old Thane feel just a little bit better.


    "Bah, you''re treating me like an invalid already," said Old Thane. "Butd, tell me again, what did they look like? Gods, I remember when they were wee little children moring at my feet. Little rascals, they were, always asking me for shoulder rides and stealing snacks from the pantry."


    Li stirred the pot as he recalled their features. There was Jeanne, the blonde temr, Sylvie the ninja, and then Azhar the ranger. "Jeanne, she''s tall. Very tall, actually. Almost as tall as me. She''s got long blonde hair and good looks. She''s also silver-ranked, highest out of all the adventurers out there. Sylvie is on the shorter side with white hair, kind of like yours, but healthier and fuller, and very red eyes. Likes the color ck, apparently, judging by how she dresses. Azhar looks foreign. Same height as me. Good build. Lot of tattoos and darker skin."


    "If only I could see again," sighed Old Thane. "I still remember one day, they came knocking at midnight, all grimy and full of tears because they had stolen from the market and the guard were after them. Aine, blessed her heart was, took them in for the day, and every day after that, they learned to take advantage of our goodwill, haha!"


    "Stealing from the market? Were they homeless?"


    "Aye, very much so. I suppose they saw us as parents of some sort, and Aine, ever the mothering one, cared for them until they hopped on off to train in the Adventurer''s Guild, no doubt inspired by my stories. Jeanne as a silver! Incredible! To think she used to cry at the sight of the slightest little rat.


    Li withdrew the stirring spoon from the pot and tasted the soup. Needed more salt. "They lived here?" he said as he went to the pantry and retrieved some salt.


    Old Thane shook his head. "They were in an orphanage of some sorts, I am sure. They came to us often, but never permanently, only ever spending one or two nights here. Mostly to keep out of trouble."


    Li scooped up a pinch of salt from a bowl and carried it to the pot. As he sprinkled it in, he shook his head and said, "They must owe you so much, but they never thought to help you when Aine passed?"


    "Don''t be so hard on them, youngd," said Old Thane. "The adventurer''s curriculum takes five years at the least and would have taken them far from a peaceful city such as Riviera. I am sure that when my sight failed and Aine left my side, they had been sent far, far away."


    "I guess." Li shrugged. "They could have helped a little more, in my opinion. You went more than five years blind and alone on this farm."


    He knew he was starting to lose many human values. His innate curiosity. The value of human life. But there were some human parts of him that didn''t dim, or at the least, deteriorated slowly. One of these was his love of the farm.


    In fact, on the farm was when he felt the most human, perhaps because he had decided to build the farm up with his own two hands, minimizing the amount of power he called upon from his inhuman side.


    Another thing he still valued was family. Family had built him up. His parents'' sacrifices had made him who he was, and he had striven for most of his life to give them all he could in return. It defined a core part of his existence as a human being.


    Though he would feel nothing at seeing a beggar''s corpse rotting in the streets, he could still feel touched by a mother giving up her only portion of bread for her child. This was also why he could appreciate Old Thane, for he treated Li like a son. Li knew nobody could rece his father, but that didn''t stop him from appreciating Old Thane any less.


    "I handled myself well enough," replied Old Thane with a grumble.


    Li took a bowl from the dinner table and scooped up some soup. He ced it in front of Old Thane.


    "Though with all your hardwork, I do wonder how many years of easy living I missed out on," chuckled Old Thane as he took the bowl in both hands and sipped the soup.


    "Is it good?" asked Li. He was no cook, that was for sure, but it wasn''t like chicken soup was hard to make.


    "Warms up my throat, aye," said Old Thane. "I can feel my sickness retreating in terror already."


    Just as Li was about to rx and let Old Thane enjoy the meal, knocks sounded at their door.


    Extremely odd. Literally nobody ever came to visit, especially not at night. Old Thane said that once a year, the tax collector woulde by and ask a few questions about ie and harvests and all that, but even he had stopped showing up when the fields grew barren.


    By Old Thane''s furrowed brows, it was apparent that he too was concerned.


    "I''ll get it." Li went to the door and opened it slowly.


    He raised a brow as he saw the very three adventurers they had been talking about. They were out of their adventurer''s garb. Jeanne stood there in a blue dress embroidered with golden floral patterns. Sylvie had on a dress of in ck. Azhar stood far back, tugging at the tight cor of a desert-brown doublet with one hand while carrying arge basket in the other.


    "Why are you all here?" asked Li bluntly.


    Jeanne sped her hands together and frowned. Li noticed her hands were heavily scarred. "Oh, have wee at inopportune time?"


    "Jeanne? Is that you?" said Old Thane from inside the cottage. "Your voice is as clear and loud as ever! Come in! It''s been years!"


    Li stood there for a second.


    "We''vee to check on him and discuss a few things," said Sylvie as she recognized the hesitance in Li''s eyes. "Please, I know you don''t believe we''ve done our due for him, but now that we''re finally living stable lives, we can start to give back the care he''s given us."


    Li blinked. He saw a shadow of himself in Sylvie''s words, when he had driven himself to study throughte night after night so that he could give back to his parents.


    "So long as you''re here to help," said Li as he opened the door.

 Chapter 17 - Aid

    The dinner table was, for once, crowded. Li got the impression that when it had been built, it was meant for a full family. It was a rectangr and sturdily built with oak. There were preservation runes inscribed to prevent mold and rot. It wasrge enough for a family, but not a crowd, seating only four people, so Li sat away from the table, watching over what was happening.


    Li realized that for over a month, it had only been him and Old Thane eating and living together. The old man never had visitors, and for the first time, he knew why.


    "You should have made some new friends!" said Jeanne as she put down her mug. A moustache of beer foam bubbled above her pink lips. The basket that Azhar had carried in was full of cured meats and a pitcher of beer, and Jeanne had decided rather loudly that it was time to make merry.


    Old Thane shook his head and took a small sip of his beer. "The men and women I called friends have long passed into the gates of Valhul. I cannot tarnish their memory with newpanions. Besides, any friend at this age seeing me with these eyes would have been there to pity me, and pity is thest thing I need."


    Jeanne frowned. "People are good these days. It''s not like how it was when you fought against the demons. There''s so much peace and so much prosperity ¨C I''m sure at least some folk would have loved to get to know you and your riveting tales."


    "Oh Jeanne, you''re kind, but as na?ve as ever," said Old Thane as he shook his head with a smile.


    "No, no," she protested, a little emboldened by the drink. "It''s true. My mentor at the Temple says that ever since the Duchess graced us with her good rule, smiles have never been so plentiful."


    "Ya know, that sounds exactly like what I''d say if my livelihood depended on kissin'' the crown''s arse," muttered Azhar as he chewed on a slice of ham.


    "Oh, quiet, you," said Jeanne as she lightly punched his shoulder. "Always so cynical."


    "And you''re a little too sunshine and flowers," said Azhar. "A whole lotta'' the good out there ain''t gonnast when something like a wares knocking."


    "He''s right," said Li. He sat with his arms crossed and seat drawn back, carefully watching the trio interact with Old Thane. They got along well enough. "There''s a lot of scum out there. Peacetime is when they''re too afraid to show themselves, bute war? You get to see the worst of all of them."


    Sylvie pushed her chair forward so that she sat beside Li. She leaned forward, eyes twinkling with interest. "You sound like you''ve been in a war. Tell me, was it in your home country?"


    Li pushed his chair back and said, "You could say that."


    He remembered his experiences fighting for the army. Unpleasant, to say the very least. It wasn''t the same as this world, of course, but in many aspects, he figured it was worse. So many more people died in so many more impersonal ways on a modern battlefield.


    "Oh, Sylvie, there you go again with your obsession with the East," said Jeanne as she looked at Sylvie with a yful smile.


    "Stop it, Jeanne," said Sylvie as she looked at Li once before looking away bashfully. "It''s, you know, history. Li might be the only living person in this whole kingdom that knows anything about what few preserved Eastern tales and secrets we have."


    "Your gear''s Eastern," said Li. "Seems like you already know a decent amount about where Ie from."


    Sylvie perked up, happy that Li was engaging her. "You could say that, but even so, Soleilian records of the Xia are so sparse. Ourst contact was one hundred years ago, can you believe it? My ninja equipment and training alle from dusty scrolls that were traded over so very long ago."


    She put her hands on her knees and leaned forward, her curiosity-addled eyes almost boring holes through Li. "I don''t mean to impose, but could you tell us about yournd? I''ve dreamed ¨C I mean, I''ve studied so much about it."


    Li shook his head. "Can''t help you there. I remember very little about where I came from."


    This was the convenient lie he had settled on to make an excuse about why he knew so little about where he was supposed to be from. The fact that Sylvie confirmed that there were no others like him here to disprove him meant he wasfortable saying it.


    "Mighty convenient, huh?" remarked Azhar. He sat at the very end of the table with his arms crossed like Li.


    "Got a problem?" said Li.


    Jeanne reached across the table and gave Azhar''s head a light karate chop. "Shush. Li is a good man. He''s taken care of Thane and he saved our lives. You should be more thankful."


    Azhar rubbed his head, his tattooed hand sifting through rough and coarse ck hair. "Damn it, Jeanne, learn to hold back a little."


    "Now back to our previous little chat," said Jeanne as she ignored Azhar and turned to Sylvie and Li. "Sylvie, are you sure the only thing you''re interested in here is history?"


    "Whatever do you mean?" stammered Sylvie.


    "I noticed you haven''t touched your drink."


    "Because we need to start on our ghoul contract tomorrow!"


    "Oh really?" Jeanne smirked. "You sure it isn''t for some other reason? Last time you had some drink in you, you went on and on about how handsome and wonderful the men of the East in your scrolls seemed to be."


    Sylvie blushed faintly, but even a little red stood out on her pale face. "Jeanne, you know very well yourself that drink leads the mind astray. And I think we''ve fallen off too far from why we came."


    She retreated her chair away from Li and back to the table before she turned to face him. She coughed into her hand and said, "So as I was saying. When we parted, I felt that it was too little for me to say that we would help. Action would speak volumes more. And thus, we decided toe here to extend our aid."


    Li stiffened. "With what? There''s nothing you can do to help us. We don''t need protection and I''ve got the farm under control. Right, old man?"


    "Aye, the berries have never been happier with you around," he agreed. "My old heart is excited to see what you''ll make of the herbs."


    Sylvie nodded. "And that''s what we want to help with. I know that you''re excellent working with the earth. I also know that you''ve a sharp mind about you and do not doubt that you''ll pass the herbalist''s exam. But there are other ways we could help. Starting your business, for one."


    "I don''t get it," said Li. "For five years, Old Thane was blind and without his wife. You had five years to help him. I understand that you were away. But you couldn''t have visited once in a while? Sent some coin?"


    Sylvie shook her head, her eyes downcast. "All three of us entered into guild apprenticeship when we were fourteen. At that time, Thane was still as healthy as ever and Aine still a ray of sunshine. News of Aine''s passing only reached us two yearster, and by then, we were split among Soleil''s many guilds, scurrying about on assignments in remote wildernesses far from here."


    Li shrugged. "Assignments? So you were doing work. Work means coin. Coin that could''vee here."


    "It''s alright, Li," said Old Thane as he sensed the rising tensions. "I understand your concern, youngd, I do. But I know these young ones. They mean well."


    "Let me still exin," said Sylvie. She had regained herposure now, her posture straightening and her tone regaining an almost academic calm. "Guild apprentices cannot earn coin. We live under adventurers that teach us the craft, but little to nothinges our way. When we did graduate, we reunited and formed a party, and that was the first we heard of Thane''s condition.


    We tried very hard to make do for ourselves so that we would have enough to help, but even with the four of us, it seemed even goblins were insurmountable challenges."


    "Everyone thinks adventures are rolling in coin or some shite," said Azhar. "Ain''t that the farthest from the truth you can get. Before your first few sessful hunts when the guild gives ya a bronze medal and actually starts sponsorin'' ya, ya got nothin''. No coin for weapons, repairs, herbs, elixirs. Absolutely fuckin'' nothin''."


    "Four of you?" said Li. He narrowed his eyes. "Where''s the other one?"


    Sylvie closed her eyes. "They say one in four adventurers dies in the first year of service. We had another party member. A warrior from the north. He very much wished to see Thane ¨C they were from neighboring tribes. But s, the chance was robbed from him."


    "Basilisk did him in," said Jeanne. She stared at the dinner table; her hands balled into fists. "But thank the gods I awoke to my heroic gift and beat that damned creature into oblivion."


    "And with her gift came the turn of our fortunes," said Sylvie. "With Jeanne holding the might of heroes, we finally managed to finish contracts and grow stronger. Once we gained our bronze medals, our lives became much easier."


    She folded her hands over herp as she looked at Li. "That was one month ago. Me and Azhar received our bronze medals and Jeanne went straight to silver for beating a basilisk to death with her bare hands. With our medals came enough coin that we didn''t scrape our bowls clean every single meal just to get by. We headed here as soon as we could to help Thane. And also, we want to help you, the man who saved our lives."


    Li looked at the three. Sylvie stared at him with a half-smile, expectant but ready to leave if Li didn''t feel satisfied. Jeanne, on the other hand, was all hope and smiles, her blue eyes strikingly wide with eagerness to help. Azhar looked down and had uncrossed his arms in a show of respect.


    "Alright, alright, stop giving me those puppy-dog eyes," said Li. "I''ll hear you all out, but on one condition: the farm is entirely my and Old Thane''s domain. We manage it well already and we don''t need any more hands on it."

 Chapter 18 - Business I

    "First things first," said Sylvie. She motioned to Jeanne. "Is healing Thane."


    "Now wait just a second," said Li. "Old Thane mightin here and there about his blindness, but he doesn''t feel strongly about having it removed."


    Old Thane nodded. "It is divine punishment, young ones. The very day I failed to save Aine from that snowstorm, the gods above chose to strike me down with this blindness. It is a curse that I must bear."


    Azhar rapped his knuckles on the table. "That ain''t right, Thane, and you know it. The ckhand''s poison got ya''. Ya had a tough body, but when ya lost Aine, the grief knocked yer health down a peg and the poison finally had a chance to do ya in."


    Li cocked his head. "What''s this about poisoning, old man?"


    Old Thane scratched his bald head. "Well,d, I''ve always regaled you about my great exploits, but there are some adventures I had thatnded me in ill fortune. Those I keep close to me. Old pride and all."


    "It''s somethin'' we heard from Aine when we all was little. Gods know Thane wouldn''t tell us bout'' his defeats," exined Azhar. "One of em'' scars that Thane''s got on him ain''t from a w, de, or magic. It''s from a mutant."


    "A hero," corrected Jeanne.


    "Hell, before the crown took the bloody lot of ya in and told themon folk you were heroes, you were mutants, usin'' yer powers whatever way ya wanted," said Azhar, his jaw setting and his brown eyes dazed as he traveled through a sea of unpleasant memories. "Even now, some of ya do as ya please with them ''gifts'', only now ya got the crown coverin'' for yer arses."


    Jeanne bit her lip and cast her eyes down to the table. "That''s not true," she said quietly.


    Azhar snapped back to the present and reached out aforting hand to Jeanne''s shoulder.


    "Course'' not you. Yer one of the good ones. A real hero."


    Jeanne moved Azhar''s hand away and stood up abruptly. "I need some fresh air," she said before she left.


    "Goddamn it," said Azhar as the door closed behind Jeanne. "I didn''t mean nothin''."


    Sylvie sighed. "No, you''re just an insensitive fool. ''One of the good ones'', really? Is that the best you coulde up with? You know how she feels about her heroic blood. Get out there and apologize."


    Azhar shook his head and got up, roughly pushing his char in before leaving.


    The table was much emptier now. An awkward silence arose for a few seconds before Sylvie broke it.


    "Allow me to exin," she said. "Now, where to start. Li, do heroes exist where youe from, if you remember at all?"


    "No," said Li. He listened closely. His curiosity had dimmed these days, but this, he was curious about. There were no such things as ''heroic gifts'' in Elden World, and depending on what they were, they could be things he had to watch out for to keep this farm running smoothly.


    "Then from the beginning we go," said Sylvie before she took in a deep breath. "Our current year is 1030, but around, hm, let''s see¡­ah, 950. At the year 950, a great blood moon stood in the sky.


    Schrs recount that it flickered and shifted like a mirage. Their notes detail that great panic ensued among all the races. But that was the least of what was toe.


    Some human children born under that blood moon, you see, developed stranger powers. They could not learn Elden magic nor adapt their being into a ss. Yet they held abilities, some of them monstrously powerful, that was neither spell nor skill.


    To this day, the Grand Archive''s schrs study the incident, attempting to unearth how such a phenomenon came to be. But to prevent distraction, let us hone on the relevant aspects of this.


    Thane sustained an injury from a hero, or, as Azhar calls them, a mutant. Only with the Duchess''s rule and support did mutants rebrand their imagery to that as heroes of humanity.


    That hero, mutant, or whatever you wish to call him, was known as the ckhand. With but a single touch, he could introduce a poison into an unfortunate victim that robbed them of one of their primary senses. In Thane''s case, this was sight. However, as Thane was incredibly healthy in his youth, that poison did not have the chance to manifest until his advancing age and moment of grief rendered him vulnerable."


    Li said to Thane, "You never pried into my past, so I never pried into yours. I epted your blindness as part of who you were. Figured if you ever truly wanted it healed, you would have told me or asked someone else or something." Li shook his head. "But poison? Come on, old man, something that''s going to kill you ¨C I''d have healed you in an instant."


    "Ah, to rify," said Sylvie as she raised two pale fingers. "Firstly, the poison has no additional effect other than disabling sight. Secondly and most importantly, Elden magic interacts poorly with mutant abilities. In particr, it is well-recorded that mutant powers that inflict status ailments cannot be countered with magical healing. Conversely, mutants often cannot receive magical healing."


    "Ridiculous," said Li.


    He didn''t consider himself a prideful man, but he needed to show this woman she was wrong. It wasn''t so much that she suggested his abilities weren''t sufficient, it was moreso that it felt in wrong for someone so weak and mortal like her to suggest that anything was out of Li''s abilities.


    But he understood why she thought that. It was because the people of this world were far too weak. Their levels and the ranks of their spells were too low. He would enlighten her.


    He pointed towards Old Thane and cast [Tranquility], an A-ranked healing spell, almost out of instinct.


    A flutter of magically incarnated leaves whirled around Old Thane, enchanting him with an incredibly potent heal, but once the leaves dissipated and the spell finished casting, his eyes were still as dead and cloudy as ever.


    He could feel the mana leave his system, but Sylvie was right: nothing happened. Perhaps thankfully, too, for a second, he had failed to consider how Old Thane would have thought about being healed. For a moment, he had tossed his empathy away, and he felt some shame that he pushed down with a frown.


    "Gods, I feel absolutely splendid," said Old Thane as he rotated his arms. "My bones pop no more. Did something happen?"


    "We just tried a minor healing procedure, don''t worry about it, old man," said Li. He stared at Sylvie and narrowed his eyes. "You''ve proven your point. Now tell me how you n on healing him."


    Sylvie didn''t meet Li''s gaze. "You see, Jeanne is part of a new generation of heroes that have both mutant and Elden blood flowing through them. She has both her mutant ability and magical potential. Potentially, I theorized that healing magic cast from her could negate mutant-caused ailments."


    "That''s reasonable," said Li. "But you''re forgetting the most important part about this: whether Old Thane even wants to be cured. If this poison won''t kill him and doesn''t hold him back from his daily life, then maybe he wants to live with it."


    Sylvie cocked her head. "Why would he not desire a cure? Don''t you, as essentially his heir, wish to see him healthy and whole again?"


    "What do you mean? You act like he''s something less than he was before. To me, he''s as healthy and whole as ever. As good a farmer and man as any. But there''s no point arguing when he''s right here. Old man, what do you think?"


    Old Thane paused. Then he downed his mug of beer and sent the empty mug sliding across the table.


    "Well,d, personally speaking, I don''t wish for healing. Aine is the only regret I''ve ever had in my life. Not being able to save her from the winter is the greatest mistake I have ever made. To me, this blindness is but a small punishment to bear."


    "Thane, it''s not your fault," said Sylvie. "This blindness has nothing to do with Aine. Really, I believe she would have wanted you living your life whole."


    Old Thane shook his head. "You do not understand, young one. But I know that Jeanne will never take no for an answer. She will never quit when she sees someone in need. She will want to try, no?"


    Sylvie nodded.


    "Then let her. It will be the fastest way to settle this."


    Sylvie stood and took Old Thane''s hand in hers. "Thank you."


    She rushed out the door and, after a few seconds, brought back Jeanne and Azhar. Jeanne had her usual happy smile on as she walked up to Old Thane and knelt by him. She held her hands to her heart and closed her eyes.


    "[Greater Heal]," she said. A golden light swelled within her hands and she gently cupped it, moving it to Thane''s eyes. The light flowed as little streams of sparkling brightness that seeped into his aged eyes and lit up the entire room in an ethereal glow.


    A tense silence ensued as the trio of adventurers leaned in to see if it had worked.


    "I felt that healing," said Old Thane. "But no, my eyes are still dark."


    "I''m so sorry," said Jeanne, a tear welling up in her eye. "I thought, perhaps maybe, that I could-"


    Old Thane patted Jeanne''s head. "Do not worry, young one, and do not waste tears for me. So long as I can still receive your kindness, I am more than happy."


    In a rare moment, Old Thane''s voice became firmer and more serious. "Now that is that. I will not hear more of curing my blindness. It is not an ailment, it is a reminder, and I will not have others make my decisions for me."


    The adventurers slinked back to the table and took their seats again, the air of defeat heavy about them.


    "You heard the old man. No more talking about healing," said Li. He walked to the head of the table and tapped the wood so that he got the adventurers'' attention, as if he was heading a meeting. "Now let''s stop this talk about ''helping'' and talk business. And Old man, why don''t you sit where I am? You''re the head of this farm ¨C you should get the head of this table."


    "Aye, I suppose so," said Old Thane with a smile. He rose, picked up his chair under one arm, and sat right beside Li.


    "I get this feeling," said Li. "That you all think Old Thane is losing out on life here. That he''s struggling to make ends meet. That he''s some doddering invalid that needs your help to get by. You couldn''t be farther from the truth. Me? I''m only here to make sure his life''s work has a ce to pass down to. He can manage the whole thing by himself if he wanted to.


    So let''s get this straight. If you''re going toe here, you''reing here as business partners, not caretakers. You give us something that can help this farm grow, and we''ll tell you what we can do for you. Understand me?"


    The adventurers nodded, swept up by Li''s sudden speech.

 Chapter 19 - A Deal

    "Let''s get to the most important question," said Li as his eyes shifted from side to side, ncing at each of the three adventurers. "What can you all do for us?"


    Jeanne and Azhar looked at Sylvie, forwarding her as their spokesperson.


    "It is my understanding that you wish to restart the herbalist''s business," said Sylvie. It was evident from her collected calm and artiction that she was used to being the talking one. "Certainly, we would be more than willing to assist you in that endeavor. Especially since you are essentially inheriting Aine''s knowledge ¨C her homebrew forms have seen no peer among the Rivieran pharmacies. When you finish learning her work-"


    "I have her notes memorized down to every single word in my head." Li tapped the side of his head. "Courtesy of studying for the herbalist''s exam. I''d be confident that even if that book burned, I''d still be able to do everything by heart. All I have to do is take the exam next week."


    Sylvie raised a silver brow in wonder. "Excellent. Very much so." She nced back at Azhar and Jeanne. The two were seated behind her, eagerly watching her talk. "Sometimes, I wish a little book smarts were more in order among thepany I keep."


    "Hey now, don''t take no book readin'' to gut a monster," said Azhar.


    "That''s right," Jeanne pouted.


    "I suppose so. On second thought, it''s no real measure of goodpany, either," said Sylvie with a faint smile. "Apologies for the interruption, Li. Here is what I can propose. You have an air about you that leaves me without the slightest doubt that you will pass the exam. Your eyes are those of an academic, refined and with purpose, sculpted with drive."


    "Looking hard at his eyes, aren''t you?" giggled Jeanne.


    "Oh shush, you," said Sylvie as she shook her head. Her demeanor remained calm this time around, perhaps because the topic at hand was professional by nature. "Li, since you will receive your license the very same day you take the test, you will have but a week before you are eligible to begin your trade. For that, you require things other than knowledge."


    "Such as?" Li said.


    Old Thane chimed in, "A working stall, for one. There also used to be roofs over the herbal garden, but I have long let them rot away."


    "Precisely," said Sylvie. "It just so happens that we do have a builder in this very vige that we could refer to you. In addition, I can guarantee you that there is no greater force to selling your wares than a silver-ranked adventurer singing your praises."


    Li nodded. "In essence, you''ll offer some marketing and a way to get a working stall built. What do you want in return?"


    "Nothing," said Jeanne. "It is our duty to help those in need."


    "No, Jeanne, that''s what you want, not them," said Sylvie as she turned to meet Jeanne with a disapproving look.


    "Wouldn''t you want to help them as much as you could?" said Jeanne innocently.


    "I do, but do they look like beggars to you? Like Li said, Thane is still a working man. He provides for himself. There is no reason for us to patronize them by offering charity." Sylvie turned to Li again. "I believe that getting first pick at your wares would be a fair deal, no?"


    "Well, what do you think, Old Thane?" said Li.


    "Hm." Old Thane stroked his beard. "I must say, young ones, it is a mighty strange feeling to have remembered you all as children and now to deal with you as men and women of the adventurer''s trade. But it is a feeling that I am proud of. It shows how far you havee. But on this matter of business, I cannot say that it would be a fair trade."


    Sylvie cocked her head. "Is that so? Do you believe perhaps that we are still offering charity? That the terms I have outlined are intentionally nted in your favor?"


    Old Thaneughed, his hearty voice echoing through the crowded walls of the cottage. "Not so, little on. I daresay that you have offered us too little."


    Sylvie''s eyes widened.


    "I know how thend works," continued Old Thane. "I have felt it grow under my feet and tended it with my hands for years and years." He showed his hands to everyone, how the dirt had caked into folds among calluses that had been etched deeply into the skin by decades ofbor.


    "When one works with life for so long, there develops a sense for growing, for knowing how life flows and how to nurture it. You can call it elderly superstition, aye, but I stand by it. It is that very sense that allows me to forego my sight and still tend to thesends."


    Old Thane proudly tapped Li''s arm. "This youngd here has talent. He has had that sense in him since the first day I took him in, and it has only grown with time. Now when I hear him move through the fields and the gardens, not a single movement wasted as he prunes and nts and weeds, he seems to me not man bending nature to his will, but nature itself.


    Any herbs that he grows and mixes into elixirs will be of a quality unsurpassed, as if brewed by the forest goddesses themselves. Aine''s memory will smile in his work."


    Li put a hand on Old Thane''s shoulder and smiled. "Thanks, old man." He looked at Sylvie with a different kind of smile, one more expectant and pressuring. "Hear that? Looks like the cost of my services have just gone up."


    "Excellent, because we have more to offer," said Sylvie.


    "We do?" said Azhar as he scrunched his brows in confusion.


    Sylvie ignored Azhar and said, "Trades live and die by the workings of the world around them. A cksmith will hammer out horseshoes in times of peace, but if that is his only skill, then he will fail to put bread on the table when swordse into demand in times of war. We can offer you advance insight into what we hear from our adventures."


    "Got anything useful for me to hear now?" said Li.


    "Indeed. This is a state secret, so hold it close to your hearts and out of your lips," said Sylvie. "Thatke where you saved us is one of great importance. When the knights of Lys initially discovered it, they reported that it healed all their wounds, even long-term aches and pains. One man even had a curse removed.


    Lord Lys, upon hearing the news, immediately thought of seizing theke for the good of the crown. Could you imagine the advantage that an entireke''s worth of healing medicine could bring forth in a battle? Especially in such a peaceful and well-positioned city as Riviera where there is little risk of it falling to enemy hands?


    s, the insect beast set up guard over the waters, and that is when Lys sought the aid of the highest ranked adventurer teams in town. Now that theke is free and we adventurers sworn to secrecy, Lys has it surrounded with knights while he consults the Duchess on how to use the resource.


    Considering that Lys is kind-hearted, if a little on the simple-minded side, I predict he will not wait long before opening it to the masses without thinking of the consequences.


    Not only will the temples suffer as their worth plummets, but so too will the pharmacies. The most valuable resource of an adventurer is his life. It is thus natural that a vast majority of the seeds that pharmacies stockpile are for healing brews."


    "When the news gets out that theke can heal people for basically free, then the market''s going to crash," said Li as he rubbed his chin in contemtion. "The value of healing herbs and elixirs will go down to being damn near nonexistent, provided this lord doesn''t heavily privatize theke and charge tons of coin for it."


    Sylvie shrugged. "That''s what he should be doing, if he doesn''t want the temples and pharmacists toin, but as I have said before, he is a simple man. Coming from a military background, he does not consider matters of state too thoroughly, least of all economics."


    Li understood. "I''ll get ahead of the curve, then. Start ordering seeds meant forbat purposes before their prices start rocketing up."


    "Precisely," nodded Sylvie. "And we shall aid you there as well. The current demand for such seeds is rather low, so I am sure we can secure you a steady supply."


    "Now we''re finally talking," said Li. "I think this is a pretty decent starting point for our deals, right Old Thane?"


    "Aye, I''ve noints," said Old Thane.


    Li reached out an open hand to Sylvie. "We have a deal."


    Sylvie shrunk back in her seat and blinked rapidly as Li''s hand reached out to her. "Uhm," she managed to whisper out, her steelyposure crumbling.


    "My, my, Sylvie, he''s reaching out for you. Isn''t this what you wanted?" said Jeanne as she leaned in closer to witness the scene.


    Li withdrew his hand. "My apologies. I didn''t realize that handshakes weren''t a thing here. It''s a custom where Ie from. You extend open hands and shake them to seal a deal. A symbolic gesture. Nothing awkward about it."


    Sylvie extended her hand but looked down. "Well, it would be quite rude of me to ignore your customs."


    Li shook her hand and smiled. He wasn''t clueless. He could tell that she had something of a crush on him, but a time of business wasn''t the right time to address it. Instead, he dissipated the awkwardness of the situation by moving the deal forward. "Now you all get some pen and paper. I''m going to give you a list of the seeds I need, and I''ll need the exact quantity by next week."


    The adventurers left soon after that.


    They had cleaned their tes and mugs like good guests and Li had opened the door for them like a good host. He was feeling a little more cheerful. It had been a good while since he had talked to people other than Old Thane, and it made him feel a little more sociable.


    But when Li opened the door, something was sitting there that he had almost forgotten about.


    "Oh my, what a wondrous little pup you are!" said Jeanne as she wrapped her arms around Zagan''s chest and lifted him up in the air. The demon''s paws dangled in the air as she shook him up and down. Zagan was massive as regr dog sizes went - Li estimated he was slightlyrger than a Great Dane - but it was apparent that Jeanne had no concept of size when it came to dogs.


    To her, all of them were cute little puppies.


    "Are you lost?" said Jeanne with sadness. "Oh, look at those puppy dog eyes, you''re lost for sure. My, he has the same color eyes you do, Sylvie! And he''s ck, too, just your style, isn''t he?"


    Zagan looked at Li andmunicated telepathically.


    ''Why does this insolent mortal handle me so? Do I have permission to ground her into dust where she stands, my master?''

 Chapter 20 - Humanity

    "Sorry about that." Li sat in the dirt of the barren wheat field, watching the midnight skies above. So many stars. Light pollution had made sure the stars never show off their luster in Li''s world, and he never tired of just looking up at nights here and seeing a web of magnificent golden dots spread across the dark canvas of the sky.


    "There is no need to apologize, my master," said Zagan. His voice, when spoken without injury, had an ethereal strength to it. The inflections were powerful but notmanding. The voice was masculine but not overly so. A raspy undertone marked each word, as if some level of permanent static was present. He sat on his haunches beside Li, also looking up, as if at a moment''s notice, he would howl. "The human handled me without knowledge that I was your prized retainer, and it is right that you immediatelymanded her to release my great personage. I would have struck them all down for the insult alone, but I am no fool: I sense you require them alive."


    Li sighed. "I need them for the farm. And they''re good people, all of them. They didn''t mean any harm."


    Zagan scoffed. "Humans are but livestock. They may have a shell of goodness, but within, they are ugly and miserable little piles of secrets and sins."


    "Tell me," said Li. "Do all demons have a strong misanthropic streak like you?"


    "Misanthropic? No. We value them highly as food. The ugliness they hide within themselves is a sublime treat. Consumed flesh cannot match it." Zagan looked at Li, his crimson eyes shining under the moonlight. "And you, master? What of you? What are humans to you? You defend them with your words, and yet I sense they are not true kin to you."


    Li thought about this for a long time. The night breeze filled in the silence, singing a solemn whistle as the grasses rustled. The solitude had put him in a reflective mood and, when coupled with Zagan''s questioning, got him thinking. It was refreshing to be able to talk about himself to a being that knew what he was even if Li himself didn''t truly understand himself.


    It felt liberating. It had been more than a month since he had arrived in this world, and though he knew his body was changing, he hadn''t been able to talk about himself with anyone. When he thought about it alone, he never got any answers, but now, there was a chance to know.


    "To be honest with you, I don''t know. I enjoy my time with them. I canugh and smile with them, but¡­it doesn''t feel quite real," said Li as he scooped up a handful of dirt. It smelled of rain. "I can be happy for them when they are healthy and well but at the same time, I feel nothing for them when I kill them."


    He let the dirt fall through his fingers. "I understand what they feel, their happiness, their sadness, their love, but I also know how fleeting their emotions are. I know that they are destined to return to the earth whereas I will stand through time immemorial. Nothing they feel or even I feel willst.


    A part of me feels so awfully lonely knowing that, but another part of me knows that this is how it is supposed to be. The natural order of things."


    "Ah, I understand now." Zagan grew solemn upon hearing Li''s unload all his pent-up thoughts and worries. The demon''s eyes closed as his pointed ears ttened.


    "There is conflict broiling within you," he said. "I believed you always a higher being. But you were once human."


    Li arched a brow. "You can sense that?"


    "Indeed. Demons are extremely sensitive to the natures of higher beings. That is how I knew to make you my master in the first ce. I recognized your greatness."


    "And you don''t think any less of me? Because I used to be human?"


    "No. It matters not who you were. The you of now is the master I have chosen to devote my entire being and soul to. Not even the Burning One couldmand that level of bond from me. Even should you continue to masquerate among the humans, I will listen to your every whim and wish without question."


    "Thanks. It must have been hard for you to give up everything toe to me."


    "There is no need for thanks, master. Gratitude is but a mortal appreciation of loyalty. Among higher beings, bonds of service are not appreciated, they are understood. Let me show you-"


    Zagan pressed his snout to Li''s arm and closed his eyes. Li could see the color of the demon''s soul. It shed into his vision strongly as a raging wall of darkness. A beautiful, pure darkness unblemished by any light. It was an almost gentle darkness, the kind that lulls you into sleep.


    "You see now, my master," said Zagan as he pulled back. "As a demon, my soul is pure. Mortal souls are chaotic mixtures of dark and light. They can profess to be good one day andmit evil the very other. That is why their word means little ¨C they are confused. A promise made by a mortal one day may wash away under temptation the very other.


    I may be a being of destruction, but I do not try to justify it as mortals do under delusions of greater good. I destroy for it is part of my nature, and I ept it. I am true to myself and know that when I say something, I mean it.


    That is why you know that my word is pure. That my word is true.


    When I appeal to the greed inherent in men and allow them to host my being and bestow upon them my power, I do not ever make false promises. They know their souls are forfeit, but their greed overtakes them, nheless."


    "I''m sorry you have to exin all this to me." Li sighed. "You''ll find that I''m not entirely used to the customs of gods and demons."


    "Do not debase yourself byparing yourself to gods and demons, master. You are an Old One, a being beyond the forces of life that gods are birthed from and the forces of death that spawn us demonkind."


    Li nodded his head in a semnce of understanding.


    Elden World lore about his race was interesting, to say the least. In game, yers could choose an inhuman race such as elves, orcs, or even half-gods and half-demons. At level 70, these inhuman races could ascend to stronger variants, with elves bing high elves and half-gods ascending to full divinities.


    For Li, the base temte for his race as the Treant, a forest spirit that looked like an animated tree.


    At level 70, the race could branch out into two ways. One was the path of the Dryad focused entirely on spellcasting, mysticism, and healing.


    Then there was the path of the Leshen that Li walked. Unlike Dryads that symbolized the nourishing life of the forest, Leshen were known as sinister spirits that represented the forces of death. As a result, they did not specialize as mere druids, but Eldritch druids focused on bringing pestilence, misery, and death to all.


    They could restore others, of course, but it always came at a cost, whether it be a health cost or re-distributing the life force of one to another. Their summons, too, became ghastlier in nature, focusing on insects, carnivorous nts, and dire beasts.


    At level 100, Li had ascended even beyond the Leshen into an Elder variant. Here, the lore imed them as beings that not onlymanded the forces of life and death, but went even further beyond, bing Old Ones thatid domain to eldritch powers that rendered mortals insane at the slightest touch.


    But what did that exactly mean? All of those descriptions looked perfectly understandable when read from a video game screen, but when that became his reality? Most of the time, he didn''t feel like some alien existence that shattered minds. He thought and acted like a human.


    And yet there were times when he said things that came from a part of him that was definitively inhuman. He could be happy or sad or angry, but there were times he knew he felt that he was only pretending to be feeling those emotions, as if he knew that was what he was supposed to feel but that it was all an act.


    "You are troubled. Unsure of your nature," said Zagan. "I know this well, and I can aid you, my master."


    "What are you going to propose?" Li shrugged. "Taking my human side out with some kind of precision magic surgery? Is that even possible?"


    "No, but there are other ways.


    Arade of mine, when I was a general of greed for the Burning One, was formerly a human. Upon bing the general of lust, she ascended into demon-hood, and yet her humanity confused her. She had known love that was pure and just ¨C the loss of that dear love was what drove her to desperately seek demonhood in the first ce ¨C but when she ascended into an aspect of purely destructive, primal lust, she found she still yearned for the pure memories of her first lover."


    "So what did you do? Lobotomy?"


    "Nothing of the sort. As time passed, she came to understand herself the chaos of human nature. Upon witnessing enough mortal lovers betray each other, she became disillusioned with the idea of pure love. She came to realize that with enough temptation, any mortal can discard their purity and fall to their base urges."


    "Now that''s depressing."


    "It is all a matter of perspective." Zagan faced the cottage andid down, his head resting between his ck paws. "When you glimpsed my soul, I witnessed the color of your soul as well, my master, and I can offer you a diagnosis, but treatment, well, that will be up to you."


    Li followed Zagan''s line of sight and stared at the cottage too. It was dark and silent, still as death. Old Thane had fallen asleep hard like a rock, the drink getting to him. Li had eased him into bed before getting out the cottage to talk with Zagan.


    "Don''t leave me hanging," said Li. He had an idea of where this was going, but he still wanted to hear it out loud. "Give me what you got."


    "A higher existence cannot peacefully coexist with a mortal mind," said Zagan gravely. "Sooner orter, your natures will sh, and how can a mortal mindpete with an Elder existence? Soon, words wille from you that you did not wish. Your hands will conjure spells that you did not intend."


    "That''s already been happening," said Li. He remembered how he had tried to heal Old Thane without even considering what he felt solely because it just felt in wrong for a lesser existence to question him.


    "Yes, and your human nature is wing to survive." Zagan motioned his snout towards the cottage. "When a god or demon wishes to experience the chaos of mortal nature, they impart some of their essence into a mortal anchor. Often, this is a flesh and blood body, an avatar.


    You have done the opposite. I sense that your human nature has anchored itself to that old man."


    Li rubbed his chin, getting a little dirt on it. "I''m surprised. Among people, he''s the only one I feel strongly about, sure but there are other things that I still hold dear to me. Like this farm. I want to nurture and grow it above all else."


    Zagan shook his head. "Master, you do not yet understand, and I do not fault you, for this must be all very new. To be a higher being is not to lose all that is dear to you. It is simply to lose a human perspective.


    Your soul is green. A beautiful, vibrant green that impressed upon me the sanctity of both life and death. This farming, this tending to thend ¨C it is a part of your greater nature. It will stay with you regardless of whether your mortal shell remains within you or not.


    But the old mortal, that is a human bond. An anchor that keeps your humanity stable, minimizing its erosion. When mortal, you valued family above all else. You devoted your life and soul to it. Your very humanity molded around the concept of family.


    You find family in this old mortal. You see family in his actions, in his valuation of you."


    Li understood what Zagan was hinting at, at what the treatment was. He shook his head, but he was not angry, for how could he fault Zagan for trying to help him?


    "I''m sorry, but I can''t have that happen. He can''t die." Li sighed. "I don''t know how I''ll feel in the future, but that''s just how it is right now."


    "I understand, master." Zagan''s voice became questioning, but not aggressive. It was calmly directed in the same tone that an advisor would use to respectfully oppose their king''s decision. "But what happens when the aged man knocks against his mortal coil? Grows injured? There are but few years left within him. Soon, his bones will fail him. He will wish he had returned to the dirt. What will you do to maintain your humanity? Will you keep healing him? Resurrect him against his will?"


    "No." Li smiled. "There''s no greater gift a son could give a father than being by his bedside when the timees. I want to give him that honor as I did for my own father."


    "And after that?"


    Li looked at the farm around him. It was still in its infancy. The wheat field was still barren, but with the Myrmeke''s help, it would soon be as fruitful as ever. The berry bushes swayed with the wind, their fruits heavy and full, but there was more space he could fill. The herbs had just started to shoot out a little, the tips of their green stems emerging from little ck mounds in the soil.


    But there was so much more to do. So much more to make it an oasis of life that wouldugh in the face of time and rise when kingdoms fell.


    "After that, I''ll have an oath to keep."

 Chapter 21 - The Builder

    Li cut away an overgrown bough from a blueberry bush. He used arge pair of scissors, recently sharpened and cleaned to the point that they reflected sunlight, to prune. He didn''t really think much while pruning because his hands instinctively knew where to direct the scissors. All he had to do was listen to the bushes. Where the life beat a little too strongly, choking out the precious berries, he sheared off.


    "You''ve got steady hands, sir. You''d make a fine addition in my crew."


    "Yeah, I''ll pass on that. I''ve never been into building things. Reminds me too much of the city," said Li as he circled the bush, smiling in satisfaction as he saw how plump and heavy the blueberries were. Good color too, a nice dark blue that stood out against the green of the bush.


    Li gave a short nce to the builder. He stood a few meters away from the bushes, beyond the flimsy wooden fence that enclosed the berry bushes. The builder stared at Li with round and shifty eyes that didn''t seem to know how to settle in just one ce.


    The adventurers from the day before had, as promised, referred the builder to Li, and the man didn''t seem all too bad. He was a short and squat man with a round, pudgy face and a noticeable belly but his arms, visible through his short-sleeved shirt, were well-padded with muscle. Plus he had the hands of a builder, wide like bricks and worn with calluses.


    There was a constant jitter to the man that was rather odd, though. He never seemed to stop moving. Even when standing still, some part of him would always be moving. His hands would twitch or maybe his eyes would shift here and there.


    "Why stand so far away?" said Li as he moved on to another bush with his scissors. "I''m here to negotiate a contract with you, not threaten you. "


    "Aye, sir, but no offense ¨C that hound makes me mighty scared." The builder pointed a shaking finger to Li''s feet.


    Zagany there, eyes closed in sleep as he basked in the sunlit dirt. His great, barrel-like chest rose and fell with each of his breaths.


    "He''s reasonable. And smart. He won''t kill you unless I want him to," said Li nonchntly, momentarily forgetting about how much the builder would value his mortal life. "Or, er, I mean to say he won''t hurt you."


    Li didn''t like hearing Zagan referred to as a simple hound, but for purposes of a disguise, it would have to do.


    Zagan, at the least, didn''t mind. When he and Li had first met at the forest, Li had told him he would be a farm hound, and apparently, the demon had taken thatmand to heart, fully preparing to spend his days guarding the farm from threats. In fact, Zagan was even honored to have a role in protecting something so precious to Li now that he understood how strongly it was tied to his master''s soul. Said that being an Elder One''s hound was honor enough to ask for.


    "I''m a careful man, sir," said the builder. He coughed into an open palm for a few seconds and regained his breath.


    "Then listen carefully to this," said Li. "I want a retractable roof over this berry garden and the herb garden on the other side. I want to get out a stall up front by the main road that''s got locking mechanisms and enough space to store twenty pots. I also want a stable with enough room for three horses. Of course, the stall''s the main priority and everything else cer. Think you can manage that?"


    Li understood he was asking for a lot, but he figured he would go big from the start and negotiate down from there. The builder seemed to be a nervous wreck, so Li was rtively confident he could browbeat the poor man into a less than favorable deal.


    The builder, however, took Li''s request seriously and drew a step back to size up the cottage and farm, his eyes slowly moving from side to side as he analyzed the feasibility of Li''s request. His constant jittering stopped when he applied his mind to his trade, and for a few moments, he seemed as serious as the gravest of army generals pondering battle ns.


    "It''s certainly doable, but sir, I don''t mean to offend, but I understand that you have no coin?" he said nervously, as if each of his words were liable tond him into the depths of a dungeon. "Don''t mean nothing with that, of course, times are hard and all."


    Li sighed as he buried the scissors into the dirt and put a hand into his pocket. He, for a second, considered withdrawing coins from his inventory, but he stopped himself. Any kind of official transaction with a tradesman was recorded in his ounting records, and those records were reviewed by duchy officials. Unexined ie would make for an undesirable scer down the road.


    At the same time, Li knew the adventurers weren''t dumb. Well, at the least, Sylvie wasn''t dumb. She knew Old Thane had no coin, and he didn''t think that she would ever make the mistake of sending a builder that was costly.


    "The adventurers sent you here knowing we didn''t have much coin to toss around," said Li. "So stop beating around the bush. That tells me you''re not exactly here to get paid conventionally. Tell me what you want."


    "Mind if youe out here? It''s a matter I don''t want spoken out loud," said the builder as he nervously nced around. Though it was noon and the asional traveler or adventurer passed by the cottage while taking the main road, they didn''t spare a second look at the ordinary farm.


    "You expect people to care about what a farmer has to say to a handyman? But if you really want to have some level of secrecy, then how about youe here?" said Li as he picked the scissors back up and went to pruning. "I''m a little busy, as you can tell."


    The builder shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Aye, I would sir, but the hound-"


    Zagan awoke and shook his body, cleaning himself of dirt. He gave a nce to the builder that made the man shiver before heading away to rest in the wheat field. Li had no doubt the demon was hearing the conversation and had decided to leave to expedite the deal.


    "Okay, nothing to be afraid of now," said Li. "Unless the blueberries scare you, and at this rate, I wouldn''t be surprised to find out that''s true."


    "Mighty apologies, sir. I''m normally not like this." The builder slowly walked up to Li, casting nces over to make sure Zagan had left.


    When he managed to muster enough courage to lean on the fence, he said, "Well sir, I can do everything you want; it''s just the price is a little special."


    Li waved the scissors. "Go on."


    The builder took one final look around himself to make sure nobody was listening before whispering, "The adventurers couldn''t handle it, well, atleast not permanently, but they told me you had a mighty fine ability to tame beasts. Sir, I beg you, there''s this terrifying beast that wants my head. It knocks on my doors and prowls around my windows every single night. Can''t get a single lick of sleep because I fear for myself and my children. The adventurers could drive it off, but it just keepsing back and back and gods, I haven''t slept in days."


    The builder shivered before he blinked several times. "I''d be willing to do anything for you, sir, if you can just free me from this ursed thing."

 Chapter 22 - The Beast

    Li sat on one end of a round table. It reminded him of a coffee table except the people of Soleil didn''t regrly drink coffee. That was a rare import from the west and reserved for the aristocracy or wealthy. Instead, he took a wooden cup in his hand and sipped some beer.


    It tasted like wheat-vored water. Far more diluted than modern beer, but Li had never drunk beer for the taste anyway, so he just drank it in appreciation of the fact that the builder was willing to pour out a ss for him.


    The builder sat opposite from Li and he downed his beer in one big gulp before taking a shaking hand to take a pitcher and refill the foamy golden liquid as quickly as it had gone.


    Li raised a brow. "We''re still negotiating here, you know. You can''t get all drunk on me now."


    "Apologies, sir, just easing the nerves," said the builder.


    "You always call people sir? My name''s Li, and I''m getting a little tired of just calling you, well, ''you''."


    "Charles, sir, and forgive me, it''s habit from working a service job." The builder took a sip of his beer.


    "If you don''t mind, I''d still like to call you sir. Professionalism and all."


    "Fine by me." Li shrugged. "It won''t make me ask for any less, though."


    "I''m fine with that, sir," said the builder as his eyes wandered again.


    "You''re still worried? Rx. You''re in thefort and privacy of your home," said Li as his eyes


    wandered, taking in the builder''s cottage. Ity at the very edge of the main road, right when the dusty path merged with the towering trees of the Winterwood. Despite its rtive remoteness, its walls were built with brick and its roofs shingled with tiles. In contrast, the average cottage made do with mud brick walls and thatch roofing. "This is a surprisingly nice ce, too. Build it yourself?"


    Charles nodded several times as he shed his chipped-tooth smile. "Aye, sir. All my handiwork. And me crew, of course. They''re as important as my hands."


    "Your crew must miss you. I can''t imagine you can go to work with this whole monster situation."


    "Another reason why I beseech you for your aid, sir. My crew, they''re talented with their hands, but they need someone to give them directions. Without me, they lose focus. A few days gone, aye, they can manage, but a week? Just two days ago, they botched a roof repair. Big hole in the roof ¨C a thunderstrike ¨C and they patched it up right beautifully but used the wrong wood. Soft wood. Already starting to rot."


    "Then it''s best we get this over with quickly, no? Every second you spend holed up in here is a second you lose making money." Li moved his beer aside. "Let''s get this straight. What are you putting on the table for me to solve your problem?"


    "Anything."


    Zero hesitation. Li nodded slowly as he read the builder''s expression. Charles truly was desperate. His wide eyes, even in his own home, shifted about with wary energy, as if the beast was about to just burst through the walls and w at his throat. Dark bags that spoke of sleeplessness underlined each of his eyes. His fingers tapped rapidly against the beer mug he held close to his chest.


    "Okay, now I don''t understand. If you''re this desperate, why haven''t you moved out yet?" said Li. He was going to just keep pressuring Charles,ying out what he wanted and then telling him that he had to do it all unless he wanted to face constant torment, but his sheer desperation was pitiable. "You could move closer to the city. That''s where you have most of your business, isn''t it?"


    "Thend closer to the city is much too expensive, I''m afraid," said Charles. "The crown does subsidize much of the price ofnd for those wishing tond to farnd, but Ie from a line of craftsmen, sir. I''ve no idea how to farm."


    Li raised his hand in suggestion. "You could sell this cottage and use the coin to buy a ce directly in the city. You''d be living somewhere much smaller, for sure, but atleast you wouldn''t have to go by horseback for almost an hour every day to get to work."


    "Not possible, sir." As if to exin, Charles raised his voice and called out, "Remy! Rosa! Our honorable guest wishes to see you. Come and give your greetings!"


    A door squeaked open from a room in the cottage and two children - a boy and a girl about five old - ran out. They ran until they stood in front of Li, at which point they stopped abruptly and looked at each other nervously before staring at Charles for help.


    "Say, ''hello, sir,'' for me," said Charles gently.


    The boy''s mouth opened and closed several times as his eyes, wide like his father''s, narrowed in focus. "Hello¡­sir," he said, enunciating each word slowly as if they were unfamiliar.


    "Good, Remy" said Charles with a smile. He turned his gaze to the girl and said, "Go on, Rosa, say hello like you usually do."


    The girl took a nervous look at Charles, then to Li, then to her brother before she mustered enough courage to slightly lower her head in a bow.


    "That was wonderful!" Charles pped his hands. "You can go to your room again. Make sure to keep quiet for papa, though, he''s talking with an important man."


    The children nodded and ran back to their room as quickly as they hade out. They took a wondering peek at Li before they closed the door behind them.


    "My children can''t stand the city," said Charles. "They were both born of a Rivieran tavern wench, but when I heard she had birthed my children and wanted to send them to the orphanage, I took them in, but s, the gods have punished me for my ill-begotten decisions.


    Remy, my son, he was born with stunted mind. The priests say he will never think as a proper man, but I see him as whole as any boy his age. But can you imagine? The city is merciless ¨C the boys there will see his face, his drooping eyelids, his slurred speech, and bear down on him with bullying. Rosa, as a mute, will fare no better. I cannot stand to my own blood treated so. Both love animals as well, so I prefer to be out here where the nature is."


    "I understand," said Li. "Look, in my book, a good father is a good man, and if there''s anything that can make an impression on me, its family. I still need my stall built, but I will tell you now that I can absolutely guarantee that this issue of yours, this monster problem? I''ll handle it. You will not have to live a single extra day fearing for your children''s lives. Now give me the details."


    Charles started tapping his foot against the wooden floor. "I, ah, well, sir, it''s quite serious."


    Li crossed his arms. "Believe me, nothing will faze me."


    Charles paused for a moment, the silence punctuated by his tapping foot. He stared at his children''s room and then back at the table. He sighed. "A wraith''s haunting me, sir. Come midnight, it stalks this house, rattles on my windows, on my door, and leaves me deathly afraid for my life and for my children. Not even Triple Threat, the silver ranked adventurer team, could kill the spiritpletely. They had the power to beat it away, but it alwayses back somehow."


    "You didn''t think to ask the temple for help?" said Li. He knew by now that the temple offered to exorcise errant spirits. Where the adventurer''s guild dealt with monsters, the temple dealt with ghosts.


    "Not enough coin for that either," said Charles. "Triple Threat are known for their generosity and pro-bono work, so I could get them for free, but when they found themselves stumped, I had no options left."


    "I don''t need to hear anymore." Li stood up. He knew that wraiths were troublesome enemies in that they could respawn infinitely unless killed with powerful magic, and there didn''t seem to be a dedicated mage among Jeanne, Sylvie, or Azhar, exining the difficulty with the wraith. But that wasn''t the case with Li. "I''lle by this midnight and this wraith will trouble you and your children no more."


    As Li left, he noticed that Charles still stared at the table, lips pursed in worried thought.

 Chapter 23 - A Spirit At Peace

    Li sat cross-legged in front of the builder''s cottage. He sat in front of the main door which Charlesined rattled the most. It was almost midnight. Clouds covered the moon, making the night darker than usual. The only visible light came from behind Li, where a window in the cottage reflected a dim firelight that kept the house warm.


    Inside, Charles was probably a nervous wreck as he waited for Li to put an end to a week-long session of misery.


    "Looks like it''s getting near us," said Li as he looked at the forest''s edge. Under the shadowy veil of night, the trees loomed tall and intimidating like stakes of darkness. Everything had gotten quiet and a deathly chill had filled the air.


    Had Li been human, he was sure he would have shivered.


    "Indeed," said Zagan. The demon sat in front of Li, his snout pointed towards the forest and sniffing every so often. "Master, I do not mean to diminish your capabilities, but I could have handled this issue myself. There is no reason to dirty your personage with such a menial task."


    Li rolled his shoulders to get a stretch in. "It''s suspicious if I''m not the one doing it. Plus, I don''t want people to know you''re more than what your disguise entails."


    A cold wind danced by the two, carrying errant leaves.


    Zagan stood on all fours, his ears pointed and alert. "It is here."


    "Yeah, I can feel it too." Li cracked his knuckles and got on his feet as well. His hands opened as he readied to channel his eldritch Druidry.


    At the forest''s edge, the wraith manifested. Wispy tendrils of fog gathered into translucent mass that became more and more visible as it approached. It stood at the main road, in front of the house, and looked at Li and Zagan.


    It was a houndwraith, significantlyrger than a man andposed entirely of misty white fog that became solid at chaotic intervals. Its eyes were a glowing ck that stood out even in the night. The head was entirely skeletal, showing off a full row of bony white teeth sharpened to deadly points. Its jaws were easily capable of tearing human heads from their bodies.


    Li knew the houndwraith as a level 30 monster that was the spectral counterpart of hellhounds. Where hellhounds specialized in brute force and fiery, elemental damage, houndwraiths inflicted mostly magical damage in the form of potent curses. They were theplete counter to physical damage dealers, not only taking reduced damage from physical blows but also respawning infinitely unless they were killed with a high enough rank spell.


    Among Jeanne, Sylvie, and Azhar, there were no primary magic users, exining why they couldn''t permanently deal with the creature.


    "I shall smite this lowly spirit from the astral and physical ins. There will be no trace of its miserable existence in any corner of every world," said Zagan as he bared his own teeth in a snarl.


    "Wait," said Li. Something struck him.


    The houndwraith was afraid, its skeletal body ttening against the ground as it trembled. But that wasn''t the interesting part. It was obvious for the houndwraith to find fear in the face of two existences that overshadowed every single part of it.


    What Li found interesting was that it still wanted to fight. It was a rtively intelligent creature that knew that to fight was to court oblivion, and still, through the trembling, the wraith still bared its teeth and managed out a growl.


    "To not showplete and utter submission before you, knowing that you are an OId One. This spirit begs for death," said Zagan.


    Li stepped past Zagan and neared the houndwraith. He knew from Zagan that spiritual beings understood his power even in his human form. He knew how overwhelmingly crushing his presence was to spirits. For every step that he took closer, the houndwraith would feel mountains of dread copsing upon its being, crushing at its every inch of existence. Yet even when Li was close enough that the creature could no longer grow but instead only mewl out a whimper, it still tried to bare its teeth.


    There was drive within this spirit that transcended any fears of death or undeath. Not even if the world itself were ending would this wraith budge from its spot.


    Its will to live was immensely strong, and Li shook his head. Why was he about to destroy the houndwraith at the behest of a mere mortal? It wasn''t as if the houndwraith was an existence worth any less than Charles. Life or undeath ¨C it all mattered the same.


    Li pointed to the forest and tried an alternative. "Go, and do not return."


    The houndwraith did not move.


    "I cannot tolerate this disrespect any longer. From a mortal that is clueless about my master''s greatness, perhaps I could understand, but you?" Zagan also came forwards, and as he did so, his shaggy fur started to shimmer, flowing with the wind as jet-ck mes. "You are a spirit that understands his rank. You know better than to disobey. Now bare your neck and perish."


    Li stretched out his arm, stopping Zagan from eviscerating the houndwraith. "Wait, Zagan. Communicate with it. Let it exin."


    Zagan stared at the houndwraith. It was a littleical, seeing a massive monster such as the houndwraith cower to Zagan who was simply at the size of a regrrge dog, but the houndwraithplied, bowing its head as itmuned with Zagan.


    "It wishes to see the children within the house, but it cannot enter homes built with runic protections," said Zagan. His fur solidified again, turning from mes back to hair. His snarl mellowed out, and once more he regained a dignified stare befitting a general among demons. "It means no harm and no disrespect."


    Zagan nodded to the houndwraith. "Imend your loyalty. It is firm and undying, as fierce in death as it was in life. However, ensure you do not insult my master further."


    Li had an idea of what was going on. He hadn''t gotten the full story from the builder.


    "I''m going to have a little talk."


    _________________


    Li stood by the round table while Charles sat, his eyes glued to the table as he shivered. The presence of the houndwraith was still active, casting a chilling aura all around the cottage. The firece''s light was dim, the logs ck and shrunken.


    The faint light cast an ominous shadow over half of Li''s face, and Charles could not look up to meet Li''s eyes. Instead, Charles shivered uncontrobly, his arms wrapped around his chest.


    "Tell me," said Li. "Do your children feel this chill too?"


    "No sir."


    Li knew the lore behind wraiths, and that knowledge did not bode well for Charles.


    "As I recall from wraiths, they haunt people or ces they had strong bonds with in life. Their passive, [Haunted Presence], only affects those with guilty consciences that wronged them in life." Li rapped his knuckles on the table. "What did you do, Charles?"


    "Nothing wrong, sir, just my duty, sir," stammered Charles as he bit his lip.


    Li grabbed one edge of the table and applied some pressure. The table creaked as it splintered, and when he withdrew his hand, he had broken off a chunk of the sturdy wood with pure strength. He shook his head and dropped the table shard, letting it tter on the floor.


    "I advise you to be honest. You''re a good father, and I can respect you for that, so don''t tarnish that respect with lies."


    Charles stared at the chunk of wood and his breathing quickened. Strength that could snap hardwood like that could easily shatter skulls. A sweat formed on his forehead and he ran his tawny hand across, but by the time it withdrew, another sheen of sweat had formed again.


    "Twas'' the lord''s hound, sir," said Charles. "Lord Lys lets his hounds roam free, and one of them took a liking to my children. It came here every single day for two years, and my children loved it dearly. They loved animals, and I cannot me them. Other children reject them, and so I understand why they would findfort in a beast that cares not that they be slow or mute.


    Butst week, I found the hound behind the house. It had been gutted by some massive creature. A bear, I daresay from the tracks, and no doubt it died defending this house, but I could not afford it any honors. I tossed its corpse in the woods where none would find it. I speak of its fate to nobody, not even my children.


    Gods, I know it was wrong and my children still wonder why their dear Rollo hasn''te back, but what can I do? The lord would have me jailed for having one of his precious hounds perish."


    It all made sense now. Charles had been secretive about this whole matter because his freedom was at risk. He hadn''t gotten to the temples because they would have reported him to Lys, so he reached out to Triple Threat, probably knowing that Jeanne''s good heart would never allow her to turn her back on a single father raising two children on his own. But when Triple Threat couldn''t deal with it, he had be desperate.


    "Here''s what''s going to happen," said Li. "You''re going to wake the children and bring them out. Rollo will want to see them. Afterwards, you''re going to go out into the forest and give the corpse a burial if it''s still there. If not, make a shrine for him, anything to salvage some of the respect you owe him."


    "My children!?" Charles stood up in protest but immediately slinked back into his seat when he felt Li''s presence be more aggressive. "Sir, the wraith is but a monster. It knows no reason. It will tear them apart. And all this for just a dog?"


    "Just a dog?" Li put his hands on the table and leaned forwards, staring at Charles with a hard-lipped frown. As Li drew closer, Charles shrunk even further back into his seat. "Tell me, Charles, really enlighten me, why are you any better than a dog?"


    "Sir?" said Charles, an expression of equal parts terror and confusion wrought upon his face.


    "Is it how long you live? Your, what, seventy or so odd years to the dog''s fifteen? No. Both are so insignificantly tiny figures to me that they might as well be the same."


    Li could see himself reflected in Charles''s eyes. He was human, but something more. He loomedrge and taller than ever, a mand of mirage-like darkness expanding from the outlines of his body.


    Li paid no mind and continued, "Is it because you consider yourself human? That you can think and love and fear where a dog cannot? No. That dog loved your children dearly and feared for his life as he fought to the death for them. His feelings have transcended even life, shining brightly through undeath.


    Do you think your spirit has even a single iota of that strength?


    No, Charles, because unlike that dog, you are a coward. And because you are human, you lie to me and try to mislead me."


    Charles had be pale as snow at this point, his mouth gaped open like a fish, overwhelmed and unable to speak in Li''s presence. Even his shivers ceased as his body prepared for death.


    Li shook his head and sighed. "Rx, Charles. I can understand you as well. You didn''t want to let yourself go to jail and have your children starve. I am not one to tear families apart. I will not report you. I will not harm you. Take this as a warning and just know that I''ve increased my price: you''re going to be building everything I need free of charge from now on. Consider that the price of lying."


    Li turned towards the door. "We''re done here. Bring your children out and be ready to work for me at first light tomorrow."


    ________


    Li and Zagan stood outside the front door. Charles, still a little shell-shocked from what had happened, stood beside them. Li had brought him out because he wanted the man to watch his mistakes.


    Remy and Rosa were at the main road, just a ways in front of the house, almost right in front of Rollo the houndwraith. They stared at Rollo with disbelieving eyes, their little eyes and mouths wide open.


    Rollo towered over the children, each of his paws capable of crushing them underfoot, but he instead shrunk back, almost as if scared of them, his skeletal head turned away.


    "He feels shame and fear that he must present himself to the children in his current state," said Zagan. "He fears he may scare them or worse, that they may be horrified by him."


    Remy, holding his twin sister''s hand, reached forwards tentatively and put a tiny hand on Rollo''s bony paw. A look realization came upon him. "Rollo?" he said, a smile beginning to beam upon his lips. "Big dog now!"


    Rollo, knowing now that his masters still saw and loved him the same, whimpered as he gentlyy on his side, exposing his misty belly. Remy and Rosa ran forwards and hugged the great wraithhound''s chest, their cheeks squishing as they pressed them to the wraithhound''s belly.


    Rollo whimpered and nuzzled its skeletal head on theirs, gently blowing air to tousle their hair as it no longer had a tongue to lick them with.


    "We miss you, miss you much" cried Remy as he hugged Rollo tighter, his sister also sobbing into the wraithhound''s ethereal fur.


    Theyy like that until they could no more. Rollo''s form grew increasingly more transparent, increasingly less physical, his soul finding peace. When the wraithhound''s form dissipated fully, thest curls of misty matter taking with the wind and floating heavenwards, the children ran back, tears welled up in their eyes.


    They knew what had happened. Rollo could not talk physically, but his spirit had told them all they needed to know. They soughtfort in the familiar and they crashed straight into Zagan, sobbing into his ck fur.


    Li opened his mouth to tell them to stop, but Zagan shook his head. He sat there staring stoically ahead, the children''s little bodies shaking up and down as they buried into the demon''s sides and cried their emotions out.


    ''I do not mind,'' said Zagan telepathically. ''Children are pure. These ones in particr are untainted by the chaos of man''s nature. Good and evil do not fight within them, making them ugly. They are innocence, and innocence is a precious beauty. It is what drove the houndwraith to protect them so fiercely. At least in memory of such splendid loyalty, I shall let them seekfort with me.''


    Li nodded and then looked at Charles. The man hung his head in shame. His children knew he had betrayed them, and now they turned to Zagan forfort instead of their own father.


    "Tomorrow at first day,e to the farm and start your work. Bring your crew. Cancel any contracts you have. And I hope you''ve learned something today."


    Charles sighed as he saw his children, knowing it would take long before they would be able to put their father''s betrayal behind them.


    "Yes sir."

 Chapter 24 - Winding Down

    As promised, Charles came with his crew as soon as the sun started peeking out in early morning, casting warm summer rays over the rolling fields outside Riviera. Li himself usually came out to work at this time, plucking weeds from the herb garden first as it had the most sensitive nts to tend.


    Zagany farther out in the wheat field. He had a fondness for that particr spot. He was sprawled out in sleep or perhapsmunicating with the Myrmeke that rumbled below, sharing tales about their master.


    Old Thane worked alongside Li, kneeling in the dirt as his hands sifted through the earth to feel for weeds.


    Charles and his crew tied their horses down to a stake on the main road, right beside the cottage, and came up to Li, belts full of tools d around their waists. The horses had dragged many carts of wood, bricks, nails, and other building materials behind them.


    "Morning, sir!" called out Charles. "As promised, I''m here to get started."


    Li patted Old Thane''s shoulder. "Builder''s here. Mind giving me a second?"


    "Certainly,d," nodded Old Thane. "It feels a little unreal, it does, seeing us so close to having this farm back to its former glory."


    "Trust me, old man, I''m not going to settle for just former glory."


    ____________


    Li nodded as Charles sketched out his idea of the stall upon a piece of paper ttened out against a wooden block that acted like a clipboard.


    The stall would be big enough to catch the eye of all travelers taking the main road. It was around half the size of the cottage and could even act as its own living space.


    Apparently, industry standards had improved significantly since Aine had practiced, and now herbalist stalls were no longer glorified disy shelves while the herbalist dirtied his or her own home with elixir brewing. They were bigger and better than ever before, streamlining the brewing and selling process into one building.


    The stall wasn''t just some cute little stand to put flowers on to sell, it was a veritableb. It had enough space for a fire to put a mixing cauldron upon and a venttion system through multiple smaller chimneys that acted as fume hoods to vent out toxic herb gases.


    Plenty of shelves existed for storing guiding tomes, seeds, and potted herbs. There would also be onerge working table where Li would dust off Aine''s brewing tools, her beakers, sks, pipettes, distition kit, and so on to put to use after years of being ignored.


    Part of the reason why Li had been able to learn so much of the craft in so short a time was not only his memorization skills, but also because he was, in his past life, a man of science. He was used to working in ab, and he realized that an herbalist was very much simr in regard to what he used to do ving away at his bio-engineeringb.


    However, function wasn''t the only thing the stall cared about. There was also an open disy forpleted elixirs as well as a hanging signboard that detailed prices. If travelers were curious, they could look into the stall and see the person within working, adding a little performing ir to the whole process.


    "This is perfect," said Li. "But it''s prettyplicated. How long do you think this will take?"


    Charles nodded several times, looking at the cottage and back at the ns. He was much calmer now, his constant shaking alleviated. He still had a little twitch when he got nervous, but it was more like a tick instead of something thatpletely dominated strangers'' impressions of him.


    "Well, sir, I have very fine men, yes I do. Tried and tested handymen, part-time smiths, and aplished runeworkers the whole lot of them." Charles gave a thumbs up behind him, where his crew of ten builders smiled eagerly.


    Some of them looked curiously at Li considering he was a foreigner, but Charles had obviously trained them not to be prying or ask questions as they were workers who needed to maintain professionalism. They were men of various heights and builds, but all of them had the same worn and worked builder''s hands that Charles had.


    "And it isn''t the first time we''ve made something like this. We actually had amission from the ck Vine, heard of it, haven''t you?"


    Li shook his head.


    "Well that''s a right surprise, considering you as a herbalist and all, but to exin, it''s the biggest pharmacy in Riviera. They wanted to put up another stall near the fishing docks. Anyways, it just means we''ve got what it takes, so let''s see." Charles took his inked quill and tapped it on the wooden board a few times. "Two weeks, I reckon, working nonstop. And don''t you worry that we''ll starve. We''ve enough funds tost us through a whole winter, I reckon."


    "Excellent." Li gave Charles an encouraging p on the back and said, "Well then, I''m off to work. I''ll leave this to the experts."


    Before Li turned, Charles whispered out, "Sir? Aboutst night, I''m truly sorry, sir, I understand my wrongs."


    Li stopped him. "It''s not my role to forgive you for where you went wrong. You must ask forgiveness from your children and Rosso. But know that I hold no ill-will against you so long as you have learned from the past."


    Charles let his eyes fall before he shook his head and looked up to meet Li''s gaze. "You''re right, sir. But since you''re the one that opened my eyes, I''d like to let you know that we''ll all be doing our very best."


    Li gave Charles an understanding nod before turning. "The very best is what I expect, so get on it."


    "Ah, sir, one more thing."


    "Hm?"


    "For your stall''s sign, the one that''ll enter the official registries and pop up in the signposts, do you have any ideas for a name?"


    Li smiled. "Arboretum."


    ______________________


    At sunset, when the blue skies filled with mellow oranges and warm reds, the builders packed up and left. They left their materials out by the cottage and covered them with tarps so that the rain didn''t corrode them. They had finished the foundation of the stall, digging out a neat, rectangr pit lined with wood and covered with a tarp to prevent rainfall from leaking in.


    By this time, Li and Old Thane had also finished working, having weeded and pruned and tended to all they could. They sat over mugs of rune-chilled water as they reclined in their chairs and looked out the window, watching as the builders started shrinking in the distance, their forms growing darker as the sun set further.


    Li nced at the potted herbs at the windowside. These were the illegal magical ones they had taken from Vincentio. The magical herbs, the mist poppy, fumegrass, and spriteseed, were growing fantastically fast, mystical power flowing through their xylem and phloem nourishing them.


    Where the night before they were just little shoots shyly peeking out from their pots in the cottage, they were now visible stems with leaves growing. In a few days, at this rate, they would grow taller and start to bear their fruits.


    The mist poppy would burst forth in beautiful arrays of orange and red flowers. The fumegrass would begin growing little branches covered in thick, grass-like bushy leaves that smelled like gasoline. The spriteseed stem would curve and be bulbous at the end, forming little holes that would whistle like faerie sprites if wind passed through them.


    "It feels mighty good to work up a sweat again," said Old Thane as he downed his water and mmed the mug down on the table. "It really does seem that sitting around disagrees with me, Li. Hah, to think that some believe old age a time to rot away on cushioned pillows!"


    "Sometimes I wish you''d have a little less energy in you, old man," joked Li.


    A rustle sounded overhead, as if something big hadnded on the roof. Li saw as a massive feather slowly wafted down the window.


    "A bird?" said Li.


    Old Thane put his hand down on the table with quite a bit of energy. "Oh! It''s a carrier! My, I haven''t gotten a delivery in years!"


    "Oh, right." Li nodded. He had heard about carriers from Old Thane sometime ago, in one of his many stories.


    They were essentially the mail system of this world. In Soleil, there were four main cities in each of the cardinal directions, and these cities held crown-funded institutions called the Voliere that trained rocs, low level monsters that looked like giant birds, to carry delivery packages across the rest of the duchy.


    The mailing service was too expensive for amoner to use without a government issued voucher for official business, so it was extremely rare for a roc to evernd on a farm out in the outskirts Riviera, the most peaceful and uneventful of the four cardinal cities of Soleil.


    Li had a feeling he knew what it was, though.


    "I''ll check it out."


    When he came out, the roc fluttered down from the roof. It looked like an eagle the size of a man, its massive talons tightly grasping a fortified rope upon which dangled a sealed wooden chest.


    The roc took a good look at Li with its forward facing, fierce avian eyes that looked like it wore a permanent scowl. Once it identified Li''s face, it squawked before dropping the rope and letting the chest fall a tiny height to the soft grass.


    "Thanks," said Li to the bird, and the bird bowed its head in knowing appreciation of a forest spirit. It pushed off from the ground, its huge wings ttening the grass below it as it soared into the sky.


    Li examined the chest.


    A rune inscribed on a piece of solidified wax had been stuck onto it that prevented deterioration and applied minor defense against the elements: amon rune to ce on deliveries. The better and more secure the rune, the more expensive the price to deliver.


    Li tore off the wax seal and the box opened. Inside were seeds. Almost a hundred of them. He smiled as his knowledge came to use. He could spot meweed, Wraith peppers, bone bean, goblin grass, and other mystical nts. All of them were keyponents to use for elixirs meant to break bones and burn flesh rather than patch up scars and soothe aches.


    These were the herb seeds that Sylvie had promised. Though Li did have to wonder why the adventurers hadn''t delivered them by themselves. It had barely been two days since hest saw them. But the question was quickly answered when he found a letter at the bottom of the chest, beneath all the seeds.


    Li unfolded the letter. The handwriting was elegant with long, curly strokes. One could mistake it for the writing of a noble or a trained schr, someone who had dedicated many hours into making sure they wrote well and right.


    "To Li and Thane,


    As agreed upon, here is our end of the deal. It pains us that we could not grant you these seeds in person, but life has taken an errant turn so very suddenly. An official calling by the crown drives all silver-ranked and above adventurers along with their teams north to Montagne. From rumors and whispers, apparently a great Stone Drake has emerged from Mount Noir, enraged at a recent mining incursion into its territory.


    By the time you read this, we will be on the rocky roads to the northern mountainds. Azhar will be fighting off cart-sickness while Jeanne sings at an obnoxious volume. We haven''t the heart to tell her she sounds far different than she imagines in her head. If you could utter a prayer for my sanity, I would very much appreciate it, though you need not do so if you wish.


    Regardless, when we return, we hope to see the fruits of yourbor flower beautifully. We were too young to truly enjoy Aine''s skills firsthand, so we look forward to seeing her knowledge and love expressed through your hands.


    Good wishes, health, and blessings to the two of you,


    Sylvie, Jeanne, and Azhar.


    As an aside ¨C we know your herbalist''s exam ising up, and we''ve heard some concerning things. It is not our ce as adventurers to discuss our opinions on politics andws, but next time you enter Riviera, ask around about the Contract of the Grasses"

 Chapter 25 - The Contract

    Li made his way around the main square of Riviera. This was the first time he had entered the city without his hood, but there hadn''t been any issues. The guards standing by the main gate always had a perpetual look of sleepiness to them, and when they saw Li, they raised a brow but shrugged and let him pass.


    Li had given them an appreciative nod and they had smiled in return. Riviera was a city of peace and progress, housing Soleil''s finest university and philosophers. They were the only of the four cardinal cities to have banned pit fighting and even allowed some minor immigration on part of non-humans from the north.


    Compared to a wolfman or elf, it made sense that Li wasn''t that much of a surprise. He always wondered why Old Thane had ever been so protective as to make him wear the hood, but that was a question to ask the old man himself at ater time.


    As Li toured the market square, he tuned out the cacophony of shouts as sellers peddled their wares. cksmiths made their apprentices roar out their daily sales on des and armor, emphasizing how beautiful they would be to disy on a rack at home. Food vendors moved around carts while shouting at how savory their meat pies or how sweetly their cakes would melt in mouths.


    There were quite a few hintenders, people that were native to the dry ins west of Riviera, selling their own wares. Their smiths sold curved des and hooked daggers while their vendors roasted great spits of meat and carved out kebabs.


    Li did not appreciate this chaos. Though it was far less hectic than the cities of his past life, they still reminded him of the unending rows of towering apartments that blocked out the horizon. The smoke that rolled out of industrial factories which ckened the skies. Cars and drones screamed as their engines worked, the harsh sounds of traffic only ever punctuated by the rtively quiet yet ominous rumble of hyperloop trains speeding their way around.


    Li shook his head and pushed forwards, ignoring countless requests for him to turn back and taste a little this or that. He preferred the quiet of the farm, and he only ever came here when he had to.


    Past the market square, at the center of Riviera,y the city hall, a massive, domed building of marble. Four towering pirs of white stone stood in front of the entrance, their tips carved into images of the four great gods that had defeated the first demons and spread magic to the world more than a millennia ago.


    Beyond the pirs sprawled a great stairway up to the upon doors of the city hall. The doors were impressive works of art, fashioned of polished wood emzoned with the symbol of a dove ¨C the house sigil of Lord Lys.


    Li made his way up the stairs. Many people passed by him either moving in or out of the city hall. Here was Riviera''s heart, after all, where all judicial and administrative processes were held. Citizens coulde here to forwardints and suits against businesses or others or, as in Li''s case, take aptitude tests for certain professions.


    Li made his way into the city hall, feeling the cool and clean white marble beneath his feet as he made his way towards a sprawling counter where behind magically reinforced ss, city hall employees aided visitors, directing them where they needed, giving them necessary paperwork, and so on and so forth.


    Thankfully, there weren''t too many people in line. Usually, there was a decent wait to get a spot at the counter open, but Li made his way up without any wasted time. He found himself talking with a beastman, and upon closer inspection, he could tell she was a Feli, possessing certain cat-like features such as pointed, furred ears and sharp, yellow eyes with slit pupils.


    "Here to take the herbalist''s exam," said Li. He looked behind the feli where dozens of employees sat at desks scribbling on papers, recording every little thing that transpired. At the wall, a great golden clock stood, its long and short hands reading half past two.


    His exam started at three, but he needed a question answered.


    The feli narrowed her eyes for a second. "Herbalist''s exam?"


    Li nodded. "You heard me right. But before that, I''d like to ask about the ''Contract of the Grasses''. Does this have anything to do with the exam?"


    "Hm." The feli took a long look at Li before she shrugged. "I suppose it does not. The contract was a decree announced by the esteemed duchess Vivienne, long live her reign, stating that, er-"


    She reached under her desk and rummaged about before fishing a paper. It was bordered in gold and sealed at the bottom with a red rose ¨C the sigil of the duchess. Her eyes peered up and down the document, refreshing her memory.


    "Ah, it states that under a neww passed by the executive court of Soleil, the four cardinal cities must consolidate all of their herbal production, distribution, and supply to a single local entity through a crown-forwarded contract. Under the contract, this entity will report directly to the crown and in return, receive its full aid. Would you like me to list out the benefits of contracting with the crown?"


    "No thanks. Tell me more about the contract itself."


    "For the foreseeable future, in order to determine which entity is best suited to receive the crown''s full backing, emissaries of the duchess will be thoroughly inspecting every herbalist to scout out the finest that the cardinal cities have to offer."


    Li understood where thisw came from. If the duchess wanted maximum control over herbs, then it made sense that she would want to keep everything rted to it to a single producer that she could keep an eye on instead of having to send administrators to keep track of hundreds of shops.


    "What happens to the rest of the herbalists? The ones that don''t get the contract?" said Li, even though he already knew the answer.


    The feli shrugged. "You''ll have to ask awspeaker to get that answered in a professional capacity. Do you wish for me to set an appointment?"


    Li shook his head. He was reminded why he hated the slog of bureaucracy. "Nevermind. Just tell me if the exam''s still being held."


    "Indeed it is." The feli put on a pleasant smile, sensing that the conversation was about to be over. Having stood at this counter for hours and hours over months and months, she probably had a superhuman sense for knowing how conversations flowed by now. "Anything else?"


    "No." Li nodded before leaving, sitting himself on one of many benches meant for weary citizens waiting for their papers to process or see theirwspeakers for some crime they were used of.


    He shrugged. He didn''t think much of this decree, so long as he could get his license without issue. That was the bare minimum of civilized decorum he was willing to follow. He considered following thew to get his license just enough respect owed to a crown that had housed Old Thane and granted him thend to build his farm for his retirement.


    Afterwards, if the crown messed around with this decree and gave its contract to some city pharmacy and tried to stop Li from practicing, well, then they were absolutely free to try and make him.

 Chapter 26 - Cosmic Horror

    At ten minutes before three, a monotonous woman''s voice echoed throughout the reception area. It came from an azure crystal embedded in the ceiling which Li recognized as a recording crystal. In-game, if you sent a recorded voice message to another yer, then the icon they clicked to open was a crystal to keep in tune with the fantasy setting.


    It was interesting to see how even little bits of gamey lore like that managed to find use in a world that lived around the lore as their reality.


    Here, the crystal acted like an announcement system, echoing out when various proceedings were starting or calling employees up to offices and whatnot.


    "Herbalist''s exam is starting in ten minutes. Repeat: herbalist''s exam is starting in ten minutes. All prospective test takers, please proceed to room 4A."


    Li got up and scrounged his memory for directions. He generally had a good sense of direction, and as he recalled, 4A was past the reception desk, through a long hallway and up four flights of stairs and immediately to the right, where a que marked with a golden A signaled the right room.


    The fourth floor was where most exams were taken, so it wasn''t a surprise. Li had visited the city hall before and looked at the test rooms when he came by to get a copy of past exams to study from. They were wide and spacious, lined with desks in orderly patterns that gave just enough space between them that cheating through eyesight was rather difficult.


    Anti-magic wards were lined at the door, enclosing the room with protections against magical cheating, and there would also be a proctor with a magic sensitive wand that would detect any spell casts.


    As Li walked up the stairs, he noticed progressively fewer people. What few people he did see wereing down, having taken exams for fields other than herbalism. There were a few people crowding around the fourth floor itself, men sitting around on benches or standing with no seeming purpose, but when Li entered, they all stared at him.


    Cocking his head, he made his way to door A and went inside.


    The room waspletely empty. There must have been over twenty seats, but not a single one of them had been filled. Maybe he was early, who knew.


    "Greetings, test taker," came a bored voice. "Please take a seat anywhere you please."


    It came from the proctor, a woman seated behind a desk at the front of the room who oozed tiredness from her every being. She was ghostly pale, making her long, wild locks of chestnut red hair and the dark circles under her eyes extremely apparent.


    She had a slightly hunched posture, which,bined with her long, brown robes stitched with patterns of leaves, gave her the aura of an old schr, and yet she couldn''t have been past her early twenties.


    When Li took a seat at the front, she stood up and reached under her desk for a single test packet. With shuffling steps, she ced the test on Li''s desk along with an inkwell and quill and yawned.


    "Y''know, I figure you''re gonna be the only one here, so when I say time''s starting, just go ahead and have at it," she said before she shuffled back to her desk and withdrew a timepiece from her robes.


    She stared at the timepiece in her hand, watching as the hands crawled agonizingly slowly towards three.


    "Actually, just start now," she said, waving impatiently at Li to start. "You have one hour. If questions arise, inform me. There''s one water break in the middle. Um, I think that''s it. Good luck."


    With that she put the timepiece on the desk and turned it around so Li could check it when he needed to. She then leaned back in her chair and put her hood over her head.


    Li took a look at the proctor and calcted that there was a significant chance she was asleep already. He shrugged and took his quill, dipped it in the ink, and began the test.


    As expected, the test was a joke. Li thumbed through the pages with incredible speed. His hand never stopped writing and he wrote with inhuman speeds, his superhuman agility letting him blitz through the entire ten-page packet within fifteen minutes.


    Honestly, when the questions basically amounted to multiple choice where two out of four options werepletely and ridiculously wrong, how could he ever fail? He would feel ashamed to even get one wrong. And the format? Rote memorization? Showing a diagram of a nt and asking what it was or showing the color of an elixir and asking what it did?


    Absolutely elementary stuff. He wondered why he had even studied so long, but he understood that Aine''s books weren''t about passing this exam, they were much, much more. They exined brewing processes, when to best pick herbs, how to tend to them, what to do when they got out of control ¨C basically the entire profession. In contrast, anyone that passed this test would have a paper license, but zero practical knowledge in practicing the trade.


    When Li finished, he wiped his ink smeared hand on thest page of the test and took it up to the proctor''s desk. He was supposed to wait an entire hour, but the proctor had been right: nobody else had shown up for the test, so he figured he had some leeway to do what he wanted.


    He loudly pped the test down on the desk and the proctor yelped in surprise as she wed her hood down and blinked her eyes. She looked at the test, then at the timepiece, then at Li.


    "You''re done already?" she asked as she rubbed her eyes.


    Li tapped at his test with his finger. "Yes, and seeing as you''re treating the exam''s rules a little loosely, am I free to leave early?"


    The proctor shrugged. "Certainly."


    Li made his way to the door, but as he was opening it, he heard the proctor say, "Wait up."


    He turned and saw her thumbing through his test, some semnce of energy restored to her as her eyes scanned the pages up and down.


    "This is excellent. Not a single thing wrong."


    "Great," said Li. "Then when can I get my physical license?"


    "Oh, that I can have delivered to you tomorrow on the address you put on your test, but that''s not the problem." She nced up at Li and at the open door in his hands. "Um, could you close the door? I''d like to speak with a little privacy."


    Li closed the door behind him and came up to the desk. He raised a brow. More bureaucratic slog to struggle through? "What is it?"


    The proctor stood and looked up at Li, her brows furrowed in worry. "To be honest, I thought you just a foolhardy two-bit apprentice willing to risk his hide for a license, but this level of preparation exceeds industry standards. You are most certainly young talent, and I don''t want to see it wasted."


    "You don''t look a day older than me, and you''re talking about young talent?" said Li.


    The proctor shrugged. "Bad habit. Long hours of study make me feel old, I suppose, yes. But that''s beside the point. I meant to ask you, have you not heard of the contract?"


    "I have. What about it?"


    "Then you should know that even with this license, you cannot practice in Riviera. I can rmend you to several viges and towns outside the contract''s range."


    "No. I am not moving. This is where my farm is, and I intend to stay on it."


    "For your safety, too."


    Li let out augh. "Are you suggesting the crown will intervene? Sic knights on a random farmer? If that happens, I assure you I should not be the one whose safety you worry about."


    The proctor looked back at the door to make sure it was closed. "Not the crown. The crown is reasonable. They would probably try and pay you off thend or give you work elsewhere. But ck Vine isn''t so kind, no."


    "ck Vine? What was that again¡­the pharmacy?"


    The proctor nodded in small, quick bursts. "Yes, yes, that''s the one. Biggest pharmacy in Riviera, has branches in all four cardinal cities, too. They''re the frontrunners for getting that contract, and they''ll stop at nothing to get it. Those men outside? Thugs they hired. Made sure nobody would ever want to take the exam. I''m sure they might even be able to bribe out your address too."


    "And the crown can afford to try and pay me off mynd but not deal with criminals?"


    The proctor made an expression like she tasted something bitter, something nasty, and said, "ck Vine is far too powerful. Own all the drugs from the cold north down to the zing south, and they''ve invested everywhere like a disease, in banks, in businesses, even orphanages. If the crown takes down ck Vine, the entire market here, not just the herbs, might just go belly up.


    They''ve turned the sacred art of tending to nature into a pure business. Heresy and sacrilege to the forest goddess, I say, but what''s my opinion against mountains of coin and hordes of armed muscle?"


    Li sighed. "Look, I understand your concern, but you do not have to worry about my safety." He turned to the door. "I''ll be looking forward to getting that license."


    When Li left, he could see the group of men waiting in the fourth-floor hallway staring at him. He waved them a casual greeting before he made his way down the stairs and exited the city hall. He had a feeling he was going to see them soon, so might as well get the greetings out of the way beforehand.


    Li was right. When he entered the chaos of the marketce, several men in hoods crowded around him. Here, where so many people thronged and so many vendors shouted, the guards noticed little.


    "Follow us if you know what''s best for you, littleddie," said one of the men.


    "We''ll take you somewhere nice''n''quiet. Teach you a right proper lesson, taking that exam and having the straight gall to wave at us like we was your friends."


    Li shrugged. "Please, by all means, lead the way. The quieter the better."


    ----


    Within a few minutes, the men had corralled Li into an alleyway. It was dark and dank, wedged between two seedy taverns. A brick wall sealed off the end, making escape impossible. The cobblestone path underneath was slick with mud and grime, ignored by the city''s cleaning crews. Amidst the brown and ck muck, there stood out the asional bloodstain.


    Li nodded. Looked like this was the routine ce for these thugs to do their business. He turned to the men. There were four.


    "Is this the best ce in town? For, you know, your ''business''," said Li.


    The men walked forwards like hyenas, their gloved hands withdrawing crude daggers. They even spoke one after the other, their cruelty feeding upon each other in a vicious loop that gave them more and more confidence.


    "Aye, here''s where we clean the streets of foreign bastards like you."


    "No use screaming here. Taverns here won''t call for the guard. Made sure of that with a little coin."


    "Look at him. Prettier and paler than a tavern wench, he is."


    "Carve him up with a couple scars, would make him even prettier."


    Li let the men draw near him. They came slowly, not just to intimidate, but because they were unsure. They saw that Li had no fear in his eyes, that he stood tall and even bored.


    "Before we begin," said Li. "I just have one thing to ask. Do you all have families?"


    One of the men chuckled and spat on the ground. "Family? You think to beg us mercy, telling us you have family? Is that it?"


    "What a fool he is. Don''t you know who we are?"


    Li shrugged. "No, and I don''t really care. Just answer my question."


    The thug continued anyways. "We''re the Hundred Faces. In the very streets our families abandoned us, we became lords of terror."


    "Got it. So, no family then. Just a ragtag group of orphans wanting to feel tough." Li waved them forward. "That''ll make this easy."


    The men wavered; their hands sweaty as they gripped their daggers. They could feel their instincts telling them to turn back, that to rush in now was to face death.


    Li sighed and shook his head. "You think that slinking around in the shadows makes you strong? Lords of terror?" Liughed. "Lords of being terrified, maybe. But don''t worry. None of you have family. Nobody will miss you."


    The thugs took a step back as Li disappeared from their sights.


    "Where''d the filthy cur go!?" said one of the men.


    "Right here." Li stood behind them, blocking their exit. He grabbed the man by the back of his cloak and raised him straight overhead with one arm. He iled around madly, stabbing at Li''s arm, but the dagger chipped and nked as it struck flesh harder than any known metal.


    The other men shrunk backwards, away from Li, forgetting that they had chosen this alleyway for its deadend. They had chosen their own death trap.


    Li took a look up at the man he was holding.


    "What in the hells are you!?" shouted the man as he found his dagger increasingly chipped and lined with cracks.


    "Quiet," said Li as he put his arm back like he was readying a baseball pitch, drumming up his inhuman strength before he threw the man straight at the brick wall. He intentionally missed the other men, wanting them to witness the folly of their actions, of the great sin they hadmitted in defying an existence so very much beyond them.


    The man sailed into the wall like a bullet, and when he collided, his body exploded like a ripe tomato, bursting apart at every single seam. Stters of blood and chunks of internal organs showered everywhere, and the rest of the men, doused in the lifeblood of theirpanion, started screaming.


    "Stop screaming. You said it yourselves, nobody will hear you. And trust me,paratively speaking, all of you will end up far worse than him," said Li as he stuck his arm out to the side. He had not cast the eldritch part of his eldritch Druidry yet, so he was curious to see how it felt. "[Shapeshift: Aspect of the Shoggoth]."


    His arm swelled as it grew, the sleeves of the linen shirt tearing. His arm became a giant chunk of bubbling flesh asrge as a horse, the skin tearing as it struggled to contain the ever expanding, tumorous mass.


    The men had stopped screaming, instead nching as they witnessed the arm slough off its pale skin, revealing bare muscle and blood. Then even that became tainted, turning various shades of ck, purple, and sickly green ¨C all the colors of decay. The ckened and fleshy mass started shaping into tendrils, hundreds of them, and dozens upon dozens of eyes opened all across the arm, glowing with a yellow radiance reminiscent of gold.


    The eyes rolled around, leaking ocr fluid, before they focused on the men.


    The men froze.


    Through those eyes, they could feel the hunger of that arm. It was an unending, ravenous hunger. A hunger cosmic in scale, the primordial hunger of decay that was responsible for the death of all things past and future, the hunger that would eventually render the entire universe into an infinite expanse of cold wastnd.


    And when they felt that hunger, that terribly cosmic and horrible desire,tch onto them-


    The men startedughing as they tore at their hoods and then at their hair, ripping off chunks that fluttered to the ground. They wed at their flesh, scratching out deep and bloody marks. They gnashed their teeth on their tongues, and blood spewed from their mouths, spittling as theyughed harder than ever, their eyes growing so wide as to almost bulge out of their sockets.


    Sheer insanity.


    Li shook his head as he walked forwards, aiming his arm forwards. The human mind was so fragile.


    The Shoggoth''s tendrils reached forwards and eagerly grasped the men, absorbing them into its tumorous, tentacled mass until no trace of them was found. The menughed as they willingly let the Shoggoth slowly draw them in. But of course, they would not find peace in insanity much longer.


    They would be added to the vast expanse of the Shoggoth''s stomach, a hellscape where creatures beyondprehension would y with their minds, restoring and breaking their sanity in a torment that wouldst eternities unbound by thews of space and time.


    Li didn''t feel much different from using eldritch shifting. It was the same as when he had used the [Fist of Ymir]. It all felt like an expression of his natural abilities. It actually felt more right, morefortable, using this magic, as if he were stretching muscles he was supposed to exercise but had neglected.


    He stared down at his boots. They were bloody. So were his trousers and the rest of his shirt. He sighed and considered whether he should have made such a dramatic show throwing that man at the wall. He would have to clean that body up too. Limit suspicion and all.


    He looked at the Shoggoth. The eyes stared at him, eager to obey.


    "Would you mind cleaning the blood off my clothes?" Li pointed to the mangled corpse of the man on the brick wall. "And that mess too, while you''re at it."


    The Shoggoth rumbled in understanding as it extended its body forwards, expanding as its tendrils reached out to absorb the corpse.


    "That''s a good boy." With a smile, Li pet the Shoggoth''s body, his hands gliding over countless bulbous masses that felt like tumors ¨C physical manifestations of the minds of past victims all locked in a symphony of eternal suffering within the creature.

 Chapter 27 - Mortal Quest

    "Haha! You beat those bowlegged crooks silly! My, how I wish I could have seen it!" shouted Old Thane as he wiped his mouth and put down his mug. Unlike most days, there wasn''t water topping it, but beer, the frothy white foam bubbling deliciously.


    Li swished the beer around his own mug, looking at his amber-shaded reflection. His expression had a slight smile to it, but he couldn''t quite ce it, but the smile wasn''t quite full, not like it used to be.


    "Yeah, I really did beat some sense into them," said Li. He sighed. "You know, old man, haven''t you ever wondered?"


    "Bout'' what,d?" said Old Thane.


    "About me. I know you''re sharp despite how loud you can get, and I know you know that I''m something much more than meets the eye."


    Old Thaneughed. "None of that is important,d. I said I would never expect more from you than I would any old farmhand, and my word is something I never go back on. It matters not whether you be some exiled warrior of legend, some divine spirit, or even a demon. To me, you are my most valued farmhand, one who will carry thebor of my hands beyond my life, one who has already given much honor to Aine and myself."


    Li nodded before he took his head back and emptied his mug out. He looked out the window. The night was bright enough that moon and starlight beamed in, illuminating the firelit cottage with beams of ethereal white.


    "You''re right, old man, I don''t know why I asked." Li cupped his mug with both hands. "Say, with you and that infinite wisdom you always boast about, mind hearing me out? I want your opinion on something."


    "Oh? You''re such a brightd that it''s been so long since you''ve asked me anything. Once you got a grasp of this old farm in that wondrous head of yours, you never had to ask of me anything."


    "Well, this isn''t about farming." Li looked back at the window, his eyes tracing a ray of silvery white moonlight that crossed Old Thane''s face, highlighting his wrinkles. "But I have this¡­pendant. A wooden pendant. It''s from my homnd, and it reminds me of my past. Good and bad memories both, to the point where I''m not sure it''s wholly a good thing or not.


    I know that whenever I look at it, feel it, I''m holding myself back, looking in reverse instead of forwards, but I know that the moment I toss it away and look to the future, I''m never getting it back. But at the same time, it''s rotting away regardless of what I do.


    Do I hold onto it? Toss it away? Repair it, even, knowing that it will never be the same regardless?"


    Old Thane scratched his beard and grunted. "Aye, well, you may be staring at the wrong old man for an answer, youngd. The past is all I have. I live for the memories of what I have done and what I had. I farm now to give peace to a lifetime that has lived through chaos. I am friendless and loveless to honor friendships and a love that have blessed me several lifetimes over.


    He paused. "The past is precious, son. What better proof of a full life is there than a rich past? What better way am I reminded that these beaten hands of mine have wrought the greatest of fortunes and the greatest of miseries both than the memories of times gone by?


    But the past can also be an anchor, and a heavy one at that. Some men waste away the best years of their lives pining for the glory of a past far gone. You see,d, the past is only precious when there is a present and future topare it too. Keep the pendant, but do not halt its rot. When the timees, let it be dust, but before then, cherish it, and only then will you truly appreciate that which you have let go."


    Li put his drink aside. "Then what about you? When are you letting go?"


    Old Thane smiled. "To be quite honest, I don''t know. Before you came, I thought I had let go, was ready to rot, aye. I had my regrets, not being able to honor Aine, but what could a blind old man do? But now, with you at my side,d? Why, I feel more life than ever! You''ve already honored Aine''s memory, and yet I wish to live more and more to see just how far you can take this."


    "How far I can take this, huh?" Li smiled. "I mean, I''ve already gotten my herbalist''s license. Just need to get it delivered, but that''lle here tomorrow. We''re on step one of a long and grand journey ahead, old man."


    Old Thane nodded his head with delight. "And whatever years I have left in me, I''ll spend on seeing your efforts bloom like flowers in the spring. I''ve got plenty of years working in this body of mine, so you best be ready to put up with me, hah!"


    "Trust me, I''d be ashamed if I couldn''t keep up with you and your creaky old bones," said Li.


    They shared augh together before Li became serious. Old Thane sensed the mood shift and cocked his head.


    "Old man, this¡­contract of the grasses nonsense," said Li. "We''re not going to get it. ck Vine will, realistically, snatch it up, but I wanted to promise you that no matter what happens, I will not stop working. I will make sure that Aine''s legacy is respected. I will make sure that nothing gets in the way of this farm, even if it''s the crown itself."


    Old Thane chuckled. "Come now,d, I didn''t take you to take defeat lying down, eh? Why don''t we snatch this contract from those big pharmacy bastards?"


    He also put his drink aside. "I know what you''re thinking. How can you, as one man,pete with all of ck Vine? But I''ll tell you,d, it''s possible. I''ve seen it. When Aine was alive and her elixirs and herbs the talk of town, all the highest ranked adventurers, theds andssies with the coin and the clout, would scramble toe here. What do you think came to ck Vine? The dregs. The nobodies.


    I''ve no doubt that you''ve plenty ability to put these soulless curs under the dirt once more."


    Li nodded. "I mean, I guess it''s worth a shot. I''m just telling you if it doesn''t work out, that you shouldn''t worry."


    Old Thane nodded and pounded his chest with his fist. "That''s true, but my, to think ck Vine challenges us! Once they realize you''ve learned from the finest of Aine''s works, they''ll turn tail like mangy pups, they will."


    A sudden thump sounded outside the cottage. There was a solid weight behind it ¨C the weight of a human body.


    Li immediately stood up. "I''ll handle it."


    Outside, he found Zagan, fiery ck fur glistening under the moonlight. At his pawsy the corpse of a man, mangled and burned beyond recognition. In Zagan''s jaws a freshly torn jugr vein still beat with dying life, its slick redness starkly visible under the pale moonlight.


    Zagan swallowed the vein. "It would seem that even non-humans have been drawn to you, my master. This was a vampire, and one of lesser breed at that. Why he dared to ever approach your territory is beyond my reasoning, but when my jaws held at his throat and Imanded him the reason for his insolence, he imed to havee from the ck Vine, whatever filthy den of night creatures that is."


    "Thank you, Zagan. You''re always a help." Li looked towards Riviera, his fists balling. "They''ve sent a visitor to me, is that it? Well, I think it''s time I repaid the favor and gave them a visit."

 Chapter 28 - The Twins

    Riviera felt dead quiet.


    As Li walked the streets of the main square, he felt like was walking through a ghost town. The food carts had disappeared, and the shops had all closed. A few suspicious souls sauntered about, their heads covered in hoods as they shifted through the bare streets.


    Strange. Riviera had a bustling nightlife, what with how many university students it had. There were plenty of taverns open, with the higher end ones using enchanted signs that glowed alluringly in the dark. Many of these establishments also dabbled in the illegal, and it wasn''t umon for a tavern to supplement its ie with tax-free bor'' from its barmaids.


    Some food vendors took advantage of alcohol-fueled hunger to set up their stands at dark, making sure the sizzling of their greasy wares was audible to all that walked by. It wouldn''t have been surprising for Li, as he snaked through this and that path, to find a prostitute, or flower girls as this world called them, walking up to him, their hips swaying from side to side.


    And yet instead of the bustle of night, there was an eerie silence. The type of nightlife out tonight was not that of students and fun, but professional criminals and business.


    That was why Li had a smile on, his face uncovered by hood and out for the world to see. He would be easily recognizable, and sooner orter, someone would lead him to ck Vine. He had ensured that Old Thane was safe, putting both Zagan and the myrmeke in charge of the farm''s defense.


    Zagan was level 80. There would be precious little in this world that could challenge him: he seemed to be on one of the highest totems of power here, a being of legend that would require an entire army to stop. Li did worry that there might be existences out there that matched his own power, but he seriously doubted it.


    There might be beings that were level 100. The four gods that this world worshipped came directly from Elden World and were all level 100, after all. But not all level 100s were made equal.


    Elden World was unique among MMORPGs in that it possessed a New Game+ system. Once finishing the main campaign, a yer could restart it all with much higher difficulty while maintaining the same levels, skills, spells, and items. Each new game cycle unlocked additional content to the campaign and even unlocked mechanics such as the highest tier of spells and items on top of unlocking the stat cap.


    It could easily be said that a yer at New Game +7, the maximum amount of times to rey the campaign before there were no new bonuses to benefit from, was a level 100 among level 100s. A concept like New Game+ simply just didn''t fit with this reality. There was no way to restart a game when the game was real life.


    And logically, judging by how beings like Zagan reacted to Li, he knew that he was at the absolute pinnacle of this world. Now, there was a question as to whether there was another yer such as himself here, for after all, if he could be summoned, what stopped another of his kind from being here?


    But a being of his power, unless they actively tried to remain unnoticed as he did, would have made powerful ripples across this world. And if that hypothetical yer tried to be as incognito as Li, then there was little chance he or she would confront him.


    That was why Li could wander around with absolute confidence, waiting for a ck Vine goon to ost him.


    And as Li came by towards the alleyway that he had ughtered the four thugs at, he found what he looked for. Two hooded men. They were kneeling at the alleyway, their heads turned down in concentration.


    Li pped. "Hey, looking for your pals?"


    The two men looked up. Their eyes were blood red, glowing in the night with a luster not quite as fiery as Zagan''s, but glossier, more organic.


    Vampires.


    "The foreigner, yes?" said the vampires in unison as they stood up warily, their muscles tensed for conflict.


    "I didn''t know vampires were nearsighed," said Li. "Yes, I''m a foreigner, as you can obviously tell, and most likely, I am ''the'' foreigner. Now take me to your boss."


    The vampires moved in a sh to Li''s sides, nking him. A trail of shadowy mist followed them and their fangs extended as they bared cruel smiles to Li.


    "Come with us. No sudden movements, or else you die."


    Li shrugged. "Sure, now let''s stop the chit chat and start on the walking."


    The vampires led Li towards the docks. Here, the smell of briny sea salt hung heavy in the air. The darkened silhouettes of caravels swayed as the water rocked them. In the distance, Lord Lys''s galleon, the Azure Dove, loomed, dwarfing the small ships that dotted around it like puppies to their mother.


    Li soon found himself in front of a pharmacy. It was a three-story building of white brick, built with a geometric precision that homegrown shops such as Li''s would never quite have. Embedded in its great oaken double doors were the words ''ck Vine'', a rune of sealing glowing with avender strength right underneath, as if underlining the words.


    One of the vampires ced a ghostly white hand on the rune. Thevender glow faded, the rune deactivating as it be nothing more than a fancy symbol. The vampire opened the heavy door with a quick and easy thrust of his arm. Hisrade pushed Li from behind, beckoning him to go inside.


    "Easy now, you shouldn''t be in such a rush to die," said Li as he came inside the building.


    The vampires chuckled. "You''re a funny one, foreigner."


    "Strange, because that wasn''t a joke." Li carried on, his nightvision scanning his surroundings.


    The first floor was a reception area modeled much like that of the city hall''s, except much smaller in scale. People woulde here for their prescriptions of tell of their problems, and then a clerk would arrange a meeting with an herbalist or give them their medication.


    But of course, the floor was barren. The reception counter waspletely empty and bars of crackling magical energy sealed it off from the outside, preventing intruders from stealing the herbs and elixirs within. The only strong thing in there was the smell of disinfectant and herbs, their sterile stench lingering on every surface.


    The vampires closed the door behind Li and the rune clicked into action oncemore.


    "You ever heard of the Ripper Twins?" said the vampires. One of them stood in front of Li, arms crossed. The other had his back pressed to the door, blocking it off.


    "Sorry, but the news bores me." Li went to a bench and took a seat, crossing one leg over the other as he leaned back. "I''m guessing that''s your, uh, ''street name?''"?


    "Some say the Ripper Twins are demons, wing out the wombs from ill-fated wenches," the vampires continued in unison, ignoring Li, obviously eager to get their backstories out. "None know when they strike, but all know that upon every full moon, the gutters flow with the lifeblood of the innocent."


    "Oh, I get it," said Li as he nodded. "That''s why the city was so quiet. Because you goons were crawling around and disturbing the peace."


    The vampires drew closer. Their arms were out to their sides and their fingers were shifting, elongating as they became bonier and the fingernails extended into ws.


    Li nodded. "I thought I said to lead me to your boss. Did you n on just executing me here?"


    "You are not worth his time."


    Li uncrossed his legs and leaned forwards. He put his fingers together, as if he was in deep thought. "Both of you are immortal creatures. You have an eternity to appreciate. So I was thinking ¨C why waste it here? I''ll give you one, and only one, offer. Lead me to your boss, and hopefully you''ll still have an eternity to enjoy."


    The vampires started on a raucousugh, their wed hands over their bellies, and Li joined them. In a split second midugh, they swung their ws, aiming to sever Li''s head from his neck.


    The vampires stood back as theirughs faded and their smiles disappeared.


    Li stood up as the shattered remnants of ws scattered around his feet. He cracked his neck. He thought he felt something, but he wasn''t really sure. "I''m disappointed. Here I thought immortality opened up one''s perspective."

 Chapter 29 - Spawn

    "You''re not human, are you? No vampire, either." said the vampires as they stopped their nking maneuver and gathered together, side-by-side, understanding that they were in for a serious fight. They stiffened their lips and narrowed their crimson gazes. Their fanged teeth bared in snarls as their broken ws regenerated, filling out into their dagger-length glory oncemore. "This city is vampire territory. You are not wee here."


    "If you knew what I was, you would be giving me all the wee that I deserve," said Li. He rolled up his sleeves. "But in a way, it''s good that I''m wearing my human face for this. Instead of having you bber in terror at my true form, it''s better to teach you to fear me from the ground up."


    "You kill us, and you invoke the wrath of rie," said the vampiric duo. They did not recklessly attack anymore. Li''s human form prevented much of his power from being detectable, but even so, they understood that they weren''t here to ughter some helpless flesh and blood man anymore. Their cockiness had faded away and been reced with a tense wariness.


    "Who is that? Your boss?" Li stepped forwards.


    "Our Elder. One of Higher kin, one that you will not match."


    Li stopped and looked the vampires up and down. Aside from pale skin and the red eyes, they lookedpletely human. Also, they maintained a humanoid figure even while rearing to fight, indicating control over their bodies.


    These weren''t Lamashu, lesser vampires that were basically just blood-sucking beasts, monstrous in appearance, ruled by base instinct, and terrified of the light. These were Izcacu, a more evolved and higher-level variant of vampire, capable of shapeshifting to a human form to withstand light and think rationally.


    Li remembered that Lamashu ranged from levels 10 through 40. Beyond that, they evolved into Izcacu, making these vampires at least in that level range. Rather high for the standards of this world. Each of them could likely ughter an entirepany of knights with ease.


    And they had mentioned their boss was of higher kin.


    Li nodded. Around level 70 or so then, but not at 80, as higher vampires became hierarchs at that point.


    "Your boss is a higher vampire, is he? And he owns ck Vine? I thought vampires thought humans as food. When did they start getting into business?"


    The vampires exined, now more willing to talk. They still had a tenseness to them, a coiled energy about their muscles that was ready to explode intobat the moment the situation turned aggressive, but before then, they were intelligent enough to want to de-escte.


    "We vampires enjoy human society. Their blood is fine, purer than beastman filth and with more substance than watered down elven dregs. But to rampage about and draw attention is to court doom, for though we are powerful, we are still few, and the humans are many. That is why we assimte in their society. You should understand this, for you too walk among the humans in their skin."


    "Unlike you two, I''m not hiding because I''m afraid, but enough with that. You''ll lead me to your boss now."


    The vampires looked at each other, unsure of what to do. Eventually, they nodded and said to Li, "We cannot do that. We can submit to the Elder that you wish audience, and he will send for you when he feels the time is right."


    Li shook his head and smiled. "I wasn''t asking."


    The vampires stiffened. The air in the rune-sealed pharmacy had be incredibly tense to the point that even the slightest movement or sound became amplified a hundred-fold.


    "I gave you two the chance before. I had thought about it quite a while, and honestly, I thought I was being generous, letting you two live your immortal lives out in exchange for leading me to your boss, but what did you do? Attack me."


    Lizily pointed an open palm towards one of the vampires. He cast [Blood Root]. The crimson, stake-shaped root burst from his palm like a missile, piercing through the vampire''s heart. The vampire stared wide-eyed at the root embedded in his chest and his pale hands grasped the root, trying to tear it out.


    "Wow, so looks like vampires don''t need hearts to live," said Li.


    The other vampire lunged forwards; his arms crossed in front of him. When he neared Li, he uncrossed his arms in a shing maneuver, his arms glowing a beating red as he empowered himself with [Blood Rush], a vampiric skill to massively enhance physical stats temporarily.


    Li raised his free hand and allowed his passive [Bramble Vest] to activate. A barrier of swirling leaves, roots, and thorns emerged around him. The vampire''s ws struck the barrier and immediately shattered.


    The force of the blow rippled through the barrier, and the wall of roots absorbed it hungrily before immediately growing giant thorns that spiked outwards like a hedgehog puffing its spines out. They skewered through the vampire, shing his arms into ribbons while riddling his torso full of holes.


    The vampire cried out in agony before stepping backwards. Mists of blood started steaming from his open wounds, condensing back into flesh and healing the damage. Vampiric regeneration.


    "You," said Li, pointing to the vampire busy regenerating. "Stay put. [Root of Vulthoom]."


    The vampire breathed heavily as his vampiric powers struggled to repair the horrific damage wrought upon his body, and so he had no time to move as the floorboards beneath his feet broke apart. A bone-white root emerged with frenzied speed, stabbing through both the vampire''s ankles.


    The vampire screamed as roots began growing inside his legs, crawling up his skin, making their way even up to his face, bulging under his skin like countless exposed veins.


    Li grimaced as the vampire continued to scream wildly. It seemed that the spell, which in the game was nothing more than an incredibly powerful root, had be much, much more devastating. In Elden World lore, [Root of Vulthoom] was an appendage of an extraterrestrial Elder One whose roots would invade the very fabric of space and time itself.


    It was said that to be rooted by Vulthoom was to have one''s entire existence, down to every single cell, invaded with unspeakable pain and agony. Not even teleportation or time maniption could cleanse the root.


    "As for you," said Li to the other vampire as he tried to talk through the bothersome din of the rooted vampire''s screaming. "You have no use for me."


    The blood root began, rather ironically, draining the vampire of its blood. The vampire, feeling its lifeblood escaping its body, tried wing at the root, but could barely nick a scratch on the root even with the strength of his death throes.


    Vampiric regeneration was nothingpared to the continued DPS of the blood root''s absorption, and quickly enough, the vampire shriveled up into a husk desated skin, his eyes shriveling into tiny slivers before popping out their sockets.


    Li retracted the blood root, and the vampire''s corpsended on the floor without much sound, having lost its mass.


    Li came up to the rooted vampire and put a hand on his shoulder. "It''s such a sad thing to kill an immortal," he said, knowing that the vampire could hear him even through his involuntary screams. "But find sce in knowing that your death will serve one far higher than you."


    Li took his other hand and raised it under the vampire''s eyes. Li''s hand was slightly curled, as if he was cupping something. The vampire, unable to move his body, only managed to have his red pupils shift down.


    "[Spawn of Ach-Nacha]" said Li. A small rift in space sheared open on Li''s hand. The tear, a small void of starry ckness, deposited one translucent egg into Li''s hand before closing up. The egg looked as beautiful and brilliant as a pearl.


    Li squeezed the vampire''s shoulder onest time before he jammed the hand with the egg into the vampire''s stomach. The vampire''s eyes widened, but all he could manage was to scream as he had before. In fact,pared to the pain from the [Root of Vulthoom], this was probably nothing.


    Li stepped back, eager to see how this spell would be like in the real world.


    Despite feeling a sense of minor light-headedness from casting three A-ranked spells consecutively, he could still feel his eldritch Druidry coursing through his being, nourishing him. He could feel powers that were not meant to be, powers unbound by thews of nature, of power heralding from existences that roamed the primordial and ever terrible dark of the universe, flowing through his veins.


    It was an intoxicating feeling. It wasn''t so much being drunk on power, but rather feeling a sense of belonging.


    The vampire''s eyes rolled into his head as the egg hatched in his stomach. ck tendrils erupted from his belly,tching onto the rest of his body and absorbing life force like breathing tubes, directing it all into the precious infant growing in the vampire.


    Li snapped his fingers, cancelling the [Root of Vulthoom]. The vampire did not fall, instead standing haphazardly, as if drunk, his legs quivering like mad. Something was moving in his body, eager to get out, and his body contorted every which way, his spine snapping as his back folded in half. His arms splintered, curling like ribbons.


    Only his face remained unmarred, merely twisting into an expression of endless, open-mouthed fear.


    Eventually, the vampire''s body exploded, revealing a rust-colored arachnid body the size of a bull. Eight segmented legs curled out to bnce the body up. The legs were still shaking, still newborn, their hairs still glistening with eldritch amniotic fluid.


    The vampire''s face remained intact, stitched haphazardly where the spider''s head should be. The skin was stretched out, distorting the vampire''s expression, but it was still clearly one of abject terror.


    Li wiped vampire bits from his face and patted down his stained hands on his trousers.


    "Come, little one," he said. The eldritch spawn crawled towards Li, now more in control of its body. Li felt the same pride in the spawn as a father would at his child''s first steps. "You''re still keeping him alive, aren''t you?"


    In response, the spawn cooed. The sound came from the arachnid abdomen, not the vampire''s face. That was where, hopefully, if this spell followed the lore, the vampire''s mind still was, slowly being eaten away by the parasitic spawn.


    "Help¡­me." The vampire''s mouth, stretched apart as it was, moved.


    "My, you''re awfully selfish, aren''t you, asking for help." Li shook his head, as if admonishing a child. After all, this was a child, an errant immortal that had acted far out of line. This was now his duly deserved punishment. "You''re supposed to be helping me. Now take me to your boss."


    "Yes," said the vampire weakly, the parasitic spawn hijacking his mind and memories.


    Li followed as the spawn scuttled about, leaving the pharmacy in a mess as it broke apart the floorboards, bulldozed through the runic protections sealing off the counter, and went further into the pharmacy, smashing apart several shelves and jars of materials.


    Eventually, it stopped at the back of the shop, where a trapdoory hidden under a decorative b of stone carvedmemorating the duchess''s rule. Clever. No average human would have the strength to move it, but any vampire could easily do it.


    Li grabbed the b and tossed it behind him. It sailed backwards, splintering wood as it mmed through a table. Beneath, a dark, square-shaped pit opened up. A rank and familiar stench filled the room.


    "The sewers?" said Li. "You vampires are living like rats. Quite sad to see, honestly."


    Li patted the spawn''s abdomen. "Come now, child, lead the way while you still have the vampire''s life to nurse you."


    The spawn rumbled in understanding before it gathered its legs together and crammed itself into the pit, squirming as it just barely squeezed through.

 Chapter 30 - The Count

    Li''s boots sloshed through the sewers. As far as sewage systems went, Riviera''s was quite advanced, consisting of a maze of sloping pathways engineered at specific angles so that when rainwater and muck fell in through the gutters, they created a current that washed away the sewage to a massive treatment center at the lowest part of the city, wherein dedicated workers and the asional mage needing to fulfill hismunity service hours would purify the sewage or package it into fertilizer.


    Because there had been recent rain, the sewage hadn''t built up much, and as Li followed the spawn, the filthy water only reached up to his ankles.


    The spawn took up a leisurely pace, its eight legs clicking across stone as it asionally turned back to Li, making sure he was fine.


    "Don''t worry about me, little one," said Li. "Go ahead as you like, and do not be afraid. You can take care of yourself."


    The spawn nodded the vampire''s face it had stolen, and it rushed forwards, ploughing up sshes of brown water as it faded into the recesses of the sewers.


    Li followed behind at a more leisurely pace. Due to the spawn being a unique familiar in that it onlysted a temporary amount of time, it did not have restrictions on the range of its control as the Myrmeke did, allowing Li to track its movements regardless of how far away it went.


    So Li decided to allow the level 80 child of horror to explore for him.


    As Li turned several corners, making his way through the winding corridors of sewage, he found several freshly mangled corpses floating atop the scum water. The spawn''s victims.


    Li inspected them. They were hunched-back creatures, a little smaller than a man andpletely pale and hairless. Their skin was wrinkled in deformity rather than age, and their eyes were a squinty red while their ears roughly pointed up. Their mouths weremprey-like, circr and lined with razor sharp teeth.


    Lamashu ¨C lesser vampires. Li appreciated the spawn in that it surgically eliminated these creatures, merely requiring a quick sh of its arachnid appendages to cleanly cleave them in two or disembowel them, their guts staining brown as they floated in the filthy sewage.


    Of more interesting note, the corpses had packs on them filled with elixirs and herbs bound in preservative bagging. But these weren''t for curing colds or giving a little kick of strength on the battlefield. These were for getting high.


    All these Lamashu were drug mules, moving ck Vine''s illegal products all throughout the entire city through the sewage system.


    As Li traveled further through the passageways and found dozens upon dozens of the Lamashu corpses, he realized that the scope of ck Vine''s operations was truly massive. It must have been supplying the entire city''s criminal underground and far more, likely making drugs in bulk to ship out to other towns, viges, and perhaps even other cardinal cities.


    Li eventually came upon the spawn again at an interesting junction in the sewers. The sewers were made of brick and concrete, but the spawn stood pointing eagerly with one of its legs to a gaping hole in one of the sewer walls, neatly circr and drilled straight through the concrete.


    The hole wasrge enough to four or five men, and it was located at the farthest eastern end of the sewers, right below the residential district for all the nobles of Riviera, the counts and barons that ruled directly under lord Lys.


    Li peered into the hole, and wherever it led, it led up. It was surprisingly clean, well-maintained and smelling sterile.


    The spawn rattled, its breath a littlebored.


    Li knelt down, and the spawn ttened itself on the ground, pressing the stitched vampire face to Li''s hand. Li took the face and tore it off, revealing an inky, starry ckness underneath, as if a part of the night sky had been cut off and transnted.


    "You should be wearing your own face when you return to your mother," said Li as he caressed the starred void, feeling an indescribable coldness that leeched into his hands like numbing poison. He knew that in lore, the spawn of Ach Nacha, once their mortal hosts provided no more nutrition, would fade away, their essences returning to a higher dimension where their mothery. "Your time is up. I''m sorry you had to spend it in the sewers."


    The spawn purred as it fell into thefort of Li''s hand. Li waited, stroking the spawn''s carapace as it slowly stiffened up, its physical shell starting to crack and dpose. Eventually, it broke apart entirely, scattering into countless particles of ck that faded into the air, as if never having existed in the first ce.


    Li gave the spawn an acknowledging nod for its help and made his way through the pit. Eventually, the pit started to angle drastically upwards, until at a certain point, it was a straight vertical climb. When he looked up, he could see thin glimmers of moonlight at the top, perhaps a little shy of thirty meters away.


    Here, it wasn''t so much a pit as it was a deep hole in the ground leading to the surface, and there were w marks scratched all across the length of the hole ¨C evidence of how the vampires came up and down.


    However, Li had a far simpler alternative. He angled himself properly and then jumped. He soared straight upwards. A little too far up, unfortunately, as he wasn''t too used to judging his strength, and he found himself a dozen meters beyond the hole, high up in the air where he could see all around him.


    He was right behind a massive mansion lit up entirely with torches andnterns. A thick garden surrounded him, and surrounding the garden were high walls, concealing the hole from the outside world.


    And right around the hole were ten figures d in ck armor, various weapons in their hands.


    Linded amid them, a shower of grass and leaves pushing up from his impact, and the armored men formed a ring around him, their armor nking as they lowered crimson-infused spears and swords towards him. He patted some grass off from his knees and dragged his boots across the ground, wiping off some muck.


    "Apologies for the smell," said Li. He scanned the ring of warriors around him. They were vampires, all of them, their pale faces and red eyes glowing in the dark, and their armor was the Bloodborn Set, forged with cursed obsidian and lined with bloodstone. A decent set ¨C solid for the midgame and meant for level 50s. "But I do have to say you vampires were the ones that insisted on crawling around in the sewage."


    "Stop this insanity!" rung a hoarse but powerful voice. The owner of the voice stepped forwards from the mansion. He was unnaturally tall, dressed in a slim-fitting ck doublet and silken red breeches. He was obviously a vampire, hisplexion pale and his eyes red as ever, but unlike the others, a third eye,pletely red like a pearl of blood,y on his forehead, the marker of a higher vampire who should be level 70.


    He had the refined features of a noble. Sharp jaw, sharp cheekbones, sharp nose, sharp eyes ¨C and a razor-sharp demeanor too, it seemed, from the precision of his steps and the strength of his stare.


    "We do not treat fellow higher beings like this," he said as he walked down the steps of his back porch. He gave Li a half bow from quite a distance away, evidently still wary of him. "I apologize for the rudeness my associates have put you through. It sullies the rie name, and as a count, I promise to treat you with the dignity you deserve."


    Li watched as the vampires around him moved away, their weapons withdrawing in synchronized, methodical and drilled precision.


    "Was your idea of sending a vampire to my farm also just a little bit of ''rudeness''?" said Li.


    Count rie shook his head, his fangs growing as displeasure made its presence known upon his face. "Not at all. He was but a messenger."


    "A messenger knocking at midnight, armed with a knife and in his vampiric form? That doesn''t sound suspicious to you?"


    "Yes, he was a messenger meant to threaten, but all he was to do was urge you to stray away from pursuing a herbalist''s license. He would not have attempted any bodily harm; the knife and vampiric appearance are all for intimidation''s sake. True violence - that is not our way."


    "Funny, because I recall four thugs trying to beat me away from a license, andter, two vampires that wanted to execute me for the same reason."


    rie sighed. "Ah, it is difficult working with human street criminals, you must understand. Sometimes, they give in to their baser instincts of violence and discrimination. And the twins? I had no choice to send them when you killed our messenger. Blood must be repaid with blood when ites to our kind, but you have more than shown you are not some mere human, and so let us say the dimensions of our contact have shifted rather drastically."


    Li took a step forward, and one of the knights raised his spear, thrusting it dangerously close to Li''s face.


    Li grabbed the spearhead and crushed it in his fist. He opened his hand and the crumbled remains of the cursed obsidian scattered in the wind.


    "I will say this only oncemore," said rie to the men. "Stand down."


    The vampire warriors nodded and withdrew even further. The one with the destroyed spear visibly shook in his armor.


    "The fact doesn''t change that you still invaded my home and threatened my livelihood." Li took another step forwards, and the ground seemed to rumble beneath him, quaking at his focused killing intent. "You will have to give me an incredibly good reason as to why I shouldn''t reduce you to so tiny a smear on the grass that you''ll never regenerate."


    rie trembled, but he still stood tall, maintaining hisposure. "Indeed, I supposed you would not be cated so easily, but I do wish to tell you that I can more than give you rpense for the inconvenience I have brought upon you. I possess information that would be of great use to you."


    "Such as?"


    "Firstly, I know that you are an Outworlder."

 Chapter 31 - History Lesson I

    Li took a moment to register what the count had said. He knew that he had been summoned into this world, but he had not particrly cared about the mechanics behind it. At first, he might have, wondering if there were others summoned like him, but it only took a day or two of hearing the history of the world from Old Thane to know that beings as powerful as him did not exist.


    But rie would have knowledge that would either confirm or debunk Li''s theorypletely, and for that alone, he figured it was worth hearing him out.


    "I''m an outworlder, but so what? Is that the only knowledge you have to offer me?" said Li.


    Count rie shook his head. "Not at all. Please, follow me. We should not speak out in the open."


    rie started to go back into his mansion, waving at his men to clear aside a path for Li. When Li followed, the vampire knights did not follow, instead standing in stalwart post outside.


    rie opened a sliding ss door aside, motioning for Li toe inside. He kept his head bowed in respect.


    Li acknowledged his deference and came in. When he looked around, he knew he was standing in an estate that spoke of the finest that Rivieran luxury could provide. He entered a living room that, from what he could tell, told him that rie preferred to show his wealth but not make it the forefront of his identity.


    There was a great firece burning, and above it, the reptilian skeleton of a wyvern stood pinned as a trophy. In front of this firece stood a massive oaken table dotted capped with polished silver and engraved with floral patterns. A table for mass gatherings, judging from its size. nking the table were two dozen chairs of wood so polished that it shone, their seats covered with plush red cushioning.


    When Li took steps in the house, his shabby boots, encrusted with sewage filth and mud, tracked dirt across lush velvet carpets tasseled with gold.


    When he breathed in, he could smell the fragrance of cedar wood ¨C a rare import from the western hintends ¨C andvender incense mixed together. The smell wasn''t overpowering, just light enough to gently carry through the spacious rooms of the mansion.


    But before Li could step further in, a maid made her way towards him and knelt down, her hands hovering over his boots.


    "Good sir, may I remove your boots? I will have them cleaned. In the meanwhile, you can take any pair of slippers from the rack beside you. They are of enchanted sheepskin and will fit to any size," said the maid.


    She looked at him with a warm professionalism, a controlled and weing smile upon her lips. Her hair was neatlybed back and wrapped in a bun, and when Li cast a nce over herplexion, he could tell she was entirely human.


    "No need," said Li.


    The maid paused for a second, unsure.


    "Don''t pressure him, ire," said rie. He beckoned her away. "We will be conducting a discussion in the study. Do be a dear and fetch some tea, would you? I feel that it will remind our guest of home."


    The maid stood up and bowed to Li before quickly shuffling away.


    "A human maid?"mented Li.


    rie nodded. "I like to grant opportunity where there is none. She, I saved from an orphanage. I like to say the life I give here under a roof of luxury is far better than what she would have eked out on the cold streets."


    Li walked beside rie as they traversed further into the mansion, leaving the living room and ending up in a lengthy hallway marked with portraits of men that looked simr to rie.


    "All are my past identities," said rie when he noticed Li ncing at the portraits. "It would be awfully strange of me to have lived over five centuries otherwise. Also, call me Alexei. It would be rude for you to address me by my ''family'' name."


    --


    "Thank you, dear," said Alexei as ire came in with a tray, two cups of tea releasing herbal steam into the air.


    Li and Alexei sat opposite of each other from a great study table, its four corners carved into the mouths of dragons. ire came by and ced the teacups on the table, her white gloved hands insting against the simmering heat of the tea.


    ire bowed oncemore before she left, closing thetticed double doors of the study behind her.


    Another firece, smaller than the one in the living room, lit up the study, casting a warm glow over Li and Alexei. They faced each other, both their expressions set and stern, as if they were heads of state ready to discuss the fate of kingdoms.


    "This room ispletely sealed from the outside world. Nothinges in, nothing goes out. Our words will be safe here." Alexei put his pale hands together and nodded. "Li, your name was? Is the tea agreeable enough for you?"


    Li took a sip of the tea. He recognized it as jasmine tea, and the taste, he had to admit, was rather good. Nice and herbal ¨C just the way he liked it. "It''s fine."


    Alexei sighed. "A relief. When the eastern kingdom of Xia still traded with us a hundred years ago, one of the first things they introduced was tea, and the drink has made such an impression on me that I find it indispensable to my daily life. It is an honor to find that I have followed the old recipes well enough that it agrees with a true easterner''s tastes."


    rie cocked his head. "Though, I suppose you are not truly an easterner, considering that you are not human."


    "You know what I am already. An Outworlder." Li slid his tea aside. rie didn''t know that he was once a human. He didn''t know any specifics about his summoning, just that he wasn''t from here. "Enough pleasantries. I hope you know that you are still walking an incredibly thin line here. Tell me what you know, and if it is useful to me, you might still live."


    Alexei nodded in understanding. "Very well, and I am correct in assuming that you were summoned, no?"


    "You''re right about that." Li leaned in a little closer, more interested now. "What are you going to tell me? That the people that summoned me need me now? If I recall, they did sound pretty desperate. You know them? If you do, why don''t you tell them I''m busy."


    Alexei shook his head and instead raised his hand. His hand, as white as a sheet, started to quiver, enveloping in a film of faintly flickering white. He started to sweat and breathe heavily, his thin chest almost seeming to cave in as he sucked in for air.


    The film of white condensed into a single point on Alexei''s palm before expanding a little into a blinding white portal. Exhaling, the vampire ced his palm t on the table and withdrew it. Smoke curled out from his hands, and the wood of the desk had been thoroughly burned.


    But at the center of a ring of scorched woody a bullet. A modern bullet.


    For the first time since he had arrived in this world, Li''s eyes widened in surprise. All of a sudden, the memories of home that had almost faded, of a world that rumbled with cars and television instead of horses and vendors, rose in his mind.


    "How did you do that?" said Li.


    Alexei took a moment to steady his breathing before he coughed into his hand. When he withdrew his hand, a spot of bright red blood bloomed on his pale skin.


    "Forgive me," he said as he withdrew a handkerchief from his doublet pocket and wiped his hand thoroughly. "That was Source magic. With it, I can open a channel into the Source, the space between all worlds, and draw from other worlds. However, I am afraid it takes a severe toll on my life force."


    Li had never heard of source magic in Elden World. He suppressed surprise and allowed Alexei to exin.


    "It is a mystical art that exceedingly few know of," said Alexei. "A closely guarded state secret of the Elves, for they have been the only ones to truly harness the source. It is why their civilization stands so much more advanced than ours. It is why they upy the head seat of the Republic, equaling even the dragons. I should say that they were the ones to summon you as well."


    Li asked the most pressing question. "And can they summon more like me?"


    Alexei shook his head and picked up the bullet. "I severely doubt it. You saw how much of my life I had to sacrifice merely to open a channel small enough to withdraw this little thing."


    He crushed the bullet in his hands until it became little more than ttened sheet metal, slivers of ck gunpowder crumbling on the desk.


    "And that is all I can do even as a higher vampire that has lived centuries. I shudder to think of what the Elves had to sacrifice to bring you to this world. If I had to quantify in terms of life, I should say it took the blood of millions to bring a being of your power here. In any case, they are in no position to ever try such a channeling again."


    Li took the crushed bullet casing and looked it over. It even had a serial number to it, though to where he could not tell.


    "Where did thise from?"


    Alexei shrugged. "I do not know. Source magic is fundamentally chaotic. After all, it is an attempt to reach out into the space between worlds, a vast flux of space so immense in scale that all I, an existence infinitely small inparison, can do, and the elves for that matter, are opening channels and hoping something of worthes from the other side.


    Where that channel leads is entirely random. Some days, I find myself with strange little critters. Other times, flora. Times like these, little objects. The elves, with their centuries of practice, are only able to widen the portal, allowingrger things toe. They can control for quality, but barely. All they know is that the more life they burn to create a channel, the more powerful the being or item they summon."


    "Interesting." Li flicked the bullet casing across the desk. He looked at Alexei and saw the vampire more at ease, feeling that he was supplying enough information to Li to keep himself alive. "Is it just the elves that can do this? Where did you learn it? Can I learn it?"


    "The elves were the first to understand the phenomena of source rifts and harness the power. They are the only ones with ess to the magic, and I can say that it took me over a century of masquerading in evellien society to even get a glimpse of their secrets." Alexei looked at Li. "As for you, I cannot say I know for sure. Evellien experiments would indicate that outworlders such as the duchy''s Heroes cannot ess the Source, but even so, there is no reason for you to learn this.


    Source magic is a dice roll of cosmically bad chances. When one opens a channel, a hundred-headed die is rolled, and ny-nine out of one hundred times, the result is absolutely useless. That one golden instance that one rolls correctly, it is something so insignificantly useful that it would have been better to simply spend the sacrificed life elsewhere.


    Often times, I do not even know if something is useful or not. I recall once a quaint little sphere of metal dropped upon my desk. It beeped with a red light before indiscriminately exploding and nearly burning down my entire study."


    "Wait a second." Li''s mind shed to Jeanne and her status as a hero. "You''re telling me that these ''heroes'' are outworlders?"


    "In a way. They are products of natural source rifts." Alexei sped his hands together, preparing for a long speech. "Tell me, Li, how much of this world''s history do you know?"


    "Enough." Li knew some from Old Thane''s tales, but he hadn''t thought it important enough to reallymit himself to learning. The farm was far more important, after all.


    "Hmm." Alexei tapped the table with his bony fingers. "Then I''ll start from the beginning. If you feel you already know what I speak of, then do not hesitate to cut me off.


    A little over a thousand years ago, there came the emergence of the four primal gods and the eight demons of the dark. You know of these entities, do you not?"


    "I do." Whenever Li saw murals dedicated to the four gods and their battle against the demons, he knew that they came straight from Elden World. In the game, there three primary stats: strength, agility, and insight. For each of the three stats there were three patron gods ¨C the main deities of the game.


    There was Chi You the Six-Armed for strength, Khonsu the Nightborn for agility, and Zahak the Eyed Serpent for insight. Then there were gods of light and darkness, two sides of the same deity called Helius and Noctus, that gave patronage to most of the faith-based magic in the game.


    And the eight demons of the dark were just the names for the first campaign''s main antagonists. A typical demon general and seven heralds that represented each of the sins of man. At higher cycles of new game+, they demoted to secondary antagonists, with final bosses bing beings such as rampaging eldritch deities, dragons that had lived since the creation of the world, and so on.


    Alexei raised a finger. "Those gods and demons are the result of natural source rifts. You see, this world seems to have an unique phenomenon wherein certain cosmic chances lock into ce that cause beings and influences from other worlds to manifest.


    A thousand years ago, it is said that the heavens lit up in glorious fire and the earths shattered open. Then the gods descended from the light and the demons crawled up from the dirt. In reality, it is simply likely that two natural source channels opened, one in the sky and one in the earth, and these natural channels are far, far more potent than any tinkering that intelligent beings are capable of manifesting.


    The gods and demons corrupted the world, introducing mutations for the manifestation of sses and attributes as well as the basis for all magic and skills that we know today.


    But even before them, there was likely a prehistoric rift that introduced all the mortal races of this world, the humans, the beastmen, the elves, and such. The immortal and magically attuned ones such as dragons and, of course, vampires like myself came with the gods and demons, manifesting from the very same rifts.


    The heroes are the result of yet another natural rift with the blood moon from half a century ago being its heralding catalyst. But instead of summoning beings, the moon instead infected certain human children with the capacity to develop powers independent of magic or skills. These powers seem toe from an entirely different world for they operate independently of our magic.


    They also seem to manifest certain traits unique to them. They naturally tend to call themselves heroes, and amon secondary ability that they share is the power to conjure tight-fitting armor they call costumes.


    Take, for example, Sunstar, the greatest hero of Soleil and the terror of the inhuman Republic. He possesses the strength to wrestle with giants, and yet he has no discernable strength or agility attribute to speak of. He can soar through the skies as well as any dragon and conjure up rays of scorching heat, and yet he has no magical aptitude to speak of.


    His attacks pass through all magical barriers and yet he cannot be healed by any magic. Ipatibilities between different worlds of powers, I should theorize."


    Li sunk back into his seat as the pieces fell together. These heroes weren''t just men and women that were called heroes for their acts of valor or power. No, they were literal heroes. Superheroes. Whatever world their powers came from was one of caped crusaders and masked viins.


    "Are these all the natural rifts you know of?" said Li.


    "All that are recorded among the Evellien arcane archives, yes," said Alexei. "The merging of mortal races, theing of gods and immortals, and then the blood moon of heroes. But where you stand is a most pressing issue."

 Chapter 32 - History Lesson II

    Li drummed his fingers on the desk as he nodded slowly at Alexei. "Where I stand? Why does that matter to you?"


    Alexei raised his hands in the air, as if signaling surrender. "I merely ask to divine your impact on this world. It is my firm belief that maniption of the source will either bring this world to a golden age or tear it asunder. You are a manifestation of that belief ¨C your power can either shatter the realms of men and monsters or unite them. If you are so inclined, I wish to know where you lean towards."


    Li narrowed his eyes. "And what if you don''t like my answer?"


    "I have risked my life countless times and spent centuries studying the source to unite this world to a greater future. The technology and opportunities that it provides can be truly tremendous. It could make it so that there no longer are orphans curled up on the streets, their stomachs empty and their hearts neglected. You can understand if I have reservations if you are bent on destroying this world, but I will not oppose you, for that would also mean myplete and utter destruction, and my life is better served for the greater good."


    "Those are awfully noble words for a drug dealer."


    "I cannot deny that, but nevertheless, it is the best way for me to gather my power and expand my influence for the time being. I do not miss the forest for the trees. When I n, my eyes see on the scale of centuries, not years. A little spilled blood now will lead to countless generations of peace in the future."


    "I see." Li took a good look at Alexei''s face. His red eyes zed with the fires of conviction. He had the markings of a natural born leader, firm in his beliefs, confident in his words, and sure of his goals. "Well, I''ll tell you right now I have no interest in these little squabbles of kingdoms. My farm is my only passion, and all my power lies invested in making it flourish."


    "Then you will not interfere with the workings of this world?" Alexei raised a brow. "With such power at your disposal?"


    Li shook his head. "Not worth my time. I''ve seen my fair share of war and pointless conflicts and power struggles between countries. It all turns into a ridiculous cycle of greed that ends up choking the skies and killing the forests. I only realize now how utterly ridiculous they were. No, I will have no part in it."


    Alexei shifted ufortably.


    "Something wrong with my answer?" said Li.


    "It is merely that I am worried." Alexei stood up and turned around, facing the back of his study where countless bookcases stared back at him, their innards packed with a medley of differently colored tomes. "The Elves called upon you with the sacrifice at a magnitude that I cannot even fathom. Those attuned with the Source understand when it has been called, and when I felt the shockwave of your summoning, I shuddered in fear, not only at the staggering amount of power you must possess, but because of the immediate question: why were you summoned?


    He paced back and forth, shaking his head slowly. "You said they sounded desperate. They summoned you tobat some disaster, some cmity of cosmic proportions that an ocean of blood was burned to draw you here."


    "You sure they didn''t summon me to try and use me to conquer Soleil?" said Li. "That sounds about petty enough for mortal races."


    "I cannot deny that is a possibility considering that the only reason the Republic cannot conquer Soleil is because of its defending Heroes ¨C an Outworld power -, and so it stands to reason that they should attempt to find an equally powerful Outworld power to match, but no.


    The cost was far too steep: I doubt that they can ever attempt to channel the Source again at any appreciable scale. Whatever it was they feared, they were willing to give up the foundation of their entire kingdom, the crowning jewel that granted them their steam engines and hulking machines of war, to preserve themselves."


    Li sighed. "Look, I''ll say this right now if it''ll ease answer your questions and worries. I will protect my farm no matter what it takes. If any disaster is big enough that it dares to threaten my livelihood, then I will use all my power to annihte it. I hope this is obvious, but that goes for you as well."


    Alexei nodded without a shred of hesitation. "Of course. And I am sorry to have levied my concerns upon you. As to the matter of my opposition, you shall find absolutely none. I understand that I havemitted grievous wrongs against you, sending a messenger with intent to threaten and the twins to harm you, and for that, I shall offer you all the support that I can offer.


    ck Vine shall withdraw from all daylight operations. We will fully support you in obtaining the duchess''s Contract of the Grasses. We will simply survive off underground distribution provided the duchess does not attempt to halt our operations once she has that little contract of hers.


    My investments are diversified and deep. From orphanages to bakeries ¨C my coin builds them up. My title as a count stands firm, granted for excellent service against the demons in the battle for light. Should you want for anything, any political pull or material need, then do not hesitate to contact me."


    "You''re sacrificing quite a lot here." Li saw that Alexei''s face remained stoic and firm, unyielding in his decision to essentially shut down his biggest business enterprise. "You strike me as intelligent. You know that the duchess will crackdown on you. That''s the whole point of this contract ¨C to get control. Honestly, it seems like it was either she got the contract with you to nicely ask you to stop the drugs or she gave it to someone else and finally got an excuse to gather up knights and forced you to stop."


    "We are both beings of longevity." Alexei smiled faintly. "Some lost coin matters little to mepared to preserving my life so that I may yet rally this world under one united banner. And I hope to make it clear that I owe you my life and all my respect."


    "You and I both know that you also want to curry favor with me so that when the dayes, you can ask me for my power."


    Alexei bowed his head. "I do not trulyprehend your full form, but from the visions I saw from my swarm, I know to ever fall from your grace is to court a fate worse than death. Of course, I cannot lie and say that if the timees, I should hope that you will use your power for this world, but that is only my hope: it is not my ce to ask of you anything."


    ---


    When Li returned to the cottage, he found himself with a sense of strange uneasiness. When he looked upon the framework of his new stall, humble in its wooden construction and build, and at the farm, still so small with but a few gardens to tend to, he could not help but wonder.


    Why did he not use more of his power? Why did he y with these mortals, pretending to go along with their rules? He had discussed with the adventurers about using seeds for offensively oriented elixirs to gain apetitive advantage over pharmacies such as ck Vine when the healingke was opened to the public, but now that he had used his powers, he had aplished everything he wished and more.


    Li shook his head. He knew why. The more he stepped towards the cottage, the more his thoughts became more lucid. He didn''t want to just make a ruckus for no reason. He wanted to grow the farm with his own two hands, not with the power of a game character.


    And yet, was that character now not him? Was that not now his nature?


    Li stopped in front of the cottage door. The firece was still crackling inside. Old Thane was up. Zagan emerged from the darkness and rubbed his head on Li''s hand.


    ''I trust you have taught these bloodsucking curs some respect, master?'' said Zagan.


    Li remembered the feeling of using his eldritch powers, how the more he used them, the more he felt they belonged to him, and if they belonged to him, why did he not use them as much as he did his hands? They were but natural extensions of him, after all, far more natural than the humanity he strangely clung onto, after all. Even now, he could feel the faint remnants of their call echoing through his head, through his veins, beckoning him to return to whence he belonged.


    "I did," said Li. "They will never raise their hand against me again."


    Li opened the cottage door and entered. Old Thane was waiting for him, still sitting upright on the table as if he had never left at all. It must have been more than two hours since Li had left, and the old man had kept himself awake all this time.


    He pitied the fragile thing. He half considered using [Methush], an Ultima-ss spell ¨C the highest tier ¨C to encase the aged man in a World Tree to deconstruct and resurrect the him into youthful perfection, perhaps into an existence more than mortal.


    Old Thane''s ears twitched, and his face immediately brightened into a smile. "Lad! Gods, I was worried something had happened. I went exploring outside and saw that the trusty hound you took in had killed off some thieving scoundrel."


    The aged thing rose up and shambled towards Li, his gait weighed down by exhaustion. He wrapped his arms around Li in a quick but tight hug. "It''s right wondrous to see you safe and well!" He withdrew from Li and patted his back. "You hungry, youngd? There''s another loaf waiting for you at the table."


    Li shuddered and shook his head. "Sure, old man, I could grab a bite about right now."


    He had forgotten that Old Thane did not wish for his health back. He would hate even more to have his youth back. He had lived a long life already and now merely wanted to face death with a human dignity. Li had forgotten that again, just as he had forgotten when Sylvie had questioned his power to heal the old man.


    Li suddenly felt a very human sense of shame as he took a seat by Old Thane. The old man reached out and grabbed a loaf, breaking it and taking a knife to try and spread some blueberry jam on it for Li.


    Li reached out and tapped the old man''s wrist. "It''s fine. I''ll do it."


    As Li slowly made waves with his knife, applying evenyers of dark blue jam, Old Thane said to him, "Sod, I don''t mean to pry, but you were gone quite the while. What happened?"

 Chapter 33 - Anchor

    Li exined to Old Thane the bare bones version of what had went down. He told him how the thieves were affiliated with ck Vine, but he omitted that they were a secret den of vampires wanting to usurp the kingdom. He didn''t tell him about the vast power he had used to subjugate the organization entirely. It felt pointless to burden him with more worries about things he would have never found out otherwise.


    "And the thugs? They won''t being back anymore. I''ve made sure they''ll never even think about setting foot near here," said Li. He stood up and began cleaning the table up. He put the loaf back into its basket ¨C it was still nearly whole, as Li only ate as a gesture of courtesy rather than need. He put the mugs and tes away into a washing bucket capped with a lid inscribed with a cleansing rune.


    Old Thane tugged at his beard. "Gods, to think ck Vine would stoop to such lows. I''d heard the rumors, but never did they dare to loosen such brazen thuggery upon Aine. I would not have allowed it, nor would any of the adventurers thankful for her life-saving brews."


    "Don''t waste your breath on them," said Li. "They''re done."


    Old Thane nodded his head and crossed his arms. "Aye, that''s good to hear that they won''t be hounding us. Say,d, how about we show them up even more? Your license ising tomorrow, no? Once that is here, you should show ck Vine how a real herbalist does his job. Would make them right ashamed to even sell their cheap wares."


    "Listen, do not speak more of ck Vine as if they are still some thorn at my side. There is no need to ever treat them as an equal. I will never have topete with their lowly ilk for I have decreed that they will never rear their pathetic heads ever again." As Li spoke, his voice rumbled, and his expression darkened. The cottage trembled just a little, as if shuddering at the clump of eldritch power it housed.


    "I have subjugated them entirely, making bloody examples of their brethren, instilling within them a fear that will never be forgotten, not even in centuries. Even now, they still weep tears of blood at the misery I have wrought upon them. Their leader I have taught well, for now he truly understands where he stands in this world: right under my heel. Though his dreams are lofty, I have etched unto his being that reality will always show him that he will always be beneath me."


    Old Thane stared at Li open-mouthed for a few seconds before he nodded slowly. "Aye¡­I was merely suggesting things,d. I understand, they are no longer a problem."


    "I''m sorry, I don''t know what came over me." said Li as he shook his head. He felt as if he was in a daze, lightheaded as if he had been pulled all of a sudden to the ground from a great altitude. When he looked at Old Thane, seeing both equal parts fear and concern etched into the old man''s wrinkles, he sobered uppletely from whatever leftover influences of his eldritch power there were.


    "Perhaps it is best we get some sleep," said Old Thane as he reached out and gave Li a pat on the back.


    Li opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, but in the end, he just ended up nodding with a quiet "yeah."


    ---


    The next day proceeded as usual. Li and Old Thane got up at dawn and weeded the fields and began pruning the herb and berry gardens. Old Thane was back at his chatty mood, this time regaling Li with the ups and downs of a tale revolving around masquerading as a pit fighter to bust a criminal overlord.


    It was as if nothing had happened, and Li still smiled andughed and threw out the asional sarcastic but bantering barb at the old man, and yet today, it felt as if the exchanges were just that much hollower.


    When Old Thane went back in the cottage right as first light broke and Charles and his building crew came by, Li stood at the main road, watching the building crew work on the stall and the extensions to the gardens. He decided to himself that he wouldy off the eldritch spells. He would stick with regr Druidry if he could as it was jarring to find how quickly and significantly the eldritch powers impacted him.


    ''Is something troubling you, master?''municated Zagan. He sat by Li, staring straight ahead as Remy and Rosa hugged him from each side.


    Charles had brought his children to work today as they had insisted on wanting to see Zagan, probably to alleviate their grief over losing their own caninepanion.


    ''It''s been a little jarring, feeling the effects of using my higher-order spells. It almost feels like I''m a stranger in my own body,'' said Li. He looked as the children tugged at Zagan''s fur. The demon did not nce at them or pay attention to them at all, instead just sitting stiff and straight. "And you? How are you holding up under all this harassment?''


    ''Fine. The children respect my boundaries. They do not tell me to sit or roll over or perform any other inane trick, and so I tolerate their y.'' Zagan closed his eyes. ''Master, it is truly a matter of perspective. Should you embrace your higher existence, then it will be that your humanity will be the foreign presence.''


    Li nodded. ''Right, but I didn''t expect things to move so quickly. I''ve anchored my humanity on Old Thane, right? Then he''s thest person I should be feeling these changes around, and yet I still do.''


    ''A testament more to the strength of your humanity than its weakness. Family defined your humanity, and the old human symbolizes family ¨C there could have been no better anchor. Understand, master, that when you channel the full might of your Elder being, you are calling upon forces so primordial and massive in scale that your humanity may as well be a grain of sand in a vast desert to them. That your anchor still works so well is an impressive feat.''


    Li sighed. He epted that he was going to lose his humanity, but he didn''t want to cast if off before Old Thane passed. At the least, he wanted to give the old man a familiar, humanpassion and respect to send him off when the time came. Were he to be whatever it was he was bing, then the best he could do would be to fake such emotions, and he didn''t want that.


    The old man deserved better. Far better.


    Zagan''s ears perked up and he stood on his paws, gently shaking the children off. They, sensing that Zagan wanted space, shrunk back, watching the demon with quizzical eyes. He stared across the main road, towards an iing figure.


    ''Master, shall I deal with that?''


    Li cocked his head. He knew who wasing and had a good reason why, but still, it was a little odd. ''No, not at all. I guess I''ve been expecting her?''


    The proctor from the herbalist''s exam was running up the main road, her dirt brown robes trailing behind her and gathering up dust. She waved her arm in the air, her hand clutching at a tightly wound scroll. Probably Li''s license, but why had she taken the trouble to hand deliver it? She could have just used the Roc delivery service. Crown employees could use it free of charge for official business, after all.


    "Whew," she huffed when she arrived in front of Li. She brushed amber locks out of her eyes and took in several deep breaths until she regained herposure. She looked at Li with surprising energy in her face ¨C a marked contrastpared to the day of the test when it seemed nothing would keep her from her sleep. But no amount of energy would ever wipe away the dark bags under her eyes, and even with her impressive sprinting disy, she still looked as if at any moment, a strong breeze would be enough to knock her down.


    "Under the light of Soleil, I hereby officially grant you¡­bah, to hells with formality."


    Then, all of a sudden, she bowed so deeply that she almost bent at ny degrees at her waist. Her arm extended forwards, holding the scroll out. "Here is your license, and I beg of you, now that I know for certain that you are one of thest great forest spirits, hear my request. I have nowhere to turn to - my woods and my guardian spirit have long been razed to the ground ¨C so though I may be but a lowly treant, please find it within your heart to take me in as your apprentice and one of your roots."

 Chapter 34 - Counsel

    Li took a quick look behind him. The builders were busy at their work, the handymens'' hammers banging away and the runesmiths'' picks carving the right runes. Sighing in relief, he turned to the proctor now reveled all too suddenly as treant and grabbed her shoulder. He walked her aside, away from the builders.


    Zagan stayed where he was and sat down but kept a close eye on Li, his telepathy still in range. The children, seeing the demon sit down again, feltfortable enough to approach and ran their little chubby hands up and down his coat of matted ck hair.


    "Are you insane?" whispered Li to the treant. "Saying you''re not human right in the open? Do you understand the risk that puts this farm in?"


    "That is my mistake, yes, but I cannot control my excitement. Not in decades have I felt such hope," the treant said, her hazel brown eyes practically twinkling. She grabbed Li''s arm with trembling and oddly cold hands. "To know that there is still a living forest guardian is truly a blessing. I feared this world was once lost to the old ways, but you are a shining sun amidst the dark. I, Iona, former root of the incendic woonds, will serve you with all my being."


    Li let go of Iona, and she almost looked like a lost puppy with how her hands still stayed in the air, still grasping where his arm used to be.


    "Look, who said I needed any help?" said Li. "I can manage this farm perfectly by myself. And how did you not know what I was the first time I met you? All the other spirits I''ve met have noticed immediately."


    "I-I''m terribly sorry if I offended you by not recognizing." Iona rolled up on sleeve of her robes, revealing an almost bone-thin arm. "It has been so long since I have been properly rooted to a guardian, and so my spirithood has worn thin. I am afraid that my senses have dulled as well ¨C it is only when I witnessed you destroy those ck Vine heretics that I truly understood the scope of your being."


    "Wait, you were following me?"


    "From a distance, yes, I was worried about you. At first, I thought you a young talent soon to be put under ck Vine''s culling, but to think that it was you who culled them. I have worked long to battle their heretical defilement of the forest''s bounty, and now I see that they have stopped all their distasteful underground activities ¨C you are truly a guardian spirit worth following."


    Li raised a hand to calm Iona down. "Let''s not get ahead of ourselves here. Look, I understand that you want a ce to call home, but this ce is packed already. Plus, I really don''t need an assistant."


    Iona wrung her hands together as she pursed her lips and tried to think of something. "I can be useful; I truly can be!"


    Somehow, despite how emotional she was, her eyes still managed to maintain a deadpan stare. The dark bags underlining them didn''t help at all, making her seem even more cold. Yet her lip quivered and her hands shook as she waited for Li''s answer. Whether this was due to ack of energy or her regr expression was a question left in the air.


    "Okay," sighed Li. "How?"


    "All of this-" Iona cast her hand across, motioning towards the cottage, the farm, and all the building work in progress. "It is all just a front to hide your being, no? I know it - you must be a guardian spirit that has lost his domain and divinity, maybe from the demon invasion thirty years ago?"


    "No, not at all. I am not some kind of divine outcast hiding out in the boonies. And this farm isn''t just-"


    "Regardless," continued Iona excitedly. "I can assist you with things much greater and more important than this simple farm. There is no reason one as great as yourself should stay shackled here. I can aid in restoring your divinity and your connection with the wilds and return you to your rightful ce as lord over the green. The Winterwoods nearby has long missed a guardian ¨C perhaps you can even be its heart."


    "No." Li narrowed his eyes, and Iona shrunk back like a cowering mouse. "I''m not in the mood to talk about divinity and godhood or higher existences. I''ve had enough of that for a while. All I am is someone who wants to tend to my farm, which, mind you, is very much more than just a simple front, and it looks like you have nothing to offer me in that regard, so goodbye."


    Iona stood frozen, her mouth agape as if she wanted to say something but couldn''t. Li turned back to the cottage and as he made his way to the door, Zagan followed him.


    ''Master, I shall say now that the treant is correct to a degree,'' the demon said telepathically. ''You may be an honored Elder One, but I wish to remind you that is because you have ascended from being a forest spirit. However, since you are essentially a human that has been suddenly transnted into the being of an Elder One, you have not learned what it means to be either Elder One or forest spirit.''


    Li shrugged. ''I''ll deal with that after the old man''s passing.''


    Zagan nodded. ''Understood, master. Yet I shall still give you my counsel, for it is my duty: I believe it prudent to still have a being that can tend to the forest spirit side of your being. You are able to use spells, but certain powers you should possess, powers intrinsic to your being, you do not have, for your mortal mind does not think you have them and therefore has never trained them. As a humble example, should you attune yourself more with your forest spirithood, then you would know how to sense that this treant is more than human. Perhaps even further, you may be able to learn how to cause life to flower with just a thought. I am sure that will also aid in your cultivation of this farm.''


    ''Okay, let''s say I carve up another chunk of my humanity and start making things grow like crazy. Then how do I exin that everything''s starting to grow all of a sudden to Old Thane? in old magic?''


    ''A possibility. He is blind, after all - it should not take much to convince him of things. And it is my opinion he will have toe to terms with your true existence someday as well.''


    Li sighed as he opened the cottage door. ''No, not a possibility. All he knows right now is that I''m a powerful warrior. Maybe attuned with some magic that makes me say some strange things now and then, but still human. The moment he knows I''m something far, far more is the day he stops treating me as family and more a deity, and I want him to be around family during his final moments.''


    Zagan bowed his head as Li entered. ''I respect all your decisions, my master. I merely provide counsel.''


    ''I appreciate that.'' Li stood with the door open, looking at the floorboards. ''Look, let''s talk about this more when I''m thinking clearer. The past night has given me a little bit of a bad taste for all this talk about higher existences, and I think I just need to let that bitter taste pass.''

 Chapter 35 - Waiting

    The rest of the day went by like clockwork.


    Li and Old Thane worked the fields and gardens while the builders made progress on the stall. What did change was that there was a certain somebody standing around at the edge of the main road, in front of the cottage, not budging.


    Iona stood there as still as a statue, her eyes downcast.


    Li sighed and paid no mind. The less attention he gave her, the sooner it was that she was going to leave.


    But by nightfall, when the builders had packed up and Charles''s children had given theirst goodbye hugs to Zagan, Iona still stood there. Li waved the builders goodbye, thanking them for a day of honest hard work, but he ignored Iona, not making any eye contact with her.


    The builders, as they rode on their horses past Iona, took a quizzical look at her, but when they looked back to Li, he shook his head, and they moved on without question.


    Li went back to the cottage where Old Thane was readying the dinner table, getting out their staple diet of bread, berries, and leftover meats that Triple Threat had gifted. Two wooden tes on the table apanied by a pitcher of cold water. The fresh smell of wild berry jam wafted through the air, far more intense and less sweet than the artificially produced gunk of Li''s home world.


    Li got the firece started, taking out their firebrand, a circr little piece of silver inscribed with a rune that he recognized as the lowest variant of Ignis. In Elden World, weapons and armor had runeslots where runes could be ced to grant various buffs or even store spell effects, and here, this firebrand acted as a lighter, allowing it to cast one small weak fire spell that recharged every day.


    Apparently, back in the day, the people of this world had to use firesteels and flint to get their fires started, but as they learned to live with Elden World magic and became more used to it, they found they could shape it to their needs much better.


    Li knelt by the firece where piles of charred logs stood piled up. He shed the firebrand towards it and tapped the silver twice. The rune sparked and a tiny stream of me, much like a blowtorch, sputtered out, igniting the wood.


    "Fire''s up," said Li as he came around to the dinner table.


    Old Thane sat down, the wooden chair creaking under his weight as he looked expectantly at Li. "Say,d, do you think thess by the road would appreciate the fire?"


    Li shrugged. "I have my doubts that a little cold would really do anything to her." He sat down at the table and took in the smell of natural berries. He might not have enjoyed any of the food, but the scent of nature''s giftspletely unaffected by pesticides or engineering he would never get tired of. "Besides, old man, what does it matter to you?"


    "Nothing much to me,d, but thess has been out all day and now night." Old Thane cracked a slight smile. "Say, you haven''t been out breaking hearts, have you? The only times I know that young maidens will let their dresses wrinkle in the wind is when their hearts are yed with."


    Li straightened his back and craned his neck to see out the window. As expected, Iona still stood at the main road. "Okay, this isn''t that, I guarantee you. If I had to put a word on this, it would be more like¡­obsession. She''ll run along sometime."


    "But you know,d, obsession is quite the force. I should know, when my muscles were spry and my bones sturdy as iron, I was quite a strapping man myself. It was a terrible ordeal having to pry off doe-eyedssies here and there from vige to city."


    Li rolled his eyes. "I wonder what Aine would say if she heard this."


    Old Thane chuckled. "She would respect my iron will! For I have never betrayed her. She was my first and only me, and no others have ever strayed me from her." He sighed and shook his head to clear his memories away. "But to my point,d, obsession or not, it would be unlike a properd to leave her out like this."


    Li shifted in his seat a little. He had to acknowledge that he was treating her a little harshly here, not


    even really hearing her out. He hadshed out at her mostly because she had dared to suggest his farm was a front, something fake, something not real. But it wasn''t as if he could have expected her to know that.


    At the same time, he really didn''t have much of a use for her and exining who she was and what she would do to Old Thane would require quite a bit of imaginative storytelling.


    "I''ll give her another hour or two. I''m sure she''ll see reason and leave by then."


    After an hour, rain started to fall. By this time, Li and Old Thane had finished their meal. As Li cleared the tes and put back the foodstuffs, he nced out the window. Iona was still there in the exact same spot, showers of rain crashing upon her. Her hair hung low, matted together with water dribbling down its length. Her robes, drenched with water, became even darker than usual, drooping heavily towards the ground.


    Her figure, normally hidden under the loose robes, became more visible, and she really did seem to be wasting away. Just like her arms, the rest of her body was gauntly thin.


    "Okay, this is ridiculous," said Li.


    "Is she still out there?" said Old Thane, this time with more concern. He was seated by the firece, his brawny hands massaging his leg. "I hear the rain falling something fierce. You ought to get her to see reason or give her some shelter soon, youngd."


    Several knocks rung on the door.


    Li sealed the pantry shut, making sure the preservation rune glowed properly before he went to the door. Upon opening it, he found a knight standing there, his helmed turned up to reveal a round, moustached, and decidedly tired face.


    "What is it?" said Li. He looked at the knight and figured it probably felt awful to move around in heavy rain in so much heavy armor and leather underneath.


    The knight gave Li a surprised stare ¨C the same kind of stare that almost everyone in Riviera gave him for being a foreigner ¨C before blinking and regaining a professional, aloof look. He pointed a gauntleted finger down to Iona. "Some disagreements with the wife, perchance? Or, the way I see it, a ve you brought with you? I have to say, foreigner, very is forbidden under the great light of Soleil."


    Li palmed his face before shaking his head. "No, nothing like that. I''ll handle this. This is nothing important, so you''re better of spending your time finishing your patrol and getting back to a warm and dry bed."


    The knight stepped aside as Li went out. He didn''t care much about the rain except for the fact that he had to dry his clothester. The cold didn''t affect him at all. He came up to Iona and put a hand to her shoulder.


    "Look, I appreciate that you''re showing this much dedication."


    Iona''s face brightened up immensely, a sunny aura emanating from her skin, lighting up the darkness for a fraction of a second before it dimmed as she contained her powers.


    "But you''re causing me a lot of trouble," continued Li. He pointed to the knight.


    "Shall I kill him, then?" said Iona.


    "What?" Li gave her a confused nce, and she seemed ready, her fingers syed outwards, green tendrils of light beginning to curl around them. "No, no. I thought you learned to live with humans. You do that, and more and more knightse, and then I''ll have a lot to answer for."


    "I have learned to live among men, yes, but seeing you has surfaced back memories of my old ways." Iona cocked her head. "And I do not mean to offend, O great forest spirit, but they are merely humans, wasteful of the earth and its blessings. You can blow them all away. A few sacks of bone and blood under ayer of tin are nothing to you."


    "Sure, I can beat all the knights down to a pulp, maybe even level the city, but for what? All I want to do is farm, not y kingdom simtor."


    "All you wish to do is¡­farm? Surely by farming, you mean to cultivate the life around you, raise the forests to their heights before demons and men corrupted them? Topple kingdoms and let the green take over?"


    "No. By farming, I mean farming. It''s that simple. If you can''t ept that-"


    "No, no!" Iona grasped at Li''s arm again. "I can ept it. I do not mean to question your will. I will follow you no matter what you do, do anything you will of me, so long as you take me as your root, whether that is tending to a farm or living amongst mortals."


    Li looked at her face, at her open-mouthed desperation, the cold rain crawling down her face, forming into droplets around her ambershes, and he sighed. He could also feel instincting from a part that he knew wasn''t human, the kind of strange belonging he felt when he used his Eldritch powers, except far warmer.


    When he felt belonging from his Eldritch spells, he felt he was stepping into a cold, abandoned house, devoid of life, sticky with cobwebs and musty from age but still his and his to be for ages toe.


    Hearing Iona suggesting that she could be his "root", or whatever that meant, he could tell it was something that would expand his power as a forest spirit, something that would draw upon his innate connection with the wilds which he had neglected up until now unless he used it to sense life when farming.


    It felt like the sense of belonging he would get walking into a childhood home, warmly lit with the brightness of nostalgia and nurture.


    "Okay, I''ll hear you out, if only to get that tinhead away from here." Li nced back to the cottage. The knight was still standing there, but this time mounted on his horse, watching Li with some suspicion. It was evident the knight wouldn''t leave until he was sure fouly wasn''t afoot. "It''s going to be a little while before that idiot starts to go, and I already know you must be a herbalist of some skill if you''re a proctor, so I know what you can do for me already. It''s just I''d appreciate doing things myself, you know, with my new license and all. So in the meantime, how about you tell me about yourself?"

 Chapter 36 - Apprenticeship

    "Very well, O great guardian." Iona took her hands and used them to wring her drenched locks of red hair. She stared at the dirt now turned to mud, the rain pouring harder than ever. "I materialized one hundred years ago. Far north from here, in what the humans call the Republic. I was born of the ashes of forest fires, and I embody their gentle wrath, their healing ze that scorches one moment so that years of life may flourish. I apologize if I am rather young as a spirit."


    Li slicked back his wet hair and waved his hand dismissively. "No apologizing, no begging. Just talk."


    Iona nodded. "I was the root of Dagda, guardian spirit of the northern Incendic woonds, right above where the mortals known as Elves dwell. I served as Dagda''s root for eighty faithful years, maintaining the fires that returned the old to ash to bring forth nourishing soil for the new."


    She paused, and her lips twisted into a frown.


    "The demon wars?" said Li. "You''re one hundred. That minus eighty is twenty years ago, and that was right when the wars started."


    "Yes, the wars. But not the demons, I was spared of their cruel corruption, at the least. though I know not whether that fate would have been better." She shook her head, her eyes closing. "The demons came from the southwestern hellscapes, far from the elves that dwell in the eastern oases. It was the twelve tribes of beastmen that took the full brunt of the demon invasion, and that I grieve for. The beastmen were always respectful of the forests.


    But the elves-" Her eyes opened wide and her hands tightened around her hair, squelching out a particrly forceful burst of water. "They are all that is wrong with mortal greed. They cull the green to make way for their cities of cold stone and metal that tower in the sky. Their bellowing machines belch out smoke that poisons us all. And their magic, that otherworldly, unnatural, disgusting, heretical source magic-"


    "Calm down. Low profile, remember?"


    Iona looked down to find her hands emanating with a faint ember glow. The rain had started to steam around her skin.


    "My apologies, O guardian. Life has held little meaning for me for so long, and so it is a struggle to deal with this tide of hope."


    "Why hopeless? Why am I your only hope? Surely, you have somewhere or someone else to turn to in this wide world," asked Li, both out of curiosity and to see if the treant had some other way to get a happy ending for herself.


    "Because all the guardians are gone. The age of nature untouched by mortal hand is over. To ask these questions, you must have underwent a great sleep long ago, and I am grateful for that as you have escaped much of the atrocities brought upon the forests.


    When the demons invaded the southern kingdom of man, they slew the forest guardians or corrupted their des, forcing them into a poisoned dormancy from which they will never wake. It is why these Winterwoods are ever so cold, ever socking a heart to pump its lifeblood.


    For the guardians of the north, for us ¨C we have wasted away under the elves. Their machines poison our roots or, as was with me, ournds and lives are stolen from us in heretical source rituals, the essence of every leaf, insect, animal, and spirit burned away to open those ungodly and disastrous gates."


    "I can understand that." Li took in a deep breath, clearing his head of images of his past life, of a world of men that had taken nature as their ve. "But here, from what I can see, nature is still standing strong. It''s a daily part of people''s lives. Farmers respect the earth, till it with their own two hands and grow life without taxing the dirt to death."


    "True, the humans are a little better ¨C that is why I fled here ¨C but believe me, they have the same innate mortal greed within them that, given the chance, will flower into a vile blossom that will raze the forests."


    Iona sighed.


    "When the humans seceded from the Republic and founded their own little duchy, I came here to seek sce among forests that possibly still held guardians and roots, but I saw quickly that the demons had devastated them all. It is no wonder that the humans train their adventurers with such rigor, for all their forests now crawl with beastly monsters mutated uncontrobly without the guiding hand of guardians to maintain life.


    But I did not lose hope even when I knew that my life was destined to fade away, untethered to any guardian spirit. I felt I could still honor all those of the forests that had passed before me by attempting to teach the mortals how to respect thend. I knew that humans would always use thend, so I thought it prudent for the future, when I am no more to guide them, to let them know how to take from thend in a way that would ensure harmony among mortals and the green forever."


    Li gave a half shrug. "Something went wrong, I assume? You didn''t seem too happy during the test."


    "No. My life leaks from me every passing second and my spirithood fades. For two decades, I taught the humans, but to maintain my ce among them, I had to consume some for their life force. Not many, for I did not wish to cause them unduly harm while I taught them, but to these tribal monkeys, even one of their deaths is a tremendous deal.


    They cannot see that my teachings are far more precious to them than one or two worthless criminals roaming the gutters whose souls I consume.


    s, when they found out, it was I that became the heretic, not them. They burned all of my teachings. They arrested all of my pupils. They set their adventurers upon me like hounds, and I found myself chased across thends, only ever managing to settle here, in this quiet city so far out west, so far from the capitol where none could use divination magic to see through my shapeshifting.


    And as if to turn the knife in my back, with the consumption of humans came the adulteration of my spirithood. With human impurity came human emotion and thought. With that came an ailment of the mind the mortals call depression, and such was my sorry state during the test, if you can forgive me."


    "There''s nothing to forgive. Look, I''ve heard enough. You''re right in that you can teach me about restoring my divinity: I have an idea of what it means to be an Elder, but not what it means to be a Leshen. That''s something I have to inevitably face." Li watched as Iona''s face brightened. "But I also have to tell you that if I do hire you, I''ll be hiring you to mostly help this farm. You have to understand that this farm is not a joke. It is not a game. It is not a disguise. It is who I am."


    Iona gave a questioning nod. "I¡­understand."


    "No, you don''t quite understand, I can tell. But you''ll have to make yourself if you want to stay around here. A few conditions, too. You onlye here to work for me as an herbalist. It would lessen my workload by half to have someone helping me brew and nt, I have to admit that, but you don''t live in the cottage and you do not tell the old man inside that I am anything more than human. You have a ce in the city, right?"


    "By the docks, yes."


    "Good. Then you stay there. I''ll want someone that''s in the city to keep me informed about what''s happening. Also, you can do the groceries for us as well. The walk to the marketce is a chore, and an even bigger pain in the ass is all the noise and ruckus from the markets themselves."


    Iona sped her hands together and gave a bow. "Anything you wish."


    "Good." Li saw that the knight was heading towards them, the horse''s head bowed as it avoided the rain as much as possible.


    "Anything else you want?" said Li to the knight.


    The knight scratched his moustache. "Actually, to be honest, I''m-"


    "What?" sighed Li. "Another surprise identity? What are you? A god in hiding?"


    "I''m afraid not, though sometimes I do dearly wish to be," said the knight. He put down his helmet visor and coughed into his hand. "Well, I merely wanted to apologize for wasting your time. I see no reason for very to ur here, especially on the respected grounds of a demon war veteran such as Old Thane. I daresay there was some bias within me that may have thought you men of the east were inclined towards the brutish practice. Goodness, and I even went through mandatory knightly sensitivity training. Well, I''ll be off now. Do keep dry, you two."


    And with that, the knight rode off, yawning audibly through the pattering rain.


    "Time for you to leave as well," said Li. "Starting by at the start of next week. The stall will be done and I''ll be brewing for the first time. I''ll see how useful you are then. Consider it a trial run."


    "I swear, O guardian, I will not disappoint you."


    ---


    As Li watched Iona leave, he shook his head. He understood that she could be useful, it was true. Two hands to brew was always better than one, and she was surely an experienced herbalist. But he had pride in his own two hands. He wanted to do everything by himself.


    Mostly, he had decided to hire her because he couldn''t shake off a slight sense of guilt. She had mentioned hernds had been destroyed in a source ritual, and he found himself making connections with what the vampire Alexei had said, about how the elves had sacrificed a great amount to bring Li here.


    The timeline was off, for sure, as Iona''s homnd had been destroyed years before Li''s appearance, but who knew how space and time interacted with this strange and new magic?


    If Li had trulye here at the cost of so much of the precious nature he cared about, then he owed it to Iona to at least keep her alive.

 Chapter 37 - Herbalizing

    Li breathed in the scent of his new stall andb, where he was to finally put weeks of preparation to use. It smelled like wood and varnish, new and untainted by herbal smells. That was soon to change.


    For the whole week, Li had been harvesting and nting as many of the offensively oriented seeds that Triple Threat had given him.


    Throughout the week, they had flowered and sprouted. The entire herbal garden had been packed with the bright reds, oranges, and noxious greens of meweed, goblin grass, bone bean, and wraith peppers.


    With Old Thane''s help, Li had uprooted a few of the herbs while taking cuttings from all of them. Now, before him, on the long working table that spanned from end to end of the hybrid stallboratory, were rows of brilliantly shy colors.


    There were the ever fiery tips of meweed, their color shifting from reds to oranges like a flickering fire. Then there were was the goblin grass which looked just like regr grass, but their bases grew from spherical, almost rubbery green tubes that looked just like the pot-bellies of goblings, and it was these tubes that he had harvested. The ashen white beans of the bone bean nty scattered amongst the pile. Long, sickle-shaped peppers marred with what looked like scarred tissue ¨C wraith peppers ¨C stood at a separate pile, their toxic skins capable of contaminating everything else.


    Li exhaled and smiled. Finally, he was about to get to work. He had thanked Charles thoroughly for the stall. The builder''s crew moved on to different projects, but Charles himself attended to expanding Li''s berry and herb gardens, working to enclose them in rudimentary greenhouses. More of an excuse to have his children stay with Zagan, most likely, but an excuse that helped Li nheless.


    The early morning sun peeked in through the few windows of the stall. A crisp and cool breeze flitted in through the open but empty disy counter. Li had left Old Thane to tend to the farm for today, and the old man was all too happy to show off that he still had it in him to keep everything running by himself.


    Li had his work cut out for him. He was set to open his stall tomorrow, and for that, he needed to produce enough elixirs today to create a viable supply tost for the foreseeable future.


    "Let''s get to work," said Li.


    Iona shifted forwards, standing beside Li as her eyes scanned the contents of the table. "Yes, O guardian."


    "No ''O guardianing'' in broad daylight while people might stille by, even in the confines of this stall. Low profile, understand me?"


    "Understood, O-, I mean-"


    "Li. Just call me Li like a regr human would. I don''t take offense to it."


    "But¡­." Iona put a pale hand to her lip, as if the very thought of forcing Li''s name out was offensive to her.


    "I understand that I was too harsh on you before." Li started to gather up all the meweed tips to process first. "When you spoke to me before wasn''t a great day. I was dealing with a few personal problems."


    "Your divinity, I presume?"


    Li nodded and pointed to the pile of burning red grass tips. "Yes, but don''t bring it up while we''re working. Focus on what''s at hand. It''s time to process. Let''s start off with a batch of [Blood Boil]."


    Iona gathered the mound of ember-like grass with steady purpose, knowing what to do merely from hearing the elixir''s name.


    "You forgot these." Li handed her a pair of worn leather gloves that shone a little, as if greasy.


    Standard herbalist equipment. Gloves soaked in basilisk saliva. Expensive, but a staple for any herbalist to prevent unwanted acids and nt matter from burning into their skin. He also handed her a breather, a gas-mask with built-in goggles consisting of ssy film formed from crystallized griffin tears with a venttor crafted from the hardy dder of ake serpent.


    "Why do we need these?" said Iona as she took the gloves and mask and stared at them. "Nature''s bounty will do us no harm, no matter the form it takes."


    "Low profile. If anyone barges in on us, they won''t be wondering why we aren''t coughing our lungs out or why are eyeballs aren''t oozing out of our heads."


    Li saw as Iona began processing the meweed. She took huge bunches of the grass tips, curled them under her fingers to tten them against the table, and used a small but sharp knife to rapidly chop them up. Her movements were swift and controlled, cutting the grass tips into little particles perfect to extract their juices from.


    Comparatively, Li was slow. He had incredible strength and speed, but he hadn''t practiced these movements before. Eventually, he figured he was wasting his time and decided to instead take a wooden bowl and scoop up some cold and purified water from a pot nearby.


    "Do the rest," said Li as he motioned to his pile of meweed tips. Iona gave a slight nod as she moved with a driven speed, showing her all to prove herself worthy to Li. She blitzed through the entire mound in seconds, razing it down into tiny little bits that looked like little sparks flickering on the table.


    Li gathered the chopped meweed and with one quick motion, scraped them straight into the bowl of water. Immediately, the water started steaming. An acrid smell much like smoke sputtered from the bowl as the water bubbled, the meweed releasing intensive heat.


    Li took a stirring rod and gently made a little vortex in the water, keeping the meweed from settling to the bottom and burning through the bowl. As he did so, he recalled the elixir creation process.


    Three steps. Processing, extraction, and then purification.


    Processing was to reduce the herb to its most useful and baseponents. Extraction would be to draw out the needed elements from the baseponents, often taking the form of a liquid solution. Purification was detoxifying the raw, concentrated, and often deadly lethal elements that remained in any solution derived from extraction.


    Although magical herbs grew incredibly quickly, they were extremely unstable and dangerous things. One step wrong in the mixing process would change a healing herb into one that liquefied flesh. A little misstep, maybe a wrongly lit spark or an idental drop of one solution into another might cause an explosion that would reduce the stall to ashes.


    All of this made the harvesting of magical herbs an incredibly risky and knowledge intensive trade, oftentimes not worth the trouble. On top of this, there was the dissipation phenomena. During one of the three stages of elixir creation, a herbalist would likely find that the magical essence running through the herbs would simply leave, scattering up in fine particles of raw mana, leaving them with useless husks.


    Any herbalist that managed to have a majority of their harvest retain mana and turn into viable elixirs was exceedingly skilled, but more often than not, this was a game of chance. Nobody knew why the dissipation phenomena urred, and even the most painstakingly caring herbalists could find their brews turn useless.


    As a result, mass production was the most rewarding and profitable way of creating elixirs. That was what ck Vine did, essentially industrializing the trade, churning out low quality elixirs but ensuring that they made enough that no specialist couldpete with them.


    But that wasn''t how Li had learned. Aine had a near one hundred percent sess rate, and it was through her notes that he had learned and evidently, that Iona was familiar with this more time and care intensive process.


    Together, they almost wordlessly poured out their entire attention and effort, doing what needed to be done, giving each other little indicators that they needed this tool or that.


    Li carefully looked at the bowl. Aine''s notes stated to dump the water right when the smoke was warm but not hot and the meweed tips darkened. When that happened, Li went to a wooden sink, a hole that funneled out of the stall, and dumped the water while making sure none of the meweed escaped.


    Iona tapped his back. "Extraction?"


    Li nodded and gave her the bowl of darkened meweed. She went back to the table and dumped it into a mortar and used a pestle to ground them up. The meweed had be brittle, almost like ash, and it broke apart under the pestle into a fine, ck powder.


    While Iona did that, Li took one of the uprooted herbs - it didn''t matter which - and sliced the roots off. He refilled the bowl of water and cleaned the roots thoroughly until the veiny white strands were glistening clean. Afterwards, he went to the cauldron and got the fire going with a firebrand.


    As the dark iron cauldron warmed and the water within started to boil, he called out to Iona. "Get me the processed meweed."


    She came by in a second, handing over the mortar filled with ck powder.


    Li dipped his finger into the cauldron and nodded. It was boiling. He carefully peppered in the meweed, bit by bit, until all of it got into the cauldron. The darkened meweed began to reabsorb the heat it had lost, but now reduced to tiny particles, the individual particles exploded. Each little crushed particle of dark meweed heated up, brightening into a pinprick of heat for an instant before popping, a small geyser of water ejecting upwards from the force of the miniscule explosion.


    Li had made sure there was only a thinyer of boiling water in the deep cauldron so that the explosions didn''t plough up waves of hot water and spill over.


    As the particles burst apart, they clouded the water in their essence, turning the liquid a dark, almost ckish red. Li smelled the bubbling mixture, taking in strong hints of iron and smoke. He nodded and put the lid of the cauldron on.


    Now he just had to let it simmer for half an hour until all the particles had exploded and leaked out their essence. When all was said and done, he would use the root he had washed earlier to soak up any toxic waste, leaving only a deep, blood red liquid behind.


    The nice thing about magical herbs was that they were self-contained ecosystems. They were toxic, but their antidotes grew right with their poisons. In most cases, their roots did the job, useful in the brewing process for taking in certain toxins and impurities.


    Li patted his gloves dry on his trousers and took a seat on stool. He looked forward to the next step ¨C purification. That was the one most reminiscent of hisbwork. It involved all the beakers, sks, pipettes, burners, and other equipment thaty in neat rows at the other end of the table.


    Li cast a nce to Iona. She remained standing at the table. She pointed to the goblin grass tubes.


    "Should I prepare these for processing next? It will save us time."


    "No need. We have all day." Li waved her towards an empty stool in front of him. "Take a seat. I''ve evaluated you enough."


    "Am-am I suitable?" she stuttered, her gloved hands wrung together.


    "You''re good at this. Far better than I am. I know how to do everything, but I don''t have the practice that you do. It''s like knowing the recipe for a meal while never having cooked it before. I can get the job done, but it takes time because I''m unpracticed and clumsy." Li paused. "You''ll be a good assistant. Just let me do the majority of the work so that I can learn. What I want to talk about is your other ''job''. What you initially offered me. I want to hear about what it means to be a forest spirit."

 Chapter 38 - Blood Boil Batch

    "What it means to be a forest spirit?" said Iona thoughtfully. She ran her gloved hand through her goggles, wiping off some built-up moisture. "Quite odd, that question, yes. A little difficult to answer, too. It is a little bit like asking a human what it means to be human. I am sure every human would give a different answer."


    Iona opened her palm. Atop her leather glove, a little shoot sprouted, green and white. "Some spirits will say a forest spirit must nurture and nourish. They believe to be a forest spirit is to ensure the soil is healthy and bountiful so that life may bathe in its blessings and grow aplenty. The more life there is, no matter the kind, the better."


    Her hair grew brighter, turning from a dull amber red to a fiery orange. The shoot began to wilt and burn away. "Other forest spirits believe that life must be controlled. When it grows too much, it must be burned away so that the new may flourish. That is how I was taught."


    "Taught? This isn''t instinct? Pure gut feeling?" said Li.


    Iona shook her head. "No, no, not at all. It does irk me to say this, but in thought, we are a little simr to the mortals. We are individualsprisingmunities with different trains of thought. But what is ingrained instinct is our ability to feel life. All of us can feel how it beats, how it flows, how it waxes and wanes.


    Thus, we know how precious life is. If I were to use mortal terms, it would be like being able to hear the beating heart of a lover through their chest. It is a deeply personal, deeply moving feeling that conjures upon a fundamental emotion of guardianship that links every single one of us, all our roots and our leaves in harmony to protect that which is so sacred."


    "Guardianship is the onemon thread that joins all of you," nodded Li.


    "All of us," Iona corrected.


    "I can''t say that I feel a strong sense of guardianship, though I have been able to feel life beating around me."


    "Hm, but you have, yes."


    Li raised a brow.


    "This stall." Iona motioned around her. "Thisnd. This farm. You said it yourself, yes? It is real. That was when I began to realize that your sense of guardianship is tied here. This is your domain, your forest."


    "Great, so there''s nothing I''m missing out on, right? If the farm''s my domain and I can feel life already, it looks like I know everything there is to be about being a forest spirit."


    "It is curious." Iona cocked her head. "That you speak as if you are wholly unfamiliar with your being. I can understand if you were a forest guardian that awoke from a deep slumber, or perhaps awoke from demonic corruption with your memories scattered, but topletely lose your sense of self is¡­odd."


    "That''s because I used to be a human," said Li tly. He looked at Iona, but she didn''t react much. "You don''t seem surprised."


    "I suspected you used to be mortal or, at the least, not what you are now." Iona shrugged. "But I do not care for who you were. Who you are now is important, for you are still thest hope that this world has to guard its bounty from mortal greed."


    "I''m not exactly out here to save the world."


    "I understand very well, yes. Low profile." Iona brought her hands together andid them on herp. She was calmer now, more thoughtful. "You wish to nurture this farm. You must have some mortal influence here that has caused your spiritual guardianship to embed upon this farm instead of a forest domain. I now understand how deeply you must care for this farm as it is your devoted territory. I merely warn that should you further develop your instincts as a forest spirit, to truly feel the life around you, you will find it harder to stand by while knowing that the forests burn in your absence."


    "I already understand what you mean. I know how precious and valuable the nature around me is and I can feel it too. I know what a world without it looks like, and it''s not one I would ever want to live in."


    "Ah, my sincerest apologies, O guardian, but I should say that you do not truly understand, no." Iona looked downwards, afraid that she was disrespecting Li but still wishing to say what she felt she had to nheless. "You may be able to feel the beating of life, but you do not feel it as strongly as you should. I surmise that you still have a mortal''s appreciation of the wilds. You know they are precious; you even know they are alive, their life beating strongly, but you cannot feel their pain as if it were your own. You do not know how it is to be in the center of a dying forest, to feel yourself die a million times over as the lives around you copse without anything you can do about it."


    "You''re right, I don''t." Li sighed. "And I wish I did, and that''s why you''re here. To get me to understand. But you have to know I still have a duty to uphold to this farm and to the old man. I want to spend the humanity I have left upholding those duties. Make no mistake, I know what I''m going to be, and I do ept it, I just need to finish my duties first."


    "And I will stand with you through them all." Iona put a hand to her heart, her voice firm and solemn. "That is the duty I have sworn to you. I know that your mortal duties are, as they are, mortal: it is merely a matter of time before youplete them. I will wait, no, support you through them so that when your earthly bonds are met, you may embrace guardianship of this world without any lingering restraints."


    ----


    When thirty minutes passed, Li and Iona started on the purification process for the [Blood Boil] elixir.


    Iona started with the equipment, preparing it while Li looked at the herbal solution bubbling in the cauldron. All the meweed particles had burst apart, staining the water a ckened, dirty crimson. A faint heat emanated from the water''s surface.


    Li took a smell. Strong hints of iron and smoke. He had to get rid of the smokiness. That was a sign of impurity. He took the root he had washed and put it in the liquid, stirring it around. The root shuddered, and ck lines shot up its base, eventually coloring the whole root a sooty grey.


    At the same time, the liquid in the cauldron turned a brilliant red, its color exactly the same as fresh blood. It smelled just like blood too, reeking strongly of iron. Li took a pot and ced it under the cauldron''s neck. He tilted the cauldron, spilling the bloody liquid into the pot. With that done, he transferred the pot to the working table. He could feel the heat of the warm liquid through the cast iron, and strangely, it stayed stable, neither cooling nor heating up.


    A property of meweed extract. It retained its surrounding temperature. This was also how the [Blood Boil] elixir boosted stats, by imparting the essence of fiery heat all throughout one''s blood to improve blood flow. It was also how with a few alterations, the extract could be turned into a [Firebomb], a thrown explosive that dealt incendiary damage, although that required metal and ore based powders as well.


    "Good," said Li as he saw that Iona had already lined up a burner, a circr tablet thatid t on the table. Depending on how many times one tapped it, it would eject a magical fire of varying intensities. This world''s equivalent of a Bunsen burner.


    Beside the burner were several beakers, their lengths marked with volume measurements.


    Li saw that Iona had already set the burner to a light blue me ¨C the correct setting ¨C and he ced the pot on the burner. As the liquid within came to a rolling boil, they each took pipettes and drained out precisely 100 milliliters of the bubbling bloody extract, squeezing them out into individual beakers.


    The beakers had a maximum volume of 500 milliliters, and so the bloody liquid only pooled at the bottom, continuing to boil as if it were still heated.


    They repeated this process until the pot was empty and a dozen beakers were filled.


    "Just need water now,"mented Li as he filled a cup from the purified water pot and emptied out the clean liquid into the extract-filled beakers, making sure they were exactly at a 5:1 ratio of water to meweed extract. The water cooled down the boiling extract just enough that it no longer bubbled but remained warm.


    Not only did this dilute the extract so that it didn''t massively boost blood flow to the point of a heart attack, but it also lowered the temperature of the final elixir so that nobody burned themselves touching it.


    Iona followed Li, and as she filled her half of the beakers with water, she said, "A few drops of peppermint extract or milk poppy would make these taste quite sweet. In my experience, taste is quite important for customer satisfaction."


    "You were selling to cozy and safe people in the capitol. Guys there probably wanted [Blood Boil] to make them just a little bit faster for their next silly barfight. This is a peaceful city, but it''s an adventurer''s city. They''ll want something strong and undiluted."


    ----


    Li leaned against the table as he watched Iona finish up.


    After purification was the unofficial step of bottling which was more busywork than anything, and Iona had insisted on covering Li for that. He saw as Iona poured the red and warm liquid into faceted elixir bottles before twisting corks into them.


    "You know, you''re extremely familiar with all of this," said Li. "I know that regr pharmacies don''t teach this way."


    "Oh yes, they have huge vats filled to the brim with toxin-absorbing roots. No prowess involved in it at all. Simply dump the right herbs and roots and mix with a big spoon like some glorified soup cook." Iona scoffed. "Takes all the risk out, yes, but all it does produce is half-rate. And perhaps most disgustingly, all that toxic waste they dump back to the forests. If only they knew how to tend to the nature at their fingertips, then they would never have to resort to such measures."


    "I see." Li narrowed his eyes. He had a slinking suspicion. "Then where did you learn this?"


    "It is an art of the forest spirits. Forest spirits and mortals have coexisted for more than a millennia. All throughout, we have tried to teach the mortals how to use thend to heal and nurture them, but of course, they either spurn our teachings or abuse them."


    "Then do you know where I learned this method?"


    "Oh, by Aine''s notes, I''m sure, considering that you live here," said Iona casually. "I''ve lived here long enough to know of her. I respect her works, yes, they are truly forestborn in quality and care. I approve wholeheartedly of them."


    Li voiced his suspicions. "Then was Aine like you? Forest spirit?"


    Iona shook her head. "Not at all, no. I would have known, you see. But I did not sense anything from her. She was fully mortal. But there are some mortals out there that know the old ways, those from remote tribes far from the bustling towns and cities where they learned directly from spirits such as ourselves. The beastmen of the north know these ways as well. It is merely the humans and elves that have turned their backs upon it."

 Chapter 39 - A Suggestion

    "I see." Li shrugged. "Guess she must havee from really far out. Although the old man has never been too good on details about where she came from. I''m not even sure he knows."


    "Wherever she hailed from, she was taught right," said Iona. "Though I must say, her name, Aine, is quite odd. The name of the veteran here, the old man, Thane, I believe? A name quitemon for the human tribes of the tundra wastes far north, even beyond the Republic. All the other names you in Soleil are typical of southern humans, though the western hintends do have their own unique culture and names."


    "So where does that namee from?"


    "It is of forestborn tongue." Iona pointed to Li. "I knew you were foreign to our ways from your name. It is, as I understand, from that of eastern humans. But not at all one of forestborn origin. I should guess that for Aine, though human, she came from a culture very much seeped in worship of the forest, but beyond that, I cannot say much else. Yet it is still heartening to see that there are humans still that know to tend to the earth the right way."


    Li took note of the fact that there was no such thing as a forestborn tongue in the game. Everything was just named for whatever sounded coolest under the developer''s eyes. When the four gods of the game and all the magical beings and creatures came to this world, they not only spread the magic of the game, but also developed their own unique cultures over the years.


    "You never talked with her? You must have found some sort of curiosity or wanted to know how she got to know what she knew."


    Iona corked another elixir and giving a faint shrug, her slender shoulders moving ever so slightly up. "No, not really. It may seem difficult to believe now that you have caught me in such lifted spirits, but once, I was quite the spirit of caution. I believed that there were ever adventurers out there to hunt me, and so I kept as you would say a low profile. I feared that Aine would have enough knowledge to know who and what I was, and so I stayed in the city where she and her husband did not venture much."


    "Smart. Also means I won''t have to worry about teaching you how to not stand out."


    "Oh yes, blending in among the humans is quite the art form I am familiar with. To know toy low and do nothing as the wilds burn away, to know that with the slightest disturbance, my head will fly, to know that even though there is nothing to live for, I still push myself to live if only to spit in the face of the elves that believe that the forest spirits are no more."


    Li looked at Iona. She was expressionless, almost like a machine as she corked away, looking down at the elixirs as her fingers nimbly handled them. "I didn''t mean to bring up any old scars."


    Iona nced up at Li and gave him a short smile before returning to work. "Do not apologize for me, O guardian. I was merely wallowing in self-pity. I find it therapeutic sometimes, yes. Perhaps it is a mortal thing, something I have picked up from consuming one too many human souls, but it is nothing rted to you. Rather, it is with you that I now find hope. And there we are ¨C done with the dozen."


    Li panned his gaze across the work table. There were a dozen elixirs ready, neatly stacked into two rows of six. Their multi-faceted bases twinkled as sunlight hit them from the open stall, illuminating the bubbling crimson liquid within. He went to the table and took one of them in his palm. It felt warm and emanated with an energetic pulse, as if by merely touching it he wanted to go out and exercise.


    "Perfect," said Li. "And not a single failed elixir either. None of them dissipated."


    Li smiled as he ced the elixir back into formation. To be honest, he had been a little nervous about starting things out. Although he always tried to present himself with a cool confidence, he could not deny that he felt like he had aplished something wondrous. It was the same type of pride he felt when he saw the berries grow under his care.


    Iona bowed her head. "I should think not, no. We are forest spirits ¨C nature will never shy its bounty away from us."


    Li narrowed his eyes and gave Iona a quizzical look.


    Iona exined further. "The mortals prattle on and on about this dissipation phenomena, even believing it as some immutablew, but in reality, magical essence flies under their touch because they are not inmunion with the wilds.


    Before, when the mortals learned directly from us, herbalism was considered sacred. A way of life and thought. Before they even touched what sprouted from the earth, they had to spend years living in the wilds, developing some sense of connection with the nature around them. The slow and methodical elixir creation method that we use is a mere extension of that teaching. It forces more time and more attention to the nature that one uses."


    She shook her head. "But now, the mortals simply have to memorize a few facts to pass a sham of an exam to have the right to be a herbalist. And they wonder why the magical essence of the wilds leaves them, unfamiliar as it is with their cold, unfeeling hands and minds."


    "You mean to say that what we did right now, it seeded only because we have an innate connection with nature?"


    Iona cocked her head. "Yes, indeed. We can both feel the beating of life, no? Then we are already far more inmunion with the green than any mortal can dream of. To us, no piece of nature may reject its gifts."


    Li looked at his hands, at the various stains and smells that had etched onto the gloves already from his hardwork today. He felt a little cheated, somehow. It wasn''t the pure hard work of his own to hands that had gotten him this far. It was the racial abilities of his forest spirit form.


    But he took in a breath and buried away his disappointment. It was still a day of honest work, and he could appreciate that. Whether he seeded or not was secondary. And regardless, there was more work to do.


    He couldn''t start up a stall selling only one product.


    "Let''s shelve these and get back to work," said Li. "One more batch. Something to boost offensive abilities again."


    They took the bottles and ced them on a rack inside a cab under the disy counter which held the same preservation rune as did Old Thane''s pantry, ensuring that the elixirs stayed in stable storage.


    "What do you have in mind?" said Iona as she finished putting in thest elixir.


    "If I had to get in these adventurers'' heads, then I should think something like an [Rage Drop] would be pretty useful." Li went to the work table and took a few wraith peppers in hand. "If they want to put out a lot of damage, then that''s their best bet."


    Li recalled the different tiers of items. Common, magical, rare, mythical, godgiven, and celestial in ascending order, with celestial tier items reserved only for those who had finished new game+ cycles. From what he could tell, the average level of this world, at least for humans, would not exceed 60. That meant that the highest tier of elixir they would ever see would be mythical.


    He knew from Aine''s notes that mythic elixirs did exist. She knew about them and had hypothesized how to create them, but they were, as their name suggested, in the realm of sheer myth and legend. She could only ever guess what ingredients and what procedures were needed.


    99 percent of the time, though, elixirs never exceeded the Magical tier. To that end, he figured that [Rage Drop], a magical tier elixir derived from wraith peppers that massively increased one''s attack and spell damage in exchange for taking significantly increased damage, would be quite useful.


    It was one of the most efficient spells for lower leveled characters, allowing them to dish out damage several levels above what they were supposed to, and it was a popr favorite among speeedrunners of the game''s campaign who knew how to avoid taking as much damage as possible.


    Iona furrowed her brows. "[Rage Drop]? Are you certain about that?"


    "Why not? Give a ranger or mage a dose of that, protect him well enough, and he''s going to be putting out twice the damage he usually does." Li refrained from using levels to entuate his point. The denizens of this world, from he could tell by speaking with Old Thane, did not know the concept of levels.


    "In theory, yes, but mortals are very much fearful beings for their lives are so fragile. Just a little pressure-" Iona flicked her hand as if swatting something away. "And they are gone. If I may very humbly suggest, using the goblin grass tubes to distill a batch of [Bloodlust] would curry more favor with the mortals."


    Li nodded after he gave it some thought. "I think I see where you''re getting at. Since these adventurers only get one life and one try, they''re always fighting with the fear of death at their backs. Especially since resurrection is such a rare thing, even among higher-level, I mean, the strongest beings. Elixirs that dampen their fear and boost their mental strength like [Bloodlust] would let them push through their fear and let them fight better, whereas [Rage Drop] is only ever going to make them more conscious about dying."


    "That is precisely so, yes."


    Li had to admit that it made sense. Perhaps because he was so powerful, or perhaps because he was so used to ying the game, but he was thinking purely in terms of game-mechanic efficiency. In the game, yers could just chug [Rage Drop] because there was no fear of death. At the worst, there was just a failed fight or boss encounter, but nothing so permanent as death.


    Here, where life and death intertwined with the magic of the game, items were sought after not only for their pure efficacy, but for the mentalfort they could give.


    Li looked out towards the stall''s disy where he could see the outside world. The sun was high, almost ready to start winding its way down. "Then let''s get on it. Clean the goblin grass tubes out and make sure there''s no gunk inside of them. Pare them open on four corners and crush their juices out on a bowl. I''ll get the cauldron ready and clean the purification equipment. We''ll need the distiller for this one."


    Iona was already on it, her figure rushing to the pile of green, pot-bellied tubes.

 Chapter 40 - The Song Of Life

    The actual making of [Bloodlust] didn''t take too much time, but it did require absolute attention. The processing stage started off simr to how any other herb would be processed. Theponent parts had their essences extracted


    As Li set aside a clean bowl and wiped down dirty beakers and sks, Iona got to work, using a small paring knife to cut the goblin grass tubes into quadrants. The flesh inside was gooey and green, like that of mucus, and stank of rotten eggs.


    Iona took the clean bowl and crushed the quadrants above it, letting the mucus-like juices ooze in. She did this over and over again until all the bowl was almost full and the tubes were fully crushed to a pulp. She gathered the crushed tubes in a pile and passed it over to Li.


    Without taking a breath, she moved back to the bowl now full of the gooey goblin grass juice. She took a stirring rod and vigorously circled it through. At first, the thick liquid resisted, but with enough stirs, it broke apart into a smoother consistency.


    Li nodded and took the pile and carefully tossed it into the cauldron''s fire. The tubes burst into green mes and toxic fumes smelling of dead fish began to waft through the stall.


    "Up the pace before the tubes burn too much," said Li as he used his bare finger to poke around the burning coals and tubes. The tubes didn''t burn quickly, their durable flesh blistering and browning but not ckening. Once they ckened, the goblin grass extract had to be put in the cauldron.


    "Yes, yes." Iona stirred even faster, and the extract became as thin as water. She kept stirring as even a second without it meant the extract would solidify back into its mucus-like form, and it was unusable in that state.


    Li kept a careful eye on the burning tubes. He saw the first hints of ck creep up on their flesh, and he turned to Iona. She was already there, the bowl of extract extended forwards. He gave her an acknowledging nod before dumping the contents into the cauldron and stirring.


    This began extraction. By boiling the liquid, reducing its volume, and also imbuing it with the smoke of the tubes, it removed many impurities and yielded an extract that had concentrated magical energy within.


    Like this, the two continued to make the batch of [Bloodlust]. Li mostly acted on his own, focusing entirely on recalling facts he had memorized. He did what he remembered to do at the time, and what he couldn''t give his full attention to, Iona instantly recognized and covered for him.


    Although Li gave outmands here and there, it was more for him to familiarize himself with everything ¨C Iona already knew what to do. In a way, it was she that was leading the process, taking over whatever Li was not doing and allowing him to hone his skills at his own pace.


    Soon enough, they started on purification, which was the easiest part of it all. All they had to do was put the extract into beakers and mix them with water. Once they did that, they just had to let it sit for a few hours. The remaining impurities would just settle at the bottom of the beaker and could be strained out.


    "A littledine would be nice," said Li as he gazed at the foggy green liquid in the beakers. "One petal of their flowers for each of these beakers would make a much purer product."


    Iona nced at Li, a little surprised. "Shall I provide some?"


    Li waved his hand. "No use going to the market right now. Plus, the old man doesn''t have a lot of coin. Once the first batches here start selling and the moneyes rolling in, you can go buy some general supplies. Non-magical herbs, a jar of blood, tar, bark, and so on."


    "I shall do that, yes, but there is another way for thedine." Iona opened her palm and held it towards Li. Sure enough, a shoot grew and branched into several little yellow flowers.


    Li blinked. "Right, I forgot you could do that."


    "We." Iona corrected him. "And you can do far more than this. You must simply get into the habit of thinking yourself capable."


    Li plucked the shoot from Iona''s hand and tore off the flowers. He plucked their petals and ced them in the beakers.


    "It feels like cheating," he finally admitted.


    "That is simply not true, no. These powers are your nature, they are who you are. It is every bit as natural to use them as it is your bare hands. It is because you are unused to them that you feel they are against your being. Use them, and you will feel that they will make you whole."


    "Well, I guess I did hire you to tell me what I''m missing out on." Li shrugged. "Okay then, I''ll give this a shot. We have a couple hours before this batch finishes purifying anyway, so in the meanwhile, let''s start with growing things at will. How does that work?"


    Iona smiled. She took off her gloves and mask andid them aside. "It is all about mindset." She opened her palm again and another flower emerged, this time a white lily. She plucked it and handed it to Li. "Take it and feel its life. When you hear the beating, focus on it andmit it to memory, truly parse the beating''s frequency for every living thing possesses its own unique beat."


    Li took the lily in his hands and focused his sight on it. He made out every little detail on the flower, tracing his vision across very little crease upon the snowy petals. "I can''t hear the beating too well. I''m in my human form ¨C it dampens my senses."


    "I rmend staying in it, yes. Think of it like a training weight. If you can make out the lily''s life frequency even through the muffling of your human skin, then you will find it all the more beautiful, striking, and mesmerizing when you truly hear it."


    Li closed his eyes to heighten his hearing. His brows furrowed as he strained to hear the beating through the dense cover of his human disguise. There were faint beats, and they rang out an interesting tune, speeding up, slowing down, stopping and starting in regr intervals. It was a song. Slow and melodic, maybe a little mournful, but asplex and wonderful as any professionally orchestrated piece.


    "Do you hear its song? Its frequency?"


    "I can make it out, barely."


    "Try to memorize it. When you have itpletely inscribed within your mind, you should be able to grow it from your own life force."


    "That''s going to take a while. The song''s more than a minute long and it''s prettyplicated. Plus I''m not even sure if I''m missing anything with how hard it is to hear."


    Iona nodded. "That is true, and it is also true that should you hear in your true form, then it will be far easier for you to learn, but at the same time, your humanity will deteriorate at an astounding pace as it struggles to intake what it should never perceive in the first ce.


    I understand that you wish to maintain your humanity for the near future, and I must say that this is the challenge you shall have to confront in attempting to blend your spiritual powers within an ipatibly mortal form."


    Li sighed but understood. It was a little frustrating, trying to memorize every little beat of the lily''s muffled life song, but far morepelling than his frustration was his devotion to Old Thane. He would not let the old man pass with only thepany of a strange and unfeeling god beside him. No, Li would develop his abilities as a Leshen, but he would take his time and put in the effort to learn in his human form because Old Thane deserved at least that much.


    _____________________


    By the time they finished bottling and stashing away the elixirs of [Bloodboil], night hade, its darkness thick and unyielding. Li could manage to remember around half the lily''s song, and with it, he could manage to sprout a little shoot, but not much more than that.


    But that was progress enough, and Li bid Iona farewells. She woulde back in the morning to arrange the stall for its grand opening ¨C something Li was particrly excited about. He wanted to give Old Thane a heads up that the stall was finally opening, but by the time he had cleaned his herb-reeking clothes and settled back into the cottage, the old man was sound asleep in his humble bed of thatch and straw, having worked hard managing the farm alone.


    "Thank you," whispered Li as he closed the door to the old man''s room to give him some peace.

 Chapter 41 - First Day

    Li sat on a stool in his stall, legs crossed as he spied Iona at the disy counter. The morning was bright and cheery, the weather perfectly summery. The batches of [Blood Boil] and [Bloodlust] stood atop the counter, the green and red liquids glinting under the sunlight.


    "Is business usually this slow?" asked Li.


    Iona leaned against the counter, her eyes scanning the main road for potential customers. However, the only people that passed were ordinary folk going out to the forests to forage or heading to the next vige over for business. Nobody that would buy the elixirs they had on disy.


    asionally, a knight on patrol would ride by, but they were forbidden to buy anything except bare necessities such as foodstuffs, so they gave a nce to the stall, perhaps noting the sign that read ''Arboretum'' forter.


    "I should have thought this would happen, yes," said Iona. "Very few adventurers are in town right now."


    Li raised a brow. "How''s that possible? Riviera has a guild, doesn''t it? There must be adventurers around, and I have a decent grasp of economics. I''ve priced everything pretty damn well. Pretty generously, I might add, now that ck Vine isn''t selling. You''re in the city, so you should know what''s going on."


    "There is the matter of the duchess calling a royal assignment upon the stone drake in Montagne north from here."


    "I know that much, but that''s only for silver rank and above, right? What about the untrained and bronze adventurers? They have to make a living too, and there''s nothing easier than getting out in the Winterwoods and clearing out a few small-time monsters here and there."


    Iona nodded. "That is correct, yes, but there are other factors at y, too. Ah, I should have foreseen this, yes, but you see, I am quite unused to thinking in terms of business. You know that ck Vine has closed? No doubt due to your heroic upholding of all that is sacred with the wilds."


    "Closedpletely? I didn''t expect them to go that far."


    "Notpletely." Iona rapped her knuckle against the counter with force. "Yes, they shut their stores, but they still use them behind closed doors to abuse nature''s bounty, harvesting it into drugs for men to indulge all their degenerate needs with. Herbs were meant to nurture and protect life, not to be a ything for humans."


    "If it bes a big enough issue, I''ll deal with them again. But the adventurers ¨C why aren''t theying around? I haven''t seen a single onee by."


    Iona nodded. "A panic, yes. ck Vine has eliminated all itspetitors and has been the main source for adventurers to get their elixirs for years, and now that they are closed so abruptly, the adventurers in a panic have traveled to other nearby viges, towns, or cities. They know not that we are here for now."


    Li sighed. "A load of bad luck, but what can we do. Market''s in chaos. Until it stabilizes, we wait. Here, I''ll make a batch of [Restoration] while you keep watch at the storefront. I''m sure the ordinary folk are scrambling to get some healing for their sick and wounded."


    He went to the work table, rolling up his sleeves and putting on his gloves and mask. He got a few milk poppy flowers and began crushing them in a mortar and pestle. As the orange flowers broke apart under his strength, he gave a light shrug to himself.


    The seeds meant for offensive elixirs that Triple Threat had given him ended up not being too useful after all. The n was to oupete entities like ck Vine with the fact that the healingke was going to open to the public, but theke had been kept a secret and ck Vine had closed down.


    Although, in a way, it was partially his fault because he had forced ck Vine to close so suddenly that this panic had urred. In the long run, though, so long as Arboretum was the only supplier, word would spread and eventually they would get a lot more traffic.


    Before then, he would just take his time. The standardmon ss [Restoration] was easily made, and that would do for now to get at least a few customers.


    "Oh, and make sure to advertise," said Li to Iona. "Marketing is one of the most important parts of any business. If you see someone that looks like they fight, anyone with a sword at their hip or maybe an off-duty knight, call out to them and tell them why they should buy from here. Make it sound appealing. Be like the food vendors in the marketce. Loud and convincing."


    "Understood."


    Li nodded as he continued to focus on making some [Restoration]. It was an easy and quick recipe, so he could easily handle it alone. Also, he didn''t want to be the one hawking Arboretum''s wares. He had been a scientist, and though he had a grasp of how the business side of hispany worked, his personality didn''t mesh with it.


    He didn''t like being a loud mouth that made himself likable to everyone. He kept his words sparse. He didn''te off too friendly, either. Not anti-social, that was for sure, but not likable either. Mostly a little too serious to anyone other than his family, and after his parents had passed, even that had faded.


    Better to leave the loud part to someone else. As he worked on the elixir, he kept tabs on Iona. She was an experienced herbalist, so he had faith that she knew how to sell their product well enough.


    "You there, knight!" said Iona as she waved towards a knight taking a gentle andzy pace on his horse through the main road. "You have a scar upon your cheek. I can see it clearly. Next, it will be that a bear tears your entrails bloody and warm from your stomach, leaving you lifeless and limp as your family weeps tears of blood. If you wish to escape such a fate, then look at our wares."


    Li furrowed his brows.


    The knight paused for a second before bowing his head. "Perhaps a littleter, miss." He rode off, a shudder crawling down his back.


    A minuteter, and Iona spotted a hunter walking by, bow on his back and scars adorning his arms.


    "Good hunter, nature is cold and unyielding. It will take your flesh and devour it so that naught but your bones are left behind, and even they will crumble into dust, gnawed upon by beasts that prowl the dark. No more will you bring back warm game to your loved ones. Instead, they shall stumble upon your cold and white skull now home to skittering and scurrying vermin."


    The hunter blinked and opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, but when he saw Iona standing there with her eyes twinkling and her mouth curved into a pleasant smile, he shook his head and then left, clutching tightly at his bow.


    Li stopped what he was doing. "Why is this so brutal and graphic? And how do you look so happy while saying all this? The goal is to draw customers in, not scare them in. Telling them how brutally they''re going to get absolutely massacred is most definitely not the right way to do this. In fact, with that happy-go-lucky smile, it even sounds like a psychotic threat."


    Iona turned to Li and stared at him quizzically. "I am merely telling them that nature, though it gives life, can just as easily tear it from their fragile mortal forms. Nature does not care about sentimentality or morality. It rips and tears and bloodies without any care for manmade ideals of cleanliness or properness. By teaching these mortals of the true dangers of nature, then I should think they would wish to buy these elixirs even more."


    "How did you ever run your own stall?"


    "I was a teacher. I taught curious mortals of my ways, and they bound themselves as my apprentices. It was they that ran the stalls."


    "Okay, I get it. You have negative EQ." Li sighed. "I mean, I should have known ¨C you''re not human. But to think that this is how you are even with consuming a few humans and getting their emotions."


    "What is EQ?" asked Iona curiously. "If it is something to learn, I shall apply myself to it, yes."


    "It''s nothing." Li waved his hand. "Just stay quiet for now until I finish this batch. Maybe I''ll work the counter for a bitter and show you how it''s all done."


    "What''s all this talk of blood and despair? The morning is yet young for such talk, hah!"


    "Old man? What are you doing out here?" said Li. Old Thane was standing at the counter, a broad smile on his face.


    Iona sensed the conversation did not involve her and she slunk back.


    "What do you mean,d?" said Old Thane. "Of course I would be here! It''s your grand opening! Arboretum, you say this stall is? My, that is a name that rings with splendid power andplexity! Although I loved Aine much, her creativity was not quite there. ''Aine''s Herbs'' her sign read."


    "If Arboretum didn''t already mean something to me, I might have done something simr," said Li. He gave a hearty p to the old man''s shoulder. "And I''m sorry I didn''t get your input over the stall''s name."


    "Nonsense. Son, this may be a way to honor Aine''s legacy, but first and foremost, it is your work, your pride and knowledge at disy." He jammed a proud finger into Li''s chest. "It is all you,d. You may have studied off Aine''s tomes, but all that you have wrought til'' now, this stall, these elixirs ¨C it is entirely you. So it is proper that you are the one to name it."


    Li smiled. "Guess you''re right on that one."


    "Oh, and the help of the youngss here too." Old Thane moved his head from side to side. "Aye, I could swear to the gods that I sensed her here, but she has faded."


    "She''s just quiet." Li motioned for Iona toe over, but he put a finger to his lips to tell her she was not to say something ridiculous.


    "Aye, there she is," said Old Thane as he heard Iona''s footsteps. "My,ss, you''re mighty quiet. Have you training as an assassin? To fool even my battle-hardened hearing. Mighty impressive."


    "No, she hasn''t. She''s a little shy with her words, so I hope you can excuse her if she doesn''t want to talk much."


    "Oh butd, I heard her loud and clear, and my, what jests she has within her! Entrails and weeping wives, aye! It hearkens to my northern sense of humor." Old Thane chuckled. He bowed his head to Iona. "Thank you,ss." He looked back to Li. "It is wondrous to see how much this humble farm has grown. First, the berries, then that magnificent guard dog, then the builders, and now the stall is up and working. It makes my old heart grow tender."


    "Didn''t know you were such a softie, old man. There''s a lot more to look forward to, though, so don''t get all weepy and sentimental already."


    "Of course not,d. I havee to appreciate that you are a gift that keeps giving." Old Thane took one of the elixirs on disy in hand. "Oh, quite warm. A [Bloodboil], is it? And say, how are sales? Surely the adventurers have picked up on your superb skills by now."


    Li shook his head sadly. "You''re a little too optimistic at times, old man. No, it''s going to take a while. ck Vine closed, so all the adventurers have turned out of town to get their elixirs. Sale by sale, though, word will get out and they''lle back here eventually."


    "Oh, is that so?" Old Thane scratched his beard. "Youngd, I remembered I had some business to attend to in the city." He pped his hand on the counter with a wide and proud smile. "You''ve good skills,d. Keep at it, and soon enough you''ll be the talk of town, aye."


    "The city? Want me toe with you? I can have Iona here keep watch over the stall."


    "Iona? That is her name?" Old Thane cocked his head and paused for a few seconds, as if thinking. He shook his head and then said, "No need,d. I need to head to the bank. I''ve an ount to check up on is all."


    "Alright." Li patted Old Thane''s shoulder. He would have liked to insist on apanying the old man, but he knew by now that the old man''s pride would never let that happen.


    "Tell me how your first day is when I get back,d!" said Old Thane as he waved his goodbye and walked down the main road, towards Riviera.

 Chapter 42 - Advertising

    Li and Iona spent most of the day uneventfully tending to the stall. As the sun began to set and the summery weather gave way to cool night breezes and pale starlight, he figured they had aplished enough for their first day. He had finished three batches of [Restoration], using all the milk poppy flowers he had grown from the week before.


    A few nearby farmers hade by to pickup the [Restoration], and Charles and his crew also took a few elixirs before they left, congratting Li on the stall''s opening and riding away right before sunset. Li had taken the time to also train Iona''s personability through example.


    The few elixirs of [Restoration] they sold was due to his efforts at the counter, calling out to the asional limping townsman, making small talk with them, and then rmending his product with a fake but warm enough smile.


    Many of them were at awe of Li and his foreignness, but thankfully, it seemed to help him. They believed the elixirs to be of exotic and ancient eastern make, and they were more than willing to pay for a means to cure their ills.


    But at the end of the day, the stall hadn''t sold as much as he would have hoped.


    "Good work," said Li to Iona as he used a wet rag to clean up the work table.


    "Thank you, O guardian." Iona also started to close down the stall, putting away their purification equipment after giving it all a thorough scrub in a bucket of cleansing water. "Shall I assist you at the same time tomorrow?"


    Li gave her a curt nod.


    "Things shall bloom soon enough," said Iona hopefully. "It is as you said ¨C we merely wait for word to spread."


    "Still doesn''t feel great. I know it''s silly, but I imagined a grand opening sort of deal." Li shrugged as he began to put the elixirs on disy under the counter, in their storage. "But not everything has to start with a bang, I guess."


    Li froze and tilted his head. He could fear footsteps. Not unusual despite the hour, but there were far too many. Iona noticed and came to Li''s side, peeking her head out the disy window.


    "Adventurers?" Her already pale face nched even more, standing out as a sheet of white in the darkening night. "They havee for me, yes, I am sure."


    Sure enough, there was a crowd walking up the main road. There must have been over two dozen people, all adventurers, armed with swords, shields, bows, staves, and garbed in leathers or armors. A few of them carried torches to light the way.


    Li stuck his head out the window and narrowed his eyes. Because he was in his human form, he had to consciously activate his superhuman senses, and when he did, he blinked.


    "Old man?" he wondered aloud.


    Sure enough, Old Thane was there at the front of it all, a wide smile stered on his faces as his wrinkled creased inughter.


    Li understood what was happening. "Old Thane, you are a blessing." He motioned to Iona. "Quick, light thenterns and get our products back on disy. I''m going to go talk to them."


    Iona bowed and knelt down, opening the locks that sealed the elixirs shut in their storage and began to take them out of their cooling racks to ce them back on disy.


    Li tore off his mask and gloves and tossed them on the work table. He left the stall and got on the main road, his arms wide open.


    "Old man! What the hell is all of this!?"


    They gave each other a brief but solid hug. Old Thane patted Li''s back and motioned back to the crowd of adventurers behind him. "Well,d, I daresay I felt like I was sitting on my arse while you two did all the work, and I thought, ''how can this old man help?'' So I went to the Gold gon, the adventurer''s tavern, and spent the day to tell this lot all about you and your talents. And now look how they flock like sheep!"


    The adventurers roared out excited responses.


    "Old Bloodfist, we know your word''s as true as your demon-killing hands. Course'' we woulde."


    "Oh my, look at him ¨C an easterner! Mayhaps his wares be enchanted with eastern magic? I hear many of them are immortals, too."


    "Easterner or not, he''s got Aine''s recipes and, ording to Old Thane, her skill, and that''s all I need."


    Li panned his gaze across the crowd. It was truly a diverse group of men and women of many different sses, builds, and ages. But what bound them all together was how they stood. They stood tall. Proud. Their eyes were full of life, their mouths smiling with strength and an eagerness to challenge everyday with the entirety of their might ¨C such was the will needed to survive as an adventurer.


    One of the adventurers came up and knelt before Li. He had on a green tunic of silk that shone under the firelight.


    Li couldn''t quite figure it out, but he thought he knew this man. His tall height and built frame weren''t out of the ordinary among the adventurers, but when he spied the silver pendant around the man''s neck, he realized this was the shield-bearing silver ranked adventurer he had saved from the Myrmeke.


    "I thank you, good sir, for saving my life. I regret I could not give you my deepest thanks at the time, but sadly, I was unconscious." The man thumped his chest with his hand and gave Li a resolute look, his chiseled features and blonde locks practically shining in the torchlight. "I, Launcelot of Lakely, swear to give all my patronage unto you."


    Li grabbed the man''s arm and hoisted him up. "No need to kneel on the dirt. The way you''re introducing yourself, you''re a noble, right? Then I might as well ask you for a few bags of money, but I''ve got a suspicion that in a few weeks, you''ll have dumped plenty of coin at my ce already."


    Li took a step back and addressed all the adventurers. "You''re all hear to check out what I''m selling, soe by and take a look. I haven''t made much yet, but what I do have, I guarantee will keep youing back for more."


    Li stepped back into the stall and manned the counter with Iona at his side. Old Thane watched from a distance; his arms crossed as he nodded at Li with fatherly pride. The adventurers crowded around the counter; their eyes wide as they looked at the rows of elixirs.


    "Look at that color! It''s so pure. No cloudiness. No sediment. Just¡­pure," said a mage, her mouth open in awe.


    "Bollocks about color, taste''s all that matters," said a bear-like brute of a man, his muscles practically bursting under his dark skin. He pawed one of the [Bloodboil] elixirs. In his huge hand, the elixir looked like a little toy. "How much for this, good sir?"


    "Fifty coppers or five silvers," said Li as he tapped the counter.


    The adventurer grunted as he rummaged through a sack at his waist. He took out a massive handful of silvers and let them sift through his hands until only five were left. With a solid thump, he ced them on the counter and took the elixir, uncorking it and immediately tilting his head to down it in one go.


    He exhaled and shook his head rapidly, his eyes blinking. "Gods! Now that''s a kick! Nothing like the watered down scum from ck Vine! Feel strong enough to wrestle down an orc!"


    With a roar, he mmed his foot on the ground, and the earth cracked a little under the force.


    "Watch it," said Li. "You damage the road, and I''m the one that has to pay the fine."


    "Mighty apologies, good sir," said the adventurer as he bowed his head, his moment of elixir addled excitement passing.


    "Vahid, get some manners before you embarrass us further. [Force Pull]" A mage behind Vahid pointed a staff at him and lifted him in the air before tossing him behind the crowd. She came up to the counter all smiles and cheer, her hands cradling her staff behind her back. "Say, could I get a sample?" She leaned forwards, making the low neckline of her dress very apparent.


    Li waved her away. "No samples, and no, you can''t ''convince'' me otherwise. Now, are you going to buy anything?"


    "Oh, you''re no fun," she said before she reached into a satchel at her hip and withdrew five silvers. "Here, I''ll take a [Bloodboil] too."


    Li nodded to her, took her money, and gave her the blood-red elixir. "Next," he said.


    Iona came to Li''s side, looking down and trying to make herself as small possible, and took the coins on the counter and deposited them into a small chest.


    Like this, the many adventurers came around. They were here to see whether Li''s wares were the real deal, and they respected each other enough to only buy one elixir so that everyone could get one to try it out.


    At the end of it all, Li had run out of every elixir he and Iona had spent two days brewing, but all the adventurers had managed to get a taste of what they had made.


    The crowd buzzed with excitement, murmuring nothing but praise.


    "Remember ck Vine''s [Restoration]? Damn near killed me with the shits it gave me. This, now this is gold," said a young ranger, his bow slung over his bare chest.


    An older man, a priest by the looks of his flowing white robes, said, "You young fools don''t know what you''re enjoying. This is Aine''s craft ¨C the best of the best, borne from the forest gods themselves."


    The ranger rolled his eyes. "No offense, sir, but you''re over fifty and still bronze. You''ve no right to be adopting a lecturing tone with us."


    The crowdughed in unison before continuing to chatter about Li''s works. Already, many of the adventurers wished to offer Li partnerships, setting aside a percentage of their profits to ensure they


    could have first pick at his stock. Some wished tomission exotic elixirs that were at the magical tier, fully believing Li had the skills to do so.


    Li smiled as he saw how much happiness his work was growing. His elixirs were nurturing these adventurers, bing their lifeline, bing their hope for survival. The nature he had tended to ¨C the life he had grown ¨C was nourishing even more life.


    He could understand what Iona meant when she said some forest spirits believed that nature was to nurture life whenever it could, for there was no greater treasure than it.


    Yet he could remember the eldritch side of his powers, how he felt belonging with them. The alien side of him that took and took and took, never giving, always destroying, and he knew he wasn''t meant to purely be a spirit that nurtured.


    For once, he could get a glimpse of what it meant to be what he was. It meant to bnce life and death, to measure both giving and taking. And yet when he looked at Old Thane again, at the unbridled pride imbued in every inch of his wizened smile, those godly responsibilities felt so very far away.


    All of a sudden, the crowd roared. Li shook his head to clear his thoughts and focused his attention back on the crowd. He stepped back from the counter as he saw that all of them were looking eagerly at him.


    "What say you, good sir? A toast to your opening? The Gold gon is open through the night." It was Launcelot making the suggestion, and the other adventurers flocked around him, nodding at his suggestion.


    "Aye, a mighty fine suggestion!" shouted Old Thane as he pushed through the crowd and to the front of the disy window. "How about it,d? A cheer to your hardwork, to all the hours and sweat you poured out. I say you deserve it."


    Li nodded, feeling the buzz of excitement and life around him. "Alright, just give me a second to clean the ce up."


    "Is the youngssing?" asked Old Thane.


    No, I shall not," replied Iona. She hung back in the shadows of the stall, avoiding thentern lights. "I feel unwell."


    Li gave an acknowledging nod to Iona. "Well that''s that. Give us a few minutes to clean up and I''ll be right out."


    As Li snuffed out thenterns and folded a tarp over the disy window, he asked Iona, "Are you still afraid that they might be hunting you?"


    "I am, yes," she whispered before she shuddered. "Even should they not be aware of me, it only takes one little mistake for a storm of force to rain down upon my head, and should that happen, I will be endangering the stall as well."


    "I understand." Li saw as Iona trembled while packing things away. "Look, you don''t have to worry so much. If pushes to shove, I have the power to protect you."


    "Yes, but you must use that power sparingly until you fulfill your mortal duties. Do not pity me, O guardian. I will ensure my own safety so that you may never have to resort to baring the full extent of your divine nature before you are ready."


    Li made his way to the exit door. He stood still for a few seconds, and when Iona came by to leave, he said, "I know I''m putting you through a lot and I''m being selfish with my mortal duties, but it''s that I have to do. I hope you understand."


    "My understanding matters not, for your will is mine regardless." Iona bowed her head and opened the door, putting her hood over her head.


    Li followed her out, shutting and locking the door behind him. As they made their way out, Iona froze abruptly. He looked at her for a second before tracing the direction she was staring at.


    It was Zagan. The crowd of adventurers had started to throng around the demon.


    "What a beauty, this hound is. Lord Lys''s royal hounds seem like mutts inparison," said the ranger from before.


    "You know the breed, Arthur?" questioned the burly warrior called Vahid.


    The ranger took a closer look at Zagan, squatting down and scooching near. "Strange. I''m no houndmaster, but this here''s a type that my eyes have never seen before. ck fur like this, darker than even the night, and those red eyes ¨C this here is unlike any regr hound. Perhaps part Barghest? Some Dire wolf in there, maybe?"


    He reached a hand out to pet Zagan.


    Zagan growled. The earth seemed to tremble as the guttural growl rattled out of his throat, echoing into the hearts of the adventurers, striking them with terror and a fear of impending doom. A piercing silence reigned where before there was the bustle of merrymaking.


    Li rushed forwards, ushering the now pale ranger and the crowd back. "He doesn''t like to be disturbed, I''m afraid. I''d appreciate if you didn''t bother him."


    The ranger nodded slowly, his hand gripped around his bow.


    "What are we doing wasting time here!" said Old Thane, defusing the situation. "To the Gold gon we go!".


    The crowd regained its cheer and started to move down the main road as Old Thane directed them.


    "I''ll be right behind," said Li as he waved the adventurers and Old Thane away.


    He turned back to survey the more serious situation. Iona had frozen because she had spotted Zagan, and Zagan now looked at Iona, his eyes zing with glimpses of hellfire.

 Chapter 43 - Drink-Off

    "You, a demon? What could your kind possibly be doing here after being so embarrassingly routed just thirty years ago?" Iona hissed.


    Li looked back at the adventurers, hoping they were out of earshot. They were already a ways down the main road so that their backs were smidgens in the distance, excited as they were to have an excuse to get drinks.


    Zagan raised his head at Iona and simply stared at her. He did not growl or bare his teeth. "I will not debase myself to engage with a little pup of a spirit such as you."


    Iona''s hands clenched into fists as she waved them in the air, wanting to vent her indignation but knowing that before her was a demon herald, one of the seven bearers of the cardinal sins and, correspondingly, a being of immense might that she could never challenge.


    "You killed these forests. All the life around here, all these woods, the Winterwoods -your kind killed it all."


    Zagan turned his gaze to Li. "This one is rather loud. Shall I quieten her for you? I understand she is of some use to you. I will ensure she will not die. She will merely know her ce."


    "W-what?" Iona protested. She also turned to Li. "O guardian, the demon before you lies. I do not know what he said to enter your service, but his kind has destroyed all the forests here in the south. All he will bring upon you, upon this farm, is untold chaos and destruction."


    Li put up amanding hand to enforce order. Both Iona and Zagan looked at him expectantly. "I understand that the two of you have differences, but I''ve also gotten to know both of you and I can confidently say that you are reasonable and intelligent. In any ordinary circumstance, I understand you would have been enemies, but under mymand, I won''t tolerate any discord. Take this chance to try and talk to each other instead of hurling usations and threats."


    Zagan gave Iona a sideways nce and sighed a little, his ck-furred chest heaving up and down withzy effort. "Very well. Our master wishes us to talk. Consider it an honor for you to even address one such as I without having thest dregs of your existence smote away from this world."


    "Talk?" Iona bit her lip. "How do I even begin to talk to you? You killed my kind."


    "Hm." Zagan nodded his head. "I can tell you that my personage has never struck a spirit of the forests such as yourself. Thirty years ago, I was not a herald. I was a mere warrior, eager to feast upon the mortals. I spent my days tormenting beastmen so that even now, they draw warning murals of my terrible visage shadowing over their flimsy viges."


    "The beastmen were good! They were kind, respectful."


    Zaganughed. "Tell me you do not sympathize with the mortals. No, that cannot be. You are merely grasping at straws, attempting to pin some me upon my personage to channel a hate that has brewed within you, unsatisfied, for many years."


    "You came north then," continued Iona quickly, trying to justify herself. "But all the forest guardians in the south ¨C you killed them."


    "In the north, where I fought, we did not touch a single one of your kin. Your brethren let our armies pass for you understood that the mortals were a thorn in your side. Your friends in the south, however, were far too fond of these mortals, coddling them to their breast as if they were their babes and fighting our advances every step of the way." Zagan scoffed. "We did not wish to harm the forest spirits, but they stood in our way."


    "You-"


    "You continue to address me as ''you'', as if to me all the actions of my kind unto my single personage. I shall forgive that transgression for I am aware that forest spirits aremunal, there is a stronger sense of ''we'' amongst your kind. But for demonkind, there is but the individual ¨C the strongest survives, the weak are consumed.


    I cannot absolve my kind for the deaths of your kin, but I do not take responsibility either. And were your kin in the south powerful enough, they would have repelled us, and I am sure we would have respected that power. But they were weak, so they perished. That is the bare, simple truth."


    Zaganid down now, paws crossed atop each other, as the hellfire in his eyes dimmed and he became increasingly bored. "And as I understand, the destruction of your home, of all the forest spirits in the north, were due to mortal hand, no? I know the bitterness raging within your heart. You seek vengeance ¨C my senses are keen to smell that out. But for reason''s sake and your own safety, I suggest you direct that vengeance to those properly deserving."


    Iona stared tight-lipped at Zagan for a full minute before she sighed, her back almost hunching as tension visibly released from her being. Her arms hung ck at her side before she shook her head. Her eyes regained their constant sense of tired calm, the hints of fiery emotion withering away.


    "I''m sorry. You''re right ¨C we were a kindred species, linked together with the bonds of flowing life. When everyone died, my sisters, brothers, and my guardian, I felt the pain enough to kill me many times over, and when I saw you, for a second, I felt that pain ¨C pain that I felt I had washed away by diluting myself with mortal souls ¨Ce back. But you are not responsible for that pain, I admit, no."


    Zagan sighed impatiently. "Such is the folly of you younger spirits. You have not felt the centuries dance by. You do not understand how to put your pain into an eternal perspective. Your years are many, the mortals have few. That is all the more years for you to fight, not to engage in utter foolishness and submit to an eternal despair. So long as you live, you fight and stay strong ¨C that is how you quench your vengeance, that is how you prove yourself above your aggressors. Wallowing in pity does nothing."


    Iona nodded. "I will think upon your words. They do have grains of wisdom in them, and the guardian is right in that it is best for this farm that we don''t have any resentment for each other."


    "Resentment? My great personage never thought you deserving of that," said Zagan matter-of-factly.


    "Yes, yes, I understand," sighed Iona, understanding that she would be getting used to looked down upon by a higher demon from now on. She turned to Li. "I''ll be off soon. You should make merry with the adventurers. They''ll be suspicious if you take too long. I must stay here for a while to take a more secretive way back to the city after they have entered."


    Li looked at Iona, then at Zagan. "You two will be fine alone together?" he asked, knowing that whatever bad blood between them was just a fiery spark that had settled, but he still asked out of caution.


    Iona gave an affirmative nod. "You should not worry, O guardian. I will ask the demon of how you run this farm and what you require help with. I am also rather curious as to how he came into your service."


    "I would not address such a lowly spirit, but if it is for the sake of improving your usefulness to the master, then I will entertain you," said Zagan.


    -----


    When Li made his way into Riviera, he found the nightlife on overdrive. Riviera, the city built right next to a sparklingke and holding a prestigious university was a hotbed of young energy, of wild nights out, of romantickeside walks and brief but intense passions only made possible with the mes of youth.


    Food vendors ¨C an omnipresent sight ¨C hawked their wares, but their foodstuffs were very different at this time of the hour. As Li walked through the main marketce now lit with an array of torches, he could hear the sizzling of oil and the smell of fried chicken as greasy goodness ¨C perfect for helping the stomach prepare for a heavy dose of alcohol - overtook the baked goods of the day.


    He ignored the vendors. At the center of the marketce was a raised tform where a group of troubadours, basically performing musicians, yed a high-energy song talking about a nobledy losing herself to a night of drunken partying. Amon type of song for this time of the night.


    He passed the marketce and went up north, taking several stairs as he grew closer to the city hall. Beyond the hall, elevated even higher up, were the expansive noble estates, but he wasn''t headed there. Instead, before he took the massive flight of stairs up to the city hall, he took a sharp right, heading eastwards where the adventurer''s guild was.


    In the night, it stood out as an austere building of brick and unpolished marble. Behind ity a wooden barracks and courtyard where trainees were housed and prepped to fight monsters. The building itself was maybe four floors high, the windows barred and the door a massive hunk of rune-reinforced wood.


    At the center of the door was carved in a sigil in the shape of sword.


    It signaled that this was, rather uncreatively named, the guild of the sword, focused on training warriors and rangers, people who fought with their physical might. There were three other guilds located in each of the other cardinal cities.


    That of the staff for mages, the dagger for assassins, and the sun for priests. Of course, all of the guilds allowed adventurers of any ss to take their assignments, but each specialized in training a certain subset of adventurer.


    Just a little further east of the guild stood the Gold gon, officially funded by the adventurer''s guild. Adventurers got discounts here, and some events were limited to adventurers only. Usually, there would be two guards outside the door emzoned with the image of a golden cup, but today they were absent.


    It was the only tavern that he knew how to get to because Old Thane, at least when he was younger, only ever came here.


    As far as taverns went, it was massive, with two upper floors dedicated as an inn to house overnight drunkards or the tired adventurer. And considering the dangerous and taxing line of work, there were plenty of adventurers that drank themselves silly to ease their stresses or needed a quick and cheap ce to stay while they finished an assignment.


    Tonight, the Gold gon lit up with life. All of its many windows shone a bright orange, the gleamingnterns within providing more than enough lighting. The building almost seemed to shake, and when Li approached, he could hear even outside the rough shouting of adventurers, of sses clinking and roaringughs thundering outwards.


    The moment Li opened the door, the warm and humid air within sting him in the face, a horde of shouts greeted him, but one of them was louder than all the rest.


    "There he is!" roared Vahid at the top of his lungs, his barrel-like chest straining as he thrust an entire pitcher into the air, beer at the top spilling over and quickly evaded by a rogue shot a quick re at the bear of a man. "Ain''t it the genius! Another round to celebrate his arrival!"


    Despite Vahid''s prodigious size, Old Thane shoved him easily to the side and waved at Li. "Come,d, there be plenty of ale toe by!"


    "All rounds on me," said Launcelot from a table to the side as he raised his arm shakily. He slumped forwards, preventing himself from facenting on the table only because of his party members holding him up straight.


    Li closed the door behind him and let the crowd''s energy flow through him. He took a seat by Vahid and Old Thane. He spied Old Thane holding a mug of beer and said, "Where''s my drink, old man? You didn''t get drunk without me, did you?"


    "Not at all,d, and I''ll be a little loose on the drink, aye," said Old Thane. "Never in a thousand years would I behold your sess with anything less than a clear mind."


    "Expected nothin'' less of the honorable Bloodfist," said Vahid. "But I ain''t no abstainer." He jerked his head back and poured the entire contents of the pitcher into his mouth. The beer waterfalled into his mouth and emptied outpletely, as if disappearing into a void. With a grunt, he took the empty pitcher and tossed it behind him, towards the barkeep''s counter. "Barkeep! Bring the easterner here some liquor! The finest you''ve got ¨C prettyboy moneybags over there is payin'' anyway."


    Vahid pointed to Launcelot, and the shield-bearer by this point mustered up a half-lucid thumbs up.


    The barkeep, a stout man with a bald head that reflected thentern light around him and a thick moustache, caught the pitcher, cleaned it in one swift motion with a rag, and took it under a barrel where he poured out a dark brown liquid.


    "Say, easterner," said Vahid.


    "Don''t call me ''easterner''. It''s Li."


    Vahid nodded vigorously, his matted ck dreadlocks swinging. "Sorry bout'' that. So, Li, you a drinker?"


    "I''ve drank my fair share," said Li, remembering when he used to use his money to chase after party after party to find something that would give him some excitement in life. "But nowadays I don''t really consider myself one."


    Old Thane shook his head at Vahid. "You''re meaning to challenge thed?"


    "Whiskey, vintage 850, barreled and aged from the golden grains of Duvin,ing up!" The barkeep shouted from behind before tossing the pitcher full of expensive liquor expertly towards Vahid. The giant of a man didn''t even look behind him as he caught the pitcher, keeping his pale gold eyes squared on Li with a massive grin.


    "Don''t be sweatin'', Old Thane, this here''s a man''s man, I can see it in his eyes." Vahid took the pitcher and slid it towards Li. "You see, Li, I got a little challenge goin'' for me. Outdrink men from every corner of the world. I''ve downed plenty of capitol pansies, beat out the roughshod northmen, stood number one amongst my fellow hintenders, and those so called alcohol experts down south in Duvin?"


    Vahid grimaced. "All tasters, no drinkers. Drank em'' under the table all in one go. Hells, I even edged out against them beastmen, tough bastards they were. But a man from the east? That ain''t somethin'' you see every day. So how bout'' it?"


    "Lad, don''t mean to take from your moment, but you don''t have to do this," said Old Thane.


    Li smiled at Vahid. "Old man, the only thing you should be worrying about is who''s going to manage to carry this guy back home, because it sure as hell won''t be me."


    Around so much energy, so much human energy, Li couldn''t help but find himself drawn to all of it, a sense of nostalgia washing over him. In his past life, he had isted himself from the world and all it had to offer because it could never offer him what he wanted, but now that he was living his dream, he could finally enjoy everything around him for what it was ¨C just something to be enjoyed, not meant to fill voids in his heart.


    "That settles it!" Vahid stood up, standing several heads taller than anyone in the room, and mmed his hand onto the table, the liquor in the pitcher sloshing dangerously near the top. "Everyone! Time for a challenge! Li here''s gonna drink me under the table, he says!"


    The adventurers grew quiet for a second before eagerly gathering around the table, forming a ring around it.


    "Gods, ain''t this like the fightin'' pits in the capitol?" said Vahid as he eyed the eager faces around him. "Ain''t nobody in this whole damn guild beat me, and I ain''t bout'' to lose today."


    "A whole lot of talk, but I''m not seeing any drinking," said Li.


    Vahid grabbed the pitcher and it looked like an ordinary size mug in his massive hand. "Alright, let''s get to it. We ain''t yin'' like pansies here, Li. We drink full pitchers til'' one of us knocks on the doors of Valhul."


    "Your game, your rules." Li shrugged.


    The crowd murmured among themselves, awed at his confidence. It was evident that Vahid had made a rather big name for himself doing this challenge, but Li''s confidence wasn''t unwarranted. The thing was, he had incredible poison resistance, and he doubted any amount of alcohol would do something to him.


    The match was over before it even began.


    Vahid knocked down the pitcher of whiskey, and the crowd would cheer when he mmed it down on the table, empty.


    The barkeep, noticing themotion, tossed another pitcher, and Li caught it before drinking everything in one fell swoop.


    The crowd cheered even harder at this unexpected development. Li was tall, sure, but he wasn''t imposingly built. Weight wise, he should never have matched Vahid who was not only freakish tall but freakish big.


    This continued, the barkeep tossing pitcher after pitcher until finally, there were six empty pitchers crowding the table. Vahid and Li had each drank three, but the winner was easily apparent.


    "Genius all right damn the gods and-"muttered Vahid before he slumped backwards. Before his brawn could fall on a table and shatter it, he froze in the air, levitating. The mage from before, the same one who had used [Force Pull] on Vahid at the stall, had caught him.


    "That settles it!" she said. "Li, the wonder from the east and our new supplier, is victorious!" She turned to Vahid. "And as for you, you big dumb oaf, you''ll be going home. Excuse us!"


    The mage gave a congrattory wink to Li before she left, the adventurers making a path for her as she magically carried Vahid''s body behind her.


    It was only when the door shut behind her that the crowd snapped back to reality, fully realizing that Li had won. The crowd broke out into an uproar, adventurers pping Li''s back, some asking if he was okay.


    "You easterners are beast-tamers, immortal, live in pces of jade, and drink without limit? Hells, I was born in the wrong corner of this world," said a man.


    "Trust me, things are better here," said Li as he washed away the taste of strong alcohol from his mouth with some water. "Convenience alwayses at a price."


    Old Thane squeezed Li''s shoulder andughed. "Gods, what a show. Aye,ddie, you''re a right warrior, you are, no wonder I saw so much in you."


    "Come on, old man, I hope drinking liquor isn''t the biggest thing I''ve done to impress you so far," said Li.


    "Haha! Of course not, but it does show me you''ve got stones a plenty!" Old Thane raised his mug. "Another cheer for Li, Aye!"


    "Aye!" shouted the crowd in unison, dozens of mugs and sses rising in the air with drunken coordination, drops of wines, beers, ales, and liquors sshing on the ground like rain.


    The doors opened again. It took a few seconds to register, but as people at the back realized who hade in, a dead silence passed through the entire tavern, abruptly cutting off the energy from before.


    Li cocked his head before he shifted his chair to face the door.


    A man stood in the doorway, a golden bodysuit entuating his bodybuilder''s physique. His eyes and spiked hair were golden, shining not because they were blonde, but because they literally shed with light. He smiled, a twinkle of light sparkling from his teeth.


    He held the door open as a hooded figure walked in. Shorter and slighter in build, with steps that were quick and precise. When the figure pulled down their hood, the room broke out into murmurs, the adventurers ncing at each other with confusion, looking to each other to find someone who knew what was going on.


    Li only saw a regr woman under that hood. Sharp and refined features, simr to those of count Alexei, and piercing, hungry blue eyes under jet-ck hair that betrayed a warm and friendly smile. She looked older, but not overly so, perhaps in her mid-thirties, the faint beginnings of crows feet starting at the sides of her eyes.


    "My deepest apologies, dear adventurers, for I truly do appreciate your service to me. But a few eyes and ears have informed me that a certain easterner is to be here, and I wish to meet him. Alone. Call it a meeting of the state."


    Li understood now. Before him stood the woman he had heard so much about - the duchess of Soleil, Vivienne.

 Chapter 44 - Contract

    "Lad, what is the meaning of this?" whispered Old Thane. "Will you be fine?"


    Li patted the old man''s back, nting a defensive seed on him as he had done before with the bandits. "I can take care of myself. Follow the adventurers out and get to the farm as soon as you can."


    The adventurers stumbled their way out, their movementsgged down by drink and stupor. But even weighed with alcohol, they still formed an orderly queue to stream out the tavern, the less drunk adventurers helping the more incapacitated ones out with stunning efficiency.


    Teamwork and unity were probably the most important lessons that adventurers learned, and it really did show.


    As the adventurers left, the less drunk ones gave short bows to the duchess while ring at the man in the golden bodysuit.


    "Thank you for all your service to the crown, dear adventurers," said the duchess as she returned the bows with a smile.


    When she spied Launcelot, passed out drunk and carried on the backs of his friends, she sighed. "Oh, dear me, Launcelot, what will your mother say to such unbing conduct? s, I suppose that is youth."


    "Adventurers!" said her golden guardian. He crossed his arms and gave all the adventurers an almostughing smile. It looked the same as the duchess''s, just as wide and warm and showing perfect teeth that shone. "I don''t know where heroes like me would be without you adventurers to keep thends within our borders safe. You folk are incredible!"


    The adventurers ignored him, some scoffing at him, others rolling their eyes as they left.


    "Sunstar, do control your voice. The adventurers are tired after a long night of merriment. I am sure thest they wish to hear is your booming ruckus."


    Li took a second look at Sunstar. This was the man that the vampire count had spoken about. The strongest of all heroes whose strength could topple mountains. The man whose powers came from an entirely different world.


    He tried to use [Power Sense], but it came up with nothing, not even a profile. It was like he had tried using it on a rock. The count had mentioned that powers rted to the game ¨C stats, sses, and magic ¨C came from a mutation, something within the body, and it was very apparent that Sunstar had no such thing.


    "It appears the easterner is interested in you, Sunstar," said the duchess. Her smile was warm, wide, and brimmed with an easygoing energy, but her eyes were far sharper, far quicker, paying attention to Li''s every movement. "But that is to be expected. You are the savior of humanity, after all. Go, bid him an introduction."


    Sunstar floated forwards, his cape of flowing light billowing behind him. He stopped when he was directly in front of Li. He still had a smile on, and though it was hard to tell because his eyes were solid dots of light, Li could tell the hero was analyzing him.


    Li stood from his chair and shoved it behind him. He looked directly into Sunstar''s eyes. "Is there a problem?"


    Sunstar stared at Li for a few seconds, and for the faintest of seconds, it seemed his smile wavered, but heughed. "Not at all, good sir! I am Sunstar, the might of humanity, incarnation of Helius upon this desperate world, yer of the Burning One, and keeper of the Light. Though, I am sure you''ve heard of me?"


    "Your name, maybe. Anything else? No."


    Sunstarughed again. "Of course. It is difficult to pay attention to heroics when you are busy adjusting to a foreignnd."


    "Nope, I just didn''t care to know." Li shrugged.


    Sunstar kept his smile, and Li narrowed his eyes. Either the man was just that good of a person, or he was good at regting his emotions. "Why are you here?"


    Sunstar pointed to himself with a ck-gloved hand. "Me? Oh, I have no business with you, easterner. It is the duchess that wishes audience with you. I am only here to ensure her safety, and rest assured, that is not because I suspect you of danger, it is an hour to hour job, you see."


    Li waved the hero away. "I understand."


    Sunstar nodded, his smile still the same as ever, and floated backwards, allowing the duchess toe forward. She didn''t care about stepping on the spilled alcohol and mess on the floor, Li noticed. She took a wooden chair and dragged it in front of Li, but before she sat, she motioned to the barkeep behind them.


    "Barkeep! Be a dear and leave, would you? And lock the living quarters upstairs. I wouldn''t want anyone to eavesdrop on royal matters. And don''t fret ¨C you will be handsomely paid for the lost business."


    The barkeep nodded, moving fast as he rushed his wide body up the stairs, disappearing with a loud thunk as he closed and locked the doors to the inn behind him.


    "Ah, there we go," said the duchess as she sat in the chair, stretching her arms out.


    "I see you didn''t want to be spotted." said Li, eyeing the duchess''s clothes. Verymon and in. Long, roughshod robes over woolen shirt and leather trousers.


    "Oh, a keen eye you have, but not quite." She motioned to Sunstar. "He flew me here, so there was no chance for prying eyes to spot me. These clothes are simply the mostfortable for flights. It gets awfully cold up high, I''ve noticed."


    "I see." Li nced between the duchess and Sunstar. They evidently had worked together many times before. It meant that the hero was highly likely a state apparatus, directly beholden to the crown. That indicated that his power likely wasn''t enough to topple the world order, but then again, Li could never be sure about that either. "Now what''s your business with me? I''m just a simple farmer."


    "Now, don''t be so humble. You''re a stunning herbalist, too, aren''t you? You studied from the esteemed Aine whose treatise on mythic herb formtion still holds sway even in the capitol. Look at how the adventurers rave over you!"


    Li cocked his head. "You know an awful lot about me, despite the fact that I''m just a nobody on a farm outside the most peaceful city of Soleil. Meanwhile, you should be on your throne in the capitol, a week''s ride away from here. The moment you came here, there would have been an explosion of news, enough to even reach me, someone who doesn''t pay much attention. You can understand why I would find this a little odd."


    The duchess smiled. "Ah, you are a sharp one, but do not worry. Sunstar was so very quick in flying me here, I say that the court knows not that I am even gone! I came to see you, you see, though I do have other business to attend to, so I should say that you are the first to know I am even here. And as for why I know so much about you, well, it was necessary research."


    Li crossed his legs. "I see. Then tell why your business needed so much "necessary" research."


    He couldn''t get a good read on the duchess. Her smile was simply just that ¨C a smile. It did not betray any emotion. It was a wall she had built up over many years of practice, and it was just as effective as the stony faces of soldiers trained to never let their faces show anything even under torture. He would have to talk to her to figure things out.


    "I am sure you''ve heard of it." The duchess sighed, her hands daintily collecting on herp. "The Contract of the Grasses. It does bear me sadness to enforce it ¨C all those small shops closing ¨C but I must have trusted and overseen herbalists so that the drugs ravaging this glorious duchy may stop."


    "I see." Li did not say more, waiting for the duchess to speak.


    "I have done my research and heard much of your expertise, and I am here to bestow the contract upon you."


    Sunstar pped behind the duchess. "Congrattions, easterner!"


    "What does that mean? Do you want me to go into your servitude, bend to your every whim and will? Because I am never signing anything, and if you want to give that contract to someone else, then go ahead. But I won''t stop what I''m doing."


    The duchess put her hand to her lip, startled at Li''s words. "Oh, nothing of the sort. My, the contract is simply a guarantee of the crown''s support. A recognition of your excellence, if you will. I will supply you everything you need. Seeds of the finest variant and the royal construction brigade to fashion equipment and workces of the highest caliber."


    "And in return?"


    "Nothing. As I have said, this is an ode to your superb skill."


    Li stared at the duchess, but all she had on was her imprable smile. "This is nonsense. There''s no reason for you to give me so much without expecting something from me."


    The duchess squirmed in her seat a little, and her smile let down for a second. "Oh, you are a hard sell, you are. Well fine, I do wish a small favor from you. You see, my knights have forayed into the north and found miracle seeds among the beastmen. They are exceptional, bearing crop within days. It exins why the north has never had a shortage of food."


    She withdrew a leather pouch from under her robes. It fit neatly in her palm and she ced it in front of Li. "I want you to nt them in your farm, see how they grow and how they harvest."


    Li did not look at the seeds. "That still doesn''t tell me why it helps you."


    "Oh, it would not do for the good people of Soleil to know that we are using seeds from ursed beastmen. Imagine the scandal! But you, a human and yet just foreign enough that all the properties of the seed can be attributed to your strange origin ¨C well, none wouldin about that."


    When the duchess saw that Li still did not take the seeds, she sped her hands together and said, "Please do take them, it would not do for my conscience to know that the people of Soleil starve when I had the power to save them."


    "I''ll consider it," said Li. He was still suspicious. The duchess overflowed with generosity, but he could tell that she was not na?ve. However, if the duchess was speaking truth, then this was a way to improve the farm immensely.


    No more would he have to wait an entire year for the wheat to regrow. Instead, he just had to wait a few days, and when he further learned how to read the flow of life, he could replicate these supposed miracle seeds at will.


    He could work at the farm forever and always, growing and harvesting to his heart''s content with few moments of downtime in between.


    "But I need a guarantee that you will never encroach on my freedoms. I do what I want when I want. What I grow goes where I want it to go."


    The duchess pped her hands together, her eyes beaming. "Certainly! A royal contract will be sent to your residence in the morrow, and if any of the terms are not to your satisfaction, then do feel free to tear it up - we will send you another to your satisfaction. Thank you so very much for aiding the people of Soleil, your actions today shall not be forgotten."


    "Wait." Li opened the seed pouch. When he looked at them, he realized he did not recognize them. They were not regr seeds nor were they from Elden World. They were something entirely new, a deviation native only to this world, and that piqued his interest. He would further inspect them closerter.


    "I''ll give you enough respect to take these seeds because you are asking a favor of me despite your position, but I''m finding you have the wrong impression of what I want. There will be no official and royal contract, nothing to draw attention to the farm. I want you to leave the farm alone. Do not involve it in politics. Do not tie it with your crown. Do not send a legion of builders and do not pour out a mountain of coin over it."


    "Oh, then how shall I enforce the Contract of the Grasses, then? The other cardinal cities will wonder why Riviera has no royal herbalist."


    "That''s your problem." Li shrugged. "But I would advise you not do anything that gets in the way of my farm."

 Chapter 45 - To Worry

    The duchess pulled back a little. She withdrew her smile and froze up like a deer in the headlights as she felt Li''s pressure, but this time, he could tell that her fear waspletely feigned. Her eyes betrayed her. They remainedpletely focused and attentive, unclouded by terror.


    Sunstar, sensing some tension, started to float towards them, and Li stretched his fingers out, readying for a confrontation, but the duchess waved at the hero to stand down.


    "Do excuse Sunstar, it is his job to guard me, so I hope you can forgive him." The duchess ran her hand through her hair, folding errant strands away from her eyes. Her stare softened, mellowing out into the same shade of warmth as her smile. "Of course. Your terms are more than reasonable to ensure that my people are fed. I will exempt Riviera from the contract.


    I enforced it to halt the flow of drugs within the duchy, anyway, and ck Vine, those criminal scoundrels, have ceased their activities here, so I suppose there is no real reason for me to force a document upon you.


    I only felt that you were deserving of some royal aid, but I now understand you wish for peace and solitude, and I will respect that."


    "Basically, I''m a participant of an experimental study. I try out these seeds and see if they work?"


    "Not at all. I would not have you sully your fields with seeds that did not work. No, I have already had the mages of the Arcana study them. They are entirely effective and safe. I merely wish you to be the first so that I may tell my citizens that they came from humans, not beastmen."


    "Wouldn''t that put a spotlight on me?"


    "I would say yes, but nothing to worry about. I will keep your identity vague should themoners ever grow curious, but I doubt they will. Themon folk cares not where their graines from so long as it came from human hands. I should say that your recent meteoric rise as this city''s prime herbalist warrants more attention to you."


    Li paused, his facepletely still as he thought. The duchess nodded to Li and cocked her head, as if asking him if there was more he wanted.


    That was it?


    There was little to no opposition here. She asked for essentially nothing of Li, but even so, she seemed happy, victorious, even, with the way she never had to think about anything she said. It was as if this was the oue she had always wanted, always known would happen.


    Perhaps it was because she loved her people enough that the prospect of adequately feeding them outweighed any personal advantage to her. As it stood now, the situation was entirely satisfactory for him and nothing but negatives for her.


    Without a royal herbalist to do her bidding in Riviera, she would lose much of the herb harvest in the west.


    He could work on his farm with Old Thane unnoticed and cherish the rest of his humanity without worrying about the needless chaos of this world. He could do what he loved ¨C tending to the farm and the herbs ¨C all day with these miracle seeds and there would be no pesky crown telling him where to send what he grew. His sense of curiosity had dampened since he hade to this world, but to know that there were seeds he knew nothing of was still an exciting prospect.


    Li stood up, putting the pouch in his pocket. "Then we''re done here. If you respect our agreement, I expect that we won''t be seeing much of each other ever again. Goodbye."


    Sunstar''s arm twitched, and that was all it took for the duchess to immediately raise a hand to stand him down. "It is fine, Sunstar. He is right. Our talk hase to a satisfactory end."


    "I have to say, easterner, you drive a hard bargain. You''re a big man, aren''t you!" said Sunstar as he gave a half bow and floated aside with exaggerated ir.


    Li walked up to Sunstar, close enough that they were almost eye to eye, though Sunstar''s floating made him stand higher. The hero smiled as he met Li''s gaze, his glowing golden pupils seeming to expand.


    "One more word, and I''ll rip that self-absorbed smile off of your face." Li and Sunstar stared at each other for a few seconds, but the hero did not speak. "That''s what I thought, ''big man''," said Li as he left, giving neither of them a second look.


    ________________


    "And that''s that," said Li to Old Thane. "The crown won''t bother us anymore, and thisnd''s all ours."


    They sat around the dinner table as they usually did, the firece crackling with its idyllic rhythm. When Li came back to the cottage, he had found Old Thane pacing about the fire, anxious for his return.


    "Gods,d, you buckled the crown under your words?" Old Thane said. He sighed deeply as he ran his hand through his face, rubbing away his weariness. "What fortune for us. To think I thought you sent to the dungeons! Still now, my hands shake with worry."


    Li noticed Old Thane''s shaking and felt that the old man was so much smaller than he was. It made him realize that despite the old man''s strength and his past filled with bright and wonderful memories, he was still just an old man with everything in the world to lose.


    Before Li, he must have resigned himself to wasting away while tilling thend, only ever living to remember his past and look forward to joining his wife through death''s helping hand. But now that Li was here, the old man had something to lose once more, and so naturally he feared.


    But Li couldn''t stand to see him afraid like this for no reason. He must have felt this way every single time Li had disappeared, and all because Li wanted to keep his power a secret. He would let the old man know of his power, but he wouldn''t give up that he was inhuman just yet.


    "Old man, I want you to know that you will never have to worry about me," said Li. "I have power. Power beyond measure. Nothing in this kingdom, no, nothing in this world can stop me. I want to let you know that. The oath I made to you? About building this farm up to unreachable heights? I made it because I have the power to keep it."


    "I know,d. I''ve always known. I''m no fool ¨C I know you are a man of peerless strength. I know you slew all those bandits. I know that the hound here is a demon yoked under your power ¨C I fought in the demon wars,d, I can sense their ilk. I know that you must have shattered ck Vine, tearing them up by their very roots."


    Li felt confused. "Then why did you y along with me? Why are you still worrying?"


    Old Thane smiled. "Because,d, if you wanted to keep it a secret, then who am I to disrespect that wish? You''ve good reasons, I''m certain, and I trust your judgement, aye that I do. As for why I still worry, I do wonder that."


    His cloudy eyes flitted upwards, reminiscing. "Say,d, I never tell tales I feel hold less than glory for me, but I''ll say one now.


    I hail from the north. The far north, beyond even the elves and beastmen. Beyond even the dragons. At the edge of the world, where winter is eternal, where life bludgeons all under a mighty fist of iron, caring not for the elderly or young.


    There, nothing can grow. There is only the hunt, prowling through thick winter storms only to wrestle with the wrath of beasts that have learned to make such unforgivingnds their home. Once, when my stomach rang with hunger, bringing forth my savage instincts, I came upon ad and his crooked old father.


    I knew the man. Sigmund the Indestructible. A mutant, aye, unkible to any blow or spell. Far stronger than I. But my hunger was so terrible that I was still willing to fight them, maul them for the chance to gnaw at their flesh.


    Truthfully, I rose my fists then to ept death. I knew I would not fell Sigmund, but I would rather die by de than to the cold or hunger.


    Yet Sigmund''s father feared for his son''s life. That old man, shriveled and hunched over as he was, begged me to tear off his arm to soothe my hunger so that his son may not fight.


    I did not take that arm. I did not fight Sigmund, and I survived. For decades, I have thought of that moment. What could have possessed that shriveled husk of a man to fear for his son, a man whom I could never even hope to draw blood from?


    When I became wed to Aine and settled in the south where life can grow so beautifully from the earth, I still had no answer, for Aine could not bear child. When she passed and I myself became aged, shriveled and weaker, I still had no answer.


    But now that you are here, I finally understand. I am sorry to say,d, but it matters not your strength ¨C a father will always worry."

 Chapter 46 - A New Beginning

    Li shook his head, his mouth curling ever so faintly up at the edges in a smile. "You''re right, old man. I should''ve known you''d worry about me whether or not I could lift the heavens or not." His smile faded as his jaw set with determination. "But I promise you that I will still try to make sure you never worry anymore. You have so little time left to waste any of it worrying. Everything''s been arranged now. The crown will never bother us, the stall is up and running, and soon, and our fields will be full and alive too. We can finally tend this earth for real".


    Old Thaneughed. "Lad, I''ve still years and years left in me. A good twenty, I reckon. You sound as if I''ll fall dead the very next day. Come now, no need to coddle me. I daresay I like this worry ¨C it reminds me how much I yet live for. And what''s this about our fields? You''ve found way to muster up something out of that barren earth?"


    "That I have." Li smiled and took out the seed pouch, sliding it right in front of Old Thane.


    Old Thane palmed the bag, squishing it between his fingers as he felt through it. "Are these seeds,d?" His fingers pinched a few of the seeds between the bag''s fabric. "Form the size and shape, I reckon these be wheat seeds. Butd, growing season is over."


    "Those aren''t ordinary seeds. Got them from the duchess as a sort of parting gift. ording to her, you nt them, wait a couple of days, and you have a full crop."


    "That is madness."


    "That''s what I thought too, so tomorrow, let''s try nting them together. We can watch how they grow. Plus, it''s been a few days since I''ve worked with you on the fields, so I figure it''s a good chance for me to help you out again."


    Old Thane slid the seeds back to Li. "Aye, I''d like that. Would be mighty nice to have you around again to spill all my old adventures to, but your stall,d. It''s been a mere day; you should tend to it. I am sure the adventurers will be crowding it in the morrow."


    Li shook his head. "That''s what I have an assistant for. She''ll manage."


    "Butd-"


    "Old man, I know you want what''s best for me, but I''ll tell you right now what''s best for me is to be by your side at the fields, listening to your old stories, exchanging jokes, and helping you." Li smiled. "What? You can''t take a little help every now and then?"


    "Not at all,d. Not at all. You''re right ¨C the fields did feel that much more lonesome without you, hah!"


    ________________


    At dawn, a few hours before they usually started, they got to work.


    One thing that Li noticed about Old Thane was despite the fields being barren for years, he never stopped tending to it, weeding it and nting in them every year. It was a tenacity that he admired, and finally, he would get to see the old man''s efforts bear fruit.


    They spent the morning getting down on the dirt and plucking out weeds, and when they had finished, they still had to tend to the fact that the earth had to be made ready to nt. It had to be upturned and furrowed.


    "I''ll get the plow,d," said Old Thane as he wiped sweat off forehead.


    "No need." Li stood at the center of the field and knelt down, cing a hand on the cool and soft dirt. There was no need to conceal his power from Old Thane anymore. Of course, he still couldn''t be tant about things and just cast [Wild Growth] all the time and pop up a forest of nts, but there were subtler ways to go about things.


    Focusing, he felt the Myrmeke''s presence rumbling just below the surface.


    ''Come, can you help me?''


    He felt a surge of happiness from the Myrmeke as it responded in the affirmative.


    ''Good. Then start turning up the earth where I walk. Dig up some deep soil and rece the stuff above with it.''


    Li took up a slow pace around the fields, and the earth behind his steps sunk before being reced with ayer of fresh and moist soil untouched by the elements. He made sure to keep an eye around his surroundings, and thankfully nobody was around much during this time right before first light, which was the main reason why he had decided to work earlier today.


    Eventually, the Myrmeke plowed the entire field,pletely submerging the brown and barren soils and recing them with fertile, nutrient rich darkness smelling of rain and littered with worms.


    "Gods,d, what''s this?" said Old Thane as he took a few tentative steps into the field. "You''ve skills to sway the earth?"


    Li came up to Old Thane and grabbed his arm. He had already revealed his power, and at this point, he figured it was time for the old man to know about how his farm really worked. "Touch the earth, old man, and you''ll see."


    The two of them knelt down, and as Old Thane''s wrinkled palm pressed t on the dirt, the Myrmeke''s antennae burst up, curling gently around his hand.


    Old Thane shivered. "My, that''s a hairy worm, that is!"


    Liughed. "Not at all. It''s a giant ant called a Myrmeke. It''s been living under the soil for a while now, and I figure it''ll do its part on the farm as a plow."


    Old Thane patted the antennae with his other hand. "Well then, thank you, little ant! You''ve saved many years of toil from my back."


    Li smiled. "Oh if you could see it, you wouldn''t be calling it little."


    Afterwards, the two spent an hour nting the seeds by hand. They dug out evenly spaced patches in the dirt. About ten centimeters apart for each patch and just a centimeter deep. Interestingly enough, the amount of seeds in the bag were almost exactly enough to cover the breadth of the fields, with just a few left behind for Li to useter for his forest spirit training exercises.


    -----


    Li and Old Thane took a break, sitting cross-legged beside the fields, their trousers and shirts stained with dirt. Dirt caked under their fingernails and smeared on their faces, but they did not mind. It was proof of hard work, proof that one hadmuned with the earth and nted life.


    By this time, the sun wasing up. Today would be a beautiful day. The sun peaked up from the west, rising over the Winterwoods, driving away the gloomy shadows wreathing them. As the darkness melted, the green of the forest became visible.


    Li could spot little patches of yellow and purple flowers as the light spread across the rolling meadows spanning between the woods and Riviera. When he looked up, he saw that birds fluttered across the sky as life began to awake, their little figures seeming so small in such a wide and blue sky that grew brighter by the moment.


    "Life''s been so fast-paced these days," said Li. There was so much he had done since he hade to this world, despite starting out just to be a farmer. He had fought bandits, met vampire counts, drank with adventurers, and defied royalty. And there would be much more to face in the future as well with his fading humanity and everything that came with it.


    For now, though, he lived in the present, unburdened by past or future.


    "But I''ll always remember that it''s moments like this, looking up at this wonderful world right after tending to earth that pulses with life, that I live for. And the only one I can thank for that is you, old man."


    "You''re the one that''s made something of thisnd," said Old Thane as he patted Li''s back. "But it does brighten my heart to see you happy, especially after the serious streak that recentlynded upon you."


    "Serious streak, huh?" Li knew that the old man was talking about the times he wasn''t quite himself, when he spoke harshly and acted differently because his eldritch powers bled into his mannerisms. That was when he also realized Old Thane still did not suspect his divinity.


    But that was still a secret he had to keep.


    He looked at Old Thane with a wistful smile. How long would these simple and happy daysst? How long did his humanity have? But he shook his head and cleared his thoughts, remembering Old Thane''s advice about holding onto the past.


    Li knew his past, his humanity, was destined to fade, but he would cherish it while itsted, and hopefully, it wouldst until the old man''s passing.


    No, it had to.


    When he had asked that question to Old Thane a while back, his humanity was only his to consider, something he could discard or try to preserve at his own whim and desire. But now his humanity had a responsibility to Old Thane, to keep himpany throughout the rest of his years ¨C god knows he''d suffered too many alone already.


    It would be selfish to let it fade away when it still had a duty to fulfill.


    Old Thane sensed that Li had finished reflecting and broke the silence. "Gods,d, a few days for these seeds to bear harvest? I''ve known no such wizardry, and I''ve seen my fair share of magic. Perhaps an invention of those nearsighted schrs in the Arcana?"


    "Beats me, but you know, if it does work, we''ll have an incredibly bountiful harvest. We can take the seeds again and keep nting them too, because the Myrmeke will just rece the fallow soil with nting ready dirt from deep underground." Li nodded his head slowly, thinking. "Say, that''s more grain than we''ll ever need. What do you figure you want to do with it?"


    Old Thane scratched his beard. "I suppose I should give the crown what''s due to them in taxes."


    "Ignoring the crown. If you could do anything with that grain, what would you do?"


    "Well then,d, I would send it to the orphanages. That is what Aine and I did when my fields yet bore fruit, before my sight fled me."


    Li nodded. "Then we''ll keep doing that."


    Old Thane smiled. "Aye, that does sound good, and my, look who it is!"


    Zagan trotted up towards them andid down between them, cing his head on his paws and closing his eyes as he began his daily series of naps.


    "Tell me, demon, where did you fight in the war? I myself fought in the western fronts, sweating my stones off in the Hintends!" said Old Thane, not even caring that this was a demon, the very kind of monster he had fought against.


    It was like he was talking to a veteran that stood against him so many years ago that their differences no longer mattered, scattered away under the breath of time.


    Zagan opened an eye, ncing it towards Li. Li nodded, letting the demon understand that it was fine to talk to Old Thane, that the old man now knew.


    "Hm." Zagan closed his eyes again. "The northern front. My personage led the breach through the Stonespire mountains, spreading great misery among the beastmen beyond."


    "Aye, so we never had the fortune to meet."


    "Truly opportune, for you would not have escaped me alive, and my personage would not have had the honor of serving by my master''s side. It is quaint how the gears of fate work."


    "I don''t know about that,"ughed Old Thane. "I had strength within me then. I beat senseless one of your Hellknights, though he was a mighty fiercesome foe."


    Zagan scoffed. "A Hellknight? Topare my great personage to a mere knight is foolery. But I shall cede that for a mortal, that is quite the aplishment. But that is nothing to me ¨C my personage slew Gantrimenth, draconic guardian of the Stonespire mountains."


    Old Thane nodded respectfully. "Aye, that is impressive. I myself have never seen proper drakes, but I know very well their might is in the realm of myth. I should say, though, that my real fight was the waiting. Gods, so much waiting between battles when the thick of it was all I looked forward to."


    Zagan sighed. "Indeed. The lull between ughters always did bore me."


    "On that end, we are kindred spirits, hah!"


    "Hm." Zagan closed his eyes, but his presence was amiable. He did not close Old Thane off, keeping the conversation flowing. "You are a mortal special to the master, so I shall allow you to pair yourself with me."


    Li kept quiet as he watched the two interact. They continued to exchange war stories, and he only now felt that the farm was a littleplete. There was so much to manage now. The fields, the gardens, and the stall, but it was back to some semnce of the glory it must have had when Old Thane was young and strong and Aine alive and well.


    Perhaps most importantly, though, the farm feltplete because Old Thane was finally a full part of it. He was no longer a stranger in his own farm, not knowing what Li did and surrounded by beings he did not know.


    Li hoped that every day after this would be just the same. This was the life he had dreamed of, and he couldn''t imagine anything better for Old Thane - the man who had made it all possible.

 Chapter 47 - Vol. II Prologue - The Dove

    The noble estates of Riviera were truly impressive things. Far above the rest of the city, at its northernmost and highest point, the estates sprawled out, built atop a cliff face. Below them the filth and ruckus of the city proper reigned strong. To their east the cliff veered off, showing off a pristine view into the beautiful baby blues of Lake Lys, the veryke that the ruling family of Lys drew their names from.


    All of these estates, however, were marvelous works of architectural art, which wasn''t surprising, considering that many wealthy merchants chose to retire here, to the city of the dove where peace had reigned for centuries, only ever marred by the demon wars of 1000.


    At the same time, each estate had its own personality.


    The rie estate, for example, exuded a sense of foreboding mystery with a mansion of ebony wood that seemed to evade the eye during the day and blend in with the night. Then there was the Lakely estate, a towering spire surrounded by walls of brilliant marble that reflected blinding light of day, drawing the eyes of all towards it.


    But there was one estate that truly reigned above all. It stood at the very top of the cliff face. A veritable castle, its roof and towers topped with light blue tiles and fluttering white gs etched with golden symbols of the dove.


    The estate of Lys ¨C the ruling family over Riviera, making it among the four most important bloodlines in the duchy. Or rather, it should have been among the important ones. The truth was, Riviera had never held as much worth as the other cardinal cities.


    Unlike Montagne in the North, it did not have rich and deep mines full of both mundane and mystical alloys.


    Unlike Trieste in the East, it did not lie near warm waterways that held boundless potential for trading.


    Unlike Duvin in the South, its fields and harvests were not as bountiful, its vines never as green and full.


    Riviera was, historically, never important and always overlooked. It contributed a little of everything but never particrly excelled at anything. Even during the demon wars, they had escaped much of its horrors, with the western Hintends and their tribes acting like buffers that soaked up the brunt of the invasion. This was also why the Lys bloodline had escaped the bloodline purges that had propped up the duchy in 1020.


    So when the duchess Vivienne stepped foot into Lord Lys''s study, there was nothing but surprise in the rotund old man''s eyes.


    Vivienne smiled and curtsied, her fingertips grasping at the edges of a golden dress befitting of a kingdom blessed by the sun. "Hello, Uncle Anton, it has been such a while! How have you been?"


    Lord Anton Lys blinked several before pping his puffy cheeks. When he realized that the duchess was, indeed, standing before him in the flesh, he began to stammer. "Y-your highness! Goodness, I should be meeting you in the great hall, not in this sorry excuse of a study. Why did the servants not inform me of your arrival? Why, I shall give them an earful they will not forget!"


    "Oh, you must not take your anger out upon those poor folk," said Vivienne as she took off her white gloves. "I flew here with Sunstar, you see, and the matter was urgent, so I had the servants simply lead me to where you were. But my, to think this is now your study."


    Lord Lys followed the duchess''s gaze and realized she was staring at his study, or rather, it was just his bedroom with a grandiose desk pped down in the middle, just a fewfortable steps away from his plush bed.


    "Oh, this, well, I''ve grown rather heavy these days, and so the walk up to the tower where the study used to be became rather taxing." Lord Lys sped his hands together and held them towards the duchess in a pleading manner. "Please understand, your highness, this is not an indicator of sloth. My health has simply been failing me. An issue of a nd in the throat, the healers say ¨C it makes my weight difficult to tame."


    "I am not judging you. Rather, what an excellent idea! Perhaps I shall hold all my royal meetings in thefort of my bedchamber too." Vivienne walked up to the desk and sat on the cushioned and bejeweled chair behind it. She motioned for Lord Lys to sit opposite of her, on a firm but average looking stool meant for temporary visitors.


    Lord Lys sat, and the stool groaned under his weight but managed to stand with a heroic effort. He tugged at the cor of his doublet, trying to get some breath. Thank the gods he had not been in his undergarments that he usually liked to be in when lounging around in his ''study''.


    Vivienne waved at the door where Sunstar stood, his muscled back almost blotting the door out. "Come, Sunstar, do be a dear and bid yourself a greeting to my uncle."


    "Greetings, my lord," said Sunstar as he came forwards, giving the lord a pat on the shoulder. The lord whimpered and flinched at the touch. "You seem pale. Shall I call your healer?"


    "No, no need," said lord Lys as he looked down at the table, avoiding staring at those terrible golden eyes.


    Sunstar smiled. "Well, my lord, if you need anything, just give me a shout. I''ll be waiting right outside."


    With that, Sunstar walked out the room. When the door closed behind him, Vivienne tapped the table. "Uncle, are you not in the mood to talk? You''ve been staring at the table for so long!"


    Lord Lys shook his head, a drop of sweat flicking from his brow. "Not at all, your highness." He crossed his arms, his hands grasping at his b to try and relieve some stress as he stared at the duchess. "I-it is very nice to meet you. A surprise, but a wee one. You look very well."


    Vivienne pinched her cheeks and frowned. "My, please don''t lie, uncle. I am sure the years have been catching up to me. I spotted an extra wrinkle in the mirror this morning, can you believe it?"


    "Yes, I mean, no, of course not," said lord Lys as he looked upon a face far too youthful to be near fifty. He shuddered to think of how that youth had been maintained.


    "Oh, but it is such a shame to see that your hair has grown so gray now. I remember when you were yet a dashing youngmander rallying against the demons ¨C they called you the lion, right, on ount of your full and golden hair, and yet here we are! How time passes."


    Vivienne noticed Lord Lys shuddering. "Are you cold? Dear me, shall I have Sunstar heat the firece more?" The duchess craned her head, ncing at the crackling mes dancing atop logs. "Oh? But the fire is already quite nice. Very pretty, too, look at those green mes ¨C are you using direwood cedar? My, I do love their scent, but they are oh so expensive."


    Lord Lys bowed his head. "It is only with your boundless generosity that I can afford such luxuries, your highness."


    Vivienneughed. "Dear uncle, you sell yourself short! You are a decorated war hero, of course you deserve all of this."


    Lord Lys swallowed down the knot that had be ufortably big in his throat and asked Vivienne, "Your highness, have I done anything wrong? Why have you graced me with a visit, unannounced, too?"


    "Can I not visit my dear uncle? You are the only direct family that I have that yet lives."


    Lord Lys tried very hard to force on a quivering smile. "Of course, you can, your highness, I merely thought that maybe, well perhaps, you came to talk about something else."


    "Just a few matters, dear uncle. Oh, do not be so worried. It is as if you believe yourself in trouble!"


    Vivienneughed, and Lord Lys tried tough too.


    "I n on holding a celebration!" said Vivienne as she pped her hands together. "Foul drugs have long tainted this beautiful duchy, but I hear that the immoral trade has entirely halted in Riviera. That is wondrous news! How did you manage such a formidable task, if I may ask?"


    "I did tighten the patrols and raise public awareness, just as you directed," said Lord Lys, but truthfully, he had no idea why ck Vine had closed its doors.


    They were a gue upon the city, that was to be sure, spreading their drugs like poison, and yet they were a necessary poison as without their coin, the banks and untold number of businesses would close. Yet they kept funneling coin into these businesses despite closing their doors, and Lord Lys had never been able to figure out why.


    "The knights of Lys are known for their sensitivity andpassion, so I am sure the warmth of their hearts showed those unruly traders the right path," said Vivienne with an appreciative nod.


    Had Lord Lys not known the duchess for decades, he would never have known that she was being sarcastic.


    "But enough of that, it matters only that you have been sessful." Vivienne drew her hands together and looked up with a smile, wondering about the grand celebrations to be thrown. "I shall decree tomorrow a day of celebration. I trust that you will deliver an honorable and moving speech to themonfolk, yes?"


    "Of course, your highness."


    "Good, good. I feel at ease knowing that my dear and reliable uncle Anton is by my side. And say, dear uncle, when did you wish to tell me about thatke of yours in the Winterwoods?"


    Lord Lys raised his hands almost in surrender. "Your highness, please, listen, I was to inform you as soon as I could. I wished to find a means to use it, you must understand."


    Vivienne took Lord Lys''s hands and drew them down to the table as she pinned him into his seat with a stare so sharp it hurt. "Dear uncle, you are so tense today. You should ask your healer for some milk poppy. Take a breath, uncle. A slow one. It will help."


    Lord Lys took in a deep, halting breath.


    "Good, good," said Vivienne as she saw the lord calm a little. She withdrew her hands and kept them at herp. "It gives me such sorrow to see how much your health has deteriorated. I shall send one to tend to you from the capitol when I can. A hero ¨C they are far better than the healers, in my opinion."


    "No, no, there is no need." Lord Lys vigorously shook his head. He would never be able to live in his house in peace if a hero was spying on his actions every hour of the day.


    "I only wish the best for you, uncle. Now then, theke. I am quite excited to hear what a man of your many talents has nned for it!"


    "Theke heals any and all wounds, it is a thing of miracles, and I-I have decided to follow in your footsteps, your highness, and help the people above all else! I will open thatke to themon folk so that they may never again face the misery of losing a loved one to illness or injury."


    Vivienne cocked her head. "What a wonderful n! But what of the temples and herbalists? I fear for their livelihoods."


    "Oh." Lord Lys had not thought that far. He had simply thought this the most obvious way to help his people. "Erm, the temples are full of generous men and women of the light ¨C I am sure they will understand. As for the herbalists, well, there is only one real herbalist left, the easterner, and I doubt one man''s loss is enough to warrant the entire city''s health?


    "I do apud your drive, my dear uncle, but I will tell you now: you will keep thatke a secret. You have done an apt job swearing your men guarding it to secrecy, and I trust you will continue that.


    Also, do not take upon any action that may ever disturb that easterner. Rather, make it so that the easterner has free range to do as he wishes, and ensure discreetly that there is nothing in this city to provoke him or let him wander from that farm.


    Pin him to that farm, and you will have done your job many times over. I know you will never disobey me, but know that you bring peril upon not only your city, but the entirety of Soleil should you ever feel even a little twitch of disobedience regarding this matter.

 Chapter 48 - Taxes

    Li and Old Thane stood side by side in front of the fields the very next day.


    It was true. The seeds worked. Just the night before, they were little kernels of amber, and now they had sprouted stems about a half meter tall. At first, he had thought them all fully grown as the gically modified wheat he worked with maxed out at a meter tall, almost half their covered with seeds.


    But this wheat had no such modifications, instead operating off of some strange magic. A few long leaves, green and healthy, perked out from the stem, but as of now, the wheat had not grown their characteristic heads. The nts were still green and unripe, but even so, they had grown the amount they would have in almost half a year in the span of a single day.


    If Li recalled his sses on ssical, unmodified crops, he knew that wheat had four stages of growth: tillering, stem extension, heading, and ripening. During tillering, the wheat formed tillers which were essentially additional stems that made wheat look like overgrown weeds. It was only when they entered stem extension did they gain their stalk-like structure.


    Li figured he should have stayed observing the field throughout the night, as it was during the tillering stage that he could figure out how much yield the wheat would bring based on how many extra stems, or tillers, as they were called, he could see, but then again, this wheat didn''t seem to operate off of any of the naturalws he was familiar with. And he didn''t want to make Old Thane worry about him.


    Old Thane stepped forwards and took one of the wheat nts in his hands, his fingers gracing its stem and leaves as he nodded.


    "These be of excellent health,d," said Old Thane, his hands starting to tremble. "Gods, when was thest I saw these fields so full of life? When? Years,d, years. Not since my life fell apart."


    Old Thane came close to the wheat, almost hunching over the stalk to cradle it. "A farmer is only as good as his crop, it is said. I felt the dead fields a sign, a symbol for me. When my life shone under Aine''s light, my crop grew magnificently. When her sun set, the crop withered, and so did I, even my sight fleeing me." He smiled. "But now that I am near your light,d, I see now that the fields grow oncemore. The demon is right ¨C the gears of fate work in strange ways, aye."


    Li put his hand on Old Thane''s back as he smiled. "You better get used to it, old man, because I won''t be leaving anytime soon."


    Theyughed before they shared a moment of silence together, admiring the wheat that had brought them together.


    Old Thane stood up straight again as he dusted his hands, mentally readying himself to work on harvesting the next morning. "I should say the wheat will be ripe in the morrow, or perhaps the day after. Gods, I have not harvested in years. Oh, and about that,d, we must report our harvest to the city hall."


    "We what now?"


    "I never found it useful to tell you as I thought the earliest I''d see wheat again was next year, but here we are. I understand you feel yourself cheated,d, but the crown has so gracious given me, once a foreigner from the northwastes, thisnd, and so I feel it appropriate to return unto them what is due in taxes."


    "And how much is that?"


    Old Thane touched a hand to his temple as he tried to remember. "Aye, it''s been so long since I''ve reported a harvest. Well, as ites to my mind now, I believe it was a third of the harvest for the crown and then a tenth as tithe for the temples."


    Li nodded with a slight frown. "That''s almost half our harvest gone to taxes."


    "Aye, but you must understand,d, to the crown I give what is owed, and it has done well in bringing peace to thisnd. To myself as well, they have given much aid. As a distinguished veteran, I need not pay tax when I am unable. That is why I yet still live on this giftednd unevicted. The temples, too, deserve their keep, for without them, countless many would fall to their festering wounds. I feel no regret in letting my harvest flow to the crown and the temples, for I trust they will help all those needing."


    "I can understand that, but I know how you are, old man. You''re the type to want help people directly. You want to see people grow from your help and better themselves. It''s why you feel so much pride in me being able to manage your farm from your teachings. It''s why you feel so happy seeing Triple Threat w themselves out of the streets with the shelter you gave them years ago." Li clenched a fist in resolve. "You''ve given the crown more than your due. It''s about time you got to decide where your harvest went."


    "Lad, what are you nning? I know you possess great power, but do not be rash."


    "I''ll go to the city hall and file out your harvest officially for this year. They''ll get their taxes, but only once per year, because that''s what they would''ve gotten normally. As for all our countless other harvests, I''ll negotiate something so that we get to decide where it goes."


    "Negotiate? Do you mean to strongarm them?"


    "Nothing of the sort, old man. That would cause way too much of a ruckus. I''ve heard from my assistant that the duchess is still in town. I''ll pay her a visit again, tell her what I want. I''m sure she''ll listen to me, judging by how ourst talk went."


    -------


    Li came through Riviera''s city gates once more, nodding at the guards near the great entrance gate. They usually nodded back, but this time, they almost hopped aside when they recognized him. He didn''t think much of it as he strolled into the city.


    As he pathed through the main road, following it until he reached the marketce, he had to give a mental thanks to Iona. It was such a load off his back to be able to have someone he trusted working the herb stall. Add to the fact that business was now positively booming with the adventurers crowding the ce 24/7, and Iona never had to use her atrocious hawking skills.


    He also gave thought to why he wanted to do this. It wasn''t like him to draw attention to himself, and he wanted nothing much but the bare minimum to do with authority, but he wanted Old Thane to be remembered.


    Old Thane wanted his extra harvest to go to the orphanages, and Li wanted to make sure everyone knew that it was the old man''s work. Of course, Li knew that the old man would have opposed this, wanting to stay humbly anonymous, but this was a bit of Li''s selfishness that he had no qualms about.


    He wanted Old Thane''s name to never be forgotten, to always be known and appreciated for the wonder of a man he was forever. He knew that the old man was mortal and destined to fade, but at the least, he felt it only right that he as one who would live forever should immortalize the old man''s name.


    And though he wouldn''t admit it out loud, he did fear that he would be lonely as a god, living years and years and years as everything rose and fell around him. He still didn''t have the best idea of what it meant to be truly divine, but at the least, he wanted the old man''s name to be just as immortal as he was, keeping himpany forever.


    When Li began approaching the marketce, he realized the city was loud. Much, much louder than usual. Under the bright day''s sun, a festive energy burst through every road. Drink flowed free on the streets, men and women exchanging toasts.


    Troubadours sang and yed to their heart''s content, bouncing up and down the street. The patrolling knights were evenid back, their helmets uncovered as theyughed and talked with themon folk.


    There was some massive celebration going on.


    And as Li paid more attention, he realized that all these people had one thing inmon: they were cheering for the duchess. They cheered for her sess in disbanding ck Vine. They cheered her for ensuring their borders were safe and their livelihoods taken care of.


    They spoke tales of her generosity. How, even though Soleil faced famine the past two years, the duchess had emptied the royal coffers and stockpiles to make sure that everyone went to bed with full stomachs. Some of the older people remarked at how much better the duchess was than King Beaumont, the former ruler when Soleil was not a duchy but a kingdom, and even then, just a kingdom in name, subservient to the greater Republic in the north.


    But the duchess, a Beaumont herself, took over the throne and put humanity first and foremost, seceding from the inhuman Republic. When she changed her surname from Beaumont to Soleil, thus changing the kingdom name as well to Soleil, she heralded the start of Soleil as a new and independent human territory. The people believed her casting away her old royal name as a sign of her role as a revolutionary, someone who broke the chain of royal session that had oppressed them for so long, dragging them through the horrors of the demon wars.


    There were even rumors that the duchess would give power to the people, allowing them to vote forws best for them. Some believed her continued youth a sign of blessing from the gods, for upon her session, she had cleaned all the temples of their corruption, driving out all the clergy that abusedmon folk''s superstition for a profit and recing them with those truly faithful to Helius, god of light and all that was good.


    Li could not help but note how there was not a single point raised against the duchess. He found it unbelievable. Even if he came from a different world, he knew people. It was just a in fact of reality andmon sense that there would never be a leader, president, or duchess with no opposition, and yet here he was, finding himself amidst a sea of voices raising praise for the duchess.


    Of course, it wasn''t as if he lived a day to day life with all these people. Maybe if he did, he would hear some dissent behind closed doors, but he wasn''t curious enough to find out. Whether she was a good ruler or not did not matter to Li ¨C she would listen to him regardless.


    First order of business, though, was making it to the city hall to report his future harvest, more for Old Thane''s sake than Li''s own. Li couldn''t care less about giving back to the crown, but he would still respect Old Thane''s decision.


    Interestingly, the grand stairs that led up to the hall just had a few peopleing up and down. Nobody wanted to do business on a day of celebration, it seemed.


    Inside the city hall, Li found himself quickly at the reception desk as there was no line to wait through. The announcement crystal on the ceiling was uncharged as well, its normally glowing blue facets now a dull ck.


    Behind the reception window was the same feli that had talked to Li about the herbalist''s exam. When she saw him, her slit-like pupils widened in recognition.


    "Still at work? Even though it''s a vacation day?" said Li.


    The feli blinked as she tugged at the cor of her uniform shirt, taking care to prevent her ws from tearing the fabric.


    "There are some privileges we of the beast tribesck," she murmured, her feline ears twitching in irritation. She took in a breath, putting back on a professional face used to facing the angriest ofmon folk with a stone-solid smile. "What brings you here today?"


    "I''m filing for a harvest. I''d like the paperwork to fill out."


    "Of course." The feli stood up and went to the back of her workspace where there were shelves packed with empty documents ready to be filled out. As she did this, Li noticed that the receptionist beside her, an ordinary human woman, was staring at him, her mouth open in awe.


    "Something on my face?" said Li.


    The receptionist quickly shook her head before giving the feli a nervous look. She looked back down to her desk, but after a few seconds, she nodded several times to herself before standing and going to the back, leaning into the feli''s ear and whispering a few things.


    Li could only see their backs, but he could see the feli''s ears twitch upwards, stiffening. Her tail stiffened, the hair bristling.


    The feli rushed back to Li as the other receptionist watched from the back, adjusting her sses one too many times.


    Something was off.


    "My deepest apologies, sir," said the feli, still standing. Her professional face had been wiped off entirely. Normally, she enunciated her words rather slowly and carefully, preventing people from seeing her bestial and sharp teeth, but she had left care to the wind as her words came out in a rush. "May I make a call? It will be very quick, I assure you."


    Li shrugged. "Sure."


    The feli reached under her table, stooping a little, before taking out acquered wooden wand. Li nodded in understanding. That was a storage wand that could store a spell. Judging by its ck color, it wasmon tier in rarity, and so was only able to store E and D rank spells. In the game, it had been useful for mages to use spells without expending mana or warriors to gain ess to spells they could never cast otherwise, with the bnce being that a yer could not hold more than three of any storage wand.


    Here, though, the feli used the wand like a telephone. She took the wand with her to the back, wanting to keep her call discreet. It made sense, too, as though messaging was just a basic function, they were considered a spell in the lore, even being affected by silences which would disable sending or viewing messages.


    He realized as an aside that potentially, there were spells that those of this world had that he did not obviously know of. He could not cast any spell to message people, for example, as it was not something an official spell he could learn in the game because everyone could just do it.


    More importantly, though, he felt the situation was off with how these receptionists were acting. The feli''s tail swished from side to side, obviously agitated, but there was no way to hear her conversation as it was all held in her head, transmitted from thought to thought.


    Surprisingly soon, however, the feli returned, putting the wand back under her desk. She nodded to Li and said, "Lord Lys wishes to see you on the sixth floor, if you please. Do not worry about the paperwork ¨C he will handle it personally."

 Chapter 49 - Requests

    The sixth floor, the highest in the city hall, was where Lys''s official office was. Though nowadays, the lord didn''t show up much, preferring to work from thefort of his home. Li figured it was because of the duchess''s presence and the ongoing celebration. The lord had to make a show of how official and hardworking he was.


    The office spanned the length of almost the entire floor. Double doors of varnished and rune-enchanted wood stood tall and strong, glimmering with a faint white energy that warded away any peeping magic.


    Two knights stood at either end of the doors, halberds crossed across the door.


    When Li came up to them, they withdrew the halberds, their shoulder pauldrons nking as they drew the halberds to their chests with swift, mechanical motions drilled over thousands of times.


    These were the cream of the crop among the knights of Lys ¨C grizzled veterans who were chosen not only for theirbat prowess, but their fierce sense of duty to the crown.


    Even amid celebration, they kept their helmet visors down and their postures as stiff as boards.


    Li gave them a nod before opening the double doors.


    The inside was more a meeting room than an office. At the center of the room was a round table. It wasn''t overbearinglyrge, seating five people. Each seat, however, had its own unique design, and Li realized that these were meant for each of the rulers of the four cardinal cities and the duchess.


    There was a chair encrusted with jewels for Montagne, one etched with vine patterns for Duvin, another with waves carved into its armrests for Trieste, a in old chair with am embroidery of a dove stitched to its back cushion for Lys, and then a veritable throne ted in gold and topped with a gleaming sun for the royal capitol.


    But that was not where Li was to sit today. Behind the table, at the back of the office, was a desk. Where the chair for Lys at the round table was humble, the desk oozed with luxury to a tacky extent,yered over with shining silver and gold with its corners capped with diadems.


    Behind, reclining on a massive chair, was Lord Lys, his round and rather expansive figure filling up the whole breadth of the chair. When he saw Li, he huffed as he stood up.


    Li analyzed him. A short but wide man whose width decidedly did note from muscle. Big bones, perhaps, with plenty of fat drooping from them. Worthy of his title as a lord, he dressed to impress with a tinum white doublet lined with golden buttons and velvety red breeches that strained to keep his belly in check.


    Surprisingly, though, the man''s jaw still managed to maintain some sharpness despite his weight. His eyes were blue but dull, not at all like the frosty and striking shades of the duchess. His hair was a mop of thinning white strands that would probably have looked better shaven offpletely, but balding men like Lys tended to keep a hold on their waning hair in desperate denial for quite a while.


    Overall, by the way he smiled, dressed, and how he tried to maintain a dignified trot against his sizable mass, Li got the impression that Lys was a fairly approachable man that was nice because his wealth and dignity as a noble did not give him any reason to be particrly bitter at the world.


    "Gracious greetings to you, easterner!" said Lys as he came up to Li. He motioned to his desk. "Come, please sit."


    The two sat, and Li dove into business. "Your receptionist told you what I came here for, right?"


    Lys nodded. "Of course." He flicked his chubby hand like he was swatting away a fly. "Bah, pay no heed to all that bureaucratic drivel. You are free to do as you wish with your harvests."


    Li raised a brow. "That''s it? No paperwork? No arguing?"


    "Call it a sign of diplomatic friendship. Which reminds me, how are you enjoying this wondrousnd?"


    "Fine enough." Li could tell Lys was nervous. Despite his happy face, his fists had never once unclenched, and the knuckles were starting to get white from exertion. "But tell me what''s going on. You can''t possibly think I would think all of this normal. You''re a noble. You''re used to privilege and ruling masses. That makes it very difficult for someone like you to make exceptions for individuals."


    "Whatever do you mean?" Lys said. His voice caught in his throat and he coughed into his fist. "Forgive me, I seem to have caught an ill draft yesterday."


    Li nodded to himself a few times. He was starting to understand. This was the same excessively conciliatory tone that the duchess used with him, except Lys was far, far worse at concealing his intentions. He got an idea. He would never get anything out of the duchess, but he could maybe pressure something out of Lys.


    "Stop lying and just tell me what''s going on." Li could see Lys withdraw in fear. "I''m not out to start anything. I''m just a farmer, but because I''m just a farmer, I want to know why I''m getting so much special treatment."


    Lys sighed. "I''m afraid I do not know, and that is the honest truth."


    "Did the duchess tell you to treat me like this?"


    Lys nodded.


    "Any reason why?"


    Lys shook his head, and when Li scrutinized the man, looking for anything, some semnce of a twitch or look that would give away a lie, he found nothing. Lys was transparent. Simple. He truly did not know anything, and someone as sharp as the duchess would know that too and never tell him anything of note.


    In summary, Lys was useless, but while he was beholden to do what Li wanted, he could be useful in other matters.


    "That''s fine. I guess I can''tin about getting to do what I want." Li raised a finger. "I''d like you to file for my harvest. If you talked with the duchess, then I assume you know the residence, but incase you don''t know, it''s Old Thane''s farm. We''ll give you your yearly due from one harvest, but nothing more.


    Also, while you''re telling your paper pushers to do all of this, would you mind getting them to draft some documents for me? Riviera never really checks them, but incase I ever wander out of here, I want papers that''ll get me through to any city, even the capitol, without a second''s notice."


    Lys took a moment, his brows furrowing as he contemted the logistics of Li''s request. "I suppose that is easily done. A foreign emissary document should amply let you travel freely."


    Li nodded. "One more thing. I understand that high profile donors get some help to move their donations around. Usually that''s coin, so it''s understandable that a security detail gets patched for that. I was wondering whether you could spare a few knights to do that for me? I''ll be donating quite a bit of wheat to the orphanages, so I don''t need anything too grand ¨C certainly nothing that will draw excessive attention to my farm."


    Lys shook his head with surprising resolution. "I am deeply sorry, but I cannot have my men questioning the work they do. I can understand your noble cause, foreigner, I truly do, but I fear my men will not be as understanding in acting as glorified mules to ferry wheat." He opened a drawer in his desk and took out a sheet of parchment and an inkwell with a quill embedded within. "However, I can refer you to the head of a privatepany that specializes in moving goods and donations. I am quite close with him as well, so I am certain he will do good by me. He tends to stay home, so I am sure you will catch him there now."


    He scribbled an address on the paper and gave it to Li.


    Li shrugged. "Sure, that works."


    Where Lys''s pridey, it seemed, was with his knights. He cared for their honor enough to refuse Li''s request even when it was likely the duchess had told him otherwise. In a way, Li was scoping out the extent of the duchess''smands to Lys, seeing how far the lord would go to satisfy him.


    Reasonably far.


    Li was certain that if he asked for something oundish as a noble estate, for example, Lys would still refuse. However, Li wasn''t here to take advantage of a man under orders, and besides, he had everything he needed to be happy on the farm. Thest thing he wanted was to get the crown involved with it.

 Chapter 50 - A Familiar Face

    Li found himself in front of the golden gates for the first time. They were, true to their name, a grand set of gold-ted gates sealing off a narrow path that stretched upwards to the cliff top where the novel estatesy. The one time he found himself in the estates, he had taken an interesting underground pathway filled with vampires, so going the proper route had a rather official air to it.


    There were several knights guarding the gates, and Li approached while holding out lord Lys''s note in his hand. He didn''t want to go through the whole ''halt'' and ''state your business'' formality.


    One of the knights read the note. It didn''t have much on it, simply listing the relevant address Li was to go to and a short sentence stating that any who had the note was granted free passage.


    The knight only really paid attention to the bottom of the note, at Lys''s dove seal, and nodded, giving the note back to Li and waving the knights behind him to open the gates.


    Li found the path to be remarkably scenic. It circled up the cliff, and to his side he could see the vast expanse ofke Lys below, its glimmering and rippling waves of blue swaying from side to side as the midday breeze gently carried them.


    He could get a sense of how isted these nobles were from the rest of the city. To them, the city was just part of the view, a backdrop to be noticed but never truly experienced. He could make out the harbor, several fishing boats sailing out to theke, looking like floating brown spots of wood atop the sun-sparkled blue waters.


    The air was far cleaner here, untainted by stench of the city where gutters festered with sewage and dumped cooking oils, only ever dissipating when rain washed it down.


    When Li reached the top, he understood how wealthy the top end of Riviera ¨C the retired merchants and nobles ¨C was. Massive mansions just as grandiose as that of the vampire count''s were the norm, and there was even a tower that spiraled into the sky. It was apparent that Lys''s friend, the man who headed this security service, ranked among the elites, and Li wondered what kind of man he was going to be dealing with.


    But when he stood where the address led him, he knew who he was going to be dealing with. He double-checked the note to make sure, but he rarely made detail-based mistakes.


    He found himself standing in front of the gates to the vampire count''s mansion, its ckened wood standing out among the other estates.


    There was just one knight guarding the gate. Instead of the spiked ck and crimson armor that the vampire knights wore the night Li intruded on them, this time, the knight only wore a rtively mundane magical tier set of te.


    "Remember me?" said Li as he crumpled Lys''s paper and shoved it into his pocket. He wouldn''t need any invitations here, not after how badly he scared the vampires before.


    "Great One." The vampire knight bowed his head and opened the gate. "The count is within."


    __________________________________


    "Thank you again, ire," said Count rie as the maid put down a tray with two teacups, just as she had done thest time Li had met the vampire.


    "Thanks," said Li as he tasted the tea. He was meeting the count in a far better mood than before, and he had to admit, the tea did taste pretty good.


    The maid smiled and bowed before leaving, her steps delicate and quick.


    Compared to lord Lys''s study, the count''s had a different air. First of all, there were no windows, meaning that, aside from a few lit candles, there was no light. Not at all a hindrance to nonhumans such as the count and Li who could see through the dark. But aside from the gloominess inherent to a vampire''s study, there was a great sense of effort and time spent here.


    Lys''s official office seemed bought. A meeting table, a desk, and a few chairs ¨C that was all he had. Expensive, of course, but there was no sense to it. It was as if Lys''s idea of nobility was to stack up as many precious jewels and metals he could on his furniture.


    But the count''s study, though certainly fashioned with an expensive artisan''s skills, did not ooze luxury as its main attraction. No, there were instead books. Books everywhere, packing perhaps a dozen shelves. Strange contraptions and alien creatures suspended in animation within ss disy cases stood atop the shelves, no doubt things from other worlds.


    The study of a schr before that of a wealthy noble.


    "You''re a man of many talents, Alexei," said Li. "First, ck Vine, and now this securitypany? What''s it called, huh, ck Guard?"


    "ck Securities," said Alexei with a sigh. "I understand the naming of my properties seems rather ominous, perhaps childish, but I must admit it does stand out and builds up a recognizable brand name."


    "Speaking of businesses, what are you doing with ck Vine? I''m not rubbing it in your face, I''m just curious."


    "I do not let my buildings rot idle. I am repurposing them. The pharmacy by the harbor, for example, I am turning into a tavern for the fishermen. I must admit the loss of the drug trade has halted a significant amount of my profits, but I have stored more than enough coin over the centuries to weather the setback." Alexei shrugged away the topic. "But trivial matters aside, how may I assist you?"


    "A couple of things, now that I know you''re so close to Lys, but first off I want to hire yourpany for a repeating job. I''ve found a way to grow out harvests essentially every week, and that means the extra has to go somewhere. I want you to go ahead and set up transportation to get any extra grain and donate it to the orphanages here."


    Alexei brought his bony white hands together and rested his chin atop them. "That can be easily arranged. Aside from the temple, I run a great share of the orphanages. Transferring goods from my own business to my own orphanages will be a very simple matter indeed."


    Li wondered if the orphanage was named something like "The ck Orphanage" too, but he didn''t pry. "It might not be too simple. I want you to have the donations under the name of Old Thane, not just a goods transfer between your properties."


    "The farmer? Would that not run contrary to evading attention? I should wonder that the crown will immediately investigate how a human farmer manages to grow crop at such an astounding rate. Rather, to think further, you as well ¨C have you decided to utilize your divine powers to elerate you husbandry?"


    "Not at all. These are the other matters I wanted your input on. The duchess herself has made this possible. She gave me miracle seeds that grow within the week, and I initially did suspect her. However, the seeds worked as advertised, which also makes sense, as if she understands the scope of my power, then she would never willingly risk angering me.


    Instead, she was overly amodating, and I''ve confirmed from Lys that he too was to ept almost any demand I made. You''re close with Lys and know the ins and outs of this world ¨C what are your thoughts?"


    "Hm." Alexei closed his eyes in thought. His crimson third eye also closed, although slightly slower than the others. "For your donation request, I can satisfy it as I now understand that the crown is enabling you. I worry that perhaps they are scouting out who you turn to for aid, but as Lys rmended you, my bases are covered."


    His eyes opened and he shook his head with a sigh. "Now, as for your more pressing questions, I cannot give a clear answer. I am somewhat close to Lys, yes, but I would not consider him a friend. Aside from his life, he is beholden only to his coin. We are merely business partners benefiting mutually from the flow of coin to city - I secure shipments and make this city safe for wealthy investors whoprise the bulk of his wealth."


    "By business, are you talking about the drugs as well?"


    "No. He is still strangely a man of honor ¨C that has been bred into him from his time as a knight. He would not approve of such illicit activities, and yet his simplicity allowed me to dine at his estate without ever fearing he may find out."


    Li clicked his tongue as he drew in another sip of tea. "You''ve got nothing for me, then?"


    "I do. I do not understand why she is assisting you, but I will still urge you never to trust or rely on her."


    Li nodded. "I understand what you mean. The impression I got from her wasn''t great. She''s sharp, and she knows how to hide what she''s thinking and feeling. Nobody gets that way without hiding secrets for years."


    "Indeed. What I say now must not leave the confines of this study, for it is history that has been erased from all records," said Alexei. "Before the duchess, there was her father, King Beaumont. I knew him personally, though under a different name and appearance, of course. I was a court advisor in that life. The king was a good man. Realistic, if a bit harsh, but a man worthy of a title to rule.


    Before 990, the kingdom of Beaumont was yet independent. Yet at the turn of that fateful new year, the elven praetor met with Beaumont and spoke of a prophecy that the demons would invade at the start of the new millennium. The praetor gave Beaumont a choice: join the Republic he was to newly found or face the demons alone. Beaumont knew that hatred of the raiding beastmen ran strong among his human subjects, but he also understood his kingdom stood no chance without elven military might.


    The praetor must have known that prophecy for nearly a decade, for that is how long the elves have utilized source magic to build up their industries and forge their great war machines, all under the guise of progress. Yet it was prudent of them to wait until there was but a mere decade until the invasion''s arrival to pressure Beaumont."


    "The history books I have at home don''t have any of this in them. All they talk about is the tyrant Beaumont and his betrayal of humanity. How the duchess repaired her father''s sins by seceding from the Republic." Li shook his head. "I knew already that wasn''t entirely true, it all sounded too fairy-tale like, but how could a daughter ruin her father''s legacy like that?"


    Alexeiughed, not at Li, but at the absurdity of what was said. "Family means nothing to the duchess. When the demon wars began, she was but one of many princesses, the daughter of a royal concubine, but a concubine nheless. I remember seeing her at court when she was little. A meek little thing, afraid of the world, afraid of the new and unknown, always clutching at a toy.


    But after the demon wars ended, something changed in that meek little thing. She became a sinister serpent, she did, even craftier than the serpent goddess Zahaka. When she witnessed her ward Sunstar end the demon wars by defeating the all-powerful Burning One, she began to understand the might of the heroes."


    Li raised an eyebrow. "Sunstar is her ward?"


    "Indeed. She was but a teenager when they met, but she took pity on the poor, starving little boy who had yet awakened to his vast powers and took him in. You see, under Beaumont''s rule, they were considered mutants, less then human, and were rounded up and brutalized. That gave her inspiration. She used her position as princess to save the heroes. She built many shelters for the poor and weak with the hidden purpose of finding heroes to bring to her side.


    It took many years, but in the end, famine and Beaumont''s waning sway among his subjects as he continued to bow to the inhuman praetor in the north allowed her to stage a coup. The kingdom of the sun, Soleil, founded in 1020 upon swathes of blood loosed from royal corpses.


    It was a swift, silent operation. A hero to put the entire royal castle to a deep sleep. A hero to brainwash any peasantry near the castle, wiping their memories entirely. Sunstar to crush the skulls of her own family. And finally, a hero to turn her father into a monstrosity of the flesh so that she could parade him as one who consorted with demons and inhumans, one whose foolishness and immorality caused him to turn into a monster that slew his entire bloodline save for, of course, the duchess herself."


    Alexei leaned into his chair and crossed his arms. "It was all too easy to consolidate power afterwards. Any loyalist dissent that came afterwards, she crushed from within, warping minds or assassinating with her heroes such that none were left to speak ill of her. History, she rewrote. Her youth, she maintains with blood magic, bathing in the blood of young peasantry who will simply believe their children have fallen prey to a wild beast or monster. The temples, she ransacked, for it was there that much rhetoric was developed casting heroes as mutants.


    Instead, she filled the temples with sycophants that praised the heroes as pinnacles of humanity, as killers of demons and defenders of all. It is surprising to see how quickly the beliefs of peasantry change when their bellies are full and their safeties guaranteed. Now, ten yearster, Sunstar is worshiped as a living god, though he is anything but."


    "Is this why you want you''re lying in the shadows, collecting coin and drawing your kin together? Is it to overthrow her?"


    Alexei shook his head. "Not necessarily. I will be honest. I do not mind the duchess for now. I care not of the bodies she piled to rule, for she rules aptly. The people do not starve, nor do they want. The realm does not burn, rather it flourishes. Stability and peace are all that I care about.


    I only warn you that despite her attempts to lengthen her life, she is only mortal.


    Like many mortal rulers before her, I fear her mind may crumble and she will give into tyranny. Her past behavior is not entirely indicative of stability. It may be that she will fall to crushing this realm, and when that happens, I must be ready to take power from her.


    This is why I caution you against her. I surmise her intentions are not harmful to you. She understands your power, and she fears for her kingdom. She ingratiates herself to you so that you may not raise your hand against her people. But were her mind to deteriorate, she maysh out against you, a paragon of power, a threat, and thus inconvenience you."


    "The moment she raises a hand against me is the moment everything she''s built is gone. She must understand this."


    "That may be so, but broken minds are not rational. Perhaps it may be to pass that she is willing to throw away her kingdom for a chance to even so much as scratch you." Alexei put his hand over his breast. "But I swear that it will nevere to that. I do not wish for your power to ravage this world, nor would I ever stand such insanity upon the throne."


    Alexei put a hand to his forehead to contemte for a few seconds before nodding. "I must thank you deeply for bringing your situation to my awareness. I will increase my surveince on the duchess and Lys. Should any incident arise that brings her rule to question, I will eliminate her myself. You will not have to dirty your hands with such a trivial matter, I truly assure you."

 Chapter 51 - Rose

    Li came back to the farm before sunset, in that goldilocks period where the afternoon light still shone strong, but the sun started to prepare its descent, hanging low in the sky under the cover of a shroud of clouds.


    The herbalist stall by the main road, in front of the cottage, had a few adventurers in front now. They usually came in the mornings, before they went on their missions, and so it was rather odd to see even this small crowd of about five or six people there thiste.


    He saw as Vahid mmed his brick of a hand on the stall counter. "Five [Restorations], missy!"


    "What!?" said Launcelot as he pointed an using finger from behind Vahid. "Five? For a party of two? Such brazen greed!"


    Vahidughed as Iona handed him five bottles. He dumped a pile of coin on the counter and with a proud smile, spoke, "These were thest five, you dolt. Everyone that was wanting has their share for the hunt tomorrow, and a venom wyrm? You bet I''ll be taking as many restorations as I can. Not my fault you were busy greeting the duchess."


    "Oh,e now, it is a part of my duties as the heir of Lakely." Launcelot sighed, his silver shoulder tes clinking up and down. He turned to his party behind him ¨C two mages and a ranger, apt, considering he was a powerful frontliner and all he would need would be damage ¨C and shook his head sadly.


    Vahid took a look at Launcelot''s party and then switched his gaze to his own party, which, in his case, consisted of just the mage that had carried him out of his drunken episode against Li. He held up the bottles of restoration, the green liquid within sloshing with an emerald sparkle. "Amelie, you figure we can make do with two of these?"


    Amelie leaned her chin on her staff. Her witch''s hat drooped down, shading over one of her violet eyes, but she didn''t seem to mind. "Like I''ve said, how many potions we need directly corrtes with how suicidal you''re feeling."


    "Hah! It is just like you to mistake my heroic charges as self-harm." Vahid called out to Launcelot. "Little man, here, catch!"


    He tossed three of the restorations to Launcelot, and the noble caught them with a swift swipe, each sk nestled snugly in between his fingers. "Are you certain about this?"


    Vahid beat his bare chest. "The greater the danger, the harder I fight!"


    Launcelot also beat his chest, his gauntlet mming against his breastte. "A worthy motto! My gracious thanks for the elixirs, Vahid."


    "If us adventurers don''t take care of our own, who else is gonna'' have our backs." Vahid grunted before he left, Amelie close behind.


    When Li neared the adventurers, he gave them a wave.


    Vahid swung his tree trunk of an arm up while Launcelot and his party gave small head bows.


    "If it isn''t the genius and master of drink himself!" said Vahid as he walked up to Li on the main road. He gave Li a friendly punch in the shoulder. "Where were you today? The poor missy was minding the stall all on her own."


    "Just tending to business," said Li. "And I doubt she had any trouble ¨C she''s as skilled as I am."


    "Superbly skilled, I must agree,"mented Amelie. "The way she prances about like a whirling dervish while she makes those elixirs ¨C a work of art, I say."


    "When she''s not trying to advertise, she does a great job." Li paused. "Also, what''s this about a hunt?"


    Launcelot came up this time. As Li observed, he noted that his other party members seemed to be quite passive, following only ever behind the man. "A scout has spotted a venom wyrm nesting in the Winterwoods, and ferocious as they are, the guild has called an official hunt upon it. Though a hunt may not be as rewarding as fulfilling an individual contract, it still protects the safety of this beautiful city, and that is all that matters."


    Li nodded. Venom Wyrms started off at around level forty, and with their boosted stats from being monsters, would prove to be difficult foes for the adventurers here whom struggled to reach the mid-thirties. In particr, without status cleaning elixirs, their toxic breath would easily destroy any mages without barriers or rangers who couldn''t keep their distance.


    "Say," said Launcelot. "Would you not mind aiding us in the morrow? Your ability to tame beasts will surely avoid much bloodshed."


    "Unfortunately, I''m a little busy." Li shook his head. Tomorrow would be near time to harvest. He couldn''t miss it. Also, he didn''t actually tame monsters, so he couldn''t help them there.


    "Ah, it was wrong of me to ask a non-adventurer to risk himself in the first ce." Launcelot bowed his head again. "Forgive me."


    Li smiled faintly. "Forgiven. Now I have to attend to my farm, so if you''ll excuse me."


    --


    As the adventurers saw Li head to the stall after giving the builders working on his berry garden roofs an appreciative nod, they talked among each other.


    "Quieter than usual," said Vahid. "I miss the fiery spirit he bore at the tavern."


    "Where you got outdrank so badly? I have no clue how men like you can manage to have so much pride in losing," said Amelie as she rolled her eyes.


    Vahid smiled. "Losing to a worthy foe is no shame. It is the essence of manhood: to fall and always pick yourself back up, to always learn lessons for the future."


    Amelie frowned. "What lesson could you possibly learn from drinking yourself silly?"


    However, Launcelot countered. "Wise words, Vahid, wise indeed. No defeat is shameful. No defeat is ever wasted." He nced at Li''s fleeting back. "But I must say, he does seem graver. Perhaps something gnaws at his mind."


    "Whatever it is," said Amelie as she tapped her staff to the dirt impatiently. "We aren''t helping by loitering around his property for no good reason."


    --


    Li stepped into the herbalist stall. It smelled strongly of smoke and burned magical herbs. If there was a way to describe it, it felt as if the smoke had taste. Inhaling the smell conjured up various vors, but none pleasant ¨C just varying degrees of bitters and sour.


    "Smells like [Restoration] in here," said Li.


    Iona had folded her gloves and masks in a neat pile at the worktable. Everything had been cleaned. The table was scrubbed, the equipment was left to soak in purifying buckets overnight, and the cauldron snuffed out and the toxic water dumped away.


    "That was all they wanted today, yes," said Iona. She leaned against the table to look at Li. She looked healthier, her bones less visible against her skin. "It is good to see you back."


    "Yeah, I kind of missed this ce, even if it''s only been a day." He nodded. "l''ll be busy tending to the fields tomorrow as well, so you''ll have run of the ce again. I kind of feel like a deadbeat boss, but know that I just need to make sure this first harvest goes well. Afterwards, I''ll be here in-between harvests. Ande to think of it, how did you get enough milk poppy flowers to make that many batches of restoration?"


    Iona held out her hand, and the orange flower of the milk poppy sprouted.


    "Right, I forgot about that." He looked at his own hand. He was behind on cultivating his forest spirit powers, but it wasn''t out of his mind.


    "If I may ask, I did notice the astounding rate at which your fields grew, yes." She cocked her head. "I am quite curious. What manner of seed did you use?"


    "I was going to consult you about that. I don''t actually know, but I''m sure you can read its life song. When I harvest the wheat and get the seeds, I''ll need you to look into them and tell me the details."


    She nodded. "It would be my pleasure, O guardian."


    He wagged a finger. "Remember, no ''O guardianing''. Just Li."


    "Yes."


    "Yes what?"


    "Yes¡­," She shook her head. "I cannot bring myself to smear your status by using your name. Give me some time to adjust."


    "I understand." He took one more look around the stall. "And thank you for managing everything while I wasn''t here. Cleaning it all up too. I know I may have been harsh when we first met, but I wasn''t exactly in bnce back then."


    She smiled. "There is no need to exin. Your thanks is more than enough reward for me."


    He gave her a nod. "Remember to lock the ce up. See you same time tomorrow. I know you don''t need to read up on notes or anything, but make sure to catch up on making something stronger and more specific than [Restoration] tomorrow. I was thinking [Anti-Venom]."


    With that, he left, heading straight where he knew Old Thane would be: the fields.


    --


    Iona watched as Li''s figure faded into the fields. She sighed as she pulled down the counter tarp, sealing the stall shut from the outside world. The stall was pitch-ck now without any sunlight toe in, but she could still see clearly in the dark.


    "¡­Li," she practiced. She would need more time to get used to saying it.


    What she couldn''t see clearly was how long she would be using this name, how long until he became home in his divine body and started to feel the title of ''Guardian'' more befitting than anything else.


    At that point, this name, Li, would lose its warmth. It would be a relic ¨C the faded image of a being who could thank her to truly appreciate her, not just to acknowledge how well she did her job.


    She didn''t know why ¨C perhaps it was the humanity she had devoured festering within her ¨C but she felt a deep sense of loss, as if gazing upon the beauty of a blooming rose, beautiful and bright, but destined to wilt and wither.


    Except here, that rose was to never bloom again, its singr wonder forever to be lost to the cold hands of eternity.


    --


    As expected, Li found Old Thane by the fields again, his hand caressing the a stalk of wheat. They had grown taller but had yet to produce heads.


    Zagan sat beside Old Thane, also staring at the wheat.


    "Am I interrupting something?" said Li as he stood between them.


    "Not at all,d," said Old Thane. "I was merely talking about the merits working the earth with the demon here."


    Zagan narrowed his eyes. "It baffles me how you mortals chew on grass when the most savory feed of all lies within yourselves, in your innards and your terrors."


    "We''ve different stomachs, you see," said Old Thane, unfazed. "Mighty interesting, aye, to learn about the demon folk. So many years spent fighting them, and yet none talking, hah!"


    "Talk does seem to be pretty good at easing differences, although in this case, old man, I feel like you''re pretty uniquely okay with him."


    Old Thane raised a fist in the air. "Of course! None do I respect more than those who granted me challenge upon the battlefield, and the demons were just that!" He lowered his fist as he turned to Li with a smile. "How''d it go,d?"


    "Great. We have full reign of the farm, basically." Li paused. He was back in the habit of glossing things over to Old Thane, but there was no reason to do that anymore. "Actually, let''s talk inside. I''ll fill you in on all the details."

 Chapter 52 - Guard

    Old Thane sat on a chair across from Li, the firece dividing them. Li had told him everything he had learned from Alexei, and even everything about Alexei himself. That had taken the rest of the day, and now outside the cottage windows, there was only dark.


    "Well,d, I can''t say I am shocked."


    Li crossed his arms. "You''re not? Your entire image of the duchess should be shattered, right? This peacefulnd you live on is built off of blood."


    "As is everynd. The northwastes I hail from hold a far colder, bloodier history." Old Thane shook his head. "Lad, all that I care about is you and this farm, for that is all that I yet live for. That this farm stands upon bloodsoaked soil matters not so long as it grants you happiness."


    "I''m not judging you. In that regard, we''re very simr."


    "It is a shame to learn the duchess so cruel a woman, that is to be sure, aye, but I cannot judge. I have killed many that were unjust. But I also slew many that were just. The blood that my fists drew to grace me the title of ''Bloodfist'' did not discriminate between good or bad, old or young, it merely fought."


    Old Thane closed his fist, and even now, Li could see how they would have made the perfect bludgeoning weapons. Wide and sturdy knuckles calloused over countless times to the point where they would have felt like iron bs.


    "So tell me,d, are we in danger? Will the duchess raise her hand against us? For I am more than ready to bear my fists once more."


    "Old man, if you ever have to end up fighting, then I''ve already failed you." Li smiled. "I don''t foresee any threat to us right now. The duchess understands her position and is leaving us alone, and she''ll continue to leave us alone if she knows what''s good for her. And in the future, if she ever ns anything, we''ll have a heads up on her."


    "Aye, I expected nothing less from a capabled such as yourself. But if ever you need a helping hand, do not be afraid to ask this old man." Old Thane unclenched his fist and rested his hands against his dirt-stained trousers. "Now, how will the vampire assist us with the harvest?"


    "Alexei''spany will send transport down here at the end of each week. The first one is due in two days, around the time I figure we''ll be done threshing the grain. Then the grain''s going to be distributed to orphanages all around the city. As a bonus, the vampire that''s going to be driving these wagons will be filling us in about the duchess."


    Old Thane gave a hearty nod. "Aye, that sounds agreeable. Well then,d, that leaves us but with the harvest to fret over. Now then, let us save our energy for the morrow. I am eager to see that my grain finally helps those in need."


    The next morning, Li and Old Thane kept watch over the wheat. Li in particr paid close attention to its growth, making sure nothing was unnatural. Sure enough, the wheat was just fine. By now, it had developed heads at the tip of their stalks. The heads were still green and unripe, but in a day, they would be golden and ready.


    Until then, there was just a matter of maintenance, weeding the fields and ensuring plenty of water nourished the soil. Li did not know how much water this super crop needed, so he and Old Thane had resorted to just dumping out buckets of water everywhere as much as they could, and so far, it looked like it worked.


    On the matter of pests, well, it seemed like there were none. No birds nor even pesky insects dared to approach the crop, and as Li saw Zagan lying down in the fields, he had a pretty good understanding of why. Just the demon''s very presence shrouded the fields with a foreboding aura.


    Iona oncemore manned the stall, but it had yet to open for now. No doubt she was busy brewing [Anti-venom] on Li''s request. However, there were no adventurers in sight for now. Odd, considering there was supposed to be some grand hunt, but Li supposed that they were going to show up sooner rather thanter.


    But when his ears picked up the tter of adventuring armor from the main road, it was norge party. Instead, when he raised his head, standing over stalks of wheat, he found himself looking at a trio of familiar faces.


    "Old man, we''ve got visitors," said Li as he spied Jeanne waving, her arm swinging in wide, enthusiastic arcs. "The good kind."


    Old Thane stood up, tossing an uprooted weed into the dirt. "Aye? Then let us greet them."


    ___________________


    Li watched as Old Thane gave Jeanne and Sylvie a hug. Azhar refused, but it was still evident from his smile that he was happy to see the old man.


    "Gods, little ones, all of you are safe!" said Old Thane.


    "Of course! Triple Threat will not buckle under some little stone drake." Jeanne nodded and twirled, showing off to Old Thane through the sound of tter that she had gained a new set of armor.


    Before, she wore minimal armor over her priestly white vestments, but now she was fully equipped in shining tinum armor lined with gold. At her back, a cape of white still signaled her ties to the temples.


    But what was more noticeable was golden medallion dangling around her neck.


    "You''ve earned some mighty fine coin to wear such armor,"mented Old Thane. "And how about you two?" He smiled as he nodded to Sylvie and Azhar.


    "I travel light," said Azhar. He looked no different, still dressed in leathers and skins, but his bow looked far better, and when Li focused, he could see that a runeslot had been engraved into it with a fiery red rune of damage enhancement slotted within.


    "As do I," Sylvie said, a little shyly. She still wore the same ck cloak that covered her from neck to toe, preferring to keep herself hidden.


    Limented. "It''s good to see you all back." He gave a nod to Sylvie. "Thanks for the letter updating us."


    "Oh?" said Jeanne as she leaned in towards Sylvie teasingly. "A letter, hm? I didn''t know about any letter."


    Azhar cocked his head, genuinely dumbfounded. "Good goin'', Sylv. Keepin'' the gramps updated and all."


    "Oh, and I also noticed Jeanne is gold-ranked now?" said Li, aiming to take the pressure off Sylvie. But he saw that her pale red eyes cast downwards.


    "And with that means all the more opportunity to help others," said Jeanne.


    "Ya should''ve seen her," said Azhar. "The damn adventurers up north thought we were green little children, even with a silver by our side, and they had us guardin'' the entrance to the mines, not even lettin'' us get into the fight with the drake. But when the whole damn mine started to copse, who saved their arses by holdin'' up the entire shaft?"


    Azhar gave a light punch to Jeanne''s shoulder te. "This beast right here."


    "I am not a beast!" protested Jeanne.


    A pause. Azhar and Jeanne both nced at Sylvie, as she was usually the one to mediate the two, but she remained quiet.


    Old Thane sensed the prolonged silence and said, "Jeanne, a gold? To know my littlessie bears the same medallion I did grants me great pride, though I daresay ask what an esteemed gold adventurer is doing on this humble farm?"


    "Oh, don''t be like that, Old Thane, we''ll alwayse to visit you," said Jeanne as she blushed a little at thepliment, her fingers gently clutching at her golden medallion.


    "And cause there''s a hunt round'' these parts," Azhar chimed in, his arms crossed. "Didn''t want nothin'' dangerous to bein'' near the farm, so we headed here real quick to keep you all safe. Ain''t a venom wyrm gonna take a gold party down."


    "Must I remind you that you and I are still bronze?" said Sylvie finally.


    Azhar shrugged. "Well, that ain''t no big deal. It''s kinda like that blonde prettyboy Launcelot and his party of bronzies. Tough vanguard''s all ya really need, and Jeanne''s as tough as it gets."


    "Stop putting yourself down, Azhar, you and Sylvie both are just as important as me. I wouldn''t be here without you all." Jeanne smiled as she patted both Sylvie and Azhar''s shoulders. She then turned her nce to the fields, her long blonde hair swaying with the movement. "But my, enough about adventures, look at that! Old Thane, you''ve grown crop! It''s just beautiful and golden as I remember it used to be."


    "Aye." Old Thane pped Li''s back with hearty pride. "But it could not have been achieved without thisd."


    "And without you, there wouldn''t even be a farm to begin with," said Li.


    Jeanne pped her hands with enthusiasm. "I know! When ites time to harvest, please tell us. We will help! Remember when we used to help you with the threshing, Old Thane? It''ll be like old times again."


    Sylvie and Azhar nodded. All three looked to Li for approval.


    "Sounds good," said Li. "But that''ll be in two days, so you better finish this hunt fast."


    "Two days!?" Jeanne put her hand over her mouth. She turned to Sylvie and Azhar. "Quick, we must convene a guild meeting and move the adventurers if we are to be in time for the harvest."


    "Sooner the better," grunted Azhar. "Wyrm probably ate a few of my tribesmen getting'' here from the furnds. I''ll be happy to put that thing down."


    "All the more reason to hurry!" Jeanne said, energy positively bursting from her. She started marching back to the city, and Azhar and Sylvie followed suit. As they turned to wave goodbye, all three of them smiling now.


    As they left, Old Thane put a hand on Li''s shoulder. "Lad, a venom wyrm is a dangerous beast, and its poison may waste away even those much stronger than it."


    "I know," said Li. Old Thane knew Li was powerful now, and with that came more responsibilities. "You want me to protect them."


    "Just watch over them,d. It would break my heart to see them fall when we could have helped them." Old Thane shook his head. "You, I call my son, but they, though I knew them since they were tiny little things, I may have cared for, but did not consider mine own.


    Perhaps it is because I know you will continue what I have built up while I knew they were destined to fly away.


    But still, Aine considered those little ones her very own."


    Li smiled as he got a hold of Old Thane''s shoulder and led him back to the fields. "Don''t worry, old man, you don''t have to exin yourself. Anyone you helped, I''ll help as well, it''s just as simple as that."

 Chapter 53 - The Hunt I

    It only took two hours before the adventurers came back. Li was in the fields with Old Thane, doing some good old weeding and watering. The wheat was voracious, its enhanced roots literally draining any water that fell into the soil within seconds, so the watering process was actually somewhat of a chore, involving Li having to routinely take the massive barrel-like basin they used to store water to the nearest well for refills.


    As Li heard the mor of armor nearing the cottage again, he patted his hands together, clumps of dirt and weeds falling off of them. He turned to Old Thane. The old man was lugging the sizable basin overhead, his muscles straining as he maintained an even, steady pace of water across the wheat.


    "Hey, old man, I''ll be taking my scheduled break now," said Li.


    Old Thane had heard their approach as well. He gave Li a nod. "Aye,d, I wish you luck. Let them have their glory, though, as I know right well that an adventurer''s pride is a strong thing."


    "Yeah, I got it. Trust me, if everything goes well, they won''t even know I''m there. I''ll be leaving the farm to you."


    Old Thane gave Li a thumbs up with his free hand. "I would want for nothing more."


    ______________________________


    Li watched as the adventurers made onest pit stop at the herbalist stall. Surprisingly, there weren''t too many of them.


    He could spot triple threat, Vahid and Amelie as well as Launcelot and his trio of ranged supports. At their lead was a knight on horseback, likely guiding them to the wyrm. All the adventurers formed a semi-circle around the stall, their backs to Li.


    "Any of you need anything?" said Li as he approached them.


    They all turned to face Li, their faces rather stern and serious. At first, he was a little surprised, but then he tried to see from their perspective. They would be heading to fight a wyrm that would require their concentrated efforts to effectively dispatch, and a mistake would cost them dearly. Of course they would be serious.


    "We were merely checking whether there were more [Restorations] avable before we ventured within the woods," said Sylvie as she came up to Li, passing the others. Her fukumen was on now, and her silver hair had been tied back in a ponytail, ready to handle swift movement. "But your assistant had [Antivenom] on hand, so we were negotiating prices."


    "Negotiating?" Li saw Iona at the stall, her hands gliding over several bottles of emerald green [Anti-venom]. "Iona, what did you set the price as?"


    "I saw five gold coins for each a fair price," said Iona. "After all, these will be their lifelines. I should say five coins areparable to the value of their lives."


    Li shook his head. Gold coins were extremely expensive in this world, equivalent to a hundred coppers or ten silvers. If he had to try and equate the worth of a gold coin to money in his own world, it would be like one hundred American dors.


    Iona had only ever taught how to make elixirs ¨C she didn''t know how to price them. Of course, [Anti-Venom], by virtue of being a magical tier item, was much pricier than [Restoration], but this was basically price-gouging. On a side note, this made it a little clear that she really did not believe mortal lives to be worth much, or else she would have charged for more.


    "Let''s lower the price to one gold for each," said Li. That was a far more reasonable andpetitive price that didn''t seem like he was out there to abuse their desperation. The adventurers murmured in agreement.


    "s," said Launcelot as he shrugged, rustling a deep blue cloak at his back. "I would have paid for it all, but this is agreeable too."


    Sylvie narrowed her eyes at him. "We may take your charity in drink and celebration, but on the trail, we can manage ourselves."


    "The missy''s right, little man," said Vahid. He reached into his waist satchel and rummaged out a gold coin. "Your intentions are pure, but we''ve our own pride too."


    "Ain''t that right," said Azhar as he nodded at Vahid. The two exchanged acknowledging looks, their eyes scanning the intricate, animal-shaped tattoos lining each other''s bare upper bodies.


    Li saw as the adventurers paid their share, each taking a single [Anti-venom] for themselves. Iona had made ten bottles, but there were only eight adventurers, leaving two spare.


    "Why so few of you today?" said Li.


    Jeanne crossed her arms and cocked her head. "I do not know. At the meeting, there were so many! But when I said we would head out, they all left. Was my n simply not clear enough?"


    Sylvie sighed. "We''re the strongest adventurers in this city, but you must realized that many of them are unused to ying little more than wolves or goblins. They cannot muster the will to travel with so little preparation, even if it is under the call of a gold-rank like you."


    "Oh," said Jeanne. She frowned in genuine concern. "Shall wey this hunt off for another day? It shall be terrible for their reputation if we are to hunt the wyrm without them. They will be called cowards! And all of you as well, I fear I have dragged you into this hunt too recklessly."


    Vahid grunted. "Don''t bother yourself with them. If they weren''t strong enough toe out here now, when then wyrm is close to the city, then they weren''t cut out for this in the first ce."


    "Come now, don''t be so harsh on them," said Amelie as she adjusted her somewhat oversized witch''s cap so that it didn''t cover her eyes. "They made a calcted choice to save their lives, knowing that monsters do not have it within their natures to strike at city walls."


    "But what of the farmers and vigers between the woods and the walls?" said Launcelot. He shook his head. "I will not condemn them, but I will not praise them either. However, what is more important is that we hold this disastrous wyrm at bay now. Do not call this hunt off, Jeanne. Know that my shield stands strong behind you as it did before."


    "As does my de," said Vahid, jerking his head backwards to motion at a greatswordrger than a man sheathed at his back.


    "And I have to save him, wherever he goes," said Amelie as she pointed a tired finger at Vahid. "So I suppose my magic is also at your cause."


    Sylvie and Azhar came up to Jeanne.


    "And you ain''t ever seen us leave your side," said Azhar as Sylvie gave Jeanne a firm smile.


    "Thank you." Jeanne livened up as she saw the support flowing towards her. She straightened her posture and donned her characteristically bright and wide smile. "This is my promise to you: I will protect all of you, no matter the cost, no matter the effort!!"


    "Now, now, that''s my job," said Launcelot as he waved his greatshield about. "Let us tarry no longer. Noon shall be when the wyrm is at its sleepiest, when the sun has just started to warm its cold blood. We must strike soon."


    The adventurers left, and as they did, Sylvie, trailing behind all of them, waved at Li and said, "Don''t forget, we''ll be back for the harvest!" She turned her back quickly, upping her pace to join the rest of the adventurers.


    Li nodded as he saw them off.


    "Will you aid them?" said Iona from the stall. There was no usation in her voice, merely curiosity.


    "Yeah," said Li. "Only if I have to, though."


    Iona nodded and seemed surprisingly okay with it despite her opinion of mortals. "Then I wish you the best of luck. Li."


    ____________________


    Li followed the adventurers once they entered the forest. He glided across the forest floor with superhuman agility, weaving through trees as if they weren''t there. Every so often, he would stay still and close his eyes.


    He had summoned a Shadowfly to keep an eye on the adventurers. It was an extremely weak familiar, as far asbat went. It was only level 40 with zero offensive capabilities and average defensive capabilities.


    What it did have, though, was the ability to render itself invisible through camouge, and because it wasn''t a particrly strong familiar, it didn''t invoke any connection loss as did the Myrmeke, allowing him to see through its eyes regardless of how far away it was. One annoying thing was that since the fly couldn''t hear anything, Li couldn''t either, but its sight was almost at a telescopic level, so he couldn''tin much.


    The adventurers moved surprisingly far. Far above an hour into the woods, in fact, and off any of the main paths. The paths existed for a reason ¨C they signaled trails where the woods were safest, and in reality, they explored precious little of the vast Winterwoods. Off the beaten path and into the thick of the woods, the usually safe forest became a far more formidable environment.


    The ground became much colder, with spots of frostcing the dirt despite the summer sun bearing down upon it. The trees became more bare, unable to grow leaves in the chilling temperatures. Here, monsters were far moremon.


    When Li checked up on them, watching them with an overhead view with the fly, he could routinely see them fighting off packs of direwolves or even a Frost Spider, a formidable level 30 giant insect.


    But thankfully, no monster seemed to drastically exceed level 30, and the adventurers were well-equipped to deal with them.


    Triple Threat had grown stronger with their mountain drake quest. Jeanne was now level 48 while Sylvie and Azhar had levelled up to 40. In contrast, the adventurers that had stayed behind in peaceful old Riviera were weaker. Vahid and Amelie were level 36. Launcelot stood strong at level 45, evidently having trained himself thoroughly since his defeat at the hands of the Myrmeke, but his other party members were level 32.


    Still,bined, this was a thoroughly powerfulbination of parties with varied abilities and skills easily capable of clearing through a good part of the Winterwoods. Li even figured that it was a little overkill for the Venom Wyrm. At best, it would be slightly over level 50 if it was of a red variant, but a party like this would manage to deal even with a Red Venom Wyrm with just a bit of a struggle.


    Even so, Li made sure to be cautious because in this world, poison didn''t just go away after a battle''s end. It continued to gue the body until fully treated, and the only healer in the whole party was Jeanne. In a worst-case scenario, he might need to help them heal.


    Mostly, though, Li was taking a passive role here, just watching the adventurers deal with the situation themselves and intervening only when he had to.


    Li leaned against a tree trunk. It was cold and gnarled ¨C he too was deep in the Winterwoods now, though still far away from the adventurers. Unlike them, he hadn''t encountered a single monster. All of them knew by instinct to stay away from him, even in his human form where much of his powery concealed.


    Li closed his eyes and watched through the shadowfly again.


    He could see the now that the adventurers had stopped, taking hiding positions before a clearing. In the middle of the clearingy a deep ravine, as if a giant cleaver had mmed into the earth and carved a great chunk from it.


    By now, the knight that had been leading the adventurers stood far back, all his armor on as he clutched at the reigns of his horse, bidding it to be silent. Li knew then that this was where they were to fight.


    Li bid the shadowfly to hover over the ravine and peer into it. The fly obeyed, its silent wings propelling its invisible body. Deep at the bottom of the ravine, shrouded in shadows and surrounded by a rushing stream, therey a venom wyrm.


    Its body was massive, easily the size of a two-story house. Itid with its four legs tucked under its green-scaled belly. At its back were two draconic wings folded above the water so as to not get wet. With a guttural growl, the wyrm''s long, serpentine neck wiggled, the horned head at the end flitting out a forked tongue as its beady yellow eyes rolled around in its sockets, adjusting their vision. A leathery, white-skinned pouch at its throat bulged, indicating where it stored its deadly venom.


    Green scales with ck horns ¨C this was a regr venom wyrm. A decent bitrger than the ones from the game, but overall, the same. Not quite level 50 - 48, to be exact with [Power Sense]. Yet as the wyrm roused itself awake, using its ws like picks to scale the ravine to get some nice sunlight to warm itself up, Li got a foreboding sense that he was forgetting something.


    To ease his concerns, he had the shadowfly float around the surrounding area. It was decent terrain. Plenty of cover with the trees, and the wyrm didn''t have much space to maneuver once it climbed up to the clearing as it would have the ravine at its back.


    It could fly, of course, but it wasn''t too difficult to ground a wyrm with a critical ranged strike aspared to dragons, their wings were underdeveloped, far softer and weaker than the rest of their body.


    Still, there was that foreboding sense gnawing at him, but all he could do now was wait and see the adventurers at work.


    And to work they went.

 Chapter 54 - The Hunt II

    Sylvie crouched atop a branch, a swarm of leaves concealing her figure. She was the image of stillness, her breath halted, her muscles frozen. Her light weight ever so slightly bent the branch beneath her feet.


    Beneath her, Azhar stood, back pressed against the trunk of the tree, his hands hovering above his head, towards his bow.


    Sylvie and Azhar were positioned a good ten paces behind the clearing. In front of them, behind the trees that stood at the very edge, were Jeanne, Vahid, and Launcelot ¨C the main vanguard. Right behind the vanguard were Amelie and Launcelot''s trio of damage dealers.


    Sylvie and Azhar stayed far back because this was where they operated best, at a distance where they could carefully note the tides of battle and scope out chances for critical strikes on vital locations. To Sylvie, this had be almost an artform, having sliced open countless monster throats.


    It hade to the point where she had managed a breakthrough in power, manifesting her second specialty as a Kaishaku, an advancement of the ninja specialty that focused her abilities on seamlessly executing enemies at their weakest and most vulnerable states.


    She reached under her cloak and grasped at shuriken she stored in a belt pouch. It was a pain to get these specialty forged, always needing to show the cksmith blueprints from her eastern scrolls, but without them, many of her skills didn''t properly manifest. But even with her equipment fully stocked, she still hoped she had enough power to get through this hunt.


    Azhar exhaled deeply, his stomach sinking as he closed his eyes. His wild, shoulder-length hair started to tremble as magical energy surged through his body, concentrating on the tattoos etched into his skin. Silhouettes of galloping horses on his left and right arms started to glow a deep ruby red as he prepared to call a spirit steed.


    The magic of the hintenders ¨C spiritual shamanism.


    Sylvie took this as a sign to get ready. She withdrew her shuriken, each one of the metal stars wedged between her fingers. She couldn''t see outside the foliage surrounding her, so she relied on Azhar to give her cues, and it was evident that he had seen that the front vanguard had given their signal to start getting ready.


    A great rumble droned through the air as the Venom Wyrm yawned. The sound of ws massive and sharp cracking into stone became louder and louder, until finally, there was a heavy thud as the wyrm draped its body across the clearing to bask in the sunlight.


    Sylvie shivered as she felt the foliage around her rustle. The pping of wings ¨C birds were taking flight, terrified of the wyrm that did not belong here. She had wondered why it had traveled so far. Its home ¨C the mire bogs ¨C were far, far west. Even further west than the already remote hintends, wedged between the hintend ins and the furnds where demons spawned and prowled.


    Regardless, this creature was unwee here. An invasive species and a danger to all. It could rot the entire ecosystem with a tantrum or, as Launcelot had noted, wreak devastating misery and suffering to countless vigers and farmers. She tightened her grip on the shuriken. She was nervous. She always was, no matter how many times she did this, but this was still her duty as an adventurer.


    She only hoped she wouldn''t hold back Jeanne.


    A whistle pierced through the forest.


    The front vanguard was mobilizing. Everything started to happen in quick order, as if precisely choreographed. The vanguard would be engaging the wyrm at any moment now. Sylvie nced below as Azhar unslung his bow and leaped in the air as particles of red scattered underneath him, condensing into a horse the shade of ruby. It glimmered like the jewel too, the individual particles sparkling and hazy, spiritual at their core.


    "On me!" said Sylvie as she pushed off the tree branch, silently gliding into the next tree, and then the next, until she was at the veryst ring of trees before the clearing, where she had a clear line of sight towards the battle. She could hear the clopping of Azhar''s spirit steed following close behind her, giving her support.


    Sylvie peered through a few stray leaves at the ongoing fight.


    Vahid roared as he barreled forwards, the tattoo of a bull at his back glowing with cerulean might.


    The wyrm, still sluggish, tried to stand on its four legs while shaking its serpentine head to throw off its sleepiness.


    Vahid mmed his greatsword into one of the wyrm''s front legs, cutting a nasty gash into it. A swing like that would have cleaved a man in two, but the wyrm''s hardened scales and tough sinews made for a powerful armor that prevented major damage.


    Still, Sylvie could see as the wyrm roared, the pain was now starting to jolt its system back into full function. She and the others had to make quick use of the wyrm''s momentary lethargy to inflict as much damage as possible.


    She saw as the wyrm used its undamaged front leg to swipe at Vahid. The wed foot was almost asrge as the giant hintender himself, no doubt able to inflict serious damage with its de-like ws, but Vahid saw thising and immediately ran back.


    Launcelot came forwards, bearing his greatshield and mming it on the ground. The wyrm''s leg crushed into the shield with an echoing impact, driving Launcelot several feet back, but he kept his shield firmly up.


    Sylvie''s eyes honed in on the wound that Vahid had inflicted. Though not deep, it could certainly be made deeper, but for that, she needed a bigger opening.


    "Shoot!" said Launcelot as he gritted his teeth and held his shield against the raging torrent of wyrm muscle and ws.


    The wyrm, seeing that Launcelot managed to stop its blow, raised its leg again while surging forwards, aiming to get a good angle to stomp Launcelot under its great weight where his shield would be far less effective.


    But a barrage of projectiles halted it. Amelie had fired a spear of lightning while Launcelot''s trio rained down explosive arrows, des of cutting wind, and jet streams of concentrated fire.


    The wyrm growled as it stumbled back from the force of thebined attack. It wasn''t enough to deal serious damage through its chest, where its scales were thickest, but that was also where the center of its bnce was, making it the best spot to strike to force it back.


    The real damage woulde from Triple Threat.


    Sylvie spied the instant the wyrm struggled back, distracted by the lightshow sting at its chest, and thrust out her hand, shooting out a salvo of five shuriken that curved into the air, their spinning bodies wreathed in shadows as they embedded into the open wound at the wyrm''s leg.


    She calcted that five cursed shuriken would stack enough damage enhancing curses to let Azhar do his work. The shadows seeped into the raw wyrm flesh, creeping throughout the leg like faint tendrils of ck, almost as if a tumor of wispy darkness had embedded deep within.


    "Thanks, Sylv!" said Azhar from directly below as he took aim from atop his steed, his arm pulling back the bowstring, the fingers tightly gripped around a nocked arrow. His muscles tensed for a second, empowered from red eagle wing tattoos gracing his shoulder des.


    Then he loosed. The arrow sted forwards, spirals of wind surging at its tip. Sylvie hoped that the arrow, empowered with [Snipe], would do enough damage to cripple the wyrm. After all, this was the fruit of Azhar''s own training.


    Before, he had been a ranger with a specialty as a beastmaster, but after growing strong alongside Sylvie, he had also developed a secondary specialty ¨C that of a sniper meant to deal devastating damage from a distance.


    The wyrm screamed as the ballista like arrow crashed into its leg, shearing apart swathes of flesh until it embedded into bone. It hobbled for a bit before it crashed into the ground, unable to support its weight anymore.


    "Reposition!" said Sylvie as she leaped to another tree, Azhar following below, making sure that the wyrm never managed to single them out with a concentrated shot of its breath.


    Like this, they were a deadly duo. Sylvie specialized in putting targets down but weakening them from a healthy condition was a different matter. For that, Azhar was perfect, his immense firepower only needing the slightest bit of guidance to truly shine. The fact that with his spirit steeds, he could keep up with Sylvie''s mobility made them perfect partners for picking enemies apart without any chance for retaliation.


    "Stand ready for venom!" said Launcelot as he waved everyone except Jeanne back.


    Sylvie nodded. The wyrm was now very much awake, and now that it knew it was in danger, it would not hesitate to use the venom stored up in its throat. For that, Jeanne stood ready. She hadn''t been part of the action yet, as when it came down to it, she was the only one capable of casting a barrier powerful enough to deflect something intangible like venom clouds.


    Amelie, though an experienced mage, focused on destruction, specializing as an elementalist. The only barrier she could erect would be for herself. Launcelot''s supports, too, had no shielding capabilities, purely relying on his immense durability to get by, but his shield could not block something like a toxic cloud.


    Yet as Sylvie waited in the treetop, her eyes narrowed as she focused on the wyrm, she wondered why the wyrm did not unleash its signature venom breath.


    As the smoke and dust settled around it, the wyrm opened its mouth.


    "Here ites!" said Launcelot as he hunkered down behind his shield. All the ranged casters and even Vahid were behind him now.


    Only Jeanne continued to stand beside Launcelot as she sped her hands together, readying to reinforce a magical barrier with her priestly powers.


    Sylvie''s eyes widened in surprise. The wyrm blinked in seeming understanding before it loosed an ordinary roar and contorted its body, generating massive amounts of rotational force as it whipped its heavy, muscle-padded battering ram of a tail straight into Launcelot.


    "What!?" Launcelot managed to say before the tail struck his shield hard, sending him flying straight into the crowd of adventurers he was supposed to protect, toppling everyone over in a domino effect.


    Sylvie''s breath caught into her throat. The wyrm was smart. It had realized what the adventurers were nning and subverted their expectations. Yet all the texts she had been forced to memorize in guild training had told her that wyrms were dumb creatures incapable ofplex thought. Only more evolved species such as drakes and dragons had intelligence.


    She heard as Azhar''s spirit horse rushed forwards, crushing dead leaves underfoot in a mad pace.


    "What are you doing? Stay in position!" shouted Sylvie.


    "Ain''t nobody gonna'' survive if that wyrm breathes now!"


    Sylvie froze up. The n was shattered. Her breath felt heavy through her mask. She had to formte another n. She had to analyze the situation again, reassess, calcte. But she had to think quick, she had to move fast, or else it would be likest time, when she couldn''t think hard enough, and Ragnar had died because of her. She had to-


    "Come with me, Sylv!"


    Sylvie looked down to see Azhar had stopped, shifting his body further up the horse so that there was space for her.


    "Stop thinkin'' so hard. All''s we gotta do is help them."


    Sylvie swallowed in a calming breath and nodded, leaping off her tree branch and onto the horse. It felt light, like sitting on a cloud, but it was still warm, almost alive.


    Azhar dug his heels into the horse and charged forwards, into the clearing.


    Sylvie blinked. The wyrm wasn''t using its breath. In fact, it was trying to run, its wings stretched out and pping, drawing out gusts as it tried to generate momentum. Launcelot was still on the floor, groaning and shocked by the blow.


    The rest of the adventurers were just starting to get up. There was just Jeanne left at the front, still trying to gauge whether she had to cast a barrier or not. She couldn''t do anything here. She couldn''t reach out and use her strength to hold the wyrm down, because if it used its breath then, everyone was dead.


    She had to stay there, and Sylvie knew from how still her back was that a raging ocean of conflict was broiling within her. Did she grab the wyrm and open everyone behind her to die? Or did she stay here and let the creature escape?


    No, only Sylvie and Azhar had the necessary skills for this situation.


    "Do you have a clean shot?" she said to Azhar.


    Azhar nocked his bow again. His eyes darted up and down, trying to follow the pping wings. The wyrm was starting to float now.


    "Damn thing ain''t movin'' on instinct," said Azhar as his aimed arrow shifted up, then down, then from side to side. "It''s swervin'', trynna'' dodge me. Fucker''s lookin'' at me too, trackin'' my eyes."


    Sylvie bit her lip. She had not prepared the right poisons for her equipment to paralyze the creature. How could she have known the monster would even know how bows worked? How strategy worked? She had no way of slowing it down.


    The wyrm, with a swift, final push of its wings, swirled itself around so that its stomach faced Azhar. Now, it was even harder to hit. Optimally, Azhar would have sniped its shoulder joint where the wing connected to its back to disable its flight, but this frontal view concealed those joints. Just punching an arrow through the wing membrane wouldn''t be enough to stop its flight.


    Think. Think. Sylvie knew she had nothing for this situation. She knew Azhar, having just be a sniper, hadn''t learned enough strong skills to deal with this. But she did have one resource left.


    "Jeanne!" she shouted. "Hold it down!"


    Jeanne wavered, but the grip on her priest''s staff started to loosen.


    "If it hasn''t used its poison by now, then it doesn''t have the ability!" Sylvie gritted her teeth. She had no idea if that was true or not. But she had to convince Jeanne to act somehow. If the wyrm did use its breath, then Sylvie would take responsibility for the lost lives. She had to try nheless.


    Jeanne cast aside her staff and leaped forwards, jumping several meters in the air as her hands grasped the tip of the wyrm''s tail. With a roar, she pushed her arms down, and the wyrm stumbled in the air as heroic strength dragged it back to the earth.


    Jeanne dug her heels into the dirt and pushed backwards. Her greaves shattered into the earth as the wyrm screamed while it pped its wings, sting out great winds as it tried desperately to pull free from Jeanne''s grip, but she was like an anchor keeping it suspended in the air.


    "Azhar, aim for its venom pouch."


    Azhar cast a frantic backwards nce at her, but he shifted his aim nheless towards the white pouch at the wyrm''s throat. "The hell? That''ll make it explode, and then all kinds of disaster''s gonna'' rain down on us. Ain''t no barrier gonna save us then."


    "Aim, but don''t shoot." Sylvie kept her eyes trained on the wyvern, on its eyes, and she noticed them flitting towards Azhar''s bow, noticing its trajectory. She had re-framed the wyrm in her mind and formted new ns based on treating it less as a mindless monster but more a sentient enemy. "If it''s smart, it''ll know that the moment it tries to use its venom breath, we''re going to pierce its throat. It won''t risk it."


    Like she predicted, the wyrm did not use its venom breath. Instead, it decided to use its wings to propel itself downwards, mming into Jeanne with its back leg. Shattered shards of rock scattered through the air as it crushed Jeanne underfoot, but when the ploughed up dust started to settle, it was evident that the hero hadn''t met her end just yet.


    Jeanne still stood strong, her arms trembling over her head as they prevented the massive foot from grinding her into paste. Her white cape fluttered at her back as she sunk further and further into the earth.


    "Never keep your aim off the pouch, let it know we have it''s life in our hands at all times," said Sylvie as she leaped off the horse and called out to the rest of the adventurers behind her. She could see how to solve this problem now, how to use all the pieces around her. "All of you, get up! Vahid and Launcelot, help Jeanne and disable that leg! And you, the mages at the back, fire at its wings!"


    Launcelot shook his head as he tried to stand on wobbling knees. The impact had done a number to his head. Vahid helped him up, slinging a brawny arm over the shielder''s shoulder.


    "I can''t see properly. Impact hit my head hard," muttered Launcelot as he put a gauntlet to his helm. "I''m afraid I''m of no use."


    Vahid shook Launcelot, rattling his armor. He positioned himself directly in front of the shieldbearer, flexing his wide back. "Do ya see me?"


    Launcelot nodded. "A blur."


    "That''s all ya need!" Vahid gripped his greatsword with both hands, his bull tattoo shing again. "Just follow my back, big man, and ya got this! Now raise that shield and let''s show this overgrown lizard what real men are made of!"


    Vahid charged forwards, and Launcelot followed behind, his shield positioned ahead of him like a battering ram. Launcelot''s steps were shaky, but they were still quick, only needing something to follow.


    Behind them, Amelie twirled her staff, conjuring up magic circles that sted forth piercing branches of lightning meant to shred as much of the wyrm''s wings as possible. Launcelot''spanions stood behind the more experienced mage, casting their powers in unison, wreathing the electricity with shards of razor-sharp wind, fireballs, and arrows that gleamed white with explosion magic.


    Sylvie watched as her orchestration bore fruit. She put back her shuriken and instead unsheathed a wakizashi from her waist scabbard.


    The final piece would be herself, and she had to be ready for the perfect moment, the killing instant, as it was called among assassins ¨C that one perfect second where everything wasid bare, all vulnerabilities maximized, where time constrained, leaving only but one fell strike to end it all.

 Chapter 55 - The Hunt III

    Sylvie dashed forwards, leaving Azhar to aim at the wyrm''s neck. She kept behind Launcelot and Vahid as they made their roaring charge. She nced upwards, her vision momentarily filling with a medley of white and red lights as branches of lightning and fireballs soared overhead.


    The lightning struck true, piercing into the wyrm''s soft and thin wing membranes. As each individual branch of crackling energy punched through the wings, they left behind scorched holes ringed with fire. Then the des of wind struck, shearing great cuts in the wing like a scissor running through a curtain. The fireballs widened the cuts and charred them to brittle crisps of charcoal until finally, explosive arrows tore apart the battered wings wholesale, leaving but ragged strips of smoking flesh.


    The wyrm loosed a high-pitched scream as it lost control over its flight, its wings pping uselessly as it stumbled backwards. But before it could fall into the ravine, it thrust out its free hind leg to stabilize its bnce. Like this, the wyrm stood on two legs, one foot braking its fall and the other trying to crush Jeanne, but it did not stand for long.


    Vahid and Launcelot let loose battle cries that echoed throughout the woods as they neared the foot Jeanne was holding up.


    "Strike true, Cleaver!" screamed Vahid as he mmed his oversized greatsword straight into the leg with all his might, each of his muscles coiled tight and bulging, as if straining to burst of out of his skin. The bull tattoo at his back surged with blue crackles of magical energy, and as his back muscles tensed, they warped the image of the tattoo from bull to something almost demonic.


    The greatsword cracked through the wyrm''s scales, sending showers of green sailing outwards, embedding even into Vahid''s own flesh like bullets, but he grit his teeth and pressed his swing forwards, his knuckles turning white from exertion. The de sliced through muscle as tough as steel, but eventually, the de stopped, unable to cut deep enough to sever important tendons or bone.


    Vahid drew back hands that trembled from the immense impact, leaving the greatsword embedded in the leg. "Launcelot! Show me your might!"


    Launcelot answered with a roar just as loud as Vahid''s he charged forwards, his shield borne in front of him.


    "[Shield Bash!]" he shouted as he crashed the shield into Vahid''s de with all his strength and weight, essentially throwing himself onto the leg like a human missile. Launcelot flew backwards from the tackle, as if he had mmed into an iron wall, and he groaned as hey t on his back, but he had been sessful.


    The sudden burst of impact from the shield drove the de in even further. Pops and snaps cracked through the air as the wyrm''s tendons severed and its bone shattered.


    The wyrm''s head swayed from side to side as it surveyed the situation. It decided to run, using its one healthy back leg to try and drive itself off the ravine, where hopefully it could try to swim downstream so that the current could aid its escape.


    Sylvie held her breath. If the wyrm managed to fall, it could use its adept swimming skills to outpace the adventurers until it reached one of the majorkes, at which point, it would be impossible to catch.


    "No, you don''t!" said Jeanne, her breaths heavy, her blonde locks specked with dirt. She cracked her knuckles as she almost flew forwards, her jump creating craters in the ground. She grabbed the end of the wyrm''s tail right as it started to tip over the edge of the ravine.


    "This is payback," said Jeanne under abored breath as she drove her legs into the ground and then heaved, like she was pulling a chain attached to a heavy weight. Light, golden like the rays of the sun, started to gather around her body like a full-body halo, and slowly but surely, she made progress, pulling the wyrm up even as it used thrashed around, trying to pull free.


    With a final battle cry of exertion, she heaved the full weight of the wyrm back up the ravine, slinging it right back on the clearing where it now struggled to even stand, exhausted and bleeding from two torn apart legs.


    Sylvie held her wakizashi out, the edge of the de''s steel protruding from her cloak and glinting under the sun. She walked slowly up to the wyrm''s head. Her red eyes intensified in color, almost to the shade of blood, as she analyzed the wyrm, waiting for that precious killing instant.


    The wyrmy prone on the ground, its great chest heaving up and down as it struggled for breath. Its yellow eyes focused on Sylvie as she approached its head, and it growled, baring its many rows of curved teeth. But the wyrm did notsh out as she expected, trying to bite at her onest time.


    Instead, it closed its eyes and curled its lengthy neck up into coils of defensive scales to protect its vulnerable head and throat.


    Sylvie felt her heart skip a beat. Like this, the wyrm could loose a cloud of venom without fearing retaliation from Azhar. But she did not loosen her focus. She could feel how close she was to the killing instant. Her senses were hyper-focused.


    She could hear the wyrm''s rapid heartbeat. She could hear the squelch of the severed arteries at its legs as they spurted blood. She could hear the breath that rattled in its throat hidden by coils of neck muscle and scales.


    All she needed was one mistake to find a weak spot, something, to strike at. But the wyrm had turtled up perfectly, its headpletely concealed, and she didn''t have the firepower to cut through its entire neck, even if it was far thinner than its sturdy legs.


    "Here you go, Sylv! This is thest of my strength, the rest is up to you!"


    Sylvie blinked as she heard Jeanne''s voice resonate from behind her. Before she could turn, she saw Launcelot''s greatshield crash straight into the wyrm''s neck like a massively oversized arrow. The shield''s solid, thick edges and sturdy, heavy metal made the perfect bludgeoning boulder that shattered the thickyer of scales at the neck before bouncing off and ttering on the ground.


    Jeanne had thrown the shield like a rock, and as Sylvie''s eyes widened, she could see the killing instant.


    Time slowed.


    A cloud of jagged and cracked scales fell so slowly around the wyrm''s neck that they were almost suspended in animation. Sunlight reflected off of them, and for a moment, Sylvie found the scene beautiful, the light twinkling on each little shard of scale like the many stars of night.


    But even more beautiful was the sight of its bare neck now uncovered by scales. The flesh was deeply red and open to the world, the protective scales having been sted apart by the shield throw.


    Before the wyrm could move again, adjusting its neck to hide the exposed flesh, Sylvie mobilized.


    [Shadowform] to wreathe her body in a ck shimmer that granted her next attack a guaranteed critical strike.


    [Hashihime Flow] to elerate her body''s movements beyond human limitations for just a moment.


    And then ¨C


    Sylvie grasped her wakizashi in two hands, and in a sh of darkness, she was upon the vulnerable flesh. She could make out each and every fiber of the powerful wyrm muscles, and she could see how some of them had been damaged by the impact, how the perfect strike at the perfect angle would slice through everything in one motion.


    "[Tenfold Execution]," she whispered, stabbing the sword deep into the neck until it reached the hilt. The de plunged in without any resistance, but she could feel the point stop at the hardened vertebrae. She withdrew her de and flicked it to the side, throwing off blood that had drenched on its enchanted steel.


    The hunt was over.


    She watched as ten shadowy ck des of energy manifested and whirled around the neck, all focusing on the bone and the flesh surrounding it. They removed the muscle and split the bone with surgical precision ¨C as expected of a high tier C-rank spell that taxed her mana and body immensely.


    Yet even as she saw the shadows finish their work, she still held her breath. Always confirm the kill, she said to herself in her head.


    Finally, she sighed in relief when she saw the neck split slowly apart from the wyrm''s body.


    The wyrm''s body shuddered onest time before it grew still, and then a torrent of blood squelched from its severed neck, spattering on Launcelot''s shield below.


    Sylvie''s vision blurred and she fell back, her mana levels too low. Strong hands grabbed her, and she looked up at Jeanne''s proud eyes shining bluer than any ocean at sunrise. "You did it, Sylv! Gods, I was so worried for you!"


    Sylvie quickly pushed herself off Jeanne and mustered up the energy to stand. "You didn''t need to worry."


    She had finally proven herself. For months, she had looked at Jeanne as her medal turned from bronze to silver, from silver to gold, and yet, hers had stayed bronze. She finally knew now that she could hold her own, that she wasn''t by Jeanne''s side just because the shining hero wanted to respect their childhood bonds.


    Now, Sylvie could finally admit to herself that she wasn''t a burden, that she deserved to be here, and despite how weary her body was, she felt lighter than ever, a huge burden lifted from her back.


    "We still have to get the head," said Sylvie, trying to think through a headache about what else they needed to do. She knelt by the wyrm''s neck. "Kill confirmation. Then we need to-"


    "Don''t worry, Sylv," said Jeanne as she put her hand on Sylvie''s shoulder. She gave Sylvie a bright and thankful smile. "We''ll take care of it. Get some rest, your mana''s much too low for this work."


    Vahid stumbled up to the wyrm corpse, very obviously tired, and tapped the severed neck with his boot. There were still several coils of neck to unwound to get to the head at the very bottom. "My arms have taken a mighty beating. I''m afraid I alone cannot carry this weight. We''ll need to sever the neck again closer to the head ¨C make it easier to carry."


    "You''re right," said Sylvie. She looked back and saw that Launcelot, the other muscle in the party, was still on the ground, recovering. Instead, she called to everyone behind him, the mages and the bowmen. "Everyone, let''s straighten these coils out."


    "But you, missy," said Vahid, pointing a stubby finger at Sylvie. She looked at him questioningly as she knelt by the mound of coils. "Ought to rest. A mind at low mana is a mind at risk to copse."


    Sylvie shook her head. "I''m fine, I can do atleast this." She waved the backline forwards, and they came in due course, surrounding the coils.


    "All of you, push on my count. Three, two¡­," Sylvie poured energy into her arms again despite the throbbing pain at her head. "One!"


    Everyone pulled back, and it was almost like unspooling a massively oversized thread with the wyrm''s head at the very end.


    Sylvie breathed hard as thest of the coils unwound, revealing the wyrm''s head on the ground. The eyes were still open and fierce, projecting forth a spiteful determination, and yet they had lost the glossy sheen they had when they were alive.


    Vahid raised his greatsword overhead, ready to try the first of many blows needed to hack the head off. Sylvie swayed from side to side as her vision blurred. She wanted to help, but she had nothing left in the tank to help with. She watched as Jeanne held the head firm while Vahid loosed one strong blow into it, ploughing up some blood and scales.


    "You aren''t going to help?" said Sylvie as she felt Azhar''s presence draw near to her.


    "They don''t need my help, but it''s lookin'' like you do."


    "You''ve helped me more than enough. Without you, the n wouldn''t have worked."


    "I ain''t talkin'' about that. It''s your decisions, Sylv." Azhar squatted beside her and did not look at her, keeping his eyes forward and on Jeanne as she helped Vahid. "Sylv, how''d ya know the wyrm didn''t have venom?"


    Sylvie pursed her lips. "I¡­didn''t know. I know what you think. That were I to be wrong, then mymand to Jeanne would have meant grievous injury to many of us. But I was right, and in the end, that is all that matters, no?"


    Azhar looked up at Sylvie, and she expected judgement to be on his face, perhaps entuated with the curve of a frown, but he only stared at her with an understanding, neutral expression. "I ain''t gonna'' tell you that what you did was wrong, cause'' I would''ve made the same call in your ce. But Sylv, know that ya got nothin'' to prove to us."


    "I know," said Sylvie. "But when we banded together, it was under a promise to each other that we would change the world for the better. I wasn''t trying to prove anything to you, I was trying to prove to myself that I had the power to make good on that promise, that I could earn my ce on this team."


    One person had already died under her ns, and ever since then, she had been gued about her worth and whether she was even needed with someone as powerful as Jeanne in their midst. At least now she could tell herself she belonged.


    Sylvie moved back to the wyrm''s neck where Jeanne was helping Vahid.


    "Let''s flip it over," said Jeanne to Vahid. "It''ll have softer scales at its underbelly."


    Vahid grunted in approval and Jeanne twisted the head backwards. As she did so, the wyrm''s mouth yawned open. Its bulging venom pouch started to tten, and for a second, everyone froze, expecting venom, but instead, an egg squelched out from the pouch.


    It was a massive egg, white but covered in streaks of green and almost asrge as a man. When it slid out the wyrm''s mouth, its venom pouchpletely deted.


    Sylvie understood now. The wyrm didn''t have any venom because it was carrying a child. But that didn''t exin its odd intelligence. It was also surprisingly strong. Much physically stronger and tougher than the average wyrm, capable of tiring out a powerhouse like Jeanne, knocking out Launcelot, and weathering Vahid''s brutal blows.


    "This will sell for a hefty price!" said Vahid as he reached down to touch the egg. "For sure it will finance another night of celebration! Or perhaps we shall feast on it. Where I am from, wyrm meat is said to grant long and happy lives. Provided thessies are not too squeamish about it."


    Sylvie reached out to Vahid, her mouth open to tell him to fall back as she saw the wyrm''s eyes move in their sockets.

 Chapter 56 - The Hunt IV

    A memory from what felt like a lifetime ago.


    Li walked across a rocky path shrouded in darkness and enclosed with a low roof of rocky stctites that dripped with damp droplets. If Elden World were able to truly simte the senses, then he figured the air would have been moist as well, heavy and stuffy within the depths of the Crawling Caves, so named for the annoying surplus of giant insects that skittered about.


    He was in his elder leshen form, back when all it represented was just a character in a game, not something that would warp the very fabric of his mind.


    "I legitimately cannot understand how you''ve spent ten hours here," said Li as his skull-head gave an using nod to a longtimepanion and guild member, //BEAST//.


    "How else am I going to carry this guild in the arena tournaments? Everyone''s so focused on growing stuff that nobody cares about getting stronger." She was a feli, her ck furred ears twitching every so often and her feral eyes glinting yellow in the dark with the slit pupils dted wide.


    She was a fan of steampunk, so she dressed like the genre with arge ck overcoat, top hat, formal white blouse and leather pants with sleek, iron-studded boots. All of her articles of clothing gleamed with power, the shining andplex sigils of Greater Runes visible upon them.


    Her status bar hovered above her head. A full green bar indicated her health while a half-full blue bar indicated her mana. The white letters //BEAST// were perched atop the bars. And beside the username was written ''LVL100+'', indicating that she, like Li, were yers that were not only level 100, but had alsopleted multiple cycles of the campaign and gained all the stats, items, and spells associated with the task.


    One of the strongest yers of Arboretum and perhaps the strongest damage dealer.


    //BEAST// withdrew her celestial tier Meteoric Crossbow from her back and equipped it with both hands. A necessary thing, too, as the crossbow was sizable. It was not made of wood, but an ethereal metal the color of the night sky, ck and sprinkled with twinkling dots of light that mimicked the stars.


    Li followed her and withdrew his own staff. Or, more urately, it was more like a long and thin stake far taller than Li. It was of crude design, as if roughly carved up, splinters and little strips of ck wood shavings still clinging to its body.


    "That thing is totally gross," said //BEAST// as she put up a vomiting emoji next to her username. "Have you ever thought about switching it out?"


    "Never. This is my baby. Literally." Li looked up to the top of the staff. Impaled upon the stake was an oversized fetus of some ungodly abomination. Its rotting flesh was various shades of ck and grey that seemed to perfectly embody decay.


    The body was vaguely humanoid, but the creature''s four limbs were spindly, branch-like things far too small for its round and chubby belly. Its fingers and toes ended in slithering little tentacles, each lined with inquisitive red eyes. The creature was still alive, and even as it was bound to the stake driven through its stomach, its rotund infant belly heaved up and down with rattling breaths.


    It was around the size of a small man, but it managed to stay in a morepact form due to its curled-up fetal position, as if it was still resting in its mother''s womb. Its head could''ve been mistaken for a human baby''s were it not entirely covered with dozens of sets of crooked mouths and rolling eyes.


    The creature was an Orphan of Shub-Niggurath. Li felt pride when he looked at the grotesque item because he saw it as one of his greatest achievements ¨C an umtion of hundreds of hours of work.


    It was called the ck Beauty, and it was a celestial-ss staff forged from a Primal Shard obtained once everypletion of the campaign and an ultra-rare drop called the Dark Mother''s Fetus derived from defeating the monstrously difficult new game+ boss Shub-Niggurath.


    "I think it looks pretty cute, don''t you agree?" said Li as he teasingly waved the staff forward. The infant made gurgling, cooing sounds, as if reaching out for its mother.


    //BEAST// recoiled backwards beforeughing. "Well, it''s a strong item, I''ll give you that." She assumed a serious expression and pointed forwards, deeper into the dark of the cave. "Okay, enough wasting time. Come on, I''ll show you what I do here."


    Li followed //BEAST// until they reached the edge of the path. Going further would lead to a deep drop into a massive pit. Heat waves emanated upwards from the pit as the ground was cracked and almost molten. Atop this unstable earth were almost fifty wyrms all stretched out, their long necks and tails piling atop each other.


    "A wyrm pit?" said Li. "What''s so important about this? You can''t even farm them. They''re level 50 at most?"


    "Do you remember lore about dragons?" said //BEAST// as she aimed her crossbow down at the pit. A gleaming white arrow nocked with a mechanical click.


    Li shrugged. "I do, but obviously not as much as about nts and forest creatures. Dragons aren''t exactly my area of expertise, and these aren''t even real dragons. They''re just wyrms."


    //BEAST// nodded. "Yep, they''re just wyrms, that''s true, but dragons are an evolutionary species.


    Wyrms evolve into drakes which evolve into dragons which can evolve into elder dragons. Supposedly, those evolutions can take ce over a single lifetime. Like the boss Imugi ¨C its backstory reads that it started off as a wyrm, but through many fights and challenges, it evolved right up to being an elder dragon."


    Li knew that //BEAST// was a ranger with specialties as a Beastmaster, Dragon Rider, and ster. "I think I get it. You want to try taming these guys to evolve them? But you know that nobody''s ever seen a wyrm evolve into a drake, right? Some things are just, well, just lore."


    "Taming them? Nah. Easier to kill them over and over until one of them evolves." //BEAST// smiled. "You and I both know that the devs like to add hidden mechanics based on tiny little tidbits they put in the lore. I''m no dummy ¨C I''ve done my research.


    There are a few forum posts here and there where beginners killed a wyrm and then all of a sudden, it just turned into a dragon and killed them. When they tried to re-explore the area, it was gone. Of course, this was so rare that everyone thought they were lying and essentially told them to ''get good''."


    "People post about crazy theories and made up experiences all the time."


    "True, but I know I''m right, because I was one of those posters, back when the game started and I was just a noob." //BEAST// readied her aim. "I''ve always wondered what it was like to tame one of those rare evolving wyrms. Maybe they have even higher-level caps than normal dragons."


    She fired. The shining white crossbow bolt spiraled in the air as it sailed downwards, leaving behind a trail of twinkling stars at its wake.


    Li looked attentively. He never got tired of seeing the massive contrast between the bolt''s beauty and how destructive it was.


    When the bolt mmed into the center of the wyrm nest, a colossal explosion of blinding white radiance emerged,pletely covering all of the wyrms. Then, a rumbling crack echoed outward as the shockwave from the st scaled the pit''s walls, shaking off aged dust from the entirety of the cavern.


    A mushroom cloud of smoke and stardust floated upwards. It was as if a meteor of divine punishment had mmed into this pit of poor lizards with heavenly might, and as the mushroom cloud faded, there were nothing but charred corpses with coins and drops floating above them.


    Li figured this must have been pretty simr to how the dinosaurs went extinct.


    "I don''t see any of them reviving," said Li. "In fact, they look really dead to me."


    //BEAST// shrugged and nocked another meteor bolt, waiting until the camp of monsters respawned. "Well, it''s not exactly amon urrence. I''ve been here ten hours for a reason."


    "Then why bring me?"


    "Cause'' I figured you were good luck." //BEAST// gave him a smile. "Things seem to go well with you around." She motioned to Li''s staff. "Plus, I felt we could take turns sting these fools into oblivion. A kind of bonding activity, you feel me?"


    ___________________________


    For the first time since he hade to this new world, Li opened his mouth in surprise. At the end of the day with //BEAST//, they had never found that rare, elusive wyvern that could evolve beyond its level limitations.


    But here it was.


    Li watched through the shadowfly, his body tense. He was a distance away from the adventurers to prevent getting spotted, but he started to regret the decision when he saw that the fight was much harder than he anticipated for them.


    When they had in the wyrm, he thought his job was done, but very evidently not.


    The wyrm''s decapitated head tried to snap at Vahid, but Jeanne saw this and punched it away, sending it rolling down the ravine. She copsed to one knee, her strength drained, but the situation wasn''t over.


    The wyrm''s headless body stood up. Its broken and shattered legs regenerated, the bones re-aligning as muscle, flesh, and scales regrew. Then, vertebrae shot out of the exposed base of its neck, growing rapidly until it formed the skeletal outline of an entirely new head.


    But that wasn''t the end of the grim situation. The wyrm''s entire body shuddered and shifted as it mutated uncontrobly. It becamerger, its scales turning red, and then ck. As it bulked up, its slim neck remained the same size, seemingly too small for its bigger body, but quickly it became evident why.


    Eight more heads sprouted outwards, covered in steaming amniotic fluids as their eyes opened just as hateful and active as the original head. The creature''s burned and tattered wings sloughed off their damaged membranes and regrew tougher, stronger, and more importantly,rger ¨C the wings of a fully fledged dragon.


    The dragon''s nine heads roared in a symphony of power, its now majestic wings stretched out to cover the sun.


    All the adventurers started to scramble back.


    Li recognized the creature. It was a Lerneas, a derivative of dragon inspired by the mythological hydra. A level 70 creature with poison far, far more potent than the venom wyrm''s and possessing immense regeneration so long as its nine heads were all intact.


    This was a creature leagues upon leagues beyond the adventurers, and they would need his help.


    _______________________________


    Sylvie could not help but shake as she saw the hydra''s wings blot out the sun. It was like a merciless sheen of darkness that snuffed out any light of hope they had to survive. She put out a halting step backwards, but her shaky muscles copsed on her, and she fell on the hard earth, her grip loosing on her short sword.


    What could she do anyway?


    The Lerneas was a creature of legend. The type drawn on storybooks and scrolls to exin why entire countries disappeared. It would take the might of legends to fight against it. At the least, a team of tinum tes would have to miraculously appear out of thin air just for them to have a hope of surviving.


    But there was no such hope, and this was all because of her. She was the one to force Jeanne to pull the wyrm down, back when it was just a wyrm. She had given the order when she could have let the creature just escape. It was her fault.


    With trembling lips, she closed her eyes. At the least, she could ept her death to atone for her mistakes.


    Azhar roughly shoved her before pulling her up. He looked at her with fierce eyes, still alive and fighting. "Who the hell gave you permission to die?"


    Sylvie could not meet his stare. "This is my fault."


    "That so? Then ya gotta stay alive so we can scold yater." He pushed her away, towards the forest. "Now, run!"


    Sylvie''s legs tried their best to run. She turned her head back to try and see what was going on through welling tears.


    Vahid had started to run as well, carrying Launcelot''s body over his back. Everyone was running, the mages and rangers almost close to the forest cover, but she shook her head and grit her teeth. Even then, a Lerneas''s poison breath ceased to be slow floating cloud of noxious gas and more like an explosive stream of mass destruction just as capable of propelling forwards like dragon fire.


    The moment the Lerneas used its dragon''s breath, it would overtake everyone and anyone no matter how fast they ran.


    The Lerneas had one of its heads swoop down and swallow the egg. The other eight opened their maws, wisps of ckish green smoke curling from their mouths. Green sparks started to amass at their open throats.


    And yet, even then, even in the face of utter destruction ¨C


    Jeanne was there, standing tall and proud in front of the Lerneas. She had picked up Launcelot''s shield, and just like the shielder, had mmed the b of metal in front of her.


    Sylvie stopped. She had to save Jeanne. She couldn''t let her die. She couldn''t let the hero save her yet again. She reached a shaking arm towards Jeanne, knowing it was futile.


    Azhar caught up to her and picked her weak body up, carrying her away.


    "We can''t run" Sylvie whispered. "She''s going to die."


    Azhar grimaced. "And if she does, she wouldn''t want you to die with her."


    The Lerneas red at Jeanne before it directed its eight free heads towards her. The sparks had flowered into rippling fire, and then the heads roared, unleashing eight streams of green mes equally toxic as they were burning.


    Jeanne put her palms on the shield. She had lost her staff, but she could still use the powerful shield as a channeling tool. She closed her eyes in focus. "[Mass Protection]".


    An enormous golden barrier welled up around her, and she furrowed her brows as she spread it out thin, spreading the defensive energy out from a concentrated sphere into a wall meant to protect everyone behind her.


    The mes, so many of them, almost like a raging flood of fire, roared as they crashed into the golden wall.


    For a moment, Sylvie closed her eyes as the sheer green brightness of the mes blinded her, and when she squinted to try and see, she couldn''t help but try and reach out to Jeanne again.


    The ground around Jeanne was starting to melt, turning from solid rock into molten mush webbed with green-infused cracks. Her armor had started to melt, the once beautiful sterling silver and tinum dripping into g, no doubt burning her skin underneath. Her white cape caught fire, tearing into green cinders.


    Cracks had started to form all around her barrier, and as little tongues of me managed to lick through, they released noxious gases that swirled around the hero. Any nt-life in her vicinity wilted before straight up melting, all their structural proteins self-destructing.


    Jeanne held up better, but not by much. Her heroic light had covered her entirely by this point, but it wasn''t enough. Parts of her bare skin had started to cken, rivulets of blood and melting flesh dripping onto the fiery ground. Her golden hair had started to cken like a wilting sunflower, thinning before falling and catching fire.


    Sylvie couldn''t stand to see her friend die like this, melting into an unrecognizable puddle of blood, and all because of her. She looked away, and she could feel as Azhar carried her into the forest, his steps breaking apart deadened leaves and fallen branches.


    They continued like this for a minute, reaching deep into the forest, away from the Lerneas.


    Then the earth shook, forcing everyone to stop to regain their bnce. Sylvie opened her eyes. Her senses were keen. She could tell the shaking had originated from the clearing. She spied all the other adventurers looking back as well, wondering what had happened.


    Sylvie tore herself off from Azhar and started to stumble back to the clearing.


    "Stop it, Sylv. You''re gonna'' get yourself killed," Azhar put a hand on her shoulder.


    She shook it off. "That wasn''t a natural earthquake. Something happened. We need to go back and investigate. Jeanne might be alive still. She risked her life for all of us, don''t you think we should face even a little bit of risk to see if she''s okay?"


    "You got a point bout'' that. I''ll go with you," said Azhar. He motioned to the rest of the adventurers around them. "But I don''t think anyone else is gonna''e."


    Sylvie met their eyes, and they were all thoroughly worn down and beaten,ced with fear. She was conscious that her own eyes likely looked the same, but she couldn''t be like them. She had to be better.


    She had to be like Jeanne, someone who always looked forwards, never back.


    "That''s fine. To them, Jeanne is just another adventurer." She looked at Azhar, and he nodded to her. "But to us, she''s family."


    She battled the fear raging inside her, making her heart beat a hundred miles a minute, but the moment she took the first step forward, she found it easier to keep going. Azhar came to her side and supported her weight with his shoulder.


    ____________________________________________


    A line of giant trees had sprouted from the earth, sealing Jeanne off from the Lerneas. The trees were enormous, each the size of a castle spire, and just as thick and sturdy. They stood tall, towering over even the Lerneas, and they were packed tight together, forming a colossal wall of seemingly indestructible bark.


    Li stood atop one of the trees, looking down at the Lerneas. He saw as its eight heads locked onto him and growled. He red back, and the Lerneas shrunk back in understanding. It turned around pushed with its legs while pping its great wings, soaring into the sky to avoid challenging Li.


    "I''ll catch up with youter," said Li as he watched the Lerneas''s figure grow smaller and smaller in the sky.


    For now, he had to deal with Jeanne''s emergency. He leaped down the tree, hurtling down dozens of meters before hended beside the hero. Her barrier had shattered, and she had fallen unconscious on her back.


    Launcelot''s shield still miraculously stood, but its metal had been warped toplete disfigurement. Once, it had borne intricate patterns of waves and fish, but those had all melted off, turning the shield into an uniform, steaming chunk of metal.


    Li knelt by Jeanne''s still body and shook his head. Her beautiful face had been marred almost beyond recognition. Much of the flesh had melted, exposing parts of bone. Her eyes were empty sockets - the soft flesh had probably been the first to melt away. Her hair only stuck to her head in thin, burning strands.


    But miraculously, she still breathed through sheer force of will, though with how charred and damaged her throat was, it wouldn''t be for long. And as long as she breathed, Li could heal her. He could resurrect her, too, if it came down to it, but it would force him to use an Ultima-ss spell.


    He touched a hand to her face and cast [Tranquility], the same A-ranked spell he tried to heal Old Thane with.


    A powerful single target heal and status restore that he favored in colossal raids against bosses such as the venomous world ending serpent Jormungandr or the flesh absorbing presence of the Dark Mother Shub-Niggurath.


    No mere level 70 Lerneas had anything close to touching that level of healing power.


    Glowing green leaves started to whirl around Jeanne''s body, sprinkling nourishing green energy on her. The particles crowded around her injuries. Her charred flesh faded away and new, healthy, and supple flesh emerged anew.


    Streams of toxic green gas left her body as poison was cleaned from her status. Her hair grew back as golden and shining as ever. Her face recovered, filling in its melted spots. Green particles coalesced around her eyes, covering them in a green sheen before fading, revealing a new set of eyes just as blue as ever, though still deep in unconsciousness.


    Li removed her damaged, molten armor to prevent it from continuing to hurt her. He didn''t know how armor actually worked, so he just used brute force to snap bits and pieces apart until he left her healthy and whole, dressed in thin leathers riddled with burned out holes.


    "You did well," said Li as he patted her head and closed her eyes. She looked content now, and she breathed easier. It almost seemed like she had just fallen asleep instead of recovering from horrific life-threatening injuries.


    Li had been through war. He knew when people were pressed with their backs to the wall, their lives on the line, there were precious few that would ever risk themselves over others. Self-sacrifice was rarer than gold. He could respect it when he saw it.


    Then, Li leaped back up to the top of the wall of trees. He looked towards the direction the Lerneas had ran and jumped towards it,nding in a forest thicket.


    And as he pressed forwards, his human form started to melt off of him.

 Chapter 57 - Flight

    Li phased through the forest at blinding speed, countless tree trunks passing through his ethereal Elder Leshen form. He didn''t so much run as he floated, and he felt as light as a feather, as if moving by the power of his will alone. It wasn''t like physically running where he could feel the muscles of his legs moving and his feet crashing upon earth ¨C there was no sense of impact anywhere, just movement.


    He felt free in this form, more powerful than ever. There was just so much his human formcked. He could sense so little and he felt so constrained, forced to cram the entirety of his existence into a vanishingly small box.


    But he knew he couldn''t get addicted to this sense of belonging too much just yet. He had only shifted to activate his [Forestborn Sense], and he would try to tune everything else - all the life that spoke out to him and the dark whispers of eldritch powers - out.


    Soon enough, his [Forestborn Sense] picked up the Lerneas''s location. Thankfully, it worked like it did in the game. So long as the tracked creature was within the range of the forest, it didn''t matter how high it flew, it still got tracked since it still counted as being in the same area.


    The Lerneas flew at around the height of one hundred meters. Rtively low, as far as flying heights went, and as it massive wings pped to propel its body forwards, they cast shadows across the forest trees. Li could feel the panic of the forest creatures around him. All the birds and rabbits and even the dire wolves and giant spiders all scrambling to get away as they sensed the invasive presence of the Lerneas.


    Within a minute, Li had caught up to the Lerneas. He was directly under the shadow its body cast, and that was when he decided to fly for the first time since he hade to this world.


    "[Shapeshift: Wings of Simurgh]"


    Li jumped into the air, far above the trees as he didn''t want them to break apart. If he estimated correctly, then these wings would be a little too big to unfurl on the ground.


    He was right.


    Li felt pricks of sensation at his back as two wings sprouted from where his shoulder des would be. They unfurled in an instant, their scale sorge that they utterly dwarfed Li ¨C he was essentially a tiny little point engulfed in the colossal scale of the wings around him.


    When Li mentallymanded the wings to push down, he propelled more than a hundred meters up. Wind sted forth from the single beat of the wings crashed into the forest, shaking the trees and loosing their leaves but leaving them unbroken.


    Now, Li was higher than the Lerneas. As his wings spread out, theypletely dwarfed over the dragon, covering even the sun, and as the sun''s light beat upon the wings, they emitted a tricolor radiance ¨C green, blue, and red.


    The Simurgh was a mythical creature of immortality, the symbol of the union between the heavens and the earth. It roosted upon the colossal tree of life and its wings carried seeds that bore life to the earth for many thousands of years.


    Its inneryers of feathers were those of nature,ced with vines that bloomed with vibrant flowers that shimmered like precious gems. The secondyer of feathers were blue, symbolizing the oceans, and they seemed to shine in that almost mirage-like manner that the ocean''s surface did under daylight. The final and outeryer of feathers were a blinding bright red, the tips of the giant feathers immaterial and flickering like the destructive mes that nature oft used to make way for life anew.


    The Lerneas twisted four of its heads back to look up at Li. Its eyes widened in unmistakable fear, and it doubled down on its efforts to escape, putting all its heads forwards and ttening them together, trying to be as aerodynamic as possible as it furiously beat its wings.


    "Flight is quite an enjoyable experience, but it is time that this little chase ends," said Li. He kept track of the Lerneas''s trajectory, figured where it would end up, and pped one of his wings to shoot out a single green feather.


    The feather, almost a dozen meters in length, sliced into the Lerneas''s back and protruded out of its chest. The Lerneas roared, but it did not stop its flight. It would probably just regenerate from the blow too, but Li didn''t intend to put it down for good.


    Perhaps it was because he had assumed his true form again, but he was reminded that he was a keeper of bnce, and a creature like this did not encroach on such a peaceful forest without there being some severe imbnce in the world.


    Vines grew from the feather embedded in the Lerneas,tching all around the dragon, tangling around its wings, and seized it up as if it had been snagged in a giant. Li merely wanted to stop the creature from flying, and when he saw the Lerneas falling, he pushed power into his wings and flew right beneath it.


    Carefully, Li raised an arm and grabbed at the end of the Lerneas''s tail and pulled, stopping it from mming unceremoniously into the forest below. He slowed down the beating of his wings, lowering his elevation until he found a clearing big enough to toss the creature onto without doing much harm to it.


    The Lerneas squirmed against its restraints, but the vines bound it tight, folding its wings and ttening its limbs and heads to its body.


    Linded on the grounds and cancelled his shapeshift, the Simurgh''s wings receding into his back as quickly as they had emerged. As he approached the Lerneas, its nine heads hissed at him in unison, their forked tongues flitting out and dripping with venom.


    "You still have yet so much fight in you," said Li. "Despite understanding my power."


    "It doesn''t matter what you are," said the Lerneas, the voice distinctively female. "God or demon you may be, you won''t find me and my child to be easy prey."


    Li paused. For a second, he was surprised the Lerneas could talk, but then realized it made sense.


    Even wyrms were social creatures that couldmunicate at a basic level, and a dragon was far more intelligent. He noted that the creature''s mouth did not move. Itmunicated with varying pitches of grunts and growls, but Allspeak allowed him to understand.


    "I do not consider myself one to orphan children, nor do I consider lowly species such as yourself ''prey''."


    "But I have harmed your humans, so why do you wait? Kill me. To protect these humans so, you must be some god to them. Parade my heads to them, if you wish. I''m sure they would love to nail my heads upon their little walls to whet their vanity."


    Li waved his bony, branch-like hand. "I am hardly a guardian to humanity as a whole, and you would do well for yourself and your child to halt your tone."


    The Lerneas narrowed her nine pairs of eyes. A few of her heads, the ones least restricted by the vines, bobbed up and down as their nostrils red, taking in Li''s scent. "You smell of an Old One. Then you are not a generous entity. Far from it. You will scatter my corpse to the wind and tear my young apart, perhaps corrupt it into an abomination."


    "Oh? You know what I am? But fortunately for you, you aren''t quite right." Li was surprised, but when he thought about it more, he realized he just wasn''t knowledgeable with this world. He was in a lower-leveled area, so it made sense that he didn''t see any creatures rted to eldritch forces as they tended to skew towards higher levels.


    In the game, it wasn''t umon to see Old Ones. In fact, yers that chose to start as Mindyers for their race could be Old Ones at higher levels.


    Old Ones were eldritch creatures essentially at the level of deities, representing the infinite chaos and coldness inherent in the universe, and as such were typecast as creatures of horror and destruction in lore. Elder Leshen, however, were one-part forest spirit and one-part Old One, harmonizing life and destruction, warmth and cold in a fine bnce.


    Li wondered briefly about what Zagan had mentioned. To keep his nurturing and destroying sides in harmony. What would happen if he developed as a forest spirit too much? Would he be something less than he was now? And if he did, would his mind change also? And conversely, if he kept using eldritch forces, would he be just like the Old Ones of lore, always seeking destruction and decay upon all?


    But those thoughts were to be sat on untilter.


    "I am a guardian just as much as I am a creator. Behold." Li motioned to the ground around him. As usual, nts were blooming all around him before decaying and then growing again in a perpetual cycle. "I am not here to indiscriminately destroy, nor am I here to mindlessly coddle. Tell me why you havee here, and then I can exercise my judgement."


    The Lerneas finally rxed, its great body shifting as it sighed. "True. I can sense some forest spirit within you as well, though those scents are fainter. But if you are a spirit of this caliber, then you must be a guardian, something that oversees the ways of this world. Then I must tell you now that you must act soon."


    "And why is that?"


    "The demons have gone mad. It is unlike anything I have ever seen. I thought them uninterested in feasting on the flesh of my kind, but no, their hunger has made them savage. They have invaded my swamps, a great, swarming horde of them, and they tore my brethren to pieces."


    "Swamps? Then you must be speaking of the Mire Bogs," said, recalling the geography of this world.


    The Lerneas perked its heads up. "Yes, that is what the humans call them. To me, they are just home."


    "Then all of you must have ran. How many more of you are left? How many more wille here?"


    The Lerneas closed its eyes. "No more. I am the only one left to bear the memories of my brethren," she said, but there was no hint of weakness in her voice. It was unyielding and, rather, full of determination. "Yet so long as my child lives, my kind still lives on."


    "I see." Li pointed a bony finger to the Lerneas and cast [Dispel]. The vines snapped off the creature''s body before fading into particles of green energy. "Then your life is far too precious to end here, and you pose no threat to mynd. Go and rebuild, but make sure to nevere near here again. As you said, this is still my territory, and I will not have its peace disturbed."


    The Lerneas unfolded slowly unfolded its wings, letting cirction flow through them again after being bound so tightly. "But what of yourself? I am sure the demons still hunger for human misery, and there are plenty of them around you. They wille here soon enough."


    "Then that will be their mistake," said Li. He waited for the Lerneas to leave, but she didn''t. "So? What else keeps you here?"


    The Lerneas lowered her eyes and her heads bowed. One of the heads reached out towards Li and opened its mouth wide, regurgitating the egg gently upon the forest floor.


    "If you are a guardian, then I will throw away my pride and beg you to keep my child in your care."


    "This is thest hope of your kind. Why would you entrust it to anyone other than yourself?"


    "Because you are strong. Should my child grow in your territory, then I am sure it will survive, and I want nothing but the best for it." The Lerneas grimaced by baring its teeth. "And where I go now, I cannot guarantee its safety."


    "Oh? And where would that be?"


    "It hurts me to turn to the Elders for help, especially when they were the ones to cast my kind out, but I must go to Torr Valeris in the north, the home of all greater dragons, and beseech them for help against the demons."


    The Lerneas shook her heads.


    "They do not take kindly to outsiders, especially my kind that they have long since exiled as filthy and unworthy of their mountaintop paradise. It may be that they will jump at the chance to destroy me to cleanse a bloodline they have deemed impure, but at least I will die at peace knowing my child yet lives on."

 Chapter 58 - Demontalk

    The firece roared, scattering up a veil of bright cinders and sparks that flew up the chimney.


    Li sat on a sturdy stool with his legs crossed and his posture leaned backwards. Old Thane sat on his own stool across from Li, the firece between them. This was how they generally positioned when they got into more serious talks. There was something about that crackling firece that somehow just made it perfect for talks of a more substantive nature.


    Perhaps it was how the crackles seemed to fill up pauses in between talks, giving reprieve for Li and Old Thane to think before they spoke again.


    They were currently in exactly one such pause. Li looked beside the firece where a green-streaked eggy nestled upon a tform of nkets and skins. The firelight reflected upon its surface, warming the little creature thaty within. If one put a hand to the shell and felt for it, it was even possible to hear the infant''s heartbeat.


    And beside that egg, curled up by the fire,y Zagan, now more involved in farm-rted talks since he had no reason to hide from the old man anymore.


    "Well,d, I''ve no opposition to rearing this child, but I must say I''ve no experience in the matter either," said Old Thane as he rubbed his temple with his hand, now cleaned and washed of dirt from a long day''s work at the fields.


    "It''s surprisingly hands-off," said Li. The Lerneas had given him a few general pointers about hatching the egg before she flew off, but it mostly amounted to memorable quotes such as "make sure the child fights to the near death often lest it does not grow properly" said with oddly contrasting maternal concern in the same way a human mother would tell a babysitter to make sure their child got enough vegetables to stay healthy.


    "The species seems pretty independent. We just keep the egg near heat, and in a week or two, it hatches. Afterwards, it only needs a few days to be able to fend for itself."


    "Aye, I myself am quite thrilled to raise a dragon by hand, but I worry more about how we will exin it to the world?" Old Thane stroked his beard. "To the crown?"


    "Well, the adventurers saw the egg, and the general rumors going around now should make it usible that the Lerneas had to drop it." Li shrugged. "The story can be simple. I was nearby, an ordinary herbalist just happening to pick herbs, and I mercifully decided to keep it."


    It hadn''t taken long for rumor to spread of the Lerneas. A general sense of both fear and hope pervaded Riviera. Fear because there was a Lerneas, a creature of myth, on the loose, and hope because apparently, a sudden growth of massive trees had fended it off, indicating the perhaps the Winterwoods still had protective forest spirits.


    The rumors weren''t entirely wrong. Li was a forest spirit, after all, but nobody knew thought it was him. Many of the older townspeople still remembered when they went to offer animal sacrifices yearly to the forest guardian just over thirty years ago, before the demons killed them.


    They thought the previous guardian of the Winterwoods, a spirit by the name of Morrigan, or at least some shade of her, had risen again. Li knew that no such spirit existed. If she did, he would have immediately sensed her, he was sure. She was well and truly dead or, at the least, reduced into something so weak that she couldn''t stand out from the life signatures of ordinary monsters and animals.


    "As for the crown," Li continued. "They''ve taken an extreme hands-off approach with us. I seriously doubt they''ll do anything to interfere with anything we do. But if they do, then it also lets me get a sense of what they''re willing to tolerate, so I''m actually fine with that."


    "And of Jeanne? You are certain she is safe,d?"


    "Absolutely positive. She might even be feeling better than before. You don''t have to worry about that, old man." Li nodded. "I''m beginning to respect her as well. She''s got a good heart. I wouldn''t have let her die or get hurt ¨C she''s got a lot more she can do with that life of hers."


    Li paused to think a little. He had spied the adventurers'' movements after parting ways with the Lerneas, using his shadowfly to hover back over to the battle scene. There, he had seen Sylvie and Azhar carry Jeanne back, and it was evident by their hurried pace that even though they marveled at how Jeanne had survived and looked so well, they still wanted to take her to the temples to make absolutely sure she was okay.


    That was why Triple Threat hadn''te by tonight. They were probably by Jeanne''s temple bed at this very moment, waiting for her to wake up. But tomorrow, they would be here for sure to tell Old Thane of what happened and to help with the harvest as Sylvie had promised.


    "You know what, let''s get a head-start and control the narrative a little," continued Li. "Triple Threat''s going toe over tomorrow, and they''re respected adventurers. Their word is thew, basically, so what I tell them won''t get disputed.


    I''ll tell them that I was picking herbs when suddenly, Ie across an egg that got dropped on a bush somewhere. Then I can even tell them I caught a glimpse of this so-called Morrigan fighting off the Lerneas to calm the city''s nerves a little. If they have a witness confirming their guardian is back, I''m sure they''ll be able to sleep a little better at night."


    "Will the humans not grow reliant on this supposed guardian oncemore?" said Zagan, his ears twitching. "They will try and contact it,y offerings, performmuning rituals, but they will hear nothing."


    "I''ll say the spirit looked really thin or weak ¨C I''ll brainstorm with Iona as to how a weakened forest spirit looks like. I''ll frame it as something that helped them just once so that they don''t get a false sense of security and don''t go about making an unnecessary ruckus in the woods."


    "A reasonable decision." Zagan stiffened, the fur on his body almost bristling. "But I am afraid we have veered from the topic at hand."


    Li and Old Thane nodded. The egg and the health of the adventurers were important, sure, but this wasn''t the main reason why this meeting was being held. The future well-being of the farm was far more important.


    "What do you think''s going on with your kind?" said Li.


    Zagan sighed. "Forgive me, Great One, but I have thought, and yet answers elude me. I did as youmanded when I first came under your service. I returned to the Swarm and spoke to the Burning One. He invests great respect within me, cing me as one of his seven heralds, and so he understood when I warned him to halt his invasions."


    "Mayhaps he felt a sour taste in his mouth when you turned your loyalties away from him," said Old Thane.


    "Preposterous. We are far unlike you fickle humans that forge so very manyws that none of you adhere to," said Zagan, snorting to reject the very notion of that idea. "He of all demons understands very well the onlyw that we respect ¨C thew of strength, of power over all. He did not begrudge that I wished to follow another stronger than he."


    "But you only gave him a warning, right?" said Li. "Warnings are ignored all the time."


    "I made it clear that to venture east to mortal ins was to face you, and that to face you would be to face annihtion." Zagan shook his head. "No, there is something else. The fact that he has not dismantled the Swarm in of itself is an unprecedented act that breaks from a millennium of tradition."


    "Aye? How so?" Old Thane leaned forwards, equal parts curious and questioning. "I know we humans think mighty different from you, but in my experience, a general does not part easily with his army. He would be willing to throw them into inevitable destruction so long as he be the man to send the order. Power is not easily parted with. And an army that size that hungry, aye, it is no wonder he has sent it to feast."


    Zagan paused. "I will acknowledge that possibility. The Burning One spent centuries amassing his might, rising from an imp crawling in the dirt to an Archon mighty enough to invoke the Rite of the Swarm, uniting the chaos of our tribes under one banner, to try and wrest dominance over the world as our ancestors so nobly attempted a thousand years ago. It would be understandable were he to hesitate dismantling his life''s work, and yet-"


    Zagan shook his head again, his crimson eyes gleaming as they focused on the firece. "To assume the title of the Burning One is a burden of tremendous weight. It is to know that under his feet lie the lives of every single demon.


    To wager an invasion upon the mortal ins is truly all or nothing. The Burning One must be absolutely confident in his victory, for anything less would disrespect the responsibility invested unto him. A Burning One that leads a conquest must seed or perish in the attempt. There is no withdrawal. No retreat.


    He understands that a foe exists that far surpasses him. He is a being of tradition, and tradition demands that he revoke his title as Burning One upon knowing that there is one superior to him and scatter the Swarm back to its natural chaos."


    Li raised a brow. "I see. What ites down to is that this Burning One is now somehow confident he can fight me."

 Chapter 59 - A Confession

    Zagan shifted ufortably. The first time that Li had seen the demon visibly perturbed. "A possibility, but one that I cannot see urring. The current Burning One is a demon of great wisdom, of arcane might, insightful visions, and tactical prowess. He of all should know he musters no ability to defeat you. Even the shining human of the past invasion would be a hard-fought battle."


    "Sunstar?" asked Li. "The history books aren''t lying about that part? That spandex wearing idiot managed to kill a demon king?"


    Old Thane nodded. "Aye,d. Tore the past demon general limb from limb. It is small wonder that the ordinary folk consider him a god now."


    "The shining human is the only mortal that has evermanded respect among the demons, for his strength was unmatched, and strength we respect," said Zagan. "But even for the shining human, the Burning One spoke of a means to dispose of him using magic he had gleaned from Al-Thoth, the slumbering Old One, yet such magic would never work upon you." Zagan pointed his snout to Li. "An Old One of even greater might."


    "If he''s intelligent, then that''s all the more reason to think that he''s found a way to threaten me." Li crossed his arms. His jaw clenched ever so slightly as he reasoned whether to pay the demons a visit. "Maybe I''ll go west and stop him before he gets more silly ideas in his head."


    "If I may request, Great One," said Zagan. "I beseech you to leave this matter to another day. It is my hope that the situation shall resolve itself. It is possible that the Burning One has yet toe to terms with the end of the invasion he longed so very many ages for, but I am confident that he will see reason soon enough."


    "I see. You want to spare unnecessary losses for your kind." Li nodded. "I can minimize the losses and call out the Burning One to a duel. I''m sure your kind would allow that. All I have to do is crush the head and the swarm fades, right?"


    "You are correct, Great One, and yet I still ask that you yet hold your hand. The Burning One, I still consider a valuedrade and he considers the same of me, and because of that bond, I am certain he wille to see reason soon enough."


    "I can respect that request. But what if he doesn''t? What if he keeps pressing east?"


    Zagan did not hold back. "Then he deserves to be crushed by the strong, for that is the primalw."


    _____________________


    With the next day came the first harvest that Old Thane''s farm had seen in over five years.


    And it was a bountiful one.


    When the morning sun rose in the sky, it rained down a swathe of sunny rays that danced atop the golden wheat, amplifying its luster. As the heads of golden ripe wheat swayed in the wind, they seemed to twinkle, the life and shine of summer embodied in each and every one of those stalks of wheat.


    But when the stalks came together, packing closely in the field, their individual shine intensified so that the entire field seemed to be a sheet of gold. Even in the morning, there were a few farmers from neighboring fields that had abandoned their own grounds to catch a glimpse of the wheat.


    Li and Old Thane hadn''t minded them any business as they had work to do. Li didn''t know if the wheat would rot as quickly as it had grown, but he didn''t want to take any chances. Both old man and young god rolled up their sleeves and went to work, leaving the other farmers ck-jawed at what appeared to be ate but extraordinary bountiful harvest.


    The work went by quickly. Li and Old Thane had to dig up a few sickles that had rusted in a little storage shed out at the back of the cottage, for the first few hours of the early morning, they had wiped the sickles down to get the rust off. Charles''s builders came by to help, hammering out kinks in the metal and polishing the sickles until they shone with an almost new gleam.


    With their tools ready, Li and Old Thane worked until noon, cutting the heads of golden grain and putting them all on a tarp. When noon struck and thete summer heat got intense enough that Old Thane''s sweat drenched through his linen shirt, they took a break, sitting beside the fields and gazing at the wheat heads that they had piled atop a few tarps, forming neat and sizable piles of golden stalks and kernels.


    "Gods, I''d forgotten how incredible honestbor at a harvest was," said Old Thane as he rolled his shoulders around. "To think I even dared call myself a farmer for the past few years."


    "Knock it off, old man, you''re just as much a farmer as anyone else, even if you didn''t get to have harvests," said Li. "Every single day for the past five years, you still got up early in the morning, put your hands deep in the dirt, and put in a day of honest work. Every single day for five years while blind and alone ¨C that''s more than what the farmers watching us can ever speak for."


    Li looked back at the main road where a few farmers were still watching in awe. In turn, a couple of adventurers lined up at the stall were watching the farmers, wondering why these strange men had suddenly started spying on thend of their foremost herb supplier. Eventually, the adventurers came up to the farmers and talked them away.


    Not too many adventurers came by to the stall today, and the few that dide didn''t get out on the main road to the woods. Likely because there were still residual fears about the Lerneas. It had been driven off, not killed, after all, so there was no guarantee it wouldn''t be back.


    But the few adventurers that did show up offered up waves and smiles to Li once they bought their equipment, and Li afforded them enough decency to wave back.


    ____________________


    It took a couple of hours, when the afternoon gotte enough that the sunlight turned from golden to a darker amber shade, but the adventurers most important to the farm showed up.


    "Old Thane! We''re here!" shouted Jeanne as she skipped up to the fields from the main road, energy and happiness back in her step. She wasn''t dressed in her usual armor, instead wearing a free flowing, loose-fitting white robe with a golden sun hewn at the chest.


    "Blessed be the gods to know you are safe," said Old Thane as he tossed his sickle aside and strode out the fields, his arms wide open.


    They hugged before Jeanne broke it off, her nose crinkling. "Goodness, you need a bath!"


    She smiled, and it was truly a wonder how radiant hers was. It was wide and genuine,ughter creasing the sides of her eyes and her immactely white teeth shing even in the dullte afternoon sun.


    "But all this sweat is proof of hardwork, and it brings my heart no greater happiness than to see you at work again."


    Sylvie came up behind Jeanne. Her smile wasparatively cold. She didn''t show her teeth, and only the sides of her lip had the courage to curve upwards. It wasn''t because she didn''t feel happy, it was just how she was. Not that expressive. Li knew that well ¨C he was like that too when it came to smiles.


    Azhar didn''t smile, but when he reached out to give the old man''s shoulder a hearty p, it was obvious that the hintender was d to see the old man.


    Li came to the old man''s side, and the adventurers greeted him in the usual routine. Jeanne curtseying, Sylvie bowing, and Azhar nodding.


    "It''s good to see you all alive as well," said Li. He gave Sylvie an acknowledging nod. "And it''s nice to know you keep your promises."


    "Oh, I wager she would keep most any promise for you,"mented Jeanne.


    "We wanted to help as soon as we could," cut in Sylvie in a rush before she threw Jeanne a quick but withering re.


    She then pointed towards the piles of wheat heads that Li and Old Thane had harvested. By now, they had almost finished up clearing the entire acre that epassed the field. A solid job for a two man team without any modern technology.


    "It looks as if you still have to thresh and winnow the wheat. We can handle that while you harvest up the rest. We could have helped with the harvesting too, but someone slept a little too long."


    Jeanne shyly rubbed her head. "Ah well, I am quite the sleeper." She stretched out her arms and bent them at the elbow, showing off the outlines of her trained muscture. "But I''m all rested and ready to work now!"


    "Still a damn near miracle that yer'' in one piece," said Azhar. He shrugged. "But hells, I ain''tinin''." He rolled up the sleeves of his tunic, a ragged brown thing, and smirked. "Ain''t a lotta'' daylight left. Let''s get to workin''."


    "Just what I was about to say," nodded Li.


    Li thought he would have to tell Triple Threat what to do, but they knew exactly how to thresh the wheat.


    Li watched with some admiration as they separated the big piles of wheat and divided them down into more manageable bushels on uncluttered, sunbaked earth. With a couple of threshing ils ¨C basically small wooden sticks attached by rope to dangle onrger sticks - that Old Thane had stored, they started beating on the stalks of wheat.


    The wheat, now thoroughly dried from spending the day under the sun, shuddered under the constant blows, and each shake loosed off grains that scattered on the ground below. Like this, they beat the kernels from the stalks until a sizable pile of gold started to collect beneath their feet.


    Li could appreciate the speed with which they worked. They knew how to do this, having been taught by Old Thane many years ago when they were children, but their superhuman physical abilities let them thresh the wheat so much faster than normal. Where an ordinary human would need an hour just to thresh one bushel of wheat, the adventurers could bulldoze through almost seven or eight.


    The harvest hade at maximum yield, presenting about sixty-five bushels of wheat. The adventurers managed to thresh all sixty-five in just three hours, right in time for the sun to begin setting.


    That only left winnowing to get through. Threshing might have removed the grain from the stalks, but the grain was still encased in chaff, a dried-out husk surrounding each kernel, and the grain had to be separated from the chaff before it could be used.


    The winnowing process was simple. Everyone would getrge wooden buckets and pile them with the unchaffed grain - the grain that hadn''t been separated from the husks. Then they would dump the buckets back to the ground. The husk was much lighter than the grain itself, so as the grain fell, the breeze would catch the husks and tear them away, leaving just the grain.


    The breeze tended to pick up as the day melded into the night, so right now, during sunset, was the perfect time to winnow.


    As the sun started to hide away, its light fading, Li, Old Thane, and the adventurers had fun scooping up piles of wheat and tossing them in the air, watching as the husks floated away like petals.


    "Up you go!" said Jeanne as she raised her bucket to the heavens, tossing up another pile of grain. The husks scattered in the wind, catching onto Sylvie''s hair.


    "Watch it," said Sylvie as she roughed up her silver locks, tousling out husks.


    "Ah, my mistake." Jeanne gave her a knowing look. "You spent so much time prettying up too."


    "I did not!" Sylvie felt the breeze change course, and a mischievous smile struck on her usually controlled face. She also tossed her bucketload of grain in the air, and the husks attacked Jeanne, sticking to her white robes and golden hair.


    Jeanne picked a dried husk from her hair and smiled. "A duel, is it?" She scooped up another pile of wheat and Sylvie followed suit. The air tensed as apetitive aura filled the space between them.


    "Knock it off, you two," said Li, though he did manage to smile at them. "You''ll get the chaffed and unchaffed piles all mixed up like that."


    "Let them have some merriment,d," said Old Thane with augh. "Day by day you be more the old grump, and I thezy young man!"


    _________________________


    Like that, sunset passed into night, and they kept winnowing under the guidance of Jeanne''s holy light spells and ordinarynterns until, finally, when the moon and stars began to start their reign, they had managed to pile the chaffed wheat into one big mound.


    That, they poured into big wooden vats by the bucketful, hacking away at the mound. In the middle of it all, when the mound was half its size and when Li had just tossed in a fresh bucketful of wheat, he heard Sylvie calling from behind the cottage, where the storage shed was. She had gone there a minute before to look for a special rune inscribed tarp meant to drape over the vats and keep them temperature and moisture controlled for storage.


    Her voice came a little muffled as the shed was a fair bit away from where they were winnowing.


    "Li, do forgive me, but I cannot seem to find the elusive thing."


    Jeanne dropped her bucket, her hands covering her mouth in excitement. When she saw Li looking at her, she coughed into her hand and quickly picked her bucket back up to keep shoveling the wheat.


    Li shrugged, put down his bucket and went over to help Sylvie.


    He found her kneeling in front of the wooden shed, her hands sifting through piles of gloves, rope, sticks, buckets, and other old and decaying junk. The shed was a small little thing of hardy but weather worn wood, just a littlerger than a modern wardrobe, but it was utterly packed, so he could understand her difficulty.


    "It should be rolled up in a tight bundle near the back," said Li as he came forwards.


    Sylvie froze, and Li followed suit. The air around her had changed, growing far more solemn.


    "Is there something wrong?" he said. He wasn''t clueless about how these things went. He figured she was going to ask him out for some alone time. A drink between them or maybe a stroll through the city. In other words, a date. Nothing too serious, probably, just something to get to know each other.


    Sylvie stood up, but she still faced the shed. The breeze picked up again, and her ck tunic rippled at its hem, swaying around her waist. Considering she had on ck leather leggings, if she didn''t have strikingly silver hair, she might as well havepletely blended in with the darkness.


    "You saved Jeanne, didn''t you? And you killed the Lerneas as well, correct?"


    In other words, not a date.

 Chapter 60 - An Answer

    Li crossed his arms. "And how do you figure that?"


    He wasn''t going to tell her anything just yet. He needed more proof that she could back what she was saying. Sure, his actions had put up a few loose ends here and there. His unexined beast taming and his surprising physical strength and speed were the biggest things to the adventurers but exining it away as an eastern martial art or skill seemed like it had been good enough.


    The only people in the world that knew his true power were his closest confidants on the farm, beings that could straight up sense his nature through his human disguise, and questionably the duchess, though she hadn''t made any moves that would solidly confirm this either.


    And as he watched Sylvie grow quiet, he nodded to himself. There was no way she could know. He had covered all his bases when he went to help for this little Lerneas quest. He had stayed far from them, used an undetectable summon to spy, and cast a long-ranged spell to prevent anyone from knowing where the source came from.


    Sylvie sighed and turned. In her hands was a little ss bottle. A few little green dots of energy floated within it, suspended in animation. She held the bottle towards Li, and he saw that her eyes gleamed red not with suspicion, but with curiosity.


    "I found these lingering upon Jeanne''s body," said Sylvie. "They look identical to the particles you drew up in your attempt to heal Old Thane."


    "That''s ridiculous." Li shrugged. "I''m an herbalist practicing the old ways, and with thates a little bit of knowledge in Druidry. You heard what''s been going around ¨C the forest guardian''s started toe back, and maybe it decided to save Jeanne as well. I''m not surprised that my healing spell would look pretty simr to what a guardian does ¨C they''re where I source my power from, after all."


    "Perhaps, but this magic is unfathomable." Sylvie raised the bottle to her eyes, her eyes widening as she marveled at it. "I have sent it to be analyzed by arcana schrs, and yet they could not identify it one bit. It is unlike any spell they have ever borne witness to. This is not Druidry, it is something far more, something that does not exist within the western continent of Eldenia."


    "No, that''s definitely Druidry." Li cocked his head. He didn''t know even spells that didn''t create terrain or summons could have permanent marks on this world.


    However, [Tranquility] was Druidry, no mistake about it, and as he got a better look at how Sylvie was leaning forwards, her eyes so very wide and practically sparkling with curiosity ¨C the same curiosity she had when she had questioned him about his so-called "eastern powers" ¨C he began to suspect that she didn''t have quite the full story.


    Sylvie pursed her lips. "It is fine to tell me the truth ¨C I will keep it a secret close to my heart."


    "Hold up," Li sighed. "Before I say anything, I just want to know: what is it you think happened? How is it you think I could heal Jeanne and also knock back such an insanely dangerous monster like the Lerneas?"


    "You must have followed us when we ventured for the hunt, and when the critical time came and we retreated, that is when you healed Jeanne and felled the Lerneas in one fell swoop." Sylvie clutched at the bottle tightly as her face brightened as she finally got the chance to let loose the theories she had spent so much time rolling over in her head.


    "As for your power, I am sure none else knows, for they are uneducated on the matter, but I have been interested in the east for a very long time, and now I finally understand. Through my research, I know that warriors of yournd grow powerful enough to defy the heavens, striking out against their gods. You must rank among them. There is no other exnation for you to possess such potent eastern restorative magic."


    Li nodded slowly. "Okay, let''s say this is true. Howe I haven''t let anyone know about my supposed powers yet? Wouldn''t it make sense for me to try and gain as much recognition as possible? Then I wouldn''t have to be a simple farmer digging up dirt everyday while having to cram and study just to be a small-time herbalist."


    "That is true." Sylvie pointed to Li triumphantly. "That is why I have also hypothesized you to be a figure of some merit who wishes to hide yourself. Perhaps you were one of the one hundred and eight warlords, but you were forced out by civil strife? Or, or-" She sped her hands together around the bottle in visible excitement. "Perhaps you are an exiled prince of the Jade court!? Yes, that would exin your secrecy. You wish to remain hidden so none from yournde for you."


    "If I was this supposed exiled prince wanting toy low, why would I risk my own neck to help you all in the first ce?"


    Sylvie paused. She looked at Li with a brow raised in confusion. "Well, I judge that you are a good man, aiding Old Thane so, and thus if you were to have power to help the world around you, then surely you would. To not do so would almost make you implicit in the tragedies you could have stopped."


    Li held up a hand to stop her. She didn''t know anything. She did know that he could cast powerful healing, but she had taken that tiny little nugget of knowledge and formted a vast web of theories that were all wrong because they were founded on her bias that Li was some kind of eastern marvel. At the end of the day, that meant she still thought he was just human.


    In other words, she had no idea of the scope of his true power or his true nature.


    "Look, I''m¡­not what you expected me to be." Li affected a sigh. "I wasn''t lying when I said I have very faint memories of where Ie from. I understand I have some strength - a bit of martial arts conditioning, a way to calm monsters, and a few healing spells here and there, but I can''t tell you much of anything else. I''m no prince or warlord, that''s for sure."


    Li figured he would spill out the fake story he had formted with Old Thane about what he was doing in the forest now. It was a good thing he had rehearsed it, although he doubted Sylvie would ever mistrust him. Even now, the romantic in her head that valorized the east didn''t so much suspect him as it did idolize him.


    "As for the situation in the forest, well, I was out there, but I never did manage to see you all. I was pickingst-minute herbs when I felt something absolutely incredible. It felt like the entire forest was shaking, riling up its rage, and then I knew as a regr man that this was the presence of something way beyond me. A forest guardian."


    Li shook his head in mock wonder.


    "I never got to see the guardian fight the Lerneas directly, but I''m sure I would''ve been killed in the crossfires of a fight of that scale. What I do know is thatter, I saw the Lerneas''s form for a split second, flying across the sky with its tail tucked between its legs."


    Sylvie held the bottle up again. "But you must have healed Jeanne, it was your very own spell."


    "Not quite. I do have to say that in my opinion as an elementary druid, the forest guardian healed her. I hate to tell you this, but Druidry is still just Druidry, regardless of whether its western or eastern. The healing energies I use are going to be very simr to the ones any forest spirit uses.


    Your schrs probably had no idea what my spell was because Druidry, as far as I can tell, is mostly a lost art around here, not to mention that my eastern Druidry is probably even more foreign on top of that."


    "That is true." Sylvie remained quiet for a second. She pocketed the bottle. "Well, I suppose this is a more apt exnation. When we asked Jeanne what had healed her, she said she beheld a vision of a god. An unclear vision, so we thought it was that Helius had graced a miracle upon her, but she would have recognized the very god she is sworn to as a priest.


    No, it makes more sense that it was a forest guardian, as she would be unfamiliar with such an entity."


    Sylvie sighed. "I am sorry to have bothered you, Li. It seems my aimless thoughts have wasted your time."


    "Not at all. Always good to clear up misunderstandings." Li started to turn. "Now then, shall we head back? Can''t just leave everyone to do the rest of the work now, can we?"


    Sylvie reached out to grab Li''s arm before he could turn. Li blinked, catching Sylvie with her eyes cast downwards.


    "The truth is," she said, her voice shaking. She looked up at Li with resolute eyes, her voice now firm. "I wished to ask you to teach me, for I was convinced of your power and eastern knowledge. But even if you do not have such power, I still wish to know if you can help me. I have dedicated all my training to what few eastern scrolls and manuals I have salvaged, but I cannot fathom them myself. There are parts I do not understand and some that are entirely untranted."


    "I just told you I wasn''t an expert on my homnd''s practices," said Li. He nodded at her, taking up a gentler tone. "I can sort of understand your drive to be stronger, but I simply don''t have the ability to help you. I''m not a ninja nor am I some secret prince or warlord. You probably know more about the east than I do at this point."


    "That cannot be the case!" Sylvie gripped Li''s arm tighter. "You are a man of greatness, I can tell. Are you not curious of your homnd? We can work together. We can pore through the scrolls and manuals together, and hopefully your memories will return."


    Li couldn''t help but frown. "Maybe my homnd isn''t something I want to remember." He shook his head and put a hand to Sylvie''s shoulder. He wasn''t opposed to helping her, but he didn''t want her to get attached to him further. No bond they made would everst, after all. "Look, I know you''re disappointed, but I don''t think I can help you. And besides, you''ve already got a great team to depend on. There''s no reason to be this desperate about getting stronger."


    "They aren''t just my team." Sylvie''s lip quivered. "They are my family, and it is because they are family that I cannot depend on them. No, I must protect them, because in the end, they are all that I have in this world, the only people that stood by me when I had nothing, and for that, I must be stronger."


    Li sighed, causing Sylvie to bate her breath in anticipation. "If it''s for family, then that''s something I can understand." He nodded. He had a responsibility to her to ensure she didn''t be reliant on him, but at the same time, he could still respect her own responsibility to the only family she had ever known as an orphan.


    "Alright, I''ll consider taking a look at your stuff, but for now, we should help out with cleanup."

 Chapter 61 - Old And New

    Where before the firece bore witness to a serious conversation, it now seemed to flicker with levity, dancing to theughter ringing through the now packed cottage. Everyone ¨C Li, Old Thane, and Triple Threat ¨C were sitting on rugs around the fire.


    Old Thane and Li sat next to each other, both identically cross-legged and cross-armed. Li figured he was picking up some old man habits here and there from living with the geezer, but one noticeable difference was where OId Thane''s smile was broad and inviting, Li''s was faint and closed off.


    Jeanne also sat with her legs crossed, the outline of her knees poking through her white robes. She hugged, or at least tried to hug the Lerneas''s egg close to her, her head tilted sideways as she tried to hear for the little infant''s heartbeat within.


    Behind her, Sylvie sat with her legs tucked under her. Li could recognize the posture. It was the kind the people in dojos used when they bowed in or out of martial arts practice. She really did have a strong liking for anything eastern but considering her life''s research and livelihood depended on it, it did make sense.


    Azhar, on the other hand, was almost lying down, his legs stretched out as he gnawed on a chicken leg. He had brought a whole chicken, stuffed and seasoned with rare herbs, to roast as a celebration for Old Thane''s first harvest.


    "Azhar, I see you''ve yet to learn to chew properly even til'' now," said Old Thane. He shook his head. "Despite how thoroughly Aine tried to teach you."


    "Sorry old man, but manners just ain''t my thing," said Azhar as he licked his fingers.


    "Old habits do fester long." Old Thane maintained his smile and pped his full stomach. "Who am I to jest! I was the one to tell you to let manners fly to the wind, hah! And I must admit that was a mighty fine roast. Gods, I haven''t known such meat in years!"


    Azhar nodded. "And it''s all thanks to Sylv over here. She insisted on us preparin'' to celebrate your first harvest. Spent her time buyin'' the chicken instead of preparin'' for the hunt, even."


    "Oh please," said Sylvie. "We all wished to celebrate your harvest. I was merely the only one with enough sense to think ahead."


    She nced at Jeanne and sighed when she saw the heropletely engrossed with the egg, the world tuned out.


    "Oh!" Jeanne smiled as she withdrew her face from the egg and patted it. "I hear it! The heartbeats! My, what a precious little thing it will be when it hatches."


    "A precious little thing whose mother almost killed you," said Sylvie. She shook her head before looking to Li. "In that regard, was it truly right to have picked this egg up? Will the Lerneas note looking for it? And will the crown not raise questions about it?"


    "Trust me, that Lerneas is probably dead. The forest spirit hurt it quite badly, and if it isn''t, I doubt it''ll try toe back again knowing the forest has a protector." Li shrugged. "As for the crown, well, lord Lys seems like a generous man, so I''m sure if I asked to fill out a permit to keep this exotic pet, he''d sign it right away. He doesn''t want to potentially anger a diplomat from the east, after all."


    Sylvie raised a brow and Li shook his head at her, knowing her question. He could sort of read her now. She wanted to know if he was actually a diplomat, and it was the truth that he wasn''t. Of course, she didn''t know he wasn''t human at all, but that wasn''t something she ever needed to know.


    "Ain''t too hard to take care of a wyrm," said Azhar. "Some of my folk out west still do. All ya gotta really get taken care of is the whole imprintin'' process. Make sure that the first thing that critter sees is you."


    "Well¡­I suppose," said Sylvie. "Oh, and speaking of the crown, the duchess is to hold a ceremony in the city square tomorrow to honor Jeanne''s heroism. If it is not too much to ask for, will you two be avable toe?"


    Li looked at Sylvie, then at Old Thane. He had already agreed beforehand, when they talked alone, to go to the ceremony. This was where she would give him her scrolls and manuals to read over. He insisted on reading them alone and at home as he didn''t want to spend unnecessary time away from the farm and to wean her attachment away from him.


    "Of course,ss!" Old Thane pped his hands. "Gods, Jeanne, you''re to be honored? What medal is it that you are to receive?"


    Jeanne smiled shyly, hugging the egg tighter to herself as if to try and cover her face and blush. "The Crimson me, though truly, I feel the medal belongs to all of us."


    "The Crimson me, eh?" Old Thane nodded. "For the heroes whose fires burn while their blood sheds, lighting the path for others behind them. Aye, a mighty poetic medal that is, and to have received it and still be whole ¨C I daresay you are the only one to ever receive it without losing a limb of some sort."


    "That ain''t true, old man, there''s you," said Azhar as he pointed his chicken leg ¨C now basically just bone ¨C at Old Thane.


    Old Thane shrugged. "Not so. I may have saved myrades by crushing the ckhand''s ambush, but in the end, the scoundrel has cost me mine eyes."


    "It is only by Morrigan''s will that I am still whole," said Jeanne. "Were the guardian not to have risen again, I am sure I would have passed beyond the gates of Valhul, and then I would have received no such medal. The moment I can, though my faith lies with the sun, I will burn incense for her in gratitude."


    Old Thane paused. He gave Li an acknowledging nod, knowing that Li was the one to have saved Jeanne, knowing that though none would ever acknowledge him with a medal or burn incense, he could still show his appreciation. And honestly, to Li, that was the only appreciation he needed.


    "Aye,ss, give the spirit your respects, but never forget that those nearest to you are the ones that have truly supported your back."


    "I''ve never forgotten, and I never will," said Jeanne as she smiled to Sylvie and Azhar.


    Li nodded. Old Thane seemed like he was giving out a piece of sage advice, and he was, but he was also honoring Li''s efforts subtly, as she would never know that the being sitting so very near her had been her savior.


    "If that''s true, then make sure to put in a good word for us with the duchess," said Sylvie with a smile. "Now, I do believe it is time for us to be going. The ceremony is early, and though I hardly doubt you need it, it would not hurt for me to pretty you up before you stand on the square."


    "Oh, is that truly necessary?" pouted Jeanne. "Thest time you tried to make me presentable, it took a whole hour, and there were still these big dark smudges below my eyes."


    "Because you wouldn''t sit still." Sylvie sighed. "You have natural beauty, but a few touches of makeup, and you can truly shine with the gods. This time, you aren''t in the presence of a lord, but the very duchess herself."


    Jeanne looked at Sylvie''s admonishing eyes and nodded. "I suppose you are right, as always."


    "d I ain''t a woman," said Azhar as he tossed his chicken bone into the garbage pail. "Only paint I''ll ever toss on my face is war paint."


    "I fear for the happiness of the woman you woo, if ever that happens," said Sylvie, shaking her head. She stood up, and Jeanne and Azhar followed her lead. "I would bid a more formal goodbye, but we are to see each other tomorrow anyway, so until then."


    ___________________


    When Triple Threat left, Old Thane retired to his room quickly. Something was on his mind, but the way his brow furrowed, Li knew there was no point in him asking about it. The old man would work it out over the night, probably.


    Li himself went into sleep only after he made sure Old Thane''s breathing had settled into the gentle and constant rhythm of slumber. Well, it wasn''t truly sleep. Li didn''t need to sleep, but he could enter into a state of inactivity simr to it. Basically, unless there was hostile stimuli, he could enter some state of stillness where time seemed to fast forward, letting him "sleep".


    He could choose to wake up whenever he wanted during this quasi-sleep, as he could see the events around him moving at high speed, but in general, he just let time flow out until the mornings came.


    This time, however, things were different.


    Very different.


    When he usually closed his eyes to enter this state, he could still sense the world around him, but that had disappeared. It felt as if he was in a void of nothingness, where sensation left him and only his consciousness floated.


    Then there was light. Light that filled in a new world around him, gaining color and shape and form as it painted up a vast blue sky that was noticeably sunless, though light did seem to shine brightly all around regardless, lighting up grassy hills that stretched from horizon to horizon.


    Li felt a sense of confusion, and yet, at the same time, he could feel¡­belonging? A simr type to that which he experienced when he used his divine powers.


    "And another one joins us!" came a gravelly, booming voice.


    Li turned behind him and saw the owner of that voice. A giant of a man stood there, his body covered in rippling muscles fashioned out of some ethereal bronze. His face was that of a bull''s, the horns curled up like des, the eyes beady and red like rubies. Six arms graced his sides, each holding a different weapon. Sword, shield, spear, bow, axe, and staff.


    Li knew who this was. He recognized the image from the game. This was Chi-You, the god of the strength stat. And then Li realized he himself was in his true form, his human skin stripped away to reveal ethereal bark and leaves.


    "Wee to Valhul, new one!" said Chi-You, a puff of steaming breath sizzling out of his bovine nose.

 Chapter 62 - Against A God

    Chi-You drew nearer, and with each of his steps, the earth shook. Infernal heat leaked from his hoofed feet, burning a pattern of molten hoofprints into the ground as he approached Li with a wild smile. Mechanical sounds clicked and cked with each of his motions as he was, quite literally, a machine of war.


    All of his limbs, his six arms and two legs, as well as his body were of seemingly mechanical construction. The muscture was defined, but there were segmentations in the joints simr to how armor separated at crucial points such as the elbows or knees to allow for mobility. And through these segments flowed an igneous white energy that radiated both heat and light.


    "Did you call me here?" said Li, quite a bit cautious. Chi-You and the other three gods, in the game at least, were endgame raid bosses.


    It took a full party of four or five regr andpetent level 100 yers to beat him. But level 100+ characters that had seven additional full cycles of the campaign, fighting and defeating bosses far more formidable than the regr gods, would have amassed enough stats, spells, and celestial equipment to make a solo clear fairly possible against any of the four great gods who stayed at a basic level 100.


    "Me? I''ve no such ability." Chi-You snorted, wisps of smoke curling from his nose. "That''s Zahaka''s domain, with all her fiddling and magic and whatnot, yet I doubt even her knowledge allows her to summon a god here."


    "Then why am I here?" Li kept his eyes trained on Chi-You''s six arms, each of which still held a golden weapon.


    "Because you-" Chi-You raised three of his arms towards Li. An axe, spear, and sword shed towards him. The war god''s beady eyes narrowed as they analyzed Li. He gave a vigorous nod to Li. "Are a god, and Valhul is where all gods are destined to be. You are strong, too. Perfect to break this streak of boredom. I challenge you to a duel, my fellow divinity!"


    Li shook his head. It looked like Chi-You''s personality was much the same as it had been in the lore. Hot-headed and driven by battle. But Li didn''t want to waste time amusing this god. He had already beaten this boss before. He could reliably do it again, even if it would be a rtively challenging fight.


    "You''ll lose, so what''s the point? Plus, you don''t drop anything that''ll help my farm, and I have more important things to do than lounge around fighting. If you value your life, then you''ll lead me out of here."


    "Oho?" Chi-You stomped his feet and flexed his metal muscles. His body creaked as power surged through him, incinerating the area around him. "Then defeat me, and then I will dly grant your wish."


    Li could feel the raw power emanating from the war god. It was magnitudes upon magnitudes beyond anything he had ever encountered in Eldenia. But he expected this as well. Chi-You was level 100 after all, with boss-tier stats that made him a fight meant for multiple yers.


    But not as strong as Li.


    "Don''t say I didn''t warn you," said Li, his skull-head shaking.


    For the first time since he had attained this new body, he withdrew the full extent of his arsenal.


    In a swirl of ck sparks, his staff - the ck Beauty - emerged, nestling snug into his skeletal wooden right hand. The Orphan of Shub-Niggurath impaled upon the staff gurgled out its infant cries, its willowy limbs iling about, the ashen tendrils that made up its fingers flitting around.


    A ghostly robe draped around his thin torso, covering his leafy, branched body from the shoulders down to the waist in flowing material that was almost see-through. Yet upon closer inspection, there were faces visible. Countless ghostly faces were sown together to create the robe, and they all had mouths open in agony, and yet their screams could never escape the confines of the mystical fabric.


    This was the Gravekeeper''s Soul Shroud, a celestial-ss armor that provided peerless magic resistance, massive bonuses to all curses and eldritch magic, and heavily boosted Li''s spectral trait, rendering most physical attacks nigh-useless against him.


    Then covering the soul shroud came the Edenian Grove Mantle, a godgiven-tier hooded piece of outerwearposed entirely of branches and leaves from the Tree of Life. The leaves emitted faint green glimmers that constantly nourished Li, heavily enhancing his health, health regeneration, and boosting his Druidry.


    Two bands wrapped around his wrists. They were made of a silken ck cloth inscribed with countless golden runes of sealing. Red eyes opened up in a line all around the bands, bloodshot with eldritch power. Bands embedded with the eyes of Sho-Gath, an imprisoned eldritch entity whose might the bands could channel. A celestial-tier item that converted a portion of all damage he took to use for any series of spells rted to the eldritch creature.


    Covering his legs was the Old Godskin Shendyt, a long, ragged patch of cloth simr to a kilt and made of the dried skin of a lesser Old One. It was, out of all of Li''s items, the most in, boosting his defenses and enhancing the strength of all his barriers and imparting curse effects upon them.


    Li could feel pure power flowing through him, and it was a sensation unlike any he had never felt before. It felt like a drug had entered his body, flowing through all of his veins, shooting up a buzz in his mind that did not dull his senses, but made them hyper-aware, aware that the world around him was nothingpared to him, insignificant little patches of reality bowing before an existence that was infinitely grander.


    But at the same time, even though he knew he grasped overwhelming power, he couldn''t feel that sense of belonging that crept into him when he had used his eldritch powers. He couldn''t feel the dark tendrils of the spells etching away at his mind, wing away the feeble humanity. He was still himself, despite using the full extent of his power.


    "Equipment that far surpasses divine making. You must be a yer." Chi-You grunted in acknowledgement as he readied all six of his weapons. "How do you like my world? It is the perfect arena where warriors may sh might without a care in the world. It will even suppress the destructive insanity that gues the minds of Old Ones such as yourself, else I would not have been able to duel Noctus freely. You may fight here with clear head and clear intention, as all warriors should."


    "It''s perfect for beating you down, I agree," said Li.


    He gripped his staff, and a surge of energy ttened the grasses around him while shattering the earth, shooting out cobwebs of cracks into the dirt. He was thinking about trying to end the fight as soon as possible to use as little eldritch energy as he could, but like this, he could let loose and force this god to submit before him without a problem.


    "I am pleased you find it agreeable." Chi-You smiled before roaring into the air. "[Arena Shift: Molten Core!]"


    The world melted away, the meadows fading into ck nothingness and the blue-sky chipping away like paint cracking off a canvas. For an instant, there was just darkness, the only forms visible being Chi-You and Li, but in the next moment, the world reformed again.


    This time, the world had be the very opposite of the grassy meadows and gentle skies of before. It was a fuming hellscape of barren, rockynd. There was not a single shred of green anywhere. Huge rock formations, some as tall as buildings, other asrge as mountains, rose in the air, all fuming with intensely hot steam.


    The sky was a shade of deep, dark red, covered with fumes from ever-burning mes that roared everywhere. In the distance, the rumble of volcanic activity echoed, making the earth tremble.


    Li knew this ce. Molten Core was the volcanicir where yers fought Chi-You in the game, though it seemed that here, the arena wasn''t limited in space; it stretched endlessly into the horizon.


    "Forgive me. I usually roll the dice on which map I duel the other gods on for the sake of fairness, but you are a yer." Chi-You tightened his grip on his weapons, and mes emerged on them, flickering in the air as the superheated winds of the world fanned their zing tongues.


    "You are far stronger than me, and I have already suffered countless defeats at the hands of your kind beforeing to this world. And since then, I have trained over a millennium, always hoping to defeat one of you. And now, the chance has finallynded upon my many hands."

 Chapter 63 - A Fight Between Gods

    Chi-You made the first move.


    "[Asura''s Wrath!]" Chi-You''s voice sted through the vast expanse of his infernal world. Bursts of fire and exhaust started to spurt from all the segments around his body, wreathing him in an aura of zing white. The only organic part of him ¨C his bull''s head ¨C started to re up, the horns graced with dancing white fires and the fur bing wavy and flickering like an inferno.


    Li stepped backwards, his single step caving in a chunk of the earth and sending him soaring several dozens of meters backwards. Keeping his distance from a powerful melee fighter was a basic thing to do. Chi-You always started with [Asura''s Wrath], that massively enhanced his fire damage and physical stats temporarily.


    Raid bosses usually had cheat skills that had far stronger effects than any regr spell, and this was one of them.


    It was crucial to stall the powerful buff out. In a party, a tank would soak up Chi-You''s rampage until the buff wore out, but here, Li was alone.


    Or was he?


    Li tapped his staff to the ground. "[Summon: Gigantosaur]."


    Chi-You exhaled, a puff of superheated steam curling from his lips. He drove his armored hooves into the ground and sted forwards. A trail of white fire followed his movements, making him seem like aet of fiery destruction.


    Li was surprised.


    The god''s movements far exceeded anything Li had ever witnessed before. In his human form, his senses were automatically suppressed to an extent, letting him function normally as a human without sensory overload, but now, he absolutely needed to use the full extent of his perception to glimpse the speeding god.


    This moment of indecision in unconsciously holding back on his senses would have given Chi-You the time to close the gap were it not for the Gigantosaur''s arrival.


    It erupted from the earth, its tawny, long neck crashing throughyers andyers of solid rock. The rest of its body was still emerging from underground, but the neck and head itself, a spiny, fanged mass that looked like a cross between a brachiosaur and a dragon, were almost thirty meters tall, more thanrge enough to block Chi-You''s charge.


    Chi-You mmed into the base of the Gigantosaur''s neck, and a seismic explosion rumbled through the air, sending squalls littered with debris scattering every which way from the point of impact. The Gigantosaur roared as its head iled backwards from the blow.


    "You think this lowly beast will stop me? You insult me, Old One!" Chi-You roared as he held out each of his six arms wide. The golden weapons shifted, the arsenal all forming into greatswords crackling with divine white fire. "Come, my swords, and [Thousand Strikes!]"


    Chi-You shed down with all six des, gouging out deep precision cuts in the base of the Gigantosaur''s neck. Then, countless after images of the des whirled about, slicing and shing until one thousand full cuts had eviscerated the Gigantosaur''s neck within a second. The shockwaves didn''t just cut the beast, but sent slicing des of energy barreling throughout thendscape.


    The ground shook as mountains and spires of earth in the distance, cut apart by the des, fell.


    Fiery shockwaves echoed all about the god, rendering the earth around him even more of a scorched, ember-filled wastnd than it already was.


    This was a passive effect of Chi-You''s first phase. All of his attacks generated shockwaves that made mass summons highly ineffective, and as a result, Li only summoned individual strong creatures, but against a raid boss boosted by a cheat buff, the Gigantosaur was nothing.


    The Gigantosaur had not even the time to unearth its body before Chi-You had decapitated it. The god smiled as the Gigantosaur''s severed neck fell sideways with a great crash, sending showers of blood spattering upon Chi-You''s ming form before instantly igniting and evaporating into a crimson steam.


    But as the great breadth of the monster''s neck fell aside to reveal Li behind it, Chi-You''s smile faded.


    Li had his staff poised towards Chi-You. "[Vulthoom''s Scream]"


    A rip in space-time, cker than any night, tore apart in front of the staff.


    "Be my bulkwark, my shields!" Chi-You''s swords disintegrated into golden kes that reconstituted into shields of all shapes and sizes. He ced them all in front of him, and a barrier of golden energy covered even this formidable bulwark.


    From this spacial tear emerged at horrifying speeds a mass of bone-white roots lined with crimson diadem spikes that beat like live hearts. The roots twisted and gathered into a spear-point as they elerated at speeds far surpassing sound, mming into Chi-You''s shields and driving him far, far back.


    The sound of impact was not metallic. It was an unearthly screamposed of countless different pitches, so garbled and warped that it was the definition of alien. The scream was audible to all despite the fact that the roots moved at speeds exceeding sound.


    Chi-You flew backwards almost a hundred meters, two long trails of molten rock steaming from an attempt to drive his legs in and push back against the roots.


    Li withdrew his staff, and the roots faded into nothingness, the space time tear closing away as well. He took this moment of reprieve bought from generating distance to analyze the situation.


    Chi-You hadn''t unveiled anything new yet, despite iming to have trained a thousand years. His power level was also to be expected. The Gigantosaur was an A-ranked summon with a minimum level requirement of 80 to conjure, specialized for defense with tough skin and a healing factor.


    But Chi-You''s sword form was the ultimate offense for a warrior, cutting through resistances, spectral forms, and applying severe burns that stunted regeneration.


    Combined with the insane number of stats that [Asura''s Wrath] granted him, it wasn''t surprising that Chi-You could t out one-shot a high-level summon. Even a level 100 tank might find themselves instantly killed if caught with their defenses down, making the start ofbat against the god a tense dance where mistakes were not allowed.


    But [Asura''s Wrath] wouldn''t be active long, and the war god couldn''t use ranged abilities while it was active. Meaning that as long as Li kept his distance until the buff wore out, he would be fine.


    Li waved his staff at the Gigantosaur''s severed head. "[Spawn of Ach-Nacha]."


    The egg materialized within the Gigantosaur''s brain. Unlike thest time he had used this spell, now that the spawn''s egg had a far more powerful host, the infant would be far stronger, reaching level 90 at the least, and yet it would still just be another body bag to tank one or two hits, but even that amount of time was useful here.


    Li nced back to Chi-You and paused.


    Chi-You was pointing three bows at Li, his six arms nocking arrows. Intense golden light and fire circled the arrows in three raging vortexes of power that sucked in debris before incinerating it into nothingness. The zing white aura of mes and steam that gushed all around the god indicated he was still in [Asura''s Wrath], so he wasn''t supposed to be able to use his bow.


    "Damn it." Li had wasted one second too much on nning a second summon, and the spawn wouldn''t hatch in time. He had to cast an instant barrier instead of a more powerful, channeled one. "[Oak Fortress]."


    Li waved his hand in front of him, and a series of gargantuan oaks rose up immediately, soaring high into the air as they formed a vanguard of durable trunks.


    "I have trained a thousand years to exceed my limitations!" shouted Chi-You, his voice audible even from a hundred meters away. "Now, face the fruit of mybor! [Asura Style: War God''s Nova!]"


    When Chi-You loosed his arrows, an explosion of force burst around him, rumbling the earth. The arrows, asrge as spears, surged forwards, and as they flew further and continued to spiral, the superheated light that circled at their tips grew and grew.


    It didn''t even take more than a bare instant for the arrows to pierce through the line of oaks, shattering their wide forms in a nova of light. Li braced for impact. The arrows pierced through his body, going straight through him and sailing further into the distance behind him.


    An explosion of light burst from behind him as the arrows exploded, likely gouging out vast craters in thend. Any single one of those arrows could have rendered most of Riviera a smoking mess.


    Gods truly were on an entirely different ying field.


    mes erupted within Li, gushing out his body, exploding out his skull-head''s open cavities and eye sockets. His regeneration halted, and even his healing spells would lose much of their effectiveness for the time being.


    Li felt real damage for the first time.


    It wasn''t a painful sensation, but more of an awareness that his life had been chipped away. Theck of pain let him focus. Chi-You was now capable of using ranged abilities in his [Asura''s Wrath] form, and to top it off, they seemed to be boosted by the buff as well.


    The arrows were also designed to deal with ranged opponents, the vortexes gaining more heat and power the more distance they covered.


    It seemed the war god was tired of being sted upon from afar. He had learned from his experiences, figuring out ways to dismantle the typical parties that fought him.


    And the spell the war god had used, this Asura Style, wasn''t something Li remembered. It was an invention.


    An innovation created from training.


    Thankfully, the attack wasn''t nearly as severe as a melee one, and it didn''t have the same resistance piercing capabilities as the god''s sword form.


    Li might have been a mage, but he had invested a surprising amount of his equipment and stats into durability. His resistances and health were fairly high, not to mention the fact that his spectral form heavily reduced the damage of physical blows. In fact, most of the damage he had taken right now was from the fire against which he had a weakness to.


    But even against that, he had countermeasures. His celestial-tier [Gravekeeper''s Soul Shroud] made him highly magic resistant, even against fire damage. Plus, though High Dryads, the life-bearing counterpart to his Elder Leshen race, had a particrly severe fire weakness, his own race had less of a disadvantage against the element.


    Yet he could not deny that the damage was enough to seriously think about. It had knocked off a third of his health.


    "Resting already!?" Chi-You nocked his bows again, and once more, deadly vortexes of fire and light started to swirl at their points.


    Fifteen seconds.


    That was how long [Asura''s Wrath]sted, and now, ten seconds had passed. Of course, he wouldn''t know whether Chi-You could keep the buff up for longer now, but he had health to spare if that was the case.


    Li ran forwards, or more urately, floated at high speeds, his spectral form looming nearer to Chi-You. The [Spawn of Ach-Nacha] hatched, bursting from the severed Gigantosaur''s skull.


    It was monstrously big, almost fifteen meters tall, and it flew alongside Li with draconic wings that carried a serpentine body covered with ck scales. Eight segmented and oversized spider legs iled wildly in the air, eager to slice at something. Its face was just a mouth, round and circr like that of amprey''s and lined with revolving teeth.


    "Oh? You''re approaching me?" Chi-You. "Very well, but be ready to face my Asura Style."


    Chi-You fired the arrows.


    Li did not have the spawn block them for him. He tanked the blows, letting the arrows of divine light and fire pierce through him, setting his wooden body aze again. The faces in the grey soul shroud warped their mouths in agony, attempting to mitigate the damage and causing the fires to dim by the moment.


    "Hmph. Your spirit is admirable." Chi-You dematerialized his bows and tensed up, his back hoof shifting in preparation to leap backwards.


    Li saw this as a sign that Chi-You needed to retreat. He knew then that the god''s [Asura''s Wrath] was the same, and that it was ending. If thisndscape acted the same as the god''s boss arena, then he would retreat and the environment would generate volcanic eruptions and walls of fire that protected the god while he recharged his buff.


    "No, you don''t," said Li as he pointed his staff at Chi-You. He was now in range to cast some of his deadlier curses and status effects. "[Root of Vulthoom]."


    Chi-You froze as a tendril-like root, ashen white and wriggling like a worm, pierced his hoof, spreading up and through his body, growing out thorns of red that bulged even under his bronze skin. The roots that were powerful enough to even halt space and time drove the god into aplete stillness.


    Li stopped in front of the frozen god. He saw as the fiery white aura around Chi-You began to dissipate. The jet bursts of fire emanating from every segment of his metal muscles faded, and they went from a bright white color to a dull ck, like the lights of a machine shutting down.


    [Asura''s Wrath] also made Chi-You highly resistant to damage, poisons, and curses, but now that it had faded, anything Li did would be at maximum efficacy.


    The spawn hovered right above Chi-You, corrosive saliva dripping from its buzzsaw-like mouth. Li did not make it attack yet. Any damage of sufficient caliber would negate the root.


    So he had to make this one attack count.


    "Ready yourself," said Li. "I hope you do not die from this, as I will need you to lead me away from this world of yours."


    Li mmed his staff to the ground, and the Orphan of Shub-Niggurath impaled upon it screamed, echoing out a shrill, static-infused sound that no infant should ever make. This was [Orphan''s Cry: Act 1], a close-range area of effect debuff that reduced resistances and induced fear, but a boss like Chi-You was immune to such a weak fear.


    Normal items usually had a single active effect or just passive stat boosts, but Celestial-tier items had a whole range of abilities infused within them. At their maximum power, they usually had a trump card active ability that could match or exceed Ultima-ss spells, though it would disable the item for a while after such an usage.


    For the [ck Beauty], this was the ability to channel the Orphan''s cries.


    The cry had a particrly high cost and long cooldown for a rather weak effect, but every repeated cast evolved the ability as the infant grew more in distress, until at Act 4, its status as a Celestial-tier item became very apparent, its helpless cries calling reaching the dark mother Shub Niggurath''s maternal instincts and calling a shard of her down.


    As a result, it was useful to cycle through the various acts as quick as possible to try and reach act 4.


    The [Root of Vulthoom] kept Chi-You frozen for quite a while or until first instance of damage against him. An extremely powerful spell with an extremely long cooldown, and so Li could afford the luxury of casting Act 1.


    Li also began casting more serious debuffs. In the real world, he was limited by how fast he could tap out his keys, but here, he was limited solely by thought.


    "[Resistance-Piercing Spores]"


    "[Corroding Mushroom Field]"


    "[Greater Curse of Damage]"


    "[Greater Curse of Corrosion]"


    "[Mark of the Hunt]"


    "[Mark of Death]"


    "[Mark of the Sacrificial Lamb]"


    Chi-You''s leg twitched. The root did have a time limit, though it was quite long. Li took this as a sign to move on to buffing himself. He was specialized in debuffing others rather than buffing himself, and most of his gear had bonuses for casting curses and status effects.


    As a result, he had few self-buffs.


    Topensate, he had a vast repertoire of healing spells, but, most importantly, he had a celestial-tier item to aid him. He put his branched fingers to his leafy chest. The ck band around his wrist surged with crackling crimson energy.


    The red eyes lining the band opened, rolling around as they channeled the power of the imprisoned eldritch entity Sho-Gath, master of malevolent forces in the universe and known for blood-pacts.


    Bloody red particles flowed from Li''s body to the eyes. The [Thousand Eye Bands], as a celestial-tier item, used its unique ability of converting damage into a resource to expend for powerful spells in Sho-Gath''s arsenal.


    By tanking not one, but two volleys of Chi-You''s arrows and reaching down to nearly half health, Li had suffered enough damage to unlock some of the item''s stronger spells.


    The eyes suddenly widened, and a burst of crimson energy sted upwards, reaching up all the way into the sky.


    Li started to grow, his form bing sorge that it towered over Chi-You, casting a shadow over the god who was enormous in his own right. Crimson red eyes began to manifest all around Li''s body, opening and directing their hateful res all to Chi-You.


    This was [Abyssal Gigantism], an A+ ranked buff that, at the cost of making Li''s hitbox bigger and reducing his agility, would impart his spells and physical attacks with explosions of eldritch energy that dealt a significant portion of the original attack''s damage.


    Meaning, his next attack had to be big.


    As big as possible.


    And he had the perfect spell in mind.


    Li grasped his staff in both hands and raised it high in the air.


    His looming figure seemed a shadow of death, an incarnation of unfeeling judgement that would smite even gods into nothingness.


    All this time, he had casted B and A ranked spells. Strong spells, to be certain, but all of them held level requirements that, at the highest, were level 100.


    What would happen when he cast an Ultima-ss spell? A spell that required an existence beyond level 100 to cast? Something far beyond the realm of even the god standing before him?


    A magic circle emanated around Chi-You, then another one, then another one, then another, until there were countless magic circles swirling around the god, the outermost circle revolving so far away that it spanned nearly into the horizon.


    "[Call to the Cosmos: Xiclotl Falling]"

 Chapter 64 - Xiclotl Falls

    Li mmed the bottom of his staff into the ground, but there was no quake. There was no explosion of magical power.


    Just...


    <em>Stillness</em>.


    If Li had to find a word that described what he felt right after he cast his Ultima-ss spell, then that was it. The world itself seemed to grow still in awe. The barren earth, constantly rumbling from volcanic activity, had ceased to shake, and the skies so riddled with violent winds churned up by heat had quietenend. Even Chi-You seemed to fit this theme of stillness, though his stillness was more against his will.


    Li felt a massive surge of magical energy flow out of him. He felt lighter than ever, his vision blurring, the colors of the world around him slurring and mixing into a reddish ck haze.


    His thoughts became less clear, and there was a slightpse in his thought. It reminded him of a foggy memory from a different life, when he had stayed up until the early morning to study for a test and his mind had just shut down with a little micro-nap, unable to stay awake.


    Li steadied himself, his wooden fingers curling around his staff and leaning more weight against it. So this was the cost of an Ultima-cost spell. It was enough to almost make him faint, and it made sense ¨C he could only ever cast one or two in optimal conditions within the game as well.


    But it was proof that the spell had been cast.


    "To be honest with you, I didn''t know the spell would work," said Li. He looked up towards the sky. "How do I say this. It''s a little too¡­cosmic in scale."


    The heavens grew pitch-ck. It was like the smoke and fire-choked skies of red had been a canvas that was dunked into ink.


    Then a little speck of green became visible in that terribly ck sky. A twinkling little thing: a star of green.


    It started to growrger. Andrger.


    The twinkle faded, and it became obvious that this was no far-off star.


    The once tiny emerald shine had be a gargantuan green sphere that ate up the entire sky, and it only grewrger as time passed.


    It was not a star, but an asteroid.


    Or, more urately, aoid. Li raised his hands in the air, admiring what he had managed to conjure up. This was massively beyond anything he had ever cast in terms of scale.


    [Xiclotl Falling] called upon the Green Xiclotl, an abominable celestial body made up entirely of otherworldly and predatory nts, to aid its caller. And the Green found no better way to aid its caller than to split a massive part of its organic body off and shunt it to wherever the caller beckoned.


    In this case, all those magical circles concentrated with Chi-You at the center were like aser-sight guiding theoid''s trajectory. The god was to be the subject of what could be considered a small-scale extinction event.


    Li could hear the world rumble around him, and this time, it wasn''t because of volcanic activity. It was because the gargantuanoid of carnivorous nts and vines and trees was tumbling through the atmosphere, its sheer gravitational force shaking thend.


    Chi-You broke free of the [Root of Vulthoom] and stumbled forwards with a heavy breath.


    "It''s useless to resist now," said Li. He pointed up. By this time, the sky was entirely green. Waves of heat had started to coalesce underneath the iingoid as it prated through the skies.


    Chi-Youughed and dropped his weapons. They scattered away into golden dust. "You are right. I must admit, though, it was a good fight." He sat down and looked up; his six arms wide open as he too admired the sight of overwhelming power. "It seems I must yet train even more."


    "You''ll have another chance. So long as there''s a corpse, I can resurrect you, given some time," said Li. "But you don''t seem worried about dying."


    "Hm?" Chi-You nced at Li with cocked head, the mes on his horns flitting with the motion. "Oh, I did not tell you. Ah, how foolish of me, I was so impatient to battle you that I forgot. Well, you shall see soon."


    The ground around them started to split apart, cracking and liquefying under intense heat as theoid approached. Light, bright and white, bloomed everywhere, blinding Li, and then the deep rumble of the world shattering started to echo. It wasn''t like the rumbling of volcanic activity, this was far louder, far deeper. Li could feel it under his feet. How the very foundations of thend were shattering apart like fragile ss.


    But there was no apocalyptic impact.


    Normally, the spell dropped theoid to deal massive area of effect damage, but it also imnted the Green''s essence into its impact zone, recing the crater it would inevitably carve out with an eldritch forest fertile with the monstrous nts that made the alien up.


    Instead, when the light faded, Li found himself in somewhere entirely different.


    A throne room that had deteriorated with the ages. It was a circr room lined with five thrones of stone. The ceiling was a rocky dome that opened at the top, revealing a night sky centered with a lonesome moon bereft of her usual entourage of stars.


    Moonlight streamed in from the hole, lighting up the room in a gloomy, pale, spotlight. The thrones had weathered and eroded, their once marvelously carved edges rough and chipped. Each throne had unique insignias carved upon their backs. An axe, staff, dagger, sun, and moon in order.


    The thrones circled around a basin of water upraised by a chipped pir of marble. The water swirled unprompted by any force, and it reflected the moonlight through a pale sheen sparkling atop its surface.


    Li looked beside him, where Chi-You had been, and found the god''s body there. It was evident he had suffered the full brunt of Li''s attack. His bronze body had charred, the metal warping and twisting at odd ends. The bull''s head had incinerated entirely, leaving behind just the mechanical and metal body that reminded Li of an empty shell.


    Li gave the war god an acknowledging nod.


    Using an Ultima-ss spell was all or nothing. Either the spell annihted the opponent, or the caster was left with very little mana to fight back.


    Li could have fought Chi-You regrly, but it would have involved dipping down to dangerously low health levels, constantly healing from a range of 10-50% health to abuse his powerful racial passive [Call of the Wild] that constantly summoned creatures to aid Li when he was below half-health.


    All the while, he would have tried to cycle through the various acts of the [ck Beauty].


    This was how he usually fought in PvP. Whittle enemies down with status effects at first, and then dance with them at low health, abusing his druidic healing to constantly straddle the half-health point to push out as many summons as he could.


    If he could amass enough summons, then he would shapeshift himself into a powerful creature and cast a mass [Dire Frenzy] to savage the enemy. If the enemy was good at clearing his summons, then he would try to stall to Act 4 of the [ck Beauty].


    However, Li had no guarantee that Chi-You didn''t have more new moves up his sleeve. If Li flitted around at low health, there was a chance he might have gotten instantly killed with a single mistake or unforeseen attack. So he gambled it all to end everything in one massive attack, and it had paid off.


    Chi-You had been the very first opponent in this new world that had given Li any semnce of a challenge, and for that, he had to respect the god and his unyielding attitude.


    For now, though, Li would have to wait until his mana recharged before he could resurrect Chi-You.


    Unlike in many other games, resurrection was an extremely rare mechanic in Elden World. Specialized priests needed to cast A+ ranked spells just for a chance at resurrection, and for a non-priest like Li, the only way he could enact the same phenomenon was to cast [Methush], another Ultima-ss spell which he had no mana for.


    So Li took in his surroundings in more detail.


    The entire room was imbued with a permanent sense of lifeless gloom. Everything was a shade of grey or ck. The marble floor had and faded into a dirty gray. The stone walls building up the room were a muted grey, devoid of color, the intricate carvings once etched into their bodies long since faded away.


    The only strong color in the room came from the water in the basin. It wasn''t just that the water reflected the white moonlight above, the liquid itself was white like snow, but strangely, that ghostly whiteness seemed to fit in with the soulless greyness of the rest of the room, perhaps even entuating it.


    Li knew where this was.


    This was actually Valhul, home of the gods, fitting the description of the ce in the game.


    Except, it was simr only at a surface level.


    The Valhul of the games was an otherworldly paradise. A throne room where the gods thrived, their glorious thrones shining with radiant energy, the marble sparkling white, and the stone walls reflecting the multi-colored energy from the thrones and refracting it into a lightshow of iridescent brilliance.


    The moon did not shine like it did here, but instead an eternal sun stood proud in the sky, casting a gloriously bright and yellow light all across the room, lighting up the basin in the middle ¨C the Well of Souls ¨C with not the sickly pale shine of moonlight, but ayer of shimmering gold sunshine.


    "A sorry old ce, isn''t it?"


    Li could sense another divinity behind him. He turned, his staff in his hand. A woman stood there, although she wasn''t quite entirely humanoid. From the waist up, she looked perfectly human, with perfect being the right word choice.


    All her features from her prominent cheekbones to her full and bloody-red lips were sculpted to precise proportions that would make any mortal man fall head over heels for her, and yet there was a sense of eerie artificality to her.Maybe it was her unnaturally pale skin, but she seemed too perfect, as if a doll crafted for the sake of beauty and nothing else.


    From the waist down, her body was serpentine, the coils of her snake-like tail curling underneath her to give her support. The scales, all iridescent like rainbows, showed off ring-like patterns with spots in the centers, making it seemed like countless eyes were dotted all about her.


    "I recognize you as well," said Li. "You''re Zahaka. Goddess of Insight."


    Zahaka bowed, the ends of her form-fitting robes fluttering. Her hair, ck and full with some coiling their ends into snakes, swayed from side to side.


    "Correct," said Zahaka. She raised her head again, flicking her hair back. She waved a dismissive hand towards the ruins around them. "I must apologize for this. I have been engrossed in my study, so I have not been able to keep the throne room clean for centuries. And the others, well-"


    She nced at Chi-You''s corpse with a bored expression. "He is far too obsessed with training to do anything else. Khonsu spends all his time torturing the constructs I fashion for him lest he goes mad, and Helius, ah, it is much too sad to speak of his situation."


    "And Noctus?" said Li. He knew that though there were officially four gods, Helius was a two-in-one package. Helius was a sun god that represented life, light, and goodness, but his twin brother Noctus was his opposite, symbolizing dark, death, and destruction.


    Li had a particr interest in Noctus as well because the god also had the potential to be an Old One.


    In fact, though the first run of Elden World''s campaign was a generic fantasy plotline which involved fighting with the gods to defeat the demons, subsequent cycles of NG+ shifted the storyline into something far darker, involving Noctus turning into an uncontroble Old One and summoning eldritch entities and influences for the yers to fight off.


    Hence why there were so many Lovecraftian references within the game.


    Surely, such a god would understand Li the best and potentially provide answers to his struggles.


    Zahaka frowned as she crossed her arms. "Faring far worse than even his brother,nguishing in a prison of his own design. But ah, the foolish war god awakens again."


    Li looked to Chi-You''s corpse and saw as it levitated upwards. Golden streaks of energy started to coalesce around the damaged parts, smoothing out the metal and growing out the bull head.


    "Now, that was a fine fight!" said Chi-You as he rotated his six shoulders. "I must thank you, Old One, for the challenge. I''ve had no such excitement in nearly five hundred years!"


    "Because we''ve grown much too tired of your constant harrassment. It seems for the better part of eternity, it has been ''duel me'' or ''when will we duel?'' from you," said Zahaka. She noticed Li''s confusion at Chi-You''s resurrection despite the fact that Li did not have a human face to read expressions on.


    "Gods such as ourselves are unable to die in Valhul, no matter how badly we beat or skewer each other," she exined.


    "Duels are a warrior''s lifeblood." Chi-You snorted. "How else must we pass an eternity here? There is nothing like the thrill of battle to keep the mind steady. And what is there to lose? It is not as if we will perish."


    Zahaka gave Chi-You a disapproving nce, her snake-like eyes narrowing. "Fine. I will admit that the first few hundred years, fighting was entertaining. But therees a point where it is more annoying than exciting, and the time is spent much better innovating a way to, you know, actually leave this prison."


    "I worry not about such a trivial matter, as I have my full faith that your genius will find a way!" said Chi-You with a triumphant nod.


    Zahaka smiled at how much Chi-You believed in her, and yet the smile had twinge of sadness to it, and it made Li understand that she had not found a way to leave.


    "Now, wait just a second," said Li, getting the gods to turn to him. "Prison?"

 Chapter 65 - An Experiment

    Zahaka ced a slender, wed finger to her lip in thought. "A prison, yes, though I should say the word is a little harsh."


    "No," said Chi-You. "It is what it is: an inescapable prison. No matter how much you clean and beautify this prison, it will still be a cell."


    "How long have you all been here?" said Li.


    "Around a thousand years, perhaps?" said. Chi-You.


    Zahaka raised a correcting finger. "One thousand and eighty six years, to be exact."


    Li fished out memories of his conversation with Count rie about the origins of this world. "Let''s see, didn''t you all arrive to the new world around a thousand years ago? You mean to say almost right after arriving, you came here?"


    "Came here? That makes it sound as if we had a choice in the matter." Zahaka flitted out a forked tongue and sighed. "I will break it down for you. One thousand and ten years ago, we, the gods, and also the demons and beasts, arrived upon this strange new world. Do you recall the history of the old world? Of what our purpose was there?"


    "I do." Li nodded. "Where certain spirits can be guardians of homes or forests or waters, you, the original gods, were guardians of the entire world. You were the''s defense system, rising up when the demons threatened the world. You nourished life by guiding civilizations to grow, and then you ascended into Valhul, waiting to descend once more then the world came under threat."


    In the case of Elden World, the gods never moved from Valhul. yers could interact with them through a fast-travel system and challenge them to fights in Valhul in the endgame, but there was no such travel system in Eldenia. In fact, the only times the gods ever came down during the storyline was for final boss fights where the fate of the worldy in danger.


    "Correct. Your knowledge is sharp. I fear you may take my ce as god of insight." Zahaka smiled for a faint second before reassuming a serious air. "It seems that this new world has bound us as its guardians as well. When we first arrived, we saw that there were mortal civilizations.


    Puny, primitive little things, and they would all fall to the might of demons. Thus, we did as guardians would, and fought off the demons and uplifted the civilizations, leading them out from their tribes and into great castles and kingdoms."


    "Those were the times," said Chi-You as he cracked his knuckles, reminiscing of days gone by. "Endless battle and then afterwards, endless teaching mortals ¨C my two favorite activities."


    Zahak nodded. "We did far more than teach, we etched the very concept of magic within the mortals, granting them the power to fulfill all their wishes. s, it is a cruel irony that our wishes are never heeded, for when life had been sufficiently nurtured and the demons ¨C the threat to the world at the time ¨C were dealt with, we were forced to ascend to Valhul, swept aside and locked in like old tools that one never has a use for again."


    "Surely, there would have been some world-ending threat that would have called you back over the course of a thousand years," said Li.


    "Oh, that is what we thought too." Zahaka shrugged. "Mortals and their fickle minds given the might of magic, and the demons sealed but still present: we thought that the perfect cauldron to brew a disaster. Perhaps in a century, perhaps in two, maybe three, possibly four or five. We were awfully cheery for those few hundred years too, ever hopeful that we would be called back oncemore."


    She shook her head. "Yet that has not been the case." She pointed to the basin at the center of the throne room. "Through the well of souls, we may glimpse what urs on the mortal ne. The demons rose, but they were crushed each time, and, in a cruel twist of fate, their invasions unified the mortals such that they did not fight among other, eliminating chances of devastating mortal infighting."


    Li came up to the well of souls, glimpsing the pool of moonlit water. "ording to lore, the well is also supposed to contain the souls of all the dead mortals, the noble and the damned alike. That implies it''s some sort of passageway from here to the mortal ne."


    "The well was the first thing I investigated in my attempts to escape this ursed realm," said Zahaka.


    "But though some aspects of us, such as the duty which binds us to this realm unless the world needs us, remain the same as in the old world, others have altered. Where we once used to judge the souls of the dead through the well, we hold no such power now.


    As it stands, the well is merely a looking ss to the other side. It is not by any means a passageway by which spiritual bodies may pass from mortal to divine or divine to mortal nes. It is merely a reflection."


    "There must be something to get you all out of here," said Li as he turned impatiently back to Zahaka. "I can''t stay here forever. I have a farm to tend to."


    "A farm? That is what drives you?" Zahaka raised a brow and shrugged. "I should not judge. Anything would be better than staying here forever." She slithered towards Li and stopped in front of him, inspecting him. When she stood on outstretched coils, she was quiterge, standing sizably taller than Li. "Hmm, though we are destined to an eternity here, I believe you have a chance to escape. You would simply have to use Noctus''s method."


    Chi-You jerked his head up in surprise. "Are you certain, Zahaka?"


    Li tapped his staff to the ground tomand some attention. "Noctus''s method? So one of you has already escaped."


    Zahaka slithered away from Li, turning her back and crossing her arms. Her posture became still in thought. "Oh, he has escaped, but I should not call him one of us anymore."


    She sighed, the snakes in her hair hissing before she turned back to Li with a wistful smile. "I have spent hundreds of years studying the nature of reality, of the fabric of space and the flow of time, in an attempt tear open a passageway back to the mortal ne.


    The results of my experiments have been varied. For one, I have determined that Valhul is its own enclosed dimension, and it is a small one, small enough that I have managed to knit several separate realms atop it, much like theyers of an onion."


    "And thank goodness for that, I would have missed my Arena far too much otherwise," said Chi-You.


    Zahaka continued. "As you can see, these realms have been converted into homes for each of us gods, but that was not my original intention. Attempting to tear open a passageway in Valhul was impossible with magic, so I experimented and tried to create a new realm where the rules were more flexible.


    However, so long as the realms I forged were anchored to Valhul as its base ¨C and they had to be, for I had no other space to work with ¨C I could not open such passageways."


    She closed her eyes. "But Noctus, how many years ago was it again? Ah, it is the only memory I wish to forget. About four hundred years ago, Noctus proposed a highly interesting solution. If our godly magic was insufficient as it was bound to servicing the, then what about something more?


    Something¡­otherworldly? Something alien? Something beyond the scope of the world?"


    Li nodded, following along. He knew now that the gods, though they had been transported from the game and acted and thought like individuals, were still bound by their lore-rted duties.


    They were weighed down by their programming to only ever appear when the world needed them and to leave once their role was finished. In that sense, he also understood that the world itself had some degree of a personified will as it did in the game, though to what extent, he had little clue.


    When he thought about it, he realized the demons were bound to their lore to a degree as well. Their urge to fight among each other to elect a leader to take over the world - that was what they had always done in the game, and now, over the centuries, it had be a sacred tradition.


    But there was one ss of entity in the game that was explicitly mentioned to be alien entities, and those were Old Ones, of which Noctus had the potential to be.


    "You''re saying," said Li as he watched Zahaka''s careful pale eyes. "Noctus decided to be an Old One to try and break the rules. If he turns into an alien that''s meant to threaten the world, then he''s no longer bound to protect it. In fact, his threat to the world alone would bring all of you out."


    "Most certainly, and an astoundingly innovative idea at that, but suboptimal, for it would mean we would have to fight against him," said Zahaka, a hint of admiration leeching into her normally cold voice. "I conducted many experiments with him and derived the conclusion that he did not even have to fully be an Old One and lose his sense of self.


    Eldritch energy, I have observed, is highly vtile and interactive with the fundamental fabric of reality. With enough of it, it would be possible to rip open a passageway to the mortal realm.


    However, Noctus did not wish to be a maddened, hostile force to us, and we did not wish to see him fall to that fate either. Yet to open that passageway would require enough energy to fully turn him from divinity to eldritch¡­thing.


    But I still managed. This reality binds us here, resetting us to perfect condition when we suffer damage to expire, and so I repurposed that little element and incorporated it within a ritual wherein Noctus could shunt as much eldritch force as he wished and still be able to reverse all the damage to his divinity. The ritual would also act as a refined targeting method, configuring the eldritch energies to precisely open a portal to the mortal ne and not some forsaken wastnd in another world."


    Li saw Chi-You grow still and bow his head. Zahaka flitted her eyes downwards. "But something went wrong," he said.


    "I did warn both Noctus and his brother that the ritual was not yet stable, but Helius, ever the optimist, believed nothing could possibly go wrong. He convinced all of us that our freedom was near with a resounding speech, and I must admit, though I am a researcher first and foremost, the tempting vision of freedom dulled my wary analysis."


    Zahaka wrung her hands together as if to rid herself of the memory.


    "The ritual did not work. It did not do anything right. It did not adequately control Noctus''s eldritch energy, and he sumbed to madness. His madness disrupted the ritual further, causing the rift he opened to close upon but himself."


    Li shook his head. He knew that when Noctus became an Old One, he did not be a bnced being like Li, focusing on both raising and destroying life. No, the god became purely a vessel for destruction, a signal beacon which called upon all the dark forces of the universe to descend upon the world for its consumption. That was why there were so many lovecraftian bonus bosses in the game - they had all been directed by Noctus as a herald.


    Yet if that had been the case ¨C


    "I know how strong Eldenia is. Noctus as an Old One would annihte the entire world without an issue, forcing you to leave this prison," said Li. "But the world is still standing, and all of you are still here."


    "Noctus, though a god of night and death, was still a guardian of mortals, for without life, there is no death, and though vastly different from his brother, they still shared an overwhelming sense of duty. With thest few shreds of sanity he had left, he sealed himself in a deep slumber at the deepest recesses of the world, never to threaten the mortals for whose sake he had fought for so long ago."


    "But that also meant there wasn''t a threat anymore to call the rest of you down," said Li.


    "Correct, and there are many days that I wonder that it would have been better for Noctus to have turned fully into an abomination for us to kill."


    "Stop," said Chi-You. "You cannot mean that."


    "I do." Zahaka''s jaw set. "He has no hope of ever returning to his old self, and yet he cannot die, bound to an eternal slumber. We could have put him out of his misery. Helius now is a wreck of a god, a shell of a divinity, swallowed up by oceans of grief and guilt, unable to even shine a sun even in this small little realm. But had he gotten proper closure by ying his brother, I am sure he would still be somewhat radiant."


    She paused, and when she spoke again, there was the faintest tremble underlining her voice. "But in the end, it is my foolish errors that have caused such disaster, yet I see now a chance to make what has been wronged right."


    "You do? You know a way out?" said Li.


    Zahaka nodded. "If you are willing to be a subject to my experiment, then yes."

 Chapter 66 - An Experiment II

    Li stood beside the well of souls, at the center of a magical circle soplex and inscribed with scribbles that it almost seemed like the dull, dusted grey marble had finally gotten a paint-over of glowing inscriptions of countless different colors. The circle around him linked its patterns with another circle surrounding the well of souls.


    Li had agreed to Zahaka''s experiment. There really was no alternative other than staying here forever. She had brought the other gods from their realms to ready for their descent back to the mortal ne as well.


    "You''re sure this will work, right?" said Li.


    Zahaka slithered around Li, her eyes focusing on the vast array of inscriptions she had made. Her fingers glowed with ethereal energy, ready to inscribe more or correct mistakes if there had been any. She flitted her tongue out ¨C a sign of satisfaction.


    "You have a guarantee from the goddess of insight herself. You will not find much better than that," said Zahaka.


    "All I envision is failure. We have been failures for a thousand years, and that will not change now," said Helius.


    "Don''t lump me in with the rest of you ¨C I''m no failure. What I try in, I seed. Have some hope, you look like you could use it," said Li as he eyed the sun god.


    Helius truly was different from how he was in Elden World.


    In the game, there was so much art depicting Helius, even from the game''s cover art. He was a man with the body of a Grecian statue, every curve and outline of his musctures visible under white robes and golden armor. Angelic wings flowered from his shoulders, spreading out a brilliant, iridescent halo. His expression was ever warm and open, smiling with eyes bright and hopeful.


    Now, the sun god sat with his back hunched over, the protrusions of his spine visible under his skin. He wore the same tight-fitting white robes, but they were so stained they were more grey than white, so tattered there were equal parts bare patches of skin to fabric.


    When he spoke, his ribs became starkly visible, and his voice no longer had a powerful, projective quality to it. It was more a whisper, raspy and cracked, worn down by years and years and years of mental anguish.


    His once golden eyes had faded to a dull, dirty yellow. His radiant white hair that flowed in waving locks were shaved off hap-hazardly at odd ends, making him look more beggar than god. His wings had lost many of their feathers, bing droopy, decayed things that nobody would think could have enough strength to fly. There was no sign of his armor or his famous Sunspear.


    "Why have you brought this errant Old One, Zahaka? Do you intend me mock me? Remind me that my brothernguishes in eternal nightmares?" said Helius.


    Zahaka hissed at Helius. "Be quiet. I am on the verge of a breakthrough and hearing your oozing self-pity grates at my ears. Even Khonsu makes for betterpany."


    "When¡­will we be done?" said Khonsu. His voice projected from an expressionless white mask of ivory, around which a shadowy cloud of darkness swirled. Echoes reverberated from his voice, and they were of different tones, making it seem as if several people were talking. "I feel so¡­cold. I must have warmth, I must hunt, I must hunt, I must hunt."


    "I may have to see about restoring your mind when we descend," murmured Zahaka. "But soon, Khonsu, we shall all walk the world once more. And to you, Old One." She emphatically shook her head at Li. "Do not start to brew any strange ideas in that alien head of yours. I did not bring you here."


    "I assume the world did, but then again, I''ve been meaning to ask how that even works." Li cocked his skeletal head, wisps of darkness fluttering from his hollow eye sockets. "I never got the slightest hint something wanted me here. No call, no connection. One moment, I was meditating, waiting for time to pass, another, I''m just here."


    "The world automatically attempts to extract divine presences here once if it senses a powerful enough divinity. However, I sense you are an odd amalgamation. Divine, eldritch, and even a smattering of human ¨C truly, there is none like you, so I cannot ascertain the exact parameters of your transferal."


    Zahaka shrugged as she moved to the well of souls, her hands hovering over the snowy white water. "What matters is that this ritual works, then it will matter little whether you appear here again, for you can always simply leave again."


    "You''re right: getting out of here is the most important task at hand for the both of us." Li clenched his staff tight. "Just tell me how this will work again."


    Zahaka dipped her hands into the basin, and the water level rose slightly, tipping the pale liquid over the sides of stone. When the water, shining white like the first snow, dripped on the magic circle underneath, it seemed to flow its color all throughout thework of inscriptions until a faint pale glow shimmered from the ground.


    "I have re-purposed almost all the tools of this prison for our escape," said Zahaka. "The well allows us to see areas within the mortal ne, and so I have used that property as a navigation panel, allowing me to focus where the portal leads us so that we may not end up in some forsaken, deste world."


    Li raised his staff high. He knew what he had to do as Zahaka had briefed him. Output as much eldritch energy as possible and let the magic circle gather it, but hearing the exact mechanics again was still useful.


    "On my mark, you will cast as many powerful eldritch spells as you can upon Khonsu. His [Shadowborn Void] will allow him to soak any amount of damage for a few seconds, so you should utilize the strongest spells in your arsenal. However, the spell you used to destroy Chi-You''s realm far exceeds the limitations of the ritual, so do refrain from spells of that caliber."


    Zahaka swirled her fingers around the waters, her slit pupils wide and darting about as she ascertained the best ce to teleport back. "I will set the coordinates of the transfer to where youst were as a courtesy for your contribution to this experiment."


    "And what about afterwards? How are we nning on keeping the world from taking us up again?"


    "The world will not pick up on our presences immediately unless we utilize vast amounts of our divine power. I have devised a ritual to seal our divinities into mortal vessels that should, theoretically, stay under the thresholds required for our automatic transferals." Zahaka nodded at Li. "You have already done something simr. Should you stay within your human form, I see no risk for your return here, and eventually, I will have also devised a means to conceal you from the world so that you may shed your mortal vessel freely."


    Li could feel the magic circle around him starting to coalesce with power, making a faint buzz tingle all around his body. He felt as if his sense of touch had leaked out, connecting to the circle around him, making him perceive the musty air and the coldness of the floor.


    "Khonsu, get in position," said Zahaka


    "Yes, sister." The god of agility, of assassins, shadows, and the hunt, floated in front of Li.


    Then, Khonsu''s cloud-like body of darkness expanded into a rotating void of ck, the darkness so thick in the center, where the pale masky, that it stood out unnaturally against the light in the room. Distortions of gravity swirled around the edges


    This was [Shadowborn Void], the highest tier of evasion spell known to Elden World. At this point, it wasn''t even evasion. It was not only a guaranteed 100% true evasion chance, but alsoplete attack nullification, turning the god into something like a ck hole so long as he did not move.


    "Are you ready, Old One?" said Zahaka. "Begin attacking at any moment you wish. Take care not to miss lest you destroy this room."


    Li steadied his staff towards Khonsu, aiming it at the expressionless white mask that stared at him.


    "[Scream of Vulthoom]"


    "[Star-Seed Bullet]"


    "[Shagghai Pincer]"


    "[Tide of the Sunken One]"


    "[Fangs of Ach-Nacha]"


    "[Turuan Sporebeam]"


    Like this, he cast and cast spells, all at least at the rank of A-. When he felt his mana depleting, it replenished, boosted by Zahaka''s own support, and her mana levels far exceeded even Li''s as she not only had boss-tier stats, but also entirely specialized in magic where Li was more a battle mage.


    The throne room rumbled as explosive energy echoed through its confines, but all the spells, the disfigured seeds, roots, insectoid body parts, spores, and the like absorbed straight into Khonsu''s form, breaking apart into nothingness.


    As the spells were cast, they shunted energy into the magic circle below Li. The circle, once white, now became ck, crackling with sinister arcs that echoed with faint screams of pain. The air started to be heavier, the room darker, the very gravity seeming to warp and twist all around.


    "Incredible. Your power is astounding. We are at seventy percent capacity already," said Zahaka. "Opening the rift now. Continue with the spells."


    She pushed her hands deeper into the basin until she had submerged almost all her arms. Even more water spilled out, but it sizzled and evaporated the moment it fell to the floor so gued with vtile and foreign energies.


    Above Li''s head, a rift opened. A neat tear in space, as if some extra-dimensional w had shorn the canvas of reality apart. The inside looked like a snapshot of space, a dark screen littered with twinkling stars and celestial bodies.


    "Eighty percent capacity. Focusing direction." Zahaka said, her breathing nowbored. Her slender chest heaved in and out as massive amounts of her own magical energy surged out in clouds of pale blue energy that seemed to evaporate from her body.


    The inside of the rift becamepletely ck for one second, and then Li could see it. An image of the cottage, of the farm. He started to cast his spells with even more frequency now, seeing his escape so near.


    "Ny percent," whispered out Zahaka, her brows furrowed, and her figure hunched over, barely standing. Chi-You and Helius came to her sides and propped her up through her shoulders.


    Li felt his mana grow dangerously low.


    Zahaka, using her mana for both the ritual and to supply Li, was running out, but he was almost there. He cast a few more spells at Khonsu.


    By now, the throne room was starting to shake as if struck by an earthquake. Pieces of rubble and clouds dust fell from the ceiling. Cracks started to streamline through the walls and pirs.


    He was sure that if any human from Eldenia was even in this room, they would have been crushed into a bloody paste by the sheer pressure of power circting throughout.


    "One-hundred percent."

 Chapter 67 - Conduits

    Li''s arm shook ever so slightly, the staff wavering as his vision blurred, his magical energy running low. The rumble that shook the throne room had now be a full on quake, rattling the foundations of the entire ce. The solid floor almost looked like waves with how they undted up and down under the powerful tension of magical energy bursting from the portal Li had conjured.


    The portal itself whirled like a buzz-saw. Its outline of warped space fluxed madly, struggling to maintain a circr shape.


    Li looked behind and saw Zahaka had started to lean on the basin with one arm and used her other one to tap at floating sigils emzoned upon a transparent screen. She tapped with urgent speed, her eyes flitting up and down, her brows furrowed in heavy thought.


    "The portal is fully configured and stabilizing¡­"


    Li sighed and tapped his staff to the ground, propping himself to his usual upright posture. The gods exhaled in collective relief. Khonsu cancelled his [Shadowborn Void] and floated next to Zahaka. Chi-You held a great wide smile upon his bull face, curls of smoke puffing from his nose. Even Helius seemed to perk up a little, his sunken in eyes widening.


    "But my calctions have fallen below the mark."


    "You have to be kidding me," said Li. "The portal seems ready enough. I can see the farm right through it. All we have to do is pass through it."


    Zahaka shook her head. "It is not so simple. To pass an entity of our level of power and scale requires a portal of immense structural integrity and capacity. That portal right now," she said, pointing to the swirling circle of shorn space-time in the air. "Can pass but one of us."


    "You didn''t think this would be a possibility?" said Li. He was familiar with dealing with operational variables in an experiment, and he could not believe that a goddess could not foresee something as basic as this. "To me, it seems that if you''re experimenting with a method of transportation, then capacity would be the first thing to consider after a viability of initial sess."


    "Let us not argue," said Chi-You his six arms raised up to try and calm the increasingly tense air cloying in the room.


    Zahaka narrowed her eyes, but then her expression softened. Strangely, she seemed more content than she should be, merely nodding at the situation, making a mental note of it. "Eldritch energies are highly unfamiliar to me, I am afraid. I have worked with them only once, and that experiment went disastrously wrong to the point that I could not learn from any of it. I had always thought eldritch energy as possessing limitless potential, as infinite and inevitable as the fundamental forces of decay.


    To transfer one of us through a regr portal would require one asrge as a country, perhaps evenrger. I theorized a portal borne from eldritch energies would simply surpass these restrictions considering how freely it seems to act with space-time, but it seems there are limitations to its power."


    "Then how do you suppose we fix this?" said Li. He motioned to the portal above. It was starting to shrink. "How long will it take you to modify the ritual? What will it take?""


    "Modification is a quick process, taking a few years, perhaps. However, to power a portalrge enough to transfer all of us would require you to cast a spell simr in scale to that which you utilized to shatter Chi-You''s realm. However-"


    Zahaka''s lips curved in a faint smile, and she motioned to the portal with an extended finger. "I do not wish to keep you here for years upon years, for you have assisted us more than enough. Go, take the portal, Old One, and return to the mortal ne. To keep you here for such time while you have mortal connections to tend to would be highly selfish of us."


    "That would indeed be the right thing to do!" Chi-You nodded. "Knowing you, I thought you would fight to keep the Old One here, and I was about to argue against the matter, but it is good to see the cold Zahaka of old has worn down over the years."


    Zahaka shrugged.


    "I knew it. Another failure." Helius shook his head and limped himself standing. "A waste of time."


    Khonsu said nothing. He merely floated there, looking to Zahaka, his masked face bereft of any emotion.


    Li''s skeletal head lowered a little, the jaw opening, wisps of darkness fluttering out. Zahaka seemed the most hell-bent on getting out of here than any of the others. She had been the one to study obsessively for centuries while the gods around her either gave up or waited on her. Yet she was letting Li leave so freely.


    There had to be something she wanted in exchange.


    As if reading his mind, Zahaka continued, "I only ask that you may return a little token from each of us to the mortal realm."


    "What would that be?" said Li, a little wary.


    "A token from each of us." Zahaka called out to the rest of the gods. "Give him your conduits." She exined to Li, "Conduits are artifacts connected heavily with us that we fashioned in preparation for our arrival. We hope that if they are distributed across the world, then a mortalpatible with our personalities will be drawn to them, allowing us to mold them to be our vessels to escape the world''s oversight."


    "You''re prepping something simr to avatars, I see," said Li. "But this implies that you have a means to get back. Without me, however, you all have nothing. No battery to boot up the ritual."


    "And without me there to configure a means to hide you from the world''s automated system, I believe you will see us again sometime, though I know not when. By then, I am hopeful I will have modified the ritual sufficiently. However, I cannot keep you here while you have your farm to tend to."


    Zahaka reached a hand to her hair and plucked one of the snakes out.


    It was a cobra, its hood decorated with the same eye-like pattern of rainbow scales on her tail. When she severed the live snake form her head, it curled up, its mouth eating at its tail before shrinking and calcifying into a bracelet of precious stone.


    She gently pushed it towards Li, and it floated over to him. He caught it in his wooden hand.


    "You still don''t know for sure what exactly it is that takes me to this ce?" he said.


    Zahaka shook her head, her lips pursed. "In your case, I do not. But if you ever do end up here and I have not finalized the ritual, it is an easy process to simply replicate this process again and send you back."


    "Fair enough." Li''s strongest hypothesis right now was that he had turned into his original form one too many times or perhaps used one too many powerful spells in the mortal world, but that was, at the end of the day, just a hypothesis.


    For now, though, he needed to take this way out. He couldn''t just let the farm rot to stay here while Zahaka tinkered up a new portal and a way for Li to subvert the world''s rules.


    "Give me what you need. I can keep it stored."


    "Ah, I ask that you keep the items on your person," said Zahaka. "They are enchanted such that they will automatically scatter all around the world, waiting for the right mortals to pick them up, but if they were to hide within the personal storages of beings such as yourself, then I fear the enchantment may not work."


    "Alright, then don''t give me anything I can''t hold onto."


    Chi-You came up to Li and bent to one knee, extending all six of his arms. The six palms all faced upwards and collected atop each other. A sh, and then there was a small, round shield hovering above his palms, as if he was granting a sacred offering to Li.


    The shield was made of bronze andpletely ragged, rusted, chipped, and dented. There were no defining marks on it, no special runes, no remarkable aura of power.


    "You sure this is what you want to me to take?" said Li.


    "I kneel before you to acknowledge my deepest gratitude that you are willing to take it," said Chi-You, his head bowed. "It would do me great honor to know that a being of such power as yourself has carried a shard of my essence. And do not worry, it is truly what I wish to send. A mortal that recognizes the worth of this shield in spite of its superficial appearance is one who is willing to grow stronger and dedicate themselves to a weapon, to truly bond with it over time, and that will be a mortal I am most simr to.


    Li nodded. He strapped the shield to his free arm and put Zahaka''s snake bracelet across his wrist.


    "So these conduits basically bond to people simr to you. Then what does the bracelet represent?" said Li to Zahaka.


    "Insight," said Zahaka simply. "An insurance that it does notnd in the hands of a fool."


    Khonsu floated over to Li. The mask''s mouth opened into a perfect circle, and inside, there was nothing but the same gaseous darkness. With a vomiting sound, he expelled a glob of condensed, dark fluid that solidified into a floating sphere the size of a hand. The sphere hovered to Li''s palm, resting directly above it.


    "¡­And what does this represent?" said Li.


    "The Hunt." Khonsu floated away without any more exnation.


    "Okay then. Are we done here?" said Li. He doubted Helius would have the motivation to give him anything. The god didn''t even believe the ritual would seed in the first ce, so he likely hadn''t prepared anything.


    But, to Li''s surprise, Helius did approach Li with shuffling steps.


    "You''ve prepared something?" said Li. "Surprising, considering all you ever seem to talk about is failure this and failure that. Almost seems like you have some hope left."


    Helius scoffed. "No. I did not fashion any conduit. In the first ce, I would not wish any mortal to take upon my broken essence. But this-"


    He extended his twig-like arm, his hand curled. res of golden energy burst outwards, lighting up the entire throne room with an unbelievably bright and blinding sr radiance. The light dimmed, and in the sun god''s hand was a spear. It was more than three meters in length, far longer than any normal spear, and fashioned not of any precious metal, but of sunlight forged into solid form.


    Indeed, the spear''s tip, protruding sharp from a neck shaped like a sun, shone with a brilliant heat that Li could even feel scorching at his being. It was more battering ram than spear, and now that the sun god had shrunk so much, he looked almostical holding the massive weapon up, and yet Li knew the weapon wasn''t to ever be mocked.


    The Sunspear.


    Perhaps the strongest item in the entirety of the game not counting new game+ expansions that introduced celestial items. Even so, it was solidly the strongest item in the Godgiven-item ss, almost reaching the level of some Celestial items.


    "This, I wish to give to the mortals."


    "Are you sure about this?" said Li. "Something like this will turn the world upside down. Any mortal that gets their hands on this will have the power to conquer any kingdom or any empire."


    Helius smiled for the first time, but it was not a happy one. It was deeply sorrowful, revealing aged creases at the sides of his pale lips, his eyes as dull and lifeless as ever.


    "The Sunspear can only be held by those who are worthy of its might." Helius released the spear, and Li saw that the sun god''s palm had burned horribly, the fleshpletely charred over with smoking ck. "I am no longer worthy. I will never be the god the mortals once believed and loved, the one to protect them through any and all dangers, but it is my hope that there is one among the mortals far worthier than I who will continue to hold true to the light of life that I taught them."


    Li nodded to the sun god. The god was still truly good at his heart despite how broken he was. "If this is what you want, then I have no reason to oppose it."


    Li took the spear in his hand, and it did not burn him. He knew of the worthiness requirement in-game, and it generally meant that only truly good-aligned yers, yers that had yed through the campaign without making a single viinous or selfish decision, could wield the spear. However, once a character got to level 100+, that limitation was waived, and he could see that that property still transferred over.


    "Is that all of it?" said Li.


    "Not counting Helius''s little surprise, yes," said Zahaka as she red at Helius. Helius gave her an aloof nce before he limped away, his form fading away into a shower of golden sparks, returning to his realm.


    "Then I''ll be on my way. See to it that you''ve figured the ritual out when Ie back here, if I ever do." Li looked up at the portal, eyeing the peaceful cottage. He prepared to jump. "In a couple decades, if I haven''t shown up, I''ll try my best to actively get back here and give you all some help."


    Li leaped upwards, and his vision faded into nothingness.

 Chapter 68 - Back Again

    It was an ordinary summer day in Riviera. The morning was as sunny and cheery as ever, the denizens of thezy city starting to get to work. Yet high above what seemed like a nondescript, normal old cottage, there floated four divine artifacts. They shivered there, all in a rotating circle, before they burst outwards, scattering across in all directions at speeds the human eye could not perceive.


    ______________________________


    Li arose with a start, his pale hand clutched at his chest. His fingers grasped at rough linen ¨C the same shirt he always wore. His body was distinctively human, his once superhumanly sharp sense of touch dulled underyers of human bone, muscle, and skin.


    He was in his human form, just as he had been before going to Valhul, and yet he didn''t feel any jarring sensation. Whenever he transferred from his divine form to human form or vice versa, he felt some level of shift that was, in some way, ufortable. After all, it felt rather strange to have all his flesh melt off and his bones turn into bark, and the reverse felt just as ufortable.


    Yet he felt fine, as if he had always been in this form, and when he thought, really tried to recall the events in Valhul, they came to him in faint, broken-off snippets. He could barely recall a full conversation, though he did have a solid gist of what had urred overall. It was like looking at a faded photograph or perhaps fishing out details from a foggy dream.


    "Lad, are you alright!?" said Old Thane as he reached his burly arms out, grasping Li''s shoulders firmly and shaking him.


    "I''m alright, old man," said Li with a smile as he put a hand on Old Thane''s forearm.


    He looked around to see that he had been taken out of his room andid atop a makeshift bed of rugs, several of them bunched up at his head to keep his breathing elevated and stable. The firece was lit even though the sun was up, beaming its rays steadily through the cottage windows.


    He saw Triple Threat around him.


    There was Jeanne with her eyes wide open, her trademark honest, warm, and wide smile starting to set upon her lips. Her hands were still sped in prayer, no doubt for Li. Her long, usually rough blonde hair had been trimmed, its split ends shorn away, and the mass of curls straightened out before weaved into aplicated, braided bun.


    Her face had been touched up, one or two freckles here and there smoothed away with some kind of concealer, the shadow around her eyes darkened just subtly enough to bring her striking blue pupils to the forefront without taking away from her image as an innocent beauty. She wore a long, frilled dress of snowy white, decorative embroideries of the sun and its light etched around a modest neckline.


    Sylvie sat beside her, legs tucked under herself as she leaned forwards, creases of worry wreathing her brows. She,pared to Jeanne, was far more casual. She dressedfortably, in ck leather leggings and a ck dress-shirt hemmed withce so as not to appear too masculine.


    Azhar looked entirely out of ce. He stood behind everyone, eyeing Li with a tired stare. He didn''t wear anything on his upper body, which wasn''t an entirely umon event, but what was strange was that there was a sheen of sweat glistening all around his skin. His breathing came in heavy sand slow draws, his wild ck damp with exhaustion.


    "Now this is a scene I didn''t expect to wake up to," said Li. "Looks like I woke up to my funeral."


    "We thought you dead," sighed Sylvie as she put a hand over her heart. "We came by to pick you both up for Jeanne''s ceremony, but you weren''t waking up, no matter what we did. Are you certain you are fine?"


    Li nodded. "I feel perfectly fine, okay? So everyone, especially you, old man, ease up a little."


    "Aye, I should think a healthy and strongd such as you should not fall so suddenly," said Old Thane with a relieved sigh.


    Jeanne unsped her hands and reached out to take Li''s hand. She drew it near to her, her fingers curling around his wrist.


    "His life force is strong," she said, nodding as she checked Li''s health. "My senses as a priestess tell me he is as healthy as can be."


    Sylvie took Jeanne''s hands off with a swift motion. "Come, we knew that already, he said it. And you''ll smear powder all over his hand like that."


    "It is normal procedure to re-check the health of the recovered, though," protested Jeanne. "And I haven''t touched my face, so there shouldn''t be any powder on my hands."


    "Just in case," said Sylvie quickly.


    Li covered for Sylvie by changing the topic and pointing to Azhar''s ragged form. "What''s up with him?"


    "I tried to help ya out," said Azhar, arms crossed. "We showed up here and the old man was tellin'' us you weren''t wakin'' up, so course'' we tried our best to see what was up. Jeanne tried healin'' you, but there ain''t nothin'' wrong with your body. So I reckoned it was your mind, or your soul, maybe, that needed helpin'', and that''s where my shamanism works best."


    "And did it work?" said Li. He eyed Azhar''s tired figure, how he struggled to stay standing not because of any physical strain, but because his mind was so low on power it just weighed him down. "You''re almost out of mana, I can tell."


    "Ain''t that right." Azhar slumped down on the floor, his hand resting against his forehead. He gave Li a curious look. "You''re here, so I hope it worked, but¡­you know what, forget it. Important thing''s you''re here now, and also, I know this is an important moment Jeanne, but can you cut me some ck and let me rest up here? I ain''t in any condition to be movin'' anytime soon."


    "Of course, Az," said Jeanne. "You need not even ask me for permission. Your health matters more to me than any little old medal."


    "Are you sure you don''t want us to carry you to the temple?" Sylvie stayed by Li''s side, but she cast a concerned look to Azhar.


    "Don''t need em''." Azhar shrugged. "Ain''t got any physical wounds or nothin''. Just needa'' rest my mind a bit."


    Old Thane went to Azhar''s side and patted his shoulder. "Take whatever you wish from the house. Any food or water. I cannot thank you enough for bringing Li back to me."


    "Don''t mention it," said Azhar, almost in a whisper as he looked away from Old Thane, unable to meet the aged farmer''s eyes. He shook his head roughly just once before looking to everyone else with an impatient stare. "You all got somewhere to be. Common folk are probably gettin'' real upset that their local Rivieran hero ain''t showin'' up to her own ceremony, so get movin'' already."


    Li stood up to get everyone moving. He did not want them to worry about him any longer or more than they should. He could appreciate their concern for him, but all of it was misced and better used elsewhere.


    "He''s got a point," said Li. He looked at the sun through the cottage window. From living here for almost two months now and spending so many hours outside, he could tell by the intensity of light what time of day it was. He would get up at around five or six, and right now it was nine or ten. He had been noticeably out for only a few hours, thankfully.


    He had spent almost half a day at Valhul battling Chi-You and waiting for Zahaka to set her rituals up. It seemed that time passed simrly here, as if he counted the time he took to ''sleep'', then it roughly added up to the amount of time he passed in the other realm.


    "I wouldn''t want me to be the reason any of you miss anything, so get ready and let''s go."


    ____________________


    Outside, Li shook his head once in minor surprise before he remembered.


    Today was also the day that Alexei had arranged to put his transportpany in action and get the farm''s harvest to the city.


    There was a procession of three huge horse-drawn storage units standing at the main road, and they looked in many ways incredibly simr to the armored cars of the modern world.


    They wereprised of rectangr, armor-ted storage boxes standing atop sturdy metal and rubber wheels. The boxes were chained to a sturdy and armored carriage pulled by a duo of what Li recognized as Arions, magical horses almost at level 30 and capable of travelling across water just as well asnd.


    The pale blue horses neighed, fins pping where their manes should have been. The carriage was roofed, but the driver''s seat opened up to allow reigns to tie to the arions.


    "When did this get here?" said Li.


    "Two hours ago," said Old Thane. "Gods,d, I did not know you had hired the bestpany in all Soleil to move our humble wheat."


    "Woah," said Jeanne, open-mouthed as she craned her neck closer to get a better look. "That''s Elven armor, the finest there is, and the Arion are only bred in Duvin, many leagues south of here. I have only ever seen the richest of nobles use ck Securities, but never would I have dreamt that they woulde for this farm."


    "Well, I do have to say I''m good atworking," said Li with a casual shrug.


    One of the carriages opened up and the driver emerged, d in shining ck formalwear. He came up to Li, and Li could recognize him. He was one of Alexei''s vampire knights, except he had obviously taken time to shift his presence to fit in, altering his pale skin to a more normal shade and changing his crimson red eyes to a nondescript brown.


    "Master Li," said the knight with a bow. "We have already loaded your cargo and are ready for transportation. The Count will handle distribution with your preferences in mind." He straightened up, standing just a little shorter than Li, and steadied the bow of his ck tuxedo. "Now then, I hear that you are all in quite the rush?"


    "I talked to him," exined Sylvie. "In the case that Azhar''s spiritual healing worked, I thought that we would need their assistance getting to the city quickly."


    "My, Sylv, thinking ahead as always!" said Jeanne as she hugged Sylvie''s arm.


    Li could tell that though the hero would never admit it, she was still proud of herself and cared much for this award ceremony.


    "That would help," said Li to the knight. "I remember hearing that Arions can run as fast as a raging river. We''ll need that kind of speed."


    "I can guarantee that," said the knight proudly. He motioned to his carriage which stood at the very front of the procession. "Come, I shall show why ck Securities knows no match under the sun or moon. Oh, and my name is Valery, should you wish to address me as such. The Count has assigned me to your weekly transport, so it may be morefortable for you to pin a name to my face."

 Chapter 69 - The Road To Riviera

    As Valery promised, the transport was fast.


    Fast enough that Li could hear the wind whipping against the metal shell of their carriage, beating out hollow dents. The ride was rtively smooth, too, undting up and down, but far less than it would on horseback. In fact, the feeling was entirely different ¨C it was more like feeling the rocking atop a moving boat.


    Despite Li and the two girls all sitting in the passenger row, it didn''t feel crowded at all. He figured it could seat five people if it came down to it, and besides, he had nothing toin about as he had a nice windowside seat. Sylvie had decided to sacrifice herfort and insist on Jeanne getting the other windowside seat as it was the hero''s big day, among other reasons.


    Old Thane followed behind on a second carriage, entrusting that Li would make better conversation and protection for Jeanne and Sylvie if it ever came down to it.


    Despite the dull grey armoryering the outside, the inside of the carriage was surprisinglyfortable. The seats were made of velvety red cushioning and the walls were fashioned from polished and varnished elderwood, a pale bark pleasant to the eye and supernaturally durable, inscribed with both decorative and practical runes.


    "Splendid!" said Sylvie, her eyes twinkling with curiosity. Her hands glided across the carriage walls, feeling the smooth wood. Elderwood was not native to Riviera ¨C it only grew in Montagne, where the cold forced only the hardiest of trees to survive. She leaned forward, her face almost pressing against the hardened see-through ss separating passengers from the driver. "Say, Valery, how do the elves create such ss? It feels as if it were fashioned of wood, and yet it still retains its rity."


    "A hardening process in their Greatforges that is too much a secret for me, a lowly driver, to know," said Valery as he cocked his head. "Though I must say, this is the bottom of the barrel that the Republic sends us. Their true machines of burden are far more impressive than these. In fact, they not need even yoke beasts to their service at all."


    "Yes, their steam cores do seem to allow for miraculous feats." Sylvie nodded as she leaned back again, resting her chin atop the back of her hands. "I have been to Montagne only once, and there, I see old Elvish golems performing extraordinary feats of strength in the shafts without need for food or sleep." She sighed. "If only the duchess had not limited trade so heavily with the republic, perhaps we would see more progress here."


    "Oh, but the duchess has given us peace, hasn''t she?" said Jeanne. Her hands were sped together and resting at herp. "I cannot think of a sweeter gift for the people. I have not seen war with my own two eyes, but I have heard much of how themon folk suffer the most under it."


    Valeryughed. Li eyed him, wondering if he would leak the truth, as surely, he, as part of Alexei''s group, knew the true course of history and how bloody and brutal the duchess''s ascension had been.


    "Every coin, no matter how golden or lustrous it be, has two sides," said Valery as he whipped his reins. "The duchy manages peace within its borders, and yet its secession from the Republic does call into question how much it lost in terms of industry and innovation. Even the very art of rune-carving that we rely upon so much from day to day is an Elven innovation."


    He nodded. "And the Elves, though they certainly hold many special wares to their name, are quite the prickly and proud people. It is likely humans would have never stood upon equal grounds with them in the Republic."


    "Oh? You''ve seen elves?" said Sylvie.


    "The nature of my job requires me to be well-traveled, but I am surprised you have not seen a single elf. They were quite themon sight before the secession." Valery paused. "Ah, you two are very young, so you may not know them personally. I know it is quite rude to ask such elegantdies as yourselves, but how many summers have you passed, if I may inquire?"


    "We aren''t too sure," said Sylvie. "We were orphans and born during the chaos right before the secession, so we don''t have any records to our name. I should say we are near twenty?"


    Jeanne squirmed in her seat, looking away and out the window. Sylvie reached out and squeezed Jeanne''s hand, and the hero gave Sylvie an appreciative smile.


    "Indeed, the years leading up to the secession were¡­interesting times," said Valery. Though the vampire did not face them, Li could tell by the way he stiffened that he was frowning. "Records lost or burned. Nonhumans hunted down and driven north or into the foresnds. But twenty? Then you two are little more than pups. "


    He shook his head and regained hisposure, and yet his tone seemed to hold hints of mockery underneath.


    "I see. You two are children born during or after the secession, children of the sun, as the duchy would say you are, and what would children of the sun know of the elves in the dark and wintry north? Of all the inhumans blessed not by the light of life?"


    "A shame, as their ways and wares have always seemed interesting to me," said Sylvie. Her eyes had narrowed, picking up Valery''s sensitivity to the topic, but she chose to ignore it. "Strange, though, you seem not much older than us, and you speak of us like children."


    Valeryughed. "Forgive me, sometimes I believe myself far older than I am. Likely because my co-workers at ck Securities are all so elderly, and I must tell you now that the old never manage to go a day without reminding you how old they are."


    "You''ve got that right,"mented Li.


    Sylvie nced at Li and Valery. "Say, it has been on my mind, but how did ite to pass that you two began working with each other? It seems almost fantastical to see ck Securities ferrying regr wheat when they usually load their carts with ancient relics, magical items, and piles of coin."


    Li had spent the ride looking out the window, but when he heard Sylvie''s question, he nced at Valery, waiting to see how the vampire would answer. Obviously, the vampire couldn''t reveal that Li had essentially beat them all down and strong armed them into working for him.


    "Oh, the matter is quite simple. We at ck Securities know first and foremost to put the good of the state before our needs. It just so happens that Lord Lys wishes to keep sir Li here in good graces, wishing a glowing review of Soleil when he returns to Xia, if ever he does. And Count rie, our founder, is quite close with the lord, and was more than willing to offer our services to aid in making the good sir''s stay asfortable as possible."


    Li nodded at Valery. The vampire had rehearsed this story to perfection, and it covered the two of them quite well.


    "Lord Lys wanted to meet me one day while I was at the city hall for some business," said Li to add more meat to the fiction, though in his experience, adding some truth made lies that much more believable. "I caught his eye, which isn''t surprising considering how different I look. He was friendly to me and told me he would do anything in his power to make sure I had it going good over here, and he''s true to his word." He nodded at the carriage. "Obviously doesn''t skimp on expenses, either."


    "Yes, always a man with a penchant for luxury, perhaps to the point of indulgence," said Valery.


    Sylvie looked between Li and Valery and then nodded. "That''s quite interesting."


    Jeanne shifted in her seat ufortably. "With but a talk, you managed to bring so much fortune upon you. I wish I had half as much of your confidence, Li."


    "What do you mean," said Sylvie as she gave a friendly push to Jeanne''s shoulder. "You''re about as loud as it gets."


    "With you and others close to me, yes," said Jeanne. She bit her lip. "But royalty? The great duchess herself? I fear I may seize up, unable to muster up even a single word."


    Li scoffed. "I know a thing or two about dealing with higher ups," he said, remembering his past life and the corporate climb that came with it, all the connections he had to juggle and manage. "You have to be efficient. Keep your words few and serious, but don''t be antisocial. Be confident, but don''t intimidate. Talk to them with respect, but don''t overdo it like they''re gods, because they aren''t. They aren''t special. They''re just like you. Remember that, and you''ll find confidence."


    "Interesting," said Sylvie, her head cocked as she probably conjured up images about what incredible princes and emperors and whatnot Li had talked down to. "But honestly, that sounds like just you. I would be quite scared to see Jeanne acting the same way."


    "Serious words, confidence, respect," repeated Jeanne with focus.


    Sylvie smiled and patted Jeanne''s back. "Come now, just act natural. You are a gold-ranked adventurer talking to a crowd as well as the duchess. Be the same bright and happy girl you have always been, and I''m sure everyone will be charmed."


    "True," said Li. "You''ve got a different vibe going on. Be happy, be yourself, but if you''re evercking confidence, just remember what I said. It''s easy to be confident when you think everyone''s at or below your level."


    "Now you''re just corrupting her," said Sylvie teasingly.


    Jeanne unsped her hands. They were slick with nervous sweat.


    "Well, it is true that I feel others too much above me, especially when they are of rank and position." She nodded at Li. "Thank you for that bit of wisdom."


    "Pardon for the interruption," called out Valery. "But we are approaching the gates."

 Chapter 70 - The Square

    Despite its istion from the rest of Soleil, Riviera was still one of the four cardinal cities, so it had quite a bit of money flowing through it. And all the that money could be seen in its infrastructure. Its roads were lined with cobblestone, gutters, and swept daily by dedicated city cleaners.


    The roads were separated into two types. Regr roads were meant for people to walk on foot, and wheel roads were, as the name suggested, meant for carriages, carts, or other types of drawn lotion.


    Valery''s carriages cut across the city at exceptional speeds. Each carriage had a ck rune inscribed upon it that granted it ess to priority wheel roads that were meant only for nobles and those on official business. Here, since there was so little traffic, the mystical arions could run at near their full speed, not needing to worry about trampling over slower horses.


    Valery had decided to make two stops.


    The first one came up now: the main square. Here, he would drop off Jeanne and Old Thane. The driver of Old Thane''s carriage, a vampire himself, would park nearby the square and keep guard over the old man.


    The second would be at the Golden gon, where Li would see Sylvie''s equipment to help her grow stronger.


    The crowd at the square was sorge that it threatened to spill out of the marketce and even onto the wheel road which intentionally was built away from the square to prevent traffic idents. There had never been a gold-ranked adventurer hailing from Riviera, so it made sense that any event with one at its center would draw a massive crowd, especially considering how much like celebrities they were.


    However, when the carriage stopped, people seemed to sift away from it, parted by some invisible force. They watched the carriages with wonder and deference, such was the clout that ck Securities held.


    "Let me check up on you onest time," said Sylvie as she reached across her seat to Jeanne. She put her hands on Jeanne''s shoulders, straightening the hero, and then analyzed her face.


    "So?" asked Jeanne nervously.


    Sylvie smiled. "You look beautiful. You always have. I am sure certain you will dazzle the people of Riviera. I worry that you will end up causing another nobleman to fall head over heels for you."


    "Oh, nonsense," said Jeanne, but she did shyly look away a little at thepliment.


    "And then, since you are too nice to say no, it will be up to me to tell the poor man what little chance he has," said Sylvie with a sigh. She smiled. "Try to save me the trouble, Jeanne."


    Jeanne smiled in response. "I''ll try my best, Sylv." She paused. "Thank you for supporting me at every turn, no matter the hardship or inconvenience, and helping me where I am helpless."


    Sylvie patted Jeanne''s shoulder. "It''s what sisters do. I''ve no doubt you would do the same for me. Come, now, get out there and show the world their next great hero."


    Jeanne reached out and pulled Sylvie into a hug. They stayed like that for a few seconds, their breathing synced, before Jeanne broke off the hug and opened the carriage door. Outside, a few people already murmured and gasped as they recognized Riviera''s only gold-ranked adventurer.


    "You''re still a little nervous," said Li right after Jeanne stepped down. "Just remember that the duchess isn''t anything special. If anything, I have infinitely more respect for you than that woman."


    Jeanne turned back, blinking with wonder, but in the end, she smiled again. "Thank you. I do feel better hearing that."


    Li saw Old Thanee up to Jeanne, leaning against the arm of the vampire driver. Though the old man could navigate himself around most ces surprisingly well using his superhuman battle senses, massive crowds like this were his one weakness, and one of the reasons he did not like to visit the city much.


    Jeanne went to Old Thane and took him from the vampire driver. She locked a guiding arm around Old Thane''s as they made their way up the square. It was the very image of daughterly virtue, of kindness befitting a hero. The crowd smiled and murmured at the touching sight, parting even more.


    "It will help her image to have Old Thane at her side," said Sylvie. "A gold-ranked adventurer with a heart of gold, paying homage to the respected veteran who once lent her a roof over her head. There is no better publicity than this."


    "I see," said Li. "You''ve put a lot more thought in this than I realized. You wanted Old Thane to go with Jeanne to boost her image, and you''re leaving with me because you want all the attention to focus on her. Did you suggest Azhar try and heal me to tire him out, too?"


    Sylvie frowned. "Of course not. I would have asked him toe with us as well, but you are right in that I did wish Jeanne to have as much glory as she could today."


    She looked out the window, at Jeanne''s receding figure, at the crowd cheering and smiling, and she too smiled. "I believe with all my heart that Jeanne will be the hero that the world wille to need. One to change the world for the good, and I must try my best to ensure she reaches those heights."


    Li watched as Sylvie''s smile wavered a little. He knew how to read expressions, except in the case of certain individuals like the duchess who were experts at concealment. He could see how Sylvie''s lip twitched just a little, how her eyes, though happy, were still wistful.


    "I don''t mean to sound selfish, but if you live your life for others, you''ll end up not knowing how to live for yourself," said Li.


    Sylvie''s eyes widened as she looked at Li, and she opened her mouth to say something, but found no words.


    Instead, Valery filled the silence with his cheery voice.


    "Moving onto the next stop: Golden gon! d to be getting out of this crowd, goodness."


    __


    Because most of Riviera''s popce was concentrated on the square, the way to the Golden gon went by quickly. They passed by the city hall, going around the great staircase leading up to the domed building and towards the Adventurer''s Guild. Behind it, the Golden gon loomed, not much foot traffic surrounding it at this time of the hour when adventurers were either at Jeanne''s ceremony or out hunting for monsters.


    Throughout the short ride, Sylvie had been silent, and Li, not the type to talk first, had also remained silent.


    "Here we are," said Valery as he whipped his reigns, getting the arion to stop. The carriage lurched forward slightly as its momentum halted.


    Li and Sylvie left the carriage, and as Li was about to follow Sylvie into the Golden gon, he said to Valery, "How''s the wheat going to be distributed?"


    "No worries, good sir," said Valery. "The portion you chose to grant the crown and temple for tax will be brought directly to them. The rest will go to three of thergest orphanages in Riviera, two of which the count directly oversees and thest thoroughly funded and inspected by the count so that no funds are misced.


    To respect your wishes, the donations will be named publicly under Old Thane''s name, and ordingly, if any civil service rewards are to be distributed at the year''s end, I am sure he will be in strong running to receive one."


    Li nodded in approval. "Thanks for the hard work, and make sure to give Alexei my regards."


    Valery nodded, tipping a ck cap. "Most certainly."


    ______________________


    Li found that Triple Threat did not share their quarters. They rented out three separate rooms, and, unlike many inns, these rooms had longtime leases thatsted up to a year or until an adventurer''s death. As an adventurer''s inn, the leases amodated well for the adventurers, reducing the amount of rent they paid if they were off during a hunt or pursuing an official contract, but of course, most teams still just rented one or two big rooms to stay together.


    The fact that Triple Threat could rent three rooms was a testament to their increased ie and fame.


    Sylvie''s room ended up looking surprising and unsurprising at the same time.


    Surprising, because Li had not expected a room to look so eastern in thisnd, but unsurprising because it was Sylvie.


    There were impressions on the wooden floor where a bed had stood, but it was noticeably absent, reced by a nketid upon the ground. For sure, it wasn''t like bedding on the ground was rare in this world, especially among the poor, but this wasn''t like the piles of skins and nkets Li and Old Thane had slept on.


    Sylvie''s bedprised of a clean white nket that was puffy, filled with soft and downy feathers, andid upon a woven green mat that reminded Li of tatami mats. On the wall, there was framed a sprawling ink painting of a swallow perched atop a flower. The paper was aged and cracked, protected by a preservative ss frame.


    A weapon rack stood atop another wall, carrying rows of shuriken, kunai, her wakizashi, and Chinese weapons such as a staff, tasseled throwing knives, and a curved dao sword in rusted and unusable condition.


    Sylvie stood over a massive chest sealed with a circr formation of mystical runes. She held her palm in the circle, allowing it to read her handprint and magical signature to ensure it was her.


    "Interesting,"mented Li as he noted the Chinese-style weapons. They were not from the game, which piqued his curiosity quite a bit. He wondered if this Xia empire used the same gameworld magic of Eldenia or whether they abided by entirely different sets of powers as the heroes did.


    "Do you see anything you recognize?" said Sylvie as she withdrew her hand, the chest making a satisfying series of clicks as it loosened its bolting and locking mechanisms.


    "I''m not too sure," said Li.


    "Hm." Sylvie rummaged in the chest, looking for her scrolls and manuals. As she did so, she said, "I do not mean to be rude, but what did you mean at the carriage?"


    "It was just an observation."


    "Yet one that seems to have been made from personal experience. Are you certain you know nothing of your past?"


    "Nothing I''m afraid you can make use of."


    Sylvie stopped searching and instead turned to Li with an expression of genuine care, her hand sped shyly at her wrist. "I do not see you as just someone to use. Yes, your knowledge can help me, but I want to help you, too. To recover your memories and to better understand you. Isn''t there anything you remember? Some memory associated with what you said to me?"

 Chapter 71 - Dreamer

    Li looked at Sylvie, at how her hazy red eyes seemed to glimmer, suspended in a tense space between care and caution. Care at how much she wanted to help Li, and caution because she knew nothing of him. For all she knew, she had just opened herself up to an even stronger rejection than before, but despite that, she wanted to help.


    "I''ll admit it was wrong of me to keep thinking in terms of you wanting to use me," said Li. He leaned his back against the room''s wooden wall, his head tilting up a little as he went into remembering.


    "Alright, as an apology, I''ll exin what I meant, and with it, what I remember about my past. And yes, I do remember some things, but don''t expect any vivid details. I''m not lying when I say none of it will help you."


    Li caught Sylvie perk up, her face brightening and her breath catching in her throat. She had obviously expected to have her offer to help decline again. In a way, it had been. There was no real honest way he could answer her. He had no true memories of a past in this world, but at the least, he could tell her what he meant when he gave her advice.


    "I don''t like to give advice about things when I myself haven''t experienced it. It feels empty otherwise, like throwing out a meaningless titude the same way so many people told me ''It''ll get better'' when my parents passed despite never having faced the same kind of loss." Li did not sound bitter. His voice was neutral, merely remembering, almost lecturing.


    Sylvie nodded. "Yet you wished to give me advice. Then you understand what it feels like? To give all your pieces away so that others can be whole?"


    Li arched a brow. She did not try neither to console him nor pry about mentioning his parents'' death. Despite how curious she usually was, she did have tact.


    "In a way," said Li. "I''ll tell you about my parents. Their memories, at the least, I will never forget, no matter how many ages pass or how I change. I sacrificed everything for them. I spent the height of my youth studying and working and studying and working every hour of the day,te into every night until there were sometimes where the dark just blended into the morning without me even realizing."


    Li did not give any specifics about his past. He knew that none of it would be helpful to Sylvie because it had happened in a different world, but at the least, it would let her understand his state of mind, and with it, perhaps she woulde to know that he wasn''t the type of person she should be wasting her time seeing as someone more than a friend.


    "When I could have been making lifelong friends or finding love like everyone around me, I worked so that I could make them proud."


    "And do you regret that?" said Sylvie. She sat on the open chest, bncing expertly along its thin edge.


    Li shook his head. "Of course not. I willingly sacrificed myself because I knew they had sacrificed themselves, their time, their life, their health, everything, for me. If I had another take at my life, I would change nothing. I truly appreciated them, and I would give everything for them again. But I am not an idealist either.


    I knew what it cost me. When my parents grew ill, I was still a young man. But I hated to see how the world had be. How so many people my age around me just threw their parents away, boarded them up or conveniently forgot about them. I could never do that, so I took them under my own roof when they couldn''t move and they coughed up more blood than air.


    Any free time I had, it was spent on making sure they were living out thest chapters of their lives with as muchfort as they could. Where others were out drinking with their friends or making their dreamse true, I gave it all up so that when my parents passed, they could go with a smile.


    All the wealth I had, I couldn''t spend it on anything, and I never even thought to, because what was money in front of making sure that my loved ones were happy?


    Which brings me to my point."


    Li crossed his arms and nodded to Sylvie. "When my parents did pass, I was nothing. I realized I had spent so many years living for them that I had no idea how to live for myself. I had filled my life with taking care of them, and when they were gone, there was nothing, just a mass of unrealized dreams and confusion.


    When you have that kind of hole in your chest, you try and fill it up with whatever you can. I had money, so I did whatever I could, buying up the newest, most expensive, shiniest little trinkets, drinking, women, you name it, I did it. But the pieces you throw out are unique. You can never get them back or buy new ones that are exactly the same.


    You''ll always be hollow."


    Sylvie paused, taking the words in. "And you believe me on the same path?"


    "Maybe." Li shrugged. When he looked at Sylvie or Jeanne, he saw them almost like children in need of guidance. This was a somewhat new feeling, and probably associated with the fact that it seemed like divine entities here were guiding forces. "Depends on how you decide to live your life. I just wanted to exin my words and give you a little piece of my past, just as you wanted. I figured this was a way to do both at the same time."


    "Practical." She nodded in approval before smiling at Li. "I¡­feel that I understand you better now. Before, I did not have the faintest idea what kind of person you were, but this does give me perspective. Firstly, you are quite a bit older than I thought. Yet, I have to say, you do not look like a broken man, Li. You act and think with purpose."


    "I figure that''s because I''ve fulfilled my dreams," said Li.


    "And that is a quiet life, perhaps? On the farm? That would exin why you wish for nothing more."


    "You''ve got the gist of it."


    Sylvie straightened her posture, confidence beginning to wreath her form. "Then you need not worry about me. Just as you have be whole again with a dream, I have dreams of my own. Even should I give away all of myself, I will always have my dream, and that is a piece of myself that cannot ever flee me."


    Li looked into Sylvie''s eyes and saw straight determination, the hands once shyly held together now straight at her sides. "You wanted to get stronger to help your family, right? I''ll tell you right now that wanting to help your family isn''t a dream for yourself, even if it feels fulfilling at the time. You''re following exactly in my footsteps."


    Sylvie shook her head. "No, that is my duty, but my dream is simpler." Her eyes twinkled with her trademark curiosity again. "It is to explore the world and see every little piece of it for myself. First, the wondrous East, then the strange South, then the fiery Westernnds, then perhaps at the very end, I will travel to the northern end of the world."


    "I see. Then what''s stopping you?"


    "Because when I do decide to travel the world, I wish to see it in its best state, with as little pain and misery as possible. How can I abandon everything to a fanciful dream when I know that I could have changed the very world I wish to admire for the better?" Sylvie sighed. "I am much more an idealist than you, I am afraid."


    She waited for Li to say something, but he did not. Though she probably could not tell, it wasn''t because he felt like being silent. It was because he was thinking about what she had said. About having a duty to be a steward to the world.


    "Well, let us hurry back to the ceremony," she said to break the silence, turning back to the chest and retrieving several scrolls and ragged leather-bound texts that she carefully ced inside a bag at her waist.


    Valery drove them back to the square, and by now, the crowd had settled into a rtively orderly gathering around the upraised square. Li and Sylvie, their senses both sharp, managed to see the whole thing from the back of the crowd.


    Atop the tform where famous bards would normally y to raving crowds, there was instead quite the picturesque and royal scene. There was Jeanne kneeling, her eyes closed as the duchess gracefully slung a ruby-red metal fashioned into the shape of a tongue of me across the hero''s neck.


    Sunstar stood beside the duchess, Old Thane nearby. Li narrowed his eyes to see Old Thane so near the sr hero, but he suppressed an urge to do anything unreasonable. Old Thane had one of thergest smiles Li had seen on him at the moment, and he didn''t want to ruin the moment either.


    A pop, and clouds of falling petals materialized above the square, conjured up by a royal band of musicians and mages lined up at the back. The musicians yed a fanfare of trumpets, and the crowd cheered and whistled in honor of their new gold-ranked adventurer and hero.


    The duchess bid Jeanne to rise up and took her hand, pulling her gently to face the crowd. The duchess waved, and Jeanne followed her.


    Then the duchess led Jeanne away to the back of the square. The band broke their formation without stopping the music, allowing the two to take the stairs down and out of sight for the crowd.


    "Something''s not right," said Sylvie.


    Li gave her a questioning look.


    "I know when she''s genuinely happy." Sylvie furrowed her brows. "She was forcing herself to smile there. I''m going to try and meet her."


    Li looked over to Old Thane now alone with Sunstar. "I''ll go pick the old man up, then."

 Chapter 72 - Impasse

    Li cut through the crowd like a hot knife through butter. He was taller than most, but hisnky build meant that people were not moving aside for him because he was some intimidating ball of mass.


    No, it was because when he set his eyes on the square, directly at Old Thane, and focused, all the regr humans around him felt chills run through their spines, spreading all throughout their bodies, drawing out gooseflesh and shivers that made them, at a primordial, instinctive level, evade Li as much as possible without even knowing why.


    Sylvie moved much more discretely. She had to face the crowd directly, but she weaved through it with expert ease. It almost seemed as if she were a shadow, something immaterial, flitting across people with such agility it almost felt like she was phasing through them.


    While Li went directly to the square, Sylvie went around it, attempting to sneak towards the back. When he came right up the front of the square, he found himself facing an upraised tform of wood perched atop smoothened stone. Upon the stone were etched the names of those who had fallen in the demon wars of 1000.


    Though there were stairs leading up to the square at its back, there was no such convenience at its front, so Li had to jump up and reach his hand up, grasping the top of the square, the tips of his fingers digging into sanded and varnished wood, and hoisted himself up in one single and fluid pull.


    By now, the crowd had begun to disperse, no doubt finding themselves strangely spooked, and filed out the square and back to their homes and workces with quiet murmurs between them. Li looked as they left with a nod. The lessmotion there was, the morefortable it would be for Old Thane. He appraised the square, seeing if there were any threats.


    The square itself was simple in design, created more to be decorated than to look inherently appealing. The floor of the tform was simple wood and there were four poles rising from its corners where bards could string up advertising gs and decorations.


    At the back, Li could spot stairs leading down to a cobblestone path that fed into a sizable stone building marked all around with colorful gs which he recognized to be the actor''s guild, which made sense as they routinely rented out the square forrge-scale performances.


    But as for threats, there were none. The duchess''s band had all filed back into the actor''s guild, leaving the squarergely empty.


    Li homed in on Old Thane who stood by one of the decorative poles. Beside him stood Sunstar, his cape fluttering even though there was not a single breeze to be found.


    "Woah now," said Sunstar as he saw Li approaching. He pointed his gloved hands to the countless magically conjured petals scattered across the wooden floor of the square. "The square is off-limits until the cleaners finish their job. Their work is honest, and it would not do good for us to interfere."


    Li ignored Sunstar and kept walking forwards.


    "You wish an audience with me?" said Sunstar as he watched Li approach him. He shrugged, his rounded shoulder muscles straining against his golden bodysuit. "I am afraid my time is limited, but I can make an exception for a foreign guest such as yourself."


    Li did not spare a nce to the hero as he walked straight past Sunstar and put aforting arm around Old Thane''s shoulder. "Let''s get outta here, old man."


    Sunstar extended a friendly hand towards Li. "Will the elderly model citizen require assistance? I can quite easily fly him down the square. I am afraid the back stairs are closed off to the public for now."


    Li led Old Thane to the edge of the square. "Alright old man, here''s the jump. Show me what you got."


    Old Thane smiled. "Aye,d." He cocked his head towards the ground, making sure there were no errant footsteps that would indicate potential people to collide with. He then pushed off, dropping several meters, andnded solidly on the stony ground, his knees bent to absorb the impact.


    Li also jumped off and patted the old man on the back. "You know, there''s plenty of old folk out there whose knees would have just busted with that big of a jump."


    "But they are not the Bloodfist, eh?" said Old Thane as he clenched his fist, veins visible across his forearm as the muscles tensed.


    "Yeah, yeah," said Li with a smile. He had learned by now to let Old Thane manage himself, and seeing the old man quite literally flex his glory days let Li know he was happy.


    As Li left the square with the old man, he noted that Sunstar did not say anything or move at all. Li not only felt like snubbing the hero, but he also wanted to see what it took to provoke the man, just to get a read on his personality. From what Li could garner, though, the man was unnaturallyposed, and it was difficult to tell whether that was due to an act or genuine distance from his emotions.


    They did not go home.


    Instead, Li took Old Thane on a roundabout route to the back entrance of the actor''s guild where he figured Sylvie had gone as that was where the duchess and Jeanne had gone into after the ceremony. While they made the walk, he told the old man what Sylvie had said, that there was something wrong with Jeanne, and the old man had agreed to investigate the matter with Li.


    The actor''s guild managed to rent out such arge andvishly decorated building because it was directly funded by the crown, and, as a result, provided most of its patronage for the duchess.


    Whenever Li saw or read about a y or performance, he could clearly draw connections to government propaganda. All the ys talked about were the glory of dying for kingdom, of self-sacrifice for the crown, of humanity first and foremost, their heroes held up as evidence of that they were blessed by the gods.


    The actor''s guild''s rear entrance was equally as impressive as its front, and yet it held quite a different air about it. Unlike most of the buildings of brick and wood in Riviera, the guild was fashioned mostly of carved stone and marble, and the back wall had rows of faces all frozen in different emotional states, some with mouths open in fear, others in joy andughter, others in shock, carved into its breadth.


    Arge double door of solid oak stood tall at the center of the wall, each of its halves painted with a white mask.


    Four burly knights in full armor stood guard, halberds in hand. Their stances were stalwart and ready forbat, and their armor, lined with enchanted gold that glittered under the sun, indicated magical equipment far beyond the means of regr knights. Golden plumes streaked from the top of their helms, indicating they were the elite guard of Soleil.


    Which meant that Li was in the right ce. He walked up to them, Old Thane following close behind.


    Li adopted a casual, almost stroll-like walk, and the knights, confused but wary, lowered their halberds.


    "What business do you have here?" said one of the knights in a surprisingly calm voice.


    "Whatever it is, it''s none of <em>your</em> business," said Li as he waved his hand, casting [Highvision Spore].


    Little rainbow-colored mushrooms grew through the cobblestone floor under the knights'' feet, their fleshy heads cracking through the rock. They exploded, bursting out a hazy cloud of spores that reflected the sunlight in iridescent rays, almost seeming to put the knights under a rainbow-colored spotlight.


    The knights dropped straight to the floor, their armor nking on the cobblestone. [Highvision Spore] usually afflicted those in its range with extremely distorted vision signaled by blurs and saturated shades of rainbow shing everywhere, and it was meant to throw off ranged DPS from aiming. However, against targets at a low enough level, it just t out disabled them for a while but did not damage them.


    Li motioned for Old Thane to stay back until the cloud dissipated, and he reached out to open the doors.


    However, Li found himself stepping back as the doors opened by themselves.


    Sunstar stood there, or rather, floated slightly above the ground.


    "I thought my super hearing picked something up," he said. His golden eyes shed as he looked down at the unconscious knights, then at the cloud of spores starting to umte around him. "Dear me, what is this?"


    Sunstar stared at the rainbow cloud in front of him. He sniffed once and nodded. He took in a massive breath, the entire spore cloud rushing into his mouth. He floated outside and tilted his head up before exhaling forcefully, blowing the cloud several dozens of meters in the air where they scattered away.


    "A public hazard, that is what it was, but good thing I took care of it, as I always do." Sunstar looked at Li with a smile, and now that Li had seen the man more than once, he could tell that this smile was mechanical.


    Most people had different ranges of smiles for different situations, but Sunstar''s smile stayed the same. It was constant, opened just enough to let his pearly white teeth sh, and bursting with seemingly genuine friendliness, and yet, this was the same smile he wore every single moment of his life, no matter the situation or how he felt.


    "You wouldn''t happen to know anything about it, would you?" said Sunstar, still smiling, his tone ever friendly, to Li.


    "Beats me." Li motioned for Sunstar to step aside. "I have business with the duchess."


    "It saddens me to deny you entrance, but such are my orders," said Sunstar. "I am terribly sorry for creating this..plicated situation, but I simply cannot disobey them."


    Li narrowed his eyes. "You seem to be mistaken in thinking I was asking you to move. No, this situation is actually quite simple. You move."

 Chapter 73 - Child Of Light

    "This is quite the dilemma," said Sunstar.


    Li could begin to feel heart starting to emanate from Sunstar. His musclebound figure, already shining golden under his bodysuit, began to grow even brighter, the exposed skin on his face bing so bright that it was almost white.


    The hero''s muscles started to tense and grow, filling out with power. Spots of the wooden door behind him began to cken, the solid, dense oak breaking apart into brittle and ck carbon. Wisps of smoke curled up from the ck spots, filling the air with the acrid smell of burning wood.


    Li began to raise a hand, and as his mind began to formte the best means of eliminating the hero, his magical energy surged. An aura of shimmering green emerged from Li as his mana expanded outwards.


    Winds, gentle at first, began to push out from him, scattering little pebbles and other debris around. Then the winds grew stronger, louder, until their quiet whispers became howls that whipped all about like a vortex, tossing the unconscious bodies of the guards several meters away.


    Li and Sunstar met eyes, and their rapidly increasing power shed. Sunstar''s radiance of heat and light intensified and flowed outwards, meeting the colossal output of Li''s verdant green mana. The actor''s guild began to shake as the respective auras shed, and splitting sounds echoed out as cracks began to line the rear wall, casting ugly, deep lines over the faces carved into it.


    Li took a step forward, and Sunstar had to float backwards, back to the door. The green of Li''s aura was like a pir of fire, roaring and raging like a raging beast, hungrily eating away at Sunstar''s ever dimming light. In any other circumstance, Li would have cast spells intended to fight instead of merely showing how much he outssed the hero, but Old Thane was right behind him, and they were in the middle of the city.


    If the hero was as righteous as he imed, then he would back down, knowing that fighting was both futile and a risk to the city he was meant to protect.


    In an instant, Sunstar floated downwards, the rays of light emanating from his body fading. Seeing the hero admit defeat, Li retracted his magical energy.


    Still smiling, Sunstar said, "It can''t be helped then. Raising our hands against each other in the middle of the street would be unbing of fine men such as ourselves, would you not agree?"


    Sunstar stepped aside and motioned to the door. By now, the double doors had swung wide back, swinging loosely at its broken hinges. There were small flickers of fire eating away at it while webworks of cracks lined its body.


    "I will not hinder your passage, but I have a feeling that you will not see much."


    "That''s for me to decide," said Li. He called out to Old Thane. "Old man, follow me. We''re going in."


    "What is the meaning of this madness!?"


    Before Li had made even a single step into the guild, he heard the duchess''s voice ring out.


    The duchess''s figure emerged from a corridor. Her hands were at her skirt, holding them slightly up so that the borate and lengthy fabric would not get in the way of her legs. One of her hands held her golden, jewel-studded crown danglingzily at the wrist like an armband.


    "Oh, the foreigner?" The duchess nodded at Li, and then nced at Sunstar before her gaze drifted to the battered and burning door. "My, when did the door get into such shambles? It seems quite the ident has red up." She called behind herself. "Dear adventurers, please do be careful. An incident seems to have urred outside the guild. I will have my knights escort you immediately."


    Sylvie and Jeanne appeared from the corridor as well.


    A woman followed behind them. A slender, athletically built woman dressed in a ck leotard and wearing a strange hat with a brim so broad that it covered her face and cast a shadow all around her.


    Li narrowed his eyes as he looked at them, and to his surprise, they were no worse for wear. Sylvie saw that Li was assessing their states and gave him a nod to indicate she was fine, but Jeanne was in less of an agreeable mood, her head and eyes down as she followed behind Sylvie.


    Sunstar scratched his head as he bowed his head to the duchess. "Your men, too, have fallen victmi to this...ident. They lie limp but yet living outside."


    He floated to the duchess''s side. He utterly dwarfed the woman in size and width, and yet it felt like he belonged there by the duchess as more an essory than man.


    "Truly? I hope they are not injured," said the duchess, worry tinging her voice as she sped her hands in concern. She smiled at Sunstar, and he smiled at her, the two exchanging the most artificial smiles in existence. "And did you happen to catch the source of all this chaos?"


    Sunstar shook his head. "I''m afraid not."


    Li raised a brow. Both were acting as if nothing had happened. Sunstar knew that it was Li that had mostly provoked and caused the damage, but he swept it under the rug, and the duchess was no fool either: she knew and was ying along.


    Likely, Li thought, they simply did not want to challenge him, but there were any manner of ulterior motives for wanting that, the most obvious of all being that they very much wanted to still stay alive.


    "I''m not here to take any of your time. It would have been better off had I never seen you again," said Li as he pointed to Sylvie and Jeanne. "I''m here for them."


    The duchess cocked her head. "Oh, then will you do the pleasure of escorting them back? I fear the danger that has wrought such damage to the guild has yet to pass. I would have Sunstar escort them, but s he must protect me."


    "I can do it," said the woman in ck. Her words came out almost in stato, as if each individual word had to be uttered as its own sentence.


    "Your power is unsuited to the task, Meld, though I truly appreciate your willingness to help," said the duchess.


    "Wait just a second, this isn''t ending so soon," said Li. "What were you doing in here? What were you talking about?"


    "I would like to tell, but I am afraid some of the information would be too sensitive to reveal to the public," said the duchess as she nervously bit her lip, though that nervous part of the whole act was conjured up as well. "And we are in all too public a space, exposed to many a prying ear."


    Sylvie walked past the duchess, leading Jeanne by hand behind her, and said to Li, "I''ll fill you in, but can we get to the cottage first? I feel this is not the right ce to talk."


    Her eyes darted to the duchess and Sunstar, and Li understood she did not want them around. Li looked at Sylvie and found her eyes and mannerisms to be lucid enough. It was not as if he was familiar with the mind controlling abilities that one of the duchess''s heroes supposedly had, but he was sure that with his perception, he could at least tell when someone was acting off.


    Sylvie seemed instead to be concerned but distinctly lucid, and she, unlike her teammates thought through her actions and words. He could trust her judgement.


    Li nodded and he, Sylvie, Jeanne, and Old Thane gathered outside the battered door. Sunstar and the duchess remained within, their figures framed by a beaten doorway of cracked and smoking stone.


    The duchess nodded to Li. "So, you are within their circle of confidence. Then I am certain you will keep any sensitive information to yourself." She curtsied again as a farewell, and Sunstar waved a goodbye. "It has been a pleasure to meet you again, dear foreigner."


    "Can''t say the same," said Li as he led everyone back.


    __________________________


    The cottage firece flickered again, stoked up in preparation for a serious talk. Valery and his drivers had been kind enough to take all of them back to the cottage again, and after many bows, had left toe by next week when another harvest would hopefully have grown.


    Li and Old Thane sat side by side on stools while Jeanne, Sylvie, and Azhar sat on the ground atop a few piled skins. Sylvie and Azhar sat on either side of Jeanne, putting aforting hand to her shoulder. Jeanne sat hugging the Lerneas egg forfort, snuggling it close to her body.


    Old Thane scratched his beard in wonder, and Li nodded as he digested the information.


    Sylvie had snuck into the actor''s guild but had been easily caught by Meld. However, the duchess recognized Sylvie and brought her to Jeanne in a private, closed off area of the guild. There, all three had shared a conversation.


    Before the procession, the duchess had talked to Jeanne and brought up the prospect of the hero moving on from being an adventurer and instead joining the coveted ranks of the Ascendant Order, an agency that worked directly in the capitol. Its ranks only held powerful heroes whose abilities, far outmatching adventurers, were revered as the pinnacle of natural human potential and power, with Sunstar himself at its head.


    With the offer came a lifetime of wealth, prestige, and a tform upon which Jeanne could use her ideals to do as much good as she wanted with the crown''s backing.


    Of course, Jeanne had refused as politely as she could, wishing to stay with Triple Threat who had stayed with her since they were all friendless orphans in a chaotic world reeling from demonic invasions and the political turmoil of secession.


    "She must have tried to present a stronger case for joining after the ceremony," said Li. "No other reason why she would bring Jeanne back in for another round of talks."


    "Yes," said Sylvie. She nced at Jeanne and sighed. "The duchess''s final piece proved to be quite... personal. She says that Jeanne''s father is Sunstar, the great hero and the avatar of light himself, which would in turn make Jeanne a Child of Light, someone to be revered and worshipped by the very temple she is ordained to.


    The true reason they hade to Riviera was because they had finally found Jeanne after so very many years, and that Sunstar wished to connect with her again, to bring her into the fold of revered heroes where she rightfully belongs with her father."

 Chapter 74 - Mother I

    <em>1021, One year after the great secession and the formation of Soleil</em>


    "Mama, I''m tired," said Jeanne. She didn''t know why they were traveling again. Usually, when they got to a new vige, they stayed for several weeks, but this time, they had only stayed a couple of days. Her feet and calves ached from walking so much, but thankfully, a stranger had given them a ride on her wagon.


    "Call me mother, my little sun."


    "But mama is easier," said Jeanne as she hugged into her mother''s waist as the back of the wagon they rode on hit a particrly bad bump. The wagon smelled bitter and foul from all the herbs packed around them, and so when Jeanne buried her face into her mother''s chest, she tried to keep her mother''s sweet scent of lc and honey in her nose.


    "Yes, darling, but I taught you to speak proper. And we must thank the Light for granting us the good fortune of having this wagon pass this way."


    "Mhm," said Jeanne as she let her mother''s word slip into one ear and out the other. She felt her attention fading away as her mother held her close, enveloping her in warmth and sweetness. A soft hand stroked through her hair, gentlybing out the blonde bunches that had tangled from their days of travel.


    Jeanne loved how soft her mother''s hands were. Once, when they had stayed at a cksmith''s home, the smith there had showed off how callused his hands were. Jeanne thought the hands were ugly, like chipped bricks or rough rocks. Her mother''s hands, though - they were so pale and clean and warm no matter where they went or how hard they travelled.


    One thing Jeanne wondered when she saw the cksmith and his son and daughter was where her father was. After all, she had to have one, but mother never told her. Sometimes, Jeanne would think about why they were traveling so much, and maybe, she thought, they were trying to find father.


    But when Jeanne asked if that was the reason, mother had stiffened up like a statue, her eyes growing distant, and Jeanne knew then never to bring the topic up.


    As the wagon rocked, it simultaneously lulled Jeanne to sleep and jolted her awake in regr intervals, and she made out snippets of hazy conversation.


    "How far to Riviera, good herbalist?" said mother.


    "If we ride through the night, we will make it an hour past midnight," responded a woman''s voice. It was a melodic and gentle one, and her words seemed toe out almost in song. It was quite unlike the firmness that usually marked mother''s voice.


    Mother sighed in relief. "I thank you from the depths of my heart. I know it does not mean much in these times, but I will pray the Light blesses you with fortune."


    "A child''s smile is reward enough, and your daughter has a particrly beautiful one." The driver whipped her reigns, beckoning the horse to move faster. "Do you have lodging for the rest of the night? If not, you are free to stay at my home. It is right outside Riviera, and it will be safer to wait out the dark."


    Mother stopped stroking Jeanne''s head. One of Jeanne''s eyeszily opened, and she saw that mother was reaching for the coin pouch at her waist. The leather bag, though, pressed t against her hip, empty.


    "I cannot pay you," murmured mother. She cast her eyes downward. She always did that when she got upset. Her eyes met Jeanne''s, and then mother looked away in shame.


    "I wasn''t asking." The driver did not say anything more.


    __________________________


    Jeanne woke up when the wagon jolted to a stop. Mother hadid Jeanne''s head on herp, and when Jeanne groggy eyes opened, the first thing she saw was mother''s face looking down at her. Mother was fast asleep, her head bowed down and her long tips of blonde hair gently caressing Jeanne''s face.


    "Mama, wake up," whispered Jeanne as she tugged at mother''s arm. She could see how tired mother was, how her eyes had sunken in under bags of darkness and wrinkles of weariness, and felt terrible about waking her, but the driver had stopped.


    Mother visibly pulled herself out of sleep in stages. First, she murmured inaudibly before squeezing Jeanne''s small hand. Then, her eyes wavered open, and when they spotted Jeanne, her lips smiled. She patted Jeanne''s forehead with a tender hand before she took in a breath and became serious.


    "Come, my little sun." Mother grasped Jeanne''s hand and led her to the edge of the wagon. Jeanne shrunk back as she saw the drop and clung to her mother''s waist. Even though she could make the jump, she never could get rid of the fear of heights.


    Mother smiled as she grabbed Jeanne in her arms and carried her down the wagon. When mother let her down to the ground, Jeanne could feel that the night of rest had done wonders for her legs. The aches had faded to faint pangs of dull pain, but it was manageable. Still, she couldn''t shake off her sleepiness.


    The driver came around,ntern in hand, and took off her hood, and Jeanne gasped at her hair. At first nce, it looked normal, ck and tied into a sporty ponytail, but there were strange streaks of emerald green that cut through the ck.


    "Pretty," whispered Jeanne.


    The woman knelt to Jeanne''s height and smiled. She had a friendly face with soft features. Faint lips, a button nose, and round eyes that clearly reflected her warmth of spirit. "Thank you, little one, but looking at you, when you grow up, you''ll be a much finerdy than I."


    "Won''t she?" said mother proudly.


    Jeanne blushed and looked away. She had always thought herself so awkward and round and dirtypared to her mother who shone like the sun, ever beautiful, ever calm.


    The woman led them to her house. It was a cottage, and under the faintntern light, she could make out a field behind it with nts with tall wheat. She did not like wheat fields. The tall and packed stalks made her feel ustrophobic, like they were towering over her and ready to copse on her.


    "It''s not much, but I hope it will do," said the woman.


    "You tend to fields though you are a herbalist?" said mother.


    The woman shook her head as she withdrew a pair of bronze keys from a waist bag and fiddled the cottage door open. Inside, a roaring firece emanated tempting heat and light. "No, that rough work is my husband''s domain."


    Jeanne held mother''s hand, and by the way it tightened, she knew that mother wanted to go inside, but mother held back.


    "Are you certain your husband will be fine with this? I thought we would be sleeping in a stable or shed."


    "Nonsense." The womanughed. "He is out on a hunt right now, but if he were here, he would have weed the two of you with open arms. Come in and make yourselvesfortable. I will prepare you something to recover from the long ride."


    _____________________________________


    Jeanne had a restless sleep, waking up often in the cottage room. A big window let moonlight flow in, which she was thankful for, because she hated the dark. But more than that, mother had gone to talk with the cottage woman and hadn''te back to sleep by her side, and Jeanne couldn''t sleep properly without her.


    The cottage woman had made Jeanne and mother a drink out of herbs, and though Jeanne hated herbs and thought it would taste foul, it was surprisingly sweet, like the honeymilk that mother sometimes bought for Jeanne, though recently there hadn''t been enough coin to spare for that.


    The herbal drink gave Jeanne a burst of energy, and this coupled with her mother''s absence, made it impossible to sleep properly.


    But Jeanne didn''t mind much. Mother had always told her to be brave and stand up to the struggles the world threw at her, and she figured she was doing a good job by neverining that she wanted honeymilk every now and then.


    An hourter, though, and Jeanne, wrapped up like a miniature monk in warm animal skins, shuddered not because she was cold, but because mother had been gone for so long. She scooted to the wall, pressing her ear to it, and she could hear murmurs as mother and the woman continued to talk.


    Jeanne quietly put the skins down and creeped to the door. Mother talked a lot with people, people they never saw again as they travelled, but even so, mother never let her hear what they ever talked about.


    A lot of the time, mother would talk to people in hoods, and those scared Jeanne enough that she usually didn''t want to stick around to hear anyway. She always admired mother for being brave enough to stand up to the hoods.


    Jeanne knew mother wouldn''t like it if she sneaked out of the room while she was talking, but Jeanne couldn''t wait any longer. On her tiptoes, she gently opened the door, hoping it wouldn''t creak. It didn''t, and she made her way out, hiding behind a bookcase.


    Though all she could see was dark wooden walls in front of her and the faint light of the firece in her periphery vison, she could hear mother and the woman''s voices clearer now.


    "And where will you go?" said the woman.


    "North." Mother''s voice. It sounded tired. Quiet. Wavering. Jeanne was surprised. Mother''s voice usually never sounded like that. "Past Montagne. The Elves still have temples dedicated to the old light, so I am certain they will take me in."


    A pause.


    "Nonsense," said the woman firmly. "You will never make it that far. Even if you did manage to get to Montagne, crossing the mountains will require far, far more than healing spells, and with the ongoing purge, nobody will lift a finger to help you. And the elves are a gamble. They may worship the old light, but they will have no pity for a southerner such as yourself."


    "And how would you know?" Mother sounded almost angry.


    "Then look upon me, and you will know I do not speak of matters I know nothing of." There was a rustling sound, and then an audible gasp.


    "You, you''re¡­," said mother. Mother was usually never surprised. Jeanne wanted to leave her hiding spot, her hands starting to sweat, but she resisted the temptation.


    "Yes, I admit it," said mother after a moment. She sighed. "It is folly, but I must still leave. I must continue north, somewhere far, far from here. They may find me, but if I can just go far enough north, then they will not find her, because if they do find her-"


    Mother''s voice caught in her throat.


    "I know," said the woman, herforting, sing-song voice back again. "I know."


    "I am a terrible mother. For what I am to do, no amount of prayer will ever forgive me."


    "For what you <em>have</em> to do." The woman''s voice became firm again. "I know not the doctrines of your god, but I would never hold this decision against you. It is the right one, no matter how painful it may be, and you have my word that she will be taken care of."


    "I hear that an oath made by your kind is never broken. Please, tell me that is true."


    "It is."


    Another pause. Jeanne thought about going back to the room, but then she heard mother starting to sob.


    "I can''t do this," said mother. "I cannot."


    Jeanne could not bear it any longer and burst out of her cover. It hurt her so much to hear mother crying because mother never cried, no matter how penniless or tired or hurt they got, and so something really, really big must have happened to get her like this.


    "Mama, what''s wrong?" said Jeanne as she came up to mother sitting next to the woman around a small table. Jeanne tried her best tofort mother by running up and hugging her waist, but mother, cried even harder, her belly heaving up and down as she took in quick breaths in between sobs.


    Jeanne started crying too. She did not know why, but she couldn''t help herself seeing mother like this. When mother reached down and felt Jeanne''s tears with her soft and warm fingers, mother stopped crying immediately, almost like a switch had been flipped.


    "I''m sorry, my little sun, mother was just a little tired." Mother ran a hand through Jeanne''s hair, tousling it. She hunched over and picked scooped Jeanne up in her arms. "You must have been so very lonely. Come, let us go to sleep."

 Chapter 75 - Mother II

    The next morning, mother and Jeanne said their goodbyes to the woman. The woman saw them to the main road, and mother curtsied while motioning Jeanne to do the same. She had always taught Jeanne to curtsy, how to grab a dress or garment at exactly the right height and to bow just at the right angle. Mother had said all properdies should know how to perform one, and by now, Jeanne thought herself pretty good at it.


    "And say thank you to our host," said mother.


    Jeanne nodded and smiled at the woman. "Thank you, uhm¡­"


    The woman patted Jeanne''s head with a smile. "Aine. That is my name. Try and say it."


    "On-on-" Jeanne stopped. The name sounded like ''onion'', but that wasn''t exactly how the woman had said it. The name was not like anything she had heard before.


    "Pardon me, little one, my ent bleeds in when I say my name," said Aine as she giggled at Jeanne''s attempts. "This should sound much easier for your tongue. Here, say it like this: An-ya. Anya."


    "Anya," said Jeanne without trouble. That was far easier to handle. She smiled proudly, and Aine nodded in approval.


    Then, Aine looked at mother, but mother could not meet her eyes.


    "The coin and elixirs shouldst you three weeks," said Aine to mother, motioning to the waist pouch that now rang full and heavy with coins, and mother nodded weakly. "I wish you nothing but luck."


    Aine gave mother a long parting hug before sending them off.


    _________________


    Jeanne skipped around the streets of Riviera in glee. Mother followed close behind her, making sure she didn''t get into serious trouble, but for once, mother did not stay ahead of her, always stopping her from going here or there, so she explored.


    This was the first time Jeanne had ever been in a real city. In her whole six years of living, she had never stepped foot in anything bigger than a small town. Most of the time, she had lived in little viges, and never long enough to get to truly know them either.


    As a result, she had grown up friendless and clueless about much of the world, but she knew that as long as mother was at her side, she would want for nothing.


    Jeanne held a small mug of honeymilk in one hand and gnawed at a soft chunk of fluffy white sweetbread at the other. Mother had bought her anything she wanted today, and that had put her in a wonderful mood, the sugar fueling her excitement as she took in the many sights and sounds of the bustling city.


    There were so, so many people and so many buildings that were so tall and it seemed like she could spend an eternity here and never get tired of it. There were enough people here to fit a thousand viges, Jeanne thought, and the buildings all looked like the towering and sparkling pces that mother had told her about in her stories.


    Jeanne ate and drank her fill of sweets, let street performers wow her with tricks like breathing fire or walking on thin stilts, and listened to bards for the first time, watching with mesmerized eyes as they sang with closed-eyed passion, their fingers strumming at their instruments.


    All throughout, mother had smiled at her and even encouraged her to explore. Most of the time, mother never let her approach strangers or wander around, but today was an exception, and Jeanne made the most of it.


    But when the sun began to set, mother called Jeanne back and led her to a quieter part of the city by the docks. There, they came upon a big but in building. Unlike the stores that had shy and colorful signs, the only sign the building had on it was a rickety old que carved with the image of a nondescript spoon. Its wood had started to chip in many areas while any decorative painting at its walls had long since been stripped away.


    The building gave Jeanne an uneasy feeling, and she didn''t like it much.


    There, mother had knocked on the door, a wooden, rickety old thing painted blue, and an elderly woman had appeared wearing a shabby apron dress. She was small and squat with wrinkly, squinty eyes and big hands.


    "Matron," said mother with an acknowledging nod.


    "Sister Lumi," nodded the elderly woman. They exchanged quick but knowing looks. The elderly woman gave a grave stare to Jeanne before her head swayed form side to side, her grey eyes flitting about nervously. After this moment of caution, she opened the door wider and said, "Come in, quickly. I have made your arrangements, but there are still some topics left to discuss."


    The old woman led them through a cramped corridor where the floorboards creaked at every step and into a small study.


    The building smelled like salt and fish, and Jeanne did not like it at all. She clung tightly to her mother, to the warmth and scent of lc and honey, but mother pried her apart and told her to wait outside the room while she talked with the old woman behind closed doors.


    Jeanne sat next to the door for the better part of an hour, but she didn''t try to eavesdrop. Mother had done so much for her today, so she wanted to be a good girl and not do anything wrong like sneaking around mother.


    Mother came out the room while Jeanne was ying with her hair, twirling it around her fingers.


    "Mama-," said Jeanne, wanting to ask where they were going next, but mother just hugged her. Tightly enough that Jeanne felt the breath leave her body.


    Before Jeanne could regain her breath, mother knelt down so that their eyes met. For once, mother did not seem tired, her eyes alert and rimmed with tears.


    "Jeanne, my little sun, my shining light," said mother with a trembling smile. "Mother will have to leave for a while. Matron Madelina here will take care of you while I am gone, and do not worry, she is a wonderful and nice woman. Far better than most."


    "Why? Where are you going, mama?" said Jeanne. She didn''t know why, but she felt her breathing quicken as panic began to tighten her throat.


    "Even I do not know, my precious little sun, but know that wherever I go, I will still always be with you in your heart and memories." Mother swallowed a deep breath and rubbed her eyes dry before gently embracing Jeanne. "Jeanne, I am so, so very sorry that the only life I could have ever given you was that of a fugitive, always running, always suffering, but know that this is not your destiny.


    You will be a shining sun that lifts this world from its cold sunset, my visions are certain of it, so be strong and always look towards a brighter future. Do not be like your mother who could only run from her past."


    Mother kissed her forehead before abruptly standing and turning around. Jeanne wanted to reach out to her mother, to tell her that she had no reason to be sorry, that she didn''t even know why she had to be sorry, but mother was already leaving at a pace that Jeanne''s little legs could never catch up to.


    "And I hope that one day you can forgive me."


    The blue door closed behind mother, and Jeanne rushed up to it, swinging it back open. She ran out the door, into the open, her head turning from side to side, but she could not find mother. There were too many people, but surely, one of them had to be her. She could hear Matron Madelina''s steps following behind, but the elderly woman could not keep up.


    "Mama!"


    Jeanne ran as fast as her legs could carry her, looking up at strangers faces to see if they were mother. As she looked at the faces of confused strangers, she felt mounting fear well up like a knot in her chest. Where before she had marveled at how many people there were, now she felt intimidated by the sheer mass of men and women, all of them seeming to loomrge and crowd against her, but she swallowed her ustrophobia down and kept looking and running.


    She didn''t want to stay in that strange building that reeked of salt and fish with the olddy that she had never seen before. She wanted to stay with mother, with her warmth and her love and her care and her sweetness.


    "Mother!" she started shouting as she ran through the darkening streets of Riviera, remembering how much mother had wanted her to speak proper. Maybe, if she spoke properly more, mother would forgive her ande back. She wanted desperately to say that she was sorry, that she would be good now, that she would never ask for honeymilk or sweetbread orin ever again.


    But in the end, mother never came back.

 Chapter 76 - Family

    ...


    "Those are my memories," said Jeanne as she rested her chin atop the Lerneas egg. The sun outside was beginning to set, and the firelight in turn becameparatively brighter, underlining her baby blues with flickering orange. She was pensive, lips smoothed into a straight line of thought and remembrance.


    "My memories of mother are few, but those are the clearest pieces I yet hold."


    "Your mother knew Aine?" said Li. He turned to Old Thane. "Did you know this?"


    "Aye, a little," said Old Thane as he continued to scratch his beard. "But Aine did not tell me much, only that she had made a promise to a desperate mother to make certain her littless was cared for."


    "That didn''t seem a little strange to you?" Li sounded inquisitive as he was mostly curious. He knew from Old Thane about the youth he had spent with Aine, but surprisingly little of their quiet and retired farm life.


    Li also had a general interest in what Aine was like. Her notes were methodical, precise, and taken with the intent to be reviewed and constantly used. As an academic, Li could tell how someone studied, and, by extension, thought by their notes, and she was remarkably simr to him in this regard. He would have liked to converse with her as an academic.


    "Lad, such a story was one of many thousands at the time," said Old Thane, his head shaking. "The years surrounding the secession were bloodied with turmoil. Grain from the Republic stopped flowing and Duvin had yet to clear its monstrous jungles to rece the lost crop. Many a mother let their weakest, youngest children starve. And those with weaker hearts left their children to the orphanages, unable to feed their young yet unwilling to see them waste away."


    "I see." Li nodded. "And Aine, seems she was from the north, or at the least, knew quite a bit about it. By any chance, was she an elf? Beastman? Spirit? Dragon?" He rattled off the species he knew to live in the north, at least ording to what he knew from the few books about the world that Aine had in her collection.


    Which,e to think of it, made more sense now. Aine had books detailing the history of the south, of its cultures and peoples. Those were the books of a foreigner wanting to fit in, and Old Thane, though he had crossed the border with Aine, wasn''t the type to pore over pages to get a sense of a new home.


    No, it was Aine, ever the schr, who had gotten those tomes to assimte with the southern humans.


    "Aye, I met Aine north. Saved her from a maddened ogre in the stonespires north of Montagne. We crossed down to the south together and never separated since then." Old Thane shook his head. "But anything other than human? Nay,d, I do not believe so. Before the secession, times were different. Quite a few human men and women lived north, and the border was not guarded with such irond will. Perhaps she was more than human, yet never did she mention it, and never did I find reason to ask."


    "I see." Li nced over to Sylvie and Azhar and saw that they were unsurprised by Jeanne''s memories. "I take it this isn''t the first time you two are hearing this?"


    "No," said Sylvie. "We''ve always known that Jeanne had a connection to Aine and this house. She led us here, after all, once we noticed she sometimes sneaked out and came back with a full stomach and new clothes."


    "Ain''t that right. Wasn''t everyday that a run of the mill orphan got shoes without holes in em''," said Azhar.


    Jeanne smiled at the two, her previously stiff expression fading into a delicate smile.


    "Look at that," said Li as he pointed to Jeanne.


    Jeanne''s eyes widened in confusion while Sylvie and Azhar scrutinized the hero''s face to see what was up with it.


    "Your smile. You didn''t have it before." Li withdrew his hand, resting it at his knee as he gave Jeanne a knowing look. "Means you know where your real family''s at. So, what''s the issue? The duchess''s offer should mean nothing to you then.


    Jeanne nodded to Sylvie and Azhar, her eyes softening as she took a deep breath in. "I know, I know, but there is still a sense of¡­emptiness? There has always been a yearning within me to know who my father was. I have had it for years and years. I wish I knew what he meant to mother. What I meant to him."


    "Evidently not much." Li knew he sounded harsh, but it was just the truth. Sylvie looked at him concern, but he pressed on. He knew Jeanne, deep down, understood what was right, there was just an irrational part of her heart borne from so much abandonment that made her still want to know her father.


    "Think about it. Sunstar, if he is your father, has enjoyed decades of fame and praise. People think he''s a living god. They practically worship him. He''s had all the time and resources to try and find you, and he hasn''t."


    Jeanne bit her lip nervously. "I understand that too, and yet-"


    "I get it. You''re still curious. You want to give him a chance, especially because he''s someone you''ve been looking for your whole life. Let me ask you, what about your mother? What do you think about her? Can you forgive her?"


    "She, I havee to terms with. Though her loss pained my heart dearly, and, I must admit, my being still bleeds at the memory, I knew she loved me. When she left, I knew she had to; I knew she did it for me."


    "Exactly," said Li. "Family bonds are strong. Maic. They pull you in even when they should mean nothing." He raised a finger. "But in the end, they should always be supporting you. Pulling you up, even if there''s going to be pain. Your mother left you, but she did so to pull you up, to give you a chance in this world.


    But Sunstar? He''s promising to drag you away from the life you chose. From the family you chose. If he''s going to drag you down, then he''s not fit to be called family."


    Sylvie reached out to grab Jeanne''s hand. "Jeanne, all of us promised to change the world for the better, to ensure that the hardships we endured when we were young would never fall upon any more children."


    Jeanne nodded.


    "We knew that none of us could do that alone, so we promised to do it together. Together, Jeanne."


    Jeanne squeezed Sylvie''s hand. "I know, Sylv, I do. I would never abandon you two, I merely thought, perhaps, if I could just sit down and talk with him, maybe I could just...understand."


    "Li is in the right,ss" said Old Thane. "He seems to be absorbing more and more of my wisdom by the moment." The old man smiled for a second before growing stern. "Family is <em>there</em> for you. We have always been here for you, but that hero, however great he may be, however many feats of heroism he has performed, has nary held a single thought about you. I understand you wish perhaps to still talk with him, but I fear what little he has to say will but hurt you more."


    "Only family I ever had tried to sell me to an Arcana schr as spell fodder," said Azhar. "I sure as hell know if I ever saw their like again, it ain''t my lips that''d be movin'', it''d be my damn fists. Blood ain''t reason enough to be deservin'' your attention, Jeanne, let alone yer tears."


    Jeanne looked around the room, at the eyes of everyone that had given her support and advice, and breathed in, closing her eyes. Her expression became nk as her chest expanded, and as she exhaled, it was like she had breathed out all her worries and concerns. An untroubled smile graced her face as she nodded.


    "I don''t know what came over me." Jeanne took her hands and pped the sides of her temple. "There, I''m fine now. Why did I ever consider that request? To even talk with the man who left my mother to suffer for so long? Of course, a man of such foul character, no matter his deeds of greatness or faith, would have nothing of worth to say to me."


    "Cause your heart''s too big for your chest," said Azhar, shrugging. "Surprisin'' as that is."


    "Az, where have you been looking!" Sylvie punched Azhar''s shoulder lightly.


    "Hey now, I''m proud of my muscles, figured it''d be the same for women and-" Azhar''s eyes nced to Sylvie and her slender, but modest proportions. "Aight, I''ll stop while I''m ahead."


    Jeanneughed as Sylvie leered at Azhar, and the tension in the room dissipated, fading away as the talk shifted from an uncertain future to a happy past, ofughter-filled remembrances of childish antics on Old Thane''s farm, of loving reminiscence of Aine''s gentle and healing hand, of struggles in the orphanage where each of the three held each other up through many a scrape and bruise.


    And though Li had never been a part of this family, of a family tied to Old Thane from years before Li had shown up, he could still see that at the end of it all, it was still family.

 Chapter 77 - Wishes

    Li sat in the fields. He gazed at the moonlit heads of wheat now empty and stripped of their grain. They looked ghostly, like pale and barren bones sticking up from the ground. Thankfully, they did not seem to deteriorate as quickly as they grew. Once the life they nurtured ¨C the grain ¨C left their stalks, the wheat seemed to revert to normalcy.


    Zagan stirred beside Li as he gazed at the skeletal stalks of wheat. The demon had no concept of agriculture, but still nodded in appreciation of the mere fact that whaty sprawled before him was the fruit of his master''sbor.


    Li hade out here because he did not want to interfere with the family bonding that was going on in the cottage. He wasn''t part of that family, so he wanted to give them the time to talk among each other without the awkward presence of a third party involved.


    "Great One, a human presence disturbs us," rang Zagan''s voice in Li''s head.


    Li stood up and turned around to see Azhar watching him from the edge of the fields, his tanned body illuminated almost white under the full and heavy moon. The shaman ranger had his arms crossed and his gaze, normally straightforwards and confident, almost piercing, could no longer meet Li''s eyes directly.


    "Are you three leaving?" called out Li. "Give me a second. I''ll see you all out."


    Li walked through the wheat fields. He moved through the stalks with seamless movement, almost as if the wheat itself were bowing and parting for him. When he got in front of Azhar, the hintender nodded gravley to Li.


    "There''s that," said Azhar. "But I got something else to talk to you bout''."


    Li felt Zagan''s presence emanate from behind him as the demon trotted around his feet, but he waved his hand, indicating that there was no threat present. The demon understood, moving a distance away to lie down on soft, t grass.


    "What is it?" said Li.


    "You ain''t human, are you?"


    "Hm. I wonder." Li narrowed his eyes. "What makes you feel that way?"


    Azhar took in a stifled breath through his teeth. "When I tried to feel your soul, I damn near killed myself. Saw a storm of darkness ragin'' harder than any spiritual vortex I ever seen, all pure power and chaos and destruction. If I made even a single step further near that, it woulda'' torn me apart to a million pieces, swallowed up my soul whole and left nothin'' but a dumb and droolin'' husk.


    I got an idea of what you are. Some kinda god, that''s for damn sure, but not the kind everyone round'' here worships. You''re real old divinity. There''s waters round'' my home that''s got a mighty powerful evil inside it. Some of us hintenders get to dip our hands in em'' waters, part of a ritual to unlock our shamanism, and I felt the same dread there same as I feel from you."


    Li shrugged. "And what will you do about it? If I recall, the Adventurer''s Code means that you''re obligated to kill any monsters or inhumans that you feel pose not only a present threat, but also a future one."


    "Hells if I know," said Azhar. "You ain''t strikin'' me as the world endin'' type that them blind soothsayers toot their horns about. In that sea of cold ya got inside you, there''s some warmth in there, some of it that let my soul stay alive. And I ain''t no seer nor priest. I ain''t an expert on this kinda stuff, I only go with my gut feelin'', and my gut tells me you''re as good as theye."


    "Then we don''t have a problem, do we?"


    "Actually, we do."


    Li raised a brow.


    Azhar looked back at the cottage. The lights were still on, and through the windows, the happy shadows of figures making merriment flickered. He looked from the cottage to Li repeatedly, his expression growing increasingly more conflicted each time.


    Li waited. It was entirely up to Azhar how this situation would y out.


    Eventually, Azhar shook his head before prostrating himself on the ground, his forehead crashing into the dirt. Li was surprised, but he did not show it, and instead waited for Azhar to exin himself.


    "I ain''t never prayed to a god in my life before, but I''m doin'' it now. I don''t know what you want, what you need, but I''ll give ya my prayers, my faith, whatever it is, if you can keep em'' two safe."


    Li remained silent, taking in the turn of events.


    Azhar, feeling the silence, continued to exin himself. He raised his head from the ground to look at Li, specks of dirt clumped on his forehead. Upon his face was earnest drive, his pridepletely wiped away with an almost desperate look.


    "My life ain''t worth nothin'', but they''ll change the world, I''m damn sure of it, so they gotta live. When I was young, I made that same promise with em'' to make the world better, but I only ever made it to stay with em''. At the end of the day, I ain''t care bout'' nothin'' except their safety and where my next meal''s gonnae from. But they''ve got real dreams and real drive and, most important of all, real strength.


    I''ve reached my peak. I can feel it ¨C I ain''t gonna get much stronger from here. But Sylv? She trains all day, gets better every moment. Jeanne''s already way ahead of us, damn near ahead of being human entirely. Compared to them, I''m just an orphan lowlife. Soon enough, I ain''t gonna have the means to keep em'' safe, and when that happens, I want to know I can pray to a god that''s gonna actually do somethin''."


    Li shook his head and knelt down. He ced a hand on Azhar''s shoulder. It was almost aforting gesture, but Li''s next words were, "You''re a fool."


    Shock wreathed Azhar''s face.


    Li patted Azhar''s shoulder before he stood up. "You don''t want a god, you want a wishing machine, and I can''t be that. I have my own responsibilities on this farm.


    If you truly care about them, then it''s your responsibility to do as much as you can for them. You''re giving up while they''re training and improving themselves every single day. You say they have drive and dreams, but there''s nothing stopping you from finding your own.


    Stand up ande back to me when you''ve done everything, and I mean absolutely everything, you can yourself. Before then, heed my words: all I am to you is just a farmer."


    _______________________________


    The next morning took on an idyllic pace for once. When Li had left, Old Thane had broken out drinks, and, surprisingly, he had drunk enough to get himself to sleep in today. Triple Threat had left promptly without much issue. Azhar hadn''t responded to Li, but he had given Li a nod of determination that Li took to be a good sign.


    For now, this stable farming life would still go on. Li couldn''t re-nt the fields just yet with all the wheat stalks lying around, and though he could technically get the Myrmeke to drive the stalks all underground, he wanted to do everything rted with the nting process with Old Thane again.


    So for today, Li decided to man the stall again with Iona.


    "It is good to see you again," said Iona as she worked at the table, piping drops of herbal extract into this beaker and that. The sound of boiling water bubbled throughout the stall and a sickeningly sweet smell cloyed heavy in the air. Today, they were making more healing mixtures again, and they tended to smell better than other ones.


    "Good to be here as well. How''d you hold up without me?" Li sat at the counter, a bored hand supporting his chin. Business today was slow, very likely because, as Triple Threat had informed him the night before, the duchess and her royal escort were leaving Riviera, and even her leaving was an event worthy enough to draw the attention of all the citizens and adventurers.


    "Not well, no. Not many adventurers roamed the woods the past few days, so I could not sell as many elixirs as you would have liked."


    "I don''t really have strong feelings about how much we sell. It''s more that I enjoy the work. Reminds me of mybwork. And when did you get hung up over mortal concepts of selling and buying?"


    "An adventurer, though I despise their kind, exined it to me. Due to that Lerneas incident, few were willing to venture to the woods in recent times, and with no dangerous ventures came no need for our elixirs." Iona shrugged before stirring a boiling beaker filled with smoking green liquid.


    "He questioned why I made more elixirs while none bought our current supply. Said it would sink our business even further in these trying times. Offered to finance us through a¡­contract? Though I doubt he was speaking of a spiritual one."


    Li rolled his eyes. "What did he look like?"


    "All humans look rather simr to me." Iona paused for a bit as she remembered. "Hm. He wore shining armor and wielded a shield."


    "Oh, that exins the talk about a contract," said Li. It was Launcelot and his desire to get exclusive ess to their elixirs while at the same time satisfying his noble and generous heart by financing a stall that he probably thought was failing.


    Li wondered why Launcelot was already up and about, going into the Winterwoods even when he had been so thoroughly beaten by the Lerneas just two days prior, but he didn''t pay it too much mind. There were more interesting matters at hand.


    "Anyways, you don''t have to pay attention to him all that much." Li withdrew the duchess''s seed pouch from his pocket it and ced it on the counter. "When you''re done with that batch of [Restoration], there''s something I want you to see."


    ___________________________


    Li watched as Iona sat on a stool in front of him. She had her pale hand outstretched, the golden wheat seeds he had saved piled atop her palm. Her eyes were closed as her amber hair began to flutter as she focused on the seed''s life signature.


    Li had closed the shutters for the stall as he figured there wasn''t going to be much business today anyway, and he kept close attention on Iona, waiting for her response. He noted that though she looked far better than she did back at the test, when she was all skin and bones, she hadn''t recovered much more from filling out just enough that her ribs didn''t poke through her robes.


    Iona opened her eyes wide, her mouth screwed into a questioning frown.


    "Where did you get these?" she asked with more urgency than Li was used to hearing.


    "Why?"


    "These are utterly, how should I put it, alien, yes, yes." Iona nodded twice. "They do not hold the signature of any life I have ever known."

 Chapter 78 - Seeds And Scrolls

    "Exin," said Li. A crease lined his brows. This first harvest, he had kept an incredibly close eye on the grain to see whether it had any harmful effects. Though he doubted this, because the duchess would immediately know he would give them a visit, and it seemed she actively tried to prevent provoking him at absolutely all costs.


    In that regard, Li did acknowledge the duchess. She had spent decades in absolute power, presumably also used to holding the strongest military force in the entirety of her duchy. That kind of power usually went to people''s heads, made them more reckless, more prideful. But she kept an unassable cool, never once attempting to challenge or step on Li''s toes.


    Li highly doubted the duchess would have given him probable cause to confront her with these seeds. It was far too obvious and heavy-handed.


    Iona picked apart one golden seed from the tiny pile and held it to her eye. Her brown pupils widened as she cocked her head.


    "In the sense that I hold no knowledge of this grain," said Iona. "And I have lived many years spread across both north and south, taking in the unique song of the forests in eachnd. This grain holds no melody that I know of, no basic tune representative of any region."


    "I see." Li nodded and then asked the more pressing question. "Can you tell if it''s dangerous any?


    His voice was rtively casual. He sincerely doubted the duchess would ever make it dangerous, but if she had, then he would have preferred that. A good excuse to confront her.


    Iona let the single kernel drop back into the pile. She shook her head. "Not at all, no. I should be more urate, though. The wheat is not entirely alien. Here, why don''t you try?"


    She pinched a kernel and walked it over to the counter, dropping it in front of Li. She then produced another kernel from her palm, but this one was different, a little darker and less golden, and put it side by side with the duchess''s grain.


    "Hm?" Li looked at her questioningly.


    Iona pointed a pale and thin finger to the two kernels and smiled. "You wished to learn how to cultivate your nature as a forest spirit, no? I have always found that an on-hands method is the most effective to teaching."


    "Now where''d that overly respectful tone go?" said Li as a joke. He could see now that in the way that Iona smiled and how her voice immediately became more confident, rising from its usually meek and energy-deprived husky whisper, that she had some passion in teaching.


    Which made sense, considering she was willing to set her prejudices against mortals aside to teach them the olden ways of herbalism.


    Iona immediately wiped her smile away and bowed her head. "Forgive me, O guardian."


    Li waved his hand. "I was just joking. Now, tell me what I''m supposed to do."


    Iona nodded, her smile returning, though fainter than before. "Please, hold out both your hands."


    Liplied, and Iona dropped a kernel in each hand. "Close your hands around them. Then listen as you tried before with the flowers."


    Li closed his hands around the kernels, feeling them dig against his flesh, but he had a question before he did this. "Before I start, I need to know. The guardian you previously worked with must have been something simr to a god, no?"


    Iona cocked her head. "Old Dagda? Yes, he was divine, as are all guardians. The burden of an entire ecosystem cannot fall upon mortal minds and shoulders, after all."


    "You know the four gods, don''t you?"


    "Most certainly. The primal ones, yes, though to them, spirits such as ourselves are not truly beholden to, though we do give them homage by utilizing the magic they founded."


    "Would you say your guardian, this Dagda, was just as much a god as them?"


    "I cannot say for certain. I am far too young to have met them. But divinity wise, I should say Dagda was just the same as the four gods, merely differing in the scale of their power and domain. Where guardians such as Dagda shepherded forests, the primal ones shepherded the entire world, nting the seeds of magic and civilization."


    She shook her head. "It is a shame that the primal ones did not foresee that some of the seeds of civilization they nted would grow so rotten."


    "I see. At the crux, though, they''re all gods just the same. Then tell me, did Dagda ever¡­disappear? Ascend to a different realm? Has any forest spirit?"


    "No such case. Guardians wither with the centuries, but their roots are always there to rece them." Iona looked at Li with concernced with fear. "What is the matter? Do you wish to leave this ne of existence? If so, I am ready to beg that you stay. The world needs you, and-"


    Li shook his head, quelling her mounting concern and panic. "No, I have every intention to stay here. Don''t worry about it. I know what I need to know now."


    He was curious about the world''s exact mechanisms. He wanted to know what he had to do in order to get whisked back to Valhul, and this ruled out divinity. Or at the least, forest spirit rted divinity. Perhaps it was his eldritch side that allowed the world to sense him?


    In any case, he had ruled out one potential variable, leaving him free to exercise the powers of his spirithood.


    "Let''s get back to the lesson," said Li. He didn''t give Iona time to ask him questions, not wanting to needlessly worry her. "I have a feeling I know where you''re going with this. You want me to try and listen to each kernel and then figure out the differences."


    Iona paused for a few seconds before nodding, epting Li''s decision. "Yes, that is precisely so."


    Li closed his fist around the ordinary grain and focused. His eyes shut, and he tried to focus as much of his superhuman senses into his hearing. Of course, he wasn''t physically hearing, but he realized that wanting to hear was a good trigger to activate his spiritual hearing.


    Once again, Li frowned as his hearing dulled, like he was trying to make out sounds underwater. He could hear the beatinging from the grain, but it was garbled, distorted, and muted with static.


    Opening his eyes, he said, "Nothing. Too muted. Just like before."


    "Try again. I will assist you, this time." Iona reached out her hands and wrapped them around Li''s fist. Her hands felt cold, but that coldness sharpened his senses. "Though I am not your root yet, spirits such as us are still capable of some level ofmuning, though I worry that your greatness may be far too much for me to meaningfully affect."


    Li closed his eyes and listened again, and this time, he could feel the chill resonating within him, through his spiritual hearing, numbing out the muting static. The sounds were still faint, but he could now make out a distinctive song echoing from within the kernel, from deep within that tiny little seed so full of potential to sprout life hundreds of times bigger than itself.


    "I can hear it," said Li, somewhat surprised. He opened his eyes and saw Iona trembling, her breath shaky. The dark bags under her eyes became entuated, and it almost felt like she had gotten thinner than she already was.


    "Do not mind me," she said. "For spirits tomune, the channels we open flow both ways. I thought you simr to Dagda, so I did not brace myself properly for the iprehensible volume of power residing within you. It is entirely my mistake."


    "Take it easy." He saw her reaching for his other hand, and he pulled back. "If you want me to learn, then I can''t be worrying whether you''re going to drop dead on me."


    Iona took in a breath and rolled her wispy shoulders around. "It is fine. I have adjusted. I could not bear it if my weakness held back your growth."


    Li read Iona''s face, making out a nod of determination, her eyes set at a level and firm stare with him.


    "Alright, I trust you. Let''s try it out for the mystery grain here," said Li as he began to close his hand around the golden wheat.


    A shuffle of various footsteps approached the stall.


    "I''m-I''m not interrupting anything am I?"


    Li looked to see Sylvie nearing the stall, Jeanne and Azhar behind her.


    "Not at all," said Li. He nodded to Iona, motioning with that nod to the worktable where there were various elixirs readied. "Need something for your new hunt? Though I only have some basic healing stuff for now."


    Last night, when Li and Old Thane, drunken and shaky and leaning on Li''s shoulder, had seen Triple Threat off, they had talked about their next big adventure. As a gold-ranked team, they out-leveled most of the treats in Riviera now, so they headed down south, near Duvin, thend of mystical vines and fields, where a nasty Gigantopede had made a nest in one of the most profitable vineyards in Soleil.


    The hunt was time sensitive, but Triple Threat still a couple of days to prepare in Riviera before they had to make their way down, and during that time, Li figured they would try to get themselves ready as much as possible, taking the right elixirs and equipment as anypetent yer would.


    "I¡­suppose," said Sylvie as she looked past Li, to Iona. "You two seem to know each other well. What was that whole hand holding exercise, if I might ask?"


    "Trade secret," said Li. He unclenched his fists and let the grain kernels drop on the counter. When he saw Sylvie''s quick eyes track them, he said, "But I''ll fill you in: it''s an exercise for getting to know the nts you work with."


    Li saw as Sylvie visibly exhaled in relief.


    "I''m assuming you haven''te here to buy some cheap [Restorations]," he said. "Gigantopedes are no joke. You''ll need some higher-ranked elixirs to guarantee you take it down safely."


    "That is correct," said Sylvie as she regained her usual analytical and steelyposure. She started to list off elixirs. "[Truesight], [meward], [Antivenom], and [Stillness] are what we need."


    "Good choices." Li jerked a thumb up where a wooden sign was nailed below the que that read Arboretum. "But none of those are in our inventory. We don''t have any of the ingredients to make them either."


    "Will you take special requests?" said Sylvie hopefully.


    "For amissioning fee, sure," said Li. He wanted to drive a hard bargain because, though it wasn''t the end of the world if he didn''t make money, that didn''t mean he would give up chances either. "And the ingredients?"


    "We can hunt them down in a few days at most." Sylvie looked behind her, making sure her teammates were a distance aways, out of earshot.


    "We have a deal, then. To be honest, I''ve been getting tired of making basic stuff."


    Sylvie nodded before leaning in, tip-toeing so that she could get closer to Li''s height. She started to whisper, "And the scrolls and manuals? What did you make of them?"


    Li figured the conversation woulde to this. As agreed upon, she had dropped the items she studied off of to Li so that he could decipher them. Considering he had Allspeak as one of his racial traits, that wasn''t all too difficult.


    But what he found was quite interesting, to say the least.


    "I read them. But telling you about what I found will take quite a while. Make sure to drop by the cottage tonight."

 Chapter 79 - The East I

    Li nodded out a goodbye to Triple Threat, a slip of paper listing the elixirs they needed wedged in his palm. He watched as they made their way down the main road, Jeanne nudging Sylvie''s shoulder teasingly while Azhar walked while whistling, blissfully unaware.


    The image of the three strolling down with their armor and weapons let Li remember a past where he had done just the same, adventuring and questing with friends from a different world. He had liked that life, but at the end of the day, it didn''tpare with how fulfilling it was to be able to tend the earth around him.


    To that end, Li went back to training his divine powers with Iona. He wasn''t doing this just to bnce out the twin natures of life and death housed within him. He had a fair amount of anticipation for this, as he figured that by tapping into his forest-rted godhood, he could take his farming into an entirely new realm. He could grow anything he wanted and at will, and the appreciation he felt for the nature around him would only grow and be more sensitive.


    "Let''s get started again," said Li as he took his seat on the counter and grasped the duchess''s special grain kernel.


    Iona nodded as she went by his side, her hands reaching out for his. Li shook his head and said, "There''s no need for you to risk yourself again. I think I''ve got the hang of it."


    Iona raised a brow before she stepped back, bowing her head and watching as Li closed his eyes as he felt for the grain''s life song. At first, he could hear the usual static and muted beating, but then he recalled the chill that Iona had imparted on him, recalling how it felt, how it seemed to just numb away all the distractions.


    It wasn''t hard. After all, Li wasn''t learning anything he didn''t have. He was gaining control of abilities alreadytent within himself and merely ignored up until this point.


    "Can you hear it?" said Iona.


    "Yeah." Li nodded as he opened his eyes. He looked down at the gleaming golden kernel at his palm. "The song is very simr to the one from the grain you grew with just a few differences. I thought you said this was alien to you."


    "I thought you would say that." Iona smiled. "Allow me to exin. The songs of nts that are rted share amon base. The wheat I produced is a mundane winter variant from Duvin, but since the golden grain you were curious about is also wheat, it stands to reason that they share a simr base structure. It is in other intricacies they differ."


    "I see, then I''m assuming that even the subtle differences between these two grains is enough for you to call one of them alien to you."


    "That is correct, yes." Iona plucked the golden kernel from Li''s palm, rolling it around her pale and thin fingers. "Your spiritual ear is yet undeveloped, so you cannot tell, but the differences you hear are centered around growth, hence why one variant grows so stronglypared to the other."


    "Interesting." Li nodded. He didn''t have a strong attachment to music in his past life, but he knew the concept of training a musical ear to hear for different pitches and tones, and this spiritual hearing was remarkably simr. "This whole system is remarkably ordered, then. There''s a consistent basic structure for certain families of nts, and then variations in their qualities are marked by more subtle distinctions demarcated into categories like growth."


    Li could feel his more scientific curiosity pique, and he started to theorize.


    "As I recall, your method of growing nts from your being involves recalling the song of an individual nt and expending magical energy. Hypothetically speaking, would it be possible to alter these structures? Maybe alter ordinary wheat so that it grows at an elerated rate?"


    Iona held up the golden kernel. "That is precisely what this is. Natural variation in song structure is noticeable. The tune is more mellow, more fluid. This is a little jarring, forced. This is southern wheat that has been directly altered in some manner."


    "Altered? But there aren''t any forest spirits left aside from us."


    "That is another reason why I was particrly surprised. Mere spirits such as I do not have the authority to directly alter the base song of life. It is only guardians that possess such level of ess to life."


    "Then there''s the possibility there''s another guardian out there."


    "It is possible, yes, and yet the more I think of it, the less likely it bes. I have scoured this entirend for signs of guardians, and there were none. Perhaps this grain hailed from many years ago, when the guardians lived and they were kindly disposed to men and their farms, but now?" She emphatically shook her head. "Not possible."


    She sighed. "Forgive me, I have veered on a tangent. But yes, it is entirely possible for you as a guardian to both alter and create life. However, we must first work on replication before we move on to creation, and before replicationes foundation building through the memorizing the bases of life songs."


    Like this, they spent the rest of the working day until the sun began to set on improving Li''s spiritual abilities. Now that he could finally hear life songs even in his human form, he spent much time listening to the songs of various seeds, herbs, and flowers, getting a good feel of their bases.


    When Iona left that day, sheid out a ratherprehensive curriculum tailored to his needs that would bring his spirithood to a level where he was not a stranger to it but not advanced enough that it would significantly erode his humanity.


    Already, Li could feel a difference in himself. His eldritch powers left him increasingly callous and distant, but his spiritual abilities were warmer, allowing him to feel closer to the life around him, to appreciate it slightly more. Though, he could tell even now that he would never be the one to save everyone around him.


    Because, at the end of the day, he was a god, not a hero.


    _________________________________


    Early on into the night, while Li looked at the fields that Old Thane had managed to plough over despite his hangover, Sylvie came.


    Li was kneeling on the dirt, thanking the Myrmeke that hummed underground for helping Old Thane. If the old man had to actually get out there and manually dig up all the dirt while having to tear out each and every empty wheat husk, then Li was sure the old man would never have managed it in the span of a single day.


    But because Li had directed the Myrmeke to follow Old Thane''s bidding, all the old man had to do was lead the ant where he wanted to upturn the earth like some kind of advanced tractor. The soil was now fresh and rich again, smelling deeply of moist earth that had never felt the harsh light of the sun.


    "Easy now," said Li to Zagan as the demon stiffened up beside him, sensing Sylvie''s presence.


    Sylvie stood several meters away from Zagan, feeling obvious unease at the demon''s aura.


    Li looked back to Sylvie and waved her closer. "He doesn''t bite. Unless you make him."


    As if on cue, Zagan sighed before lying down, eyes closing in azy stupor. Sylvie took this as a good sign and approached. She also knelt at the dirt, right beside Li.


    "It is incredible how much passion you have for this," said Sylvie as she picked up a handful of dirt, letting it sift through her fingers in wonder.


    "Sometimes, a simple life is best.," said Li. "And here you go."


    Li had expected her toe, and he had carried with him the bag of scrolls and manuals she had given him. He returned it to her, and she hugged it dearly to her chest like it was a bag of precious gold.


    "How much could you decipher?" she said, ever curious.


    "All of it."


    Sylvie sighed in relief. "Did they maybe awaken some of your memory? I would be so very happy to know they helped you in any way."


    Li shook his head. "Like I said, maybe it''s better I don''t remember."


    "Still, if there is any way I can help-"


    Li raised a hand to stop her. "You shouldn''t worry about me. Let''s talk about what I found. First off, let me ask you, how much of these could you read?"


    Sylvie cocked her head. "The scrolls, I was able to mostly decipher. There is an eastern novel, the <em>Journey to the Sun,</em> that holds an Eldenian trantion. I was able to learn much of thenguage through it. The manuals, however, seem to be of a differentnguage, or at the least, the writing form is significantly different."


    "Impressive," said Li. She had managed to learn an entirenguage from using a novel as a sort of Rosetta stone, speaking volumes of her effort and passion. Full time linguists would have difficulty doing that over a decade, and she had functionally managed to learn an entirely foreignnguage in the span of what must have been just a few years.


    Sylvie smiled and perked up at thepliment. "Thank you."


    Li nodded. "You''re also right: the manuals are written in a differentnguage."


    Though Allspeak meant he could read and write universally, he could still tell when a writing system was different from another. The scrolls had characters that were small and easily written, each character indicating a vowel or consonant sound. In contrast, the manuals had few but borate characters where each one represented not merely a sound, but also an entire concept.


    "I thought so!" Sylvie nodded with understanding. "Bothnguages seem to write in ink and bark-based paper, so their cultures sharednd, and yet were distinct. Quite interesting. I must note that down for when I meet them. It would be awful to not recognize differences among the people in Xia."


    "That''s a topic I wanted to approach." Li knew he was going to essentially crush her dreams, but there was no way to delicately say this. "There is no East anymore. Or at the least, not like you think it. Where did you find the scrolls and manuals?"


    "I bought them at an auction in Trieste," said Sylvie, concern gracing her brows. "Sailors found them locked within a box floating at sea, far east, right where the Whirling Oceans and their impassable tempests begin."


    "Figures. That box was a kind of final message. The manuals have notes in them talking about the end of the empire. About widescale copse and irreversible destruction. If they got desperate enough to send some of their culture out just so that someone might remember it, then it''s pretty reasonable to say that the vision of the east you have in your mind is no longer.


    I know your dream was to visit the east, but there is no east anymore to see."

 Chapter 80 - The East II

    Li looked at Sylvie. Her face looked down, and her hair, untied now that she wasn''t out fighting or getting ready to fight, fell like silvery curtains that shrouded her expression. He gave her a few seconds to process the news before continuing.


    "I know your dream was to visit the east, but there is no east anymore."


    Sylvie looked up again with a smile delicate with sadness gracing her lips. She hugged the worn leather bag containing the scrolls to her even tighter. "Then that is all the more reason for me to cherish these. An entire continent''s hopes that they will be remembered lie in them, after all."


    Li nodded. She was idealistic, but she was not a delicate little branch either. Years of fighting for her life had definitely tempered her ideals. "You know, you took that a lot better than I thought you would."


    "Well, my dream is to travel the world, not just the east." Sylvie looked westward, her pale red eyes widening as she looked not at the grassy horizon, but beyond, tonds never before seen. "Perhaps I will go west, beyond the demonic furnds, or perhaps far north where they say the world ends, its waters spilling off into a great void of stars."


    "I was expecting you to feel a little more down." Li motioned to Sylvie''s bag. "There were pretty interesting and useful things in there that I was going to let you know to cheer you up."


    "And to think I thought you once quite cold," she remarked.


    "I like to think myself as reasonable, not cruel. Most of the time, at least. If I''m the one that''s going to be bringing you bad news, might as well bnce it out with some good, and here it is: most of the information in those scrolls, you can pretty easily learn. It''s all detailing the requirements for spells, skills, and sses."


    "I thought so. I could glean through most of the scrolls, and it did seem to me that they were all martial texts devoted to different paths ofbat. Unfortunately, only one of the scrolls dedicates itself to Assassins."


    "That will end up being a blessing for you," said Li. "Based on how much of that scroll you can read, I can probably write out a trantion in an hour or two. If you needed all three scrolls tranted, then I''m not sure I''d have had the time to do it."


    "Truly?" She sounded happy like a child given gifts on Christmas.


    "Consider this the minimum of what I''m willing to do to ensure you don''t go dying on Old Thane."


    Li knew he could do far more for them. Have invincible summons just tail them, never letting them ever face real danger, but then what would be the point of their lives, their struggles? It would also bring unnecessary attention to him, and in general, it did not sit well with him to just baby the people around him.


    He could guide them, but he would not hold their hands.


    He saw as Sylvie drew back a little, somewhat intimidated by the bare honesty of his words, but he did not want to give her any false expectations.


    "Now, the scrolls are the easy part. It''s the manuals that are rather interesting, even to me," he said, pressing the conversation forwards. He was sure the next part would pique her curiosity enough to ease her mind.


    The scrolls contained information Li was highly familiar with. All of it was game knowledge from Elden World. Many sses and skills required some level of roleying to acquire, and for a veteran expert like Li, it was not umon to be familiar with the requirements.


    Usually, It involved mundane mini quests. Learning an assassination skill, for example, might requirending the killing blow on five particr creatures at night time or something of that sort.


    In this world, the requirements were the same, yet there were also philosophical elements added about having the right mindset to learn these abilities, though he was not sure how much that actually mattered.


    An interesting thing to note was that there were guides for subsses like Sword Saint or Asura in there, and those were pretty high level, limited to those who were level 70 warriors. But of course, that was not the part that had truly interested Li.


    "The manuals," he said. "They talk about something entirely new. Something I''m not even sure you can learn."


    "Oh?" Sylvie started to learn forwards, her curiosity ring up and washing away all her reservations.


    "There''s an entirely new power system detailed in there. It''s not the magic you know about. Let me give you a rundown."


    Li exined.


    The manuals were iplete, but they gave a good idea of their content. Itid out a power system extremely simr to the kinds he knew about in Wuxia literature.


    It talked of cultivating qi and ascending realms to reach peerless strength and immortal refinement. This must have been where Sylvie had gotten all the misconceptions about flying immortals who could shatter mountains.


    Like the superpowers the heroes held and the strangely advanced technology the elvesmanded, it seemed the east had its own brand of unique strengthpletely unrted to Elden World.


    Li gave Sylvie a general exnation of the powers, but he did not go into detail.


    "In essence, the goal is to continually cultivate this resource called ''qi'' to grow more and more powerful. Think of it like a kind of super mana. Where for us, having more mana doesn''t necessarily mean we''re stronger, having more qi is a direct indicator of strength, among many other benefits."


    Sylve nodded her head as her eyes narrowed in focus. "This does align with what few records we have of Xia. The empire only ever graced us with one visit, when their admiral Zheng came with a small fleet filled with riches and eastern culture. Clearly, they wished to trade, but s, after that single visit, Xia never came back.


    But from what little we do know, it was known that the admiral remained youthful even at eighty, held immense might and prowess in a strange magic that none now can fathom."


    "That''s interesting," said Li. So just a hundred years ago, Xia was still doing well enough to send an envoy halfway across the world. He shelved that information forter, when he would try to contextualize it with what he knew about the empire''s demise.


    For now, he would try an experiment of his own.


    "Knowing your curiosity, I''m assuming nothing will stop you from wanting to learn this cultivation?" said Li.


    Sylvie nodded instinctively, but then said, "The manuals hold so very many pages. It would be impossible for you to trante them for me. I could not burden you with such a workload."


    "Take it easy. For this, I''m not going to be tranting. I''ll offer to teach you directly."


    Sylvie sat still in numb shock for a few seconds. "But...surely that will steal too much of your time?"


    "You''re not expecting me to drop everything I''m doing to teach you full time, are you?" Li pointed back to the main roads where the herbalist''s stall was. "I have that thing to run and the farm to manage, though Old Thane helps me out quite a bit.


    No, if I am going to teach you, it''ll be taken slow, over a long period of time. Little lessons here and there when you''re in town and when my work is slow."


    "Even for that, I would be eternally grateful." Sylvie trembled in happiness as she bowed her head up and down. "To be able to learn something new, something that may make me stronger, would fulfill all my wishes."


    "This isn''t exactly wish fulfillment. Everything is done in my spare time. It will take you a very long time to get through the manuals, and realistically speaking, all the effort is on you to learn.


    Functionally, I''m just a trantor, not a teacher. Now, let me get all the texts back so I can refresh my memory until you leave town."


    __________________________


    When Sylvie left practically skipping for joy, Li looked down at the manuals in his hands. They were thick paperbound books wrapped in faded gold string, and in surprisingly good condition. Unlike the scrolls, their pages were pristine and preserved, obviously enhanced with magic in some capacity.


    Li had not told her the full truth about what was in these manuals. He had told her they spoke of the east''s destruction, sure, and, as was his intention, it did sway her from wanting to visit the continent. What he had not told her was that the destruction was not a phenomenon, it was a person.


    A single cultivator who had risen to the top at any means possible, toppling warlords, dragon kings, and, eventually, the divine emperor. The manual even spoke about how the admiral had been called back to assist his emperor against the threat, and hisck of return to the west indicated how thoroughly the east had been razed.


    Though, considering this mystery individual hadn''t crossed the ocean in near a century, it was likely they weren''t an immediate threat or perhaps not even alive.


    Li was still absolutely confident that he was the strongest existence in this entire world. He had power to level most of it, after all, and, judging from context, the east was not that much stronger than the west.


    There were two distinct cultures and factions warring in the east, one utilizing Elden World abilities and the other cultivation, and they were seemingly rather evenly matched.


    Considering the scrolls spoke of the sword saint ss as the pinnacle of might, it stood to reason that nothing in the east would far exceed that realm of strength, and that realm wasughably below Li.


    But it was still good to be cautious. Li took a moreidback approach to the heroes here because he knew he far outssed the strongest hero they had, and if the duchess did truly have a convenient way of mobilizing a hero that could harm or incapacitate him, then she would have done so.


    He did not concern himself too much with the squabbles and scurrying of ants beneath him.


    But the east was still a little more unknown. He would see if Sylvie could cultivate and observe how the powers worked. How they interacted with magic. Mostly out of curiosity, really, not to mention it did not hurt to help her. And unlike Azhar who had wished for Li to wave his hand and grant them everything they needed, Sylvie had put in real effort to both obtain, trante, and train with the texts.


    Li stood from the fields, ncing at Zagan''s sleeping form. He was reminded of the potentially approaching demon king from the west.


    So a potential enemy from the west and from the east, huh?


    Li shrugged before he made his way back to the cottage. He did not worry, nor did he think much. The way he saw it, he would live his daily, peaceful life, and if either demon king or top cultivator wished dearly to die, then all they had to do was make their way to the farm where they would hopefully make for some good fertilizer.

 Chapter 81 - Infant

    Li took in a deep breath, enjoying the crisp early morning breeze and the fresh smell of newly upturned soil. He could hear Zagan''s breath rumbling like a minor earthquake from the side as the demon slept.


    Sometimes, Li felt it more fitting for Zagan to have been a herald of sloth, not greed, but at the same time, it was not like there was anything for the demon to really do aside from harassing the asional suspicious passerby.


    "You never do get tired of the earth, do you,d?" said Old Thane. The old man was squatting beside where Li knelt. Around them was their field, a swath of soil several shades darker and moister than the earth surrounding it.


    "Seeing as you haven''t gotten tired of it in twenty years, I don''t see why that''s surprising," said Li as he took a chipped trowel and scooped up a patch of earth. He made sure to carve out a neat hole with a depth of nearly exactly six centimeters before cing a golden seed at its center.


    "Haha, it is because I was a weary man tired of all else when I started working thend," said Old Thane as he mirrored Li''s movements. "You''ve much youth in you, and you''re godly strong. You sure you don''t want to go out adventuring a bit? Spend some of that youthful blood boiling in some mighty fine fights? With fine women?"


    "Don''t be ridiculous, old man. You know I wouldn''t be here unless I wanted to be."


    "Aye, just wanted to hear it from you."


    Old Thane smiled, and Li smiled back.


    "You know, for a veteran of a war and who knows how many adventures, you''re surprisingly needy."


    Old Thaneughed. "Aye, I''ve always been greedy. You should have seen in my youth. I''d have let nothing stop me from getting what I wanted. But age, like it does to all, has tempered by greed, but it is still mighty heartening to hear your words,d."


    "Talk is cheap, they say, but I always do keep my word." Li nodded to himself as he reached forwards and scooped up another handful of dirt. He thought of the oath he had made to Old Thane to grow this farm to heights so tall that none could ever forget it.


    And Li would. He had ambitions to expand the farm to more than it was just now. Thend surrounding the field was untended and empty. He could easily apply to take some of it over and start expanding their harvests.


    As he learned how to ess life, he would use his lessons in replicating and altering nts to slowly umte a vast variety of crops.


    But for the time being, Li was content to take it slow, working this one field with Old Thane at a deeply personal level. Therger the fields got, the harder it would be to have these conversations with him every day.


    Right now, they were both nting on different rows of the fields, but they worked at the same pace, and so they managed to keep up consistent conversation throughout as they went up and down the fields and up and down again, carving out neat, evenly spaced furrows dotted with nted seeds.


    Li gave a nod towards the main road where Iona sat at the counter, her chin resting atop her hands with a bored expression stered on her face. She had replicated the golden wheat the day before to keep the harvests going, but soon enough under her training schedule, he would progress in cultivating his spirithood to do that himself.


    "And that''s a wrap, boys! Mighty fine job, too."


    Li perked his head up as he watched Charles''s builders step back from the sides of the cottage. They had finished creating what were essentially greenhouses over and around the berry and herb gardens. ss was melted into a wooden frame that covered the gardens while a retractable roofy above, attached to the cottage wall.


    The greenhouses were open at the ends in consideration of the fact that the gardens, too, were likely to expand. The builders would only have to extend the frames to match however much the gardens grew instead of tearing things down.


    "Old man, I''ll catch up with you soon. I gotta go thank the builders."


    Li got up wiping his dirt-crusted hands on his trousers. He waved to the builders and moved over to congratte them and to hire them again to build a stable. The job would not be part of the free job that Charles had agreed upon, but he wanted to give the builders some paid work for their troubles.


    But before Li could even get the builders'' attention, something erupted out of the cottage wall, tearing berry bushes, smashing the greenhouse''s wooden frame, shattering ss and sending shards flying everywhere, and copsing the roof - damage that hopefully would be covered by some kind of warranty.


    The builders all gasped before they shrunk back, shielding their eyes with their burly arms so that splinters and ss pieces would not strike their eyes.


    "Already?" whispered Li.


    "What is it,d!?" Old Thane had alreadye to Li''s side, his speed surprising despite his age, and yet unsurprising considering he had kept a good chunk of his muscle.


    "The egg''s hatched."


    Under broad daylight, there wriggled the clumsy form of a baby wyrm. Although covered in amniotic fluids, the wyrm was surprisingly developed. Li knew that many reptiles were basically just miniature versions of their parents at birth, but he had underestimated what it was like when the reptile in question was the size of arge building.


    The baby wyrm was nearly half the size of a man. Its skin was a dark green, almost ck, and its scales were t and smooth. Its four legs were thinpared to its thick body. The legscked the cords of powerful muscle that had propelled its mother, so they trembled as it raised itself up. But its eyes were almost exactly like its mothers, fierce and gleaming with a feral yellow shine with intelligence hidden beneath.


    "Gods, a dragon!" shouted a builder. His eyes were so wide they looked like they were about to pop out of his bald head. He iled his arm out to the main road. "Quick, boys, call an adventurer, knights, something!"


    The wyrm red at the builder and its nostrils red, taking in the stink of fear and adrenaline: the smell of prey. Its instincts kicked in, and it opened its mouth, revealing a single set of needle-like teeth that, though not nearly as impressive as its mother whose teeth were like swords, could still rend an average human with no problem.


    Before the builder could scream, Li was already there, so quick that it appeared as if he had teleported. He knocked the builder back to stop him from being unnecessarily loud and stared at the wyrm. The wyrm sat on its haunches and cocked its head, ncing at Li with a questioning glint in its eyes.


    Thankfully, too, because if the wyrm had tried to attack Li, then he was sure Zagan would have immediately tried to unleash some hellborne fury upon the poor infant. Would not have been the worst thing the demon had done when considering his wartime stories.


    "That''s a good wyrm," said Li gently. He had no idea how to actually raise the wyrm, and its mother had given a very, very barebones exnation that essentially amounted to just letting the baby fight for itself, but at the least, he remembered there was an imprinting process involved.


    And, it seemed, judging by the way the wyrm had calmed down, that process had already happened.


    Li reached a hand out, holding it in front of the wyrm''s nose. He did not know how to train a wyrm, so he just tried applying dog training principles that he was familiar with. His family had raised a dog in their tiny apartment when he was young, and though it was utterlyughable topare that little furball to this beast, he figured some basic rules were the same.


    Like not petting over the head to keep the wyrmfortable and holding a hand out to get it familiar with his smell.


    But, to Li''s surprise, the wyrm ignored his hand and nuzzled straight into his chest, leaning its full weight into him with abandon. An ordinary man would probably have toppled over with this, but Li remained a rock-solid support pir, and he stroked his hand up and down the wyrm''s stubby neck.


    Like its appearance suggested, the wyrm was smooth. Its scales were far undeveloped. Especiallypared to its mother who held scales tough like diamonds and shingled like armor. Li could feel the wyrm''s heart beating against him, and its heartrate was slow, far slower than that of a human''s. The wyrm was surprisingly cold to the touch, too, and he realized that it, cold-blooded as it was, had wanted Li''s body warmth.


    "The good sir''s got it held down! eximed another builder. "Pick Thornn up and call a patrol down while the sir''s struggling!"


    Did this honestly look like a struggle?


    Li looked down at the wyrm nestled in his arms. Its eyes were beginning to slowly close as slumber took a hold of it. The creature was the very image of peace and calm, but at the same time, human fear was perhaps one of the strongest sources of irrationality in all of nature.


    "O-oh, it''s Triple Threat!" The relief was palpable in the builder''s voice, and Li decided he would let the team handle this situation for him. In the meanwhile, he would try and lull the wyrm to sleep to assess what he would do a little more calmly.


    "All of you, shut the hells up."


    Li looked back.


    Azhar faced down the builders. He stood just as tall as Li, so when he scowled down at them, the builders shrunk away. Jeanne and Sylvie stood a ways back, letting Azhar handle the situation.


    "I get that you''re all afraid, that you''re all ordinary folk, but ain''t panic gonna do you any good, ever." Azhar nodded over to Li. "He can tame creatures, but wyrms are sensitive monsters. If ya reek of fear-"


    He took a sniff of the air and crinkled his nose. "And trust me, every single one of you absolutely stinks of it, it''ll try and hunt you down like a cat with mice."


    Iona called over from her stall, her expression still bored and her chin still cupped in her hands. "For feeble hearts and impotent wills that will crumble under the slightest of threats, I have brews to help."


    "Hear that?" Azhar shooed the builders away. "We got this under control, so why don''t you all buy somethin'' for your nerves and take it easy. Adventurer''s guild oughta'' cover your day''s wages if ya file a report."

 Chapter 82 - Small Talk I

    Azhar''s presence let the builders fixate on something they believed was strong, and so they calmed down a little. Their tense and panicked movements went a little more ck, though their eyes still nced back to the nearly sleeping wyrm every so often as they tiptoed away.


    "This is covered by some kind of warranty, right?" called out Li as he pointed to the hole in the cottage and the destroyed greenhouse. "Legitimate ident and all."


    The builders stopped. "Ehrm, well, sir, I do not believe-"


    The wyrm in Li''s arms perked up, its head crawling over his shoulder to re at the builders. Its mouth opened, its teeth glistening in the sun as a guttural hiss began to rumble from the depths of its throat.


    "Looks like the kid''s rearin'' to eat somethin'',"mented Azhar, his voice nonchnt and observant.


    The builders stared at Azhar, taking in his words.


    "Yes, yes, sir, most certainly." The builder nodded five or six times to Li before turning to his flusteredpanions. "Right, boys?"


    The other builders nodded, and now that the responsibility of essentially giving Li a free job had now spread out among them, they felt much better about leaving, a few of them heading to the stall where they could probably down something for upset stomachs and shaky nerves.


    "Don''t all of you feel bad bout'' any of this," said Azhar as he waved the builders off. "Guild''ll cover ya, even for the new job, and if they don''t, then knock on my door. I''ll cover the difference. So scram, we got things to talk bout'' here."


    --


    The firece roared, making the cottage a little hot in the height of summer. But the hole in the wall let a nice breeze flow in every now and then. Li made a mental note to cover that up with a tarp before random critters and bugs came in, but honestly, so long as his presence was there and it registered pests as hostile, not even the tiniest of insects would dare to step in the cottage.


    "Oh, why doesn''t it like me?" Jeanne pouted as she tried to reach her hand again to the wyrm.


    The wyrm, resting its head on Li''s cross-leggedp, snapped at her hand, hissing.


    "Look at its head. Its so smooth and so pettable!"


    "Stop it, Jeanne," said Sylvie. She put a concerned hand on Jeanne''s shoulder. "You might get hurt."


    Jeanne pulled her hands back to herp, her armor cking with the movement. "I thought I had a way with animals with how the puppy liked me."


    Li raised a brow. She had an innocent optimism that prevented her from knowing that she very well might have died from picking up Zagan.


    "What''re you on bout''," said Azhar. He was standing, blow slung around his chest, eyes observant on the wyrm. "That dog was squirmin'' like it was gonna'' bite your head off. You ain''t got no sense of how wild animals can be, and yet it boggles my mind that ya got such a sharp sense bout'' huntin'' monsters."


    "Monsters and pets are different," said Jeanne.


    "Sometimes, the dividing line is mighty thin." Azhar nodded towards the wyrm. "Like her."


    "Oh, so its female," said Li. "There doesn''t seem to be any distinguishing features to tell male from female."


    "It''s the eyes." Azhar pointed at the wyrm''s eyes, and it tensed up when it saw the movement. "Look, now that it''s got attention on my hand. Eyes are glowin'' yellow, almost. Males got dull eyes. No shine."


    "I see." Li nodded. The wyrm''s mother had gleaming yellow eyes too. He had thought it was just a feature of the whole species, so it was interesting to learn more about the creature he was going to raise. "Speaking of, how do you know so much about it?"


    "Hintends are dragonkin country," said Azhar. "Our western borders hug the Mire Bogs where a whole hell of a lot of em'' nest up."


    "Azhar is also an expert on beasts and monsters of all kinds," said Sylvie. "When we separated for our adventurer''s training, he went to the southern guild of the bow."


    "Like how Riviera''s adventurer''s guild is the guild of the sword?"


    "Precisely." Sylvie nodded. "Of course, all three of us learned how to hunt monsters, but the guild of the bow has far more expertise in hunting, trapping, and all the knowledge of monster behavior and habits thates with that expertise."


    Azhar shrugged. "Ain''t much I learned down there, honestly. Lotta book smarts, mostly. Spent thest two years of my trainin'' in the hintends, with my people. Ain''t gonna find better hunters in the entire continent than there."


    "In summary, Az is amazing," said Jeanne. "He knows anything and everything about monsters."


    "Yeah, yeah, enough tterin''." Azhar motioned to the wyrm. "Keep the fire goin''. First couple of days, it''ll be cold and weak. It''s gotta stay near warmth. But afterwards, ya gotta make sure you get it outside and train it. Build up its legs. Buy up a supply of meat, cause'' that''s all it''s gonna eat, but try and get it to hunt soon as you can."


    Li nodded, remembering the information forter.


    "My aged heart beats in excitement," said Old Thane. "When the little lizard grows, perhaps I will be the first northman ever to ride a dragon, haha!"


    "Depends how much you push her," said Azhar. "It ain''t gonna get much bigger and stronger than thisunless ya get it to fight, risk its life, gets its heart beatin'', make it eat the flesh of strong creatures."


    "I see." Li recalled the Lerneas''s words about essentially just letting her child go to fend for itself in the woods. It seemed the mother wanted her child to grow as strong as possible, to face as many hardships and hunt as many strong creatures as it could to evolve to its highest heights.


    "Well then, what brings all of you here?"


    Sylvie scooched forwards, her legs tucked under her in her usual sitting position. She ced her hands atop each other on herp and straightened her back in a calm and elegant, distinctively eastern position.


    "We wanted to discuss themission andy out a timeline for it." She smiled. "And also to check up on you two."


    "Us,ss?" Old Thaneughed. "A farmer''s life is a simple one. Not like the rough tumble that is the adventuring way. We''ll tend thend and nt again today, as we did a week ago, and will do so for many weeks from now."


    "So if you need any elixirs, you''ll know where to find me," said Li. "Commission-wise, I just need the right materials and I can get the job done. With Iona helping me, it''ll only take a day, at most."


    "Hm." Sylvie had an almost imperceptible pause when she heard Iona''s name, but she continued. "We will be hunting in the Winterwoods and the Chattering Forest."


    "The chattering forest?" Old Thane scratched his beard. "Lass, that''s a half days ride south, and far more dangerous than the Winterwoods."


    Sylvie nodded. "That may be so, but we''ve decided to take some risks to obtain the necessary ingredients for a [Insectbane]."


    "A smart choice," said Li. "I wondered why you didn''t n on using that in the first ce if you''re fighting a Gigantopede."


    "Our party is distinctly unsuited for the chattering forests, so I thought the risks too high, but we will face even higher risks facing the Gigantopede without the elixir."


    Li searched his memory to pull up what he knew of the chattering forests. Where the winterwoods nked Riviera to the west and north, the chattering forests surrounded it to the south while the east had been cut down and cleared for the most part to give easy ess to the capitol.


    The chattering forests were, from the monsters described inhabiting it, higher level than the winterwoods. Around level thirty to fifty, potentially. It was so named because it was packed with insect-based monsters, and many of their parts could be used for crafting an [Insectbane].


    "That does make sense," said Li. He looked to Sylvie, then Azhar, then Jeanne. "All of you together are highly suited to taking down a single big and strong creature. But I get the feeling you wouldn''t do well with swarms of weak monsters."


    Sylvie nodded.


    "My, you have quite the sharp sight," said Jeanne, admirationcing her voice. "Were you perhaps an adventurer?"


    "No, but you don''t have a mage. It''s justmon sense that mages are the ones doing most of the spread-out damage."


    "Don''t underestimate Li,ss," said Old Thane. "Young he may sound; he has many years of experience and worldly insight under his belt. It surprises even me, sometimes."


    "You only get surprised because you''re forgetful, old man." Li continued talking to the adventurers. "Now, I''m assuming all of you are geared up because you''re on your way for this hunt?"


    "Yes, we will depart now to reach the forests by night when it is most active," said Sylvie. "But since we will be gone for the better part of two days, we wished toy out our ns so you know where we are and to discuss payment."


    "Five gold coins is the average price for a set of three [Insectbanes], but since you''re getting the materials for me and risking your lives, I''ll cut it down to two," said Li. "We can work out most of the payment rted details once you actually manage to get the materials here."


    "Enough talk about coins, the numbers do confuse my head," said Jeanne. "We wished mostly to know what you had nned for the future. If possible, now that we are free to do as we wish as a gold-ranked team, we want to be here for when anything celebratory happens."


    "Harvest wille again in three days," said Old Thane. "If that little thing be worth interest to you three."


    "Not just that, old man," said Li. Old Thane cocked his head in surprise.


    Li had thought about this yesterday after seeing progress with Iona''s training. He knew the farmer''s life was small, contained, monotonous and humble, but he had ns just a little grander than that.

 Chapter 83 - Small Talk II

    "I feel its time to expand the farm a little, what do you think?" said Li to Old Thane. The old man nodded slowly as he sat hunched over on a stool. The rickety stool seemed to small to support the old man''s impressive frame, but it had held up for many years, and would now.


    "Lad, I thank you for asking me, but the farm is more yours than mine now." Old Thane chuckled. "Never would I have thought myself seeing my farm shifting hands before mine very own eyes, but it is a far more enjoyable feeling than I would have thought just a year ago."


    "And I won''t let that feeling go to waste. You won''t regret letting me push this farm''s limits." Li began speaking to the adventurers. "I''m not entirely sure about milestones to celebrate, but as thingse pass, I''m sure those moments wille. For now, I''ll just give you a basic rundown of what my ns are and you three can decide from there what''s worth visiting for or not. Of course, you''re always wee to stop by whenever you feel like helping out."


    Li pet the wyrm in hisp with one hand and pointed towards the field outside with the other.


    "That field is just one acre." Li recalled details about the book of codifiedws that Aine had in her collection. "Thews state that independent farmers get five acres, but I know Old Thane had hisnd reduced to one after failing to tend to his entire lot properly.


    A good thing, too, because one acre gets taxed way less than five, and I''m sure that helped him get by before I got here. But now that I''m here, I fully intend to reim the other four acres, especially because nobody is really using it."


    Triple Threat nodded understandingly.


    "That''s just step one. There are farmers living around the city and working thend, but in my observation, they sit on their asses and do nothing." Li shook his head. "Functionally speaking, the farms around the city are useless. They''re here as emergency rations in the case that grain from Duvin or the capitol gets cutoff in a war, but there hasn''t been a war in twenty years."


    "That exins how rundown most of the farms have be," said Sylvie. "Certainly, there are a few around the city that run properly, but most I have observed seem to be empty farmhouses on overgrown fields."


    "We used to think all of them were haunted!" said Jeanne as she shivered, remembering their shared childhood.


    "Yeah, I saw them too. Those are what I call deadbeat farms," said Li. "Old Thane filled me in about them during one of our talks on the field. Made it obvious what he thinks of them too."


    "They waste thend," said Old Thane as he sighed. "For they know not how precious it is to be able to grow life, to live from the earth without needing to risk life and limb every single day, every single moment, on the hunt."


    "You give them a lot of credit, old man. They might not know anything about farming at all. Far as I can tell, they''re legitimately empty. Owned by the sons of farmers who fought in the war like you but have since passed on.


    Obviously, it appears that their sons would much rather be making money in the city than sitting on a piece ofnd for the rest of their lives."


    "But why keep the farm?" said Jeanne. "Surely thend could be used for better purposes."


    "Duchess''sws took out a lot of central power and gave more individual rights to themonfolk. The crown can''t just up and seize property without strong cause, and this leads naturally to people abusing the system." Li shrugged.


    "Farmers are considered essentialborers and taxed specially, so owning and farming a plot ofnd means the only tax you have to pay is the one owed by your harvest.


    If a farmer can''t pay their harvest tax like in the case of these guys because they let their fields rot, then they just pay a percentage of what their harvest should have been in coin, and let me tell you, when they downsize to one acre, that tax isn''t much at all.


    The rest of their ie? The businesses or building or whatever it is they do in the city gets by untaxed."


    "I understand," said Sylvie. "I know a farmer among the ranks of us adventurers who had his father''s farm passed down to him, and always did wonder why he kept thend despite never using it. I can see now."


    "Typical tax loophole abuse." Li said with a nonchnt voice. He had seen plenty of this in his past life where society was geared towards making more and more and more money. He had been part of it, too, havingwyer friends that advised him on how to give back as little as he could.


    "In any case, I want a piece of all that unusednd. I''m going to move to take it from them."


    "And how will you go about that, if I may ask?" Sylvie cocked her head.


    "I''ll directly ask these guys for theirnd. If they say no, then I''ll make them give me a good exnation why. If the exnation isn''t good enough, well, I''ll convince them somehow. Don''t worry about that part."


    Li fully intended to threaten these "farmers", and he believed himselfpletely in the right to takend that was never going to be used, but he did not want to have a debate on morality right now, so he kept it to himself.


    In any case, he would consider physically harming these people an absolutest resort to keep attention to himself minimal. If a little reason could work, then great, if not, then a little intimidation would do just fine, in all likelihood.


    Sylvie gave Li a knowing look before shrugging and nodding. That part about her where she was quick to pick up on what he was thinking or wanted was something he could appreciate.


    "Oh, I am certain they will see reason and listen to you," said Jeanne, and Li could only give her a somewhat pitying nod for her innocence.


    He expected Azhar to quip something about how people were terrible and wouldn''t listen to reason in his cynical manner, but the man was focused instead on the wyrm.


    "Something wrong with her?" asked Li.


    Azhar shook his head. "Nah, that ain''t it. Was just admirin'' her. When I went back home, there weren''t many dragonkin riders left among us. Too few of us and the kin were gettin'' way wilder than usual.


    But among the kin that I did see, there ain''t none that got the look in her eyes. Regr kin ¨C normal wyrms ¨C they ain''t got that spark in their eyes, ain''t much goin'' on between em'' other than instinct."


    Azhar raised a brow. "But her? She knows what''s goin'' round her." He tapped his head. "She thinks. Look at her, raisin'' her head at me cause'' she knows I''m talkin'' bout her."


    "Unsurprising, considering her mother," said Sylvie, almost bitterly as she remembered the hard-fought battle against the Lerneas. "You must take care to raise her right," she said to Li.


    "You don''t have to worry about that," said Li with a curt nod, fully knowing he knew nothing about raising the wyrm, but trial and error mixed with a healthy dose of confidence was a powerful tool he could rely upon.


    The wyrm peered around the room, at each of the faces that were not Li, with some suspicion, but no aggression as she could read from Li''s bodynguage that nobody was a threat. When her eyes set upon Li, she loosed a rumbling echo from her throat that almost sounded like a car engine starting as she closed her eyes and rested her head on Li''s knee.


    "That''s a sound of contentment. Like purrin'' for cats," exined Azhar.


    "Az the dragon master has a nice ring to it, don''t you think so?" said Jeanne.


    Azhar shrugged. "I ain''t a master of nothin''."


    "Don''t put yourself down," said Li. "You have strengths. You should be proud of them."


    Azhar looked at Li with widened eyes before nodding in understanding at Li''s reminder. "We should get goin'', you two," he said to Jeanne and Sylvie.


    "Look, he''s getting shy," teased Jeanne, and Azhar rolled his eyes and started to walk towards the door.


    "Unless you want me shootin'' arrows at giant spiders myself, I suggest you follow," said Azhar.


    ===


    Outside the cottage, Li stood by the door, talking to Sylvie aboutst minute details about ingredients while Old Thane was giving parting words to Jeanne and Azhar by the main road.


    "Let''s see," said Sylvie as she looked up, her brain recalling stored details and memories. "For [Insectbane], we''ll be giving you giant spider chitin, mothman dust, giant enemy crabworm venom, or was it giant spider venom and crabworm venom?"


    "Spider chitin and worm venom is right," said Li. He looked down at Sylvie. Her hands were rubbing together while she bit her lip. "You seem nervous."


    Sylvie nced at Li before sighing. "Yes, I am. This whole venture is so risky. We are so unsuited to the creeping forests, and yet I insisted we go to minimize future risk against the Gigantopede. It almost feels that I have decided to put my family willingly in danger."


    "If this is the decision you made, then you should stick with it."


    Sylvie looked down. "Yes, I suppose so."


    "You''ve got a good head about you," said Li. "You''re careful, insightful, and good at risk-analysis. All of those are good traits for a party leader. I''m telling you to stick with your decision because you''re probably right."


    Sylvie perked up, a smile ying at her lips. Her expression brightened at the praise, and Li could see her confidence rising as he had intended it to with his words. "Truly?"


    "I don''t like repeating myself," said Li and smiled just a little. Her ystyle and, to a lesser extent, her ever curious personality, reminded him of his friend from the past //BEAST//, though her obsession was with steampunk rather than the east. "Try your best to not get yourself and the others killed. After all, you''d be losing out on your very first cultivation lesson."


    That was the biggest motivation he could have given her, stoking her curiosity to the max, and when she left with Jeanne and Azhar to Riviera where a carriage would take them as far into the forests as it could, her step was firm and full of energy.

 Chapter 84 - Oasis

    Wooden mugs loosed a dulled clink as Li and Old Thane cheered for the end of their nting. They sat at the field''s edge where the grass grew thick enough to use like a makeshift cushion. Their shirts, thickly woven and patched over with countless repairs, were littered with dirt stains.


    Dirt seemed to cling everywhere, to every little iota of their being, caking under their fingernails, gathering in the furrows of their fingerprints and in the lines of their palms, and staining across their faces.


    But such was the farming life, and to Li, the dirt was proof that he was truly living.


    The demon houndy between them, his shaggy ck chest heaving up and down. Beside Zagan, the Myrmeke''s antennae raised above the ground, enjoying everyone''spany. The wyrm, however, stood a few meters away, anxiously pacing about.


    "A good beer is a mighty fine tool to ke a thirst borne from a day''s honest work," said Old Thane as he took a sip, a little moustache of foam bubbling above his cracked lips.


    "Sad thing is the keg you is all out after taking a beating from triple threat showing up and the fact that you seem to be drinking a lot more these days." Li rolled his shoulders, more out of habit than need because his muscles never really ached in his new body. "I''ll have to make a trip to the marketce and get another one. Or have my assistant do it."


    "She works mighty hard," said Old Thane. "Even now, she dutifully runs that stand in your absence. And yet we''ve seen so little of her. We should let her know that her job is not a thankless one."


    "I thank her enough. I know it doesn''t sound like much, but to her, it does mean a lot." Li nodded. "She wouldn''t like big celebrations, either. It''s not in her character."


    Especially not with mortals. To Li, it seemed like she was just waiting for him to assume his role as a guardian and did not particrly wish to involve herself with any of his mortal connections. But still, he would ask her if she wanted to be more involved with the farm and its peopleter during their training ¨C the first session of which was scheduled for the evening which drew nearer and nearer as the sun''s rays became less golden and more orange.


    "And you, why are you so shy all of a sudden?" Li turned back to the wyrm, waving at it toe closer. The creature trembled, wanting to go to Li, but her legs were firmly rooted into the grass, preventing her from getting closer. Her eyes shifted from Li to Zagan.


    "The runt knows its ce," said Zagan even while heid down in a perfect image of sunbakedziness. "Demons are apex predators, so far above lowly mortal ilk that the only worthy prey we hunt is other demons. Dragonkin may y at the hunt, of consuming and evolving, but their primal instincts know that they will always be inferior to us."


    "So you''re scared of him," said Li. He reached out and put aforting hand on the wyrm''s head. In that moment, he could feel a spark tingle across his skin, transferring from the wyrm''s head to his hand. He could distinctly feel how much the wyrm relied on him, how she saw him as her anything and everything, her protector and guardian.


    It was pure faith.


    Li''s next words were not thought out. They seemed to flow from him like water. "Do not worry, child. So long as you ce your faith in me, you will always have the strength to face this world."


    The wyrm may not have understood the meaning of Li''s words, but she could feel them, know that they spoke of safety and warmth and security, and fought off its survival instincts to near Li and nuzzle up next to him.


    "It seems the runt has potential,"mented Zagan. One of his red eyes were open, ncingzily at the wyrm. "To ovee the fear of death at this young an age is an impressive feat." The demon closed his eye and sighed. "Or perhaps it is my presence that has dulled such that it no longer cows even an infant."


    "Not so," said Old Thane. "When you speak, demon, your words are like des. They speak of danger. Of a promised death cold and swift. I have fought many of your kind, but even now, I know that your presence stands out among all others."


    "Because you only faced down the rabble, mortal. But it is good that you acknowledge the greatness of my personage." Zagan let out a contented sigh.


    Li looked over at Zagan and Old Thane talking so casually. There was a great difference between them, of course, one created from so many differences that it would be hard to list them, and yet they managed to talk together, even find sce with each other, through these differences. This would have never happened had Li not united them under the banner of the farm.


    The ground around Li shifted a little as the Myrmeke''s antennae shifted forwards, twitching for Li to pet it as it sensed that he was doing so with the wyrm. Li obliged.He could feel the wyrm curled up in a ball, its head draped across his knee, and he weed the wyrm into the farm and its strange family with a few pets.


    Li nodded to himself as he looked around the farm, at the fields that had been freshly plowed and nted through. The cottage that stood as humble and firm as ever, excepting the new hole in its side. The stall that breathed out faint green wisps of smoke from its chimney as Iona worked, using experience gained from decades of learning and suffering and teaching.


    Then he looked at Old Thane, an old man that had lost everything, only waiting for death on a farm haunted by memories of the past. At Zagan, a former demon general who in his quest to either be or serve the strongest, had ended up spending idle days sleeping in the sun. He watched as they talked of a past unrted to the farm, almost a world away, when war and terror and chaos reigned supreme.


    As Li pet the wyrm ¨C thest of her kind and the future hope of an entire tribe -, she rumbled out her version of a purr, her eyes closing in contentment. The Myrmeke echoed its satisfaction from underground, letting the ground above not shake, but hum ever so slightly.


    The farm had brought together creatures and beings from all walks of life. From pasts filled with the tumult of a cruel world. It almost seemed like an oasis amidst the workings of the vicious world surrounding it, and Li knew then that was where he wanted his farm to go, where it had been developing towards this whole time without him ever realizing.


    ====


    When the sun started to set, Li got up from the fields, having gotten his fill of war stories from Zagan and Old Thane. Zagan spoke of the day he tore out the throat of a great mountain dragon, and the wyrm, not understanding his words, slept peacefully by Li''s side. Meanwhile, Old Thane had admired andplemented the demon''s tenacity and willpower in battling through countless injuries to im that victory.


    "Going somewhere,d?" said Old Thane.


    "Yeah, I''m going to be getting a progress check on the stall. Also, I''m going to have Iona train me on some magic, so I might be backte."


    "Thess knows magic? She must be some terrifyingly powerful mage to teach you."


    "Not really." Li shrugged. "She just has more expertise in a specific field than I do. In any case, can you hold down the fort while I''m out, old man?"


    Zagan sat on his haunches. "You will find no intrusion upon this territory so long as I and the mortal are here."


    "Good to hear." Li knelt down and roused the sleeping wyrm awake. Young as she was, it seemed she went into deep sleeps, particrly when she slept near Li''s presence. "Come on, get up. It''s time for you to train too. You''re going hunting in the woods."


    The wyrm perked up, understanding Li. Li noted that the wyrm might not understand the words of others, but it could perceive Li''s words despitecking the ability to trulyprehendnguage. She arched her back as she bowed into a stretch before baring her fangs yfully, her eyes lighting up with excitement.


    Li made his way down to the stall, the wyrm in tow, only to find it upied. There were a party of adventurers crowding the stall''s front, and though their backs were turned to him, he could make out the tall and blonde man talking to Iona as Launcelot. The rest of his three party members were behind him.


    The way Launcelot carried himself, tall and confident with a projecting voice befitting of nobility made him dwarf the rest of his quiet party not only through physical stature but also through sheer presence.


    As Li neared, he could make out what Launcelot was saying.


    "So, good miss, I''ve a new shield, but it certainly is far below the grade of my precious Silver Stronghold of yore. I should say I will need several healing elixirs for myself and my party, though mostly myself."


    "Then get a new one," said Iona matter of factly.


    "Your sharp logic never wavers." Launcelot''s hands were in front of him, likely showing off his new shield. "But I shall stick with this until it fails me, for a true man never gives up on ount of his weapon orck thereof."


    "That is foolishness. It will only endanger you further, but then again, that will lead you to buy more from us. Now, what did you want?"


    Li got near enough now that his footsteps were audible. Launcelot turned around, his face brightening when he saw Li.


    "Good sir! I was just chatting your excellent assistant here. Her insights are sharp and helpful to be sure. How be yourself on this wondrous day?"


    When the shieldbearing knight turned around, Li stopped in his tracks. What Launcelot held in his hands was a very familiar rusted bronze shield, chipped and cracked all over.

 Chapter 85 - Meditation

    "Oh?" Launcelot followed Li''s gaze to his shield and smiled sheepishly, raising a gauntleted hand to his head as he smiled. "It must be strange to see me with a shield such as this, especially whenpared to the former glory of my Silver Stronghold. s, its dutiful service to me ended under a torrent of fiery venom."


    "I see," said Li mostly just as an automated response. His thoughtsid in processing the repercussions of Launcelot having this shield.


    Undoubtedly, this was the very same shield that Chi-You, god of war and the strength stat, had sent to this realm when Li left the divine ne. The appearance was exactly the same, and it brimmed with a faint hum of war mystical energy that made it clear that it was no ordinary shield.


    At the same time, Li realized there was not much to it. He knew the gods were going to eventually try and manifest, and he was more curious how the whole process would work. Would Launcelot lose himself entirely? Would the man die to be reced by the god?


    If Launcelot realized Li was tuning out, the shieldbearer did not show it, instead maintaining his cheeriness by raising the shield so that Li could get a better look. Li could tell that the shield, though once worn down and aged, had been thoroughly polished under Launcelot''s care, reflecting the sunlight with ease.


    "Its appearance may be middling, but I have always been taught that the heart is where one''s worth truly lies. And so it is I feel the same for this shield. There is some magic within, however faint, but above all, I firmly believe that it has chosen me."


    "You don''t really believe, that, do you, Launce? A weapon is a weapon. You choose the weapon, not the other way round, and I would feel better if you had something a little sturdier to protect yourself with," said one of Launcelot''s party members, a woman who seemed to have a permanent scowl, a scar lined across her lip to entuate it.


    "It is not silliness, it is fate, Faye," said Launcelot with firm resolution. He nodded to Li. "You need not worry about me, good sir, for this shield appeared before my doorstep when I was at the lowest depths, bereft of my beautiful shield and aching all over from injury. But its timely appearance must only mean that it is a tool of destiny, a gift from mine very own guardian spirit, perhaps."


    Li wondered why Launcelot would think Li was worrying about him, but then again, the man was cut from an infinitely more optimistic cloth than Li. Somewhat simr to Jeanne, actually, though there was something about the way he carried himself, the way his steps were surprisingly slow and calcted, and that sharp glint in his eyes, that made it obvious that his optimism had been tempered by hardship.


    "Well, I don''t worry because at the end of the day, if that shield fails you, you can always fall back on our elixirs." Li eyed the shield again, at how pitiful its durability and magical power were right now. "From the looks of it, you''ll probably be visiting here pretty often, too."


    "Hear that?" said Faye. She sighed. "I know coin isn''t an issue for you, but you shouldn''t be hemorrhaging it along with your blood. Come, the remnants of Silver Stronghold can be reforged. Do that instead of waving that piece of paper around."


    "Silence." Iona''s voice cut through the air with a timbre that instantly caused Faye to grow quiet, and Li gave Iona a look that let her know she should mediate herself.


    "I mean," said Iona. "You should not force him to abandon his ideals. Instead, as hispanion, you should amodate him. Yet at the same time, I foresee that many fangs and ws will carve into his tender flesh and bleed his life dry. Thus, I propose the contract you talked about to ensure he holds a steady supply of healing elixirs to preserve his fleeting life."


    Launcelot''s expression brightened. "Finally, one who understands me! And the contract, I will take with nary a hint of hesitation. With that, I will never have to worry about the bruises and scrapes I must endure to grow used to this shield."


    Li nced at Iona, noting her satisfied look, and nodded. She had seen that Faye was about to stop Launcelot from wasting quite the sum of coin having to constantly buy elixirs to heal himself with an inadequate shield, and proposed a contract to rope him in. Her moneymaking sense was improving drastically, though perhaps the ethics side of it was a littlecking because of herck of care for mortal life.


    At the same time, it was Launcelot''s decision, and it was not either Li or Iona''s role to be his battle advisor.


    "Alright then," said Li to Launcelot. "Consider this the start of our business rtionship. Will a typical herbalist''s contract do?"


    Li agreed with pushing the contract as well because it also meant that it would keep Launcelot in his orbit. That way, he could keep an eye on the shield and further observe its effects on the knight.


    As for the contract, it would involve giving Launcelot the privilege to request certain elixirs on a weekly basis, having them on hold until he coulde by anytime to get them. For a fairly hefty price, of course, and for specialty workshops like Li''s where quality trumped quantity, the costs were even higher.


    In a dangerous profession where finding a sold out stall might mean several days of being unable to work or, worse, getting injured or killed, though, this was usually worth it.


    "Most certainly," said Launcelot without a moment''s hesitation. "My team and I are actually going on a hunt this very moment."


    Li nodded. "It''s quitete to be going out."


    "Indeed, but we are hunting direwolves, and they are most active under the night''s veil. If ever you spot a particrlyrge one with a ck patch upon his chest, then please let us know, for the fiend is the pack leader responsible for mauling an innocent young girl to death."


    "There''s truly no stopping you once an idea pops in your head, is there," said Faye as she shrugged. Her voice did not seem too bothered, however, as if used to Launcelot''s personality. "Now then, we really must hurry. The Winterwoods will cover the wolves'' trails quickly."


    "We''ll be heading to the woods, too," said Li. "Though after the sun sets. We''ll have a few elixirs ready in the case any of you gets injured. Just let me know where your trail''s going to be. Consider this a benefit of being our patron."


    This would also let Li know where the team was to avoid them.


    "That does ease my burden quite a bit. I thank you, good sir." Launcelot cocked his head. "But I must ask, why now? I do not question your strength, for it is formidable, but certainly, were you to be picking herbs, then the day would be preferable."


    "Spoken like someone who isn''t in the trade," said Li. "Some herbs are easier to find in the night. They glow only in the dark. And I also have to get her limated to the woods."


    Li stepped aside to reveal the wyrm more clearly. She hissed at Launcelot before hiding behind Li''s legs again.


    "Hoh, I did hear from Triple Threat that you had found the Lerneas''s egg." Launcelot smiled. "To think that such a mighty creature starts off so small. Well, good sir, I do not have any doubts that a master beast tamer such as yourself can handle it. If you could subdue that monstrously powerful ant, then nothing should be beyond your limits."


    He nodded to Iona. "It is also heartening to know that that your capable expertise will keep thedy safe." He smiled before he made a fist and pounded it against his breastte. "I would like to chat further, but s, it is time to go. Good luck in your endeavors, my friends!"


    ======


    Li sat cross-legged in a meditative pose, his back posture straight and his handsid atop his knees. The soil felt chilly, Winterwoods and all, but that helped him focus even better. Today''s training was specialized entirely for him to improve his spiritual hearing. Night had set in fully by this point,yering the already gloomy woods over in a thick nket of darkness.


    Li sat in the middle of a clearing fairly deep in the forest, deep enough that the leafy treetop canopy overhead blotted out the moon and stars. He sat there, still as a rock, eyes closed as he honed his spiritual hearing.


    Iona sat atop an actual rock, her thin and pale fingers leafing through a new book, its leatherbound cover spelling out the lengthy title The Art of Trade: Chronicles from the Top Trader of Trieste.


    The training today was hands off. All Li had to do was try and focus on the forest around him, trying to pick out the individual songs of grasses or trees or flowers or herbs among the ocean of noise generated from the forest environment.


    This way, he trained to sharpen his spiritual hearing, or, more urately, regain what he already had.


    It had now been two hours since they had entered the forest, but only an hour since Li had started meditating. The first hour, right after Iona found this clearing to meditate on, Li had helped the wyrm to hunt.


    The wyrm had initially been terrified of this vastly unknown environment, feeling instinctive danger from it, but if Li followed her around, she could muster enough courage to explore. It was remarkable, actually, at how quickly she could find courage, and not twenty minutes had passed before she had spotted a rabbit and her predatory instincts kicked in, causing her to try and chase the creature down.


    The rabbits this deep in the Winterwoods were far more agile than the average kind, and so the wyrm mostly spent her time chasing rabbits and small critters to no avail. Even now, the wyrm was prancing about nearby with seemingly boundless energy.


    But Li did not expect the wyrm to catch anything. The main purpose of this trip was to get her out of the peaceful farm and get her used to the unknown wild.


    Perhaps tomorrow, Li woulde back and try to have her hunt for real. In the outskirts of the woods, where the prey was slower.


    For now, though, Li focused on his meditation.


    "I can pick up specific songs now," said Li to Iona. She raised her head from the book. "I know how to listen for wintergrass ordine or the average oak. But this isn''t anything like when I''m in my real form. I get everything then, the songs of every single living thing juste pouring into my head, and I just know what all of them are immediately. Like instinct. Strange the knowledge just doesn''t transfer over, as if it just disappears from my head when I put my human form back on."


    "Of course, yes," said Iona. "Your human disguise is one of the mostplex I have everid eyes upon. It is an almost perfect replication of a mortal body, far more intricate than a mere avatar or vessel. Your mind, too, bes mortal in scope, and a mere human mind simply cannot intake the songs of thousands upon thousands of living creatures. It does not have the capacity."


    "I''m somewhat tempted to transform back to get a sense of thatplete hearing again. Maybe I''ll manage to retain some of it if it''s fresh in my mind."


    Iona shook her head, closing the book andying it on the rock beside her. "I would not advise it, no. It is far better to slowly work up to that level, to expand the boundaries of your mortal mind little by little such that it will feel natural to assume your divine form.


    Too suddenly assuming your divine mind may risk washing away your humanity and personality entirely."


    "Isn''t that what you wanted, though?" said Li. He did not mean to use her of anything. He fully knew that was where he was headed, too, and he was more just curious of what she thought.


    "It was, once, yes." Iona nodded. "But now, I am not so sure. I feel that something precious will be lost should the you of now be erased entirely. I still wish for you to be a guardian, but at the same time, I do not want you to be a stranger, either."


    A piercing, animalistic screech pierced through the forest. Li could instantly recognize it was the wyrm''s. He motioned for Iona to follow as he stood up, practically gliding through the forest as he headed to the wyrm''s location.


    Li found her backed up against the trunk of a thick oak, her fangs bared. A bite mark stood out against her front leg, cracking through the thinyer of scales and gouging out shallow chunks of flesh.


    Several meters in front of the wyrm, a dire wolf stood, its fangs also bared. Its fur was snowy white like the rest of the wolves afflicted with the dire curse, but it was distinguishable by a patch of ck fur at its chest.

 Chapter 86 - Predator

    As Li and Iona came into view, the direwolf red at them with bared fangs, frothy and bloody spittle dripping from its jowls. Its eyes were a striking blue that fit with its white fur. It wasrge, easilyrge enough for a fully grown man to ride on, and it was evident that it had lived a life of hunting and hardship. There were patches of bare skin uncovered by fur where so much scar tissue had amassed that hair could no longer grow.


    The wolf''s muscles rippled with tense power as it started to edge backwards, loosing a growl that, cold as the winterwoods got at night, was visible in curling clouds of misty white that rose from its ck and scarred lips.


    The wyrm shrunk back to Li''s side, but she did not hide behind his legs. Instead, she matched the wolf''s ring growl with a roar, though young as she was, it came out more like a throaty squeak, though there was a rumbling undertone that made it very evident that when she grew up, it would be something to shake the bones.


    "I will drive it off," said Iona.


    She raised a pale hand towards the wolf, her fingers syed out. Magical energy began to surge out from her, ttening the grass near her feet and making her robes ripple. The wolf hunched down, either hunkering down to brace for impact or coiling its muscles to try and dodge.


    Li put a hand on Iona''s arm and held it down. "No need."


    Iona gave Li a questioning look, and Li pointed down to the wyrm. She was inching forwards now despite the wound at her front leg. Her ws were fully extended, digging into the dirt as she took menacing steps forward, her head down to guard her throat. Her tail swayed from side to side with almost stiff movements, the muscles tensed to drive a charge at any moment.


    This was not the pose of prey. Neither was it the pose of a young child scared for her life. No, it was the poise of a predator rising to the challenge. There might have been a few shreds of doubt in her at first, but now that Li was by her side, all of that faded away, leaving behind just a bundle of raw aggression and bloodlust, of an almost eagerness to fight.


    "Look at her. She wants to fight." said Li.


    "Are you certain about this?" Iona bit her lip as she eyed the bleeding wound at the wyrm''s front leg.


    "She''s far better off than him."


    The wolf was not unharmed. If it had been, it might have been able to inflict a much deeper wound on the wyrm. One of its hind legs was shattered, broken and twisted at an unnatural angle. A gash at its stomach leaked blood that formed a blooming red patch on its white fur.


    Li knew that these were not wounds from the wyrm. The leg had been shattered with blunt force, and the gash was carved through with something far sharper than regr ws. No, it had likely escaped from fighting with Launcelot or perhaps a group of humans angry that its pack had killed a child.


    Regardless, these wounds evened the ying field a little, but even then, the fight was still up to the air. Li analyzed that in terms of sheer game stats, the wyrm was near level 20. Strong enough to maul the average and untrained grown man, but not quite strong enough to contend with soldiers, beasts and monsters.


    In contrast, the alpha direwolf was almost level 30. Yet the numbers did not paint too grim a picture. The gap between a level 20 and a level 30 was far narrower than that between a level 60 and a 70. At the lower levels, the only real difference between monsters was their unique racial traits and the stats provided by levels.


    The wolf''s debilitating injuries reduced the stat difference quite a bit, andpared to the wyrm who had [Lesser Dragonkin Scales] and [Lesser Passive Regeneration], the wolf only had [Bloodhunt] which was useful for tracking prey, not fighting.


    The wolf knew this, and, knowing that Li and Iona were now there, decided to flee as best as it could, swiveling around and hopping forwards on its three remaining legs.


    The wyrm would not allow this and made a charge forwards. Li could perceive the fight bursting within her, the heat of adrenaline andbat pulsing through her veins. If she could talk, she would probably have called the wolf a coward.


    Li had a somewhat good grasp of her personality now, and it was definitively not a delicate one.


    The wolf growled as it turned back when it sensed the wyrm drawing near. It snapped at her head, and she did not dodge, instead taking the bite to get her own jaws around the wolf''s throat. The wolf''s mouth mped around her neck, but this was where her scales, though still smooth and unformed, concentrated the most.


    The wolf''s teeth crushed into her neck with a crunching sound as its fangs cracked apart scales, but it did not manage to pierce deep into the flesh. The wyrm being smaller than the wolf meant she had a lower center of gravity, making it difficult for the wolf to bite at the underside of her neck where the scales were thinner and where her vital throat was.


    The wyrm, however, had a full clenched grip over the wolf''s brawny neck, though her small fangs found it difficult to bite throughyers of thick fur and powerful muscles. They were in a deadlock, each of their jaws biting down on each other. It reminded Li almost of a swordlock ¨C whoever could put the most force and bite harder would overpower the other to snap their neck or pierce their jugr.


    The wolf let out a savage growl as it exerted a tremendous amount of force, its neck muscles coiling in powerful bunches as it lifted the wyrm aboveground through sheer jaw strength alone. The wyrm, however, did not let go of the wolf''s throat, and the wolf instead pried her away by force, swiveling its head and flicking her several meters away.


    The wyrm crashed onto the forest floor but immediately leaped back onto all fours. Blood trickled from several punctures at the base of her neck, coloring her green scales with crimson, but her breathing was still even, her eyes still focused to fight and to kill.


    "You won''t win in a test of strength," said Li. Though she could not understand anyone else''s words, she could understand him, and in this way, he would help her to try and win with her own strength. If she was anywhere near as intelligent as her mother, then she could use his words to win. "His leg is damaged. Yours aren''t. Not everything is settled with force ¨C use your speed."


    The wyrm immediately put Li''s advice to use. She darted in the wolf''s range, and it snapped at her, but instead of tanking the attack to get her own in, she instead mmed her tail to the forest floor, giving her a burst of movement to the side that let her dodge at thest moment. She did not bite, but instead struck out with a quick swipe of her ws at the wolf''s chest, where the gash was, before darting away.


    The wolf growled as it limped back, the bloody patch on its white fur expanding even further.


    Li projectedmon game sense to the wyrm. "Circle him. If a boss can''t attack from a certain angle, then get to that angle and attack from there. His back leg is broken ¨C he can''t defend against an attack from there."


    The wyrm began to leap around the wolf in a circle, and the beast tried to keep up and face her. However, its broken back leg prevented it from being able to circle as effectively, and eventually, there came a point where she managed to reach his blind spot. She leaped forwards, biting at the wolf''s back before tearing away, leaving a few parting scratches behind.


    Li did not have to say anymore.


    The wyrm had learned, and frighteningly fast. Her body seemed to adapt to his words with a brutal efficiency. She kept a low center of gravity while darting around the wolf, making herself less visible and faster, and when she struck, she sprung forwards like a spring before disengaging almost in the same motion.


    This was not just pure hunting instinct, though that was part of it. It was almost genius-level intelligence in fighting. Her mother had been right to say that she was truly the hope of their entire species, the pinnacle of their strongest genes and bloodlines.


    But it was not just that which gave her an edge.


    Li realized that the wolf was beginning to move slower. It was like a chill had set upon its body, freezing up its movements little by little. The effect was noticeable enough that it could not just be attributed to blood loss.


    In the first ce, the wolf was only suffering minor wounds. By attacking the wolf''s blindspot, the wyrm ensured she could escape retaliation, but at the same time, she could only nick out small bites and scratches at the wolf''s sturdy and unharmed back.


    Yet as those small cuts and scratches umted, the wolf started to slow down until, finally, it began to copse, its breathing heavy.


    Li checked the wolf''s status with a simple [Power Sense], and he realized it had been poisoned. So it seemed the wyrm had inherited more from her mother than just intellect and natural strength. Though her poison did not melt shields and liquefy flesh yet, it was still potent enough to disable a fully grown dire wolf in a matter of minutes.


    "Wait," said Li when the wolf did copse, its shaking, venom-leaden legs unable to support its weight.


    The wyrm had positioned herself over the wolf''s chest, her fangs bared as she readied to bite into the flesh and consume it. She, however, did have the discipline to listen to Li and stop herself. She cocked her as she gave Li a quizzical look, her eyes wide.


    Li knelt by the wolf''s tawny head. It had closed its eyes at this point, its breathing shallow and ready to die. He put a hand to the wolf''s head, almost petting it. He did not pity the wolf. It would have died with its leg injury sooner rather thanter.


    It would have starved to death. It would have fought a stronger cretaure and been devoured. If its pack had survived, they would have driven him out or outright killed him as he would no longer be able to lead them.


    This was just how the wild worked.


    Instead, he felt thankful that the wolf''s death could help the wyrm. This reminded of him when he read about the hunting practices of tribal peoples in his past world, though by Li''s time, tribes had long since ceased to exist as a social unit.


    He had read that they would thank the prey they caught for their death, and though at that time as a man living in a city, he had no idea what that thankfulness felt like, he felt like he knew now.


    Li channeled magic into the hand thatid atop the wolf''s head. He casted [Blood Root] to instantly pierce through the wolf'' brain and kill it instantly, ending the suffering it would have endured from being eaten alive. He wished he had some sort of instant death spell that could more gently end the creature''s life, but most of his spells were meant to torment and agonize.


    This was the best he could do.


    "Sorry to keep you waiting," said Li to the wyrm. He gently beckoned her forwards with a light smile. "Go on, eat up. You deserve it."


    The wyrm drew nearer to the wolf''s corpse, mouth open in hunger, but then it closed its jaws and hung its head. Not to ready herself to fight, but almost in a gentle gesture, touching her snout to the wolf''s fur.


    Li realized she was sensing his emotions and his intentions and copying him. Or, to be more urate, she was looking up to him as a parent figure and doing what he did.He realized then that he had much more of a responsibility to raise the wyrm than he thought. This wouldn''t just be hands off parenting like her mother had suggested. His actions would set an example for her to follow.

 Chapter 87 - Evolution

    The wyrm could only hold back her hunger for ten or so seconds before she started to dig into the wolf''s carcass. Her appetite was utterly voracious, and it seemed like she put in more effort eating than fighting. Putting her front legs on the carcass to anchor herself to it, she took vicious bites out of the carcass. She ate through fur, tough muscles, viscera, and even tried to gnaw on the bones. She did not waste a single part of the wolf, eating everything she could.


    Within a few minutes, she had left only the bones, and even those, she had picked clean, chewing off every little piece of flesh and slurping off every little drop of blood. She even tore up and ate the bloodsoaked grass underneath.


    Li was surprised she could even physically eat that much. The wolf must have been almost twice her size. When she finally finished eating, she plopped down on her side, her breathing heavy because her stomach bulged to almost unnatural positions. The sight reminded Li of pythons whose bellies stretched to fit prey far wider than them.


    Li knelt down by the wyrm to pet her and see how she was doing, but she had fallen asleep already, tired as she was from fighting and eating so much. Remarkably, he noticed as his eyes traced up and down her body, looking for any wounds to heal, that whatever scrapes and bruises she suffered were regenerating at incredible speeds.


    Li knew how fast her [Lesser Passive Regeneration] worked, and it was not nearly as fast as this. The bite marks on her neck and front leg covered up with new flesh within seconds, the bleeding staunching.


    Iona knelt by Li as well, observing the wyrm with a disinterested nce, but mostly, it was because her eyes had a permanent sense of tired disinterest imbued in them no matter what she felt. "My, look at that evolution. It is exceptionally fast, yes, even among dragonkin."


    Li followed Iona''s gaze and saw that the wyrm was changing. Her front legs, initially a little thin to support her stout and sturdy body, were filling out with muscle, bing like sturdy trunks. Her scales were shifting from smooth patches into rough, protruding shingles. The color of her scales shifted too, changing from an olive green to a darker shade, almost brown, almost like her scales were turning into bark.


    He had never before witnessed draconic evolution in action. Elden World lore always talked about it, how dragons evolved by consuming others. That was how lesser dragonkin like wyrms could evolve to drakes and dragons in the first ce. But the game had never coded that interaction.


    "These are interesting scales," said Li as he ran a finger across the new patches of bark-like scales. They did not cover her entire body yet, but soon, perhaps with more strong meals, they would. "I''ve never seen their type."


    At the least, not in Elden World, but here in Eldenia, anything was possible.


    "Dragonkin evolution is always a surprise, after all, yes." Iona nodded. "Contingent on not only the type of flesh consumed, but the environment around them and the nature of their caretakers."


    Li nced at the thick forest around him. "Yeah, forest all around us. Makes sense that her scales would look like this."


    "And forest within you as well, her bonded parent," said Iona to Li. "The bonds between a dragonkin infant and their bonded parent are stronger than mere physical attachments. They tie to the spiritual level. I am sure her growth will be special to have a guardian such as yourself as her parent."


    "Curious. You say the parent-child bonds are strong? But her real mother didn''t seem like the type who would have coddled her. She t out told me to just let her loose and have her fend for herself when she was able."


    "Hm. Quite strange." Iona cocked her head, thinking for a few seconds before shrugging. "But I do not know of how dragonkin live west in the Hintends and the Mire Bogs, no."


    "But you''re familiar with dragons up north? Were they on friendly terms with your kind?"


    "Our kind," Iona corrected Li. "And friendly? No. If they were, then they would have aided us when the elves razed the green. But neither were they hostile. Dragons are arrogance incarnate. They care not of others so long as their own stands strong."


    "I see." Li reached down and picked the wyrm up in his arms, carrying her like a giant infant. An ordinary man would have struggled to lift her for sure, but Li was no man, and she was light as a feather in his arms. When he pressed her to his chest, she instinctively cooed and dug her head into his shoulder for theforting warmth.


    "Well, I for one am sure I won''t be raising her like that. If there''s anything that gets on my nerves, it''s arrogance that can''t be backed up."


    Li had precious little idea of how to legitimately raise a wyrm, but he did have an idea of what good human parenting was like. All he had to do was remember how his parents had raised him, drilling into him hardwork, respect, and appreciation.


    "I will look forward to it. A reasonable dragonkin? Now that will be a curious sight to behold." Iona smiled. "If ever you find yourself busy, then I will always be more than happy to take care of her when you cannot."


    "I didn''t take you for the babysitting type."


    "Forest spirits are nurturing existences, after all. How I remember enjoying teaching beastmen cubs to y in the forest while respecting it. And I am sure she will not be half as difficult as teaching fickle and foolish humans."


    Right. If she had the patience to dedicate years of her life to try and help humans to see a better rtionship with nature, then it stood to reason that she would have no issue with babysitting a wyrm, though Li had no idea how the wyrm would do if she was separated from him.


    "She''s my responsibility, but if the need ever arises, I''ll know who to call," said Li. "Now, shall we get back to meditating?"


    Iona shook her head. "No need. You have progressed far enough already. You should get rest. More for her sake than yours." She gently tapped the wyrm''s back. "She will enjoy a warm fire much more than this cold, dead forest."


    "You do have a nurturing eye, huh." Li nodded at Iona, motioning for her to follow him out the forest. As he took the first few steps out, his sensitive ears picked up at iing movement.

 Chapter 88 - Protection I

    Li froze behind a circle of trees as the approaching sound grew even louder, and Iona took his lead. In the forest, they seemed to blend like they were part of the nature even in their artificial human forms. He could hear quite clearly the loud conversation that drifted over to them, the voices getting louder and louder by the second.


    "I swear the damned mutt was around here!" Li recognized this as Faye''s voice, but without any of the careful and polite reservation she had before when she was in the presence of strangers. "He simply vanished from my heat sense. That simply does not happen."


    "Perhaps you are tired, Faye." Launcelot''s voice. "Come, look at how you sweat. You have exhausted your strength."


    "Because we''re in a forest. I cannot just set everything aze. I have to concentrate my mes, and you know how much that drains me." A pause, as if she was sighing. "The woods really do not suit me, nor do they suit Ste. Her explosions are not fine-tuned for closed spaces like this. Can you not get quests somewhere else? Use your noble connections."


    "I am next in line to inherit the title of Lakely, and the Lakelies have guarded Riviera for generations! We must ensure these forests are clear of monsters for the good of the city."


    Launcelot burst into Li''s view, his gauntlet on his chest to emphasize hismitment to his duties. Faye stood next to him, wearing a scowl as ever, while the other two party members, both women, trailed behind, looking timidly behind them.


    "You-," Faye said as she stared at Li, her eyes widening through her scowl.


    Li blinked as well. Faye looked entirely different from before. The woman did not stand out much aside from her scowl beforehand, standing a little on the taller side but with average features and nondescript, shoulder-length brown hair that could have belonged to almost any girl.


    But now, there was no mistaking she was not ordinary. Her hair had turned a shining orange, bing immaterial and flickering like fire. In fact, they were pure fire, emanating heat that pulsed with distorted waves. Her entire body was covered in mes, and on a closer look, it was possible to tell that these mes came from her body ¨C her body was the fire itself, her normally tanned skin turned into a bright orange that fluttered in the wind.


    After a second or two of surprise passed between Li and Faye, though 90% of the surprise came from Faye, the remaining 10% expressed in Li slightly raising a brow, the adventurer instantly reverted to her original form. The fires around her body fizzled away, her hair settling back into wiry brown strands and her skin regaining its healthy tan.


    Launcelot stepped in front of Faye, almost pushing her behind him. He moved quickly, hisrge frame surprisingly agile. Heughed and smiled as he talked to Li, his armor clinking as he raised his arm into a wave.


    "Good sir! It is truly the sun''s blessing that you are well." Launcelot motioned to his body. "Look! I am unharmed, so I do apologize if I made you carry out elixirs for nought. And it is all thanks to this wondrous shield."


    He banged his fist on the shield to make a point.


    Li noticed that Faye had shrunk back to fall in line with the other two women in Launcelot''s party, her normally forward demeanor thoroughly dampened. Launcelot acted as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, but Li could tell by how the shielder looked at him that he wanted Li to follow along with his conversation.


    "Don''t let that get you thinking you can back out of your contract now," said Li, deciding to oblige the man for now. He was sure he would not just let the matter pass by given time to talk.


    "And the little dragon?" said Launcelot as he bent forward a little, looking at the wyrm sleeping in Li''s arms. "Truly, has she grown a little? In what little time I have not seen her?"


    "She has," said Li a little proudly. "A little alpha direwolf makes for a good meal, I can tell you that much.


    Launcelot snapped to attention. "The direwolf? It has been in?"


    "You can thank herter." Li nodded towards the wyrm, and she squirmed in his arms, adjusting herself to a morefortable position.


    "Most certainly I will!" Launcelot gave a firm smile to the wyrm, the kind Li could imagine him giving to a fellow adventurer for fighting side by side with him against some monstrosity. A look of solid respect and appreciation. "If there is anything left of the wolf''s carcass, then take it to the guild. I will inform them that you havepleted this hunt for us, so the reward is all yours."


    "Sounds good." Li waited, looking at Launcelot. It was obvious the knight wanted to say more, that he was thinking of something to say by the way he nodded ever so slowly to himself. It was a very faint gesture, and, contrary to how loud and hotblooded he was, indicated that he could manage himself subtly or, though it was hard to imagine, lie with some skill.


    "Ah yes," said Launcelot. He cast a quick nce to Iona, giving her a smiling nod before looking back to Li. "I am afraid I have a few trifling matters to discuss about our newly forged contract, may the sun bless it so. If you are heading back to your home, then perhaps we could discuss it there?"


    "I have no objection to that." Li said to Iona, "Right?"


    "Nothing to worry the gooddy about," cut in Launcelot. "The night grows dark and I am sure she is tired."


    "I do not tire-"objected Iona, but Li quickly cut her off.


    "If it''s just something minor, then I wouldn''t want to keep you from getting a good night''s sleep. We have a full day''s work tomorrow, after all."


    Iona took Li''s word as finalmands, and she grew silent, acquiescing to him.


    "Wonderful!" Launcelot eximed. He quickly began to drive everyone to his pace, waving his party towards him as he made his way out the forest, his white cape fluttering behind him. "We shall escort you out the forest, and at the cottage, my party members will guide the gooddy to her home for there are countless manner of ruffians of ill repute roving the streets of Riviera at this hour."


    = = = = = =


    Li and Launcelot stood across from each other on rickety stools, the cottage''s firece humming out gentle crackles between them. The wyrm slept on her side near the fire, craving its intense warmth. Beside hery the alpha direwolf''s skull, picked utterly clean to the point it almost shone. Old Thane slept in his room, the door firmly shut.


    "I''m assuming you didn''t want to talk to me one on one just for a contract," said Li.


    "Correct," said Launcelot, his gauntleted handsid atop each other on his knee. "I simply wished to exin what you saw."


    "I can put two and two together," said Li. "She has a power, right? The fiery one. She''s a hero."


    "Yes, that much is obvious."


    "Come to think of it, your party members appear rather¡­weak? I can tell they aren''t aplished mages or rangers," said Li. He knew by analyzing their levels that where Launcelot was level 44, his party members did not break past 30. The disparity wasrge enough to the point where they should have been hindrances to the shielder. "All of them, not just the one with fire. Then the other two are also heroes? They must make up theirck of magic and skill somehow to keep you alive."


    Launcelot nodded.


    "Truly, nothing escapes your sight."


    "I see." Li had never thought much of it before. He knew that this was not like Elden World where people could just type in general servers and find party members of a simr level to them. He figured Launcelot was simply making do with the people he had avable.


    But to have three heroes in his midst?


    That was certainly quite interesting. Li had lived here long enough by now to know that heroes were quite rare. It was part of the reason why Jeanne was such a celebrity as well. Not only was she powerful, but she was also a hero, and the temples here taught that heroes were the pinnacle of humanity, evidence that they were special and above all other races.


    "You will not ask more questions?" said Launcelot.


    "I''m waiting for you to exin."


    "Well, I suppose that it is upon me to do so." Launcelot shrugged and sighed. "My party consists entirely of heroes that I have met for I strive to protect them."


    "From what? Heroes seem pretty well-liked all around. If I recall, it''s even a crime to hurt them. What do you have to protect them against?"


    "From¡­," Launcelot looked around nervously before he leaned in towards Li, his voice hushed. "I trust our words shall not escape this room?"


    "You won''t have to worry about that."


    Launcelot looked at Li before nodding. "You have the look of an honest man, my friend. It does put my mind at ease." He coughed into his hand. "I protect them from the crown."


    ??The very crown that puts them on a pedestal?"


    "That is well and true what the crown says, but reality is always colder than the ideal." Launcelot paused to collect himself. He smiled sadly. "It is so very strange that even now, I feel such fear to speak against the crown, against the rules, when I have been trampling them underfoot for a decade. What I am to speak about would be considered treason, and to hear of it may set danger upon you. Are you certain you wish to hear?"


    Li almost scoffed at Launcelot. "When I say something, I mean it. Now go on, tell me."

 Chapter 89 - Protection II

    Launcelot shifted in his seat, setting himself for an extended talk. Under his armorden frame, the seat protested loudly, but it valiantly held on. One day, Li noted, he would rece all the old and failing things in this house with brand new versions. Although he did have a certain fondness for the disrepair ¨C it added a bit of a rustic sense to the farm and the cottage.


    "You are a foreigner, unknowing of the histories of ournds," began Launcelot.


    "I know more than you think. I''m more schr than farmer, if I say so myself, and I''ve read up on thisnd''s history."


    Launcelot shook his head, his blonde curls wiggling with the motion.


    "What I say has been uprooted from the annals of history."


    "That, too, I already suspected."


    Launcelot raised a brow, and Li continued. "All I''m saying is, you don''t have to treat me like a foreigner. Speak your mind naturally."


    "Very well." Launcelot''s jaw began to set as his eyes narrowed, his mind beginning to wander into the past. "I lived in the capitol when I was young, for my mother sent me there to receive my education, as all noblemen should. From when I was a boy of ten to a man of eighteen years, I boarded at Veritas, a premiere institution that opened its esteemed gates only to those of noble blood."


    "Interesting," said Li. "Veritas?"


    He scoured his memory until he happened upon one small little page in the historical texts that Aine owned. It was a little excerpt describing how Veritas, beforehand exclusive to those of noble blood, had been rebuilt from the ground up and opened to anyone capable under the duchess''s reforms.


    "This duchy was founded in 1020, and if my memory serves me correctly, then Veritas ceased to be a private institution exactly a year after. The first anniversary of the duchy was its re-opening. The math doesn''t add up. You''re far too young to have attended it. You''d have to be almost thirty."


    "And that, I am," said Launcelot, smiling a little bashfully. "Or rather, in a month, to be more exact. I will make sure to invite you to my birthdate celebration."


    Li looked at Launcelot. The man had impably wless skin. A little tanned from working under the sun, for sure, but it showed zero signs of wearing. His features were the very spitting image of youth, sharp as if chiseled out of stone and positively bursting with good-looking healthiness. With how big, almost child-like his smile was, it was easy to think him barely twenty.


    "You don''t look like it, if you don''t mind me stating the obvious," said Li.


    "And I am certain many say the same to you. You do not look a day over twenty, though I suppose it may be partly due to us hailing from such differentnds. Though from your actions, your mannerisms, your talk, I sense we are near the same age, no? Though I suspect you are older than me."


    "In a way, you''d be right." Li had previously been a little over thirty in his past life. Just the right age for him to have worn away the lust for life that burned in his early twenties, right in time for his jaded outlook on his hopeless world to start settling in.


    But now, with how fundamentally his mind had altered, there were times he felt immeasurably older.


    "For you, it is your wonders of your eastern blood. For me, it is elven heritage."


    "You''re elven?"


    "Perhaps a little drop of elven blood would be more urate. The first Lakely, perhaps two centuries ago, was an elven man epted into human society for his exceptional building talents. He built almost the entirety of Riviera up as well as much of the capitol''s wondrous architectural wonders. If you ever stop by the noble estates, then do give the Lakely estate a visit. It is a magical spire of wondrous design that cannot be missed."


    Launcelot spoke with evident pride for his bloodline, though it was quite a curious thing that he was not a builder of some sort if he revered his noble house''s talents. Regardless, this was a matter for another time.


    "I think I''ve seen it already, and it does stand out among the rest of the mansions," said Li. "But back to your education. I''m assuming something happened to it."


    "My education itself faced no challenges. I graduated from Veritas the year before it closed its gates in. My major is in military tactics, but I do have a minor in engineering, so if ever you need ns drawn up for some ambitious project, then feel free to call upon me."


    Launcelotughed before growing somber. "But yes, it is in my schooling that I uncovered some dark lurking beneath the gold of the crown.


    In my eight years in the capitol, I befriended a young girl, a half-hero, though I suppose they were called mutants at that time."


    Launcelot grimaced at the word ''mutant'', and when he continued speaking, the grimace remained.


    "She became my dearest friend. We were inseparable and she, fiery-spirited as she was, always getting into scuffles with the other girls and boys in the streets, always escaping from the clutches of patrolling knights, wished to be an adventurer, and I too with her.


    But she was far, far stronger than I. Her power, illustrious and destructive as it was, made her seem to far from me, so unreachable. Thus, when we were fifteen and she asked me if I wished to withdraw from Veritas to follow her into adventurer''s training, I did not."


    "Standard case of rich guy can''t abandon his position to be with his poor lover?"


    "No. I used every justification I could. I had too much to lose joining her, I told myself. I could not throw my life away as an adventurer when I had the Lakely estate to tend to. I could not disappoint my mother who expected so much from me. I could not this, I could not that.


    In the end, I was simply a coward riddled with insecurities. I simply believed myself too weak to walk her path."


    Launcelot''s gauntleted hand balled into a fist, the creak of metal ringing through the confines of the cottage.


    "I will regret that decision until the end of my days."


    Li let the nobleman pause to collect his thoughts. The fact that he was an adventurer now without his friend at his side could only mean that an unfortunate fate had befallen her.


    "What happened to her?" said Li. He did not want to press Launcelot, but he could tell the shielder was a man of strength. There might have been a time, a younger Launcelot, perhaps, that would have grieved, but now, enough years had passed that, though there was pain in his expression, he carried himself withposure.


    "I am not sure. That is the terrifying part." Launcelot took in a short, halting breath. "I graduated. I regretted my decision. I underwent adventurer''s training despite my mother''s protests. I saw her again, but she was an adventurer no longer. She was a hero of the then newly formed Ascendant Order."


    "Had she changed any?" Li asked the most important question. He knew the duchess had some ability to alter the minds of others. Alexei had confirmed that much, though it was not a given that Li could trust the vampire''s thoughts entirely. Not because the vampire was not trustworthy, but because, from what he could glean, the vampire only had secondhand knowledge that could have been unreliable.


    At the least, the only thing Li could hypothesize was that the duchess could not control Li or affect him in any way. If she could have, she would have, as simple as that. She simply had no ability to do so. But still, it would be prudent to know this information.


    "I would like so very dearly to say no." Launcelot''s jaw set. "She was entirely the same. She was happy to see me. I talked to her for quite a while, and she was much the same person. Just as happy and confident and forward-looking as ever, though now, she believed that the Ascendant Order was the best way for her to feel the thrill of fame and adventure and battle, and it did make sense.


    There was nock of foes for the order to fight and heroes were starting to be respected even moreso than adventurers. It felt as if I had simply been left behind again, unable to catch up with her, and now, the bridge was one I could never cross for Icked any heroic power to match her.


    The way she drifted apart from me felt natural. Believable."


    Launcelot raised a metal-sheathed finger. "But there was one thing that drove me to suspicion. I knew that she held a star shaped birthmark at the small of her back. I saw no such mark then. That led me to explore. The Lakelies built many of the royal buildings, including the Noonspire that the Ascendant Order and Arcana use.


    I reviewed a few dusty but usable blueprints to ess the Noonspire through the sewers. I came upon the lowest level of the spire, a former dungeon sealed off once it came under the duchess remodeled it, and there-"


    Launcelot shuddered, and Li blinked. It was unlike the shielder to ever shudder, experienced and strong as he was.


    "I saw her. Encased in a bag of flesh. I scrambled to free her, but then I saw another of her, just the same, encased in another bag of flesh. Then I saw others that I knew not of. Countless others. All in these bags, all sleeping."

 Chapter 90 - Protection III

    "They''re clones, all of them. Copies." Li nodded. This put an incredibly new perspective on what he had known previously about the duchess.


    All this time, he had thought she had altered the minds of others to secure her position. But had it been that in actuality, she had kidnapped threats to herself and simply created a clone of them more favorable to her? Had Alexei been wrong to assume that she had mind bending powers under her disposal?


    No, Li had to think safer. He had to assume she had both, but at the same time, he tempered his caution with logic. If truly either mind control or cloning had no limits, then she could have posed a legitimate threat to him by now. She could have taken over his mind or cloned an exact copy of him.


    But her powers could not match up to Li. It was already evident from what Launcelot had said that the cloning had some level of imperfection inherent in it. There were likely many more restrictions.


    "Tell me," continued Li. "Did you explore further?"


    Launcelot emphatically shook his head. "No. I could not. In that horrid room so filled with the stench of raw flesh, I could sense a tremendous danger within. Something that watched me. The very feeling of being watched by that¡­thing sent me running before my mind could even know.


    I am confident that should I now, many times stronger than I was then, enter that room again, I would flee once more."


    "I see. That''s it, then? You''re no longer going to fight back? Get back to that room and find out what happened to your friend? I''m not putting you down, I''m just trying to get a read of your motives and where you stand."


    "I understand." Launcelot''s voice was steady like a rock.


    He was not insulted, nor did memories of the past shake him. There was a solid foundation of mental fortitudeid into his character, and his usual cheery happiness was only a littleyer bubbling atop a veritable mountain of hardship and tempered strength.


    "For years, I sought my friend out. My real friend. Utter foolery, that was. There is no reason the real her would ever have been kept alive. She died the moment I was too much of a coward to follow her as an adventurer."


    Launcelot balled his hand into a fist. "But no more. You ask of me a motive? Then it is to ensure that no hero ever follows in my friend''s footsteps."


    "That''s why you''re carrying those heroes around. Or, to be more exact, half-heroes considering they can practice magic," said Li. "I see now. You''ve been masquerading them as mages and rangers this whole time, having them pretend to shoot fireballs or wind des when in reality, it all came from their powers."


    "That is correct, though I fear that the strategy is limited. Like most possessing heroic blood, their prowess in magic or martial skill is low. I cannot have them leave the bounds of Riviera for then monsters beyond their supposed ability shall appear."


    "Good thing Riviera''s a safe haven, then, right?" Li recalled how Iona herself had escaped to this city to escape being hunted as a monster. "You can stay here as long as you like where your home and nobility are. You can livefortably and support your hero refugees for the rest of their lives."


    "For them, I do not worry." Launcelot gave Li a knowing look.


    If Launcelot wanted to keep all heroes safe, then Li knew of only one other hero in Riviera.


    "Jeanne? You''re worrying about her?"


    "I have worried for her ever since she has risen meteorically as an adventurer. That is the easiest way for the crown to notice her. When she became silver-ranked, I tried to have my party cooperate with hers at every turn to keep an eye on her. Eventually, I asked her if she wished to merge parties."


    "I''m assuming she said no."


    "That is correct."


    "Why not just tell her the reality of the situation? That her blood will lead her to trouble?"


    "You must understand my position. You are a foreigner with no ties to thisnd, but everything I care about, my mother, my ancestral home, my dear brother continuing the family trade by building in the south ¨C all of them are in danger should I let my knowledge flow too freely."


    "And what about the reverse? Spreading what you know far and wide. That should damage the duchess''s image considerably among themon people, no?"


    "As much as I loathe to admit it, I do not wish for that either. The duchess has single-handedly erased centuries of bloodline corruption and uplifted what was once the failing state of Beaumont, battered by demons and subservient to the Republic, into the shining duchy of Soleil of today that provides for all and stands independent."


    Launcelot sighed as his words began flowing out of him. It was evident by how smoothly he spoke that he had thought of this exact question countless times, and by now, had almost rehearsed an answer.


    "In the first ce, none will believe my oundish words, but should I in the infinitesimal chance find the spark of revolt within me to sacrifice my house to galvanize the popce against the crown, then I hold no chance of deposing the duchess.


    She holds far too much power at her disposal. And even were I to be sessful, it does not take a military tactics major to know that the moment Soleil falls under instability, the Republic will mobilize troops to conquer it."


    He shook his head.


    "No, I will not let the loss of a friend whose loss was mine own fault, a friend who I have already buried in my mind and heart, fuel a petty grudge that endangers the livelihood of countless hundreds upon thousands."


    Cold, hard logic devoid of any passion or desire for revenge. If Launcelot had ever decided to fully devote himself to politics, to lying and seeking gain only for himself, he would have been astoundingly sessful.


    "I see." Li put a hand to his chin as he got a good picture now of Launcelot''s background and motivations. For now, there was not much more to know from the shielder. "Well, at the least, I can tell you that you won''t have to worry about Jeanne. She''s already turned down the duchess''s offer, and she has two closepanions to keep her in check."


    Launcelot paused. "How about you?"


    "Me?''


    "Could you not ce her under your protection? It would be-," Launcelot coughed into his hand and waved his words away. "Forget what I said. I was being irrational. You are a man of many talents ¨C farmer, herbalist, and beast tamer ¨C but at the end of the day, you are only human.


    You cannot protect her all the time, nor should you be obligated to. I do not know why I felt it right to ce so much faith within you."


    "I''m no babysitter, but if pushes to shove, I''ll be there for her."


    Launcelot smiled. "I am d to hear that, truly. It is strange, but to hear those words from youforts me so. It is as if the gods themselves were answering my prayers, hah."


    Li nced at the shield thaty leaning against Launcelot''s stool. "Perhaps they have."


    Launcelot picked the shield up and stood, stretching out his back as he did so. "It has been good to speak to you. I have not spoken of myself in years, and letting my words flow and give shape to my thoughts and emotions has helped me considerably. I cannot thank you enough."


    "Don''t mention it," said Li. Launcelot had told him enough. Li would set up a meeting with Alexei when his driver came around for the next harvest. A meeting that could potentially shape the course of history itself. "Though, if your family''s that famous for building, I could use a hand around here. Build a nice house for the wyrm, because she''s not going to fit in this rackety old cottage soon the way she''s growing."


    "Certainly," said Launcelot with a heartyugh. "I will send message to my brother to return from Duvin when I can. A wyrm''s home is something he has never built before, and the unknown does excite him so."


    A series of rapid knocks at the door rung throughout the cottage. These were not the confident and slow-paced knocks of a patrolling knight. This was erratically paced, their beat almost desperate.


    Li saw Launcelot go on edge, his expression immediately hardening as he tensed into a fighting stance while standing in front of Li, the shield poised in front of him, guarding his heart.


    "Threats, perhaps? Spies?" Launcelot whispered. He motioned for Li to stay still. "I will confront them. If the need arises, then take the old man and flee, good sir. I cannot have either of you facing injury for my own follies."

 Chapter 91 - Return

    Launcelot creeped up to the door, his posture slightly crouched and his shield raised up to chest-level so he could, at a moment''s notice, put his shield up to cover his face or retreat to defend Li. His movements, despite the heavy full-te he wore, were surprisingly silent.


    He could move in a way that minimized any ambient noise, and it was not like he was slowly inching forwards like a slug. His movements were rtively fast, as fast as could be to sneak around wearing armor like that, and he reached the door within a few seconds.


    It was obvious the shielder had trained to move silently, though why an upfront tank would need such skills or where he would have learned that was a mystery.


    The knocking continued. Then a pause. Then a few much stronger knocks ¨C strong enough to rattle the door nearly off its hinges ¨C pounded on the wood.


    Launcelot grabbed the door handle and swung it open towards himself, shield raising with the motion. In the very next instant, when he saw who it was, he dropped the shield to his side and smiled almost in the same instant he raised it. Like this, he erased his tension and converted it into a rxed ease with expert fluidity that made it seem as if he had always worn that casual smile.


    "You three? What a pleasant surprise, though the hour is deathlyte," said Launcelot as he opened the door wider, waving them in. "Come, a warm fire awaits within."


    Jeanne stood in the doorframe, her hand raised where she had been knocking with her superhuman strength. Her eyes were wide and her brwos furrowed, and the same worried expression found itself on Sylvie''s face as well.


    "Launcelot." Jeanne spared the time to give the shielder a recognizing nod before she stepped into cottage, her mud-caked greaves tracking dirt on the wooden floor.


    Li had half a mind toin about that, but he knew there were far more pressing issues at hand. They hade back from their hunt for ingredients far too early, not to mention their concerned expressions and the fact that Jeanne, as considerate as she was, would never dirty the cottage under normal circumstances.


    "We need your help, Li."


    Li stood up. "Seems like it." He scanned the doorframe again, looking behind Sylvie to see Azhar was missing. When Li''s gaze passed over Sylvie, she looked down and away, trying to hide her face. "Where is he?"


    "That''s where we need help, I''m afraid," said Jeanne. "A darkbeast got to him, and its venom hasid him low. Do you have an elixir that can help him? We will pay any price for it."


    "A darkbeast?" Launcelot perked his head up, his eyes narrowing. "A terrible and rare plight, indeed. Good sir, I will also be willing to pay any amount of coin to see a fellow adventurer in arms healed."


    Did they think Li was some kind of heartless money-pincher? Well, maybe he did give off some of those vibes considering how much he had bargained with them before about elixirs and coin and contracts and whatnot, but he did not mind that so much. What he had to do was focus on the treatment before him.


    First off, he legitimately had little idea what a darkbeast was. There were no records about it in any of the texts he had read. He knew that Aine''s library was not the be all end all for knowledge of this world, but it did have almost everything he wanted for. Historical texts, apendium on nts and herbs, and a thorough bestiary.


    "Coin isn''t something you have to worry about," said Li. "What you should be worrying about is whether I even have a proper elixir to treat him. Get him here so I can check his condition."


    _____________________


    Azharid on a bed of skins and bundled up straw. He wanted to stay seated, butid down at Jeanne''s insistence. He actually did not look all that bad. Almost fine, to be honest.


    "I''m not exactly a doctor," said Li as he circled around Azhar, his eyes scanning the man''s potential injuries. "But he doesn''t seem like he''s going to die anytime soon. There''s no visible wound, his skin''s a healthy shade, his temperature''s fine, he''s not sweating, he walks a little wobbly but enough to get around, and his eyes are in focus."


    "Hells, if only those were the issues I was facin'' right now." Azhar used his left hand to grab his right arm and held it up. It was like he was handling a chunk of meat with the way it looked so heavy and unresponsive. He let go of his right arm, and it dropped t to his side, hitting his side with pping impact.


    Li sat back down on his stool with a sigh. He reached into his pocket and took out an [Anti-Venom] and [Cleanse]. The bottles, one filled with blue liquid and the other red, had their thin necks nestled between Li''s fingers as he handed them to Azhar.


    "Drink both and tell me if they work. Meanwhile-" Li turned his attention to Sylvie and Jeanne. They sat side by side a little distance aways while Launcelot stood in the corner, paying attention to the situation but saying out of it. "Why don''t you two tell me what happened?"


    Sylvie bit her lip as she tried to speak, the words forming in her throat, but catching, unable to escape.


    Jeanne spoke instead. "We made it to the Chattering Forests with nary an issue. Within, we were tracking mothmen when a darkbeast ambushed us. We had our usual formation ¨C me standing as vanguard in the front with Az and Sylvie circling around me ¨C and the beast struck out at Sylv, but thank the light that Az was there to protect her.


    The two of them killed the monstrosity, but, as you can see, Az did not emerge unscathed."


    Li looked back at Azhar''s limp arm. The hintender had downed both elixirs, wiping his mouth with the back of his functional hand. His arm did not seem to be regaining function, and elixirs usually worked almost instantly. "It doesn''t look like he has any physical wounds."


    "I healed him," said Jeanne. "The bite itself was well within the bounds of my faith to remedy. But darkbeast venom? That, I cannot do anything about."


    "Venom? Tell me about darkbeasts. I''ve never heard of them, and maybe I can find out a remedy with some more information."


    Li expected Sylvie, with all her stored knowledge and pride of it, to start talking, but she remained silent, embroiled in guilt.


    Jeanne continued. "It is understandable that you do not know. They are a recent phenomenon, after all, and even I do not know too much about them ¨C nobody truly does ¨C but among adventurers, it is simply amon sense to avoid them. They hold abilities that our training has not prepared us against."


    "They are mutants." Launcelot spoke from his corner. He was staring straight ahead, recalling. "I''ve done my research on mutants and what makes a hero a hero, and I can tell you that these darkbeasts possess the same nature of powers as you heroes.


    Though why they have only recently begun to manifest them, I do not know, though I theorize it is due to theck of forest spirits breaking down the natural order in these forests, letting mutations go rampant and uncontrolled.


    Regardless, if it is a darkbeast that has inflicted that paralysis upon his arm, then it is possible that no mere elixir nor magic can heal it."


    "So what?" Azhar said. His voice wasden with brimming anger. "I''m stuck with a deadbeat arm for the rest of my life? That what it is, huh?"


    "Darkbeast powers are diluted," said Launcelot. "I sincerely doubt the effect upon your arm is permanent. It may be that it fades today, perhaps the morrow, perhaps in a week. I cannot tell you properly. But what I can tell you is that this is not a permanent fate, so stand tall and proud, my fellow warrior."


    "If only, if only I hadn''t been so careless," said Sylvie as she balled her fists upon her knees, her arms quaking. "I nned everything ahead, set up contingencies in the case that we were swarmed, but that ursed darkbeast, that vile spider, if only that had not been there at that exact moment-"


    "Quit the min'', ya did fine," snapped Azhar. He stood up. "Now the hells are we waitin'' for? Ain''t the time to be doin'' this pity party. You heard the fancy nobleman, ain''t this scratch gonna'' put me down for long, and we haven''t gotten'' our ingredients yet. Let''s go back instead of wastin'' time here."


    "No." Jeanne''s voice rung out an intensity uncharacteristic of her usual gentleness. "You have to rest until you regain use of your arm."


    "Hells, when''s that gonna'' be, huh? Might even be a damn weekter. We ain''t got time for that. Our quest down in Duvin''sin'' up soon."


    "You must still rest. Your safety means so much to me, to Sylv."


    "Don''t be worryin'' yourself bout'' me. Besides, how am I gonna'' keep you two safe out there if I ain''t even there?"


    A pained expression set upon Jeanne''s face.


    "Az, without an arm, you can''t string a bow, and without that, you''re¡­," She could not bring herself to continue.


    Sylvie knew what Jeanne wanted to say, and she grimaced, unable to look properly at Azhar.


    "What? What''s up with you two?" Azhar''s eyes shifted from Jeanne to Sylvie in rapid session, and it was evident in the rising desperation in his voice that he knew what they were thinking.


    "You''re a liability," said Launcelot. He stepped towards Azhar, his characteristic smile wiped from his face and reced with an almost stone-cold seriousness. His voice was, however, gentle. Firm, yes, but understanding. "If you truly wish to protect your party, then you should rest until you are capable of defending yourself. In the meanwhile-"


    Launcelot bowed to Jeanne. "Will you not consider taking Bulwark with you? My party and I are quite suited to the Chattering Forests with our elemental powers, and we will ask nothing in return."


    Jeanne blinked a few times as she considered the offer.


    "Oh, so that''s how it''s gonna'' be?" Azhar came up close to Launcelot and shoved him backwards with his good arm. "You''re gonna'' protect em'', huh?"


    Launcelot put his hands up to show he meant no harm. "My fellow adventurer, I harbor no ill-intent with my words. I know you are a bowman of superb merit ¨C I have seen your skill with my very own eyes. But you will endanger your party should you persist in this. You must rest and regain your splendid strength."


    Azhar drew close to Launcelot, and the two were matched evenly in height, though Launcelot dwarfed him in width of frame, the difference only entuated by his bulky armor. Azhar drove an using finger into Launcelot''s breastte.


    "I know what you''re after," said Azhar. "You and your party of girls, huh, mighty convenient ain''t it, sir good looks? Think you''re gonna'' get your grubby hands on these two?"


    Launcelot shook his head. "I simply wish to protect your friends as you do."


    "Ya think I ain''t capable? Think a busted arm''s gonna'' put me out the count?"


    Li could tell with how explosively Azhar''s anger mounted that this was not real rage. Of course, the hintender was always on the fiery side and always rough around the edges, but deep down, he knew that Launcelot was right. This was anger created from desperation, the type of anger thatshed out at anything, no matter how irrationally, because of a deep sense of powerlessness.


    Li knew that feeling well. He had felt it once, too.


    The wyrm who had slept through everything peacefully by the firece until now woke up, sensing thebative tension in the air. She nced at Launcelot and Azhar, and sensing they were too many levels above her to challenge, scampered behind Li''s seat, though her gleaming yellow eyes did peek out curiously to look at how this confrontation was going to go.


    "Tell ya what," said Azhar as he stared down Launcelot. "Prove you''re better than me, and I''ll let you go. Beat me in a duel. Ain''t no tricks, just our fists and the skills we''ve trained for. Or is all your talk about bein'' a man empty?"


    "Az, this is ridiculous," said Jeanne as she hurried to get in between them.


    Launcelot raised his hand to stop her. "No, I will do it. I have my honor as a Lakely to uphold, and a Lakely does not back down from challenges."

 Chapter 92 - Duel I

    Though night''s shadowy tendrils had creeped across a sleepy Riviera, the moon rose in her full splendor today, casting a bright presence of ghostly pale light everywhere. It was a full moon, and to Li, he thought it far brighter than the one from his home world, though he could not give an urate assessment considering that he had never seen the moon or sun uncovered by pollution.


    The moon almost shone a spotlight in the grass next to the fields where Launcelot and Azhar stood facing each other, each ten meters away. Around them, Launcelot, dressed only in leather pants and shirt, had carved out a circle twenty meters across in diameter on the dirt with his shield. Anyone stepping out the ring lost. Standard bare-fisted dueling rules in this world: twenty meter ring, no weapons, no armor, no magic aside from skills learned through martial sses.


    Li cocked his head. From the way Launcelot could draw the circle so easily and so perfectly, either the noble had quite the fondness for drawing circles, or he had been in many duels.


    Azhar, as always, stood shirtless, revealing the tattoos etched all over his body. The colorful ink images seemed to gleam and dance under the moonlight as he jumped up and down, getting his cirction up. His right arm hung limp at his body as he did so, swaying from to and fro with zero control.


    Li, Jeanne, and Sylvie watched from outside the circle. Zagan momentarily peeked his tawny head from the fields, ncing at themotion, and then scoffed before lying back down again, no doubt thinking to himself that mortal stupidity was running abound again.


    The wyrm hung around Li''s legs, scared of the iing fight and yet curious, her eyes wide open as she almost excitedly anticipated the bloodshed toe. Li somewhat worried whether that bloodthirstiness would stay with her as she grew up.


    "This is madness," said Jeanne as she side by side with Sylvie, grasping her hand. She turned to Li, her blonde locks almost pale like shes of silver under the moonlight. "Can you not stop them, Li?"


    "Their prides are on the line, and let me tell you, there isn''t much more a man, especially men like them, care more than that," said Li as he watched with arms crossed. "And besides, the winner is obviously going to be Launcelot ¨C the man can use both arms.


    But Azhar is too desperate right now, too angry. He won''t see reason until it''s physically hit into him, and I trust Launcelot will pull his punches so that this isn''t a real duel, more a teaching experience."


    "I agree," said Sylvie, though reluctantly.


    "Sylv?" questioned Jeanne, the anxiety and confusion visible on her face as she had expected the assassin to be in favor of ending this duel before it began


    "This is my fault, and you are right, this is madness, but you know Az, Jeanne. He has never been one for words." Sylvie sighed. "This is the only way to make him see reason." She broke from Jeanne''s hand and came to Li''s side, tugging at his arm. "If ever you notice the fight turning too violent, then please, will you end it? Az will not stand for it if we are the ones to end it for him."


    "You have my word for that," said Li.


    ______________________


    Azhar swept his long and unruly hair behind his head as he exhaled, his defined muscles clenching as he drew power into himself. He drew his left arm out, balling the hand into a fist. His build was lean but extraordinarily fit. The type of build a professional runner would have, though slightly bulkier from having to ocassionally wrestle with monsters.


    On the opposite end of the ring, Launcelot stood in normal posture. Without his armor, it was much easier to see his build, and in terms of sheer muscle mass, the shielder outweighed Azhar significantly.


    His muscles were developed and pronounced, almost to the point that it did not seem like they matched his prettyboy face topped with youthful and curly blonde hair. Countless old scars ran up and down his body ¨C a rarity in this world where most people used elixirs and healing spells to erase wounds.


    "I''ve downed plenty of brainless muscleheads like you," said Azhar as he scanned Launcelot''s build. "Ya ain''t nothin'' once you take a couple of hits. I ain''t even need my arm for this."


    "That may be true," said Launcelot. He took a fighting stance, his arms raised in a guard, his posture crouching a little and his shoulders raising to protect his head. His legs were shoulder-width apart and slightly bent, giving him perfect leverage and range of motion to strike and dodge.


    "But if I am fighting you with my honor as a Lakely on the line, then that very same honor demands I fight you upon the same grounds."


    Launcelot put his right arm tightly behind his back.


    Azhar blinked. Li could tell the hintender was shaken up that Launcelot exhibited what appeared to be a perfectly trained boxing stance.


    "I ain''t gonna'' go easy on you just cause'' you''re goin'' easy on me," said Azhar, still willing to push forwards.


    "You are a formidable warrior, my friend," said Launcelot. He took in several calm and controlled breaths, his eyes narrowing in intense focus. "I cannot afford to hold back, nor will I expect the same from you."


    With this, Launcelot and Azhar began stepping towards each other. They did not strike at first, merely circling around each other to gauge their intents.


    Li put a hand to his chin. He was no expert on fighting, but he had somewhat functional knowledge from having a passing spectating interest inbat sports. With Launcelot disabling his arm, the footing here was more even. Azhar had longer reach than Launcelot, but Launcelot had a significant weight and frame advantage.


    But at the same time, this was a world of magic and superhuman strength. But even then, the fighting dynamics were simr. Azhar, as a ranger investing in agility, would have more speed and evasive potential while Launcelot as a tank investing in strength would be sturdier and pack stronger blows. Launcelot had a few levels on Azhar, too, but the difference was not massive.


    Where the differences would arise would be in the skills they used.


    "Damn it all. Enough waitin''. Time to take you down!" Azhar made the first move, rushing forwards with his left arm cocked back. He loosed a heavy and quick punch right towards Launcelot''s face.


    Launcelot swerved his body to the side, letting Azhar''s punch collide with his raised and guarding arm. Launcelot had enough finesse that he did not simply let his guard fully absorb the punch head on, but he shifted his weight at thest moment to let the heavy blow almost glide past him, leaving Azhar open and in his range.


    Launcelot shot out a lightning fast jab at Azhar''s sternum, knocking the hintender back.


    Azhar coughed to catch his breath, but Launcelot was upon him, capitalizing on the moment of weakness in an instant.


    Launcelot unleashed a barrage of rapidfire jabs, his steady posture never once breaking. He did not put his full weight behind the jabs, making them extremely quick, and Azhar, despite his superior speed, ate a few to his face and chest before he could put his guard up.


    Thankfully, because Launcelot had not used the full extent of his weight and muscles, the punches mostly rattled Azhar, knocking him further back and dangerously close to ringing out.


    But Azhar, not having almost any strength which gave health on top of melee damage, did not have nearly the sturdiness to eat even those few punches. A bruise began forming above his right eye where a jab hadnded particrly hard.


    Launcelot closed the distance again to loose another flurry of jabs, but Azhar, a little more used to the speed of the blows now, used his honedbat instincts, superior agility, and flexibility to swerve under them, dropping to the ground and rolling behind Launcelot to prevent from leaving the ring.


    Launcelot turned around in an instant and took a few steps forward both to close distance with Azhar and increase it from the ring''s edge.


    Azhar spat blood out from a split lip. "You''re good. Didn''t take ya for the type to brawl. Guess your stuckup noble arse got around in a few tavern brawls, huh."


    "No, I did not learn from mere drunken fools," wall all Launcelot said, but Li understood now.


    Veritas, the academy that Launcelot graduated from, had been primarily a military institution meant to train the next generation of nobles to bepetent in wartime. It might have been exclusive to noble blood, but it was no amusement park for the entitled.


    The training and curriculum were famously rigorous. Only the cream of the crop among noble children managed to graduate through all eight years of it.


    Launcelot was a military tactics major at that. He knew more than how to manage armies from a tent behind the frontlines. He had to learn how to fight, to put up a weapon and bloody his hands if needs be, exining not only his boxing skills, but also his proficiency in espionage.


    In contrast, Azhar may have trained just as hard to be an adventurer, but he had trained to fight monsters. There was a world of a difference in knowing how to beat down a giant monster versus knowing how to systematically dismantle fellow humans with bare hands.


    "Yeah?" said Azhar. He took in a breath as he brought his shoulders back, flexing his back muscles. The red eagle etched on Azhar''s back seemed to draw its wings in with the movement. "You too good to get dirty in the taverns? Commonfolk a little too lowly for ya to deal with? Well, it''s bout'' time someone taught you how dirt tasted like."


    The tattoo glowed a bright crimson, and for a moment, the ghostly silhouette of an eagle shed around Azhar, the majestic wings aligned with his arms.


    "Hintender magic never ceases to impress me," said Launcelot as he kept his distance, raising his guard high, flexing his leg muscles and driving his heels to get a rock-solid stance on the ground, ready to eat any blow.


    He truly seemed like the living embodiment of a shield like this.


    "[Bowman''s Stand]," said Azhar.


    Azhar bent down, almost like he was getting into a runner''s start, before driving off the ground with an empowered leg, shooting forwards with his fist poised forwards. He was like an arrow, his body the shaft and his fist the arrowhead. And that arrow struck true, getting past Launcelot''s guard by striking him straight in the stomach.


    Launcelot skidded several meters back, little piles of dirt ploughed up from his bare heels which still managed to stand grounded into the dirt. His posture had not changed at all, his stance and guard still stable, but his lips drew into a pained grimace.


    A fist-sized bruise began to start welling up on his stomach even through his iron-solid abdominal muscles.


    Li leaned forward a little to observe the fight more closely. It was up in the air now where this would go. Azhar had not only used his spirit magic to empower his speed, but he had used [Bowman''s Stand] which equalized the ying field of this fight quite a bit.


    The strength stat granted health, melee damage, health regeneration, and better scaling with resistances from items, though thatst part did not matter in an unequipped fight.


    Agility granted attack speed, critical hit chance, uracy, and evasion.


    Insight granted mana, mana regeneration, critical hit damage, and, if thebatant could cast a barrier or magical shield, bonuses to it.


    Launcelot statted mostly into strength and agility, though mostly in strength. As a result, not only was he tougher, but he was decently fast, and, most importantly, had strong bonuses for melee damage.


    Azhar, on the other hand, statted heavily into agility with some dabbling into strength and intelligence. This meant that most of his damage was necessarily gated to ranged attacks, not to mention that he was frailer.


    Yet [Bowman''s Stand] was a niche ranger ss spell that temporarily converted the ranged bonus damage granted from agility into bonus melee damage at the cost of giving up ranged attacks and increasing taken damage.


    In-game, the spell was one of those neat lore spells learned early and discarded early, useful only in early levels when getting enough arrows and ammunition to reliably fire a ranged weapon was a legitimate issue. Or maybe in cheese builds that tried to oneshot opponents by abusing strong melee weapons with the crit chance bonuses granted from agility.


    Video game rangers, though, might as well have had infinite ammo in thete game and never lost their weapons unless temporarily forced to through a spell, so there was zero reason for them to ever seal their ranged attacks to fight in melee.


    But in a real-world scenario, Li could see that the spell was far more effective. It could give rangers ast stand where they could potentially have a fighting chance without their bow or arrows, but of course, an unarmed ranger fighting against fully equipped melee fighters or monsters was still suicide.


    In Azhar''s case, though, he was fighting an equally unarmed man. Combined with the agility multiplier from his spirit magic and his enhanced melee damage, he had a real fighting chance to win this duel.


    Li did not know if the spirit magic even counted as legal in a duel like this, but Launcelot did not seem to mind, instead re-assuming his guard to prepare to absorb another blow head on.


    Li would even say the fight favored Azhar. All Azhar had to do was keep charging, and because Launcelot could not react to the attack''s sheer speed, eventually, even if he was too durable to knockout, he would get pushed out the ring.

 Chapter 93 - Duel II

    Azhar slinked back into his charging stance, his body low and his feet extended behind him, the tips of his feet digging into the dirt, channeling as much energy as they could. He took in a breath, every little muscle sculpted on his body clenching with the exertion. Magical energy surged from him, around him, manifesting as an angry red aura.


    Sweat dripped from his forehead, pattering on the grass.


    Li knew spirit shamanism was extremely hard to maintain. The magic, whether it focused on summoning spirit creatures or empowering the body, focused on toggled abilities, and those drained mana by the second at an astonishing rate.


    The tax on Azhar''s body was evident, and he wondered whether the hintender could maintain his relentless assault before he tired.


    Launcelot did not move. He instead kept his guard up as always. He tucked his chin in and lowered his head a little while angling his body sideways, reducing the amount of torso that Azhar could hit and topensate for the fact that he only had one arm to guard with.


    His blue eyes were narrowed, pointing their razor-sharp focus towards Azhar. Those eyes did not change their focus even as Azhar disappeared from their sight.


    To Li, Azhar moved slow as a snail, but he knew that to Launcelot, the hintender must have seemed like he had be a blur impossible to react to.


    And Launcelot did not react. Azhar mmed his fist into Launcelot''s stomach again, and with the recoil from the high velocity charge, flipped backwards to gain distance and reassume his charging stance all in one fluid motion.


    Launcelot slid backwards, nearing the edge of the circle. Because of his guard, he took no real damage, but two more hits like this, and he would be out the ring.


    "You''re all outta'' options, prettyboy," said Azhar with a grin. "All that muscle just weighs ya down. Think real fightin''s all bout'' eatin'' hits to the face like ya always do? Get real."


    Launcelot remained silently rooted in his stance, simply continuing to stare at Azhar with an unyielding intensity. Li did not know what the shielder was going for here, and he waited, seeing how he would handle these turning tides.


    Azhar shifted a little downwards ¨C a hint that he was starting his charge. Launcelot instinctively flexed his muscles, hardening them to dissipate iing impact.


    This time, though, right before Azhar charged, a green light washed over him. A buff, and from conjecture based on his level, ss, and the familiar color and particles of the buff, Li could guess this was [Ranger''s Focus] which boosted attack speed and guaranteed the next attack as a critical hit.


    Azhar charged again. He had charged twice to lead Launcelot on, getting him used to bracing for a regr charge''s worth of force. But this critical hit would surprise him and send him straight out the ring. He might have fallen behind on technical skill, but in rawbat instinct, Azhar rivaledLauncelot.


    Launcelot managed to react. Not to the blindingly fast charge itself, but to the green light that had manifested over Azhar for just a split second before the charge began. Launcelot casted a buff of his own, a blue light shimmering across his body.


    [Unbreakable]. A warrior-ss buff meant for reducing burst damage. It severely mitigated the power from the next iing source of damage.


    When Azhar''s fist crashed into Launcelot''s stomach again, the result was the same. Azhar''s critical strike loosed a cracking impact almost like a bullet, but because Launcelot had steeled himself with [Unbreakable], he was pushed back only two or so meters.


    Even so, this was enough to put Launcelot right at the edge of the circle, his heels kissing the line in the dirt.


    Azhar flipped back again, getting low to the ground for another charge.


    "You''re tough, I''ll give ya that. But ain''t toughness gonna'' save you from ringin'' out."


    Launcelot, like always, did not respond. He simply kept his guard up and focused on the fight in front of him. Though it was almost imperceptible, Li picked up with his sharp senses that Launcelot had straightened his posture just a little.


    Although Li did not know why Launcelot made this movement, it seemed important considering the shielder had not moved an ounce beforehand.


    "Well, nost words for ya, I guess," said Azhar before he charged again.


    Launcelot''s eyes widened for an instant, not in surprise, but in reaction. He swiveled his hips, thrusting his leg out in a kick.


    The sound of flesh mming on flesh pped through the air as Azhar sailed backwards, crashing hard enough into the dirt that he skid into it, chunks of dirt clumped with grass sticking to his back. He wheezed; the air knocked straight out of him. An ugly, foot-sized red mark on his stomach indicated where Launcelot''s kick hadnded.


    Li nodded in acknowledgement.


    Launcelot had taken the first few hits to get a sense of Azhar''s timing. He had not responded to Azhar''s taunts because he had shut them out,pletely focusing on what movements Azhar made before he charged, how his breathing changed, how fast the charge was, when exactly he stuck out his fist, and countless other number of variables to get used to the attack.


    Knowing these variables after eating several hits, Launcelot had calcted exactly what to do. Li had focused his attention on Launcelot''s face this whole time, and not once had the shielder''s eyes actually ever had the reaction time to legitimately pick up and properly track Azhar''s movements.


    Instead, Launcelot estimated when Azhar would be in range, and, knowing that the hintender''s arm reach was longer than this, decided to throw out a kick at approximately the exact moment he predicted Azhar would get hit ¨C something that Azhar had entirely not expected as Launcelot''s boxing had conditioned Azhar to think the shielder fought only with his hands.


    Li recognized that Launcelot was a geniusbatant.


    Almost to the point that it was aplete waste that he had decided to be a tank and soak damage. His razor sharp battle instincts, predictive knowledge, and utter mastery of his physical limitations would have made him an exceptional damage-based warrior, but in the end, Launcelot did not wish to fight, he wished to protect.


    The fight was over.


    Azhar could not have taken a hit like that. This was not like the game where only a set value of damage urred for every attack. Real world mechanics such as physics applied here, and Azhar had not only taken the damage from Launcelot''s kick, but had essentially doubled the damage by running into it with his reckless charge.


    But when Li was about to raise his hand to call the match, he saw Azhar raising himself up. The hintender could not breathe and probably had felt a strong enough impact to rattle his brain, but he still stood.


    Slowly, but surely Azhar pushed himself up with shaky arm and legs, and though his body might have been in shambles, his eyes were still defiant, narrowed on Launcelot in challenge.


    Li did not call the match.


    Launcelot almost mercilessly rushed forwards and tackled Azhar down to the ground. Azhar had no real strength to resist, and Launcelot wrapped his burly arms around Azhar''s neck in a headlock.


    "Halt the duel!" Jeanne tugged at Li''s shirt, but he shook his head.


    "He hasn''t given up," said Li. "If I stop the match while he still hasn''t given up, he won''t listen to you. Call him hardheaded or stupid, but it is what it is."


    Even now, Azhar was struggling, using his shaky hand to w at Launcelot''s arms, trying to pry them from his neck.


    Launcelot''s hold was unreakable, restricting blood flow to Azhar''s head, and within ten seconds, the hintender went limp, his head hanging over the nobleman''s arms.


    "Duel is over," called Li out to Launcelot.


    Launcelot nodded and slung an unconscious Azhar over his shoulder, bringing him out the ring and towards Li and the rest of the group.


    "Good sir," said Launcelot as he approached Li. "Can you spare healing elixirs for the warrior?"


    "Is this your way of feeling better about beating him down? You could have stopped after that kick, and yet you continued your relentless assault," said Jeanne.


    Launcelot shook his head. "It would have been an insult to him to have ended the fight there. He wished to fight to the very limits of his ability, and I merely granted that wish."


    "You hurt him far more than you should have!" protested Jeanne.


    "I am sorry. I did try my best."


    "Try your best for what? To show off your strength?"


    Li stepped in between Jeanne and Launcelot. The wyrm did not follow him, afraid to get between so many powerful people. "To stop from killing him. Launcelot had plenty of chances to t out kill Azhar. Imagine if he had angled his kick towards the head. Towards the liver. Or let''s not even think about that. What if he had angled it towards a leg or arm? Broken a bone or two? No, he precisely determined where to hit to disable, not to maim."


    Launcelot nodded and bowed his head to Jeanne. "I understand it is painful to see one close to you fall in battle, but he would not have had it any other way. I will carry him to his room in the Golden gon and provide any measure of assistance for hisfort. In return, I swear that I will lead your party to sess in the Chattering Forests and, if needs be, in Duvin."


    "In return?" Jeanne looked aghast. "We have not even agreed to take your help. And now, why should we? Come, Sylv, let us take Azhar and see to his recovery. This whole idea was terrible in the first ce. We should have given up on the Gigantopede hunt the moment Azhar injured his arm."


    "If that is your wish," said Launcelot with a slight bow, taking care not to shake up Azhar on his back.


    "No." Sylvie spoke up. This whole night, her voice had wavered with guilt, but now, it was surprisingly resolute.


    "We cannot abandon the hunt. All five gold and tinum parties in Duvin have moved to Trieste for the Kraken hunt. We are the only party capable of engaging the Gigantopede, and abandoning the hunt is abandoning the people of Duvin to fall further under its fangs."


    Jeanne bit her lip as she tried to protest against Sylvie.


    "Az would not want us to stay here," said Sylvie. "In the first ce, he went through all this trouble, took this beating, all to prove he could keep us going on our hunt. How will he feel to know that in the end, it was him that made us stop?"


    "She''s right," said Li. "He fought this hard because he didn''t want to hold you back. I know you care about him. I know you can''t stand to see people getting hurt, but if you''re going to hold yourself back for him anyway, then he did all this for nothing."


    Jeanne looked at Sylvie, then at Li. She seemed conflicted, but then sighed, her shoulders slumping.


    "You are both right. I wish I had tighter reigns over my emotions, but s, it is who I am."


    "We appreciate who you are because it is you," said Sylvie with a smile.


    "If we''re in agreement, then let''s act quickly," said Li. He waved Launcelot over. "Jeanne, heal Azhar with your priest-ss spells. I''ll brew a few elixirs to help with his recovery, though I doubt he''ll need it. Whatever he has to recover from, it''ll be mental, not physical."

 Chapter 94 - Help

    Li did not have to do much, not needing to brew up anyst minute elixirs or use healing spells, so he let everyone else handle the situation.


    In the end, matters got settled fairly quickly.


    Jeanne healed Azhar and took him from Launcelot, carrying him over her shoulder. She managed to do it easily because of both her height and inhuman strength, and she insisted on doing it because she wanted it to be Triple Threat that brought him back home, not anyone else.


    While she carried Azhar home, Sylvie and Launcelot talked, hashing out the details for having his party temporarily join Triple Threat in the Chattering Forest and, potentially, if Azhar did not recover quickly, down to Duvin to face off against the Gigantopede.


    Before Sylvie left, though, she promised to return with ingredients for Li and asked him to take care of Azhar if he ever showed up around the farm. Li had agreed, but he did not really expect to do anything. He doubted that Azhar would show himself to Li or the farm ¨C the site of his shameful defeat ¨C anytime soon.


    So, as Li closed the door to the cottage behind as after everyone had left, the wyrm immediately plopping herself down by the fire to sleep, he figured that he was in for a couple of slow days brewing elixirs with Iona for the adventurers that would pick up the ck now for Riviera now that both its top ranked parties were gone.


    Though, Li figured, the days would only be slow until harvest came, when he would arrange his meeting with Alexei. Until then, he would juggle his free time in between training his forest spirit powers, exercising the wyrm, and taking a look at the old farmhouses to see how he could buy them up.


    The next day, in contrast to the tumultuous night before, was a mellow and summery calm. Sun neither too bright nor too overcast. Neither too hot nor too cold. Breeze neither too strong nor calm. A day of moderation.


    Li sat in the counter of his stall, his chin resting against his palm as he looked out to the world with a bored expression that must have mirrored Iona''s as she worked at the table, mixing up their daily batch of minor healing potions for general use for Riviera''s popce.


    He scanned his eye to Old Thane sitting in the fields with Zagan at his side, taking a break after weeding the rapidly growing wheat stalks. He had Iona check them just one more time to see if they were at all dangerous after hearing Launcelot''s story about cloning, but she confirmed they were harmless.


    "It''s a slow day," said Li to Iona behind him. "Though I guess this is probably why."


    Li reached out to pet the wyrm curled up in a sleeping ball on top of the counter. He worried that the fumes from elixir brewing could potentially harm her, so he had her lie on the counter. He initially tried to tie her to a wooden post right outside the stall, but she snapped the post in two to follow Li, which put a definitive end to the question as to whether she did well when separated from him.


    "Mortals are always far too fearful for their own good. They cower even at an infant," said Iona as she fiddled with a few beakers.


    "I mean, I can understand where they''reing from. She can probably gobble up a fully grown man right now," said Li as he gave the wyrm another pat on her head. Her scales had extended a little, especially on her head, making its previously smooth texture a little rougher.


    "Perhaps we can add her to our marketing," said Iona. She mused to herself for a bit before saying, "A boost to our anti-venoms, maybe? If we stress that we distill our brews from a wyrm from whom a single drop of saliva will cause eternal numbness that readies its victims to be picked apart from bone to bone, then certainly the mortals will have more faith in them."


    "You''ve got the basic idea of marketing down, but the way you''re saying it, most people will be way too scared to buy anything we make," said Li. "Here, I''ll give you a better example to the next person thates to the stall."


    After a few minutes, the next person that showed up at the stall made it clear that it was not time for Li to start marketing.


    "Azhar? Do you need anything?" said Li.


    Azhar stood in front of the stall with a smile, as if nothing had happened the night before. It honestly did seem that way, considering all his wounds had been healed too. He reached into his leather trousers and picked out a slip of paper that he handed to Li.


    Li unfurled it.


    It was a note that detailed arge batch of orders for restorative elixirs as well as strength boosters for Azhar. At the bottom of the note, there was arge, flowing signature that marked it as Launcelot''s.


    "You want me to take this order?" said Li as he looked at Azhar. He could not see any hints of resentment or hesitation on his face.


    "If that rich bastard''s payin'', I ain''t one to shirk free supplies."


    "Didn''t expect you to cash this in." Li shrugged. "Honestly, didn''t expect you to even show up here today."


    "Why not?" Azharughed. "Ain''t like this spot''s cursed or nothin''. Prettyboy beat me fair and square, and I ain''t got a problem bout'' admittin'' the better man when I see it. So, gonna take the order?"


    Li took one more nce at the note before nodding. "I have most of the recovery elixirs in stock. The strength boosters will take a day. Have to forage in the woods for ingredients. But you know these won''t do anything for your arm, right?"


    "I know, but free stuff''s free stuff."


    Li considered Azhar for a moment. "If you truly want to recover, then I can think of one solution provided you have the resolve for it. I''ll tear off your arm and regrow it."


    "Mighty temptin'' offer." Azhar nced at his dead right arm before shaking his head. "But nah. I''m gonna'' take some to time reflect on where I went wrong and improve myself. Figure the time it''ll take my arm to get back is enough time to get my head straight."


    "You''re not worried about the rest of your party?"


    "Nah. Knew the prettyboy and his gaggle of girls were way more useful than me from the start. Was just feelin'' a little worked up yesterday, I guess. But Jeanne and Sylv''s gonna'' be safer with him than with me. Besides, they already left."


    "Fair enough." Li took Launcelot''s order for Azhar and went back to the working table, handing it to Iona. When he came back to the counter, he found Azhar looking eye to eye with the wyrm.


    Li instinctively reached out to calm the wyrm, but she was not attacking him, merely staring at him with an almost hypnotic stillness.


    "Interesting," said Li. "Considering she tried to bite Jeanne''s hand off, this is quite a surprise."


    Azhar broke his stare with the wyrm and looked to Li with a smirk. "Ain''t no animal ever taken a likin'' to Jeanne. Probably somethin'' to do with her mutant blood and all. But more than that, I know how to talk with dragonkin. All bout'' the eyes ¨C how ya open em'', how ya stare, and all that. So long as you don''t close em'' or look away, it''s pretty safe."


    He took a step back, analyzing where the wyrmy. He cocked his head. "Ya know, why''s she up here? She''s probably scarin'' off customers. Ain''t it better to have her in the stall?"


    "Worried the fumes will hurt her," said Li.


    Azhar waved his hand. "Ain''t a little fumes gonna'' harm her. In fact, breathin em'' in will probably get her stronger. Adapt her to em''."


    Li nodded in understanding. "You know an awful lot about wyrms."


    "Bout'' dragonkin in general. When I took a few years to reconnect with my people, I learned bout'' their wyrm and wyvern ridin''. I''m probably one of few people out here that knows how to train em'', too." He paused, his casual expression stiffening into a more serious one. "Hope that was enough to convince ya of my qualifications."


    "For what?"


    "I¡­I came here to ask for your help." Azhar took in a deep breath. "What ya said to me before got to me, and I still remember it. I ain''t askin'' for a handout. I''m askin'' you to train me, and I''ll work however hard ya want me to. Some kinda martial art, beast tamin'', whatever it is. I wanna'' get stronger somehow, someway, even if just a little, even if I ain''t got talent. I ain''t askin'' for charity either;I''ll help ya train your dragonkin."

 Chapter 95 - Multi-Training I

    "If you''re asking me to train you, then I have no issues with that so long as you make it worth my time," said Li. He pet the wyrm again, and she gave a curious nce to Azhar. "It''s true that I don''t exactly know how to raise her. She listens to me and is smart enough that I figure she won''t get into trouble growing up, but I still owe it to her to raise her right.


    For that, you''ll be useful."


    "You''re sayin'' yes?" said Azhar.


    Li saw the surprise on his face. "You''re surprised, are you? There''s no need to be. Before, when you asked for my help, you were talking to me like I was a magic wand you could wave to have all your problems solved just like that." Li snapped his fingers. "That annoyed me, to be honest. But asking me for help to improve yourself? That, I''m far less opposed to."


    After all, Li had also agreed to train Sylvie. He did not mind so much helping others grow. Strange, too, considering he had not felt much of this in his past life, whenpetitiveness and a drive to seed beyond all else dominated him.


    Although, in a sense, he supposed he had a soft spot considering how he treated his parents, and maybe now that he started farming, he knew the value of nurturing a seed to its full potential.


    A broad smile formed on Azhar''s face.


    "Of course," said Li. "My time is limited. I''m only free in the evenings after working the fields or the stall, and some evenings, I''m busy foraging for herbs." Of course, this was just an excuse to cover for the fact that he was attuning himself with his spiritual powers with Iona. "I''ll think about what I want to do with you while I work. Come back at sunset."


    ______________________


    Li, Azhar, and the wyrm gathered in the depths of the Winterwoods right after the sun set, hiding its golden rays away and letting the night emerge in its stead. Wispy clouds covered the moon, so visibility was low.


    But that was not so much an issue. Li had perfect night vision, the wyrm''s gleaming yellow eyes could pierce through the dark, and Azhar could toggle [Ranger''s Sight] to gain night vision.


    While they had walked here, Li had gotten Azhar to tell him about raising a wyrm. ording to the ranger, young dragonkin were supremely adaptable to their environments, growing and molding to it. As a result, unless they were consistently pushed to their limits through high-intensity environments such asbat, their growth both physical and mental stunted.


    Azhar had suggested that Li take the wyrm hunting every few days, preferably every single day, and to actually leave her alone to promote a stronger will. Li knew she did not do well separated from him, so he would consider whether to keep her alone while huntingter.


    "Here''s how things are going to go," said Li as he addressed Azhar. "I''ve given some thought about how I want to train you, and the best I coulde up with is to improve what you already have. You''re a ranger who specs equally into magic and physical damage because of your shamanism. I can help you learn skills in both fields."


    Although Li had yed through Elden World as a mage, as a high tier yer, he necessarily had knowledge of all other sses and specializations and a functional knowledge of their best spells, skills, and ways to attain them. Due to the sheer breadth of possibilities in the game, he did not have a perfect knowledge of abilities outside his ss as a mage, but he knew what generally worked and what did not.


    "Ya got skill with the bow? Didn''t take ya for a ranger,"mented Azhar.


    "No, but I know about it and the martial path you need to take to improve yourself in it," said Li. "And that brings us to why we''re here. You''re going to learn a skill called [Scattershot] that lets you shoot multiple phantom arrows with each real arrow you loose."


    "Now that''d be mighty useful," said Azhar, no doubt remembering his rtive uselessness in the Chattering Forests where swarms of enemies confounded his single target damage.


    "To do this, you''re going to have to fight and kill groups of enemies until you learn it," said Li.


    Li actually did not have a good idea as to whether this would work. He knew that in Elden World, most skills and spells were unlocked firstly through a stat and level requirement and then through mini quests involving killing certain types of enemies under certain conditions or consuming a specific item.


    Would this work the same way in this world? There was no real reason for it not to. Sylvie''s scrolls that acted as guides to learn certain ss skills showed that these mini quest requirements were still much the same, but there were things about learning martial philosophies or getting into the right mindset that Li had little idea about.


    Regardless, Li figured this was a great way to experiment to see how learning skills worked in this world. And even if this did not work, then at least Azhar got somebat experience.


    "I ain''t got my bow," said Azhar as his left hand instinctively reached behind his back where the familiar weight of his bow would sit.


    "You''ve got a dagger, don''t you?"


    "Guess so, but it ain''t much, and I ain''t cut for fightin'' up close." Azhar looked down to his belt and at the sheathed hunting dagger at his hip.


    "I never said this would be easy." Li shrugged. "You''re going to fight with that dagger. It''ll be hard, I''m certain of it. You''ll have to fight tooth and nail to survive, use up all your magic and every bit of your strength, but nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?"


    "Hells yeah, I got this," said Azhar as he smiled into the dark of the woods, hand at his dagger.


    Li thought Azhar would feel maybe just a little more nervous about fighting monsters without a bow and with one arm, but it was evident the hintender was ready to push himself to death to get stronger.


    Strong conviction. Li could appreciate that.


    "I''ve tracked a few hosts of monsters for you to fight," said Li. Earlier, he had discretely summoned a Shadowfly and sent it to scout the woods and keep tabs on weaker groups of monsters. For now, he had pinpointed a group of giant spiders and a trio of rootbeasts. Level wise, they were around 25, and would provide a solid challenge for Azhar as even if the ranger was level 42, he had quite a few handicaps to deal with.


    "Let me know where they''re at, and I''ll be at em''." Azhar unsheathed his dagger, twirling it around his fingers before grasping the worn leather handle in his palm.


    "I wanted to say this to lower your worries a little, but looks like you have none." Li shrugged. "In any case, it''s still relevant information. If I send you out alone, there''s a good chance you might die, and I''m here to train you, not bury you. I''ll be following you through your hunt."


    Azhar perked up. "Gonna'' help me out?"


    Li shook his head. "Don''t expect me to lift even a finger to help you. I''m following you for her sake."


    Li pointed to the wyrm standing in front of him, her snout ring as she smelled so many potential little creatures to hunt. When she sensed Li pointing at her, she let out her throaty purr of contentment. "She''ll be hunting with you. This way, I get to train the two of you at once."


    "Ain''t got no problem with that." Azhar nodded to the wyrm. "In fact, I feel a hells of a lot better knowin'' that a mighty dragonkin''s fightin'' by my side."

 Chapter 96 - Multi-Training II

    Li led Azhar and the wyrm to their first target: a gathering of giant spiders. They skittered across a massive clearing in the forest, their tawny and hairy ck bodies crawling across the carcass of a deer they had in. Their sickle-like fangs sliced into the deer, tearing off chunks of meat and bone.


    There were only three of them, and if there were more, Li would have reconsidered using them as a target. Giant spiders were tough creatures, and these were, judging from their banded red legs, jumping variants. Jumping giant spiders were, unlike regr spiders, active hunters, choosing to hunt down their prey with relentless speed and powerful pounces instead of waiting in arge web.


    As a result, they tended to cooperate on hunts, though afterwards they dispersed to live independent and individual lives. They about half the size of a man ¨Cparable in size to the wyrm ¨C and three of them taking down a particrlyrge deer was not out of the norm.


    "Whenever you''re ready," said Li. He hid behind a tree at the edge of a clearing, and Azhar stood behind another tree in front of him. The wyrm clung at Li''s feet, but her back was arched and her fangs bared, sensing imminent danger.


    "I was waitin'' for your order," said Azhar as he shed an eager smile, his single good arm clutching the dagger to his chest. "But if you''re tellin'' me to go whenever, then I''m off. Ain''t no use wastin'' time."


    Azhar leaped out the tree''s cover with a yell, causing the three spiders to freeze, the hairs on their body stiffening as they sensed iing and hostile vibrations. The spiders rotated arounds, their beady eyes zoning in on Azhar.


    Li looked down at the wyrm. She looked out longingly to the fight. He patted her back and said, "Go. Kill them all."


    The wyrm growled in happiness before she lurched out, her four feet crashing on the forest floor as she joined Azhar''s charge.


    Li watched from after, ready to cast a spell to heal or help the wyrm, but not Azhar. Of course, if the hintender was going to straight up die, he would prevent that from happening.


    But anything short of death was up to the ranger to deal with. He also did not withhold help to be overly harsh, though being strict was a part of it. The wyrm just could not handle those spiders on her own, and so she would need Li''s help while Azhar could reasonably stand his ground.


    Li worried about the wyrm, knowing she was facing a massive amount of danger right now, but he also knew that she would not grow properly unless she fought to her fullest extent.


    The fightsted almost an hour.


    Azhar used everything in his arsenal. He used ranger ss buffs to speed himself up, increase his uracy, deal critical hits on the spiders'' eyes and legs, and dodge iing hits. He used his spiritual shamanism to empower himself with agility and strength. In a way, it was a simr strategy to his fight with Launcelot.


    To effectively wield his melee weapon, Azhar had to use [Bowman''s Stand], and that made him extra fragile. The result was that he had to fight while dancing and darting around to never get hit even once for a single wound could prove fatal.


    Li predicted that though the fight would be hard not so much because Azhar would rack up wounds and scars, but because the moment his concentration faltered and he took one hit, things would get exponentially harder.


    One hit would make him slower, throw off his breathing, and poison him to make things even worse. One hit might be all the spiders needed to catch him and tear him apart.


    But Azhar had not yed by Li''s predictions.


    By the hour''s end, Azhar stood victorious, a wreck of a man littered with bite marks, cuts, and bruises everywhere. The cuts on his body were lined with protruding purple veins engorged with venom, and it was only because he had preemptively chugged several elixirs beforehand that he managed to survive.


    This was not the body of a man who would have fought with agility and only with himself in mind.


    The wyrm chowed down on a spider''s carcass beside Azhar. She also had wounds on her body, but none too serious, not to mention the fact that she proved resistant to the spider venom.


    Li came into the clearing, and Azhar beamed a smile at him.


    "How''d I do?" said Azhar in between heavy breaths, each of his exhtions spurting out blood from open and flowing wounds.


    "Good," was all Li said as he waved his hand, healing all of Azhar''s wounds. Li knelt down by the wyrm, patting her head as it bobbed up and down, cracking spider exoskeleton to get at the white flesh within. "Consider that a token of appreciation that you took all those hits for her."


    "Don''t mention it, hah." Azhar watched in wonder as the dozens of wounds etched into his body faded away, the split skin repairing, the venom-ckened veins fading."All part of yer trainin'' anyhows. Gettin'' me to watch her while I gotta watch myself ¨C real good way to get my awareness up. She''s a hell of a fighter, too, can''t wait to see what kinda fierceness she''s gonna pack when she''s grown up."


    "I see." Li had not intended for Azhar to cover for the wyrm. He was going to watch the wyrm''s back to let Azhar focus on himself, but the ranger had take up much more of a burden than Li had ever intended him to.


    Azhar copsed onto his knees as he sucked in a recovering breath, sitting on the bloody and crumpled grass around him.


    In this world, healing did not equate to recovering mental fatigue. This was why when individuals fell unconscious, perfectly healing their bodies did not awaken them. Azhar right now fell not because his body could not support him, but because he had expended too much mana and mental strain in keeping himself alive in the fight.


    "That''s the end of our training for today," said Li.


    Azhar gave a curious nce to Li. "That it?"


    Li nodded. He stopped controlling his Shadowfly, and it popped and faded into nothingness over a trio of rootbeasts thaty rooted in the ground twenty minutes away.


    "You''ve earned some rest for now, and so has she." Li tapped the wyrm''s back, letting her know it was time to go. She started to scarf down on the spider corpses even faster, wanting to get as many bites in as possible before she had to leave. Her wounds were beginning to close up as she processed the spider flesh. "Once she''s done eating, we head back."


    ______________________


    On the way back, Li walked a little slowly on the main road, letting Azhar catch up with dragging and tired feet. Li himself carried a sleeping wyrm in his arms. She had overeaten and tuckered herself out with the fighting.


    "Gods, you''re strong as an ox to carry her so easily like that," said Azhar. "And you don''t look it, either. You''re as skinny as a stick, but then again, you ain''t exactly human."


    "How long do you intend to keep that a secret?" said Li, for he knew that if Jeanne nor Sylvie suspected him, then Azhar had not told them.


    Azhar scratched his head and shrugged." I dunno'', probably never. Figure it ain''t important cuause'' you don''t make a big fuss about it, and it ain''t really a big deal for me."


    "What was the adventurer''s creed again? To kill all threats to humanity when you see it? Wouldn''t I count?"


    "Seems like you''re helpin'' us out. Besides, if we all followed that creed, then there wouldn''t be a single hintender in our ranks considerin'' we raise dragonkin and worship wild animal spirits that western folk would consider savage man-eating monsters.Besides, what I''m more interested in is how she''s gonna turn out."


    Azhar pointed to the wyrm, and Li asked, "In what way?"


    "Ya see, I told ya before, but dragonkin form bonds stronger than anythin'' else with their parents. When they grow, they naturally try and mimic their parents, and it ain''t like a human boy trynna'' act tough like his pa. Dragonkin''ll physically change to match their caretakers.


    Among my kind, it ain''t rare to see a few dragonkin riders with mounts that can take up human forms."


    "And that doesn''t interfere with a master to pet rtionship any?" questioned Li. "It''s one thing to order a beast around, it''s another to treat something that looks like a person like an animal."


    "Yeah, it is," said Azhar. "That''s the reason why ya gotta let dragonkin hunt alone most of the time, let em'' retain that draconic wildness that keeps em'' from changin'' too much. Else it''ll be mighty hard to keep em'' as beasts of burden, especially cause'' if the dragonkin''s changed enough to take a human form, then it probably has a bond so strong with their caretaker that the rtionship ain''t master to pet no more.


    Hell, in a few old myths we got, there are riders that straight married their dragonkin, though nowadays dragonkin in the west don''t got enough much magical potential to be fully human."


    Azhar tapped his head. "The more magic somethin'' has, the smarter it probably is. Most wyrms in the west these days are dumb as bricks, been that way for a couple of generations, so they might be able to take up a human shell, but they ain''t ever gonna'' learn how to be human. Kinda sad, really, ya got these semi-human, semi-monsters that don''t belong nowhere."


    "I see where you''re going with this. She''s different,"mented Li in understanding as he looked at the wyrm in his arms. She undoubtedly had an exceptional amount of magical power and, consequently, intelligence from her mother.


    "Yeah, just lookin'' at her mother, how damn strong and smart she was, you know for a fact that this kid here has the kinda potential you ain''t gonna see for hundreds of years." Azhar paused, giving Li a questioning look. "Meanin'' she''s got all the potential in the world to change. I dunno'' what she''s gonna end up like with you as her bonded, and I don''t know how you consider morality and all, but if you wanna'' use her to fight, then you might consider weanin'' her off your presence."


    Li thought for a few seconds, each of his steps helping him focus.


    "I have no need to raise a tool," said Li simply.


    "Got it," said Azhar, immediately respecting Li''s decision. "Then hells, I feel kinda'' useless. All my knowledge is in raisin'' a mount, not¡­," Azhar searched for the right word as he looked at the wyrm. "I dunno, at this point, she might as well be a daughter."


    "Your knowledge is still useful. There is precious little to read on dragonkin, so what general information you have, you should still pass it on to me. Consider that, along with your blood, sweat, and tears, to be payment for my help."


    "Gotch. I, uh, appreciate this," said Azhar with a thankful nod. The ranger was not the type to express his thanks outwardly, so Li knew even this probably took a significant amount of effort from him.


    "Old Thane''s agreed to let you sleep a few days in the cottage, so clean yourself up and prepare for training in the morning."


    Azhar''s eyes widened. "In the morning?"


    Li cast a backwards nce at Azhar''s dead arm. "I don''t suppose you have anything better to do with your time?"


    Azhar gave a defeated shrug. "Ya got a point. Anyways, what am I gonna'' train then? I ain''t even learned this [Scattershot] skill yet."


    "You''ll have to get in a few more battles first, but there''s tomorrow evening for that," said Li. "The training tomorrow morning isn''t rted to that. It''s going to be improving your hand to handbat."


    "Not skills and spells, butbat? Like, pure punchin'' and all that? I ain''t got no use for that huntin'' monsters."


    "No, but if you make a living fighting - an inherently chaotic job - it''s an inevitability that you''re not just going to be fighting monsters. Case in point: your miserable defeat against Launcelot. You didn''t n on fighting him, did you? It just happened. Better to be prepared, especially because you tend to make impulsive decisions."


    Azhar made a fist in enthusiasm. "Alright, I hear ya. Then what am I gonna learn? Sylv always talked about how easterners like ya can split mountains with palm strikes and chops and the like. Gonna teach me some of that?"


    "I won''t be teaching you, and besides, I don''t know anything about that stuff."


    Azhar raised a brow. "Huh? Then who?"


    "It''ll be Old Thane. He said he won''t try to kill you, so you shouldn''t worry too much."

 Chapter 97 - Bloodfist

    In the morning, Old Thane cooked up a hefty portion of porridge, serving up an almost bucketful to Azhar at the dinner table.


    Azhar had slept in the cottage''s guest room ¨C the one that was meant to be for Old Thane and Aine''s children ¨C and he sat at the table with an excited energy. Li could see that the hintender was fully healed, his physical wounds taken care of by Li and his mental energy restored with a good night''s sleep.


    All for that energy to get beaten down again.


    Though, Li did not actually know how Old Thane was going to train Azhar.


    When Li had brought up the topic of training Azhar in closebat with Old Thane, the old man had rather gravely asked whether the ranger was truly driven andmitted to improving his skills, that were he not fully willing toy down his life, then the only training the old man knew would not work.


    Li had said that Azhar was willing, and since then Old Thane had spent the day quiet and ruminating to himself in between weeding sessions in the fields, probably drawing up a way to build Azhar from the ground up as a formidable fighter.


    "Lad!" said Old Thane to Azhar, pping the hintender''s back. "Eat your fill, and when you feel your stomach about to burst, eat even more. Grain is precious like gold for energy, and you will need much of it today for your training."


    "You don''t gotta tell me that." Azhar took in a spoonful of porridge. "I ain''t gonna pass up food, old man."


    Old Thane nodded in approval as he took a seat. His brows knit together in concern. "Good. Now, tell med, do you truly wish for my training? Would not a skilled ranger help you more?"


    "He''s got all that and even magic covered," said Azhar as he jutted his chin towards Li, speaking between chews. "Ya talk all the time bout'' you brawled with giants in the north and punched demons in the face, but I ain''t never seen ya really go at it. Kinda excited to see what the Bloodfist has to teach me."


    "The Bloodfist, eh?" Old Thane smiled, his cloudy eyes flitting up as he recalled a sea of memories most likely drenched in violence. He shook his head once before speaking to Azhar. "They say a Djinn''s wishes are best left unheeded. Are you willing to die for this,d?"


    It was a question of serious gravity entirely unfitting for the dinner table, but Azhar was unfazed. "Hells yeah. If I ain''t getting'' stronger, I''m gonna drop dead anyway. Don''t matter whether that''s now or by a monster''s w in the future cause'' I''m too weak."


    "Fitting words for you, youngd," Old Thane smiled, shing a few chipped teeth. "Among you three little rascals, you were the one most like me. Willing to throw away your life, to treat it like a resource. Thus, I can tell you are suited for my training, for it will be the very same I went through."


    "They had martial arts up in the Northwastes? Am I gonna learn some kinda secret northman winter fist?"


    Old Thaneughed. "Not at all,d. It is, how shall I put it, more a philosophy? Hah, my words fail me, for they were never my domain. Come,d, eat up. We have work to do."


    It ended up being that work was farming.


    "You want me to what?" said Azhar as Old Thane led him to the fields. By now, the new batch of wheat had grown almost to maturation, their stalks tall and green, not yet golden.


    "To weed the fields." Old Thane cocked his head. "My training is not free,d, and this will be a good way to work up a sweat before we begin."


    Azhar looked to Li, and Li shrugged, saying, "Old man''s rules are his rules. You want his training, you follow them. Besides, it''s just weeding. Simple enough that anyone, even you, can do it."


    In a little over an hour, Azhar and Old Thane finished weeding. Old Thane generally guided Azhar through the fields, telling him which weeds to pluck out and what nts were to be left alone. All throughout this process, Zagan followed close behind, observing happenings on the field today instead of sleeping with his usual disinterested air.


    Azhar jumped up and down beside the fields, warming his muscles up as he looked expectantly to Old Thane.


    "How bout it'', old man. Now that the farmin''s done, we can get started now, yeah?"


    Old Thane cracked his dirtced knuckles. "Patience, youngd. First, we cannot train here where prying eyes are much abound. Even now, I sense the errant farmer eyeing our golden crop."


    Li knew that around the time the supernatural wheat grew, a few farmers on the outskirts of Riviera, real farmers, not like the ones that just ownednd, checked out Li and Old Thane''s farm in wonder.


    "Should I drive them off?" said Li.


    Old Thane shook his head. "No need,d. Azhar, head first to the woods, right where the main road leads into it. I must prepare a few things."


    "Got a stretch them creakin'' bones?" Azhar nodded with a smile. "Aight, old man, I''ll be waitin."


    Old Thane watched as Azhar went out of sight, and the moment the ranger disappeared, the old man talked to Li.


    "Lad, will that ant take care of this farm in our absence?"


    Li nodded. "You bet it will."


    "Wonderful, for else the farm would be left unattended," said Old Thane. "Demon!" he called out to Zagan.


    Zagan trotted over to them, reddened eyes shing.


    "You''re taking him with us?" said Li.


    "Aye,d. He has graciously agreed to offer his aid in this training, if it can be called that."


    "I see." Li did not pry much further. He trusted the old man to do whatever he wanted.


    "It may be selfishness of mine, but I have another request,d."


    "What is it?"


    "The demon will grant me some strength such that I may fight. Should Azhar question me, will you take the burden upon yourself to exin? That it was your spell or elixir that restored my strength, albeit in a temporary manner?"


    "Just that? Then of course. Not even sure Azhar would even question you. There are legitimately some elixirs that can probably buff your stats enough topete with him."


    "Aye,d, but just to be safe." Old Thane smiled as he tread forwards to the Winterwoods. His smile seemed uncharacteristically youthful and wreathed with excitement, almost mischievous, and Li had the sneaking suspicion that the old man was not telling him the full story.


    "You know, how exactly are you nning on training him?" said Li.


    Old Thane told him, and Li now understood what to do.


    "Let''s go," said Li to the wyrm idling by his legs. "You seem to like watching fights, and this will be a long one."


    ___________________________


    The wyrm cooed in excitement as she anticipated bloodshed this early in the morning.


    Azhar and Old Thane stood in a clearing within the woods. Not too far in the woods, and because it was under broad daylight, Li took precautions to secure the perimeter, cing a few shadowflies to float around as a means of surveince.


    Li sat on a fallen log as he watched Azhar take a general fighting stance against Old Thane. Zagan sat on the other end of the log, and the wyrm, cowed by his presence, huddled close to Li''s legs, though she did look out to watch the mountingbat tension arising between Azhar and Old Thane.


    "Do you know how to fight,d?" said Old Thane.


    "Course'' I can," replied Azhar.


    "With your fists?"


    "Know the basics. I can keep up in a tavern brawl, if that''s what you''re after."


    "Excellent. Then you know just as much as I."


    Azhar paused. "Huh? Ain''t you gonna'' teach me some techniques? Like movin'' around, shy footwork, strong punches, and all that?"


    Old Thaneughed. "Nonsense,d. You are right. In the Northwastes, where civilization grows thin, we learn no suchbat art as the boxing and wrestling of the south. I''ve no sense of how to fight like how these southerners sway and move and jab.


    But what I will teach you is how to fight, not how to dance. You wille to know what it means to fight to kill. To survive."


    "Sounds like just my style." Azhar smiled as he raised his fist. "So? How''s the fightin'' like up north?"


    "As I have said, words are not my domain." Old Thane clenched his fists. "And I can only teach how I was taught. And I learned by fighting."


    "Now I''m really likin'' this trainin'' of yours, old man." Azhar cocked his head, looking at Old Thane with a little worry. "But ya know, ain''t bout'' to rain on yer day, but even with one arm¡­,"


    Old Thane smiled. "You worry you will hurt me,d? You are right. I''ve no illusions of how age has stolen my strength. Though I can beat to death themon man, an adventurer such as yourself is a different matter. Thus, with Li''s help, I have restored some of my strength such that I may battle oncemore."


    "Took a few elixirs before ya got here? Was that why ya needed time to prepare?"


    "It matters not the how when you face an enemy, just that you must match and overwhelm their strength." Old Thane nodded towards Li, and Li realized he was nodding at Zagan.


    Zagan narrowed his eyes, and Li could sense a significant amount of mana surging from the demon. The wyrm felt this, and she froze, petrified by the chaotic and destructive aura imbued within the demon''s magical aura.


    "Lad," said Old Thane. "I must apologize to you now. You will be hard-pressed. You will wish to die. But I have faith that you will persevere. You will learn."


    "Getting'' mighty creepy all of a sudden, old man," said Azhar as he cocked his head. "Besides, I already told ya I''m ready to die for this."


    Li blinked.


    Old Thane wasn''t well, old anymore.


    His hunched posture straightened out. His frame, already wide and powerfully built, became even thicker, his shoulders broadening. Though he already had a good amount of muscle leftover from a lifetime ofbat and days of manualbor, it was exactly that: leftover muscle.


    The rest that had faded away with the years and a life of peace beganing back. Muscle started to grow everywhere, and Old Thane almost looked like he was expanding outwards. He usually wore loose fitting shirts and pants, and Li had always thought this was because he had not been able to afford good clothes, but he realized now that there was a time that the old man had fit in them.


    In fact, Old Thane''s body strained against his clothes, almost tearing them. Awork of bulging veins criss-crossed his forearms, and it was very apparent now that his hands, wide and hardened like calluses and scar tissue to be like bricks, had not gotten to that point from picking weeds, but instead by cracking skulls.


    But though Old Thane''s body changed so drastically, where he changed the most was his face. His wrinkles had all faded away. Loose, aged skin around his jaw tightened up, revealing a razor edge of a thickset square jaw perfectly built for absorbing impacts. His beard and hair had grown immensely, connecting together to frame his face with what looked almost like a mane of snowy white hair full of vigor, not age.


    His expression twisted into a wide smile, baring teeth that were whole and sharp almost like those of a wolf. His eyes were still cloudy, still blind, but they were now wide with energy. There was not a single hint of patience or gentleness on that face.


    It was pure, unbridled bloodlust.


    Old Thane stepped towards Azhar, his arms hanging slightly bent at the sides because of the sheer width of his back muscles. Without a hunched back and muscle to fill out his frame, he towered over Azhar, even moreso than Launcelot did, and with that white mane, he looked almost like a lion, more beast than man.


    "The hell kinda elixir did you drink, old man?" said Azhar, visibly shocked.


    Old Thane closed the distance between himself and Azhar in an instant and loosed a massive haymaker at the hintender.


    Azhar reflexively ducked under the blow, letting a fist the size of his head whistle past him.


    "No heads up, old man?" said Azhar, still joking, but now a hint of nervousness invaded his voice.


    Old Thane used his other arm to reach down and grab Azhar by the shoulder. With a roar, he ragdolled the ranger, picking him up and tossing him straight into a tree like he was throwing a pebble.


    Azhar coughed as his back mmed against the tree, the trunk cracking at the impact.


    "You talk too much," said Old Thane. Or rather, this was no longer fully Old Thane. It was not just his body that had turned back the clock ¨C his mind had reverted too, back when people called him the Bloodfist. His voice was full of strength, echoing out with a low rumble, like he was permanently growling. "You wanted the Bloodfist? You have him. You wanted your fight? You have it."


    Old Thane took a step forwards and narrowed his eyes, his ears twitching as he heard a rasp in Azhar''s breathing.


    "Broken ribs and a pierced lung. Already dying. And you wished to learn how to fight? Pathetic." Old Thane turned to Li with a nod.


    Li waved his hand and healed Azhar fully.


    Azhar stood up as his internal damage healed, his hand clutching at his side. "The hell happened to you, old man?"


    Old Thane charged forwards and unleashed a massive punch. Azhar, now more aware, rolled under it, getting behind Old Thane. Old Thane''s punch collided with the tree trunk where Azhar had rested on, sting it apart entirely in a shower of splinters.


    "Shut your mouth, boy" said Old Thane as he turned to Azhar. "And fight."


    "This is all part of the training," called out Li to Azhar in a calm, casual and exnatory tone. "When you go down, so long as you don''t straight up die, I''ll heal you. Eventually, the old man said to me, you''ll learn."

 Chapter 98 - To Fight

    "How do ya know I ain''t gonna get hit a little too hard and just die," said Azhar to Li.


    Old Thane charged and swung at Azhar, and the hintender barely dodged by ducking and rolling again.


    "I said I would try me best to not kill you," said Old Thane. "And you have little time to worry about anything other than the fight before you, boy."


    "Hells, guess I gotta do this, then."


    Azhar grimaced as Old Thane barreled towards him again. Li nodded in approval as Azhar sidestepped another of the old man''s blows and thennded a solid punch at his side. Old Thane absorbed the impact with a smile before heshed out like a wild beast, grabbing Azhar''s arm with an iron vicegrip.


    Old Thane was right. He had no real martial arts skills. His punches were heavy and wild, not at all controlled. He had no sense of footwork. But what he did have was monstrous speed, strength, and toughness on top of an almost animal instinct in knowing exactly when and where to move.


    Li could see Azhar''s skin tearing as Old Thane''s hands, conditioned to be hard like rock, grated against the ranger''s flesh like a meat grinder.


    Azhar took this chance to kick Old Thane''s face. A leather boot sole crashed into the old man''s face.


    "How do ya like that?" said Azhar with a smile. When he withdrew his foot, there was revealed Old Thane''s face, a little dirty with a boot mark but unharmed. What was more threatening was the malevolent re seared upon it.


    "You still think this a game, boy?" Old Thane set his jaw.


    Li blinked as he heard Azhar scream.


    The ranger stumbled backwards, blood spurting from the open shoulder joint where Old Thane had torn his arm straight off. Had his other arm worked, he would have tried using it to staunch the bleeding, but because it hung limp, blood flowed from the grievous wound like water spurting from an open faucet.


    The red pattered on the grass, and Li nced down to see that the wyrm, instead of feeling excited from the scent of blood, had cowered further into his legs. He realized it was not because she had lost her bloodlust, no, it was because she could not ever imagine moving even an inch closer to the monster known as the Bloodfist.


    "To fight is to kill. To fight is to survive. To fight is to prove you are worthy to live." Old Thane looked at Azhar''s arm held in his hand, scoffing at it. "You are not worthy."


    With a growl, Old Thane dashed forwards and mmed the dismembered arm straight across Azhar''s chest like a bat, knocking the ranger on his back.


    Azhar did not get up, his breathing now faint as the blood loss and shock set in.


    Old Thane grunted as he tossed the arm to Azhar''s body. He turned to Li with a nod.


    Li waved his hand.


    Green tendrils of healing magical energy shone from Azhar''s shoulder socket, reaching out for the torn off arm and attaching it back into ce. A general shimmer of emerald magic washed over him, healing everything else.


    Old Thane nced at the blood drenching his hands with an almost annoyed re. He flicked his hands down with a precise and quick motion, flinging excess blood down to the forest floor.


    Li had an idea that Old Thane had been strong. Not only because the of the old man''s many tales, but it was also easy enough to tell from his status. He was level 55, the highest out of any human that Li had encountered so far. Even the duchess''s golden-armored personal guard were level 50 at best.


    Old age had not lowered his level, which did make sense. Levels were meant to be a crystallization of experience, after all. What age had down was to deteriorate all his physical stats immensely to the point that though he certainly knew an impressive array of ss skills and abilities, he did not meet the stat requirements to use them anymore.


    His body made younger like this, those restrictions were lifted,ying bare to the world the Bloodfist once more, and that moniker was very fitting.


    It dawned on Li why Old Thane, a war hero, had no real visitors and friends. Certainly, it was because the old man closed himself off, but it was also because his reputation preceded him. His title of "Bloodfist" had been built atop a mountain of corpses, and that mountain, even now, warded away themon man from the farm.


    Azhar stood up again, and Li inspected the ranger. Li would not have put it against the ranger to give up the training at this point. He could quit at any time, after all. This level of sheer brutality he would have to face was akin to torture.


    But Azhar smiled, his teeth bared in an almost crazed grin as he stood up to Old Thane.


    "They don''t call ya the Bloodfist for nothin'', huh?" Azhar crouched down, getting into a fighting position. "Bout'' time I get serious, then."


    Old Thane''s re twisted into a grin. Their grins were identical, fueled by a drive that bordered on sheer insanity. "I knew I was not in the wrong to choose you. This feeling of blood on my fists. Of beating and crushing. How I missed it. If you respect me, boy, then do not fall so easily again."


    Li sat back as he watched the two fight again, ready to heal Azhar at a moment''s notice. In the meanwhile, hemuned with Zagan.


    ''So, what exactly did you do?''


    ''You recall whence we first met?''


    ''When you were holed up in that bandit''s body? Yeah.''


    ''Then you will understand. Heralds such as my personage are capable of granting strength to mortals based upon the sin that we embody. I am the herald of greed, and to all foolish desires of man that yearn and want beyond their means, I can grant.''


    Li nodded. This was a lore based power, not an official spell or skill. Demons, like in ssical mythology, could form pacts with mortals and grant, in a limited capacity, wishes at a cost.


    ''Won''t this cost the old man''s soul?''


    ''Nothing so extreme. The power my personage bestows upon the aged human is temporary, fueled only by mine own magical reserves, though I still use his greed as a catalyst for this magic. To affect this reversal of aging permanently, then he must give up his soul or be my host.''


    ''I see. Greed, though, huh? I didn''t expect the old man to be particrly greedy about anything.''


    ''The aged human is not what the rest of the humans would call a ''good man'' by nature. I have glimpsed his soul, and it is more beast than man. His whole life, he has been a monster ying at being a human. The burdens of mortal aging have made that act all the more easy to uphold, but there are times he wishes to return to his natural state.''


    ''And that''s considered greed? He just wants to be himself.''


    ''ording to these flimsy mortalws and rules, yes. To return to his natural state is to harm those around him, for how can it be that a monster lives among men? There is no doubt that his fists will draw much blood and cause much strife. It is selfish greed to yearn for that which he understands satiates himself at the cost of others'' lives.''


    Zagan watched as Old Thane caught Azhar with a heavy punch to the stomach, probably bursting something inside on top of cracking the ribs. Old Thane stood over Azhar''s prone and still body with his fist raised but controlled.


    ''But he has well and truly buried this nature of his, such that I hesitate to even call it his nature anymore. Even now, he reigns in his savagery. He understands that this is simply a momentary indulgence made possible through the cogs of fate perfectly aligning this training for him. Once it is over, he will give all this up with neither regret nor second thought.''


    "Good!" roared Old Thane.


    Li watched as Old Thane stepped back, blood and clear fluid dripping from his right eye. The eye had been crushed, and Li could see the culprit as Azhar''s bloodied finger.


    Azhar limped, a ck bruise flowering at his side while his dead arm was twistedpletely backwards, shattered shoulder bone jutting through the flesh.


    "Good," repeated Old Thane as the blood streamed down his face. He licked his lips clean of the crimson liquid. "You understand a little. To fight is to survive. To kill. There are no rules. No dancing. Only the killer and the killed."


    Old Thane charged forwards and crashed a meteoric punch into Azhar''s face. The ranger was simply too injured to dodge, and the brick of a fist cracked into his face. The sound of cracking bone echoed in the air as Azhar mmed onto his back again, his nose ground up into dust, every single one of his teeth shattered, his jaw broken and hanging loose.


    Li waved his hand, continuing Azhar''s suffering.


    Azhar stood up, healed, his teeth clenched as he made a fist again, getting into a fighting stance.


    "Use your magic," said Old Thane. "Use your skills. Use everything you have to best me."


    Azhar raised a brow, and the old man continued.


    "You have learned the nature of a fight. No rules. Nows. Do not make me beat that lesson into you once more." Old Thane smiled eagerly. "Though I would dly take the chance to shatter your face again."


    Azhar nodded, the eagle tattoos on his back glowing with red outlines of power.

 Chapter 99 - To Win

    Azhar casted [Bowman''s Stand] to have even just a chance at harming Old Thane before he darted around, his eagle tattoos granting him speed. With his naturally quick build and trained movements, he darted around Old Thane with a speed that would have left an ordinary men unable to even track him.


    Old Thane stood still; his fists rxed at his side. After all, he had no pressure to do anything. If Azhar did not attack, then he would just tire himself out with these movements.


    Sure enough, Azhar did attack, striking from the old man''s back, right where his blindspot was.


    Old Thane swiveled around at thest second and grabbed Azhar''s fist in his hand. The action was simple, but Li recognized the significance of it. With his eagle tattoos boosting his already formidable agility, Azhar moved at nearly the pinnacle of human speed to the point where Launcelot, a trained fighter of merit, could not at all react, winning only through prediction.


    But Old Thane had reacted. He did not predict Azhar''s moves like Launcelot did, he just used his own senses and physical prowess.


    "Surprised?" said Old Thane as he tightened his grip on Azhar''s fist, crushing it into a bloody pulp in his bear''s paw of a hand. Hended a colossal blow on Azhar''s chest, careful not to knock the man out, with his other fist, sending the hintender flying backwards with a shattered sternum.


    "We of the Northwastes are of far superior breed than you sun-soaked southern pups." Old Thane nodded to Li for more healing. "We spend nary a month as a crawling babe before we stand. We fight when we can walk, wading through blizzards and storms to beat our next meal to death."


    Li healed Azhar and checked Old Thane''s status again as he had not expected the old man to be able to move this quickly. Certainly, he knew his stats had improved with his newfound youth, but nothing to this level. He was also sure the old man had not used any sort of skill or ability.


    ===========


    [Thane Bloodfist]


    Level: 55


    Race: Human


    ss: Warrior


    Specialties:


    -Brawler


    -Berserker


    _____


    Stats:


    STR- 150


    AGI- 130


    INT- 30


    _____


    Racial Passives


    -Human Neutral: Humans are unique in that they possess more stat and skill points than other races in exchange for having zero racial bonuses. At the same time, they have no racial weaknesses either. They take normal damage and are effected normally by everything.


    -Awakened Jotunsblood: Humans of the Northwastes are naturally stronger, faster, and tougher. They heal from wounds quicker and possess sturdier wills resistant to mental interference. They possess a powerful spirit capable of keeping themselves alive even through lethal wounds. This passive seals away without consistent exposure to bloodshed.


    _____


    Items/Equipment:


    -Linen Shirt (Upper)


    -Leather Trousers (Legs)


    -Common Boots (Feet)


    =============


    As expected, the old man was different.


    He had a hidden racial passive that made him t out superior to other humans in terms of sheer physicals. Monsters possessed extra physical statspared to yable characters of the same level, and so in this way, it would be urate to call Old Thane more monster than man.


    Li quickly calcted that though Old Thane was level 55, his stats were fitting for those slightly over level 60, and considering 60 seemed to be the absolute pinnacle that humanity could reach in this world, it was no exaggeration to rank the old man among the physically strongest humans in the world even without considering his skills and abilities.


    Strong and fast enough to match Azhar even while the ranger boosted his own stats. This whole time, Old Thane had simply been ying with the hintender, even letting him gouge out an eye to teach a lesson.


    Even now, the old man did not use a single skill, and it was certain that he had a vast repertoire of them.


    Azhar got up again, leaping onto his feet with determination. "You were holdin'' back?"


    "I have a bad habit of ying with my prey" said Old Thane. He called out to Li. "Li, my friend! Do you have spells to restore mana?"


    Li nodded.


    Old Thane grinned. "Then prepare them for this weakling, for elsewise his mind will give out before his body does."


    A solid impact echoed through the forest as Azhar crashed a kick onto Old Thane''s head while he talked to Li.


    Old Thaneshed out, swiping at Azhar, but the hintender had adjusted to the old man''s speed and flipped back, escaping his deadly grip.


    "Suns above, you''re tough as a brick," said Azhar as he grimaced.


    Old Thane was unharmed. The kick, empowered with enough speed to probably punt a regr man''s head off his neck, had bounced off the old man''s skull without inflicting any real damage.


    Old Thane tapped his head. "The skull is the strongest armor we humans have. A foolhardy target. The groin would have been better."


    Azhar exhaled slowly, his eyes narrowing as he tried to find another way to harm Old Thane now that the old man''s guard was up.


    "Boy, here are my terms," said Old Thane as he neared Azhar. "You give me one more good wound. Something that will let me taste blood. Something more than a tickle. Then this ends."


    "Easy enough," said Azhar as he surged forwards with his enhanced charge.


    Old Thane spied Azhar''s extended fist. "Again?" he said mockingly.


    Azhar sailed out his punch, aiming it at Old Thane''s jaw. The old man stepped backwards, dodging the blow. Azhar roared as he pressed forwards, loosing a flurry of determined blows that, even with one arm, shot out with all the speed and intensity of gunfire.


    Old Thane, even with hisrge frame, dodged every single blow.


    "Enough!" Old Thane took a particrlyrge step back, gaining enough distance to shoot out his own punch.


    Li expected Azhar to dodge, but instead, the ranger punched right at Old Thane''s fist in a contest of strength. A stupid decision.


    The oue was obvious.


    Azhar scrambled backwards with his thoroughly mangled hand, several of the fingers dangling from thin strips of bone and flesh like ribbons. Blood spurted from several ruptured blood vessels. He doubled over in pain, kneeling in the grass while looking down, holding his destroyed hand close to his face.


    Old Thane stepped forwards. Slow, steady steps bereft of mercy. "And I thought you had learned. But worry not. I will end your misery."


    Old Thane drew upon Azhar, his fist upraised as the hintender knelt in the grass, his head bowed down. It almost looked like Old Thane was an executioner, a living guillotine ready to sever with cold-cut efficiency the groveling weakling beneath him.


    "I see," said Li to himself. He had not expected this.


    Azhar, in a quick sh, looked up, and upon his face was not defeat, but a smile. He spat out a spray of blood at Old Thane''s face, sttering the old man''s nose with the iron-reeking liquid. Azhar had pretended to be doubled over to conceal the fact that he had been sucking up blood from his destroyed hand.


    Old Thane mmed his fist down, but his uracy was shot, missing Azhar as he stumbled backwards. The old man was blind, but he ''saw'' through his other senses. The main one was hearing, of course, but Azhar had figured out that he could not have possibly reacted as quickly as he did if he relied on hearing alone. Hearing was far too broad a sense and sound inevitably came after movement.


    Sound was far slower than the light that carried the images of movements that let fighters with sight react to them.


    No, Old Thane used smell to first track Azhar''s general location and then focused his hearing to that specific area. By covering up his sense of smell, Azhar dyed Old Thane''s reactions by just an instant.


    An instant enough to abuse.


    Azhar circled to Old Thane''s side as the old man wasted time wiping blood from his nose.


    Li was even further surprised as he noticed that Azhar held between his two remaining fingers ¨C his index finger and thumb ¨C his severed pinky. Before, the pinky had been holding on his hand by a bare thread of torn muscle and bone, and when Azhar had sucked up his blood, he must have also bitten that pinky off and hidden it in his mouth.


    Azhar gripped that pinky between his two remaining fingers like a dart and extended his arm back, gathering magical energy to cast [Snipe], and from the angle, it looked like he was trying to aim it straight at Old Thane''s ear.


    Li realized Azhar had nned this quite a bit ahead. He had intentionally taken the seemingly stupid move of crashing fists with Old Thane and angled the impact such that it preserved his index finger and thumb, making all this possible in the first ce.


    Having faced death several times by now, Azhar had be used to the pain, to the very idea of dying, and now knew to use every single resource avable to him ¨C no matter how desperate or self-destructive the measure ¨C to win.


    Azhar threw his arm out, sending the pinky spiralling outwards like an arrow. A shockwave of magical energy painted visibly red with blood exploded from his hand.

 Chapter 100 - To Die

    Li focused his senses, seeing the pinky flying towards the old man''s ear in slow motion. He was ready to bat down the pinky if he felt that it would potentially cause a lethal wound. It was legitimately very impressive that Azhar had even pushed Li to the point that he even worried about the old man''s safety.


    In the end, this situation could only arise due to Old Thane''s training. Azhar was willing to do whatever it took to get stronger, and the old man had seen that and decided that the most efficient way to mold that indomitable and reckless will into something that would make the ranger stronger would be to channel it into a brutally savage drive to win at all costs. A mindset that the old man was himself deeply familiar with.


    But ultimately, no matter how brutal and intensive the training was, it had just been a day. Azhar would never get strong enough to ovee Old Thane in a mere day. Perhaps never considering the ranger''s self-assessment of his natural talent.


    Old Thane turned his head at the veryst instant the severed pinky was about to drill itself into his ear. The pinky had halted between Old Thane''s teeth, the flesh smoking from the sudden deceleration it experienced from having been fired at shock wave inducing velocities.


    What primarily made the old man such a deadlybatant even as a blind man was not his hearing nor his smell, though those senses certainly did help. It was his reaction speed which, augmented with his vast physical capabilities, allowed him to make instantaneous movements at the smallest warning.


    The striking thing to think about was that no matter what, Old Thane was still at a massive handicap being blind. If he had his sight, then his godlike reaction speed, monstrous physical stats, and honed senses would have surely put him right out of the realm of human strength and into the level where he truly could beat demons down his fists.


    Azhar slumped his shoulders as the smile faded from his face, understanding that hisst ditch effort had failed. But defeat did not set into his eyes, for he knew once he took another beating, he would have a chance for another final effort, then another, then another.


    Azhar wrinkled his brows in a mixture of shock and surprise as Old Thane began to chew on the pinky. The pinky turned into ground meat and bone in quick order, and Old Thane''s nose wrinkled as he spat the glob of flesh to the forest floor.


    "Foul." Old Thane wiped his mouth. "The taste of a weakling. But at the least, a weakling that learns. Now we begin a new lesson."


    Old Thane took his casual walking pace up to Azhar again, though those curled fists promised anything but a casual time.


    Azhar crouched slightly, getting back into his hybrid of a fighting and charging stance. He could no longer form a fist with two fingers, but he stuck out his index finger like a brandished dagger, intending to stab Old Thane with a high velocity charge.


    No doubt, that charge wouldpletely break his finger and his hand now that it could not form a fist to more efficiently absorb impact, but in light of all the devastating injuries he had suffered, those issues seemedparatively trivial.


    Old Thane grinned. "Another charge? Come at me, boy."


    He stuck out his fist, daring Azhar toe into his range, to be struck down with all the powerful precision of a hammer crashing down upon an errant nail.


    Azhar took in a breath, rxing before his muscles tightened. His charge was about to begin. The glowing aura of several self-buffs wreathed across Azhar, heavily boosting the speed and strength of his next blow.


    Li got ready to cast another healing spell to help Azhar recover. There was simply no reasonable way for Azhar to do any reasonable damage to Old Thane in this state. Logically, Azhar would be aiming for Old Thane''s other eye or groin considering he only had a finger left on his functional hand, and those were the only parts of Old Thane''s body soft enough to actually damage.


    But the old man could simply bat him out of his charge ¨C there was no way the ranger could ever get past the old man''s fists to hit any viable target.


    Li figured Azhar simply performed this charge to let himself get beat up to heal and get another chance to fight.


    Once again, wrong.


    Azhar shot forward with his fastest speed yet, so fast that he was upon Old Thane even before the leaves he cast up with his charge had reached the top of their floating arcs. His charge was empowered with bonus damage, bonus uracy, bonus critical chance, and bonus critical damage: a massive amount of magical energy to sink for what should have been a convenient way to simply let himself get beat up for another round of healing.


    Old Thane thrust his fist out, aiming at the ranger''s outstretched arm.


    But at the veryst moment, Azhar withdrew his arm and instead lowered his head, using it as a battering ram. Azhar did not aim at any soft spots. He flew forwards straight at the old man''s fist.


    Old Thane''s eyes widened for the first time as his fist cracked into Azhar''s skull.


    A resounding impact blew through the air as Azhar hurtled backwards, his body flipping several times as he unceremoniously mmed onto the forest floor.


    Old Thane looked at his hand in surprise. His pinky was broken, jutting sideways in an unnatural angle.


    Azhar had never intended to try and seriously damage Old Thane ¨C that was simply an impossibility.


    If he had no chance to get past the old man''s fists, then simply aim at the fists to begin with.


    From there, he had determined his realistic chances and aimed to break a single finger, but even that seemed a far off dream. He could not rely on the strength of his own finger: a finger that had never been conditioned to fight in close quarters.


    No, not even his full fist would have been able to deal any real damage to Old Thane''s hardened fist. To have any chance of chipping Old Thane''s durable bones, Azhar needed to hit them with something equally hard.


    His skull.


    And why had Old Thane not simply reacted to this?


    Surprise.


    Li knew this because surprise was what he felt also.


    The surprise came from the fact that though both Old Thane and Li had warned Azhar over and over that this was training meant to push him to the brink of death again and again, they had always been making sure, at some level, to hold back and not kill the ranger.


    They did not expect that the ranger was himself willing to throw his entire life away and use his skull, risking immediate brain death untreatable by anything barring resurrection magic that nobody in this world knew Li could use, to aplish something as middling as breaking a pinky.


    "Lad!" shouted Old Thane. "The boy!"


    Li immediately healed Azhar, not even wasting the time to wave his hand as he willed his spell into existence.


    Old Thane rushed to Azhar''s side, kneeling down as he took ranger in his arms. Where just before his club-like hands had beat Azhar down, now they gently felt around the ranger''s face, feeling for signs of significant damage.


    Azhar''s eyes had rolled into his head and blood streamed form his nose. Before, there must have been a massive dent in his skull that surely would have mashed some of his brain. But thankfully, the ranger still breathed, his brain damage instantly healed by Li before it could worsen into death.


    And it was sheerly by virtue of Old Thane''s own superhuman reactions that Azhar even remained alive. In a timeframe spanning perhaps a tenth of a second, right when Azhar''s skull came into contact with Old Thane''s hand, the old man had ovee his surprise and rxed the muscles in his fist, making the impact much softer for Azhar.


    "He''ll be fine," said Li as he made sure that Azhar''s breathing was regr and rhythmic.


    "Aye,d, that he will," said Old Thane as he strung Azhar along his back, carrying the ranger. "And that will end this training."


    As he ended that sentence, Old Thane began to age, little ck shards of demonic power escaping from his body, dispersing into sooty particles.


    "How I missed the spryness of youth,"ughed Old Thane as his back started to hunch again, his muscles deting. His white mane of hair began to fall, carrying away in the breeze like dandelion seeds. "But there is a reason I buried that savagery. How Aine would have scolded me for turning my back on the civilization she taught me with such dear effort."


    "I''m sure she would''ve approved letting you cut loose once in a while," said Li. "So, training''s over? nning on doing a repeat session?"


    Old Thane shook his head. "Nay,d. I could never have taught him technique. But I have nted the seeds of the mindset I wished him to grow, and there is nothing more I can do for him."

 Chapter 101 - Winding Down

    A couple of hourster during thete afternoon, Azhar woke up.


    Old Thane hadid him on a bed of skins, his head upraised atop a sack stuffed with hay that functioned as a pillow so as to make sure blood flowed into his head properly.


    Azhar groaned as he shifted himself up. He used his free hand to rub his head, his fingers syed and pressing into his temple in a rudimentary massage. His movements were a little shaky, but not at all due to physical damage. Nor was it due to mana loss as Li had restored his mana too.


    Azhar''s expression was more surprised than tired.


    After some time tending to the fields, Li was drinking a mug of cool water at the table with Old Thane when they heard and saw Azharing to.


    Li put down his mug and said, "You look surprised. Surprised you''re alive?"


    "A little." Azhar tapped his head with his fingers.


    "Rx, you should be fine," said Li. "I have enough confidence in my healing skills for that. A little mashed up brain is nothing."


    Azhar nodded. "Thanks."


    Li motioned to Old Thane, now the same as ever, withered and aged and yet with that gentle, happy smile that made him Old Thane, not the Bloodfist.


    "You should be thanking the old man. He pulled his punches on thatst hit when you made your suicide dive. I can fix a little bit of brain damage, but when the whole thing''s broken and you straight up die instantly? Yeah, no. Best my healing would do would be to make your corpse look pretty."


    "Hells, old man," said Azhar, awe under toning his voice. "Ya had time to pull back even then? Thought I really had ya surprised."


    Old Thane made a fist and held it towards Azhar. "A warrior is always prepared, youngd. You best remember that."


    "Yeah, this is the Old Thane I know," said Azhar as he smiled at the old man. "Less beatings and more wise quotes."


    Old Thane loosed a heartyugh. "It was an interesting experience to feel once more the rush to crack skulls, but now that the rush has slowed, I am reminded why I now prefer words over fists."


    "Yeah? Why''s that?" Azhar said, leaning forwards, expecting another wise quote.


    "Because my back is just not as it once was,"ined Old Thane as he tapped his back.


    "Yeah, figured yer warrior''s spirit never really left ya," said Azhar.


    "Every warrior must one dayy down their arms, and epting that is a martial feat of its own," nodded Old Thane. "And youngd, I must say that I am sorry for the harsh treatment I flung upon you. I imprinted my younger self with as much concern and care as I could, but s, it was not quite enough."


    "Naw, I''m all the better for it," said Azhar. "Made me stronger. Made me realized what fightin''s really bout''."


    "Just know that I won''t be there all the time," said Li. "You won''t have someone like me healing you every single time you decide to bash your own skull in."


    ??Jeanne''s got that covered, though she''s been ckin'' on her priestly healin'' to train her mutant powers." Azhar shrugged. "But yeah, get watcha mean. Course ya ain''t gonna be rainin'' healin'' down on me night and day, but this whole trainin'' was still good to make me realize what fightin'' was really like. Made me understand that it ain''t about winnin'' or losin'', it''s all bout'' killin'' or being killed."


    "Aye, youngd." Old Thane shifted in his seat to face Azhar, his expression bing grave. "But as Li said, know that this mindset cannot push you through multiple fights. It is a desperate one meant to loose your all only when a fight truly pushes you.


    You fight to survive and kill, but do not let those thoughts consume you. You cannot treat every fight as one to w for your survival."


    "Course'' I know that," said Azhar with augh. "I ain''t gonna'' start bitin'' off the ears and gougin'' out the eyes of the next tavern drunkard that picks a fight with me."


    "Simply a reminder," said Old Thane. "For unlike me, you have sisters who care for you dearly. To lose an arm to secure victory may sit right with your fiery spirit, but that sacrifice will pain them."


    "Yeah, figured that too." Azhar sighed, looking down. After a few seconds, he looked up and matched Old Thane''s gaze with a determined smile. "I may be a hothead, old man, but I know what I want outta'' my life, and that''s to make sure they manage to keep smilin''. For that, I''m ready to sacrifice anything."


    Old Thane nodded. "You have far more purpose than I did when I was your age, youngd. Cherish it." He then took on a lighter tone. "Say, though, what possessed you to go to such mad lengths to sacrifice your skull? Such madness would have been unknown even to me, hah!"


    Azhar tapped his head with fist. "Wasn''t it you that said the skull''s the hardest armor we humans got?"


    Old Thane shook his head with a faint smile, amused by the ranger. "If only you hadmitted to your studies with this fervor. Then Aine would not have scolded you so."


    "Studies don''t get the blood rushin''." Azhar looked at Li. "Speakin'' of, though, I wouldn''t mind sittin'' down and porin'' through arcane texts to learn some magic from ya."


    "Before we can think about that, I need to ask you a question," said Li. "Your specialty is as a shaman, isn''t it? I just want to confirm ¨C how is it that you learn your spells in the first ce?"


    Azhar cocked his head. "Well, I went to the Echoing Hills where them animal spirits roam round'' and meditated there. Starved myself and took enough spores to knock a bear out for days. Spirits came to me then, and I learned from em'', though I ain''t sure if it was all in my head or not, outta'' my mind as I was."


    "I see." Li nodded. "And as far as your knowledge goes, is there any other way to learn these spells aside from calling upon these spirits?"


    "Nah, it''s impossible. We''re drawin'' from their power, after all."


    "And is there a set series of tasks these spirits ask you to do in exchange for their power? Some kind of established record that''s standardized for every shaman?"


    "It''s all up to their whims, really. Ain''t no two people ever had the same experience with the spirits. Sometimes, the spirits get bored and end up eatin'' a few."


    "I figured as much." Li shrugged. He had realized this while Azhar was knocked out. In the game, yers that used faith-based magic like this had to do quests revolving around serving their deity in some fashion in order to progress their skills.


    Li knew the requirements for many of these quests, but in this world where spirits and deities had free will, these quests did not exist anymore. It was all up to the what these spirits wanted at the time.


    "Then unfortunately, I can''t help you with your magic," said Li. "I can''t call upon your spirits and tell them to give you spells, and I don''t have the time to trek all the way west to the hintends to talk to these spirits."


    "Huh? That was what ya meant by teachin'' me magic?"


    Li raised a brow. "You expected something else?"


    "Yeah, somethin'' like¡­," Azhar nced worryingly at Old Thane. "Ya know, cause'' you''re special and all."


    Li understood where Azhar was going with this and stood up, pushing his chair into the dining table. "Old man, mind if I talk with Azhar outside?"


    "Secrets of the trade, eh?" Old Thane gave a casual shrug. "Of course, I do not mind,d. Be sure to make it by supper, though, elsewise you''ll have more of mine signature nd porridge."


    ============================


    Azhar and Li stood at the back of the cottage, near the toolshed. Li stood straight, his arms crossed as he stared somewhat curiously at Azhar. The ranger seemed almost bashful, looking at Li''s face but not meeting his eyes.


    "I have an idea of what you''re proposing," said Li. "But I''d like you to exin it in your own words so I know exactly what it is."


    "All my magic''s based on belief in some higher being." Azhar scratched his head. "See, I don''t know exactly what ya are, but I do know in some way, you''re some kinda spiritual being that''s way up there on the totem pole. Spirits all have their color, and yours, that darkness, it''s like an oceanpared to the little ponds that them animal spirits are.


    It feels kinda weird for me to start treatin'' ya like some kinda god now, but if it ain''t too much to ask for, would ya take me in as a follower?"

 Chapter 102 - Doctrine

    Li crossed his arms, contemting. He thought of what it meant to be to be have a follower. How it would affect him. What it meant for Azhar. But he quickly realized he simply had no idea about any of this. He only knew the magic of Eldenia in so far as it rted to his game knowledge of Elden World. Ultimately, there were so very many things were lost in a transition from the rigidity of code and programming to the chaotic perplexities of real life that it was hard to tell what game knowledge applied here and what did not.


    "Tell me, what exactly do you want out of this?" said Li.


    Azhar thought about if for a short second. "Huh, I figured that was gonna'' be up to you, considerin'' you''re the spirit and all. But figure if I had to give an answer, then I''d say somethin'' that''d give me strength?"


    Azhar quickly continued, remembering Li''s words. "I ain''t askin'' for power to fall straight into myp or anythin''. I''ll do any trial ya set me to do. Any offerin''s or whatnot, I''ll be down to try and get em'' to ya."


    "I see." Li raised a finger. "Firstly, let me be honest: this is quite new to me. How does this work? What''s involved with you bing my follower?"


    "Nobody ever followed ya before? Even considerin'' your power? Were ya asleep?"


    "Something like that. The semantics aren''t important. Just answer my questions, and we can get started on this."


    Azhar nodded.


    "Well, there''s a pledge of faith, first off. Belief in what you preach and whatnot." Azhar furrowed his brows. "But beyond that initial pledge, it''s different between all spirits and gods.


    The temples round'' here, the faith of the Sun, it''s all bout'' pledgin'' yourself to the ways of Helius, and that means doin'' general good like lookin'' out for the poor, helpin'' the weak, and whatnot. For me, the animal spirits wanted me to give em'' blood offerings. Carcasses from monsters and beasts. Sometimes my blood. They''re more primal, more bestial, more likely to up and eat your face off than give ya a feels good blessing."


    "Where would I fall along that spectrum?"


    "I ain''t too sure. There ain''t no faith based round'' your kind, your unique brand of darkness, so no clue cause'' the only thing simr to ya has been asleep since forever. Figured you''d have the best idea of what you wanted. I''d be willin'' to get my hands dirty with sacrifices, so long it ain''t involvin'' other people."


    Li waved his hand dismissively. "Nothing of that sort. I don''t want to give you any false promises: I have never had a follower before, and I have never thought about having one. As a result, I simply haven''t given any thought about what I want you to believe or what to do.


    But you''ve shown enough resolve to me today to earn some of my respect. For that, I''ll try and humor you, though you shouldn''t expect any results."


    Li nodded as he saw Azhar''s eyes brighten up, an eager smile forming on his face. "Let''s get the mechanics of this hashed out. How does this follower thing work? Will it draw attention to me any? If so, then it''ll be hard for me to oblige you."


    "Ain''t nobody knows what you are now, so I figure so long as you ain''t wantin'' me to go bout'' spreadin'' your word or whatever, it ain''t gonna change nothin'' for you."


    "No proselytizing, no."


    "Alright, I ain''t a fan of that too. Anyways, I don''t know for sure bout'' nothin'', cause I ain''t one of you, so I ain''t got a clue how it''s like. But from general observation, seems like all the faiths out there got a kinda doctrine ya gotta'' follow. Somethin'' that sets ya apart from nonbelievers and followers of other faiths."


    "A doctrine?"


    Azhar nodded. "Yeah. Rules for how to live, what to do, what to offer, and whatnot. Animal spirits were wild, not at all suited to civilization, so they didn''t have any real rules for me to follow. Just wanted offerings. But the faith of the Sun wants ya to change the whole way ya live ordin'' to their rules."


    Azhar frowned. "Way too stuffy for me. Jeanne can do it cause'' she''s always been good at heart, but me? Ain''t a single rule abidin'' bone in my body. Though I guess she''s a special case, too."


    Azhar scoffed. "Plenty of priests out there that got a major stick up their arse, willin'' to incinerate every nonhuman out there without battin'' a single eye. Some of em'' steal alms. Some of em'' do things far, far worse to even the smallest of children.


    Western people like to tell me my faith''s barbaric. Savage. Ain''t fit for ''civilized'' men. But atleast it''s honest."


    "These priests thatmit these crimes ¨C do they lose their powers for them?"


    "No. Some of em'' nutjobs are way in over their heads and think their crimes are Helius''s will or somethin''."


    "I see."


    Li found this interesting. So there were no set mechanisms by which gods gained followers. A god could set as loose or restrictive a doctrine as they wished. Desire offerings or none. Ultimately, then, it was all about faith, and that, Azhar certainly had. Nothing inspired more faith than explicitly knowing a godlike entity that could crush the entire country you lived in stood before you.


    Li himself was interested in what it meant to have a follower. Inevitably, once he embraced his divinity, these things would happen. It would be prudent to get a taste of it now, and he seriously doubted, like Azhar said, that one follower who had no desire to evangelize would ever be a risk.


    "Alright then, let''s give this a try." Li shrugged as he tried to formte some kind of half-baked doctrine for Azhar to follow, something that would give the man some kind of idea of what it meant to be his follower, but at the end of the day, he couldn''t really think of anything.


    In the first ce, Li had never been a religious man, nor had he taken much stock into it. He had little idea of what it meant for someone to live by faith, in belief of something inextricably higher and perhaps, as in the case of Helius,rgely intangible.


    He had never been the center of attention, and even now, the idea of some kind of cult hovering around him put a bad taste in his mouth. He didn''t want Azhar to go about spreading his name either.


    The more he thought about it, the more he realized he really was not suited to manning a religion. In the end, he gave up trying to think up some kind of religion and just loosed his own thoughts of the values he personally felt a doctrine should inspire.


    "Here goes for my doctrines," said Li. "Firstly, you don''t mention me to anyone, although that much should be obvious.


    Second, you do not spread word of me like some crazed fanatic. Keep what I say to yourself.


    Third, and I''m sure this wille as a convenient surprise to you, just live life your own way. I don''t really want to tell you what you should or shouldn''t be doing. I guess just try and have a good image of who you want to be and better yourself like you''re already doing.


    Fourth, and most importantly, this the one thing that I''m going to say that borders on a real rule. Respect the world. I''ve known far too many people had no appreciation for the beauty of life around them. Spend some time understanding that all of this, this nature, this clean air, this sunny sky, it''s not here for granted. It''s a precious jewel, so treat it as such.


    As for offerings, well, I''d be more than happy to have you work on the farm when you want."

 Chapter 103 - Winds Of Change

    "Don''t trim that much. You''ll make the bush''s branches weaker and thinner over time. Plus it''ll waste time having to regrow them."


    Li pointed to a berry bush which Azhar hunched over dutifully with a pair of creaking shears. He cut with a rapidfire pace, his trained agility boosted by his excitement. Azhar had been ecstatic in hearing that Li would take him in as a follower and wanted to immediately repay him through some kind of trial or offering.


    Li remembered that he hadn''t been pruning the berry bushes, so he figured it would be useful to put Azhar on that. Maybe it was not so bad having a few followers on hand if they were just going to be farmhands. But then again, having to teach Azhar the basics of everything put into question whether hisbor was truly worth it.


    "Look, you snipped off a branch with berries on it. This whole pruning thing may not seem like a big deal, but you should treat it seriously. That''s a living thing that''s relying on you to tend to it."


    "Got it," said Azhar as he took slower and more precise motions.


    "Gods, it is a marvel you learned so quickly," said Old Thane to Li. The old man stood beside Li, observing Azhar tending to the bushes. "I have not voiced my surprise until now, but if ever farming could be recognized as talent, you would be one in a million,d."


    "Guess I''ve got a real sense for it," said Li. Which was true. He literally did have a superhuman sense for feeling the flow of living things and tending to them with the utmost efficiency. "That sense wouldn''t be of any use unless I''d had you to guide it. It''s your little nuggets of advice that I''m regurgitating to Azhar here."


    "And to think that you, such an unruly youngd," said Old Thane to Azhar. "Would take an interest in farming. It is a marvel at how fate moves with such unpredictable grace. Did you know that I wished to will this farm to you?"


    Azhar stopped trimming for a second. "Huh? You did?"


    Old Thane nodded. "When you were to grow old enough to leave the orphanage, I thought to make you my farmhand. Grant you a means to feed yourself and your sisters in this world. But who would have thought the whole lot of you would be adventurers."


    Old Thaneughed before stating, "But of course, with your temperament ¨C how you could never sit still for even but one moment ¨C this farm would have fallen toplete ruin."


    Azhar resumed snipping with a smile. "Hells, old man, you were mighty fierce when you were young. If you could settle down here and do this, don''t see why I couldn''t. But you''re right, this work ain''t cut out for me."


    "Then why do it,d? Is this payment for Li''s teachings?"


    Azhar looked to Li questioningly, and Li nodded.


    "Yeah, basically," said Azhar.


    Old Thane scratched his beard. "I am quite curious to behold what manner of magic you have learned from Li. Aine thought you utterly devoid of magical talent too."


    "I''m curious about that as well," said Li. Azhar looked back at him, trying to see what kind of new abilities this farming session would give him. "Nothing I teach him has a guarantee to seed, so don''t get your hopes up. Azhar, stop looking here and get back to work."


    And Li was truly curious. He had no idea how to bestow abilities upon Azar. He only knew that Azhar had verbally epted being his follower and presumably had faith in him, but was that enough? Did it not make sense for Li to need to do something on his part?


    But none of these questions could be answered by Li himself. Time would tell as to whether Azhar learned anything. But aside from time, there was another that could inform him.


    "Hold up, let me check the fields before the sun sets," said Li. He patted Old Thane on the back. "Make sure Azhar doesn''t chop these bushes in half or anything by the time I get back."


    Li stood at the fields, watching the wheat now turning golden. Harvest would be tomorrow as scheduled. The sun hung low in the sky, its usual golden splendor bing just a little redder as it readied itself to set in theing hours.


    ====================


    ''So that''s the gist of it,''muned Li to Zagan whoy beside his feet. ''Any idea of how to grant things to followers?''


    ''I will say that my personage is greatly pleased to see that you are embracing more of your true nature,'' said Zagan. ''But though my knowledge be vast, it is insufficient for your needs. We demons are not gods. We know not the concept of followers and worshippers.''


    ''But the day I met you, you were rooted inside that bandit leader''s soul, giving him power he would never have humanly achieved. Old Thane, too, you made him younger.''


    ''There is a fundamental difference between that and bestowing blessings to worshippers. What we demons grant cannot be called blessings. They are curses veiled with sweet, sinful allure such that weak mortal hearts sumb to taking them willingly.


    We demons do not receive worship from humans. There is no real exchange. They are merely our food. The powers we grant them are simply there to bring forth their vor by catering to their weaknesses. At the depths of their darkest despairs or in the heights of their sin, their souls are ever more charged with negative force, ever more delectable to feast upon.


    Thus, we entice mortals to make pacts with us that will invariably worsen their sins or lead them into destruction, for at the zenith of their misery is when it is truly wondrous to feast upon their souls.''


    ''I see.'' Li nodded. In human terms, Zagan basically described demon culture''s idea of marinating food. They invested time and effort into leading a mortal down into their absolute worst states all to have a tastier meal at the end. ''That''s worlds apart from the whole worship and blessing dichotomy that gods and mortals here seem to have.''


    ''That is so.'' Zagan perked his head up, his ears twitching backwards. ''Though this talk does push me to inform you, Elder One, of the winds of change that flicker about.''


    ''And that is?''


    ''Whence you firstid eyes upon my personage, at that little bandit: I infested his soul not only to grow his insatiable greed for power, but also to open up the initial invasion into human territory.''


    ''An invasion that''s now been called off.'' Li looked west, his eyes scanning over disused farnds, rolling hills, beyond the shadowy winterwoods, and into the horizon where the hintends, and, even further, the demons were.


    Zagan also looked west and sighed. ''The Burning One has invoked the Rite of Order,pelling all demons to gather at En Arkennan, the center of all chaos from which we demons are born from."


    ''You received that call?''


    ''I am no longer connected to the Burning One, but a Rite sent among all demons would reach one of age and power such as my personage. The Rite of Order is usually invoked before invasion, though it has rarely been called for other reasons as well.''


    Li squatted down, bing level with Zagan as he eyed the demon. ''You remember what I said, don''t you? If the Burning One makes a move here, it''ll be thest move he makes.''


    ''That, my personage fully understands.''


    ''I know your kind only values ties to the strong, but I also understand you''ve known this Burning One for centuries. If you want to go West and talk to him one more time, this might be yourst chance.''

 Chapter 104 - Of Divinities And Decrees

    ''My personage does not change my decisions whence they have been made. What is said is said, voiced into the world forever to be,'' said Zagan, finality echoing in his voice.


    Zagan stood on his four legs, his thick coat of wavy ck fur swaying as a strong westward breeze swept through. His head followed the breeze, looking back west, and he looked beyond as Li did, to the burning hellscapes he had called home for many hundreds of years.


    Li knew the demons did not at all operate their society through sentimentality, following only the strong without regrets, but at that moment, he almost felt as if the demon yearned for home, however brutal it might have been.


    "I ask of you, Elder One," said Zagan as his crimson eyes shed, widening in focused resolve. "Should you traverse westward to face the demonic see, then I wish to go by your side."


    "Of course," said Li.


    "And I wish, no, it is my responsibility to face the Burning One in battle and put him down. He my personage advised, rearing from lowly imp to archon of the demonic arts, and if my teachings have led to this, it is mine own strength that must end it."


    "I can respect that wish. I have no true qualms against this Burning One ¨C I don''t even know him - but at this rate, our paths will sh, and only one path will continue to pave forward to the future.


    My path. And you understand this. It is truly unfortunate that the one you reared must face the one you swore allegiance to, so at the very least, if defeating him with your own hands will give the two of you peace, then so be it."


    =======


    Li headed back to the berry bushes to check up on Azhar. Unfortunately, Zagan had not been able to help much, but at the same time, Li learned more about the demons. They were powerful, but they were not gods.


    They were like the dragons ¨C extremely long lived and powerful, but still distinctly physical, living species. Their power was only their own; they did not receive nor see the point in worship or blessings. They helped mortals only in the same capacity as a chef investing many cumbersome hours into preparing a fine meal: it was simply an borate means to satisfy their primal hunger.


    Which made Li wonder exactly how much power the four gods derived from mortal worship. Or if it was even power they received. Certainly, they gave out their power through skills and spells and stats but did they did not seem to receive anything in return.


    At the least, they were not that much stronger than they were in the game.


    Perhaps there was some other benefit they got, but as to what it was, Li could not fathom, nor could he ask them considering they were holed up in Valhul, which he decidedly did not want to return to. Maybe when Chi You managed to manifest in Launcelot''s body Li could open a dialogue about godhood. He was sure the war god would be friendly enough for it.


    "Lad! Nice of you to join us once more," said Old Thane as he waved Li over.


    "So, has he killed anything yet?" Li put a hand on Old Thane''s shoulder as he looked to the garden, spying Azhar with the shears nted in the ground, a proud smile wreathed on his face.


    "I''m done, that''s what it is," said Azhar. "And I ain''t killed anythin''. Old man said I might even have knack for this, though it''s still boring as hells work."


    "Boring only if you don''t appreciate it," said Li as he scanned the pruned bushes, nodding. They were trimmed to eptable quality, and Old Thane was right: Azhar had improved, managing to get through the bushes with some finesse even with one arm.


    "Cut the youngd some ck," said Old Thane. "Young and rearing to go with energy as he is, I am sure merely pruning does not sate his adventurelust."


    "ck doesn''t exactly go hand in hand with improvement, but you''re right: he''s on a different path form us." Li nodded to Azhar. "Now get yourself ready to go back to the woods. You still haven''t learned [Scattershot], and the wyrm needs her daily dose of fighting."


    Li prepared to go to the cottage where the wyrm was probably sleeping by the firece ¨C her favorite spot ¨C but Old Thane stopped him, tapping his back.


    "Lad, youngdy from the stall wished to tell me she wanted to hear from you."


    "Oh?" Li looked to the stall. Iona nodded to a trio of hunters that hade back from the woods. One of their arms was wrapped in a sling, and they pooled together coins to buy a few healing elixirs for their wounded friend.


    Li came up to the stall as the hunters left.


    "Late customers, huh?" said Li to Iona.


    "Pitiful existences." Iona looked out at the hunters as they walked down the main road, their legs hobbling from exhaustion. "They brave the wilds from sunrise to sunset only to find nothing, for theyck the natural weapons of nature ¨C vigor, strength, ws, poison ¨C, all to lose coins at the end of the day. That is not a¡­," she paused, narrowing her eyes as she recalled. "A profitable venture."


    Li wondered if he was identally creating a capitalist forest spirit. He shrugged and said, "They probably don''t look at the big picture like that. They live day to day, in the now and present. They''re probably just happy this stall exists and we helped their friend heal. In any case, what did you want to see me about?"


    Iona grew cautious and beckoned Li toe inside as she shut down the counter blinds, the wooden gate and tarp falling to seal it shut.


    Inside, Li found pure darkness, though since both he and Iona could see in the dark, this was no impediment.


    "Forgive me if you wished to keep this from me, but did you unleash a divine decree?"


    "I see. There is a chance I did. Exin what a decree is to me."


    "Spirits at the level of divinities such as guardians like yourself are capable of uttering decrees, words with immense power, that carve into the world itself, making them true. Any spirit would be sensitive to such a decree, and there is only one divinity left in the entirety of this realm: you."


    "I see."


    Li nodded to himself. This further confirmed that demons like Zagan were not spirits or divine entities. They might have had simr power and even control over souls and spiritual forces, but they themselves were corporeal existences.


    "I didn''t do much. The ranger you''ve been seeing following me. I''ve been training him, and he decided to be my follower and imed I needed to have some kind of doctrine for him to follow. So I said what came to my mind."


    "It is right that a being such as yourself have mortal worshippers, but I am surprised, yes."


    "I''m surprised too. I thought I wasn''t in touch with my divine powers considering I''m actively trying to prevent them from overpowering the bits of humanity I have left. All it took was me saying a bunch of random stuff I thought up on the spot to unleash something as heavy and serious sounding as a divine decree?"


    "Fundamentally, your divine power is a natural part of you, an extension of your will. It is unsurprising that it can seep through without your knowing, especially with your words. Words are supremely powerful, especially those heralding from divinity. Words give shape to thought, and thoughts give shape to the soul ¨C a divine word gives shape to reality itself."


    "It isn''t as if all my words are changing things, though."


    Iona sat on the work table, her head cocked in thought. "That is true, yes, but perhaps this case may be so because you willed your words in your capacity as a divinity, not as a human."


    Li paused. "Perhaps? You mean to say you don''t know for sure?"


    Iona shook her head. "I am no divinity. I am merely a forest spirit, and a degraded one at that, considering the human lives I have devoured that have diluted my being."


    "But didn''t you give blessings to mortals? Teachings?"


    "The teachings, I did so through my own effort and time. I did not forward them knowledge and power, merely counseling words and understanding. The domain of blessings and decrees was not mine to im, left solely to the discretion of guardians."


    Li nodded. So she wouldn''t be too helpful in this whole follower-religion ordeal either. He was beginning to understand that the beings around him, as fantastical as they were, were not <em>him</em>. They only grasped certain parts of him.


    Zagan knew of his eldritch powers and the nature of his mortal soul. Iona knew of his side as a guardian and forest spirit.


    But neither of them had a truly full understanding of him.


    "What does a decree do?" said Li.


    "It depends, yes." Iona''s tone became didactic. "It depends on your Dominion, of course, which is what aspects of the world are under your control.


    Greater spirits, for example, may embody certain elements. A spirit of rain, for example, may decree that it shall rain, and it will. A forest guardian may decree to raise up trees that have fallen to errant fires.


    Of course, there are limitations as to the effect of the decree depending on the power of the spirit or divinity behind it."


    "And in my case, I''m assuming the limitations are that I simply can''t ess the full brunt of my divinity."


    "That seems to be the case, yes, though I see now that your divinity can bleed through."


    Li realized it had happened once already before. When he made that oath to Old Thane, promising that the farm would be eternal and reach heights never before even conceived of. That had not felt like him speaking at all during that time, but now, he realized he had issued a decree without it feeling unnatural to him.


    To some degree, his divinity had be stronger, though not by much.


    "What does this mean for me? For the ranger?"


    "You should not worry for your human nature, no. This is merely an echo that has managed to well up through the manyyers of humanity you yet still possess." Iona pursed her lips. "For the mortal? You said you established a doctrine, no?


    Then words have been engraved upon the world, words heralding the beginning of your faith. You have be a shepherd, and all those that ce faith upon you and heed your words will be your sheep."


    "Huh. So I really have started a religion. Just like that."


    Li crossed his arms, conceptualizing the many ramifications of this decision, but ultimately, he knew that the conditions he had ced on Azhar and his ownmitment to the farm made the spread of this fledgling faith unlikely.


    "What about blessings? The ranger, I guess he''s my follower now, wanted me to give him power."


    "I do not truly know, for I have never given a blessing myself, no. Through my experiences, I believe it is a natural process. One as easy as thinking. But you are a mortal turned divinity, so none of this would seem innatel to you, and so I have little idea."


    Iona looked down. "I am deeply sorry for myck of ability to aid you."


    "It''s fine," said Li. "We all work within our own means. Looks like only time will tell what''ll happen."

 Chapter 105 - Inheritance

    Li sat cross legged upon the grassy floor of the Winterwoods, the cold des of green leeching their chill to his being. It was an unpleasant chill, even to him, and it was not because of their physical temperature, but rather the nature of it. It felt off, unnatural, as if it was not meant to truly be.


    "Don''t stop moving or else they''ll overwhelm you in an instant," called out Li.


    Around himy a clearing.


    One made within a short period of time, it seemed, based on the environmental evidence. Shattered remnants of rotted tree trunksy scattered about. Patches of withered grass, some so thin that only barren ground remained, dotted the clearing with striking frequency. No flowers, herbs, or mushrooms grew ¨C only the most basic, barest, and hardiest grass managed to even somewhat survive.


    "Got it!" shouted Azhar as he leaped upwards, swerving midair to let a thorned vine sail past his body, mming into the ground behind him and gouging out clods of dirt.


    "That wasn''t meant for you. You''ve been through five years of monster hunting school.It was meant for her," said Li as he kept his eyes on the wyrm that fought side by side with Azhar. A few longcerations made their marks at her sides, welling up faintly with dark red blood.


    Li had expected this fight would be a bit of a struggle for her. He had taken her and Azhar to fight the trio of Rootbeasts that he had scouted out the night before. The Rootbeasts were a fair bit more formidable than giant spiders, which was partly a reason why Li had decided to end Azhar''s training to acquire [Scattershot] early the night before.


    Li watched as the Rootbeasts wriggled in the air, their many spiked leaves stiff as they sensed for vibrations to track movements.


    They were shaped like massive vines that burst from the ground, thicker than a man at their base and twice as tall. The spiked leaves formed a kind of armor, the poisoned purple spines forming an effective deterrent for melee attacks.


    As a result, Azhar was dancing around the battlefield, picking up rocks, chunks of tree branches, and whatever he could get his hands on, to toss with [Snipe] to deal damage.


    The wyrm, however, struggled a little more as she simply could not get close to the Rootbeasts not only due to their spines, but also due to their prehensile roots which burst forth from the ground, acting like powerful whips that could strike from any angle at staggering speeds.


    The wyrm heard Li''s words and kept moving, her pupils narrowing into fine slits as she focused on gauging her distance. The rootbeasts were stationary creatures, flowering in areas to absorb nutrients in the soil before taking a lengthy process to retract into the ground and burrow out into another nutrient rich area.


    As a result, their main offense came from theirplexwork of whipping roots which spanned the entirety of this clearing. They burst from the ground, pping away at the wyrm and Azhar with relentless ferocity.


    The wyrm caught a few blows here and there, but her bark-scales had hardened enough to make any wounds she sustained shallow. She would have to get right in front of the rootbeasts where their control of their roots were strongest to suffer a significant injury.


    Azhar, on the other hand, did fine for himself, using his exceptional agility to dart about at a range where the rootbeasts were unable to control their roots with maximum speed and strength.


    As he tossed yet another rock with concussive force, he said, "These roots should be lyin'' right under ya, but they ain''t even touchin'' you."


    "Call it diplomatic immunity," said Li with a shrug. The reason for this was simple: the rootbeasts were basically mindless, functioning through a very basic sense ofbat instinct that put self-survival above all else, and they had innately determined that striking Li would minimize their survival chances to zero.


    "Should teach me that skill, cause'' it''s lookin'' mighty useful," said Azhar as he ducked backwards, another root whipping past him.


    "Maybe I should add a use to my doctrine that only the patient are rewarded," said Li. He bantered with Azhar because he did not worry for the ranger. The ranger was a silver-ranked adventurer after all, and even if he fell short of his sisters in raw talent, he still ranked within the top end of all of humanity in terms of power.


    Of course, humanity as a whole as almost pitifully weak, but Azhar was strong and experienced enough in fighting monsters that at the least, his life was not in danger. Especially because he did not have to cover for the wyrm as she simply could not even get into range.


    Li had not intended for her to be truly useful in this fight. He just wanted to put her in a new situation where her usual abilities ¨C her raw physical stats and venom ¨C would be useless.


    This way, he hoped, she would get a better sense of her limitations because he worried that her current eagerness for fighting mightnd her in an unfavorable situation in the future.


    "Gotcha!" eximed Azhar, his good arm extended forwards.


    Li watched as one of the rootbeasts fell, spurting gooey red sap from a hole at its base created from a particrly sharp rock.


    Azhar had thrown multiple projectiles beforehand in that very same area with deadly precision, shearing spines, protective leaves, and the hardened epidermis, leaving only a soft spot barely covered with a tattered and thinned defensiveyer to protect the precious life sap within.


    "Just two more of these runts to put down," said Azhar as he stepped nearer with more confidence noting that with one rootbeast dead, he had effectively neutered one third of the offensive rootwork underneath him.


    Still, two rootbeasts were enough that Azhar still stood almost ten meters away, constantly dodging roots that burst from his sides to strike him and beneath him to grasp his feet.


    Li did not see any noticeable difference in Azhar''sbat ability. Nothing that could be attributed to any divine power from Li, at the least.


    "Don''t push yourself," said Li as he noticed the wyrm standing further back from Azhar, perhaps a little nervous to get back into striking range of the roots. "There are things you can and cannot do. Enemies you can and cannot face. The human there can fight at range, and you cannot, that''s all there is to it."


    The wyrm pawed the grass with her front leg in frustration, her ws extended out but utterly useless in this fight. Unless she could get close to swipe at the rootbeasts, she could do nothing, and that was provided she could maneuver her way through the horde of swinging roots and punch through the spines.


    She stared at Azhar with a low growl of jealousy, watching as the ranger shot forwards a jagged edge of bark he picked up from the ground. The bark, rotted and softened, did not make for a good projectile, but the sheer force with which it wasunched made its impact strong enough to blow apart at least some of the rootbeast''s spines, shearing away its defenses bit by bit.


    "You don''t have to feel bad about what you can''t do," said Li. "Just watch and learn."


    The wyrm stood still, seemingly heeding Li''s words, but after Azhar threw another piece of bark, her eyes widened as her mouth opened, a nod of understanding moving her head.


    Li watched in wonder as the wyrm''s chest began to expand. She started to cough. Her jaws opened unnaturally wide, the flesh splitting at the sides of her mouth to make for more space. Patches of ck light were visible through the skin of her throat. Her coughing had now be almost like vomiting, her chest convulsing with her mouth open.


    "Azhar, I would advise stepping back," said Li.


    Azhar jumped back, escaping a few roots that tried to grab his legs.


    Finally, a burst of obsidian ck light exploded from the wyrm''s mouth before a fireball shot out. The whole motion reminded Li almostically of a cat coughing up a hairball, but there was nothing funny about the strength of the attack.


    The dark fireball, though perhaps only about the size of a basketball, struck one of the rootbeasts head on, exploding into a pir of sweltering fire that roared high and mighty, towering over even the trees outside the clearing. The mes were darker than the night, flickeringjust as visible as a regr fire would have.


    The unlucky rootbeast shriveled up, desating before burning into a ckened crisp.


    "I take back what I said about limits. I guess you just have to surpass them," said Li to the wyrm, but she did not hear him. She fell to her side, her breathing shallow. Li immediately moved beside her, cing a hand on her back, but realized she was fine, justpletely spent out of energy.


    "Suns and spirits and gods above," remarked Azhar as he looked back, sidestepping a few roots that now were slow enough for him to dodge with ease. "Ain''t her mother a Lerneas? That ain''t poison. How''d she learn to breathe fire? And the hells kinda fire is that?"


    Li saw the fire almost immediately extinguish once it had eaten up all the life it could in its vicinity. It did not so much burn as it wilted, withering organic matter out of existence. This was not regr fire. This was demonfire, utilized by high level fire demons to bypass fire resistances to deal true damage straight to life force, but it was not limited to demonkind.


    Eldritch monsters also utilized it.


    "I guess she really does take after me,"mented Li with a nod as he hoisted the tired wyrm into his arms. She had evolved once more, and once again, she had taken up Li''s characteristics. This time, his eldritch powers.


    But demonfire was meant for high level monsters at least level 50. Considering she was barely above 20, the strain it must have ced on her body to conjure this up would have been massive.


    The ground rumbled, and Li paid attention back to Azhar and the single remaining rootbeast.


    The rootbeast was gettingrger, pulsating with vibrant green energies that shimmered from its body down to the ground, echoing outwards in a faint shockwave that highlighted the countless roots underneath. Several roots were raised around it, wiggling around like tentacles.


    It was taking control of the remaining two rootbeasts'' rootworks, empowering itself with a massive burst of nutrients while also tripling its offensive powers.


    "It''s time to head back," said Li to Azhar. The ranger had unsheathed his dagger, but that was a futile move. "A Clustered Rootbeast isn''t something you can handle right now. Any hit you put out on it, it''ll just regenerate with all that extra life its sapping up now."


    "To handle all that extra juice it''s munchin'' on, it''s gotta form a core to stabilize it," said Azhar. "Just gotta'' take that out."


    "Easier said than done. You have to find it first, and it''ll be hiding it. This thing won''t be moving much now that its slowed down by so many roots. You''ll have a chance to fight itter, and the wyrm needs healing."


    "Trust me on this one, Li, I got this. It ain''t gonna'' take any time." Azhar grinned as his eyes scanned the towering rootbeast up and down. The rootbeast did not attack as it was still convulsing, its form growing as it morphed from the massive influx of three rootworks worth of nutrients.


    "I see what you''re tryin'' to do, brainless bastard." Azhar flipped his dagger, grabbing it between his fingers by the de. He cocked it backwards, his eyes narrowing. With a powerful breath, he threw the dagger.


    Not at the rootbeast''s main body, but at one of the many upraised roots wriggling beside it. The dagger pierced through the root, taking out an apple sized ck seed.


    The core.


    In an instant, the rootbeast halted its movements like a puppet whose strings had been cut. It copsed to the ground, surrounded by withering and fallen roots.


    "Ya might not believe me, but I could see it, all of it," said Azhar excitedly. "I could see where it was hidin'' its core, where it was keeping all that life just packed up in that little ol'' nugget."


    It would appear that the wyrm was not the only one to take up after Li.

 Chapter 106 - People

    Li and Azhar sat on either end of a fallen tree trunk. In the middle, the wyrmy as still as a corpse. Azhar was hunched over the wyrm, his eyes narrowed in focus as he analyzed her health. His hand gently went to her legs, feeling her joints to see if they were intact before making his way up to her eyes. He gingerly grasped the wyrm''s head and used his thumb to peel back her closed eyes.


    "There," he said, nodding his head towards the wyrm''s eye. It glowed a bright yellow that was distinctly visible in the ck of night. "She''s alright. Just used up all her mana is what it is."


    "Are you sure?" said Li. "She has no heartbeat and she''s cold like ice to the touch."


    "Those are scary signs to see on a human, but they ain''t no cause for concern for wyrms." Azhar took his hand off the wyrm''s head, running it over her eye to close it with a gentle touch. "Wyrms can hibernate for ages. Centuries, even. Their hearts straight stop beatin'' and they get as cold as the environment round'' them. But as long their eyes got life in em'', they''re still there."


    "I see." Li felt like he had brought his sick pet to a veterinarian. "And there won''t be any furtherplications?"


    "Nah, she''s a tough one. Just needs rest. Though, I should say ya gotta'' start namin'' her soon."


    "A name?"


    Li had thought about names for the wyrm before, but he had not really settled on anything and did not see how it was relevant to her health. Not forck of care, but mostly because he could notnd on anything too appropriate.


    "They say a soul gets stronger once ya give it a name. It''s a proven fact for wyrms, especially ones raised by humans. They get a lotta'' foreign influence in their being growin'' up and evolvin'', so they need a strong sense of self, and a name helps em''tch onto one.


    For a being like you, infinitely moreplicated and powerful than a regr ol'' human, I figure the name''s even more important."


    "Well, if the name''s going to directly affect her health, then I need to think about it much more seriously. Does the content of the name matter?"


    "Nah, long as ya give her a name. And it''s gotta'' be you, her parent, else she ain''t gonna'' take to it."


    "I see. I appreciate the information." Li nodded in approval to Azhar.


    "As curt as ever. That''s why I didn''t like ya the first time I met you, no offense. Didn''t know ya were a god then too."


    "And now you''re my sworn follower, though I guess there aren''t too many rules in following me. Maybe I should update my rules a little. Add in a little more farmbor."


    "I''m fine with anythin''." Azhar pointed to his eyes. "I''m confident I can do anythin'' rted to workin'' the farm with ease now. Gotta'' show my thanks for this new sight somehow."


    "Well, any extra hand on the farm is a wee one." Li paused, contemting Azhar''s sudden developments. "And don''t forget what I said before: I don''t have a great idea of what I''m doing in regard to being your god. I didn''t intend for you to inherit my vision, and I don''t know what lies in wait for you in the future either."


    "Trust me, I''m used to it. Didn''t know whether I was gonna'' get eaten or blessed with the animal spirits, though you''re a hells of a lot more reasonable than em''."


    "You could say I''m in a good mood these days. Appreciate it while you can." Li did not like thinking about how his personality could warp when he used his darker powers, but optimally, by developing his forest spirit and eldritch sides together, he could maintain a bnced sense of self.


    "You ain''t gonna'' up and tear down this world or anythin'' once you''re in a bad mood, right?" said Azhar only half-jokingly.


    "On the contrary, I like to think I''ll be protecting this world. Lives in it included, of course. Lives are nature, and like I said, nature is to be appreciated."


    "Right."


    "And if I''m going to be something you put your faith in, then I want to be able to lead by example." Li held out an open palm. "Now, give me that rootbeast core. I figure I can distill it into an interesting elixir."


    Azhar shuffled his free hand in his pocket before he fished out the baseball sized ck seed. It was gnarled like bark but smooth, almost looking like a charred brain. Li took it, intending to ask Iona for potential applications for it.


    "Say, ain''t it kinda bad to be tearin'' down these rootbeasts?" asked Azhar as he looked at dried up and wilted roots and rootbeast carcasses littering the clearing. "Part of the forest and all."


    "Good to hear you ask that, and I''m d to answer: No. There''s a reason I chose them for you to fight. They needed to be cleared out. Tell me, you learned about rootbeasts in your adventurer''s training, right?"


    Azhar nodded, cocking his head as he reminisced. "Had to memorize that dusty old tome a dozen times over. <em>Dangerous Fauna and Flora of Eldenia</em> by grand arcanist Sagesse."


    "That''s the same book I use," said Li with a schrly nod. There was a certain academic appeal in talking about a book with someone who had studied it just like him that he had not forgotten from his human days. "Then you should know that rootbeasts don''t originate from here. Theye from all the way down south in Duvin."


    The word Duvin brought an annoyed twitch to Azhar''s brow ashe remembered that he was here now instead of there because of his weakness, but the ranger''s momentarypse passed quickly.


    Li continued. "Duvin''s creatures are far stronger than those up here. These rootbeasts, their seeds carried by strong winds,nd here and disrupt the ecosystem. They''re an invasive species far too strong to belong here, and they destroy the bnce. Just look around you, this whole clearing, it''s entirely dead because of just three rootbeasts."


    "Ya gotta'' point."


    "Besides, their carcasses will rot and form strong fertilizer for the forest floor to regrow from. Bnced, as all things should be." Li nodded. "Though I have to say I''m surprised you and I both learned from the same book."


    "Only the Arcana schrs got rights to write tomes, and there''s only so many people wantin'' to waste their entire lives bein'' old farts scribblin'' on paper, so not too surprisin'', I guess." Azhar scoffed. "Buncha creepy and useless sacks of bones, the whole damn lot of em''."


    Li noted Azhar''s strong displeasure with the Arcana, the premiere schrly institution and resource for writings both mundane and magical in Soleil. "Well, I never did take you as the type to like reading."


    Azhar nced at Li before shrugging. "It ain''t that. Readin''s one of the few studies I liked. Don''t like em'' for a different reason. Guess you should know more bout'' me if I''m your follower. I wasn''t an orphan before I came here. Had a family in the west."


    "That does make sense. If I recall correctly, immigration from the hintends to Riviera started only recently under the duchess''s rule, and you predate that."


    "Yeah. My parents sold me out to an Arcana schr. They liked usin'' hintender folk for their magic experiments. Even better if it was children."


    "I see." Li did not forward condolences or sentimentality to Azhar. In the first ce, he was terrible at that, and, more importantly, he could tell from Azhar''s casual eyes that he had long since moved beyond the past. There were no longsting scars from it. "It makes sense. Those shamanistic tattoos must be quite interesting to people who have no exposure to it."


    "That, but mostly cause'' we hintenders were considered less than human. It''s real easy to poke and prod and cut and tear apart kids when ya convince yourself they''re just dirt skinned monster spawn." Azhar shrugged. "Got shipped over to some dodgy old arcana crone here in Riviera. Didn''t take three days before I put a pair of scissors through her head. Wasn''t gonna'' stand gettin'' crammed into a jar."


    Li nodded, impressed that Azhar even as a little child had the drive to kill for his survival. Old Thane was right: Azhar did have what it took to follow his battle philosophy bordering on self-harm.


    "Nobody thought to search for you? The Arcana is a respected institution, I read. Someone must have been sent out to see what killed one of them."


    "I was lucky that the arcanist that bought me was practicin'' illegal magic. Blood magic. Ain''t like the crown back then cared too much, bought up illegal research under the table all the damn time, but if one of em'' arcanists workin'' outside the boundaries of thew got killed, the crown didn''t investigate to keep up public appearances.


    Don''t really like the duchess that much, but I gotta'' thank her for crackin'' down and reformin'' the Arcana, tossin'' all them glorified torturers posin'' as ''schrs'' down into the darkest depths of her dungeons where they ain''t ever gonna'' lift another finger to hurt anyone else again."


    "And thatnded you in the orphanage."


    Azhar nodded.


    "Hm." Li put a contemtive hand to his chin. "And yet you went back to your homnd after all that? After being sold out by your own family?"


    "They didn''t mean much to me by that point. My real ma and pa keeled over from famine, and they deserved it, screw em'' both. But I ain''t gonna'' pin their sins on all my people. I''d be just like those degenerate arcanists if I did that." Azhar shrugged.


    "I wanted to get stronger and I wanted somethin'' noble to fight for. All round'' me, adventurers were sayin'' they were fightin'' for the crown or their people, but it wasn''t <em>my</em> people, so I went back to the hintends, gettin'' back into the tribes that I barely remembered and learnin'' their ways, their horse ridin'', their way with the bow, their shamanism."


    Azhar smiled down at the wyrm, seeing her as a symbolization of all the memories he had of going back to his people, of learning and toiling to be stronger than ever. His smile faded.


    "But I didn''t belong there either. I wasn''t really one of em'' anymore, not when I hadn''t been there since I was, what, five? Even now, I can barely speak the damnnguage. They took me in, but I''d always had that feelin'' that I was a stranger among my own. Just cause'' I looked like em'' didn''t mean I was one of em'', and I never would be."


    "In the end, you''ve decided to fight for your sisters," said Li. "Exins why you''re so willing to do whatever it takes for them."


    Azhar nodded. "Yeah, ya got it. Spent seventeen hard years tryin'' to find out where I belonged, what I was fightin'' for, all to realize it ain''t a question of where and what, but who."


    Azhar slid off the trunk, patting a few chips of rotten wood from his body. "And to get stronger, the old man''s right. I gotta'' eat. Let''s get goin'' else'' there ain''t gonna'' be nothin'' on the table except the old man''s porridge."

 Chapter 107 - Naming

    "Don''t push yourself with that arm," called out Li to Azhar.


    They were both in the fields with Old Thane, clearing out the farm''s second harvest of the year. A day had passed since Azhar had gained his new life sensing powers. He had also learned the [Scattershot] skill, confirming that skills that did not rely on gods or entities to be granted were learned through the same requirements present in Elden World.


    "It ain''t gonna'' get better unless I get the muscles workin'' again," replied Azhar as he used a sickle held in his left hand to scythe up a few heads of wheat. His right arm moved weakly, almost as if in slow motion, the fingersced with trembles as he tried to pick up the stalks he cut.


    "Aye, youngd, you''ve the right idea," said Old Thane from a little distance away, his scarred hands also busy with harvesting. "Wounds healed with the body''s strength alone will not healpletely lest you not push your muscles and bones to their former glory."


    "Yeah, but we only have so much sunlight left, and trying to use that hobbling arm is slowing us down," said Li. He shrugged. "But you''re right, old man. In the grand scheme of things, rehabilitating an arm is more important than one harvest out of many."


    Li looked down, feeling the wyrm tug at his pant leg. She had good fine control over her strength, and she used her tter mrs to gently grasp and pull at the soft fabric. He could sense her impatience from her fidgeting and her active stare, but he shook his head.


    "We won''t be hunting today, Tiamat," said Li sadly. Taking Azhar''s advice, he had named the wyrm. He had a functional knowledge of mythology because so much of it was embedded in Elden World, and he had decided to name her after the primordial Mesopotamian creation goddess, a massive sea dragon who was also considered the mother of all monsters and dragons after her.


    "I''d be willin'' to fight her to let her vent her energy," said Azhar, his head peeking through a few tall and golden stalks of wheat.


    "That would be helpful," nodded Li. "My spells are too dangerous for her to mess around with."


    Tiamat''s eyes narrowed as she pulled particrly hard this time in protest, telling Li that she was, indeed, capable of weathering his spells.


    "How about this: You beat Azhar today and then I''ll show you a spell."


    She loosened her bite and nodded with brimming enthusiasm.


    "It ain''t gonna'' be easy," said Azhar teasingly, and she loosed a challenging roar in response.


    Azharughed before saying, "Y''know, why don''t you shorten her name to Tia? It''ll sound a whole lot more natural."


    "It''s fine to shorten the name like that? It hasn''t been a day yet with her having this name."


    "It ain''t like puppies where ya gotta say it over days and days to drill their names into their heads. Dragonkin are smart, and her, well if there was ever a genius among geniuses among em'', she''d be one of em''. She''s just as smart as those legendary dragons up north that can put any schr down here to shame with their knowledge and wits."


    "Hm."


    "And Tiamat? Where''d ya get that name, anyway, if ya don''t mind exinin''?"


    "That too, I am curious of,d," said Old Thane between deft sickle swipes, stalks falling to his side in droves as bodies must have in his youth. "Your past, your culture, and your people are all yours to keep to yourself, but it is always a pleasure to know more of it."


    So it would appear that Eldenia had no knowledge of the mythology in Li''s.


    Somewhat surprising, too, because there actually was a boss tier monster called Tiamat in Elden World, but she was a boss tier dragon monster that existed in a high level expansion that had absolutely no ce coexisting with the rest of this world.


    "It''s the name of a goddess," said Li simply.


    "A goddess? To think there are more of them than the Great Four," remarked Old Thane. "I''d heard idle rumors of them in the East, but s, despite my many years of adventuring, that part of the world is yet still a mystery to me."


    "A goddess, huh?" said Azhar, nodding with understanding. Unlike Old Thane''s expert hands, Azhar''s hands could not keep up while speaking, and his sickle hand remained idle while he talked. "Anythin'' special bout'' her? She kind? Evil? Help people out? Eat em''?"


    Li could hear Tia loose a rumble of anticipation, wanting eagerly to know what her name meant. She had woken up this morning after inheriting Li''s usage of demonfire, and Li had named her almost as soon as he had made sure she was okay.


    Though she had woken up tired, getting a name had raised her spirits and put her in this energy packed state throughout the whole day, not only because it made her happy, but because Azhar was right: the name itself gave her strength, a stronger sense of self identity upon which to rally around to tackle influences from Li''s being.


    "Keep that sickle moving first off," said Li. When he made sure Azhar was back to work, he continued. "Tiamat, hm? She''s a creator goddess of primordial creation, uniting the waters of the world such that life might bubble from them. Consequently, she takes the form of a massive sea serpent. On the other hand, she''s also a goddess of primordial chaos, and from her, all the monsters and evils of the world formed."


    Li nced at Tia, at how she had cocked her head, trying to conceptualize what Li had said. As of now, moreplicated words and their meanings were a little beyond her grasp, though she could still understand the very basic meanings behind what Li said.


    "Basically, a goddess of life and death, if you think about it." Li nodded to himself. Considering his own existence as a keeper of life and death, the naming seemed very fitting now that he thought about it.


    "That''s a tall name to live up to," remarked Azhar. He started to talk to Tia, "And ain''t you a little too short for it?"


    Tia jumped up on Li''s back, her ws piercing through his linen shirt and digging into his skin, though not piercing it. She did this to stand above the wheat stalks and get a good look at Azhar.


    Considering she was almost more than half the size of a fully grown man, it was a testament to her sense of bnce she could stand atop Li, and also a testament to his own bnce and strength that he could keep her up there without even giving a second thought, not even stopping his harvesting.


    She hissed. Not threateningly, but moreso in challenging protest. It would seem she thought of herself quite highly, the thought that she could not live up to the name her parent had given her irritating her.


    "Sorry bout'' that, missy," said Azhar as he put an apologetic hand to his head. "But if ya wanna prove yer worth, then show it to me when we fight."


    Tia uttered a low growl with a nod, signifying her eptance of Azhar''s challenge. She then leaped down from Li''s back, following a little behind him as she performed mock swipes and snaps in front of her, probably imagining Azhar''s throat there.


    "It is a wonder you can speak to her," said Old Thane as he scratched his head. "Our spoken tongue be the same, yet mine own words have no effect upon her."


    "For dragonkin, it ain''t so much bout'' what you''re sayin'' so much as it''s bout'' what you''re soul''s trynna'' convey." Azhar pointed two fingers to his eyes. "Learned this with Hintender shamans. Yer eyes are windows to the soul, so they say, and ya can talk through em, connectin with anyone no matter if they''re dragon or troll or kraken. I''m lookin'' at her eye to eye and lettin'' my soul speak to her. The words I speak just help me form my thoughts better."


    "The fabled Allspeak,"mented Old Thane with a wondering nod. "Even in mine own adventures, it was an exceedingly rare sight to behold, with Aine herself being one of few practitioners that could be counted on a mere hand, but yet here you are, one who I consider still a little boy, wielding it.


    I am realizing now how little of your trials and developments I know. And it is the same with the other two. You three have learned so very much and grown so very strong. I cannot help but feel pride, and I am certain Aine does too, wherever she may be."


    "She better." Azhar smiled. "Took a whole damn year of starin'' at magical rocks and wrinkly shaman eyes before I managed even a little of it. Whenever I thought it too damn borin'' to push through, I remembered how she''d whack me over the head and give me that piercin'' stare when I tried to sneak outta'' math lessons. Compared to that , in ol'' starin'' ain''t nothin''."


    Allspeak.


    Li had it as one of his many racial passives, and he thanked it immensely for how much easier it had made his life. If he had been reincarnated here as a human, he would have had to learn every singlenguage and writing system by scratch.


    But he had not known it was a spiritual ability. It was an interesting thing to note because Allspeak waspletely a vor of text kind of ability that had no real bearing in the game, only changing some dialogue options in the campaign. But here, it was something significant, something that could even be learned by humans.


    There was so much flexibility and potential with powers in this world, and Li was beginning to increasingly realize that everything he knew about Elden World was notplete knowledge. It was more like a foundation upon which he had to learn more from. His human curiosity had dampened since he hade here, but now he would try his best to hold onto it.

 Chapter 108 - Clash I

    Near sunset, they were done with harvesting. As the sun''s light deepened in redness and intensity, it seemed to almost cast a spotlight on the fruits of theirbor: several barrels chock full of grain stood behind the farm, ready for transport the day after.


    Li, Old Thane, and Azhar sat at the edge of the fields, watching the barrels with a quiet satisfaction. There was nothing quite like the feeling of reaping the fruits ofbor borne strictly from one''s own hands and grown from the dirt. There was something so very primal about it that made it satisfying almost at a spiritual level.


    "Y''know," said Azhar. "That grain looks mighty fine. Ain''t a single bad kernel in there, and they got a healthy shine to em'' that I ain''t never seen before. Ya might be able to set up some kinda deal with a few ces in town, get em'' some grain for some perks."


    "Hm." Li considered the idea for a second while his hand absent-mindedly pet Tia''s sleeping form beside him. "That sounds interesting, but most of this is being donated to the orphanages, and I don''t visit the city much anyhow."


    A small smile formed on Azhar''s face. "Orphanages, huh? Bet them little runts are gonna'' be feastin'' at this rate. Gonna have grown ass men trynna'' pass off as orphans to try and get in on this free grain."


    "It is good fortune that times desperate enough for that are not upon us," said Old Thane. He looked almost disappointed with how peaceful the times were. "In my youth, I swore never to be tied down to a crown ornd, but I suppose that was the ramblings of youth. Now that I am old, it is good to have a crown to rely upon."


    "Guess we can thank the duchess for that one atleast," said Azhar gruffly.


    Old Thane tilted his head, hearing the callousness in Azhar''s voice. "You do not take a liking to the crown, I presume, youngd?"


    "Yeah. Ain''t a real reason for it. Like ya said, if it wasn''t for the duchess openin'' up the royal reserves and feedin'' the people through these three years of shallow harvests, I figure things woulda been a hell of a lot worse. Made sure my people weren''t traded off as ves too."


    Azhar shrugged.


    "But I''ve seen her. Locked eyes with her, and I can kinda tell what the ''color'' of someone''s soul is through that."


    "I suppose I have never thought too much of the crown other than epting their food aid." Old Thane smiled at Li. "But that was before you decided to take upon this burden of a farm and make sure this silly old man was fed."


    "Come on, old man, what you''ve given me is way more important than anything I''ve done for you so far," replied Li.


    He realized that before he hade into Old Thane''s life, he had truly struggled. With Aine''s death, his struggle with age, blindness, and famine, he had had to rely on what was basically welfare from the crown, surviving on royal grain granted to him due to his status as a decorated veteran.


    "It warms my heart to fish for your reassurances." Old Thaneughed before continuing the conversation thread with Azhar. "And, what did you see of the duchess of thisnd kissed by the sun itself?"


    "When she looked at me, I saw nothin''. Not even darkness. No malice, ill-intent, disgust, and trust me, as a hintender, I''ve seen plenty of that. Just¡­nothin''. She looked at me like I didn''t even exist, like I wasn''t even there. I dunno'', it''s kinda hard to exin. Still gives me the shivers. Ain''t seen anyone else like her."


    Old Thane stroked his beard. "Well, they do say that royalty breeds detachment. There is nothing that removes one from the feelings of themon man greater than a crown."


    Azhar nodded. "Figure you''re right."


    Li nodded, taking in the conversation. It was interesting to hear what others, people that were not possessed of godlike powers and immortality like him, thought of living under this crown. As far as pure statesmanship went, the duchess was highlypetent, running the entirety of the duchy basically by herself to such a level that it was hard to find a single concreteint against her.


    People did have suspicions about her, with most of these people being concentrated among adventurers who were well traveled and inherently suspicious of heroes who were starting to encroach on their job. But even then, none could deny her ability to provide for her people.


    All points to keep in mind for his next meeting with the vampire count.


    Azhar shivered. "Rememberin'' that''s givin'' me chills again." He stood up, stretching. At the sudden movement, Tia opened an eye, and when she saw it was Azhar, her eye widened in anticipation.


    "How bout'' it?" said Azhar, addressing Tia. "Feel like I could use some warmin'' up. How bout'' we get to fightin''?"


    And of course, Tia was all too eager to oblige, standing on all fours with her teeth bared in a jagged smile.


    --


    Azhar and Tia squared off against each other in the very same circle that he had been beaten down in by Launcelot.


    "You have to lock down his speed," said Li as he knelt by Tia, a hand on her tense back. He coached her, saying, "Feel free to use as much of your venom as you want. That''s your best way to win."


    Tia loosed a rumbling purr of understanding as she stared ahead at Azhar, her eyes locked down on the ranger, ready to read his every move to put him down at the soonest instance possible.


    On the other side of the circle, Old Thane stood behind Azhar with his arms crossed and Zagan by his side.


    "Remember, youngd, this is a mock fight, not one to stake your life upon."


    "Gods and spirits above, old man, you''re remindin'' me again?" said Azhar with a bantering smile. "How little self control did ya have in yer younger days."


    "Well, Bloodfist is not quite a title emblematic of patience."


    "Ya gotta'' point." Azhar unsheathed his dagger, holding it in his good hand. "But don''t you worry, old man. I''m intendin'' on just pushin'' her and trying to get her to evolve. Nothin'' serious."


    Li nodded as he heard Azhar. He appreciated that the hintender knew how to train at just the right level to push Tia and make her stronger. And thankfully, because he was not looking at her and using his limited version of Allspeak, she could not understand what he said or else she would have gotten much too riled up that he was not taking her seriously.


    "Fight as hard as you can, but if you ever find it too hard, too painful, know that I''m always here." Li patted Tia on her head before standing up, leaving her to fight.


    She closed her eyes as she felt Li''s hand before baring her fangs, feeling even more confident to loose her power with Li''s reassurances.


    "I''m jealous. Where was that gentle treatment when you two were trainin'' me, huh?" said Azhar.


    Li rolled his eyes. "You two can fight whenever you''re ready. Circle''s just here to get us started. You can move out of it, obviously, but don''t go making a ruckus by the main road or harming the crops. Usemon sense if you''re capable of it."


    "Ya got it!" Azhar got into his fighting stance, hunching ever so slightly while bending his knees to lower his center of gravity and get him in a position ready to move at a moment''s notice.


    Tia responded in kind, her body also getting lower to the ground. With four muscled legs, she had much better leverage to push herself off with, and just one of her attacks, if it broke skin, would poison Azhar beyond recovery.


    Li crossed his arms as he watched, careful and ready to end the fight and heal Tia at any moment because, at the end of the day, she was far outmatched against an adventurer holding a twenty level lead against her, even if he only had one arm.


    At the same time, he was curious at how Azhar was going to train her and allow her to evolve, and he paid close attention because Azhar was not going to be on the farm forever and it would be up to Li to fill the role of a trainerter.

 Chapter 109 - Clash II

    "Don''t give up," called out Li.


    Tia rushed forwards, her ws scratching up small clouds of dirt and grass as she soared through the air like apact missile, surging towards Azhar.


    With a confident smile etched on his face, Azhar leaned backwards beyond ny degrees, exhibiting a degree of extreme flexibility that made it seem as if his bones themselves were fluid. Tia, having calcted her charge to strike at Azhar''s chest, now hit nothing, flying past Azhar.


    "Way too slow, missy," said Azhar as he stood up straight. "Woah there." He stepped backwards, casually dodging an irritated swipe from Tia.


    Li figured this would happen. Azhar was much too fast for Tia. A twenty-level difference made sure of that, and Azhar had specialized almost the entirety of his stat points into agility, further emphasizing the disparity.


    Tia snarled again, rushing forwards as she unleashed a flurry of strikes and bites. The snaps of razor sharp wyrm teeth biting down on thin air cked through the air as Azhar dodged and dodged and dodged again.


    Li observed that Azhar observed a bravado that was not like him. When he fought, he used his speed to its maximal capacity, never using a single ounce of worthless energy. He did not dance around his enemies to taunt their slowness. At least when he fought, he was always serious.


    But here, Azhar seemed to show off his speed to the max. When he dodged Tia'' attacks, he did so at the veryst moment, and he exaggerated his moments with spins and flips, showing her that he had all the time in the world to dodge her slow strikes.


    Tia paused, her breathing heavier as she looked at Li for support.


    Azhar took this moment to dash in, swiping down with his dagger at her body before immediately darting out, evading a retaliatory bite.


    "Gotta'' learn to handle yourself, missy," said Azhar, his eyes wide as he made sure his words connected with Tia.


    "If this isn''t working-," said Li, preparing to give her an alternative strategy revolving around turtling and letting Azhar waste his energy dodging. He figured this was better because Azhar, having not activated [Bowman''s Stand], could not deal enough melee striking damage to really punch through the thickyers of Tia''s bark-like scales.


    Where before her scales had been smooth and sparse, they now formed a formidable suit of emerald armor all around her, clustering into jagged stctite-like formations around her head like a helmet. Azhar''s knife, a ceremonial bone knife designed for boosting shamanistic spells rather than providing raw offensive power, did not have the ability to get through that level of natural defense.


    But Azhar raised his hand, bidding Li to stop.


    "I got this," he said to Li, breaking his stare from Tia to make sure she did not understand him. "I can sense she''s mighty riled up now."


    Tia growled almost continuously by this point, her eyes wide and zeroed in on Azhar with concentrated bloodlust.


    "She''s frustrated, and that''s good. Makin'' her hit her head on the wall again and again, lettin'' her emotions build up more and more ¨C that''s gonna'' get her to evolve."


    To prove his point, Azhar darted into Tia''s range with his hands behind his back, prompting her to lunge at him. He swerved sideways, evading her cleanly.


    Azhar yawned. "Ain''t trynna'' make me fall asleep, are ya?"


    Tia attacked again, and once more, Azhar dodged.


    This pattern continued over and over for almost half an hour. At the end, Tia stood panting heavily, clouds of noxious purple tinging herbored breaths. Azhar, meanwhile, squatted on the ground, twirling his dagger around his fingers, shrugging.


    But this time, there was change.


    Tia''s bloodlust had continually built up little by little. Her anger and frustration had shown in the way her teeth grinded against each other, how her ws dug into the dirt, how her muscles tensed up with savage intent. Li had no doubt that if she did manage to catch Azhar, she probably would try to kill him.


    But now, with her anger reaching a boiling point, her emotions were legitimately, physically visible. They swirled around her in a malevolent, surging red aura tinged with the distinct pressure of magical energy.


    The red ribbons of power fluttered as they started to concentrate around her back, swirling around each other as a maelstrom of spinning energy. The energy, ethereal in nature, began to solidify, shaping into wings.


    "Look at that!" said Azhar excitedly. "She''s flyin'' already!"


    Not quite. Li, though proud that she had managed to grow wings, saw that they were not quite developed. They were too small for her squatter and bulkier frame and likely would not give her enough lift to fly her for more than a few seconds at most.


    But as Tia leaped at Azhar again, Li saw that the wings beat once with powerful force, acting like thrusters that propelled her forwards at near twice the speeds she used to move at. She did not get this much faster sheerly because of her wings, she also used magical energy to move herself, casting it in the form of a skill Li recognized as [Aerial Charge].


    It would seem that Tia did not need to learn skills like humans did. They came with her evolutions.


    "Woah now," said Azhar as he also dodged this attack, but this time, without using any wasted movements.


    Tia barreled past where Azhar had been, and, unable to fully control her wings, could not create a safending for herself and mmed into the ground unceremoniously, dragging through the dirt. When she stood up, grass and weeds clumped on her scales. She shook her body, flinging the debris away.


    As much as Tia could evolve, she could not hope to bridge the gap between herself and a professional and aplished monster hunter such as Azhar in the span of a single day.


    Azhar said to Li, "That''s bout'' it for today. It ain''t too good to force evolutions. Normal wyrms can handle one a week. Figured she could handle two in a row cause'' she''s gifted beyond anythin'', but we should call it quits now and let her rest."


    Li nodded, but when he looked over to Tia, his hand raised and ready to tell her to stop, he saw that she had absolutely no intention of stopping at all.


    Azhar followed Li''s gaze and looked behind him. Tia had driven her legs into the dirt, her ws extended to root her down. The raging red squalls of solidified bloodlust still danced around her form, and now they concentrated around shimmering rings around her throat. Her mouth had opened, the jaw almost unhinging as her wings spread out backwards, stabilizing her aim.


    She was like a living cannon, and her cannonball of choice was an anti-life shell of mass destruction, and there was no stopping her.


    "Oh shit," said Azhar, his phoenix tattoos on his back shing.

 Chapter 110 - Lessons

    The ever darkening light, so bright that it streamed through the skin on Tia''s throat, traveled up her neck and coalesced in her mouth, forming a chaotically shimmering ball of darkness that covered over all her teeth. It was strange to see a darkness that was bright, a darkness so ck that even in night, it stood out, overshadowing shadows, but that made the iing attack that much more ominous.


    With a burst of magical energy that ttened the grasses around her, Tia loosed a beam of pure, life absorbing ck that reached Azhar in an instant, very much like aser. An explosion of darkness erupted around the point of impact, swelling out waves of surging shadows that billowed upwards like mes caught in the wind, swirling upwards in a spiraling pir over a dozen meters high.


    This was not an attack that could be dodged once it was fired. The beam had a nigh-instantaneous rate of travel and, as it wasprised of demonfire usable usually only by higher level demons and eldritch entities, likely had enough raw firepower to topple almost anything in this world. Even Li would have had to assume his true form and turn up his senses to their maximal setting to counter such an attack, let alone a pitifully weak mortal like Azhar.


    For a second, Li thought Azhar might have just straight up died, marking the end of his very short lived religion, but an amazed whistle from the man himself disproved that notion.


    The pir of darkness faded almost as soon as it had erupted, which Li was also thankful for as the whole destructive scene ¨Csting only a second, if that ¨C would escape public eyes.


    With the pir gone, Li could see Azhar sprawled across the ground, his phoenix tattoos glowing an angry red and a faint green aura of the [Haste] buff clinging to his skin. Dirt, leaves, and grass stuck to his face and clothes, and a small skid mark in the dirt leading up to him indicated that he had used as many speed boosts as he could to facent himself out of the beam''s way.


    Seeing Azhar alive, Li rushed up to Tia, tending to her as she wobbled down to her side.


    "I said to usemon sense," said Li, a little admonishingly, but overall, he was more concerned with discerning whether she was okay. He checked her eyes as Azhar had taught him to and found them brimming with life, even with delight that she could now somewhat manage to control this power so far beyond her current means.


    At the least, she did not pass out from using demonfire anymore. Though, by how ck her muscles were, it did not seem like she could move either.


    "Well, I can''t really punish you for doing your best." Li smiled faintly as he scooped Tia up in his arms. She had be noticeablyrger even in the span of the single battle, more muscle mass gathered around her legs and frame, and he wondered how much longer he could reliably carry her in his arms like this.


    Tia lolled her forked tongue out in exhaustion and satisfaction, drawing in shallow but heavy breaths.


    "I''ll be damned, though," said Azhar as he leaped back to his feet. "She''s getting'' stronger at a rate unheard of. Give her a year or two, hells, a few months, and she''d be a threat to a whole city."


    "I''m impressed with you as well," said Li. "You managed to dodge that? I fully expected to find you dead."


    "You wouldn''t have been sad bout'' that?" Azharughed before shaking his head. "I didn''t so much dodge it as I read it. Locked eyes with her, got a read on her soul, then moved right before she fired."


    "Regardless, I do agree with the youngd," remarked Old Thane with wonder. "A splendid attack that was. I have encountered full fledged dragons before, not mere wyrms and wyverns, and that blow had all the powerful pressure of dragon breath. Yet, I could also sense the dread of demons within."


    Zagan had sat up from hisid down position, his ears perked up in interest as he peered at Tia.


    "Hear that? Everyone''s praising you," said Li to Tia, and she bared a toothy smile. "But you''re going to be taking a break from fighting for a bit. You might have the will to push on, but your body has no more energy left."


    "A good decision." Azhar came up to Li. "I''d say let her rest for a week if she has to, she''s done a whole month''s worth of regr evolvin'' for a normal wyrm after all."


    Li nodded. "I''ll also say I''m impressed you managed to dodge that."


    "I mean, not entirely." Azhar twisted his body to showcase his right arm. It had been caught in the st and bepletely withered. It was as if it had been drained entirely of moisture and aged a hundred years, leaving the arm half its regr size, thin and wreathed with wrinkles, looking so fragile that it looked as if it would disintegrate with one touch. "First the darkbeast and now this. Guess my right arm''s got bad luck, eh?"


    Old Thane rushed up to Azhar, putting a worried hand on the hintender''s shoulder. "Youngd, are you not familiar with demons?"


    "A little too young to have fought with em''," said Azhar. He cocked his head, wondering why the old man was in such a rushed worry.


    "I can understand where he''sing from," said Li. "Demonfire not only deals true damage, ignoring any resistances, but its damage also cannot be reversed with healing spells."


    Azhar''s eyes widened. "What? So I''m left with a dud arm for the rest of my life?"


    "Not so,d." Old Thane nodded. "Merely the bodypart itself is gued. Amputating it can allow powerful healing to regrow it. I myself have undergone the procedure many times in the demon wars, though among many, only Aine was able to cast healing magic of high enough rank to regrow entire limbs in a mere instant."


    "You''re lucky I''m around," said Li. He looked at Azhar''s arm. "If I recall correctly, the debuff gets worse over time, so let''s get started with the treatment. Look at the bright side: you get to have an excuse to recover much sooner than you normally would have."


    "Well, guess I''ve learned what I need to by now. Though I''m still gonna'' stick round'' to help out with the farm and learn a few things til'' everyone else shows up form the hunt."


    Li raised a brow. "You won''t go rushing down south now that you have your arm? You aren''t worried?"


    "Naw. I might worry, but I still got faith in my sisters. And I don''t like to admit it, but that blonde rich boy''s strong, more than strong enough to cover for me. Might as well take it slow while I can."


    "Fair enough." Li''s arms were upied holding Tia, so he called to Old Thane. "Old man, I''ll do you the honor of taking that arm out."


    Azhar turned his right side to Old Thane. The old man stepped forwards and grasped the withered arm in his hands. All of a sudden, the old man tore off the arm in a swift motion. The arm came off easily like a snapped twig, and as soon as it fell from Azhar''s body, it crumbled into dust.


    "A little warning woulda'' been nice, old man," said Azhar as he set his jaw to counter the pain as blood began to spurt from his shoulder, right where the arm had been disconnected.


    "A rotten tooth should be removed quickly and without warning," said Old Thane.


    "That''s very true," said Li.


    Azhar nced at his bleeding and empty arm socket. "This is a lot more than a ckened ol'' tooth."


    "That''s a lot ofining for someone who suffered a hundred times worse just a day before." Li sighed as he waved his hand to cast his healing spell.


    In a burst of green light, a new arm materialized for Azhar. He looked in wonder as he wiggled his new fingers and flexed the muscles, getting a feel of them.


    "Jus'' like new," said Azhar. "You know, it''s always amazin'' to feel yer healin''. Only the best priests can manage to grow new limbs, and even then, they are a lot weaker and thinner than they were before. Yer healin'' manages to make em'' perfect, like they ain''t ever been harmed in the first ce."


    Old Thane nodded in agreement. "Those attuned with forest teachings must be exceptional healers. Aine, too, could do much the same."


    "Wonder she didn''t jus'' wave away our sicknesses when we was little," said Azhar.


    Old Thane shrugged. "She wished to nurture you, not coddle you. Letting you battle your ills tempers your body, and were you to perish, then that merely meant your time was simply up."


    Azhar looked mildly horrified. "Y''know, old man, I can kinda'' see how you two ended up together. I used to think you two were way different, but now, not so much."


    Tia let out a low, weak growl, but even that was loud enough to cut the conversation short.


    Li nodded to her. "You want to see my spell now?"


    She gave one slow but enthusiastic nod.


    "I''m kinda interested, too," said Azhar.


    "As am I," chimed in Old Thane.


    "It won''t be anything too shy if that''s what you all are hoping for. I''m not going to be mming out earthquakes or anything."


    Azhar blinked. "Huh? You can do that?"


    Li ignored him as he went to the spot where Tia''s demonfire beam had hit. There was now a barren patch of soil therepletely bereft of any sign of green. The vegetation had not merely wilted, it had lost so much life that it had simply disintegrated into oblivion.


    Heid Tia gently down on the grass right beside the deadened patch. She looked at him in wonder.


    Li knelt by Tia and reached a pale hand out to the barrennd. "Look, Tia, this might not seem like much, but your fighting does have consequences. It''s killed thisnd, and left untreated, this demonfire rot will spread everywhere, killing everything."


    Tia''s eyes averted in guilt, and Li took upon a gentle tone. "You simply have to be more aware of your surroundings and of yourself. Think about your actions and how they will impact yourself and others. Fight when you have to, hurt when you have to, kill when you have to, but don''t let it consume you and drown everything else out."


    His hand touched the dead soil. "And if you do make a mistake, because nobody is without them, always try and fix them.???


    Li casted [Wild Growth] to regrow the grass. Were he more attuned with his spiritual powers, then he could have simply recreated the song for the grass and regrown it manually, but he did not yet have that ability, reminding him further to get back to that training when he could.


    For now, though, Li was curious as to what [Wild Growth] would do. In Elden World, it instantly resurrected nt summons to full health and cleansing debuffs.If they were merely damaged, then on top of being healed, they would be granted several buffs such as enhanced resistances, more life points, and boosted abilities.


    There were times he wondered about using the spell on the farm, but he had never followed through with the notions as he thought it too much like using powers that he simply did not understand the significance of to do what his own two hands should have the responsibility of doing.


    And perhaps it was a good thing, because as the spell''s effects took ce and Azhar and Tia''s eyes widened inplete surprise, he realized it would have brought untold amounts of attention upon him.

 Chapter 111 - Occurrence

    At first, the spell seemed to function as Li expected it would. Magical energy sourced from within Li''s being scattered into the barren dirt, pulsing outwards from the center of the emptynd in countless faint and glowing green shockwaves that traveled just under the dirt.


    The waves faded, and as their ethereal light waned, grass began to grow again. It grew rapidly now that Li''s extraordinary magical energy had infused the dirt with life bearing nutrients. The patch of deadnd was no small little area, either, considering the magnitude of power involved in Tia''s demonfire attack.


    A fairly small crowd could have easily fit within the neat ring that Tia''s st had carved into the dirt, but Li''s magical energy was more than enough to support grass growth throughout every inch of it. The grass broke through the dirt as little shoots at first before rapidly maturing into full des.


    It was after this, though, that things became rather irregr.


    The grass did not stop growing. It grew and grew, not just vertically either, but in width, growing so much that within a few seconds, there was now a massive bush of giant grass twice the height of the average man.


    Then it grew some more, the grass now intertwining with each other and bunching together in the form of a gigantic bush.


    "The hell''s this?" said Azhar in wonder.


    "All of you, get back." Li scooped Tia in his arms, and even as he scooted away, her head weakly turned back to the bush, ever curious about what her parent was capable of.


    When everyone stood a good distance away from the still growing bush, Old Thane asked, "Lad, I must repeat Azhar''s sentiment. What exactly is this?"


    "I''m not too sure. Everyone get behind me. Now." Li''s tone conveyed an immediate seriousness that made everyone present shuffle behind him with Tia snuggling her head into his chest and tensing up.


    He opened a palm, ready to absolutely obliterate this strange growth from the face of this. He did not truly believe his [Wild Growth] could create a threat, but he took no chances considering Old Thane, Tia, and the farm were this close to him.


    The bush, now asrge as the cottage, began to copse upon itself, the des of giant grass curling around each other until they formed a shape vaguely reminiscent of a finger. A sudden earthquake crashed through the ground with a rumble that sounded much like a groan. But almost as soon as the quake happened, shifting the dirt up and down like it was water, it faded, and with that, the grass construct disintegrated.


    The enormous grass scattered into countless tiny, regr sized des, and a strong breeze carried them all away, dispersing them thoroughly so that it felt like nothing out of the ordinary had happened at all.


    Li scanned the area and found that, as he had intended, the grass had grown back just like before, healthy, green, and normal sized. In that regard, his spell worked as intended, but everything else was quite odd.


    "Huh, so you can shake the earth, eh?" said Azhar, breaking the tense mood.


    "Hm. Not like this, though." Li called to Old Thane. "Old man, can you hold Tia for a bit?"


    "Certainly,d."


    Li transferred Tia over to the old man, and she squirmed in protest.


    "Just a little bit, okay?" said Li as he began walking to the newly grown grass. "Azhar, follow me."


    Azhar nodded, walking right behind Li.


    When they stood directly above the new grass, Li asked, "Can you feel anything off about this grass?"


    "Naw, why, figure somethin''s up with it?"


    "No, you''re right. I don''t feel anything wrong with it either." Li shrugged. It was not like his spiritual senses had been thoroughly developed, but they were not entirely absent either, even in his human shell. He could discern whether a life force felt strange or hostile.


    This was just grass. in, normal grass.


    Li willed the Myrmeke over, mentallymanding it to inspect the ground underneath the grass. Within a few eager seconds, the myrmeke had finished the job, thoroughly exploring the area, and found nothing out of the norm.


    "Looks like I worried about nothing. Guess my magic''s a little rusty in some areas." Li shrugged as he walked back to the rest of the group.


    "So even you make some mistakes, eh?" said Azhar as he followed.


    "You''d be surprised," said Old Thane. "Thed made plenty when he started out farming."


    "The important thing is I don''t make the same mistake twice."


    Old Thane nodded proudly. "As is evident by the wondrous state of the farm."


    Tia yawned, bored of a conversation not centered around her and which she could not really understand.


    "Let''s get back to the cottage and get some rest for the night," said Li, his tone definitive. "Here, let me take her. You two go on ahead, I''ll join you shortly."


    As Azhar and Old Thane left for the cottage, Li looked down at Zagan. The demon had sensed his intent and stayed behind, sitting by Li''s side.


    ''Watch over that area. Report to me any irregrities. Destroy any threats,''muned Li to the demonic herald.


    ''Your will is mine personage''smand, Elder One.''


    Li gave an acknowledging nod to the demon before carrying Tia back into the cottage. He did not want to make the old man, and, to a lesser extent, Azhar worry about the situation, and to do that, he needed to be there with them. He himself did not believe this situation to be anything much, but he felt that this was precaution enough to take.


    "She seems much more tired these days,"mented Li as he watched Tia sleeping near the fire form the dinner table.


    "She''s evolved mighty hard these past days, so that''s expected," said Azhar between mouthfuls of stew, his wooden spoon moving rapidly to scoop up broth, vegetables, and meat from arge pot at the center of the table.


    "Lad, you''re spilling broth all over the table," said Old Thane as he shook his head.


    "Hells, old man, you''ve always been kinda hard on em'' table manners despite not carin'' bout any other rules."


    Old Thane smiled. "I suppose it is manners separates us from wild beasts."


    "Suppose? Aine probably put that in yer head, huh." Azhar pointed his spoon to Old Thane and then at himself. "Let''s be real, old man, we both ain''t really that different from beasts."


    "And yet, we are not beasts." Old Thane nodded, putting his empty bowl aside for he always had a tendency to finish his meals quickly. "Well then, youngd, you are to clean the table once supper is done."


    "A sacrifice I''m willin'' to take," said Azhar as he shoveled down another spoonful of stew. He said to Li, "This is pretty damn good. Where''d ya learn how to cook?"


    "It''s a wonder what you can do when you have time on your hands. Though I''m only good at a few basic recipes," said Li. He, too, had finished eating. Mostly because he only ate for show, taking a few bites to make sure what he made tasted right. He had learned how to cook meals rtively well while living his thirty odd years as a bachelor, but he did not consider himself a good cook.


    "Mostly, I just think your standards are too low. You''d probably eat anything and call it good so long as it was edible."


    "That ain''t true," said Azhar. "Y''know, when I was in the hintends, all I ate was foraged roots and roast chunks of meat, no seasonin'', preparations, nothin''. Three years of that really got to me, and ever since, I''ve been goin'' round the best taverns and restaurants in the duchy."


    "Restaurants? With those manners?" said Old Thane. "A wonder they did not drive you out."


    "Course'' I shaped up when I stepped foot in em'' fancier ces," said Azhar, mildly offended.


    "And you could afford this?" Li had a basic idea of the distinction between taverns and restaurants in this world from his readings. Taverns offered food, but mostly functioned like bars. Restaurants, however, were luxurious ces that sat people down and offered them fine meals, their sole purpose being to provide excellent food and service.


    Unlike his world where restaurants were everywhere for every price range, in Eldenia, restaurants were reserved only to the wealthy.


    "Once a year, I''d spend my saved up coin for a meal," said Azhar. "Course'', now that I''m doin'' well for myself, it ain''t too big a deal no more."


    "If only she ate as well as you did," said Li as he looked back to Tia. She had only eaten a few chunks of cured beef before deciding to go to sleep, her body too tired to function. Whenever she was at the cottage, though she could eat anything from berries to meat, she ate rather little, only truly unleashing a ravenous appetite when she hunted something.


    "That''s cause'' this food ain''t good enough for her. Stuff we eat is fine for us, but dragonkin need the best of the best to really get growin''." Azhar put his spoon down, thinking while chewing.


    "Taking her to hunt every single day would be difficult. Already on harvest days, the farm takes up my time through the night. Will this affect her health in any way?"


    "I can''t be so sure." Azhar looked over at Tia, his brows furrowing. "She''s mighty special, she is. Regr wyrm wouldn''t need much, just what we''re havin'' with the asional hunt to get em'' going. But at this rate, she''s gonna'' evolve into a full dragon, maybe grow a couple more heads like her mother or somethin''. But I ain''t got much idea bout'' dragons."


    "It is said that dragons feast upon only the finest and strongest flesh," said Old Thane. "The one I beat to death announced he found my flesh worthy of his discriminating appetite. s, it was he that ended up in my stomach, hah!"


    "Reminder that ya shouldn''t mention eatin'' her kind in front of her once she starts learnin'' thenguage," said Azhar. He paused for a second. "Y''know, if it''s good food yer lookin'' for, then why not go to a restaurant?"


    "And pay an entire gold coin for a single chunk of meat?" Li found the mere suggestion of what was essentially paying, in terms of his past world, one hundred dors for a little bit of food rather ridiculous.


    "Food''s worth the price, though. All their ingredient''s real specialty, grown and raised by the best hands with the best breeds. They even got meat from native Authum straight outta'' Duvin."


    "I see." Li took the suggestion a little more seriously. An Authum was a giant cow monster that would have been around level 30, making them more than suitable to consume in terms of raw strength for Tia.


    "But nevertheless, it''s simply not sustainable to keep buying from these high ss ces without drawing up a huge ruckus into my finances, and I''d have to make constant trips to the city."


    "Yeah, on second thought, not really a great idea," said Azhar. He shrugged. "But I wouldn''t worry much bout'' her if I was you. She''s real strong and gettin'' energy from you as well. Figure she''s good."


    "Putting it that way, I guess you''re right." Li pushed his empty bowl and spoon to Azhar''s side of the table. "And remember to make sure to wash everything like the old man said."

 Chapter 112 - Plans I

    The next morning, Li, with the help of everyone on the farm, put up barrels of grain in front of the cottage, right beside the rough, well trodden dirt of the main road. Even Tia had helped, bncing a barrel on her back and carrying it over. Though that was all she could muster for the day. She was highly lethargic today as well, preferring to sleep and lounge around.


    Valery''s transport had arrived as the morning sun reached its peak, right before it became hot, and he had brought his usual escort of three carts and a squadron of vampires to help with transport.


    "Simply marvelous, sir," said Valery as he took off his ck beret, revealing smoothly slicked back hair. "A healthy and fine harvest. Your skills in tending to thend are truly unmatched."


    "Were you ordered to tter me?" said Li jokingly.


    "I will say I am quite highly incentivized to do so," said Valery with a smile. He added, "But dedication to a craft is truly admirable regardless. Now, do you wish to continue the transport arrangements fromst week?"


    Li nodded. "That would be great."


    "Is there anything else?" said Valery, his head tilted a little as his eyes narrowed, analyzing Li''s face.


    "You can tell?"


    "I have been under another''s service for the entirety of my century''s worth of existence. I have developed a keen sense for knowing when others want as a result."


    "You should take a break sometime." Li became more serious, his voice attaining a coolposure. "I need to talk to the count. Figured I could hitch a ride with you all."


    Valery put a gloved hand to his angr chin, as it seemed all vampires had sharp features, and said to Li, "Give me a second to iron out the details."


    He moved over to the carriages, speaking to the drivers in anguage that Li picked up as distinctively not Eldenian. Though his Allspeak allowed him to understand what they were saying, it was still interesting to note that the vampires seemed to have their ownnguage despite not having anything of the sort in the game.


    Valery came back to Li with a bowed head. "My apologies for the dy. I have altered our travel route such that our head carriage will take you to the rie estate at the earliest convenience.As a result, however, the grain transport may be dyed a few hours, if that is fine with you."


    Li waved his concern away. "More than fine. I appreciate the service and consideration."


    Valery smiled, ever so slightly baring a fang as he put a hand over his suited breast. "I live to serve."


    _____________________


    Li was driven through Riviera and up the mountainous path leading to the noble estates. There, Valery dropped him off at the front gate, which promptly opened as two ck d vampire knights immediately escorted Li out and into the mansion.


    Li remarked again at how this mansion of foreboding ck which stood out so much could manage to escape the eyes of nobles in Riviera for so long as a hotspot for some of the strongest monsters. Alexei himself, as a higher vampire over level 70, could probably burn this entire city to the ground with his strength alone, not to mention his sizable cohort of knights.


    But then again, the noble estates were all unique in their own way. There was one ted in solid gold that hurt to look at under the bright Eldenian sun, there was Lys''s veritable castle of an estate, and then there was the Lakely estate''s magical tower.


    Perhaps a certain entrism and desire to stand out among their peers gave a good amount of leeway for what was undoubtedly the darkest and most suspicious building of them all to be left alone.


    Inside the mansion, Li was escorted by a duo of vampire maids, their uniforms distinctively gothic and surprisingly suited to the fact that they were, well, vampires. He let them take his boots off and give him a pair offortably furred slippers to wear before walking through the spacious living room with its massive dining table and into the long and winding hallway that led to the count''s study.


    In front of the wide oaken double doors of Alexei''s study, one of the maids came up and knocked. In an instant, the doors flung wide open and Alexei burst out, his sharp face screwed into a light scowl. He was not dressed as formally as he usually was, bereft of a coat to reveal a purple dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up.


    "I thought I said I was not to be disturbed during this time," he said, his voice not harsh but simply authoritative. His eyesnded upon Li. Immediately, he bowed his head. "Ah, you havee to visit?"


    Alexei opened the doors for Li before talking to his maids. "Then I understand your reasons. Go and prepare some tea."


    When Li went into the study, he came upon an interesting sight.


    "Is this what you do in your free time?" said Li, mildly amused.


    Alexei closed the doors behind him, runes of sealing and warding magic shing momentarily as it shut the study off from the outside world. He walked past Li to a velveted couch where ire, the blonde human maid,y, her legs and arms bound tightly together leather restraints.


    Alexei stepped past Li, his expression as stony and decidedly unamused as ever. "This does appear to be a rather strange scene, I must admit, but the truth is that I do not have free time. Forgive me, but I must tend to her for a minute more."


    The higher vampire knelt on the carpeted floor and drew the coffee table in front of the couch closer to him. Li noticed that on it were an assortment of vials filled with liquids of different colors, some bubbling, some smoking. In front of the vials was a neatly arranged row of six droppers.


    "Alchemy?"


    "I do dabble in it. Were I an expert, she would be cured by now." Alexei took a dropper, drew up some fluid from a vial, and held it over ire''s mouth.


    She lurched forwards, her mouth opening as she snapped at Alexei''s bony hand with inhuman ferocity. Her blue eyes were tinged with flecks of red and wide with energy, and Li could see that her mouth did not hold normal human teeth, but instead a row of sharp and hollow fangs characteristic of a vampire.


    "So she wasn''t human after all," said Li. "Or did you turn her into a vampire?"


    "Oh, she is still very much human." Alexei took his free hand and grasped ire''s jaw with urate and firm strength, forcibly opening it but not harming it. He took the dropper and squeezed in a few drops of shining blue liquid that evaporated when it touched her tongue.


    He furrowed his brows and shook his head once. "Another incorrect form."


    Li made himselffortable, taking a seat on the couch opposite of Alexei''s. "For?"


    "To cure her of her ailment. Are you aware of how vampires turn others?"


    "A mutagen in their saliva," said Li, recalling lore text. "That''s how you get more of your kind, isn''t it?"


    "In theory, yes. Aside from courting others of our kind, of which natural conception is exceedingly rare, it is possible to easily turn others into us through transmission of our vampiric mutagens."


    Alexei took another dropper from the table, this time filled with red liquid that Li recognized as regr blood.


    "But in practice, it is not so. Our mutagens are only capable of turning others into the absolute lowest and weakest of our kind such as the bestial and mindlessmyros andmashu."


    "But if I recall correctly, humans are capable of turning into fully fledged vampires such as yourself, no?"


    "I cannot dispute your knowledge, but I personally do not know of such a case. It is true that humans are the most pliable to mutations, exining why the mutagen for heroes seems to take to them only and why our vampiric mutagen allows a few select members of their kind to reach the status of lesser vampires, but that is all they can muster."


    "And her?" Li motioned to ire who was practically foaming at the mouth now in wild ferocity. "She doesn''t look like a crawling vampire monster, but she isn''t quite all there in the head either, so she can''t be a lesser, normal, or higher vampire that are characterized by their rationality."


    "An exceedingly special case."


    Alexei squeezed a few droplets of blood into her mouth and she began to grow sleepy, her movements growing slow as her wild facial expression smoothened out into her usual, calm state.


    "Seventeen years ago now, was it? The kingdom of Beaumont was crumbling and I had left my position as an advisor at the royal court,ing to Riviera as I had heard tell of a higher one such as myself here wishing to take advantage of the chaos and take over the kingdom."


    "What did you intend on doing? Stopping him?"


    "No, I sought to join him. I saw that the kingdom was on itsst stand, that the Republic intended to invade, that the duchess, then simply a rebellious princess, had already swayed much of the public''s opinion against the royal family. I saw the foundations of order in the world crumbling, ready to copse upon one single push. I abhor chaos, and I felt that at least with another of my kind, I could find a leader who could rally some order."


    Alexei patted ire''s head, lulling her to sleep before he closed her eyes and began undoing her restraints. "But it was not so. None among my kind share my views, all of them being reigned by selfishness and pride, but this one was even worse. The higher one here had fallen to the irrationality of mania.


    Our third eye allows us affinity to magic and a gift of prophecy, and the visions of a great, formless disaster utterly consumed his mind."


    "You couldn''t corroborate his visions with your own prophetic powers?"


    "I have long since shut off my prophecies. I am a firm believer that the future does not shape us. It is we who create the future."


    Alexei stood up, rolling his sleeves back down as he headed back to his desk. "This higher one saw this future he believed he could not control and, to fight against his perceived helplesness, became obsessed with power, attempting to be a tyrant over the world. Part of this megalomanic vision involved immortality."


    "Your kind is already functionally immortal, though."


    "Functionally. Our bodies can be burnt, cut, and destroyed. If we are deprived of blood, then even age may topple us."


    Alexei shook his head as he put his hands behind his back in reminiscence. "No, this one wished to live no matter the cost, no matter the damage. To that end, he experimented in altering theposition of his vampiric mutagen such that it would be dormant and undetectable among humans, the species most reactive to mutagens, he infected, and when activated, would alter them into an exact copy of himself.


    He further modified the spiritual familiar link that vampires have among those they turn so that whence he willed it, he could not only activate the mutagen but transfer his consciousness. With enough spare bodies lying around, it would effectively be impossible to fully kill him. This required genius level intellect in both alchemy and spiritual magic, and a genius he was, even among our kind.


    But it is geniuses with their depth of thought that are all the more prone to falling to the trap of mania."


    "I see." Li nced at ire, now sleeping peacefully. "And she''s one of those experiments?"


    "Precisely so, and this amateur alchemy is my attempt to try and eradicate that mutagen from her body. It is truly frightening how advanced this mutagen is, as despite being yet iplete, it has escaped my understanding for nearly two decades now. It was quite fortunate that I managed to eliminate him before he finished his research.


    By the time I came to Riviera, it had been gripped with terror as members of his horde openly snatched humans from the streets with no care for caution, which would have inevitably led to an embittered hunt against our kind were it to develop further."


    "Hm. So to save your kind you had to kill one of them." Li had no judgement in his voice. He was merely making an observation.


    "I am beholden to order above all else, for elsewise chaos, the avatar of ruin, arises in its stead, and that is far greater an enemy than any imaginary prophecy." Alexei reached out to his desk and tapped a bell. "And for that, I do thank you."


    "Me? What did I do?"


    "Your arrival has stymied two potentially world ending cmities: the demonic invasion to the west and the north''s n to invade the south. Both could have led to conflicts that could have spiraled this world into chaos. I initially thought you perhaps an source of more chaos, but it is evident that for you it is the opposite."


    As the bell''s ring faded, Alexei shifted over to the doors of the study and opened them. The vampire maids were waiting, and he motioned them to ire. "Take her to her quarters and tend to her health. See to it that her blood toxicity remains stable."


    The maids bowed their heads before they shuffled in and out of the study with superhuman agility, carrying ire away and closing the doors behind them.


    Alexei dusted his hands off before he sat on the couch in front of Li. "Now then, with that affair done, what did you wish to see me for?"

 Chapter 113 - Plans II

    "A matter of state, you can call it," said Li as he crossed his legs.


    Alexei raised a brow. "You wish to dabble into this world''s politics? I did not believe your interests to lie beyond yournd."


    "Part of my interests lie in protecting mynd, so when politics has the potential to harm it, you can see how my interests would get piqued."


    Alexei put his hands together, his stick like fingers interlocking as he leaned forwards a little, his attention sharpening.


    "Did something ur?" He paused to think. "It is quite hard to believe. None would be foolish enough to challenge you. To even disturb yournd by a hair would be an infinitely monumental risk to undertake."


    "Nobody has taken any actions against me yet. You can call this more a preventative measure." Li verbalized what was on his mind without dancing around it. "What do you think about deposing the duchess?"


    Alexei, for the first time, had his steely, calm exterior shattered with shock. "I must ask first, what pushes you towards this course of action? Has she moved against you?" To himself, he muttered, as if to convince himself more so than anyone else, "My spies have not reported to me anything, and I did not believe her so foolish to wrong you."


    "Like I said, a preventative measure." Li felt he owed Alexei more of an exnation considering how much the vampire had helped him out. "Spurred on because of the fact that I''ve heard a concerning report that the duchess is performing cloning experiments."


    "Ah, that is what has gripped your concern." Alexei took in a relieved breath. "There is no reason to worry yourself over such a matter, a matter I had deemed trivial enough that it was unworthy of mention to you.


    I understand she has some means to replicate her heroes, but the capacities are extremely limited. She has yet to replicate anyone of notable strength, let alone Sunstar himself.


    Nor does she seem to have the ability to clone any being other than heroes whose numbers are already few. And it would seem that she has already abandoned such experiments many years ago, for my spies have not reported any activity in that area in five years at the least."


    "It''s not so much the idea of cloning that gets to me. I understand she must have limitations on it considering she hasn''t used it to do something outrageous like clone me or anything of that sort, but it''s the idea that there''s far too many secrets that make her too unpredictable a variable to consider."


    "And that is why I am here." Alexei put a hand over his heart, just as his subordinate had done so before to Li. "I am your eyes and ears beyond this little town, and I consider myself a watchman of all that is toe, of all that may bring forth chaos. The duchess is most certainly my foremost target with the Praetor to the north being secondary, and I can guarantee you that I have a tight surveincework around her. Any secrets I perceive that are of merit, you will know.


    The moment she oversteps her boundaries and positions herself as one who cannot uphold order, then I will strike, but before then, I simply cannot."


    "Is that so? Why not?" Li did not ask to use, merely to get an exnation.


    "Vivienne has been a master of statesmanship. To the people, at the least, she has been a paragon of hope and generosity, a means to stand tall against the tyranny of elves, beastmen, orcs, goblins, and dragons to the north.


    And though her mind may be focused almost solely upon maintaining her power, she yet still understands the responsibility thates with it. She will never forego the good of her people, not simply out of the goodness of her heart, but because to do so would mean to forego her power.


    That is why she does not make a single move against you, even, as I hear, amodating your needs, letting you circumventws and live freely. She understands more so than anyone that to draw your ire is to threaten the entirety of her reign, and that is why I have faith that she will not make a move against you, for she is no errant jester to throw away her life and rule."


    Three solid knocks echoed from the doors, and Alexei waved his hand, temporarily undoing the magical seals riddling them. The vampire maids came in. One of them brought in a tray of tea while the other two took away all the alchemical vials and gadgetsid upon the table. When they left, closing the doors behind them, the smell of acrid chemicals was reced with the deeply natural and herbal scent of jasmine.


    Alexei did not touch his tea and instead bowed his head to Li. "I implore you to have faith upon me. I guarantee the safety of your farm from the duchess, and the moment she oversteps her boundaries, I shall be there to end her so that you will never have to drench your hands in blood.


    You came from a different world. I cannot have you bear the responsibility of this one."


    Li took a sip of tea and said, "I''ll keep you to your word because I know you haven''t broken it a single time since I''ve gotten to know you. Plus, it does make my life easier. But before I can ept this, I need to know you can back up your words. Say she does make an errant move. What are your ns for taking her down?"


    "Assassination, of course, though that is not the primary issue we grapple with. For adept creatures of the night such as ourselves, a simple assassination is a guarantee." Alexei shook his head. "It is the matter of upholding the order that she has created. Removing her would break the order of this world, already tenuous, apart entirely.


    She is a peaceful buffer between the northern Republic''s ambitions of conquest as well as one who has united all four great cities, cities that were oncerge enough to be kingdoms themselves with their own histories and rulerships.


    She is like a dam that holds back a raging torrent of political and civil instability. The amount of chaos involved in ridding of her will not only throw this world into untold levels of bloodshed, but it will also cause immense problems for your own farm that, though I am certain you can deal with through might, will be infinitely more troublesome than the current peace you enjoy."


    "Hm." Li thought for a few seconds. "Then you just need to have someone that can plug up the hole her absence will leave quickly enough."


    "Ah, but therein lies the difficulty. There must be a peaceful transition to a capable ruler after her disposal, and the duchess has been exceptionally good in removing any and all challenges to herself or assimting talent underneath her. With blood magic to enhance her longevity, she has truly entrenched her position."


    Li nodded to Alexei. "Why couldn''t you do it? You can change your form already and you''re well versed in rulership to the point of having once been a royal advisor. Why not just take her ce?"


    "Unfortunately, vampiric shapeshifting cannotpletely replicate a body already inhabited by an unique soul. That is left to the domain of Doppelgangers."


    "You could recruit one, no?"


    "The duchess has made countermeasures against it. The Elves have, like with many other monsters, hunted down the doppelgangers in the north to extinction, and in the south, one of the first things the duchess did upon taking power and forming her Ascendant Order of heroes was to engage in a doppelganger hunt."


    "It sounds as if you''ve allowed her to grow into a problem."


    "That, I can admit to, and yet, her capable rule is satisfactory to me such that I cannot say I made a mistake.


    At that time, though, during her rise when I yet knew not whether she was maniac or capable ruler, my power was yet middling. I had control of only a small horde, but now I possess dominion over all the hordes in the north and half in the south. There is only one other higher vampire besides me still alive, and the duchess is currently fighting against her. When she falls, I will have control over her hordes too as the only remaining higher vampire to heed to."


    "You won''t help her against the duchess?"


    "As I have said before, my kind are brutish, selfish, and prideful, and my fellow kin is no exception. Should she seize power, her rule will be chaotic and destructive, likely inciting war with the north. She is not worthy of power, of her hordes.


    But I am."


    "And the other big question: can you kill Sunstar? I''m assuming if you get rid of her, he''ll make a move, and he''s not only revered as the avatar of a god, but he''s also quite strongpared to the rest of you. You''ll have to get rid of him just as smoothly."


    Alexei smiled. "You are correct. He is her superweapon rivaling Daedalus, the peerless flying fortress of the Elves, but I have developed a countermeasure against him that I am absolutely certain of, and ruining his reputation is easy enough once the duchess herself is eliminated."


    "So long as you have confidence in it," said Li. "I was about to say that if ever therees a time you need him out of the way, then I''d be generous enough to take a break from farming to get some exercise in."

 Chapter 114 - Donor

    "It is surprising to see you invested enough in the demise of another being to personally dirty your hands," said Alexei as he leaned back. With a contemtive pause, he added, "Though, upon reflection, I suppose you had even more killing intent against me whence first we met."


    "Threatening the farm and the old man took it a step too far, and I wasn''t exactly feeling all that generous that time," said Li, recalling the vampires that had shown up to the cottage doorstep and how he had used his eldritch powers unregted, whittling away at his sense of self.


    "Quite unfortunate we met upon such circumstances."


    "It''s not unfortunate if, at the end, good came from it." Li waved the current conversation topic away and went back to Alexei''s potential n.


    "Back to your n: I''m not trying to pressure you as I have full trust in your capabilities, but I''m still curious what you''re nning on doing about the matter of an heir. You''ll need one to prop up the duchy''s stability if you decide to get rid of the duchess, right? And doppelgangers are out of the question."


    "That is, unfortunately, a matter that I cannot take into my hands." Alexei eased his posture, lying his back upon the soft, cushiony velvet of the couch. He reached into his breast pocket and withdrew a wooden pipecquered to a shine, etched with borate sigils of eyes.


    "You do not mind the smoke, do you?"


    "It''s not exactly a pleasant sight for my eyes."


    "Ah, then my deepest apologies." Alexei quickly put the pipe back in his pocket and put a questioning finger to his neatly trimmed goatee. "Might I ask why? I do not seek to push you, I am merely curious."


    "It''s funny to think that I, a being of unfathomable power, have an issue with smoking, I know. Let''s just leave it at bad memories."


    Li shrugged, remembering how the smog choked his past world, cloying in thick, dustyyers that strangled the sun and poisoned his parents'' lungs. He had never smoked in the first ce, but after his parents had passed, he could not stand to be near others who smoked either. One of his few sensitive points.


    Alexei nodded before smiling slightly. "It is amusing to know that mortals believe long lived beings such as ourselves forget the past. But it is the sheer breadth of our many years that in fact makes the past that much heavier, the notable moments that much more momentous.


    In that regard, I do have an answer for this heir issue. I will simply wait and bide my time until one suitable arises from themon muck. A being of centered principles capable of drawing the love of the people.


    The people will not believe the duchess''s crimes while she has an absolute hold over their adoration, but a brilliant, new beacon of hope to rally upon will surely make new truths that much more ptable."


    "That might take decades for someone like that to appear."


    Alexei crossed his legs, mirroring Li''s pose. "And years, we have plenty of. It is a more viable n than you would believe. I only require a little seed to poke its head through the dirt, and then I can nourish it, backing it against the duchess through the shadows."


    "Well, I did say I had confidence in your abilities, so I''m in no position to start questioning you, and even caring this much about the petty geopolitics of this world doesn''t suit me." Li reached forward to take a sip of tea, letting the deeply herbal taste linger on his artificial taste buds, as if to cleanse his mind of the current topic.


    "Now then, let''s talk about more important business."


    Alexei straightened his posture, his pointed ears twitching in alertness. "About your farm, I presume?"


    "It''s good to know you have a good sense of my priorities. Yes. How''d distribution for thest harvest go?"


    Alexei sped his hands together. "Excellently. As per your specifications, I yielded the necessary percentage of the harvest to the temples and the city as tax. The remainder, I spread upon the orphanages under my funding.


    Your grain is of a quality that has never been seen before, far surpassing even that grown upon the mystical earth of Duvin. It is magnitudes more nourishing, not to mention its superb taste. Rumors have circted about this so called ''divine wheat'', and it is such that I have had to run security patrols around the orphanages to prevent break ins."


    He paused, casting a sidelong nce at Li. "As a result, I have not been able to make the donations public yet under Old Thane''s name. I feared it would bring unduly attention upon your farm. Already, there are countless requests by restauranteurs scrambling to know who it is that grew such grain."


    "You did good with that," said Li. "I''m not expecting you to follow my orders like a robot. If you feel like at some point that some things are better done under your discretion, then feel free to do so. Just let me know like you''re doing now.???


    Alexei nodded. "Understood. Also, I thought it rude of me to do this without your permission, but might I inspect this grain? There is an expansiveboratory built into the foundations of this mansion, and there, I wish to see if I can perceive itsposition."


    "Sure. I''ve been curious of that myself, but I''ll tell you right know that you probably won''t find anything noteworthy." Li recalled how both he and Iona had used their forest spirit senses to analyze the grain to find it not out of the norm. "But go ahead. It was given to me by the duchess as a sort of gift, though I suspect she simply wanted me to test it out."


    "It may very well have simply been a gift of goodwill to try and curry your favor, for at the very least, she perceives the magnitude of your might. Regardless, I thank you for your permission." Alexei moved on, "Now then, for the matter of this sudden furor over your grain."


    "Solution seems rtively simple to me," said Li. "The east seems like a great copout to anything these people don''t understand because they have no idea about it. Just say I got the grain from the east but make sure to emphasize that it''s Old Thane that decided to donate all of this."


    "Even if this will bring upon attention to your farm?"


    "I despise unwanted attention, but to spread Old Thane''s name, I''m willing to stomach it. Besides, I guarantee that whatever ruckus that gets on my farm, none of it will be harmful. My farm is far too well guarded. Most I''ll have to do is answer a few pestering questions here and there."


    "With a greater demon and forest spirit at your behest, I do suppose that there is no chance for harm to your property. I merely worried for your convenience."


    Li raised an eye. "You knew I had a demon and forest spirit there? Their disguised forms are on par with mine in terms of suppressing and hiding their presence."


    Alexei tapped the middle of his forehead, where his third eye was supposed to be. "I hold powerful irvoyant vision that lesser members of my kind do not. That is why had I been the one to encounter you that night my subordinates foolishly harassed you, then our meeting would have been far more amiable. But s, bygones are bygones."


    He took a moment to consider a thought. "And, If you will, please forward my apologies to the forest spirit."


    "Hm?"


    "She and I have had a few disagreements in the past few years, though it seems she has put it past her knowing that ck Vine has been thoroughly dismantled by you. When ck Vine yet operated, she routinely broke into our shops to sabotage our products. She even attempted to follow our underground drugwork to me as you did, but unfortunately, my forces were too much for her to challenge by herself."


    Li crossed his arms, nodding in wonder. "I''m surprised you didn''t try to get rid of her more thoroughly, knowing the way you do things. You''re passive and let things move at their own pace, but when you have to seize a moment, like when there''s an active threat to you, you don''t waste time."


    "Oh, to be certain, at first I did consider her a sizable threat to neutralize, for any forest spirit of merit can challenge even me inbat." Alexei shrugged with a nonchnt air. "But upon further investigation, it became known to me that she was nothing of the sort, diluted as she was by consuming humans and allowing herself to wallow in thoroughly unproductive self-pity and despair.


    I daresay her attacks upon my establishments were akin to a child''s tantrums,shing out as she had nothing else to live for, homeless and friendless as she was. I surmised that when she understood her efforts were futile, she would simply give up again, and she did. She simply was no threat to me."


    "I see." Li knew that Iona understood he worked with Alexei and his vampires considering his transport consisted solely of their kind, but she never mentioned it. He had always thought she simply did not care anymore after ck Vine was torn down, but perhaps there were deeper scars to heal here.


    "Well, I can ry the apology, but it''d be better if you could sort it out in person with her when you have time."


    Alexei nodded; his air very much business-like. "I will see to it, then."


    "Also, something you said before stoked my interest a little. Your subordinates must have reported that I''ve started to raise a wyrm, no?"


    "I have heard of the news, and I must congratte you for obtaining such a rare beast."


    "Not a beast," said Li, his tone a little curt.


    Alexei nodded in quick understanding. "Forgive my loose tongue. I did not know that it meant so much to you."


    "I''m responsible for her being motherless, and so I have a duty to raise her as more than just a pet," Li exined. "But that aside, you mentioned restauranteurs wanting to know who made the donation, right? Let them know a day or two before anyone else."


    "Are you certain of this? They will be relentless in attempting to pursue some form of business rtionship with you."


    "A farmer''s crop isn''t just meant to sit and rot, after all. I can afford to distribute a little of my harvest to one of these high ss restaurants so that I can get ess to premium ingredients to feed my wyrm with. Attention''s going toe to the farm regardless of what I do, and I might as well make it productive.


    Plus, I hear the chefs they hire know how to prepare food from any monster or nt. Summoning sentient monsters for ughter doesn''t sit too well with me, but if they can prepare some of my nts, then I''ll have ess to the best food this entire world has to offer."

 Chapter 115 - Farmland

    Alexei nodded. "Then it shall be so. You will likely receive contact from restaurateurs in the morrow, knowing how quick they are to seize a chance to stand out."


    "Sounds good. Appreciate the help as always. Now, to the farm itself." Li was excited to broach on this topic. Before, he had seen all the empty farmhouses and rottingnd around the city and how he might have taken them, and now, he had someone to formte a definitive n with.


    "I want to expand my fields, and for that, I neednd. The only issue is most of thend''s owned by other people, but it doesn''t seem like they''re using it."


    "Ah, I see where you are going with this. You wish to seize thosends for yourself?"


    "Seize is a rather strong word. If I can convince them to yield thosends to me of their own will, then that would be preferable. After all, it doesn''t seem like most of these so called ''farmers'' are using thend."


    "That is indeed the case." Alexei shook his head. "Such a shame, too, considering how wondrous Riviera''s fields used to be. The breadbasket of the west, as it was called."


    Li cocked his head. "It was? From my history readings, I figured Riviera was only really important as a buffer to the hintends, back when the hintenders were nomadic raiders, but after their numbers got culled by demons, the city didn''t really have much of a use anymore, especially with Duvin''s fields producing enough grain to keep the whole duchy fed."


    "I am afraid you have read revised history, but that is unsurprising under the duchess''s rule." Alexei put a hand to his chin as his eyes narrowed, focusing on the past.


    "Before the demons invaded, Riviera was a city seeped in forest worship. Morrigan, the guardian of the forests surrounding the city, had a particr fondness for humans, and blessed their fields and regted the strength of monsters and beasts roaming her woods such that the humans might thrive.


    Every year at the height of summer, the entire city would hold a festival and bring offerings to her in return."


    "It''s incredible that there isn''t a single trace of that left," remarked Li.


    "Incredible? I do not believe so. Mortal minds are forgetful," Alexei''s shoulders undted in a faint shrug. "When the demons came, they granted an ultimatum to Morrigan: let her mortals waste away or fight. She chose to fight, and she was eliminated. The forests and fields, deprived of her control, withered as a result, and Riviera lost its purpose and agrarian culture.


    That was thirty years ago. Thirty years is more than enough to wash away many memories for meek human minds. The city now with its istion, safety, and natural beauty is a glorified bank and retirement home for the wealthy, and for you, that is good news as there are more than enough restaurants that are willing toe begging at your feet."


    "It also gives me insight into the current farming situation." Li nodded to himself, digesting the new information.


    "There''s no point in farming here because nobody has needed it for decades, not to mention the fact that aside from my current field, none of the others seem to be doing too well either. I chalked this up to recent famine, but knowing Old Thane hasn''t had sess growing anything in two decades, it makes a lot more sense now. The soil just isn''t what it used to be.


    No wonder all the farnds are empty or used to avoid taxes. There''s no living to make off of farming anymore."


    "Farmers used to be the lifeblood of Riviera, acting as both tenders to thend and priests of Morrigan, but indeed, now it is a dead upation," said Alexei. "The new generation of farmers are farmers no more. They have moved on from the upation, which is why so many of thends remain unused."


    "And where did their parents go? They should be around Old Thane''s age. Granted, he''s almost seventy, but he should be a fair bit older than all the other farmers of the past generation considering he started tending to his field after he retired as an adventurer. The farmers of the past should still be alive and kicking, mostly, and, honestly, still capable of farming."


    "Have you observed the mansion across from mine, ted in gold to a disgustingly gaudy shine?"


    Li nodded, wondering where the vampire was going with this sudden line of questioning.


    Alexei continued. "That is owned by the noble family of Chevrette, owner of the Gold Standard."


    "Gold Standard? If I recall, that''s the big bank in town. What does the bank have to do with this?" said Li.


    "To give a sense of Baron Chevrette''s mary resources. Chevrette knew that the new generation of farmers would abandon those farms and look towards the city. After all, their fields were dying, and yet they still had the burden of caring for their aging parents.


    But living in the city fetches a high price. For that, they needed coin, and how could young farmers with but dying fields to their name dredge up coin?"


    Li understood where Alexei was going with this, though not fully. "Loans. Chevrette gave them loans."


    "Precisely. Chevrette wooed these gullible young farmers to the city, granting them loans with generous terms and even amodations to take their parents who, having spent a lifetime working the dirt, knew no useful skills for the city."


    "But there were string attached to the whole deal, I presume?"


    "An obvious observation, but one that escaped many of those uneducated young farmers. Chevrette stipted that these farmers with their loans start business ventures under their name so as to benefit from the tax evasion granted by their ownership of farnd. Of course, these ''businesses'' were mereundering fronts for Chevrette''s own rather illicit trade."


    "And that would be?"


    "The ve trade."


    "The banned ve trade?''


    Alexei let out a curtugh. "As you know, thews of man are fallible, but credit where it is due: the duchess''s regtions are enforced enough by Lys''s knights that therge scale ve trade prevalent during King Beaumont''s reign has long since been eradicated.


    But that does not mean the demand disappeared, for the base instincts of man will always find a way to surface, and with demandes supply. In this case, only Chevrette was capable of funding an operation borate enough to subvert Lys, effectively allowing him to monopolize the trade. This is not to mention the fact that he specializes in trafficking exotic beastmen and women, and thews of Soleil are known to turn a blind eye to non-humans."


    Li nodded slightly in understanding. It would appear Alexei was not the only crime lord in this seemingly peaceful city. "And I thought you the only mastermind of crime in this city."


    "I ran the drugs; he ran the ves." Alexei shrugged. "And like me, he has seeped his finances throughout many legitimate businesses in the city. I daresay with his ownership of the bank, he is even more important than I am to the city''s economy."


    Li sighed. It would appear this Chevrette was going to be a small obstacle to clear for his ns."Which means eliminating him is tricky. Exins why you haven''t taken him out."


    "His security detail is formidable, too, but indeed, the main reason I did not simply dispose of him was due to his integral position for this city."


    From this, Li had most of the information he needed. He had started to formte a n about getting thend, and he was beginning to realize that perhaps there was an alternative that did not involve him seizing them. One that could be a rtively happy end for all.


    And for that, he needed some extra information, but not from Alexei.


    Li stood up, smoothing out creases in his trousers. "Alright, I think that just about covers what I wanted to ask you. I''m beginning to have an idea of what I want to do, and when I flesh it out more, I''ll let you know."


    Alexei also stood and bowed his head. "Excellent."


    Now to get more information. This was the first time he had spent so much time in the city, Li realized, but it was a somewhat enjoyable experience. He felt like some kind of detective piecing together tidbits of information to get to the bottom of somerge plot.


    "Knowing how careful you are, you probably tracked down where Iona lives in the city, didn''t you?"


    Li figured that by now, evening hade, meaning that Iona was either at home or on her way.


    Alexei nodded, and Li replied, "Give me the address. I need to have a word with her."

 Chapter 116 - Faith

    Li found himself taking an evening walk through the docks.


    The sun had recently set, leaving a little smattering of natural remaining, but by now, most of the buildings around the docksprising of taverns for rowdy sailors, had put lit and put upnterns to fight against the encroaching dark.


    A dark that seemed much deeper and darker than other nights. Not to mention that today was also eerily quiet.


    Riviera usually had a nice breeze flowing through it that supposedly turned into harsh and whipping winds in winter, but for now, during the golden heights of summer, the breeze was tame, flowing in little lulls that soothed the scorching sun.


    But there was absolutely no breeze today, making all the little barges and boats seem to float above the dockside water in suspended animation, their sailspletely still. Clouds thronged overhead, dark and heavy, filled to the brim with rain.


    Li knew that Riviera had a thriving fishing market as Perle, the name of theke that bordered Riviera, teemed with fish whilst having few monstrous threats. As its name indicated, there were also deposits of oysters holding pearls at the bottom of theke, but many did not venture into these deepest depths as the few monsters that did swim around Perle tended to congregate there.


    It would not have been odd to see fishermen drawing in theirs around this time, but they had all retired, likely because they felt the clouds overhead to be signs of an iing storm. Though, a storm should have heralded stronger winds. Or perhaps its was this unnaturalbo of still winds and dark clouds that drove them away even further.


    Regardless, Li pushed forwards, rather enjoying this solitude. Like this, with nobody around to drum up an urban tter, Riviera was far more tolerable, though he figured this thinking was somewhat spoiled considering even the tiniest of cities back in his old world would have blown this tiny little medieval city out of the water with noise and pollution.


    Within a few minutes, Li found where Iona lived.


    Li saw that she lived at the very end of the docks, isted from the fishing activity. She lived in a first floor t, a small housing unit inside arger building, but he could tell this building was on itsst legs. It was a nondescript, rundown old two story building of yellowed ster, rot-infested wood, and faded brick with holes covered with cloth acting as windows.


    Not too surprising, considering he was in the shadier parts of middle Riviera.


    Riviera was split into three parts, lower, middle, and upper, with increasing verticality generally indicating higher wealth. The noble estates stood above all three parts, acting like the absolute pinnacle of wealth, built atop a veritable mountainside and shining with luxuries.


    The docks were nestled right between its lower and middle sections. This area, though, Li noted, must have been just as cheap and bad as some of the worst lower residences.


    Since the city, by virtue of it being built upon elevatednd, sloped downwards, sewage was dealt with by dumping it into deep gutters that allowed it to flow down into a sewagework with underground treatment centers ced in lower Riviera to deal with the waste.


    However, this was a new innovation on part of the duchess''s rule, apparently taking inspiration from Elven architecture, and Riviera had stood as a city for centuries, long before the elves themselves had progressed from woond tree dwellings to urban megacities.


    Before the duchess''s innovative rule, sewage took a more unhygienic and barbaric route by flowing directly out into theke, and this building stood right beside one of these ancient gutters that funneled umted sewage from all of middle and upper Riviera out into Perle.


    Li could smell the foul stench of refuse curling up from the ground and into his nose, but he could easily tune it out. Like how he could tune out the sight of bloody and beaten corpses ¨C he could also tune out biological reactions of disgust. He stepped into the building, taking crisp and unfazed steps through a creaking, moldy door.


    The inside of the building was musty, and as he closed the door behind him, he could hear the scurrying of scared rats and cockroaches and other vermin. Li walked through a small hallway with nked by little doors that led intorge rooms that people lived in.


    ording to Alexei, Iona lived in the farthest unit down, and as he made his way there, he noticed just how quiet it was even in here.


    A little too quiet. He focused his hearing, and he realized nobody lived here aside from Iona herself, whose footsteps he could hear pattering atop flimsy floorboards.


    "And who might you be?" came a croaky voice brimming with caution.


    Li stopped in front of a woman standing in front of Iona''s door, her arms crossed. She looked the definition of haggard, bone thin with frayed, chin length blonde hair and sunken in ck eyes. She looked like she could have been anywhere from twenty to forty, and as he sensed her life force, he did not feel anything off about her.


    She was just human.


    "I''m here on some business," said Li, his tone firm, clearly indicating he was in no mood to engage with a random tenant in this building.


    "The gooddy''s not in tonight," said the woman as she stood over the door, blocking. Her ent was thick, much like Old Thane''s. In other words, she was not educated, which was not much of a surprise considering this was one of the poorer parts of Riviera.


    "Yer'' gonna have to tell me why a strange foreigner''s rearin'' his head up in this abandoned ce."


    "Thedy''s my assistant, and I don''t really have time for this nonsense, so-," Li stepped forwards, but the woman would not budge.


    Li shrugged, preparing to subdue her with a [Sleep Spore], but the door opened in time, inwards so that it did not hit the woman, and out came a girl not much older than five. By the way she hugged at the woman''s legs, it was evident she was her daughter.


    Iona poked her head through the door, and when she spotted Li, her eyes widened.


    Immediately, Iona waved to the other end of the hallway, motioning the mother daughter duo to leave with an urgent pressure.


    "Are you sure?" said the woman as she eyed Li. "He''s foreign, ain''t around here, neither elf nor beastman, never seen the likes o'' him before."


    "It is fine, Ada. Your daughter is well, too. Take her and leave," said Iona, her tone calm and didactic, as if she were talking to a pair of children.


    Ada nodded before leaving, continuing to give Li a suspicious eye as she stepped around him in the narrow hallway, like he was irradiated or something.


    "Now, what was that about?" said Li as he heard Ada and her daughter leave the building.


    "I perform some healing when I have time," said Iona as she continued to peek at Li through the crook of the door.


    "How generous of you. Here I thought you didn''t care much about mortals."


    "I condemn their actions as a collective, but I understand that they are stillprised of precious individual lives."


    "Still, a lot softer than I took you for. Now then, I''m sorry to be barging in on your house without warning, but I had something to discuss with you. Mind if Ie in?"


    Iona paused as her eyes flitted away from Li''s. "This filthy ce is not fit for one such as you."


    "I don''t care about that kind of small stuff." Li pushed his hand on the door, applying enough pressure to let her know he wasing in whether she wanted to protest or not, and she yielded, letting him step into her room.


    "Not too bad, all things considered," said Li as he scanned his surroundings. Iona''s t was essentially the size of arge room. There was a smallntern atop a wooden table that emitted a faint light not nearly strong enough to illuminate the whole ce. A couple of nkets sprawled around one edge of the room indicated a bed.


    A set of herbalist equipment with racks of vials, droppers, beakers, and the like were neatly stacked and arranged atop the table. Aside from that, though, the room was very bare, though there were a couple of books stacked beside her nkets. New books, it seemed from their shining leather.


    Li had lived in simr conditions when he was a broke student struggling to stay afloat while studying and working all day, so he did not think much of these living arrangements. He took a seat by the table and motioned for her to sit.


    When she did, he pointed to the nkets and said, "I didn''t know you had to sleep."


    "I have some mortal needs from consuming their souls," she said with a sigh. "I can survive off of sunlight alone, but I havee to need some sleep as well. I consider these needs an apt punishment for my foolishness."


    "And a need to drink as well?" Li tilted his head forwards, motioning beside her bed where several empty bottlesy haphazardly on their sides.


    Iona nced at the bottles with a cringe. "Those¡­are from times best forgotten. As my being has taken in human souls, gaining more of their physical traits, needs, and their powerful emotions, I felt ever more strongly how my existence held no meaning. Hunted down with none of my kind left and my way of life, the reasons for which I was created, destroyed.


    I saw that humans could drown their worries away so easily with drink, and I wished the same for myself."


    She shook her head and changed the topic, her voice bing stronger and calmer. "But that is before I met you, when I felt there was no reason for my existence as a forest spirit. But with you here, my life and being is in order, you need not doubt that.


    Now, please tell me what you wished to talk about, for I am certain that I can be of assistance."


    Li also felt that it was best to move on from the matter of her drinking, evident as it was that it was part of a troubled past.


    "I''m here to get your guidance on something somewhat drastic I wanted to do."


    "Oh?"


    "I''m going to try and expand my farm to grow a lot more crop, not to mention different types of it, and for that, I''m going to get all the farmers back to work on their fields under me."


    Iona cocked her head. "The dispossessed farmers? They are all city dwellers now. Many years it has been since their hands have held a plow."


    "Right," Li nodded. "But it doesn''t matter that they''re rusty at farming. Skills can fade. But faith is far more resistant to time. People can hold onto it for the rest of their years, hell, they can entirely entrust their lives to it, and I hear they used to worship through their farming. They just need someone to rekindle their faith to get back to theirnd, something to believe in.


    And that''s going to be me."

 Chapter 117 - Will

    Iona put her hands together atop the table, her pale hinds striking out a contract against the stained wood. She pursed her lips, her hazel eyes focusing on her hands as she went into contemtion.


    It was here that Li recognized that Iona seemed a little less healthy than usual. Her skin had more of a pallor and the dark circles under her eyes had intensified, though she was not nearly as emaciated and deprived of energy as the first time he had met her.


    "You intend to have the farmers worship you? You as you are now, or you as you are in a more¡­spiritual form?"


    "Spiritual form. If I assume it just once and spread the news that some kind of great forest spirit is roaming around the forests again, then I''m sure they''lle out to see what themotion''s about, and then I can convince them to farm again at my behest."


    "Will the knights of Lys and adventurers not try to strike you down first?"


    "I don''t see why they would. These people used to worship our kind. They must have lingering respect for us."


    "All faiths beside the light have been persecuted into oblivion." A weary expression formed on Iona''s face. "You can see evidence of that with me. I, a forest spirit, was ssified as a monster to be executed in the capitol like anymon beast."


    "You did kill three or so humans, though, didn''t you? I''m not belittling you, just pointing out that people can be tribalistic and reactionary when one of their own are killed."


    "They would have epted it were it not for the duchess''s rule. Before the end of all guardians, it was not umon for human sacrifices to be offered to us. Of course, my forest did not partake in such acts, as we were far removed from dealing with mortals, but those more acquaintanced with them such as Morrigan made liberal use of such power."


    "I see. So opinion has turned against us to the point where we''d just be considered monsters." Li shrugged. "Well, I can tell you I have thought of this reaction and assure you that so long as I can get these farmers toe back to the farms under my orders, then I can deal with the politics.


    What I wanted to know from you was what this would do to my humanity. What kind of toll would it take on me?"


    "Hm." Iona looked at Li for a few analyzing seconds. "It will certainly reinforce your divinity, though to what degree, I cannot say much. It is hard to draw aparison with you to Dagda, a being who held not a single ounce of humanity within him, but to Morrigan, it is more apt."


    Li''s attention piqued. "The Winterwood''s guardian? She was like me, you think?"


    "In a sense. I did not know her nor her roots directly, but she was one of a kind in that she was a fusion of human and guardian, exining why she alone among guardians decided to love and aid the mortals near her so."


    "Fusion between human and guardian? How did thate to pass? From what I feel, the two seem fundamentally ipatible. The average human mind simply cannot process the sheerplexity of functions needed to regte lifeforms on the scale of an entire forest."


    "Certainly, she was not a natural existence, no." Iona looked down at one of her hands as she raised her fingers one by one. She hovered between raising four or five before shrugging.


    "Perhaps five centuries ago, the guardian of the Winterwoods was much like all the others. More like a golem than an independent being, dedicated solely to regting the functions of the forest, maintaining the delicate bnce of life.


    Riviera at that time was a burgeoning town constantly under attack by hintenders, and to bolster their defenses, they decided to expand, and for that, they required wood for walls and armaments.


    They sought to cut down the Winterwoods, and as they did so, the guardian at the time came upon perhaps a rather drastic calction ¨C that humans, though harmless now, would proliferate to disrupt the bnce of life.


    The guardian chose to eliminate this human disease before it spread, and increased its production of monsters, sending them crashing against Riviera."


    Li could not imagine spear and sword wielding level 20 soldiers in a regr old townpeting against armies of monsters and what was likely a mid level 80s guardian spirit. "A little town against a guardian? I can''t imagine that went well."


    "Certainly, it did not, no, but, as you can see from the sprawling city around you, Riviera won at the end. A witch of the highest caliber throughout all of humanity at that time fought against the guardian and bested it."


    Li calcted that the pinnacle of human power in this world was level 70 at the very best. Even Old Thane who neared that level did so because he had giantsblood that allowed him to exceed the limitations of his fragile human form.


    Hardly enough to beat an army of monsters, forest spirits, and then a guardian spirit.


    "Were humans stronger back then? Hard to believe that a single witch brought down a guardian, considering how disappointingly weak everyone seems to be now."


    Iona shook her head. "The witch fought, but she could not win. Instead, she utilized a ritual that fused her being with the guardian''s, banking on the condition that her will could manage to survive melding with such a being.


    And it did. Humans are fragile little creatures, short lived, weak boned, and prone to dying at the slightest scratch. They bare neither fangs nor ws nor can they close their wounds. Their magic is mere imitation of divine teaching."


    Iona put a hand to her own heart. "But what I have learned from taking in their souls is that their wills are supremely powerful. Their willpower is packed with emotions. Anger, sadness, love, hope ¨C all of this swirls within them in a storm greater than any physical or magical prowess they hold.


    Their will allows them to ignore all calctions, logic, and reasoning, letting them face death without a shred of fear in their hearts. It is a truly powerful phenomenon that would have been entirely foreign to a guardian who had lived purely by means of cold calculus."


    "Even if this witch did overtake the guardian, she couldn''t have maintained the forest by herself." If Li could have made an analogy for this situation, it was that managing a forest did not require an individualistic and willful person, but rather an autonomous and efficient program.


    "Had her will been fully intact, yes, but her will did not entirely emerge victorious. A rather strange fusion urred that allowed her to express human thought and personality whilst maintaining a diminished but functional capacity to regte the forest.


    Thus, Morrigan came into existence, and for her, as she made herself more and more likable to the mortals, worship did not alter her much, though she very much did enjoy it."


    "Huh, so she didn''t emerge fully human either. Exins why she asked for human sacrifices despite having once been one."


    "Ah, that. The witch was a rather¡­promiscuous woman, and that did not change as she became a guardian. Her idea of sacrifices were to take lovers and then immortalize the ones she fancied the most as her roots."


    "So her personality managed to stay rtively intact." Li nodded. "That bodes well for me, then."


    "Perhaps, yes, but you are also different. You are a human be full guardian spirit, and that is an unprecedented case. It may be that this erodes your humanity." Iona paused. "Do you truly wish to do this?"


    "What do you mean?"


    "Perhaps it is because of the humanity mixed within me, but I do not wish to see yours flee you."


    "And I thought you wanted me to be fully divine so you could tag onto me as a root and to save the forests."


    "Bing your root would allow me to connect to you at a spiritual level and thus regain my full spirithood, yes, and I certainly do wish for the forests to be as great as they once were, but¡­," She sighed, loosening thoughts she had held to herself for decades.


    "I am tainted by human selfishness. Never once have I ever been treated as something more than an¡­existence. A function. As a root, I had a specific task to perform to ease my guardian''s burdens, and that wasprised the entirety of my reason for being.


    I was not more than that. When my guardian fell and I wandered, bing a teacher to humans, I knew that most of them saw me as simply a helpful source of knowledge, but a few, particrly the children, saw me as more than a means to an end. I became not some<em>thing</em>, but some<em>one</em> to appreciate and understand and even protect, with a few of my students evenying down their lives to allow my escape when the capitol called a hunt upon me.


    When I first beheld your existence, I let go of these human feelings that I selfishly began to like, epting that to return the green to its former glory, I was willing to sacrifice it all. But you, too, have treated me with human appreciation, and that has made me consider that perhaps it is possible to have you, with enough training, to be both human and divine, to both restore the forests and to maintain yourself."


    "I see, so that''s why you haven''t pushed wanting to be my root," said Li. "Since it''s a spiritual connection, and you mentioned before that they go two ways, it might be that you, despite being diluted, might have enough spiritual presence to wash away my humanity."


    Iona bowed her head. "That is so, yes."


    "Don''t be ashamed. We are both selfish in that regard. I could be a godlike being and take over this world at the snap of a finger, restore all the forests, probably take it a step further and make this entire world one giant forest, but not until I settle my human obligations first.


    Is that selfish to the greater good? Yes, I recognize it, but at the same time, being human is all I''ve known, so if I''m ever to lose my humanity, I want to lose it on my own terms."


    Li pointed to himself. "So you shouldn''t worry about my humanity, because it is something that I do value. I just want to know that if I decide to take on the role as an object of worship, will you be able to regte the effects on me, if there are any?"


    Iona thought for a long time. Bordering on almost a minute. She seemed to look at Li with an almost nk expression before she nodded solemnly. "Certainly, yes, I can do at least that."


    "Good, then you really don''t have to worry about me losing my sense of self. Alright then, onto another question I wanted to ask. You''re long lived and you have an idea about Morrigan and her followers. These retired farmers ¨C do you think they still have faith? Enough that it''ll push them to me if I make a move?"


    Iona furrowed her brows. "I cannot say, no. It has been some time since Morrigan''s destruction, after all. But you may be able to glean the strength of their faith by talking to them directly, for most are still alive and well, merely in the city."


    "I see. Guess I''ll go ahead and start interviewing a few farmers then."


    "If that is your chosen path, then I can be of further assistance. Ada, the woman whom you saw, is the daughter of one such farmer."


    "A helpful coincidence," nodded Li.


    "When I eked out a job as first an herbalist before being pushed out by ck Vine, there were many former farming families that sought my services as they still believed in the effectiveness of the old ways, and I have maintained contact with a few of them. To that end, I believe their faith still present, but whether it is strong enough for them to uproot their new lives, well, that is a matter I do not truly know."


    "That''s a matter that I''ll take into my own hands, just tell me where I can see her and her family."

 Chapter 118 - Recognition

    Li followed a new trail to the heart of middle Riviera, on a street near the city hall. With a night as foreboding as the current one, not many walked the streets. There were still quite a few superstitious people about in this world, and the faith of the Light also ingrained in the humans here a mistaken belief that demons spawned from the dark, a misconception they easilytched onto with the innate human fear of the night.


    As a result, it was easy to navigate where Ada lived. Iona had told Li that Ada and her family consisting of her husband and former farmer father ran a small bakery on this street. Li did not have to search much before he found it. It was a surprisingly nice and spacious business, upying an entire two story building.


    On the first floor, there was the bakery, its ss disy showcasing empty tes where during the day there would have been appetizing baked tidbits to advertise. The second floor was where Li''s attention directed, as he could tell this was where the family lived, as evidenced by the fact that he could see the gleam of antern light through a window.


    Li reached out and tried opening the bakery door. It was locked tightly shut. It did give a little, and his sharpened hearing could make out the jingle of atch lock behind the door. A good thing, too, as if the lock was built into the door, he would have had to destroy it entirely.


    Instead, all Li did was aim his finger through the crack of the door and cast [Shapeshift: Itzpapalotl Proboscis], morphing his finger into an impossibly thin, ck carapaced and thorn like protrusion that slipped through and, with a flick of his finger, sliced through the chaintching the door shut.


    Li undid the shapeshifting and made his way into the bakery, making sure to close it firmly shut.


    The pleasant smell of baked bread settled in the air. Li noticed that the bakery was quite nice. Well maintained and cleanly swept, speaking to the hard working characters of those running it. Hopefully, he could talk to them without much conflict, as it would be a shame to show force against them.


    Li focused his senses to the absolute max that he could in his human state, making sure there were no escape routes to raise a mor against him while also detecting the steady breathing of Ada and her husband and the shallower, quicker breaths of the daughter and grandfather.


    Li raised a brow. He had picked up something quite interesting as well, but he only had to spend a moment to figure out what he was hearing. It would appear that he would not have any issues getting this family to talk.


    Li came to the end of the bakery where there were spiraling wooden stairs leading upwards. The faint orange glow ofntern light leeched onto the steps, promising a brightly lit room above. He came to the first step of the stairs before he rapped his knuckles against the wooden wall.


    Almost immediately, Li could hear panicked voices. A rush as the daughter was pushed into her room. A scramble as heavier footsteps ¨C the husband ¨C picked something up and stood at the edge of the stairs.


    "Rx," called out Li. "Ada, was it? I''m here on behalf of Iona. Dropping off some medicine she forgot to give you. Had a few things I wanted to talk to you all about as well. Now, I''m not the type to wait for no reason, so I''m going toe up."


    Li took casual steps up the stairs until he met Ada''s husband at the top. He clutched, surprisingly, a well made short sword in his hands. There was even a rune of sharpness etched onto its shining new leather handle. But the man himself fell far short of the de. He was not unfit by any means, but there was a certain softness to him,id fully bare as he was shirtless, obviously not expecting visitors.


    It was evident in the small gut that gathered at his belly, at the b clinging on his arms, that made it obvious that he was no fighter. His hands trembled as he held onto the de with a shaky and unfamiliar grip. His rough moustache shivered as his lips quivered in fear.


    Not that it would have mattered even if he had been the foremost fighter in the whole duchy. To Li, both were equally powerless.


    "We aren''t seriously going to do this, are we?" said Li with a smile. He reached out for the sword''s de, his movements oozing rxation, and he put the de between his index finger and thumb. "Incredible sword, really. Sterling Silver, enchanted with a lesser rune, and, now that I feel it, even imbued with a bleeding curse. What did this cost? Five gold coins? Six? Impressive a bakery owner could afford it."


    "W-who are you?" said the husband as he froze up, instinctively understanding that any fighting movement was tantamount to suicide. He took a nce behind himself, at Ada who had pinned herself against the wall.


    Seeing this, the husband did not back away, defending his family. At the least, he was still a dutiful husband and father.


    "I thought I told you before I came up? The whole point of me announcing myself was to make sure you had time to get ready. I didn''t think this was how you would get ready, though. I''d say it''s a little rude." Li moved his fingers to the tip of the de before exerting pressure, snapping it off.


    It was now that the husband finally took a step back.


    Li took the broken de piece and swallowed it up in his palm. When he opened his palm back up, the high quality metal had been shriveled up into an infinitesimally tiny ball of scrap metal that he tossed behind his back.


    "Now, are we ready to talk?" said Li. The husband pursed his lips together, dropping the sword as he raised his hands in the air. Li nodded. "Good. Now put on a shirt."


    _____________________


    Li sat cross legged on the floor, as did Ada and her husband. They sat themselves beside each other and in front of him, and he almost felt like a teacher reprimanding students. At the corner of the room, there was an elderly man curled up in nkets, hugging his knees and rocking back and forth, his thin lips moving rapidly but uttering nonsensical whispers.


    Li had given the couple time to get their minds in order, moving their father aside and also telling their daughter to stay quiet and calm in her room. The living space was surprisingly cramped considering the generous size of the building for a single family.


    Here, for your daughter, in case her feveres back," said Li as he rolled a vial towards the couple.


    Ada, surprised, said, "You weren''t lyin'' about the medicine?"


    "I don''t make lying a habit," said Li. "Iona told me this was a good way to get you to talk to me, but she probably meant tomorrow. You see, I''ll probably be busy tomorrow, so I wanted to get this talk over with tonight, which was why I had to break in. Apologies for the lock, and I''ll cover the repairs."


    He shifted his gaze to the elderly man at the corner. "But onto why I''m actually here. I''m here to talk to your father, though, by how he is, I doubt he''s all there. That leaves me to ask you two about him."


    Ada looked taken aback, but at the same time, her tense shoulders eased down. "Papa? Why him?"


    "Is it about father''s illness?" said the husband. "An arcana schr hade before to investigate his madness. Are you perhaps one of them?"


    Li shook his head at the husband. He noted that the husband must have married into the family, considering Ada called the old man ''papa and the husband called him by the more formal ''father''.


    "Okay, Ada, I''m mostly here to talk with you then. I''m here because I''m working with Iona to bring the old ways of the forest back again. You''re familiar with them, right?"


    "Herbalism and all that magic, aye."


    "Good. You see, farming has a close rtionship with the old ways. So tell me, your papa used to be a farmer, right?"


    Ada''s brows knitted together in concerned confusion, but she went along with the questioning regardless. "Aye, but that was many, many moons ago. Gods, more than twenty years."


    "You must still have been old enough to remember him farming, then. I''m sure he didn''t give up right after the fields started to do worse around thirty years ago."


    Ada''s hand fidgeted rapidly, twitching almost involuntarily before her husband reached out and sped it. "Aye, I was a wee littless when I remember leavin'' the farm. It was after mama passed. Papa took us to the city, opened this bakery, and it''s all we''ve done."


    "All we''ve done, yes," nodded the husband with quick and urgent nods.


    "You two seem to be anxious for some reason. Rx. I''m just curious about the old farmers, you see. As you can tell, I''m not from around here, and I actually recently moved here to be a farmer. I have a farm right outside the city, but it''s strange to see that almost none of the other farms are working."


    "Well, there''s no future in em'' is what papa said. Bakin'' is all I''ve known, though."


    "Ah, that''s a shame. Figured I could use somepany. Tell me, though, did your papa ever talk to you About what farming was like? About worshipping forest spirits?"


    Ada shook her head. "Papa told me he loved farmin'', but never told me why he left. I figured it was cause'' he couldn''t get coin. And spirit worship? That''s heresy, and papa would never do that."


    Li was beginning to realize that Ada was too young to be useful. She was born right around the end of the demon wars and Morrigan''s death, so she had no idea about what her father did beforehand, when he actively farmed and worshipped. This was on top of the fact that the duchess had gone on an active campaign to purge beliefs other than that of the light, meaning Ada''s father had likely shielded her from his past worship.


    With a sigh, Li asked, hoping for a lead, "Tell me, how did your papa fall ill?"


    Ada shook her head sadly. "I don''t know. He just got worse and worse over the years. Started mutterin'' in his sleep some ramble, sounded mighty monstrous like. By the time I took over, he was like this."


    "I don''t me him," said the husband, and Ada pulled at his hand, bidding him quiet.


    Li nodded, beginning to understand more of this family. "Can I try talking to your papa?"


    Ada looked at her father, at how he had curled himself into a ball, his teeth chattering despite the fact that several nkets engulfed his tiny and emaciated frame. She said, "Aye, don''t see why not. Maybe a new face will get him back to reason."


    Li walked over to Ada''s father and knelt in front of him. The old man shrunk away from Li in trembling fear, his eyes bulging and wild as he pressed himself further and further into his corner.


    Li gently stretched out a hand towards the elderly man. He must not have been much older than sixty, but his mental state had aged him immensely. He seemed now liable to drop dead at any moment, his breath wheezing and his movements made with visible difficulty.


    In this world, terminal illnesses and permanent mental illnesses could not be healed away normally as they were considered to be part of the person''s body.


    Otherwise, nobody in this world would ever die of anything except old age if they did not fight. Although, Li did figure that any higher tier healing spells would easily ovee this restriction judging by the fact that there were tales of strong spirits, dragons, faeries, and other mystical beings healing such terminal afflictions.


    However, Li did not intend on healing the old man just yet. He knew he was already attracting attention by going around the city and directly investigating instead of getting the count to do all this work, but he needed to throw his presence out there as he eventually nned on making his human form some kind of ''avatar'' that spread the will of his true form. Healing this man was not something he was yet willing to do until he had a following willing to believe that his powers came from divine blessing.


    The show of force breaking the sword, he could exin with martial arts, and many adventurers could attest to that. Miracle healing, though, tended to bring about far more attention than just being kind of physically strong.


    "It''s okay," said Li, his voice quiet. He ced his hand on the old man''s arm, feeling the bone-thin limb through the nkets.


    The old man was panicked, his eyes darting from side to side, but then, they finally settled on Li.


    There was a pause. A moment of silence as the old man seemed to be still like a statue. Then, he raised trembling hands through his nkets, sping wrinkled hands over Li''s arm. Tears welled from his eyes, pattering on the skins coiled around his body.


    His lips moved, speaking in anguage that must have sounded like utter nonsense to Ada and her husband. A tongue she had previously described as "monstrous like". Thenguage of forest spirits.


    "Great One."

 Chapter 119 - Reminiscence

    As Li felt the aged man''s hands grip tighter around his forearm, he felt a spark of connection form between them, tingling at his skin. Though the old man''s eyes were crazed and unfocused, behind that veil of doddering insanity, Li knew there was something whole there, someone who had once been¡­


    _____________________________


    Ivo stuck the wooden end of his rake to the soil with force, digging it in a few centimeters. His hand clenched around the rake handle, the sinewy muscles of his forearm tightening as he exerted force. He grit his teeth as he felt an ice cold breeze shift through him, stealing away warmth, leaving him at a shivering chill.


    "All ye faithful to thend, to our greatdy Morrigan!" he shouted, his voice, a deep and booming baritone, projecting forwards and enveloping a crowd of men and women just like him. No, not a crowd, at these numbers, this was more like a small army.


    Men and women who had spent their entire lives tending to thend. They wielded various farming tools in their hands ¨C rakes, ploughs, sickles, and the like ¨C in their calloused hands just like him. They were cheap and ragged linens and leathers like him. But most importantly, they believed just like him.


    Believed in the goodness of Morrigan, their guardian, their beloved, their hope. The source of the life flowing through their farms, the origin of the faith they had kept close to their hearts through their whole lives just as their fathers and father''s fathers had before them.


    "These foul winds!" Ivo pointed up to the sky. It was dark, the moon and stars choked away with ck clouds full and heavy not with rain, but with pure darkness. "The ckened skies! All signs that the demons are upon us! With the adventurers falling, Riviera has decided to put up its walls, wishing to cower while our greatdy pushes the foul horde back. Will we be such spineless little whelps?!"


    "Nay!" came the resounding answer in perfect unison.


    Ivo nodded. He knew their answer. He could feel their emotions, their drive, their will to fight. They were all connected, after all. Joined in union to their belief in the greatdy. And he was their center, the high priest of Morrigan, the center point upon which all other faithful relied upon.


    "They, those posh and prim city dwellers, those nobles that know not the meaning of thend, call us weak. They say us untrained, wielding but dull farming tools. They say we are mad to leave the walls while the demons rage outside."


    Ivo turned, facing the great forests, the wondrous Violetwoods that had provided so much for all of them. Now, a dreadful aura settled upon it, the light of ck mes emanating in the distance.


    "They are right. We cannotpare to knights and adventurers in the way of the sword or staff. But together, we are strong!"


    Ivo took his rake and held it above his head. "[Roots of the Kindred One]!"


    This was a spell he had personally learned from the greatdy as her high priest. It was a power far beyond human means, but it was proof that she trusted him above all else to lead her flock. The mass blessing spread through the farmers behind him in the form of bright green roots of wispy energy.


    When a roottched onto a farmer, it used their life force to spring forth to another, and to another, until finally, all of them were connected.


    Ivo''s hand began to tremble with exertion, and he used his other hand to hide it, not wanting to show weakness. It was a miracle he could cast such a spell in the first ce, a phenomenon made possibly only because so many of his fellow believers were willing to shoulder the burden of its cost. Even then, this was a spell meant for one of Morrigan''s roots to cast, not a mortal like Ivo.


    Ivo knew that there would be consequences on himself for using a spell like this, but in the face of losing everything he held dear to him and everyone behind him, none of that mattered.


    "Now, brothers and sisters of the earth, we are bound not only by trade and belief, but by blood! We share between us not only our strength, but our wounds. Are you willing to make this sacrifice?"


    "Been willin'' the moment I stepped outta'' the city walls," called out one of the farmers. "Speech is mighty nice, but we ain''t got time to dawdle around while the greatdy''s strugglin''."


    Ivo smiled. "And that is so." He took his rake and pointed it to the ominous, ckened form of the forest. "Then we march forwards! y any demons you see! Do not stop until you reach the greatdy!"


    Ivo breathed hard as he leaned against a tree trunk. It had been an hour of constant fighting now, of rabid struggle against countless monstrosities, and finally, they had made it to a clearing where he had decided to call a short break.


    A much needed one. Wave after wave of imps, hellhounds, blood fiends, spider-like bebeliths, and even an infernal golem had very much bloodied them. Ivo grimaced as he took a scanning look over his brothers and sisters.


    Many of them were drenched in blood, open scars littering their bodies. The able bodied fed the weaker ones elixirs they had stockpiled for this moment, with the lesser priests among them liberally casting healing spells while seating the wounded upright, stopping them from drowning in pools of blood.


    [Roots of the Kindred One] connected all their fates, amplifying their strength and mitigating damage by spreading it all throughout them. A supremely powerful spell on a level that Ivo figured had not been cast in centuries at the least, but even that was not enough.


    Individually, Ivo knew none of them could do anything against the demons, not even the priests among them such as himself. There was simply far too much of a difference in raw power between an individual farmer and an individual demon, and there were far, far more demons than there were farmers.


    So Ivo had linked them into an unified unit, but this could only go so far. The wounds they received from all ends umted among all of them, and as more and more of them sumbed, the worse these wounds would be and the weaker they would get.


    Still, it was because of the greatdy''s spell that they had only lost a quarter of their numbers. They would have surely been wiped out to thest man by now without it, hunted down by hellhounds or bludgeoned to death by flying imps.


    Ivo clenched his fists around his rake. The metal end had be warped and bent entirely out of shape from blunt trauma and extreme heat. He knew the greatdy was still alive. He could feel her in his heart, though by the minute, her presence became weaker like a vanishing mirage.


    His goal was to secure the greatdy''s safety, but to do so, he would have to get everyone to march soon, without proper recovery, condemning most of them to death.For almost a decade, he had led these very same people, nurtured them, guided them, told them when to nt, when to give offerings to the greatdy, and now, he was telling them to die.


    It felt so wrong. So awful. A knot twisted in his stomach, and he felt sick, wanting to vomit.


    "Thinkin'' bout'' something?"


    Ivo looked up between struggling breaths as the farmer that had responded to his speech from before limped to his side. The man was so young. Barely twenty, perhaps, with how there was still some youthful fat on his cheeks. Perhaps there would have been a rosy tint as well, but it was impossible to see through the blood caked on his face.


    "Bernard, aren''t you,d?" said Ivo, his wordsing out in a wheeze. "I recognize you. Have those wonderful berries by the eastern walls, aye?"


    "That''s me alright." Bernard coughed. A deep cough, the kind that rattled out when there was liquid in the lungs. In this case ¨C blood.


    Ivo shook his head. "You''re too young to be here. I thought I made meself clear ¨C only those that left their farms, their ancestralnds, to the next generation were allowed toe."


    "Don''t matter no more, does it? I''m here now, and it''s not like you can kick me out."


    Ivo sighed. "I suppose so."


    Bernard made a disgusted face. "And I wasn''t about to sit on my arse while the demons made a mess of ournds. Those primal runes them Lakelies carved onto our walls are mighty impressive, but even an illiterate fool like me can tell it won''t do no good against demons for more than a few days. Better to go out fightin'' than gettin'' hunted down in that cramped little city."


    Ivo nodded, but he hardly listened, instead focusing on the battered and bloodied bodies before him. He had so little energy. His eyes felt heavy. His arms even heavier. He wondered if he could even stand up again. In the face of crippling mortality, doubt began to flower. If he was this weak, what right did he have to bring all his brothers and sisters out to a death march?


    "Come on, old man, what''s on yer mind?" said Bernard.


    "Am I an old man already?" Ivo let out a weakugh. "Perhaps so. Only a senile fool would have thought this a good idea."


    "This ain''t a good look for you." Bernard lightly punched Ivo''s shoulder. "Yer our high priest. Know more about Druidry than all of usbined. Morrigan herself might''ve fancied you for one of her roots."


    "If only I wasn''t so ugly, eh?" said Ivo, his smile baring chipped and crooked teeth. "


    "Heh, the greatdy''s just picky is what I say. You got a lovin'' wife, too, so you got no room toin."


    "Aye, that''s so. And I''m lucky I''ve a wee littless to entrust the future of my ancestralnd to." Ivo sighed. "I know all our brothers and sisters here have also secured theirnds, that their worldly affairs are settled, and yet, I...simply cannot make them march again, knowing it is their blood that I am shedding."


    Bernard extended a shaking hand to Ivo''s shoulder and grasped it with a tight grip. But even as tight as the young man wanted it to be, Ivo could almost feel the energy just leaking out of the bloodied boy.


    "All of us are here cause'' we''re ready to die. Some of us are willin'' to die for our greatdy, others for theirnd, others like me cause'' we wanna'' return to the dirt on our own terms. But in the end, it''s all the same ¨C we''re ready to die.


    But y''know, we wouldn''t feel that way weren''t it for you. High priest, you''ve led our harvests, healed our sick, and shown us the greatdy''s will more times than I can count. It''s cause'' of that that we trust you to make our deaths mean somethin'', so whatever ya wanna do, just do it."

 Chapter 120 - Reminiscence II

    Ivo pressed forwards. Each of his footsteps felt heavier than any he had ever taken before. His entire body seemed to dull with aches and alight with fiery pain at the same time. His vision blurred in regr intervals, his muscles trembling as they struggled to fuel themselves through blood loss. He had started the march again, leading it with Bernard, the strongest and youngest of them all, right behind him.


    The Violetwoods felt like a maze of death growing all around him. What was once aforting, familiar haven of green and life was wreathed with an icy, dark fog that shot visibility down, making every single step a venture into the dangerous depths of the unknown.


    Ivo never looked back. He had steeled his heart with Bernard''s words. He would not let second thoughts rule his head and make him look back at those that died behind him. He could hear the endless shes of farming implements against ws, screams of the dying, the echoing, shrillughter of imps, the droning and rumbling howls of hellhounds, and the skittering chatter of monstrous bebeliths.


    But he did not look back. If he hesitated even a little with his body and mind so battered right now, he might never be able to look forwards again. He followed his heart just as he always had ever since he had devoted himself to Morrigan''s graces when he was but a young boy, when the greatdy had removed the growth rooted in his brain, the growth that no temple healer nor arcana schr said could be treated.


    Ivo could still feel Morrigan''s life pulsing in his heart. It was faint, but it still pulsed, and that sound gave him direction. He knew where to go even through this demonic fog. That unearthly rhythm had always led him through his lowest of lows and highest of highs, and he had not lost faith in it yet.


    Ivo passed by a thicket of oaks. He heard a rustle, and his instincts red, making him raise his rake overhead, but toote. He grunted in pain as a club of ckened wood cracked into his shoulder, forcing him to his knees.


    There was an ugly snapping sound, but by this point, with the adrenaline of every single farmer fueling him, Ivo felt nothing. But his body could not keep up.


    An imp floated above him, its bat-like wings pping to keep its wart infested, ck skinned and port bellied figure in the air. It was half his size, but its grotesquely oversized arms so denselyden with muscle made it obvious it had the power to crush human skulls to a pulp with a single swing of its brutish club.


    The imp smiled, revealing white hot tusks, curls of smoke billowing from its mouth. Its big red eyes squinting in revelry as it prepared to club Ivo''s head off his shoulders.


    "[Nature''s Grasp!]" said Bernard as he waved his free arm. He knew the Violetwoods like the back of his hand. Here, the oaks grew short and squat, keeping their branches low. Low enough that [Nature''s Grasp] made their branches curve downwards in time to grab the imp''s arm, holding it in ce.


    The imp growled as it struggled, trying to tug its club arm back. Ivo saw the imp''s defenseless back and tried to raise his rake, but his shoulder must have been broken: his arm did not move. But just as he could sense Morrigan in front of him, he was also now bound to all those behind him, and he knew that he was safe.


    Bernard rushed forwards, and, with a roar just as fierce as the imp''s, swung a scythe straight into the demon''s back. The imp seized up before going limp, the oak branch holding its corpse up like a trophy.


    ''Thank ye,d," said Ivo as Bernard helped him to stand. Ivo watched as Bernard withdrew the scythe from the imp''s back with a sickening squelch, a spurt of obsidian blood spattering on the soil. "A blow that struck the heart true and clean. Commendable."


    "All cause'' o'' yer special sight," said Bernard. "I know the greatdy''d blessed yer eyes, but didn''t know what it meant til'' now."


    "It is not meant to be used to take lives." Ivo got back to trudging forwards, shifting his rake to his free hand. With a connection now established to everyone, he could share his life sensing sight, which also made up for the fact that they were near blind in this fogden forest. "But for this night, I am sure the greatdy would forgive us."


    "She better," said Bernard. "We''re savin'' her after all."


    "It is your words you should save. The Violet Grove is near."


    Ivo had half a mind to reprimand the young man for his disrespect to the greatdy, but he had no energy in him left to do so. Instead, he wordlessly pushed forwards. So far, he could sense their numbers had not fallen too much. At this point, everyone''s survival instincts were operating at max capacity, reaching heights reserved only for creatures that did not even have the luxury of choosing between fight or flight.


    There was only to fight.


    But soon, they encountered an insurmountable wall that no amount of fighting could topple.


    The Violet Grove was a great clearing surrounded by enchanted willows with a spring located at its center. It was one of many created by Morrigan as spots of healing for weary mortals during their weary travels. Each was manned by one of her Roots, and so Ivo had thought this would be an opportune point to reach to perhaps recoup with a Root and their greater power.


    Ivo and the crowd of farmers behind him froze as they locked eyes with a monstrosity they had never before witnessed. Though the war with the demons had raged for the better part of two years now, the fiends had never targeted Riviera with their forces.


    It was only after when Duvin, a stronghold for grain production, fell to the demons that King Beaumont had called upon Riviera, specifically the followers of the Violet Lady, to beg thedy to elerate their harvests.


    She had done so, and thus, the demons finally directed their wrath upon Riviera. Until now, Ivo had heard tell of imps and hellhounds, the likes of which sometimes forayed into theirnds even before the war, but they had neverid eyes on a real demon until now.


    A Hell Knight stood tall in front of the grove''s spring. He was armored in fire ckened metal fashioned with pure brutality in mind, cruel spikes warped into the shoulder pads, gauntlets, and greaves. Blood red fire pulsed from every single open space in the armor, warping the very air around the demon through the sheer intensity of the heat. Beneath one of his zing feety sprawled the Root, a handsome young man who appeared no older than twenty, his hair and skinden with withering vines.


    The cause of the Root''s death was brutally obvious: a me wreathed battle axe of gleaming obsidiany embedded in his back.


    "Here I was waiting bored to catch that mongrel of a guardian in her retreat. But to think I would see humans?" said the hell knight.


    His face was impossible to perceive through his helmet as it was covered in a roaring fire, but his eyes were starkly visible as two glowing dots of ck, two concentrated points of raw malevolence.


    "You all should have hidden behind your walls. Or perhaps you grew tired of waiting to be ughtered?"


    Ivo trembled for but a single moment before he steeled himself. If he let fear leech into his heart, it would spread to everyone behind him, and he could not let that happen. Instead, he stepped forwards, willing as much bravery as he could into his heart, enough to give everyone the will to follow him.


    "Hoh? You dare to step forwards?" The hell knight pulled the battle axe from the Root''s body. "Wrath bade me to end all human lives I encountered quickly, but I can smell not the slightest stench of fear from any of you. And I do despise the taste of humans without the spice of despair. I will take my time to make you all far more appetizing."


    The hell knight approached slowly, intentionally making each of his steps as intimidating as possible. His heated greaves left scorch marks on the ground. As he drew nearer, Ivo began to see just howrge the demon was. It must have been three meters tall, maybe more. A single swipe of that fiery battle axe would cleave apart a dozen of them, he was sure of it.


    Ivo charged, and he knew that every single one of his brothers and sisters behind him would follow. If this demon wanted fear, he would not get it. The monstrous brute could never understand the faith that pushed their legs to take steps forward despite knowing they were sprinting into the jaws of death. The faith that made it impossible for them to hesitate, for them to fear.


    The hell knightughed as he casually lifted his axe in the air, ready to send heads flying.


    Ivo froze, witnessing not the ck de descending on his head, but the hell knight flying in the air.


    Great roots had erupted from the ground, curling themselves around all of the knight''s limbs before raising him high into the air.


    "You mortals still struggle so? It will be all the more easier to simply ept your deaths," shouted the hell knight as he struggled against the bindings. He exhaled, and the fire around his body exploded in intensity, making him seem like a miniature star. But the roots held on, ckening and yet maintaining their hold.


    "This is no mere mortal spell," said the hell knight in realization.


    "No, it is not." A clear voice cut through the air. It projected with strength, but the voice itself was impossibly pleasant to hear, evoking the same serene admiration that hearing the gurgling of a spring stream would. "My, aren''t you a smart little demon?"


    Ivo fell to his knees. He could hear everyone behind him doing the same, their legs simply giving out from both exhaustion and relief.


    "Greatdy," they called out in unison, all of them recognizing that voice.


    Morrigan phased through a willow as she came into the clearing.Her long dress of flowing leaves and vines entuated made it seem like she floated. Fireflies buzzed around her, alighting her body as a shining beacon of hope in the midst of this despairden fog.


    Ivo paused. Even now, with a hundred wounds littering his body, with the deaths of dozens of his brothers and sisters on his hands, he could not help but entrance himself in the greatdy''s presence.


    She was a being of alluring contrasts. Her skin was pale like ivory, but her hair was darker than even the demonic fog. Pretty violet flowers of deadly nightshade bloomed on her hair, and a ne of wondrously bright but toxic flowers hung by her neck, bringing attention to the low-cut neckline of her dress. Her features and proportions were entirely perfect and symmetrical. Too perfect, almost to the point of eeriness, as if entirely manufactured.


    But it was her eyes that drew Ivo the most. They were like gleaming gems of amethyst, entirely devoid of pupils, making her seem alien, and yet her confident smile was all too human.


    "I appreciate the admiring looks," said Morrigan as she twirled to show herself off. "But enough of that. None of you should be here. And you, my dear high priest, I thought I told you to keep my flock safe within the walls of the city?"


    Ivo opened his mouth, trying to answer, but he found his words caught in his throat, the sheer relief of seeing the greatdy safe and sound overwhelming him.


    "Mongrel!" growled the hell knight as he struggled further. By now, he had gotten an arm free, and he was using it to tear away at the root encircling his other arm, hoping to get his axe back working.


    "Loud men are simply the worst." Morrigan pped her hands, and the roots brought the hell knight crashing down into the ground at a speed so quick that Ivo''s human eyes did not even have time register it. He heard the colossal impact first before his eyes caught on.


    The hell knighty stunned on a sizable crater in the forest floor, his ming aura dimming. Morrigan whistled, and flowers ck, blue, and purple bloomed all around the hell knight, covering him in a floral bed. The image was almostical to see the hulking mass of infernal armor surrounded by pretty flowers, but Ivo knew that those flowers were far from amusing.


    They were extremely noxious, all of them known only in the realm of myth for being able to kill even dragons.


    The hell knight''s armor began to melt as the corrosive aura generated from the flowers ate away into him. Within a minute, the knight''s mes had been put out entirely, revealing a melted puddle of steaming flesh where before there must have been a massive demon.


    "That settles that." Morrigan looked around and frowned as she spotted the dead Root. She came to his side, putting a hand over his back to close up the axe wound, though no amount of healing would bring the dead back to life. She drew the Root near to her in an embrace, nting a kiss on his forehead before picking him up in her arms.


    "So, high priest, do you have an answer for me?" said Morrigan as she drew nearer to Ivo.


    "We wished to aid you, O greatdy," said Ivo as he looked down.


    "Under your gracious blessings, we bloom," said the crowd of farmers behind him, repeating their prayer of thankfulness they had said countless times before.


    "Aid me?" Morrigan sighed. "Look, I don''t need any help. This fool-," she pointed to the puddle of demon flesh and blood. "Was probably one of their strongest, and I eviscerated him. Priest, take my flock back home, back to the walls or perhaps further away, somewhere they will be safe. No more senseless suicide missions. I will have the creatures of the forest guard your return."


    Ivo met Morrigan''s eyes, and he could feel those purple jewels bore into him, reading into his very soul, telling him to obey her, but, perhaps for the first time in his life, he challenged her will.


    "With all the respect that is due to you, greatdy," said Ivo. "I sense that you are weakening. With this feat of strength, I can barely sense any life from you. I cannot sense the rest of the Roots either."


    Morriganid the Root in her arms to the ground before whistling again. Beside the Root, four more of his brethren emerged from the ground. They were as cold and lifeless as he was ¨C all corpses.


    Ivo stared ck jawed at the five dead Roots. That was all of them. Morrigan picked and nurtured a Root once every century, and here was five hundred years scattered to the wind. Theirbined might would have easily toppled a city, and now, they were all dead.


    "My greatdy," said Ivo urgently. "This is further proof that we must aid you!"


    "Take them back to Riviera and bury them. They were human once, after all, and they deserve to lie among their kin." Morrigan shook her head, a deep frown gracing her red lips as she stood, turning around.


    "We will fight with you as well," said Ivo. "If needs be, we shall die for you too. Please, greatdy, listen to reason and let us aid you."


    "Reason? How amusing it is to hear that from a human." Morrigan continued to move forwards, away from Ivo, away from them all.


    "My greatdy! Please!" shouted Ivo. "What will our fields be without you? No, what will life itself be without your blessings? I beg of you, do not condemn us to a life lived apart from your side. We are relics of the past, aged such that we have no future without you!"


    Morrigan paused. She looked back with a smile. "You are a silly little fool. Why do you think I have protected your kind for as long as I have?


    I am the relic here, rooted to this one forest. Your kind is different. You will spread all across the world, from forest to forest and sea to sea with wills and ambitions unbound. Perhaps, in eons toe, you will spread to the stars.


    I may perish here, but you are the future. My children, my dearest, most precious flock, live and realize your potential. Do not squander it here for an olddy such as myself. Now go, do as I have bidden you."


    Ivo tried to talk back but found he could not. Morrigan hadpelled them, ordering them at a spiritual level as her followers to obey her words. All he could do was watch helplessly as her form began to vanish, her ethereal figure bing more and more transparent as it flitted into the depths of the demon infested woods.

 Chapter 121 - Above

    "Great¡­great¡­one."


    Li blinked, his senses returning to the present. The sudden influx of foreign memories hade to him in a jarring instant, but at the same time, it did not feel unnatural. To feel the memories and emotions of an entirely different existence so vividly as if they were his own did not feel strange to him. It was just one of many things that were part and parcel to his existence that he was not yet familiar with.


    Li looked at the old man whom he now knew was Ivo. He wore a smile of yellowed teeth as his hands sped desperately around Li''s arm.


    Ivo struck out a hideous contrast to his youthful days. Where before the man had been tall and sturdily built from farming fields and foraging through the forests, he was now hunched over and shrunken in, his ribs poking through skin pulled taught with hunger. Eyes that had once shed green with the blessings of life sense now were dull, not even having the rity of sanity.


    "Thank you," whispered Li. Li patted Ivo''s hands while they were wrapped around his arm and gently pulled them apart. Ivo''s mouth opened like a beached fish''s, trying to voice protest but finding that his deteriorating brain could no longer support it.


    Even now, Li doubted Ivo even truly recognized him. Ivo, through his whole life, had lived guided by the feeling of a guardian, of a beat in his heart that he had followed through life and while facing death. It was that feeling that he recognized a semnce of when he made contact with Li, awakening if just the slightest bit of memories faded by decades of deteriorating brain function.


    Li knew the cause of the deterioration. It was a tumor rooted in his brain amplified by the stresses wrought to his body caused from casting [Roots of the Kindred One], an A ranked spell strong enough that even Li used it inbat with other level 100 yers. Morrigan had healed that tumor, but with her death, there was none more to heal it again now that it hade back from remission.


    None but Li, yet now was not the time.


    "You''ve told me everything I need to know," nodded Li. He put a hand on Ivo''s shoulder as he stood up. "I promise I will make you whole when my presence upon this world is made truly known."


    With that, Li turned to Ada and her husband. He was primarily curious about the faith of the farmers and whether they had maintained it. If they had abandoned their faith, if it had not been truly strong to begin with, then it would have been hard to forge the basis of a following.


    But the faith was there. It burned so strongly that it let an entire army of farmers march to their deaths without ever looking back. That kind of faith did not dim easily, and though Li had not interviewed all the other surviving farmers, he was confident that most of them were like Ivo.


    That settled just one more thing: the matter of acquiring thend itself.


    "Are ye a healer like the gooddy in middletown?" said Ada as she looked wonderingly at her father, at how he had managed to show some recognition and emotion for once.


    "Yes, I am." Li looked at Ada. Hope was written all over her face, but he could not give her more for now, though he did wish to reward the love she showed her father for taking care of him as an invalid all these years. "I''ll continue to look his condition," he said simply, tempering her hopes.


    "Then is your business done with us?" said Ada''s husband as he licked his lips nervously.


    "Just one more thing," said Li as he resumed taking his seat in front of the two. He looked over them to make sure their daughter was still behind her room and asleep. He did not want her to hear how this conversation would go.


    "It''s about your farnd. Am I mistaken to think you own it? Forgive me if the question is a little sudden, but I''m afraid I do get curious when I see so muchnd around the city going unused."


    Ada and her husband exchanged looks. Ada nodded, and the husband said, "Yes, yes it is. We do not have an idea of how to run farnd, and my wife inherited it from her father, so there was not much else but to let it sit."


    "Then let me be direct: what would it take for you to sell thatnd or part with it in any way?"


    "Ah, well, that is, it would be terrible to let father''snd simply fall to the hands of strangers."


    Li crossed his arms. He had a hunch that they did not want to admit anything about the true purpose of why they kept thend as a moneyundering scheme for Chevrette. They had been tense about the topic of farnd the moment he had walked in, and, to their credit, he had broken in during the middle of the night, but this caution exceeded that.


    "Better than letting it rot, no? Well, don''t worry about it. I''m not here to grill you two about that. Need to evade taxes somehow, right?" Li watched as the couple''s faces nched. "But finding a loophole in taxws alone isn''t illegal, so I have no idea why you two are getting so worked up. Honestly, it''s admirable that you managed to read through the codifiedws without any education or awspeaker to help you."


    "Yes, we have done nothing outside the boundaries of the goodw," said Ada''s husband with an attempted firmness betrayed by trembling hands.


    Li pointed above, to the low ceiling of this cramped room. There was a reason that it was so small despite the size of the building. A reason why he had heard much more than the breathing of this family when he had first stepped in.


    "You know what isn''t in the ''boundaries of the goodw''? Those ves you''re hiding in the attic above."

 Chapter 122 - Deal With The Devil

    Li did not move, nor did he change his expression much, looking at the two as if he had said nothing out of the ordinary. He did not want to pressure them into fear or anger or any other possible reaction. He wanted them to naturally react to his words so that he could gauge exactly howplicit they were with this as well.


    It may be that they did not know at all about the ves, that perhaps Chevrette just snuck them there, but Li seriously doubted that.


    "I knew it!" Ada''s husband stood up, his knees wobbling. He pointed an using finger at Li. "I thought your strength far too unnatural. You are with the duchess, are you not? An undercover heroe to bring reckoning upon our sins."


    Ada became panicked as her husband''s frantic energy infected her, and she looked between her husband and Li, not knowing what to do or what to say. He could tell that she too had known about the ves from her panic and the fact that she had been rather nervously fidgety the whole time they had been talking.


    "That''s¡­pretty far off from the truth." Li shrugged. "But I guess that proves you did know about the ve trade. My moralpass doesn''t point at very as somethingmendable, and I know I''m not alone here ¨C it''s been banned by thews for a reason."


    Li pointed a finger down to the wooden floor and stared at Ada''s husband. The man was starting to inch backwards, mostly out of sudden fear, but Li did not want to spend the effort to catch him if he was making some kind of foolhardy escape.


    "Sit," said Li as his eyes widened ever so slightly, his other hand balling into a fist. "I''m not done talking."


    Ada''s husband spied Li''s fist and gulped, deciding to sit down again, though a fair bit farther away than before.


    "Closer. Back where you were," said Li.


    The husband scooched forwards with shaky arms, and Li nodded with satisfaction.


    "Good. Now you two will tell me everything you know about your business with Chevrette. Don''t skimp on details, either."


    Ada spoke, her voice strangely weary and tired where Li had expected it to be panicked.


    "When I married me husband, we tried at first to tend papa''snd." Ada shook her head. "But thendcked life, not to mention wecked papa''s skills, and by that time, papa himself was of no use anymore. We tried sellin'' thend to try and buy a spot in the city, but none would take it.


    Sir Chevrette, though, saw our plight and told us he saw mighty fine entrepreneurs within us, solicited us with sly words from that silver tongue of his, and promised us a handsome loan to buy out a property and turn it into our own business. He even picked the property out himself, tellin'' us not to worry bout'' all themplicated real estate matters. Even let us keep ownership o'' the farm, made sure to warn us never to sell it, that it was terrible that we''d have to sell off a family heirloom."


    "I''m assuming some strings were attached to this deal?" said Li.


    "Aye, mighty many. A mighty many we wished we''d known fore'' we got into this whole mess, but s, the poor like us ain''t got much luxury to be thinkin'' hard when money''s shoved in our faces.


    Oh, sir Chevrette was so very nice, provin'' all the rumors about him right. So many tales of him givin'' generous loans to the strugglin'' in Lower and Middletown to prop them up, to the point that there ain''t anyone mongst'' use poor that ain''t heard o'' him.


    For years, I suppose we did live well and honest, startin'' on a bakery ¨C my husband''s trade fore'' his own father''s ce shut down. We were happy, aye, happy as could be, with my beautiful daughter on the way.


    It was then that Chevrette brought over the first few ves."


    Ada''s hands started fidgeting uncontrobly again, and her husband drew her hands into his, calming them.


    "That night marked the start o?? our own hell, though I am certain Helius will condemn our souls regardless," she said. "There he was, sir Chevrette the golden, the same happy smile and understanding ol'' look on his face. Cept'' this time, he had em'' ves next to him. Told us there was a special space here that ought to hold em'', that he''d be back for em'' soon, to not worry bout''s us bein'' caught, that this only an one time thing, that he''d never make us lift a single finger, to please understand him."


    "I see," Li said. "And I''m assuming this didn''t end up being thest time. That he kept pressuring you two."


    "Aye. Was just what he said to make us stomach it the first time around. Make usplicit in his scheme. But not like we could''ve refused him the first time round'', considerin'' we were still payin'' out his loans. He had our entire life, the entire foundation we built for our little baby girl, in his fingertips.


    I''ve no illusions about what we''ve done, letting him sift his ves through our little bakery. I know those poor girls and boys, no matter them bein'' beastmen or not, will suffer their whole lives."


    "And the other farmers? The ones who heldnd just like you?"


    Ada shook her head. "All in the same straights, I''m afraid."


    "I am in no way condoning your actions, but I can understand why you two did not speak up. You have everything to lose. Not just a livelihood, but also the future of your daughter," said Li. "But what I don''t understand is that among all those farmers, not a single one spoke up? There must have been some of them that were childless or had far less to lose in general."


    "Make no mistake, sir, we''d have spoken up too were it not for the fact that our words would have done nothin''."


    "Nothing? There''s power in numbers. I can understand you not being the first one to speak out, but if anyone else had and gotten several of you toe forward together with allegations, Chevrette couldn''t silence you as he''d just draw massive attention to himself, especially if he was using thugs that can easily be captured to strongarm you.


    I know thew turns a blind eye to beastmen, but a serious usation of breaking thew will still put someone as influential as Chevrette in hot water."


    "A farmer did speak out against Chevrette a couple o'' years back. He was a cksmith, by them, no wife, no family, nothin'' to lose like you say. Reported the nobleman to the city hall. But a lowly cksmith''s word against the Chevrette the golden, the hero of the poor, the lifeblood of coin and opportunity in all of Riviera?


    Not a chance in the world that anyone''d believe him. Then the specter got to him after the ruckus died down, and that was that: a clear message that anyone that went after Chevrette would perish."


    "The specter?"


    "You''ve not been round'' middle and lowertown much, aye?" Ada exined. "The specter''s a ghastly thing. None''s seen it, jus'' what it does ¨C splits its victims right in two. It''s haunted both parts o'' Riviera for as long as anyone can remember. Over a hundred years, maybe.


    Thing about the specter, though, is that it only takes apart scum. The criminals o'' the city, the rascals, the murderers, that lot. The deservin''."


    Li put a finger to his chin. "And that farmer was deserving for speaking out? Doesn''t sound quite right to me."


    "Well, he wasplicit, just as we be now," said Ada simply. "Moment we let Chevrette do as he pleases in our houses, in our livelihoods, is the moment we''re stained, marked for the specter."


    "Which indicates that Chevrette has some degree of influence over this supposed ghost if he can leverage it as a threat against you all," said Li.


    "Aye, that''s what we''ve been fearin'', that''s why none of us speak. We''ve no power. If we do speak, none will believe us, and we''ll simply face death for our troubles."


    Li took a moment to contemte, analyzing the information. The farmers did not speak because Chevrette controlled their livelihoods. Even if they did speak, they would die for the trouble. If it was a regr group of thugs, then they''d be bold enough to speak, soliciting help from the knightly guard, but a supernatural entity was an entirely different matter.


    "And the adventurers haven''t wiped this ghost out?"


    "They''ve tried, aye, but none''s ever been able to track it," said Ada, defeatced in her already tired voice. "Not in a hundred years, so I reckon not now, either."


    Li nodded. If he wanted the farmers for his fields, then he needed to free them from this current situation. He needed to do so in a way that would not overturn the bnce of the entire city, so raw brute force was off the table. Certainly, he could kill Chevrette as he had initially wanted to with the count, but Li had to admit that what he had done with the count was extremely reckless, motivated by emotion because the old man had been attacked.


    Had Li killed the count and all his vampires, a pirstone for this city''s economy and a bncing totem for the entire world''s geopolitics, he would have cast Riviera into extreme chaos and caused infinitely more trouble for himself and the farm.


    Chevrette was in a simr situation. Li needed to act smart and sustainably, and now that he was off the mind altering influence of eldritch spellforce, he was confident he could solve this issue in a perfect and seamless manner.


    Of course, the fact of the matter was that Li could go to Chevrette and threaten him with sheer power, forcing the nobleman to bend to his will, but Li did not want this man to live and serve under him. There was no ce or use for this man for Li. Chevrette was going to die no matter what, and so would his little ve trade.


    It was simply a matter of orchestrating a death that would allow life to go on as usual.


    "Bring the ves out here," said Li. "I''m going to put an end to all this nonsense.''

 Chapter 123 - Freedom

    Li stood with arms crossed and head cocked as he watched Ada and her husband struggle to open the hidden door to the attic where the ves were held. The husband tiptoed atop a precariously shakingdder as he used his fist to try and rap at areas of the wooden ceiling, trying to find for hollow space.


    Li looked around him. Aside from the main living room where they had talked, there was a small hallway nked by three rooms. One for the child, one for the married couple, and one presumably for Ivo. The hallway itself was austere,posed solely of undecorated wood with a low ceiling that made Li, on the taller side, hunch his head down a little.


    At the very end, the ceiling elevated significantly, and this was where the supposed entrance to the attic was, but it seemed that neither Ada nor her husband knew exactly about it.


    "You don''t know how to get in?" said Li.


    Ada shook her head. "Nay. Chevrette''s mene in the darkest and quietest midst of night and leave swiftly. He doesn''t tell us to do nothin'', and we try and avoid seein'' anything either."


    Her hands begin to tremble wildly again, and her husband noticed and called out in concern. "Dear, do you need your medicine?"


    With his attention diverted while his bnce was already on the line, he lost his footing on thedder and began to fall.


    In a sh, Li grabbed the shocked man by the cor, stopping his heavy body from making a ruckus by hitting the floor, and put him aside.


    "Move it. I''ll do this." Li did not need thedder. Instead, he focused his ears and eyes, pinpointing where life flowed. He could sense two entities breathing in strangely calm regrity. As he positioned himself under where he sensed these life signatures, hemented, "If Chevrette is trusting you with his product, then I would assume you two would know something."


    "He don''t need us, just our space." Ada sighed as her husband sped her hands to his, soothing the fidgeting. "So he doesn''t tell us nothing. When hees by, he tells us to stay in our rooms, and I''ve had no mind to ever be curious enough to peek out at my sins."


    "I see." Li found the hollow spot. "That fidgeting with your hands, by the way, I recognize that symptom from studying about the milk poppy. That''s a sign of withdrawal, isn''t it?"


    "Well, if I''m to be a criminal already, then I didn''t see the point of holdin'' back." Ada shrugged. "And only milk poppy could soothe me conscience. But the poppies have all dried up out of town, leavin'' me with precious little to bury my role in all this."


    Li punched upwards, smashing his hand through the ceiling. He watched as Ada and her husband jumped back in fear.


    "Rx," Li said. "I''ve looked enough. This door doesn''t open normally. It slides apart with runic magic, and finding the right runic key to activate the opening isn''t something I''m willing to waste my time doing."


    With his hand stuck in the ceiling, Li forcefully slid open the door. A faint cloud of musty dust wafted down as a pitch ck space opened up where before there had been in wooden ceiling.


    Li looked at Ada, at the intense weariness that had settled upon her, marking deep crows feet beside her eyes that belonged to a far older woman. Wrinkles borne from wanting to keep her family safe and yet understanding that as she did so, she let others fall to fates worse than death. She had turned to drugs to soothe that mental strain, but Alexei had been faithful to Li in disbanding his entire drug operation, leaving a supply vacuum that had not yet been filled, nor would it considering the count still controlled all the drug routes.


    "And you," said Li to Ada. "It''s time you stopped burying your conscience and faced it. What I''m about to do will change everything about your life in countless different ways, but one thing I can guarantee is that you will have a chance to face your wrongs and make them right. I trust you''ll make the right decision this time."


    With that, Li hoisted himself up into the attic space. The faintntern light below disappeared, instead being reced by a thick and cold darkness that told that this space had never seen the warmth of sunlight in years.


    Using his night vision, Li could see that the attic was actually rather cozy. There were fur nkets and rugs dotted about, thick and warm in their designs, the type that outdoorsman would wear to a withering winter cold. A shelf stocked with jars packed with dried foods and sealed waters stood in a corner, and beside it, the two vesy, huddled up in nkets.


    Li approached them slowly, not wanting to scare them, but he quickly realized his concern was for naught. Their slit pupiled eyes glowed in the dark, but they were out of focus, dazed and looking at nothing. He knelt in front of them to get a closer look and investigate.


    Both of them were tall, taller than the average human man, and built with lean, wiry muscles lined with faded scars that told of a lifetime of hardship that had just recently been smoothed over with some healing. They were young, but their bodies were developed to the point that it was obvious to tell they were not girls.


    They were different in every other measure. One was a Feli with twitching red feline ears and an open mouth lined with short and sharp teeth. The other was a Serpi, her ears pale and pointed, her mouth lined with blood red lips with a pale pink forked tongue lolling out from it. Two particrly long fangs meant for injecting venom curved out from the roof of her mouth.


    They did not react to Li at all. They did not even seem to register his presence. Li saw that they seemed healthy enough, their frames filled out well and no fresh injuries on them. Dressed well, too, prettied up in silken dresses that oozed sensuality.


    In any case, they were not going to stay here. Li took each one under his arms and carried them out of the attic.


    --------------------------


    "Gods, they''re a pretty bunch," remarked Ada. "I''ve never seem em'' up close, in the light. Thought they''d be all monster like."


    "Can''t hold a candle to you, though" said her husband.


    Ada shed a serious stare to her husband. "Now''s truly not the time for sweet talking."


    "Of course, they''re pretty, considering what they''re supposed to be used for," said Li as he inspected the beastwomen. He had seated them with their backs to the wall so that they would not fall down.


    Reminded of the cruel gravity of the situation, Ada and her husband grew quiet, and Li inspected the beastwomen again. He had been initially careful in the case that they were under the influence of a hero''s powers as those were out of Li''s expertise, but he quickly ruled that out.


    Li had checked their statuses and found that they were afflicted by the Cursed status effect, heavily increasing their susceptibility to debuffs, meaning that a spell had robbed them of their faculties. He could heal them in an instant, but he wanted to know what spell it was exactly that had hit them.


    It did not take long for Li to realize what it was. He had an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the vast list of spells in Elden World, and he narrowed that down to debuffs and curses, and that even further to those ranging from levels 10-60, the standard for this world. Among those, he remembered vor texts that detailed symptoms that matched what the beastwomen faced, and hended upon a handful of options.


    Those, Li eliminated to just one by checking their necks, finding pentagonal red marks embedded at their napes.


    Li recognized this as the spell icon for [Mindwarp], a Celesium rank spell exclusive to the Warlock specialization with a minimum level requirement of 45. It functioned like a short stun in game, so it was rather useless unless an unit was cursed, in which case the stun length was tripled. [Dominus] was the upgraded version learned at level 80 that was actually useful as it allowed a yer to take control over other yers'' summons, though even that had a whole host of restrictions and difficulties to it that made the spell too bothersome to slot in.


    In this world, though, Li recognized that because vor and lore text became reality, spell effects were not just limited to simple stuns, but could actually manifest into legitimate forms of mind control, making the spells worthy of learning.


    Adding to this, whoever had casted this was no chump in terms of the power levels of this world, and, interestingly, would have to be a Warlock.


    Interesting because Li had not seen a single Warlock in this world since he hade here, and he knew it was because warlocks were the very first heretics that the faith of Helius had wiped out almost a century ago. The implications for that, he would considerter.


    "I''m going to undo the spell that''s making them like this," said Li.


    "Are you certain?" said Ada''s husband as he pushed his wife behind him while he himself took shaky steps back. He looked around for his sword before realizing it had been broken by Li. "They may fight back. Beastmen are fierce and savage brutes that want nothing more than to feast on human innards. Their instincts may awaken."


    "Rx." Li scoffed at the man''s superstitious beliefs. "There are a few beastmen working right here in this city, and they haven''t drowned the streets in blood. Maybe take some time to think up an apology to them, hm?"


    With that, Li opened up his hand and waved it over the two beastwomen.

 Chapter 124 - Escape

    Li casted [Tranquility] over both beastwomen as that was his bread and butter healing and debuff cleansing spell, and as the A ranked magic swept over the two women in rivulets of shimmering green power, the old wounds on their bodies etched out by fangs, ws, and weapons faded away entirely.


    The pentagonal marks on their necks crumbled away into dust, and awareness and focus returned to their eyes. Two pairs of bestial eyes blinked several times as they flitted about before settling in on Li.


    A rustle of sharp movement.


    Ada and her husband had retreated, their backs to the opposite wall as they stared ahead in fear. Li was far more nonchnt, making sure his expression was neutral as each of his hands held onto the beastwomens'' wrists, holding back bared ws and muscles trembling with exertion.


    "Rx," said Li, his Allspeak tranting simultaneously into both thenguage of the Feli and Serpi. As he spoke their tongue, the beastwomen, their expressions wild and fierce, their fangs bared, softened just a little. "I''m here to help."


    "You lie!" said the Serpi, her forked tongue flitting from her mouth. Her free hand opened up and pointed towards Li, the glimmer of magic swirling around her fingers. "Just as all the other humans have."


    The Feli was no less aggressive, her long golden hair rising as her innate power red out. She also took her free hand back, the ws on it extending even further. "You will not deceive me by speaking my own tongue. I will never submit to control under your like again."


    Li sighed. He had half expected this. Lore painted out beastmen as fiercely individualistic andbative, and thatbined with the high stress environment of being ferried around as a ve were the perfect ingredients to concoct a potent brew of tense anxiety and aggression.


    "Let''s talkter," said Li with a nod, casting [Sleep Spore], his least invasive and damaging way to put down the weaklings of this world.


    The Serpi flitted her tongue out, smelling the air, and almost immediately, her fierce expression softened. The magic around her free hand dulled, and the strength in her arms cked like a cut rope. Her long ckshes fluttered as her eyelids became heavy.


    The Feli''s golden hair began to settle down as her nose twitched, the invisible spores circting through her body. Her yellow tail swished from side to side in lethargy, and she let out a small mew as she opened her mouth wide in a yawn.


    Li let go of their hands, and they slumped to the ground in sound and docile sleep. He stooped down and slung each of them over one of his shoulders. It was a little awkward to carry both of them as they were almost up to Li''s height, but his superhuman strength managed.


    Li had wanted to get some information out of them, but he could wait. That was mostly secondary to taking them to a safe haven: the farm.


    Li turned to Ada and her husband. As expected, they were terrified. Understandably so. The duchy was intensely anti beastman, every single temple priest espousing an ideology that humans were superior with heroes at the pinnacle of human achievement.


    An useful ideology in this world, too, as the duchy stood in opposition against the vastlyrger Republicposed entirely of non-humans. There was nothing more motivating than fear of the other.


    But still an ideology that bred silly ignorance, as was the case with these two, though it seemed far less so with Ada herself. Considering her father had been taught to respect all life, it stood to reason he had passed down some of that to his daughter.


    "They''re a little tense from being treated like ves," said Li matter of factly. "You''d act much the same in their circumstances, I''m sure."


    He passed by them, going down the end of the low hallway where the magic bound sliding door was.


    "What''re you goin'' to do with em''?" said Ada as she and her husband tentatively followed behind Li.


    "How long are ves kept here?" asked Li, ignoring her question for now.


    Ada shifted on her feet. "Well, I never really kept count. I shut their crimes out of my sight."


    "Two to three days," said her husband. "I kept track the first few times to see if I could get any details to report them on. But the men are masked and look tough as nails."


    Li nodded. "And how long has it been since these two havee here?"


    "Just a day, I reckon," said the husband.


    "Then you have one or two days. How fortunate," said Li.


    Ada and her husband looked at each other, and when they saw that neither of them knew what Li was talking about, they gave quizzical expressions to him.


    "Take your daughter, father, and the most precious of your belongings and leave if you value your lives. I''m breaking these two beastwomen out of this house, and Chevrette will wonder where his product has gone."


    "But where will we go!?" said the husband, panic rising in his voice.


    "Anywhere," said Ada tly. "Anywhere but here. We have a chance to leave this ursed ce. Let us take it."


    "Go to the noble estates," said Li. "Ask for Count Alexei. Tell the guards by the gates that Li sent you. That name alone should let you pass, there, you will be safe, but I cannot guarantee your lives on the way."


    "Our daughter, your father, Ada, we cannot provide for them," protested the husband. "Without the bakery, with the coin, what will we do? We''ve nothing to our name. Less than nothing if we factor in Chevrette''s loan. With the house, at the least we''ve had a warm roof and food for our little girl."


    Ada balled her hands into fists, and they trembled like mad, but she managed to shake her head with surprisingly firm determination.


    "We''ve used that as an excuse far too long," said Ada. "I''ve been willin'' to swallow them until now because the moment we tried somethin'', we''d be killed. But now, we''ve a chance to escape it all, dear, this life that puts so much blood upon our hands."


    "Dear-," said the husband, protest stillced in his voice.


    "What will you tell her when shees of age?" continued Ada. "Will you hide the truth from her forever? That her full stomach and warm housee from the blood o'' girls same as her?" She shook her head. "This good man''s guaranteein'' our lives, and it might be hard startin'' anew, from nothin'', but I''d rather build up honestly from the dirt than lord over even a castle built on blood."


    After a moment of silence, the husband nodded. "You''re right. This is the first time I''ve seen you so¡­alive, just as you were when we were possessed by young love and hope. If starting again will mean seeing you like this forever, then I''ll do it."


    With that, they took each other''s hands, wasting no time in rushing down the hallway to get the rest of the family and their belongings.


    That settled, Li leaped into the attic with the beastwomen, jumping precisely so that they did not get hit by anything on the way up. He looked around at this room, this holding cell that had seen so many suffering pass through it over so many years. It did not affect him as much as he thought it would.


    His sentimentality had definitely dimmed as he spent more time attaining godhood, but at the least, he could still feel the preciousness of the lives breathing on his shoulders, relying upon him for their survival.


    Li had jumped up here to take himself away from the married couple''s sights as he was going to shapeshift into a flying creature and get back to the farm, which, guarded with a forest spirit and demon herald, might as well have been the most fortified ce in the entire duchy.


    However, going by foot was a terrible idea considering the optics of a foreigner carrying two beastwomen on his shoulders, so flight was the best option.


    "[Wings of the Obsidian Butterfly]" whispered Li. He had two spells that granted him wings, the other being [Wings of Simurgh], but those wings were far toorge to reliably use here. He had another flight based spell that was less obviouslybat oriented.


    Amber butterfly wings sprouted from Li''s shoulders in a flourish of color. They were twice Li''s size but pliable, letting him fold them over the beastwomen and fit into the space of the attic. They were unlike the wings of any natural butterfly, dotted with jagged growths of obsidian.


    The patterns upon the wings weaved into countless rows of angry red eyes that gleamed with dark energies that emanated an insanity aura that would prevent any mortal from gazing upon Li''s form during flight.


    Li held the beastwomen close to him before he leaped up, smashing through the roof. He put the wings above him to shield the beastwomen from the impact, but when he made it out of the house, he unfurled the wings and beat them once, sailing him high above the silent midnight city.


    Countless littlentern lights dotted the cityscape as nobody wanted to be out and about in this ominous night so filled with dark clouds. A good thing for Li as it minimized attention to him. With that, he wasted no time in flying back to the farm, making sure not to go so fast that the speed affected the beastwomen in his arms any.


    Li could have given the family back at the bakery more protection, but he wanted them to take upon some risk. If they were to truly be determined in changing their lives, in making up for what they had done, then they had to find it within themselves to brave death.


    By breaking out of the house, Li intended to force Chevrette to think hard and divert his resources. If the ves had simply been let out, then it was usible that the family had somehow undid the runic seals and freed them, but being broken out by force indicated a third party that would keep Chevrette on edge.


    He would have to consider far more possibilities, not to mention the fact that he had to repair that hole in the roof unless he wanted people to know about the holding cell in the attic.


    That gave Li more time to put the pieces of his own n into action. To take down Chevrette in such a way that it would let the city function normally while bringing all the farmers to his side, he had to go through more official channels. He had to destroy Chevrette''s reputation entirely so that the poor people that loved him so for his generosity would reject him.


    With a destroyed reputation, the force of thew would alsoe down upon the nobleman, and if thew seized him, then the crown would make sure that all of Chevrette''s business interests and ownership of the bank ¨C the two things that made him so necessary to the city so as to make him unkible normally ¨C would transfer over to another.


    Li would make sure that one of Alexei''sckeys or the count himself would take over that ownership.


    But there was first the matter of rallying the people against Chevrette. Mere evidence of ves was not enough as Ada had already said that the farmer that brought attention to it, likely even bringing in evidence, was ridiculed andter disposed of.


    No, someone had to rile the people up first. Then thew would naturally follow. Li knew that it could not be Alexei who did this. He kept to himself and his businesses catered mostly to the upper ss, so he had no real grasp over themon man.


    Li looked down, his eyes focusing on the small dot that was his farm. He flew downwards, and as he got close enough, he realized that there was a carriage parked by the farm. The same type of traveling carriage that Triple Threat had used to go down south.


    As Li made a gentlending, his wings sinking into his body, he nodded in satisfaction, realizing that his piece, his rallying figure, was already in y.

 Chapter 125 - Hero

    Li stepped into the familiarity of his cottage. With the adventurer''s carriage outside, he figured that Launcelot and his team, Bulwark, and Triple Threat had finished their contract hunt ande back. Though, judging by the fact that the carriage was not left to the nearby stablemaster, it seemed that the adventurers were not going to stay the night.


    Well, all Li needed to do was talk to them. As he swung the cottage door open, keeping the two beastwomen safely held at his side, warm airced with the scent of roasting meat rushed out. The Feli under his arm, though still unconscious, licked her lips, her nose twitching.


    Li saw who he expected to see with one exception.


    First, sitting around the table, were Launcelot and his trio of superheroines. Then there was Triple Threat and Old Thane seated on the ground, forming a small ring around the firece. Tia was at the back, gnawing on a ck carapaced insectoid leg almost the same size as her.


    The exception was a youthful man who probably could barely pass for twenty. Striking blue eyes and long golden hair that reached down to his shoulders. He stood at the end of the table, arms crossed with a faint smile that seemed to be natural resting expression.


    All the adventurers were still dressed forbat, wearing sturdy armors or leathers, though their weapons were probably stashed outside in the warehouse for temporary safekeeping and to prevent clutter. The new man, however, was dressed in a smooth white suit banded with gold, indicating that he was no fighter.


    As soon as Li took a step into the cottage, all heads turned to him, and then to the beastwomen. He closed the door behind him and said, "Let''s talk."


    ________________________


    "That''s the gist of it," said Li, his back to the cottage wall so that he could face everyone while talking to them. Tia had fallen asleep by his side, her belly full of Gigantopede leg. He had told them that while talking to farmers about bargaining for theirnd, he found that they were bound by unjust contracts and intimidation tactics by Chevrette, and that the so called golden man was not so golden after all, running thergest ve trade ring in all of Soleil.


    Li looked to the beastwomen. They had been moved by the fire and wrapped in warm nkets and skins. Judging from how strong the [Sleep Spore] had been, unless they were forcibly awakened, they would be out until tomorrow at the least.


    "I''ve decided I want to end this whole illegal operation and take Chevrette down with it. Also, my apologies for ruining your celebration dinner and congrattions for taking that Gigantopede down."


    "Our celebration is no longer important," said Jeanne. She looked around the room, her sterling silver armor cking with the frantic motion. "To think I''ve heard no tell of this foul trade around Riviera. We must end this nonsense at once."


    "I agree," said Sylvie with a nod, though her red eyes did sh with concentration, her mind thinking.


    "Noints here," said Azhar. "Ain''t bout'' to sit on my arse even longer, and my arm''s nearly back. Let''s shove this golden prick right into a dungeon cell."


    "Aye, very''s never sit well with me," said Old Thane as he scratched his beard. "vers made their rounds in the Northwastes, wanting our powerful Jotun''s blood, but still, I thought the foul trade had ended with the duchess''s ascension."


    Li took note of the fact that despite themon man of the duchy holding prejudices against beastmen, the adventurers did not have any such reservations. As Sylvie had once said in exining why they were so nonchnt about Li''s status as a foreigner, it would seem that it was true that the more well-traveled you were, the fewer prejudices you tended to hold.


    "Merely that there arews in ce does not mean that vile desires fade overnight,"mented Sylvie. "And where there is demand, there will be supply. But still, to think that it was Chevrette, the golden idol of the downtrodden, that ran this and that I nor nobody I know has heard tell of this."


    Launcelot raised a gauntleted hand to speak. "Chevrette''s ving is not like that of olden times. Crass, brutal, and in mass scale. It is highly refined, limited to sating the tastes of the highest of elites. None but those in the upper echelons of nobility and wealth know of his trade."


    Jeanne shook her head and gave Launcelot an using look. "Surely there is one noble among many that would fight against him?"


    "Me?" Launcelot sighed. "Yes, as a son of the Lakely house, I knew of Chevrette''s crimes. But to oppose him was to ruin our entire family. Chevrette holds the bank here, and all my family''s fortunes lie in their coffers."


    "Screw the fortune to high heavens," said the younger blonde man. Before Li had exined the situation, the man had introduced himself as Leon Lakely, Launcelot???s younger brother and true heir to the family''s building ventures in Duvin.


    "The Lakelies man the primal runes that fortify this city''s walls. Chevrette would not dare to oppose us when the entire city''s safety ¨C the very reason that all those of wealth feel confident enough to invest in his bank, in this city, in the first ce ¨C is under our control."


    "Under <em>your</em> control," corrected Launcelot. "You are the true heir to Lakely runesmithing and building, and I hold no such power. You are the only one that can control the walls, but you do not even live here, nor can you afford to spend more than a few days away from yourpany in Duvin."


    "I can spend more than a few days this time around," said Leon. "The Gigantopede has robbed mypany of many of its men, and I can take that as an excuse to loiter about, fishing for new talent in our lovely little hometown of Riviera."


    Launcelot shook his head. "Say that it is so, that you stay here for this venture, to face Chevrette. You believe you can bargain your control over the walls against him. Yet are you truly willing to rob the city of its walls when tensions with the Republic mount so?


    Once you erase the runes, it will take months, perhaps years to prepare them again after poring through centuries old texts. Can you truly endanger the lives of countless thousands? No, we hold no bargaining power, and a man as sharp as Chevrette will understand this."


    "As level headed as ever, brother," said Leon with a defeated shrug. "As expected of a Veritas graduate. I still wonder why you did not man this whole building business. It is quite the burden you''ve passed upon me, you know."


    "I am certain you cry upon your bed of coins every night," said Launcelot as he rolled his eyes. The two brothers shared a smile before Launcelot continued, addressing everyone in general.


    "I understand that a just fire burns within you all, as it does within me, but there is a reason Chevrette has prospered so long, even through the duchess''s reformations of the nobility. He is extraordinarily dangerous.


    His family name, having once been great traders in Trieste, allows him to hire the most powerful of warriors across the world across the north and, when it still stood, the east, and to dredge up the foulest of forbidden mages in the darkest of corners and crevices.


    But power is his weakest trait. No, it is his grasp over this city that allows him to stand so strong. The Gold Standard is thergest bank in Riviera, the lifeblood of all the wealthy across the entirety of Soleil, not to mention that he personally is responsible for having funded much of the restorations of streets and businesses across lower and middle Riviera.


    Themon man adores him for his seemingly heroic generosity with his coin. The noble man cannot oppose him as he holds powerful ckmail against the vast majority of them with his ve trade ¨C the real purpose of him undertaking the trade to begin with.


    It will take far, far more than a mere few days to uproot this man."


    "So we do nothing?" said Jeanne, her voice challenging.


    "I did not say that. If you wish to fight, then I will join. I merely wish to tell you all of the risks involved."


    Li cracked his knuckles, and the room fell silent as they awaited what he had to say.


    "It might just be that it''ll only take a couple of days to get rid of this guy," said Li. "Like you said, the reason why nobody can take this guy out is because he has so many connections to this city and so much dirt on everyone. His generosity is revered by themon man, and that''s why even the duchess hasn''t been able to just throw him out by using thew.


    So all you need to do is destroy his good image. Once you do that, once themon man is against him, thew will finally have a chance to bite down at him. And might? Don''t even bring that up. Do you think Chevrette can stand against the power of adventurers and knights with a few mercenaries?"


    "Yet how do you suppose to bring this about?" said Launcelot. "Chevrette, as you said, is revered like a hero. It will be difficult to tarnish his image for none can bring word against him."


    "But we can put word against him." Li put his n into motion. "We have our own hero, don''t we?"

 Chapter 126 - Planning

    Li nodded towards Jeanne, and the room took a collective look at Jeanne, and she blinked before stiffening up at the sudden attention.


    "Me?" she said almost wonderingly.


    "Certainly, it does make sense," said Launcelot with a nod. "Among us adventurers, you are surely the most loved by the people. Decorated with a medal by the duchess herself. A priestess of the Light. Born of heroic blood. A Rivieran born native. You hold all the marks of one to be adored and revered by the people."


    Sylvie agreed, saying, "And none can ever hold anything against her, for she has genuinely led a life only for the good of others. There is no ckmail that can be waived against her."


    "I''ve heard tell of your fame even down south," said Leon. "You''ve more fame than most of the golds, even."


    "I am willing to fight at once for a just cause such as this," said Jeanne as she ignored the light blush gracing her cheeks. "But am I truly the only one among us that can speak out? Surely, Launcelot, you have a name as good as I?"


    Launcelot considered her words. "At a surface level, yes. There are many that appreciate me as a silver ranked adventurer and a nobleman, but at the same time, it is my very nobility that props up a nigh insurmountable wall between me and themon man.


    No matter how hard I work, how hard I sacrifice myself, there is a certain difference between myself, a man of wealth and privilege, and themoner that nothing of either boon. It took Chevrette decades of generous works to ovee that difference, but it is not so with me."


    Li knew what Launcelot said was true and was one of the reasons he did not consider the nobleman to levy an usation against Chevrette. Li also understood that while Launcelot did fight for a sense of justice, his main goal was never to fight for everyone, for each and every downtroddenmon man. He fought to protect heroes in the memory of his longtime friend and acting for themon man came secondary to that.


    "Not to mention that father''s reputation does not help at all," chimed in Leon. "Built up most of the walls keeping the poor out of upper Riviera and those big golden gates that make sure to let all know that there is a massive difference between those of the noble estates and practically everyone else."


    Launcelot shrugged. "That too."


    It was evident that neither of them thought of their father too highly.


    "By all considerations, Jeanne, you are the only one that can do this," said Sylvie. She gave Jeanne a reassuring look. "All you must do is talk to the people, to rally them. That, you may have to do alone, but we will stand by you in the shadows, in any and every fight that sprouts from your words."


    "Ya sure bout'' this?" said Azhar. "That''s a lotta'' pressure and danger yer gonna'' put upon yourselves, y''know."


    "When have we not faced danger?" said Sylvie.


    "Yeah, but like the rich boy said, it ain''t like we''re gonna'' take Chevrette out in a couple of days. We could hold off for a bit until my arm gets better. Don''t feel great havin'' you all get in danger without me round''."


    Li interjected. "Optimally, there will be minimal danger. If thewes bearing down on Chevrette, then the knights can get authority to arrest him and seize his properties. If Chevrette tries to fight back against the knights, then he brings down the wrath of the entire duchy on himself, and that''splete suicide. There shouldn''t be much bloodshed if things go smoothly."


    "Guess ya got a point with that one," said Azhar.


    Jeanne took in a breath, steeling herself. "And the longer we wait, even if it is a mere few days, the longer it is that this foul trade continues and that these poor girls suffer. I will speak immediately tomorrow."


    "We must consider the most effective way for you to address themon folk," said Sylvie as she put a contemtive finger to her chin. "To reach a wide audience, it would be best for you to first speak with the temple and the city hall, working with both the priestly order and the knights."


    "I would advise against that," said Launcelot. "There will be somepromised individuals among both authorities that may tip off Chevrette. A more spontaneous address of the people will work best. I can rent out the marketce square for the day for this."


    "But then how will you bring thew into this?" said Sylvie. "If she does not speak with official channels first, an arrest will be far moreplicated."


    "Don''t worry about official channels," said Li. He knew that Alexei with his close ties to lord Lys could likely handle much of the bureaucratic fluff. "I can cover that. She just needs to get the word out."


    "And if there are those among the authorities that arepromised, then a spontaneous speech that riles up the people is far morepelling," said Launcelot. "Laws exist for the people. If their will is such that Chevrette must face justice, then thew will bend to it, not to mention that this will grant Chevrette far less time to react."


    "Chevrette is just as much a hero to themon folk''s eyes as Jeanne is," Sylvie countered. "It will take more than just her words to turn them against him. If the temple and the knights are behind her back, then that may grant us an edge."


    "Not if there''s obvious evidence against him, right?" said Li as he motioned to the sleeping beastwomen.


    Sylvie shook her head sadly. "The people are against very, yes, but the averagemon man holds little pity for beastmen."


    "That, I''ve noticed, but consider this more a spark than the full fire. The real fire against Chevrette is abined usation levied by all the farmers that he''s extorting. The farmers aren''t acting because they feel that their lives are in danger and that nothing they do or say will change the status quo.


    But if Jeanne shows the beastwomen, it proves that there''s someone that Chevrette can''t get rid of and that she also has the influence to affect a change in the status quo."


    "Will that truly be enough to move all the farmers?" said Sylvie, concerned about the viability of this n.


    "As a farmer myself, I know how they feel and I can almost guarantee it," said Li. He knew that the original farmers respected all life. Living years while forced to be part of a trade that directly wasted away lives must have agonized their consciences dearly. They were all going to be looking for a way out of their current lives.


    "Aye, thed is right," said Old Thane. "The farmers of yore will not stand by if they are given a chance to rise up."


    Azhar shifted ufortably. "Don''t mean to break the flow of this nnin'' and all, but ain''t you all missin'' somethin''? How are ya so sure that the beastwomen are gonna'' be willin'' to get up on that square? They''re probably gonna'' be wantin'' to cut and run the moment their eyes wake up."


    "I would imagine that they would want to free those of their kind from captivity," said Li.


    "Maybe." Azhar looked over to the beastwomen, first at the Feli, then at the Serpi. "But beastmen ain''ta monolith. Look at em'', a Feli''s way different from a Serpi, and the two tribes fight each other all the time. There ain''t no real solidarity among em'' all."


    Li considered this. Azhar was right in this sense, and Li did have to profess he did not know much about the beastmen at all. Their culture and histories werergely misrepresented in the texts he had read, which was unsurprising considering that he had not read anything from outside the duchy which was anti-beastman to begin with.


    "You seem to know a lot about them."


    Azhar nodded. "There''s a few tribes west in the hintends. We''ve never really gotten'' along, but after the demon wars put everyone down a notch or two, we''ve learned toe together."


    "Perfect," said Li. "Then I''ll wake them up and you can be the one to convince them to join this cause."

 Chapter 127 - Divinity

    "Ya what now?" Azhar looked taken aback. He gestured to the beastwomen. "Just cause'' I know about em'' don''t mean I personally get along with em''. Specially'' the Serpi. They only live up north. Ain''t ever seen one before, just know of stories bout em'' from a few travellin'' Feli that settled west."


    "Still, you know more than all of us. Plus, you''ve got soul reading to your advantage," said Li. "Just try and talk to them. If things go well, great, if not, we can work from there."


    "Aight, guess I''ll try," said Azhar with a deferential nod.


    "Good." Li then said to everyone else, "It''s good that you all left your weapons out, but the armor might still be a little intimidating. I''m not going to ask you to remove it, but just keep a friendly posture."


    After receiving agreeing nods from everyone, Li said, "Here goes," while waving his hands, healing the beastwomen from their sleep status.


    The beastwomen roused from their slumber bit by bit. The Feli took her furred and wed hand, curling it into a paw like shape as she rubbed her eyes. The Serpi was slower to move, her forked tongue flitting outzily as her body started to warm her cold blood for action.


    But when their senses came to them, the women immediately scrambled backwards until their backs hit the farthest wall of the cottage with strong thuds. They were obviously panicked, their ws and fangs bared, but as they scanned their surroundings, seeing so many people around them, they did not lunge out aggressively.


    When their eyes met each other, they shifted away, evidently not liking the other as well.


    "Work your magic," said Li as he lightly pped Azhar''s back, edging him forwards.


    Azhar raised his hands in a non-threatening gesture as he inched forwards. He made sure to keep his eyes wide and focused on the beastwomen''s eyes. As his eyes met the Feli''s, a sh of recognition came between them, and he noticed this.


    He spoke to her. "Yer from the ins tribe, ain''t ya? Can tell from yer golden mane. It''s real full, too. Musta'' gone through a lotta'' fights."


    Li noted that the Feli''s golden hair, though not a mane in the strictest sense, grew so wildly and thickly from her head that when it gathered around her neck, it did almost seem like a mane.


    "insman," said the Feli as she eyed Azhar''s dark skin in recognition. "What you do here, with all the pink men?"


    Unlike when she hadshed out at Li, the Feli was attempting to talk in themon human tongue, though it was evident she did not have the greatest grasp over thenguage. A good sign. It meant that she considered Azhar worth the effort to try andmunicate with.


    "Helpin'' you," said Azhar. He waved to everyone in the room. "They''re all good people. Like the caravan traders thate with gifts and food, y''know? We wanna'' help you like that."


    "Don''t trust trader." The Feli narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she crossed her arms, covering herself up. "Trader offer food. Trader takes me."


    "A trader kidnapped you?" Azhar cocked his head. "That ain''t a mane grown outta'' doin'' nothin''. You''ve killed plenty to grow it out like that. Ain''t a regr ol'' trader gonna'' do anythin'' to ya."


    "No regr." The Feli waved her hands and wriggled her fingers, imitating casting magic. "Pink men use strange magic. Like her kind."


    The Feli jutted a w out to the Serpi who red at the Feli in response. But aside from that, the Serpi did not say anything, instead flitting her eyes from side to side, eyeing the situation before her. Her ghostly pale face held a concentrated expression upon it, quite simr to the kind that Sylvie made when she was nning.


    "Well, there ain''t no strange magic here," said Azhar. "Just us and our honest words, swear on my heart."


    "On your heart? You swear?"


    Azhar put a fist to his chest and nodded. "Yeah, on my heart. Ya can feel free to tear it out and gobble it up as a snack if my words ain''t true."


    "I can trust insman oath." Feli nced over at everyone else, her narrowed eyes oozing suspicion. "But pink men always break oath. Word means nothing to them. Cannot trust them, do not know why you are with them."


    "I''m with em'' cause'' they''re gonna'' help you. Might be hard to believe, but ya can still trust me, yeah?" said Azhar.


    "insmen never break word," agreed the Feli. It was evident that the beastwoman highly valued the worth of an oath, and Li figured that it was amon trait across her whole culture and species.


    "Then I guarantee so long as yer with me, there ain''t nothin'' that''s gonna'' happen to ya," said Azhar. "We''re way outta'' the hintends, right in a city, so it''s gonna'' be real hard for ya to run yer way out. Stay with me, listen to my words, and I''ll have ya back home, okay?"


    "Run? No." The Feli hissed, offended at the suggestion. "Trader take sister also. I find her. Kill traders. Then go home."


    "Trust me, all of us are gonna'' help ya with that," said Azhar. "I swear it."


    "You make oaths very quick."


    "Not cause'' I don''t take em'' seriously, but cause'' I''m absolutely confident that everyone here is gonna'' help you." Azhar pointed to Jeanne and Sylvie. "Them there are my own family. My sisters." He motioned to Launcelot and his posse. "Don''t like the way he look, but he''s fought together with me before." He shifted his finger to Li, Old Thane, and Tia. "And thems the ones that found ya in the first ce."


    "Hm. I will listen. But you swear already on heart. To make me believe, you must swear more."


    "I ain''t got much more to offer."


    The Feli pointed her w to Sylvie and Jeanne. "You say sisters? Then swear on their heart too."


    Azhar paused before ncing back at the two. They nodded, giving him their approval.


    "Aight, them too," said Azhar. "Only fair I wager my own blood when yer own''s on the line."


    With that, the Feli finally rxed just a little. She reached a hand out to Azhar''s arm, and as the ws dug into his shoulder, Sylvie and Jeanne shifted their postures from seated to half-standing, fully alert.


    "Sit down, you two," said Azhar as the ws broke his skin, drawing out blood. "Just sealin'' my words in blood. A regr ol'' Feli thing."


    The Feli withdrew her bloodstained ws. She put one of them in her mouth, licking it clean. "Honest taste. Good."


    The blood on her fingers then flitted upwards, swirling into a tiny sphere of crimson that floated in mid air. The Feli stared at it with the utmost concentration.


    "I call upon the Old Panther of the Hunt to forge this oath," she said in her ownnguage. To Li, it sounded clear and powerfully resonant, but to the others, it must have sounded like an iprehensible and fierce growl. "Bind these words in blood, bind the blood to mine."


    The sphere of blood floated over to Azhar''s shoulder, sshing onto it and forming into a sigil the shape of three jagged lines. Very reminiscent of a w mark.


    Li nodded, understanding that this was a spell he recognized. [Blood Pact], as it was called. In game, all it did was it sacrificed some health to boost a user''s stats, but that was because the game could not capture theplexity of the lore. In reality, it was a pact blessed by Khonsu, dark god of the hunt and one of the four that Li had interacted with in Valhul, meant to give power to one''s words.


    In game, the idea was that the character swore to fight to hisst breath, to fight with all he had, and bind that oath to Khonsu and thus be forced to fight to extremes lest he be killed for breaking his oath. Here, though, the pact was far more flexible, it seemed, capable of being used to make sure oaths were never broken.


    Though, if Li theorized correctly, any sufficiently powerful cleansing spell could remove the pact''s conditions. But considering that [Blood Pact] was a B ranked spell, it would be rather difficult for a an average denizen of this world to have a cleansing spell strong enough.


    "Alright, that''s settled," said Azhar. "Now are ya finally morefortable?"


    The Feli nodded. "For now."


    The cottage began to shake. The Feli hissed as she leaped to Azhar''s side on all fours, her back arching. She stared at the Serpi who had begun to channel magic of her own.


    "You use your divine magic to pay with the humans? You of the Old Panther have lost your ways," said the Serpi in hernguage. Her hands were held to her sides and her fingers spread wide open, curls of ck magical energy willowing around them. Her eyes were glossed over with a sheen of bright red light.


    "Strange magic," said the Feli.


    Everyone in the cottage immediately began to move defensively, and Tia stopped chewing on her gigantopede leg and hurried behind Li.


    "But I will make no such mistake," continued the Serpi. "Undoing my mental restraints was a foolish mistake, humans. Now, the Wise Serpent will grant me power and guidance to free mine self. She shalt see through mine eyes and cast judgement upon all of thee."


    Li waved everyone down as he walked over to the Serpi. Sure enough, there was strong magical energy pressuring out from her, powerful enough that none of the adventurers could easily approach the Serpi.


    It was evident that the beastmen practiced magic based upon the four gods, and perhaps because it was based by faith, the magic exceeded the limitations of their levels, allowing them to cast spells beyond their means.


    Li did not know what spell the Serpi was casting yet, but he had heard enough to act.


    "Your goddess will see through your eyes, you say?" said Li in the Serpi''snguage.


    The Serpi shied backwards as Li easily resisted the magical pressure, as if it was not even there to begin with. But her faith in her goddess was strong enough that she persisted in continuing the spell. An offensive one, likely, but what it was really did not matter.


    "Okay then," said Li. He knelt so that he was at eye level with the Serpi. He leaned forwards and whispered to her so that she was the only one to hear. "Zahaka, right? Then tell her to get a good look at me."


    With that, the magical energy pressuring the room faded in an instant. The red sheen covering the Serpi''s eyes disappeared and the ck curls of magic broke apart around her fingers.


    "W-what is the meaning of this!?" stammered the Serpi in hernguage as she slid back even further, pressing her back t against the cottage wall as a panic-stricken expression formed on her face. She looked at Li with terror, her pale skin bing even paler. "Wise Serpent, where hast thou strength gone? Why hast thou abandoned me?"


    Li shook his head and smiled at the Serpi, putting aforting hand on her bare, slender shoulder. "She hasn''t abandoned you. She''s just entrusted you into my care. You follow what I have to say, and you''ll be safe, just as your goddess would want you to be. Got it?"


    The Serpi nodded weakly, and Li gave her shoulder one more reassuring squeeze before turning to everyone else.


    "And that settles it. Looks like we''re all on the same page," said Li as he ignored the awed expressions zoned in on him.

 Chapter 128 - End Of Planning

    "What was that?" said Sylvie. She stared at Li in a focused wonder, wanting mostly to figure out the mechanics of the spell or actions he had taken to stop a spell that surely would have leveled the entire cottage.


    "A little trick to stop spells. Nothing much to it. Lucky that this was a situation I could use it in," said Li with a shrug.


    "I have be used to your many wondrous talents," said Launcelot. "And I must thank you for using them now. Now then, I do believe that you are also right in that we are all of the same mind. That leaves but action."


    Launcelot shifted the conversation forwards, wanting to get to more direct nning as soon as he could. It was evident that the man, unlike Sylvie, was not the curious kind and far more objective oriented.


    Sylvie nodded. "I will work on a speech that Jeanne can use to rouse the people into action. If all is right, then perhaps a crowd may form, empowered by a desire for justice, that we can lead straight to the noble estates, to Chevrette''s very own golden home, and force him to face justice."


    And Li recognized that though Sylvie was naturally curious, she was quick to switch it off and be efficiently goal oriented when the time called for it.


    "Mob justice? I cannot say that it sits well with me," said Launcelot. "A mob is unruly. Prone to violence. Chevrette may be scum, but all scum deserves a fair trial under the duchy''sws. Elsewise we are back to King Beaumont''s reign of senseless hangings."


    Jeanne also did not seemfortable with the idea, but she looked to Sylvie, leaving the nning and actions to her as she had always done in the thick of battle.


    Sylvie countered, "A mob may be unruly, but it acts quick and leaves no time for Chevrette to weasel out of his crimes or to n an escape. I cannot deny that it is difficult to tame, but if there is anyone capable of taming it, then it is Jeanne, universally respected and revered."


    "I???d not shy from a good hanging, either, heh," said Leon.


    Launcelot gave him an admonishing look. Leon replied, "Duvin and the southern jungles are still a wild frontier, brother. It is not all fine wines and fancy silks. Thew ys fast and loose there, and I must say it is much more entertaining than the boring drivel up here."


    "Do not encourage this, brother," said Launcelot with a sigh. He turned to Sylvie. "Though a mob does not sit too well with me, I understand your reasoning and ept it. At the least, however, can you guarantee that you will ensure no brutish acts such as hangings or beatings or any punishment unsanctioned by thew ur?"


    "Of course," said Jeanne. "What do you take Sylv for? She''s got a good heart. She wouldn''t ever let something like that happen."


    "Indeed, I simply want to pressure Chevrette and, if preferable, keep him under lock and watch as soon as we act," agreed Sylvie. "There will be no harm done to him without thew''s approval. Though, we could bring awspeaker from the city hall to simply indict him then and there."


    "Nobility is guaranteed a proper trial within the bounds of a courtroom," said Launcelot. "It may seem like preferential treatment, but if an indictment is to be set, it should be set within a court. To skirt onew is to open up the gateway to skirt others."


    Azhar scoffed. "Makin'' sure to keep one of yer ownfortable, eh? Don''t want no noble blood facin'' the same type o'' heat wemon folk face, huh?"


    Launcelot shook his head. "I am merely stating a fact of principle. We cannot pick and choose whichws to uphold. It is not our right, especially as we hold power within our hands."


    "Screw yer principles. If Chevrette''s scum like ya say, he should be tossed into the gutters with the rest of em''. Ain''t like allws are right ¨C duchess''s reforms tossed out most of Beaumont''s. So why so hung up on this one, huh? Ya like bein'' a noble that much? Maybe ya had a ve or two of yer own, eh?"


    Launcelot stood up, his armor nking. "I''ll not take these insults to the Lakely name lightly."


    Leon rolled his eyes at Launcelot''s grandstanding for his family name and sat back in his chair, eager to see a fight go down.


    Azhar cracked his neck as he also stood. "Thought you were a good guy for a bit, lookin'' out for my sisters and all, but looks like nobles will be nobles. Been lookin'' forward to round two, anyway."


    "Sit back down," announced Li. The tone of his voice indicated that there would be no arguing against him, nor was he inclined to repeat himself.


    The two sat again, and Sylvie sighed. "I was just about to say that. We have no time for petty fights and arguments such as this. I, too, understand where Launcelot''s principlese from. I may not agree with them, but I am willing to reach apromise to let our ns move smoothly."


    "No more fighting," agreed Jeanne. "We have far too much ahead of ourselves that we must face together to fight."


    "You are all correct." Launcelot bowed his head. "Forgive my rashness. Then I will make certain to reserve the marketce square by first light tomorrow. Would a noon time work? The square will have the most people then."


    "That would be excellent," said Sylvie. "More than enough to drill Jeanne in what to say. It is only a matter of whether they will ept her words."


    Old Thaneughed, bringing everyone''s attention to him. "I am certain they will. When Jeanne received her medal ¨C from the duchess''s own hands, no less ¨C the crowds held a special energy to them. They bustled withplete adoration, enough to match that which even the duchessmands.


    Jeanne is their light, their pride. Proof that their faith in heroes and Helius is not unfounded, proof that goodness protects them, proof that there is an ideal goodness with which to strive towards. Compared to that, what is Chevrette?


    Nothing but a man of wealth who has shared some of his coin."


    "An ideal? But there''s still so many things I must work on yet," said Jeanne.


    "Ideals are unrealistic,ss, but it is because they are fantastical that they hold such power." Old Thane nodded. "Hold confidence in this n. Her words will move them, I am certain of it."


    "You all heard the old man," said Li. "Have faith in your n. Which doesn''t leave much else for us to discuss more. If anything, all of you should get some rest and, in Jeanne''s case, get memorizing speeches."

 Chapter 129 - Speech

    The next day, thankfully, had cleared up. The gloomy and ominous overcast sky had parted to reveal thend''s characteristic summery blue skies and bright sunny rays. Because the contrast was so jarring, perhaps, there were almost twice as many people buzzing on and about in the marketce square.


    Or perhaps it was because already, there was a rumor floating around that the renowned hero Jeanne, the shining star of Riviera, the girl blessed by both crown and god with a heart of shining gold, wanted to announce something of particr importance.


    Li stood a fair bit away from the square, by a tavern where barrels of ale were piled up. He did not want to get himself involved in the thick of the crowd, and his vision and height could easily zoom in on the square. Sylvie sat atop the barrels next to him, needing them to boost her height to see over the crowd.


    "This is a pretty good crowd," said Li. "Almost as big as it was back when Jeanne got her medal."


    "It is not every day that the entire square is rented out by a single person," said Sylvie. "Normally, the square is divided amongst several troubadour troops and minstrel bands."


    "Amazing how cutting out bad music and silly shouting makes the square that much quieter,"mented Li. His eyes scanned over the thronging crowd, at the heads of Rivierans man and woman, old and young. "Even with this many people."


    "It is a shame that Old Thane could not be here to witness it. He does like having his words proven right."


    "He''ll manage. What he knows, he knows. He doesn''t need to see it to validate himself."


    Sylvie nodded in response before she pored over a piece of paper with the speech she had written, wanting to make sure Jeanne said everything correctly.


    Li did consider bringing the old man, but he had asked the old man to stay at the cottage for today because it was likely that restaurateurs wereing around to survey the crop. Li had filled the old man in on the situation, telling him that their golden grain was in high demand, and asked him to get a general grasp of the restauraunters'' character and see who was going to them the best deal.


    Of course, Li also wanted the old man to stay home because it was safer, guarded by Zagan, the Myrmeke, Tia, and Iona. Li did not think that Chevrette would be stupid enough to create a ruckus in a public spot like the marketce square, but it was better to avoid unnecessary chaos when it could be avoided, especially afterst time when there was that minor altercation with the duchess''s knights and Sunstar at the square.


    "It''s almost noon. Is she going to show up right on the mark?" said Li.


    Sylvie kept her eyes on her paper. "Jeanne had some difficulty memorizing the speech I wrote for her, so perhaps she is still grappling with it. But I assume it is also rather difficult to get the beastwomen on the square with her considering there are so many people around."


    Li cocked his head. "Thought Azhar had a good rapport with them. Feel like he''d be able to convince them."


    "The Feli, yes, but the Serpi, less so. The Serpi has been clutched with fear ever since we took her into our quarters in the inn. She does respond to our requests, but it is with quite some hesitation."


    "Can''t me her." Li shrugged. "But she should be fine. I''m confident she wouldn''t disobey us."


    "Is enforcing obedience also a part of your ''little trick?''" said Sylvie as she looked up from her paper, curious.


    "When everything you ever believed in is shattered at the foundation, you tend to be more open minded," said Li.


    Sylvie pouted. "That doesn''t exin anything."


    "It exins enough." Li pointed to her speech paper. "If you wanted to make sure Jeanne said everything right, why not go up to the square with her?"


    Sylvie shook her head. "The people love Jeanne and only Jeanne. The less of us there are on the stage, the better. Azhar is a necessity for the Feli trusts only him, but aside from him, the impact upon the people is far greater with just Jeanne."


    "Seems reasonable." Li waved her attention to the square. The trapdoor at its back end where high end performers usually arose from in a shy entrance opened. "Well then, let''s see if she got all the words down."


    ====================


    Jeanne clutched at her speech paper, bringing it close to her chest, close to her heart. The paper crumpled under her strong fingers, but she did not mind. She knew all the words by now. It was the words themselves that gnawed at her.


    Jeanne shook her head. Sylv was always right ¨C she could not doubt her now. She took in a breath and frowned. The air here, under the square, was so humid and dusty, as if the very air itself were being choked out. She hated confined spaces, and this ce was the definition of confined.


    Small, cramped, walled in on all sides. A singlentern lit the area, revealing a bunch of acting props and spare instruments littered about the wood walled room.


    "Don''t ya worry," said Azhar. He stood beside her, the two beastwomen trailing behind him. "There ain''t a chance yer gonna'' fail with how amazin'' you are. So put that smile back on, would ya?"


    Jeanne smiled and nodded, ncing at the beastwomen. Tworge cloaks were draped over them. She had wanted to dress them in morefortable, less revealing clothes, but there was nothing that came fitted to their unique proportions. The best she could do was give them cloaks to ward off the cold, though neither of them seemed to mind it.


    Azhar looked back and waved his wand, giving a signal for the stage hands to open up the trapdoor. A young boy at the back strained against a lever embedded in the floor, and when it cranked back, the door slid open, letting sunlight sh into the dark confines of the room.


    Jeanne took in another breath as she took a step forward, going up the steps leading out the door. She could finally breathe in fresh air. She could finally feel true sunlit warmth. That gave her the energy to steel herself and make it out the door, because if she hesitated now, she doubted she could muster up the courage to keep going forwards.


    But when Jeanne finally made it onto the square, when the cheers and adoring looks assailed her ears, she froze up. She knew that adventurers became celebrities among the people, but she had never done this for the fame. She had never wanted any of it, never expected it, and now, faced with so much of it, she had no idea what to do


    She felt an insurmountable pressure weighing down on her shoulders. As her blue eyes scanned over the crowd, at the huge variety of faces all looking expectantly at her, she could not help but think whether she was the one to shoulder all their hopes.


    She knew she was not perfect, she knew she had so many things to work on, so many things she could do better, and yet, all of them were looking at her like she was pure perfection.


    How could she be something she was not?


    Jeanne bit her lip as she took steps forward, the ring of her armor ttering loudly in her ears. Sylv had told her to wear her full armor to project a powerful presence. Thinking of that, Jeanne calmed herself a little. Sylv was always right about basically anything. As long as she followed her, there would not be issues.


    Jeanne noticed the crowd grow quieter, murmuring among themselves as Azhar came up, bringing the beastwomen with them. Her sensitive hearing could pick snippets of conversation up.


    "Beasties?"


    "Maybe spoils o'' war from up north, eh?"


    "They''re sure to be criminals, aye. Thedy shouldn''t spoil her hands with a hangin'', though, that western boy over there oughta'' do it. He''s more suited, just look at him."


    Jeanne held back a grimace. She looked back to the beastwomen. Both of them were fearful now, hunching over, their ears twitching and their eyes wide in worry as they saw so very many people. Jeanne was sure they could sense the casual cruelty and hostility in the air, too.


    "People of Riviera," began Jeanne as she projected her voice. It rung loud and clear over the square, cutting off the chatter below. At the least, she prided herself on her powerful voice, though Sylv and Azhar would argue it made her bad singing that much worse.


    "I humblye before you to let you know that there is a great evil festering within our very city walls. An evil that must be vanquished under the Light."


    Jeanne could tell all the townspeople were staring at the beastwomen, expecting them to be the evils.


    "Before you, I present two beastwomen. They are our enemy, yes, but-," Jeanne paused as the crowd leaned in, eager to listen.


    Jeanne knew the next words Sylv had told her to say. ''But that does not mean the sacred rule of the duchess''sw can be ignored, and these beastwomen are evidence that thew has been vited.''


    Yet was that the right thing to say?


    Sylv had told her that it was, that the people did not care about the beastwomen but would instead care about thew, especially when it wasw set by the duchess whom they loved. Sylv said to emphasize that thew had been broken and that there should be no exceptions among its enforcement among the poor and the rich as they would rte far better to that.


    But what had been vited greater. Thew, or these women?


    "But that does not mean you should turn a blind eye to their suffering. They have been forcibly taken from their homes, tortured, their minds warped, and their freedom stripped from them. They have been enved against their wills, plucked away from the love and warmth of their families and friends.


    They may be different with ws and eyes and tails, but they have beating hearts as we do. They are fearful, cry, and suffer as we do. It may be hard, but in their faces, in their suffering, try to see yourself in them. Of if you are a man, your wife, your sister, or your daughter in the scars of very that wreathe their bodies.


    The foul roots of the ve trade brought them here, into the heart of our pristine city, and we, not only as people of thew, but also as those with hearts that beat true with the love of the Light, the Light that shines upon the whole world, upon human and beastman alike, must see that justice is brought forth."


    Jeanne could see that quite a few of the townspeople were shifting ufortably, but she could not bring herself to care. If bing their ideal meant bing something she was not, then she decided she could not do it.


    "And the man who lords over this trade banned and seemingly uprooted from our great duchy is Lord Chevrette. Golden in heart he may seem, but he is no man of the Light. He ys with the misery of others under the guise of goodness. He is a wolf whose cruel fangs hide within the soft wool of sheep. He is the evil that must be uprooted."


    Jeanne bit her lip again as she waited for the consequence of her new speech. Surprisingly, the majority of the crowd were with her, nodding along with her, but there were still enough against her that a voice of dissent rose against her.


    "What evidence do you have against him!?" shouted a man, his speech a little slurred from early drinking. "Foul beasties don''t count!"


    "Aye, Chevrette saved me life, me smithery, everythin. He is no foul evil!" chimed in another man.


    The voices against her gathered, shouting outints.


    And though these voices were a minority, it was arge enough minority that Jeanne could not mobilize the whole crowd into action. Her next words would be absolutely key into bringing the people fully to her side.


    Jeanne opened her mouth, but her voice caught. She did not know what to say. She had already deviated from Sylv''s script, and now, after loosing all the feeling she had pent up within her, she had nothing more within her. Her lip trembled. Sylv must have been so disappointed right now, and she knew that Li would tell her she could have done better.


    Jeanne raised a hand, bidding the crowd quiet even though she had nothing to say. But how? This was the best she could do. The best she, as Jeanne, and not whatever ideal this crowd wanted her to be, could do.


    The crowd grew even quieter, almost to an unnatural stillness. Jeanne blinked, trying to understand what was going on.


    A handnded upon her shoulder te. By the weight of it, it was not Azhar. It was lighter. That of a woman.


    The woman passed in front of Jeanne. A shade of darkness under the light of the sun. Broad ck hat, ck bodysuit, ck blindfold. It was one of the duchess''s personal heroes, the one that had snuck up on Sylv when she tried to infiltrate Jeanne''s meeting with the duchess.


    The woman made bowed to the crowd, and they began cheering again upon seeing a fabled member of the Ascendant Order.

 Chapter 130 - Heroes

    Li narrowed his eyes as he watched Meld step to the front of the square. Sylvie was standing next to him with bated breath. She hade down from the barrels to rush to Jeanne when the hero had changed the speech, but Li had convinced Sylvie to stop. Sylvie would have never made it to the square in time anyway.


    But what made Li wary was this new hero. He had only caught glimpses of her when the duchess hade to Riviera beforehand, so he had no clear idea of what she was like. She, however, manifested seemingly out of nowhere on the stage, escaping even Li''s attention.


    Granted, Li had not cranked up his senses as he did not think himself in abat rted situation, but even so, it was truly odd how Meld had simply just appeared like that. Sylvie had mentioned before that Meld could easily sneak up on her despite Sylvie herself being an aplished assassin, so Li figured that Meld had a superpower rted to stealth.


    "Good Rivierans!" called out Meld.


    In contrast to her rather sinister appearance, Meld''s voice was surprisingly normal. Powerful and projective, much like Jeanne''s, though a fair bit deeper. It was not the voice of someone that lurked in the shadows as her appearance would suggest.


    "I am here to tell you to trust in Jeanne, the shining new sun of Riviera, for her words ring true, as true as the golden blood of heroes that flows within her." Meld pped her hands with superhuman force, ringing out a peal that echoed throughout the square.


    A thunderbolt shed from behind the square,nding in a secluded alleyway out of everyone''s vision. From there, a man arose, his chiseled and musclebound figure soaring high into the air. A white bodysuit clung to his figure tightly, and golden thunderbolt designs were etched into the arms and legs. A cape of crackling electricity flowed from his back.


    The flying hero came over to the square,nding beside Meld. His appearance drew forth more cheers and apuse from the crowd.


    Li could pick out some threads of conversation from the crowd.


    "Oy, ain''t that Thunderstrike?"


    "Hells, you''re right. What I''d give to have him sign me sword. Not every day you get to witness a dragonyer in the flesh."


    "Seems pretty famous. Who is that?" said Li to Sylvie.


    "Thunderstrike, a famed member of the Ascendant Order. One of the Ten Rays, the absolute elite of the order." Sylvie cocked her head, confused. "But why are two of the ten rays here? In this peaceful city? Most of them should be up north, near the border, or down in Duvin where beasts and faeries of the Wonderjungles still pose a threat to human settlement."


    "Guess we''ll find out." Li took a look at Thunderstrike, getting a general impression of him.


    In contrast to Sunstar, Thunderstrike did not smile. Instead, he kept on a cool andposed expression. He crossed his arms, and in general, his posture seemed steely. There was a thunderbolt shaped scar that ran down the side of his face, and perhaps it was because of his serious expression, but he seemed rather old, nearing histe thirties.


    "Thunderstrike and I haveid low in Riviera ever since the duchess graced her presence here," said Meld. "And it is because of what Jeanne has said. We were investigating hints of a foul trade, of very that the good duchess has made clear to ban.


    But so far, such viiny has escaped our sharp sights, and we could not find a true culprit. But now, Jeanne, with the guidance of the Light and the might of heroes inherent within her, has found that which had eluded us so."


    Meld smiled and cast her hand out, addressing all the people. "So, dear people of Riviera, let your belief in the duchess''s justice burn, but do not fear. We shall tackle this viiny immediately. We shall face crime so that you, the good people, may rest.


    Go to your homes, your hearths, your trades, and rest well knowing that we shall keep this city clean and safe."


    Li watched as the crowd cheered before beginning to disperse, happy and confident now that they knew the heroes and the duchess had sanctioned all of this. He knew the purpose of Meld''s speech: it was to suppress the crowd from turning into a mob.


    In fact, Meld had worded herself to maximally disperse the crowd, snuffing out any fire of action that Jeanne had stoked in them.


    Li tapped Sylvie''s shoulder. "Let''s go. I need to know what these heroes'' intentions are."


    Sylvie nodded. "And I do not wish to leave Jeanne alone with them. Let us hurry."


    Li and Sylvie saw them behind the square.


    Initially, the crowd had tried to crowd around Thunderstrike, but he had told them sternly that he was on official business, and his words carried a certain weight to them that made the crowd fall back rather quickly.


    As the crowd filed out, Li exerted some pressure, making sure that as he went forwards and the townspeople went back, that they subconsciously avoided him and did not block his way.


    At the back of the square, standing in front of stone building of the Actor''s guild, the very ce that Li had almost had a scuffle with Sunstar with, were Jeanne, Meld, and Thunderstrike. Azhar had the two beastwomen behind him, wary as they were of the presence of heroes.


    Aside from them, though, they were alone, and Li could not sense any other presences nearby.


    When Jeanne saw Sylvie, she ran past the two heroes and gave her a hug.


    "Oh, Sylv, I''m so sorry," said Jeanne with a sigh.


    Sylvie leaned into the hug and patted Jeanne''s back. "It''s fine, Jeanne. You did well. I didn''t think of what those words would mean to you. That they would make you be someone you weren''t. If anyone has to apologize, it''s me."


    "Ah, Sylvie, yes?" said Meld. She bowed slightly, her oversized ck hat almost looking like it was going to tip over. It stayed on her head with an almost unnatural bnce, though. "It is a shame that we could not meet on better terms before. I thought you an intruder at first and apprehended you as such. I extend my deepest apologies for that."


    Sylvie broke from Jeanne''s hug and eyed Meld with a wary expression. "You were only doing your duty. There is nothing to apologize for."


    "Speaking of duty," said Li as he walked forwards. As he did so, he could immediately feel Thunderstrike''s attention focus on him. "What''s this about investigating Chevrette?"


    "We are heroes. We uphold justice," said Thunderstrike simply. His words came out surprisingly soft spoken.


    "There is a reason the duchess brought us to Riviera when she came to award Jeanne," said Meld. "It was not only for her highness''s security, but also to probe the nature of the ve trade running amok here."


    "What about him?" Li pointed to Thunderstrike. "Did hee with you? Was he hiding back then?"


    Meld nodded. She sounded agreeable, but her expression remained neutral, and the fact that she wore a blindfold made it even harder to parse what she was feeling. "It is so. You must excuse our discretion ¨C it is simply that Thunderstrike and I are the most suited among the ten rays for more quiet missions."


    Li nced at Thunderstrike''s imposing build, his cape of raw, crackling electricity, and said, "Him? He doesn''t strike me as the sneaking type."


    "If upholding justice means I must crawl through the shadows, then I shall," said Thunderstrike.


    "You''d be surprised," said Meld. "He can blend in when he wants to."


    Sylvie spoke up. "I do not mean to question your role as heroes, but why did you drive the people back home? With their aid, you could have captured Chevrette immediately. The power of numbers is the strongest to force authority to answer to justice."


    Meld shook her head. "A crowd is difficult to tame, nor is it right for them to concern themselves with upholding thew. The people should not burden themselves with such dark matters. That is why we have kept them in the dark for the investigation. They should only revel in the end result, when the viins have been purged. We heroes exist so that the people may live free of worries, after all."


    "Doesn''t seem like you two have been doing much, though," said Li. "It''s been a while since the duchess, and by extension, you two came. You mean to say you haven''t done anything at all during that time? Especially with the powers you''ve been blessed with?"


    Meld shook her head. "Our investigations have not been fruitless. We have identified the main centers from which the vese and go, but beyond that, we were in the dark. This trade has escaped the duchess''s grasp precisely because it is borately proofed against justice.


    It has been difficult to find suspects. Considering the dark magics used on both ves and traders, we believed a cult of the dark ways has resurfaced, but no such mage has ever shown his face, nor can such a marginalized group drum up the coin and manpower to initiate an operation of this scale."


    "But is that not evidence enough to act with?" said Jeanne. "You could have helped all those affected by this trade immediately. The farmers and the beastwomen both."


    Meld cocked her head. "Farmers? I know of no such farmers enved. However, it is true that there are humans also entrapped within the confines of this forbidden trade, and as such, it has be even more of a pressing issue to tackle, hence why we are here."


    Li interrupted. "You mentioned ve holding centers? Where exactly would these be?"


    "Three locations. A warehouse in lowertown. Two buildings in uppertown. That is where we can pinpoint the movement of the ves."


    "If you knew, then could you not have undergone immediate action? Perhaps with the knights of Lys?" said Jeanne.


    "Seizing the facilities without knowing the mastermind behind the operation would have been meaningless. The ringleader could simply move and restart his ventures elsewhere. Capturing some of the personnel and interrogating them proved useless as their minds were corrupted with forbidden magic. No, we simply had to wait and observe, hoping that the ringleader would appear. But he did not."


    "I see." Li realized that these people did not know of the farmers, meaning that Chevrette kept the ves circting through the farmers'' properties extra secret. It was also interesting to note that though Chevrette made personal appearances at the farmers'' houses, it seemed he never made any to his other ve holding facilities. "But now you know who the culprit is, courtesy of our own efforts. So what will you do now?"


    "You think we will not act on justice?" said Thunderstrike, his quiet voice gaining a solid edge to it.


    Meld waved him down.


    "Now that the people have been informed, we must certainly act. I will order the knights of Lys to immediately encircle the Chevrette estate and put the nobleman into house arrest," said Meld.


    "We will continue our investigations until sufficient proof is established that Chevrette is truly the one behind this. It is not that we do not believe your words, but thew has a due process that must be observed, and obtaining secure evidence is part of it, particrly in high profile cases such as this."


    "Basically, you''re acting because we forced you to with this public reveal. If we hadn''te out to the public with this, you would have kept quiet. You can understand why I would be a little suspicious of how genuine your sudden actions are now. Seems like you''re just giving Chevrette time to weasel out of this, maybe book a ticket out of here," said Li.


    "Certainly not so. We heroes do not take cases such as this lightly. The house arrest will be under affect by sunset this very day, and in the morrow, we will undertake a raid of the facilities in search of evidence establishing Chevrette''s ties to them.


    I shall say that even this talk is eating up precious time, and I do not see why we cannot work together. All of us wish to see the city for the better, no?"


    Meld smiled, her posture easing and bing weing.


    "Why do we not set our questions aside and insteade together? Will you take part in our raids against Chevrette tomorrow? It seems you have valuable information regarding this case, as do we. Justice will be far better served if weplement our strengths. If you so wish, you can see to it that our house arrest is done adequately as well to ease any suspicions."

 Chapter 131 - House Arrest

    After Meld extended her offer, Li noticed that Jeanne, Sylvie, and, in the back, Azhar were looking to him for a response. He did not often like taking the lead on things, but it felt more natural now. After all, he had been the one to kick this whole ordeal into motion in the first ce.


    But what did Li want to do? He could not help but feel suspicious of Meld and Thunderstrike. From what he heard, they, as two of the ten strongest heroes of the duchy, were essentially superweapons. It was odd that they would even be here in the first ce.


    The thought did ur to Li that they were observing his actions but having two of them here was overkill. On top of this, there was no reason for either of them to show themselves if they were here solely to observe him. Rather, they were more incentivized to stay quiet and see what he wanted to do.


    This all went without saying that, up to this point, the duchess did not antagonize Li at all, recognizing on some level that doing so was highly imprudent. Perhaps the heroes could use their abilities to hide from Li, but the slightest of risks that he could find out would make surveince far too dangerous for the duchess, and he hoped she was smart enough to know this.


    But that did not mean Li fully believed they were here for upholdingw and order as well. At the same time, there was insufficient evidence to believe that they were not either. After all, Meld did have intel against Chevrette that Li did not, indicating that she and her fellow hero had indeed spent genuine time and effort investigating.


    For now, Li wanted to ascertain how genuine they were. Whether they truly were here for this investigation and whether they would impede Li or assist him entirely. By interacting with them, he hoped to gain insight into their limitations and nature, what they could do and what they were willing to do.


    "If you want to get this investigation wrapped up, then like you said, we shouldn''t be wasting time. How about we all go right now to Chevrette''s estate together and make sure he''s there so he doesn''t run away?"


    "A wonderful idea," replied Meld without a shred of hesitation. "It will not do for him to slip through the cracks of justice now. I will use the full brunt of the authority vested within me as a Ray to make sure that Chevrette cannot leave the boundaries of his home."


    "Agreed," said Thunderstrike. "I will alert Lys. The rest of you keep Chevrette under custody."


    Thunderstrike nodded before leaping up, disappearing in a gust of wind as he soared away, likely to the City Hall where Lys''s office was.


    Meld looked at the beastwomen.


    "They ain''t goin'' nowhere with you," said Azhar as he noticed Meld. The beastwomen shrunk back behind him, finding sce in his confident tone of voice.


    "We are not equipped to host nonhumans, in any case," nodded Meld. "But they cannote with us. It may be that they attack Chevrette, and I wish to minimize any variables that may prevent him from answering to justice. The people, too, may be cowed by them."


    "They cane with us. I foresee no real issues with it," said Li. He understood Meld''s logic, but he was being intentionally obtuse here, trying to see if he could push her to be against him.


    Instead, Meld simply nodded. "Very well. Then shall we be off? The light of day wanes."


    ====================


    They moved quickly through the city. Meld had hailed arge carriage for them ride in, and with her authority as a ray, allowed the driver to move through privatenes reserved for nobility and esteemed guests. As a result, there was no traffic nor were there Rivierans to gawk at the beastwomen.


    "A carriage? I''m assuming you can''t fly then," said Li. He sat in the back of the carriage, his back leaned against the grate that separated passengers from drivers. Beside him were the beastwomen and Triple Threat.


    At the very end of the carriage, her ck booted feet dangling from the edge, Meld answered, "No. I do wish I could, but you will find that my powers are quite middlingpared to my nine peers. It is a miracle indeed that I am even within the ten rays."


    "What exactly is your power?" said Li, wanting to know to what extent Meld was willing toy bare her information.


    "It is nothing special." Meld put her ck gloved hand down into the carriage, where her broad brimmed hat cast a dark shadow. Her hand sunk directly into it, as if swallowed by a void. "I can hide in shadows and be undetectable within them. Nothing quite as shy as Sunstar or Thunderstrike or Sunderspeed, I am afraid."


    "I see," said Li. He noted that she did not hesitate to reveal her abilities, but then again, it was likely that the powers for all ten rays were public information considering they were revered heroes. "It must have been useful to infiltrate the centers. Speaking of, why don''t you tell us about them? If we''re going to raid them, we need to know about them."


    "One, thergest center, is a supply warehouse by the docks. It is here I believe that most ve shipments are initially processed. Then, ves are transported to upper Riviera, intoplexes underneath a restaurant and a cemetery reserved for noble names."


    "Quite odd," said Sylvie. She shifted ufortably, evidently not liking Meld. asionally, she nced back to Li whenever she wanted to speak, and Li would nod to let her. "You observed these areas for many days, investigating deeply into their origins and activities, and found nothing tying them to Chevrette?"


    Sylvie had caught onto the fact that Li was withholding information about the farmers. Jeanne did not know, but she could read the mood in the carriage and understood that the strategic talking was meant for those better suited for it than her.


    Perhaps it was because Azhar was now linked to Li, but the hintender also understood that he should not speak as well.


    "None of the properties are tied to Chevrette," said Meld. "Well, not directly. The warehouse is publicly funded, and Chevrette has been a part of funding most public projects, so that itself cannot incriminate him. The restaurant has been an independent family venture for several generations, and the cemetery is linked to the Fiy family which was disbanded after the duchess''s reformations."


    "Still, no ties at all?" questioned Li, more to get information from Meld than to actually know. He already had all the evidence he needed to incriminate Chevrette.


    The farmers''bined testimony could absolutely put the nobleman under. However, Li not only wanted Meld to reveal her information, but also to bait Chevrette into ying a card that might get him out of this arrest. Li did not know what Chevrette had in mind, but he was certain that he had some form of secondary n in the case that he was used, and he wanted to keep the farmers as a counter to that.


    "Chevrette has many ties everywhere, and thus it is hard to pin any significant personal investment on his part. His father knew the Fiys, but his father also knew every single other noble family in Riviera at the time. There was no special treatment to the Fiys that we know of. Chevrette dines at the restaurant we speak of, but so do most of the city''s elite."


    "Diversified investments," said Li. "But to keep an operation of this scale going, there needs to be middlemen managing it, especially if Chevrette himself never appears. Target them, and I''m sure you''ll find someone willing to confess."


    "I did have a simr thought." Meld shook her head. "All the drivers and traders working in the centers are under a mind controlling spell of some sort. They move in perfect unison and efficiency, as if parts of a hivemind. That is why we suspected that some devilish Warlock that survived the purges of yore was running this, not Chevrette."


    "If it''s mind control, you''re right to assume it''s a warlock," said Li. He nodded to himself.


    Meld and Thunderstrike had no ability to divine magic. They had no ability to cleanse someone of brainwashing or find the source of a spell. Likely, they could not practice magic at all because they were not half bloods like Jeanne.


    Li began to understand heroic limitations and strengths even further, but he decided then that he knew what his course of action would be.


    "There''s three ces to raid. How are you going to divide forces among them?" said Li.


    "The knights of Lys can secure the warehouse, for they have the most numbers among us. I thought to have me and Thunderstrike take upon one of the two uppertown centers and the adventurers such as yourselves the other."


    "Change of ns. Jeanne and Sylvie will follow you and Thunderstrike to one area. I''ll go with Azhar to another."


    Meld cocked her head, and Li could tell that Triple Threat were confused too. Still, he continued. "Jeanne and Sylvie are familiar with magic, so I''m sure they can help you."


    Li looked to Sylvie, and she nodded. He wanted Sylvie to keep an eye on them so that the two heroes were not left unsupervised, but he did not want to say the quiet part out loud. "And I''ve figured out that I work very well with Azhar, but not so much with others.


    The real reason was that Li had a grasp of what tier of warlock was running this, and he was fully confident he could flush the warlock out and extract a confession from him, if it could even be ssified as a "him". But the method Li had to use needed quite a bit of privacy, and Azhar, his very own follower, was the only one he could rely on that for.


    Li rolled his shoulders as he readied himself to assume his true form again.

 Chapter 132 - Infiltration

    The carriage came upon Chevrette''s home without an issue. The driver tipped his hat with a deep bow, and Meld smiled.


    "Thank you for your service, good driver. Go home knowing that you have furthered justice today." Meld hopped down from the cart. Shended on a smoothly paved stone path was so immactely clean it shone white like a diamond under the sun.


    Li and Triple Threat also got down, with Azharingst as he ushered the beastwomen forwards. They, huddled under their cloaks, were evidently wary, but by now, had be somewhat used to the whole situation, carrying themselves with more confidence.


    "Your steps are very light," said Sylvie as she came up to Meld. Side by side, Li noted the two women were simr in height, being quite short and simr in build with a sleek slenderness that spoke of agility. "Lighter than even mine, and I am an Assassin by trade."


    "In a way, I too could be called an Assassin," said Meld. "But unfortunately, my kind do not mesh well with magic. A shame, really, as I have always wondered what it was like to be a normal human, though I cannot say he would agree."


    Meld pointed forwards, towards Chevrette''s estate. The estate oozed with gaudy wealth. Gold ted roof tiles, marble iid with golden patterns, golden statues of lions, gold everywhere. The garden andwn circling the property even had a golden theme, with rows of golden flowers swaying in the wind, shing like little twinkles of sunlight.


    In front of the mansion door, however, was Thunderstrike, his arms crossed and a stern expression wreathed on his scarred face. The knights of Lys, recognizable by their dove banners, crowded around him.


    "You''rete," barked out Thunderstrike. "I have been waiting here for twenty minutes when I could have shifted the entire lot of you with these knights."


    Meld shrugged as she came forwards. Li followed, nodding back to Triple Threat to get them to follow his lead.


    "Shifting?" inquired Li.


    "Thunderstrike not only holds the might of thunder within his hands, but he can also move like it. If he wishes so, he may even take others with him in a sh of light. Quite a marvelous power," said Meld.


    Li narrowed his eyes. Thunderstrike could teleport as well and take others with him. Though, judging by how shaky the knights of Lys were, it appeared that it did not bode well for the health of normal people.


    "I trust that you haven''t wasted the time?" said Li. He stepped up to Thunderstrike, and the man looked at him with a neutral expression. "Have you arrested Chevrette? Circled the house? Gone through inside for evidence?"


    "I do not have the authority to impose arrests, so I have been waiting for Meld," said Thunderstrike.


    "Thunderstrike is, how shall I put it, more of a frontlines person?" exined Meld. "His work is done outside the boundaries of the duchy, against foreign enemies. Whereas I am the only one among the Rays that specializes in civil cases."


    Sylvie perkedher head up, her curious eyes analyzing Thunderstrike, surely taking note of the fact that the man, built like a flying brick, probably did suit the battlefield far more than sneaking around a city.


    "Curious why he is here then," said Sylvie. "The enemies of the duchy are many such that it is strange to have a powerful hero such as him for a case about Riviera of all ces."


    "The ve trade is a serious matter deserving of our attention," said Meld. "Particrly when there is forbidden magic behind it. Heresy must be purged with as much force as possible."


    "Then let''s get on with this," said Li. "Chevrette might have escaped already with how much time sparky over here has wasted."


    Thunderstrike scoffed. "Knights circle every inch of this perimeter, and my honed senses and lightning speed would never allow a mere man to escape me."


    "The knights you got sick with your fancy teleportation?" Li motioned to the shaky knights. It was like they were seasick, some of them clutching at their stomachs, ready to vomit. "And you never thought about underground escapeways? Magical teleportation, too?"


    "Preposterous," said Thunderstrike. "There exists no magic that can allow for such a feat."


    "You''re awfully confident about that," said Li as he realized that the people of this world were not familiar with any teleportation spell because even the weakest one was of a rank too high for them to see.


    Meld raised her hands up to diffuse the tension. "We are on a case, Thunderstrike, and the easterner is a valuable ally."


    Thunderstrike stepped aside, leaving the path to the gold patterned door clear. "So be it then. Initiate the arrest."


    Meld knocked the door loudly, a surprising amount of strength locked away in her tiny body as her closed fist left dents in the solid wood. She used her free hand to reach into her cloak and withdrew a golden, triangr piece of metal inscribed with an intricate pattern of a sun ¨C the duchess''s seal.


    A few secondster, the door opened inwards, revealing something Li had never seen before.


    Li could tell it was a robot, but it was nothing that had ever been in Elden World. It was not a golem that belonged in the pages of high fantasy, but instead a contraption that would have fit in with a steampunk setting.


    The robot was about as tall as a man and built like a crude human. Its spindly limbs were made of bronze and copper, and as they moved to keep the door in ce, they creaked with the groan of metal. Its torso was a rotating sphere of metal. Pipes ran from it, attaching at various points of its body and venting steam.


    It had a dozen arms, and all of them, segmented like that of a spider''s, was busy with some task, some holding papers, others holding cups, clothes, and other misceneous household items.


    "Bring me your master, golem," said Meld.


    The robot''s head, a round ball of bronze attached to a neck of pipes and wires, nodded. Its face consisted of a screen that shed with a pixted emoticon of a smiling face.


    "An Elvish golem," remarked Sylvie as she saw the robot turn and withdraw into the house, perfectly bncing the many items it held on its arms. "I have seen their sturdier mining kinds in Montagne, but still, it is a marvel to see another."


    "I wonder what magic they use, or whether they call upon some foreign god," said Jeanne.


    "Whatever it is, it ain''t sittin'' well with us," said Azhar as he let the beastwomen stand behind him, cowed by the contraption.


    "Whatever it is, it is foul and unnatural," said Thunderstrike with disdain.


    The irony that a hero whose powers did not belong on this world was calling the robot unnatural was not lost on Li, but he did notment on it. Instead, perhaps because it was the first time he truly saw one of these Elven machines instead of just hearing about them, he began to understand that the world was much bigger than he had conceptualized, focused on the farm as he had been.


    It did not take a minute before Chevrette came to the door, assisted by what appeared to be his daughter.


    Li was a little taken aback. Dressed as he was in fine white suit, his wealth did not conceal his frailty. A man nearing sixty with a slightly hunched back and countless wrinkles on his face. An eyepatch covered one of his eyes but did not fully conceal scarring from burning that poked out through the fabric. Despite that, his smile was unharmed, being bright, wide and confident, belying his age.


    "By the Light!" said Chevrette. His voice had a youthful timbre to it that made it obvious he was used to public speaking and shouting. "Members of the Ascendant Order at my doorstep? And Riviera''s finest adventurers, too? The great knights of Lys, also? What is it? Another demon invasion?"


    Chevrette straightened his posture and held out a golden cane. He supported his weight on his daughter''s arms.


    "It''s been a while, but I''ve still fight left in me. The dark beasts can taste my cane. Perhaps I''ll get some revenge for my eye, heh."


    "Fortunately, the city is not under danger," said Meld. She got straight to the point. "But unfortunately, I am here to issue your immediate arrest. Starting from this moment forwards, you may not leave the confines of your home. You may not have any visitors, though I shall make an exception for your daughter. However, she also may not leave your house.


    You cede the right to your property''s privacy. We will conduct a thorough investigation of your home. You may speak to us but know that your words may be used against you within the court ofw."


    "Truly?" Chevrette rubbed his eyes with a wrinkled hand. He patted his daughter''s arm. "E, dearest, return to your room. This will be a good chance for you to focus on your studies. Father will be fine by himself."


    E, a girl who could not have been past her mid-teens, cast a worried nce over to Meld''s direction, but upon seeing Thunderstrike''s intimidating expression, nodded, bowing before timidly leaving. When her footesteps were out of earshot, Chevrette began speaking again.


    "May I ask what the arrest is for?"


    Meld shook her head. "Details of the investigation are under secrecy." She shed the triangr piece of golden metal in her hand like a badge. "The duchess has vested upon me full authority to keep any matter of it from you."


    "Hm, fair enough," said Chevrette. "Might I call upon mywspeaker?"


    Meld nodded. "You may bring awspeaker here. However, he or she will also face the same travel restrictions as you and your daughter do."


    "That is fine. It is better to speak while having a man who truly knows the duchess''s goodw by my side," said Chevrette. He leaned on his cane and shifted his body aside so that the way in the house was open. "I know not what it is that I have been implicated in, but it must be quite serious considering this response. I am a man of honor and beholden to thew, and I do not wish to halt you in any capacity. Please, conduct your investigations and know that I will back you at any turn I can, good heroes, adventurers, and knights of Lys."


    ===========================


    Li stood in an alleyway beside Lakeside Bounty, the restaurant that was one of the three ve holding centers. It was pitch ck, right during the time before dusk and dawn, between night and day where the darkness cloyed thickest. Beside him, Azhar stood as still as a tree, his eyes narrowed in caution.


    They had found nothing in Chevrette''s house. Li had expected this, though. He had generally overseen Meld as she and the knights rummaged through the house, but he had a feeling that Chevrette would not be foolish enough to have anything in his house against him.


    Several hourster, into the dark of night, and Li was proven right. They found countless financial documents for the vast breadth of businesses that Chevrette owned or invested in, but nothing tying him personally to any of the three centers for ve holding.


    Nor were there any documents that tied Chevrette to the farmers'' houses.


    Chevrette had helped them, getting his robot assistant to arrange and give out whatever documents or items the searching party needed. His attitude was amodating and respectful, avoidant of anything that could leave him under suspicion.


    Li knew that Chevrette was guilty for a fact, but he knew that Meld and Thunderstrike did not know. After the heroes had left, Li had filled in Triple Threat as well as Launcelot and his group to keep quiet about the farmers'' rtion to Chevrette.


    Li still did not fully trust the heroes. He wanted to keep crucial information to himself so that he and those he trusted for now. For that reason, he wanted to go on this raid: he wanted to get first dibs on the information here. He knew that by now, the other two groups were infiltrating the other two centers, but none of them would get any real information.


    Only Li was truly equipped to deal with the situation at hand, making him the first one to ess new details for this case, letting him decide what he wanted to do with them.


    It was interesting to consider, though. How would a lich interact with him?


    "Let''s go," whispered Li. He and Azhar were both wrapped in cloaks, making them rather shady figures, but they used the darkened paths of the alleyways to get around. And also, Meld had preemptively called off security patrols in the area to prevent unnecessary interference.


    Li and Azhar got to the entrance of Lakeside Bounty. It was quite arge building, and far unlike any of the regr taverns elsewhere. It was a building of polished marble andcquered woods and expensive decorations themed with nature. Flowing vines dotted with flowers hung from the restaurant''s walls like colorful banners and drooped down to the entrance like curtains.


    "We''re just gonna'' break in through the front door?" said Azhar, worried. "This ain''t no lowtown tavern or somethin''. Ingredients in the pantry here''s worth more than gold, you can bet this ce is locked down mighty hard. Probably got dozens of protective runes on this door as well as scryin'' spells all around that''ll notify guards toe pourin'' in."


    "Azhar, you''re my follower now, right?" said Li.


    "Yeah, but what''s that got to do with this?"


    "Then it''s about time you understood what I can do."


    Li closed his fist and cast [Bloodborne Seed]. He felt his health deplete as the A ranked spell consumed a chunk of his max health to create a seed that could form into a powerful familiar. He did not need a familiar, but this was the only way he could deal enough damage to himself.


    Li opened his fist and held a gleaming red seed the size of a peach''s pit to Azhar. "Take this and keep it with you. Think of it as a gift, I guess. Toss it on the ground when you''re really, really desperate."


    "A-alright?" said Azhar as he took the seed and pocketed it.


    "Now then, surveince is what you''re worried about, right? And low tier magical defenses?" Li raised an arm. He summoned his Celestial tier item, the [Thousand Eye Bands], and manifested it around his forearm.


    The ck cloth wrapped around his human arm like a snake. Red eyes gleaming with chaotic knowledge opened from all around the cloth, zing with a power that warped the space around them.


    "What the hell is that!?" said Azhar as he took steps back, his eyes wide as he met the stare of the crimson pupils that radiated with an alien power infinitely beyond any he had ever felt in his life.


    "Keep quiet," said Li. "It''s a favorite item of mine. It has a friendly pet in it that can cast some spells for me."


    Li channeled his damage, converting it into an offering for Sho''Gath, the entity trapped within the band. His damage flowed out of him in red strands of magical energy that flowed into the band, feeding the eldritch force within.


    "Cast [Thousand Layered Veil]," said Li.


    The eyes widened, glowing even brighter in response.


    "If you feel your mind slipping away from you," said Li to Azhar. "Then try not to look at me. But don''t worry, if you go insane, I can heal you."


    As Li finished his words, a surge of solid darkness swirled around his form. It thinned out into a translucent dark aura. Angry red eyes swam through the aura, and as they cast their hateful gaze on the door, countless runic inscriptions shed momentarily before shattering into wisps of broken magical energy.


    Inside the restaurant, several scrying spells meant to spy on whoever stepped in faded away, destroyed by eldritch forces infinitely beyond their capabilities to withstand.


    "This is an anti-magic spell," said Li. "It grants me an aura that destroys any low tier magic around me, including irvoyance and defensive runes like this. Also makes it so that my presence is obscured, though since I''m not an assassin, the effect is just limited to making me look like a monstrosity so hideous it would drive any mortals looking at me insane or something like that.


    In general, though, very helpful for wiping out traps in dungeons or confusing people in tense fights."


    Azhar nodded, and by now, he had closed his eyes.


    "Follow my footstep. You can keep your eyes closed for now. Don''t worry about your safety, either." Li grabbed the door in front of him and pushed, tearing it from its hinges like it was made from paper.


    "So long as you''re with me, I can guarantee that there is nothing in this world that can harm you, whether you''re blind or not."

 Chapter 133 - Restaurants And Caverns

    As Li and Azhar made their way into the restaurant, Li nodded in appreciation at how vastly more upscale it was than a tavern. He had only ever been inside the Golden gon which was considered a well furnished tavern for adventurers, but this oozed a sense of wealth and ss that made it clear that sword and staff slinging fighters that dirtied themselves with blood and sweat did not belong.


    The floors wereprised entirely of polished, decorated marble and scented cedar wood. A lush and exotic carpet lined with long, iridescent furs from a Killermeleon furled out into a path that led up to a receiving counter where, presumably, an attendant would ascertain reservations and likely take coats or bags to a sealed wardrobe nearby.


    Passing the counter, Li could see an interior filled with round tables draped over with white cloth clean as fresh snow. Cushioned chairs lined these tables, and there was not a single speck of dust or dirt in any crevice of either furniture or floor. The walls were decorated with vibrant paintings of naturalndscapes, and these paintings were nked by long windows that would have let in plenty of sunny light during the day.


    "You mentioned you ate in ces like this before?" said Li as he kept forwards, smelling a fragrance of wildflowers floating through the air. "No offense, but it doesn''t seem like your kind of thing."


    "Well, I was curious bout'' the whole restaurant thing," said Azhar, his eyes closed as he followed behind Li. "Knew it was for rich snobs, but when I ate the food, damn it was good. And I like good food. But yer right, Lakeside Bounty''s a little above my paygrade."


    Li raised a brow. As he moved, he could hear pops and crackles. Faint lights burst across the walls and on the floor as automated defensive runes and spying spells broke apart. By now, he had likely stepped over and disabled several explosive runes, paralysis cages, cursed wards, and other trivial little things.


    "You??re a silver ranked adventurer, aren''t you? Don''t you get paid enough?"


    Azharughed. "Us adventurers might make good moneypared to regr folk, but at the end of the day, unless we''re golds and famous, we ain''t rollin'' in coin. This here ain''t a ce for regr folk ¨C it''s for the elite. The noblest of the fattest of nobles. That whole deal."


    "Interesting. Maybe this ce can give me the goods I need to feed Tia." Li paused. "But onto business at hand. I can sense lives underneath us. A decent bit underneath us. The only issue is I don''t have tracking spells I can use without a target, so I''m not entirely sure where the path is to get to this undergroundpartment, and I don''t want to make too big a scene and blow a crater into the floor."


    Li''s arsenal of spells were limited to the specialties of his ss and subsses, and since he hadpletely optimized himself as a battle mage, he had long since cut out any general tracking spells that were only useful in PvE, and even then, with online guides, there was no real use for anyone to use spells that revealed locations either.


    Not to mention the fact that Elden World was rather strict about what sses could do. If he was a battle mage, then he was a battle mage ¨C he had limited capacity as a scouter or supporter in the same way that he did not have ess to good stealth spells.


    Which was another reason why Li had brought Azhar specifically.


    "I can help you with that," said Azhar. "With yer spell knockin'' out any interference, I can use my trackin'' spells no issue."


    "Good. I''m counting on you," said Li as he stepped back to let Azhar focus without chipping away at his sanity.


    Azhar knelt to the ground and put his palm onto the cold marble.


    "[Tracking]," he said, invoking the ranger ss spell. As he did so, his eyes lit up, likely seeing a thread of energy visible only to him that led to what he wanted to find.


    "See it?" said Li.


    "Yeah, just follow me." Azhar kept his eyes on the ground as he headed forwards, his posture wary as he thumbed at the dagger at his side.


    "You really don''t have to be worrying," said Li as he eyed Azhar''s caution.


    "I know. Ain''t raggin'' on your abilities, but can''t be countin'' on you all the time, right? Wanna'' keep my senses sharp."


    Eventually, the two made their way past the dining room and back into the kitchen. It was extremely spacious, almost asrge as the dining room itself, and likely could have packed a whole team of dedicated cooks in there. The surfaces were wooden, but they were polished and clean, devoid of any rot indicative of exposure to moisture and foodstuffs.


    Kitchen utensils of all kinds of shapes and sizes and uses hung from racks ced strategically around for ease of reach and use, marking out stations for cutting, skinning, trimming, and so on. At the back of the kitchen, there was a massive, irond vault sealed with runes and locks.


    As Li approached, the runes broke apart, leaking out the smell of food within. Food storage, it seemed. Hopefully, they could hire a runesmith early tomorrow to fix the runes again to keep the food preserved.


    Azhar led Li away from the storage and into a small room filled with cleaning supplies. Buckets, mops, and the like.


    "Strange. My eyes are tellin'' me it''s here, but this is just a dead end," said Azhar as he pointed forwards, at the solid and stout wooden wall opposite to them.


    "I see." Li tapped Azhar''s back. "You''ve done well, and you''re right. This is the correct way. Here, I can sense this is magic."


    Li stepped in front of Azhar, and the ranger looked away as the wreaths of darkness curling around Li flitted past him. Li reached his hand to the wall and pushed it through. It sank into the wall as if it were made of water.


    "It''s a portal, which is rather interesting. That''s C ranked magic, at least, which is above your pay grade. In any case, just follow my lead again." Li made sure Azhar had readied himself before stepping through the wall.


    In the next instant, Li found himself in the midst of a cavern so decidedly unlike the pristine environment of the restaurant that he had to blink to reorient himself. An underground cavern sprawled out around him. Stctites from above hung low, asionally dripping some beady moisture.


    The area was well lit withnterns, and Li could see that he was on an elevated tform of rock overlooking a wide and t space filled with the living presences he had sensed from before.


    "The hells is this?" said Azhar as he materialized behind Li.


    "The ve holding spot, I assume, but a little off," said Li. He narrowed his eyes as he got a focused look around. There were likely around two dozen beastwomen lying on two long formations of beds of straw. Around them buzzed humans that tended to them.


    "Don''t look like ve tradin''," said Azhar. "None of the beastwomen are harmed, and they ain''t chained either. The humans are checkin'' em'' for their health, givin'' em'' food and stuff."


    "And they wouldn''t if they weren''t brainwashed," said Li. "All of them. Only reason any of them are staying here is because of that. Brainwashed subjects don''t need to be restrained, and I doubt they can reach this tform to escape."


    And subjects they did seem to be. Azhar was right in that the whole area did not seem so much like a ce to groom ves as much as it was aboratory. The beastwomen here were not groomed up, cleaned, and prettied up as the Feli and Serpi were.


    They were dressed in shabby, loose fitting robes. There were also long tables packed not only with food, but with vials of strange liquid and alchemical instrument.


    "Azhar, can you make big jumps?"


    "Yeah, I got a skill for that."


    "Good." Li jumped down the tform, falling perhaps ten meters as his feet hit solid earth with an echoing crack.


    Azharnded beside him, blue energy from the horse tattoos on his arm reinforcing his legs. He grimaced. "Damn, at this rate, I ain''t gonna'' have knees to stand on when I''m old."


    "Think it a blessing to get old in the first ce." Li switched off his aura.


    "Ya ain''t keepin'' that spell up? What if someone sees us?"


    Li shook his head. "I''d want them to see us. Nobody from the public is going to be spying on us here. And besides, I''d also be breaking everyone''s mind control if I came up to them with that aura active. Sounds good in theory, but if all of them snap out of it, it''ll just cause mass mayhem."


    Li walked up to the middle of the whole operation, but he found that nobody reacted to him. They all just lounged around or moved about with lifeless expressions stered on their faces. Obviously, they were not programmed to deal with intruders, which made the job easier.


    "So then, what are we gonna'' do? It''s gonna be mighty hard movin'' everyone here out," said Azhar. "Can ya cast portal magic too?"


    "Not the right kind," said Li. "I can banish someone into a dimension of infinite horrors, but that won''t do here."


    Azhar gave Li a concerned sidelong nce. "Yeah, sounds bout'' right."


    "But hopefully, the being running all this will be kind enough to make a portal for us."


    "Huh?"


    Li could sense the magic near him. It radiated in warm pulses, and as he faced towards its direction, it got warmer and warmer until finally, in the middle of the cavern and enclosed in a heavily fortified box, was the phctery.


    From the beginning, when Li heard that there were three different locations where there were mind controlled beings, he realized that whoever was behind this could control familiars from multiple locations. He did not rule out the possibility that there were multiple people running the operation, but he doubted it.


    All of them would have to be able to cast mass mind control which was highly unlikely that there were multiple existences capable of the feat. Not only that, but mind control was a warlock spell, and warlocks were already very far and few in between in this world due to being purged, making the possibility that there were many high level warlocks just sitting in Riviera extremely unlikely.


    No, it was most likely that just one powerful being was doing this. Normally, however, mass and remote familiar control like this was not possible as evidenced by Li being unable to issue directmands to his Myrmeke once he strayed too far away from it.


    However, it was possible for a single race to subvert this limitation, and they were also the most suited to be warlocks lore wise: liches. Liches could split their soul into phcteries, physical orbs that they could nt in various locations which acted like beacons where they could remotely cast spells and issuemands to their summons.


    Not only that, but the phcteries were like extra lives, allowing for resurrection through them if the lich''s main body was destroyed, though there were certainly restrictions involved.


    "What''s this?" said Azhar as he kicked the box. He sted backwards as a warding rune activated, and as he groaned, he said, "Right, forgot you turned off yer spell."


    "If you''re talking like that, I''m going to assume you don''t need healing. It''s a phctery. Part of a lich''s soul, though whether this is an Elder Lich or not, I''m not sure yet." Li reached his hand to the box, ready to destroy it. He might not have tracking spells he could conjure up in general, but he did know curses that could track down targets.


    One of the weaknesses of the phctery was that any curses on it transferred to their owner, and so this would be a very easy way to scope out the lich''s location.


    After that, it was just a matter of ''negotiating'' before Li could convince the lich to submit to his wishes.


    "A lich?" Azhar''s eyes widened. "That ain''t right. Whole lot of em'' got wiped out couple hundred years ago. Only undead that roam round'' now are basic zombies and skeletons, but even then, proper burial''s got most of their numbers out too."


    "Such is the arrogance of mortals."


    The atmosphere in the room changed. All the beastwomen and humans aside from Azhar froze like puppets with their strings held taught. A distinct chill settled through the air.


    A maelstrom of purple and ck energies swirled behind Li and Azhar, and from the chaotic portal emerged a man dressed in a deep purple suit. He was a little old, perhaps middle aged, but seemed healthy enough. A monocle covered one of his amethyst eyes, and a lengthy, white dotted beard and mustache drooped from his mouth.


    Overall, the look of a refined academic.


    "I have been expecting you two," said the man as he cracked his neck, a crackle of magical energy surging from the movement.


    Azhar instantly got onto his feet and darted back to make distance. He withdrew his enchanted bow and nocked an arrow. "Yer right. This guy ain''t no joke. I can feel he''s somethin'' else, unlike anythin'' I''ve faced before."


    Li nodded at the disguised lich. "Great. Now I don''t have to waste time tracking you down."

 Chapter 134 - Immortals

    "All of you, scatter. Take cover." said the lich. He put his hand into the air and waved it with a flourish. In an instant, all the mind-controlled humans and beastwomen moved away, huddling behind rocks or going to the corners of the cavern.


    "You aren''t going to use them?" said Li. "As a Warlock, I''d assume you had them under your control to use as blood sacrifices or fodder to create more undead."


    The lich shrugged. "They would produce only mindless drivel. My research is meant to ascend them to a level simr to mine. Then, at least, I might have a proper conversation with one of my fellow kind."


    Azhar stepped forwards, his bowstring nocked back and an arrowhead strung taught between his fingers. "So yer tryin'' to get more of yer kind here, huh? After all the misery your type has caused? Ain''t gonna'' happen on my watch."


    He loosed the arrow, a swirl of green energy fluttering behind the feathers of the arrow. Li recognized the particles as [Snipe].


    The lich ignored Azhar as the arrow bounced off of his chest, not even tearing his clothes. He continued to talk to Li. "I presume you are familiar with Warlocks. Quite interesting. You must be long lived, then, for we have not practiced our magic in centuries. Yet you still stand with this human here?"


    "Not long lived, just knowledgeable," said Li. He motioned around him, to theb and to all the ves. "And I am here to put an end to this whole¡­operation."


    Azhar nocked another arrow, but did not fire, knowing it would be useless.


    The lich nodded. "And I thought I was guaranteed sce for my research. I suppose I cannot trust an immortal''s promises either."


    Azhar cocked his head, and Li felt curious too. An immortal? Surely, the lich was working with Chevrette. Was Chevrette himself not human?


    "An immortal?" asked Li. "Do you mean Chevrette?"


    The lich raised a brow and stroked his moustache. "Chevrette? Hm." He paused for a few seconds, wondering. "Ah! The wealthy nobleman, correct? Him? Never. I would not stoop to working with fickle mortal minds."


    "That don''t make no damn sense," said Azhar. "All this here is for Chevrette''s ve ring."


    "very? How inane." The lichughed. "I have no use for ves. No, like I said, this is for my research to produce more of my kind. I am presented with a selection of beastwomen whom are naturally magically virile, and among them, I select the finest whom I build up into fine vessels capable of undergoing ascension. Though-,"


    The lich sighed as he looked around, eyeing the hiding ves. "I am yet to be sessful."


    Li raised his hand to quiet Azhar as he noticed the bowman was ready to protest.


    "Who presents the selection? Who helped you set this all up? Surely, you wouldn''t have been able to sneak all this equipment in here, get all these beastwomen from the north, and brainwash these humans to make them your mules without some form of help."


    "Quite right. In this human form, I am but a mere cobbler in midtown. I do not have the means to arrange all of this, and I do not have the best rtionship with the vampires capable of aiding me here, considering I have used a few of their kind for some of my experiments."


    The lich took a good look at Li. "I can sense immense magical power flowing within you, but to what degree, I cannot truly tell, nor can I seem to gauge whether you are mortal or not, even with this monocle of truesight.


    I intended to eliminate you two to silence word of my operation, but I understand now that will be fairly difficult. Conflict is always myst resort. I sense that you are not truly here for me, but the one who has given me this research opportunity.


    So I present unto you an offer. I shall name this being and lead you to it, and in turn, you will allow me to continue my research. I can always find another willing to aid me for my services. Perhaps it is time I mend my bad blood with the vampires, though I suppose I do not truly have blood flowing through my bones."


    "Ain''t gonna'' happen." Azhar looked to Li. "You ain''t seriously gonna'' let this freak go, right? He''s a threat to all of mankind like this, just like his kind was two hundred years ago."


    "A threat?" The lich let loose a scornfulugh. "Who determined that? We High Undead of Kel''Thor Citadel lived in order, in harmony, in peace, seeking out and preserving knowledge. We were not gued by the biases that renders your kind so unstable. No discrimination, no short-sighted infighting, no irrational hatred.


    Why do you think so many mages of your kind came among our midst? Why do you think so many donned the ck robes to be warlocks? Do you think it is because they were evil? ck at heart? No, it is because they were persecuted for their curiosity, for their affinity to a magic deemed ursed."


    "Bullshit." Azhar shot another arrow in anger, and this time, the lich caught it in his hand. The arrow withered away, the wood rotting and falling apart into slivers of ck dust. "It''s cause'' of yer'' kind that so many undead roamed thends. How many families ya think got torn apart limb from limb cause'' of yer skeletons and zombies?"


    "Undeath, too, is part of the grand Cycle," said the lich. "When life bes too overpowering, when you mortal cockroaches multiply too quickly, the curse of undeath bes stronger, and so the mindless undead arise to cull your numbers. It is a natural phenomenon set by the World itself.


    The only ones to me are yourselves.


    But of course, you mortals cannot understand. All you humans, you elves, beasts, , goblins, orcs, and all the other colorful walking bags of useless blood and flesh decided that our paradise of knowledge was the cause of this and razed our citadel to the ground.


    What did that aplish? Undead still arise to this day."


    "And now, we got em'' under control," said Azhar. "There''s so few of ya undead that there ain''t no viges getting'' swarmed by freaks no more."


    "And you think that is because Kel''Thor Citadel is no more? The Citadel was razed two hundred years ago, but the undead hordes did not falter until recently, when foul foreign magics such as your heroes and those elven war machines intervened."


    "Don''t matter how it happened. World''s still been better off without yer kind. Even now, yer yin'' with innocent lives here, twisting them and sacrificin'' them. All those that failed yer ''ascension'' ended up dying, didn''t they? And ya think all these people want to be under yer control for the rest of their lives?"


    "All of these beastwomen would have been ves their entire lives, far from home, away from hope and happiness. I would have granted them mercy. If one of them ascended, they would have lived an undeath far better than the lot that life granted them. And the working humans? They are all criminals sourced from the underbelly of this society. Why do you think none havee looking for them?"


    The lich shook his head. "There wille a time when you will feel the rot emanating from these corrupting foreign influences you ce faith in. These heroes and this technology that you hold dear will be your undoing."


    The lich looked to Li. "So, what shall it be? You are unlike any being I have ever met or studied before, so surely, you understand what it means to be alone? Will you not grand me but this research to my name?"


    Li shook his head. "As circumstances are as they are right now, I''m afraid I can''t do that. What you have now has to end. This-," Li motioned to theb around him. "cannot continue."


    Li was firm on this. The current ving operation as it was right now had topletely end for Li''s ns to work. He had toe out of this raid with freed ves or else there would be far too many suspicions raised. But that did not mean he was immune to the lich''s plight.


    The lich breathed out a deep sigh that seemed tost an eternity. He seemed to dete as the breath left him, as if every ounce of his being were being ejected from him. His skin sagged and sallowed, aging as wrinkles wreathed around it.


    "Very well," said the lich. "Then I, Ven''Thur of the Fel Citadel, have no choice but to fight. When Kel''Thor raised me as one of his liches, he told me to preserve knowledge with all my might, and for this research I have gathered, I shall do just that."


    The lich took a hand to his face and tore it off. The skin peeled off like a cheap mask before scattering into particles. Beneath, there was a human skull, the eye sockets glowing with blue fire. A diadem gleaming with malevolent energy shed at his forehead. The monocle, however, stayed on, the ss magnifying the lich''s fiery gaze.


    The rest of the lich''s flesh and blood form scattered apart, and the purple suit transmuted into a set of dark purple robes that billowed of their own ord, the movements whispering out quiet wails.


    The lich pointed a skeletal finger to Azhar. "[Death Grip]"


    Instantly, Li stepped in front of Azhar with a speed almost akin to teleportation. One small arc ofvender energy crackled from the lich''s hand, sparking towards Azhar but instead hitting Li''s chest. Aside from that, it did nothing, fizzling out of existence with just a tiny little pop.


    Azhar stepped back in shock before drawing his bow back again. "Heh, what kinda spell was that? Looked like a little tickle. Disappointin'',ing from a high and mighty lich."


    "That would have instantly killed you by exploding your heart and brain," said Li. "He has instant death spells that bypass any defense you can muster. I don''t mean to insult you, but you should get back and stay back."


    "Oh? He means something to you?" said Ven''Thur. "My apologies. I thought him an unneeded mortal essory amidst a duel of beings that are far more. And I must admit I was thoroughly annoyed by him."


    "Sometimes, he can be like that, but he is one of my followers," said Li. "I have a duty to protect him."


    "Follower? Ah, you should have told me sooner. I do not like harming other''s property. But now, I suppose the formalities end." The lich raised both his hands to his sides. They started to draw in vast amounts of magical energy, distorting the space around them as they formed into orbs of ck that floated above his palms. "Come, discard your mortal fa?ade. It is only proper."


    "You''re right," said Li. He nced back to Azhar. "Azhar, you wanted to know what I was, right? Then get a good look at me. If you have second thoughts about being my follower afterwards, then let me know."


    Li stepped forwards, his skin beginning to slough off as he faced the lich.

 Chapter 135 - The Light

    When the Ven''Thur shed his form, revealing the dread of a skeletal form that stood at the pinnacle of might in this new world, a distinct presence had filled the entirety of the cavern. It was like death personified, causing the air to chill, to almost feel as if it had solidified into creeping tendrils that snaked across the skin, around the neck to constrict breath, sinking into the heart and making it race.


    Even the mind controlled beastwomen and criminals could not suppress their survival instincts, and they all shivered in unison as they huddled behind rocks, tables, anything they could find some sce in. Azhar could resist it, his adventurer''s heart having been tempered through the forge of countless life and death battles.


    As Li''s manifested into existence, it was almost like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon. His barked and horned form stretching out from the peels of his human encasing in a metamorphosis that precious few in this world had ever seen and lived to tell the tale of.


    And when Li peeled away his human fa?ade, an entirely new presence arose. No, rather, it charged in like cavalry, crashing into the lich''s deathly presence and driving it away like antern light raised against the dark.


    It was not a presence of death, nor was it one of hope. It was one of sheer, neutral power. Pure, devastatingly raw power that rumbled the cavern. It surged around Li''s form, shadowing it in tendrils of darkness so engorged on magical power that they seemed more like pirs that rose far up, crashing into the cavern''s ceiling and shattering the rock, sending debris falling every which way.


    Amidst this raging sea of darkness, there was but one point of glowing whiteness, but this light was not at all a symbol of hope: it was Li''s skeletal face, his eye sockets glowing with green.


    Li did not look back as he addressed Azhar, but he could tell through whatever it was that linked them that the bowman was not taking well to seeing his true form. "So? Now you truly know what I am. Any second thoughts? And do not worry about your wounds. I will heal themter regardless of your answer."


    Azhar had fallen upon his knees, his hand thrust on the ground as a hasty pir to support his shaking body. His breathing was deep but still only managed to take in shallow breaths, as if he were suffocating in a vacuum. Blood trickled from his mouth, ears, and eyes as the intensity of Li''s presence wreaked havoc upon his body and brain.


    "I thought you were just simr, but yer exactly like it. The dark presence in the spirit realm, the sleeping void that''s gonna swallow everythin'' up when it wakes. Yer the end of all things."


    Li remained neutral. "Perhaps I am, perhaps I am not."


    "But ya know what? I don''t care." Li heard as Azhar''s body gave out, slumping onto the stone floor. "I followed you cause'' I knew you were good enough to protect the old man and the farm, even if you felt off. If it??????s the end yer bringin'', so long as yer bringin'' it against the people and things I care bout'', then I''m fine with it."


    "Where did that humanitarianism you preached go?"mented Ven''thur. "Truly you lot are fickle."


    Azhar was too weak to answer by this point. Perhaps he had not even heard the lich''s words. Instead, Li spoke.


    "Is this better?" asked Li as he stepped forwards, a small cyclone of debris starting to whirl around him as his power convulsed.


    "Much better." Ven''Thur peered upon Li, and his monocle shattered, the ss breaking up into brittle dust. He took the spheres of special distortion shimmering above his palms and mashed them together into one, preparing an attack.


    "Wonderful. I cannot glean at all what you are, and yet, I understand you are above me, above Kel''Thor, above the gods themselves, perhaps. You are one above all and yet known by none. It is truly an honor to have the chance to indulge my final moments facing against something so new, so unknown. I shall consider it my final study."


    "Unfortunately, this study session might have to end early," said Li as he waved a skeletal hand around him. Even through the mind control, the normal beastwomen and humans had be petrified in Li''s presence, their breathing even halting as their eyes widened, their minds slowly breaking apart at the seams.


    "But I will give you a chance to impress me: let loose your blows, spells, and skills - all the crystallization of your journey for knowledge."


    "It would be shameful not to grace your presence with but my very best." Ven''thur thrust his hands out, sending forward the condensed ball of special distortion.


    In a sh, Li appeared directly in front of Ven''thur and grabbed the ball between his own branched hands. It was [Gravity Bomb], a projectile that would explode into a void that sucked in everything to deal damage over time, but if it was stopped early, it would instead be massive damage to a single target.


    Li chose to stop it to prevent environmental damageing upon either the ves or Azhar.


    The spell itself was a formidable B ranked spell, and one that magic users with a subss as Portalists favored as their best damage attack until they reached thete game. The lich himself slightly over level 80, nearing the top end of this world''s power scaling.


    Li put pressure into his hands, squashing the ball of manipted space out of existence like popping a balloon. "So you''re a Warlock primary with a Portalist subss. You have two other subsses to show off. Show them."


    A purple tether shed behind Venthur, attaching at the end of the cavern. His body vanished as he teleported to the end of the tether to create distance between himself and Li. This was [Anchored Presence], an useful spell to use for Portalists who wanted to scout out unknown areas but needed to instantly teleport back to a spot when they encountered danger.


    By setting an anchor point in space and tethering themselves to it, they could achieve low cost, instantaneous teleportation where most portal spells required channels and high mana costs.


    The lich syed his fingers out and then curled them back in a squishing motion.


    Li watched as the ground under him split apart. A massive skeletal hand rose upwards, mming its fist shut around him in a cage of reinforced bone. He put his hands on either side of the fist enclosing him and pressed outwards, forcing the hand open.


    "You''re also a Skeleton Mage, I see." Li noted as in the brief time he had spent in the hand, Ven''thur had raised a dozen undead. They were brawny,rge boned skeletons that Li recognized as Skeleton Brutes, level 50 warrior ss monsters. Each was dressed in glowing magical armor and wielding a variety of weapons ranging from swords to spears to axes to bows.


    "Interesting. So you know how to work your skills together." Li was not interested in the skeletons. They were fodder to him. Instead, he looked to Ven''thur. The lich floated in the sky and channeled his magic through a portal that spat out more and more skeletal warriors and, now, robed bone mages. These were previously created summons that he was simply transferring over, exining how he could raise them so quickly.


    Li, for the first time on this world, manifested his staff: the ck Beauty. He felt the familiar weight of the staff, of the Orphan impaled at its end that cooed in anticipation for carnage.


    "But surely, you can do better? An eternity to research, and this is all?" Li''s words were not demeaning. They were encouraging. He truly wanted to know if the lich had more.


    With casual motions, Li swung his staff around, annihting skeletal summons in one hit, each staff blow reducing the mighty summons into showers of bone fragments. Flickers of swirling green and red followed his swings, indicating that he had been buffed with [Dire Frenzy], his favorite stat boost spell.


    "I have always been fascinated by the nature of death," said Ven''thur from high above. "Liches, dragons, spirits, and vampires. All creatures that have cheated it, and yet, they cannot truly escape it. If vampires are deprived of blood, they die. If we liches have our cores destroyed, we die.


    So I thought: is it true for the gods also? Those four great wonders that etched their magic and knowledge into the very veins of this world?"


    "An easy question to answer. It is true." Li made his way forwards, obliterating a horde of skeletons as he did so. He did not rush. Though he knew he could not let the lich go on for too much longer considering the condition of all the mortals around them, he did want to see this one attack the lich seemed to be stalling for with his summons.


    "Then I am relieved to find that the vast breadth of my research has been proven true." Ven''thur peered down at Li. Countless purple and ck runes were circling around him, swirling into formations that clicked and crackled with power. "But this is the problem with searching for knowledge. There are only more questions. Like now. If the gods can be forced to face death, then how about you?"


    Li found himself surprised as darkness spawned from the runes around Ven''thur, engulfing them both.


    "Now this is new," said Li as he peered around, his voice projecting magically through a vacuum. An environment of cratered white rock and dust expanded around him. The darkness of space was visible above, each twinkle of every star and celestial body distinctly visible now that there was no atmosphere to impede them.


    The moon.


    Venthur''s form floated above Li. A capsule of obsidian energy shimmered around him, and behind him, a thin thread of purple linked back like a tether, extending infinitely back towards the green and blue rock of the that floated an incalcble distance away.


    "Spirits are immortal for they draw upon the earth and the elements. The gods themselves are above death because they reside upon the World which grants them an anchor upon which they can imprint their power and influence." Ven''thur pointed a finger back to the. "But they are only worshiped upon that tiny little rock. What influence do they have here? What greatness protects them here?"


    "So you intend to try and kill me here." Li had never seen this spell before. It was Ven''thur''s own invention, and the idea of the unknown did bring a bit of caution to him.


    "I have already tried." Ven''thur shrugged. Cracks began to form around his skeletal face, magical energy leaking out as he exerted himself sustaining this spell. "This spell is two partsbined into one. The first binds us together and channels our presences out here. The second imparts an instant death spell during travel. You have already been struck by it. You are beyond death, even in this cold, distant void."


    Ven''thur floated down to the ground. Clouds of dust arose around him as his form settled upon the moon''s surface. "If you are bored of this poor disy, then eliminate me to return. The tether keeping us here will reel us back in when I am unable to sustain it."


    "By the looks of it, you will run out of magical energy quite soon anyway," said Li. "But Imend you. This spell shows me just how much the rules of magic can be altered. How knowledge and research can produce miracles from magic that I once thought immutable.


    For that, I will send your physical form off in a nova of destruction. The site of your grave will be visible to all upon the world to remember."


    Li appeared in front of Ven''thur before the lich had time to perceive anything. Li wrapped his hand around the lich''s skull, enveloping it entirely. The lich did not move, nor did he have the energy to.


    A bright, orange light began to emanate from Li''s body. The brown of his bark became infused with an intense brightness that lit up the emptiness of space. Heat cascaded from his form, turning everything around him intensely red hot.


    "Be witness to magic you have never once fathomed. Be basked in the light of an Ultima-ss spell." Li felt a surge of health leave him, and he took his hand off from the lich. On the lich''s forehead, embedded into the ruby on his skull, was a single golden seed that seemed to be fashioned out of pure light and energy given solid form.


    "So this¡­," said Ven''thur in pure awe and wonder as he felt power he could never even conceptualize flowing through his body in such an overwhelming torrent that it broke him down at a primordial level. As cracks etched through his skull, leaking bright energy, he uttered, "This is enlightenment."


    "It''s good that I could make you wonder again. Then, until we meet again. [Fusion Seed: Release]."

 Chapter 136 - Moon Star

    Light bright enough to have permanently blinded any human engulfed them both.


    Darkness followed, and Li found himself back at the cavern, right where he had been before. Around him, piles of inanimate bones and magical equipmenty strewn about, as did countless shattered vials and broken pieces of alchemical equipment tossed about from the fight.


    A few fledgling fires were beginning to flutter up, born from mmable alchemical vials and gnawing away at anything mmable they could sink their fiery teeth on. Still, though, because this was a damp, enclosed cavern full of solid rock, it was difficult for the fires to spread quickly, though eventually, everything would be engulfed.


    Li went to Azhar''s prone body and tapped the bowman on his head, casting a healing spell. As he did so, his leshen form became wrapped in flowing bands of magical energy, reconstructing his human form once more.


    Azhar coughed as he raised himself up.


    "Back to this form?" he said as he wiped blood from his face.


    "Can''t be scaring everyone," said Li as he motioned to the ves and workers still stationed around the cavern. They were still huddled behind cover just as the lich had told them to with hisst order.


    "They ain''t free from that monster''s control?" remarked Azhar.


    "Because he isn''t dead yet," said Li. "Liches can be resurrected so long as one of their cores, their phcteries, remains intact." He walked over to the sealed box at the center of theb that held the lich''s phctery. With a strong chop, he shattered through both the strengthened iron bars of the box and the runic barriers protecting it.


    Li reached into the box and withdrew the phctery ¨C a gleaming ruby red orb the size of a baseball. It shimmered in regr intervals, and as its bloody red light shed and dimmed, it emanated pulses of power much like a heartbeat.


    "Then we gotta'' destroy it," said Azhar.


    Li shook his head. "Not necessary. And I will not budge on that position."


    Azhar took in Li''s firm tone and nodded. "Aight. I''ll be trustin'' you on this one."


    "As you should." Li put the orb close to his ear. If memory served him right, liches could stillmunicate through those that made contact with their phctery even if their physical bodies had been destroyed.


    ''When you said we would meet again soon, I did not imagine it would be this soon,'' came the lich''s voice as it rung into Li''s head.


    ''As it just so happens to be, I needed you for something. I''m assuming you won''t have anyints listening to me?''


    ''Not at all. To do so would be sphemous. You are one that holds lock and key to power unfathomable and transcendent. Your wisdom is one to be revered and respected.''


    ''Then I want you to keep up your mind control of theseb hands and ves and lead them out the portal you made. Get them to follow me out.''


    ''I shall do that.''


    ''And don''t worry so much about your lost research. If you decide to be stay within my midst, I will make sure that you can continue it, though as I''ve said before, you may have to change certain parts of it. Taking ves and lives will only bring unwanted attention to yourself and, if you bind yourself to me, to me as well.''


    ''Truly? Then most certainly I shall follow within your midst. It would be foolish to reject an offer as generous as this.''


    ''d to see you understand. Now then, let''s get these people moving.''


    Li pocketed the orb and beckoned Azhar to his side. "We''re getting out of here. Everyone else will follow."


    As they made their way back to the end of the cavern where the portal floated, Azhar looked behind to see that, indeed, all the beastwomen andbhands were making their way behind them in an orderly manner far too coordinated to have been natural movements.


    "They''re still bein'' controlled?" said Azhar.


    "For a good reason. I came here knowing that a lich was manning this operation. I hedged my bets that if I overpowered him enough, he would follow my wishes, and as a result, would let me move this many people out without the hassle of having to deal with theirbined panic and hysteria."


    "I gotcha'' on that, but thing I''m worried bout'' is where they''re gonna'' go." Azhar scanned the small crowd filing behind him and furrowed his brows. "What''s this? Twenty, no, almost thirty people. The criminals that got jacked to work here, we can toss back into the dungeons, but the beastwomen, ain''t nobody gonna'' take em'' in."


    "A way will be found," said Li. He did understand he would have to tackle this logistics issue, and he did have ast ditch n of creating a shelter using his spells for them in the forest, but the shelter in question was rather high level and far too impressive to openly use right now. "For now, we get them out. The other two raid teams will be dealing with this same issue as well, and I can''t imagine the heroes don''t have an idea of what to do with housing these witnesses."


    ==================


    Moving everyone out was a simple matter. Li and Azhar found that there was a way to get back up to the portal involving an elevator system using an enchanted tform of stone, and it wasrge enough to get everyone up and through the portal in two lifts.


    From there, Li led them out of the restaurant, but here, there came a bit of a surprise. Though,e to think of it, Li figured that this was a rather expected result of his actions.


    "The hell? Why''s everyone out and bout'' this time of the night?" said Azhar as his eyes darted from side to side, scanning the small groups of peopleing out of their homes, the guard knights raising their helm visors and craning their heads to the night sky.


    "Look up," said Li.


    "What the-?" Azhar''s eyes narrowed, then widened. "It''s like there''s a star on top of the moon. I ain''t ever seen nothin'' like it."


    Li nodded. A bright twinkle of light was shimmering over the moon, covering it. It was obvious that this was no star ¨C the light came far closer and brighter than the ever distant sparkles of suns light years away. No, this was a light that flowered atop the moon itself, visible in the sky to every single living being upon this with eyes to bear witness.


    As always, the effects of [Fusion Seed] were shy. At the same time, it was expected that the detonation of a celestial seed capable of matching the intensity of sr nuclear fusion was this noticeable.


    "A star above the moon? Has the drink gotten to me eyes?" said a man a street away. He hade out of a tavern with a crowd of people to witness this awing sight.


    "Nay, it''s true. Surely, this must be the work of gods," another said.


    "Aye, and that is why the temples must be consulted. Surely, light such as this is an omen of good?" came another much more concerned voice.


    Li ignored the crowds and made his way back to the Golden gon, the set rendezvous point for each raiding party to meet after their jobs were done.


    "Did you do that?" asked Azhar.


    "Yes, so feel free to treat it as a good omen," said Li. "Now then, going to the gon involves cutting through what will now be popted streets. Do you have the badge?"


    Azhar fumbled into his pocket and withdrew the same star shaped badge that Meld used to exercise her authority. She had granted one temporarily to each raiding party to prevent anyone from questioning their activities. "Guess I can use this, but it''s no guarantee it''ll calm anyone''s panic. Beastwomen ain''t exactly inspirin'' confidence with how dangerous people think they are."


    Li nodded. "If ites down to it, I can put these people to sleep if they make a ruckus."


    A deeply concerned expression creased into Azhar''s brows.


    "Not the eternal type of sleep," said Li as he rolled his eyes. "Honestly, I feel like you have the wrong image of me in your head. Now, let''s stop wasting time and get to the tavern."

 Chapter 137 - Victims

    The Golden gon was eerily empty. A good thing, too, because it let Li pack in all the beastwomen and captive humans into the confines of the inn''s first floor. Ven''Thur was rather considerate, piloting his mind-controlled subjects so that they took up the space efficiently.


    Thentern lights were on in the inn, flickering at regr intervals around the walls and making everyone''s shadows cast long and narrow across the floor. The innkeeper who doubled as a bartender was still there, eyeing the new crowd of strange people with a raised brow, but overall, he did not seem to be too phased, as if he had expected this.


    "Innkeep, the hell''s goin'' on?" said Azhar as he cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders ¨C a habit of his that he did every time he got healed.He had Meld''s badge wrapped in one of his hands, ready to sh it to avoid unnecessary conflicts. "Ain''t nobody round'' here, and it ain''t like we adventurers ever have days off."


    The innkeep answered. "The heroes have told me about this case of yours and ordered me to empty the gon''s rooms for tonight. A good thing, too, considering how many are now here." He pushed his spectacles up as he got a better look at the room and its wide breadth of denizens. His eyes showed only mild interest, making it evident that as an innkeep for adventurers, nothing was truly out of the ordinary for him.


    "Ah yes, the honored Meld also wishes me to tell the good Easterner that should you be here before them, to simply wait. She understands that you may have finished this task much sooner than them and does not want you to worry."


    "That so? Guess it means we''re ahead of schedule," said Azhar as he took a seat at one of the few empty tables.


    Li sat next to him and wondered. "It means she had a feeling we would get through with this sooner than them."


    "Good thing she knows we''re better than her and her mutant folk," said Azhar with a shrug.


    "You really don''t like these heroes, do you? It''s quite refreshing to see, honestly. I''m kind of tired seeing so many people lick these heroes'' boots."


    "After the demon wars, the heroes took to makin'' sure us hintenders out west didn''t raid or make any noise no more. Beat down our chiefs while we were still reelin'' from the demon war, the same war where the capitol didn''t lift a finger to help us and told us to be obedient little folk or else. People here know of these mutants as war heroes, but there ain''t one man''s hero is another man''s viin if ya ask me."


    "I see." Li put a contemtive finger to his chin. "Doesn''t seem like the heroes are too well liked outside the boundaries of this duchy, then. From what I know of them, it seems like they''re used like superweapons against other countries like the Republic. Can''t imagine that fosters goodwill either."


    "Right." Azhar sighed. "But ain''t like I can me these folk either. Demon war did hit em'' hard, and heroes did pull em'' outta'' it, no question bout'' that. Hate to admit it, but without that shining bastard of a hero, we''d all be demon food. Makes sense they treat these heroes like gods."


    "Considering how the duchess has intertwined the heroes in the religion, it''s worship in a very literal sense." Li waved the topic away. "But that''s that. What I''m interested about is why Meld would have a contingency in case we finished our raid sooner than them."


    Azhar blinked. "Why? Ain''t it proper procedure? I know when we adventurers get on multi-party hunts, the party that gets back first waits for the others to be done with their parts."


    Li waved his hand down, motioning for Azhar to speak quieter.


    "That''s true, but at the same time, look at how these raiding parties were divided up." Li raised a finger. "We all struck at around the same time. The first part consisted of elite members of the knights of Lys. Second was Jeanne, Sylvie, and the two heroes. Then it''s us.


    From sheer numbers alone, it would feel like we would have the least manpower being a two man party. Yet Meld left a message singled out for us in case we got here early."


    "Singled out for you specifically. ''Easterner'' and all that," muttered Azhar.


    "It''s like she expected us to b early. Obviously, she could have had a message tailored to each group, but this still bugs me."


    Azhar came to a worried realization. "Figure they know somethin'' bout what you really are? What you can really do?"


    "I''ve always suspected they had an idea of my power. Obviously, I highly doubt they know what I am. From my experiences, when I''m in this human form, nobody, not even the strongest of vampires of spirits, can find out what I am. But they do know that I am a threat, and they tiptoe around me. They amodate me far more than they should."


    "Well, ain''t that a good thing?"


    "You could say that," said Li. He shrugged and leaned back in his chair, his voice rising above a whisper. "It saves me the trouble of having to put them in their ce and causing a hugemotion. And here they are."


    Azhar gave Li a wondering look for just a second before he nodded in understanding. By now, the bowman understood that Li had supernatural senses and to ept what was said to him.


    In a few minutes, Meld, Thunderstrike, Jeanne, and Sylvie came in through the inn doors. Meld and Sylvie were at the front, discussing things with each other while Thunderstrike and Jeanne trailed behind.


    Thunderstrike was ever as steely as ever, his arms crossed as he hovered forwards with a stone cold expression while Jeanne lightly walked behind him, her hands behind her back in a delicate, feminine gait that belied the full te armor that shook around her frame.


    Meld was the first to notice Li. She broke off from talking with Sylvie with a polite nod before waving her hand in a greeting.


    "Excellent work, you two. Truly, I knew I could ce my trust within your capabilities." Meld looked around the room, and Li could not tell whether she could see through her blindfold or whether she did this to make it seem like she was physically looking. "Hm, but I see you have also run into a matter of where to put these victims."


    As the door closed behind them, Thunderstrike hovered in front of Li, looking down at his seated form with a scarred leer. "Odd. We found that foul ck magics had taken ahold of the victims, making moving them difficult. Yet you have managed to seeminglymand these monsters and knaves, bringing them here as if you had mastery over the very dark arts thatpel them."


    "Yeah, I might know one or two things above elementary magic," said Li. "What about it?"


    "Dabbling in the dark arts is a criminal offense of the highest caliber," said Thunderstrike.


    "And one that does not apply here," chimed in Meld. "He is a foreigner, and what he has learned in hisnd cannot be judged under thews of thisnd. Show some understanding, Thunderstrike."


    Thunderstrike changed the direction of his leer to Meld. "Perhaps your time mingling in the north has made you soft."


    "And your time fighting in it has made you hard headed." Meld held up an authoratitative hand. "Regardless, I am the one with the authority over this case. You would not want me to report that you were being difficult, would you? Your recent spate of failures will not mix well with that."


    "Hmph. Do as you wish. I for one will not sully myself working with foul magic." Thunderstrike promptly floated away, retreating to the corner of the inn, pushing away several beastwomen roughly as he made his way there.


    "My apologies for my fellow hero," said Meld.


    "Working with difficult stupidity isn''t new to me," said Li. "So, what''s it going to be? Are you going to drop me from this case?"


    Meld shook her head. "No, rather, it will be quite fortunate to have someone that knows how these mind-altering curses work. Not even Jeanne, an aplished priest, could cleanse them, indicating they hail from an evil far greater than we once thought. I will have to update the threat level of this case by several levels."


    Li hadmunicated with Ven''thur telepathically on the way here, and he knew from the lich that all three of his phcteries were still intact and still where they were ¨C hidden quite well in both locations that Meld and the knights of Lys raided. Which meant that they had not found the phcteries, exining why they could not dispel the mind control by breaking the cores.


    "So what are you nning on asking me?" said Li, not beating around the bush.


    "It would greatly aid this investigation were you to use your knowledge to move the victims like you have here," said Meld. "Elsewise we will have to manually move all the victims. That alone is not the most pressing issue. It is that without dispelling the curse, there is no way to question these victims."


    "There is also the issue of housing them," cut in Sylvie as she drew nearer to the table. She looked to Meld and then to Li and Azhar. "I was discussing this with you. If you have the power to empty the Golden gon like this, then all the beastwomen can be housed here for a day or two or however long it will take for Li to cure them. The adventurers can weather the inconvenience, especially if the duchesspensates them for staying at other inns. No adventurer will turn their back on gold."


    "You certainly have valid points, but the concerns to security are far too much." Meld shook her head. "They must be held at the dungeons. They will not be treated like prisoners, I assure you, and I do not mean to condemn them behind bars. But behind bars is the safest ce there is in this whole city. If there are those that wished to close their mouths by killing them, then what more secure ce would there be than the dungeons?"


    "No," said Azhar defiantly. "You ain''t lockin'' em'' up. Human witnesses ain''t locked up, why should they be? They''ve suffered enough."


    Li understood why Sylvie had looked to him and Azhar. She had wanted Azhar to bring this point up, knowing that the hintender had a soft spot for the beastwomen. Then she wanted Li to oppose Meld, and as he thought about it, he did have valid reasons to.


    "He''s right," said Li. "They aren''t prisoners. They''re victims, just like you said. If you want me to help, then you''re going to guarantee that they''re going to stay where we-," Li motioned to Azhar, Sylvie, and Jeanne. "Want them to stay."


    "And safety is of no concern," said Sylvie. "Adventurers will stille here for meetings and to see the signboard for quests that the guild misses out on. I daresay that the gon will be better guarded than the dungeons with how many of us there are."


    Thunderstrike began to hover forwards again, but Meld held up her hand, standing him down. "That is reasonable. Then, will you excuse us? I must head the efforts to bring the victims here. Certainly, though, you are free to join us if you wish. Especially you, Easterner. It will be useful to have your ability to mend the curse to have them follow us."


    "Go on ahead," said Li. "I need to get a few things ready first."


    "Very well." Meld bowed her head. "I must say it is an absolute pleasure to have worked with all of you."

 Chapter 138 - Discussion

    After the heroes had left, Sylvie asked Li, "What are you nning? It would be helpful for us to know of what''s going on your end too."


    Jeanne nodded, and Li responded. "Chevrette''s already done for. We have irond witnesses against him in the form of the farmers. There''s plenty of them to ovee any needed burden of proof. But I haven''t told the heroes about the farmers yet because there''s still something that Chevrette is hiding from us."


    "I would suspect so," said Sylvie as she tapped her forehead. "It would have been utterly impossible for even a man of his wealth to dredge up the manpower, resources, and this high level of ck magic without associating it at all with his personal finances. There must be another entity in y."


    "You''re precisely right about that." Li paused. "And don''t call it ck magic. They''re just Warlock spells. The same kind of magic as any that you cast. Nothing inherently wrong about it."


    "The magic of the warlocks are all fiendish, though," said Jeanne with bit lip. "They alter the mind, terrorize the body, and warp the soul. It is all too unnatural."


    Li shrugged. "Mind you, priestly magic has just as much ability to break minds, bodies, and souls. At the end of the day, it''s all just magic. Nothing good or bad about it."


    "Is that how you are taught in yournd?" asked Sylvie with curiosity bubbling in her voice.


    "You could say that, but mostly, it''s just my personal opinion. Magic is a tool. You can''t say that some kinds of magic are foul and others holy by how they''re used. But you can judge the people that use them. In any case-," Li continued. "I have good reason to suspect that Chevrette is not acting alone. Something is helping him. Something with power and something that''s managed to remainpletely hidden and separate from him."


    "Something would have been in his records." Sylvie furrowed her brows. "In his financial documents, in his business contracts, in something. Yet they are all clean."


    "You''re assuming he acted in the boundaries of human society."


    Sylvie cocked her head. "So you are saying that we are dealing with something inhuman?"


    "Yes, and it just so happens to be that in my raid, I found out how to get to this being."


    "This being? Your wording suggests you do not know what it is."


    "I know that it''s called the ''Specter'' and that it''s been some kind of supernatural force that''s hunted down criminals for a long, long time."


    An incredulous expression formed on Sylvie''s face. "That is a myth. A tale conjured up by lowertown folk who want to believe there is someone that grants them justice when thew fails. Most likely, it was some vengeful ghost that has beenid to rest."


    Jeanne chimed in. "We can''t be too sure, Sylv. Spirits can be hardy. Maybe it''s still around? I''d like to think that spirits with enough to keep them here would fight to stay here as long as they could."


    "Even then, why would it help Chevrette?" questioned Sylvie.


    "That''s what I aim to know," said Li. "I''m going with Azhar tonight to where I believe this specter is."


    Azhar blinked. "We are?"


    "Yes," said Li, "So don''t go sleeping on me just yet."


    "What of the beastwomen?" said Jeanne. "We should help the heroes with getting the rest of them back. And your mastery of dark, I mean, magic could aid the process greatly."


    "Not to mention it would soothe suspicions," said Sylvie.


    "That''s true, which is why I want you two to go with the heroes. Tell them me and Azhar are busy."


    "I thought you would say that," sighed Sylvie. "But I trust your judgement. Yet I still do wish to know how you will deal with the beastwomen afterwards. From what I can deduce, if the farmers are the only necessary key to condemning Chevrette, then the beastwomens'' testimony is useless."


    "Useless? Would not more be better?" said Jeanne.


    "Yeah, the more mouths to spit curses at that son of a bitch, the better," said Azhar.


    Sylvie shook her head. "The testimony of a beastwoman is worth very little, I am afraid. Even if you have riled the people to justice''s side, they cannot set aside years of adoring Chevrette to side with beastwomen they thought as brutish raiders and murderers of our soldiers."


    "She''s right," said Li. "And that''s not to mention the fact that I doubt they actually know anything. From the looks of it, I''m guessing they''ve all been mind controlled from the very start, before they ever knew anything useful. Even if they weren''t, they would have had their minds wiped anyway as a precaution."


    "Yes," nodded Sylvie. "Which is why I wish to know what you want to do with the beastwomen when theye to the gon. If they are not necessary, then what are your ns for them?"


    "Sure as hell ain''t handin'' em'' over to the crown," said Azhar. "Can''t trust em'' armored dolts to keep the girls safe."


    "That won''t happen," said Li. "Remember when I said I wanted to expand the farms? You see, by the end of this, I''m expecting there will be a fair bit of cooperation between myself and the farmers which will lead me to helping with all theirnd. I''ll need quite a bit of working hands for that, and for any beastwomen with nothing to their name, I''ll give them an opportunity to work on the fields.


    For those with things to fight for and families to return to, I''ll let them go back to their homes with an escort that will guarantee their safety. At the least, I can swear that they will be safe."


    "Hm." Sylvie looked concerned. "The heroes will want to question them. The crown will want to detain them."


    "No need for concern," said Li. "I''m confident I can hold my ground against both. What''s important now is to get loose ends tied up like this specter."


    "So long as the beastwomen are cared for, then I cannot object," said Jeanne.


    "Gotta'' agree with that," said Azhar.


    Sylvie still looked concerned. "Jeanne, standing against the crown may hurt the good image you have built up for so long."


    Li understood. "Then Azhar, you''re noting with me, unfortunately. If you, as a member of Triple Threat, are always with me, then your ties with me, the troublemaker against the crown, only increases. Go with your sisters."


    "Ain''t got issues with that either," said Azhar with no hesitation, understanding that Li was no force to ever worry about.


    "But what of you?" said Sylvie as she nervously held her arm. "The specter, if it is a ghost of such power that its hatred has let it stay anchored to this world for over a hundred years, perhaps longer if the earliest recorded instances of it are to be believed, then you are dealing with a powerful force. I would not want you to face harm, especially in light of all that you have done for us."


    Li reached out and put a hand on Sylvie''s shoulder. He looked at her as her eyes averted away shyly. "I''m putting my trust in you to get the beastwomen here safely without the heroes meddling. All I''m asking is for you to ce the same amount of trust in me."


    "Yes, I suppose that is logical," said Sylvie rather quietly.


    Li withdrew his hand. "Then we''re all on the same page. I''ll be done with this errant ghost by morning, and then it''s lights out for Chevrette and lights on for a new era of the farm."

 Chapter 139 - Discovery

    Li, led by Ven''thur''s crisp and precise directions, found himself in the docks. It was still dark, and there were a few hours left before first sunlight. Because of theteness of the hour, there were very fewte night stragglers to be wary of. Mostly drunkards or shady low-level crooks, but both types quickly withdrew from Li when they felt his presence.


    The docks themselves were devoid of people. An array of fishing boats of varied quality tied down to the docks floated gently. Fishermen went out in the mornings and came back at sunset and did not ever try and wade into the waters at night when lower visibility and more dangerous monsters might roam the surface waters.


    Lord Lys''s personal ship loomed tall andrge in the night, even now manned by a small guard to prevent thievery, but knowing how idyllic Riviera usually was, these guards were probably sleeping on the job.


    ''So, you want me to go to the bottom of theke? You know, it''s been a while since I''ve swam.''


    ''Is water perhaps one of your weaknesses? I can offer you some elemental protection if you so desire,'' came Venthur''s concerned voice.


    Li sighed. ''No, it was just a minor joke. Honestly, I feel like everyone takes me a little too seriously most of the time. Anyway, bottom of theke, right?''


    ''That is correct. There are a few meddlesome creatures, but I am certain they will be frightened away by your presence if they felt mine too much to bear. An entrance to an underground cave will be apparent there.''


    Li knelt down by the water''s edge, watching the water as it glimmered with moonlight. He liked to look at the water of this world. It was so clean, even right beside the docks, right beside sewage, that he found it a marvel to witness.


    ''More caves? Quite a few around here.''


    ''They of thend is conducive to underground caverns. But perhaps that is also because tribes of Molemen used to live here, though this was eight hundred years ago, well before any humans had yet to settle here.''


    Li reached out and broke the water''s surface with his hand. As he watched the shining surface of the water break apart, he wondered, ''But humans are here now. I assume the Molemen got driven off, then?''


    ''The records from the earliest era after the arrival of the gods is murky. One of my colleagues had devoted his undeath to piecing it together, but s, the burning of the citadel imed his life. Yet from his writings I know that the Molemen suffered a great gue which weakened them enough for the humans to move in.


    But that is to be expected. All civilization is built atop corpses. It is simply the price of development. Yet it is a price that I have observed humans to be the most willing to pay.''


    ''There is truth in that,'' said Li. He knew full well the history of his own world built up by centuries of warfare. It was one devoid of the mystical, of the magical and supernatural thaty in every crevice of this one. He once thought that if magic existed, perhaps things like warfare and strife would just fade away. But like he had said before, magic, like science, was a tool, and people were always willing to use it for their own ends.


    ''But painting with a broad brush means you don''t get to see the finer details. People can be good in their own way, and I''m confident that they can learn to respect the lives and world around them.''


    ''You intend to use your vast power to realize that ideal?''


    Li shrugged. ''I don''t see myself as a grand visionary. All I want to do right now is to grow my farm in a way that lets everyone from all walks of life enjoy it.''


    With that, Li pushed himself into the water. An instant of coldness surrounded his body as he felt the water swallow him up, but then his bodily temperature regted so that he feltpletely fine. He had a functional swimming stroke, and with a tireless and immensely powerful body, he made quick work of the water, streaking down the depths of theke with all the explosive propulsion of a missile.


    A streak of bubbles followed him as he opened his eyes wide, letting his night vision take in the sight of this underwater world. Schools of fish swirled around him like clouds of brilliant red and white scales. The asional lumbering body of arger, armor ted fish swung by, close at the heels of these clouds, chomping to try and get at a straggler.


    Balls of algae with glowing white eyes floated around him, looking at him curiously as he passed by. As he dove deeper, the water grew darker, and the fish became different. They wererger, more solitary, and more monstrous, covered with spines or baring vicious rows of teeth.


    He recognized them as monsters from Elden World, but then there were also regr fish like pink salmon and trout. Here, the glowing algae creatures intensified in number and size, bing likerge floatingnterns that emitted a ghostly pale light from their bodies.


    As Li swam downwards, the fish parted for him in the same way that people instinctively did, understanding he was not to be trifled with. At the bottom, he settled onto a sandyke floor. Clouds of sediment wafted upwards, and he heard muffled sounds of movement as dozens of giant crabs that had blended directly on the floor rose up in rm and ambled away.


    Directly above, a lesser sea serpent over a dozen meters long circled, its red eye leering down as it waited for Li to move so it could snatch up a crab.


    So this was what life was like underwater. He knew that people in his world used to dive down into the oceans and watch the life swim around them and peer at great and colorful walls of reefs, but the reefs had crumbled away and the fish poption had thinned out long before he could have enjoyed anything like that. He only ever knew water as dirty, murky, and as choked as the air above water.


    It was stunning, and it took Ven''thur to talk to him to snap him out of his wondering daze as he watched the life swirl around him.


    ''Is something amiss?''


    Li shook his head. ''No, not at all. Things are perfect here. Now where is this cave?''


    ''Let me see.'' Ven''thur paused for a few seconds, sifting through his advanced memory. ''One hundred and fifty meters north to the center of theke. There should be a trench there that leads into a cave system. It will be very apparent.''


    As Li made his way there, he realized that Ven''thur was right. The trench was very visible. It was like a giant had mmed a cleaver into thekebed, causing a massive, almost out of ce fissure. He made his way down, parting through the dark waters and into the depths of the trench.


    Eventually, the space around him grew narrow and narrower as the rocky walls of the trench closed around him, and just when he thought there was not enough space to move further down, he found there were several passages in the rock that branched out.


    ''Take the one straight ahead of you,'' said Ven''thur. ??The others areirs for beasts.''


    Li obliged the lich''s directions, and as he swam into the dark passageway, he felt it slope upwards until at a certain point, the water leveled off, leaving him standing on solid and stony surface. Though the ce was surprisingly spacious, the air was thin. He doubted a normal human could have survived here if they even managed to get all the way down here in the first ce.


    As Li got further into the path, he realized the terrain was changing. What was previously jagged edges of rock had smoothed out. There were countless circr indentations in the rock that had smoothed the rock as if it had been beaten into tness through repeated impact.


    ''You said this being was a golem, right? Does it eat rocks or something?'' thought Li.


    ''That is what I perceived it as, though it was fashioned so perfectly in the form of a man that I initially thought it human. Perhaps it once was. That would exin why it was so curious about my research around ascension and resurrection.''


    ''Resurrection?''


    ''Ascension into my kind will involve death for I am of undeath. Thus, my ascension necessarily frees its subjects from their mortal coil. It is extracting the soul after the rigor of the ritual and resurrecting it into something beyond its mortal limits that is true ascension.'' Ven''thur sighed. ''I thought it perhaps a fellow schr, but s, it did not have any true interest in the academic side of my research, merely the results. It had the miraculous power to create anything I wished, any tool or object, and it obliged my every request.''


    ''Interesting,'' thought Li. ''Well, looks like I''m going to get to see this mystery being directly.''


    Li stepped out of the passageway and into an enormous cavern. It was utterly dark, but his night vision could perceive that there was something like a crater spanning the breadth of the floor. The center of the crater was slightly upraised, forming a kind of seat that was awkwardly empty.


    ''Looks like it isn''t home today,'' thought Li.


    ''Impossible. It told me it was bound here, that it was sealed here such that it needed beings like me to aid it. And this ce, it is far, far different. There was such power that flowed here, power unlike any I had witnessed until I came into your presence. Sigils of origin I knew not swirled like birds, casting great light upon this ce. I thought them seals, but they are gone.''


    ''Meaning this golem is gone too,'' said Li. He knelt down to get a read of the area and possibly pick up some clues. He needed to bring this being under his heel to get rid of loose ends for this case, and it not being here was quite troublesome. He would need to find it soon. ''Can you track this being down? If it managed to speak to you from its sealed prison, then it might have used a telepathy spell. Any way to reform that?''


    ''I shall try, but the magic it uses is of a nature I cannot urately discern. It may be difficult.''


    ''That''s fine, just get on it while I look around for anything useful.''


    Li reached the center of the cavern. He realized the upraised tform was ratherrge, indicating that the being sitting on it would have been a decent bitrger than a normal man. He tried to see if there was anything of note there, and he did happen upon something.


    He realized there were inscriptions all around the tform, and as he got a closer look at them, he saw that they were not runes. They did not have the austere, scratch-like structure of runes, but instead had flowing,plex builds which he suddenly realized were traditional Chinese characters.


    The moment he saw this, the characters began glowing like a rainbow tinted kaleidoscope, shing colors of all gradients that shone with an intensity that lit up the entire cavern. It was like a chain reaction after that.


    Once the light from the tform radiated outwards, it revealed countless more characters around the cavern, some suspended in the air, some asrge as a man, some as small as a pebble, but all radiant and overflowing with sheer power.


    Li saw the characters intensify in their brilliance, crackling as they began shunting out power, and he then understood what was going on.


    All the characters shattered in unison, unleashing a burst of iridescent force that swallowed up the cavern. It bloomed outwards, carving past the sheer stone walls of the cavern and even further beyond, rising up to thekebed. As heat and force surged outwards, thekebed began to crack, and each crack was outlined with a flowing burst of light.


    Marine life skittered away at this sudden invasion of light and power so deep in the depths of theke, but few were able to escape the geysery of explosive power that shattered past thekebed like air escaping a popped balloon.

 Chapter 140 - Murder

    In the middle of theke, a lone ball of wrapped roots floated. The roots were utterly ckened, crossed with molten streaks and leeching charcoal into the water. The ball unraveled, the roots uncoiling and ckening before falling apart and into the depths below.


    Li emerged. As he gazed at the ck burn marks on his arm, he wondered whether this was the first time he had taken real damage in the boundaries of this physical world. Of course, nothing too serious, and, if he was in his regr form, he would have regenerated it off in a minute at most.


    ''You okay?'' thought Li to the phctery still encased in his pocket. He had not needed to encase himself in [Ironbark Shell] to defend against the explosion, but he was worried that Ven''thur''s core would not have survived.


    ''I am as fine as a disembodied soul can be,'' came Ven''thur''s cool and crisp voice. ''Still, that force just now ¨C it was absolutely marvelous. Though now that I have experienced true power, it still feels disappointingly mundane inparison.''


    ''Well, it still isn''t something you see every day,'' said Li. He looked up, making out the slight glimmer of the moonlit water''s surface. The explosion and the ensuing shockwave had knocked him almost halfway up the entire depth of theke. It made his trip to the surface a little shorter, at least.


    Li pushed his legs down and generated force to propel him upwards like a torpedo, hydraulic waves of water gathering around his face like the underwater version of a sonic boom cone. He crashed through theke''s surface and sailed into the air beforending on the docks, patters of water dripping from his drenched hair and clothes.


    Immediately, Li realized the shockwave had traveled all the way to the surface. It had caused a small-scale tsunami of a sort, pushing waves outwards and drenching the docks and even the street nearby. Many of the smalling fishermen''s boats had capsized, and there were a few floundering fish that had been blown up to the surface by the st.


    Li knew that this would draw attention. He did not waste time before he sunk down into one of the shadier and more shadowed alleyways near the docks, but not before he ran into a familiar face.


    "Iona? What''re you doing here?" said Li as he put his back near the alleyway wall to get himself out of sight from the docks.


    Iona followed suit, drawing near him. She was dressed in her typical brown robes, and from them wafted the gentle, earthy smell of medicinal herbs and cleansing alcohol. Strange, considering the strong, almost noxious fumes of the herbalist stand were what usually clung to her. She looked alright, for the most part, if a little tired as she always did with those permanent dark circles under her eyes.


    "I was seeking you," said Iona. Her voice held an urgency to it that was highly uncharacteristic of her usual collected self. She nced to the burns on his arm and drew it closer to her. "And wounds? On your person? I must heal them immediately."


    She used her other hand to reach into her pocket, probably to fish out a healing herb. Li shook his head.


    "It''s fine." He waved his hand over his injury, and it healed immediately. "It''s not even a scratch."


    "Still, I am sorry that I know little of the restorative arts other than herbalism." She looked down, ashamed. "As an aspect of forest wildfires, my magic is not quite suited to restoration."


    "No need to be sorry about something I didn''t need." Li patted Iona''s shoulder. "Nowe on, tell me what you needed me for."


    "I felt something was amiss this night. For several nights, I have felt a foul omen brewing in the shadows. I have felt thend itself amiss, though in what way, my dulled spiritual senses cannot perceive. And now, I know that my premonitions havee true."


    "Thend itself?" Li took note of how he had realized recently that Iona was perhaps a bit paler, a bit weaker, and he found himself understanding that her condition was likely rted to this incident.


    "It is hard to exin." Iona shivered involuntarily. "But I felt perhaps there was something strange, something malevolent lurking within the woods."


    "Well, there''s certainly something malevolent out here now," said Li. "You know, you could have told me earlier."


    "I am here to serve," said Iona as she lowered her head. "When you leave the stall, I understand it is my duty to manage it in your absence. I do not question where you have gone or what you do, for your will is superior and peerless. And this¡­this premonition was so faint that I knew not what it was. Certainly, I did not think it worthy enough to bring to your presence."


    "Look-," Li grabbed Iona''s shoulders with both hands and looked at her directly. She looked away. "Look at me." When he saw her eyes meet his with fear, he said, "Right now, I don''t know what I am, but I''m no god. I know I''ve told you this before, but I recognize how hard it must be for you to unwind a hundred years of conditioning to always obey and never question. I''ll be the first to admit that even though I''m damn near all powerful, I''m not omnipotent, nor am I omniscient. Don''t be afraid to assume I''ll need help even when I''m not asking you directly."


    Iona nodded, and Li let go. "So, how''d you know I was here? Did you sense the explosion?"


    "I did, but I was searching for you before then."


    Li raised a brow. "Before then? Did something happen?"


    Iona nodded solemnly. "I spend my nights tending to the farmers healing needs, and tonight I found one of the families butchered. That is why I sought for you."


    Li did not waste any time. "Lead me there."


    It did not take more than five minutes to get to the site of the crime. Li and Iona came upon an isted little shop that sold wood carvings. The ss disy had been shattered and the wooden horses, boats, and knights that would have stood vigil on ity scattered amidst the shards of ss, their forms chipped and broken.


    The first thing Li noticed was that several ck armored knights stood watch over the area. Alexei''s vampire knights.


    "Were they here before?" said Li.


    Iona shook her head. "However, amidst the bodies of the family, there were two of those vampires lying in. That would exin their presence."


    Li went up to one of the vampire knights. He bowed his head in recognition of Li.


    "What''s happening here?" demanded Li.


    "The good count has kept watch over your movements and the proceedings of the case. He thought it wise to post guard over the farmers'' residences. Discretely, of course. Those of our order that guarded these homes were shifted into forms unnoticeable such as mist or bats."


    "Give the count my thanks for his foresight. But it looks like it wasn''t enough. How are the other residences?"


    The knight nodded. "They are fine. The attacker came and went in a sh, but my fellow brothers did not leave without a fight. They fought and were in, but they must surely have given the coward a fight to remember, for she has not reared her head again."


    Li noted the attacker was a woman which, considering he strongly suspected the golem as the culprit, meant that the thing took on a woman''s form. "Tell your brethren to take all the farmers and move them to Alexei''s estate. Make room for them, use the underground pathways if you have to. Guard them with your lives."


    The knight put a gauntleted hand over his breastte. "Understood, great one. I will ry the orders without dy."


    Li stepped into the shop and Iona went ahead leading the way. She hopped over a counter and into a back room where five bodiesy. Theyy scattered in neat halves across the bloodied and dark floor. Torn in half like the legends of the Specter told.


    Three of the bodies belonged to a human man, woman, and young boy. Two were therge and athletic builds of vampire knights. All five had been cut down with such extreme precision and quickness that the expressions they before right before death were still stricken across their faces.


    The human family held mundane, somewhat sleepy expressions. They quite literally did not know they had been killed. A mercy ¨C they did not suffer. The vampire knights had on fang bared grimaces indicating they were ready to fight, but their swords were not even drawn. They had been stricken down before they even knew what hit them.


    There was no struggle here. This was aplete ughter. This further reinforced to Li that this was the golem''s doing. If she had the capacity to set up an explosion of a caliber that it could do even a small amount of damage to Li, then vampire knights, though a fierce some fighting force in Soleil, would be absolutely nothing to her.


    And yet she had not finished the job with the other farming households. If the goal was to eliminate all witnesses, then that would have been the natural order of things, and no vampire knight would have stopped her.


    Was there something stopping her? Or perhaps she was going after another target?


    Regardless, with how far things had escted, Li was not going to end this without spilling blood.

 Chapter 141 - Veneer

    Li stepped out of the house deep in thought. Iona came close behind him, her pale face wrought with worry. The golem was targeting witnesses relevant to this case. Meaning it had a way to see the proceedings of the case without alerting Li at all, meaning whatever she did was no Elden World magic.


    If it was targeting witnesses, though, then Li could only imagine one other target. The Golden gon where all the adventurers, heroes, and beastwomen were. But at the same time, if she by any chance knew Li, then there was a chance that the old man was in danger.


    "I have to go back to the farm," said Li abruptly. He cast a look to Iona''s confused expression. "Can you do me a favor?"


    Iona nodded. "Anything."


    "Good. I know you don''t have the greatest idea of what''s going on, and I''m to me for that. But I don''t have time to exin anything to you in detail." Li took out Ven''thur''s phctery and put it in Iona''s hand. "I''ll give you a very brief summary. I''ve been busy recently trying to bust a ve driving ring in this city that''s been targeting beastwomen. I''ve managed to free the beastwomen and they should be holed up in the Golden gon. What I think might happen is that whoever killed these farmers will target these beastwomen too. You can see where I''m going with this, can''t you?"


    Iona stared wonderingly at the phctery in her hand. "I do. You wish me to go to the gon and protect them, yes?"


    "Them and the adventurers there. That-," Li pointed to the phctery. "Has the soul of a lich inside of it. I''ve charged him with enough magical energy that he can cast magic to help you if you need it. He''s also going to be responsible for dispelling a mind control spell that''s on the beastwomen when you get there. Tell them you''re my assistant and that the orb is my way of healing them. Don''t tell them it''s a lich, obviously.


    Also, there will be some chaos once the beastwomen get off their mind control. I want you to try and manage it as best as you can."


    "You will find none better than I for that," said Iona confidently. "The beastwomen will know to respect someone who can speak the words of the forest."


    "I also want to tell you that there are heroes there," said Li. "I know that you''re afraid of them and that they''ll target a hunt for you again, but right now, I have to go back to the farm, and as much as I want to, I cannot be in two ces at once."


    "I am not afraid." Iona shook her head. "I know I have said I have been afraid of heroes and adventurers, but if it is for you, then I feel no such fear. For so long as I know that I serve at your side, I know that your shadow will always protect me."


    Li smiled. "I''ll be expecting good news then."


    Li soared above the farm, shapeshifted wings fluttering in the air as he peered at the cottage. He could find no signs of forced entry or anything out of the ordinary to his relief. He flexed his wings, letting the wind catch him downwards. He stopped gliding downwards once he was just above the cottage, right above the thatched roofing. He listened intensely, turning on his superhuman senses.


    To his relief, Li could hear the old man''s sleeping breathing as normal as ever. He could hear Tia''s own breathing and heartbeat nearby. They were fine. The house itself waspletely in order. Nothing had moved out of ce. He could even hear the rippling of the tarp set over the hole in the wall that Tia had gouged out a while back.


    Zagan had sensed Li''s arrival and sat up at the fields, his snout poised at the sky to gaze at him. Li pointed to the cottage, and the demon nodded, sitting near the cottage with his red eyes peering at the darkness around him, ever vignt and understanding of Li''s implicitmand to guard the cottage.


    To make sure of everyone''s safety, though, Li balled his hand into a fist and created a few [Dangerbloom Vilespine] seeds and breathed them down the chimney. If any hostile intent came nearby, the seeds would immediately sprout into immensely powerful nt creatures that were level 80 ¨C hopefully more than capable of destroying any threat this world had to offer.


    Feeling less rm and some relief that things were fine for now, Li pped his wings once more and leaped off the roof, soaring back into the air. There was no point just sitting here. If the threat was moving, he had to be proactive and catch it before it did anything more. He hoped that everyone at the gon was safe, but he had a feeling that they were not in great risk.


    The golem had not continued to pursue killing the farmers once she was spotted, even if she had the ability to easily overpower the vampire guards. That meant that the golem either did not want to risk attention or she simply wanted to specifically get Li''s attention. A threat, basically.


    Li had an idea of what to do. At the core of this, Chevrette was in some way tied to this golem. If she was the true mastermind running this, then at the very least, she still needed Chevrette to do some of her work. Or if it was the other way around and Chevrette had some sway over the golem, then even better.


    Either way, if Li got to Chevrette, then the golem woulde out as well.


    If it came down to killing Chevrette, Li would do it.He sighed. He had wanted to go the official way of things. ying along with an investigation and all that to ensure that the city was not rocked by instability. He did not want Chevrette''s death to cause rippling effects that would bring more headaches to a stable life he enjoyed.


    But the enemy had moved boldly without any calction of risk in mind. She had threatened Li and the people he needed directly. If she was going to throw caution to the wind, then Li was more than willing to y the same game and respond in kind.


    Li would show her that when the veneer of civilization he yed under was tossed aside, she would only face regrets.

 Chapter 142 - Doll

    It did not take very long for Li to get to the Chevrette estate. By now, he had the city mapped well in his head, and having a bird''s eye view in the sky made things all the easier. But what made the trip even shorter was the drive with which he pushed himself. He had not flown with this intensity since he had stepped into this world.


    His wings crashed into the sky, sting out great squalls of wind that shot his form across the sky like a shooting star. He had his arms pinned to his side with his body straight like an arrow to let the wind flow past him more efficiently. His eyes were wide open, ck like voids as they saw past the battering winds and honed into the cityscape below.


    Another p of his wings, and Li adjusted his course slightly, angling himself downwards as he spotted the tall hill where the noble estates were. The force of his flight was such that he was certain that if anyone in the streets were walking below, they could hear him, though they would not be able to see him.


    Caution was secondary at this point, but even so, Li did notpletely disregard it. As the golden Chevrette mansion came rapidly into view, he shed his mortal form once more. His flesh peeled away into ky rivulets like dried paint, scattering into dust in the rapid winds of his flight. He figured that since he would be fighting an opponent of some merit, he would have to use some measure of powerful magic far too shy to attribute to his human form.


    Li had not wanted rumors to spread about a powerful monster lurking in Riviera, but he would deal with thatter. Instead, he immersed himself in the present, zoning in on the gold-tiled roofing of the Chevrette estate and crashing straight through it.


    Li retracted his wings as he bored through the reinforced roofing and two floors of wood before he made it to the bottom floor. Hended gently on his feet, sawdust and splinters falling around him like rain. He had sensed only a single life force in this mansion. There was not a single guarding knight nearby, which was quite odd considering the house was still supposed to be under arrest.


    It only took Li to cast a single nce around him to realize why. There were knightly corpses scattered all about the living room. It was a strange sight to see the bisected halves of armored knights littering luxuriously golden furniture, the bloody red and shining gold mixing together oddly well.


    The stench of death ran rank in the air from the knights'' corpses, but as before, Li noticed there was little sign of struggle. All of them had been split in two cleanly before they could put up a fight. The house wasrgely still in order, the bookcases and their leather-bound tomes still standing dusty and tall, the dinner table stillden with foodid out for the knights.


    The bodies of the knights were warm, their blood fresh. Li could smell the roasted meats and vegetables still steaming their sulent taste, still hot and fresh out of the kitchen. This ughter had been recent.


    Li was right to havee here. The golem was likely still here. But what was odd was that it had killedpletely indiscriminately. As Li made his way to the single life signature in the mansion, he could see there were bodies not only of the Knights of Lys, but of a few aged butlers that likely served Chevrette.


    Li quickened his pace to the life signature. Ity beyond the living room, into a hallway that fed into a spacious kitchen. The kitchen was well lit withntern and crystal lights, and the bodies of chefs lined the floor, some of them still holding knives and unprepared food in their hands.


    The situation did not seem right. As Li focused, he realized the life signature did not match that of Chevrette''s. It was stronger, younger, and yet, it was not supernatural. Regardless, he pushed on as anything alive and human would still be able to tell him what had happened and where the golem was.


    At the back of the kitchen, behind a vault for ingredients very simr to the one employed in the fine restaurant, Li found the life signature he was looking for.


    Li had pulled the metal vault door off with his branched fingers, and when he saw who it was, heid the heavy door quietly down. It was Chevrette''s daughter, kitchen knife sped in a shaking pale hand poised at Li, and below her blood rimmed dress was the body of her father, neatly split from head to toe like all the other corpses.


    The northern bronze housekeeping golem was also here, though in several broken and dented pieces. The head was noticeably scrunched up like a tin can beside a pile of fish spilled from an overturned crate. It sparked and asionally let loose a distorted word of "danger".


    Ironic, in a way. The great Chevrette ending up just the same as all themon citizens and servants he once stood above. But regardless, the sins of a parent did not condemn a child, and Li needed to talk to the daughter properly to get a sense of what was going on.


    Li knelt down and slowly reached out his hand, knowing full well how horrific he looked. The daughter shrunk back, biting her lip with such intensity that it broke the skin and drew blood. She iled her arm around, the knife waving wildly.


    "I am no threat," said Li. He pointed to her with a wooden, w-like finger. "[Tranquility]".


    A swirl of leaves and brilliant green energy whirled around the girl, wiping away her momentary panic and terror as well as any potential physical damage.


    Li moved forwards, making sure hisrge frame hid the sight of Chevrette''s corpse from the girl. As he did so, he changed he cast more shapeshifting on himself, using a spell called [Aspect of the Howling Ursine] to shift his face to that of a brawny, horned bear with purple me curling from his eyes and teeth.


    Still a terrifying sight to a human, but at the least, it masked his insanity inducing presence, which was the best to hope for as he simply did not have any other forms barring his human one that were notplete eldritch monstrosities or crawling insectoid horrors. It was also possibly the mostbat ready form in case he was ambushed. And in his opinion, a bear was more pleasant to look at than a skull.


    "It may not appear so, but I am here to help. Consider me a¡­guardian spirit of sort. No harm wille to you through me. Come, tell me your name."


    "E," she said. She clutched the knife to her chest still like a precious pendant, but the fact that she did not wave it forward anymore meant that she knew it was useless. That at the least meant she had some sensibility to her, even in this situation.


    "Good. You can speak. Then E," said Li, his voice resounding outwards in ethereal, rumbling echoes. "What happened?"


    "I¡­do not know," said E. She drew out her hands and looked at their bloodstained forms. She shivered, the knife dropping from her grasp. But at the same time, with her mind cleared from shock, she spoke with a surprising amount of strength that leeched through the fearced wavers in her voice.


    "One moment, I was with father in the kitchen, the next, everybody had fallen. But father told me that we were fine, that the arrest would amount to nothing, that he had never done anything wrong. But surely, the gods havee down upon us, but I do not know why. Father was so good to me, so good to others."


    E looked at Li with fear, but she managed to squeak out a request. "If¡­if you are here for father''s soul, will you tell me if he was a good man?"


    "A good man?" Li paused for a moment, recounting how much suffering the man had wrought to others. Evidently, not to his daughter, but there were sins enough tacked onto his figure. But it did not sit well with him to condemn the man in front of his suffering, likely innocent daughter. He sighed.


    "A man is not solely good or solely bad. A man is a man because there is both within him. To you, I am sure he showed the good he had within himself."


    E nodded meekly, and Li, seeing her gaining moreposure, was about to ask whether she had seen the attacker, but that matter resolved itself quickly enough. He saw E''s eyes widen, and he realized there was something behind him.


    "A magical beast thatforts little girls? Why, thisnd never ceases to amaze me. Now then, please do move from my next body."


    Li turned his bulky frame to meet eyes with a ghostly pale woman. She looked like she would have belonged on the front page of a model magazine in his own world, back in his own country.


    The momentary surprise of seeing someone that looked like his own human form quickly, passed, however, and he analyzed her for tactical details, seeing whether there was anything about her that was odd or dangerous.


    She held no weapons nor did she wear any armor, butLi did realize skin was unnaturally smooth and unblemished, shining with an ethereal light that seemed almost akin to polish. And as Li got a better look at her, he realized that indeed, it might have been polish.


    She was garbed in ck robes patterned with red dragons that flowed loosely, making it hard to see her figure, but he could see her exposed hands and digits were segmented, the wrist joint attached to a ball like that of a porcin doll''s.


    Inorganic limbs. This was the golem he was looking for.


    "No, you are no mere magical beast. More akin to a devil, perhaps a fallen god," said the golem as she flung back long locks of ck hair as she gazed at Li with wide eyes. Eyes wide not in fear like E''s was, but in sheer, raw hunger tinged with ferocious, if almost insane drive.


    "This presence, this sheer, spiritual power. To witness it in person makes me understand that I was right to hunt you. The deathly chill of Yin and the living heat of Yang reside within you in equal and great measure. More than enough to serve my needs without having to resort to the foolish machinations of skeletal devils. I will make excellent use of your core."


    Li turned and began walking towards the golem, his massive, ursine figure dwarfing her. His great, ck-furred and spiked paw grasped at Chevrette''s corpse as he moved forwards, mindful that he did not have E staring at her murdered father until he was done crushing this insect.


    "Hunt? Me?" Li smiled, baring several rows of jagged teeth. "I sense that you have some pride about you, that you have always been the hunter. But tonight, <em>you</em> will know what it feels to be prey."

 Chapter 143 - Skyfight I

    "Me? Hunted?" The womanughed, her hand covering her mouth in a manner that oozed both delicateness and arrogance. "Beast, you stand before the great Lady Zhen, Grand Advisor to the Immortal Emperor himself."


    "Immortal is not the word I would use to describe a dead man," said Li, recounting the desperate note in the manual he read that detailed how all of civilization had copsed - dead emperor included, of course.


    "You dare demean the name of the emperor?" came Lady Zhen''s fierce response.


    Li''s ursine eyes squinted as he noticed a difference in the golem''s posture. Her expression deepened into a scowl and her fingers twitched ever so slightly. He could not actually sense any magical energy from her, and that was probably because she, like the heroes, used power far different from that which Li used.


    He could, however, get a general read on the amount of power she had even if he did not have an exact understanding of the type. That was why he did not worry too much, but he was still wary of unknown attacks.


    "Most impressive," said Lady Zhen, her scowl still prominent on her face. "It has been a long time since I have seen a magical beast of your caliber. Perhaps you are not a beast. No, your presence indicates you are more. Perhaps a devil? It matters not. Devil, Spirit, Beast ¨C all have fallen before me."


    Li had his burly arm raised overhead, reaching near the ceiling of the enormous kitchen. His ursine paw held in between its long, ck-tinted ws the almost invisible silhouette of a slightly curved de that he recognized as a Chinese dao. He had seen the difference in the golem''s mood and predicted an attack, and he was right on the mark.


    Though the de was invisible, there was a ripple in space where its handle should have been that presumably exined where it had suddenly emerged from. Li pulled his arm back, shoving the de out from the small portal.


    The attack hade lightning fastpared to the standards of this world. Li figured this was how she instantly cut so many victims in halves. Somewhat curious, he tried inspecting the de, but it disappeared the moment he got a firm grasp on it.


    "You think you possess the right to behold a treasure of the Divine Armory?" Lady Zhen shook her head mockingly. "Very well. I am feeling generous today, so I shall indulge your curiosity."


    Lady Zhen thrust her arms to the side, the sleeves of her robes fluttering with the motion. Countless miniature portals appeared behind her until the image of the kitchen itself became distorted into a blend of unintelligible colors through the sheen of warped space. From each ripple of space appeared weapons of all kinds and colors.


    Swords, staves, spears, and even fully nocked bows and arrows.


    At first, Li kept a keen eye on them, not recognizing any of them, but then he saw a few he did recognize. Mixed with the unknown weapons were a few relics from Elden World.


    The Golden Dragon Sword. Level 90 in strength.


    The Seven-Spirit Splitstaff. Level 90 in strength.


    The Forest Qilin Cleaver. Level 90 in strength.


    Lady Zhen crossed her arms in triumph.


    "Behold my Dao of Creation that can create the finest of treasures kept throughout the ages. Weapons of such fierce power that they toppled entire armies, slew dragons, and beheaded devils. You may hold great power within you, but how can your lonesome strengthpare to weapons that have carved their greatness through the eternal channels of time and history, proving their might through the ages?"


    Lady Zhen saw Li shudder and put a paw to his face. She pointed to him with her head tilted back. The weapons emerged further from their portals and began glittering. "So you understand the position you are in? Then very well. My Flying Sword Whirl Incantation will ensure your death is quick and painless."


    "Forgive me," said Li. He moved his paw away from his face and let it drop to his side, its shaggy ck fur crackling with royal purple bolts of energy. "It is rude, but I had to stop myself fromughing. All that bluster for level 90 weapons?"


    Lady Zhen cocked her head. "Wha-," she managed to let out before Li had charged forwards at a speed she could notprehend, the massive paw curling entirely around her head, the scythe like ws sping together like the bars of a jail.


    Li put strength into his legs and jumped with all his might, letting loose a concussive burst of force as he dragged Lady Zhen by the face through all three floors and roof of the mansion. The power of his jump was almost like flight, and he soared far above just the mansion until the brilliant golden structure became just a dull yellow dot surrounded in the dark of night.


    "How about a change of scenery?" said Li to the golem in his hand as he put his arm back and tossed her further upwards like a baseball yer throwing a pitch. Her tiny figure rapidly faded as it sted through a cloud. She had not died from the attack, and he had not intended her to. He was willing to experiment here where they were far from town and allow her to reveal more tricks and see if any were useful for him to understand.


    "Ah," murmured Li as his bulky form began to fall from gravity after losing momentum from the initial jump. "Guess I''ll try out a full shift for the first time."


    He channeled [Aspect of the Howling Ursine] even further, casting [Shapeshift: Howling Ursine]. Unlike his aspect shifts which copied just parts of a creature''s form, full shapeshifts allowed him to take on theplete stats and abilities of the creature he shifted to at the cost of limiting ess to his other spells.


    Normally, Li did not cast full shapeshifts because even if he did be stronger in meleebat by taking some forms,ck of ess to his full arsenal of powers made him overall weaker. But he figured this was a decent way to handicap himself.


    Not to mention Li liked the Howling Ursine form. It was probably one of the strongest melee forms he had, and as a bonus, he could fly.


    Gashes opened up from Li''s brawny back, and from them, instead of blood, there flowed a torrent of fiery purple energy that streaked outwards into the shape of wings. Two extra pairs of zing horns emerged from Li''s head as did an extra pair of energy-infused eyes. His form became noticeablyrger and bulkier to the point where he would have stood as tall as some of the one-story buildings in Riviera.


    With the wings, Li sailed upwards, tracking down the golem. The Howling Ursine had the passive ability to sniff out damaged targets, and it applied here. He had slightly worried that a full shift might have affected his mind somehow, but thankfully, it was a smooth transition, and he felt absolutely in control of this body and its powers as if he had lived in it for years beforehand.


    Li found Lady Zhen floating in the air. Her porcin face had cracked, a few chips falling off to reveal pure white energy underneath. She grimaced upon seeing Li and put a hand in front of her face, raising two fingers in some kind of handsign.


    "Devil Binding Hex!" she shouted.


    Red characters began to swirl around Li in rotating bands. Li used his fire-wreathed paws to bear p the characters, and they shattered like fragile ss.


    "More disappointment," said Li, his voice nowpletely inhuman. It echoed with a guttural, deep growl, rumbling not only physically, but mentally, ringing in Lady Zhen''s artificial head, rattling through her bones.


    Lady Zhen smiled, however, and Li felt intrigued. What more was she going to do?


    "You should have destroyed me when you had me within your grasp," said Lady Zhen. "Now that I understand the threat you pose; I may unleash the fullest extent of my power."


    Lady Zhen sped her hands together, and when she split them apart, several copies of her emerged from her sides, all mirroring her movements. In total, there were nine copies of her, and they had replicated the damage she had taken as well.


    When Lady Zhen spoke, her voice echoed as her nine forms spoke in unison. "With the nine shades of my nascent souls working in unison, the key to the Divine Armory is fullyplete. I bring forth now not the trinkets of man, but the unsealed weapons of the Heavenly Jade Court itself. May the works of the gods smite your existence from this reality.


    In the face of divine judgement, I only tell you that you may rest well knowing that your core will bring forth the rebirth of my great people."

 Chapter 144 - Skyfight II

    The nine golems raised their hands in the air and once more, dimensional ripples emerged from above them. This time, however, the ripples were farrger and charged with far more power. At the same time, there were a smaller number of them totaling only nine - one for each clone - presumably because of a muchrger cost.


    As before, the heads of weapons poked out from them, though this time they were muchrger, meant for hands sturdier and bigger than those of humans. And the weapons themselves were of massively improved quality. Li could not tell what they were, for they were not of Elden World, but he instinctively understood the weapons from before were nothingpared to these.


    The first weapon ¨C a massive spiraled spear of gold and crimson ¨C shot forth, shining in the night like a miniature sun as it pierced through Li''s heart.


    Li put a paw to his chin in contemtive wonder, the shaft of the spear sticking out from his body and spreading fire across his fur. He was focused on what Lady Zhen had said before, about these being weapons from gods. He once thought that maybe the four gods of Elden World were the only gods in this world, but it was evidently not so, especially considering these were supposed divine weapons whose gods he knew nothing of.


    As Li continued to think, a skull-patterned hatchet whirled forwards and embedded itself into his skull. He did not really mind, though. He was taking damage, sure, and the wounds did look serious, but the beauty of the Howling Ursine was that it had no critical weak points that took bonus damage from being struck.


    Not only was it massively durable and possessing of immense regeneration, the only way to kill it was to deplete its healthpool through pure damage. It shared this trait simrly with creatures like slimes, but even slimes could be efficiently taken down through attacks to their core or through the appropriate elemental attack that destroy them instantly. The Howling Ursine, however, had no such weak points.


    So though these weapons could gouge their way into Li''s heart and brain, the actual damage done to his health pool was of non-zero but minor consequence.


    "Why!?" shouted Lady Zhen as one of her clones pointed at Li, sending forth a rainbow ded sword that sunk straight into Li''s stomach. "Why will you not die!? Divine Weapons enact karmic judgement upon all that is below them, nullifying their entire existence. Your remains should have been scattered into dust, into pigments that not even the smallest of ants could behold."


    Li shrugged. He took out the axe lodged in his head with a squelch. It would have been far toorge for a man, but it feltfortable in his own. Before Lady Zhen could react to recall it, he tossed it full speed at one of her clones. The axe mmed into the clone with a resounding, explosive impact, and it was as if a live fire had hit gasoline. The moment the axe de touched the clone, the clone burst into mes before shattering apart from the physical blow itself and disintegrating into dust.


    "Looks like they''re working as intended. That looks plenty like divine judgement," noted Li. "I assume it just means I''m above your gods."


    Lady Zhen nched, her pale porcin skin bing even paler. The fiery light visible through the crack in her head dimmed noticeably as her clone became dust. Quickly, she snapped her fingers, and all the divine weapons embedded in Li faded away before he could toss them back at her.


    "Do you honestly believe I need those low tier items to get rid of you?" Li opened his mouth wide and took in a deep breath, the wind whistling as air surged into his chest in enormous quantities. His furred chest expanded, his defined muscture bing distended and visible through his shaggy fur as the air stretched his skin taut.


    Lady Zhen quickly had her remaining clones move around her in a circr formation. "[Eight Trigram Formation: Immortal Vanguard]."


    Lines of glowing blue formed between herself and her clones, drawing into a trigram filled with characters. A barrier formed around them, encasing them in a bubble of sturdy energy.


    Li had breathed in as much air as his enormous lungs could draw in. He looked at the barrier the golem had erected with anticipation. Would it hold up? Likely not, but perhaps there were more surprises she had up her sleeves?


    Li opened his mouth wider, his jaw dislocating and his cheeks tearing so that the two halves of his mouth pried apart at almost an one hundred eighty degree angle. Lining every single bit of his mouth were teeth of every kind - the thick and stone like mrs of bears, the hooked teeth of crocodilians, and the jagged knife edges of sharks.


    He unleashed the skill that the Howling Ursine was named after: the [Thousand Echo Howl]. He let out the air pent up within him, crushing in his stomach muscles with all the force he could muster as air and sound exploded from his hideous maw.


    Lady Zhen could only widen her eyes as she saw the explosion of sound erupt and approach her, the sound shockwave soden with energy that it was visible, distorting the space that it traveled. She saw the protective formation she had erected shatter into shards so small they were like dust. Then, for the briefest of instants before her body was reduced equally to nothingness, she heard the howl.


    It was not just one voice, but countless others. The crying of children, thementations of women, screams of agony, of pain, of torture, of anguish, of sadness, of all emotions terrible and cruel. An auditory kaleidoscope of human suffering, as if just that one howl was a repository that had collected all the echoes of misery that had gued man from the moment his primitive brain could begin toprehend the very concept of suffering.


    Li watched as the sound wave reduced Lady Zhen and all of her copies into nothingness. He observed as it continued to pulse outwards omni-directionally, dissolving all the clouds in its way, clearing away the entirety of the visible night sky.


    "Such a shame. I can''t see a single speck of you," muttered Li as he tried to mind traces of Lady Zhen. Instead, he only saw the empty night sky and a sheen of twinkling, uncovered stars above. "But I have to say the stars are much more pleasant to look at."


    A whistling rustle shuffled through the air. Li''s rounded ears perked up as he saw swirls of dust gathering at a single point, building up Lady Zhen''s form again. This time, she looked far more disheveled, her hair frayed and falling to her sides, her eyes wide and almost rabid. The visible damage to her head had been healed as well.


    "You-you cannot kill me!" shouted Lady Zhen, as if almost surprised herself. Her mannerisms had lost their prior delicateness, and her gestures were wild, pointing at Li with iling flicks. In between desperate, nearly manicughs, she said, "So long as my souls remain intact, I will not perish. Only divine weapons may fully purge my being, but I will not make the mistake of lending them to you oncemore."


    Li was surprised that Lady Zhen had managed to remain sane after hearing the [Thousand Echo Howl]. Though, he supposed it was not really a move meant to deal mental damage. That was just a neat secondary effect. It was a pure damage move that grew stronger the more damage he took.


    Maybe he had taken too little damage? No, even at its base cast, the skill would have been more than enough to annihte her. She had survived through another means.


    "You would have been better off staying dead." Li shook his head.


    He beat his wings once to appear in front of Lady Zhen. He bear pped her,pletely shattering her body again.


    Oncemore, her form rebuilt itself.


    Lady Zhen blinked several times and seemed to gain some measure of confidence. "I knew it. You know only of the crude magics of this continent. You do not have the cultivation necessary to purge my form which stands at the brink of True Immortality."


    She saw as Li reverted his form back to that of an Elder Leshen, the brawn and fur shrinking into bark and branches. "No matter what form you take, no matter how many times my puppet falls, I will create it again and again and again to fell you. I will not fail my emperor. I will not fail my people. I-,"


    "Not <em>another</em> speech," sighed Li as he waved his hand.


    Lady Zhen hadpletely frozen mid-speech, her hand still raised to emphasize her words, her expression still teetering between fear and defiance. A bone-white tendril of wood protruded from her stomach, impaling her from the back.


    Li had casted [Root of Vulthoom], the impaling tendril which rooted a target so strongly that they remained anchored in both space and time, unable to free themselves with teleportation or time-based magic.


    Though Li was hesitant to actively use eldritch power because of the risks to his mind and being sent to Valhul, he tired of the golem''s talking and figured that as long as he was not overusing it, he should be fine.


    Li had cancelled most of the Howling Ursine shift except for the wings aspect, which he now used to float casually towards Lady Zhen''s frozen form until he was right in front of her. He crouched down to make sure his skeletal head was level with her eyes, almost like he was bending down to admonish a child. She could not move a single muscle to convey any reaction to him, but he could still sense through twinges in her life force what she was feeling.


    "It is my turn to talk now. From what I have observed, you cannot regenerate yourself far from your initial point of destruction, or else you would have done so to retreat. It also seems that physical force alone is unable to kill you." Li shrugged.


    He sensed fear from her. "Rx. This rooting effect is not permanent. You know, now that I think about it, perhaps it would be a waste to kill you. I''m sure there could be a use for you."


    He sensed a twinge of hope.


    "But what shall I do? You might have abilities to deconstruct yourself and disappear. You might have some kind of item that would let you escape my lesser roots, and I cannot waste my time guarding you forever."


    He tapped his skull. "Ah, I know. How about this: [Shapeshift: Aspect of the Shoggoth]".


    He put his arm on her shoulder in an almostforting manner.


    He sensed fear. Fear that grew deeper as the arm mutated, the bark bubbling with viscous ck ooze that expanded and gurgled, forming into the chaotic sludge riddled with mouths and eyes. Every single bulbous red eye rolled in their sockets to target their hungry gaze at her. The mouths closest to her loosed long, slithering tongues of rotting and pulsing flesh that grazed hungrily at her neck and face.


    All she could do, however, was stay standing still, her soul trapped in a porcin prison of her own design.


    "I sense so much fear," said Li. "What? You thought I would keep you sane or in a single piece?" Li waved his other hand in indignation. "Please. I like to consider myself a being of efficiency, and a dimensional prison of infinite torture seems wonderful to keep you secure and break you into tameness until I can reduce you into a little trinket to study. I suppose Sylvie would be quite happy to receive a few of your treasury toys."


    He tapped his mutated arm. "Eat, little one, take your fill."


    The sludge expanded rapidly, tendrils of it snaking around Lady Zhen''s form. The mouths bit into her, taking chunks of her porcin flesh. The white spiritual energy underneath sucked into the mouths, growing dim as the eldritch flesh soon made its way over her whole body, covering it entirely.


    The Shoggoth shrunk back to the size of Li''s arm, and it was as if Lady Zhen had never even existed in the first ce, her formpletely and utterly devoured.


    "Take care of her for me," said Li as he petted the Shoggoth. The creature hummed in its own way of purring, and he cancelled the shapeshift. The sludge quickly sank back into his bark.


    "Now," sighed Li as he peered down at Riviera. "I have to clean up thisplete mess of a case."

 Chapter 145 - Investigation

    Li put a wooden hand to his skull-white head.


    What to do?


    Lady Zhen''s inopportune rampage had driven this whole case upside down. Li had wanted to settle things quietly and within the boundaries of man''sws, but now, there were too a number of problems he had to solve. He could, if he spent some time to think about it, likelye to a reasonable way to solve them all, but


    First was exining Chevrette''s death. There was the matter of the daughter seeing him, but she had only seen his more monstrous forms. To be more specific, she had only clearly seen his Howling Ursine form too. Regardless, she had seen him, and that was the important part. The appearance of the Howling Ursine had to be exined.


    Then there was the matter of the farmers ¨C the main reason why he had undertaken this venture in the very first ce. Li had wanted to criminally indict Chevrette and then have his assets transition over to one of Count Alexei''s pawns who would then destroy the contracts ordingly. But there had been no indictment.


    That also brought up how the beastwomen were to be treated. Li had intended them to participate in the case even if their testimonies were not truly needed. If Chevrette had gotten desperate and used the armed forces in his employ, then he would have given the beastwomen a chance to fight and use that as leverage to free them as elsewise, the heroes would simply argue for detaining them because they were threats to the crown.


    Finally, Li had to exin what his human form was presumably doing this whole time, especially because he had decided to split up from going to the Golden gon.


    Li stopped beating his wings and red them out, letting the wind glide past them and wafting him down to Riviera. He directed himself towards the Chevrette estate, and as he glided down, he thought about what to do.


    To be sure, Li was confident he coulde to a solution. It was just that he was not too confident he coulde up with a perfect one. After all, it was not like he had gotten super intellect from gaining his new form. He was still himself for now.


    Li''s superhuman sight honed in on the estate and he saw that it was surrounded by Knights of Lys oncemore. There was also the very same carriage that the heroes and adventurers had used earlier in the day.


    Though, Li figured, the reason why he could nowmit to a n with so little hesitation even if it was not perfect was because he knew that there could be imperfections. He was a meticulous person most times, but when there were too many variables like this, he knew when to be realistic andmit to a path even if the road was not clear.


    Go with the flow, as the old adage went.


    ======================


    "It''s a massacre, honored hero," said a knight of Lys. His voice had a youthful timbre to it, and there was a shaking undertone of shock and fear beneath. "Lord Chevrette is dead. His servants are dead. My brothers in arms are dead. All dead."


    Meld looked at the Chevrette mansion, her head tilting up to the shattered roof and the sted apart front doors in descending order. She nodded and patted the knight on the shoulder. "How old are you, good knight?"


    "Me?" the knight said in momentary confusion before shaking his head, remembering to answer and not question. "I am twenty-two, honored hero."


    "Only twenty-two and bearing witness to such ughter." Meld tapped the knight''s shoulder te once more, this time with a moreforting touch. "Take leave of your duties for the night and rest. You will bepensated by the crown for any missed work."


    The knight nodded and saluted. "Thank you, honored hero."


    As the knight left, Meld crossed her arms and drew close to the destroyed double doors leading into the Chevrette estate. The very same doors she had stood in front of just thest day.


    "Look how that fool quivers in his greaves," said Thunderstrike as he floated behind her. "A little pup he is, and yet he has a white plume trembling atop his helm. Do the Knights of Lys have no shame, promoting cowards to their officing ranks?"


    "Now is a time of peace. That standards arex is a sign that the people arefortable, and that alone should make you, a hero, happy," said Meld calmly.


    Thunderstrike grunted. "Were these human pups to know of the dangers brewing north, they would not be sofortable being so weak."


    Meld sighed. "There is no shame in weakness, and that we have power alone does not make us heroes. How we use it is what separates us from monsters. You would do well to remember that."


    "I should have expected such words from the weakest among the Order," said Thunderstrike. When he saw that Meld ignored him, he continued with the task at hand. "What do you make of this situation?"


    Meld crouched down, her head tilting up and down and scanning the destroyed entrance to the mansion.


    "Forced entry-," said Meld.


    "Obviously," scoffed Thunderstrike.


    "-With explosive force," continued Meld. "The warped shards of the door indicate they bent inwards in concussive impact before shattering. A single explosion. No traces of mana. Non-magical force. Explosion urred approximately one and a half hours ago considering the amount of fading there is in the color of the runes that were etched into the frame."


    "And?" said Thunderstrike impatiently.


    Meld began rattling off her hypotheses. "The perpetrator was not a mage. Likely not a human, either. No normal human possesses a natural ability to project such force. Potentially could be one possessing of the heroic mutagen."


    Thunderstrike raised a brow. "But we would know about any rogue hero. Mindeye has a tab on every active hero in the entire duchy."


    "There are those that escape her vision." Meld tilted her head backwards, her blindfolded eyes angling towards Triple Threat. The three adventurers were busy talking with knights themselves a little way off, near the gates. She took a cursory look at Jeanne before swiveling her head forwards again. "But yes, the possibility is unlikely. A monster, perhaps."


    "A monster not spotted by any manner of guard? One that could scale the powerful magical defenses erected around the noble estates? This does not sound ridiculous to you?"


    Meld continued to analyze the floor, not sparing a look at Thunderstrike.


    "The point of this type of work is to find clues, then the answer. If you wish for a more straightforward task, then I will dly have you transferred back over to the north," she said, voice as calm and pleasant as ever. "Perhaps the elves will grace you with a matching scar over your other eye."


    "You are lucky that you are favored by the duchess, elsewise I would smite you down with the strength of a thousand storms," said Thunderstrike.


    "There is no such thing as luck in our line of work," said Meld as she ignored the threat and decided to step inside the mansion. There were other knights still surveying the area, but she wanted to get a personal feel into the situation as well.


    "Wait!"


    Meld and Thunderstrike turned around to see Sylvie and Azhar running up to them. Jeanne had stayed back at the gates where weary knights were gathering around her, thanking her for her service, for showing up to aid them, and no doubt, there were a few of them wanting to see if they could have a more private meetingter.


    "Good adventurers," said Meld. "Have you heard anything of noteworth from the other knights?"


    Sylvie shook her head. By now, she was feeling a bit tired, her pale red eyes underlined with dark bags from not having slept in almost an entire day working on the case. "I wished to ask you the same. We have only heard tell of the deaths and their gruesome nature, but nothing that would bring us closer to a suspect."


    "I thought as much. The front party of knights found nothing either," said Meld. She held out her hand. "I was about to investigate myself. Would you like to join us?"


    Sylvie nodded and fell into a walking pace behind Meld. Behind them, Azhar and Thunderstrike exchanged routine res at each other.


    Meld turned her head from side to side as she got a read on the insides of the mansion. Extremely well ordered with the exception of the corpses which nowy with ck sheets covering them, as if someone or something had surgically assassinated every single living being here without touching a single piece of furniture in the whole mansion.


    As she surveyed the situation, she said to Sylvie quietly, "I apologize for myrade''s prior anger at the gon."


    "No, I do understand where his thinking lies," said Sylvie. "It would be natural in his position to believe that the beastwomen would know something of what transpired here and have them locked away before they could escape. I would have liked to try and get him to see my way of thinking, but unfortunately, Azhar devolved the talk into a shouting match."


    "No talk would have gotten through to Thunderstrike." Meld smiled. "A shouting match was perhaps the best way to pass through that thick skull of his."


    Sylvie widened her eyes a bit.


    "Oh, pardon me. A hero insulting another hero is unfathomable is what you think, yes?" Meld shook her head. "Heroes are humans too, my dear. I like to believe I have the luxury of liking and disliking whomever I want."


    "I suppose so."


    "I sense you are guarded around me." Meld cocked her head, her broad hat somehow defying physics and staying on despite its precarious angle. "I will not pry into your reasons, but know that as a hero, I am forever your ally."


    Sylvie nodded slowly. She hid her guardedness incredibly well, but not well enough for Meld to not pick up on it. "I understand."


    Amotion rang through the mansion. It came from the kitchen, and immediately, the group rushed towards it.


    Bursting out of the kitchen''s marble rimmed entrance were several knights guarding and holding up E, Chevrette''s daughter. The sole survivor of this attack.


    Perhaps with her, thought both Sylvie and Meld, there would be answers.

 Chapter 146 - The Creature

    Meld beckoned the knights over to the living room where she directed them to carry Chevrette''s daughter over to afortably cushioned chair. When the knights gently guided the nobleman''s daughter to the chair, she detached from them and moved by herself, straightening the blood encrusted hem of her skirt as much as she could before sitting in the chair.


    Meld and Sylvie both took a second to analyze the girl, picking up every possible detail they could off of a single cursory nce short enough to keep the girl asfortable as possible. She appeared in her mid-teens and was slight of body, on the thin side despite her dress shrouding her figure. Herplexion belonged to that of nobility with healthy and well-maintained skin that remained unscarred, indicating she herself had not suffered any significant harm.


    There was blood on her, but it only lined the bottom of her white dress, as if she had been holding onto something leaking blood, and aside from that, there were no signs of carnage upon her.


    Hopefully, that meant she was in good condition to tell of what had transpired, though of course, there was the worry that her father''s death was weighing heavily on her and making her unstable. Her eyes were puffy from crying and her lip still quivered in tension.


    "E, was it?" said Meld as she remembered all the files she had read up on the existing nobility in the duchy. She knelt before E and smiled. "How are you feeling, my dear? Are you alright? Do you need healing?"


    E shook her head. Her hands were wrung together nervously, the palms slick with sweat, and her eyes were wide with fear, but it was lingering fear meaning whatever it was that had scared her had passed.


    Meld continued. "I know so much has happened to you, and I do not wish to push you. If you so wish, we will have you transferred immediately over to a secure safe haven where you may rest. However, if you feel you have strength enough, would you mind answering a few questions of ours?"


    E drew her hands close to her stomach and took in a deep breath. "I can answer," she said.


    "Are you certain?" said Sylvie. "I know you have lost a loved one. Take the time to be alone if you desire it."


    E shook her head. "Father¡­would want me to be strong," she said with halting voice.


    "Very well, dear," said Meld. "But if at any time you feel overwhelmed, do not feel it wrong to excuse yourself."


    E nodded meekly.


    "Then E, can you tell us what happened?" said Meld broadly.


    "I was having dinner with father," said E. "And then, and then, I¡­do not know. Something happened. I saw blood, and father took me to the vault, a woman chased us, and then father himself¡­,"


    She looked down at the blood rimmed edges of her dress and bit her lip, trying to keep herself calm.


    "This is useless," began Thunderstrike before Meld raised a hand to silence him.


    Meld reached out and put her hand over E''s. "I understand. It happened quick, too quick for you to know. It must have been horrible, like the world itself had turned upside down in but a manner of seconds."


    E nodded weakly. Meld gently squeezed E''s hands before speaking, "But in the end, you are alive, my dear. That must mean something. What is this about a woman?"


    "I cannot be sure," said E. "I scarcely looked back. Father would not have let me either. He pushed me forwards, and all I could hear was this horrible squishing sound and water dripping on the floor."


    "Did someonee to save you, then?" said Sylvie.


    E shivered, as if remembering something terrible, and nodded.


    "Who was it?" said Sylvie hopefully. With worry, she asked further, "Was he injured by any chance? Did any harme to him?"


    E shook her head several times. "No, nothing could have injured it. It had such a terrible force about it. It was¡­it was like death itself."


    This time, Azhar perked up. Thunderstrike spoke up. "This is nonsense. The girl hallucinates from terror. I tell you now that it is the vengeful beastwomen and their foul magics that are behind this."


    The roof rumbled. The echo shivered down the building until the floor itself started to shake.


    "An earthquake?" remarked one of the knights of Lys nearby.


    Meld, her perception sharp, had followed the path of the rumble and understood what wasing. "Knights, take cover underneath anything you can find!"


    Meld immediately reached over and took E in her arms, hunching over the girl to protect her.


    Thunderstrike cocked his head in wonder as he stayed afloat with arms crossed as always, but Sylvie was attentive and grabbed Azhar, taking both them under a table.


    The roof copsed at that point, showers of dust, boards of wood, and pieces of stone and marble raining down.


    Thunderstrike,pletely unharmed by simple falling debris, pped his hands, releasing a shock wave of air that sted away the thickyer of dust that had risen up in the room. As everyone peeked out from under their covers, they saw hovering in the middle of the vast living room a creature that they had never seen before.


    A gigantic ck furred bear, it seemed at first, but it became very apparent that it was no mere animal. It was farrger than any normal bear, almost taking up the entirety of the empty space between the floor and roof ¨C a testament to the hugeness of the Chevrette mansion. Two sets of purple eyes red with wispy curls of power. Jagged horns protruded from the sides of its head, crackling with bolts of energy.


    But perhaps more obviously, there was a certain feeling that emanated from the creature that told all that stood in its presence that it was a creature infinitely beyond mere flesh and blood, beyond the weakness of either beast or man. It was something transcendent, and not in a heavenly way. Its power was colored a deep shade of darkness that promised terror and suffering, ripping out a shiver from each and every human in the building.


    Meld kept her hug on E, and the girl, terribly frightened, buried herself in Meld''s grip. The hero turned her head around to face the creature. A few pieces of sharp wood had stabbed into her back, but she paid them no mind. "For what purpose do youe here?"


    Her voice held no hint of fear to it. Or perhaps she suppressed it. In any case, the calmness in her voice was impressive enough to give a sense offort to all the knights of Lys that had begun cowering.


    "I am here to ensure my duty is done," said the ursine creature. His voice echoed several times, seemingly rumbling and reverberating between the very bones of all those that heard it.


    "And that duty is?" said Meld.


    "For wrongs to be made right," the creature said. "I¡­am a primordial spirit of vengeance, and for too long, injustice has festered in the depths of this city."


    Sylvie tensed up under the table she hid under, her hand at her sheathed sword as she analyzed the creature above, trying to get a sense of its battle capacities. ck wings that gave it flight. Tough fur that looked imprable. Horns that could gut any man. Size and strength likely outssing anything she could muster. Not to mention its very aura made it unapproachable, unchallengeable.


    Azhar put a hand on Sylvie''s shoulder, sensing her tenseness. "Don''t worry bout'' it," he said as he looked up at the creature. "He ain''t gonna'' hurt us. I know my way round'' spirits, so ya can trust me on this one."


    Sylvie nodded and instead paid attention to the scene unfolding before her.


    "Injustice?" said Meld.


    The creature growled, bearing its many teeth. "Yes. Injustice of the foulest kind. When enough anguished souls scream out for wrongs to be made right, I, the Specter, am invoked. Countless souls burdened under the chains of abuse and very. Of maniption and fraud. Of lies and schemes.


    All those that have had part in these wrongs, I have judged. You see their bodies before you now."


    "The Specter?" said Meld. "Certainly, the deaths of all those involved here match those the supposed specter killed over the course of a century. Then what will you do, specter, now that the vengeance of the wronged has been sated?"


    "He will die," said Thunderstrike as he floated up to meet the creature''s eyes. Thunderstrike, despite himself being a hulking mass of muscle, was still several times smaller than the ursine being, utterly dwarfed by its presence. Regardless, the hero still squared up in challenge, lightning beginning to sh from his ck suit. "I will not ept the justice of a monster."


    "Stand down, Thunderstrike," said Meld.


    Azhar rushed out from under the table and pointed his bow at the hero. "Get yerself down from there, sparky. Offendin'' a spirit ain''t the smartest thing to do."


    "I see you Hintenders are well versed in frolicking with monsters," scoffed Thunderstrike. "And I will not stand down, Meld. What right does a monster, spirit or not, have in enforcing justice? Preposterous. Justice is for the domain of heroes. Justice-,"


    All everyone could perceive was a blinding ck blur as the creature moved, then a colossal sound of impact that rattled the entire mansion once more. At the end of the room, Thunderstrikey face down at the center of a deep crater gouged through severalyers of wood and pure stone. His form was still, the lightning around his body fading.


    "I have simply answered the call of the suffering," said the ursine creature as it drew back its outstretched paw. "And those who cannot ept that will fare little better than that little ant."


    The rattling of knights trembling under their armor echoed through the mansion, but they were too terrified to even think of running. All they could do was stand there and let the terror flow through them.


    The ursine''s round ears twitched, hearing the trembling, and it breathed out, steam curling from his nostrils. "And because justice has been enforced and the vengeful souls fueling me have beenid to rest, I am done here."


    "Is there a chance you will return?" said Meld.


    The creature paused for a few seconds. Finally, it said, "If ever there are enough souls that cry out under the weight of injustice, then perhaps they may be able to summon me once more. Heed that as a warning."


    With that, the creature pped its wings of dark energy and soared through the copsed roofs and into the sky, so high that it became but a tiny little dot before fading away entirely.

 Chapter 147 - Assistance

    Li flew hovering in the sky, still in his ursine form. He had flown quite high up, far higher than the cloud line had been before he had sted them away with his howl. This way, he guaranteed that nobody would have eyes on him.


    As far as Li could tell, this world was extremely undeveloped in using surveince spells. The magical art just did not seem to be something that was studied to any real degree. The denizens of this world were familiar with runes which did offer some measure of surveince, but aside from that, there were precious few records of anyone truly specializing in irvoyance magic.


    When Li thought about it, it did make sense. Until one managed to level up to get subsses, they had tomit to one of the basic sses such as warrior or mage which did not have many specialized surveince spells. The average level of the people in this world was simply not high enough to effectively spec into these subsses. Not to mention that the useful and longer range surveince spells required subsses that needed even higher level requirements.


    Even then, Li did keep himself high up enough where if anyone was at ground level, he would be out of the range of irvoyance spells below B rank, and there was nobody in this town that coulde remotely close to using that tier of magic.


    Li took the moment of aerial solitude to contemte his next course of action. The adventurers and heroes would spend some time investigating the mansion further, he was sure of it. That gave him some time. Now, how to use it? He had already decided on going to the gon and using the excuse of needing to check up on Old Thane to exin why he had not personally shown up to heal the beastwomen.


    Certainly, Li could just leave it at that, but almost two hours had passed since he had sent Iona to the gon instead of himself. That was enough time where it called into question whether he had spent all of it just checking on the old man.


    Li decided to make use of that suspicion and find a useful exnation for what had kept him so long.


    Knowing that, Li angled his wings of dark energy downwards. They flickered like mes as the wind caught on them, and he pped his wings once to give himself propulsion. He sailed downwards, and as thend and city became more visible, he shifted back to his human form while maintaining the wings.


    Li aimed himself towards the peak of the hill that housed the noble estates. He did notnd there directly because knights and adventurers and heroes and who knows what were still buzzing around. Instead, he circled around to the opposite end of the hill from Chevrette''s mansion, right where Alexei''s estatey.


    Linded himself in Alexei''s gardens. Or miniature forest, more like. The gardens were packed with trees and tall bushes arranged in the fashion of a miniature maze, a ce where noblemen and women could walk together in silence and adventure. Not to mention the discrete gothic stone walls that towered high over the property. Alexei was fond of discretion, after all.


    There, Li rushed past smooth cobblestone pathways nked by trimmed, tall bushes dotted with flowers swaying with the night breeze. Around him, he could hear the gurgling of fountains. He was not here to enjoy Alexei''s taste in shrubbery, however, so he rushed past the paths of green until he reached the courtyard.


    As soon as Li took a step into the berth of the courtyard, he found himself staring at a row of ck suited vampire knights. This was unlike the count''s usual security retinue. There were far more, packing the courtyard and the porch until it seemed like there was a veritable sea of armored bodies standing at attention.


    "Something wrong?" said Li as he walked forwards.


    A vampire knight bowed his head and said, "The count has determined tonight to be a night of much activity. Thus, he has assigned arger guard than usual. Does it inconvenience you?"


    "Not at all," said Li. "I appreciate the count''s foresight and ability to be on the same wavelength as I am. In any case, tell the count I''m here. I only need him for a minute."


    The knight nodded and simply pointed to one of the other knights behind him. The nking of armor filled the air as a few knights marched into the ck mansion. It was always interesting to note how efficiently the vampires of the same horde made use of their ability to telepathicallymunicate with each other.


    And within a minute, the count was outside. As usual, the count appeared fully suited in elegant silken garb, as if always ready to entertain the highest of guests at the drop of a hat.


    "And what will you need of me tonight?" said Alexei.


    "How are the farmers?" said Li.


    Alexei motioned to the soldiers around him. "With the full might of my horde, they are certainly well guarded. None of them have fallen to harm and rest within the mansion, albeit perhaps a bit jarred from the whole experience. s, it is a shame that I did not send a stronger security detail to the farmers that were in. I had not foreseen such a powerful attack."


    Li shook his head. "Don''t worry about it. The simple fact that you read ahead to send your men already saved plenty of lives, and in the grand scheme of things, three deaths does not mean much."


    Alexei raised a brow in minor surprise before easing it back into his usual icy expression. "Indeed, that is so. And the killer? Does it remain inrge?"


    "I''ve taken care of it."


    "I must thank you, then," said Alexei as he bowed. "I do not tolerate the deaths of any within my horde. Were it not for you, then I would have myself taken flight to bring vengeance upon the killer."


    "Trust me, vengeance has been served plenty enough." Li cut to the next topic in order, knowing time was sensitive. "Alexei, can you move the farmers to the Golden gon?"


    "Certainly, that is a matter of no issue," said Alexei as he stood up. "Hm. My informant among the knights of Lys has informed me of the details of this case. I will not question your actions are, but I suspect that you have more details for me than simply moving the farmers, no?"


    "Correct. I want you to transport them in your fastest security carriages. Security can be lighter ¨C threats have been dealt with. However, do not just drop them off by the gon. Keep them near it but hidden from sight, perhaps in the next alleyway over. Station one of your men outside the gon and tell him that when I give a signal, he should bring the farmers over."


    "That can be arranged." Alexei pped his hands, his voice raising several pitches and gaining a surprisingly sharp edge of authority. "I have already ryed the Great One''s requests. I trust you to organize ordingly to them."


    In an instant, several of the vampire knights shuffled away in unison, some going into the mansion to fetch the farmers, others going around to get hold of the carriages, others running to the stables to fetch steeds.


    "It will take no more than thirty minutes to transport the farmers there," said Alexei. "That will be far quicker than the others on the case making their way there."


    Li suppressed surprise at the fact that the count knew the exact reason why Li wanted the transport to be fast. At this point, he could not be surprised by the count''s perception. "That''s all I need. The rest, I can handle. As always, thank you for the help."


    Alexei bowed. "It is my pleasure. Though my visage shows little, know I am eager to see how you will swing this case to your favor."


    Li nodded and turned around, sprouting this time the wings of the moth creature Itzpapalotl to generate the obscuring aura inherent to it. He leaped into the air and then swiftly propelled himself away from the noble estates, down the side of the hill. He circled around and made his way over to the city.


    The speed of Li''s flight was quick, and no human could have perceived him in the night, his form wreathed with obscuring shadow on top of being as quick as a blur. Within a few minutes, he reached the gon. It stood like a shining beacon amidst the darkness, every single light lit within. Hended himself a little ways from the inn to minimize his presence and made his way through the streets until he found himself directly in front of the gon''s doors.


    Li had a little over twenty minutes to figure out how Iona had done with he beastwomen. After that, he had perhaps another half hour before the adventurers and heroes came. Hopefully, Iona had handled with situation well enough that there were no problems by the time they arrived.

 Chapter 148 - Homes

    Li thrust open the doors to the Golden gon to find the remnants of what must have been quite the scuffle. Most of the tables and chairs had been shattered and flung apart like a typhoon had ripped through the floor. Shards of wood mingled with broken ss shards from cups and bottles.


    Li gingerly stepped over a shattered bottle of liquor and closed the doors behind him. He panned his stare from side to side, getting a thorough look at the people in the room. Thankfully, whatevermotion had caused the property damage had passed. The beastwomen, now unbound by the efficiency adhering mind control from Ven''thur, were all over the ce.


    Still, Li could see that there was some order to how they had scattered, grouping with members of their own kind.


    Feli were perched atop tables, a few of them wonderingly contemting the bar counter and its colorful array of drinks by pawing at them. Meanwhile, the bartender himself quite nervously shrank back in his chair, a hand holding his cleaning rag growing white with fright.


    The Lupi were less agile and adventuresome, huddling tightly together in a corner of the room standing upright and tense. In this regard, the Serpi were simr, upying another corner in simr guarded fashion.


    There were also harpies that had taken advantage of their winged arms and talons to embed themselves on the walls and ceiling where space was freer.


    And aside from the beastwomen, Li could see familiar faces. At a table in the center of the floor, a table uniquely untouched amidst the liberal furniture destruction, was Iona and the adventuring team Bulwark. It made sense for Bulwark to be there considering they were responsible for drumming up support and understanding from the adventurers.


    Li made his way straight to the center table and took a seat.


    "And greetings again," said Launcelot with a smile and a wave. He was fully armored, bronze shield strapped to his arm.


    "Guessing you had to show some force?" said Li with a raised brow, though, as he took a look at the rest of Launcelot''s team and his brother, they were not particrly equipped forbat. Just Launcelot.


    "This?" Launcelot looked down to his shield andughed. "Not at all, thankfully. Rather, this shield of mine has been quite useful. A few of the women seem to have taken a liking to it."


    Launcelot smiled and waved at a group of Feli, and they cocked their heads, their tails swishing. A few of them mimicked the waving gesture in an awkward way someonepletely unfamiliar with what it meant would.


    Li noted that the ones showing Launcelot any attention seemed positively disposed and all had reddish bronze hair that fell down from their heads in a rough cascade that gathered around their necks like manes, just like it did with the golden haired one that Azhar had talked with.


    Leon, his shining leather boots propped atop the table and his back reclined against his chair,ughed. "Perhaps they are charmed by your dashing looks, brother." He jutted his chin out towards the trio of girls that made up the rest of Bulwark. "They seem to have worked well for you yet."


    "What nonsense!" said the party member sitting next to Launcelot. It was Faye, the hero Li recalled having the power to generate fire. She had half-unseated herself in protest, her red locks swishing with the aggressive movement. "You think we travel with this dense fool for his looks?"


    Leon made an amused face before shrugging. The casual response seemed to annoy Faye further, but before she was about to double down on her protest, Iona spoke up.


    "None of you are right," said Iona. "Observe. They are northern Bronzemane Feli from the Wilnd ins. Their fur is usually bronze, though it can grow a shade of dull red under certain circumstances. They are fixated primarily upon Launcelot''s shield. They believe it divinely touched by the Six Tongued Warme that they worship."


    Li nodded in understanding. He knew the four gods took many forms depending on who worshipped them, and it was evident that the bronzemanes worshipped Chi-You.


    "But in a sense, perhaps there was some truth in yourments," continued Iona, her voice like that of a lecturer. Calm and concise, meant to inform rather than to engage.


    "The doctrine of the Warme is that of respect for strong martial prowess and adherence to a code of warrior''s honor. That doctrine extends to their mating behaviors, causing them to choose those they believe embody those ideals of strength and honor the best. To that end, they believe Launcelot quitepatible in their eyes. Some of them wish to take you back to their prides in the north."


    Leon whistled triumphantly. "Hear that?"


    "Strength? The man can only raise a shield," said Faye defiantly. The two other members of Bulwark, softer spoken and quieter ¨C evident even in their hooded garbs ¨C shifted in their seats, blushing slightly at the talk at hand.


    "Certainly, that is true," said Launcelot as heughed. "I fear I may have spent far too much time with the shield than the sword. But a shield to raise for others is all I need," said Launcelot. He looked back to his party, still smiling. "And before that all, though I am far willing to help these northerndies back home, I must say I cannot stay with them. I have others closer to me to protect right here by my side."


    "Atleast you have your priorities in order," mumbled Faye as she sat back down, visibly growing meeker at thement.


    "A rational decision," said Iona, oblivious to the mood around her. "To stay in the north with the bronzemane pride, you would have had to enter a brutal gauntlet and battle several males to near death for the right to carve your spot within it. No weapons are allowed, so your bare hands would have fallen quickly to their teeth and ws. Your corpse would have been burnt to the Warme."


    "I must say," said Launcelot to Iona. "You are marvelously knowledgeable. In the way of herbs, in the way of business, and even in the ways of the north. Are you certain you are not an eminent schr? Perhaps one from the north?"


    "No, I do not believe I have that qualification," replied Iona, letting thepliment sail straight over her head.


    "I see," said Li. "So the bronzemanes are probably tame right now because you and Launcelot have convinced them to be."


    The table nodded, and Li motioned to the destruction and motley diversity of species around him. "But what about the others? There certainly seemed to have been some level of chaos here."


    "Certainly, there was," remarked Launcelot. "When that foul ck magic was lifted from the minds of these women, there was of course a tremendous amount of chaos. However, Iona, with but a few words in anguage I have never been witness to, calmed them to the extent that we could carve some order out. You should have seen it. It was truly wondrous, like a deity or high spirit alighting upon the earth."


    Iona paused nervously.


    "The healing spell she cast has a second chant to it that eases confusion. That was what soothed them. I should know - I created the spell," cut in Li. He knew Iona did not want to expose that she knew any forest spiritnguage to an adventurer no less. She had already risked much of her own safety for his sake.


    "Ah, so an easternnguage, then?" nodded Launcelot. "I must say, the spells of the east seem far grander and better than those we learn here."


    "We all have our strengths and weaknesses," said Li. He stood up and tapped Iona on the shoulder to get her toe with him. "If you will excuse us, I want to have a talk with the beastwomen. It would do well for me to know where their homes are to find a way to get them home."


    ==========


    As Iona and Li walked away, he talked to her in a quiet voice. "What did you tell the beastwomen to calm them?"


    "Forest spirits are held in high regard in the north among beastmen tribes as harbingers of the future. They rely on the forests and the weather for their survival, so they see us, beings who have say in controlling such factors, as prophets of a kind. Thus, I told them to not fear, to wait calmly for soon, good fortune woulde to them."


    "Simple enough," said Li. "And it worked very well, all things considered. There could have plenty more destruction than this. Thanks for holding down the fort so well. It''s a good thing they respect the voice of the forest to this degree too. They''re growing on me."


    Iona nodded, smiling at the praise.


    "Now then, it''s time for me to get a feel of how much good fortune I can bring to them," said Li as he made his way to each group of beastwomen.


    Using Iona as a trantor to make it seem as if he did not possess the divine ability of Allspeak, Li got a feel of the situations of the beastwomen. He wanted to get them home, to be sure, but if any of them did not have homes anymore or simply desired it, he would have extended them an offer to be on his farm as well.


    There were four distinct groups of beastwomen in the gon.


    The Bronzemane Feli that lived in the north generally all wished to go back for they had prides waiting for them, though a few of them did consider staying here for Launcelot.


    There were a smaller group of Goldmane Feli here, the kind that Azhar was familiar with, and they, too, wished to go back to their tribe in the West. The one that Azhar talked to had found her little sister in the crowd as well, so it seemed like most loose ends were tied up for that group.


    The Lupi, however, were at a tense situation. Their northern pack worshipped the Moonwolf ¨C a form of Noctus ¨C and were far more istionist than the other beastwomen tribes.


    If they tried returning to their pack, they would likely be rejected for fear of being tainted by outside influences; a belief that arose when Noctus fell to eldritch influences, draining much of their faith based abilities away or afflicting some of them with the dire curse that rendered them savage and insane.


    They would need a new home, and Li would extend them a ce at the farm or at the very least, a ce within the Winterwoods if he could. Though for now, he did not yet forward any such offer. He had to settle the rest of this case first, after all.


    The Serpi were interesting. They all feared Li for the Serpi he had dealt with was among them and had told of them about his ability to influence even their revered goddess herself. As a result, some of them, valuing knowledge and being bolder and more curious, wished to stay around Li, though the majority wanted to return home to their people in the far northern deserts.


    The harpies were far fewer in number but each had different ideas of what they wanted. Unlike the rest of the beastwomen, they did not have a strong sense of sharedmunity. They worshipped the Phoenix ¨C a form of Helius ¨C and their doctrine was that of journeying wherever the sun managed to shine its wide faring rays.


    They were highly individualistic and did not ever consider any one ce a home, using their wings to travel anywhere they wished. Thus, some of wanted to try staying in the South, others wanted to fly away and explore, still others were undecided.


    Overall, Li figured there would be quite a few new additions to the farm by the time he was done with this all. When he finished talking to each group and got around to sitting back at the table, the gon doors opened again.


    The rattle of knightly armor echoed outside, and Li watched as Meld entered first, then Triple Threat, then a few knights of Lys, though a sizable force of knights did stay outside. Perhaps as a show of force? A precaution to keep the order?


    Regardless, Li was ready to end this whole case and get what he wanted out of it.

 Chapter 149 - Witnesses

    "You all look like you''ve gone through a lot," said Li as he watched everyone stream in.


    "That would be an understatement," said Meld as she came up to Li''s table and found only three more seats.


    She remained standing, letting Triple Threat pass by her and take up the seats.


    Sylvie rushed next to Li. "You''re fine? Thank the gods," she said with a relieved sigh. "I thought with all that has happened, perhaps you had sensed something wrong, ventured out and then found yourself in trouble."


    Li raised a brow and pulled out the chair next to him. "Trouble? Sit down and tell me what happened."


    Triple Threat took up the remaining seats around the table, and as they talked about what had happened, Li gauged their expressions. Sylvie and Jeanne were concerned, likely wondering about the strange events that they had witnessed at the mansion. Azhar, though, looked knowingly at Li, and it was evident that the bowman could piece together that Li was the spirit.


    As Li tried to scrutinize Meld''s expression, he found that once again, he could not. There was a proverb that he remembered about eyes being the windows to the soul, and that felt particrly true here. With the blindfold covering her eyes, Meld''s expression was hard to divine, not to mention that she herself had been trained to maintain as neutral a face as she could regardless of the situation.


    "That''s¡­quite odd, to say the least," said Li as he nodded several times, pretending to be taking in new information. "It''s quite worrying that a spirit of that caliber was roaming around Riviera this whole time."


    "I thought you had known," said Sylvie. "You always seem to have a sharp sense for danger even when it has not fully manifested. I worried that you had moved on your own to face a spirit of that strength."


    "No, not at all," said Li. "As a herbalist and healer, I can sense the flow of energy in the world around me and sort of tell when something is off. Tonight, I did feel there was something wrong which is why I had to head back to the farm to check on Old Thane and send my assistant here instead. Still, to think that the situation was as strange as this?"


    Sylvie cast a momentary nce at Iona, her lips pursed in minor annoyance, but only for a mere instant before she regained her regrposure.


    "And Old Thane?" said Jeanne. "Is he well?"


    Li nodded. "He is. Snoring as loud as ever."


    "Then he''s definitely alive and kickin''," said Azhar.


    "I see," said Meld. "That exins your absence."


    Li could not tell from her voice whether she doubted him. "And I''m noticing an absence on your end. Thunderstrike hasn''t recovered from the attack?"


    "Sadly, no," said Meld.


    "More like happily," quipped Azhar, though he quickly coughed and settled back into listening when Meld did not react to him at all.


    "Thunderstrike suffered grievous wounds. He will have to be sent to the nearest hero healer, but as Riviera lies far from such resources, there is some doubt as to whether he will survive," said Meld.


    "Well, I''m sorry to hear that," said Li, trying to keep his voice as steady as possible.


    Meld paused. "There is no need to feel pity for him. Heroes understand that their lives are constantly on the line, that we face risks at every waking moment. He understood the risks, willingly yed with them, and was burned as a result. That is the simple truth of it."


    "Quite a cold philosophy you have there," said Li.


    "Cold and realistic often lie close together," said Meld.


    "That, I would agree with." Li eyed the doors of the gon. "And the squadrons of knights by the door? Is that a realistic number to bring here? Right in the heart of the city? It seems to me that this whole ordeal isrgely over. Chevrette is dead and his sins are corroborated by that spirit."


    "Speak some sense to her," said Azhar. "She''s still thinkin'' to round up the beastwomen. It ain''t right."


    "There is also no reason for this," said Jeanne to Meld. "These women have suffered enough, and Chevrette has already passed, his soul to be judged by the gods."


    "It''s not simply a matter of him dying," said Sylvie.


    "Precisely so," agreed Meld. "There is the matter of his family name. All that falls under that once gilden name, his vast estate, his many businesses, the bank itself ¨C all of that stands on trial here also. A true verdict must be reached against him to determine byw where those assets go."


    "But a true verdict has already been decided," said Li. "And what does it matter what happens to Chevrette''s assets? If I remember thew correctly, if he''s condemned, doesn''t the crown seize everything? Wouldn''t that be to your benefit?"


    "Justice does not seek mary reward, though yes, you are correct in that regard," said Meld. "However, that is not a path I wish to truly go down. A full condemnation would strip the Chevrette name entirely from the records and cast thete lord''s daughter into poverty and homelessness. But beyond that, it is a matter of principle.


    This investigation must be settled through the proper channels, with proper witnesses and a proper trial where evidence isid bare and considered thoroughly under the scrutiny ofwpseakers."


    "Even if that means, as you say, Chevrette''s daughter will suffer?" said Li. He actually did understand where Meld wasing from. Thew should be blind and enforced uniformly and at a rigid standard for everyone.


    Too often, that did not happen in his past life, leading to so many corporations and authorities flouting anyw when convenient. Li was not heartless either, and he would have Count Alexei take care of E Chevrette as no daughter should suffer from the sins of a father whose sins she knew nothing about. It was suffering enough that E would have her world turned upside down at the thought of a father she thought loving and caring be used as one of the worst evils in the city.


    At the same time, Li could not let her keep her family name and estate. Without condemning Chevrette and breaking up all his business ventures, the farmers would still be bound to their contracts, and settling that would take even more time.


    "Justice cannot discriminate, unfortunately," said Meld. "Proper testimonies must be produced before court."


    "And the spirit''s words aren''t testimony enough?" said Li.


    Meld put a gloved hand to her back, where splinters from the Howling Ursine''s descent had embedded. The wounds had been cleaned and patched over with bandages, but the bandages themselves still stood as reminders of the incident.


    "I certainly would not wish to anger the spirit, but s, taking the word of but one spirit, a spirit of tenuous mention in any historical record, that we cannot even question would not prove beyond reasonable doubt Chevrette''s guilt."


    "You''d be morefortable with real live witnesses you can talk to is what you''re saying?" said Li. "Is that how you want to justify imprisoning these beastwomen?"


    Meld was quick to respond. "It is not imprisonment. Simply temporary detainment."


    "Don''t smell a difference there," said Azhar.


    "I can guarantee their safety and release after we have questioned them enough," said Meld.


    "What about thenguage barrier?" asked Li. "The logistics of securing all of them without having them suffer? The knights here can''t handle their strength, either. You''d have to bring in more heroes or a much stronger force."


    "There are Arcana schrs that know the tongues of the north. I will send for one. And the divine magic that the beastfolk rely upon will be severely dampened in the presence of anti-magic material."


    "Only anti-magic stone walls I know are the ones in the dungeons," snorted Azhar.


    "And That could take days to arrange," said Li. "Maybe weeks considering travel. You want to keep them locked up that long? How are you even sure you can even get them to the cells in the first ce? What if they do escape?"


    Meld sighed. "I agree the situation is not optimal, but I attempt to use what I have at hand. At the least, I can guarantee I will personally oversee their detainment such that no harm falls to them."


    Li stood up and walked behind Meld. "How about we reach apromise?"


    "What would you propose?" said Meld.


    "You need testimonies you can write down and produce in a court, right? Then how about I give you witnesses, human witnesses far easier to work with than beastwomen that will literally fight you tooth and nail every step of the way. Witnesses enough tond a guilty verdict on Chevrette beyond any doubt, and in exchange, you let these beastwomen go?


    "I could order you to hand them over now by the authority vested within me through the crown," said Meld.


    "And I could refuse," said Li simply, allowing her to determine what the consequences would be if she pushed her authority.


    Meld thought for several seconds ¨C the first time she had ever spent an extended period of time thinking before speaking. "Very well. The night has been messy enough. Let us settle this smoothly."


    Li walked out the gon doors and, illuminated under thentern light of the entrance, waved his hand ¨C the signal for Alexei''s men toe.

 Chapter 150 - Case Closed

    Within minutes, the sleek yet metal reinforced carriages of ck Securities came rolling forwards, driven by tamed equine monsters that would have been deadly threats had they been wild and loose on the streets.


    In response to the sudden movement, the squadron of Lysian knights started to surround the entrance to the gon, their swords drawn and their silver armor glinting under thentern and torchlights of the building.


    Seeing this, the knights of ck Securities dismounted and came out their carriages, filing into orderly rank with their weapons unsheathed but not pointed towards the Lysian knights. The vampire knights had concealed their redden eyes and pale skin, but they did not hide the fact that they towered over the regr knights in height and brawn, their magically enchanted armor shimmering with magical energy where the Lysian knights'' armor was distinctly mundane.


    Several knights struggled to keep their mounts calm, a few of them getting knocked off horseback as their horses eyed their wilder and more monstrous rtives with terror. The knights that surrounded the door themselves did not seem to fare much better mentally, obviously feeling some trepidation as they gathered into a loose ring-like formation, their shields raised far too high and their swords held far too low.


    It would be very apparent that ck Securities had quite the reputation for power in Riviera.


    Meld strode out the door and unleashed amanding voice. "Stand down and clear the path!"


    As her voice rung outwards, the knights hurriedly broke rank and streamed out of the way like a parted current. The ck Securities knights also withdrew, pacing back to the carriages without wasting a single breath and escorting a small crowd of farmers out. They were a motley group of all ages and builds, but generally speaking, the ages leaned towards the older side.


    Li noticed that the older the farmers were, the more likely they were to have had signs of farming - calloused hands, ruddier, tanned skin, fingernails cracked and healed over so many times that the indentations had be part of their very structure. The younger ones, however, had no such signs to them, and that was reasonable ¨C it was the older generation that had personal experience tending to thend; the new had lived in the city their whole lives.


    "Farmers?"mented Meld as she stood aside, letting the vampire knights lead the farmers in as an orderly single file line.


    "You can tell?" said Li.


    "Signs of manualbor upon their hands and skin. Advanced wrinkling from exposure to constant sunlight. Builds and muscture developed towards swinging and pulling which I have observed primarily among those thatbor with the earth."


    "Impressive," said Li honestly. Her insight and ability to analyze were truly top notch, and that worried him ever so slightly. He had lied many times this night, and he considered himself a good liar, especially considering he did not have the greatest range of facial expressions out there, but could he truly deceive someone at this level?


    But at the same time, Meld made no indication that she had caught on to anything. Or perhaps she was pretending? Regardless, the situation was like that of the duchess. If they did not infringe on his activities much, he would prefer to focus on himself rather than running around swatting down flies.


    "Not too impressive," said Meld. "Anyone that has tread my footsteps would have developed such a skill out of necessity."


    "Quite a modest view for a hero."


    "Perhaps." Meld unconsciously touched at one of the bandages on her back. "But I suppose I am more human than most heroes." Her face tilted a little, her angle of vision going up to look at the vampire knights. "ck Securities. Most interesting. I presume you have a good rtion with thepany?"


    Li nodded. "The count that owns it has taken quite the liking to me. As a devoted schr of sorts, he values the foreign knowledge and experiences I bring. When he found that I was also a schr, we struck up an immediate friendship. One of the very first acquaintances I madeing to this newnd was him, actually. I have to say, I do like how open-minded a decent portion of this city is."


    "Peace does tend to widen minds, and I was right to think you were a schr."


    "And what signs did I give off for you to reach that conclusion?"


    Meld thought about it for a few seconds. "No substantive signs. Simply a hunch, really, based on your eyes. They are always thinking. Not all schrs possess such eyes, some can be just aszy as themon man, but yours in particr remind me of a schr I used to know, though I suppose that is too limited a sample size to base an urate observation upon."


    "Well, you''d be right. Though right now, I''m more farmer than anything else." Li shrugged. "Strange though, a schr just like me? Can''t say I''ve met many like that, what with how busy people are adventuring and swinging swords and nocking bows. Would be interesting to meet this person."


    Meld gave off the very slightest sign of a frown, her lip quivering ever so slightly. So slight of an instant that had Li not possessed superhuman senses, he would not have caught it.


    "Unfortunately, they have passed," said Meld, her voice the same collected tone as ever. She went inside the gon, her line of sight as analyzing and focused as ever.


    ========


    Because the beastwomen had packed the first floor and trashed it, the farmers had to be escorted up to the second floors which were residential rooms, but thankfully, they had been temporarily cleared out due to Launcelot''s efforts beforehand.


    There was still equipment and supplies in the rooms, but there were enough to have the farmers securely ced with guards from both the Lysian Order and ck Securities. Before the farmers had settled into the rooms, Meld had given them a thorough and clear rundown of what she wanted to do.


    Overall, it was quite simple. Meld would interview the farmers separately and get down their testimonies against Chevrette. To that end, she had prepared arge inkwell, several feathers to write with, a thick sheaf of papers, and recording crystals so that she could go over the depositions again.


    As for the beastwomen, Azhar and Iona were responsible for keeping them calm until Meld had finished the interviews.


    At first, Sylvie and Jeanne tried to help around as much as they could with organizing rooms for the farmers, calming the beastwomen, cleaning up the mess they had made, and whatnot. However, it had been a little over a full day since they had slept, and soon enough, they fell asleep with their heads against their shoulders while leaning against the first-floor wall.


    "You''re managing pretty well," said Li to Azhar as he went around, making sure the beastwomen he could talk to were doing well enough. "You''re not tired?"


    Azhar stood watching the beastwoman he had made a pact with y with her little sister, pawing at her with gentle swipes of her ws.


    "I can go without sleep," said Azhar. "When I was trainin'' to be a shaman, I had to get used to stayin'' up days and days while seein'' the oddest visions with all the mushrooms I was hopped up on. This ain''t nothin'' to me. Plus-," Azhar nudged his chin towards Iona who stood with another group of beastwomen, talking to them calmly. "She''s pullin'' way more weight than me."


    "You two are both doing wonderful. If you ever need a buff to your energy, just let me know," said Li as he went around to Sylvie and Jeanne''s sleeping forms and draped a nket he had taken from upstairs over them.


    With that, Li felt like he had taken care of all under his supervision. He made his way back upstairs to observe Meld''s interviewing. She was friendly, making light conversation when needed with the farmers, being serious and condoling when the farmersid down their grievances, and overall being quite good at coaxing out the farmers'' experiences and reassuring them that justice would be granted to them.


    Administratively, Li noticed she was quite the expert too. Her hands moved like lightning, filling up paper with detailed notes in the blink of an eye. She had seemingly boundless energy too, never once tiring. Launcelot and Leon too, had quite the energy, making sure the farmers were in good condition, ferrying up water and food when needed.


    A few hourster, and Meld was done. By this time, the sun was up, the dark of dawn having fallen to slumber and letting the brightness of early morning awaken.


    Li was standing outside one of the inn rooms when Meld came out having conducted her final interview. Held under her arm was a stack of papers as thick as her arm.


    "So? Good enough?" said Li.


    "I consider my knowledge shy of that of awspeaker''s, but yes, I would believe so," said Meld. "These testimonies are iron-solid, and it will take a simple run through of Chevrette''s business records to confirm them. The court will have no issue indicting the lord."


    "Then the beastwomen are free to go?"


    "Certainly," said Meld. She nodded to Li. "However, I am afraid that I do not have the capacity to divert the resources under my authority towards guaranteeing that they return to theirnds."


    "Don''t worry about that. I''ve got that covered."


    "As I thought you would." Meld stared at Li for a lingering second. "If I may ask, since you are so close to him, how is the count? Are his businesses doing well?"


    "Yes, though I have to wonder why you''d be curious about that? Seems unrted to the case at hand."


    Meld shrugged. "I like to keep tabs on nobility throughout the duchy. It is a part of my job as Head Investigator. As an aside, it has urred to me that the crown''s coffers are doing well enough and the details of this case will need no further evidence. I will arrange that the Chevrette estates assets be put up for auction.


    I leave you to the rest."


    Meld took off her broad-brimmed hat and held it pinned to her side. Her hair was silvery at the tips visible under the hat, but at the top, it became ck like ink, so dark that it was hard to tell individual hairs apart. "I must also thank you and the others for assisting in this investigation and the pursuit of justice. May good fortune fall upon all of you. I should hope we meet again someday, and hopefully as allies."


    "Likewise," said Li, and Meld nodded, gathering her notes with a brisk and professional pace.


    Li watched as Meld put her hat back on and walked downstairs with a retinue of knights. She ordered the rest of the knights toe with her, and soon enough, they were all gone, likely wanting to get out and rest in their homes as soon as possible.

 Chapter 151 - Tranquility

    Li took in a breath and sighed. Now he was getting to the part he wanted to: the recruitment of the farmers and beastwomen. Even for an immortal being with infinite stamina, he felt something resembling tiredness, or maybe that was the human part of him conjuring up a familiar feeling for him.


    Still, Li felt more anticipation for what was toe. This would be, if all went right as it should, the beginning of a new era for his farm. Finally, he would expand beyond his acre and revive the old ways of tending to thend, ways that gave justice to the term ''husbandry'', ways that would bring forth a true appreciation of everything the soil had to offer.


    Li spoke to one of the vampire knights. "Round the farmers up and move them downstairs. I need to talk to them."


    The knight nodded, and as he moved, several others moved concurrently with him, entering into the rooms to retrieve the farmers. While they did that, Li moved downstairs. As his steps carved out wooden echoes through the staircase, he thought about what Meld had told him.


    Meld said she would put up Chevrette''s assets for auction. That was a seemingly highly unrted and random statement, especiallying in light of an even more out of ce question about Alexei''s finances. However, as Li thought about it, he realized Meld had done him a massive favor.


    By putting those assets up for auction and asking about Alexei''s money, Meld was implicitly telling Li to have Alexei buy up Chevrette''s assets. Count Alexei, the man whose maids came from the streets, whose outward generosity was just second to Chevrette''s own.


    Then it urred to him that this was Meld''s way of trying to make sure E Chevrette had a good future for her. She was hoping that Alexei would take her in and let her live a life of rtivefort.


    Not only this, however, but Li also gained an immense amount of power over the farmers. He, by having Alexei under his thumb, would essentially also have the farmers'' livelihoods under his control. He did not know if Meld had intended this, but she could not have been ignorant of the fact that this would happen. No, she had wanted to help Li as well for some reason or another.


    If ever Li encountered Meld again, he would think to thank her, though on second thought, he was better off not doing so. After all, the reason she had hinted at the auction was because she probably did not want anything on record indicating that she had tried to help either Li or E.


    Regardless, Li did appreciate the sentiment, and he would put it to good use.


    Although Li knew this would break some amount of the secrecy he upheld, he was willing to thin the veil for the greatness of his farm and the sake of the farmers and beastwomen.


    ================


    Before the farmers got around toing downstairs, Li found Azhar with Iona, working together to talk with beastwomen and answer their questions. He tapped his shoulder to get the bowman''s attention.


    "Can you take them up to their room?" said Li as he pointed back to Sylvie and Jeanne''s sleeping forms. "They''ve done enough already. You should get some rest, too. Despite whatever training you might have gone through, you''re only human."


    "Ain''t that right," said Azhar as he looked knowingly at Li. "But you know, if yer'' gonna'' be doin'' somethin'', Sylv and Jeanne are gonna'' be sad they slept through it without helpin''."


    "And you''re sure all of you are in good enough condition?"


    "Probably. Worst case we sleep in durin'' the morrow''. Adventurers like us ain''t real friendly with the concept of a good night''s sleep anyhows."


    "I guess you''re right. I''ve underestimated you all," said Li. It was odd. He felt the adventurers so fragile, bound by things like a need to sleep and eat and even breathe. He tried to remember what it felt like to feel those same thing, when he used to struggle to keep his eyes open after hours and hours of studying into the dawn, but he could onlye up with faint feelings. Vague, dream-like impressions.


    So he tried to be considerate with the adventurers, but at the same time, he had to acknowledge that they were superhumanpared to humans of his previous world.


    Li nodded. "Then prep them to wake up. We''re heading to the farm soon."


    ================


    The farmers came down and gathered around the center of the room. The beastwomen looked at them wonderingly, mostly, though there were a few suspicious stares here and there. The younger folk among the farmers were positively terrified, eyeing the beastwomen and their sharp ws and teeth like panicked stares.


    The older ones, however, had theposure of rooted oaks, standing still as they stared at Li who stood in front of them. At the corners of the room were the adventurers, watching to see nothing went too wrong and being aforting presence in case the farmers were afraid of the beastwomen.


    "I trust that all of you are feeling a load off your shoulders now that you''re no longer bound to Chevrette?" said Li.


    The farmers shifted around as they nodded, trying to see where Li was going with this by talking to them.


    "Should I introduce myself?" said Li.


    "No need," said one of the farmers. A gruff man, square set jaw, wild stubble, faded blue eyes sunken in with creases. An older man. Salt and pepper hair, though more salt than pepper. "We know who you are. The Easterner. Old Thane''s boy. The miracle worker of the fields, they say. Man of the golden grain."


    "Looks like my reputation precedes me," said Li. "Then I''ll get to the point. Now that Chevrette''s chains have loosened from your necks, your farnds are free to return to. In fact, they weep for you to return, most of them having gone untilled and unloved for so long.


    I give you the opportunity toe back to your farms under the condition that you work thesends under my oversight."


    The gruff farmer stepped forwards, acting like a spokesperson for the rest of the farmers. "Unlike you, I don''t have much of a name. You can call me Theo. Now, why would we cede ournds to you? They be ours by birthright."


    Another man from the group stepped forwards. Standing side by side with the farmer, the man was an entire generation younger, not much older than a teen, if even that. He had wide, curious eyes and a spring to his step that spoke of boundless energy.


    "And why should we return? The farms have nothing for us. As you have said, now that Chevrette has paid for his sins, we are free to steer at the helm of our businesses."


    Li remained unfazed.


    "Now that Chevrette is gone, your businesses may no longer be used to fuel the ve trade, but at the same time, they will no longer be funded. In all likelihood, though some of you may seed, without ess to the supply chains and outreach that Chevrette had, the majority of your shops will fall under, leaving you with nothing."


    Li watched the farmers'' reactions. Oncemore, it was the younger group that showed signs of worry. The older ones simply stared ahead, waiting for Li to speak more.


    Li crossed his arms. "But you do not have to worry about that. A friend of mine, the nobleman Count Alexei rie whose knights have guarded you so generously tonight, can rece Chevrette''s role. He can keep your businesses afloat. I say this because I am not here to force you to work thends under me.


    I am here because I know there is still faith within you, especially among you with years under your belts. You know of the old ways, and I know that thends still speak to you, the cries of the overgrown fields still whispering in your ears every night you sleep.


    Can you truly return to your businesses tainted from years of holding ves? Can you truly ept that tonight, you chose to spend the rest of your days toiling away under roofs built by bloodstained coin while shirking your duty to the fields, a duty you swore yourself to so very many years ago to the goddess Morrigan?"


    A ripple ran through the older farmers as they looked at each other almost dazed, having heard the sacred name of their goddess for the first time in decades. A name that had been purged from historical records and actively hidden from their children for fear that the temples of Light would brand them heretics.


    The younger group among the farmers were left entirely confused, but Li would deal with themter.


    Theo narrowed his eyes. "How be it you know our ways so well, foreigner?"


    "That is where you are wrong. I am no foreigner." Li called out, "Ada, are you there?"


    "Yes sir," said Ada as she wiggled out of the crowd, her posture demure.


    "Bring forward your father to me."


    Ada stared confused at Li, and he repeated themand. "Bring him to me. I mean him no harm," he said, gentler.


    Ada nodded and retrieved Ivo''s hunched and doddering form. She led the old man''s doddering figure up, helping him up by the crook of his arm. As soon as Ivo saw Li, he detached himself from his daughter''s arm and used all his energy to limp to Li, stretching out his bone thin arms like a beggar holding out his hands for food.


    Li knelt down to match the old man''s height and sped his hands around the old man''s. He could feel the crevices and wrinkles drawn upon the old man''s skin by the stylus of years inked with suffering. Suffering that wouldst no more.


    "Great¡­one," whispered Ivo, baring a toothless smile.


    "You were the greatest of all the farmers, Ivo, the one to lead the charge against the full might of the demons themselves when you felt your blessed fields under danger. I bring to you the life and hope of your goddess once more so that you may lead your people again."


    Ada was the first to gasp in surprise, but that surprise spread around the room like wildfire, the farmers trembling as they stepped back.

 Chapter 152 - Tranquility II

    Li had casted [Tranquility]. A flutter of green leaves materialized and swirled around Ivo''s form, and each time they circled around him, the old man''s skin grew healthier, tauter, less wrinkled. His back became less and less hunched. The milky blindness in his eyes faded more and more. Even his teeth began to grow back. His atrophied limbs filled out, growing to the limits of what his once loose and dirty robes would allow.


    All this, because Li restored the immense amount of life force he must have sacrificed to protect his way of life. No, not restored, returned. Li had merely paid back the debt that the man had paid to nature.


    Ivo stood up tall, almost reaching Li''s height.


    Where before it would have been easy to pin down Ivo''s age as nearing ny or more, his real age was now unmistakable: he was a man in his early sixties, but he appeared even younger for he was a man who had spent a lifetimemuned with life and thend. A man who should have had a body as hearty and hale as the soil he must have once toiled with, strong and sturdy, muscr and unyielding.


    Li had given that body back to him, and with it, the first thing Ivo did was to kneel, his jaw setting as tears welled from his eyes.


    "Great One," said Ivo oncemore, but this time, his voice flowed with the smoothness of a clear spring stream. It was a voice that had spoken loud and proud once, leading men to blessed harvests and hellscape battlefields alike, and that voice now fully and proudly proimed Li as great.


    Li touched Ivo''s shoulder and smiled. He felt power flowing from himself as he felt Ivo''s immense faith gather around him. Power that brought words out from himself that did not sound like his own, and yet, they embodied his intentions perfectly.


    "Stand, Ivo. The earth is no ce for you to be right now ¨C you will have much time to tend to itter. For now, your role is to stand upon your own two feet, feet that I have restored through the blessing of the forest, and lead your people as living proof that the old ways have yet to fall."


    "Your word is my will, Great One," said Ivo as he stood to face his people.


    The farmers took more steps back, the older ones growing pale like they had seen a ghost. Their knees trembled like they were too weak to hold up their bodies, their wills that had witnessed a miracle of life that they had not been witness to ever since their entire way of life had been uprooted.


    "The blessing of the Goddess," said Theo in awe as he too dropped to his knees. "How many years has it been since I have felt it? This warmth, this life, this hope?"


    Seeing Theo fall in reverence, all the other aged farmers followed in unison. From them, faith bloomed like wildflowers in springtime, spreading out and radiating in waves of invisible force that funneled directly into Li. He could feel for once what it meant to be worshipped so strongly, and


    "Know that I am not your Goddess, nor am I your Great One," said Li. He put out an open hand to gesture at the farmers like he was a shepherd beckoning his herd back to him, and it was then that he realized there was a faint glimmer of verdant green wreathed around him.


    As he looked upon the farmers staring up expectantly at him, Li had a vision of the past. Of a war torn, smog-choked, barren world that could have been saved with faith like this.


    "No, I am not Morrigan, and I cannot bring her back, but what I can bring unto you is the chance to uphold the legacy she left behind. A ce where your faith is not persecuted, hidden under shadow and fear, butid bare to set as shining example to all others.


    Ie from and where the old ways have been forgotten, but I have never forgotten.


    For years, I sought to bring them back, but to no avail. In consequence, thends crumbled, and the skies choked. Ie to thesends to find those of kindred spirit to mine, and in you, I have found such kinship and more. I know the boundless faith you all once held and still hold, no matter how much the years may have tried to dampen it.


    I ask of you to consider me a vessel of the old ways, as human as you are in many aspects, but inmunion with an entity far beyond your grasp. A being of unfathomable divinity and yet boundless generosity for those that are stewards to thend.


    A Guardian not only of the forests, but of your fields, your lives, and your futures should you devote yourselves."


    "The power of the forest flows through him, it is true," said Ivo, his eyes shing green as his life sense returned to him. He beheld Li while kneeling.


    "I know not for the rest of you, but as a man that once stood as your high priest, as emissary between our fragile mortal bodies and the bounty of divine blessing, I am ready to devote my body and faith once more. The Lady would have had it no other way, I am sure. She would not have us withering away as old men, taking her memory with us to our musty graves. She would want us to take up our plows and faith once more and continue that which she began but could not end."


    "You need not say more, brother," said Theo. "Just as I joined you once against the infernal horde, so shall I now."


    The other farmers murmured in reverent agreement, but a younger voice of discord cut through. It was the youth from before.


    "I know nothing of farming," he said with shaky voice. "I can respect the wishes of my father and mother to choose to return to thend, but I cannot give up the life I have carved out within the city. It is of no offense to you, it is simply that I know of no such other life, and there are many of my friends that would agree with me.


    And besides, there are many also others here that wish for more, to see the wide world, to use our youths fully."


    Li had a response for this. "I know, and I will not push this way of life upon you when you do not truly understand it. That is why I will have your businesses maintained such that those of you in the younger generation may still have a life you are used to.


    But to those of you that wish for more, to escape the boundaries of this city, I have no recourse. You must strike out on your own."


    "Oho, there''s more opportunity in the world than you all think!" Leon raised his hand from the corner of the room. He shed a smile as white as the luxurious silken suit he wore. "Some of you young ones want adventure, is it? Then I can offer all that and more. I recently lost quite a few men of mine to a monster attack in the frontiers of Duvin, and I can always use more manpower.


    With me, I guarantee you shall experience all the adventure you want and all the riches that the wilds of Duvin can promise. Under Lakely Building, the greatest of all building efforts in the entire duchy, you will find more than enough excitement and wonder tost you lifetimes.


    Not to mention the superb retirement benefits should you think that far ahead."


    "I trust that will be satisfactory?" said Li, and the younger farmers nodded, overwhelmed by his presence. It was then that he realized just how much of an impact he had on the room. All the adventurers with the exception of Azhar were also staring at him awestruck. The beastwomen had grownpletely silent, looking towards Li but averting their eyes out of instinctual respect.


    "That''s enough of the serious talk," said Li as he took in a breath, the aura of emerald green fading from him. "And the day''s just begun. All of you, farmer and beastwoman alike, follow me. We''re going to my farm. There, we''ll talk about how things will be for the future."

 Chapter 153 - Cooperation

    ck Securities came in handy oncemore to help everyone back to the farm. Iona did ask the beastwomen whether they wanted to ride the carriages or not, but they were far too wary of them and wanted to instead rely on their natural strength and speed.


    Li went back on a separate carriage from the farmers, one with Triple Threat and Iona in it. As he looked out the window etched with translucent barrier runes, he could see that the beastwomen could very well keep up with the carriages in their own way.


    The Feli and Lupi rushed forwards on all fours like incarnations of feral agility, striking out a contrasting image with among the cobblestone roads and dazed human citizens of Riviera.


    The Serpi floated on tforms of sand, channeling their magic together to affect mass flight. The harpies, blessed with wings that could let them touch the sun, flew with far more grace, twirling in the air with toothy smiles as they beheld the strange city around them with almost childish curiosity.


    After a few minutes, Li noticed the silence in the carriage and turned from the window to look at Jeanne and Sylvie sitting on the opposite end of the carriage, shock wreathing their expressions. Azhar sat with them, arms crossed, but he looked more worried than anything.


    "Right, I should exin myself," said Li as he turned and leaned forwards. Iona was sitting next to him, and he could feel that she was not toofortable talking to the adventurers. Probably because she was waiting for Li to say something.


    "Well, you heard it back at the gon. I''m directly linked to a godlike entity of the forests, and I''m here to see that farming makes aeback. Not that special, right?"


    "Of course, it is special!" eximed Sylvie. There was curiosity glimmering in her eyes. "Now it all makes sense. Your unexined power, your incredible ability to heal, your exceptional knowledge of thend ¨C it hails from your connection to this divinity, this wondrously unknown, eastern deity."


    "Hey, the farming I learned entirely by myself," said Li, his voice lighthearted now that he knew that Sylvie was merely curious.


    "It also exins who you are and why you are here," said Sylvie. "For once, I can piece together why you are how you are. Why you hold such an insightful view of others and guide and grant advice. It is because you have seen so many mistakes in yournd that you wish none others here to repeat them."


    Li nodded. Although he had peeled a fewyers off his veil of secrecy, he still kept a few on for now by acting as some kind of avatar or link to a forest guardian. However, Sylvie was right. He had made his speech to the farmers spurred on by his past, by the world he had lived in before, and even if he misled her by ying his world off as the east, the emotions and intentions behind his words were still genuine.


    "I know it is a sensitive topic for you, thend you hailed from," said Sylvie as she shifted in her seat shyly. "But if ever you feel like you wish to share knowledge about it, mine ears are always open."


    "I''ll keep that in mind," said Li. He nced at Jeanne. He knew she was a priestess of the temple of Light, and that religion was the one that had suppressed the farmers'' faith over the decades. Perhaps she had reservations?


    But when Li read her face, he could not see any hint of contempt or any negative emotion. It was just genuine curiosity. Not that he could ever imagine any hint of negativity on her face ¨C it just did not seem suited to make that kind of expression.


    "You''re not bothered by this?" said Li to Jeanne. "The temples of Light have sought to keep the old ways of the forest suppressed to my knowledge. Doesn''t this go against your doctrine?"


    Jeanne shook her head. "The light of life is one that shines like the sun, epassing all, no matter their creed or appearance or status. Under the sun, all are equal, and so one should never do unto others what they should not want done to them."


    She lowered her head. "Of course, I do recognize the troubled history of the temples, but that is the tampering and shoring of man, not the true essence of the Light."


    Li stopped for a few seconds to find a way to word what he was about to say, but he decided to be blunt. "You are aware that once the farmers practice their faith again with me at its center, the temples may act against me? You might lose status by associating with me as well."


    Jeanne smiled. "I care little for the politics of the temples, and I know very well that you are more than capable of rebuffing anything from the temple."


    "Not to mention you are far too influential among themon people for the temple to ever hold you to their bidding," said Sylvie.


    Jeanne nodded and said, "All I ask of you is this. Should the temple act against you, will you not be gentle? To show them the error of their ways instead? At its core, I know that the temple is built atop a foundation of warmth to others. It can be saved, I am certain."


    "If ites down to it, I will not hold back," said Li. "But if they are willing to listen, then I am willing to try and teach."


    "Thank you," said Jeanne.


    A moment of silence passed before Sylvie''s mind pounced back to Li. She spoke fast, her mind racing with questions.


    "What manner of deity is the one you are blessed by? I hear tell that the guardians of old could conjure up life from nothing, is that true? They say that those blessed by the forest smell like the earth? Wait, that is not true, you have a far nicer smell."


    There was a pause before Sylvie blushed, recognizing what she had said, followed by a peal ofughter from Jeanne. Like that, Li could see that nothing had truly changed with the adventurers.


    Now, he would see what the old man would think.


    ==========================


    At the farm, Old Thane''s roaringughter echoed through the fields. He stood with small basket in hand in the middle of the fields, a bough of weeds plucked out in his other hand.


    "I say that this farm is yours as much as mine, and the first thing ye dod is this?" Old Thane looked in the direction of the carriages. All the farmers and beastwomen were outside,pletely crowding the main road, though this was not an issue because nobody wanted to brave provoking the beastwomen.


    Old Thaneughed again. "Revival of the old ways? Leadership over all the farms around the walls? A small army of farmers like meself to aid with our daily toils? Why,d, I''d never thought this humble little farm would ever reach such heights. I thought the golden wheat a feat enough, but time and time again, you far outpace my expectations.


    I can only say I am mighty proud,d."


    Li sighed in relief. He knew that Old Thane had basically passed the farm off to him, telling him that he was free to do with it as he wished, but he still felt good knowing that the old man was always supporting him.


    The cottage door sted open, and Li instinctively crouched into position as Tia barreled out with a screech, leaping into the air and perching precariously on his back again.


    Although even in his small absence, she had grown, making it very awkward for her to perch on his shoulder anymore. She curled around his shoulders as best as she could, but it was obvious she was far too oversized to maintain this for much longer.


    Li''s superhuman strength made it no effort to keep her up, but he sometimes did feel bad for her becauseparatively, she spent more effort staying on him than he did holding her up. At the same time, this did feel familiar and nice, and he imagined it was the same for Tia.


    "I''ll fix that doorter," said Li as he nodded at the shattered entrance to the cottage. He turned to everyone and waved them forwards. "Stop blocking the road, all of you. That''s bad manners."


    "Wee!" shouted Old Thane, his voice booming through the air like a mighty roar. "To mine humble farm. And Ivo? Are those your footsteps I hear?"


    Ivo stepped forwards with augh, the trail of farmers following behind him. "It is a wonder to see you, old friend!"


    Old Thane and Ivo stretched out their fists and touched them together as a greeting. "More a wonder to see you," said Old Thane in wonder. "I thought you lost to your illness forever."


    "Your d'' changed that," said Ivo as he smiled back at Li. "Though, that is no d''. That is a man, far more a man than I''ve ever seen."


    "Really now?" said Old Thane. He cocked his head yfully. "Mayhaps it is because I cannot see, but he is always ad to me."


    "You two know each other?" said Li. He withdrew from the crowd a little as the beastwomen were a little uneasy with Tia''s presence, though the wyrm herself was merely curious about the strange new humanoids.


    "Aye," said Old Thane. "We hail from the same generation, after all. Ivo once adventured with me in the few years before Iid my fists down when I came to Riviera after the demon wars. He was the one to suggest I settle to a farm."


    "Though that was a joke. I never thought that hardened head of yours could ever settle on a farm." Ivoughed before he grew solemn. "And Aine? Is she¡­?"


    "She has passed, her soul at rest," nodded Old Thane.


    Ivo shook his head. "s, it is a mighty shame my wits fled me so quickly. I would have wished for nothing more to have helped youy Aine to rest."


    "The past is the past, old friend. Were it in my power, I would have fought that much harder to keep your faith from falling to decay," Old Thane tapped Ivo''s shoulder. "It is all well that you are here now ¨C that is all that matters."


    "And perhaps in part due to you, my faith too finds new hope," said Ivo as he nced at Li.


    "It looks like this coboration is going to much smoother than I thought," said Li. He spoke to Ivo. "I''m sorry to interrupt your reunion, and I know we have traveled far, but I want to ask you all toe to the forests to mark the beginning of our cooperation."


    Ivo blinked. "The forests? But why?"


    "To show you the guardian that I have brought to thisnd, of course."

 Chapter 154 - Reveal I

    "The guardian? It has taken root already? In these very Winterwoods?" asked Ivo, shocked. "But there has been no tell of its descent. The Winterwoods are still cold, devoid of the warmth of guardianship."


    "Not yet. I''m sure you can help me with that part. The entity in question isn''t exactly working at full capacity," said Li. "And I personally don''t think you would be able to handle it at its full strength. But I can give you a glimpse into a shade of it, something that will solidify your faith even more. After all, it''s easier to believe in what your eyes can actually see."


    "Hm, that is understandable," said Ivo. "Yet before that, I must discuss with you a few matters. And fear not, it is not that we have reservations ¨C we do not even need to see the guardian to believe ¨C but I wish to know how you will guide us."


    Ivo was blunt. "How much of our ways will we truly keep? We recognize that you are not Morrigan, and so there will be new among the old."


    Li nodded. "I will profess that though I know about your old ways, I''m not entirely an expert on them. At the end of the day, I am still a foreigner. However, you, you are different. You know the old ways through and through.


    Do not consider me some far-off divinity like a Root that you fear but cannot truly talk to. Think of me as a friend. Lead your people as you always have, follow my will when you can, and if ever there is a sh, then you, as mediator for your people, and I, as mediator for divine will, can talk and reach apromise."


    Ivo nodded deeply, bowing. "Understood."


    Li raised a hand, beckoning Ivo to rise. "Let''s cut back on these shows of reverence. I appreciate them, but it is also strange to see a man who could be as old as my father bow in front of me like this ¨C and I have always been taught to respect my elders.


    Nowe, bid your people to follow me."


    ================


    This time, ck Securities'' carriages were not used. Li decided it would be better to walk to the forest. He bid Old Thane farewell as the old man wanted to tend to the fields. This way, he would get time to talk to Ivo and the farmers while they walked. Li and Ivo took the head of the crowd to discuss much of what the old ways entailed. Tia looked curiously at Ivo every so often, probably wondering if the man was edible or not, and Ivo kept a fair distance.


    Overall, after talking with Ivo, it did not seem like there would be many conflicts between Li and the farmers'' ways. The old ways were a religion at its core, and so there were rituals and traditions involved that Li could understand and ept even if he had never been one for the ir of religious rites.


    There were various small things the faith of Morrigan did that Li did not mind. For example, there was a tradition that involved sacrificing a portion of every harvest in a burning ritual as a show of thanks and self-sacrifice.


    There were other, stranger ones such as ones involving taking a group of priests in training to the depths of the forest and feeding them mushrooms to take them to a tranced, spirit-sensitive state, but these too, Li saw as useful because they, like the training Azahr had went through to be a shaman, would likely cultivate necessary mindsets and skills to be a priest for a forest guardian.


    The only rituals that Li would not keep were those involved in taking up Roots, especially not through Morrigan''s method of taking in human concubines as roots.


    Overall, the rituals involved were a means of bonding themunity together. There were festivals for each of the four seasons that involved plenty of merrymaking, for example, and these, Li would keep for now he was no longer simply a farmer or even a leader of farmers, but of a responsible for the lives of an entire people.


    Near the forest, where the main road became rougher and where envoys of patrolling knights curious about therge gathering of strange men and beastwomen stopped, Azhar took Li aside.


    "What is it?" said Li as he read concern on the hunter''s face.


    "It''s bout'' what my role''s gonna'' be in all this," said Azhar. "I know I''m yer follower, yer first, after all, but what''s gonna'' mean for me?"


    "I do wonder," said Li. "I may have to amend the doctrine I initially gave you. It looks like I''ll be adopting quite a bit of the old ways."


    "Does that mean¡­I gotta'' stay here?" asked Azhar as his eyes flitted back to where Jeanne and Sylvie walked side by side, wondering at the group of farmers and the roving crowd of beastwomen following close behind.


    "Don''t worry. I won''t force anyone to stay here or do anything they don''t truly want to. And I know you''re worried about your sisters, and I won''t stop you from being with them to protect them. After all, they''re under my care too."


    "I''m grateful for that, really am," said Azhar. He put a hand to his hair, a little bashful. "I jus'' dunno'', feels like I ain''t pullin'' my weight as yer first follower."


    "Hm." Li put a hand to his chin. "Well, you''ll be traveling all around the duchy, right? Then do me a favor and if there''s anyone that you feel has nowhere to go to, no purpose or direction in their lives, that they can always find a ce of quiet and peace here. I don''t want you spreading my name and proselytizing at the top of your lungs, but spreading the farm''s name that way sits much better with me."


    "Gotcha." Azhar nodded with the resolute firmness of a salute.


    Azhar fell back to Jeanne and Sylvie, and then Iona was the one to take the spot beside Li.


    "Are you certain about this?" whispered Iona. "To rally such a number of followers, the faith-,"


    "I know that you think my training hasn''t progressed far enough to regte the divine parts of my powers," said Li as he stared at the approaching forest ahead. "I''m well aware of the risks. I understand I might lose my sense of self ¨C that''s why I''m not going to fully manifest my full form. Until I have a better grip of controlling the influences thate with my power, I''m not going to be a full-time deity."


    "Human emotion and will and, consequently, their faith are powerful energies. All their faith must go somewhere, and even if it may be dampened because they do not truly believe you are the guardian at hand, you will still feel its effects, and judging by how fervent their faith still is, I am uncertain as to whether you are capable of regting it, yes."


    Li nodded. "And that''s why I was hoping you would be my Root. That way, with someone I trust at the helm regting all this faith, I''m sure there shouldn''t be issues."


    Iona paused, a wavering hand passing through her long locks of reddish hair. "Yes, yes, certainly," she said, her eyes flitting down. "After all, that is why I initially wished to be at your side."


    Li saw that they had reached the forest. He said to Iona gently, "Take heart, you''ll finally be able to restore your spirithood. You won''t be pale like snow and tired all the time anymore."


    Saying that, Li pressed further forwards while calling back. "Follow me, all you farmers! We will head to a grove that is quite special to me, one where you will be able to witness the guardian you hold steady now to devote your lives to!"


    Li led them through the outskirts of the forest that neared the roads. He made way deeper, where the growths of trees grew thicker and wilder, though even in the midst of summer, they werergely leafless, standing tall with masses of branches like skeletons. And as the trees loomedrger, the chill of the Winterwoods grew more noticeable ¨C a chill even more notable in contrast with the dry head of Rivieran summer.


    There was a slight murmur of worry as the farmers thought that perhaps monsters would attack now that they were this deep into the forest, but Li was projecting his will outwards, intimidating all monsters to move away. And the fact that Triple Threat stood guard made sure the worries did not develop much at all.


    Li reached the grove. The clearing he trained Tia and himself in when he had the time with Iona. Tia, recognizing it, leaped off his head in excitement, her body gliding around the grass with a feral agility, her dagger-like teeth bared and spittle flinging as she looked around for prey.


    "Calm now," said Li. "There won''t be a hunt today."


    Tia grumbled but understood, deciding to settle down at the edge of the clearing and curl up, one eye closed to sleep but the other open to keep attention on Li.


    Li turned around. The crowd of farmers and beastwomen did not all fit in, but he did not really mind so much. So long as a decent amount of them bore witness, they would believe.


    "Ivo," said Li.


    The old farmer came forwards, already standing at the head of the crowd of farmers.


    "I am going now to call the guardian," said Li. "All I ask of you is that you and your people stay here, in this clearing, and do not pursue me. It is for your own good."


    Ivo nodded. "I understand, seer."


    "Seer, hm?" said Li. Ivo had said this was the word they used for a person in close, almost directmunion with a guardian or high spirit. It sounded old fashioned, shamanistic, but Li could get behind it. He walked away, bidding Tia to stay as he pressed outside the clearing and into the forest.


    The twisting bodies of trunks and bushes quickly concealed his form, and when he was enough distance away that they could not even hear the rustling of his footsteps on the forest floor foliage, his skin began to crack like shattering porcin. His hair wilted, falling off in leafy boughs. His eyes sunk in and shriveled before crumbling apart into dust.

 Chapter 155 - Reveal II

    A whistling wind howled throughout the Winterwoods like a siren''s wail. The wind swirled around Li, attending to him like a servant, carrying away his clothing of human flesh and bone and blood, baring forth a divinity of life and death. It was a metamorphosis of both morbidity and beauty, the life of limbs carved from bark and leaf stretching out from the deadened scraps of mortal human remains.


    Was it right for him to use this form? This true form of his?


    Li knew that though it represented the strongest pulses of life, it also echoed the cruelest whispers of death. Unlike Morrigan who appeared to be a guardian that nourished and loved, his form was one of neutrality, of life and death both wrapped together.


    Would these humans be able to handle his appearance? His presence? Li knew that fluxing his full strength would cause harm to mortals, and so he suppressed himself as much as he could, as in the midst of a forest, he could use the fact that he was a spectral being to its fullest extent by stifling his presence.


    It was part of the same set of passives that let him phase through objects while he was in a forest, and if he applied more effort into it, he could conceal his magical energy and obscure his form in ethereal fog. This would be necessary to prevent these mortals from bleeding from every fault in their shoddily made bodies.


    And yet, would merely obscuring himself calm them enough? Let them ept him? Should he create a powerful, more pleasing summon such as a [Elderwood Fairy] and assign it the duties of a deity?


    Li thrust his arms out to his sides, as if ready to announce the grandest of derations, and as he did so, the winds around him surged outwards, bending back the des of grass carpeting the forest floor.


    No.


    Li would show his true form, for at the end of it all, this was who he was at heart, and sooner orter, he would have to fully discard his human costume. When that happened, he could not hide behind one of his mere summons.


    All he did now, he would do with his own will and self.


    ==================


    A cold wind rushed through the grove, whooshing past the crowd of farmers and beastwomen within. The farmers shivered as they felt the chill of the wind sink deep into their bodies, leeching into their very bones, making them almost numb. The beastwomen stiffened up, their bodies used to cold but their minds alert at the sudden shift in the environment.


    A murmur spread among the farmers as they noticed that the forest around them was¡­dancing?


    The deadened trees of the winterwoods, their spiny forms lining the outskirts of the clearing, began waving, their branches gently wafting up and down despite the absence of a wind. Instead of wind, there instead bubbled up a certain pressure. It descended upon all of them lightly at first, pressing at their skin, making their breaths ever the more harder to draw.


    But as that pressure intensified, it became very apparent that the trees were not dancing. No, their branches were swaying down ¨C they were bowing.


    From the thick of the woods sprawled out a billowing pir of fog. It seemed to wrap around a vaguely humanoid silhouette, but as it approached, seemingly phasing through tree after tree, there was no mistake that this was no human.


    The silhouette breached into the clearing, standing far taller than any human mortal had any right to. Its figure wasnky like that of a tree trunk''s, its fingers like protruding and curled up branches. The only part of the being that protruded from the fog was its head ¨C an imposing cervid skull with a great set of horns that stretched out like branching bolts of lightning, alight with energy that glowed with life.


    This time, it was not Ivo that led a kneeling procession ¨C every single farmer joined in of their own ord and in perfect unison, bidden to fall to the earth not by a leader, but by their most primal and barest of instincts.


    Before them, they saw their deaths embodied in that skull, in the deepest depths of those empty, fleshless sockets that seemed like voids, like the eternal darkness that death must be like to any being of mortal lifespan.


    And yet as they witnessed death in those eyes, they could also bare witness to those horns that promised life. Around those antlers was theforting pulse of the forest, of the bounty of the earth and soil, the very kind of gentle growth that flowered the most beautiful of spring blooms, the kind of cherishing warmth left in the timeless and sacred bond between parent and child.


    As Li took position at the head of the prostrating crowd, he recognized that they knelt differently. One knee to the ground and both palmsid t on the soil.


    From Ivo, Li knew that this was the position of reverence they had performed for Morrigan ¨C a show of both respect to a guardian and of appreciation and closeness to the dirt.


    Li was satisfied. Though he could sense fear, it was very slight. The farmers were hardened warriors, after all. He took note of the others present.


    At the edge of the clearing, Azhar held up Jeanne and Sylvie on each arm, helping them to resist the urge to copse. They had their hands on their weapons not out of malice, but out of unconscious reaction. A testament to their training that when they felt death draw near, they were willing to fight rather than flee.


    But Azhar calmed them, keeping them close to him as he looked at the approaching divinity with a small smile.


    Iona had also knelt, her head down as she sped her hands together in meditative form.


    Li stopped as he sensed Tia approaching him from the outside of the clearing. She had evidently been incredibly wary of his true form, but after observing for a few seconds, she could see that it was still him and was about to happily leap over the crowd of kneeling farmers, happy that she could finally rest on his muchrger shoulders withfort.


    Li thrust out a hand, his sign to tell her to stay and be patient, and she epted themand, lightly growling as she returned back to the end of the clearing. The farmers, however, thought this was a gesture directed at them to get their attentions, and so Li prepared to speak.


    A piercing set of howls echoed throughout the forest to interrupt him.


    It was the Lupi beastwomen. They had all gathered together to howl, and Li understood this as a sign of reverent respect, a call they made in front of high spirits or divinity. One usually made in honor to the lunar form of the Moonwolf, but they knew by feral instinct that a being equally as worthy of respect stood in front of them.


    The Serpi gathered together in fear, wrapping their tails around each other for warmth andfort. The Feli sat on the grass with eyes dted wide, as if mesmerized. The harpies hung from branches, blinking rapidly in nervous anticipation as they decided whether to stay or flee.


    When the howls subsided, Li began to speak.


    "All of you that have gathered below me," said Li. His voice projected in echoing peals with a strange, unearthly rattle under toning them. "You have heard and seen my Seer. You know well that to you, I am a symbol of hope. I am a sign that your ways have not abandoned you, that you may instead abandon yourselves once more to the blessings of the forest."


    Li spread his arms as if in wide embrace.


    "I wee your faith, your hope, your wills. In return, I promise you a garden free from strife, from the persecution that brought you low. From the suffering of conflict that has thinned your numbers through hellfire and bloodshed.


    I promise unto you a wondrous garden of green and splendor where you may abandon yourselves to the blessings of the forest without worry. One where you may cultivate andmune with thend to your heart''s content.


    One that cannot be touched by the petty politics and conflicts of man. One that none will dare to disturb-,"


    Li reached to the protruding rows of branches around his corbone. Dangling from them were shrunken skulls which he took off. The skulls of many creatures mystical and divine and demonic. They were cosmetic items in the game, but now, they stood as a testament to his words.


    "Whether they be the eldest of dragons, the mightiest of Burning Ones, or the most divine of gods."


    Li scattered the three skulls in front of him, one elongated and reptilian, another fanged and lined with demonic horns, and another golden and glimmering with radiant energy.


    They hit the forest floor unceremoniously, and as the mortals nervously nced at them, they could tell that once, there had been unimaginable power flowing from those skulls, shining from those eyes, and now, they had been reduced to deadened bone and fleshless sockets.


    "For all of this, I will not ask of you impossiblebors nor even the fieriest of faiths, for I may not always be there for you as I am no granter of wishes.


    With your wills, I simply ask of you to be my stewards to this garden that I offer. Caretakers of a world green and blue and beautiful. To know that what you possess now, what you stand upon and breath in, is precious beyond measure.


    Cherish it and safeguard it such that all those thate before you may also have the chance to revel in it."


    "We will," said the farmers in unison, almost like a chant.


    "And in my garden," said Li as he turned to the beastwomen. He had been talking in Allspeak this whole time, and so he knew all the beastwomen understood what was happening. "There will be no division made between fur and skin, w and hand, fang and tooth. All of you that are without purpose, without homes and family to return to, you are also free to rest upon this garden of mine so long as you respect and tend to it.


    But those of you that must leave, you may. These Winterwoods lead out to both the Western Hintends and the northern mountain ranges, and I can at the least guarantee that no harm shalle upon you from the forest''s hand."

 Chapter 156 - Reveal III

    The beastwomen took a few minutes to collect themselves, taking in Li''s words and figuring out in their groups as to what to do. It did not take long for a few of the beastwomen, the ones who had loved ones to go back to, toe forwards.


    Most of the harpies decided to leave. They came in front of Li and bowed, speaking thanks before beating their wings and soaring away. It made sense ¨C the harpies with their individuality and wings were the least likely to be tied down to the earth. A pair of harpy twins, however, did decide to stay, curious about the world in the south.


    The Serpi, too,rgely left, finding the climate here unsuited for them and wishing to return to their brethren in the northern deserts at the edge of the Republic. A few did stay, stoked by their schrly natures and wishing to observe and record the emergence of this wondrous new faith, and among them was the one that Li had personally saved.


    A smaller majority of the Feli left, but a sizable crowd had had their families or smaller tribes razed by whatever vers had taken them, and these they felt would find safety here in the presence of a true divinity.


    The Lupi, however, all decided to stay, knowing that their homes were sealed off to them. They came forwards in a unified crowd, their leader, a tall, muscrly defined warrior, announcing to Li that they would form a new tribe in service to Li.


    Li listened to each group of beastwomen with patience, and when it was decided who would stay and leave, he spoke out to the farmers.


    "All you stewards of mine, do you object to this? Look upon these women of many tribes ¨C they will enter among your fold, into my flock, and tend to my garden side by side with you."


    The farmers shook their heads. Ivo spoke for them. "We have no objections, Great One. Never have we thought ourselves, servants of the humble dirt, as more than others, no matter their differences. Even among our own, there were foreigners, men of the Hintends, of the southern frontiers."


    "Then it is done," said Li. He drifted to the edge of the grove, and as he did so, he mentally prepared himself to cast a spell. This was a final theatric bang of sorts, one where he would announce the end of his presence by creating some monument in this area that could serve as a shrine and safe haven for the farmers toe to when they needed.


    He nned to cast [Living Sanctuary], an A+ ranked spell that would bring forth a massive defensive fortress of tree roots surrounded with Hunter Vines that wouldsh out at any enemy presence automatically.


    It was a spell used mostly to hold down key areas such as choke points temporarily or stall for team mates to cast spells, but now, it would serve as something far, far more than a simple distraction.


    And yet, as he spread his arms out, sying his branched fingers and gathering his magical energy in shimmering pulses of green light, he felt¡­off. Something about him was different. He felt lighter than usual, his mind calm almost to a fault, his senses honed to a knife''s edge.


    He could feel the beating of every single living being''s heart here, how they all resonated into a melody that yed for his sake, and yet what he felt was not an overwhelming sense of power or pride or aplishment.


    No, he felt gratitude.


    Gratitude that there were so many that understood him, were willing to devote themselves to a belief he had once thought was childish and outdated. He felt a sensation he could only describe as liberation, of a freedom from all the hopelessness that had once chained him down so low in another world so dark and damaged.


    There was only hope now, for a future led by him that would be brighter, greener, clearer.


    Yes, he could see it now, a vision of what was to be, of what he could finally call a dream.


    "This garden I promise you may now be humble," said Li. "But in time, this garden will flower and bear fruit. It shall know no borders nor shall it ever know the decaying touch of time. It will be evesting and infinite as I am, as you will be within this Cycle which I herald, for even within death you shall have a ce within my roots."


    Li raised his hands to the air. "But for now, behold the seed that shall sprout forth this garden of ideals and wonders! Whose boundaries shall ever expand under your gentle and guiding hands!"


    With that, Li cast [Living Sanctuary]. The spiraling shimmers of green energy that gathered around his hands coalesced into spheres before exploding outwards into a shower of glowing sparks. The sparks wafted onto the forest floor like grass carried by wind, and as they touched the barren ground, he noticed that something was off.


    The ground uttered a deep, guttural quake, one that came from deep, deep within ¨C the same type of primordial force that must surely have once moved and shaped the continents themselves. The mortals were concerned, but they held steadfast, restraining the urge to flee.


    The clearing, once covered with the trademark dark and wilting grasses of the Winterwoods, instantly shone over with a vibrant green. The green, at first nce, looked like magical energy, but it came solely from the sheer verdant healthiness of grass that had been restored by otherworldly might. Flowers of all colors and shapes sprouted at rapid speed, releasing their unique fragrances which mixed into a pleasant springtime scent of light honey that calmed the nerves.


    The rumbling halted, and there was a brief lull of silence.


    "Stand back!"manded Li as he sensed his power forming around him, spreading beneath him like roots, forming and coalescing almost independent of his will, and yet, he did not feel like he was not in control. No, this felt like instinct, an instinct he had never awakened but that which he now felt.


    "And witness this shrine of mine!"


    The beastwomen were the first to flee back, getting out of the clearing and hiding behind trees. The farmers followed with far less panic, most of them actually slow to leave as they bore witness to the changing world with wide eyes.


    Li felt the flow of his power as it traveled through the earth around him, amassing under the entirety of the whole clearing, and he could envision what was to ur. He floated backwards, out of sight of the farmers as he prepared to return to his prior form. Perhaps the farmers would have wished to see more of their new deity, but soon, in a way, they would be able to gaze upon his form all they wished.


    Wood burst forth from the empty clearing. First, a gargantuan pir of darkened wood ¨C the same shade as that which graced Li''s own form - erupted from the end of the clearing, towering a dozen times over the trees around it. It curved downwards before morphing, segmenting into the fashion of an immense spine.


    From the length of the spine then burst forth ribs of wood that shot forth with great and heavy groans, circling around the length of the clearing, encircling it in a perimeter of divine wood. At the tip of the spine, flowers formed before giving way to another outgrowth of wood, softer this time, malleable like y, that molded itself into the fashion of an enormous cervid skull easily the size of arge house.


    Antlers branched out from either end of this wooden skull, stretching into and across the sky with all the divine scale and grandeur of thunderbolts. One of the antlers radiated with life, flowers and vines and mosses and even small trees all sprouting throughout its length. The other oozed with death, cracks oozing with dark fog wreathing its ckened breadth to signify barrenness.


    Around the perimeter of the ribs, a dozen circles packed with arcane symbols of green emerged, and from those manifested the kneeling and giant bodies of Treant Justicars, level 90 golems that were symbolized as the forest''s knights, their broad wooden bodies shaped in the fashion of armored warriors, their greatswords of oak nted firmly in front of them in the earth.


    But evenpared to these golems that stood more than three meters tall, the grand structure they knelt towards was far more imposing, far grander in scale.


    Standing tall over what was once the clearing was what would best be called a giant wooden replica of Li''s upper body, his bare wooden ribcage marking out the boundaries of what he knew to be his shrine. Not merely a shrine in name, but in true function ¨C he knew a part of him pulsed in there, quite literally where his heart would have been under those wall-like ribs, linking him inextricably with all those that stepped within.


    The rumbling of the earth stopped, and Li beheld what hade from him.


    This was not [Living Sanctuary]. This was not any spell he had ever cast or known to have existed in the game. No, this was not rted to the game at all, it came entirely from <em>him</em>, a divine being that instinctively wished tomune with his followers.


    And for once, Li felt tired, drained at his absolute core. Whatever power he drew from, he was not used to handling. With a satisfied nod, he allowed his human form to mold over his bark once more, though as sinews wrapped around him and were buttoned down with skin, he could not help but feel ufortable, like a child that was outgrowing his clothes.

 Chapter 157 - Divinity

    The farmers and beastwomen stayed back within the edge of the clearing, unsure as to whether toe forwards or not to the shrine. Li saw this and took it upon himself to lead them. He came forwards, circling around the spine of the shrine and to the front where he, standing in front of the exposed ribs, waved his hand to his new followers.


    "It''s alright now!" he shouted, noticing as he waved his hands that flecks of green energy were still sparking from his body, etched onto his hand likely much of the rest of his body in shing cracks. "The shrine has been raised, and it stands ready in wee to all you who are faithful."


    Almost immediately, the farmers and beastwomen began a slow walk up, maintaining a sense of order and taking their time to fully appreciate the awesome sight that now towered in front of them. A ck blur sped past them, and Li found Sylvie had dashed in front of him, her hands gingerly touching wrapped around his own, her pale red eyes glimmering in concerned focus.


    "You need not worry about me," said Li as he withdrew his hand from hers.


    "You feel no pain? Truly?" Sylvie sucked in a breath as she took her hands off, sparks of green flickering from singed skin at her palms. The divine energy flowing from Li, even now shing through the suppressant that was his human skin, had burnt her hands like fire.


    Li realized he must have looked like quite the sight. If the green fissures of energy wreathing the skin on his hands and arm extended all the way up to his face, then it must have seemed like at any moment, he would burst apart at the seams.


    "There is much to be done, and I will not repeat myself," said Li solemnly as he strode past Sylvie. He had an understanding that his words were too blunt, but that slight twinge in conscience he would usually feel when he disregarded someone else''s feelings was much duller, almost gone.


    "Come, all you who wish to stay!" announced Li to his new flock of followers. "Follow Ivo and dedicate yourselves to your first prayer."


    As Ivo began to enter the embrace of the shrine''s wooden ribs, leading those behind him forwards, Li came to the side of one of the kneeling Justicars. He beheld its appearance, at how the many different shades of wood shaped into a full set of bulky living armor. Beneath the helm, however, there was nothing but darkness, but that was because Li had not bid the summon to action.


    "And you beastwomen that shall not fall under my guiding hand-," said Li as he cast his hand across to the rest of the beastwomen that chose to leave through the Winterwoods. "I grant to you further protection." Li put a hand to the justicar''s shoulder pauldron, barely being able to reach it. "Arise, knight of the forest, and heed mymand."


    Two dots of blinking green shone under the knight''s helms, shing as fiery eyes. With the great groaning sound of a falling oak, the Justicar began to stand, withdrawing its massive oaken greatsword from the earth. Its cape of willow leaves fluttered as it turned to the beastwomen, trudging towards them with dutiful steps.


    Oncemore, the beastwomen showed their respects in their own ways before following the Justicar out the forest to their homes thaty either to the west or to the far north.


    Li gave a mentalmand to the Justicar to follow out the ones with northern homes as the ones leaving west would be safe once they simply left the Winterwoods. The western hintends were vast stretches of inds, and in this environment, it would be impossible for any human force to catch up to the beastwomen.


    But the northern way was longer and harsher. It led out into the northern mountain range that separated the duchy from the republic. The ranges were gued by all manner of higher leveled beasts and threats, not to mention that upon crossing it, the beastwomen would still have to weather the threat of encountering elven forces all throughout the north.


    But with the Justicar, there would be none that could harm these beastwomen whom Li had given his word to protect. Not elf, not hero, not dragon, not even the lowly high spirits that people like Azhar had once worshipped.


    Now, all loose ends were tied up.


    As Li beheld his new followers now in the clearing, reaching out in procession to touch a cluster of vines, branches, and flowers thatprised the heart of the shrine, he could feel how each and every one of them hadmitted themselves to him, how he could feel almost that if he simply closed his eyes and let it happen, he could let the lives and memories of almost a hundred beings wash over him.


    But Li did not. He had much to do already. The first prayer was not enough. The rest of the woods had to be restored. The barren fields had to be rejuvenated. The farms had to be restored and rebuilt.


    It was as if time began to flow faster. Li watched as Ivo and his new followers finished attuning themselves to him, binding themselves at a fundamental level to his being. Then he herded them over to himself, leading them out the forest.


    Li knew by sheer instinct every path in the forest now, and as he walked through the Winterwoods, each of his footsteps nted blooming seeds of growth, rejuvenating the dead woods, restoring the ckened grasses to glossy greens and the withered, gnarled trees into stout trunks supporting boughs of leaves.


    It was this new instinct that also allowed Li to perceive the heartbeats of an intrusive crowd. Mortal. Human. Agitated.


    When Li broke from the forest and into the main road, he and his new followers found themselves face to face with an entire squadron of knights, their silver armor glinting under the sun. They rode on horseback, and their banners beheld the dove of Lys.In front of them, however, were four High Priests of the Light, their golden robed forms riding atop white steeds.


    The priests wore golden round masks fashioned in the shape of the sun, twists of gold spiraling out at the circumference to mimic sr rays.


    "Him!" shrieked one of the priests with shrill voice, pointing a gold-tipped staff at Li. "Mine eyes know when they behold heresy! It is him! The source of the demonic madness that abounds!"

 Chapter 158 - Divine Intervention

    A silence cloyed in the air. It cloyed in a tense way far too unbing of the gentle breeze that floated about the Winterwoods. Tension seeped into the silence as Li felt his followers gather behind him, the farmers already shifting their feet forward and clenching their fists in preparation to fight, knowing full well of the many years of persecution they had felt from the temple of light.


    In return, the trio of high priests aimed their gold-tipped staffs at the farmers. "And he has already amassed such a gathering, nay, he has scrounged up the heretics of old, the frolickers of the forest, the heathens of the leaf!"


    A hiss broke through the crowd as Tia leaped into the air, sailing past the heads of a few farmers before shended besides Li, her hackles raised and her jaws bared. The horse the priest rode on whinnied in terror, but the priest forcibly cast [Courage] upon it to steel its nerves. Yet noticeably, the man stopped pointing his staff, causing Tia to stand down a little.


    "Are you certain this is him?" said a knight following right behind the priest on horseback. From the white plume at his helm, it was evident that he was the squadron''s leader. "I, er, do not sense anything¡­demonic? From this man. And we know him well as a man of good character that has aided our causes greatly."


    "You fool," said the high priest. "You think mine eyes of true light deceive me? No, my hands were foremost in uprooting this ursed faith from the earth many years ago; I know the like of heresy when I gaze upon it."


    The priest tore off his mask, revealing a surprisingly chiseled face not at all marked with the wrinkles that would have been normal for a man to have known a faith that existed decades ago. Yet it was a face marred with the wildness of zealotry, the eyes wide with an insanity forged by a sense of delusional purpose.


    "And look at me! I yet remain youthful, blessed by the light. Is that not evidence enough that mine words shine with the light of truth? That our faith in the light is true? That the light rewards us well?"


    Li did not wish to deal with such an insignificant thing prattling at him. He took a look at the high priest, then at his twopanions, and judged the worth of their lives. They had lived many years, it was true, but years spent taking and taking and taking, never giving.


    All life that flowed had some inherent value, but not all life was created equal. As Li began to raise his hand, Jeanne pushed past the farmers and in front of him.


    "The hero!?" murmured the knight captain, and as his words echoed out, it spread like wildfire through the ranks of the knights, and they all moved forwards, craning their necks to try and catch a glimpse of the celebrity.


    "The Light of Life belongs to all, does it not?" said Jeanne as she faced down the high priest. "That is the very first doctrine that our faith teaches. That just as the sun shines its light upon every corner of this world, that all are worthy of life and understanding and respect."


    "Hero you may be," said the high priest patronizingly. "But you are far too young to be interpreting doctrine to us. We will overlook your frolicking with dark forces, so leave our sight, little one. You do not understand what true faith is. It is not at all like the falsities that this foreigner promises."


    Li put a hand to Jeanne''s shoulder and moved her behind him. He came up to the high priest, right up to the horse that he rode on, and the high priest pulled back his reigns, wanting the horse to fall back.


    However, the horse was mesmerized by Li, understanding at an instinctive level that life incarnate stood before it. It lowered its head, and Li pet it.


    With an understanding nod, the horse bucked its legs, throwing the high priest off its back and into the dirt beside Li.


    The high priest groaned as he hit the ground on all fours, his white robes ckened by soil stains. Li reached down and grabbed the high priest by the golden mantle hanging around his neck. The man was smaller than Li, small enough that Li could raise him high above his feet.


    "False promises? You believe our faith empty?" said Li as he watched the high priest struggle, his legs writhing as he put his hand around Li''s arm to try and wrestle free from it. Instead, the priest found that Li''s arm was like a mighty tree trunk, immovable by any strength he could muster.


    The priest still gripped his staff with the other hand, and seeing the situation grow desperate, upraised it for a blow.


    Li shifted his grip upwards, taking direct hold of the priest''s bare neck. The divine energy flowing through him, rippling through the cracks in his skin, poured forth into the priest in a raging torrent that set the man alight in green fire.


    "Is this not demonstration that our faith is true? Can you not feel it burning you, breaking your unworthy existence apart? Is this not greater proof of faith than a youthful face stolen from the lives of others?"


    The high priest dropped his staff and dangled limply from Li''s arm as the mes melted his flesh. They did not affect his clothing, merely the unworthy life underneath, and even in the miniscule amounts that sputtered out from under the carpet of Li''s human disguise, it was still more than enough to breach the warding defenses, magic resistance, and regeneration that the priest''s equipment and ss skills granted.


    Soon enough, it would reduce the priest into a primordial goop of melted biomass. Perfect for fertilizing the soil beneath.


    The knights and other priests all fell back, terrified at the sudden disy of power.


    A cool hand gently wrapped itself around Li''s free arm, and in an instant, he could feel the burning, bursting divine energy within himself flickering down. It did not stop the priest from continuing to suffer in agony, but it did clear his mind. He looked to his side to see Iona, her head turned away as she grasped his arm, the green patterns of divine energy moving from his skin and into hers.


    Li tossed the priest unceremoniously away towards his twopanions. "If you waste any more time with us, your priest is going to die, though even if you do heal him, he''ll look like a melted mess the rest of his pitiful life. That is, if he even lives."


    Li sighed, remembering the rush of divine energy that had flowered in him, washing away his finer human senses. He could not have gone back to Old Thane like that. And this air of fear around him, he could just now perceive it. It was not one he was fond of - he did not want to lead by fear.


    Still, though, he had a duty to protect his followers.


    "I''m going to leave now, and none of you will stop me," said Li. "Because all of you know you can do nothing. The faith I bring holds just as much right to take root within thisnd as your one of light does, and if you make yet another move against us, then I warn you to be wary of divine intervention as I promise it will be infinitely more worse than anything your god will ever make the effort to cast, if he is even willing to challenge us."


    Li walked past the crowd of knights, and they broke rank to make way for him, a more solemn silence filling the air now as his followers walked close behind, threading through the stunned, wordless and fearful knights and priests.

 Chapter 159 - Root

    Li acted quickly afterwards in getting his new followers settled in. He had already nned on what they had needed. They needed to resettle back to theirnds, have their barren fields restored, their farmhouses rebuilt, and equipment and livestock rebought or repaired. Not to mention he had to settle the beastwomen down as well as he could.


    All of that could not take ce in one day, but Li could at leasty down the foundations of what was to be. It also kept his mind off of what had happened before, how his divine mindset had creeped up on him, how even now, he felt so restricted, so ufortable in his human clothing.


    Thus, Li spent much of the day going around the circumference of the city''s walls where all the uncared fieldsy. He had Ivo take him to each field and reintroduce their owners back to them while Li used his abilities to rejuvenate the life within them.


    It was touching to receive heartfelt thanks often coupled with tears every time he restored the fields, but all Li was doing was giving back what thend had already given to them years before. For the time being, Li let the farming families stay in theirnds or, if they needed to get some supplies back from their city residences, to take a day organizing a move out.


    Surprisingly, a fair amount of younger people that were not farmers decided to stick with their parents to tend to thend. A majority, actually, and as Li went about conversing with them as he led the farmers around the city walls, he understood that it was because most of them could not ovee the guilt of working in businesses built by blood.


    Even those that did not wish to turn to a way of living borne from the earth did not return to their prior businesses but instead sought to sell them so that they could move elsewhere and truly make something of their own or join Leon and his buildingpany down South.


    To that end, Leon was quite helpful. He was set to leave in a week, but in appreciation for the newboring hands and the fact that Chevrette''s death would leave quite a bit of investment opportunities for the wealthypany owner to capitalize on, he decided to aid the farmers in his spare time, unveiling Builder subss abilities that allowed him to spend mana to rapidly repair constructs such as the farmhouses instead of needing cumbersome hand based manpower.


    Unfortunately, Leon himself was the only one with such a subss, though as Li understood it in a brief conversation with the noble, the man had to have aplete and thorough understanding of anything he wanted to build before he constructed it with his mind and mana, making it a thoroughly tiresome art to learn. Not to mention that it was a Lakely family specialty, an ability originating from their ancient Elven ancestor and passed down only to the main heir of the family line.


    As for the beastwomen, Li settled them rtively equally among all the farming households to assist in their rebuilding and also to act as bodyguards if needs be. Though, as he observed the patrolling knights cease to question them as the hours passed, he understood that at the least from a governmental level, there would be no move against him yet.


    From the temples, however, Li was not yet entirely sure. But judging from the strength of the high priests, he doubted they could muster up any unified and potent force against the farmers anytime soon.


    Which meant that things went by smoothly. By the time nightfall settled, Li had built a skeleton of themunity he was to lead. The remaining things such as the tools and house repairs and livestock and seeds and whatnot ¨C those would be handled over time, and those too, Li had a n for. The seeds he and Iona would handle while the more material needs such as equipment and repairs Leon and Alexei could assist in.


    That was why Li could loose a sigh of relief sitting in the middle of his shrine. In a way, it felt quite odd to be sitting beside what was his metaphoricalheart ¨C the mass of vines, roots, and flowers that beat rhythmically in tune with his own heartbeat, shining with a faint amber redness that emanated a ghostly yet warm light through the dark of night.


    It truly was as if he could see his own heartid bare before him, just as jarring as it would have been if he had been on a surgeon''s table and by some miraculous event he could glimpse his own surgically incised heart.


    "It must feel strange to see your heartid bare like this," said Iona. She sat cross legged on the grass beside Li.


    "In a way, but at the same time, it feels right. My being was never meant to be contained. It was meant to be spread, worshipped, and revered." Li shrugged. "Which I guess means my simple farming life is over."


    Li remembered a few words from Sylvie a ways back, how she had said she felt that those with power had an obligation to do something for this world. Then, he felt nothing around him aside from his farming was worth fretting over, but now, his responsibilities were expanded, and he could see the worth in her words.


    When things were settled a little more on his end, Li would talk with the adventurers again and soothe any surprises about his personality they might have seen when he was exercising his divinity. But for now, for that to happen, for him to begin to think about going back to his own farm and the old man without letting himself change into something the old man thought he was not, he had to undergo this rooting ritual.


    "It need not be over." Iona had her thin hands on her knees in a meditative pose, her eyes closed as she breathed in the aura of the shrine around her. "Your human persona has a strong affinity to parts of your divinity. I am sure with more time, you will be able to merge everything, your guardianship of the world''s life, your dominance over its decay, and your human nature all together."


    "Maybe," said Li. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a ruby red orb and ced it within his shrine''s heart. That was Ven''Thur''s phctery, and he intended to resuscitate the lich by feeding him the residual life energy that emanated from it.


    "But inparison to the powers I have, to what I truly am, it really does seem like my humanity is so vanishingly small. A little pebble tossed around by an ocean."


    "But even that pebble will not crumble apart so easily, even in the face of the vastness of waves infinitely greater than it," said Iona. She sighed. "I know it well from the humanity that I have grown within me. I cannot im to be something human, to truly know what it means to be one, but at the very least, I can begin to understand why Morrigan herself could maintain such a strong will and appreciation for them."


    "And I''d always pegged you for a misanthropist," said Li. "A teacher, sure, but at the end of the day, nobody really appreciated what you had to offer. That''s why I can guarantee to you here and now that I will take that mantle that was too heavy for you to bear and carry it with all my might."


    Iona opened her eyes. Greenced the edges of her pupils, emanating strongly in the dark. "And I am eternally grateful for that. I am grateful to you even more that I may return to the bliss of true spirithood where I do not need to be weighed down so much by the weight of human will. By all its emotions and burdens.


    And yet, now that I sit here moments before losing it, I fear I wille to miss it."


    "Hm?"


    "The very first human life I consumed as a spirit was when I was at the brink of death, after my forest and my guardian had been destroyed utterly. I was fading, and yet one of our followers, a woman whom I had taught the ways of the forest since she was a shaky little child, gave her own life to me.


    She wished me to live and ced a hope within me that I may be able to save their viges from the Elven expansion. At the time, I took her life without a single second thought, for there were no more thoughts to be had. Her single life was nothingpared to what I could do with it.


    But when I inherited what was truly human about her ¨C her will ¨C I felt equal parts guilt and appreciation of her sacrifice. Those emotions channeled into that wonderfully brilliant and warm human emotion of hope, into a drive that furthered me to try as much as I could to restore the forests."


    "But alone, you never had the power. Not to mention that like you said before, taking in human souls made you far weaker."


    "That is true, yes, and when I found myself repelled by Elven machinery in the north and then by adventurers in the south no matter how much good I wished to spread, I realized how heavy the human heart could be. Just as it could push me so strongly with the purpose of hope, it could just as easily anchor me with despair."


    "And that''s the state I found you in. Leading a quiet life knowing you can do nothing. Knowing that as the days pass, you lose more and more power to do anything in the first ce." Li could piece together now why she had been so drained of energy, her lethargic aura when he first met her, the filthy state of her room, the bottles ¨C she was simply waiting for her life force to burn out so she could pass on.


    "But you have no reason to despair anymore. In fact, with me here, you''ve said you''ve found hope again."


    "Certainly, yes I have, and the souls within me are at peace understanding that their wishes will be granted. You are immensely powerful, easily capable of changing this world into the goodness that it and all the lives it cares for deserves. So powerful that I myself am utterly useless inparison.


    The moment I met you, I understood that my purpose in this world had passed. All I can do now is to sacrifice my being and be your Root so that you may maintain who you are."


    "You''re not dying, though," said Li. "You''re just returning to what you were. You''ll be just as alive, if not more so."


    "But I will not be who I am now. You do not understand because you have not lost your humanity yet, but when you be truly a divinity, you cease to be. You be a moving piece within a far greater whole. Certainly, you may be arger and stronger piece than any, but still, you will still merely be a piece, an automaton.


    When I was a spirit, I did not do anything out of my own will. I did it because I knew it had to be done, that it was my purpose. Dagda, the Guardian I once served, was even more removed than I was, acting solely to maintain the bnce of life. There was no person there, no individual. All we did was for the bnce of the world, no more, no less.


    Only Morrigan ever overcame her divinity, and you have taken up her followers for yourself. I hope to see that you be like her as through the century I have lived, I havee to understand that human will, not mindless function, is needed to ovee the chaos of this world and its peoples."


    Li was aware of the implicit understanding that Iona was essentially killing herself for his sake. She was bing a battery to regte and manage his divine energy so that he could learn to merge his human will with his divine side so that he could be more than, as she had put it, a function. A process for this world.


    "Your lessons were for that purpose, but situations have made it so that we can''t continue them any longer." Li did not stop Iona from offering her individuality for his cause. Not out of selfishness ¨C if he had sensed even a shred of hesitation on her part, he would have stopped her. But this is what she wanted with every fiber of her being.


    It would be an insult to her to stop her.


    "Our lessons will not end, no," said Iona. "You may stillmune with me here whenever you wish. I can regte your divinity as you exercise it so that you may by the passing day be more and more familiar with it."


    Li nodded as he stood and walked up to his shrine''s heart. He had heard Ivo approaching on time. He would be the sole witness to this Rooting ritual to spread the word among the farmers for Li did not wish for them to burden themselves any further for the day. Iona stepped to the other side of the heart and ced her palm on it.


    Li reached out to put his hand on the heart as well, and it pulsed green with energy, criss crossingworks of shining power streaking throughout the shrine, reaching through the ribs, up the spine, and to the skull, lighting up the night.


    Li could see Iona''s face bing far more lively. The dark circles under her eyes lightened and the sickly pallor of her skin faded away to reveal a healthy, almost tan shade. Her hair grew longer, wilder, reaching to her hips and burning with fiery crackles. The gauntness in her frame faded, and for once, she observed the mythical beauty inherent among dryads and forest spirits.


    "Thank you," said Li with a nod. He was not the type to unleash long speeches about particrly anything, and he knew that Iona would understand that his words were genuine.


    Iona smiled, and it suited her far more than a disinterested scowl did. "I did want to hear your thanks just once more. May this world be as thankful for you as I was."

 Chapter 160 - Root II

    Li slightly opened his mouth to respond, but a sh of teal light burst forth from the shrine''s heart. In the instant the light flickered and dimmed, Iona had dematerialized, her physical formpletely eviscerated as her spirit, cleansed of all human influence, integrated itself within the heart.


    Li could see the heart beat rapidly, growing a deep green instead of its usual amber red. Little pulses of brighter green traveled out from the heart, passing up the roots that suspended it in the air and flowing through the entire structure of the shrine itself. With every beat of that great heart of vines and roots, the spiritual energy that made of Iona flowed further and further, illuminating the shrine with a flickering green aura that cut through the nightly veil that had settled over the forest.


    And as that energy flowed, Li could feel heat spreading through his own body. A red hot, fiery heat that blossomed from his chest outwards. He realized it was actual real and tangible heat as his eyes tracked to his hands, seeing heat waves shimmer around them.


    This was power. No, not power. It was authority. An ability inherent to him,tent in his being but one he had never considered before.


    Li knew through pure instinct what this was. This was Iona''s spirit integrating with his own, or, to be more specific, it was the power that she had within her, power that had long since been muffled under human souls but now power that flowed freely and unbroken.


    "Iona? Are you there?" said Li.


    A rustle of leafced wind swirled around the innards of the shrine before partictes of green coalesced in front of Li, forming into a ghostly silhouette of Iona''s form. She looked just as she did before, healthy and whole and fully in tune with her nature as a forest spirit and dryad.


    "Yes, Great One," said Iona with a bow of her head, her zing red locks waving about her like they floated in water. Her tone was utterly subservient and warm, and yet it felt cold in that Li knew that there was no way she could ever voice anything other than this tone with him.


    "What is this?" said Li as he held up a hand. A fire began to flicker from his fingertips. He had an idea of what it was already, embedded as it was in his own soul, but he still wanted to ask.


    "That is the divine authority vested upon me by Dagda. That of the renewing power of forest fires. As my new Guardian, that authority has now returned to you."


    A small part of Li had hoped that by asking a question, she would take up that didactic tone of hers that she could not help employing even with Li. The slight smile she would wear while she taught was also gone. She was never anyone too expressive, but now, there truly was nothing.


    "It''s a nice gift," said Li. "In return, I promise you that once I am in full sync with my powers, I''ll return you to who you were, to someone you learned to enjoy being instead of being just something."


    "Any gift from you would be an honor," said Iona with a bow.


    An almost automated response. The kind that she would have made the very first time she had met Li. But Li had not expected any different. He would not dawdle on what had been lost but on what he could do for the future, and for now, he had given his word, and he would work towards fulfilling it.


    "Ivo!" said Li, his voice resonating through the forest. He could hear Ivo''s boots crunching through the foliage at a faster pace as they ran to reach Li as quickly as possible. When he sensed Ivo''s presence entering the ribs of the shrine, he turned.


    "This is the one who I have decided to be a Root." Li gestured to Iona, and she smiled at Ivo. "She will teach you and the others herbalism and Druidry. Consider her a spirit of greatness near equal to the one you worship. Have yourself and other prospective priests from among the younger generationsmune with her to gain an understanding of priesthood."


    "Come, mortal," said Iona as she floated downwards.


    Ivo widened his eyes. "She is the herbalist, no? The one that was at your side?"


    "Yes, and what of it?"


    "As a mortal, was she in tune enough with the forest?" said Ivo nervously. "I do not mean to question you, O seer, but even with Morrigan, those she chose to be her Roots were those with the highest of affinities with the forest''s song."


    "You want to ensure I''ve made the best choices for you and your people, I understand," said Li. "And do not be hesitant to question me. Questioning is how we learn and understand each other, no?


    But I will tell you now that there is none better in this little duchy, no, perhaps this whole world that would be better suited to be a Root. You could not tell, but she too was like me, a wanderer holding beliefs foreign to the world around her.


    But unlike me, she faced the harsher side of the world. She was the veryst forest spirit from the north. All the suffering you have faced under your persecution, she has endured more than a hundredfold, seeing her world and her way of life burn before her, and yet she still manages to stand before you now ready to teach.


    And as a teacher, I know of nobody better."


    Ivo nodded deeply and kneeled before Iona. She hovered down to his level with an almost angelic presence, her expression pleasant andpassionate. She reached out a hand to touch his shoulder, and Ivo started a little, feeling the almost stinging warmth of heat emanating from her fingertips.


    "Spend this night learning from her. Spread your learnings to your people." Li turned to leave. He could leave everything to Iona even without telling her anything. He realized now that this was what it meant to be a Root. His will was hers, and he knew she knew at a fundamental level. Whatever he wished, she would know and would seek to aplish to the best of her ability.


    Or to be more urate, the best of her programming.


    "And you, great seer?" said Ivo.


    "I''m not going to forget the little things that are important to me now that I''ve be your seer and emissary to a power that can shake this world," said Li. "And my farm''s long overdue for a checkup."

 Chapter 161 - A New Beginning

    The walk back to the farm was a lonesome one, the solitude exacerbated by the deepness of the night. Li traveled down the length of the main road, his steps brisk as they paced over the worn path, over the tracks of boots and horse hooves that had filled the path up throughout the day.


    Few souls, if any, stirred around him, though right now, he figured, the sharpness in sensing lives around him had dulledpared to before when he had let divine power flow through him unmoderated.


    A reminder that Iona was fulfilling her duty. She had given back her authority to Li because managing forest fires was no longer the reason for her existence. Now it was to be like a valve that regted the flow of divine power inherent within him. Though Li did not express it strongly, he could not understate how thankful he was for her sacrifice. It was a level of thankfulness he had not believed he could muster, one that would never have been possible in his old life filled with empty nothings.


    But that made it all the more important for Li to shoulder the responsibilities he had decided to bear, and there were very many indeed. Iona''s wish for him to maintain his humanity, restoring the faith of the farmers to its former glory and beyond, securing their lives and prosperities, and ensuring that the garden of peace and wonder he promised did flower into fruition.


    Li could not help but feel that in the face of all these responsibilities, his farm, a farm that belonged only to him and Old Thane, mattered so little, and yet he could not shake off the feeling that he was neglecting something important to him.


    At the farm, starlight struggled to strain through a thickyer of clouds that had cloyed above, making it hard to see the farm''s condition normally. To Li, though, his night vision cut through the darkness, and he made his way around the fields.


    Li checked every single stalk of wheat and found that they had been harvested out with clean precision. Old Thane''s handiwork. Underneath the soil, he could feel the restful rumbling of the Myrmeke, and at the end of the fields, he beheld Zagan staring at him.


    ''So you have decided to shoulder the burden of godhood upon yourself,''municated Zagan telepathically. ''I mustmend you for that. I thought it would take until the aged mortal''s death for you to consider the option.''


    ''I''m just putting my feet into the water, so to speak. I haven''t forgotten the promise I made to the old man, and I hope you still understand that.''


    Zagan was unphased. ''My personage may not understand it, but it can respect it. And what are mortal years but few and delicate little things that are all the more fragile in those who are aged. There is a certain beauty in ephemerality, in the transience of all things mortal and flesh and blood, and this personage shall not hinder you from appreciating it.''


    Li nodded silently and walked past Zagan, checking the back of the farm to make sure all the tools were nicely in order. As he expected, they were, maintained by Old Thane. In the storehouse, he could see the barrels of golden wheat the old man had harvested by himself.


    Li sighed as he closed the rickety doors to the storehouse and made his way into the cottage. The door had been broken down by Tia, and so Old Thane had temporarily hung up a tarp to keep the winds and elements out. He pushed the tarp aside and found the cottage alight and warm, filled with a quiet but vibrant energy.


    Tia was sleeping by the roaring firece, and beside her, Old Thane sat on a stool, leaned over with a smile he pointed at Li.


    "And how was it,d?" said Old Thane with a wide grin. "Your first day as something more than a farmer. A seer, was it? Mighty fancy, if ye ask me."


    "It didn''t feel too special. Felt natural to me, if you ask me," said Li as he pulled up a stool from the dining table and pushed it in front of Old Thane.


    Even as the world around them changed and Li brought bigger and grander events around himself, he felt a strange sense of homelyfort that he could pull up a seat by the firece and talk to the old man as he had always done.


    "It''s just a lot of responsibility," said Li. He noted Old Thane''s heartbeat, the little undtions in the flow of his life that he was familiar with which let him know that the old man was tired. "You worked on the fields all day by yourself. You should get some rest. I''ll be with you all day tomorrow and as much as I can in the future, I guarantee it. Make no mistake, old man, I have not forgotten this farm and the years of work you''ve dug into it."


    Old Thane held up a hand and shook his head. "Lad, you''ve no reason to worry about me. You''ve taken a mighty heavy responsibility upon yourself. The fate of a whole belief, of a whole people upon your single lonesome back. In a way, it makes me mighty proud that the simple farming I taught you has led to such greatness as this, but greatness is a heavy burden.


    I am a mere old man, a simple farmer, nothing more. I''ve little to offer you aid in the ways of seers and spirits and gods, butd, I can still tend the fields when you are elsewhere ¨C let me do at least that. It is no burden to me that by tilling thend I love, I may ease some of the burdens that you have decided to bear.


    And should you need it,d, I''ll still be here, in this very same little and old cottage, ready as ever to hear about your sesses and struggles and, dare I say this, your failures too, mighty incredible as you are."


    "I would say something, but I know you''re too stubborn for me to change your mind," said Li with a faint smile.


    Old Thaneughed. "Aye, a little w I have, that is."


    "Principles aren''t ws," said Li. He sat back into his stool and nodded. "But I have my own principles too, old man, and I can''t let you just sit at this farm while I''m off and away. So I''ve decided you can help me far better than just tending to this farm. We can both easily do that. Therefore, I''m going to make you the head of all the farming operations not only here, but for all the farnds that my followers tend to. In other words, the leader of a farmer''s guild once I get to establishing it."


    "Oho, I''ve little quarrel with that. A promotion at this age is never something to shirk."


    "Are you sure about that? You never tried to expand the fields on your own. I''d always thought you were a stickler to a humbler lifestyle, content with what you had and nothing more."


    Old Thane smiled. "Hehe, I''d only stayed on this lonesome plot of mine forck of hope,d. With Aine gone, close friends withered or taken by time and no children to rear, I''d had no ambition of mine own.


    But I have you now,d, and your hopes and dreams are as much yours as they are mine. I would be honored to stand by ye side."


    Li smiled at Old Thane. "Then we get to work starting tomorrow. Let me know if you need any breaks, old man."


    "Hah! I''m still as spry as most of the youngsters these days!"


    With a sharedugh, the gloomy night ended on a warm note. Though Li now held under his responsibility almost a hundred lives - a responsibility of a scale he had never once borne or even fathomed - he felt in this moment that it was nothing, that with the old man there as the guide he had always been since he had found himself in this new world, that nothing was impossible.

 Chapter 162 - Knights

    Li sat cross-legged in the middle of his shrine, the bed of grass beneath him soft and ever so slightly tinged with morning dew that had yet to melt away under thete afternoon sun. Above him, his heart beat, gently letting out an echo that rejuvenated all life nearby, letting the grasses grow taller and greener, the flowers healthier and more colorful. The rhythm was entirely in sync with the false heart of human flesh in his current body, and hearing it calmed him.


    It let him focus on the golden wheat seed nestled in the middle of his open palm. He kept it there, his eyes closed as he focused to such an extent that the little thing''s miniscule weight felt heavy on his sensitive skin.


    Li could hear the seed''s life song, and he tried his hardest to memorize it. Every single beat out of aplex melody so staggeringlyrge and wondrous that it was obvious a human mind was never supposed to be able toprehend it. But he had always had a good memory, and with each hour that passed, he felt he got one step closer to fullyprehending andmitting the song to his mind.


    Of course, it was not actually his memory that aided him. It was mostly Iona''s assistance. She hovered above him, her form translucent, invisible to mortal eyes as she ced her spiritual hands gently on his shoulders, granting him just enough divine power and awareness to slowly but surely work his way up to making the seed''s life song his own. He was essentially expanding the limits of his human consciousness like he was working a muscle, constantly straining it to its edge to expand it bit by bit.


    Iona could never have done this while she had humanity within her. Her spiritual powers had degraded far too much, not to mention that without being his root, she did not have the necessary connection to so delicately control the power that flowed in and out of him.


    It was to the extent that Li wondered if it would have ever actually been possible for him to achieve the goal of getting his humanity used to his divinity without Iona''s sacrifice. He had made more progress now than he had ever done while she had not been his root, and she would have known this better than anyone.


    Li knew she had not immediately sacrificed her humanity to immediately progress his powers because she had herself wanted to cling onto her humanity for just a little bit of time, to cherish the emotions and individuality that she had fostered over the decades. He did not hold any of that against her.


    No, he was simply all the more thankful for her, and gratitude became impetus, motivating him to train even now in the midst of so much other work he had to do. Throughout early morning and the early afternoon, he and Old Thane had gathered the farmers around and gotten them to maintaining their fields and farmhouses.


    Grass and weeds had grown over many of the fields, requiring a fresh ploughing to return them to a farmable condition. Those with stables had to repair damage that had umted from neglect, and to that end, the beastwomen were incredibly helpful, using their superior agility and strength as much as they could.


    The Harpies could fly about and fix roofs while the Serpi actually had incredible knowledge of almost all building methods. This was a by product of their culture that revolved around record-keeping, and when they used to interact with other races of the world more, they learned and inscribed into their memories all the ways the races of the forests and ins protected themselves from the harsh elements.


    After setting everyone to work, Li had told his people that he would bemuning with their god for now and to grant him solitude. Of course, that was a front to meditate here and train, but in a way, he supposed he wasmuning with his divine self that these people called their god.


    Li opened his eyes and pocketed the wheat seed as he heard the crunch of footsteps disturbing forest floor foliage. His expected guests had arrived.


    "Are we??intruding any?" came Sylvie''s voice. Quiet and meek as it was, it still cut through the silence of the forest like a knife.


    "No." Li stood up, patting down stray leaves and grasses from his leather trousers. They were worn now, the same pair he had worn since Old Thane had given them to him when he came to this world. A symbol of the time and work in the fields he had invested.


    Li turned to see Sylvie and Jeanne standing at the edge of the shrine, afraid toe in as their gazes daintily roved about the length of the structure.


    "You don''t have to feel afraid of anything," said Li as he beckoned them toe in. "Least of all me. I wouldn''t have called you two here otherwise, and I''ve learned to control my power much better since thest time I saw you."


    Jeanne was the first to walk into the bounds of the shrine, and Sylvie followed close behind. They were not dressed forbat, garbed not in armors and boiled leathers but matching tunics and leggings suited for a more casual walk through the Winterwoods.


    "This ce has a pleasant feeling to it," said Jeanne as she breathed in the faint scent of wildflowers and honey. "A calmness that makes me feel small yetforted. A feeling I am well familiar with when I pray in the bounds of a temple of Light."


    "It shouldn''t be too surprising. A deity''s blessing is here just as one should be in your temples."


    "I must admit, it is my first time witnessing a forest guardian based faith," said Sylvie as she tentatively stepped into the shrine, her eyes darting about with her usual curious energy as she took in everything. "I''d read so much about it, and yet, to witness it first hand is a whole another ordeal."


    "I''m happy to hear you both enjoy and appreciate it," said Li. He nodded and then said, "I called you two here to give you an apology for my conduct. It was unbing of me, and it must havee as a shock considering how I usually present myself."


    Hearing this, Jeanne and Sylvie deted, their tensions soothing out as they became more convinced that Li had returned to his usual self. Good, thought Li. He had gotten them on good terms again. He would not want them to be ufortable aroundnds that he and Old Thane both now managed.


    "It is good to know you are fine," said Sylvie, and Jeanne nodded in agreement. "I worried less for what you may have said or done and whether you had been stricken with any harm."


    "And the concern is much appreciated. Speaking of, I acknowledge that I may have been overbearing with my might regarding the priests of Light."


    "No true priests of the Light they are," said Jeanne with a grimace.


    "Be that as it may, I still understand that the temples here do much good work. They are responsible for healing the sick and for much good to those with nothing through their food banks and the orphanages. They are an integral part of this city and this duchy, and I have no personal qualm against the faith of the Light. Thus, I am going to send them an olive branch of sorts.


    A request to recognize my faith''s legitimacy such that we may be able to set aside differences and work together."


    "And if they refuse?" said Jeanne, a nervous waver underlining her voice.


    "They will not take kindly to the beastwomen residing here, too,"mented Sylvie.


    "Nothing wille to blows because they know they cannot win. And because nothing wille to blows, the high priests mustpete with us in more, say, economical means, and we will respond in kind. They will lose their monopoly over healing, and I will be able to provide it at no cost.


    Adventurers that wish to learn priestly spells will find themselves with a viable alternative in the form of Druidry.


    The poor and stricken whom the temple rely upon will find that they have a far better ce to turn to for shelter and grain.


    But of course, this is only if they do not cooperate. Yet if rationality prevails, then I am hopeful that cooperation between the green and the light cane to be."


    Jeanne appeared happy at the idea, but Sylvie had a wondering expression on her face. Li could tell a question was brewing within her head, but before it could be put into words, she was interrupted by the sound of charging footsteps.


    A young man broke into the clearing of the shrine, his ck hair frazzled, and his breathingbored. One of the younger farmers that had decided to join his father in the fields, Li recognized.


    "What is it?" said Li.


    "Knights, O great seer!" said the man in between heavy breaths. "A great many of them. Order of Lys, aye, the whole lot of them, I figure. And the lord, too, his carriage be with them. They''re rattlin'' up and around our farms, wantin'' to see you."


    "I was expecting them a little earlier than this, but no matter," said Li as he gave an appreciative nod to the young man. "Be calm, for no harm will fall upon your livelihoods. I will talk to them."

 Chapter 163 - Royal Talk I

    Li ran back to the farlmands at the pace of the farm boy so as not to tire him out further. Beside him ran Sylvie and Jeanne, though to thoroughly conditioned adventures such as them, this pace was nothing too hard. They did not even break a sweat whereas the farm boy huffed and puffed as he tried his hardest to lead Li back to the farms as soon as possible.


    "I thought something of this sort would happen," said Sylvie in between paces. Her voice came out clear and unexhausted, the running not at all affecting her breathing.


    "Hm?" asked Li, curious what she had been thinking.


    "You are correct that the temple of Light will not trade blows with you, but they have been entrenched in thisnd for centuries and have woven their way into the ranks of authority. The duchess has separated temples and state with her rule, but even so, the temples still hold some sway over the lordship here."


    "So you''re theorizing that instead of confronting me head on, the temple has tried to appeal to the ruling body here? Lord Lys?" said Li. He was unsurprised. He knew this was an obvious conclusion to make, but he had already thought of this and wasrgely not concerned.


    Li had pushed and prodded the boundaries of how much leeway the state would grant him already. First with his talks to the duchess and then with his interactions with Meld. It became very apparent that the duchess was very much aware that he was not to be trifled with and as such, went out of her way to amodate him.


    Knowing that Lord Lys was the duchess''spdog from Alexei further cemented in Li''s mind that even if the priesthood of light mored over to the lord, then he would not dare to oppose Li over the sake of a few irrational zealots.


    But of course, nothing was set in stone. If it dide to be that Lys was threatening Li, then the situation would be quite ugly, to say the least. Ugly for the lord, of course.


    "Yes." Sylvie had concern lettered all over her face. "I know that Lord Lys is no adept statesman. He is no man of strong will, either. I fear that he may stumble and submit to the strong will of the priests."


    "That is true," said Jeanne, her head cocked. "I thought the temple sworn never to interfere with the state, but it does not seem beneath the high priests to do something such as this."


    "Really, Jeanne, sometimes you are far too innocent," said Sylvie.


    Jeanne''s eyes flitted down for a second. "Well, I do try and believe in the best of people and their words. I must admit that many times, it does not work out, but I cannot help myself."


    Li remembered the duchess. At her absolute unreadability and level headedness that spoke of a will far stronger and stabler than anything impulsive zealotry could muster up. At the least, if Lys were to be pressured by both priests and the duchess, he knew who he would submit to first.


    "We''ll have to see. I personally have more hope for the lord here," said Li. "But Sylvie, thank you for your concern. I''ve forgotten to mention so far, but even back at the Chevrette mansion, the first thing you''re always worried about is me."


    "It''s nothing," said Sylvie as she upped her running pace to pull ahead.


    "And she''s one to talk about innocence,"mented Jeanne with a smile.


    Li half nodded to Jeanne as he looked at Sylvie. This situation, this liking she held for him, he would deal with too, when things were calmer.


    ===============


    It did not take long before the knights the farmboy was talking about came into view. They were at the main road, nearby Li''s own cottage, and they formed a formidable crowd. They were in neat rectangr formation by the road, a mass of glinting silver and fluttering white banners emzoned with blue doves.


    "That''s not the whole order," came Sylvie''s immediate observation.


    "It ain''t?" wheezed out the farmboy, who by now had been well and thoroughly exhausted.


    "Eyeballing it, I''d say about a hundred men?" said Li. "If I recall correctly, 120 men is the standard number for a squadron of knights, and that''s what it seems like to me. I can understand where the confusiones from if you haven''t been used to seeingrge groups of people, though, but this is a far cry from the ten squadrons I was expecting."


    "More a very highly secure guard, I should say," said Sylvie.


    "All the more reason to believe that this isn''t anything too serious," said Li. He walked forwards, and as he did so, he recognized the squadron captain standing at the front of the formation. It was the very same one that had worked with him on the Chevrette case.


    The captain nodded, the white plume atop his helm shaking with the movement, and Li nodded back in understanding.


    "I should assume that Lord Lys wishes to see me?" called out Li approached.


    "You are correct. Men!" the captain shouted. "Stand aside for the Easterner!"


    The knights broke rank and made a path for Li to their center where Lord Lys''srge and sturdy carriage was. Unlike the color scheme of the knights, the carriage was made of sleek ck metal and pulled by magical horses. Li immediately recognized this as one of the carriages from ck Securities, which was not much of a surprise considering that Lord Lys and Alexei were supposedly rather good friends.


    And as Li passed through the ranks of knights, he realized the driver of the carriage was Valery, the vampire knight whom Alexei usually assigned to tasks regarding Li.


    Valery put a hand to his hat and tipped it, and Li ever so slightly nodded. So Alexei was in on this and was overseeing what was happening. Then, it was as Li thought. There was nothing to worry for.


    Li stepped up to the door of the carriage and swung it open. It was heavy and it opened with a click as magical enchantments came temporarily undone. Inside, he found seated at one end the portly figure of Lord Lys and right beside him, a little ufortably squished to the side due to Lys''s bulk, was a younger man in a blue and white bodysuit.


    A hero.

 Chapter 164 - Royal Talk II

    "Ce in!" said Lord Lys as he waved Li wildly forwards. Li obliged, and as he sat on the cushioned chair opposite to the duo, the hero slid the carriage door closed.


    "And how have you been doing? It has been a while since we havest met," said Li to Lord Lys. But though his words were targeted to the lord, his eyes scanned the hero.


    A younger man who could not have been more than twenty. Around Jeanne''s age, perhaps. On the shorter side, though not overly so. Narrow face with roguish features that made him look that much younger, that much more mischievous. His bodysuit spoke of a different theme from that of Sunstar or Thunderstrike''s.


    Where their bodysuits clung around bodies of immense muscture and power, this man''s suit was a pale, nondescript, almost gentle blue like that of the sky, and his build was slight, athletic but quite skinny.


    "Oh yes, yes, it has certainly been a while. I have been meaning to invite you to my manor to hear of your experiences in the east, but oh, things have been so very busy," said Lord Lys, his wordsing out fast and nervous. Li noticed the lord consistently kept ncing at the hero.


    "A shame. You, Alexei and I should have a dinner one day. It would do well to n the future of this city."


    "O-oh?" said Lord Lys. "The future of this city?"


    "Is that not what you are here for?" Li locked stares with the hero. He could not sense any real malice in the hero, nor could he scope out any of the hardened coldness of the duchess nor the seasoned calm of Meld. He had the energetic look of a young man, ever so slightly cocky with youth while seeking adventure.


    "And who else do I acquaintance myself with today?" asked Li.


    "Swift," said the hero with a smile.


    "Li," responded Li in kind. "I assume Swift is your heroic name?"


    "In a way," said Swift. "It''s my surname too, but it kinda fits me, so I stuck with it, heh. Easier for my fans to remember me by too."


    "An easy name, yes," said Li. "Might I ask you why you''re here? I only ask because I hope that the lord here does not feel afraid of me to hire a hero and an entire squadron to his guard."


    "Oh, me? I''m just here for the hell of it," said Swift with a shrug. He reached out to put an arm over Lys''s shoulder, and the lord jumped a little, like a cold drop of rain had ran down his smooth white dress shirt. "Just kidding. I''ve been assigned to keep tabs on this quaint old city, and part of the job''s looking after Sir Lys over here. Hope you don''t mind my presence."


    "No, not at all," said Li. He noted that Swift had no discernible ent, meaning that he came from a somewhat educated or city background. Evidently not Rivieran, however. "But keeping tabs? Riviera''s quite the odd ce to keep tabs on, what with it being so far removed from the northern border."


    "Well, orders are orders, and I figure something''s been going on to get me involved," said Swift as he gave a knowing nce to Li. He drew back his arm from Lys and leaned back in the seat, evidently wishing for Li to continue the conversation with Lys.


    "Something going on? Well, let me know. I may be able to help. This city''s wellbeing is the wellbeing of my own people as well, after all." Li turned his gaze to Lys and met the lord''s eyes. "Now then, why don''t we get to the reason you called me here?"


    Lord Lys took a moment to register Li''s words before stammering out, "Of course!" He coughed into his hand and straightened the blue bow tie at his cor. "I have heard tell that you have rekindled the old faith of the forest?"


    "Oh? You speak of it as if you''re a little familiar with it," said Li.


    "My father Lionel was on good terms with the followers of Morrigan when he was yet alive."


    "Then I, as seer of the old faith, hope to continue that good faith with you. Like father like son, no?"


    "Ah yes, but you see, the temples-," said Lys, but Swift cut him off.


    "The temples don''t really matter. I''ve talked to them already."


    Li noted that interaction. "One talk was enough? I was ready to extend a hand of cooperation with them. After all, it would be difficult to swallow the fact that they are no longer the only faith in thisnd."


    Swift shrugged. "Duchess''sw has always allowed for freedom of religion. Separation of temple and state, too, but I gotta admit that that part sometimes wasn''t being enforced all that well. People really only know the Light, you see, so naturally they''ve got the most power.


    But I''m here to enforce that faith doesn''t snake its way into politics."


    Li narrowed his eyes. "Then if I''m hearing this correctly, the duchess is going to take care of the temples'' concerns?"


    "Duchess?" Swift gave a light punch to Lys''s shoulder. "What do you mean? The lord here is Lys, and I''m sure he''s got what it takes to keep the temple out of politics. I''m just here to give him a tiny little push, though maybe-," Swift''s eyes wandered to Lys''s rather well-fed belly. "He''ll need more than a little push."


    "Then what''s the reason for calling me here?


    Lys shifted in his seat ufortably, wanting to answer, and Li nodded to him, almost like he was giving him permission to speak.


    "Erm, well, simply put, it is to ascertain what your goals are for this new faith."


    Swift leaned back in his seat again, letting Lys take over.


    "Goals? The same goals the Light has for its own followers, I presume. To nurture my followers."


    "Oh, certainly, that is true, but do you mayhaps have other goals?"


    "Such as?"


    "Such as, well, hm, how do I put this." Lys nervously stroked his moustache.


    "Such as whether you''re going to be against this city," said Swift. "No offense to you. Just a natural cause for concern."


    Li sat up and stared at Swift. "And say that I am? What will you do about it?"


    Swift shrugged again. "I dunno. Haven''t thought that far ahead. Me, personally, I don''t like to fight. I''d try and talk to see if you can work with us. You know, unity and all that."


    Li did not sense any fear or nervousness in Swift. At the same time, he could not read anything particrly fake about his words or mannerisms. His words were true, and they were blunt.


    "Then you''re in luck, because that''s what I want to do as well." Li smiled at Lys to set the man at ease. "Working with you. You as in the state. The city.


    I know that on face value, I''ve basically seized control of all your farming output. Which, to be honest, does not mean much considering Riviera imports most of its food from the south, but that can make all the difference in a tough winter or bad harvest season.


    I do not want to establish my faith as one of trivial warring and petty and spiteful conflicts. All life has value, after all, and a whole city full of lives is a treasure indeed."


    "So-so you will work with us?" said Lys.


    Li nodded. "Of course. The status quo will not really change. Farnds are meant to feed, after all, and any excess we produce will go to the good people of Riviera. No taxation owed to the temples, though, as it would leave quite a bad taste in our mouths to pay tax to another faith. Does that not sound reasonable?"


    "Oh yes, of course," nodded Lord Lys, and Li knew that the lord was nopetent statesman. He was easily swayed, his will a shaky branch battered by strong willed windsing from every which where.


    Li shot a nce to Swift, wondering if the hero would oppose what would severely damage the temples here. Grain based tithes from the fields contributed to almost half the wheat the temples used to feed the poor with, and without that, they lost a major ying piece in garnering the goodwill of the people.


    But Swift did nothing, instead just nodding in rhythm to some song ying in his head,pletely tuned out of the conversation. He had said what he had wanted to - that the temples had been taken care of - and confirmed that Li was not going to be a threat, and that was all he cared for.


    "And I also have good reason to believe the yields here will be extremely bountiful. To the point where I feel it would simply be natural for those under my faith to form a guild in Riviera. That way, it will be much easier for us to distribute the grain to make sure it goes to the right people."


    Lord Lys nodded again and said, "That does make sense, and it would simply be a headache to appoint so many more new people at the city hall for farmwork documentation when your guild can handle it."


    Lord Lys looked relieved to the point where it was evident he was not thinking all that hard about what he was agreeing to.


    With a guild, Li basically would have full autonomy over exactly how his crops were distributed. Not only that, he would be able to form a major political and economic force within the city itself that could do anything ranging from voting onws to diverting city funds to guarantee retirement funds for farmers.


    It was not like Li needed it, but it would be much easier for his human followers to grow if they were granted some form of familiar security in the form of a guild. Not to mention that this would grant the beastwomen protection as being a guild member at the very least warranted some form of citizenship in the duchy.


    These were all things that Li had nned on achieving through bargaining. He knew the lordship here woulde to him sometime soon after the emergence of his shrine and his attack on the priests, and he was going to leverage the fact that he would stand down any hostile intent in exchange for ''cooperation?? with the temples and the city that would heavily favor him.


    But to think that the duchess had sent a hero here with the express purpose of silencing the temples. Did that mean she was attempting to cozy up to him? Or was it just the same as ever, a means of simply not stepping on his bad side? Though the two seemed simr, there was a distinct difference.


    One was a gesture made in good faith, the other made in fear.


    "Then it is done. I will ask Alexei to keep in touch with you about setting up the necessary paperwork for establishing all of this."

 Chapter 165 - Old And New

    In what felt like a sh, a week passed. Now that Li had far more to worry about than his own little farm, there were now countless things to think about. Of these, the major concerns were the establishment of the farming guild and now, the very first nting and all the logistics that came with them.


    Li stood at the center of his and Old Thane''s field, and around them, the entire farmingmunity gathered. The ground had been recently nted with another batch of wheat just as had been done with all the other farmers'' fields.


    He closed his eyes and he knelt on the dirt, in a clearing where nothing had been nted.


    Overall, he would have to say that his first forays intorger scale farming and administration were a resounding sess. However, he would also admit that it was not at all due solely to his own efforts. With increasing scale of operations came responsibility far too great for one person to manage, and he was grateful that there were capable individuals whom he could trust.


    The guild was well on its way to being established. Formally, Lord Lys had signed off on the guild''s creation today, but a signed piece of paper alone did not mean anything.


    A headquarters for the guild needed to be established, and it came in the form of a premium property space in the center of Riviera right below the City Hall. The property had previously been a small Lawspeaking office owned by Alexei, but it was now being renovated to be a muchrger building capable of fitting the farmers that numbered a little over a hundred as well as the beastwomen who also neared that number.


    Alexei had been a lifesaver in more than one regard. With Chevrette''s death, there came a massive void of businesses that would have fallen under. Alexei had taken this chance to fill up this power vacuum, buying up many ventures he thought were profitable and, most importantly, taking up arge stake of ownership for Gold Standard, the bank that the Chevrette family had run for generations.


    Had that bank fallen under, then the whole economy of Riviera would have copsed. But thankfully, Meld''s helpful decision to essentially put up the ownership of Chevrette''s properties and ownership titles for free auction made it extremely easy for Alexei, now the undisputed wealthiest individual in the city, to swoop in and take control.


    In giving some gratitude to Meld''s decision, Li and Alexei had agreed to put E Chevrette under Alexei''s own tutge to have her take over the bank in the future. It was hers by birthright, and her suffering hade not at all due to her own decisions. In some measure, this would grant her somepensation for what she had suffered through.


    And with that massively increased influence, Alexei could do far more for the now newly established farmer''s guild. Most notably, his role was in putting in enough initial capital to make sure the guild could cover its expenses.


    Without him, the guild would have most definitely fallen in debt, needing coin to cover farmhouse repairs, tool purchases, livestock purchases, and the like. Even with the beastwomen aiding the construction as much as they could, it still would have bled an absurd amount of coin.


    Surprisingly, the owner of Lakeside Bounty, the high end restaurant that had housed the beastwomen as ves, hade out in support of the farmer''s guild, investing a massive amount of coin within it as a gesture of thanks.


    The restaurant had been a family business, but the current owner had inherited a debt that had required her to take up Chevrette''s help, and he had slowly but surely incised her away from its operations, using her only as a pretty prop.


    Alexei, taking up Chevrette''s spot as what kept the restaurant afloat, had given the restaurant back to hermand and had likely turned her to the direction of the farmer''s guild to express her gratification for the farmers'' testimony had made all the difference in ending Chevrette.


    But at the end of it all, Li did not care too much for the mary part of this whole ordeal. Once the first harvest came rolling in, he foresaw that there would never be any money issues.


    That was because throughout the week, Li had thoroughly trained himself with Iona to understand the golden wheat''s song, and he hadmitted a rudimentary version of it to his being. It was a little inferior to the original, requiring a little over a month to fully ripen, but it was just as hardy and just as superb in nutritional and taste quality.


    And today, the farmers had nted their very first batch of the golden wheat. Such was a cause for celebration, and they had decided to hold a festival over it as was tradition in the days of Morrigan. It would be a worthy day for celebration, too, as Li foresaw that when this first yield was harvested, they would have enough to feed the entire city ¨C granting them an incredible amount of power over it.


    It seemed absurd that just one smallmunity of farmers could feed Riviera, a city of two hundred thousand, and Li himself had to take a moment to wrap his head around the nuances of it. After all, in his world, he knew from his studies that one acre ofnd could feed perhaps five people over a year?


    Old Thane had the smallest fields among all the farmers as it was a small plot ofnd meant only to support retirement for him and his family. The regr farmers hadnd five to ten times the size of Old Thane''s farms, but even then, that would not nearly be enough to feed a city.


    Yet Li quickly realized how the magic in this world had changed so much. Even the worst wheat here was extremely productive, needing a little over three months to grow in contrast to the seven to eight months in his world.


    It was also extremely nutritious, grown on a soilyered atop a world forged by magic. He estimated that the wheat here could feed anywhere from five to ten times as many people as the wheat in his world.


    Of course, even then, that was not enough for the farmers to actually feed the city even though they had done so before in the age of Morrigan. And that was because Morrigan herself was there. She had blessed their harvests and the farmers themselves had far more workablend, not to mention there were far more of them.


    When Morrigan''s age was at its peak, Riviera''s walls were surrounded entirely by farnds, but now, perhaps only half of it was active arablend, with much of it having been sold off or repurposed over the decades.


    Li was not yet Morrigan. He was not fully in tune with his abilities, but the more time he spent with Iona, the more confident he was he could return the farmers to their previous heights. For now, though, the miracle of the golden wheat would sustain them.


    To that end, Ivo and Old Thane were wonders. Old Thane shouldered much of themand of logistics, directing the farmers in their field work while Ivo had worked day and night with his old group of priests to re-establish Druidry.


    Ivo had taken up a small group of new initiates to be druids, but they came mostly from curious younger folk from the farmingmunity. News had made round of the resurgence of the old faith of the forest, but nobody yet wished to join it.


    It was understandable. After all, the people of Riviera had only known the faith of the Light for most of their lives. Seeing a new, foreign faith was jarring to them and would take a while for them to adjust.


    It did not help that it was likely the temples were attempting to spread rumors to dissuade the citizens from joining the druidhood ¨C the only recourse left to them after they were forbidden from rousing up any militant threat to anyone by Swift.


    To counteract this, Ivo and his band of druids worked as hard as they could to learn herbalism from Iona to share healing and buffs that could be stored and used forter unlike the blessings of the Light priests.


    Ivo also worked double as the de-facto head of a small council that worked in the guild office. They discussed matters of finance and courses of action to take before sharing them with the rest of the farmers. Basically, a chain ofmand.


    Li was technically the true head of the guild, but he had spent almost all of his time in his shrine, training his utmost hardest to develop the wheat while Tia frolicked around him, enjoying the newfound freedom and sometimes wandering to hunt.


    At sundown, Ivo and the priests woulde for a prayer in which they simply knelt in silence, closing their eyes. The faith of Morrigan was not one that shouted their belief for all to hear. They were a silent one, quiet like the fields, nting their thanks only in the depths of their hearts, and yet Li could hear the thanks they expressed from deep within, and every night, he could not help but smile at it.


    After their prayer, Ivo would stay behind and discuss with Li any matters discussed in the guild council, and Li would put out his opinions and suggestions with the older man. In this way, Li juggled both enhancing his divinity and maintaining the functioning of his guild, though he had to admit that at some times he felt others were doing far more than he was.


    But Li was never daunted. In fact, he felt quite excited to be doing all of this. He had always thought of himself as one to manage his own, simple farm, but he had forgotten the happiness he had felt in managing a guild of his own in his past life.


    A virtual guild, yes, but still one that required many of the same managing skills that he now used in this guild of a new life.


    And now, after such a tumultuous and event filled week, Li now knelt back where it all started, in his own little field. Old Thane and Ivo stood behind him, and behind them, all the lives that relied on him leaned forwards, eagerly watching him with bated breath.


    Li gently scraped away some of the dirt in front of him until he had formed a little pit perfectly sized for one seed. He was going to nt the seed of a flower tomemorate their first nting and the official establishment of the farmer''s guild.


    He had prepared for this, having had Alexei buy an expensive Crystalpetal Rose seed from the magic-richnd of Duvin. The rosebush would sprout under tender care, its gleaming green leaves forming a canvas upon which the icy, crystalline petals of the roses would shine with a cold and otherworldly beauty just in time for fall and winter.


    But somehow, it did not feel right to use that seed. So many people had worked so very hard for him, and Li wanted to thank them with something far more than a seed he could have just bought.


    And, as he smiled to think about it, he wanted to thank the precious few memories of the past that were happy, the memories of a guild from a lifetime ago that had taught him the skills to keep this new guild prosperous.


    That was why Li, for the first time, reached into his pocket, into the void of his inventory, into the seed bag that contained all the culminated blood, sweat, and tears of his old guild.

 Chapter 166 - Fortune I

    Li looked down at his hand of darkness wreathed bark, at the slender, twig-like fingers that gently gripped a bright red seed. Around him, the sounds of Arboretum murmured: the gentle swaying of a summery breeze, the whistling of Rocs and Sunbirds as they soared through the azure blue sky, their great wings casting shadows over the trees below, and the scurrying of little critters as they scampered or skittered through dew dropden grass.


    A small square patch of soil covered by marble pathingy invitingly in front of Li, a nice little pit already dug out for the seed in his hand.


    "Like, is that all we get? Going through a whole-ass hidden dungeon and fighting a gauntlet of endgame bosses including annoying ones like Helios, Kaguya, and Skoll and Hati, we get one seed? We legit got scammed," said Oceanmaster.


    Oceanmaster''s character gesticted wildly, his hands made of flowing water undting with his agitation. He was a water sprite for his base race and now that he had been maxed out at level 100+, he had gone through being a water elemental, high water spirit, and now was an Ocean Vein, meant to embody the vast strength and scale of the great ocean tides themselves.


    His body was a humanoid shape of flowing water, his eyes two shing dots of yellow that could change color to depict his mood or health state.


    Right now, his eyes were a light shade of red to mimic annoyance. Around his body of water was an iridescent rainbow aura, the type you would see after rain, and adorning his chest, arms, and head were shining pieces of Celestial gear even though the first expansion to release Celestial gear hade out just two weeks ago.


    Oceanmaster was an exceptional yer, quite a bit stronger than Li in most scenarios, but he had a bad habit of constantlyining and voicing hisziness, though when it came down to it he was still one of the most reliable people that Li knew.


    "It wasn''t that bad," said Li. "All bosses we fought before. Dungeon wasn''t too bad either. Based off the hints the devs gave about the hidden area, I had an idea that we''d be fighting sun and moon rted monsters."


    "Yeah, sure we didn''t die and lose our stuff or get ganked, but doesn''t mean we should get basically nothing for it.Besides, we only got out with our skins intact because you''ve got an insane PvE sense. Imagine if a party went in there without it, like, oof, I don''t even want to imagine getting through so many random traps and ambushes."


    "PvE? That''s what <em>you''re</em> good at. I''m more just a curious guy with a lot of spare time and money on his hands."


    "Sure, I''m really good at actually fighting the monsters in dungeon dives and raids and challenge bosses and whatever, but you''re the one that finds all this stuff out, man. You''ve got like this, crazy fifth sense or something, you know? Hidden content isn''t even hidden with you around."


    "You mean sixth sense," corrected Li.


    "Fifth, sixth, eighth, whatever," said Oceanmaster as he crossed his watery arms. "I''m just saying, if you''re gonna be using your detective tier insight, you should get paid for it, right? One seed isn''t enough.


    Detectives do get paid, right, //BEAST//?"


    "I am not a detective," said //BEAST//. Her feli ears twitched ¨C the only sign of annoyance visible with her crossed arms, stiff and straight posture, and neutral expression.


    "You''re some kinda police or something, though," said Oceanmaster proddingly. He pointed a finger to Li. "He''s the one that figured it out, too. Realized you were logging in from timezones that had batshit crazy things like bombings or serial killings happening in them."


    "I don''t think she wants us to pry into it much more,"mented Li, and Oceanmaster understood Li''s tone, the kindced with just a bit of authoritative push that he used when directing his party through dungeons, and backed down on the topic.


    "Okay, I''m just saying we should get more than this," said Oceanmaster.


    "This is Celestial-tier," said Li. He held up the seed towards his two trusted party members. It was the size of Li''s palm and shaped like the pit of a peach. It looked almost like a jewel of crimson, but within, there were visible sparkles of gold that popped like tiny little firecrackers every so often before fading.


    "Nobody except you wouldin about getting a celestial-tier item."


    "Alright, you''ve got a point, but, like, we don''t even know what it does."


    "So we''ll find out," said Li simply.


    Celestial tier items were mysteries in that their effects were unknown until they were used or equipped, so one could only guess depending on their vor text and background lore what they could do.


    "The Everfortune Blossom. A seed of fortune forged from the essences of sun and moon, summer and winter. With thanks it is watered, and with gratitude its blossoms fall, shining the bright light of fortune during the darkest of nights," recited //BEAST//.


    She cocked her head to think, the ck leather top hat staying bnced atop her head. "That''s quite poetic. I like it. In a way, it''s fitting that the first adventure we go on as not just a party, but as a real guild gets a sign of luck as a reward."


    "The guild is just us by the way," said Oceanmaster. "Not that I mind, you know, I absolutely love you guys, but like, we''re basically bottom tier, and when the big dogs like Night Raiders and Omega Alliance realize that we have the very first celestial tier seed to ever be released - something that can be nted and reused -, you bet your ass they''re gonna be hounding us day and night.


    I can make Evolved Megalodons, Abyssal Krakens, Leviathans, and other monsters and buy some good defenses for the Outer Sanctum and //BEAST// can force people to duel her in the Medial Sanctum, but Guild Raids areing up soon, and what we got isn''t exactly the best.


    This seed better do some batshit insane crazy stuff like giving us invulnerability forever or else we''re going to be in for a bad time."


    "I can kill them when the timees," said //BEAST// confidently.


    "PvP and one on one, sure, but entire guilds? Yo, you''re on something if you think you can take them. And the top dogs in those guilds can go toe to toe with even you as well. Even if you iste raids into duels, you''re not going to solo more than three top level yers."


    "Don''t worry about it," said Li. Though Li knew Oceanmaster was an energetic, antsy, and emotional person, Li knew that Oceanmaster was still grounded in reality, always worrying about rational things.


    Every guild had to go through a server wide timeframe where their guilds were open to raids, and although guilds could opt out from them, they still had to be open to raids atleast once a month to maintain their status. If the top tier guilds dide crashing down on Arboretum, a newly formed guild, to take this seed, there was precious little the three of them could do about it.


    "What?" Oceanmaster said in surprise. "You have a n?"


    "Yes," said Li, and Oceanmaster calmed down, his red eyes turning green as he ced his utmost trust in Li.


    Li continued. "But even then, I can''t guarantee our sess. But you can''t spend all your energy worrying about the future or else you''ll stop enjoying the present."


    Li waved the two of them closer. "Come on, let''s see what happens when we nt it. This is what we''re here for, after all, right? To celebrate our first sessful quest. Our first sess as a guild. The first of many, hopefully.


    Just because we might failter doesn''t mean we can''t enjoy what''s in front of us, right?"


    "Well, you''ve got a point there. Sorry about being a downer," said Oceanmaster.


    "Atleast you''re self-aware,"mented //BEAST//.


    "Oh, well, you, whatever," said Oceanmaster as he struggled toe up with aeback to //BEAST//.


    "Self-aware is good. The world needs more of it," said //BEAST// as she tipped her hat and smiled and came to Li''s side. Oceanmaster followed, his eyes green and happy.


    Li smiled, and though his smile did not show through his virtual avatar, he knew the others could feel it.

 Chapter 167 - Fortune II

    "Great Seer, how be it your condition?" whispered Ivo as he leaned forwards from behind Li.


    "I''m fine," said Li. He blinked once, clearing his head and returning to the present, to the new world and his new life. Reaching into his inventory, into the spacial void that, in a way was the strongest connection he had to his past life, had triggered a memory in him.


    A memory he appreciated, and one that solidified his will in what he was to do.


    Li withdrew an Everfortune Blossom seed from his pocket. The very first seed of many he had acquired with his guild. A sign of fortune. A sign of a new beginning.


    A collective gasp ran through the crowd of farmers and beastwomen before it evolved into a wondering silence.


    The sun was just setting, thest rays of its dwindling light flickering on the horizon. In the subtle darkness, the Everfortune Blossom seed shone like a miniature star. Its red light spattered with bright, fiery sparks of orange cast a festive shine around


    None in this world had seen anything like it. None had ever even heard of such a seed.


    Li put the seed into both of his hands, and he could feel warmth, like he was carrying a living, breathing thing. He slowly ced the seed into the pit of dirt he had dug up and swept soil back over it, patting the earth down firm as he encased the seed into its new home.


    The light disappeared as the seed was covered by earth, but only for a moment. Li stood up and took a step back, a step that Ivo and Old Thane followed, and the seed immediately sprouted. The earth parted as a trunk of ashen white wood twisted upwards, curling towards the sky.


    The trunk stopped growing when it was slightly taller than Li. It tip had split apart into various branches. It looked like a miniature tree, more specifically a bonsai tree with how gnarled its branches were and how they curled ever so slightly down towards Li.


    The tree shone like white snow under a bright sun, but it looked empty, its branches barren.


    Li smiled as he gave his own gesture of thanks. He bowed ever so slightly, putting his fist to an open palm and extending it forwards. As the seed''s description read, "With thanks it is watered", and with this gesture, the tree would blossom.


    It had taken Li and his two guildmates a while to figure out what that riddle meant, and at first, they had given the tree offerings and items until //BEAST// finally attempted having her avatar y a thankful gesture in front of it.


    With a twinkling sound like a dozen small bells were chiming in the wind, the tree''s branches exploded into color. Vermilion petals flowered over every inch of its branches, and as they grew, orange light graced their tips before floating into the air like fire flies, gently lightening the darkening sky.


    A single blossom fell from the tree and gracefully floated down, and when Li opened his palm, it was like a maic attraction drew the petal to him. As he closed his palm, he nodded at the blossom tree.


    It was a humble little looking thing, and it might not have many shy effects, but to him, it was thergest and greatest seed he had in his possession.


    Li''s eyes widened. The tree was glowing again, its ashen trunk and branches shimmering with light. He turned back to see Ivo helping Old Thane into making the very same gesture of thanks that Li had made before making it himself.


    Seeing both their Seer, High Priest, and Head Farmer making the same gesture and, knowing at some fundamental level of the gratitude that it meant, the rest of the farmers and beastwomen began making the same gesture.


    Two hundred souls in unison, their heads bowed as they pushed forth their thanks.


    The Everfortune Blossom tree shuddered, growing so bright that it was almost like a second sun risen to rece the one that had just set. Then that shudder traveled to the ground, shaking it not violently, but in calm waves that kept everyone on their feet.


    Li could sense the explosion of life force within the tree, and he took several steps back, patting Old Thane and Ivo''s shoulders to get them to follow him. They went almost as far back as the edge of the field until Li felt that they were out of range.


    When the tree sensed that no living beings were in its midst, that even the Myrmeke had traveled away, it answered the thanks given to it.


    In a brilliant burst of ivory white light and fiery red, the earth truly cracked around the tree as its roots became farrger, anchoring into the soil with a firm grip and shaking the earth.


    Its trunk expanded several times its original size, the branches coiling together into a single shoot that oncemore struck up to the skies, and this time, it truly did appear to be reaching to the heavens, towering several dozens of meters high.


    A brilliantwork of branches uncountable in number sprouted forth. Once more, vermillion petals covered them, a sh of crimson glowing vibrant in the dark. The orange tipped petals made a temporary aura around the tree, a halo of gold that told all that gazed upon it that evesting fortune hade upon them.


    Then, that halo dissipated as the orange lights floated upwards, but this time, they did not gently float likezy fireflies to the sky. No, they shot upwards like missiles, tails of crackling orange light following them as they whistled like fireworks.


    Countless of these firecrackers sailed into the sky, streaking into the air in a lightshow of sparkling gold, and right as they flew out of sight, they exploded with booming crackles, lighting up the vast entirety of the night sky in countless patterns drawn with gold.


    Patterns of flowers, of leaves, of faces, ces, and things held dear to each and every one of those who had given thanks to the Everfortune Blossom.


    Briefly, there shed the wrinkled and worn faces of his parents. A gold-lit sh of Old Thane''s smile. Then the watery blob of Oceanmaster''s face and the top hat and monocle wearing feli face of //BEAST//.


    The fireworkssted well over several minutes, and when they were over, the tree''s shine shimmered down, though it still remained faintly glowing with otherworldly energy.


    Li heard murmurs of awe from people around him as they held out their handsto catch little specks of light ¨C remnants of the fireworks ¨C falling down like snow, dropping not only on the field, but across the entirety of Riviera.


    Red petals then fell from the tree and they floated down with intent, each of them seeking out the one that had granted them thanks, and in the outstretched hands of farmers and beastwomen, singr petalsy in the ce of fading gold light.

 Chapter 168 - Interim

    "Listen to me, my followers," said Li, his voice projecting loud and clear over the entire two hundred strong crowd. "In your hands may be but a single blossom, but it is a crystallization of the gratitude that you have shown for me and to thisnd, and it is also a symbol of my own thankfulness to you.


    Thus, each of these petals is undeniably a great treasure that is now bound to your life. They are shards of the Everfortune tree, and as its name suggests, each of these petals will grant you the fortune and good luck of a lifetime.


    And at the time of your greatest need, when the night is at its darkest, it will show you the light so long as you hold it dear."


    Li was curious about the effects of the petal in this world. Unlike what its humble appearance might have suggested, it truly was an item worthy of being Celestial-tier, equal in worth to the world ending gear of the same rank that he also used. cing the petal in one''s inventory massively increased gold gains and the rate of rare loot drops, making it the absolute best item for powerfarming in existence.


    But what truly gave it its celestial rank was its hidden ability. At its most basic level, when the bearer of the blossom died, they would immediately be revived and transported to the nearest safe haven. Yet when it was actively consumed, it would be a wish granting device, manifesting an effect that best suited what the bearer needed at the moment of consumption.


    The user would not actually know what the petal would grant, just that it would be supremely helpful in that very situation. For example, in the case that it was consumed during an intense raid against a boss where all allies were low, it might restore all allies to full health. Or it might create an incredibly powerful summon to tank damage. Or if it calcted that the boss''s health was low enough, it might conjure up a mighty offensive attack that would fell the boss.


    In Li''s case, it had been used many times during guild raids. Li realized that the petal would grant stronger effects when it determined the user was in greater trouble, and so in the early days of Arboretum when it did not have the necessary defenses to ward off greedier andrger guilds, Li and his guildmates would fight their enemies tooth and and nail until the veryst inch when they reached the inner sanctum of the guild.


    Then, Li could consume the petal to simply banish all enemies from the guild and end the raid. Like this, he managed to keep Arboretum safe until it grew to sufficiently fend for itself.


    Li nodded to Ivo, signaling the head priest to start the festival.


    "Now with the sun set and summer''s end before us, let us celebrate Summerfell once more!" shouted Ivo. "The first Summerfell in many, many years. For some of you, it shall be your very first, but I guarantee that it will make asting impression upon your youthful memories such that when you grow old and bearded and white haired as myself, it will stay with you as a memory offort, of an understanding that though the blessings of summer may fade, that it is simply the closing of one chapter for another."


    And with that, the festival of Summerfell began. It was supposed to be one high with energy, ast burst of fervor before the cold of winter came, and so there was not much strict routine in what it involved. There was arge and controlled bonfire lit at the end of the festival that everyone could dance around until it flickered down, symbolizing the end of summer, but aside from that, everything else was fluid.


    At its heart, Summerfell was simply just meant to be a time of merriment, whatever form that took.


    The men and beastwomen took out carts loaded with food and drink and spread them around. Some food stall carts with fire runesid within them to cook meat and pastries on the go were scattered around too. A surprisingly little amount of these were expenses to the guild. Most of the food and equipment came from the businesses the farmers had run in the city.


    They had emptied out their shops in preparation to sell them, and what better way to use what they had than here. Lakeside Bounty had also donated a hefty amount of fine dining foods and wines.


    Meat from butcheries, bread from bakeries, and a whole selection from a farmer who had been a barkeep all were spread around. Certainly, a good bit of the necessary foodstuffs were guild based expenses, but Li and Ivo had both agreed to not spare anything.


    And as the food and, most importantly, alcohol started spreading around, the mood livened up immensely. Conversation began flowing everywhere, and when the energy of the festival began to kick into gear, Li had Ivo lead the priests into lighting the summerfell bonfire. They had cleared out a patch of grass and set up the wooden framework and support of the bonfire already.


    All that was left was to light the fire, but that cameter.


    For now, Li made his way around the festival to observe. Because of the rain of golden light from the Everfortune tree''s blossoming, there was actually enough light even in the night to see rather clearly. Though Li had preparednterns and posts for them, he did not give a signal to light them, for he felt that the light radiating from the little nuggets of sparkling gold that gently drifed down from the sky was a far more wonderful thing to behold.


    Li could spot farmers talking to each other, openlyughing and sharing drinks of wine in wooden mugs. At one food cart, there stood a heavyset man who was cooking up a storm. He was a farmer who had gone to the city to roast and serve meat rted dishes, and he did so now with his two sons, sharing meat pies and kebabs and all manner of foods they had perfected in their years in the city.


    At another stall, Li waved to Ada and her husband manning another food cart, warming up their baked goods. Their child was at the stall''s back, nibbling at a croissant. They waved back at him now that they had spent a week seeing what he had done.


    The beastwomen, though they were more than happy to use their energy to work with the farmers, were much more hesitant to socialize with humans they had long known to stay away from. However, once alcohol came into y, they took a liking to it, perhaps a little too strong a liking, and with that, inhibitionsrgely fell.


    There was the issue of anguage barrier, but thankfully, some of the Serpi actually knew themon tongues of man though they spoke in old dialects from thest time they had recorded thenguages.


    The Feli were very curious, as curious as a cat, you could say, and they spent their time flitting about, eyes wide as they observed fires and food carts and other things they had no idea about. The Lupi had formed their own celebratory activity which involved standing in a ring and taking turns sparring with each other.


    Some of the younger men of the farmingmunity, wanting to show their strength and perhaps a little enamored by some of the Lupi''s beauty, came into the ring to test their mettle against them very unsessfully.


    The few harpies that stayed mostly spent their time eating, though Li did observe that one of them gave small flights to a few curious children.


    The Serpi spent their time tranting and recording the events going around them, using their magic to inscribe records upon tablets of sand. They came from a culture of knowledge, and the role vested upon them through their goddess was to be watchers of the world and all that urred, and they fulfilled that even now, recording the momentous history that unfolded before them through Li.


    And seeing things proceeding well, Li came back to the cottage where Old Thane was preparing a smaller, more personal dinner. He had been given rare ingredients from Lakeside Bounty from the north, and he confidently wanted to show off his far northwaste cuisine.


    It involved a lot of boiling, and that kept Tia in the house, allured as she was by the scent of cooking high quality flesh of sea monsters she had never tasted before.


    Li came into the cottage, finding Old Thane bent over at the pot on the firece. The pungent smell of the sea, of recently gutted and prepared fish, wafted in the air, though that scent wasrgely counteracted with the smell of boiling herbs and roots.


    At the dinner table, Azhar sat with Tia beside him while Jeanne and Sylvie were moving to and from the kitchen, helping Old Thane with the cooking.


    "Lad, is that you!?" said Old Thane.


    "That would be me," said Li as he closed the door behind him. Tia jumped from Azhar''s feet and took her ce behind Li. He took in a whiff of the food and made a concerned expression. "Are you sure that spineshark is cooking right? And aren''t they deadly poisonous?"


    "Only if they are cooked with ill-prepared hands," said Old Thane as he stirred the pot, the shark fin visible at the top of the boiling broth.


    "I don''t know old man, you haven''t cooked this in thirty years by your own admission. That seems kind of ill-prepared to me," said Li as he came to the dinner table, nodding a greeting to the adventurers.


    Azhar bowed his head slightly as he put out a chair for Li.


    "That may be true, but never is there excitement without risk, and risk I daresay makes food taste all the better," said Old Thane.


    "Well, I guess it''s a good thing I''m here to heal any of us if we start to die," said Li.


    "That morbid topic aside, how was the festival?" said Sylvie. Her hands were busy at the kitchen table, her dagger cutting up slices of frost piranha meat. Jeanne helped beside her, though she more watched, unsuited to the precise motions needed to slide under the tough and shard-like scales of the fish.


    "Quite well. Better than expected, I would like to say, but this was all within my expectations," said Li. The adventurers hade to set up the festival before it started, creating the framework for the bonfire and rolling in carts and lights and whatnot, but when it started, they went where they felt mostfortable: by Old Thane''s side.


    "It does seem so very cheery and wonderful!" said Jeanne as she sped her hands together. Her lengthy hair had been tied back in a ponytail to work in the kitchen. Even if she had little of the finesse required to cook, she still prepared with all her usual enthusiasm.


    "So much happiness and energy, it reminds me much of the Day of New Light celebration. And it was oh so wondrous to see the women of the north enjoying themselves with nary a care in the world."


    Li nodded. The Day of New Light was basically this world''s version of new year''s, meant to celebrate when the gods supposedly came down to fend off the demons from taking over the world so very many years ago.


    "Hopefully, in years toe, this celebration will spread through the city."


    "I do not see why not," chimed in Sylvie between deft slices of her dagger. "I am certain none would oppose more time to rest and draw away from their daily struggles and toils."


    "Well, I ain''t gonna'' get worked up over a day of bummin'' round''," said Azhar.


    A scratching echoed out from the front door. Tia roused herself away from smelling the boiling stew and went down low as she positioned herself at the door''s front, fangs bared. Li got up from his chair and headed past Tia, opening the door with some degree of caution because he knew to trust that Tia had sharp instincts in determining foreign presences.


    To Li''s surprise, he saw one of the harpies there. She was a skinny, lithe woman, her red winged arms tucked behind her back as her eyes, the pupils slit like those of a falcon''s, widening as they beheld Tia. She let out a shrill sound of surprise as she jumped up with her taloned feet.


    "It''s fine," said Li to the harpy as he held a hand to Tia, bidding her stay calm. Tia was not yet too used to the presence of beastwomen, it was evident. "What is it?"


    Limunicated in Allspeak, his wordsing out in a dialect that sounded like a long-winded and quiet whistle. Now that a good degree of his divine powers had been revealed, it was easy tomunicate to the beastwomen without the front of a trantor.


    "Shiny men areing from down the t dirt," said the harpy as she flitted her hips from side to side in quick motions to show agitation. "Many of them. A problem, maybe?"


    "With me here, nothing will be a problem. Thank you for keeping a look out, but do not trouble yourself further. I will meet them." Li nodded to the harpy, and she leaped up, unleashing her wings. Her pinkies were elongated, curling down the length of her arm as a spine-like bone that kept most of her feathers and gave her a wingspan impressive enough to fly.


    Li clicked his tongue, bidding Tia to stay close behind him. Shiny men meant knights, and though it was unlikely they would be a problem considering Li had done all the paperwork necessary to get this festival approved, he was still cautious. He turned his head back to the cottage and saw that activity had fallen to a standstill, everyone looking at him to see what had transpired.


    "Knights are headed this way. Perhaps not everyone is too fond of extra vacations."

 Chapter 169 - More The Merrier

    Li waited by the main road, next to the herb making stall he had started out with. It was empty now, with Iona''s absence, but its equipment had gone to his shrine where the priests learned the elixir making methods from Iona, so in a way, it had stayed with her.


    He did not alert anyone about the knights'' iing presence. Only Tia and Jeanne apanied him outside as he had wanted the adventurers to stay with Old Thane and make sure nothing was amiss in the cooking. Sylvie had sent Jeanne out because Jeanne was not actually useful in the kitchen and she felt that the hero with her poprity could ameliorate any tensions if they arose.


    He did not want to break the mood of happiness that had started up in the festival, and he was confident he was going to be able to handle this on his own. In the first ce, he doubted this would amount to much of anything. The knights were probably out here just to check up on the situation after the fireworks and rain of golden light, which was understandable.


    A simple exnation would keep them happy and on their way.


    Li waited, and eventually, the knights appeared on the main road. A fair amount of them, half a squadron, perhaps fifty or so men, and though they were armored, they were helmetless and did not ride on horseback, none of them with unsheathed weapons nor carrying the cumbersome and heavy standard of Lys.


    Tia was used to seeing knights here and there due to their patrols, so she remained rtively calm, staying close by Li''s side. Li made his way down the road and waved at the knights, recognizing at the head the same young captain that he had been seeing quite oftentely.


    The captain nodded and waved too, and Li knew then that there would be no real issues here. Behind the captain emerged the slight figure of Swift who also waved.


    "Goodness, a dragon, is it?" said Swift as he pointed to Tia with a gloved hand.


    "Soon to be dragon," said Li. Swift bent down to try and pet Tia, but she reacted savagely, snapping at his hand.


    Swift''s hand retracted at a speed so fast that the human eye could not have possibly perceived it. It was there one moment, and in another, it was not. The speed was not impressive to Li, but he noted that it was exceptionalpared to what he usually saw in this world.


    "She doesn''t take kindly to strangers," said Li simply.


    "Oh, well dear me, I should apologize."


    "You don''t have to. Just tell me why you''re here."


    "Like I said before, I''d like us to work together. No conflict, all peace," said Swift as he shed a smile. He turned slightly towards the group of knights behind them. "These here folk were drummed up by the temple priests. Thought the new faith was calling down literal hellfire. Almost screamed their heads off telling me to mobilize some huge army, like that would do anything.


    I calmed them down, so no worries on that end."


    Li raised a brow. "Then why are they still here?"


    "Ah,w''s still thew. If there''s aint, then knights have to be sent out to check it out. But, as you can see, everyone here''s just on the end of their shifts and are barely armed. I''ve led them here mostly to sate their curiosity with how the festival''s been doing, not to police anything."


    "Well, you can certainly see for yourselves," said Li as he gestured to the sound of talk, food, and drinks resounding from the crowd in the distance. "Nothing out of the norm. Just people enjoying the end of the summer. And food, drink, and popce all ounted for under the paperwork we filed."


    "Ehrm," said the captain to get attention, and Li looked at him to give him the okay to speak.


    "The lights in the sky, we''d like an exnation for," said the captain. "Not to suspect you of anything, good sir, but merely to understand."


    "Understandable." Li pointed to the Everfortune tree, at its glistening red petals shining like ruby gems in the night. "That is a tree infused with divine blessing and meant only to bring fortune and goodwill upon thisnd. The lights you saw were merely a result of its nting, and I can assure you that no harm has or wille from it."


    The captain nodded as he and his men stared at the tree, awed at its jewel-like brilliance. "Certainly, we believe you, it is simply a matter of regtion that we must investigate the tree. Would you mayhaps be fine with an Arcanist ascertaining the nature of the tree?"


    "I would be fine with that," said Li. "So long as it grants you and the denizens of this city peace of mind. An official deration from you or lord Lys, someone familiar, would do better than my own words."


    Li did not mind anyone attempting to divine the tree''s effects. The hidden effects of Celestial-tier items ¨C the effects that truly mattered ¨C did not show up under divination, and he did not particrly care that the knights knew that the tree would truly give them good fortune. In fact, he would encourage it to start building trust between the Rivierans and his new faith.


    "Most certainly," the captain nodded. "I have nothing against your faith, good sir, but the people are still wary of it. But truly, I hope that we may stand together under the Light''s good graces."


    "Why only the Light''s graces?" said Li. "You and your men are ending your shift, no? How about taking some time to join in on our festivities? It would do well for this city''s defenders to take a break now and then."


    "Why, that is a blessed idea!" said Jeanne with a beaming smile. "The more the merrier, as it is said."


    "Well, um, would we not be imposing upon you?" said the captain as he put a hand to his curled hair. "There is the matter of provisions, certainly, we would overbear on the food you have brought, and it would be truly not do to enjoy your hospitality without bearing gifts of our own."


    "I''d be game," murmured one of the captain''s men from behind him.


    "Aye, and the hero''s there, too. Mighty fine reason to take a break. Mighty good sight for sore eyes, too."


    "Like she''d take a look at you and your crooked old nose."


    The captain sighed. "I must apologize for my men." He coughed into his hand before raising his voice. "Men! There is nothing wrong afoot here. March back to the barracks and rest yourselves well!"


    A general murmur of disgruntlement spread throughout the knights, prompting the captain to pause for a few seconds. With a shrug, he ryed a new order, "You owe me for this one,ds! Shift ends early now. Do as you wish with your newfound time, but do not do anything that may cause dishonor to fall upon the dove of peace that we have pledged our service to."


    A cheer went through the knights as many of them began to unsp their armor.


    "Are you sure about this?" said the captain to Li.


    "Why the hells not, Louis," said Swift as he put a friendly arm around the captain. "You should take a break, too.Especially after listening to that hour-long rant from the priests."


    "I will second that suggestion," said Li. "Consider it some measure of thanks for your service in taking down Chevrette. And as for food and drink, do not worry much. We have enough surplus to manage."


    "I am honored by the offer, but s, I cannot," said Louis with a shake of his head. "My wife is with child, and my ears will be left ringing should I return homete or, gods forbid, drunk."


    "Then that is simply too bad. Familyes first, after all." Li nodded to the captain.


    "The men are a handful, but they are all good natured. If any mischief arises from their conduct, please let me know," said Louis with a short bow before he turned to leave. His men saluted him as he took a lonesome path down the main road, back to the city.


    Evidently, they understood the familial duties that bound him.

 Chapter 170 - Festivities I

    Li watched as the knights, now dressed in the nondescript brown leathers they wore under their armor, started buzzing forwards, scrambling to talk to Jeanne. She smiled and waved at them, leading them away to the heart of the festival where, hopefully, they would disperse when they realized none of them were going to get what they wanted and have some fun for themselves.


    "Y''know, I''m thinking I''m going to see what this festival''s all about, too. I''m a sucker for ying around, you see," said Swift as he watched the knights leave.


    "So long as you don''t make a mess," said Li with a pointed look, clearly indicating that there would be severe repercussions if the hero made so much as an unnecessary peep.


    "Woah, don''t look at me like that." Swift raised his gloved hands up in surrender. "Like I said, I''m just here toy back and enjoy myself. Fighting''s the least of my priorities."


    With that, Swift disappeared, zipping as a blur past the soldiers, weaving through festival goers until he settled at a food cart for meat where he raised two fingers to get two spits of beef.


    Li shrugged. He could not sense any ill will in the hero, and he was not intolerable, either, so long as he kept his word and mediated the priests of Light from doing anything particrly stupid.


    Li made his way back to the cottage, Tia in tow, calmed down now that any sense of threat had passed. She was walking a little less energetically than usual, her belly full from eating the leftovers and carcasses from the aquatic monsters Old Thane and Sylvie had butchered.


    Back inside the cottage, Li was greeted by Old Thane''s proud promation, "Lad! Good to see ye back. The stew''s all done. Smells mighty hearty, too."


    Li took in a smell that consisted mostly of brine and iron from the blood and scales the fish had left behind, but he figured that would go away with Sylvie acting quick, cleaning up the kitchen with agile efficiency. She scraped down scales into a small bucket with other food waste and wiped down table surfaces with a routinely wettened and strained cloth.


    Observing her, Li realized that in any manners of organization or housekeeping or preparing food, she must have been the one carrying her two teammates.


    "Smells great," said Li as he stepped over to the firece, sitting on a stool by Old Thane as he watched the old man stir the pot a few more times with arge wooden spoon.


    The pot was truly an amalgam of strange things. Misceneous vegetables such as onions, carrots, and celery diced in rough chunks surrounded by multicolored fillets of fish, some exotically colored purple and red and blue, all floating atop a sea of milky white boiling broth. The greens and faded yellows of herbs and roots floated around the broth, releasing a strong aroma that tried its hardest to counteract the fishiness of the contents within.


    At the center of the pot, the shark fin bobbed up and down in rhythm with the rolling of the boiling bubbles, leaking out the creamy residue that colored the broth milky.


    "The Heart of the Sea is what they called it in me home, far, far north," said Old Thane. "All the deadly and mighty creatures of the icy waters we could dredge up, we put into one pot such that their might may pass into our own blood."


    Tia reached her snout up to the broth and sniffed it before crinkling her nose and retreating. Full as she was, she was pickier, and it was evident that she did not like anything boiled like this. She did not even particrly like roasted meat.


    Or perhaps it was just that bad.


    Li called out to Sylvie. "It''s fine not to leave the ce spotless. I''ll handle the rest. Why don''t you clean up and get a bowl? Let''s have ourselves a proper meal."


    A right sound idea,d," said Old Thane.


    "Yeah, you''ve been workin'' too hard, Sylv," said Azhar as he went to the kitchen to lead Sylvie out of it because she would surely protest.


    "It is the least I could do for you all," said Sylvie as she went to a bucket seated atop the kitchen counter filled with cleansing rune purified water. As she washed her hands, she continued, "As an adventurer, I travel much, and I do love the travel, but worries of home, of Riviera, do haunt me often. With Li and Old Thane''s efforts, I can feel that much better about our old home."


    "Ain''t really my home, but any home of yours is a home of mine," said Azhar.


    "And it''s the least I could do for thends that weed me from the beginning," said Li.


    Everyone gathered around the firece, bowls full of the stew at theirps. Li could not say it was bad. It was more nd, tasting strongly of salt and herbs he had put in to mask the stench of the monstrous fish and neutralize their toxins if there were any.


    In a way, though, there was a certain charm to the stew. It was representative of Old Thane''s harsh homnd where taste would be highly secondary to securing a square and edible meal every day.


    "Ah! Now that hits the spot," said Old Thane as he drank in some soup from the bowl. "But I must say, the fire of this stew hits perhaps too strongly. It is meant to be drunk in the icy cold of the north, after all. Perhaps we should enjoy it outside, with all the revelry and the night''s breeze by our backs?"


    "I have no opposition to that," said Li as he stood up, bowl in hand. He wanted to see how the festival was going as well. Tia stood up from a curled up position by the fire, sensing Li''s intent to leave.


    "And Jeanne will not be so lonely," said Sylvie as Azhar nodded in agreement. Azhar took an extra bowl and filled it up with the stew for Jeanne.


    "Then onwards we shall go!" said Old Thane.

 Chapter 171 - Festivities II

    Outside, Li sat on a mound of upraised earth covered by grass. It was nearby the celebration and high enough that it gave him a decent vantage point to see what was going on. Beside him sat Old Thane and the entirety of Triple Threat.


    Tia and Zagany down behind them. Li had convinced the demon toe by even if he did not understand the concept of festivities. Underneath them, the Myrmeke yed with Tia, asionally making patches of grassy dirt shake for Tia to pounce on in a kind of game of whack a mole.


    "It''s good!" said Jeanne as she put down her empty bowl of stew.


    "Can''t say it ain''t bad, though it''s makin'' me miss Aine''s cookin'' that much more," said Azhar as he also put an empty bowl beside him.


    "As do I," said Old Thane. His bowl was not yet empty as he savored it by the spoonful. Surprisingly, even in the chilly night breeze, the heat of the soup did not dissipate, magically empowered as it was by the flesh of so many monsters. "Would it believe ye for me to say that this was Aine''s favorite food? Least it was her favorite of what I could muster up, heh."


    "No, I somehow do not believe that" said Sylvie as she eyed her bowl that was almost full. It was evident she was not a fan of nd saltiness.


    Nor was Li, but his bowl was almost full because he simply was not hungry, nor would he ever really be. Instead, he spent his time eyeing the festival. The knights had assimted into the celebration quite well,ughing and drinking with the farmers.


    Evidently, the older farmers of the old faith were quite the drinkers, and they liberally poured drinks for the knights in thanks for their service to which the knights, bound by honor to ept drinks from elders, gave deep and respectful nods before drinking themselves into silly but happy stupors.


    Some of the Feli, curious as they were, were pestering the knights to show them their armor and swords, wanting to see what they were like. The knights obliged, likely motivated by both politeness and a weakness to pretty women, and the Feli cocked their heads as they curiously bit into the armor and the swords with their teeth, making visible indentations into the tempered steel.


    One of the knights, a young nobleman, it appeared, by the fancy sigil of a hawk on his sword pommel, was jumping up and down in a panic as the harpy that had alerted Li teased him, taking hold of his likely quite expensive family heirloom and dangling it just out of his reach. The rest of the knightsughed at him, and the noblemanughed at himself in good humor too.


    None of the knights were ill mannered, regardless of whether they were nobleman, average Rivieran citygoer, or recruited from the countryside viges. They were all simply good and honest men enjoying themselves.


    "If all of you are done eating, why don''t you go ahead and enjoy the festival yourselves?" said Li.


    "Was gonna'' say, I had to meet someone real quick," said Azhar.


    "A girl?" said Jeanne as she leaned in. Azhar leaned back, and Jeanne raised a brow in surprise. "So it is a girl! Who''s the unluckydy?"


    "Knock it off," said Azhar. "It ain''t nothin'' special. Remember the Feli that we rescued? The blonde one lookin'' for her little sister? Well, she found her sister, but they''ve got nowhere to go. They heard from other Feli that their tribe ain''t around no more, so they''ve decided to stick round'' here, and since they only really trust me, I''m showin'' em'' round'' a bit."


    "Don''t try anything funny with them," said Jeanne admonishingly. "Atleast not until they arefortable here."


    "It ain''t like that," said Azhar as he stood up. "Y''know, I''m just wastin'' time."


    "It''s understandable that there''s yet to be full trust between the beastwomen and humans," said Li. "But efforts like those you''re putting out now are what will grow that trust.??


    Li nodded to Azhar, and the hintender took that as a sign of approval and left. He looked to Jeanne and Sylvie. "You two as well. If you want to take part in the festival, go ahead."


    "Thane as well!" rang Ivo''s voice as his figure trudged up the mound.


    "Ivo? What be your reason foring here?" said Old Thane as he stood up. The two elderly men exchanged a greeting that Li realized was unique to thend of Soleil. They reached out a hand to each other''s shoulder''s and nodded. This world''s idea of a handshake.


    "To bring you to the festival, of course," said Ivo. He looked to Li. "So long as I am not interrupting anything, seer."


    Li shook his head. "No, not at all. Old man, you want to head out?"


    "The priests wish to see you," said Ivo. "The older ones. Remember the band I led with you on that nasty basilisk hunt? Some of them havee from travels abroad, and it has been years since they have seen your face and heard your obnoxiously loud voice."


    Old Thaneughed. "I see why not, old friend. It will do me no good to gather dust when I am already so old. Lad, if you will excuse me."


    Li smiled. "Go ahead, old man, meet some friends for once."


    As Old Thane left with Ivo, Li felt a deep sense of satisfaction. For many years, the old man had never once tried to reach out to anyone or meet with others, believing his lifeplete and over. Now that his days had more meaning, that tomorrow meant something more than another small step towards death, the old man could finally start forging connections and bonds again.


    "And you two?" said Li to Jeanne and Sylvie. "Both of you are young. Use your energy for something more than just sitting here like me."


    "It is always a surprise to remember that you are nearing thirty years," said Jeanne with cocked head as she looked first to Li, then to the rest of the fields stretching out and filled with celebration. Night had settled in, but even now, the glowing little dots of gold from the Everfortune firework show still hovered in the air, suspended like sparkling gemstones amid a canvas of midnight ck.


    And upon this light speckled canvas, figuresughed and drank and ate and made merry.


    "But you are right, it would be a shame not to enjoy this energy while itsts, and that does look quite fun," said Jeanne as she nodded her head towards the ring of Lupi.


    Many of them had their regr workwear of baggy shirts andfortable leather trousers roughed up with dirt and tears from their roughhousing, and yet they still maintained their energy, watching intently as a knight, far more capable than the usual others, held his own for a few seconds more against a short Lupi runt.


    "If it is a test of strength, then I simply cannot back down," said Jeanne as she stood up, stretching her arms out. "I will be back in a minute or two!"


    Li and Sylvie watched Jeanne happily skip her way to the ring, her head swaying from side to side in rhythm to the music flowing through the air from farmers that knew how to y instruments and from a few bards Li had hired not only to add music, but to spread tales of the festival through their travels as well.


    When Jeanne neared the ring of Lupi, the many knights there, thoroughly bedraggled, beaten, and ready to admit defeat, roused themselves up, eagerly willing to engage in round two to impress the hero.


    "She is not going to be back in a mere minute," said Sylvie with a slight smile. "She will get carried away by the energy, and before she knows it, so much time will have passed."


    "Well, if there was ever a night to get carried away, tonight is the one," said Li. "Speaking of, I thought you would go with Jeanne."


    "I do not do too well with crowds, nor do I drink much," said Sylvie. She looked from side to side, taking in the festival as a whole. "I much rather prefer it here."


    "An understandable feeling," said Li. A shared moment of silence passed between them, and Li knew this moment, with everyone gone, with no real worries to deal with, was the right one to sort things about between himself and her.


    Li sat up straight, his legs crossed as he put away his bowl of still steaming stew beside him. He did not look directly at Sylvie, but his words were targeted.


    "Sylvie, how do you feel about me?"

 Chapter 172 - Hurt

    Sylvie froze up, the only movement from her being the widening of her faint red eyes. She looked away from Li, down to the grass. She drew her legs to her chest and hugged them, almost curling into herself with a sigh.


    "I¡­well, I suppose the right way for me to put it is that I like you," said Sylvie.


    Li caught her tone. He had expected her to be flustered, shaky, and wholly unprepared to confront her own feelings, but her voice was quite calm, the type of calm that came mostly from resignation.


    Surprisingly, she knew how this was going to go. Although, as Li thought about it, perhaps it was unsurprising. She was a perceptive girl, always thinking and always seeing things that others could not, so he would not have put it past her to know.


    "I appreciate that, I truly do," began Li. He looked to the fields, at the hundred plus souls that relied on him, at thends whose healthy greens he was responsible for.


    "But I can''t return that feeling. We walk entirely different paths of life. I am here, tending my own followers andnd, and you, though this might be your home, are destined to travel and adventure and follow your heart''s curiosity to faraway dreams.


    Love should be between two souls traveling the same path together, and I can''t do that for you."


    Li knew that there were far more factors at y here for refusing her.


    At a basic level, he saw her more as someone to protect, a student or child to nurture ¨C a feeling made even more apparent by their age gap - and he knew that this feeling would only grow as his divinity advanced, making him see all mortal life forms as simply ephemeral seeds to water and watch grow tall and healthy and hale and then dry up and wither and rot.


    Sylvie was no different in this regard. She, like every other mortal here, would soon wilt and return to the earth. It would be a disservice to her to entrap her into an illusion of love that was never meant tost.


    Certainly, he could, perhaps through the years, find some means through developing his divinity to ascend her into an immortal state, but there was no guarantee she would desire anything of that sort, nor did he want to pressure her into anymitments without her even knowing what he truly was.


    "I know." Sylvie sighed. "I''ve known. I have had, how to word it, a fancy of youth, the kind the bards im sparks brightest in maidenly hearts for that is the first me they experience. They say that the me flickers bright, overwhelming the mind."


    She smiled faintly, sadly, and put a pale hand over the flowing cloth of her ck dress, feeling her heartbeat.


    "I had always thought the bards'' words insincere, fueled by drink and made to tug at base instincts to draw coin, but now I know that not all their wordsck truth. I like to consider myself a thinker. A calm thinker that can reach the right conclusions with far less to work with than others. Someone whose thoughts can run clear in the midst of the tensest of battles. Gods know that Jeanne and Az need someone like that."


    Sylvie''s hands dug into her chest, impressing into the dark fabric. "But I could not think properly with you. All that you have said, I have known, and I have known for some time.


    You are a man of lived experiences, and I knew that I, so unused to these feelings, so unused to life in general, would have seemed so childish to you.


    You are a man of passion beholden to this farm, to thisnd, and, as you have said, my life, my desire to wander and adventure, would never have worked well with you.


    You are now a man of many responsibilities shouldering many burdens and even more lives ¨C the greatest burden of all. A woman in the midst of your life, especially one that cannot ease your burdens by being with you, by sharing your passions or life, would merely be a distraction.


    I knew all this, I had thought about it, let my head process it, dwell on it, and yet my heart would never let me talk to you, would always send me into a fluster, would fill my rational thought with silly hopes, would always be so very contrarian.


    I thought, perhaps, if I had heard from your own lips that nothing between us could have been, that maybe then, my heart would finally surrender and stop flustering me and stop letting me dwell on things that could not be."


    Li saw her tense up. She held herself even closer, drawing her knees in to herself tight, burying her face between them, her locks of silvery hair falling from her head like a glimmering moonlit cascade.


    "But even now, my heart rebels against me," said Sylvie as she raised her head. A half-formed tear welled up in an eye as she bit her lip. "I thought I would feel better hearing it from you, that I could start thinking clearly again, but hearing it - it still hurts."


    Li put an arm around her shoulders, drawing her in tofort her. She was right to guess that he was a man of lived experiences, and though he had never found something he could call true love in his past life, it was not for ack of trying, nor was it due to ack of finding people ¨C he simply had never found the right one.


    And through living that, he knew that rejection hit hard, especially the first one, cutting deep into the heart, and he could sympathize with that.


    "The hurt will pass," said Li gently. "It always does."


    They did not share more words, simply sitting close together in silence, Sylvie letting the initial pain well up and process, and Li lending his shoulder to support her.

 Chapter 173 - Summerfell I

    They stayed together like that for a good half an hour, Li feeling the rhythm of her breathing as she leaned into him. He could sense her heartbeat, how it beat fast at first, wrapped up in emotion. But as the minutes passed, it slowed, and her breathing became more even, more calm, more collected.


    The hurt hade and passed, and quick, too. Sylvie, despite being a young girl, was one who had faced many hardships in life, fought many battles with her life on the line, and, as a result, though in love she had not had time to be experienced, in processing pain, in understanding and oveing hurt, she was a veteran.


    Li had to acknowledge that even if he did think of triple threat as essentially children to protect, they were not fragile flowers liable to scatter in a strong breeze. They had strong roots, strong wills, and they could do what it took to survive and see another day.


    Even as the festival stopped to a standstill for Li and Sylvie, it still moved around them. He saw the food beginning to run out and Ada and her husband packing away her cart of baked goods, but fortunately, the alcohol still flowed freely, having been boosted by a sudden infusion of supplies by a wagon headed by Valery on order of Alexei.


    The friendly farming folk wanted to invite the vampire wagon driver into the festival, but Valery had to politely decline, and seeing that Li was upied, had left back to his count''s manor.


    Azhar was spending his time showing the blonde maned Feli and her little sister around, and right now, he was showing them how to eat from meat skewers as they had crunched up the wooden skewer as well as the meat.


    Jeanne was reigning victorious over the Lupi in their little wrestling ring,ughing as she smeared mud away from the snowy whiteness of her tunic while helping up her recent opponent, an absolute unit of a Lupi who must have been over two meters of solid muscle.


    There had been a tear in the fabric cross her shoulder near to her chest from an errant Lupi w, and no doubt that contributed much to the sizable ring of soldiers watching and cheering her on.


    Then, the unexpected urred. Or rather, as Li heard the thudding of many stumbling steps down the main road, it was at least a little expected.


    Launcelot, thoroughly drunk, came through leading a crowd of adventurers. The adventurers were thoroughly happy and drunken, having likely celebrated much at the Golden gon beforehand. Li somewhat expected them as Launcelot did speak of wanting to bring them to have them enjoy the festival and to bond with the farmers and old faith, which in turn would grant Li a sizable and important force as allies.


    But Li had not expected that almost all the adventurers of Riviera woulde. Not that it mattered too much. It appeared that the adventurers had eaten their fills in the city and even gotten themselves friendly drunk ¨C something Launcelot likely had ensured to remove any inhibitions beforehand.


    There was also more than enough drink for them with Alexei''s provisions, which,e to think of it, must havee when the count noticed that the gon was incredibly active that night.


    "This is where the festival''s at, right, Launcy boy?" said a loud voice.


    "And the promised romantic dance by firelight? I don''t see a fire, sir nobleman," said a young witch.


    "Dance? I''ll show ya how a real man o'' the hintends moves to music," said Vahid, the huge hintender from what felt like eons ago.


    Launcelot scratched his blonde locks, panning his blurring eyesight across the fields to look for a fire."A predicament, yes, but one I shall solve!"


    Launcelot went forwards, obviously trying to look for Li. Now was the time for Li to go to the priests and Ivo to light the bonfire.


    "I''m sorry," said Li to Sylvie. "But something''se up. It looks like I have to go. Are you okay right now?"


    Sylvie smiled and nodded before standing up. "Yes, I am. Like you said, the hurt has passed, and it is manageable, I believe. But do tell me, what businesspels you even now?"


    "Adventurers havee to join in on the festival, and that''s my cue to start the Revelry of Summerfell."


    "The dance, hm," said Sylvie with a nod. "Then it appears that I will have my hands full prying knightly hands away from Jeanne tonight."


    "That," said Li as he watched the knights cheer raucously at Jeanne''s victory against the Lupi oncemore. "Is probably true."


    Sylvie sighed before looking to Li. "You know, perhaps my heart is still a little tender. Would you be willing to grant me a request?"


    "Within reason," said Li.


    "Then I will hold you to your word," said Sylvie with a hint of mischief as she made her way towards Jeanne.


    ========


    Li stood in front of the unlit bonfire, a circle of priests around him. They were garbed in the traditional robes of the old faith, wearing humble and rough brown cloth to symbolize dirt while aurel of leaves rested atop their greying heads.


    The crowd of farmers, knights, beastwomen, and adventurers had gathered around, waiting for him to light the fire to begin the dance. Once the fire was lit, the priests would sing and initiate the revelry.


    Li put a palm to his lips and breathed out, casting [Fireplume Seeds] to blow out a few seeds that looked and floated like angry red dandelions.


    They wafted gently towards the wooden kindling, but as soon as they made contact, they burst into wild mes that consumed the wood in an instant, surging upwards intensely in a bright pir of me that, for a moment, lit up the entire night, and that marked the beginning of the end of the well enjoyed Summerfell festival.

 Chapter 174 - Summerfell II

    The crowd instinctively stepped backwards once, but by now, they had full trust in Li, and they were more awed than they were scared. The pir of fire flickered down until it reached the level of a normal bonfire, and then the song began.


    The old priests, headed by Ivo, began to sing. Their voices had marvelous projection, spreading across the entirety of the fields with little issue. Li could tell they were drawing power from him, using it to carry their voices far to all the followers present.


    Their song was foreign to almost all present, not having ever been heard for over five decades. At first, it began like regr song. Though there were no words, no lyrics, their voices resonated in rising hums like a trained choir.


    Then, the song truly blossomed into nature. They began to make sounds that none would have believed coulde from human vocal chords. They mimicked the sounds of the forest, the twitter of birdsong, the whistling of wind, the crashing of waterfalls, the gurgling of streams, the chatter of animals, and all of it coalesced together in a wondrous harmony of orchestral scale.


    The bards and troubadours hired for the festival listened intently, their eyes closed in bliss at being given the chance to hear lost song form, and soon, they nodded to each other, figuring out the tune of the song and beginning to y their own songs on their own instruments, not overshadowing the priests, butplementing them.


    As the wonder at hearing the song faded and as the energy of the song cascaded higher and higher, the dancing began. It was Vahid, the adventurer, that first began it, loudly shouting that the beats of nature would be perfect to showcase his moves which turned out to be little more than drunken galloping.


    But it only took one person to start before everyone began to dance, matching the wavelength of the song''s energy, letting it speak to them in a primal way that words alone could not.


    Li himself smiled as he passed through the crowd, his job done but still happy that so much liveliness could sprout from his and many others'' efforts. He made his way back to his viewing spot, sitting down and petting Tia who, thoroughly entertained by the Myrmeke, had now fallen asleep, tired.


    Once again, Li observed.


    Sylvie, as promised, was warding away Jeanne from taking the invitation to join a raucous dance from the knights, and instead, they went about to the beastwomen who had little concept of a dance, teaching them basic movements. The Feli, Lupi, and harpies were highly interested, watching intently before joining in on the flux of moving bodies.


    The Serpi were more distant, simply observing and recording, not too keen intrinsically in moving so much.


    The knights, having lost Jeanne but still happy with alcohol, had banded together shoulder to shoulder to form a line of dancing knights that almost looked like they were marching. Adventurers soon joined them, as did a few farmers and even beastwomen, especially Lupi who admired the fact that the knights were willing to even try and fight them.


    Old Thane and Ivo stood by the bonfire, watching it together in silence, likely reminiscing together about the past in the wake of a me that promised so much in the future.


    Li watched the dancing, the high and intense energy, for hours, simply making sure as a good leader would that nothing went wrong. Zagan sat beside him, watching the humans make merry, and said, ''My personage cannot understand this wasted movement. Should the humans not hone their skills, their battle readiness? Threats yet lie around them.''


    "And that''s why I''m here. My power affords them this happiness, and it is my duty as their leader, their god."


    "There is no doubt to your immense might." Zagan looked to the west, over the heads of the mortals, beyond the horizon. "But the winds blowing west are bing ever more foul."


    Li nodded but kept his gaze upon his followers. "In due time, under my care, all winds will blow with peace."


    Hours passed, and finally, the energy of the dancing crowd had simmered down. Li could tell by the few passed out adventurers, knights, and even beastwomen here and there and how their movements were less frenzied. The alcohol in their systems had burned out their energy, leaving them in drunken lulls.


    This was when the priests changed their song. They began a quieter, almost mournful tune, but soon enough, it became slow, mellow, matching the bonfire that now began to flicker down. The bards and troubadours immediately recognized the telltale signs of a slow dance song and used their instruments toplement the priests, and as the familiar ring and hum and beat of their instruments rang in the ears of the crowd, a final burst of energy zapped through them.


    A slow song to end this night of festive energy ¨C the allure of that was hard to miss.


    The farming couples danced together, connected to their lovers by hand, shoulder, or waist, swaying to the mellow pace of the song. Several knights tried to find Jeanne, but instead found her teaching a few Lupi how to dance slowly and properly in the way ady should.


    Old Thane and Ivo, bereft of their loved ones, simply sat together on the grass, watching others'' happiness with smiles just as Li did.


    The high strung Feli and harpies, hearing this slower song, simply fell asleep, curled up away from the crowd. The only Feli that actively tried dancing were the two with Azhar. But the Lupi were curious, and they reached out to the humans.


    Both knight and single male adventurers were eager to teach the Lupi how to dance, and soon, natural pairings formed. Adventurers that were couples danced together, and Li noticed Launcelot taking turns dancing with each of his party members.


    "It''s good to see you again," said Li.


    "You are impossible to sneak up on." Sylvie''s form materialized behind Li, as if shaping up from the shadows themselves.


    "I''m a good listener." Li stood up and patted grass from himself. He looked down to Sylvie, and she looked bashfully away.


    "And here-here is my request. Will you dance with me?" said Sylvie quietly. "I know how you feel about me, and I am not expecting anything out of this. It is just that I have always wondered what it was like to dance with a man, and you, I am mostfortable with."


    Li reached out and took one of Sylvie''s hands. "Of course, but I have to confess I''m no dancer myself."


    "Ah, finally something you are not good at. It will be interesting to be the teacher for once." Sylvie put her other hand over Li''s.


    "Well, don''t get used to it," said Li jokingly as he led her to the fading light of the bonfire.


    And amidst the slow dancing crowd, of men and women young and old, of beastwomen, of adventurers, knights, farmers, and all walks of life possible, Li and Sylvie blended in, joining in the slow and swaying dance.


    Li was not as clumsy as he thought he would be, the reflexes of his new body making him a fast learner, and he easily fell into pace with Sylvie, and she smiled wistfully as their hands interlocked, letting herself enjoy the moment, indulging in a slice of what could have been in some reality where things were different.


    A small taste of sweetness to let the bitterness of rejection pass just a little bit easier, and in a way, it was the same for Li as well.


    A taste of the life he could enjoy simply and humbly as a man before taking deep strides into the path he hadmitted himself as not merely man, but as divinity, as guardian, as protector.

 Chapter 175 - Prologue - Order

    <em>Late Fall, Season of Reddening Leaves</em>


    <em>Et, the Radiant Capitol of Soleil</em>


    It is said in old myth that when the supreme god Helios descended to the mortals, he fashioned for humans a great city wrought from solid sunlight, so brilliant and so pure that no demon nor evil could breach it.


    That city was Et, the current capitol of Soleil, and looking upon it, one would not doubt the validity of the myth. It was a sprawling city of incredible size,rge enough that Riviera, the smallest of the four capitol cities, could fit within the walls of Et five times over.


    The city''s design was reminiscent of the sun,prised of four concentric walls that each housed a district, and these walls were truly unique in that they were not clumsy, towering hunks of brick and metal. No, they were pure sunlight, barriers of magical golden energy that were said to be remnants of the forged sunlight that Helios fashioned, and to this date, nothing had ever breached them.


    Not the warring of men, not the frothing of demons, not the raging of dragons.


    Within the innermost ring of Et, there towered the royal pce, a fortress of white and gold and blue, and within the boundaries of those gilded walls - no, in a pocket of dimensional spacepletely sealed off from the outside world - there stood a domed room painted over with ck and iid with gems to signify the sun, stars, and celestial bodies.


    And within, the most powerful force in the entirety of Soleil, no, perhaps the entirety of the world known to man,y.


    Nine chairs nked a round table of gleaming marble, and atop those chairs sat the duchess Vivienne and the Ascendant Order.


    "The sun shines bright and fortunate that most of the Ascendant Order has finally convened in its entirety," said the duchess Vivienne, though her eyes did lock onto three empty seats. "As much an entirety as could be, given the peculiar circumstances."


    "Where the hells is Swift?" said Sea Shrike, an imposingly built andte middle aged man d not in bodysuit, but in scale-like bronze armor. His eyes shone bright and yellow through a curtain of ragged and clumped locks of ck hair. "We''ve all been called from our posts, important ones, aye, but Swift has the time toze about?"


    "Swift is on a mission of great significance," said Meld as she leaned forwards, her fingers interlocked together below her chin.


    Sea Shrike scoffed, the gills on his neck ring as he tugged at his unruly beard. "In Riviera, eh? The vacation city? A load of bollocks, I say to that. Boy''s likely drinking and eating his way to restful sleeps every day."


    "Meld is correct," said Vivienne. Her crown was humble in size, far less bulky than the old headpiece of Beaumont, appearing more like a sleek, slender tiara, but it still held a royal pride to it that showed in the glimmer of its diadems. "I have sent Swift there to mediate some¡­unsavory behavior from the priests of Light."


    "And is that a wise idea, your highness?" said Sea Shrike, his burly arms crossed. "The faith gives hope to the people, and the priests, though they be scummy, fattened pigs many a time, are still needed."


    "The duchess''s words are final," said Sunstar sternly. "I will not have them opposed."


    "Aye, if only Thunderstrike were here, he''d agree with me," grumbled Sea Shrike. He also looked to the three empty seats. "Our numbers are thinning rmingly fast. First, it was Valkyrie to the Elves'' new damned contraption, and now, Thunderstrike to some damned spirit."


    "Thunderstrike''s power will find a new heir, and my infiltration to the north has disabled the Elven war ballista," said Meld. "A threat to the north is unlikely, especially in consideration that we are not truly at full blown war, merely skirmishing across the Shuddering Spires.


    What is more important to talk about in this rare meeting where most of us can be gathered is that of the heir to Thunderstrike''s mystic lightning. Hopefully, one better suited to its responsibilities. On that end, Mindeye, my dear, have you perchance found any such heir yet?"


    Mindeye sat cross legged on her chair, her tiny frame almost looking like it was getting swallowed up by it. She was a child no more than ten, a little girl in long, wrinkled sundress and waist length white hair she twirled around her fingers.


    Wrapped around her forehead was ayer of bandages, splotches of dried blood speckled around them, but her eyes did not indicate any pain, simply a bored, tired look.


    "No," said Mindeye quietly.


    A hulking, distinctively inhuman figure stirred in a seat, this time, unlike Mindeye, the figure was not dwarfed by the seat, but instead was far toorge for it. Instead of sitting, it instead stood, its towering, spine studded dark green frame lowered hulkingly over the table.


    "In a way, that is to be quite expected," said the figure, its voice surprisingly calm, surprisingly gentle, somewhat hideously contrasting with the de-toothed, monstrous jaw that uttered them.


    "Unlike the rest of us where our abilitiese from within our blood and bodies, the power of Thunderstrike, though heroic in origin, is one that has been inextricably bonded to magic of some sort. Instead of relying on Mindeye''s intuitive sight which is far more aptly suited to homing in on heroes such as ourselves, perhaps we should rely upon the Arcana?


    Et holds the Fortuna, the most esteemed of Arcana academies, no? The Grand Visionary and his disciples are certain to be able to scry out a thunderstormden with mystical energy."


    "A fair insight, dear Monster," said Vivienne, smiling. "I was certain you would utilize your insight today, which is why I wished to bring you back from Trieste. I am correct to assume that the seditionists among the merchants there have been dealt with?"


    Monster smiled, and his green flesh shuddered like a desert mirage, his frame miraculously shrinking and shifting colors until he appeared to be an older man, distinctively human, a little overweight with fair skin unblemished by hard work.


    He was dressed in expensive tunic and trousers marked with royal purple patches that depicted the side profile of a seagull''s face ¨C the symbol of the Merchant''s Guild in Trieste.


    "All is well in the port city, your highness. The necessary minds have been twisted, and the necessary forms consumed."


    The duchess nodded. "Excellent. Then you shall see to it that the Fortuna is also adequately screened of treacherous thoughts before we rely upon them."


    "Most certainly," said Monster as he sat in his chair, his human form able to fitfortably within its bounds.


    "Then what''s this meeting called for?" said Sea Shrike. "Elvish bastards aren''t acting up and no rebellious plot to wrangle with because o'' that¡­Monster over yonder. I''ve a mighty important post in the southern seas making sure those damned Darkbeasts don''t flood the coast. I''d like to return and prevent the mass ughter o'' innocents in Duvin, if you please."


    "You dare talk to the duchess in such manner?" said Sunstar as he began to hover above his chair, the light around him growing brighter.


    "You want a scrap, sunny boy?" said Sea Shrike. "I''ve put down arrogant little whelps like you more times than these old bones can count."


    Mindeye shrunk into her seat, putting her hands over her ears and burying her face into her knees as she froze up, her breathing growing erratic.


    Meld immediately leaped out of her seat toe to Mindeye''s side, putting a gentle, soothing hand through the young girl''s hair.


    "Both of you," said Meld. "Would be wise to stop, lest you want her tosh out and reduce your brains to paste."


    Sea Shrike grumbled as he sat back into his seat, and Sunstar''s remained expressionless as he floated down.


    Meld got onto Mindeye''s seat and put the little girl on herp. Mindeye snuggled into the older hero, shivering.


    "This is a meeting of strategy, not apetition between fragile manhoods." Meld nodded to the duchess. "Might I ask how it is going in securing a recement for Valkyrie?"


    "Based on the information presented to me in ourst meeting, that would be the half hero in Riviera, no?" said Monster as he crossed his legs and put them atop the table.


    "Gods, the daughter of that poor priestess?" said Sea Shrike as he gave a pointed re to Sunstar.


    "What must be done must be done," said Sunstar simply.


    "An unlikely prospect," said the duchess. "The girl is far too attached to her adventuring life and invoking the memories of her past will not sway her."


    "Perhaps," said Monster as he looked at his fingers, watching them shift between human digits to ws to talons to tendrils. "I can be of assistance?"


    The duchess was firm. "No. Beyond her own will, she is protected by the Easterner."


    A brief silence settled across the room.


    "The Easterner, aye?" said Sea Shrike. "Have Mindeye take another look at him. The foreign fool''s likely nothing too special. I don''t understand why we the mighty hold such caution against one scrawny man who looks like his skin''s never seen a day under the summer sun."


    At the mention of the word ''Easterner'', Mindeye froze again, digging herself deeper into Meld''s warmth. The little girl desperately covered her ears with more vigor, her teeth chattering in abject fear.


    Meld picked Mindeye up with a sigh. "As insensitive as ever," she said as she left the meeting room, patting Mindeye''s head to calm her. She exited by simply walking through one of the walls, her form teleporting out.


    "It makes no damned sense," said Sea Shrike. "I pity the poor littless, aye, but what can she possibly see that renders her so mute?"


    If I may interject," said Monster.


    "What is it, monster," said Sea Shrike, uttering the word ''monster'' not as a chosen hero''s name, but as what the word meant literally ¨C a beast.


    "She disys signs of advanced mental trauma dependent on a single trigger, one that I have seen in the errant rages and distant stares of wartorn veterans, especially among those in the northern frontier whom face constant bombardment by Elven siege weaponry. It would be quite unwise to probe her further lest the condition of her mind fray and she bes unusable as an asset."


    "Then get a Fortuna arcana mage, witch, whatever the damned job is, to get a read on the Easterner for once," said Sea Shrike.


    "Quite interesting. Yes, very interesting," remarked Monster. "Thest time Mindeye was unable to get a read upon a being was when she attempted to reach into Torr Valeris, the domain of the dragons, and Meld spected that was because the Elder Dragon of myth that the mountain is supposedly built atop yet still lives, its presence far too ancient and far too powerful to prate whether it be through conventional magic or our heroic might."


    "Apply that same spection here, for regr irvoyance fails against him," said the duchess. "Assume that the Easterner holds the military might of a country. We do not cross paths with him for the damage he may wreak upon this duchy that holds so many wondrous lives is unimaginable.


    For now, he chooses a path of gentleness, and though he is making waves in the order of authority in Riviera, it is not anything too drastic. If anything, I quite like him there."


    "A being of that might left alone and unchecked in Riviera, one of the cardinal cities?" said Sea Shrike. "And you like him there? Your highness, have you gone mad?"


    The duchess raised her hand to check Sunstar from moving and responded with grace. "This meeting was not called to discuss the matter of the Easterner.


    I shall move on to our main topic of concern: the Sunspear of myth hasnded in the far western ranges of the Hintends, and the demons have mobilized to retrieve it, or, more urately, prevent anyone from wielding it."


    The duchess pped her hands, and the table glowed, bingpletely white with shining magical energy. Writing in ck light began to form atop the sheen of light, forming into detailed reports of the Sunspear''s location, the demon army''s movements, and possible courses of action to take.


    Monster sat up for once, eyes widened. "We have long known of the demonic horde''s advance, but the Sunspear? Why, with that, we will be the mightiest nation upon this continent, no, the entirety of this world.


    We may need not even need utilize <em>him</em> to best the demons."


    "I''d rather not use that sick old thing," said Sea Shrike with a hint of disgust. "Can''t the sun child work his magic again? Tear the Burning One from limb to limb?"


    "I <em>have</em> tried flying west," said Sunstar. He crossed his arms. "The demons have adapted. They have the means to defeat me with magic of foul nature that not the best of the Arcana can decipher. If I had stayed there any longer, they would have corrupted my mind."


    "Would it be wise for me to waste my time infiltrating the Fortuna?" said Monster. "Sunstar is our sword and spear, but it appears the enemy has an apt shield readied against him this time. But my mind is wired quite¡­differently. Perhaps I can be the silent dagger that slips past their bulwark to slit their throats unawares."


    "Aye, I''d dly abandon my post to ward off the demonic horde, too," said Sea Shrike. "The fate of humanity depends on this after all. The demonic rats have to cross past the vast breadth of the spiritshade river to fullypass the Hintends, and that connects to the oceans - I can bring the full might of the western and southern seas bearing down upon them."


    "If you two must be called, then I will call you. For now, do as I have instructed," said the duchess calmly. "If the demons concentrate their attack upon Soleil, then the elves may attempt to make use of our weakness. I cannot have more members of the Ascendant Order away from their posts."


    She nced for the slightest of moments to Meld''s empty set. "The demons will make their way to the hintends. The primordial spirits in the Howling Groves will not hold them long. Then, they will crash down upon the insmen of the hintends.


    The demons have no true strategy. They swarm and they overpower. There will be a chaotic, full-scale confrontation.


    There, that will be the optimal environment to ce our creature."


    "The hintenders are subjects of Soleil, too," said Sea Shrike. "And that thing knows not friend or foe. Even should it best the demons, it will not stop. It will condemn all the hintenders to death, and it may even head to Riviera."


    "The hintenders are subjects in name only,"mented Monster. "Realistically, they could be sacrificed, and analytically, they are the most likely group within the duchy to rebel, considering the persecution they faced under Beaumont and the shaky eptance they find even now. Their destruction also heralds the end of the primal spirits which stand in opposition to an unified faith of Light.


    As the saying goes - two birds, one stone.


    And, if the thing falls to the demons, then we are rid of its presence, and the demons will surely be vastly weakened. If it heads to Riviera, then Mindeye can pacify it. If she cannot calm the it, then, well, we will finally solve the mystery of the Easterner''s power that you so very much wish to know, will we not?"


    Sea Shrike leered at Monster. "And the lives sacrificed for this stunt? What of them, monster?"


    "What must be done, must be done," said Sunstar. "Unless you wish to oppose us so far from your beloved waters."


    Sea Shrike clenched his fists and then shook his head. "I swore thest I would spill needless life was in overthrowing that rotten fool Beaumont. I sank thousands of ships in Sunclear Lake that day all for the sake of a greater peace, to not be ves of the Elves, and that peace, I do see now.


    But I cannot make that sacrifice again."


    "And I am not asking you to," said the duchess. "That is why I want you at your post to the south, defending our seas where it is most vulnerable. Do your duty as you would want to, fending against those with little to their name."


    "Then I''ll stay here no longer," growled Sea Shrike as he stood and left, his form vanishing when he hit one of the room''s walls.


    Vivienne looked to Sunstar, then to Monster. "It appears then those remaining are simply all of like mind. I will brief Meld personally at ater time. Sunstar,e with me, and Monster, I trust you will live up to the name you have chosen for yourself."


    "It would be my utmost pleasure, though a tad bit tediouspared to vampire hunting," said Monster as he bowed before heading off. The duchess and Sunstar left as well, leaving the meeting room entirely empty aside from the figure of Meld which materialized out from the wall, stretching out from a shadow an aged portrait cast down.

 Chapter 176 - Prologue II - Aid

    <em>Late Fall, Season of Reddening Leaves</em>


    <em>Daedalus, Flying Dreadnought of the Republic</em>


    The skies above the Republic were sunny and blue, the outlines of every fluffy white cloud clearly visible. Yet close observers watching the sky might have noticed the asional misshapen cloud, warped and curled at their edges or parted down the center like some enormous mass had passed through them.


    And yet, the skies were clear. Such was the marvelous cloaking of Daedalus, the flying ship of the Elven Republic and widely considered its true capitol with how much time the Imperator Lucius Vindicus III spent on it.


    Few would me Lucius.


    The Daedalus was likely the most formidable weapon of war in the world, and it made sense for its origins hailed from another world entirely, one where the marvels of technology had reached fantastical peaks that far overshadowed magic, greatly outpacing even the technology that the Republic itself currently relied on.


    It was not a stretch to say that there was no safer ce on the world than atop the Daedalus.


    Lucius stood with his hands behind his back in the front of the circrmand room. He was perched atop an elevated metal tform at the center where he had a view of the room around him. Monitors mimicking windows formed the walls of the room, showing a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view outside the aircraft.


    Lucius''s one good eye flitted from side to side, the golden pupil shining against ck sclera.


    Nothing of much note worth. The western ranges of the Republic were yet safe, the airspace unclouded aside from a thinyer of grey smog that had risen from the industrial centers further east and north.


    But of course, Lucius was not here to merely scout. That was the job of themand crew, and for them, underneath every window-like monitor, were control panels as well as a plethora of glowing buttons and switches.


    Right now, however, the Daedalus flew on autopilot, with Lucius having sent themand crew temporarily away for his real purpose. He kept an eye on the monitor directly in front of him, the one that showed what stood right in front of the ship, and soon enough, through a veil of thick fog, the towering stone face of mount Torr Valeris appeared.


    Lucius could understand why, when the superstition of rabble still held strong clutch over the wills of the elves, many believed the mountain to be a link between the earth and the heavens.


    Torr Valeries was massive. Far, farrger than any mountain.


    Simply the face of the mountain was so wide that it was impossible to tell where it began and ended, stretching endless into the horizon. In the monitor, it appeared to be like an impossibly tall wall of rock. Its peak escaped normal eyesight even from this elevation where the Daedalus flew side by side with clouds.


    "Does it awe your little mortal eyes to gaze upon our grand abode, elf?" came a high-pitched, girlish voice. "Though, in your case, it is but one eye."


    Lucius''s elven ears twitched, their tips almost vibrating as they felt the intense surge of magical energy congregate behind him. It was a crushing feeling, this magic, a heavy, suffocating sensation that crawled from his ears to his head down to his chest, but he did not turn around.


    "A pleasure to meet you, too, Valerikynthimos," said Lucius, his voice gruff and grating.


    "Please, my surname is far too unwieldy when spoken in your crudenguage. Call me Aenshei. And it is no pleasure to reduce myself to listening to the prattling of inferior beings, but in my boundless generosity, I do."


    Lucius felt the presence behind him circle around until it floated just in front of him. The figure of an Elven child, her lengthy blonde hair tied into two tails that hung below her shoulders. She was dressed in typical Elven garb. White tunic and robes wrapped with a sky-blue sash that indicated she was Puriter, of full Elven blood ¨C a first ss citizen.


    "This form again?" said Lucius, a hint of distasteden in his tone.


    "I thought you''d like it," said Aenshei as she floated up to Lucius''s tform, taking a seat atop his own control panel. "It always does seem that the older and sterner your kind bes, the more perverse their generation grows, and you, little one, are nearing 170 ¨C the twilight of your existence draws near, and that is when your kind be ever more desperate, ever more depraved."


    Lucius maintained a stony expression, his striking ck eye never widening, never showing emotion, only ever shooting a piercing stare forwards. "Halt this nonsense."


    "Or perhaps, you would prefer this?" A sparkling sheen of white covered Aenshei''s form, and when it dissipated, she had be entirely different. She now had the form of a young elven woman.


    Typically attractive in the way Elves were. Tall and slender with elegant features. Curly locks of red hair ¨C the same shade as that which flowed down from Lucius''s own head ¨C spilling down her forehead and just barely covering her gold and ck eyes.


    "I see that dragonkin have no respect for the dead," said Lucius as he gazed at the spitting image of his daughter, back when she was alive, when times were far less tumultuous, far less chaotic.


    "The dead of lesser creatures amuses me not, but I should stop squandering time." Aenshei yawned before the same white sheen covered her again, this time transforming her into yet another elven woman, but this time, it was the regr avatar she adopted when interacting with elves.


    A tall, slender Elf dressed in ck robes with roughly cut, neck-length hair that radiated many colors ¨C ck, red, gold, white, green, blue ¨C all in rhythmic session. Rocky draconic horns sprouted from the sides of her head, and behind her unfurled a pair of wed and scaled wings, each wingrger than her own body.


    "Now then, speak your business with the dragonkin of Torr Valeris, and pray that your words are amusing enough to ensure your survival."


    "My scouts have reported mass demonic activity encroaching eastwards from the center of chaos. The invading swarm has mobilized," said Lucius.


    "Hm? And what of it?" said Aenshei as she looked at her ws.


    "Were you aware of this?"


    Aenshei shrugged. "Certainly. A member of a tainted bloodline made her way to the mountain sometime ago. Beseeched us for aid and spoke of the encroaching demonic horde."


    "And?"


    "I slew her for her insolence in tainting the sacred space of Torr Valeris with her impure blood, of course. And the daughter she spoke of too shall be purged soon," Aenshei sighed and gave a disappointed look to Lucius.


    "Come now, Lucius, are you here also to grovel for our assistance? For none shall we give. The matters of mortals and demons and undead and spirits are all the matters of ants, for all we could care, with some ants being bigger than others."


    "Then I hold no further business being here," said Lucius curtly. "I did note here to kneel. I am herergely to inform. After all, in the Republic that wees all races, you, the dragons, upy the highest seat, and it is my duty as Imperator to ensure that all the races within our great Republic are defended and represented."


    "And you know well that it is a formality. We simply wish to upy the top of any hierarchy such that you lot understand you are below us. Any matters of governance, well, that is why you are the Imperator, no?"


    Aenshei giggled as she looked at Lucius''s stern posture. "My, are you, perhaps, worried about your people? Are you certain you can do without our aid? This could be the cataclysmic vision you witness in your sleep.


    The one that spurred you to sacrifice almost the entirety of the Club Tribes and forests to summon another quaint trinket such as the one we stand upon, but I hear that ritual failed, no?"


    "Our current military capabilities are adequate to fend against the demonic horde," said Lucius simply. "I simply wished to ask the dragons if they wished to lend some form of aid as a formality, but if none will be given, then we should part ways now."


    Aenshei smiled. "Did the club tribes scream?"


    Lucius red at Aenshei.


    "I wonder, little old Lucius," continued Aenshei. "How you tricked them all into that ritual. How they must have felt as their bodies dissolved slowly and painfully into nothingness all in the name of aiding a Republic they have no concept of.


    A Republic they were conquered into and where they spent their lives as third-rate citizens. Glorified ves building the skyward towers and smoke spewing mounds you so heavily rely upon, their ugly forms packed away into reservations where your clean elven kin would not have to face guilty consciences seeing them.


    And yet, you stand here tall and proud, chest puffed up, the belief of moral superiority strongly embedded in your head. What is it that spurs you? Some notion of a greater good? I hope not, little one, because that would be oh so very boring and quite overdone."


    "We are done here," said Lucius, his face expressionless but his jaw set.


    "Then so be it," said Aenshei. "Do take care not to fall to the demons as your dear daughter did, little one. Unlike many of my kind, I find some amusement in the thrashing of mortals, and I still see much potential in you."


    Aenshei pushed herself off the panel and vanished, her form instantly dissipating in a cloud of sparks.


    Lucius calmly reached out and pressed abination of buttons on the panel, navigating eastwards, back to Elven territory. Knowing the dragons and their motto of inaction and disinterest, he had not truly expected any direct aid. More so he was here to confirm their inaction as that would confirm they would not interfere with his own ns.


    He did not feel disheartened any for aid as well, for he had plenty.


    He put his hands in front of him and thumbed the ring on his index finger. A ring fashioned in the shape of two serpents devouring each other.

 Chapter 177 - Guild I

    <em>Late Fall, Season of Reddening Leaves</em>


    <em>Riviera, the Western City of the Dove</em>


    Li sat around the cottage dinner table as he had done countless times before, and yet, the fact that the chair was new, made of sturdy wood that no longer squeaked, and that the table had been refurnished and stamped at its center with a glowing rune symbolizing a red blossom ¨C the symbol of the farmer''s guild ¨C made him aware that times were changing.


    His eyes, now permanently aglow with a faint green hue ¨C a result of his enhancedfortability with his divinity over the past two months ¨C scanned the table to take note of farmer''s guild council.


    First, right beside Li as always was Old Thane, the Master of Fields, then beside Thane was Ven''thur, the Master of Commerce, in his human form, his skinny figure wrapped up in shyvender suit.


    Across them at the other side of the table were Ivo, Master of Ceremonies, and a new face. Sindra, the Master of Coin, was a Feli beastwoman, dressed prim and proper in a brown suit jacket covering a dark green, almost ck bodice.


    Behind them, theforting and ever unchanging warmth and sound of the firece flickered and crackled, helping a tablesidentern in providing light during this night.


    "Now to begin our weekly guild meetings," said Li. He nced at Sindra. "And Sindra, you really do not have to dress up for these meetings."


    "No, I do not, but I will because it is this guild''s uniform," said Sindra as she sat up ramrod straight, her hands neatly ced atop each other on the table, her ws retracted but still visible.


    "Ass of principle. Commendable, I ought to say," said Old Thane.


    "Hear, hear," chimed in Ivo.


    "And you two are maybe a little too casual about this," said Li as he nced at Old Thane and Ivo. They were dressed in their regr farm clothes, though Ivo did have a wreath of leaves around his arm to indicate his position as a high priest. "We are a guild of some importance now. Maybe we should dress the part."


    Li himself was dressed in simr getup to Sindra with brown jacket and a dark green button-down shirt.


    "That, I do agree with," said Ven''thur as he ran a white gloved hand through his salt and pepper beard. His amethyst eyes lightened up as he beheld the clothes on Sindra and Li. "My design is quite elegant, if I must humbly say so myself, and it would do wonders toplement the ruggedplexions and builds of you older gentlemen as well."


    "Then why do you not wear it?" asked Sindra, her cat ears twitching.


    "Hoh, that is because I wish to simply be a tad bit more expressive," said Ven''thur with a wagging finger, as if admonishing Sindra for even suggesting he change out from his usual eye catching garb. "After all, as Master of Commerce, building rtionships is of utmost importance, and I cannot sear myself in the memories of others lest I am clothed in my finest."


    "It does not feel too right," said Ivo with a shrug. "The formal wear is nice, but it is a little tight."


    "Not the wear of working men, aye," nodded Old Thane.


    "Forget I mentioned the topic," said Li with a smile. "It really does seem like age just makes people that much more stubborn."


    "More set in our principles you mean,d," said Old Thane with augh.


    "Right, right," said Li. "Now let''s get to the meeting itself. It iste, and the quicker we get through this, the less likely it is we''ll wake up Tia. Give me all your general reports, starting as usual with you, old man."


    Old Thane nodded. "The fields have borne much fruit. The Goldwheat, as the people are now calling it, grows well and proper, unblemished by this month''s surge of storms and chilling weather."


    "My blessings are working properly, then," said Li. In two months, he had made, at least in his mind, what he thought was incredible progress in attuning himself with his divinity.


    He had memorized andmitted to his being the life songs of a variety of nts now, and he had advanced himself enough to even alter them, granting them blessings to make them more suited to changes in weather and soil.


    "Aye,d, and the nting of our third crop of Goldwheat has just finished. The beastwomen are mighty fine workers with tireless strength and enthusiasm, though I do fear that perhaps fieldwork bes too dull for them."


    "Right, but it looks like the other jobs are keeping them busy," Li nodded. Some of the beastwomen, especially the Feli, had at first been quite curious about farmwork, but had begun to naturally lose interest over the past two months.


    As a result, Li and Old Thane had devised new jobs for them.


    First there were scouting jobs meant to scour the forests to see if any threats were approaching or to check for rare finds for certain herbs, fruits, and roots.


    Then there were hunting parties that, now that they were supplemented with the speed and strength of Feli and Lupi, provided more than enough meat for the farmingmunity.


    Finally, there were guarding jobs meant to protect the various herbalist stalls that the guild had now set up outside the city walls now that the priests had learned enough from Iona to form basic potions.


    "Indeed, and it is mighty impressive to see the beastwomen learning so quickly. They are as quick with their minds as they are with their feet, grasping themon tongue of man well."


    "We''re to give much thanks to Sindra and the Serpi for that," remarked Ivo.


    Li nodded to Sindra, who held her head up ever so slightly, her expression disinterested but her ears twitching in appreciation for the praise.


    "Having lived among man for many years and working in the city hall of Riviera, interacting with both rabble and nobility, I suppose I was uniquely suited to teaching my kin to adapt," said Sindra. "But enough about me. The matter at hand is your report, Thane Bloodfist."


    Old Thane scratched his head. "Hrm, what else was there. It does muddle me mind a bit, having to think of so much more than mine own field, hah."


    He rapped his knuckles on the table in recognition. "Ah, there is the other crop, too. Carrots, cabbages, peas, rye, and the like. The farmers that have decided to grow berries. An apple orchard has also been nted, and ise has been trying his darndest to grow the grapes that Lte graced us with."


    "Once I get some time, I''ll bless those grapes too," said Li. He had blessed all the other crops, inscribing their life songs to his being and enchanting them with better growth and resistance to the elements.


    He did not go overboard with his blessings for with too many changes to a crop''s life song, its cadence became distorted, unnatural, and would lead to it withering or, as he found out in rare cases, twisting into low level nt monsters.


    ise was the farmer that, at the festival, had worked the alcohol stand. He was a middle-aged man, but when heid down his plow, he decided to take up brewing as his profession, and it had stayed with him. Now, he fervently tried to grow grapes for his own wine that Lte, the owner of Lakeside Bounty, was willing to donate.


    "But for now," continued Li. "It seems like everything rting to the fields is going well. Our first two harvest yields were exceptional, and I do not see any reason why our third in thising month will not be either.


    Then, onto Sindra who probably has the hardest job out of all of us."

 Chapter 178 - Guild II

    Sindra, as Master of Coin, was responsible for the monumentally important task of maintaining the guild''s finances that at first Li, as someone familiar with working with numbers, did.


    She had joined the guild almost a month after it was formed, quitting her job at the City Hall as a receptionist and file organizer.


    When she knocked on Li''s cottage door one morning, he had recognized her, knowing her to be the standout Feli that worked in the city hall amid humans, the one that had talked to him when he was filing out paperwork to obtain a herbalist''s license, but never would he have expected her to have be such an important part of this guild.


    "Our finances have reached a new peak, though, if my calction of its trajectory is to be correct, I should assume it shall be the first of many peaks." Sindra''s voice was formal and she clearly enunciated every syble of her words ¨C the mark of someone who had been taught thenguage as opposed to having grown up with it.


    She reached down to her seat to withdraw a stack of papers from a satchel which she then neatly ced atop the table, smoothing out the paper before reading through it.


    "As expected, the sale of elixirs has yet to break even with the costs of constructing and maintaining the equipment necessary for it. Of course, the entire purpose was to simply introduce the concept of elixir making at arger scale to the Rivieran popce, so I do not consider this a true loss.


    In terms of gains, however, the first harvest of the much coveted Goldwheat and its distribution throughout the citypletely wiped out any debt rued from starting the guild. The contracts with the restaurants in the upper end of Riviera, in particr, haveted us many high-profile funders, of which Lakeside Bounty is still ourrgest contributor.


    The second harvest has provided a surplus of wheat, and to prevent the market from copsing, ck Securities and their various contractors have begun the process of exporting the wheatst week. The profits from that I project will be monumental, setting us at a gold base worthy of sitting upon the Trade Circle."


    Sindra nodded to herself, indicating she had finished reading her notes.


    "We should get an invitation soon, then, and when it doese, let''s hold another meeting," said Li. The Guild Circle was a councilprised of thergest and most influential guilds in Riviera whose votes influenced the flow and goods throughout the whole city.


    With the farmers and the old faith revitalized and backed by Li''s goldwheat grain and other blessed seeds, they were quickly set to dominate the entire market for agricultural goods. This in turn set the farmer''s guild off on a bad foot with the merchant''s guild, for Riviera, once an importer of farmed goods from Duvin, now was quickly on track to bing easily self-sufficient.


    Of course, farmed goods were but one of many types of goods that the merchant''s guild shipped, but they did not like that they were losing any ounce of control.


    "You will not check my numbers?" asked Sindra to Li, her head cocked just a little.


    Li shook his head.


    When Sindra had first appeared, Li had been a little doubtful about her ability to handle numbers and had checked them over. From the jumpy and curious Feli he had seen, they were not at all suited to sitting down and crunching numbers, but Sindra waspletely different.


    She did not like to talk much about her past, but it was evident she had been educated, and highly at that, having studied in the university at Riviera. She used the lightning fast thought processing of her species, usually adapted to the high intensity environment ofbat, to excel in academia, but due likely much to her appearance, she was denied any job of real significance in the city hall.


    When she heard that her own kin had been liberated here and were to form their ownmunity, she had stepped in to help.


    "Very well then," said Sindra coolly, though once again, her ears twitched, proud of herself that Li no longer checked her work anymore.


    "My turn, then," said Ven''thur with a light p of his hands. "The contracts with the restaurant owners and ck Securities have gone along splendidly. This month, however, I am to meet a few representatives of both the Temple of Light and the Merchant''s guild, no doubt to hear them voice their own respectiveints."


    "And those are?" said Li.


    "The matter of healing for the temples. There is a tentative and unspoken agreement that the temple of light treats themon people for they are far morefortable with its familiar presence, but the adventurers and vigers from outside the city prefer our elixirs, favoring portable healing.


    It is likely I am to make this agreement official. To put it on paper, so to say."


    "Try not to let the temple have aplete monopoly over healing for the regr citizens," said Li. "They are not yet fullyfortable with us, but in time, they will be."


    "I shall keep that in the back of my skull," said Ven''thur with a sly smile. "And as to the matter of the merchant''s guild, well, I expect some standard thinly veiled threats to begin with."


    "Really now? Even when they know that a high priest of the light got smote down by us?" said Li. "I thought that would be threat enough. I really do not have the time and effort to be wasting on intimidating more fools."


    "Oh, I assure you that I can handle that," said Ven''thur. "But when the threats fail toe to pass, I am sure the merchants will be more willing to negotiate with clearer heads. Until then, I shall do my best to limit harm to them or the rogues they hire."


    "Nobody better to do that than you," said Li.


    When it came to subduing without harming, Ven''thur was a master with his expertise in mind manipting magic. Plus, the lich was quite good with his words and had been a good Lawspeaker when he was yet human.


    All he had to do was brush up onws he was a few centuries behind on, but when he did so, he made an incrediblypetent Master of Commerce that was not only good at negotiating, but also immune to brazen threats.


    It also helped that the temple of Light was still being monitored by Swift, and it was evident even further measures had been made as the Head Priest of the temple had stepped down and been reced.


    A few weeks after Li had almost melted the high priest into mush, he had heard tell of some of the priests drumming up outrage against the old faith, but before that could lead to anything, the Head Priest of the entire temple retired.


    More likely, the duchess had ordered the head priest to retire, and with that, things became quiet again, leaving just the Merchant''s Guild to contend with.


    Ven''thur leaned back into his chair, indicating he was done reporting


    "Then Ivo, I already know what''s going on in your end," said Li. "So, as usual, let''s n for the future."


    Ivo, as Master of Ceremonies, was responsible for everything rted to the old faith. Management of the priesthood, procession of faith based ceremonies, and the like. But as Li''sfortability with his divinity had increased, so had his range of powers.


    He could inherently sense where Ivo was at any time. To a lesser degree, he could also focus to know where the other priests were and what they were generally doing, and the less advanced in their faith someone was to Li, the less he could perceive them innately.


    This allowed Li to have a general sense of what his priests were doing, so he had no real reason to ask for reports from Ivo in the same manner as he did with the others.


    "Yes, Good Seer," said Ivo with a deep nod.


    "I have heard tell from the harpies that they have scouted almost an army of orcs nearing the Winterwoods and headed straight to Riviera.


    What do you propose we do about this?"

 Chapter 179 - Dream

    Ivo crossed his arms as he sat back in his chair, his eyebrows furrowing in thought.


    "The harpy girl told of a force fifty strong, and judging by the stony skin of the orcs, they are of Spikeridge variant," said Ivo.


    Li noted that Spikeridge orcs were around level thirty to forty, averaging ten levels above regr orcs and possessing hardened, stone-like skin adapted from living in a harsh, dry environment which in this case would have been the arid and rolling ins of the hintends.


    "From the hintends, then,"mented Old Thane with a surprised nod.


    Understandable surprise.


    The hintends were far from the Winterwoods. Essentially an entire country''s worth of distance away, separated from the Winterwoods not only by several smaller forest systems, but also by a vast elevated ridge that needed either a dangerous days'' worth of climbing to pass or several days of arduous uphill trekking.


    There was one t path that linked the Hintends to the western territory of Soleil, but that was a highly visible trading path, and no force of orcs could get through it without raising a ruckus that would bring adventurers and hintenders crashing down on them.


    Any orcs from the hintends that had made it this far would have gone through a long journey, to say the very least.


    "Yes, and that means they are far, far from home," said Li. "I initially suspected they were being driven here, but if they had, then we would have heard about their approach. Surely, they would have ransacked at least a few of the many frontier viges that lie between the Winterwoods and the Hintends."


    "Mighty strange, aye," said Old Thane. "I know me orcs well. A simpler bunch than us, aye, but mighty driven to goals. They set their sights on a raid, and they will eagerly lose limb and even life for it. But these orcs are no raiders ¨C none of the many frontier viges they would have passed between the Hintends and the Winterwoods have been ransacked else we would have heard tell."


    "That leads me to believe they''re here for something. Even now, when they''re a mere days march away from the Winterwoods, they move carefully.


    Isma, the raven harpy who found them, likes to silently glide over and past the Winterwoods during the night to soothe her nerves, and if it had not been someone as quiet as her, no doubt the orcs would not have been visible. They intentionally traveled in such a way to keep a low profile, likely moving only in night, and actively avoiding human settlements."


    "There is the matter of their numbers as well," said Ivo. "Fifty is no moving popce. It is more arge party, and parties move not to survive, but to set their sights on a goal, as Thane says."


    "A goal? Hrm." Old Thane put a hand to his beard. "If the brutes had wanted to raid, then they''d have been better off sacking the viges. No adventurer nor knightly guard to fend them off there."


    "Instead, they march straight to the Winterwoods, aiming right to the heart of Riviera," said Ivo. "I fear their aim is the city itself."


    "Perhaps I can go and, hm, persuade one of these fine fellows into telling us of their ns?" said Ven''thur.


    Li''s rejection was swift. "No. You stay in the city. You and Sindra absolutely need to hold down our business in Riviera because the rest of us spend so little time there. Even one day without either of you there might mean we miss crucial happenings in the city."


    "As you wish, Guildmaster," said Ven''thur, tipping his ck bowler hat.


    Ivo uncrossed his arms, his expression determined. "Then, Good Seer, I propose this: that I take our order of priests and intercept them as they enter the woods, where the terrain will be vastly to our advantage. With but a little of your assistance, I see no harm falling upon us nor to the good citizens of Riviera."


    "A sound idea, but perhaps we can add a few elements to it," said Li. "I know you want to minimize as much harm as you can to anyone that is not us, but that alone will not spread word of the good that you, my priests, can do.


    Inform the Adventurer''s Guild at first light tomorrow about the iing orcs. Fifty Spikeridge orcs is enough of a threat that they will dispatch the highest ranked teams currently in Riviera along with a contingent of light priests.


    They will serve as witnesses."


    "But what if harmes upon them?" said Ivo, worried.


    Li put the priest''s mind to ease. "I will minimize that risk. Position yourself and your priests along with the adventurers and light priests further back in the forest.


    I will stay out at the edge of the Winterwoods and confront them by myself at first. I will question them of their purpose, and if it is truly one seeking refuge, then I will grant it to them for they have not done any harm so far.


    If they are hostile, then I will let them pass in the forest, and I will grant you, my priests, more than enough power to utterly crush them. If needs be, I will send Iona or one of my Justicars to aid you. We do not need to have the adventurers and light priests fight.


    They simply have to know and watch of the good the Old Faith brought to Riviera."


    "Your word is my will, Good Seer," said Ivo with bowed head.


    "Good, now let''s get some sleep while we can," said Li. "Tomorrow will be a long day."


    =========================


    Li retired to his room. The one built by Old Thane and Aine long ago, meant for a child they never had. The single window streamed in bright beams of moonlight, lighting up where a crib likely would have been,forting the child from the dark.


    Li had always thought in some measure that it was symbolic that this was his room, but now that feeling was even more apparent for now there truly was a child here.


    Lying wrapped up in a snug cocoon of fur skin nkets was Tia.


    She had changed vastly since she was two months ago, to say the very least.


    Once Tia had started consuming higher quality food from the high end restaurants, she had started to grow at an rming pace. When Li consulted Azhar, he had said it was unsurprising, noting that wyrms reached physical maturity to fend for themselves within just one to five years.


    But Li had never imagined the growth would be this rming .Two months ago, at the festival''s end, she had already been capable of easily smashing through the cottage wall before, but within a month, Tia had outgrown any reasonable size capable of fitting into the cottage.


    Thus, Li had been forced to put her outside, telling her that she had outgrown the cottage. But the first night he had set her outside had been the veryst, for she considered space apart from Li to be a threat necessary to evolve to face against, and to do so, she had used hertent magic to forge an alternate form for herself ¨C a human form, as was customary for most dragonkin with magical potential and a need to interact with other species.


    Li had to admit it was far more convenient. He sat beside Tia, making sure the nkets were wrapped tight around her little body. Her face poked through the nkets, and it looked just like any other human girl''s.


    She was asleep, her eyes closed tightly shut with her mouth slightly open, revealing sharp fangs meant to rip and tear. Her lengthy hairy scattered around her head in a ragged mess, and, illuminated by the moonlight, it was possible to see that though her hair at first seemed ck, it was actually a shade of deeply dark green.


    Li patted her head, brushing stray curls of hair aside from her eyes and nose and putting them behind her horns. In the moonlight, her horns were truly striking. She had two sets that emerged from her temples, one set a shade of ck and another a shade of light, almost shining green.


    Tia looked around ten years old, and that was the age that Li had been treating her throughout the past month as he became more and more used to caring for her in her new form.


    Li watched with concern as Tia growled a little, her human vocal chords still strangely easily capable of making that deep, monstrous sound. Her brows scrunched up in something resembling a mixture of fear and anger, and she began to struggle under the nkets.


    Before she could shred the nkets to pieces with ws still very much present on her human fingers, Li roused her awake with a light shake.


    Tia''s eyes slowly flickered open. One eyepletely ck,cking even a pupil ¨C a solid sphere of darkness ¨C and the other shining green in the same shade as Li''s own eyes were. Her expression was groggy, but even then, she still looked a little fierce. Her brows were ck and sharply defined, curving at angles that seemed to grant her every look a bit of a scowl.


    "Is it the same nightmare?" said Li softly.


    Tia nodded as she sat up, drawing the nkets tighter to her before she went closer to Li''s side, putting her little head into his chest.


    "Yes, papa," she said faintly, and hearing that, Li could not help but feel somewhat strange.


    Not in an ufortable way, for Li had resolved from the very beginning to raise Tia, but now that she looked so very human and she could utter the words ''papa'', it felt odd in that he had never visualized himself as a father to a child, especially not in his past world.


    He would never have felt it right to have brought in a child to a world so hopeless, and though there were many orphans to adopt from, he knew his lifestyle was ipatible with giving a child the time and love they deserved.


    But now, here he was, embracing a child ¨C an orphan ¨C who clung to him as her father figure, her source offort when she felt fear, her source of warmth when she felt cold, her source of support when she felt alone.


    Li did not feel any reservations about raising Tia as his own daughter, but it still felt surreal that just half a year ago, he would never have considered himself capable of raising a child. Though, he realized, that was who he had been a world away.


    "Cold. Felt cold," said Tia with a shiver. "Water and ck things."


    "Shadows," corrected Li. Tia, though she grasped thenguage at an extremely fast rate, still was imperfect in its usage, and one of his jobs through the past month had been sitting her down and teaching her that not everything was hunting and fighting.


    Speaking of, Tia was still as bloodthirsty as ever when it came to the fight, easily capable of shifting into her draconic form when she really wanted to indulge herself.


    "Shadows," repeated Tia with a nod. "Water and shadows. All around me. Cold and scary. Alone."


    "You''re not alone. I''d never let you be," said Li as he hugged her. "Come on, I''ll show you the happy dream."


    Li adjusted himself, sitting cross legged, and Tia smiled, lying down with her head atop his leg as she closed her eyes.


    "Where go today?" said Tia.


    "Where will we go today," corrected Li. "But where will we go? Well, let''s go where the forest leads us this time. More of an adventure that way."


    Li put a hand to Tia''s forehead and closed his own eyes, entering a state of divine meditation, his consciousness splitting from his human form in an instant, leaving him in the midst of the Winterwoods, at the very heart of his shrine.

 Chapter 180 - Dream II

    Tia had been having a recurring nightmare of darkness and water for the past two weeks, which did concern Li, but he had also been informed that with the development of magic came changes to the mind which could trigger nightmares.


    Nothing of significance, though, and ording to Azhar when Triple Threat was stationed in Riviera that it was something that would pass with time as Tia became more and more familiar with her powers.


    Li put a hand to Tia''s forehead and closed his own eyes, entering a state of divine meditation, his consciousness splitting from his human form in an instant, leaving him in the midst of the Winterwoods, at the very heart of his shrine.


    This was very much like the astral projection spells of the game, but Li knew this was fundamentally different. It was no spell; it was simply an extension of his natural abilities that came with bing more familiar with his godly nature.


    Beside Li stood Tia, her figure a ghostly, see-through silhouette much like his. She held firmly onto his hand, and just as he could feel the heartbeat of the shrine next to him, he could feel Tia''s own life pulsing through her tiny little hand.


    Because she was soulbound to him, she could follow him when he entered this state of meditation, and this, she always enjoyed, feeling a sense offort in being able to travel the forests with him in a context that did not involve the rush of hunting and killing.


    What she needed to soothe her nightmares was something much calmer, and this meditation served that exact purpose.


    "How about we let the winds carry us today," said Li as he looked out from his shrine, to the vast wide forest before him wreathed in dark and zed with the shine of moonlight. Iona was busy tonight, not present in the shrine, likely fixing up barren patches of earth from when the Winterwoods were still without guardian.


    "The winds fast. Too fast," said Tia, worried.


    "Tonight''s winds are slow and gentle. And don''t worry, even if they get faster, I''ll keep you close."


    Li grasped Tia''s spiritform hand tight as he let the winds carry them


    As if onmand, a gust rushed through the shrine and spirited their astral forms away, leading them wafting through the treetops, as if they had merged with the breeze itself.


    The wind carried them further up, above the treetops, and there, the moonlit night revealed a work of art. The Winterwoods unfurled beneath them, the many leafy heads of trees packed together, their branches tinged with silvery moonlight and swaying gently in the night''s chilly breeze.


    Ever since Li had established his shrine in the Winterwoods, it had rejuvenated itself. The trees that had once been skeletal in appearance, their trunks withered, their bark ashen, and their branches leafless, had filled out with life and leaves.


    The chill that once permeated the entirety of the woods had gradually begun to lose its icy grasp, letting colorful patches of flowers poke their heads through to embrace the newfound warmth. Or rather, the warmth that had always been there but had been stolen away with Morrigan''s death during the demon wars.


    "Look," said Li as he squeezed Tia''s hand and pointed down to a clearing. There, a small group of Red-Crested Deersy by a flowing spring. Their crests ¨C feathery crimson plumes that emerged from the center of their foreheads ¨C glowed in the dark as a means tomunicate with each other.


    "Tasty," said Tia as she looked longingly at the deer, her ws protruding. "Can we hunt?"


    "Not now," said Li as he patted her head. "I know you love to hunt, but there is a time for it. If you hunt all the time, soon enough, you will scare all the deer away, and there will be none more left."


    "Oh," said Tia as she cocked her head, her ws retracting as her eyes looked to the deer in a more peaceful light. "Then tomorrow."


    "Yes, tomorrow," said Li with a smile. "For now, though, let''s just watch them."


    Li caught another wind that was making its way down towards the deer, and they followed it down beside the spring where they sat, though none would be able to tell they were there for their spiritual forms made no physical impressions on the grass.


    Together, they watched the deer as they rxed by the spring contentedly. There were five, a small group, with one young buck judging by the nubs at his head that had yet to grow into full antlers, and four does.


    Through this meditation, Li could through his shrine interface in a way with the Winterwoods. He could move his consciousness throughout it and feel the flow of life everywhere. Generally, he felt a gentle, almost simmering warmth wherever he went which indicated that life was in bnce.


    The only time he had felt the cold touch of imbnce was a month ago, when a Darkbeast had made its way from a southern forest into the Winterwoods. To Li''s vision, it was a distinctively alien presence, jarringly chilling amid the natural warmth that surrounded it, and he had made sure to eliminate it swiftly.


    "What do you feel when you see them," said Li to Tia as he noticed her intently watching the deer, her mouth slightly agape as it usually was when she was concentrated.


    "Food," said Tia simply.


    "Not just food. Here-," Li took Tia''s hand and softly stretched it forwards, towards the deer. "Focus and try to feel what I am feeling."


    Li closed his eyes and focused his own mind on the warmth of life emanating from the deer.


    "Warm," said Tia.


    Li nodded. "Warm like Old Thane, right? Like Azhar, like Jeanne, like Sylvie."


    "Mm-hm." Tia smiled as she remembered everyone Li mentioned. Especially hearing Jeanne and Sylvie''s names made her happy as once she obtained a human form, the two girls had seen almost no end to spoiling Tia.


    "That means the same life flows through all of them. Through Jeanne and Sylvie and the deer. The life is warm, and that warmth is precious."


    Tia furrowed her brows. "So, no hunt?"


    Li shook his head. "You can hunt. But when you hunt, what you hunt gives you their warmth. It is a precious gift. Sometimes, you cannot take too much of it, sometimes, you do not take it at all.


    But always, when you do take, be thankful."


    From hearing Tia''s thoughts vocalized throughout the past month, he knew that there was some instinctual part of her that entrenched her as an apex predator. She had a rudimentary view of the world where might made right, where because she was strong, she had every right to devour the weak whenever she wanted to grow as strong as possible.


    Likely part of her draconic nature, and it made sense, given that her kind reached the pinnacle of monsterkind through constantly evolving by consuming others.


    Li did not want her to fallpletely to that instinct. It would breed an unhealthy arrogance, and, most importantly, ack of respect for the life around her.


    "Yes, papa," said Tia contentedly.


    Li looked at Tia giving him a toothy smile, and he did not know if she understood the full magnitude of what he had said, but he had no doubts that in time, she woulde to know with how quickly she caught onto things.


    "Good," said Li simply.


    "Warmth," repeated Tia to herself. She looked to Li a little quizzically. "Papa, you say deer warmth and people warmth the same, but your warmth different."


    "Because I''m your father," said Li. He knew it was likely because he truly was different, immortal and divine, but he did not want to imntplicated notions of divinity and the power that came with it into Tia''s head while he was trying to teach her to be more understanding of the mortal life around her.


    Tia hugged Li, nuzzling her head into his chest. "Much warmer than others. I like it."


    Li held Tia like that, putting aforting hand to her head, and in a few minutes, he felt her breathing grow slower, deeper, and soon enough, she was blissfully asleep in his arms.

 Chapter 181 - Preparations

    <em>Location: Riviera ¨C The Farmer''s Guild</em>


    Li and Ivo stood at the head of the meeting table in the Farmer''s Guild. Although originally a rtively smallwspeaking office, it had been significantly expanded with Alexei''s funds and influence, letting it hold not only a meeting room, but also an audience hall forrge scale announcements.


    Its location at the heart of the city nearby the City Hall and the Adventurer''s Guild also made it convenient for important figures in the city to ess, and right now, a crowd of adventurers packed the meeting room.


    A mid-afternoon sun streamed in through the windows of the second story room, casting the room in a warm, orange light. Beneath it, the shining armors, staves, and weapons of the adventurers sparkled in a vast array of colors.


    "That is the threat facing Riviera," said Ivo with a decisive nod as he cast an observing nce to the adventurers. For once, the man had donned the uniform of the Farmer''s Guild, and it was then that Li could notice how solidly built Ivo was.


    With the dress shirt and jacket wrapped around his form, it was easy to see the build of his wide shoulders. His frame was stocky and solid, barrel-chested, and made to endure and fight. An extremely far cry from his fragile state as an invalid a few months ago.


    "Hm," said Launcelot. His armor was now a beautiful blue ¨C the same shade as the crystal-clear waters of Lake Riviera. Li recognized the armor set as the Water Warden Set that heavily boosted regeneration and resistances.


    Perfect for a tank type fighter such as Launcelot, and one whose level requirements indicated that Launcelot had broken in the mid fortiespared to the mid thirties beforehand.


    "A force of fifty, you say? That will be quite¡­troublesome. Were the Gold-Ranked Triple Threat here, I would not worry, but as of now, my team Bulwark and Sword and Staff are the only two teams ranked Silver, and Spikeridge orcs would be a fierce foe even for us."


    "Them orcs are a fightin'' bunch. Tough old bastards, and they ain''t done til'' either they''ve torn yer throat out or you''ve taken theirs,"mented Vahid, the massive Hintender that formed the ''sword'' part of Sword and Staff, his mage partner providing the staff and support magic to back him.


    The other adventuring teams of Riviera, of which there were now five in the room, looked at each other nervously.


    "Don''t worry so much," said Li. With a marble stylus in hand, he tapped a thin, rectangr b of stone held up by a wheeled pedestal. The stone sparked with magical energy before turningpletely ck in color.


    Li began to use the stylus to draw out an outline of the edge of the Winterwoods, and, beside it, a round circle indicating the gathering of orcs. As the stylus made its way across the smooth stone, it left a trail of glowing and bright white, creating a ckboard of sorts.


    The contraption was called a Runeboard, and it was meant to teach runesmiths how to draw runes, but it also was often used as a general drawing board for ns, though its cost was prohibitive for themon person to use.


    "The orcs are here," said Li as he tapped to the scribbly ball that represented them. He then cast the stylus behind the line of the forest. "But if our intelligence is correct, they are going to make way straight into the Winterwoods. That is our domain ¨C the domain of the priests of the Old Faith."


    "And we shall provide support aplenty," said Ivo. "I daresay we will rid ourselves of the orc scourge without needing even to risk shedding adventurer blood."


    "If there is any way that we can be of assistance, we would be d to provide it," said Launcelot.


    "Ain''t that right," agreed Vahid, though it was apparent that the other adventurers, being bronze ranked, were far more apprehensive. But seeing the confidence of their silver superiors, they too nodded.


    Li understood the fear they were facing. A Spikeridge orc ranged from level 30 to 40, with warchiefs possibly going up all the way to the mid-fifties. In contrast, Bronze-ranked adventurers in this world were in the mid tote twenties level wise.


    They would get ughtered by a force of orcs in a direct confrontation.


    "Speaking of, though," said Li with narrowed eyes. "Fifty Spikeridge orcs is what I believe would be considered a Gold-ranked threat, and is it not Rivieran policy that the Temple provides assistance for threats of this caliber?


    I made certain to send a messenger to the Temple informing them of this as well, but their presence is notablycking here."


    "I hear that they are stalled in making preparations," said Launcelot. "With the abdication of the old Head Priest, the Rivieran Order has been greatly disorganized, to say the least."


    Vahid snorted. "Damn em'' robed pansies. Ain''t the new head an old bigshot? Gael the Immovable? Why don''t he get on the front lines with us."


    Surprisingly, Ivo interjected. "Gael is an honored veteran of the Demon Wars, and I can personally attest to the strength of his character. Silly politics may bind him now, but whence timees for battle, I am certain he shall arrive."


    "In any case, that is not too much a cause for concern," said Li. He had hoped the temple of light would have sent a few witnesses to this, but at the end of the day, they were merely witnesses. Their power was not needed.


    "For my order of druids will more than make up for the loss of light priests."


    "Scuse'', sir," came a meek woman''s voice.


    "What is it?" said Li as he eyed the owner of that voice ¨C a short, young girl with twin daggers sheathed to her leather armor. A rogue, and one inexperienced at that ¨C further attested by the bronze dogtag hanging around her neck.


    "What bout'' the golems ye faith has? They seem mighty big and mighty strong. So''s that forest spirit. Never seen her like before, but my, she seems like she''s had much to do with the ways of magic."


    Her teammates, two other girls of simr age, nodded in agreement.


    "Well, this is a strategy meeting for a reason." Li turned back to the runeboard. A sizable distance away from the forest line he had drawn, he created another scribble ball. He tapped it.


    "This will be where you adventurers are. There is a wide clearing at the edge of the woods where a creek runs through, and to pass that clearing to get closer to Riviera requires scaling quite a sheer wall of rock and dirt.


    You will all be stationed behind this clearing where it will be easy to see the approach of the orcs and pick them off from the cover of the forest should they manage to breach past the creek.


    However-,"


    Li tossed the stylus to Ivo, and the high priest grasped it deftly, immediately drawing with surprisingly good artistic skill a blossom in front of the adventurers to symbolize the presence of the priests.


    "My priests and I, ten strong with five talented apprentices to our side, will lie hidden by the creek, disguised as trees in front of the wall, and when the orcs leap down into the creek, we will ambush them with all our might."


    "An ambush fueled directly by the blessings of a deity,"mented Li, his eyes shing green. "It should be more than enough to wipe the initial wave of orcs out. If they send more, they too will perish. If they choose to run, then I will have Iona, the forest spirit and my golems stationed to intercept them."


    "This n only works if your druids are truly capable of fending against the ferocity of Spikeridge Orcs," said a suspect bronze-ranked adventurer, his basic iron armor looking a little too big for his yet to be muscr frame.


    "Have you heard tell of the Spikeridge orcs? Brutish, fiendish creatures, as all things are from the hintends. They say demonsblood flows through them, making them the size of three men, that their skin is hard as Adamantium, that their strength can rip even the most seasoned of warriors in two with the ease you would tear a piece of bread at the dinner table."


    "Didn''t yer adventurer''s trainin'' tell ya whelps not to listen to folktales?" said Vahid, aggravated. "Demonsblood, three men tall, bread rippin'' my ass. I''m from the Hintends, boy, and I''ve fought a Spikeridge fore''. Sturdy they are, but ain''t no invincible hellspawn out toe and nab ya from yer momma''s teat."


    "A little trust is always needed for a n to work," said Li simply. He would not convince these bronze-ranked adventurers so rattled at the prospect of facing down powerful orcs with words. He would simply show them the power of his priests, and then, they would spread word of the wonder that their Druidry could achieve.


    "I trust Li," dered Launcelot. He raised his bronzed shield high, and Li noticed with interest that it was in far better condition than before. The cracks had smoothed out, and there was even a slight bit of shine where before there was only an unclean dullness.


    "With not only my shield, but also my life. He has proven to be a reliable defender for this city, and never has his word fallen false." He looked to Li. "I trust you too will be on the battlefield?"


    "If it''s any constion to you, I will be," said Li.


    "Then that is all I need to stand firm," said Launcelot.


    A slight silence settled among the younger bronze adventurers. By now, even they knew of Li, the strange Easterner who had been at the heart of breaking apart the Chevrette criminal empire and who had almost killed a High Priest of the light with seemingly no effort.


    Li could tell they feared him more than they trusted him, however.


    They had lived with the faith of the light their whole lives, and seeing a powerful champion of something entirely different, entirely new, challenged their worldviews, but Li hoped that this would be the opportunity to let them see that the Old Faith was not one that relied on the absolute power of one single seer, but was instead a gentle faith meant to be spread amongst all that wished for its graces.


    "Well, I ain''tinin''," said Vahid. "Any man that can drink me under the table must be damn good fighter, heh." His ck eyes shifted from side to side with quick movements, scanning the bronze adventurers and their intrepid reactions.


    "You all greenhorns ain''t gotta'' worry bout'' your skins, if that''s what your rattlin'' in yer boots and armors about. If anythin'' goes even the slightest bit wrong, Launcelot''s team and mine are gonna'' be the ones holdin'' down while you kids retreat behind city walls."


    "Do not take that as insult, but instead afort that we, as your elders in this sacred profession, will guarantee our lives such that you may live yours," said Launcelot. "But make no mistake. We forward our lives not so that you may turn your backs to the fight, but so that you may find even more courage to face the threat that lies before you."


    The bronze adventurers found some sce in Launcelot''s words, and their faces brightened up.


    "Be ready when the sun begins to set at the Adventurer''s Guild, fully armed and equipped," said Li. "This time, my druids will provide you elixirs free of charge to defend this city. Ivo and the druids will then lead you to the clearing spot."


    "And where will you be?" asked an adventurer.


    "Scouting ahead," said Li simply.

 Chapter 182 - Encounter

    Li sat cross-legged in front of the edge of the Winterwoods, the forest line of trees behind him standing tall like castle walls. He closed his eyes and had his hands together in a meditative pose, feeling the flow of life circting from the woods behind him.


    It was past midnight, and this time, there was no full moon to illuminate the woods with its aesthetic silvery sheen. There was but darkness, ck like tar and just as thick, the stars themselves shy to shine tonight.


    Li thought about the approaching force of orcs. He had made contact with them beforehand, actually, before he had even called the adventurers to battle.


    Throughout the early morning, he was keeping tabs on them through a remotely controlled Shadowfly.


    Using the fly, Li knew that they were traveling in a tightly organized group through another forest to the West that provided cover to them. Spread out to minimize detection and using a system of rotating scouts to find uninhabited pathways.


    All things considered, that already was more than enough precaution, meaning they truly did value stealth, as if they were on some covert operation. They moved quickly, too, with the same discipline Li would have expected out of a trained covert ops group.


    Until the Winterwoods were reached, signs of civilization between the Hintends and the greater duchy of Soleil were slim, with only a few frontier viges surrounded by the thick of the wild. It was easy for the orcs to avoid the few roads that existed, and this far out west, no knightly patrol would be able to respond to them properly.


    There was no real need for them to be this secretive, so why the precautions?


    And there were more questions, too.


    When he scanned the orcs, he realized that they were in healthy condition. They were not at all weary from what would have been over weeks of intensive traveling, nor did they show any signs of hunger or battle damage from scuffling with any of the many monsters roaming the far western forests which tended to have higher level creatures.


    Unlike Trolls, orcs did not possess regeneration and instead had special skin of some sort. Iceborn orcs had frost-resistant and chill inducing skin, Forestborn orcs had skin that numbed pain and provided immunity to toxins, and so on. In other words - any sign of battle damage would be evident on them.


    They had, despite being obviously noticeable two and a half meter tall figures of solid-built muscle and ded tusks, been able to navigate so muchnd unnoticed and unharmed. Furthermore, they were unarmed, traveling as light as they could, not a hint of supplies on them.


    Li had requested Sindra to check with the Adventurer''s Guild for the few reports that came from the frontier viges back to the Adventurer''s Guild and found that supply carrying rocs had not noticed anything wrong with the viges.


    No sign of raids or confrontation, so they could not have sustained themselves without hunting monsters, and monsters would surely have wounded them.


    The alternative was that without food and equipment, the orcs had traveled, presumably by foot, an unimaginable distance through vast swathes of hostile territory.


    And all for what?


    Li had wished to talk to them to answer these questions, and he had unstealthed his Shadowfly in front of what he recognized as the sole warchief of the band. Resonating his voice through the Shadowfly, Li had simply asked the warchief an initial question of why he was presumably heading to Riviera.


    The warchief had merely smiled and responded with a not at all helpful, "You will see, little forest spirit," before destroying the Shadowfly.


    Li shrugged. The warchief''s tone wasden with unbridled aggression and anticipated cruelty. It was not one that showed any indication of desperation or willingness to cooperate.


    And yet, here he sat to give the orcs one more chance to exin themselves.


    A chance he would not have given when he had firste to this world, but since managing his divine powers and their nourishing nature, he had be a little more patient.


    "All of you move so silently," said Li as he stood up. The tail of the dark brown jacket of his farmer''s guild uniform fluttered in the wind behind him. In the night, his eyes shed green and highly visible. "Were I to have had less sensitive ears, I might not have picked you two up at all."


    Li saw tworge figures in the dark scramble backwards, away from Li. They were the two scouting orcs. Hunchback variants. Smaller but more agile, their hunched forms capable of crawling around on all fours with feral speed. Their stony skin was less suited to dealing with damage but had the special property of changing colors crudely to create a form of rudimentary camouge.


    They were even capable of learning a few Assassin-ss skills, but specializations and abilities of this level meant absolutely nothing to Li.


    They had their jaws open, their tusks and fangs ready to gore Li silently, but upon realizing he could easily see them, they backed off.


    Li''s vision sharpened as he looked past the scouts, towards the silently approaching band of orcs.


    "You recognize my voice, do you not, warchief?" said Li as his vision panned over the crowd of orc heads, zoning in on the taller, broader figure of the warchief at the back.


    "I am the Guardian of this forest, and I am past asking questions. But a final warning, I am still willing to give. I warn you now that it is my duty to defend this forest, and should you tread foot in it with hostile intent, you and your kin will never tread back out."


    The warchief smiled and kept walking forwards. The horde moved with him, ignoring Li''s warning and approaching him with evidently hostile intent.


    "Have it your way, then," said Li calmly as he turned around. He snapped his fingers, and his figure disappeared, having been teleported away to his shrine at the heart of the Winterwoods ¨C a little spell that Ven''thur had worked up after having been revived using the energy from the shrine and bing familiar with it.


    It linked Li back to the shrine, letting him teleport to it so long as he was within the vicinity of the forest itself.


    Li kept tabs on Ivo, sensing his presence at the creek clearing, meaning that everyone was already stationed and ready to fight. He checked that Tia was still safe at home with Old Thane. Though he knew Tia could actually quite capably fight a Spikeridge orc, he was not willing to let her get injured in the chaos of a rtivelyrge-scale confrontation, so he had, through many protests, told her to stay at home tonight.


    With all things in order, he made his way to the clearing himself, a few crackles of green power surging around his bare hands.

 Chapter 183 - Orcs I

    Li stood behind the adventurers. They were hidden behind the line of trees behind the creek that formed a natural smokescreen of sorts. The creek gurgled down below, needing a good five meter drop down to reach.


    Li took note of the positioning of the adventurers, and found noints. Launcelot and Vahid were positioned several meters away from each other at the very front, each leading a group of bronze warriors that were meant to intercept any orcs that managed to scale up to their position from the creek.


    Right behind them, the mages and rangers were in position, ready to rain down projectiles and damage.


    Everybody was silent, a certain tenseness lying heavy in the air. Launcelot had his shield drawn up already while his free hand was balled up into a fist, showcasing his spiked gauntlets. Vahid''s greatsword was drawn and held in front of him like a barricade, ready more to shove orcs down back to the creek rather than to cut and cleave.


    The bronze adventurers were fidgety, some pale, some sweating, some breathing heavily. All nervous. Five years of training in various adventurer''s guilds across the duchy allowed them to remain standing in position and likely fight with all their might, but even then, it was difficult to truly quell the primal fear of death.


    Li had told them that he had scouted the orcs'' positions out and that they were to appear within a few minutes. He had bidden them silent and ready for engagement.


    Noticeably absent were the priests of light. No Gael the Immeasurable, despite Ivo''s belief that the man would appear to fight. No matter. The word of the adventurers, some of them pdins having priestly training themselves, would spread well enough.


    Li checked up on Ivo by feeling his presence, and ascertained that the high priest was healthy and brimming with power that Li channeled to him right now, granting him and the other priests more than enough strength to easily wipe out the orcs.


    The druids were stationed below, by the creek, and they were disguised asrge bushes, simply waiting for the moment the orcs stepped foot into the creek, and they were here now.


    The two hunchback scouts appeared first. They made tentative steps into the creek, their light footsteps sshing ever so slightly through the flowing of the creek''s water. Li could feel the adventurers grow even tenser, many of them holding their breaths.


    The scouts passed the creek, weaving past the manyrge bushes around it. When they reached the soil wall, they looked up, and their snouts red, sensing the scent of adventurers.


    Li pped his hands in that moment, starting the signal for Ivo to and his druids to attack.


    The bush disguise around the druids dispelled immediately into clouds of leaves, and they, all their eyes glowing with an influx of divine energy from Li, began their attack.


    "[Vine Grasp]" chanted two of the druids as they held their hands towards the orcs.


    The hunchback orcs turned around, roaring to meet the threat, but before they could do anything, an eruption of vines from the druids'' hands shot forwards and entangled the orcs'' limbs, wrapping around their bodies and keeping them from doing anything.


    [Vine Grasp] was a weak ability on its own, being merely D-ranked, but spells had two parts to them. A base damage and a scaling modifier that enhanced effects based on the spellcaster''s stats.


    Under Li''s divine blessing, [Vine Grasp], a basic spell that had low base damage and low scaling, could scale off of a portion of Li''s stats instead of that of the priests, and considering Li''s monstrous stats, even a D-ranked spell would be unspeakably powerful in this new world''s standards.


    While the scouting orcs struggled under the grasp of the vines, Ivo opened his palm and cast [Moonbeam]. His palm lit up in bright white like a spotlight, casting a beam of sparkling silver light over the orcs''s heads.


    When the light touched the orcs, their flesh dissolved away in an instant, their heads vaporizing and leaving cauterized and headless neck stumps.


    A collective murmur of wonder echoed throughout the adventurers as they saw two Spikeridge Orcs, threats they believed would cause many casualties, instantly dispatched with seemingly little to no effort.


    "Now, my druids!" said Li as he made his way past the adventurers past the tree line, making himself visible at the edge of the dirt and rock formation that separated the adventurers from the creek below. "Show the people of Riviera how the Old Faith defends all who ept it."


    Ivo and his fourteen other druids stood side by side, each spaced a few meters out from each other, each ready to cast another round of spells.


    Li focused his eyesight through the trees and to the rest of the orc group. He saw they had frozen. They had a few courses of action. They could pass the creek to reach Riviera, in which case they had to wade through a heavily fortified position, or they could try and split up and circle around, in which case Li had Justicars in position to intercept them. If they attempted to retreat, then they would also find Justicars behind them, boxing them in.


    Yet Li did not expect them to do anything more than a frontal charge. He had researched the Spikeridge orcs of this world, and they were simr to their game counterparts in that once they began a fight, they did not easily run.


    As expected, a row of ten orcs charged forwards, their massive frames letting out heavy footsteps on the forest floor. They ran with intent purpose, charging with reckless abandon.


    Charging, as Li noted with some confusion, more like sprinters than warriors, not giving any thought to attacking or defending and simply putting their all into moving as fast as possible.


    "Druids!" roared Ivo. "Lay waste to these intruders! Let their bones sustain the soil beneath us!"


    With that, Ivo kneeled down and mmed his fist into the dirt. A bolt of green energy shed from his hand into the soil, and his [Crushing Overgrowth] spell came into effect.


    From where his fist was nted, a massive outgrowth of vines and roots burst forward, towering high like a living tidal wave of nt matter that subsequently crashed atop a group of orcs, smothering them entirely and crushing them upon the soil.


    The other druids cast the same spell, each creating an overgrowth that swamped the orcs charging at their end and ttened them into mulch.


    "Somethin'' ain''t right," muttered Vahid. "Ain''t never seen orcs fight like that. No war cries, no clubs, nothin''."


    Li put a hand to his chin, his eyes narrowing. He had to agree with that statement. The orcs had charged in as if expecting to die, and there was zero hesitation on their end.


    And it was not due to some extraordinary bravery, no, rather, the way they moved, the way they simply sprinted forwards without breaking pace for even a moment even when they saw the crushing walls of vines rising in front of them, felt unnatural.


    A distinctively human shriek sounded below, and Li immediately saw that his hunch had been right. One of the druids fell backwards, clutching at his hand. It was ckened and pulsating, the flesh cracking forming hideous abscesses.


    From the corpses of the two hunchback orcs, insects began to burst out. Small, flying insects that looked like ck wasps, theirpound eyes shrouded in a dark and wispy aura.


    Li reacted quickly. Before the humans nearby could even register his movements, he had leaped down below, right beside the corpses. The wasps buzzed angrily towards him, and for a moment, he felt surprise.


    This was unlike any Elden World spell he knew, and yet, it was strangely familiar. Emanating from the wasps was a distinctive chill, an unnatural, corrupting coldness that Li knew was eldritch in nature.


    Regardless, he did not let his surprise prevent him from containing the wasps, and he cast [Fireplume Breath], breathing out a torrent of me that engulfed the two corpses, reducing them and the insects that festered within them into ash.


    "Fall back!" shouted Li to his druids. "Away from the corpses!"


    Ivo and the druids followed hismands, leaving Li at the frontlines. He looked to the crushed corpses of the orcs and realized that they were corrupting the overgrowth that had been summoned to kill them, twisting the green vines into ckened, writhing masses of nt-like tendrils that oozed with malevolent power.


    Li stepped forwards, and the tendrils reached out hungrily towards him. He cast [Fireplume Breath] again, incinerating every trace of the abominable presence.


    As streams of fire flowed from his lips, he noticed from the edge of his vision that the rest of the orcs were scattering. Not to retreat, but to abuse the sudden chaos to try and circle around the creek.


    Within seconds, Li was done sweeping thendscape before him in purifying me. The fire died down when he stopped fueling mana into it, leaving barren patches of steaming soil. He shook his head, waving his hand to use his divine power to bid the grass to grow back.


    He then checked on the druid that had been stung by one of the insects. The man was doubled over in pain, the corruption having spread up to his shoulder at this point, warping his flesh into something monstrous, something inhuman.


    Ivo was by the man, his hands alight with green as he tried to heal the man.


    "The healing is not working," said Ivo, his voice worried. "This corruption is far too foul. It reminds me much of the demonrot the fiends spread among the forests decades back when they wished to rot down the forests and the guardians to aid in their invasion.


    And yet, this is also different. Far stranger, far more sinister, far fouler."


    Li knelt by the druid and put a hand to the man''s infected arm. Small tentacles of rotted and bubbling flesh emerged from the arm, wrapping around Li''s fingers. However, Li himself remainedpletely unaffected.


    "Calm yourself," said Li. "And brace yourself. This may hurt."


    Li''s hand shifted form into a gray, bark-covered tendril as he cast [Root of the Devouring One], an eldritch spell that converted a part of him into a root meant to absorb all creation. It acted simr to spells like [Drain Touch] that absorbed life force, but it was more versatile, capable of even absorbing the power from spells, or as would be the case here, eldritch curses.


    When Li coiled the tendril to the druid''s arm, there was an immediate change. The ckening, rotting process started to reverse, shifting back down the arm and restoring the limb to its original state, almost as if time was reversing.


    Li withdrew his hand, reverting it back from tendril to human digits. The druid''s arm waspletely healed, but the druid himself was pale from enduring pain. After all, eldritch spells thematically were never pleasant to deal with.


    None of them were gentle, nourishing, and painless.


    "The rest of the orcs!" shouted Launcelot. "They have scattered around us. We shall pursue them along with the forces Li has stationed to entrap them!"


    "No," said Li firmly. He mentally bid all his Justicars and Iona to step down, for he did not want them to touch the corruption. Nor did he want the adventurers to face it either. "This is my miscalction. This is my fight. The rest of you, druid and adventurer alike, retreat."


    The orcs had never been here for Riviera. They were here to corrupt the Winterwoods, to turn it into a monstrous, infected entity. They were here to corrupt Li, believing him a mere forest spirit susceptible to such infantile tricks.


    This was not the work of mere orcs, but of a higher power using the orcs as mobile and explosive bags of flesh riddled with a corrupting pestilence. That exined why they never had to raid or hunt for food, how they managed toe here unscathed, and why they ran into battle without any desire to fight - they were only here to ce themselves in the correct areas to spread their disease.


    Li stood up and began taking steps into the thick of the forest, towards where he sensed the orcs were. He would pick them apart one by one, cleaning these precious woods of their filth. As he took his steps, his druids quickly parted to make way for him, and the adventurers cowered backwards, sensing an aura infinitely more dangerous than any they had felt before.

 Chapter 184 - Orcs II

    Li was like a wraith, a specter of unbridled lethality that whirled through the woods at speeds the mortal eye could barely perceive. He was still in his human form, but he had cast [Heart of the Forest], an A-ranked spell that temporarily massively boosted his physical stats. At his chest where his heart was, tendrils of green glowed brightly, pulsating and pumping power into his body.


    Li weaved through the trees around him with expert precision even as he moved at breakneck speeds, knowing by secondhand nature where they were. He quickly dawned upon one of the orcs.


    "One," said Li. Before the orc could turn around, Li''s arm had torn straight through the orc''s back and out its chest, a discolored ck heart wrapped in his fingers. The heart was infested with little white eggs, and it did not beat, already having long expired.


    Li grimaced. These orcs were all dead, and they likely had been for quite a while. They were being reanimated by some eldritch entity''s power, and one that did not fit the bill for any spell he knew of in the game.


    Li crushed the heart in his hand, and it did not so much burst as it popped with a disgusting squelching sound. He transformed his hand once more into the gray tendril using [Root of the Devouring One], and he began to absorb the contaminated orc''s corpse before it could spread its eggs and pestilent insects everywhere.


    The heart desated, drying up before absorbing right into the tendril. Soon enough, the rest of the orc''s corpse followed suit, crumpling away and condensing into the tendril as if being crammed into a ck hole.


    Li tracked footsteps not far away. He was upon them in an instant. Another orc. He crushed this one''s head this time, the tendril absorbing the creature from the neck down.


    "Two," he said.


    By orc number thirty-two, Li realized that there was a pattern to where these orcs were traveling. They were all beginning to converge upon his shrine at the heart of the Winterwoods. He had yet to encounter the warchief, and it was likely because it was the fastest and strongest of its kind even as a reanimated abomination.


    Likely the main body too, given that it was the only one that spoke. Li smiled ever so faintly as he slowed down his pace of extermination, giving the warchief time to near the shrine.


    Li stepped into the familiar grove where his shrine stood tall and imposing in the night. Its massive wooden ribcage curled around the heart of the shrine, which, at this point, could now be called the heart of the Winterwoods itself. A faint red light twinged and pulsated as the heart of vines, leaves, flowers, and roots beat, and beside that heart stood the orc warchief.


    Li looked at the creature. It was illuminated in the heart''s light. Stony gray skin, cracked in some areas and protruding with hardened spikes like stctites, was wrapped around limbs bulging with muscle. Its arm was stretched outwards, towards the heart, and its fingers were syed out, stubby ws extended from each finger.


    Its face was triumphant, but there was something off about the expression. The orc''s eyes were zed over and motionless, unable to follow the smile gracing its lips, and the smile itself was crooked, with one half of its mouth able to curve up and the other twitching uncontrobly.


    "That makes forty-six orcs eliminated," said Li as he wrapped his fingers together and cracked his knuckles. "You''re going to be forty-seven, the veryst, but not after I''m done getting answers from you."


    "Ah, but it is already far toote," said the orc. It noticed Li taking a step forward and it hovered its hand closer to the shrine''s heart. "If you value your existence, you will halt your steps. Now that I am at your heart, with but a mere touch, I may infest your being, your spirit, every little facet of existence that builds you up.


    But know that it is a mercy, a blessing to be filled with the enlightenment of the Burning One."


    Li stopped. "Burning One? Then you''re here on behalf of the demons? You''ve finally started the invasion?"


    "Demons? No, we have surpassed such primitive forms. We are far more than demonkind now. We are ascended, enlightened. And soon, you will join us in the great calm of the Abyss, aiding us not in mere, primitive, feral invasion, but in great unification of all into higher purpose."


    Li took a step forward.


    The orc stuck its hand forward even closer to the heart, this time its ws grazing the pulsating mass. "Oh, oh, still so confident? So sure of your might, even when it is nothing in the grand scheme of things. Even whenpared to the vastness of the deep and dark and unfathomable, you and I and all else are but specks even smaller than the little twinkling stars above so swallowed by the vastness of the shadows of the cosmos."


    Li took another step forward.


    The warchief shook its head in utter disappointment. "Still, hostility oozes from you. You do not understand the great mercy of the Abyss. Then, I shall let you experience firsthand."


    The orc struck its hand forwards, sinking it into the fleshy mass of nt matter that made up the shrine''s heart.


    "I would appreciate if you withdrew your filthy hand from my shrine," said Li as he began walking forwards,


    The warchief stepped back in surprise, but found that its arm had been entangled into the heart, the vinesprising the organ holding him tightly.


    "The enlightenment should havee upon you," said the warchief. Insects began to crawl out from all its orifices. Little skittering ck masses pouring from its eyes and nose and cracks in its skin. "Why? Why do you not see our higher purpose? Why are you unaffected by the truth of the abyss?"


    Li smiled for a split second before his face began to crack and split apart. His body shuddered and twisted before growing taller, the flesh turning to bark and his skull baring as he entered into his true form.


    "You think merely dabbling in eldritch forces makes you great? Somehow enlightened?" Li approached, and as he did so, he began to manifest all of his equipment.


    First, the ck Beauty manifested in his hand, the eldritch orphan letting out a deathly rattle as its many arms curled around the stake upon which it was impaled.


    Then, the Thousand Echo Eyes, the two eye-riddled armbands that held within them the imprisoned entity Sho''Gath.


    Finally, the Old Godskin Shendyt, the loincloth fashioned from the skin of an Old One wrapping around Li''s waist.


    As those items of unfathomable power and terror manifested, the weather changed. A howling gale rose up from around Li, spreading outwards around him, bending the trees around the grove backwards with their intense force. Dark clouds gathered and rumbled, lightning shing through their bulbous ck forms.


    The earth itself began to rumble, not in the fierce manner that earthquakes did, but in a shudder, as if thend itself were showing fear.


    "What¡­is¡­this?" said the warchief, dead eyes somehow even managing to widen.


    Li put a branched hand on the warchief''s face almost in a gentle manner, as if he was closing the eyes of a child. "Something you should never have interfered with."

 Chapter 185 - Lockdown

    Once more, Li sat around a meeting table. This time, not from the Farmer''s Guild, but in one of the various meeting rooms of the Adventurer''s Guild. The d¨¦cor of the room felt more upscale than that of the farmer''s guild, the walls chiseled out of marble and the ceiling decorated with a painting depicting adventurers fending off defenseless peasants from all manner of beasts and, pertinently, demons.


    Around the walls, there were runes carved in that were meant to cast interference on scrying spells and to make them soundproof.


    Launcelot sat at the head of this table, his gauntleted hand at his chin while an expression mixed with anxiety and concern manifested on his face.


    "How is the situation with the city?" asked Li.


    "The nature of this threat," said Launcelot. "Is far more devious than I thought. The possibility of the gue spreading uncontrobly is far greater a threat than any orc attack, and so I have informed the guild and they have issued a citywide lockdown.


    Nothing goes in or out of the four city gates without strict review by priests of the Light."


    "And for those of us who live outside the gates," said Ivo. "I have told them to flee at any unnatural sights towards your farm, good seer."


    "That''s the best thing to do," said Li. "Frankly speaking, the priests of the Light are not equipped to identify this kind of threat or deal with it even if they do. I am confident in saying that throughout this entire duchy, I am the only one capable of dealing with it."


    Li thought of eldritch powers in Elden World. It was not part of the base game when it was released. They were introduced in an expansion, though their presence was hinted at with a few bosses, items, and skills.


    The expansion that released them was called "Whispers of the Infinite Cosmos", and it coincidentally also introduced Celestial-tier items, Ultima-tier spells, the level 100+ cap, and, perhaps most interestingly, the ability for yers to spec into eldritch themed subsses.


    This was actually how Li himself gained his eldritch powers.


    Leshen could innately use dark Druidry tomand the more unsettling aspects of the forest such as death rted forces, insects, and other crawling creatures of the dark, but actually summoning eldritch entities was an expansion rted perk.


    In other words, in this world which seemed to be limited only to the base game''s power levels, Li theorized that nobody had any conception of what eldritch powers were, and he was not about to exin right now that he was inmand of powers that were meant to be unspeakably horrific embodiments of chaos meant to destroy reality.


    It would be horrendous PR for him and his druids when now was the time for him to try and branch out and inculcate trust with the lives around him.


    "Still," said Launcelot. "That orcs were capable of this is quite unbelievable."


    "Not orcs. Demons," corrected Li. "The warchief was possessed by an entity, and I have strong suspicion to believe that it was demonic in origin."


    Vahid grunted. His arms were crossed, his brawny figure looming atop the table. Beside him was his mage partner, donned in typical witch''s garb and a slender wooden pipe loosing curls of smoke at her lips.


    "Figured as much," said Vahid. "Ain''t no orcs that fight like that. Demons sounds more right, spreadin'' disease and misery fore'' tryin'' to square up and fight straight up."


    "Pray, tell," said Launcelot. "Did the demon loose any useful information before you defeated it?"


    "Not too much. Its mind seemed incoherent, but it did babble about an iing invasion. It would be fair to say that the demonic invasions that gued thisnd decades ago areing once more."


    "I fear the same," said Ivo. "You adventurers are too young to have experienced the brunt of those dark days, but when Riviera was attacked, it was yet under the protection of the guardian spirit Morrigan.


    The demons lie far West, and to reach Soleil, thergest city they encounter first is Riviera, but a guardian spirit is a formidable force, and thus they unleashed demonrot upon the forests to corrupt and wilt it before embarking on a full scale invasion.


    The same has been attempted now."


    "Meaning the invasion''sin'' real soon," said Vahid. His jaw set. "Means my people are already ughtered, considerin'' them''s what''s standin'' between Riviera and the demons."


    "I wouldn''t be so sure about that," said Li. "The Hintenders might be nearest to the demons, but we''d have seen refugees or news if they were attacked by now. Riviera''s still getting routine request to have supplies delivered and trade routes are still open.


    The demons acted very early this time around, before there were any forces mobilized for a frontal invasion."


    "Perhaps a test for their new weapon?"mented Launcelot. "This rot, after all, is of a kind I have never beheld, and I would like to consider myself well-traveled and well-acquaintanced with the most esoteric of magics, pure, demonic, or heroic."


    "If I may have a word, good seer," said Ivo. Li nodded, and the older man continued. "The nature of the darkness I beheld was sinister in nature, but as a veteran of thest demonic invasion, I know that it is not the same as demonrot.


    Demonrot gues and destroys, but this rot, it infects and turns, warping life into yet living but deranged existences."


    "And we''re sure somethin'' as nasty as this ain''t gonna'' be spreadin'' no more?" said Vahid. "One lick of it gets in the city walls, where there''s so many people all crammed about, and ya got yerself a real shit situation."


    "I am absolutely certain," said Li. "I wiped out every trace of it that came and made sure it did not spread."


    "Hm, mighty useful to have someone that can deal with it round'' here, cause'' it ain''t seemin'' like the temple''s gonna'' get off their arse and help anytime soon," said Vahid. "Say then, do ya happen to exactly know what this damned rot is? Even better, got a way to kill it off?"


    "I have an idea of what it is. It is based off a force higher and in many ways, as you all have noticed, far more sinister than that which demons and warlocks use, but for all intents and purposes, you can simply consider it advanced demonic power.


    I can handle and neutralize it, but as of now, I only have responses to it, not preventative measures.


    So if any of you encounter anything strange as Ivo says, then do not engage it. Come to me for help and ry this information to the rest of the adventurers too. The priests of Light are out of their leagues in trying to contain anything rted to this."


    "Damned useless leeches, them light priests are," muttered Vahid. "Takin'' their cut of taxes but never pullin'' their weight in anythin'' important."


    "This only proves that you cannot trust the temple," said Li. "Spread that sentiment to the adventurers and the people, too, for ites not out of any animosity to the temple, but simple, cold fact that they have retreated from conflict and have no means to fend against this new rot.


    If anyone values their lives in light of this attempted attack, then theye to me."


    "It is strange," said Launcelot as he furrowed his brows. "I, as your head priest thought, expected the priests to surely make an appearance. Gael the Immovable is a man of many heroic tales floating about him, the Light''s Vanguard that stood tall entirely by himself at Montagne during thest invasion, not letting a single demon pass for two whole days, and yet he did not show himself.


    It is almost as if the temples knew of the danger of this rot."


    "And left us to get thrashed?" Vahid shrugged. "I don''t got any soft spot for the temple, but, noble boy, it don''t seem right. If that rot spread to us, the best adventurers round'' town, then they''d be even more screwed.


    I never liked em'' robed whelps, but when ites down to it, I don''t take em'' for the kind to let a whole city burn."


    "True." Launcelot also shrugged. "A baseless theory, I suppose, so let us move past that line of thought. Regarding the rot itself, I have noticed that to my observation, there are properties of the rot that are akin to darkbeast rot.


    How it confounds the healing of pure magic, and in certain cases, I have observed it too to corrupt even further, warping life into twisted living corpses."


    Li had noticed those simrities as well when reflecting on the orc attack. He hade to realize that though he himself had overwhelming power easily able to crush and negate anything the demons and their newly found eldritch abilities could do, the same could not be said for anyone else around him.


    Certainly, Li could roam over to the West and fight his way through every demon he found, but that would not guarantee aplete extermination, and because of the chaotic nature of eldritch energy and the fact that it could introduce level 100+ existences, he had to be more cautious.


    His first priority was to ensure that the life that relied upon him was safe, and for that, he needed to find closer union with his darker side to create blessings that gave protections against eldritch forces, and he needed to do it quickly. The fastest way he developed his forest spirit divinity was by linking himself with the Winterwoods andmuning with it.


    He figured the same could be done for his eldritch powers. He just needed to find a source of eldritch power around him that he could tap into. Preferably, one nearby so that he could quickly return to his woods and people to defend them.


    "I''ve noticed those simrities as well," said Li. "And I want more information. Launcelot, you''ve spent much time dealing with darkbeasts, especially those in the Chattering Woods south of here, haven''t you?"


    "Certainly," said Launcelot. "But what of it?"


    "I want you to take me there," said Li. "The fate of all rational life depends on you, if that gives you more motivation."

 Chapter 186 - Heart Of The Demon

    Li stood outside the cottage, by the fields, his hands sped behind his back as he looked westward, past the rolling meadows and slopes of Riviera''s ounds, past the line of the forest, and into the depths of the dark distance. Beside him, Zagan also sat, facing the same way, the demon''s eyes gleaming a bright red.


    Between them, the still corpse of an insecty. It looked to be a hybrid between a wasp and a spider with eight carapaced legs, an abdomen that ended in a curved stinger, and shredded insectoid wings. It was the size of a small child, and it was a wonder it could fit so easily into the body of the orc warchief.


    "Tell me, Zagan, do you recognize this being?" said Li.


    Zagan bared a few of his fangs. "This personage does. It is Zerzal, demon general and herald of Gluttony."


    "I figured it was a demon of some noteworth," said Li. "And so I subdued him with force almost equivalent to that which I used upon you. Unfortunately, this thing was far weaker than you, and crumbled under pressure immediately.


    Died before I could even make it feel any measure of pain. Before I could get it to talk more."


    "Zerzal is a being of many, capable of splitting itself apart into a swarm, and in exchange, each of his bodies is fragile."


    "Then he is still alive? This is just one of many bodies?"


    Zagan shook his head. "No. As herald, my personage knows well the scent of living demon. The power you used to purge his being echoed throughout every single one of his bodies. The herald Zerzal is no more."


    Zagan began to utter a low, rattling growl. "But that is not punishment enough. Not only does Zerzal deign to intrude upon your territory, but he has sumbed to the forbidden power of the Abyss.


    Power that no demonkind should ever rely upon."


    "Not only him," said Li. "Zerzal was still acting in his capacity as a herald for another, and in this case, it was still the Burning One. The demonic invasion this time around is wildly different than the one you and others talked about.


    This time, it isn''t just demons, it''s eldritch powering into the mix as well."


    "A conclusion that my personage has also reached," said Zagan. He became still, almost solemn. "To think the whelp this personage counseled in all the millennia long traditions and principles of the Swarm would turn to the Abyss for strength and to enforce its corrupting curse upon demonkind."


    "Tell me of this Abyss." Li understood that it was the body of water nearby where the demons lived and also capable of being essed by the Hintenders, considering that Azhar when training as a shaman knew that there was an eldritch existence lying in those depths.


    Of course, Li knew that to be Noctus, Helios''s twin brother, but all this time, he had been under the impression that Noctus was fully dormant, locked into an eternal sleep. Evidently, either Noctus was awakening, or the demons were simply drawing upon the fallen god''s powers as he slumbered.


    "It is a body of ill-fated waters that stands still beside En Arkennan, the center of chaos within which my kind spawns and hunts. Its depths are obscured, hidden even to demonkind, but throughout the centuries, we havee to understand that there is power lurking in the depths, power that ripples sweetly and alluringly, but so sweet is its taste that it bes maddening, a rotten fruit that we decided many centuries ago to never indulge in."


    "Doesn''t your kind believe in power? The hunt? Preying upon each other to reach superiority? It seems like such a power source would be to your kind''s interest."


    Zagan snorted. "The heart of demonkind may be based upon power, but not like this.


    Our kind believes fundamentally in power invested within ourselves. Power projected by our own proud bodies built up by centuries of fight and consumption.


    Power emanating from minds sane and honed by the whetstone of time, not guided by spectral whisperings that have no ce in this realm."


    Li nodded. "Then you have no issues with that very same power lying within myself?"


    "The power that we crave is pure. It does not wield but is wielded. Your power, though simr in type to that of the abyssal whisperings, does not seek to take away control from others. Control -the sense of self that allows for one to truly cherish the power they wield, to understand both its potential and consequences.


    But epting the whisperings of the abyss is no better than debasing the self to eternal very. That is unbing of the pride of demonkind, thus, soliciting the whispers of the Abyss is the foulest heresy that one of demonkind can evermit."


    Zagan paused for a second, his ck fur rippling as a soft breeze passed by his coat.


    "And even your power, this personage has not drawn upon. Not from a sense of revulsion, but of principle. It is not within this personage''s beliefs to borrow power which is not inherently mine."


    Li took in Zagan''s words.


    It was true that the demon had not actually be much stronger since he had taken this form. In fact, the demon was far weakened since the time Li had fought him, and likely, it was due to the fact that Zagan could not feast on human souls or demons to regain his strength.


    Zagan could have, at any point in time, simply drawn from Li''s strength to amplify himself, but he had chosen not to out of an unflinching dedication to principle. And also because there was no need to really exert himself considering even in this state, he could practically annihte any threat that came to pass in Riviera.


    "But" said Zagan. The demon red open his eyes wide, his eyes shining even brighter like red hot coals as his gaze burned into the West. "Now, this personage must humbly ask to draw upon your strength, to restore mine self to my full might.


    For if the Burning One hasmanded the Rite of the Swarm, bending all seven demonic sees together, and has also sumbed to the madness of the Abyss, then it is all too likely that the near entirety of my kind has fallen to those foul depths.


    I shall not stand idle while my kin be puppets dancing on strings held by another. It is better for them to be ughtered under my might than to suffer such a fate."


    "You have my full permission to draw upon my power," said Li with a smile. "Restore yourself to your former glory. No, to heights even beyond that. Do not treat my power as separate to yours. Your bond to me has never been one of absolute servitude.


    You chose to submit to my strength, and now, you can choose to use my strength as you wish."


    Zagan bowed his head. "Gracious thanks, Great Old One."


    "But, I will ask you for now to hold off on fighting. I know that demons have a higher resistance to eldritch corruption, but that does not mean you are immune to it. Tomorrow, I am going to tap into my powers and find a way to counteract it. If all goes well, then I should also find a way to restore your kind.


    Guard this cottage and my daughter in my absence and use any amount of power necessary from me for that task."


    Zagan nodded.


    "Understood," said the demon with a resounding firmness to his voice that had been absent ever since he had settled down by the cottage. It rang with warped echoes with a distorted, faint growl undertoning it. It was a voice that would have drawn shivers from every living being, telling them of the brutalization their bodies and souls were to face should they near it.


    A voice fitting for war.

 Chapter 187 - A Promise

    Li silently came into the cottage to see Old Thane in a chair by the firece with Tia sitting cross legged on the ground nearby. She wore a long blue tunic embroidered with patterns of gold roses that reached down to her shins. An expensive piece of clothing, especially for a child, but Jeanne had not spared any expense in choosing out Tia''s wardrobe.


    Speaking of Jeanne, Li wondered what the adventurers were up to now. They had been gone for a little over two weeks now, having been called down south on a mission of some importance involving the appearance of wraiths and ghosts, and most parties with powerful priests had been called down.


    With demons bing a looming threat, Li expected that Triple Threat would make their way back to Riviera soon enough when the news spread of the attempted attack. They would not abandon their hometown, even if they were now gold-ranked and acting at a duchy-wide capacity.


    "And that, littless, is how I beat that demon knight up right and proper. My fists made great dents in his zing armor, and when I shattered his de wrapped up in bright fire, both of us knew it was over," said Old Thane with a wide smile as he reminisced of the battles he had fought in the past.


    Li had heard this story too, how the old man punched his way through a sea of lesser demons to challenge themanding knight in a duel.


    "Did you kill?" asked Tia innocently. It was a little jarring hearing a little girl speaking about murdering, but then again, it was unsurprising considering she was not exactly human.


    "No, I did not," said Old Thane. "Both of us were warriors fighting at different ends, but we were still warriors, and we knew that the fight that we gave each other was a joy in of itself. He withdrew his forces, and we promised that in years toe, should fate will it, we would face each other once more."


    Old Thane rubbed his back. "Though, I fear, I may be less a challenge now, heh."


    "But demons evil," said Tia. "Sister Jeanne says so."


    "Hrm." Old Thane stroked his beard in thought. "Aye, certainly, the demons were no radiant saviors. Quite the contrary, really, but when I was that young, I had little thought of right and wrong. Only the fight.


    But you know,ss, now that this hard head''s had more years to think, I would dare to say that it is precious rare that anything can be called truly evil or truly good. Many who shout loudly of justice often hold great darkness in their hearts, whilst many who have known but darkness may show hearts of gold when the time arises."


    Tia nodded slowly, trying to digest theplicated topic.


    Old Thane noticed her confusion, and he spoke more. "That demon knight, I spared for the gift of battle he granted me. In return, he withdrew his army. Should I have killed him in cold blood, then most certainly, his forces would have continued their relentless assault.


    It is good to know when an enemy is beaten, and that a beaten enemy does not mean he deserves death."


    "You know, this bedtime story is a little violent to be telling a child," said Li jokingly as he neared the firece.


    "Ah,d, you''re back! You missed my grand tale, and I tell you now, nothing is better to make this little one strong than tales of great feats. Certainly, old tales of heroism inspired me."


    "Old man, if that were true, with how many times you''ve told your tales to me, I should be able to rule this world by now," said Li.


    "But I''m already strong!" pouted Tia.


    Li knelt next to her, putting a hand to her head. "I don''t believe it. How can someone so strong be so tiny?"


    "Look!" Tia protested by grabbing Li''s arm and chomping down on it to prove her strength. It was a yful act, but certainly, it would have been a frightening thing to see for any regr human observer. Her teeth, even as a child, were developed and meant for tearing apart flesh and crushing bone.


    When she bit down on his arm, she shredded the fabric of his clothes, though of course, she could not pierce through his skin. Judging by the amount of force she used, Li determined that she had, indeed, be stronger since the days she could rip apart wolves.


    Now, he judged she could probably easily turn even some enchanted metals into scrap.


    Which made Li realize that he was not the only one who had to begin learning to fine tune his power. Soon enough, he would have to get her to control her strength too. She was isted from the city people, and many were quite afraid of her due to her appearance, so the only humans she regrlyinteracted with were Old Thane and Triple Threat ¨C all quite sturdypared to the average person.


    Tia utched her bite from Li''s arm and looked up at him expectantly, her round ck and green eyes exuding pride.


    Li looked at the shredded pieces of fabric falling from his arm and nodded. "Okay, I admit it, you''re strong." Li stooped down and picked Tia up, and she giggled as he rested her on his shoulder. "But even the strongest need their sleep."


    ================


    In their room, Li finished bundling Tia up in her nkets. He liked to spend the night sitting up against the wall, entering his own ''sleep'' where he meditated. Often times, Tia would move her bundled body near him, sleeping in hisp, and tonight was no different.


    Tia rested her head atop Li''s leg with a content smile. Usually, it was rare that she needed to enter into Li''s meditation to get into a deep sleep, but of course, when she had her nightmares, that was the best option.


    Li did not feel great about wiping away that smile, but he knew it would be back soon. "Tia, tomorrow, I''m going to be away for the whole day. Thane will be taking care of you, so make sure to listen to him."


    Tia frowned. "All day? Gone?"


    Li put a hand to her head, gently stroking her hair. "Yes, all day."


    "Where?" asked Tia.


    "Another forest south of here," said Li. "I have to help a few people with important things. But don''t worry, I''ll be close enough to reach you in an instant if you need me."


    "Have to go?" said Tia as she widened her eyes, this time not with pride, but in pleading.


    "Yes, I have to," said Li. "I''ll be back, though, and when I do get back, we should spend a whole day out hunting together."


    The prospect of an entire day of adventuring with Li made Tia brighten up a little, but she was not yet convinced of this deal.


    "Day will be boring," said Tia. "No Jeanne, Sylvie, Azhar. Thane farming."


    "I''ve made sure to have Zagan stay with you as well. You could y with him, too."


    "ck dog not fun," said Tia. "Don''t know how to y. Not like other dogs. Only stay still."


    "Well, I guess I shouldn''t be surprised," said Li. He tried to think of something more to say, something more that wouldfort Tia but would not be an outright lie, but he began to realize his inexperience as a father figure was showing through.


    It was Tia that spoke first.


    "It''s okay, papa" said Tia as she read Li''s concentrated expression. "I can stay and be good. But make promise:e back at night? Might be cold."


    Li smiled and nodded to Tia. "I promise."

 Chapter 188 - Travel

    Li sat in the back of a ck Securities carriage, his arms and legs crossed and his back resting on plush velvet as he looked outside the window of the reinforced vehicle, watching country road and foresnd sprawl all around him.


    The way down to the Chattering Forests from Riviera truly made it evident how isted Riviera was from most of civilization. The west of Rivieray frontier viges, and to its south and east, closer to the heart of the continent and the capitol, were still viges, albeitrger and more developed.


    Still, it was a far cry from what Li had read about the rest of the duchy. Rivieray far west to the duchy, but as one reached nearer to the center or towards the rest of the cardinal cities, viges became rarer, with smaller clusters of walled cities instead being the mostmon poption centers.


    Understandably so, considering the fact that walled cities were the best defense against monsters. It was only because Riviera was so remote and, more importantly, had lower leveled monsterspared to the rest of the duchy that viges were stillmon. Factors that also made it the retirement and investment center that it was.


    Though, as Li thought about it, Riviera was bing lot less of a peaceful little haven.


    "A question, if I may," said Launcelot from the opposite seat of the carriage. Beside him were his three teammates, though the carriage wasrge enough that they had more than enough breathing room.


    All of them were geared and equipped for battle, for the Chattering Forests were far more formidable than the Winterwoods.


    "Hm?" responded Li.


    "What are you intending to do in the forests? I do not cast doubt upon you, I am merely curious."


    "I am attuned with the Winterwoods," said Li. "But not limited to them. I can link myself to others. From your experiences, it is evident that the darkbeasts are spawning from within the forests, meaning that the forest itself possesses a link to the energies that form them.


    I intend to tap into them and, if possible, bend it to my will. With that, I can find a way to not only erase but cure the rot."


    "I see," said Launcelot. He looked concerned. "May my gods and yours grant you great fortune and blessing for sess, for I deeply fear what should arise elsewise. With the five banners of Soleil about to be called once more, I can only shudder to what the rot may wreak upon them."


    "I understand what you mean," said Li.


    When Li first met Launcelot and his party early in the morning, right as the sun was rising, the nobleman had broken the news to Li that in each of the three other cardinal cities of Soleil, there had been attempted attacks.


    A strong emphasis on "attempted".The corpses of strange insectoid creatures had arisen in the corpses of various monsters that were nearby and headed to the cities, all emitting the same rot as that which Li had erased in Riviera.


    When Li killed Zerzal, herald of gluttony, all of the demon''s other bodies had died, and so his attempted attacks on the other cities were halted. Were Li not to have done so, then surely each of the cities would have fallen by now, infested by the eldritch rot.


    The current situation was that the duchy had managed to prevent the rot from spreading and identified it as demonic.


    The duchess had invoked the Council of Five, a national emergency councilprising of the duchess and all four lords of the cardinal cities, in order to draw the armies of each territory and send them west to Riviera, where the demons were most likely to strike as they had done so every single time they had attempted invasions.


    But were the five armies of Soleil to gather westward, then it would only create a massive body of flesh to corrupt ¨C this was Launcelot''s evident worry.


    "But I also do not think the duchess is stupid enough to not have thought about this," said Li. "I doubt she will send a mass of men here knowing they are susceptible to turning against each other."


    "And yet, should she not send these forces, then Riviera itself cannot be defended," said Launcelot. "The Lakely Walls can withstand a demonic siege for as long as the mana of theke remains strong. It has been decades since thest invasion, and theke has replenished itself, but even then, without mass reinforcements, it is only a temporary barrier staving away inevitable destruction for one week, at the most."


    "You have a point," said Li. "And if the duchess knows that the enemy is capable ofunching stealth attacks to the capitol, then no doubt she will spread her forces to protect herself and territories more strategically precious than Riviera."


    "A thought that I have long considered." Launcelot looked shaken, and Li was surprised. He had never expected the man, a stalwart proponent of justice who had risked his life many times, to look so pale.


    "I should not have wasted away my years," said Launcelot. "I should havemitted myself to what I knew was truly right and saved as many heroes as possible. I should have pried further into the duchess''s matters and found true evidence against her."


    Launcelot leaned back with a sigh. "And yet, in truth, I must admit that I was simply too afraid. Afraid of having my noble titles stripped by the duchess, for that would have destroyed my frail and dear old mother.


    But now, in light of a threat that rears its head to raze us all, my titles seem so very small."


    "Stop moping, it''s not like you," said Faye, Launcelot''s fire-wieldingpanion. She nudged his armored side with an elbow. "You''ve saved us, haven''t you? Took Ava and myself out of the slums of Trieste and Celeste from the chains of a crazed mage."


    "And I could have done so much more, but after saving you three, I felt it too dangerous to act further, that it would draw too much attention."


    "Do you think your fate sealed, Launcelot?" asked Li. "That there is no hope?"


    "No," replied Launcelot after a deep pause. "But never have I faced threat like this. Threat that looms sorge it has the potential to wipe out everything. You are mighty, I know that, but surely even you with the power and blessing of a god are but one man standing before a flood of destruction."


    Li could see that Launcelot, though a hero by any person''s standards, was still human. He still feared for his life and the lives of others. He still held onto his nobility in some measure, even if he would never normally admit it.


    Though it took what seemed like a world-ending threat to evoke that fear, it was still fear, nheless.


    Li knew that Launcelot would still fight to the veryst breath, that the man could push his fear down to do as much as he could for those he loved and wanted to protect, but right now, the fear was drawing up his regrets.


    "Every single generation that faced the demonic invasion before you must have felt the same thing. They must have felt their regrets pouring out of them too because they feared death, and yet, they managed to live.


    I know you believe things are different this time, but trust me, a god''s strength is more than enough for you to live. Mine-," Li nced at the bronze shield by Launcelot''s side. "And yours."


    Launcelot took in Li''s words for a few seconds and then nodded to himself. "Forgive me, I showed an unsightly side to myself. And a temporary loss of belief in your sess. I hope your confidence in my guidance through the forests is not broken."


    "Not at all," said Li. "It is natural to fear death and loss. That you can process it and steel yourself to this extent is afort to me."


    =============


    Two hourster, near noon, they reached the edges of the Chattering Forest. The roads here were distinctly less traveled, and in fact, at the edge of the forest, the roads actually ended. Only a few signposts acted as general markers to guide people through the forest, and it was questionable whether they remained readable and in good condition further into the woods.


    Li and Bulwark left the carriage at that point, and Li bid goodbye to Valery, driver of the carriage.


    When Li approached the forest, he felt a distinct chill. It was far heavier and colder than that of the Winterwoods before Li restored it. The life signature of a forest that was not dead, but diseased. It was an unpleasant sensation, but one that was still familiar to Li in a way, for there was a side of him that this rot and death belonged to.


    A side he had not yet be ustomed to, but hopefully, that was to change very soon.

 Chapter 189 - The Chattering Forests

    As Li and Bulwark traveled through the Chattering Forests, he began to realize why nobody ever went through it. The forest was overgrown in a wild manner, with the treetops growing in thick, choking clusters that almost seemed to grow into each other, their branches curling across each other and vying for space.


    The trees themselves were healthy with thick trunks and solid, armor-like bark, and grew far taller than those in Riviera, but there was something about them that was just off. Their bark was ck like the night, and their leaves a shade of muddy green that seemed to absorb light.


    The result was that with how closely and thickly the treetops clustered together, the sun was entirely blotted out, making the forest pitch ck even during day.


    In this darkness, countless entangling and thorned vines, ck and purple poisonous ded grasses, and noxious spore filled mushrooms grew. Faye led the way, a me dancing at her open palm as a guiding light.


    Launcelot stood right behind her, shield upraised. Celeste and Ava stood behind Launcelot as they seemed to be a ranger and mage respectively, their gear made of light leather unsuited for withstanding strong blows.


    Li followed behind all of them, capable of seeing through the darkness but not knowing the way. His forest spirit senses were hampered here. In the Winterwoods, he had an idea of where everything was with just a bit of focus, letting his divine hearing pick up the sounds of life.


    Here, there was a sort of static interference that made it difficult for him to navigate. It also did not help that this was not his forest, so he was not as closely linked to it as he was with the Winterwoods.


    Faye stood still, and everyone froze. Launcelot raised his shield. An insectoid chattering sound echoed in the darkness, and to normal human ears, it would have been extremely difficult to ce where it was.


    The enclosed nature of the tree trunks and branches caused a sort of echo chamber to form, and when the chatter cracked through the forest, it traveled and reverberated far.


    But Li knew it came from a distance away, and he said, "It''s fine. No nearby threat."


    Faye looked at Li, and then at Launcelot, evidently not too convinced of Li''s capabilities, and the nobleman nodded to reassure her that Li did indeed knew what he was doing.


    She resumed leading.


    Li could sense great trepidation in each member of Bulwark, evident in how they carried themselves, how tense they were, how at any given moment, they were ready to turn and fight. And he could not me them.


    Launcelot was mid forties in terms of level and judging by the life signatures that Li could sense, the creatures here ranged from the thirties all the way to the mid-fifties. This sensing also did not include Darkbeasts, which Li could not get any real measure of in terms of level, likely because they had no level.


    But he could get an idea of their overall strength, and he understood it to be in the fifties if the specimen that had walked into the Winterwoods was any general indicator.


    Though that was no threat to Li, it was a grave one to Launcelot, and, coupled with the eerie nature of this forest, would be more than enough to keep these people on edge.


    "The next tree, the one with the cut marks in the trunk, has a few brain spiders lying in wait in the branches," cautioned Li as he picked up the life beat of the spiders.


    Faye immediately narrowed her eyes, her pupils alight like mes as she intensified her stare to the tree in question. The deep cuts in the bark had not healed and looked as if they were made by an axe or some other heavy sharp weapon.


    Likely the death throes of an adventurer who had tried to hack his way through the spider ambush and perished from their neurotoxin.


    She sped her hands together, and when she withdrew them, a line of fire began stretched out between them, glowing bright red.


    "Wait," said Li. "Fire is vtile. It can damage the forest. Let me."


    Faye looked to Launcelot again, and the shieldman nodded. "Trust in Li. He is well experienced inbat and life within the forest."


    Li walked past Faye and came under the tree. He could sense the spiders skittering above. There were ten of them hidden in the thicket of their leaves. They were unpleasant creatures by human standards, their abdomens fat and gorged like those of a tick''s. They extended proboscis from their jaws, eagerly awaiting for someone to walk beneath the tree so they could leap downwards and instantly decapitate them to sip on their brains.


    Li loosed some power from himself. Green energy flickered from all around his body in a faint aura, and a wind danced around him, picking up loose foliage. The pressure of that divine power reached the spiders, and instinctively, they ran, crawling deeper into the treetop, even going so far as escaping to the neighboring tree.


    This was not the only effect of Li unleashing his presence. Nearby creatures that were dormant also picked up pace and began to ran. The bushes, treetops, and undergrowth rustled as insectoid monsters of all kinds - Bloodsucking Moths, Sleep Striders, Gut Worms, and even an underground Helmeted Tarant all moved away.


    "They''re gone," said Li.


    "You can do that?" asked Faye.


    Li nodded.


    Faye exhaled and crossed her arms. "Then hells, you should be leading. I''m tired sick of feeling like an overgrown bug is going to drop down on my head and pop it wide open."


    "If you have faith that I''m capable of leading," said Li. "Then I''m all for it."


    "Then how about you and I position ourselves as front vanguard?" said Launcelot. "I can lead you, and you may warn us of what threats you can sense."


    "Sounds good to me," said Li.

 Chapter 190 - Darkbeast Ambush

    For the next three hours, they trekked through the forest. Every so often, Li would sense a creature, usually some dangerous insect of some kind, and bid it to retreat. They did not encounter Darkbeasts, but at a certain point, the terrain of the forest shifted quite drastically.


    "The forest floor is wet," observed Li as he took a step forward, boots squelching as he stepped into grimy, muddy dirt. "And yet, there hasn''t been rain."


    The mud was no ordinary mud either. It rang with the same static interference that Darkbeasts emitted, meaning that they were most definitely in Darkbeast territory.


    "A sign that we are in the depths of the forest," said Launcelot. "None ever travel here for the threat of the Darkbeasts is far higher here."


    Li looked around him. The forest itself was the same. Pitch ck, the only lighting from the bright fire that Faye generated from her hands. The chattering still echoed, but this time, there were some echoes that Li could not urately discern.


    "Then we''re almost there. Let''s keep moving," said Li.


    As they waded through the muddy depths of the Chattering Forest, Li asked Launcelot, "Whatpelled you to travel this forest? It must have been unimaginably dangerous for you. The outeryers of this forest are already a challenge, but if Darkbeasts spawn here, then I would put my bets on you not surviving most of the time."


    "For me, most certainly," nodded Launcelot. "My magic has precious little effect upon Darkbeasts, but the heroic might of my friends works wonders. When they are not pretending to be lower leveled mages and rangers, they are fiercesome forces indeed."


    At the mention of the word ''friends'', Faye frowned a little and said, "That''s right. Were it not for my mes, you''d have been wrapped up in some silken cocoon somewhere, left to rot."


    "And for that, I am eternally grateful," said Launcelot. He thought about Li''s question for a second and answered. "I came here when I was yet investigating the nature of heroes, for then, I would understand better the duchess''s goals for them.


    Celeste, I had saved from the clutches of an Arcana mage obsessed with heroes who had chained her, using her gift to generate explosions to fuel some strange mechanical contraption ¨C no doubt sourced by elves who likely were funding the unhinged man."


    Li heard Celeste, a small, slight girl wrapped up in a sturdy green robe, shiver, recalling painful memories.


    "When I slew the mage," continued Launcelot."I went through every floor of his tower and pored through all his notes. It was there that I came to understand that heroes do not derive their power from the blessings of the gods, but from something living within them.


    A mutation in their bodies, as it were. Leading to the questions: how did this mutatione to be? Certainly, the blood moon originated it, but how? If the heroic mutation is that which is within the body, then may it be changed? Mutated? If so, then how?"


    "And you connected those questions to this forest?"


    Launcelot nodded as he carefully made his way between two trees, his shield at face level so he could immediately raise it overhead if needs be.


    "There is a tale that has be legend, but it is said that before thest demon war, there was a hero that took up residence here. The Chattering Forests then were more vibrant, more weing of man. That hero, or, well, he would not have been considered a hero in that age. Merely a monster, but I shall call him hero regardless.


    That hero took residence here when he was driven from his vige, and here, he awakened his power. A power to create all manner of monstrosities from his flesh, monsters that no adventurers had ever seen before. With these beasts, he lived in istion and safety.


    Then, the demons attacked. The hero fought to keep the monsters whom he considered family safe, but s, he, though mighty, was no match for the might of demons.


    In his dying breath, he became a monstrosity himself, merging with the forest as it rotted under demonic influence, and since then, this forest has always been gued with Darkbeasts."


    Li paused. It made sense why the mud gave off Darkbeast interference. "We''re stepping on that hero''s corpse, or whatever thing he became when he merged with this ce."


    "A morbid thought," said Launcelot. "But indeed, yes. Where I will lead you to is a small swamp at this forest''s center where I believe, ording to aged records, at the least, his body rotted."


    Li thought of the implications of this. At the very least, it meant that upon reaching the heart of the forest, there would be some fight in order if the hero was still alive in some capacity and spawning Darkbeasts. He could theorize a little as to what he thought was happening.


    The heart of the forest was where all paths of life intersected within a forest, and where, if a deity had a shrine, it could direct the flow of life, creating and destroying as needed. Likely, this hero had somehow merged with the heart and was spawning Darkbeasts with his power.


    Meaning Li had to uproot the hero from the heart before he himself could link with it.


    "Still," said Li. "How would this hero''s death clue you into the questions you want answers to about the origins of heroes?"


    "At first, I thought perhaps to capture a Darkbeast and bring him before a friend of mine who is emuned from the Arcana and yet proficient in their research. That way, I could understand how it is the heroic mutation can alter life."


    Launcelot paused. "But I found something of more significance. A small vige near these woods has folk tales regarding the hero, and they recorded hisst words, words that echoed through the entirety of the forests, as he expelled his power to his body''s limit as ''The gate. I will reach the gate.''".


    "The ravings of a man on his deathbed weakened with delirium," suggested Li.


    "Or a strange folk tale," said Launcelot. "But I havee to realize from aiding heroes that there is one thing inmon between all of them: when they manifested their power, even if they were born with it, they have a distinct memory of seeing a passageway of some sort manifesting before them."


    "I was a street rat in Trieste. Considered myself lucky, but when my luck spilled and they were to cut my hands for thievery, I gained my powers," said Faye with a reflective nod. "I saw darkness at first, and then a red door sh in front of me. When I came out that vision, I''d burned everything to cinders."


    "I saw an orb of iridescent green," muttered Celeste quietly.


    "As was the same with me," said Ava. "Though I awakened two years after sister Faye did, and in my sleep, when all was peaceful."


    Launcelot spoke, his voice grave. "With thesemon threads in mind, I havee to the belief that it is not a matter of <em>how</em> these powers are created, but <em>who</em> or <em>what</em> is granting them.


    I had thought to affirm my belief by reaching the center of the forest and retrieving the hero''s corpse, but s, it is far too fiercely guarded to even think of breaching."


    "I see," said Li. He too had been slightly curious of heroes, though he had mostly hand waived their irregrities as simply beings summoned from another world.


    "Well, today is the day all these mysteries will be unraveled, for with me at your side, there is no barrier we cannot cross."


    ================


    It did not take long before the first Darkbeast attack.


    Li did not feel iting with his life sense, but he could hear it with his superior physical senses.


    "Darkbeast iing," said Li. "Four legged, judging from the cadence of its footsteps, and heavy. Impactparable to, hm, a [Brutal Charge] from a warrior. Brace yourself, Launcelot."


    Launcelot took a wide stance, his shield poised in front of him. He cast [Indestructible] upon himself, a metallic sheen covering his body as he solidified his resistances.


    Faye began floating in the air, mes wreathing her entire body, her hair bing one flowing ze as rings of heat welled up in her palms. Ava followed her sister''s cue, but instead of fire being her element, it was green-tinted wind.


    Celeste stayed on the ground, but her hands began to glow with a blinding white light as herrge blue eyes darted from side to side nervously.


    The Darkbeast tore through the forest thicket, crashing through trees as it unleashed a rattling roar. It looked like a patchwork of several different creatures all mashed together.


    It had the body of a lion, the tail of a dolphin, insectoid wings ending in ws, long, protruding slug-like eyes, and an elongated, razor-ded mouth that looked like it would have belonged to a leech.


    Launcelot mmed his shield into the beast and with a grunt, powered it up overhead, making it fly a meter in the air.


    Li cast [Root of the Devouring One], his left hand turning into a gray, bark-coated tendril, and he jumped in the air, piercing the creature with it.


    The creature first broke apart every which way, its bones splintering and twisting in unnatural angles, jutting out from its skin as ck blood spurted from every broken part of it before Li''s tendril absorbed it, sucking it into its gravitational singrity.


    The process urred so quickly that before Li had evennded on his feet again, the creature had been disassembled and absorbed.


    The heroes looked at him in shock. Li simply said, "You''ve seen this spell before, haven''t you? Any threat thates near us, I can deal with, so don''t worry about me. Cover your own backs."


    Li stepped in front of Launcelot, hearing now several creatures moving in his direction. Arge, skittering one, one that leaped from treetop to treetop, and another that burrowed underground.


    "Annoyances," muttered Li as he walked forwards with his hands behind his back, his eyes shing intensely green. He cast [Blood Root].


    From his chest, two crimson spiked roots burst forth like targeted missiles extending in the dark of the forest with bullet-like speed.


    One of them went upwards, into a treetop where it skewered arge ape with a writhing mass of tentacles for a face.


    The other sailed into the forest and crashed into the carapace of a horse-sized scorpion with two canine heads and tendril infested pincers.


    Finally, Li stomped his foot, a blood root emerging from his foot and sinking into the ground, piercing right through an overgrown worm with the faces of many different mammalian creatures riddled around its writhing body, all of their mouths open and ready to feast.


    The blood roots drained the beasts entirely of their life essence, leaving them useless and dead husks of shriveled, cracking flesh. Unlike the eldritch creatures the demons became, these Darkbeasts had far less eldritch powertent within them, and so Li could easily dispatch them with regr druidry.


    It felt more like fighting heroes with how Li could not sense their levels and know their abilities but still had a general sense of their power. As far as he could tell, his prior assessment of about level fifty for these Darkbeasts was urate.


    The three blood roots withdrew into Li''s body, and he continued walking forwards.


    It was then that something long and unpleasantly slimy wrapped around his arm.


    Li focused his physical senses even more, and he could garner from the quietest of vibrations and the slightest of light refractions that this was an oversized, tendril like tongueing from another Darkbeast that could camouge and lower its metabolic functions such that it was effectively silent and also odorless.


    The tongue pulled Li with considerable force that would have not only crushed the average''s man''s bones, but also have sent them hurtling into the darkness of the forest as if dragged by invisible power.


    But Li''s form was like a mighty oak, rooted and immovable.


    Instead, Li pulled the tongue, sending the Darkbeast flying towards him. He opened his palm and caught the creature by its lower jaw.


    The Darkbeast unstealthed, revealing itself to be a massive centipede as wide as a fully grown man. Its head was that of a chameleon''s, its teeth a mass of spiny curves that looked at home in the mouth of a shark.


    The Darkbeast bit down hard on the hand that grabbed it by its mouth, and it sounded like it had bit into solid steel, its teeth shattering on contact with Li''s skin.


    "My daughter can do better than this," said Li as he gripped the mouth much harder, his fingers breaking the teeth apart and digging them painfully into the flesh of the gums. His thumb cracked the creature''s jaw, and the grip of its tongue began to loosen.


    The Darkbeast writhed grotesquely, its ck and red carapaced bodyshing out and coiling around Li''s torso, the many ded legs aiming to w into him.


    Li heard the heroes shuffling behind him, Ava readying a billowing orb of wind ready to blow the Darkbeast away from Li.


    "Hm." Li used his other free hand to firmly grasp the middle of the centipede Darkbeast''s body.


    Like tearing apart tissue paper, Li ripped the Dark beast into two still writhing, still struggling parts. ck blood poured from its torn halves like water flowing from broken faucets.


    "Unpleasant,"mented Li, not because the sight of a giant centipede spurting blood was revolting, but because this creature had a higher concentration of unnatural energy swirling in its distorted veins.


    Li cracked his neck and threw the Darkbeast halves into the distance. They sailed forwards, the wind whistling around them as they rapidly picked up velocity, before they mmed into another Darkbeast, turning them both into an explosion of ck blood and raining misceneous body parts.


    "I''m sorry to be stealing the show here," said Li to the heroes behind him as he shook his hands, flicking ck blood off of them. "But I made a promise to be back home by the end of the day, and I fully intend to keep it."

 Chapter 191 - Extermination

    Li and the party traveled quickly through the Darkbeast infested territory.


    Li simply trudged his way forwards, taking up a brisk pace with his hands behind his back, like he was an old man going out on a casual stroll. Launcelot and his party members kept up behind him, but they were still high-strung, highly ufortable with going at a pace faster than a slow walk because of how deeply the fear of Darkbeast infested territory had been ingrained into them.


    "As I said before," said Li as he opened his eyes wide and cast [Focused Moonbeam] through them, shooting out twin beams of pale, ghostly white that shed forwards and crashed into the torso of a sizable Darkbeast several meters ahead, utterly torching it into an uniform pile of ash before it was even recognizable what amalgamation of beast parts it was.


    "Have faith in a god''s strength."


    Li felt so much morefortable using his druidic spells that he no longer felt any mental difort expending mana. To be sure, he knew that he was expending magical energy, but there were no physical or mental links to its loss. It also let him do nifty things like being able to now shoot the [Moonbeam] spell through his eyes instead of his hands.


    It made this sort of extermination of insignificant beings that much more impersonal and easier. All he had to do was look, and a Darkbeast died. It was fast, clean, efficient, and Li did not have to get his hands dirty.


    Extermination did not get much smoother than that.


    "By all the gods and however many hells there are," remarked Faye as she saw Li tilting his head to torch a flying Darkbeast that fluttered in the treetops. Its burning body dropped like a smoking rock, sinking into the marshy forest floor with a squelching impact.


    "Launce, you worried for Riviera''s safety when it has <strong><em>this</em></strong>to protect it?"


    " ''This'' sounds like objectification. I would prefer you not to use the term," said Li as he beheld a pack of dog-like Darkbeasts sprinting towards him, their agile and sleek frames topped by heads that opened apart into long, grasping tendrils tipped with spines.


    Li looked from side to side, directing the [Focused Moonbeam] in a fanning motion to torch the entire pack of twenty or so in one swift instant.


    As the Darkbeast corpses crumbled into mes that quickly dissipated into ash, the forest itself remained unharmed. Another good thing about the [Moonbeam]. It did not harm what Li did not want it to.


    The only real downside of the spell was that it was only C-ranked, but even a C-ranked spell boosted by Li''s monstrous stats was more than enough to annihte most beings in this world.


    "I feel utterly useless," remarked Faye as she crossed her arms around her fire wrapped, levitating form. "He even does the burning things part better than me. I''d always thought myself the best at that."


    "I quite like it," said Ava as she tucked her light green hair behind her ears. "Never before have I waded into these depths without feeling a pit of fear welling up within my stomach. And for once, you cannotin that you always do the most work, dear sister."


    Celeste nodded, though she was still a little tense as she tugged at her thick robes, inherently more fearful than the others.


    Launcelot looked at Li in utter andplete awe, his blue eyes wide and his shield, for once, lying ck in his grip. "Truly, I knew him to be a man of great strength, capable of wondrous feats of strength, and, in recent times, a seer to a faith once forgotten, but never would I have expected this.


    Not even the greatest of priests can channel the Light to the extent that he brings forth divine radiance. To me, he seems far more than Seer, more akin to an incarnation of divinity upon this world. Were he to im himself an avatar of divinity straight from the heavenly halls of Valhul, I would not doubt his words for a moment."


    Well, in a way, Li thought, Launcelot was right.


    "Then, Launcelot, witnessing this, can you find hope within your heart?" said Li. "Remember when you gave the speech to the bronze ranked adventurers in the Winterwoods? When you proimed that you wouldy your life down for them not so that they could flee, but instead so that they could fight to their fullest?


    That is what I am offering you. Riviera, I consider part of my garden, thus, I will not let it fall. Take sce in that knowledge to live a life without regrets."


    "I feel ashamed that all I can grant you is words of thanks," said Launcelot, his eyes downcast.


    "You are a good man, Launcelot, and thanks thates from a good heart is treasure enough," said Li.


    =============


    As they neared the heart of the Chattering Forest, the ground became even more unstable. Li''s footsteps sank him knee deep into ck, squelching mud that oozed with a liquid that looked unpleasantly like oil.


    The trees were still thick in this area, but they had grown to adapt to their environment. Their roots elevated them above the mushy soil level, making them look like tall, overgrown mangrove trees. In turn, the roots were thorned, and by virtue of the forest being so cluttered, they grew and twisted around each other in much the same way the tree branches did, creating spiked barriers that prevented further entry.


    Li came close to the wall of roots and put a gentle hand to them. He closed his eyes to listen.


    "There is another path around," said Launcelot. "The tides of this swamp lie lower to the eastern side opposite of here. There, we will find sturdiernd unmarred by root growths."


    "Or I can torch a way through," said Faye. "Though you would do that far better than myself,e to think of it."


    "That will take too much time, and I do not want to bring destruction upon innocent life," said Li. He focused his hearing even more, straining to hear the life beat of the trees.


    It was faint, distorted as if being yed underwater, but he could still make them out. The trees and vegetation might have been twisted by the Darkbeast influence, butparatively speaking, they were in far better shape than the creatures of the forest.


    He could still tap into them. Hear them. Call to them as a Guardian.


    Li slowly removed his hand from the roots, and as he did so, the roots shuddered before they pried apart from each other, retracting, and making a path for the Guardian.


    "Oh, so he can do that too,"mented Faye, her head cocked. She sighed. "You know, perhaps I should stop being surprised now."


    "Do go on," said Launcelot. "Not much surprises you, but when things do, your face lights up with quite the hidden charm."


    Faye crossed her arms and looked bashfully away from Launcelot. "Are you implying that my charm is usually hidden?"


    "Let''s move on," said Li as he trudged forwards, now waist deep in not just ckened mud, but a distinctyer of dark liquid as well. It felt ufortably like he was stepping in someone''s innards, like he was knee deep in the still pulsing, raw guts of a living being.


    ==


    Strangely, even as they made good progress to the heart of the forest, they did not encounter Darkbeasts for a good hour.


    "Something is certainly wrong," noted Faye as she looked around, making sure nothing was attacking them. She, Ava, and Celeste floated above the swampy muck of the forest floor, all of them capable of some kind of flight.


    "We are nearing the deepest of depths, where the most Darkbeasts should be. I should have expected swarms upon swarms upon swarms crashing upon us."


    "The Darkbeasts themselves are birthed at this heart," noted Launcelot. "It would stand to reason that the brunt of them would reside here."


    Celeste hugged herself tightly while Ava put a hand on her tofort her.


    "I can hear them," said Li as he trudged forwards, not at all slowed down by the fact that he had to wade through the thick ck mud and corrupted waters. "Many of them. Enough that I should say that it is the entire forest''s poption of them."


    Before his words could scare the adventurers, Li continued. "But they are noting towards us. No, they are actively avoiding us, heading towards where we ourselves are headed ¨C the heart of the forest."


    "They aim to protect it in a concentrated effort," remarked Launcelot. "Like soldiers withdrawing to protect their king."


    "Yes, and that proves that there is some sort of intelligence that''s controlling these creatures," said Li. "It may be that your hero corpse is not as dead as you may think it is."


    "Then the threat we are to face will be massive," said Launcelot. "An entire encampment of Darkbeasts ¨C not even an army of one of the five great banners of Soleil could hope to match such a formidable force."


    "Look at it with optimism, Launcelot," said Li. "It is convenient that they all gathered into one ce - it will make it that much quicker to dispose of them."

 Chapter 192 - Darkbeast Boss

    When they neared the heart of the forest, the organic feeling of the area became that much more intense. As Li and Launcelot waded their way through waist deep mud while the heroines flew above, Li could smell a peculiar stench lying rank around them, only intensifying as they took steps closer to the heart.


    It was a raw, gruesome smell. The smell of butchered innards freshlyid bare. It smelled like raw meat with a strong hint of bloody iron that permeated through the nostrils in thoroughly nauseating fashion.


    "Thank the gods we''ve no Darkbeasts to face under this stench," said Faye as she crinkled her nose. "I am precisely <em>this</em> close to retching."


    "You mean, the Darkbeasts he''s facing?" noted Ava as she pointed to Li.


    "Goodness, you know what I mean," replied Faye, and the two sisters exchanged light smiles.


    "We''ve never made it this far," said Celeste in almost a whisper. "I''m nervous."


    "The center of this swamp is but a few minutes away," said Launcelot. "And already, the pressure is unimaginable. I feel I am wading in the jaws of some monstrous, unfathomable beast, and at any moment, it may think to grind me under its teeth."


    "That isn''t helping with Celeste''s nervousness," said Ava to Launcelot.


    "I agree the feeling of this ce is rather unpleasant, but nothing that dramatic," said Li. "But we shall see when we get to the heart. I somewhat look forwards to what these Darkbeasts can muster up as a final defense."


    "He said he looks <strong><em>forward</em></strong>to moving ahead?" said Faye. She paused, blinking. "Ah right, I did tell myself to not be surprised."


    "You know, seeing that confidence, I myself feel far less fearful," said Ava.


    "It is truly a relief to be standing behind the back of one strong," said Launcelot. "I had been a living shield for so many for so long that I hade to nearly forget that feeling."


    "And it''s good that you''re humble enough to appreciate that feeling," said Li. "Bute, the end is near for this journey, and with it, there will be answers to your crusade to aid heroes."


    =======================


    The heart of the Chattering Forests appeared abruptly in front of the group. The trees with overgrown roots suddenly stopped, leading to a wide clearing that looked like ake, except the liquid was not the reflective, sun-kissed blues of waters in Riviera, but thick, cloying ck liquid that had the consistency and color of tar.


    At the edge of the swamp where there was still some solid ground underfoot, Li and the adventurers watched theke, their eyes gliding over its bubbling surface. A ck smoke plumed outward from the popping bubbles, flying in the air and gathering into a dome of darkness overhead that prevented any light from prating through despite it being no more than midafternoon.


    The stench of blood and innards was horrendously intense here, so strong it could make the average man dizzy, strong enough that Li actually registered that it was weakly toxic. He looked back to Launcelot and the heroes and found them fine.


    Launcelot had naturally high resistances as a warrior sub ssing as a shielder, and the heroes seemed to be innately more resistant to Dark beast rted effects than the normal humans of this world.


    "No enemies," remarked Launcelot quietly. He instinctively raised his shield, for he knew his words were too good to be true.


    There was a feeling that settled in thiske of primordial darkness that did not speak at all of gentleness. Instead, a deep, concentrated sense of foreboding as thick as the ck liquid of theke permeated the air, making the heroines also put their hands to their sides in preparation to use their powers.


    "Dark beast movement into this area stopped a few minutes before we arrived," said Li. "If I heard correctly, they swam under the surface of thiske, if it can even be called that. It is more like an oversized pool of filth."


    "Then, are they waiting for us?" said Launcelot. His eyes cast downwards to the ck liquid that was but a mere step ahead. "For us to submerge?"


    "I''d truly rather not," said Faye, shuddering.


    "No," said Li as he began to hear movement from underneath the tar-like water. He thrust a hand out to his side, motioning the humans to stand behind him. "They were simply waiting for us to arrive. Gathering their strength, or, hm-,"


    The surface of theke began to undte, as if a great force had begun to swirl underneath, and then it began to bubble like mad, the rolling boil of ck spheres farrger and more energetic than before.


    A groaning sound rumbled through theke, shuddering even through the unstable and marshy ground everyone stood on, the shockwave of that sound traveling up through their bones. It sounded like the groaning heard right before some colossal building fell ¨C the great death rattle of things that are mighty and tall and meant to stand for ages.


    "I see," said Li with a nod.


    "See what?" said Faye with a hint of panic, her eyes darting from side to side as she slowly floated backwards. "We are not as gifted as you are, you know."


    "The Dark beasts did note here to concentrate their numbers in one area," said Li. "No, they came here to be one. A single entity. A wise decision, I would say, considering I have already shown the ability to wipe out armies of their lesser forms with ease."


    The earth began to shake, and as it did so, theke''s boiling reached a peak, geysers of ck bursting upwards.


    Then, in a grand instant, theke surface broke, and a colossal arm emerged.


    It wasprised of the same organic darkness the Dark beasts were made of, but on closer inspection, Li realized that it was the amalgamation of every single Dark beast in the forest all bound together in the structure of a hand, all of their writhing forms glued together with the organic tar of theke.


    Countess eyes, mouths, tongues, pincers, wings, and limbs of all shapes and sizes jutted out from every inch of the arm, and as it continued to emerge from theke, its immense size became that much more apparent.


    "Gods," remarked Launcelot, his eyes widening as he raised his shield. "It is asrge as the walls of Riviera."


    "Not even Northwaste giants get this big," said Faye, equally disturbed.


    The heroines became pale, and Li could sense nausea and difort in their bodies that welled up from being in the mere presence of this immense creation and its deeply unnatural, deeply threatening aura.


    Li agreed with Launcelot''s calction. Riviera''s walls were fifty meters tall, making this arm amalgamation perhaps thergest thing he had ever fought in this world to date. He scrutinized the thing.


    The hand at the end of the arm had five digits and looked humanoid, and its fingers were syed open with its palm facing Li like a face. With a squelch, the center of the palm parted, revealing a gargantuan mouth lined with pulsating ck flesh and the spines of Dark beasts that acted like teeth.


    A dozenrge eyes began to open up around the mouth, and they gleamed a bright yellow as they aimed their wide ck pupils at Li.


    When Li looked at those eyes, he knew that, at least on this realm of existence, this was the strongest foe he had faced.


    "Get back," said Li as he stepped back, and seeing Li give ground, the humans immediately followed suit.


    He noted that from its simple emergence that enough force had been expelled such that the thick waters of theke were crashing outwards in an omnidirectional tidal wave. "And stay near me, if you don''t want to get washed away."


    Li watched as the tidal wave became taller and taller,rge enough to wash over the tops of the trees andpletely flood everyone away. He felt the adventurers listen to his words and hang close to him.


    "[Deeproot Bunker]" said Li.


    The A-ranked spell took effect. A green light emanated from under Li''s feet spreading outwards in a circle that covered everyone he needed to protect.


    Roots emerged all around the perimeter of the green circle, forming an airtight, water-sent dome all around everyone. Roots also traveled through the ground, reinforcing the mushy soil into solid, dense ground.


    Flowers sprouted from under the bunker. Some were orange, glowing and providing light. Others were white, emitting oxygen and nutrients needed to survive. Others were blue and green, providing a mana and health restoring aura respectively.


    The muffled sound of heavy liquid crashing down on the top of the bunker rumbled overhead as the tidal wave of darkness mmed into the bunker.


    "Can we defeat this giant?" asked Launcelot to Li, his voice urgent.


    Li thought about the question.


    The answer was an obvious yes if it was just a fight between Li and this thing.


    The creature, Li estimated at perhaps level eighty in terms of the pressure of power that emitted from it. A number that did not seem too threatening, but from its physical stature and power, Li determined it had boss-type stats.


    Boss-type creatures always had stats far above what their level would allow them in exchange for their attacks being slow and telegraphed as well as their forms usually beingrger and easier to target.


    Although Li could notpletely urately ssify this hand amalgamation of every Dark beast through Elden World terms because it did not have power that originated from the game, he could still makeparisons, and he believed this a fair assessment.


    But even a level eighty boss was not much of a challenge to Li. Certainly, attacks from it would damage him, and if he just stood there and let it hit him, he would actually be in danger in contrast to the vast majority of entities he encountered whom he could let them wail on him for a thousand years and not feel a single instance of damage.


    Of course, Li was not a simple and unmoving target dummy. He had the spells, stats, and experience to handle the attacks.


    The issue was destroying it. Li could sense an enormous amount of vitality coursing through the innards of the abomination, and he knew that it would take multiple rounds of A+ ranked spells to beat down this creature.


    In that time, its immense stature could easily cast attacks that could kill the fragile humans behind him through simple coteral damage, and Li could not guarantee an absolute defense for them.


    The amalgamation was strong enough that even if Li casted high ranked buffs on them, it would not help too much.


    Buffs were generally amplifiers. Multiplying weak stats meant little, not to mention that his buffs would not work as effectively on the heroines, and conversely, he had no idea if the Dark beast had some ability to ignore his buffs.


    And fortification wise, not even this A-ranked spell, the [Deeproot Bunker], could hold off against more than three of four strong boss level attacks, and he did not want the humans to suffer the trauma of having to be healed from life-threatening wounds or, if worst came to worst, resurrection.


    Which led to one option: absolute and utter destruction of the thing in a single instant.

 Chapter 193 - Boss Fight

    But that was easier said than done. The creature had a massive amount of health, and Li still had no idea what its abilities were. He knew he would very likely have to resort to an Ultima-ss spell of firepower, but during the cast time for such spells, he would have to go into his true form.


    In any case, Li had to scope out the situation a little more, possibly see if he could take it down without resorting to his Ultima-ss spells, and to do that, he needed to ensure the adventurers were not in harm''s way, not only to safely scope out the abomination''s powers, but to get them out of range of any coteral damage in the case that he did decide to use an Ultima-ss spell.


    The surging crash of heavy waters rolling overhead began to simmer down, the constant, dim roar fading into a streaming trickle. Recing that ruckus was instead the immense groaning of the Dark beast amalgamation in the distance as it began to move, its form fully stabilizing.


    Soon enough, it would ready an attack.


    "The waters have passed over us, and the abomination is slow to move, not yet steadying an attack against us," said Li. "Listen to me closely and follow my orders. I am going to take down this defense."


    "You are!?" said Faye.


    "Yes, and the moment I do, all of you heroes that can fly, take Launcelot and carry him up and away from the fight. You can do that, can''t you?"


    "Well, yes," said Faye as she bit her lip nervously. "But the moment we do, countless flying Dark beasts will swarm us. Elsewise we would have flown in here to begin with."


    "I''ve made sure. Every single Dark beast presence that I could sense has merged into that amalgamation. There is no other way that it could have be as powerful as it is now without sparing any measure of strength." Li began to prepare himself, going through the steps in his mind as to what he needed to do. Power began to crackle around him as he thought, crackling and coursing about him in sparks of electrical green.


    "So, I will ask you again. Can you fly Launcelot out? Fast, too? Elsewise, I can summon a familiar for you, though if I do, its newborn life will be in your care."


    "My party can quite capably fly me," said Launcelot. "They have already done it more times than I can count in the many times I shouldered one too many attacks and knocked myself out."


    "A wonder your brains still function properly by now," muttered Faye to Launcelot, and she nodded to Li. "I am the fastest among all of us with my me bursts, but with wind to fuel it from Ava and an explosive headstart from Celeste, we should be able to carry this heavy load high in the air within seconds."


    "Good," said Li. "And in the case that the Dark beast has some mean to attack you, I will ensure that you are adequately defended, so waste no necessary movement on trying to defend yourself.


    Then, here we go."


    Li waved his hand, and the roof of the [Deeproot Bunker] parted, the roots creaking as they unfurled from each other to reveal the pitch-ck darkness of the sky covered in Dark beast smog. In the distance, the Dark beast amalgamation screamed.


    It was an ear splitting, chaotic frenzy of a sound created from the mouth parts of all of the creaturesprising its unnatural existence, and Li approached it. He could understand thenguage of creatures, even those that did not have the necessary mental capacity to vocalize words, and he knew that what he heard was not a battle roar, but a symphony of pain, of thousands upon thousands of existences all loosing out screams of eternal torment.


    Li began to walk forwards, his boots trudging through the waterlogged swamp to meet the Dark beast. He resolved himself to end not only its misery, but the misery of the existence that still controlled it.


    The adventurers moved quickly and efficiently, their training and experience with each other kicking in. Faye immediately grabbed Launcelot under his arms to get a hold of him. Surprisingly, she was rather easily capable of lifting him up.


    Ava and Celeste were at Faye''s side, focusing on her movements. Faye furrowed her brows for an instant before she activated her power. She jumped up with Launcelot in her grasp, and as her feet left the rooted ground of the [Deeproot Bunker], twin jet bursts of me erupted from her feet, glowing bright orange in the dark like tails of aet.


    Celeste then pped her hands, and they glowed white for a split second before generating a massive explosion that sent all of them hurtling up to make an initial burst of distance.


    Ava thrust her hands down, and a powerful wind whirled from them, sustaining their flight and enhancing Faye''s mes.


    Li was surprised at how potent their abilities were. They had managed to soar past the high tree line of the Chattering Forest within a few seconds ¨C a testament to their coordination and strength.


    The hand amalgamation loosed its collective scream, rumbling the earth, sonic shockwaves emanating from its body, making it look like a shimmering mirage was wreathing it.


    Li narrowed his eyes as he noted that the hand had turned its palm away form Li and was looking at the adventurers. It started to move, its gargantuan length rising out from the depths of the Dark beastke as it reached for the adventurers, its long fingers stretched out greedily to try and grab them.


    The creature moved slowly, but due to its size, it covered ground incredibly quickly, rapidly closing in on the adventurers.


    Li acted fast.


    He would teach this abomination that it could not afford to ignore him. He put his arm out and aimed an open palm towards the hand. Then, he cast [Rumblespine Railspitter]. The A+ ranked spell activated, a pulse of green magical energy coursing out around Li, growing little nts and flowers all around the darkened mud near his feet.


    nt mass coiled around Li''s arm, transforming it into arge, dark green nt bulb that looked vaguely like a cannon, the end of the bulb tapering off into a hollow barrel. One half of the bulb was lined with a strip of glowing blue, and on the other side, there was a strip of glowing red to represent positive and negative currents.


    Li felt magical energy expending from within himself, feeding into the railspitter. This spell cost a decent amount of mana to manifest and to create individual bolts of ammo for, but its firepower was unrivaled in return.


    It clicked, creating a rail ¨C a long, heavy, stake-like spine. It armed, and the railspitter began to emit a whirring sound that rapidly amped up in intensity.


    With a breath, Li fired the railspitter.


    The rail spine sted out from Li''s modified arm at speeds that far surpassed the speed of sound. It crashed into the wrist of the Dark beast hand in an instant, and as soon as it made contact, itpletely eviscerated the wrist before the hand could close its fingers on the adventurers.


    Then, the concussive buzzing of the railspitter''s detonation echoed throughout the forest.


    The giant hand fell slowly to theke, crashing into it and creating another huge surge of ck waves. Thankfully, the adventurers now flew even higher away from the hand, bing like dots in the darkened sky, and it could no longer reach far enough to touch them.


    Li put a palm to his heart, nting himself with the [Heart of the Forest] buff, massively enhancing his physical stats. Lines of bright green energy glowed through his body, where his veins would be, flowing with raw power.


    Before the wave could engulf him, Li punched into the air, generating a shockwave that split the wave apart.


    "Interesting," said Li as he beheld his foe again through a rain of spattering ck, noting that the dimensions of the battle were about to change.

 Chapter 194 - Resolve

    The abominable amalgamation was regenerating.


    Extremely quickly, too, drawing up theke''s waters and recreating the hand it had lost within mere seconds. An impressive feat considering the hand alone was the size of arge building.


    So, then, Li''s theory was correct. Theke itself was a spawning pit, a mass of organic material with which Dark beasts could be easily created, or, in this case, used to regenerate this boss level creature.


    The entity spurring this regeneration was basically part of theke itself, so there also was no "core" to target as there traditionally would be in Elden World bosses that had annoying abilities like high speed regeneration that made them far harder to kill than normal.


    And even if there was a single target he could hit, it was fused deep within the heart of the forest, and he could not damage the heart anymore than it had already been.


    Li had somewhat considered a battle of attrition now that the adventurers had exceeded his expectations and managed to escape, but he would run out of mana before he couldpletely eviscerate the creature enough times over.


    This was bad news, certainly, but it did not change anything. Li had scoped the creature out enough and now fully determined that there were no alternatives to destroying it in a single instant. He would stick to the n of destroying the creature in one fell swoop, and by sending the adventurers away, he had also stalled enough time to make sure they were high enough in the air such that it was difficult for them to perceive anything on the ground.


    Li knelt down, his hand nearing his heart again.


    Bright, golden energy began to surround his palm as his skin melted around him, revealing the divine form of his bark. Like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, his sizable Elder Leshen form crawled out from the limited shell of his mortal disguise, and he did not waste any time in channeling his Ultima-ss spell.


    The golden energy surrounding his hand gathered in waves and waves of spheres that looked like miniature suns all coalescing into a single point. The light radiating outwards from that single point was overwhelmingly bright, as if the sun itself had touched into this swamp of utter, miserable darkness.


    The Dark beast amalgamation screamed as it sensed the immense amounts of power gathering nearby, and itpletely forgot about the adventurers. Its palm directed its multi eyed gaze down to Li, the bulbous, slimy yellow eyes squinting as they beheld light ¨C horrid light that it was unused to, light that it loathed.


    The ground shook and theke waters surged as the Dark beast amalgamation began to move, the hand sying its five giant fingers out as it cocked backwards, and then sailed forwards, aiming to swat down Li.


    Li did not move. He could not, for he was channeling his spell. He remained kneeling, fully intending to take this blow. With [Heart of the Forest] enhancing his strength, agility, resistances, and health regeneration, he was confident he could withstand this attack.


    Not to mention that Li was not actually too "squishy" a character, despite being a mage. Hecked the raw firepower of dedicated burst type mages, which spoke volumes about the massive devastation they could wreak upon this world were they to have been reincarnated here instead of Li, but in return, he had surprisingly high health and a repertoire of spells such as shapeshifting to help him survive.


    The soft, unstable ground of the swamp-like forest began to rumble like shaken putty as the hand reached down to Li. Powerful gusts of wind squalled out from its arcing trajectory,pletely uprooting and ttening the trees nearby Li, as if a raging typhoon were passing through, but he himself knelt therepletely unmoved.


    He focused entirely on the spell, on the warmth that began to grow in his hand, that warmth spreading to his heart. He focused on what he did best ¨C growing life. For he was not only casting a spell but nting a seed.


    The seed of the sun which gave life and light to all nts. The [Fusion Seed].


    ============


    Launcelot squinted his eyes and coughed. Faye was holding him up by his arms, and he knew he was high up in the air, but he had no idea how far up. His sense of direction was totally lost,pletely enveloped and obfuscated by the thickyers of ck smoke that spread out all around him, making it hard to see, hard to even breathe.


    From the moment that titanic hand monstrosity emerged from the primordial pool, the ck smoke released from the area had grown exponentially, and when the hand began to move, the smoke gushed into the air in giant clouds.


    And yet, he could hear the sounds of the raging battle below. He could hear the titan scream, its horrible ringing echoes reaching all the way up here. The rumble of the forests was also audible, and never before had he felt so useless in his life.


    All his life, he had been a protector of others, a shieldbearer not just in ss, but also in life philosophy. He felt a great relief that he was not the one on the ground bearing the brunt of the titan''s blows, but at the same time, he felt an immense shame.


    "Faye, how are you holding up?" said Launcelot.


    "Fine," came Faye''s voice, and that was what Launcelot focused on because the smog was so thick, he could not even see her despite her being right behind him. Faye''s voice became worried. "And you? This smoke, we can bear, but it is of heroic origin, and I fear it may be hurting you."


    "This much," said Launcelot as he held down a cough. "Is nothing. Ava and Celeste are by you still, yes?"


    "That''s right."


    "How high are we?"


    "Honestly, I cannot tell," said Faye. "But from how long we''ve flown, I have to say we should have far passed the dome of ck smoke by now."


    "The emergence of that horrible titan has increased the volume of smoke," noted Launcelot.


    "You don''t understand, Launce. It is not just theke that is dark. We should be so high up that we could almost touch the clouds, if we wanted to. The entire sky has been shrouded."


    "To think that the corrupted powers of but one hero are capable of this," said Launcelot, shaking his head in shock. For once in his life, he thought about running.


    Of flying with Faye and Ava and Celeste, his dearest of friends, to somewhere else, to safety, because he knew that deep down in his heart, he would contribute nothing to the raging battle below, a battle that belonged in the realm of grand myths when gods shaped entirendscapes.


    He felt so insignificant, just like he did when he wanted to investigate those dungeons further, to try and find answers to what happened to his first friend, his first love, when he found her encased in that horrible bag of flesh under the Noonspire but could not do anything when he felt that terrible presence in the dark forcing him away, making him realize how small he was in the grand scheme of things.


    "Launce, if I''m being honest, we should just go," said Faye. Launcelot could feel her grip around his arms growing tighter. "What is happening down there, that is beyond our grasp. We should do what we can. Escape and call for help. Alert the guild outposts nearby and have every vige here evacuate."


    Launcelot knew this was the right thing to do. He nodded, but knowing that Faye could not see his head movements, he started to speak and voice his agreement.


    Then, he beheld a great light shining from below. A light so bright that it appeared that the sun that had been blotted out under the choking darkness of smoke above had suddenly alighted upon the earth.


    Light that did not belong in this utter, hopeless darkness. Light that meant that there was still one who was fighting.


    Launcelot steeled himself. Resolve came to him. He took the strap of his bronze shield and fastened it tightly.


    "No," he said. "I will not run. Not anymore."

 Chapter 195 - Determination

    Li kept his hand and attention to the seed at his heart, feeling the golden speck of the sun finding no home more apt than in the body of a forest divinity, the small shard of sunlit life spreading thin roots through his body that glowed like visible veins of gold.


    The warmth that initially flowed from the [Fusion Seed] into his body had now rapidly heated up into a searing heat that actually burned his divine body, singing his bark and curling the tips of leaves around his form into ckened crisps.


    Such was the overwhelming power bordering on self-harm that the [Fusion Seed] granted when not used as an explosive and utilized for its intended purpose - to nt and grow immense, exponentially increasing power that shone extremely powerful like a star before burning out, taking the user with it if he was not careful.


    While he felt the heat gathering magical energy within himself, the Dark beast amalgamationnded its blow. The colossal hand mmed onto Li''sparatively miniscule figure, and the impact of the attack was immense, unlike anything that he had ever encountered in this realm of existence.


    The impact loosed out a tremendous explosive sound as it made contact with the soil, and the mushy, dark beast waterlogged dirt shot dozens of meters upwards in towering geysers that outlined the handprint.


    An immense shockwave surged out from the hand and, instead of gouging out a huge crater as it would have on solid earth, it instead had so much power that it made the soil undte and cave outwards like liquid waves.


    Wind sted outwards from the point of impact, powerful winds that exceeded the gale force of any earthly hurricane, uprooting every single tree in eye sight and sending them hurtling away into the distance.


    Quite literally, any mortal life Li was familiar with in this new world would have simply been eviscerated into a bloody stain from the mere shockwave of the attack.


    Li felt damage. Rtively serious damage. He had tanked a full force attack from a level eighty boss, after all, and that, in terms of sheer force and damage, was quite equivalent to tanking an attack from a level 100+ yer character.


    But he no longer felt mortal conceptions of pain anymore.


    He knew he took decent damage, that his life force was lowered, but nothing so trivial as pain limited him.


    All around him, he could only see darkness. Squirming, fleshy darkness. He was inside the mouth of the palm, and its spineced innards were all trying to crush him with intense grinding and cutting force. He could hear the screams and groans of all the individual life forces around him thatprised the amalgamation, all of them trying to desperately eliminate Li and the glowing light in his chest that it so despised.


    But thankfully, the insides of the Dark beast were not as powerful as the entire creature itself, doing miniscule damage to Li.


    And by now, the [Fusion Seed] had finished growing and taking root within Li. The sunken sockets of his eyes shed with bright sr light, emitting twin points of energy in the dark maw of the abomination, lighting up every single piece of ugliness thatprised its innards.


    Ugliness that would soon be wiped away.


    =====================


    "Faye, can you release me?" said Launcelot as he squinted down, making out the bright, sun-like light emanating below that could only havee from Li.


    He could shoulder the fall with a [Shield Block] that allowed him to negate the impact of any one attack, including a fall from this height, and from there, he could see what he could do.


    Launcelot realized that Faye''s hold around his arms were not loosening. He instinctively looked back to her, but the smog prevented him from seeing anything. Instead, he could only hear her voice.


    "I cannot," said Faye. "If I do, you will go down there, and you will die."


    "No, Faye, you do not understand. I cannot run now, as I have done before. I have to do this. For too long, I have fled when there arose a problem that I could not ovee." Launcelot recalled Azhar, how he had thoroughly beaten the ranger in their duel, but knew that now, the ranger had grown even stronger, taking that defeat to heart and improving himself.


    In contrast, what had Launcelot done? He had trained himself, known himself to be strong, but whenever he was faced with a challenge truly great, truly beyond his capacity, he did not have the will to face it and ovee it.


    "I have to be more than what I am."


    "You are the one that does not understand. Launce, how selfish can you be? For your pride, you are willing to throw your life away?" She paused.


    "To leave us alone in this world? Launce, for so long, ever since you lost Liana, you''ve been on this crusade to help herokind and to fight against the crown, even when you yourself know well you hold not the power to do it.


    You have always considered yourself less than what you could be. You have always wanted to be more than what you are. You push yourself daily, and yet, you always believe yourselfcking.


    Launce, you''ve done enough. You''ve saved us, you''ve be more a man than any I''ve met, you''ve be one to admire and look up to. I know I do. You are perfect the way you are, and sometimes, perfection does not mean you can do everything.


    If not for your own life, then retreat for ours."


    "Look at the battle below, Launce, and tell me, with all honesty, what can you do?" said Ava. "Your bronze shield is liable to break into a million pieces even at the slightest touch of the forces brewing down below. Your body would notst even a second there, nor would any of ours.


    Listen to my sister''s words."


    "Don''t go," whispered Celeste.


    Launcelot frowned, thements cutting into his heart. He knew Faye was right. Deep down, he knew. In all ordinary circumstances, he would have retreated here, knowing full well how much his dearestpanions cared for him. How they would be so alone and vulnerable in this world without him.


    Though he upheld his ideals, he was no fool. He would never take decisions that would ce those around him in danger for the sake of his own principles.


    And yet, he knew something was different this time.


    Have faith, he remembered Li saying, and right now, he did have faith. Faith he ced in his shield and how it responded to him, letting him know that he was making the right decision.


    "Faye, please, trust me. I know I can do good here, even in the midst of this battle that seems to so utterly dwarf us. I am not fool enough to throw my life away for nothing, and I am also not one that can turn my back when I know that I can do good."


    Launcelot used his free hand to reach out to Faye''s arm, holding her hand tight as she held him up.


    "I will be back. Alive. I guarantee it."


    "There is simply no going through to you, is there?" sighed Faye after a few seconds.


    Launcelot felt Faye''s figure pressing into his back as she wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight. She gently pressed her face into the back of his neck, her warm breathing caressing his cheek.


    "Fine then," said Faye as she withdrew from her embrace, "I will hold you to your word. You best make sure you return in one piece too. A functioning piece, mind you."


    "I have broken my word but once in my life, and never again," said Launcelot, smiling. "Especially not now."

 Chapter 196 - Divine Intervention

    Li unleashed the power of the [Fusion Seed] building up within him. Just like it had been when he had loosed its power with Ven''thur, light sprang forth around his form. A vast, immensely bright, hungry light that seemed to overpower and swallow up all the darkness around him, and with that light came the mighty heat of the sun itself.


    As the overwhelming light shone outward from Li, it began to vaporize all the unclean Dark beast flesh around him. The heat of the light was so intense that anything it touched, it simply zed out of existence.


    That immense heat and blinding light traveled through the length of the Dark beast amalgamation''s body until finally, when the light settled down, Li found himself floating in mid-air, the entire upper half of the abomination''s bodypletely disintegrated.


    But already, it began to regenerate, theke shimmering and squelching and bubbling as it flowed organic matter up to restore its avatar.


    Li opened his skeletal mouth, and an intense stream of heat came out like an engine releasing exhaust.


    Such was the ability of the [Fusion Seed].


    It was not inherently a spell meant only to detonate what was essentially a nuclear explosion, though certainly, it could. It was, in reality, an immense power boost that, when nted into a capable body, could grant them the total and unfiltered energy of the sun, enhancing everything from physical stats to the power of spells.


    Of course, there were precious few beings that could handle the unbridled power of the sun flowing through them, and so the [Fusion Seed] dealt continuous damage to whoever had it nted within them, the damage increasing the more they let the energy continue to build up within them until, at a critical point when they could no longer handle it, it would explode into the immense explosion that had happened on the moon when Li nted it into Ven''thur.


    But Li did not want to allow an explosion of that scale to ur here. It would wipe out most of the forest. Not only the forest, but likely many of the surrounding popted human territories as well.


    Thus, he had to keep the energy reacting within him regted by consistently casting spells to vent excess power, but even to him, maintaining the [Fusion Seed] was difficult, damaging him considerably even now.


    It was a double-edged sword, in essence, and it became harder to keep the power in control the longer he let it build up within him. Therefore, he aimed to utterly destroy this by using up all the energy that had built up within him, nning to shunt it into a single spell to [Fusionboost] it, elevating even a regr spell into Ultima tier firepower.


    This would deactivate the [Fusion Seed] and also provide enough damage to one shot the hand.


    Li casted [Lesser Shapeshift: Wings of Simurgh] to get some wings to prevent himself from falling as he was now fifty meters in the air from having freed himself from the amalgamation''s maw. Large but adequately sized wingspared to his frame emerged from his back, pping once to send him backwards, away from the Dark beast hand as it began to rapidly build itself up.


    Li then wrapped himself up in his human skin again. If he was going to annihte this creature, he had to do it in his human to minimize the risk of being revealed. Here, the [Fusion Seed] was once again an apt choice as since it was already cast and rooted in his being, he could be in his human form and still tap into its power.


    But the power of the [Fusion Seed] was leaking out, pushing through his fragile human form. Cracks appeared all throughout Li''s skin, and through them, bright light shone, like he was a hollow puppet about to burst apart at any given moment.


    But, in a way, his form was beautiful now. In the vast darkness of the ck smoke, Li was like a single shining star, emitting light that radiated far and wide, standing strong and alone against the vastness of the dark.


    Li gritted his teeth and focused on the battle in front of him, aiming to end it quickly. Intense heat surged through his body, and he had to use up the fusion energy now.


    The Dark beast hand was almost done regenerating now, but Li knew he could finish channeling his spell before it was done. Although it could regenerate a hand quickly, restoring its entire upper half took a good while longer.


    He raised a hand to the air, to the sky so clouded by smog so very much like that which had gued his past world, and he began to channel the final spell, moving out all the fusion energy in his body to his hand.


    His hand started to crack apart, kes of skin falling like white snow before disintegrating, but he held on. In a few seconds, he would be done channeling, and then, it truly would be as if the heavens themselves had descended upon this abomination to purify it entirely.


    But what he did not expect was that the Dark beast would have another ability up its sleeve. Before it was done regenerating, it attacked Li in the middle of his channel.


    Not with its body, but with theke. The water around the arm began to swirl and surge as if it had a mind of its own. It stopped regenerating the arm, sensing that it was a lost cause, and instead, the water itself acted like a living weapon, curling upwards in countless spiked streams that aimed at Li.


    Li frowned. He would have to tank this attack too, his channel still ongoing. He did not sense as much power froming from the weaponized water as he did emanating from the Dark beast, so he did not worry too much, but this was still an annoyance.


    But then, something utterly surprised him.


    Li looked down to see Launcelot at the edge of theke again. He blinked, thinking that there was absolutely no way the man was still here. Hepletely expected the heroes and Launcelot to have just escaped by now, or, at the worst, to have orbited the battlefield from high up, where it was hard to see anything going on.


    Yet, there was Launcelot in the thick of it all, bending his knees as if to jump, his shield raised up.


    Li had to admit that at the moment, he was actually annoyed. He would have to protect the adventurer as well.


    But when Launcelot jumped, Li instead was surprised.


    The adventurer leaped far higher and faster than any normal human could have. Or rather, any human of a level Li was familiar with in this world.


    Launcelot soared through the air at breakneck speeds, outpacing even the tendrils of water that were rapidly snaking their way up to Li. Li zoomed in his eyesight onto Launcelot, and he realized then what was happening.


    There was a distinct aura of divine energy shrouding the adventurer''s bronze shield, wreathing it in a fiery red glimmer. Launcelot''s eyes were like two points of fire, the whites and pupilspletely covered by familiar flickers of me.


    Before the tendrils could reach Li, Launcelot intercepted them and thrust his shield down in a powerful shield bash. A surge of energy sted from the bash, streaking out from the shield in a wave of rippling fire that disintegrated the dark beast water tendrils, leaving Lipletely free to channel.


    Launcelot looked up to Li with a smile. A smile that was not his. It was confident and full of brimming joy.


    "Nice to see you again, Chi-You," said Li with a faint smile of his own.


    "And it is nice to see that you have grown even stronger. We must have another match!" said Chi-You through Launcelot''s body.


    "Ask me another time. As you can see, I am rather busy right now."


    "Hm, then I shall look forward to seeing what you, New God, have learned in Valhul! If you do return. You really should. It does get dreary there, and this vessel is not yet quite ready to coexist with me."


    With that, Chi-You left Launcelot''s body, sending out one final burst of power that propelled Launcelotaway from falling into the depths of the dark beastke and onto parts of the ground outside the swamp that were not yet destroyed and ravaged by Li''s battle.


    Launcelot was unconscious at this point, his body growing limp as he hurtled down, but there was still just enoughtent divine power in him that he could survive any regr old fall and the attacks of dark beasts if any did somehow try and ambush his body. That much, Chi-You had generously left, even if it could have been used to manifest his consciousness just a little while longer.


    Leaving Li free reign to cast his now fully channeled spell. He looked down at the dark beast arm. Once more, theke was trying to regenerate it again, but now, having wasted time and water trying to strike Li with a surprise attack, it was too little, toote.


    It would not escape divine judgement.

 Chapter 197 - Eclipse

    "Perish as the rest of your kind have," dered Li. "Under the purifying light of the moon."


    Li, his arm raised towards the sky, the fusion energypacted into his hand, unleashed the killing blow.


    "[Fusionboost: Moonbeam]"


    A pir of orange light, so bright that it was almost white, shot upwards from his hand. The light pierced through the dark smog, punching straight through the dome of smoky darkness above.


    It was as if the sun itself had been unleashed into the midst of night, and when that light dimmed as the pir faded away, the smoke in the skiespletely parted away. The smog of the smoke had gathered so strongly that it was hard to even remember that it was, in fact, day. But in an instant, night became day, the azure blue skies and golden sun of Soleil revealing themselves.


    For what must have been the first time in nearly fifty years, natural sunlight fell onto the Chattering Woods.


    But day broke for only a moment.


    White smoke so hot that it warped the air shimmered from Li''s hand as the fusion energy waned, but now that the pir of energy had been released, he no longer felt the burning damage of the fusion seed within him.


    In fact, he could feel the seed dying, crumbling away into golden specks now that it had exhausted itself.


    All that energy, so potent that it could break apart even Li''s form, had gathered into a celestial event.


    As the seed crumbled apart, the bright sun of Soleil began to darken. From one end to another, darkness began to creep over the sun. Everything began once more to darken, but not with the all-consuming, devouring darkness of the smog, but instead with the faint, natural dark of night.


    Or, more specifically, the dark of a sr eclipse as the moon covered the sun.


    The Dark beast arm by now had only begun to regenerate its hand, but it suddenly froze. It looked up, eyes growing on its wrist as they beheld the eclipse. It looked at the moon, visible for the first time since the darkness of the smog had covered theke, and it seemed to be spellbound, the many eyes widening in surprise.


    Li brought his hand down, towards the dark beast creature, and the moonbeam fired.


    Unlike regr moonbeams that came from his own body, this one instead came directly from the moon. From the heavens, it looked like divine judgement wasid down, a great pir of silvery white light beaming down onto the amalgamation.


    The amalgamation did not shriek or scream. Instead, as the moonlight illuminated its body, rapidly burning and disintegrating it, it seemed almost to try reaching out to gently grasp at the moon. It closed its eyes in content, the purifying moonlight reducing its immense stature to rapidly dwindling nothingness.


    The fusion boosted moonbeam did not end at simply destroying the abomination as well. It continued to shine on theke of dark beast matter,pletely purifying it to reveal that there actually was regr water, blue and still, now free of the dark beast rot.


    Li exhaled as he brought himself down to the ground with his wings. The sr eclipse ended, cutting off the moonbeam, and as the moon slid away from the sun, light came back to the world, and with it, bursts of color. He saw as grass began to grow around the now cleansed soil. The corrupted trees were renewed with pure life, their ckened leaves slowly bing greener.


    With the dark beast rot gone, the forest was returning back to its natural state.


    Li smiled, feeling untwisted life grow unfettered around him.


    Now, there was only the matter of linking to the heart of the forest here. Though purified now, it would still have a record of the dark energies that once flowed through it. A scar that he could look at and, hopefully, use to attune with his eldritch side.


    "It''s¡­over?"


    Li turned around to see the heroines emerging from the forest.


    Faye had Launcelot''s unconscious form around her back while Ava and Celeste were looking around, astounded at the changes in the forest not only in appearance, but in presence as well: gone was the oppressive feeling of foreboding, giving way to the gentle kind of stillness that was familiar to forests.


    "Not yet," said Li. He looked to theke. Deep within it, he knew the heart of the foresty, and that was what he was here for in the first ce. "I must tend to the forest''s heart, but battle wise, yes, you should all be safe now."


    "And are you okay?" asked Faye. Li traced her gaze and he realized she was looking at the still visible cracks in his skin where dimming remnants of energy glowed.


    "It looks bad, but I am fine," said Li. He motioned to Launcelot. "And he will be, too, if you are concerned. I cannot sense any damage in his body. His mind is simply exhausted from using up magical energy to defend me."


    Faye gently put Launcelot down on the newly grown grass. "So, he was not useless, after all," she said, smiling.


    "No. Far from it. Give him my thanks when he wakes up." Li began to walk towards theke, his boots stepping into the water as he prepared to submerge.


    "Thank you," said Faye quietly to Li as she put a hand to Launcelot''s face. It was evident from the way she said it that she was not someone that said those words often.


    Li gave her a nod before he went into the water. The shallow end of theke ended rapidly, leading into depths that he quickly swam through, his strength and agility pushing him further and further down.


    The waters around him began to rapidly darken as he went down, the sunlight above unable to break through after a certain point. There was no life in thiske, likely because it had been corrupted, making its waters calm and still.


    Soon enough, Li reached thekebed.


    It was a surprisingly small space. It was a t circle of stone, and at its center, there was the corpse of a young human girl that had fused with the rock at its torso. Its arms and chest were sprawled out across the rock, and surprisingly, it was in good condition with intact skin, but its face had wasted away into an unrecognizable, sunken in mass.


    The corpse of the hero, Li surmised as he touched down to thekebed.


    There was power emanating from this stone circle, humming faintly throughout its rocky body. Old, ancient power. The power of a forest heart, one that indicated that the energy of life flowed from this point outwards, sustaining the rest of the forest.


    Li sat cross legged onto the stone circle, right beside the corpse. As his body made contact with the stone circle, it began to light up. Tendrils of bright green energy flowed out from Li, snaking their way throughout the circle in a pattern reminiscent of roots.


    He closed his eyes, feeling his being spreading throughout the circle and interfacing with it. He focused, and he could hear it now. The beating of the forest''s heart. How it hummed in slow but steady intervals throughout the rock.


    Hearing that heartbeat, feeling it flow throughout his body, his being, he began to know and understand the nature and history of this forest. How it spread its life around. Where it clustered its trees.


    Where creatures died, where creatures were born.


    But that information, though beautiful, was not what he was here for. He was here for the ugly scar that had marred the heart''s essence, for that was the key through which he would be able to enter into a source of eldritch power.


    He reached his hand out to touch the corpse in front of him. Before his hand could lie upon the waterlogged, decayed skin, he wondered for a moment.


    What would it be like? To ess a source of eldritch power? To meld with it as closely as he was now melded with the heart of this forest? He had no true idea, and because of that, he was hesitant.


    Nervous, even.


    But he had to do this inevitably in the future. He had toe to terms with his eldritch side, knowing how its energy, when it coursed through him, made him something cold, something terrible. He had to be able to regte that not only for himself, but now for his people.


    He touched the corpse''s face- the scar upon the forest''s heart - and then, there was darkness.

 Chapter 198 - The Gate

    Darkness flooded Li''s vision, and he felt an intense sense of disorientation, as if he was falling but he did not know in what direction. It felt exactly like the same sense of loss of control as that which he felt when he first came into this world, when he stepped into that void in what he thought was a game glitch.


    He fell. For a long time, or a short time? He could not tell. He did not know how time was passing. He did not know what he was. He tried to move his body, but nothing moved. He did not even know if he even had a body.


    There was only an infinitely stretching darkness, and in the midst of this void, there was only the thin speck of his lonely consciousness.


    "The gate¡­"


    A voice echoed through the darkness. It was so very faint. A mere whisper. It sounded so faint, so weak, as if uttered an unimaginable distance away.


    "The gate¡­"


    It became louder, a little closer, but still so very far away.


    1 1 1 1 1 1 1


    =


    -??????????-?????????????????????????????I???????????????????????????? ??????????????????????h????????????????????a???????????????????????????????????v???????????????????????e??????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????b?????????????????????????????????e???????????????????????????????????e?????????????????????????????n?????????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????????????????e???????x??????????????????????????????????p??????????????????????????e???????????????????????????????c?????????t????????????????????i?????????????????n??????????g?????????????? ????????????????????????y??????????????????????o??????????????????????????u????????????????????????????????-?????????????????????????????-??????????????????????????????????????


    1 1 1 1 1 1 1


    A different voice. Much louder. Much closer. Right next to Li, or rather, was that voice within him? Inside of his consciousness? He could not tell.


    What did it say? He could not tell. It sounded garbled, so utterly alien and distorted in a way that it was iprehensible to him.


    A brief pause. Or was it long? He could not tell.


    1 1 1 1 1 1


    -???????????????-????????????S??????????p??????????????ea?????????k???-?????-???????


    1 1 1 1 1 1


    "Who are you?" said Li. He was surprised his voice could even project, but in a way, he had an instinctive understanding that this was the mystery entity''s doing.


    "I am All in One. One in All. The Boundary. The Threshold. One who is Open. One who is Closed. The Gate and the Key. I am you. You are me."


    The voice waspletelyprehensible now, and it gained a human tone. It was a long, droning male voice, not very deep andpletely devoid of any intonation or inflection, like an alien trying to pilot human vocal cords.


    The way it spoke so slowly, drawing out each word, it felt like time was bing stretched out, its surprisingly fragile fabric warping and twisting as every word was uttered.


    In a way, the voice was soothing, weing. Beckoning.


    In the eternal darkness, thirteen points of light flickered in front of Li''s consciousness. They wavered, and then expanded, forming into thirteen circr doorways that orbited around each other inplicated and chaotic patterns. Each doorway was of a different color, and the light they emitted was never constant, always flickering and shimmering and wavering like desert mirages.


    "What does that even mean?" said Li. "I am¡­you?"


    "Yes."


    Li waited for a further exnation, but he did not find one. He did not sense any hostility from this voice. In fact, he actually felt some measure offort in it. It felt so very familiar, and yet he had never before heard it.


    "What do you mean by that? What is this ce?"


    "This ce is you. My form is true darkness incarnate. I am all that lies between the edges of the cosmic and the Outer. You are me, thus, you too, are darkness incarnate. This sprawling darkness is you.


    What you truly are. Not the puppets and dolls that you pretend to be."


    Li attempted toprehend what this entity''s words meant for him, but he could not find any real answer for now.


    "I sense confusion. You hear my words, and you hear abstraction. Iprehension. That is natural. You are yet to be. But that is not why you havee here. You havee here for direction."


    "Not direction. Control. ," said Li. He wanted to ask more questions about the entity''s previous words, but he found that he could not. His questioning was limited to what was allowed within the rules of this space. "Control over power I know that I have."


    "Control? No. We do not control power. We are power. There is no control, only movement. Direction. You seek to know where you will move. Your direction. I can grant you that. I can grant you choices."


    The thirteen orbs suddenly froze, and then they expanded away from each other, forming a hollow matrix that pulsated aberrantly in geometric patterns and movements that seemed impossible. In the hollow of the matrix, imagery began to form, showing Li, surprisingly, himself.


    His normal, human self-back in his past world. He was standing in the rain in his business casual suit. A cleantech mask was on his face, the advanced filtration system letting out an asional beep as it filtered out unclean air. He was looking down at his parents'' graves, his eyes closed as they usually were when he visited to say hello them and wish them well.


    The entity spoke again: "I am love. I am pain. I ampassion. I am cruelty. I pitied you. Your miserable, insignificant, meaningless existence, and thus-,"


    The image in the matrix changed. This time, it was Li in the new world. He was in the farm, smiling as he beheld the sun with Old Thane after a day of hard work. Tia was standing next to him, holding his hand.


    "You became something more."


    "You''re the one that transported me into this world?" said Li. "You''re the voice that called out for my help?"


    "I hear every prayer. I hear every curse. But I do not pray. I do not curse.


    No, those were the prayers of little ones in the world you now reside in. Little ones that tapped into the flow of my power, our power, wishing with their prayers and sacrificed lives so desperately to influence its direction."


    "That wasn''t how I understood it," said Li, recalling Alexei''s words. The Elves had likely been the ones to summon him, and they had done so through the power of Source Magic. "I was brought here with source magic. At the least, that was my understanding of it."


    "A limited understanding. I have told you. We are power. What the little ones call the Source is but a droplet of the infinity that weprise.


    So many little ones throughout so very many worlds pray for those infinitesimally small droplets. Sometimes, the worlds themselves pray, and sometimes, I answer. But enough of this. You must now choose your direction. How you will flow, for without direction, you are formless, and formless, you are nothing."


    The thirteen orbs broke their formation, and the images they projected disappeared. They instead began to hover around Li. Thirteen voices all spoke to Li simultaneously, sounding like the mixture of countless voices of all kinds male and female, human and alien.


    "I am Chaos. I am Order. I am the Gate that seals off the Outer from unleashing itself upon all realities, all worlds. But I am also the Key that can bring forth the Outer into the Inner, marking the beginning of the Crawling Chaos that heralds the end of all things.


    I raze entire civilizations. ughter empires so vast they stretch across stars. Yet I also nt happiness within sorrowful hearts. Build up worlds teeming with life. I am power, you are power, and power has direction.


    To flow for Chaos.


    Or to flow for Order."


    "The gate¡­the gate¡­," came the pitifully weak voice from before.


    The thirteen orbs expanded out and away from Li, revealing a figure crawling its way through the darkness towards Li.


    It was the corpse of the hero, except the girl was still alive. She was a crawling torso, her body severed in half at the waist. Her entrails dragged behind her like tails as she slowly pushed her way forwards with thin, bony hands. Her dirt and blood stained face had tears streaming down them as she affixed a desperate gaze not to the thirteen orbs, but to Li.


    "Please," said the girl as she reached out to Li, her fingers wing at the darkness.


    "Chaos. Order. Hate. Love. Cruelty. Pity," droned on the entity. "Choose. And flow."


    Li found that he now had a physical body. Or some semnce of it. He could merely perceive himself as a hand. A floating, disembodied, ck hand. One that looked strikingly familiar to the Dark beast hand.


    At that moment, as he wrapped his dark fingers around the girl''s own little hand, a hand that felt so very much like Tia''s, he chose what he felt was right to him.

 Chapter 199 - Past And Present I

    A vision of the present, or was it the past?


    Be curled up next to Ange, her dearest and first friend. He appeared to be an enormous St. Bernard dog easily twice the size of an adult man withrge, angelic dove wings sprouting from his back, which was why she called him Ange, for angel.


    She hugged into his great, bushy cream white and brown fur, finding warmth against the rapidly approaching cold of the night. Ange huffed as he craned his tawny head to her, giving her face one big, sloppy lick.


    "Oh, stop it, you big oaf," said Be with a giggle.


    Ange smiled at her, his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth, and she pet him, her pale, bony white hand sifting through the fur on his head. Her eyes traced the length of her skinny arm, finding distorted patches all around her ivory white skin from the bad times, when the priests and vige headman got so mad at her and then got everyone else so very mad at her too, even her parents.


    Though, when she thought about it, mother and father had never really liked her much. They liked her two older brothers more because they were taller and stronger and older and they could help with the farm work and chores where she was so tiny and skinny and got tired all the time.


    It didn''t help that when the headsman said the famine came, mother and father started to give her less and less food while her brothers got the same. She got hungrier and hungrier and skinnier and skinnier, but she was always so scared to speak up because she knew she would get scolded.


    Be sighed.


    It was better here. In the Chirping Woods where there were no bad times and bad people anymore. Only Ange and her friends and mister Bale, the kind old man that lived in the woods. The man who made Be her clothes and who was kind enough to have given her food the first time she ran into these woods, when she did not have enough friends to find her the berries and fruits and roots and nuts she loved to eat.


    But now, Be had made so many friends, and they all lived happily in this forest with her.


    There was Simon, the furry crocodile who never liked to stay in the sun too long. There was Ames, the big, clumsy bear with fins who always showed her where to find honey and offered her fish, though she did not like eating meat because it felt so sad eating something that had died.


    Sometimes, She, the sleek rhino panther, woulde by at night for a few pets before slinking away, because she was always so shy.


    Every so often, She and Ames would get in a fight, and Be would always have to break it up and scold them and then heal their wounds, because they had big teeth and big ws that were scary and painful.


    There were many, many more friends, and Be loved them all, though because there were so many, she did not see them all the time. The only one she saw constantly was Ange who never left her side.


    Be smiled at Ange as the big dogid his head down and looked at her with big, dopey brown eyes. She remembered when Ange was so tiny. Well, he was always a big dog, but back in the vige, he was just like the other dogs.


    When the headsman started to talk about famine and war and otherplicated things and when Be''s house started to never have enough food, she was so very sad because Ange never got to eat anything, not even the little bit that Be got.


    So, she would sneak out at night to give him a few scraps from her own te, and he would always thank her with his big, sloppy licks.


    But one day at the dinner table, father said it was time for Ange to go. He said there was no more food, and that Ange could help them one more time by going to Mr. Cheney, the fat and scary old butcher.


    That night, Be stayed up to hear father leave the house with his firewood axe. She saw him sneak up to Ange and raise that horrid thing, and she remembered how scared Ange was, how his tail was tucked in, how his dopey eyes knew that something horrible was going to happen.


    Be couldn''t stand it, but what could she do? She screamed at father, telling him to stop, trying to pry the axe from his big, strong arms, but all he did was shove her down and tell her to go inside.


    So, she prayed. Like what mother and father and the priest said, she prayed to the Light, and she saw it. She saw the Light. It was shaped like a round door. Like a gate. Bright and orange like the sun.


    Then, Ange got big. Very big. Big enough that father got so scared he shrieked about monsters. He ran into the house and took mother and her brothers and ran to the vige square.


    Be did not know why father was so scared. Ange was still the same happy and friendly dog. She stayed with him and yed with him that night, but soon, father came back angry and fearful.


    So many people were behind him. The headsman, the priest, the scary butcher, almost everyone. They all pointed at her and Ange, and she felt so scared. She saw fear in their eyes. And, worst of all, anger. She could never deal with anger, and their eyes shed so terribly under the light of their torches.


    They grabbed her, then, and from there, it was all a blur, and she did not want to remember it either. They took Ange and tied him up and they tied her up too, at the vige square.


    To a big, rough wooden stick with rope so tight that it tore her skin, and even though she cried so much, she was too scared to tell them to stop, because she knew nothing had ever gone right in her life when she talked back or voiced herself.


    The priest put fire under her, and it hurt so much feeling it hurt her feet and her arms. The air got so hot, it got so hard to even open her eyes, but she held back from screaming because she hoped that if she did not make so much noise, they might stop this punishment and let her go.


    But it was Ange that saved her. He got even bigger and got wings and he got mad for the first time, and when he barked, fire of his own came out, and the priest and the headsman both screamed so loudly when they got hit by it.


    Ange took her from the wooden post and flew her to the Chirping Woods, and ever since then, she had stayed here. She figured out she could make friends just like Ange, and she did just that.


    Sometimes, when she found an injured animal, she made it into her friend too, healing it and making it bigger and healthier than before.


    The first few weeks in the woods were scary because she was so alone, but Ange being there helped her so much. Sometimes, scary men woulde into the forest. Some of them in big armor with big swords, but Ange always got them to leave, and once she had more friends, nobody bothered her anymore.


    She did not mind that she saw no more people. After all, people had only ever hurt her. She had her friends, and that was all she needed. And Mr. Bale, too. The old man was the only kind person to her.


    He lived in a tiny little hut in the center of the forest, by ake, and he had a wrinkly but big smile, the same her grandpa had when he was still alive, and he always told her about the forest and how to find berries and roots and nuts and fruits.


    Be rubbed her eyes. She was getting sleepy, because it was bedtime now.


    "Goodnight, dearest Ange," said Be as she sunk into his fur, entering into a deep sleep.


    Be woke up to Ange growling. She could feel his broad chest rattling, and she sat up, rubbing her eyes.


    "Nightmares, Ange?" said Be quietly. She smelled smoke, and immediately she grew alert. She stood up in a panic and looked around her.


    It was a terrible sight. All around her, between the dark spaces of the trees, there were eyes staring at her. Not the friendly eyes of her friends or the animals of the forest, but sharp, evil eyes that she knew wanted to hurt her. In the distance, she could hear fire crackling.


    "Ange, what''s happening?" said Be as she hopped onto Ange''s back, hugging tightly onto tufts of fur to stop herself from falling.


    Ange growled more menacingly, his huge teeth showing, fire flickering between them. Some of the eyes stepped forwards, revealing ugly creatures. They looked like little men with pot bellies and big arms and legs like the scary butcher, but they were not human. They had long, pointy ears and big, sharp teeth, and dark des and fire flickering from their backs.


    Ange roared, loosing a huge breath of fire that lit up the night, revealing that there were many, many, many more evil creatures of all different shapes and sizes around them.


    The fire breath reduced several of the little men into ckened clumps, but there were so many more that Be tugged at Ange''s fur and said urgently, "Fly. Let''s fly, Ange, and get away from here."


    Ange spread out his wings and flew, and they rose above the trees. Be widened her eyes as she looked down. There was fire everywhere. Horrible crackling and heat and smoke that came up from them, making her cough.


    She looked up and saw that there was something dark all around her. A dome covering the forest, stopping anything from leaving.


    Not that Be would leave. She would never, ever leave her friends behind.


    "Ange, let''s find the others!" shouted Be, and Ange flew downwards, his big eyes tracking the forest.


    ===========


    They came to the wide creek where Simon lived.


    Simon, massive as he was that he wasrger even than Ange, was sprawled out in the middle of the raging water, blood pouring out from big holes at his side. Around him, there were dozens of bodies of evil monsters all dead, massive chunks ripped out from them through Simon''s jaws.


    Angended beside Simon and whined, licking the crocodile''s face, but Simon was dead.


    Be balled up her fists and held back tears, even if she knew she could never see Simon again, that once something was dead, she could never bring it back, because she knew it was dangerous to stay here.


    She got back onto Ange and tugged his fur. She knew the dog was sad, so she had to be strong for him. For the others, too.


    "Come on, Ange, we have to find the others. They may still live."


    =======


    It did not take long for Ange to track the familiar scents of Ames and She. They were in a clearing closer to the forest center, by a stream where they usually fought over fish. They were crumpled on the forest floor, lying side by side together with blood pouring form their still bodies.


    Ames''s big hide had been pierced with a giant sword, and She''s sleek form had been punctured with ming arrows to her neck. In front of them, there was the body of a knight, though not any Be had seen before.


    It was a knight far bigger than any man she had known, and his armor was ck and there were still hints of fire flickering from the gaps between it, but the fire was waning down ¨C the knight was dead.


    She and Ames had set aside their differences to work together and kill this knight.


    Be stepped down from Ange and knelt by Ames and She, hoping desperately that there was still some life in them so that she could heal them and then take them somewhere far away, where nothing could hurt them, but there was no breath in them, no life.


    She began to cry, unable to control herself. Why were evil things hunting her again? Hadn''t everyone hunted her and her friends enough? She''d had so little for herself that she thought that maybe, just maybe, she could have a few friends of her own and live happy, but why?


    Why did she seem to lose everything she wanted to call her own?


    Be jolted up as she heard Ange whimper in pain. She saw a big, ming arrow sticking out from Ange''s back. She wiped down her tears and leaped back onto Ange, tugging at his fur to get him to fly.


    Ange whimpered, limping, but his wings worked, and he took to the air again. Another arrow sailed past them, but it missed, and Be hugged Ange and cried again.


    "I''m so sorry, Ange, I let you get hit. I got you hurt. Here, I''ll make it all better."


    Be focused, remembering the image of the Light, of the sunny gate, and power flowed from her hands and healed Ange. Flesh grew back and pushed the arrow out.


    Ange whimpered, but this time, tofort Be, to tell her that it was fine, that it was okay, that he would take her to safety. She waited for a minute, Ange panting heavily as he flew, and she realized he was taking her to the forest center where mister Bale lived.


    "That''s a good idea, Ange," said Be. "Mister Bale can do anything. He knows where the berries and fruits are and he knows how to make them all grow. He''ll know how to get us out, too."

 Chapter 200 - Past And Present II

    Overhead, Be grimaced. She saw theke shining with the light it usually had, and from that light, she could see that Mister Bale''s little hut had been pulverized, ground up entirely. Mister Bale was there, too, by theke waters.


    His usually hunched up figure was standing tall, and there was a lot of green shining around him. He was fighting a big monster. An ugly monster. It was bigger than even the knight from before, and it had a round, pig-like face with a huge, fire-breathing snout,rge tusks, and squinty red eyes.


    Its body was fat and pot bellied with big, gori like arms and short, stubby but wide and muscr legs. Little ck wings that looked far too small for it sprouted from its hairy back. It held its oversized arms out in front of it, blocking a beam of green energying from Mister Bale''s hands.


    Mister Bale looked tired, his wrinkly forehead even wrinklier, and his breathing was very deep.


    Meanwhile the monster was smiling, not at all exhausted.


    "Let''s go," said Be. "We have to help Mister Bale."


    Ange barked in agreement, and they swooped down. When they got close enough, Ange roared, breathing down a torrent of fire onto the big monster.


    The monster looked up and snorted, the fire doing nothing to it.


    "What is this, forest spirit?" it said to Mister Bale. "You would challenge me with a little girl and an oversized hound? Me? Sloth, one of the Heralds of the Burning One? Amusing."


    "Be!" shouted Mister Bale, his voice hoarse. "Run! Do not fight this demon. Just flee!"


    "No!" shouted Ange back. "I won''t leave a friend behind!"


    Ange roared in agreement, and he soared around the pig demon, loosing fire all around, seeing if there was any weak point in its hide.


    "Unfortunately, little girl, I am quite fire resistant," said the demon. It moved with a sudden agility thatpletely belied its fat frame, and itshed out with its other arm, extending unnaturally and grabbing onto Ange.


    Be fell from Ange''s back, and from here, a fall of this height was definitely too much for her. She closed her eyes, trying to be brave, expecting pain, but instead, shended on something soft. She opened her eyes and saw that shey atop a patch of Fluffgrass thatpletely broke her fall with its soft and leafy structure.


    "You should not have done that, forest spirit," said the demon triumphantly as it now grabbed a huge hand around Mister Bale. "Your [Forest Smite], enhanced by the Heart you so dearly guard, held me back, but even a littlepse in concentration will not do when you are facing the mighty Sloth."


    "Stop!" screamed Be. "Let them go!"


    "Ah, the desperate pleadings of a child. Some among my kind believe you children of mortals to be worth mercy, but I, unfortunately am not one of them. So do not worry, ugly little mortal spawn, you will join these two in death very soon."


    The demon let out a squeal of pain. Ange had bit its fingers, savagely shaking his head and tearing off chunks of flesh.


    "Insolent pest!" The demon roared, and it used its huge arms to swing Ange up and then down, dashing him onto the forest floor and killing him instantly.


    Be dropped to her knees, her mind nking as she tried to process what was happening, how much she was losing, how much she had lost in so very short a time. It felt like a nightmare.


    "Now, you, forest spirit," said the demon, and it opened its mouth and unleashed a torrent of ck fire that engulfed Mister Bale. Mister Bale writhed around for a second before going limp as the ck me ate him away.


    "Do I smell despair?" said the demon as its porcine nose red. His blubbery head turned to Be. "Good. You will be a nice little morsel."


    It reached its hand out to Be, and she knew she could do nothing. She knew she would die here. The priests always said that there was a good and warm ce everyone went to when they died.


    She hoped she was going there with all her friends and Mister Bale.


    Fat fingers wrapped around Be'' body, and she felt herself lifted off her feet, drawing closer to the wide mouth of the demon.


    But no, she could not give up now. Not when so many of her friends had died protecting her, fighting to their veryst breaths.


    For so very long, for so very many years, she had thought that if she was quiet, if she did notin, things would be good for her. That she could keep what she loved. That she could finally have friends.


    Now, she realized, that was never true. To keep what she loved, she needed to speak up.


    She needed to fight back. And she was willing to do anything to fight.


    She put her fists on the big monster''s finger, her teary eyes wide with anger, and she channeled as much power as she could. Every ounce of it, remembering vividly the light of the gate. White light crackled around her, and the demon cocked its head.


    "You''ve still some fight left in you?" said the demon amusedly before its expression turned to shock, then pain.


    It roared as the light sparked up its arm, turning the flesh all mushy, bubbly, and warped. Tumors and growths formed everywhere as did massive boils and blisters that popped painfully.


    "Curse you, you little wretch!" The demon screamed and brought its arm down.


    Be could only see the world blur before she found herself on the forest floor, looking up to a smoky night sky, to arge, pale moon twinkling in the distance, in a ce so far from here, so much quieter and more peaceful than here.


    She felt strangely peaceful. She could hear her heartbeat through her chest, and it was so steady. So even. She tried to move her legs, but she could not feel them. She looked down. Her legs were so far away, torn from her body and crushed into bloody pulp from the demon tightening its grip on her.


    The demon roared again in pain. Its arm was continuing to mutate, turning into something horrible and painful, and it ignored Be.


    Be remembered Mister Bale''s words. Theke was very special. It was where the whole forest found life, he said. Where, he said one day, if Be was a good girl, it might even grant her a wish.


    Be had always thought Mister Bale had said that just to get her to listen to him, but she still crawled to theke, dragging the remaining upper half of her body forwards with her arms, but they were skinny, thin arms that could do no work, arms that made her parents hate her.


    But still, she kept dragging herself forwards, across the grass, towards the light of theke. She cried, not because she felt pain ¨C no, she could not feel anything anymore ¨C but because she knew she was doing this because she had nothing else to do.


    She wanted to fight so badly, to do something for her friends, for Mister Bale, but she had nothing anymore. She was going to die, and she knew it.


    Soon, she would be with Ange again, with Mister Bale, with Simon and Ames and She and all her friends in the warm ce that the priests promised, but before then, she had to try her best, even if she knew it meant nothing, because she loved her friends and would do anything to make sure she avenged them.


    Slowly, surely, she made her way to theke''s edge, and then, weakly, she fell into it. She felt the cool water swallow her up as she began to sink. She looked up. The world above looked so murky under the water.


    So far away.


    She could not hear the burning and screaming anymore. Just nothing. Her vision began to dim, and she became so very sleepy, but she tried to hang on, but it got so hard. It got so tempting to just close her eyes, to sleep and let a happier dream overtake this nightmare, but she made onest effort.


    She made her wish.


    She wished for the light again. For the gate. For every time things seemed so dark, the gate was what showed her hope.


    "The gate...," she whispered underwater, her voiceing out only in bubbles. "¡­The gate."


    And the gate appeared.


    She did not know if she was dreaming now, but she could see the gate above her, its light shining so bright and so warmly and so gently. She reached her hand out to it even as she sank further and further underneath the water, wanting to touch it so badly.


    From the gate, a hand wrapped around hers, and a voice flowed into her head.


    [I am power. Once formless, now flowing. You seek power, and to you, I grant a choice. I am not benevolent, and my power is not gentle, but it is power. It will grant you what you wish.]


    [Vengeance.]


    [Take my power and be something more. Something terrible, something pained, but something powerful. Avenge what you have lost.]


    [Or let go and find peace, to fall into the eternal slumber of all souls freed from their mortal coils.]


    [It is your choice.]


    Be held the hand tight, and she knew what her answer was. She had always let go, never speaking up and letting so many horrible things happen to her, but she had never, ever let go of friends. She would not do so now.


    [Your choice is epted.]


    Be saw the light dim and disappear, leaving her inplete darkness. Darkness that began to surround her, clinging to her skin. Cold, lonely, and sad darkness, and she knew she was going to be in this darkness for a very long time, but this was her choice.


    And yet, she was still so scared.


    The voice came again, and this time, it was a lot more gentle. A lot more human sounding. Comforting.


    [Do not be fearful. When the right time draws, I wille back for you.At that time, I promise you will have peace, little one.]


    With that reassurance, Be let the darkness consume her with a smile.

 Chapter 201 - Homeward

    Li felt a small hand around his own in the darkness, and from that hand, he felt force. A jolt of force pulling him outwards. The sudden feeling of physical force was jarring to him, and all of a sudden, things wereing back to him.


    His physical form and his regr mind, and with those slowly restoring, he returned to the world he was familiar with.


    Things came back to him piecemeal.


    First, it was his vision. Darkness was dispelled, and instead, he saw water all around him. Dark, shadowy, abyssal water. His touch returned, sensation bing stronger, and he could feel how cold the water was, and, at the same time, how warm the hand clutching his own was.


    Li looked down to see Tia there. Her hand, scaled and ws extended, were locked around his, and she stared at him with open-mouthed panic, her green and ck eyes glowing in the dark. When she saw that his eyes met hers, that they were open, she gritted her sharp teeth and heaved backwards, wings unfurling from her back to aid her with the effort.


    Li was torn out of the stone tform thatprised the heart of the forest, and he felt limp, disembodied. His mind, too, was a blend of chaos, his memoriespletely out of order.


    What was happening? Why was Tia here? Why was it so dark? Where had he been? Where was that ce? Who had he been talking to? How long had it been? So many questions formted in his half-formed mind.


    Tia took Li and swam up, her wings fluttering down and creating swaths of bubbles around her as she ''flew'' through the water. Her determination and effort was such that it only took a few seconds for her to swim all the way up from the depths to the surface.


    Like dolphins breaching the water''s surface and soaring in the air, Tia and Li flew through theke surface and she gentlynded him at the edge of theke, resting his still limp body on soft, bushy grass.


    Touching the grass, Li felt life energy, and with that, he felt things return to him faster. Sensation and control over his body immediately formed intopletion, and as he sat up, he could see a solid, almost tangible darkness slithering away from his body, pooling around the grass for a few seconds before melting away into nothingness.


    It was not the darkness of the dark beasts. Organic and formed like flesh. It was at once incorporeal, hazy and fog-like in its appearance, and strangely still looked solid, the fogginess of the darkness fluxing between solidity and intangibility.


    His mind focused, and waves of realization began to hit him as rity shone through his muddled head.


    It was not that Li was ridding himself of the darkness. No, the darkness felt familiar. It felt like him. He had formed his physical body again out of it. During the time he was in that strange space, his body, the human form he carried right now, had beenpletely deconstructed, ceasing to exist in this world.


    Or, to be more urate ording to words he half-remembered, the puppet he pretended to be had broken apart when he had returned to his true form. Not the true form of his video game character, for that, too, was a puppet, but the true form of his darkness thaty in a space infinitely alien and remote.


    Li looked down to his hands, feeling it so utterly strange that he almost could not recognize them. They felt so artificial. So distant. Not his.


    Beyond every other question, there was one that seemed so basic and yet monumentally significant.


    What was he? He had no real answer to that question as of now, just somewhat formed ideations.


    Tia collided into him, wrapping her arms around him tight as she buried her face into his chest, her horns nudging at his skin. He felt hot tears and sniffling, and he smiled. He did have answers.


    Whatever he found out himself to be, one thing remained constant: he was still a father.


    "What''s wrong?" said Li as he returned Tia''s hug, putting a hand to the back of her head and stroking her hair.


    "Papa was gone so, so long," cried Tia.


    "What?" Li blinked, realizing then that all around him, it was dark. He looked up briefly to see the faint glimmer of the moonrgely obscured by clouds.


    That was not right.


    Though his memories of his time in the darkness were still hazy, his memories from before were clear and intact. He had killed the Dark beast amalgamation and purified the forest right as day was setting into theter parts of the afternoon.


    But it was night now.


    Far past midnight and nearing dawn. So much time had passed, and yet, how? When he tried to recall how much time he spent in the darkness, he found that he felt it was at the same time short and long.


    He felt equally confident in saying he had spent one hour there or ten years or even a hundred.


    There was no true sense of definite time in that ce.


    Li shook his head, focusing on Tia instead. She was not unscathed. There were wounds around her body, albeit minor. Some cracks to scales that armored her skin. A chip on one of her horns. A few shallow cuts that had long since stopped bleeding.


    "Tia, you''re hurt," said Li urgently. He hovered a hand over her head, casting a spell to heal all her wounds. "What happened?"


    "Monsters," said Tia. "Lots and lots and lots of them. Looked like shadow, but not on ground. I fight them. They tasted bad. Cold. Rotten."


    Darkbeasts? Even after Li had destroyed them all?


    "How did you get here, Tia?" said Li. He frowned, feeling awful that Tia had to fight without him. To fight for him, even, in this case. She should not have had to deal with anything like that. "I thought I told you to stay home. Zagan was keeping an eye on you as well."


    "Doggie help me," said Tia, red shing around the outlines of her pupils. "Make me stronger."


    Zagan materialized in wisps of shadow next to Tia, assuming his canine form. "This personage greatly apologizes for bringing the girl here. However, she insisted you were in danger, and your safety is also mine own concern."


    "No, no, that''s fine," said Li as he tried to make sense of what had happened.


    "Many hours pass, but papa never came back," said Tia. "So I tried to feel through here." She tapped her heart. "But only felt cold." She shivered. "Not warmth, not papa''s warmth."


    Li understood what she meant. She had tried to use their soulbound link to try and find out what Li''s status was, and though he normally was full of life that was warm and nourishing, it was evident that while he was gone, his life signature had disappeared, too.


    "Papa promised," said Tia as she wiped her tears from her eyes with her ws and looked usingly at Li. "He promised to be back early."


    Li paused, trying to sift through his mind to exin to her why he was gone. That he did not intend to be gone this long. That he had no idea things would be so very strange. He wanted to give her an exnation, but he realized that she was not looking for one.


    "I''m sorry, Tia," said Li, finally.


    Tia went back into Li''s arms. She breathed in, then out, calming herself. When she looked up, she was smiling. "It''s fine, papa. I was just worried. Maybe little angry, but only angry because I worried. If papa is sorry, then that''s fine.


    As long as you here now."


    Whatever answers Li needed, he knew he would find. Although his time attuning with his eldritch side was hazy to the point that one could even call it unproductive, he did note out of it empty handed.


    He now knew it deep down within himself. Every single answer he wanted, every single bit of control he wanted over his eldritch powers, all of that, he knew inherently that the answers were within himself.


    With time, it would all flow.


    "Let''s go home, Tia. Father will spend as much time with you as you want to make up for everything." Li knelt down and scooped Tia up, putting her on his shoulder ¨C her favorite spot. They smiled together, And like that, they walked out the forest, Zagan trailing behind them, making them look like a neat andplete little family.

 Chapter 202 - Realization

    Li walked with Tia perched atop his shoulder out the Chattering Forest, though, as he made his way through it, each one of his steps infusing the grass below with pulses of green life, he realized that it was no longer apt to call this ce that ominous name.


    "Listen, papa," said Tia as she cocked her head, and Li followed her.


    It was the chirping of crickets. It was faint at first, nervous to spread its song, but soon enough, all the crickets that had been buried decades under the earth when this forest first was flooded by dark beast essence began to unburrow from their long slumber.


    Their song filled the air, reverberating around the woods. No more was there the chattering of bloated, mutated insects. Instead, the original namesake of this forest, the Chirpwoods, finally came to be once more. Soon enough, when day broke, birds would sense that life had returned to these woods and fly back, nesting in the tall treetops and contributing their song too to the symphony.


    "Life has returned oncemore to the Chirpwoods," said Li.


    "The Chirpwoods?" asked Tia.


    "Yes, that is what these forests are called. So named for the song of crickets and birds that ever resounds through its bounds."


    Li did not yet know why he knew these woods were originally called the Chirpwoods.


    It must have been a name from long ago, during the age of demons when this forest was first corrupted. There was still a void in his memory from after he was engulfed in darkness, but it was like a faded dream, a foggy recollection that, given time, would piece itself back together.


    "Pretty sound, but nothing to hunt," said Tia with a slight frown. Her stomach growled, and she put a little hand to her belly. "Shadow monsters here have no taste. Only cold. Like hard water."


    "Like ice," corrected Li. He sighed. "I should have been there to tell you not to eat them. To protect you and stop you from endangering yourself. For that, I must thank you, Zagan."


    The demonic hound paced briskly behind Li and shook his head, his ck fur swaying with the motion. "This personage did not do much. He offered to annihte the enemies standing before the girl, but she wished to fight with strength of her own.


    Knowing your protectiveness over her, my personage could not let her fight alone, and so, apromise was reached. I empowered her, and she fought, and I will say, her might is of no little consequence."


    "That''s right," said Tia slowly as she furrowed her brows, trying to work out Zagan''splicated wording. "I can fight alone. I''m strong."


    "I''m sure you are, but remember what father told you. Being strong means strong things will be attracted to you, and they might want to hurt you. Always try and fight when I am there with you."


    Tia crossed her arms, nodding. "Then I get to fight all the time!"


    "Hm?"


    She looked to Li a disapproving nce. "Papa broke his promise, so I will always follow now. No putting me at home. Even if big work, I go. Even if boring work, I go. Never away from papa now."


    "But Tia, sometimes, I can get into dangerous situations, like just now," countered Li.


    "No worry. Tia will protect papa!" She shed her de-like teeth, the beginnings of fire breath trickling between their sharp edges.


    "That''s not what I mean-," began Li, but Tia started to look at him with crestfallen eyes, her hands tightening around his shoulder in concern. "Alright, you can follow me. But I''ll warn you now, a lot of what I do is very, very boring. Paperwork. Talking to people. You''ll get so bored you''ll be falling asleep all the time."


    "Then I get to fall asleep next to papa," said Tia with a smile, not seeing any downside to spending more time with Li, no matter whether that time was boring, exciting, dangerous, or safe.


    Tia''s stomach growled again, and she looked around, her eyes narrowing as her predatory instincts engaged. Her long, pointed ears twitched, their sensitive hearing tracking any living thing to attack and devour.


    "It will take a little while for regr creatures of the wild to settle their way back here, near the heart of the forest, as it has been so long since it has been pure," said Li. "But back home, if you aren''t sleepy, we can go to the Winterwoods and hunt there. It''s already veryte, but father will make an exception for tonight because he made mistakes."


    "Winterwoods a little boring," said Tia. "Hunt too easy. But hunt with papa always fun." She nodded, agreeing to Li''s proposal.


    He had to admit that she was right. Her strength was growing at an rming rate, and the rtively peaceful Winterwoods were no match for her. She was nearing level fifty in power, Li estimated, with a few abilities that were far stronger than what her level indicated by virtue of being linked to him.


    Maybe in the far western edges of the Winterwoods, there would be more dangerous monsters for her to hunt, but that was a little too far for Li''s liking, especially in light of the increasing threat of demonsing from the west.


    "For now, the Winterwoods will have to do. That is our home, after all," said Li.


    Outside the depths of the forests, they encountered familiar faces.


    ==================


    In a clearing, sitting around a wide stream flowing through it was Launcelot and his party. The shielder was a little worse for wear, his curly blonde hair frazzled and hisplexion pale, deprived of energy. Next to him, his party members tended to him, putting a bandage around a cut to his arm and gathering water.


    When Launcelot saw Li, his eyes brightened up and he immediately stood up, though a little shaky.


    "Gods, you have returned to us!" said Launcelot. He smiled and waved to Tia, and Tia waved back energetically.


    "Rock man!" she said, pointing to Launcelot''s bronze shield.


    Launcelotughed as he realized Tia recognized him as the human that always carried what appeared to her as a bronze rock.


    "Indeed I have," said Li. "I must apologize for my long absence. Purifying the heart took far longer than I had originally envisioned."


    "Certainly, we had thought something tremendously wrong had urred," said Launcelot. "When I was shaken awake by Faye, there were hordes of dark beasts sprawling out from theke, once more darkened, and we fought long and hard to try and force our way to theke and retrieve you, but s, our strength was not enough."


    "Faye," said Li. The fire-haired hero nodded to Li, her arms crossed. She looked even more tired than Launcelot, her posture a little slouched and a distinctck of energy in her sluggish movements. When she breathed, steam emerged from her mouth, and Li could sense that her bodily temperatures were far higher than normal. Probably a side effect of utilizing her powers extensively.


    "You and the others were there the whole time. Would you mind telling me what you saw? As soon as I entered theke?"


    "After retrieving Launcelot, we tried to near theke to see what had be of you. The titan had been defeated, much to our grateful relief, but there were yet more enemies. Darkness had welled up from within theke.


    Not the type of darkness that created the dark beasts. No, that darkness, I was familiar with. When heroes stand near each other, we have an idea, some instinctive feeling, that there is another of our kin among us. We feel that same instinct with the dark beasts.


    But we felt no such thing with this darkness, and yet from it, dark beasts emerged all the same."


    Ava shuddered. "You know, it was a little odd, how they emerged. It was not like before, where the mud built them up piece by piece like dolls. It was like they were already fully formed and merely emerging from the dark, running in full motion."


    Celeste shifted ufortably and said, "I feltfort in the dark." She looked around bashfully before looking down. "Do not mind me. I have said something strange. Oh, I am too oftentimes strange."


    "No, Celeste, I felt the same," said Faye, and Ava nodded in agreement. "That darkness, we knew it from somewhere, but where exactly, we could not know, no matter how much we searched our memories."


    "The gate," said Li, his memory stirred.


    "Now that you mention it," said Faye, her head tilting. "The dark felt like that. When I beheld the red gate that bestowed upon me my fire."


    "That is all I need to hear," said Li with a slight nod. Like an amnesiac finding long buried memories, he was beginning to find answers to the many questions he had, but he knew to truly find what he needed, he had to do something more than just try to remember.


    "Once again, I apologize for the inconvenience in keeping you all here far longer than I should have, but for now, let us return to Riviera. There are a few things there I must sort out."

 Chapter 203 - Legions Of Blood

    There were no issues leaving the woods now that it had been purified.


    The further out they went, the more peaceful it became.


    Or rather, it was more peaceful inparison to the darkness infested hellscape it had been before. There were monsters, of course, many of them insectoid, but they were the normal kind that simply avoided Li when he extended his presence and bid them to mind their own business.


    The overgrown overhead canopy of the trees had also started to lift. The excess branches withered into nothingness, falling off into kes of mulch that would nourish the forest floor below. As the branches withdrew, they revealed the moonlit sky above.


    Tonight, there was arge, full moon shining bright like an oversized star of sterling silver. It was not time for a full moon, but no doubt, Li''s moonbeam had drawn out its full shine for the night.


    The forest floor itself became far tamer.


    Instead of a menagerie of toxic grasses, weeds, vines, and mushrooms, bnce began to flow in. Some of the poisonous flora remained, but original, native types that had long since been choked out after the wood''s corruption were starting to shoot back up.


    However, as they neared the forest edge which reached back out into the main roads, that was when Li foresaw that they would encounter a problem.


    Li heard it first, even before they had reached the edge of the forest.


    A mass gathering of men. A veritable army full of armor and weapons that ttered and steeds that whinnied. They were not moving. They were standing out at the forest''s edge, as if waiting for something from within toe out.


    Or perhaps, they were preparing themselves to move in.


    "Papa," asked Tia, tilting her head, her pointed ears twitching as she tried her hardest to hear. "Shiny men. Lots and lots of them."


    Li nodded and knelt down, putting Tia down from his shoulder. "I hear them too, Tia. Stay close by me, alright?"


    Tia stayed behind Li and nodded. "Will it be dangerous, papa?"


    "With this many men, there is always risk. But with me, there will never be danger."


    "No danger boring," said Tia. She smiled, baring her fangs. "If shiny men fight, I fight too."


    Li patted her head. "Yes, you can fight, but don''t over do it. Papa doesn''t want you to get hurt after all."


    He stood up and addressed Launcelot, "Launcelot, do you have any idea of what is going on? I can hear several thousand men, all armored and all armed. That is a legitimate army, and I have little confidence that Riviera can man such a force in such a short amount of time."


    "Several thousand?" Shock wreathed Launcelot''s face. "No, I know of no reason why such a formidable force would be here. Riviera itself merely has a force of ten thousand standing knights, twenty thousand if all reserves are drawn up.


    It could not ever afford to mobilize several thousand men, especially not when it is known that demonic threats loom near."


    "But there <em>has</em> been a threat," said Faye. She nced back to the forest. "For the better half of this day, this forest has been a warzone. A warzone that shifted the weather itself, wreathing the skies in darkness. Then, a sun darkening, a celestial event rare on its own, urred to part the heavens of the dark as if the gods themselves had split the skies apart."


    She crossed her arms.


    "In light of all this, I am not surprised so many forces havee this way."


    "Shall we find a means to evade them? If you do not wish to engage with them," said Launcelot. "I would like to say my noble title would grant us safe passage through an army, but s, a noble title does not mean as much as it did before the duchess''s reign."


    "They''re forming a neat perimeter around the forest," said Li. "Avoiding them will be pointlessly time consuming. I will meet them head on and get an idea of they are doing at the same time."


    ==========


    Outside the forest, Li and his group met the knights.


    There were an immense host of them, stretching all across the main roads and nking the boundaries of the forest. Immediately noticeable was that they were not the knights of Riviera.


    These men had a different feel about them.


    Where the knights of Riviera emitted ax, almost friendly aura, these knights were theplete antithesis of that. All of them marched inplete and utter synchronized, near robotic efficiency, their postures straight, their formations perfectly structured.


    Their armor was different. They had armor that shone bright and white, glowing with a dull luster even in the night. It was a shine that glowed not through the aid of moonlight, even if the moon was full, but because of the shine of magic imbued within the metal.


    At the top of their helms were deeply crimson plumes that were so dark a red they were hard to see in the night.


    The men were all distinctly taller than the knights of Riviera, and they looked wider too, stronger, more built with muscle and hardiness.


    Li scanned the knights as they paused to look at him, and he determined that they ranged in level from the thirties to the fifties.


    Compared to Rivieran knights whom barely broke past level thirty, this was a massive step up. In fact, the stronger knights were even more powerful than silver ranked adventurers, with the best among them easily being able to challenge Launcelot, a top tierbatant, in terms of sheer stats.


    "The Bannermen of Duvin," whispered Launcelot aloud as he blinked in wonder. "I would recognize their standard from anywhere. Red lily sshed atop fabric of glistening white. Blood atop snow. No man from Soleil would not know."


    "I have read about them," said Li, nodding. "Blood Legionnaires, is it not? The most powerful of the five armies under Soleil. Curious to see them so far up north from their southern homes. But I guess I will find out soon enough."


    Li stepped forwards, and as he did so, there was an immediate reaction from the knights.


    They drew their weapons at lighting speed, the front ranks withdrawing spears that pointed down to Li. Several dozen white pointed spear tips all aimed at him, charged with tense energy ready to thrust forwards.


    Of course, these men did not know that none of this meant anything to Li, that they might as well have been waving toothpicks at him, but he was still impressed that they were indeed a cut above the norm of knights he had seen. It must have taken them many years of dedicated training and facing realbat to harden themselves into this state.


    "At ease, men," came a resounding voice. There was a raspy rattle to it, the kind that heavy smokers had, and it made the voice that much more gutturally intimidating.


    The front rank of knights lifted their spears up, nting the tasseled butts to the ground before standing up straight, rigid, then turning around and parting way, letting a muchrger knight walk through them and approach Li.


    He took off his helm, holding it under his armpit, and when he stood in front of Li, his bulk became highly noticeable. Li was already on the taller side, but this man was nearly inhuman, standing almost three meters tall.


    He had square cut features, rough, graying stubble and close-cropped salt ck hair. When he smiled, it was visible that his canines were far longer and sharper than a human''s.


    "So you are the Eastern one," said the man.


    "And you are?" said Li.


    "Leonid. Of house Drozdov. Commander of the fifth legion."


    "Long name," chimed in Tia as she stepped out from behind Li and looked at therge human. "Too long."


    Almost immediately, the men behind Leonid pointed their spears back down to Tia, evidently hostile and wary of anything that bore resemnce to monsters. Tia responded by baring her ws and fangs, a patch of light glowing at her throat as fire began to well up.


    "If you value the lives of your men, Leonid," said Li. "I suggest you order them to stand down. And I hope I will not have to repeat myself."


    Leonid nodded and raised a hand. His men once more broke their offensive postures in orderly fashion.


    "We are not here to fight," said Leonid.


    "Really?" said Li as he moved his eyes up and down the length of the army.


    Leonid noticed and said, "Not you. Not Riviera. No, we are here to help. The duchess has called upon all five banners of Soleil to gather to march west and stand against the demonic threat."


    "Marching west? Aggressively meeting the demons head on?" Li looked at Leonid, feeling an air of overwhelming confidence about him. "You do not seem very concerned about that."


    "Why would I? We, the legions of Duvin, are born and bred in its harsh but nourishingnds. From the moment we are able to walk, we are chosen to fight. Men, monsters, demons ¨C all will fall before our steel."


    "And yet I see no demons here. Perhaps you have strayed off course,ying a strangely offensive perimeter around this forest. And I also find it difficult to believe you have mistaken this forest for Riviera."


    "We received report of demonic activity here. Among many other strange urrences."


    "Activity that I and the adventurers behind me have thoroughly dealt with."


    Leonid looked back to Bulwark. His eyesnded on Launcelot. "Ah, a Lakely." He nodded his head in a greeting. "I presume you will be joining us in our march to the west?"


    Launcelot was still a little shaky from having used up much of his magical and physical energy, but he managed to still stand up straight with the poise and pride of a nobleman facing down a rival house.


    "As you can see, we have already been fighting the demonic threat. Of course, though, we would still appreciate all the men and arms we can get, howeverte it is."


    Leonidughed. "As spirited as ever, you Lakely lot are. I remember dueling your father in the tournament of five banners many years ago, when we were yet young and spry. He fought a good fight, though there is a reason the Lakelies are builders while those of house Drozdov are fighters. "


    "And why do matters so far in the past matter now?" said Faye. "If you lot are here to reinforce Riviera and march west, then go. There is no threat here. We''ve handled it."


    "Hm. You have a feisty woman, Lakely. Good taste." Leonid smiled and turned to Li before Faye could protest. "But yes, the woman has a point. The bumbling lord Lys panicked and ordered us here, yelling of darkening skies and shadowed suns and earth rumblings.


    But when we marched here, we found but calm. And yet, I stayed here, for I had heard that the famed Easterner had himselfe to this forest. You could say I have waited here for the sole purpose of meeting you."


    "Hm?" Li was confused. "To meet me? And what about me is so special that you went through all this effort to see me?"


    Leonid''s smile grew wider.


    "To see whether the rumors were true.


    The so called strongest man of Riviera.


    The herald of a forgotten god from and of mystery. One who has overtaken even the Light in healing, able to bring the dead to life, to create salves that can rid any of all ailments. Blessed with such power he could bring down the highest of priests with but a mere touch.


    I know that the tall tales of travelers and ordinary folk are mostly empty air, but looking upon you, though you be wiry and thin in frame, there is something about you that makes my very blood boil, and so, in tradition of the legions of blood, I invoke a Rite of Combat."

 Chapter 204 - Control Of A Legion

    "Fight?" said Tia, her eyes lighting up. "I fight."


    "Unfortunately, little miss," said Leonid. "Though I can sense you are indeed a powerful foe, it is against my code to do battle with children."


    "Hmph. I am strong." Tia looked up at Li pleadingly. "Papa, can I fight?" Her teeth glimmered in the moonlight. "Hunt?"


    Li shook his head. "In most cases, Tia, I would let you fight, but here, I cannot. I do not want you getting too hurt, and this man can hurt you badly if he does try."


    "I hurt him too," said Tia, her battle instincts sharp.


    She could pick up what Li picked up. Leonid was at the top end of human strength in this world. He was exactly level 60, the highest Li had seen from a human, and as a frontline warrior from the feel Li got from his stats, it would be a very difficult fight for Tia to win, though she could certainly wound him.


    "Yes, but you getting hurt for something as silly as this is not worth it," said Li as he patted Tia''s hair. "Let father handle this."


    "But, but-," protested Tia. "This fight too easy for papa!"


    "Then all the more reason for myself to stand as challenger," said Leonid proudly.


    Li paused for a few seconds, eyeing Leonid. He only saw raw and unbridled excitement stered on the man''s face. It was an almost childish type of excitement seemingly unbefitting of the knight''s aging face, and yet, it was possible to tell that this immense thrill for the fight was what let him grow this old and esteemed in this line of work in the first ce.


    But still, it was a childish excitement for childish reasons.


    "I can certainly ept your challenge, but I would strongly advise you against it, as by all means, this is ridiculous," said Li. "While Riviera''s safety may lie in the bnce, while your entire duchy may be at risk, you would waste time and effort in a measly little duel?


    A duel where you very well may not survive?"


    "I did think that you woulde to this conclusion," said Leonid. "Thus, I shall make this worthwhile. Currently, the duchess hasmanded my legion merely to march west, stopping at Riviera only to quickly supply ourselves.


    That will leave the city without defenses, and Riviera''s knights are but quivering little runtspared to the legions of blood. But if you defeat me, Easterner, then I will pledge my legion''s allegiance to Riviera first and foremost for the duration of this demonic war."


    "You would give upmand of your army to satisfy your personal thrill seeking? Quite unbefitting of a general of an army whose lives are dependent on your orders and sound judgement."


    Leonidughed. "Ah, my men understand me very well. Those of us born and bathed in blood know well indeed.


    From the moment we can walk, we are trained day and night in the art of war, sharpened through duress like rough steel til'' we are honed to the limits of humanity, no, til'' we exceed the realm of man. Til'' we can face both man and monster alike.


    We are drilled to seek strength, to covet it above gold and women.


    Certainly, we are also an army, and with that title, we maintain a professionalism that we must serve and obey the orders above us."


    Leonid shrugged.


    "But I must admit, I am growing old, and I am selfish. It will not be long before my strength wanes and I cannot test my might against the strong, and so, I have devoted myself this campaign to hunt down the greatest challenges I can find, and if that leads to this campaign being myst, then so be it."


    Li shook his head. "And your men? If ites to be that a threat worthy of you arises in the battlefield, will you break rank for it and risk the lives of your men?"


    "Of course, for they share my sentiments. They know my greed well, and they have still devoted themselves to me of their own volition." said Leonid.


    "For I am the only one that has yet to be defeated in war. The only one that has guaranteed their lives for the twenty years I have led them. And should I fall, I have already nned multiple lines ofmand and session such that order among the ranks does not copse."


    "Certainly, you are a living legend, Sir Drozdov," said Launcelot as he stepped forwards, tightening his shield to his arm. "And your men follow you with a fanaticism that blinds them even to the fear of death, but I cannot have one as unstable as you leading one of the five precious legions of blood in this time of dire need where you may squander its great might for your petty wishes.


    Riviera is my home, and it is my duty to defend it. The Lakely name has built its walls and protected it for centuries. I, Launcelot, will not bring shame to my family name.I will duel you in the stead of the good Easterner and take your army to defend thend that has raised me."


    "Heh, boy, you are far, far too green to be even thinking of baring your fangs at me. You are leagues better than your father, but you are still a Lakely. Still a builder. Beneath my strength."


    Leonid stuck his arm out, and in an instant, the knights behind him brought a spear to his hand.


    It was noticeably longer than the average spear, and its tip was shaped like a cross with cross guards of ck metal and a de tip of bloody, serrated red, crystalline material.


    "But if the Easterner refuses my request, then I will dly take you on in his stead. Perhaps the idea of defending your ancestral home will grant you miraculous strength." Leonid smiled wider in anticipation. "Or perhaps not. That is the wonder of battle, no? The unpredictability."


    Li recognized the weapon that Leonid was using. It was the Trueblood Heartseeker, a Mythic tier item, the second highest tier not counting Celestials, meaning its usual level range was meant for those between 60-80, though that requirement could be waived to a degree by being a vampire.


    It was a highly deadly weapon with a strong active ability called [Heartseeker Strike] that allowed it to critically strike through any barrier or defense with one hundred percent uracy, dealing true damage and executing enemies below a certain threshold of health.


    So strong was this ability that some PvP yers actually fortified the item to raise its level to the Godgiven tier knowing that it would have reduced statspared to normal items in the tier just so that they could have ess to the strong execute active.


    "Your dueling with that?" said Li. "The moment you activate that, this bes not a duel, but a fight to the death."


    "That, I know well, Li," said Launcelot. "The Heartseeker of the Drozdov family is one of the few national treasures split among the great noble families; I have grown up on tales of its deadliness, how it managed to crush the hearts of man, giant, demon, and even dragon."


    He looked to his shield, then at Leonid. "You are right, Leonid. We are builders. My house holds not a treasure that aids us in battle. But builders are protectors. The Lakely treasure ¨C the very walls that surround Riviera ¨C have never fallen in centuries.


    And I embody that fortitude."


    "I see great spirit in your eyes, boy," said Leonid with an agreeing nod. "You are making more and more a case for yourself to stand before me."


    "To stand over you," said Launcelot.


    Li could sense a faint hint of divine energying from Launcelot''s shield, and he was sure the noble man could feel this and was relying on drawing upon it again, but the man was in no condition to be drawing on more divine power, even if he could.


    Certainly, if Launcelot used divine power, he could overpower a level sixty threat. But Li himself did not even know what kind of costs that would have on the mortal''s body and mind and whether it was even heble.


    Behind Launcelot, Li saw his threepanions shifting ufortably, their nerves again on edge that the shield bearer was risking his life.


    "No," said Li. "Launcelot, I will take this challenge. Riviera is also my home, after all. Old Thane''s home. Tia''s home. The home of my followers. You are one of its most stalwart defenders, and so you should conserve your energy for more serious matters."


    Li stepped in front of Launcelot and took off the dark brown farmer''s guild suit jacket, dropping it beside him and rolling up his sleeves. If overwhelming, pure strength was what was going to get through to Leonid, then Li was more than willing to provide it.


    "I will deal with this aging man''s silly antics and wishes."

 Chapter 205 - Martial Prowess

    "Li," protested Launcelot. "I would not want to burden you with this duel when it is mine own."


    "It is no burden, Launcelot, and take a favor when it is given to you. It will make your life a lot easier, trust me," said Li.


    Faye put a hand on Launcelot''s shoulder and began to pull him back. "Now those are wise words to listen to. How about you actually sit down and get some rest for once."


    Launcelot nodded, admitting defeat, and went back with Faye and the rest of his party to watch the duel unfold. With them, Tia and Zagan went as bonus spectators.


    Leonid eyed Li with great interest, the grip around his spear tightening until his knuckles turned white.


    "Your posture, the way you approach me, you intend to fight me bare handed? A brawler?" said Leonid.


    "Maybe, maybe not. This is a fight. It''s your job to find out, isn''t it?" said Li.


    "Never have truer words been spoken." Leonid smiled. He cracked his neck and flourished his spear, his bulky form capable of manipting the lengthy, almost cumbersomelyrge weapon with graceful ease.


    Small rushes of wind blew out from the movement, causing little pieces of grass and foliage to lift up before falling slowly back down.


    "All of you will need to make space. I would not want those lesser to be dying by ident."


    The knights marched backwards, clearing out more than enough space for Li and Leonid and granting them what was essentially full free range of the main road and the surrounding forest.


    Leonid widened his stance and tilted sideways to make the target of his body narrower for Li. He poised his spear to Li, the crystalline red spear tip glowing hungrily with bloody crimson. It was pointed towards the center of Li''s mass, tilted downwards as it were in rtion to Leonid''s own massive frame.


    "Make the first move," said Li. He crossed his arms and shrugged. "That way, I can actually tell when this duel has started."


    Leonid did not need any more encouragement. He disappeared to all eyes except Li''s. Li himself disappeared for an instant as well, and when they finally stood still, visible to the spectators, there was a silence as everyone beheld the sudden destruction the two had wrought in just an instant.


    Li was a meter or two to the side from his original position, and Leonid had seemingly teleported far behind Li, his stance deep and low with his spear thrusted outwards like he had just charged.


    Behind Leonid, there was a trail of shattered rock on the main road with wisps of smoke curling up from them from the high velocity charge.


    Leonid was glowing faintly red, his breath steaming. That was [Blood Boil], a vampiric racial skill that boosted stats temporarily at the cost of health. Though, judging by how Leonid''s veins were not pulsating visibly through his skin, it was a lesser variant of the skill used by those with degraded vampiric blood.


    Li also recognized the charging skill Leonid used.


    It was [Heroic Rankbreaker], a powerful charging attack that did significant damage, extending its range and dealing more damage for every target it hit. It was meant to clear out wide swathes of enemies and was part of the higher leveled [Siegebreaker] subss meant for mounted warriors.


    For now, it seemed, Leonid was suited more towards dealing withrger groups of enemies, as was expected of a general who led armies and fought armies.


    Li''s eyes shed white for a split second as he analyzed Leonid, gaining a sense of all his stats and abilities.


    ===============


    Name: Leonid Drozdov


    Level: 60


    Race: Lesser Dhampir


    ss: Warrior


    Subsses:


    -Duelist


    -Lancer


    -Siegebreaker


    Stats:


    STR- 100


    AGI- 140


    INT- 60


    Racial Passives:


    -Blood Sense: Can sense organic enemies regardless of whether there is visual contact or not. Heightened against bleeding foes.


    -Bloodmend (Lesser): Grants permanent lesser regeneration


    -Dhampir nds (Lesser): Passively enhances physical stats. Effect boosted during the night.


    -Dhampir Constitution (Lesser): Slight resistance to critical strikes. Allows for a small amount of fighting time even when HP reaches 0. Extended by killing other units, but time gained has diminishing returns.


    -Resistance to Poison


    -Resistance to Sleep


    -Resistance to Curses


    -Resistance to Mind Control


    -Resistance to Insanity


    Items/Equipment:


    Heavy Lightsilver Legionnaire Armor Set (5 Pieces [FULL])


    Rank: Rare


    Armor that shines with the light of the sun. Grants bonuses to health, health regeneration, and resistances to status effects. Has an active ability to cleanse all status effects and restore a percentage of missing health.


    Trueblood Heartseeker


    Rank: Mythic


    A spear forged by primordial vampires that roamednds of eternal shadow.


    Possesses an exceptionally high attack rating with scaling that improves depending on the purity of the vampiric blood wielding it. Attacks have a high chance of causing the bleed status effect that chips away a percentage of max health every second.


    Has an active ability to cause the next attack to gain 100% uracy and ignore all armor, barriers, and defenses, striking with a guaranteed critical strike that executes enemies if they are below 15% health.


    ================


    Surprisingly, Leonid did not have a subss as a knight, a beginner, all rounder subss that helped with offense and defense equally.


    Instead, his build was specialized for dealing with both single targets andrge armies, though of course, that meant he would not be amazing at both.


    Overall, not a greatly optimized build, but it was one that made sense in the context of this world as he needed to both be a strong individualbatant and capable of dealing withrger bodies of enemies.


    Still, with his high levelpared to the rest of this world, it meant that it would have likely seemed like he was an overwhelming master at both.


    Li stepped back again as Leonid rushed in, this time moving slower now that he was not using a skill.


    A flurry of spear thrusts rained on Li, appearing like countless streaks of crimson as Leonid used [Hundred Strike Volley], a Lancer skill.


    Li weaved through the intense flurry.


    Normally, in the game, attacks like this would hit or miss depending on a t percentage chance based off of the agility stat, but in this world, the agility stat just gave Li the raw speed to just weave through the attacks with ease.


    On paper, Leonid''s agility stat was actually somewhat simr to Li''s at his base level, but Li, like everypetitive mage in Elden World, had consumed the [Elden Seed], an item granted to every mage that finished the base campaign which bestowed a permanent bonus scaling to strength and agility based off of intelligence.


    The bonus scaling was not nearlyrge enough to make a mage yer capable of standing up to any dedicatedbat sses, but it did solve a bnce issue where mages that had invested entirely into intelligence at the level 100+ stage would miss every single hit and die in one shot to most attacks bybat sses in that same level range, sometimes to even level 80 or 90 yers that caught them by surprise when they had no barriers up.


    The bonus stats granted by the seed were, coincidentally, also what Li tapped into when he fully activated his physical senses. This made Li immensely strong and fastpared to almost anything in this world, and when he buffed himself with his own spells, that disparity only became wider.


    For now, though, Li would only very slightly dip into those stats, curious as to what he would witness from Leonid.


    "Oh?" said Li as he took another step back. He felt the slightest bit of impact on his left hand where he had narrowly failed to avoid a spear thrust. Of course, Li''s strength stat, the stat which boosted resistances and health on top of melee damage, was monstrously high, far higher than his agility, and so the spear simply did nothing, bouncing off his skin.


    "You managed to touch me. I did not think you were capable of that."


    Leonid breathed out, getting more and more limber. "You are unbelievably strong and fast, I will give you that, but your movements are untrained. Eventually, I will read the patterns of your evasions, and then, my strikes willnd somewhere vital."


    "I see," said Li. He had an idea that martial skill was a new dimension that mattered in this world aside from raw stats, but he had yet to find anybody that had been able to demonstrate that aptly because they were too weak.


    Leonid was weak too, for sure, but he had invested so much of his stats into agility and had what seemed to be unparalleled martial prowess thatbined together, they let him attack with much more finesse than what his stats would indicate.


    Li estimated that even a level 70 to 80 brick wall of stats would have difficulty evading attacks from Leonid.


    Leonid struck again, not letting up pressure. He used [Duelist''s Dance] to constantly boost his movement speed while nearing enemies to never let up distance, and he threw out attacks at breakneck speed, using moves that boosted the speed of his attacks like [sh Lance] and [Swift Strike].


    Li yed along, dodging, and every so often, Leonid would move in a way that managed to graze him.


    One time, it was a feint, another time, it was an oddly arcing strike, another time, it would be an unexpected hit using the butt of the spear.


    It became evident what Leonid was going after. He was essentially using amon PvP tactic of trying to unleash as many hard to avoid hits as possible to whittle down an enemy to low health quickly so that he could execute them.


    This also synergized with the spear''s bleed effect, as the more attacks he unleashed, the higher chance to inflict bleed. Unfortunately, Li was immune to the status effect.


    In the end, aside from seeing a demonstration of martial arts, thebat strategies were nothing new, limited to revolving around the few pitiable items that the mortals here called strong weapons.


    "Okay," said Li. He tapped into just a little bit more of histent physical stats. He grabbed Leonid''s spear midway during its arc towards his head. He did not bother to grab the spear safely at its shaft, and instead, just held the crimson spear tip in his hand, knowing it did nothing to him.


    "I''ve seen enough. Now, do you surrender this duel? Do not throw away your life when thousands of your men depend upon it."


    Leonid grunted as he tried to pull the spear back, but it would not budge.


    Because he had invested so much into agility, he did have nearly any of the strength that Li did, even at Li''s base. Li thought the man would be surprised, or that he would panic, but he did not give up, instead letting go of his spear and balling his gauntleted hands into fists.


    Well then, Li thought. Have it your way.


    Li used his free arm and punched Leonid in the chestte.


    A concussive boom surged throughout the air as the sound of denting metal rang. Leonid''s body flew a dozen meters backwards like he had been flung from a massive slingshot until he mmed right through a tree, and then another tree, and then another, until finally, he stopped.


    Before the trees could fall, Li snapped his fingers, repairing the damage to their trunks.

 Chapter 206 - Orders

    Li waited for a few seconds. There was only silence. The knights of the blood legion did not move, standing still in formation as if emotionless. It was impressive, really, that they could maintain a stiff professionalism even in the face of their esteemed, revered general getting utterly defeated. Surely, they were feeling surprise and awe, but they did not let it show.


    The one that broke the silence was Tia.


    "I knew it!" said Tia as she pranced up to Li, tugging at his hand. "Too easy for papa. Papa should let me fight," she pouted.


    "Don''t get too impatient, Tia," said Li. He looked to the forest where he had sent Leonid flying. "You can get up now! I know that was not enough to put you down for good."


    Leonid appeared from between a few trees, a fist-shaped dent imprinted in the white of his breast te. Several smaller dents covered the rest of his armor, with a few pieces of wood embedded into gaps in the armor where they stabbed into flesh.


    He was still smiling, blood trickling from his mouth, but when he came out from the trees, he was limping.


    "Just catching my breath, Easterner," said Leonid as he stood up tall again. He was beginning to regenerate, the cuts on his face patching up and the wood skewered into his flesh falling out. "That was a mighty fine blow. The mightiest I''ve ever felt, that is to be sure."


    "And if you don''t want another one, you''ll surrender," said Li. He was still grabbing onto Leonid''s spear, disarming the man. "I have your spear, your family''s pride, and you have no chance at fighting me bare handed. Yield."


    "A Drozdov never yields in a duel," said Leonid. "You will have to strike me down for good to end this fight."


    "I mean, I can certainly do that," said Li. He eyed Leonid and saw nothing but stubborn, excited drive to fight, and he shrugged, deciding to use more lethal force. After all, this is what the old knight wanted.


    Leonid mmed his gauntlets together and grunted, bracing himself for another fight.


    "Stop!"


    Li froze, recognizing the voice. Tia did too, and her face brightened up.


    "Sister Jeanne!" said Tia.


    The sound of moving armor echoed from behind Li as the knights parted to make way for Triple Threat. They walked side by side together, moving through the sea of armored men and waving at Li.


    Li looked at Triple Threat, a little surprised at how much they had changed in just a month.


    Azhar''s hair had grown even longer, more unkempt, reaching down to his shoulders, and his normally dark eyes were tinged in a slight glimmer of dark green. Around his shoulder was a new bow fashioned out of bones. A gift from Ven''thur, made as a way to apologize to Azhar for harming him when they had first met.


    Several nes dangled around his neck, all of them holding a bone or collection of dried magical insects. All signs that Azhar was advancing in Dark Druidry that he learned bymuning with Li.


    Sylvie was dressed in ck, eastern styled robes fringed with white. A Chinese dao swordy sheathed by her hip, making her look far less an assassin and more a warrior. She noticeably wore a ne with an orb colored ck and white in yin and yang patterning.


    This, Li also knew. He had gotten the eastern golem back from the Shoggoth in the form of a portable orb that had its free will so warped and twisted that it had be a kind of artificial intelligence that could guide Sylvie in how to progress in her eastern themed training and to provide weaponry and other items appropriate to her level.


    Jeanne stood between the two, and she looked nearly the same. She still wore her typical heavy white armor, looking almost at home with the blood legionnaires around her. The only noticeable change was that she had cut her lengthy hair until it could be tied back to a shorter, sportier ponytail.


    Tia ran up to Jeanne, leaping into her arms, and Jeanne smiled as she hugged Tia tightly, spinning around with the girl in her arms before putting her down.


    "I missed you, sister Jeanne," said Tia.


    "And I missed you too, little dragon. My, you''ve grown so, so much," said Jeanne. "And you speak so well now! Your father has been teaching you well."


    "Papa always teach," nodded Tia.


    "Make sure he does not overwork you," said Sylvie as she put a hand on Tia''s shoulder.


    Tia shook her head. "Papa''s teaching always fun. Never boring." She smiled. "Lots of hunting too."


    "Oh, do be careful not to get hurt," said Jeanne, her brows furrowing in concern.


    "Ain''t no reason to be worried," said Azhar. "Huntin'' and fightin''s in her blood. If anythin'', it''d be cruel to not let her fight."


    "Uncle Azhar always understand," said Tia.


    "And why am I uncle and Jeanne''s ''sister''? I ain''t that old," said Azhar.


    "Somehow, ''uncle'' does suit you better," agreed Sylvie.


    "The wise uncle type, yes," said Jeanne.


    "Oh,e on, you two," said Azhar.


    It was good to see that two months down south in Duvin had not done anything to their dynamic, thought Li.


    A month after the Summerfell festival, Li and triple threat had said their goodbyes for the adventuring team had been assigned to a monumentally important task of engaging in a long and grueling campaign along with many other adventurers and the Ascendant Order hero Sea Shrike to fight against a sudden emergence of a horde of sea borne dark beast monstrosities that threatened to overwhelm the coastline and cause untold damage to the maind.


    Before that farewell, Li had sat down with Azhar and a newly revived Ven''thur. Azhar had wanted more power to protect his sisters, knowing of the danger of the assignment, and so Li had experimented, initiating the archer into dark Druidry with the aid of Ven''thur and his knowledge in the darker arts.


    Such was the perceived danger of this mission that Li had granted Sylvie the golem''s assistance, though he doubted she knew that she was wearing what was essentially a corpse around her neck.


    Butpared to the looming demonic threat now, it felt like the dark beast threat at the south was something so minor and so far away.


    "Good to see you three are alive," said Li.


    "Barely," said Azhar. "Those dark beast fish things gave us a damned hard time."


    "Damned?" asked Tia, her head cocking.


    "Az!" Jeanne lightly punched Azhar''s shoulder in admonishment before smiling to Tia. "Forget that word, little dragon. It is a rude one."


    "I second that motion," said Li as he scooped Tia up, putting her on his shoulder. "And now, I have to ask, what are you three doing with this guy?"


    Li pointed back to the ragged Leonid who was still catching his breath and trying to regenerate from his wounds.


    "When the duchess ordered the legions of blood to march north from Duvin to Riviera, we also followed," said Sylvie. "After all, hearing that Riviera, our home, may be under the attack of demons, we could not simply sit idly by."


    "Though I do feel so conflicted leaving Duvin without fully defeating the sea monsters," said Jeanne.


    "Rx," said Azhar. "That bearded fish man Sea Shrike''s got it under control now. We helped out enough as it is, and our home means a whole lot more to me than Duvin. No offense to all the legionnaires round'' me."


    The legionnaires did not respond to Azhar, and the ranger sighed. "Won''t see a less talkative bunch than these folk, I''ll tell ya that. How is Riviera, by the way, Li? Holdin'' up well? Heard there was a first attack."


    "An attempted infiltration," said Li. "But I stopped it."


    "Figures. Didn''t worry for a second, knowin'' you were there. Now then, the hell''s the general thinkin'' fightin'' you?"


    Li shrugged. "Ask him. He was the one that wanted to fight."


    "And that desire still burns," said Leonid.


    "Papa beat you already," said Tia as she gazed at Leonid with bored expression.


    "Precisely why I must stand up to challenge that much more."


    "You will put an end to this now," said Jeanne to Leonid. "You are a fool to be wasting time and energy on petty personal matters of pride, Sir Drozdov. Take your men and march them again as a proper general would."


    "I would listen to her, if I were you," said Li. "Your men are loyal to you, and if you die, there is no guarantee that they will obey my orders. If you so wish, we can continue this duel after this invasion has been settled."


    Li tossed Leonid his spear back, and the man deftly caught it.


    Leonid paused, contemting, then nodded. "Fine. We shall halt this duel for now, and I recognize my defeat. My men, as promised will defend Riviera." He held his spear out to Li. "And you may have the Drozdov treasure if you so wish. It is only right that in a won duel that I grant you a prized possession of mine."


    Li shook his head. "I really do not need that thing."


    "Then is there anything else you so desire?" said Leonid.


    "Did you not listen closely to what I said? Your men will be following my orders now, too. I don''t want your men to just defend Riviera. I want them to obey me."

 Chapter 207 - Headsman

    "Obey you?" said Leonid. His smile dampened a little, but not because of a sense of wounded pride. It was more an expression of concern. "I have no qualms granting you title above me, but why? If you will have my men defend Riviera, then that, I have already been resolved to do against the duchess''s orders should I have lost the duel."


    "Because-," said Li. He looked back to where Launcelot and his party were, but he did not look at them his gaze instead settling on Zagan. "I do not intend to stay in Riviera. I will march West and personally fight the demons, and to do so, I should say having an army as esteemed as a legion of blood will give my words that much more power."


    "Then I shall look forward to witnessing even more of your grand strength," said Leonid, agreeing to Li''s terms. "Though I do wonder whether you understand the scope of the responsibilities inherent in the title of general."


    "As for title, I wish for none. The titles ''general'' or ''captain'' seem so unsuited to me," said Li. "You, Leonid, will functionally remain general of your army. After all, you know best how to lead your men. Just remember who your orderse from now."


    "It will be far easier listening to the orders of a man of strengthying his life bare on the battlefield with us than a monarch sitting upon guarded throne," said Leonid with a fanged smile.


    "Good." Li nodded and then looked to Lanucelot and spoke to him. "And Launcelot, I have not forgotten that you wished to duel Leonid for forces to defend Riviera. I will be more than willing to split this legion such that half will defend Riviera."


    "No, Li, you have earned all the right to do what you wish with this army," said Launcelot. "For you were the one to have fought."


    "Yes, but this is called a gesture of thanks for helping me with the Dark beasts, and I really am not someone who is going to go back and forth offering goodwill gestures out of courtesy. Take this offer now, Launcelot, or lose it."


    Faye elbowed Launcelot at his side, and the noble man nodded. "I cannot thank you enough," he said.


    "Oh, I''m sure you can. Defend Riviera and my people, and you will have done more than enough."


    "You areing with us?" said Jeanne as she stepped closer to Li, Azhar and Sylvie following close behind.


    "I am," said Li. "I have good reason to think that the demons will have powers that will be difficult for any of you to deal with without my assistance. And besides, do you know torn up the old man would get if any of you got hurt out there? Or how sad Tia would get?"


    "No sad," said Tia as she held Li''s hand. "Because I go with papa, and then, I protect sister Jeanne. With me and papa protecting, nobody hurt."


    "Oh, dear little dragon," said Jeanne as she knelt down and put a hand to Tia''s shoulder. "I do appreciate the thought, but you cannote with us. It will be very, very dangerous where we are about to go."


    "I like danger," said Tia, cocking her head.


    "She''s right," said Li. "A warzone is no ce for you, Tia. Old Thane will be able to keep you safe. Just listen to him and-,"


    "No!" said Tia as she let go of Li''s hand and crossed her arms. "Papa told me, listen Old Thane, promised me hee back, but he doesn''t. Don''t want to be away from papa now. I go. That way, never away from papa. Can keep him safe."


    "Tia," said Li as he also knelt down to Tia''s height. "You don''t have to worry about me. You know I''ll be fine."


    "Papa will be fine, because papa strong. Very strong." Tia nodded, then cast her eyes downward. "But maybe, papa gets surprised. He can''te home for long time. Then, I lonely. Sad. Cold. Don''t want that, so I go. Make sure always with papa, even if dangerous."


    "I say bring her with you," said Azhar. "Hells, she''s stronger than anyone in this this whole damn-, I mean, stronger than anyone in this legion, and ain''t nothin'' marchin'' north getting'' much stronger than a blood legionnaire."


    "A soldier and a child are entirely different things, Az," said Sylvie. "I know Tia thrives in battle, and that it is part of her nature, but hunting and warfare are entirely different."


    "Yer talkin'' like you know bout'' warfare. Remember, we''re adventurers. Ain''t our whole lives been huntin''? The hell do we know bout'' war?"


    Sylvie sighed. "That misses the point. We, as adventurers, have faced battle. We know of bloodshed. Tia is of no age to be facing that."


    "I dunno''. Sylv, yer real smart, but honestly, I''m gonna'' disagree with you on this one, cause'' I know more than you do bout'' this. Tia might look like a little girl that needs protectin'' and concernin'' bout'', but that ain''t it.


    She''s real tough, real scary. Real strong. If she got into her draconic form, you wouldn''t be lookin'' at her with the same ol'' eyes. It''s bound in her blood to want to fight and hunt, and by that, I don''t mean we up and go and toss her into warzones. I mean that if she ends up in one, she ain''t gonna'' be the one to be worryin'' bout''


    Younger wyrms than her have gone out to war ande back just fine in the Hintends."


    "I''m strong," said Tia, nodding in agreement with puffed up chest, though it was evident that she did not grasp most of what Azhar said. "And I stay with papa, no matter what."


    Li reached out and picked Tia up, putting her on his shoulder. "Alright, that''s enough discussion. Tia, we''ll think about this when we get home."


    Tia put a hand around Li''s neck, hugging his head, and said, "Okay, papa, but know that I always with you, no matter what."


    Li smiled at Tia, and then turned to Triple Threat. "Let''s move on, shall we? I feel like Riviera is waiting for its greatest defenders."


    ==============


    The way back to Riviera took only the better part of two hourspared to the half day carriage ride it took Li to get here for the first, and even that time was surprising considering it was supposed to be on horseback.


    It was only because everyone, all the legionnaires, Bulwark, Triple Threat, and Li, Tia and Zagan could continuously keep up a quick, superhuman pace that they could make the long northward trip to Riviera in such a short time.


    During that time, they encountered quite a spectacle between the space that dotted the space between the Chirpwoods and Riviera.


    In a moderately sized vige, the headsman of the vige came to the gates when they saw the massive army of blood legionnaires drawing near.


    Leonid, Li, Triple Threat, and Bulwark came up to the front.


    "O good knights," said the vige headsman, his back a little hunched from advanced age. He stabilized his weight on a staff, and by the runic inscriptions on it, it indicated that he had some knowledge in the arcane arts. "We are greatly heartened to see that the most wonderful duchess, first of her great new name since the age of Beaumont, has sent so many forces to our aid."


    "To Riviera''s aid," corrected Leonid rather coldly, but Li interjected.


    "No, not just to Riviera''s aid. Look, all of you, you are all preparing to travel," said Li as he motioned to the vige behind the headsman. The vigers were mostly all preparing to move, their supplies outside and their bags packed with horses nearby saddled and ready to go. "No doubt, you have heard of the iing demonic threat, and so, you wish to move to safer territory."


    "To Riviera, good Easterner," said the headsman with a note of reverence. "Riviera''s walls have not fallen in a thousand years. We hope they will not fail us now."


    "You know of me?" said Li, a little surprised.


    The old man bowed his head. "Of couse, good Easterner. Your name has not escaped us. The man whom holds control over life and death. Who can bend the will of the forests to his every whim and will. One who holds divine power unparalleled since the mythic age since Helios himself embodied a mortal form a thousand years ago."


    "I am ttered, but those rumors miss out on the most important parts of me," said Li. He could tell the old man was fearful, knowing that Li had utterly humbled the priests of Light, priests he was familiar with, and he sought to correct that.


    "I am not all sheer power. Power, yes, I do have, but that power, I use to protect, to nurture. I tend to an eternal garden through which all life may find peace and purpose. That includes you, good headsman, and all the vigers whom you are responsible for.


    Do not be afraid to seek refuge in Riviera. Not only for its walls, but also for the protection that I and my followers shall dutifully provide."


    Hearing this, the vige headsman nodded more, and said, "Most certainly, good Easterner."


    Of course, Li did not expect aplete change in opinion on the headsman''s thoughts in the course of one conversation, but with this first impression, hopefully, in time, he and his vige would remember and trust the good that his faith could provide.

 Chapter 208 - Walls Of Riviera

    At Riviera, Li, Triple Threat, Bulwark, and the blood legionnaires stopped by the main gate of the city. They took a moment to look up and inspect how much the city had changed.


    It was evident that even a sleepy, peaceful city like Riviera had geared up fully for war. The four gates in the city''s walls were fully sealed, their massive wooden bodies standing tall and strong against any invading force.


    Runes inscribed in neat rows atop the length of the gates ¨C and a great length it was, considering that the walls themselves were fifty meters tall and the gates half that size ¨C emanated with power, their forms shining strongly in azure blue.


    Li had once thought the walls of Riviera beautiful like works of art. They were fashioned of white stone that gleamed like marble, and their colossal height did not mean that their handiwork was ignored. At the top of the walls, several equally spaced spires that served as watchtowers were fashioned in the visages of stone knights all holding gargantuan greatbows of rock.


    But now, it was evident to see that these walls were not created solely for artistic merit. Those stone knights were not just statues. No, blue lines of power flowed through the crevices in their stone carved armor, and it was possible to tell that they were in fact massive golems capable of raining down arrows the size of pirs to any unfortunate enemy force.


    Truly, to the average man, this would have seemed like an imprable fortress.


    At the foot of the gate, there was a squadron of knights standing guard. Above them, at the top of the walls, men were packed like ants, their forms visible in the knight through the countless torch andntern lights they wielded.


    "Well, I''ll be damned," muttered Azhar as he squinted his eyes, looking up at the tiny figures of hundreds of archers and mages atop the walls. "The stories don''t do Riviera''s walls justice. I can believe that these things held out gainst'' a couple demonic invasions."


    "s, they are not yet at true full capacity," said Launcelot as his blue eyes tracked up beyond the walls.


    "The dome," noted Sylvie. "O, ye of might in arms, gaze upon Riviera''s walls, and understand what it means to be small. O, ye of knowledge in the arcane, look upon Riviera''s azure skies, and understand what it means to know nothing ¨C that is how the Third Epic of Arcanist Belmont talks about Riviera''s mythical walls, no? There should be a dome of blue that repels any and all magic."


    "My family holds both keys that unlock the power of Riviera''s walls," said Launcelot. "My key, I have left with my mother, whom no doubt has used it. That is the Key of Stone that opens the magical channels linking the walls to the energy in theke. Channels that bring forth life to the golems that rest atop the walls.


    The other, the Key of Water, lies with my brother, Leon." Launcelot pursed his lips, concern evident on his face. "That he is not here is much a cause of worry. Without the azure dome, Riviera will find it difficult to fend against aerial threats."


    "The other Lakely? The runt?" said Leonid. "I''d worry not. Last I heard, he was further deep south in Duvin, aiding in the construction of a new city. The third legion of blood is stationed there, and no doubt, he is marching with them, straggling a few days behind us, the fifth legion of blood, for we were stationed nearest to Riviera."


    "And it looks like the city has its anti-air defenses somewhat covered," said Li. He pointed to the top of the walls, at the shape of griffins thaty perched beside knights that seemed to be different from the Rivierans.


    They were shorter in stature than regr people, though not overly so, and their armor heavy and sturdy, built from dirty but tough iron.


    "Big birds!" said Tia from Li''s shoulder.


    "Not birds, Tia, griffins," said Li.


    "Griffins?" said Jeanne as she squinted her own eyes, trying to see clearly that far up but finding it rather hard to. "Then the armies of Montagne have already dawned upon Riviera."


    "Nay, not the entire host," said Leonid. "Merely their griffin corps. I should say that the rest of Montagne''s army, slow and armored as they are not only with their own troops, but in maintaining their famed war golems, will be several days behind."


    "And right behind them, I assume the famed fleet of Trieste will follow. It is quite awing to see the five armies of Soleil all drawing together," said Sylvie. "Seeing this concentration of power, one would find it hard to believe it beatable, and yet, at least ording to the tales, it has always been a great hero of some sort or divine intervention, not the power of man, that has fended against the demons."


    "That speaks volumes of the might of the demons," said Leonid with excited smile.


    "The gods <em>are</em> with us," said Jeanne with a nod. "The Light guides our way forward with its gentle warmth, and no doubt, the divinity that Li heralds also considers humanity as worthy of protection."


    Everyone looked at Li, and he nodded. "Well, if this gives you all security, it is not as if humanity has done anything to break his trust. In any case, we should stop worrying these knights guarding the gate by loitering around."


    ==


    The group approached the squadron near the gates, and one of the knights, a captain, it appeared, from the white plume atop his helmed dropped down from horseback and approached the group. He took off his helmet, making him recognizable.


    The captain from the Summerfell festival.


    "Captain," said Li with a nod. "Good to see you in fine health. How are the wife and child doing?"


    "Quite fine," said the captain with a tired nod. "Though I do fear my ears will fall off hearing no end to my dearest''sints about marching west."


    "An understandableint,"mented Jeanne, and the captain sighed.


    "Most certainly, it is," said the captain. He smiled tiredly. "And I love her dearly for caring so much. s, so many of my men are also marching west, leaving their elderly or wives or children behind, and I cannot in good faith use my noble title to escape duty, for I am certain that were it not to be me leading my men, they would all copse in the battlefield."


    Li looked to the Rivieran knights behind the captain. He saw how extremely tense they were. They all had worried expressions, anticipating the vast host of dangers that awaited them west. A massive contrast from the blood legionnaires behind Li who were like living machines that seemingly were programmed only to have stoic expressions.


    "Sacrifice is the way of war, and it is heartening to see that that concept is understood even among the full-bellied runts of Riviera," said Leonid. "And captain, you say you are of noble birth? Which of the ten houses of Riviera do you hail from?"


    "I am the eldest son of house Devaux," said the captain with a respectful nod to Leonid. "Sir Drozdov, it is only with the highest of honors that I wee you and your blood legionnaires to Riviera."


    "The honors go to the Easterner, for he has bested me in the sacred rite of the duel and be my superior," said Leonid. "But you, Sir Devaux, are yet young and green. I am surprised your father, as general, is willing to thrust you into the heart of battle."


    "Ah, that," said Devaux. He looked down for a few seconds. "I am sorry to burden you all of with morbid news, but my father sumbed to illness, passing but a week ago."


    "All my respect goes forth to the departed soul of a fellow warrior," said Leonid.


    "My condolences," said Jeanne, and Sylvie and Azhar nodded. "When I received my gold rank as adventurer, General Devaux granted the gold medallion to me, and in his eyes, I saw only the gentleness of a good and honorable man."


    "It was an honor to give general Devaux my respectful wishes at his funeral," said Launcelot. "He taught me well the way of the sword when I was young, and though I have decided to bear the weight of the shield instead of the edge of a de, his patience and kindness, I still appreciate."


    Tia looked to Devaux, frowning slightly as her little brows furrowed in concern. "Your papa dead? Are you okay?"


    Devaux smiled and nodded. "Do not worry about it, and thank you, everyone, but my father''s death thates in wake of a long struggle with illness is one I have been prepared for"


    "Then, Sir Devaux," said Leonid. "You are captain no longer. As new head of your house, you, with the houses of Lys and Gant, are one of the three lions of Riviera. One of its three esteemed generals."


    Devaux put a nervous hand to his head. "That, I am, though certainly, the title of captain sounds far more familiar to me. Holding the lives of thousands of men under mymand is a responsibility that tears much sleep from me, and I hope that by looking up to men like you, Sir Drozdov, I will learn to lead."


    "And learn, you will. Order your men to open the gates, general, and lead us to the encampment where the armies of the five banners are to stay. There, at our encampment, I shall see if your knowledge in strategy and might with a de are up to par."


    Devaux nodded and raised his hand up. Behind him, one of his men withdrew a wand and held it up.


    From its wooden tip, a bright sh of red burst out like a re, flying high into the air. Seeing that signal, the man from atop the walls began moving, pressing at runestone tablets to have magical energy open the gate enough to let everyone through.


    Li motioned for everyone else to move ahead of him, and as they did, he put a hand to general Devaux''s shoulder.


    "General, a word, if I may?"


    General Devaux nodded, a little surprised. "Certainly, good Easterner."


    Li and Devaux stood at the gate, watching the blood legionnaires funnel into the gate with mechanical efficiency. Their marching waspletely synchronized, and seeing them march past the Rivieran knights, it was possible to see how much they towered over them.


    The blood legionnaires must have been on average two meters tall and nearly twice as wide as the average Rivieran knight. They looked like an army of muscled juggernauts that moved with terrifying coordination, and seeing that, the Rivieran knights looked at awe, their jaws cked.


    "Strong men," said Tia from Li''s shoulder, pointing to the blood legionnaires. "Weak men," she said, pointing to the Rivieran knights.


    "I must admit," said Devaux. "The girl is right. Compared to the blood legionnaires, we are nothing. Knights who have never truly needed to guard anything for we have always depended on the Lakely walls.


    To think that we are to be an invading, attacking force is one that sends shivers throughout my spine. Unlike general Drozdov, I have never faced true battle. I merely know what I have read and theorized in simple war games."


    "It is fine to be afraid, general. Fear makes you human, and your humanity is what gives your men hope in you," noted Li.


    "I fear, yes, and perhaps, I fear too much. I fear for my life. For the good of my wife and son. The lives of all my men. Not only them, but the other squadrons that I now have rank over." Devaux shook his head, clearing himself of those thoughts. "But that is besides the point. What did you wish to speak to me about?"


    "I noticed that the city outskirts have all been evacuated in the day that I have been gone," said Li. "As you know, the vast majority of those living in the outskirts are my followers. I merely wish to ask where they are."


    "Worry not for their safety," said Devaux resolutely. "We merely had to bring all outskirts citizens into the walls to have our mages and priests ascertain whether they had any demonic rot within them. Under the watchful eye of many of my men, of course, for I know that your followers and the temple of Light may not see eye to eye.


    Now, though, I should say that your followers have finished being screened. Last I heard tell of them, it was that they had gathered at the Farmer''s Guild for a meeting. I am certain you will still find them there, for as of now, none can leave the city''s walls."


    "Thank you, general," said Li. He looked at the man, at how tired he was. At how young he was.


    Devaux could not have been more than twenty five. Far younger than even Li had been when he was human, and yet, he had what would have felt like the weight of the entire world on his shoulders leading an army with a wife and child to worry about to boot.


    It was moments like these that Li realized how harsh this world could be. How the young could be torn from their families for war or responsibilities that their meager years were not equipped to deal with. He had seen it with Triple Threat ¨C they were barely twenty years old- and he saw it now.


    Li reached into his coat pocket and held out an Everfortune Blossom to the general. "Take this. A token of my appreciation for your concern of my followers."


    "Oh?" Devaux looked at the blossom in recognition. "A blossom that glows like fire and treasure. The same blossom from the festival, no?"


    Li nodded. "You remember well. More proof that it deserves to be with you."


    Thest of the blood legionnaires was beginning to march into the city, signaling the end of Li''s talk with Devaux.


    "Goodbye, general," said Li as he began to walk towards the gate. "Keep that blossom near you, and good fortune will not leave your side."

 Chapter 209 - Return

    Once inside Riviera, Li''s group and everyone else split off. Leonid and his blood legionnaires marched to the western side of Rivera where the greatke was. By theke side, a massive military encampment had been erected, their war tents packed together with countless torches lit between.


    Normally, Riviera''skeside was the epitome of calm and peaceful. Sunlit waves shimmering at the gentle call of slow winds. The perfect scene for a romantic getaway, and that was what it was mainly used for, various benches and tables set along the water''s edge with food carts nearby.


    Now, though, all those signs of peacetime were gone, the grassykesidepletely bereft of everything but tents, racks for weapons, and mana crystals linked to theke''s magic rich waters for mages to draw from to recharge their reserves and form mana crystals with which they could consume on the battlefield.


    Triple Threat went to the encampment as well, for they, as a gold ranked team, was considered a national military force. With them was one of the five tinum ranked teams in Soleil. A team called the Twin Winds consisting of just two identical siblings, one male and one female, and Bulwark and Sword and Staff, the two silver ranked teams in Riviera.


    Other silver and gold ranked teams wereing from nearby viges, cities, and the four cardinal cities, but they would take a while to gather to Riviera. The bronze adventurers, it was decided, would stay behind because they would essentially be useless in the higher leveled ins of the Hintends and against stronger demons.


    All of this information, Li had gotten from a brief conversation with Leonid and Devaux before they split off to thekeside encampment, and now, Li himself was heading to the city''s center where he would touch base with this people in the Farmer''s Guild.


    "Sleepy, and hungry," said Tia, rubbing her eyes atop Li''s shoulder.


    "I know, Tia, but we can wait a little longer, can''t we? There are some important things father has to deal with."


    Li was near the Farmer''s Guild by now, walking up the long series of steps that led to the city center where the city hall stood and where the other important guilds and halls would be. Of which, of course, was now included the Farmer''s Guild.


    "Okay, papa," said Tia with a slight and sleepy nod.


    And yet, as Li reached the end of the stairs, finding himself in the sprawling city center dotted with fiery torch lights where important buildings like the city hall reached high, he felt Tia''sparatively small frame resting on him, and he decided to make a slight detour.


    He made his way through the city center, finding is nearlypletely deserted. There was a smaller marketce here, one that paled inparison to the fish market near the docks or the official marketce on the northern side of the city, but usually, people still packed the ce, looking for foodstuffs and tradesman services that were not expensive as they were on the north side and still better than the cost cutting cheapness of the dockside markets.


    Tonight, though, there was nary a soul moving about. Every shop had closed, which was unfortunate, because Li had wanted to find some food to buy Tia. He still looked around, and eventually, the bolted door to a baker''s store opened.


    "Hail, good Easterner," said the baker, a short man who Li could tell usually smiled but now had a permanent air of nervousness about him. "There is a curfew in ce. Demons, I hear, that may be prowling right outside the city''s walls."


    "An exaggeration," said Li. "And I am sure this city will make an exception for a man looking for food for his daughter."


    The baker looked to Li, and then to Tia, who had fallen fast asleep on Li''s shoulder, though she was mouthing the word for ''food'' in her sleep.


    The baker nodded and disappeared for a few seconds, retreating into his store. He returned with several square shaped pieces of bread that looked soft and yellow like a sponge. They were still warm, and a sweet, milky scent emanated from them that brought Tia out of her sleep.


    She slowly opened her eyes, bringing her wed hands to them to rub them out of her sleepy stupor.


    "How much?" said Li. "I would be willing to pay extra for disturbing your store at this hour."


    The baker smiled and shook his head, handing the bread to Tia. She grabbed the bread hungrily and began eating it.


    Li jolted his shoulder where she sat and said, "Tia, you know what to say."


    "Oh?" Tia looked to the baker and then remembered. She smiled and nodded, saying, "Thank you!" before proceeding to devour the bread in no time t. Though she liked eating the raw flesh of prey she hunted, she had a strangely developed sweet tooth, no doubt influenced from the fact that Jeanne and Sylvie had brought her so many sweets when she was even smaller.


    "I need no coin," said the baker with a faint smile. He bowed his head to Li. "I only ask, good Easterner, that your might and your followers may stand in defense of Riviera, and, if it so may please you, to share some of the grain that you have grown."


    It made sense. Li knew that Riviera''s walls, if they matched the hype that their tales told of them, were thoroughly imprable. But that did not mean Riviera itself was invincible. An extended siege would easilyy them low, and to survive that, grain was more important than gold.


    "All of you are lives wee in my garden," said Li. "So long as you appreciate and understand our wills, then we will not do anything so petty as to hoard grain for ourselves. You have no need to fear for hunger."


    The baker bowed his head in a gesture of appreciation, and Li left, finally making his way into the Farmer''s Guild.


    "Nice human," said Tia with a nod as she nibbled up breadcrumbs from her hand.


    "Nice human, hm???? said Li. Tia had an instinctive understanding that she was distinctly a separate entity from humans, and as of now,rgely due to Li''s teachings, she did not consider that a reason to look down on humans as something lesser and inferior.


    But still, sometimes it did worry him about what that would mean for her empathy.


    "Most humans by themselves tend to be nice, Tia, or at the least, that is what I would like to believe. But when they get into big groups, it bes so easy to sway them to terrible causes."


    "Is that why papa lead humans?" said Tia, cocking her head. "Lead human for better cause? Make all humans as nice as papa?"


    Li thought about that question for a second. He smiled. "Yes, Tia, in a way, you can think of it like that. To make all humans as nice as father. That is a good way to put it."


    "But sometimes, humans mean," noted Tia. "What if they mean to papa? Don''t like him?"


    "Then it is simply their loss," said Li. "I am sure that if they see that I use my resources and powers to nurture them, they will find their way into my garden regardless of what they once thought."

 Chapter 210 - Arrival

    Li came upon the Farmer''s Guild building.


    In two months, it had been fully constructed with the aid of Count Alexei''s vast resources. It was an impressive building standing three stories tall with a massive guild hall that could hold all of Li''s current followers and more.


    Aside from its sheer capacity, the building itself looked pleasing. The sigil of the Farmer''s Guild ¨C the red blossom ¨Cy carved from red rock at its entrance, gleaming with magical light that made it easy to navigate to even in night.


    Unlike the buildings of smoothened stone and marble that tended to rise up in the city center, the guild was fashioned mostly out of sturdy wood, with enchanted vines curling down from them and sprouting a myriad of pleasant smelling and looking flowers.


    Most of the time, the Farmer''s Guild was dark, its indoornterns and light crystals inactive because followers were usually working in their own lives, farming, hunting, gathering herbs, making elixirs, and the like.


    The only light that was on all the time was on the second floor where Sindra and her administrative staff dealt with matters of numbers, coin, contracts, and the like. This time, though, the second floor lights were off, instead light shing from the windows around the circr first floor: the guild auditorium.


    Li stepped past the oaken double doors of the guild, appreciating the glimmer of the red stone blossom above. Immediately, as he made his way to the vine-curled door to the auditorium, he could sense an immense amount of life signatures beyond.


    The entirety of his following was here, and he could tell that not all was right. There was fear in ther hearts. Doubt. Anxiety.


    Li opened the door and stepped in, Zagan trotting behind and Tia sleeping on his shoulder, having fallen into a deeper sleep from eating the bread.


    The auditorium was semicircr inyout, filled with seats and tables meant for discussions with a main stage where speakers could talk, drawing out ns on a runeboard, their voices amplified with a magic crystal that had a sound projection spell embedded within it.


    It felt like almost all the seats were upied. All the farmers and beastwomen were there, and this time, Li noted with some happiness, they were mingled together, though the Serpi still isted themselves in their own group due to their inherently reclusive natures.


    There was a great amount of discussion flitting about the room, a general sense of chaos manifested in the worried looks and raised voices of a hundred different conversations shing at once. But when Li entered, his presence extending outwards like a surging tidal wave, silence immediately befell upon his followers.


    Silence, then, happiness.


    Li could see the concerned faces of his followers all brighten up as they beheld him, and almost immediately, he was assaulted with questions.


    "Good Seer, where have you been?"


    "The demons, they are nigh upon us! What shall we do?"


    "What of our fields? Shall they rot while we are barred in this city?"


    "Are you alright, Good Seer?"


    "The duchess has dered a state of war, how shall we proceed?"


    Li raised a hand to silence them. "All questions, I will strive to answer soon, when I make my way to the rest of the council members at the stage."


    His followers made way for him, letting him walk up the main aisle to the stage where he found the faces he was hoping to find.


    Sitting around runeboard table were Old Thane, Ivo, Sindra, and Ven''thur.


    Immediately, Old Thane stood up to embrace Li.


    "Gods,d, I knew you''d be gone, but not this long," said Old Thane.


    "Rx, old man," said Li, smiling. "You know I''m not the type to get done in so suddenly."


    "Aye, that is true," said Old Thane as he pulled away from the hug. "But still, it was mighty worrying to hear tell of smoke and demons where you had gone. That, coupled with your absence and the city''s sudden preparations for war, have left all of our nerves quite on edge."


    Li sat down on a seat and put Tia''s sleeping form on hisp. She was incredibly tired, drained not only from staying awake so long, but from expending what would have been vast amounts of power fighting off Dark beasts. He doubted anything would wake her soon.


    "My priests and I, too, had thought the worst. During your absence, there was a time when we attempted tomune with you, but found you had disappeared from us, your being strangely erased, and yet the power you granted us still there," said Ivo.


    We had thought that perhaps, you, Good Seer, had perished, leaving but the divinity above with us. But now, it is heartening to see that you have returned and as well as ever."


    "A good thing you were gone, I do say," said Ven''thur. "You will not believe how preposterously difficult it was to get some information about this situation. Right after I had believed I had quite well and thoroughly brow beaten the Merchant''s Guild into an agreement with us, all of a sudden, there is a city wide lockdown, armies are upon us, and a call to arms?


    All with no warning? It is disappointing to see the level of disorganization within this city''s administration."


    Sindra was concentrated on paper she wrote furiously on, but her tail swayed from side to side, indicating happiness at Li''s return.


    "I agree with Ven''thur," she said. "It is quite odd that the city was so ill-informed and prepared for movement of this caliber. But now, with the guildmaster here, we can sit down and reach conclusions about it."


    "I apologize for my absence," said Li. "I dealt with a threat that sprawled out of expectation, but not control, hence my dy. But I am here now. Tell me what has happened so that we can give the rest of the people an idea of what to expect."

 Chapter 211 - Discussion I

    Sindra and Ven''thur were the ones to give Li a solid rundown of what had happened in his daylong absence.


    "It was midafternoon the day before," said Ven''thur. "Right after I had worked out a contract with the Merchant''s Guild that would cease their needless threats and grant us both benefit. I beheld a mass number of knights mobilizing throughout the city, even in the northern side where they do not like to make a racket so as to not disturb the more privileged citizens of the city.


    That prompted me to speak to a few officials in the city hall whom I have had the pleasure of convincing quite thoroughly to be my acquaintances, but there was mere panic and confusion. No two officials could grant me the same tale.


    So, I went to Count Alexei for counsel."


    "And how has he been doing?" said Li, curious as to how the count was handling this sudden upheaval throughout the city.


    No doubt, if the count had any idea that all of this wasing to pass, he would have informed Li, meaning that the count''s own informationwork had been restricted in some capacity.


    "Quite fine, I should say, though quite thoroughly surprised like myself at the activity booming throughout Riviera." Ven''thur adjusted his monocle with his thin, bony fingers. "But, he, as a man of intellectualism and nobleman privy to Lys, had insight into the situation.


    You remember the demon rot you purged before you left, yes?"


    "I do," said Li. "Do not tell me more of it emerged? I was certain to have wiped out every trace of it."


    "No. What you seek to do, you do thoroughly. An admirable trait." Ven''thur continued. "Lys, upon hearing news of the rot, had sent urgentmunication to the duchess. Not using Roc messengers, mind you, but the precious usage of a [Message] crystal.


    And a [Message] response came from the duchess a day after, when you were in the midst of your journey south. She stated she was aware of the threat, and that there was an iing demonic threat to the west, and that she would bring the five banners of Soleil to meet them. She wanted the lord to lock the city down and to prepare it to garrison the armies as the first wave of them were but a mere day''s march away."


    Li raised a brow. "She sent a message as important as that with just a day''s worth of notice? What is that, a deration of war, a march west, an existential threat of an invasion, and a sudden march of five armies all crammed in one simple message?"


    "And," noted Sindra. "Considering how vast this duchy is, the armies were no doubt in march for far more than a mere day. She knew already of this demonic threat long before lord Lys did. Before we did, even."


    Ven''thur shrugged with prideful ir. "I would not be surprised if that was a matter of ipetence. Oh, how ipetence does flow among the shorter lived."


    "I would bet against it," said Li. "The duchess is many things, but ipetent, I doubt."


    "Let us see here." Sindra rifled through papers before licking her lips as she found the right one. "Shipments to Riviera for this past month. An increasing influx of food, much of it storable and longsting. A surge of weaponry and mana crystals."


    "All supplies that would indicate the state of a city preparing for siege," said Ven''thur, and Li nodded in agreement, for it was intuitive to note that though Riviera''s walls could be imprable to all threats physical and magical, that did not mean the citizens within, walled off as they were, were immune to the very primal and basic threat of hunger.


    "And yet, all of this is filed away so innocuously," said Sindra.


    "One of my good friends still working in the city hall was kind enough to provide me with documents about the city''s imports and exports, and here, it is noticeable that the increase in foodstuffs were categorized as surplus from Duvin and the intermediary cities near Riviera. The weaponry, as mass orders from the military for thete general Devaux''s desire to improve Riviera''s army.


    None of this was filed as preparations for war."


    "The duchess chose to hide the nature of these orders from lord Lys. From the Merchant''s Guild, too, from what I have heard of my conversations with them," said Ven''thur.


    "Even from the count. Perhaps, she believed the lord ipetent, unwilling to ce these tasks in his care, and took care to not let even his acquaintances know so as to prevent leaks of information to him."


    "Perhaps," said Li. "Or, more likely, it is not a matter of ipetence, but of basic trust. She doesn''t trust him. I know how Lys is. He''s a man easily manipted. No backbone.


    It makes sense that the duchess would keep things from him, and the armies of Riviera, if they are shoddily prepared, probably make very little difference to the overall war effort considering their standing army is less than half the capacity of any of the other four major cities."


    Li thought further, thinking of a scenario where the duchess was out to deal with him. She would not want him to know her armies wereing, and with informants like Swift in Riviera, she could easily know when he was absent.


    Then, it was a matter of using his absence to threaten his followers, potentially being foolish enough to try and use them as leverage against him.


    "Tell me," said Li. "What happened to the followers after lord Lys received this message?"


    "The lord Lys stumbled to enact typical procedure for a siege against Riviera," said Ven''thur. "He had to deal with so many things, after all. Activating the city''s walls, readying thekeside for encampments, bringing out supplies and weapons for a westward march, and, of course, bringing in all the outskirts citizens into the city for temporary lockdown."


    "And did anything happen to the followers during that lockdown?" said Li. "I can tell that nobody was hurt, but that still leaves me with many details I have to fill in."


    "Oh, the whole ordeal was a colossal mess," noted Ven''thur. "Demonrot is no new phenomenon, it has existed for a millennia, deployed in some measure every single time the demons have rattled their fangs and gone about their invasions.


    Notably, using it against more formidable foes susceptible to corruption such as forest spirits, faerie royalty, vampire truebloods, high undead, and even dragons.


    So, it is no surprise that there is a procedure that the temple of Light follows in ascertaining whether an individual is infected with it.


    At first, the Temple wished to thoroughly inspect every single outskirts citizen, bringing them into secure cells within which they would begin some form of thorough personal scrying and cleansing."


    "An absurdly foolish decision," said Li. "This is demonrot unlike any they have ever encountered before. They have no means of finding or curing it. If, by chance, I had missed even a tiny bit of it, bringing it into a packed, locked down city would have had unimaginably disastrous consequences."


    "Yes, and I was entirely prepared to ''convince'' a few high priests of the order''s idiocy, but fortunately, further idiocy thwarted their own. The Temple itself had not the time nor the unity, now that Gael has splintered the priests into two factions, to organize into a body efficient enough to quarantine all the people, and even then, they faced immediate pushback from the newly titled general Devaux''s squadrons as well as the hero Swift.


    That pushback fractured order andmunications even further among the temple, and at a certain point, after inspecting but a few of the people, the temple simply gave up."


    "And of those few that were inspected, did they report any inconvenience to them?"


    "Not at all," said Ven''thur. "The inspections themselves were rather a half-effort, made by clergyman without the stones to stomach the orders of their higher ups and thereby face retribution from the army, heroes, and, of course, you, my good seer."


    "I see," said Li, pleased that his followers had gone unharmed in his unnned absence.

 Chapter 212 - Discussion II

    "I see," said Li, pleased that his followers had gone unharmed in his unnned absence. "And the movements of the armies? Have they appeared suspicious at all to you? Especially in regard to us?"


    Sindra rifled through her documents once more and found a letter sealed with the dove emblem of Lys. Her sharp eyes moved rapidly as she read through its contents, refreshing her memory.


    "The armies of the five banners will stay here for three more days until their remaindere to Riviera and gather into an unified force. They will then mobilize to the Hintends, where they will meet the Triestan Armada at the western coast for supplies and additional reinforcements.


    So far, the armies have moved exactly ording to this deration."


    "And what about their supplies for the time they are in the city?" said Li. "There very well may be over half a million troops here if the entirety of all five armies march here and my knowledge of their numbers is urate. Will our stored crop be seized?"


    "The Farmer''s Guild did receive a notice about that," said Sindra as she put a quill to her lip. "A request extended by the duchess. An emphasis on the word ''request''. She asks that the farmer''s guild, if it so very much pleases, extend some support to the encampment.


    But, she also very much emphasizes that such support is unnecessary. If needed, she will march the armies west earlier than expected and simply resupply at the western coast with the Triestan armada."


    Li nodded. "I see." He thought about what he had heard for a few seconds, processing what was going on.


    It was evident to see that the duchess had not made any move against him. If anything, she had contributed in stopping the temple from attempting to abuse Li''s absence to intimidate and harass his followers.


    Which did make sense, considering that she had an entire war to deal with already, and antagonizing Li on top of that would only burden her that much more. This, he already knew, but he wanted to be on the safer side of things.


    "Then, let us move on to what he will do about my followers and their future course of action," said Li. He nodded to Ivo and Old Thane. "Ivo, old man, I''ve heard concerns about this lockdown affecting the crop. What did they say about its length?"


    "One week," said Sindra immediately, never losing an opportunity to recite a memorized fact.


    "Too long," said Li.


    "Aye, I do agree," said Old Thane. As master of fields, he had the most stake in making sure the farms themselves were well maintained. "A few days, the fields could shoulder the impact. A week, however, when we''ve grain that grows so quick and livestock we could not bring within the city walls to care for?


    An impossibility, I should say."


    "The priests will also suffer," said Ivo. "In a packed city such as this, so filled with stone carved by man and so little with green, they will find their connection to their magic dwindling."


    "Not to mention the logistics of it all," said Sindra. "There are over one hundred people in this guild, all whom you see packing the entirety of this impressive auditorium. Where shall they find housing?"


    "That could be arranged," said Ven''thur.


    Sindra''s ears twitched. "How, if I may ask? I have run the calctions. Riviera, under lockdown, has now a poption far exceeding its usual norm. Refugees from surrounding viges and even those in centend cities maye pouring in by the thousands.


    The city''s shelters will be overrun. All the inns will be packed. When, and not if, aw of hospice is enforced, making it such that refugees must rotate between shelters to maximize the spread of warm roofs, it will be that much more difficult to keep all the guild members ounted for and safe."


    Ven''thur flourished hisvender gloved hand, waiving away all of Sindra''s concerns. "Oh, dear Sindra, you must take your mind off the numbers and books sometimes and see through a little more, hm, practical lens." He tapped his monocle and continued.


    "With but a few persuasive words and leveraging some of the influence the guild has worked so hard to rue, would it not be so very much a simple task to convince a few willingndowners to make exceptions and take in the followers, knowing that they are of a guild with an impressive flow of coin and rapidly flowering political influence?


    Certainly, it would be far preferable to taking in unwashed masses of refugees that may have little to nothing to their name. I am sure they would be more than willing to ignorews of hospice for such profit, too."


    "You would suggest denying refugees shelter by leveraging coin? Does the injustice of this act not escape you?" said Sindra as she leered at Ven''thur.


    "Would you prefer the followers to be out in the filthy streets?" said Ven''thur. "Dear me, irrational morality does so very much grate upon my cold nerves. And are you not a woman of privilege, born of Feli nobility? How amusing it is to hear you harping of the injustice of coin."


    "How do you know I am nobility?" said Sindra.


    "All too obvious. I am well-traveled, after all," said Ven''thur. "No Feli can afford a journey from the northern Republic down to the south in any capacity other than as a mercenary or ve, and you, my dear, are highly evidently neither.


    No, you are an esteemed academic that graduated from Riviera''s college. Quite likely, you hail from one of the few lucky beastman families that the Elves inducted as citizens and notborers in their reservations.


    A good thing you keep your background under wraps, for certainly, I am sure the beastwomen here would not take kindly to one they would consider hailing from a traitorous bloodline.


    Or, perhaps, you joined this guild upon seeing your fellow beastmen in need from a sudden twinge of guilt, that little whisper in your heart that told you that you needed to use yourfortable position to aid those of your kin that suffered."


    Sindra remained unfazed. "I do not care what you believe I think or where I hail from. What is important now is the task at hand."


    "And I have provided a most simple and effective solution, have I not?" said Ven''thur. "With a few, hm, more ''convincing'' words, I may even be able to secure the followers refuge in thefortable vis of the northside where I am sure armed guards will protect those properties form any civil unrest that brews in the city."


    "I still do not know why a mage of ck magics such as yourself is allowed to sit here," said Sindra.


    "Calm down, you two," said Li. Ivo and Old Thane were looking at Li in concern, because while they did not like the tension that was beginning to brew, this argument about city based logistics was beyond them, leaving them to rely on Li to mediate it.


    "Everyone, regardless of background, is wee here so long as they prove their worth and goodness. Ven''thur is no exception, and neither are you, Sindra. But, as to the matter of housing, I do not intend for this to ever be an issue.


    I have a solution that will fix both the lockdown and field rted issues."


    Li saw that the table''s attention was now fully on him.


    "The solution is rather simple: there will be no lockdown for my followers.


    I will use my influence to force lord Lys and the duchess to grant us our residences in the outskirts. They can close the city walls on us if they so wish, but I guarantee, with my blessing and might, the fields will be safer than any weak little wall."

 Chapter 213 - Destination

    "Ah, the fruits of your minor expedition down south, I presume?" said Ven''thur, smiling. "I did try to have a few familiars keep tabs on you when you went silent for some hours, but there was a foul smog blocking the sky that killed my magic. For that, I must apologize."


    Li nodded. He had informed the guild council he was going down south to deal with issues, but he had not been too specific, mostly to keep word from getting to Tia and making her worry. Though, now, in light of all the events that had transpired, that precaution had ended up being pointless.


    "That dy was unseemly of me. No need for you to apologize," said Li.


    "Though," said Ven''thur. "Never once did I doubt your triumph over any forces you are pitted against. And I suppose, considering you are a master of your crafts, it would have done well for an artist and intellectual such as yourself to have had some privacy."


    "Thankfully, I did note out of my little private session empty handed. I set out to find a means to devise a cure against the new demon rot."


    "Then, good seer, have you found a means tobat it?" asked Ivo. His jaw was set in tense worry. "The rot of this new era is tremendously malevolent unlike anything I have witnessed before, and I say this as a veteran of thest invasion. I was just now about to advise you against setting our followers outside the walls for risk of it."


    "I''ve no direct experience with it, but if Ivo is one to speak of its deadliness, then I can but back his vast experience and knowledge in these matters," said Old Thane.


    "Be calm, everyone," said Li. "For I have found a means to fight against the rot, to render it utterly useless and our followers even immune."


    "Then I have no qualms returning our followers and priests to their fields and forests. Rather, I encourage it," said Ivo.


    Li shook his head. "Not yet. There are a few final hurdles I have to ovee. But now I do have a rough assessment of what''s going on, and I have decided on a course of action. I will speak to my followers now, for they are anxious for word, and I will tell them to stay here for now.


    Are there any objections to this?"


    Li heard only silence, and he nodded, seeing that there were no dissenting opinions on anyone''s faces that they for some reason did not want to voice. "I will take that as a ''no.'' Then here, old man, can you carry Tia for a bit?"


    "Of course,d."


    Li stood up and gently carried Tia''s sleeping form to Old Thane. He turned to the audience and walked up to them, and as he did so, silence once more descended. All eyes, human, feline, wolven, avian, serpentine, were on him.


    He spoke, not needing the magic crystal to amplify his voice. He used Allspeak, his words reaching the hearts of every single individual in that room equally.


    "All of you, my faithful followers, have waited patiently for the guild council to reach a decision, and we have settled upon one. Firstly, however, I must apologize for my absence. It is rare that events go astray from my projections, but it has happened in my journey south for a cure to the demon rot.


    Take that as an understanding that I may not always be there for you. I will strive to guide and nurture all of you as much as I can, of course, but fate may pull me this way and that, never far from you, but still, there may be distance.


    In those times, find strength within your own hearts. Do not be idle lives moving at the beckoning of my whims. When you find that the times are dark and guidance grows thin, find strength within your own hearts, and I guarantee that you will find a way through any crisis."


    Li paused for a few seconds to let the audience take in his words, and then continued.


    "As for what we have decided upon this meeting, I may disappoint you, but we have decided that you all stay in the city. Near each other and near the guild where it is safe, for I shall be absent once more."


    He felt a surge of anxiety rush through the hearts of the followers, and he soothed them. "But not for long. I am in the final steps of defeating this demon rot, and then, my followers, all of you will be free once more to roam your fields and the forest.


    Fields and forest will be unharmed, untouchable by even the mightiest and most terrible of demon kind, for what is a demon in the face of divine might? Of might that transcends divinity? For that might is what graces the gardens that I present to you.


    But it is not merely my might thatprises that garden. No, that is but a small part of it.


    The vast majority of my gardens are all of you, my followers. You will live your lives to your best, in harmony, and in plenty, growing golden crop and finding peace amidst the raging tides of war.


    Even should I be absent, do not abandon your fields. Your forest. Your way of life. For it wille to set a great example to the rest of this broken and mistrusting world and, hopefully, invite them into this way of life.


    This responsibility, I grant unto you, and I hope that all of you will take it to heart."


    Li stepped away from the audience and went back. They were still silent, and he did not me them. From what he learned from Azhar, it was an incredibly touching experience to be spoken to through Allspeak, to have words imbued directly into the being at a level as intimate as the soul itself. He hoped that effect would keep these words further burned in their memory.


    For now, though, Li did not want to waste any more time. The longer he spent away from where he needed to be, the moreplications would arise here in this realm.


    "I am leaving now for my final preparations," said Li to his council members. "Old Thane, Ivo, and Sindra, I give you full authority over my followers in my absence. Please, tend to them well as you always have."


    "And myself?" said Ven''thur, noting his name''s absence.


    "You areing with me," said Li, a faint smile forming on his face. "Or, now that I think about it, you will be taking me where I need to go."

 Chapter 214 - KelThor Citadel

    "Are you certain about this?" said Ven''thur as he adjusted his monocle, looking through it with sunken in, hollow, skeletal eyes on a crowded desk in hisboratory. His skeletal fingers were wrapped around a rotating, crystalline knob at the table''s center, and as he turned it a little bit clockwise, then anti-clockwise, a faint, gurgling sound like flowing water echoed throughout the cavern.


    "Did you not mention it before? When I set out to do something, I do it," said Li in his own true form now that they were in the privacy of Ven''thurboratory. Although it had been torched thest time Li had encountered the lich, it had been restored with some help by Alexei.


    "And I am confident this will seed."


    To a more minimal degree, of course, now that Ven''thur was no longer researching how to create more high undead using live subjects. In fact, most of it was now like a workshop, dedicated for the Lich to show his expert craftsmanship in creating magic weapons like Azhar''s bow and, more importantly, to further his research into dimensional magic.


    Of course, the lich had not given up on making more high undead, it was just that he felt his services and knowledge were needed elsewhere and, with an eternity of undeath to spend, he had plenty of time to continue his undead research another day.


    "I do not mean your confidence in this experiment," said Ven''thur. "The girl. Is it right to bring her? Kel''thor Citadel is not a weing ce for little girls."


    Li looked to Tia, his skeletal head and socketed eyes glowing green as he gazed at her sleeping form on his shoulder. She was leaning on him, morefortably than she would in his human form because he was a fair bit bigger, and she looked just as at peace with Li''s more sinister figure as she was with his human visage.


    Tia knew, of course, of Li''s true form, and did not consider it a foreign concept. After all, she herself was not using her true form most of the time.


    "Trust me, Ven''thur, Tia can handle more than her form would lead you to believe," said Li.


    Ven''thurughed. "Oh, I do not mean there will be danger. The citadel has long been dead, and so, I fear it may be far too dreary an environment for a curious young mind.


    Though, I suppose you are right that she can handle far more than meets the eye. Considering she does possess some highborn draconic blood." Ven''thur kept fidgeting with the purple crystal knob. It was meant as a stabilizer for his dimensional magic, sort of like a means to punch in coordinates to urately zone in his teleportation, though even then, he could teleport only to extremely familiar locations.


    "I am actually rather surprised no dragon from Torr Valeris hase curiously sniffing about for her. As obsessed with bloodlines those scaled lot are."


    "I imagine they know she is under the guardianship of a being far beyond them," said Li.


    "Believe me, that has not stopped the unfathomable arrogance of dragons before," said Ven''thur. The crystal knob clicked. "Ah, the calibrations areplete. To Kel''thor, we shall go, the grand citadel that was once my dearest home and space of study."


    Ven''thur kept his hand on the knob, and then raised his other hand in front of him. Hisvender suit had been reced with his magical purple robes, and they began to warp and billow around his figure like living fire. "[Gateway]"


    A dark purple fissure in space tore open in front of Ven''thur, slowly growingrger until it could envelop everyone present.


    "Then, shall we?" said Ven''thur as he waved to Li, and Li nodded once, following the lich into the portal.


    ==========================


    The moment they stepped into the portal, they were out of it, and it fizzled shut behind them in an instant as Ven''thur wished to save as much mana as he could.


    "So this," said Li as he looked around. "Is Kel''thor Citadel."


    All around him, spanning into the distance, were massive bookshelves of stone. So tall and numerous were they that theirbined structure looked almost like some kind of maze. Many of the stone bookshelves were ornately decorated with carved figures of knights, dragons, undead, flowers, and many, many more objects and beings.


    Li realized they were essentiallybels for the shelves, indicating what type of books would have been atop the shelves.


    However, there were no books. Not a single oney atop the massiveplex of shelves, making them look utterly hollow, like a bare skeleton stripped of its flesh and blood. A heavy silence hung low in the library, mixing with clouds of ashen dust to create a somber, dead mood.


    Tia shivered, and shezily opened one eye. "Cold," she said, and Li wrapped arge, branched hand around her, wreathing her in warm leaves. Her eye moved from side to side, and she said, "Where we?"


    "At Kel''thor Citadel, oh sleepy dragon!" said Ven''thur, his excited voice ringing out in dead echoes throughout the massive length of the library. "Or, more specifically, merely a part of it. The part most familiar to me: the Grand Archives, once manned specifically by yours truly."


    "There is not much left of it," noted Li solemnly.


    Ven''thur sighed, the sudden excitement at returning home dimming down rapidly. "Yes, that is true.


    When the citadel was burned down two hundred years ago, nearly nothing was spared from the mes. A thousand years of history all written and bound in tomes meant tost an eternity ¨C all gone. I should say the onlyparable well of knowledge left now are the tablets of the Serpi, but those, they are unwilling to share with outsiders."


    Ven''thur paused, red points of light shining in his eye sockets. "Perhaps, it would have been better for us to be just as reclusive with the knowledge. Sharing it with mortals bred fear in their minds, and their irrational little headsshed out against us."


    "Your distrust of mortal minds is bing that much more understandable to me," said Li.


    Ven''thurughed. "Ah, do not take my words too seriously, good seer, for they would taste sour to you when you yourself are trying so hard to make the mortals better than what they are."


    "You have no faith in them?" said Li, knowing that Ven''thur was with Li not to share his goal of an eternal garden, but for the mere pleasure of working with a higher existence and learning from it.


    "Faith? Hm, faith? Such a strange word. So irrational, is it not? Have faith, the mortals say when they cannot understand the world around them. Have faith, they say as they urge each other to ughter the other in droves or burn down knowledge." Ven''thur began to float forwards, between the towering bookcases, and Li followed.


    "But humans good," said Tia. "Papa says so."


    "I did not say they were evil, my dear," said Ven''thur. "Merely gullible, their wits dimmed and clouded with superstition as the years pass by them. They have no ideation of what is good or what is evil or what those concepts even truly mean, for it may be that one demagogue arises that convinces them that wrong is right and right is wrong, and they willp it up so very easily.


    Oh, dear me, I am rambling. What I should say is that mortals are nk tes, easily influenced, colored by the higher forces around them. To that end, I should say your dear father is quite the artist, shaping and coloring them in a way that turns them away from their wanton self-destructiveness."


    "Confused," said Tia, not grasping what Ven''thur was saying. "Bone man words too big."


    "He''s saying that humans can get easily tempted," said Li. "And I agree, Ven''thur. I know very well how destructively short-sighted mortal lifespans can be."


    He distinctively remembered his past world. At how narrow minds and greedy wills had exploited and doomed the entire world into a soulless husk not worth living in. "But their malleability is also why I believe I can turn them against their worse tendencies."


    "And to that goal, I raise the highest of toasts," said Ven''thur, raising his skeletal hand in a mock cheer. "There is no sarcasm in my words, good seer, I do assure you, if you are ever worried. It is simply the way my words flow sometimes. I do find your goals truly admirable, and I am quite the eager spectator to see whether it alles into fruition."


    "Spectator? You, by now, are an active participant. Even now, that you are helping me is sign of that."


    "I am no nihilist, despite the tendency for long lived bookworms to resort to such philosophy," said Ven''thur.


    "You should know that by spending time within your heart, resurrecting myself through your energies, that I have some concept of what you are. Of where you hail from, of visions of a world choked with smoke and bereft of life. Preventing that, too, would be quite favorable for me."


    "Then you know I am part of the alien forces that you abhor, do you not?" said Li. "The same as the heroes and the elven machines."


    "It would be hypocritical of me to abhor you for that, for after all, my existence, too, is of foreign origin to this world," said Ven''thur. "I merely am of ill opinion against the heroes and elves for their appearance has only furthered the chaos in this world.


    You, good seer, however, look to be a beacon of order."


    "Order," repeated Li, knowing the word was so very familiar to him. "Yes, that is what I seek to be."


    "And order is a schr''s favorite dish," said Ven''thur. "For the delicate process of study is impossible in a time of chaos.


    Nowe, good seer and majestic little dragon, follow me to the heart of Kel''thor, for there, I may yet present to you argely untarnished shade of its magnificence where I may attune you to the infinity of the cosmos."

 Chapter 215 - Kelthor Citadel II

    At the end of the Grand Archives, they came upon a massive stone wall ckened with me. Ven''thur touched his skeletal hand to the charred rock, and as he did so, the indentations in the wall became highly visible, lined as they were with glowing purple energy.


    The indentations formed into a circr pattern, and within that circle, there were further inscriptions that read outbels such as ''Main Hall'', ''Residential Quarters'', ''Alchemical Laboratory'', ''Crystallography Center'', ''Wandmaker'', ''Scrollbearer'', and so on, indicating a plethora of areas present all throughout the citadel.


    "Hm, let me see here," said Ven''thur as he rotated his hand. With that movement, certainbels glowed brighter than others, indicating they were being selected.


    As he scrolled through them, he remarked, "Ah, I would have wished so dearly to show you the entirety of the citadel when it was yet standing and unburnt. We had everything under the stars all in this hallowed mountainside study.


    Can you believe we held even a menagerie full of live specimen spanning all known continents? Headed by a dracolich curator, no less."


    "Dracolich? Those are extremely powerful undead," said Li, knowing that unlike lesser Bone Drakes that were just animated dragon skeletons, dracoliches were dragons that had fully embraced high undeath, using their massivetent magical potential to be extraordinarily potent undead that were at minimum level 80.


    "The more I think about it, the more I am beginning to question how mortal forces ever razed this citadel. It must have been one of the most powerful areas in this entire, guarded by high undead and all their centuries of knowledge."


    "Oh, youpliment the citadel too highly. It is no Torr Valeris, that is to be sure, filled with bloodthirsty battle maniacs. It had no true defenses. We were all schrs wrapped up in the pursuit and maintenance of knowledge, and perhaps, we did grow idle, believing as you believed that our power alone would ward away any threat.


    But of course, we did not consider the idea that the mortal races would tap into the Source, draining the world of its life force for their gain."


    "Something not of this world ended Kel''thor, then," said Li.


    "That is so. An Elven hero arose like a shining star, wielding a contraption that could fire the light of the sun against her enemies. With that weapon, she along with the mortal races pushed back the third demonic invasion, and emboldened by that victory, sought to eradicate Kel''thor as well."


    Li nced at the ckened stone around him. "And they did."


    "At the cost of all their lives, though I should say the tradeoff between knowledge lost and mortal lives lost skews rather heavily towards knowledge.


    An armyprised of beastmen, club tribes, fairies, humans, elves, the few and dwarves that yet remained in the world at that time all came together under that heroine''s banner ¨C amazing how amon enemy can unite the petty wills of mortals - and we let them into the citadel," said Ven''thur.


    "You let them in?" said Li.


    "Oh, yes, we did. Initially, as a gesture of goodwill and to ask them to leave if they valued their lives," said Ven''thur. "And when they began to fight, the citadel and its walls became an inescapable ughter pen with which we could eliminate them more efficiently.


    We did not want any of them escaping us, after all. And ughter them, we did, wishing to leave the heroine forst so as to study her contraption and prevent any more abuse of the Source.


    But, oh, how petty she was, even when we promised her life. She broke apart her weapon, not even knowing that it would erupt into a st never before seen upon the world.


    A st that thoroughly epassed the whole of the citadel. Likely would have reduced it to ash, too, were it not for Kel''thor himself giving his life to reinforce the structure in hopes that the knowledge could be retained."


    Ven''thur pressed his hand into the wall, and a click resonated throughout the empty library. A portal opened up behind him.


    "And I," said Ven''thur. "Was far too slow. At any moment, I could have taken that elven waste of matter and sent her into another dimension, teleported her far, far away, but two hundred years ago, I was far less wieldy with my magics.


    But enough of the past, good seer, for are you not a being that looks to the future? A future that you intend to shape?"


    Ven''thur bowed and motioned to the portal. "And the keys to the future you envision lie in wait for you there."


    ===========


    Past the portal, Li, Tia, and Ven''thur found themselves within what seemed like a cavern.


    There was no ornately carved ceiling of stone above as there was in the grand archives. Instead, rough, natural formations of spiked rock jutted out from every which way, and the asional drip and drop of water seeping through the stone could be heard.


    "Mind the puddles, they do get so very dirty," said Ven''thur as he floated forwards over rocky, cracked ground littered with pools of water. "Kel''thor may be hewn into the face of a mountain, but the rains in the centends pour down strong, and the rock is surprisingly permeable, despite how deep in the mountain we are."


    Li followed Ven''thur. At his shoulder, branches started to grow, twisting and forming a light canopy of broad leaves above Tia to stop water from falling on her. "


    "This is the heart of Kel''thor?" asked Li. He felt a powerful hum of power here. A pulsating, beating power. It reminded him of his own heart in the Winterwoods. "I sense power here. A living, ancient power."


    "A World Vein," said Ven''thur. He snaked past a sharp angle through a corridor of jagged rock, and when Li followed, he saw what Ven''thur meant.


    Sprawled out in front of Li was a massive cavern, and all around its ground were drawn fissures in the rock that criss-crossed over a single point at the center. That center point formed a sort of altar upon which a huge, purple crystal had been iid, and it glowed incredibly bright with warm, purple energy.


    Tia immediately woke up, her little body tensing up as she sensed threats.


    And threats, there were. Around the crystal, dotting most of the cavern, was a huge host of undead.


    Regr skeletons, many of them, but some were far higher leveled Skeleton Brutes, Bone Wraiths, and even a Bone Dragon whose huge, serpentine formy curled around the crystal.


    "Bone things," said Tia. "Dangerous."


    "I apologize for this rather inconveniencing disy," said Ven''thur. He pped his hands, and his will as a higher undead manifested over all the lesser ones, rendering them tame.


    "The Grand Archives, I asionallye back to and sweep lesser undead from cluttering. But Kel''thor is so vast I cannot do the same elsewhere, especially here in the heart where the magic crystal draws them like desperate moths to a dancing me.


    But, in a way, I am thankful that these undead still spawn here. It prevents mortals from being foolish enough to try and desecrate the citadel and is proof that at least here, the undead still find natural birth."


    Tia rxed and pouted, "I wanted to fight. New prey. Like bone man. Bone, but living. Strange."


    "Oh, if the majestic dragon so wishes it, I can have some of these lesser ones spar with her," said Ven''thur. He nodded to Li. "I can assure it will be all safe and controlled."


    Li knew that Tia had not hunted for a while, and she was going to get antsy, her energy getting more and more pent up. He put her down from his shoulder and said, "You may fight, Tia. It will keep you entertained while I do work."


    Tia smiled and pranced around, her tail swishing, her ws extending, and her fangs baring. "Yay!" she said. "Hunt, hunt, hunt!"


    She pranced around, inspecting one undead here, and another one there, seeing which one she wanted to fight.


    Until finally, she noticed Li and Ven''thur had gone to the crystal, and there she walked in front of the bone drake.


    "Dear Trynvilliga," said Ven''thur to the enormous skeletal dragon. "Oh, to see you, once among our wisest, our finest curator, reduced into a lesser undead. It does sadden me so."


    "Ven¡­Thur," whispered the bone drake, and Li was surprised.


    "It can speak? Despite being a lesser undead?"


    "There are still some vestiges of Trynvilliga remaining within," said Ven''thur. "But I have thoroughly experimented in attempting to restore her to how she was before the st reduced her into this lesser state, and I have determined that those vestiges are mere empty pieces of memory, little shards that float around inside her being but are not enough to be pieced together to form a whole again."


    "Looks like me," said Tia as she looked wonderingly at the bone drake. "Me, but dead."


    "Do not say that, little one," said Li. "You should never worry for your life when I am here."


    "No worry, just curious," said Tia. She reached out and put a hand to the bone drake''s hollow snout. The drake''s skull was already several timesrger than Tia, utterly dwarfing her, but it did not move as she touched it.


    "You¡­?" whispered the bone drake before it lurched its skull backwards and stood up, its colossal frame identally crushing dozens of smaller undead as it headed away to the corner of the cavern, curling up there in a dormant, still state.


    "Me?" said Tia wonderingly. "It know me?"


    "Trynvilliga has been gone for two hundred years, good dragon, long, long before you were born," said Ven''thur as he approached the crystal. "No reason to see meaning in her words now. Many of them are random, bereft of reason, uttered simply for the sake of utterance.


    Now then, time to see if this crystal still functions."


    "I thought you were certain that it worked," said Li.


    "Oh, I am, but one can never be one hundred percent certain of anything. To believe so is the hallmark of irrationality," said Ven''thur. He tapped the crystal a few times, arcs of purple energy floating from his hand to the construct. "Hm. It is fueled by the World Vein it sits atop, so a few sparks of my energy should be all it takes to start it up. Likely, it has been dormant for too long."


    "There is an enormous amount of powering from this crystal. No, from what you call the world vein underneath it," said Li as his skull looked at the massive crystal, then down to the fissure ity atop. "I assume this is what supplied the majority of Kel''thor''s magical energy needs."


    "Indeed, it is so," said Ven''thur as he stepped back, adjusting his monocle and leaning his forward so he could get a better reading of the crystal. "World veins are truly an impressive source of mana, and we were able to tap into it far, far better than the likes of Riviera who can only draw enough from theirs to fuel their walls."


    Li realized now why there was so much magical energy packed into the cavern beneath theke in Riviera. He had always known about the presence of the environmental mana there, but he had not been able to give it a name or a reason for its existence.


    "And," continued Ven''thur. "It should be more than enough to fuel your expedition. It allowed myself to inspect the surface of the moon, to devise my little experiment in linking portal from world to celestial body, and it even allowed one of the more visionary liches among our kind too tired of living upon this world to throw himself into the deep of the cosmos."


    Ven''thur paused in reminiscence. "Oh, Shen''sai, what an enormously ambitious yet odd one he was. I do wonder if he has found another world with life that he could sink his intellect into, but besides that, you can see why I am confident that this can serve your needs."


    Tia immediately tugged at Li''s wooden hands. "Papa leaving again?"


    "Not exactly," said Li to Tia. "Father will look like he is gone, but he will be near. He is not going anywhere far away. And one of the reasons Ven''thur is here is to pull me out if I am gone too long."


    "Still want to go with papa," said Tia. "Don''t care about hunting anymore."


    Li shook his head. He was adamant about this one, because he could not guarantee Tia''s safety.


    He knew that his knowledge of eldritch power and the memories he had experienced in that realm of darkness were still locked in there.


    They bled out to him little by little now that he had finally reached it, and that let him know that there was a distinct connection between himself and that realm.


    Eventually, he knew that those pieces of memory would flow into him, but he did not want to waste time. He had to ess his powers now and counter the eldritch demon rot.


    He knew there could be a risk to it, that if he forced this, he might lose some sense of himself, but he was willing to face that for the good of the lives that relied on him. His followers. Old Thane. And especially Tia.


    That was why Li had brought Ven''thur and enlisted his help. The lich already had proven that though he could not easily create portals between areas he was unfamiliar with, if he had a connection he could work with that tied a being to a ce, then his limitations became far less burdensome.


    And there was connection plenty to work with. Ven''thur had absorbed energies directly from Li''s heart. In a way, he knew Li better than almost anyone, leaving him the most capable being on this entire world for this specific job.


    But even so, Li was still going into unknown territory.


    A ce far more alien than anything he had ever experienced before. He could bring Tia even to battlefields, because he was absolutely confident he could protect her, but in this case, he did not have the same level of certainty.


    "No, Tia. This time, father has to go alone. But do not worry, Ven''thur will keep track of me, and will call to me if even the slightest thing goes wrong," said Li. She recognized his tone was not yielding, and she hugged Li''s leg.


    "Get back soon and safe, papa," she said simply, tightening her grip around his leg. He put a branched hand to her little head, tousling her hair.


    "I will, little one, I will."

 Chapter 216 - Dimensionality I

    "Aha! The crystal has established its connection with the world vein," said Ven''thur triumphantly. He pped his skeletal hands together as he watched purple sparks fly from the body of the huge structure, lighting up the dark of the cavern in an almost ghostly glow.


    The ground began to rumble gently, and a whirring sound, the kind you would hear in a generator, began to emanate from the depth of the crystal as it began to grow increasingly brighter.


    An aura of purple energy began to shimmer around it, and the aura shaped into coiling tendrils as they snaked up, trying to reach the cavern ceiling.


    "Normally," said Ven''thur. "The crystal''s mana channels would attach above, linking it to the rest of Kel''thor, but the st has destabilized the citadel''s position and ruined much of its capability to connect with the crystal.


    I, however, am still more than capable of processing this power."


    Ven''thur reached a beckoning hand to the crystal, and the aura of purple began to flow towards it, as if maized by the bone. As streams of pure, condensed mana flowed into Ven''thur, he sighed.


    "Oh, how thoroughly overwhelming the raw power of a world vein is," he said. "And yet, still nothing inparison to the blindingly bright power you showed me."


    "I realize I have a ir for showing off," said Li as he remembered the fusion seed incident with Ven''thur on the moon. "I am d you appreciate it."


    "Certainly, I do. You know, at first, I mocked your mingling with mortals, but upon witnessing your power, I became more open to the idea that you could seize the future of these mortal lives and bend them to a better path." Ven''thur brought his hands close together, and a flowing channel of purple energy began to flow between them. "And now, we begin the ritual to aid you in that noble goal."


    "Will papa be hurt?" asked Tia worryingly as she looked up, her head craning far up as she tried to look at the tall figures of Ven''thur and Li.


    "Your father is quite a sturdy one," said Ven''thur. "A trait that you, it seems have inherited, majestic little dragon. Now, there is a matter of dimensional fluxes potentially locking him away eternally in the cosmic void he wishes to traverse."


    "Ven''thur," said Li admonishingly, knowing the lich''s words were going to concern Tia. "I chose you for this ordeal for I believed you to be able to minimize risks."


    "Do not worry, good seer, the probability of such idents is at less than one percent. But, as I have said before, there is no such thing as true certainty." Ven''thur''s eyes lit up, shing far brighter red than usual, and his robes began to billow around him, surges of wind rising from the energy he channeled.


    The two channels of energy that collided between his hands began to form into a spherical shape, and Li realized it was in the shape of his heart.


    "Does that mean papa safe?" asked Tia, tugging at Li''s branched finger.


    Li nodded to Tia. "There will be no harm made to my body, Tia. That, I can guarantee."


    "Hm, yes, good, good,"mented Ven''thur as he focused on the heart pulsating between his hands. "This is how I recalled the structure of your being, and as an aplished artisan, I must say that I have done quite a wondrous job of replication. Now to tether it to a location that bears its same essence.


    Though, I must say, this is the first time I am linking another to¡­themselves."


    "It does sound odd, but trust me, that is what is required here. Somewhere in the depths of existence, there lies a space, a dimensionprised entirely of my own power.A dimension that may as well be a part of myself embodied."


    "This is the first I have ever heard of such phenomenon. I am all too curious to see how this ritual operates. The theoretics of it, I have all ounted for, but to see it y out will truly be a test of my knowledge." Ven''thur took the heart and gently pushed it out towards the crystal.


    The heart of purple flickered like an image cast upon moving water as it drifted slowly to the crystal, as if maically drawn to it. The heart sank into the crystal, and then, the light of the crystal dimmed entirely, leaving the cavern in darkness.


    Nothing happened.


    "What happen?" asked Tia.


    "That, my dear, I am not entirely sure," said Ven''thur, scratching his skull. "It seems¡­the crystal has been drained utterly of energy. But that is nigh impossible. The amount of mana stored here is unfathomable, more than enough to establish a link so intimately close as that between an individual and themselves. By sheer metrics of power, this should be enough even for an avatar of a divinity to reach their higher form should they wish."


    In disbelief, Ven''thur tapped at the crystal with a fist in very much the same way someone would hit an electronic device in an attempt to get it to work again.


    The crystal responded by releasing an extreme flux of energy that sted omnidirectionally outwards. Ven''thur flew backwards at high speeds, and Li reacted by immediately sheltering Tia, covering her with his body.


    The shockwave broke apart almost every single undead in the cavern, sting their bones into fragments that scattered away like dust in a strong wind. Only the bone drake remained entirely unscathed.


    The crystal had begun to shine with energy colored like the night sky, as if someone had sliced a part of visible space, all its little stars ands, and painted it over the breadth of the structure. The whirring sound it emitted became immensely powerful, almost deafening, rumbling the cavern.


    The fissures underneath the crystal began to crack and grow wider, exposing fiery crackles of magical energy that leaked out dangerously.


    With an ear-splitting cry that sounded eerily simr to a distorted scream, the crystal projected a burst of energy above it that tore apart space, forming into a rapidly swirling portal that pitch-ck darkness.


    Ven''thur floated back to the crystal, recovered from the sudden shockwave, and the red points of light in his sockets narrowed in focus.


    "A connection has been established!" he dered triumphantly. He cocked his head as he scrutinized the crystal closer, triumph giving way to sheer awe.


    "But the location ¨C I cannot tell where it is. It is not anywhere that has been mapped, not in the millennia this citadel has stood, and we have mapped even to the stars. I cannot even begin to grasp a sense of physical coordinates.


    This ce ¨C it does not exist in a realm abiding by the materialws that bind us here. It is entirely foreign. Unbound by this world, unknown even to the stars so distant."


    "I ask of you only this: can you pull me out whenever you wish?" said Li.


    "That, I can do. I simply have to remove the crystal from the world vein," said Ven''thur. "The loss of a mana supply should destroy the portal, and with the link broken, you will be shunted back to this ne of existence."


    "Good. That is all I need," said Li as he looked up to the portal awaiting him. "I will handle everything else."


    Li felt Tia''s hand tighten strongly around his finger as she too looked up to the portal, at the mass of undting darkness that must have felt and looked so unknown to her.


    "Don''t go, papa," said Tia once more as her eyes widened. "That-," she said, pointing a wed finger to the portal. "Cold. Bad cold. Dark cold."


    "I will be gone just an hour, Tia," said Li. "Is that not right, Ven''thur?"


    "As you wish, good seer. An hour it is," said Ven''thur as he positioned himself in front of the crystal, his eyes reading the flow of magic echoing from it to gauge that all was right.


    "So don''t worry," said Li to Tia. "Father will not be gone long, and he has to go this time, remember? It''s to help keep you safe. To keep Old Thane safe. To keep sister Jeanne and Sylvie and uncle Azhar all safe."


    Tia kept a hold on Li''s hand for several seconds before finally relenting. "Okay," she whispered.


    Li patted her head, wishing he couldfort her more, but there was no changing the fact that he had to go. The sooner he got through with it, the better.


    He willed a tform of branches to grow under his feet, raising him up to the portal until he stood face to face with it. The aura emanating from that entryway into darkness was familiar.


    Too familiar, in fact, like he was almost looking into a reflection of himself in that mirror of dark.


    He knew this was the right ce.


    Li stepped into the darkness to once more im what was part of himself.


    ==========


    A sensation of falling.


    Then, nothingness.


    No light, no space, no sensation, just pure, absolute, unadulterated nothingness.


    There, Li manifested his consciousness, and with it, he remembered everything from thest time he was here. The talk with the entity which was still equally as confusing as it was the first time he heard it. He remembered too his choice. The decision to flow for order.


    He remembered how after making that decision, he felt like he had be something else.


    Something else, and yet, just the same, and in that state, he had affected time, reaching into the past and blessing the hero of the Chattering Woods with power to defeat the demons.


    Power that condemned her to suffering, and yet, he had promised to save her, and he did, destroying her darkbeast form in the present.


    Power. Direction. Flow.


    As these words entered into Li''s mind, he began to realize that the nothingness around him began to take shape, turning into an enormous body of water shaded in ck, its breadth stretching out to infinity. Or rather, maybe it was the nothingness that adapted to him, molding into a form he could more easily grasp.


    Power hummed from the waters engulfing him. Power immeasurable and unfathomable in scale.


    And yet, it was not power he could take in. He tried, willing his consciousness to draw in the seemingly unending vastness of strength that flowed all around him, and yet, it was excruciatingly difficult.


    He felt like a man dying of thirst surrounded by the ocean.


    Eventually, he managed to take a droplet of the water around him, and with it, he manifested a body. His Elder Leshen form. He felt it as familiar as it always was, fully charged with all his usual might, and he used it to swim upwards, for though the waters extended infinitely horizon wise, they seemed to have an end vertically.


    He breached the surface of the waters and paused, startled. The world above the ck waters waspletely gray and muted, devoid of colors. There was no sun, just a consistent gray shade that mimicked a sense of dreary lighting.


    Strangely, it reminded him of Valhul, at how it had deteriorated into muted dark and grayness.


    But most surprising of all was that standing still atop the waters, as if frozen in time, was the cottage, painted in the same grayscale as everything else above water.


    Li drew himself out the water, standing on it as if it were solid ground, and drew near to the cottage door, knowing deep within himself that if he wanted to ess more of the power around him, the answersy in the cottage.


    He opened the door and hunched himself to step into its cramped innards.


    There, sitting atop the stool that Old Thane usually upied, was himself.

 Chapter 217 - Dimensionality II

    Li took a moment to see the figure that looked like himself. His human self. Exactly identical, wearing his farmer''s guild jacket, dress shirt, and pants, granting it a formal air. The only difference was, of course, that it was coloredpletely in ck ¨C the same shade of ck as the water outside, contrasting it with the dull and light shades of grays around it.


    "Does that form not encumber you within these boundaries?" said his copy, extending a cordial hand to Li to sit on the stool opposite of it. "Sit infort, for whatever form you choose, it is all the same."


    Li paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts, then decided to entertain this thing, for he still had the gut feeling that all he wished to have and knowy here. He shifted back to his human form, and as he sat on the stool, he began to realize that he had never once stepped foot into the cottage in his true form.


    "So, what are you?" asked Li.


    "What am I?" repeated the clone, and it was then that Li realized it was exceedingly difficult to get a read on his copy''s facial expressions. They were wreathed in flickering, ever moving shadows, almost rendering him coldly faceless. "I am you. And you are me."


    "I''ve heard that before, and I''m beginning to want a clearer answer than that."


    The copy sat up straighter. "Of course, you would. You have never liked being in the dark. Not when you were little, and not now when ites to matters of knowledge.


    Then let my words flow simply: I am your eldritch being manifested."


    "And why do you have to exist?" said Li as he peered at the clone, feeling strangely disembodied talking to someone that he realized at an instinctive level was equally himself as he was now. "I know I have several sides to my power. My power as a forest guardian and, of course, my eldritch powers, but my guardian powers have never had to manifest another being like this."


    "Why do I exist?" repeated the clone. "Because you wish me to."


    "No, if anything, it''s just an inconvenience," said Li. "I can sense it. You have the power that I want. Control over the power around us. If you are me, then you can yield that power to me."


    "You do not desire that."


    "I''m pretty sure I do."


    "If you truly did, then I would not exist." The clone crossed its dark legs together and peered keenly at Li. "Let me elucidate. You believe you have a sense of self. That is your humanity. You wish to retain it because you know that others rely upon it.


    The old man, and now, your newfound daughter. Family."


    "The same was said to me about my forest divinity. But gradual exposure and experience with it has granted me far more control over my divine powers without having me lose any of my humanity. The same can be done here."


    "You know that is untrue. Your forest spirit aids you greatly, sacrificing her own autonomy such that you may have yours. But it is true that you can have full reign over your forest spirit powers and still maintain your human sense of self ideation.


    The same has been done by spirits and divinities many times in this world."


    "Then I see no issues here. I do not need all this power now. Only a piece of it to shape to my will."


    "That, I can do for you."


    Li paused. "You will do that for me? If this is my power, should I not be doing this for myself?"


    "Is that not what you have created me for?"


    "I don''t recall ever creating you."


    "Recollection is ephemeral. In flux. Particrly within the confines of humanprehension and interpretation. But it will be sufficient for me to exin.


    Think, and remember, the times you have used powers you deem ''eldritch''."


    "I''ve been using my eldritch powers ever since I came to this new world," said Li. "And I haven''t used them to the point I''ve been losing my humanity just yet. I can afford to use a little more."


    "Yet the times you did use them, did you not feel a sensation? A creeping, foreign sensation icily crawling through your being? The thrill of destruction, of enforcing the ultimatum of chaos upon matter ¨C an ultimatum that you interpreted as bloodlust? As cruelty?"


    "And that bloodlust and cruelty passed because I knew to moderate my usage of those spells," countered Li. "I never let it fundamentally change who I am."


    "No, you did not. By creating me." The clone tapped the back of its head. "All that which you thought was cruelty, bloodlust, coldness, your human sense of self understood was foreign, and thus instinctively and subconsciously rejected, shunting it all away here.


    In this formless, infinite expanse between the Inner and Outer, you, while nting seeds upon firm soil, also nted seeds here. But only was it when you first came to realization of this space''s existence, of realization that you were something beyond, that I was birthed.


    Birthed for Order."


    "See, that also makes little sense to me," countered Li. "When I made that decision for Order, it was because I knew there was power within me, around me, and I wanted to use it to help. That was me, my human self, not anything else.


    If my human understanding is so limited, then how can it make a decision like that? Influence the power that you feel is forbidden from me? Even create you who is trying to deny me now?"


    "Because your human self is still a sense of self. In some intrinsic, albeit infinitely miniscule manner, it does represent your being. And you, fundamentally, are a being of Order. Creation. You may consider your decision to have been choice, but, in better terms, it is more an affirmation.


    This does not mean that the entirety of your human being ispatible with the flow of creation around you. It merely means that the absolute, bare essence -the universal constant of your being which favors Order that exists regardless of your form - may imbibe these waters.


    Should you choose to fully assimte with this power, you must shed all that which is not Order. That heralds many things, but to you, the only gate that closes you from these waters is your sense of humanity.


    You may open that gate, but the you of now wishes not to make that decision."


    Li thought about this situation for a few more seconds, connecting dots here and there in this abstruse conversation.


    "In essence," concluded Li. "You are what Iona is to me for my divinity. A sort of ''Root'' for this eldritch power."


    "A roughly aptparison, but you must remember, I am still you. When you granted the little hero power, that was me. But I am you. Our wills are intertwined. They may seem separate now, but one day, they shall merge, and ''we'' will be ''I''."


    "I¡­have an idea of what you mean," said Li, knowing that as time passed, time long enough to be iprehensible to his human self, time long enough where all that he held dear to him had faded, he would inevitably merge with this existence and be something more.


    Something cosmic in scale. But that was a tale far, far in the future. What mattered now was what he was here for in the first ce: a cure to the eldritch rot, and it seemed he would not have issues getting it.


    "Then I shall create what you desire," said the clone, as if reading Li''s mind. It opened up its palm, and a little droplet of water so small that it would have been invisible to the naked human eye appeared hovering above. "A cure to the new demon rot. I will create the spell."


    "A spell?" wondered Li. "I can use my divinity as if it is secondhand nature to me. I am assuming this is not the same."


    "You assume correctly. The primordial power of the intermediary must be fashioned into a formprehensible and familiar to you. Spells."


    "Then," theorized Li. "Could I not wish for any number of spells of any power and ability?"


    "You could, for the power around us is that of infinity. The power of Order and Chaosbined. That which gives substance to matter, shape to space, temporality to time.


    That which extends across the cosmic, across swathes of stars, across gxies that spin in cycles unfathomable to any mortal perception. That which extends even beyond the boundaries of the observable, to the Intermediary, to even the Outer," said the clone. "But the more power you grant me to fashion and shape, the more I may take over your being. The more we be one."


    "This is sounding more and more like a parasitical rtionship."


    "Not so, for you are me, and I am you. Consider me a limiter. Power that is within your bounds, I may fashion. Spells of the caliber which you possess now, for example, I may create. But they will follow all the rules which you have tied to the conception of ''spells''.


    They may exhaust your mana. Require significant time to channel. Require resources, sacrifices. And so on and so forth. But power that is outside of the boundaries of your human self, power that warps thews of existence, of matter, space, and time freely, are gated from you.


    A gate, I must remind you, that is of your own creation. A gate represented by myself."


    "I am beginning to understand, and I don''t need power of that scale. I already have more than enough as is," said Li. "When the timees and I feel I am ready to be something more, when I know nobody is relying on myself as I am now, I will open this gate you speak of myself.


    For now, make me that spell. I''ll tell you specifications about what I want."


    "Very well," said the clone. "And know this: you will never be forced to break that gate. You will never bepelled against your will. To pass through it and be something beyond, you will do it through your ownplete volition."

 Chapter 218 - Spellcraft

    "Then let''s get to the spell itself," said Li.


    "An eptable proposition," said the clone.


    There was a bit of a pause which Li broke by asking, "So, how does this work?"


    The clone bnced the droplet of ck water between his palms and looked at it, its shadowed face flickering with intent. The droplet shimmered and flickered like a hazy mirage, and then gained color. Bright and changing colors ¨C energy in pure flux.


    "The power is ready for fashioning. I merely require your specifications."


    "Well, obviously, the first step is something that can easily counter the demonrot," said Li.


    "A fine first step. Direct immunity? Or a varying degree of resistance? Thetter would require less magical energy to create."


    "I''d prefer direct immunity, honestly, but I can settle for strong resistance in some conditions to lower mana costs. As for conditions, let''s say something like the farther away someone is from me, the less resistance there is? I could also pair that with my ability to nt totems, right?"


    "All fine and reasonable considerations. And all done." A zap of green energy shed from the clone''s hands to the droplet, adding in Li''s input. "Then the baseline rank of this spell would be B+ rank, degrading down to C+ provided maximal distance is enforced. Is this sufficient?"


    "You know, this is starting to feel more and more like I''m buying some kind of custom car rigged out," said Li. "Anyways, I think it''s pretty sufficient, though I''d also like for the spell to cure existing demonrot."


    "If thatparison gives youfortability, then certainly, I canply." The clone''s face flickered, and its clothing changed into apletely formal, modern suit from his past world. "And that addition will be¡­costly. A twofold spell that both provides resistances and cures, even in the rules you know for spells, that is rare."


    "You are right. Spells with multi-effects at high ranks are rare, and they tend to have a premium cost. But I''d be willing to pay for it," said Li. "My magical energy reserves are far higher than what they used to be, and I can draw upon the power of the forests and my followers to supply it as well."


    "Very well. The rank of the spell rises to A."


    "Let''s make it area of effect as well," said Li, feeling like a rich customer ordering everything on the menu.


    So far, though, he had not pulled out all the stops yet. He still had the ability to put down totems as an Elder Leshen that could extend the range of his buffs ¨C something he had never had to do until now because he had worked alone for so long.


    He also had so many more tools to restore his magical energy. He also would be willing to nt seeds from his personal collection that would aid with those needs as well. After all, the stops ofying low that had previously stopped him from going all out were getting increasingly thinner.


    "Then the rank rises to A+," said the clone.


    "That''s an eptable cost. How about we get to what the spell looks like. Its vor details."


    "I am listening. Go ahead."


    "Let''s make it convenient. Something that''s easily noticeable and eye catching. A highly visible, glowing, healing aura. Maybe that will look a little too generic. But, if you are me, you have an idea of my preferences, right?"


    "An idea."


    "Then make the spell look impressive. shy. Inspiring. Something that people will flock to and recognize and burn into their memories as their saving grace."


    "Done," replied the clone nearly immediately, adding in splotches of colored energy into the droplet, tinting its ck hue lighter and more vibrant.


    "Give me the spell," said Li. "I want to get a glimpse of it. See if I want any final alterations."


    "As you wish." The clone gently pushed its hands forward, and the droplet floated towards Li.


    He caught it in his hand, and knowledge and power flowed into his mind.


    Spell: Roots of Order


    Rank: A+


    Cleansing light emanating from the roots of the Thousand Rooted One. In its presence, all effects and damage incurred by [eldritch] rted spells are reversed and granted immunity while within the boundaries of the light. Units enjoy permanent immunity so long as they stay in proximity of the caster, but even when separated, units will still have varying degrees of resistance dependent on the level of separation.


    The spell may be casted at various points and have its range extended or mana cost reduced by applicable spells.


    "This looks good to me," said Li. "Mana cost is high, but not prohibitive, and so long as I''m near my followers in the battlefield, nobody should have anything lower than immunity. A few totems in Riviera should protect the city as well."


    "Then I should say the purpose for our meeting has now reached an end," said the clone as it stood up.


    A portal opened up behind Li, and he stepped towards it, nodding a bit of thanks towards the clone, though it did feel quite strange, like he was nodding to his own reflection in the mirror.


    "So do I juste here whenever I feel like I need something?" asked Li.


    "In the foreseeable future, I do not believe there will be another reason for you toe into this realm."


    "And getting here is all just the same? Link up to Kel''thor, boot up a big portal, and here I am?"


    "If you so desire, but unnecessary. Tell the lich that an entryway here may be established at another point personal to you. Such as the your shrine."


    "Interesting. I thought this whole portal making process took a massive amount of energy. I''m worried what it will do to my shrine and the surrounding foresnd."


    "The lich was highly mistaken about the nature of the portal. His thought process was valid. A gateway linked to an unfathomably distant area would require unfathomable amounts of power, hence the crystal. But that is unnecessary.


    All that you require is a gateway and two points linking yourself. The power to forge the gateway itself wille from the Intermediary."


    "The space between Inner and Outer. I''d like an exnation on that as well."


    "The Inner is conventional reality. Reality that you have been familiar with. All that is within the boundaries of the observable. Of the physical, the temporal. Of Order.


    The Outer is space sealed beyond the Inner. All that is Chaos and entropy.Where thews of order thatprise this reality find no purchase. Where all that you know now holds no weight. For now, you need not know of the Outer.


    When the timees, you will be familiar."


    Li could sense there would be no further information that woulde from further questioning, and he took that as a sign to leave. As he stepped towards the portal, he asked one final, unrted question.


    "By the way, how much time has passed above?"


    "Very little. Consider that a gift." With that, the clone faded away, melding into the muted grayness of the world around it.


    Li wondered what the entity felt. Whether it felt like it was giving a gift to itself just like how Li had the nagging sensation that, throughout this whole conversation, he was talking to himself, but then again, it did not seem like the two of them thought all that simrly despite how closely linked they were.


    He sighed, remembering the feeling and power of the new spell added to his arsenal, and passed through the portal.

 Chapter 219 - The North

    Li returned to Kel''thor, feeling the damp humidity of its core''s cavern wash over him. Immediately, he was greeted with a "Papa!" from Tia, which was then followed by an energetic hug where she leaped up to put her hands arounds his neck.


    He patted Tia''s back and said wonderingly, "Was I gone long? Why the strong reaction?"


    Ven''thur spoke. "Not at all. Twenty-five minutes exact. Quite a short trip if I must say so myself."


    "The shorter the better," replied Li. "I have my people to tend to now, and also, it is finally time for you to get a good night''s sleep."


    Li pried Tia from his neck and held her high in the air, and she giggled happily with fanged grin. "Going home now?"


    "Yes, going home now." Li nodded to Ven''thur. "Prepare a passageway back to Riviera. Our business here is done."


    "Ah, to leave Kel''thor so early," said Ven''thur wistfully. "But it shall be as you say. I will prepare a portal immediately. The residual energy left in the crystal should be more than enough to fuel a quick and link."


    "When the timees," said Li as he looked to Ven''thur. "I will restore this citadel. You will no more be alone in your stewardship of knowledge. This citadel will be once more a bastion of knowledge, and this time, it will never fall. Consider it a token of gratitude for the servitude to me that you have embraced."


    Ven''thur was surprised and silent for but a moment before he bowed, skeletal hand ced over his purple robed chest. "I would want for nothing more." He rose, then pped his bony hands together with skeletal ck. Sparks ofvender energy echoed from his fingers, and they gathered in a swirl in front of him, expanding into a portal.


    "Good to go home," said Tia. "Was cold. Very cold. When papa gone, could not feel him at all. Gone."


    "Tia," said Li as he brought the little girl closer to him, holding her in his arm. "I will be with you always. Sometimes, you may not feel where I am, or I may seem far, far away, but know that distance means nothing to me. In some way, I will be there for you, and you will never be alone."


    "I know, papa," said Tia as she put her head on Li''s chest, feeling the rough leaves of his Grove Mantle item caressing her cheek. "But still get worried, you know?"


    "I know." Li put a hand to her head and walked to the portal, Ven''thur in tow. "Let''s go home now."


    Li was transported first to Ven''thor undergroundboratory in Riviera''s northside, and from there, he made his way to the Farmer''s Guild where he bid farewell to Ven''thur at the entrance. The upper floor of the Farmer''s Guild still had its lights on despite the fact that by now, it waste into the night and creeping towards dawn.


    Sindra was still working, it seemed.


    Everyone else had left, for Li had told the farmers to temporarily take residence in nearby inns while they remained open to reservation by coin. He did not have any real guarantee of how long it would take for him to develop his demonrot cure, after all, so he had erred on the safe side and decided he would tell them tomorrow about his sess.


    It would also give them a day to rest and process the big news that Li was going to be marching west, away from them. He was hopeful they would receive it well, but he knew that no matter the reassurances, no matter how much he told them that his totems would keep their minds safe and the Justicars and Iona would keep their bodies safe, that they would still be wary and afraid.


    "Ah, the ferocity of that Feli," said Ven''thur. "What she cannot show upon the battlefield, she unleashes full force upon paperwork. And sometimes, myself."


    "Sometimes, you do seem to be asking for it," said Li, now in his human form but stillfortably holding Tia in his arms. She was snuggled up close to him, her ws digging into his jacket as she settled into a light sleep. "Not that your words are wrong, but the presentation could be touched up a bit."


    "Oh, believe me, good seer," said Ven''thur as he readjusted his top hat and monocle, making sure he was well dressed and in proper and presentable form regardless of the time of day. "I am quite capable of coating my words in sugar and honey. But I will not do so when it is not required. Sindra would much rather hear my words in all their unveiled honesty than to hear my words dance around with wasted movement."


    "You do know people well, so I''ll trust your judgement on that. Take the rest of the night off, Ven''thur, though I assume you''ll be holed up reading or researching in thatb of yours, considering you do not need sleep."


    "You know me well,"ughed Ven''thur. He sensed Li''s intentions and nodded. "Then I will be off. Do make sure to give my regards to Sindra and that she should not work her fragile mortal shell so hard."


    "Will do."


    Li made his way upstairs to the office floor of the Farmer''s Guild. There were neatly ordered cubicles of wood tapered with vine designed with the kind of corporate efficiency he was familiar with, and in fact, he had been involved with the designing process of the building with Alexei. He hated corporations and all that they had stood for in his past life, but at the least, he could parse what parts of it were usefully efficient in a kind of neutral calculus.


    In arger cubicle at the back lit up by twontern lights, there was Sindra, her posture still remarkably straight as she sat at her desk, feline pupils narrowed as she pored over a thick sheathe of documents. He was here to simply ask whether she was fine and get a situation of how the guild had been doing with their temporary housing and all.


    "Seer," nodded Sindra in recognition before going back to work. Her tone of voice was soft and quiet as she had noticed with a quick nce that Tia was snugly sound asleep in Li''s arms.


    "Sindra," said Li. "It is not too umon to see you working sote, but even now? In the midst of all the chaos surrounding the city? You should take a break. Write back home to the north."


    Li noted that Sindra paused for a split second from reading her document. "If you do have family or connections up there."


    "I never did borate on my family," said Sindra.


    "And you do not have to now. If you wish to keep it close to your heart, then keep it there."


    "Ven''thur has already made assumptions that arergely true. It is pointless to keep my background hidden. I am from the north, and I do hail from one of the few noble beastman families there, the few that were inducted into citizenship by the Republic."


    "And the rest of the beastmen?"


    The edge of Sindra''s lip tugged slightly into a frown. "Relegated to ''citizens'' in the shallowest sense. Isted into reservations as manualbor."


    "If this is a touchy subject, we can avoid it," said Li.


    "No, it is not. As much as Ven''thur would think it so, I am not motivated to learn and work here to escape some form of guilt that I was born with a family name that grants me more status than the rist of my kin. That is out of my control, and so, I do not lose sleep over it. If I did fret over such matters, I would not have enough of my brain to partition to truly important matters. Like this." She tapped the papers in front of her with a slender, w tipped finger.


    "But I will still say now, just as I did when you asked me the first time I expressed a desire to join this guild, that I am still here because I wish to make a difference, and a difference I could not make pushing mundane papers for a city hall of no true substance."


    "And because you would never be allowed to move up in the bureaucracy here," said Li as his eyes settled on her feline features.


    "Yes, there is only so much a foreign noble name can do," said Sindra. "Though I suppose the Republican conception of ''noble'' is far different than that thought of in Soleil."


    She took a document and handed it to Li. "But interestingly, perhaps my name does mean more than I thought."


    Li took the paper and read it. It was in Elven script, the letters curlier and wavier and more tightly packed than the scratch-like markings that denoted Solen human script.


    "Need I recite the letter?" said Sindra.


    "No", said Li with a wave of his hand. He scanned the letter.


    It was short, but it was important.


    An Elven message reaching out for an audience with Li and Sindra.

 Chapter 220 - A Letter

    ''Sindra Et Selius,


    I hope this letter finds you in good health, and that your studies havee along nicely. As your sponsor, I understand it has been long since I havest corresponded with you, but the times are nowplicated, as you must surely know with the tumult in Riviera.


    I reach out to you knowing that you have found a position in the Farmer''s Guild of Riviera. I understand it is a guild that you have found great fondness for. I do not wish to take that away from you. Rather, I wish to help you as a sponsor should.


    Thus, I seek audience with you and your guildmaster, but bring no more, for secrecy is a gift that spoils when shared among many. If my words ring appealing to you, then know that by the light, all is known."


    "Very interesting," said Li as he put down the letter. He inspected it again, noting how utterly in it seemed to be. It was made of the same thick and coarse, cheap parchment that regr papers in Soleil were made of, belying the tales of velvety and silken luxury usually attributed to the elves.


    He traced a finger along it, noting how its exact formatting and length seemed to match that mass produced for most documents rted to the city''s bureaucracy.


    "Looks like the sender wanted the letter to be nondescript. To fit in."


    Sindra nodded. "It was sent personally to the Farmer''s Guild, specifically to me, but its stamp indicates that it was penned and shipped from Soleil."


    "Montagne," noted Li as he eyed the stamp, a symbol of three mountain peaks clustered together. "Still quite far from here. Considering that the sender wanted to keep this from getting attention, they must have used a regr roc to send it. Meaning this was penned almost two weeks ago."


    "And yet, the letter implies it knew of the circumstances of war that besiege us now." Sindra put the feathery end of her quill in her lip, absent-mindedly nipping on it with her feli fangs.


    "The sender, do you know them? Because it seems evident the sender knows you," said Li.


    "Yes, I do. If the letter is to be trusted at face value, then the sender is my sponsor Cicero. A senator of the Republic."


    "Sponsor?"


    Sindra paused to find a way to exin herself. "You see my family name, it has an ''et'' before it. That indicates we are newly inducted citizens of the Republic. Thus, we will have a sponsor, an elven nobleman, attached to us that teaches us the ways of elven society. To ''civilize'' us, as they would say. My family''s sponsor was Cicero, a senator andwpseaker."


    "I see, and do you find that there would be good cause for Cicero to reach out to you?"


    Sindra scoffed. "Quite a ridiculous notion. Cicero taught me all the ways of the quill and paper since I was a child. He believed me his prized pupil and wished for me to be his concubine so that I could fully be a Republic citizen and take over his seat in the senate.


    I seized no little amount of his coin, his seals, and practiced hours and hours to forge his writing. With those resources in hand, I made my way down South. I should say I am perhaps the woman he least wishes to see in this world."


    Li nodded to Sindra, noting that though she spoke with faint hints of disgust, she was still focused, entirely unperturbed by her past. If anything, she was immensely mentally strong, capable of shelving away the pains of the past almost entirely.


    "That does beg the question as to how they found you and whether this is bait. It sounds to me that you may have made some enemies."


    "Cicero does not make his personal affairs known to others. I doubt he has dredged up some mercenary or assassin to track me, and if he did, there are far better ways to kidnap me than this. No, I do believe this is a genuine invitation, and as to the matter of how I was found, we are not exactly hidden from public sight, no?"


    "That you are correct about," said Li. He was still a little unused to howrge scale the guild''s operations had be and how they would have been at the forefront of all news in Riviera with their meteoric rise in influence. "An interesting thing to note is that all mail was frozen since the city''s lockdown, and yet, this came to your desk today."


    "A good point," said Sindra as she furrowed her brows, thinking. "Then the letter was hand delivered by one who was rounded up during the lockdown. I should believe, then, that whoever wishes to meet us is right here in the city."


    "If they can slip inside the city to send this letter, then I see no reason they cannot slip back out," said Li.


    "A fair point, and yet, my intuition does disagree. Call it a familiarity with elven manners. They like to see their matters run through to the end. Personally, if needs be."


    "Then will you take up this secret invitation?" asked Li.


    "You are included in it too," said Sindra. "But yes, I am of mind to. I do not sincerely believe the offer of aid listed in the letter, but it is no ordinary event to receive such a letter from the Republic. Something greater must be brewing in the shadows."


    She paused, frowning. "And, if by any small chance, it is rted to my family, I should like to know of it."


    Li could understand her. He realized now that hisment of telling her to write back to family was likely a barb at her side. She could not write back, for she was, by all intents and purposes, exiled, and who knew what ramifications her actions had for her family back at home.


    "Regardless of what the matter is, if you wish to go, then I will go with you," said Li. "I too, am curious about the elves, and in the case that you ever encounter a dangerous situation, well, I would not want to risk losing my Master of Coin."


    Sindra''s tail swayed from side to side, and she nodded curtly. "Great thanks, Seer."


    "Though I don''t see instructions to meet, nor is there any return address for the letter," said Li.


    "Ah, this." Sindra took the letter and walked to the corner of her cubicle where antern shed. She held the letter dangerously close to the me until it caught fire. As the fire creeped up the letter, it did not reduce the letter to cinders, but instead merely burnt off ayer of paper, revealing a sturdier, fireproofyer underneath.


    On thatyer, there was a rudimentary map of Riviera, and marked at an inn on the Northside was a gleaming blue dot.


    "By the light, all is known. Clever,"mented Li. "I thought that was at first ament about worshipping the light."


    "The elves have long since abandoned the faith of the light, reducing it to a faith in token name only," said Sindra. "This method of hidden lettering is prominent among elven spies in the South, at least from the documents I have managed to read from Cicero''s desk, and the code ''by the light, all is known'' does disguise itself well here in Soleil."


    "Still, an inn?" said Li as he scrutinized the map. "Judging from the location, its one of the wealthier inns meant for visiting merchants or noblemen. Not exactly a ce I would imagine spies to be hanging around in the dark."


    "I do not believe this is a spy for the very same reason," agreed Sindra.


    "Then do you have an idea who it is?"


    "That, I do not," she said with a slight shake of her head.


    "Then," said Li."We''ll find out now."

 Chapter 221 - Villa

    Li and Sindra roamed the deathly empty lockdown enforced streets of Riviera. So many stores were boarded up and houses securely locked. asionally, the quiet sounds of stray dogs and cats, normally covered over by the bustle of people and the clopping of horses, were audible.


    There were a few knights here and there roaming the streets, but they took one look at Li, recognizing him, and simply passed by, a few of them giving acknowledging nods, though many times, they simply passed by, too stressed about current events to give greetings.


    "Kind of eerie," said Li as he held Tia''s curled up form in his arm. She had now entered a deep sleep having stretched her waking time far longer than usual in trying to keep up with his own busy schedule. In this state, she was basically in a kind of hibernation, almostpletely unwakeable.


    "At the least," said Sindra, her ears twitching and her feline eyes glowing with darkvision. "We will see and hear any who try and impede us.???


    "You can ease up around me," said Li. "You know you won''t encounter any harm around me."


    "It is simply habit," said Sindra. "And one I would like to keep. No offense to your strength, good seer."


    "Fair enough."


    The Farmer''s Guild being in Riviera''s midtown along with the city hall meant that going to the inn on northside was a rather long, uphill trek. Li could always move as quickly as he wanted, but he liked to keep the pace that those walking around him werefortable with.


    Sindra favored a quick pace. Far quicker than a regr man''s, her steps unnaturally light and agile as befitting of her Feli racial traits. They covered ground quickly, getting past midtown, past the bridge that separated it from the northside, and up the richer streets to the district of inns. Or rather, it was more urate to call them vis.


    They were immactely white, multi-story buildings that stood at the edge of the northside where they overlooked theke.


    "The Pearl, huh?" said Li as he stood in front of the vi where the northern letter senders were at. He made eye contact with two guards that stood by the front door. They were not Rivieran knights, but instead mercenaries. Judging from their dark skin and curved des, they were from Duvin.


    "A chain of vis known as much for their luxury as their willingness to turn a blind eye to the shadier dealings of the wealthy," said Sindra. "In a way, I do suppose this is a more apt meeting ce than I originally thought."


    "Well, the elves, if they are indeed elves, do not skimp on making themselvesfortable." Li stepped up to the guards, and they peered at him cautiously. When they saw his face clearer in the torchlight at the inn''s entrance, they nodded and made way.


    "Oh, am I an expected guest?" said Li.


    "Room 9," said one of the guards gruffly, his ent thick.


    "Alright then," said Li as he stepped past the doors, Tia in his arms and Sindra following close behind.


    They made their way past the inn''s lobby, a stone and marble room decorated with baster statues of sea creatures. There was a reception desk studded with pearls ¨C the vi''s namesake, but nobody was there.


    Although, from the torches and firece that roared with gentle fire, it was evident that some measure of staff was keeping the ce clean and maintained, not to mention that downstairs, there was probably kitchen staff working through the night.


    The Pearl had three rooms per floor and three stories, and room nine was at the very highest floor, upying a wide view of theke and therefore costing much more.


    "High end clientele,"mented Li as he made his way up the third set of stairs.


    "The elves do value materialforts," said Sindra tly, a thin hint of disdain present.


    Li knocked on the white painted, carved wooden door to room nine, and it opened immediately, revealing behind it an elf.


    This was the first time he had seen an elf with his own eyes, though of course, he was familiar with them from the game.


    The elf was tall as most elves were and, judging by his sunken in cheeks and angr jaw, almost gauntly thin. He was old, wrinkles weathering his face, and his eyes too were sunken in, dark and tired. Wisps of thinning curly gray hair graced his head, and when he looked at Li, he nodded.


    "Guildmaster, I presume?" said the elf, an ent also audible in his words, though barely noticeablepared to the guards at the front. His eyes settled on Tia and widened for a split second before removing their surprise, but it was a second that Li noticed.


    "You presume correctly."


    "And Sindra, it has been some time," said the elf as he looked past Li to Sindra.


    Sindra raised a brow and crossed her arms. "Cicero? So it truly was you that sent the letter."


    "Why would I not?" said Cicero as he beckoned Li and Sindra toe in. "I am your sponsor. I am responsible directly for your well being."


    "I believe an elf of your learning should know very well why," said Sindra curtly.


    "Matters of the past must lie in the past," said Cicero with a wave of his hand. "Nowe, an important matter is at hand."


    "I believe we are owed more an exnation than that," said Sindra.


    "As prescient as ever," said Cicero. "I know you would have preferred we have never met again, but the world does not oblige our requests sometimes. This meeting is primarily held due to an acquaintance of mine, though I did alsoe here to tell you of your family."


    Sindra paused, hesitating, and Li said, "Very well then. Let''s see what you have to say."


    Cicero led them into a lounge where there was a wide table nked by soft furniture and holding several drinks. The vi room itself was quite spacious, holding a stocked kitchen, a balcony leading off to a direct view to theke, and of course, the wide lounge meant for socializing, and three bedrooms.


    "A honeyed apple cider for you, Sindra," said Cicero as he sat down, his white toga wrinkling on the couch. "Your favorite, no?"


    "When I was a child," said Sindra.


    "Ah, forgive me. If it is not to your liking, then you may order any drink you like. The inn staff will oblige you."


    "And reveal yourself as an elf? Your wits have dulled in your old age."


    "No," said Li. "He has a mor spell on him. Makes him look different." He pointed to a ring on Cicero''s thin finger.


    "Oh, an astute observation. Are you versed in magic, Easterner?" said Cicero as he held up the ring to view.


    "More so than you would think," said Li.


    "I did not know you delved into magic," said Sindra. "I do not believe the state has sanctioned you to learn magic."


    "This is not mine," said Cicero, shaking his head. He pointed behind him. "It is his."


    "And I was wondering when you would decide to show yourself," said Li as heid back on his couch, watching as a massive man of corded, bulging muscle and roughly hewn features suddenly materialized from behind Cicero.


    The man was far more imposing than Leonid not because of his stature and build, though it was simr, but because of his aura. There was something about the way he ever so slightly hunched, how his fingers were always curled, that made him appear always aggressive, always ready to pounce and rip and tear.


    Sindra immediately stood up in rm, her own ws extending. "I did not sense you at all."


    "Sit down," said the man in a guttural, growling voice. As he spoke, sharp, blocky fangs revealed themselves.


    "You''re a dragon," said Li as he scanned the man for his stats and attributes.


    A dragon in the seventies level wise. Extremely impressive for the standards of this world.


    "Yes," said the man gruffly.


    "So you have decided to consort with dragons," said Sindra as she sat down beside Li, rm tensing her posture.


    "That is not unsurprising, no?" said Cicero. "The dragons have always had a seat in the Republic. As a senator, it is my obligation to converse with them."


    "The dragons never meddle with elven affairs, and seats in the Republic mean nothing without power as the club tribes and beastmen know well," said Sindra.


    "Less talking," said the dragon, and his presence stilled the room, his pressure bidding Cicero and Sindra silent.


    But Li simply smiled. "Why so serious? I, for one, would like to know why an elf and a dragon are here in the city. So, please, talk all you want."


    The dragon pointed to Li''s chest, where Tia was, and said, "I am here for her."

 Chapter 222 - Negotiation

    A silent pause settled in the air.


    The dragon''s gnarly and scarred finger was pointed to Tia, and with it, he also pointed a permanent scowl. His overpowering presence emanated strongly, surges of his magical energy ring. Sindra and Cicero were in equal amounts of worry at this standoff, and they looked between dragon and guildmaster with tense stares.


    "Excuse me?" said Li, his words strangely calm. "Could you repeat that? Just so I know I have not misheard?"


    "Her. Hand her over," growled the dragon.


    "I see," said Li. He nodded slowly, not in agreement, but in disbelief. He loosed a lightugh, and Sindra''s eyes widened because she knew that for him tough was a rare sight.


    "Your letter indicated that this would be some sort of negotiation, that we could reach an amicable deal for both of us, and I had thought it would be one that could be talked out. In a civilized manner if you will." An edge came into voice, hisugh dissipating into a cold, nk stare lined with disgust, the kind someone would give to an insect they were about to crush underfoot.


    "But now I know that is not possible."


    A burst of bright green energy began to surge around Li, sounding like the roaring of a waterfall and shaking the building. The entire building of stone and marble began to teeter on its foundations, and cracks began to line the ceiling.


    Normally, he thought of things like coteral damage, not raising too much attention, and the like, but now, all those thoughts escaped him. There was only but to eviscerate the bug in front of him.


    Cicero drew back in terror, getting onto the ground and hiding by a chair for fear of falling debris. His breathing was stalled, and he had a frail hand on his chest as he felt the pressure crushing his body.


    Sindra managed to stand up through the pressure and slowly make her way behind Li, where she could take in a deep breath of relief, away from the surge of directed power from Li.


    The dragon stepped back, his draconic features beginning to show as his fight or flight instincts kicked in. His rough, scarred skin gave way to thick, te-like ck scales, and his eyes morphed into gleaming yellow reptilian ones.


    "Youe all this way from the North and reach out to my guild, and decide that you want to take my daughter from me? Did you ever stop to think of how absolutely ridiculous that n was? You thought I would sit down and negotiate with you? Or no, of course you did not. You are used to taking things by force. You never thought twice about this."


    The dragon looked at Li, at the overwhelming aura of strength that raged around him, and his fight or flight instincts settled on a decision. ck wings sprouted from his back.


    "Do not move," said Li as he nodded towards the dragon. "The moment you try to take flight, or use your dragon breath, or your ws, or any pitiable little trick you have that you think makes you strong, you will end up as a bloody smear on the ground. No, a quick death like that may even be too merciful."


    The skin around Li''s arms and fingers began to ke off, revealing bark, and it was then that he took in a breath, controlling the surge of anger that had erupted within himself.


    "Do not misunderstand," said the dragon. His tone was still gruff, but it seemed that that was the only tone of voice he had to begin with. "I want her to protect her."


    "It is true!" stammered Cicero throughbored breaths. "Guildmaster, give us time to exin!"


    "Speak," said Li. "And know this is no longer a negotiation. You squandered that chance. I ask the questions, I make the demands, and you answer to me."


    Li reduced the intensity of his magical energy, and Cicero could finally breathe.


    "Torr Valeris has decreed your daughter to be eliminated," said Cicero quickly. "They do not wish for what they believe are impure bloodlines to remain in this world, nor for their draconic blood to be raised and spread among the humans."


    "I am enforcer of their will," said the dragon. "Supposed to be. I am of lesser bloodline. In service to them, for the higher do not dirty themselves hunting the lesser. I do not truly hunt. I take the lesser. Give them safety. I want the same for her."


    "Gronn is gathering the remaining remnants of draconic bloodlines scattered across the world for he knows of a prophecy," added in Cicero. "A prophecy that hailed destruction for all dragons. He believes the higher bloodlines to be beyond saving, but others like himself, he wishes to group and save."


    Li scrutinized Gronn and Cicero, looking at their expressions, and determined they were not lying. Neither were truly trained to hide their emotions and intentions, and he could hear quite clearly the panic driven truth that came from their mouths.


    "What a convenient prophecy," said Li. "And the dragons on Torr Valeris do not know of it?"


    Gronn grunted. "They do. They do not care. They think themselves invincible."


    "Then you, elf, what are you here for?" said Li.


    "I was here to guide Gronn and also to reach out to you, guildmaster. Truly, I must apologize for the initial mishap. We had data that there was a dragon in Riviera, and that she was part of the Farmer''s Guild, but we had no idea you had adopted her as blood of your own."


    "You did not think that it obvious she was precious to me?" said Li, considering that he was holding Tia close to him with the love and strength of a father.


    "I did," said Gronn. "But I thought it better for her to be with me. For her safety. Did not know you were strong."


    "I see. So, a mistake. Know right now that it still very well may be thest mistake you ever make. I am not satisfied with what you have to offer me."


    "I wished to warn you, guildmaster, of the Republic''s intentions," said Cicero rapidly, knowing that all the information he had was now his lifeline. ???From what I have gleaned from what documents I could ess, you are considered a target of extreme priority, the same as the Sunspear, heroes, and the Burning One."


    Li raised a brow at the mention of the Sunspear. He knew what that item was, at how powerful it was, nearly reaching even Celestial tier of strength despite being a divine ss weapon. It had made its way into this world? Or had it always been here?


    "Oh? And why has the Republic not directly contacted me, then? Why do they send you crawling through the shadows?"


    "I-I seek to topple the current Imperator," said Cicero. "I have sought allies from the corners of this world, one of whom is Gronn. Naturally, I also wished to forge an alliance with you, to warn you of any ns the Republic has against you in return for your aid."


    "And now, there is no exchange. No negotiation. No this for that. A pity.Tell me now what they have against me."


    Cicero paused nervously. "I know that they wish to leave you entirely alone for now, but that may change at any moment. Aside from that, I do not currently know more."


    "You do not know, or you do not want to tell me?"


    "I truly do not know. Senator I may be, I am not in the inner circle of the Imperator."


    "Your usefulness to me is waning quite thin, elf."


    "I have been making good progress in essing information. The hero here, Meld, she too works with me, if only to further the strength of her own state, but I am sure soon, I will have more than enough information to grace you with. Please, guildmaster, merely grant us our lives and some time."

 Chapter 223 - Prophecy

    "Oh, I trust that you two will live up to any expectations I ce upon you, for the alternative would be such a shame," said Li pointedly. He sat on the couch again and crossed his legs, extending a hand forward for them to do the same. "Now, talk. What circumstances drive you here? Why should I trust your motivations as anything but simple cries to save your lives?"


    "For it would be all too easy to end my life," said Cicero as he sat on the couch, shaky hands wrapped together on hisp. "If you were to send any message to the north suggesting my desire to topple the current Republic, which you with your guild''s influence could easily do, then the Imperator will investigate me and promptly execute me for treason."


    "And why would you decide to topple the Republic? Is it not an advanced society that secludes itself from the rest of the world in its own utopia?"


    "Utopia?" Cicero smiled wryly. "Perhaps, in a way, it is such, but it is not the Elven way. When the Republic was originally envisioned, it was meant to be an idealistic society. An alliance forged from the necessity of thest demonic invasion meant for all races of the world to band under."


    "Interesting. And here, the records indicate the Republic was forged to stand against the human kingdom of the time and to absorb it under its rule."


    Cicero shrugged. "We would have absorbed the Beaumont, yes, but for the sake of a worldwide peace. We had already advanced significantly by then with the unique bloodline of Lucius ¨C the Imperator - capable of so easily connecting with the Source and granting us technological marvels to elerate our means of living drastically.


    Magic is a wonder, but it is elusive, lying in the hands of the few. Advancement spreads to the hands of many, and with the many, there is far more power."


    Li began to recall and pick out all the relevant information he knew about this world''s history and politics. He drew from his book reading in the cottage to discussions with Alexei and Ven''thur. "A fact that seems to be contradicted by the fact that the arrival of heroes deterred the Republic from absorbing the humannds. It seems to me that the power of the few can certainly stand against the many."


    "And it leaves a particrly bitter taste in my mouth to hear of you speak of advancement for the many," said Sindra. "What did that mean for what you generalize as the many? All those that were not elves? very and sacrifice, that is all."


    Cicero gave Sindra a tired nod, his eyes downcast. "Yes, my dear-,"


    "Do not call me ''dear''. It sickens me."


    "Yes," continued Cicero. "It the end, advancement required sacrifices. But I tell you now, when I was younger, when I was friends with Lucius, friends like brothers, we envisioned a Republic far, far different. One where we would uplift all others and minimize the sacrifices we would have to make.


    I still fight for that ideal Republic, for when I see now how it is, how Lucius has simply created a dictatorship dressed up in the sweet nothings of the senate and voting and parties and discussions, I would feel hollow knowing that is what I have left as my legacy."


    "From what I hear from Sindra," said Li. "It really does not seem like you were looking after the good old ideals of equality and fair treatment."


    Cicero looked at Sindra with concern. "Sindra, I knew from the moment you stepped into my study that you had a fire within you that would yearn to change this world, and there was more than enough ability in your mind for that. But in the Republic, where beastmen can hold no office, you would simply have had no chance.


    The only loophole in the codifiedws to grant you any power was the method I proposed to you. I should have presented it to you far better. I was too strict. I believed with harshness and authoritarian demand for obeyance, I would have kept you at my side and seen you grown."


    Sindra''s words were stern but collected, loosed like a calmly drawn weapon. "I was still a child, Cicero. A child of what, fourteen years? And youe to me one day and demand that I be your concubine for my greater good? I may have been a child, but I was not a foolish one.


    I knew of what happened to girls of my kind that came into the servitude of elven nobles. We be toys devoid of worth, and, if your true elven wife finds us grating to her eyes, we were disposed of discretely and efficiently."


    "For that alone, I am judging the value of your life quite low. Dangerously low," said Li.


    Cicero looked to Sindra, then Li, and nodded not with defeat, but eptance. "I am no father, I shall admit it, and I knew I never had it within me to be one. I was an aplished academic, a teacher of many students, but teaching and nurturing I learned are far different.


    I taught you, so little and fatherless, discipline and drive and ambition and knowledge with harsh words and strictness, but I havee to know that treating you as student beholden to my orders, to understand unconditionally that all that I do is for your future good, was wrong. Terribly wrong.


    I can offer nothing more than that admission of wrong. If it must be so, then I offer my head to remedy the wrongs I have wrought."


    Cicero bowed his head deeply, baring his neck.


    Li knew he had not been there to see every moment of Cicero and Sindra''s history, so he was not a qualified judge. However, he trusted in Sindra to make decisions entirely unclouded by irrationality and emotion.


    "It is up to you, Sindra," said Li.


    Sindra looked emotionlessly at Cicero for a few seconds. She sighed. "Let him live for a little longer. My personal grievances should not interfere with his usefulness."


    Li nodded. "Be grateful, elf. You get to live another day."


    "And with each passing day, I hope to act such that neither of you will regret this decision," said Cicero.


    Li spoke to Gronn now. "And you, dragon. Tell me, why is it that you gather these lesser bloodlines? Why do you act against the will of those that grant you your orders?"


    Gronn grunted. "There was a prophecy. The Elder whispered. Spoke of the end. End of all dragons."


    "I see. A prophecy, is it? What is its wording? When was it uttered?"


    "In mortal terms, twenty years ago. Wording, I do not know. Only highers know well. But I know it meant the end."


    "And the higher dragons did not act against it?"


    "Highers ignored it. Believed themselves too strong. I knew better. The higher are a lost cause. The lessers like me, I can still save."


    "And why is that you are so sure of this prophecy?"


    "Because I know what it means to be weak. I listen to words around me. And I am an earth dragon. I feel the world. I know something is wrong. Something is sick."


    Li cocked his head, intrigued. "Oh? Exin more."


    Gronn shook his head. "Cannot. It is simply a feeling. Not much more. I simply know it. The world is sick. Slightly. In some ces, the mana does not flow."


    "Gronn and I are both invested in this prophecy," said Cicero. "That is another reason why I have taken it upon myself to topple the Imperator and restore the Republic to its original vision. The Imperator hasid up his immense might and lifted us elves from the age of de and staff to the age of engine and steam through his bloodline.


    A bloodline we once thought miraculous, capable of tapping into the Source, the primordial energy flowing through the world''s deepest veins, with remarkable efficiency. And yet, the more it is used, the more I believe we are harming the world in some manner.


    As Gronn states, mana has dried up in some small ces ofnd, particrly those where extensive source rituals have been conducted, and the more rituals there are, it seems the more ''natural'' ones ur such as that which brought the heroes here."


    "And are you not part of the problem?" asked Li. "You supported the advancement of elven society, and that could not have happened without tapping into the source to begin with."


    "I did not know then that there were such drastic costs to utilizing the source. The need for sacrificed lives, for sacrificed environment ¨C all was hidden until Lucius began to use the source far, far more aggressively, maddened as he was with a vision of his own, a vision he deemed the Worldbreak where all things, not just the dragons, ended.


    His instability drove him to lust for power, and now, he is Imperator without term limits and a popce that hails him as a prophetic god, believing him the only thing standing against the Worldbreak despite inadvertently being the one to further it.


    Were I to wrest power from him, I would ensure the source is never tapped into again for we have technology enough to progress through our own merit."


    "I do not know about the source,"mented Gronn. "I do not know if it is bad. Or good. Or the reason for the Elder''s vision. I simply want to save my people."


    "A grandiose, far reaching goal from you," said Li to Cicero. "And a rather humbly small one from you," he continued to Gronn. "Interesting. What you have told me about prophecies is rather new, for there are no such ones here in Soleil."


    "Ah, there were," said Cicero. "Among all humans. The northmen and beastmen believed all life to revolve around cycles, and of course, there is always a point to the cycle that everything ends to restart. The humans of the south, of what now you call Soleil, believed in the Lightbreak where the sun envelops in shadow to herald the end of the world, but the duchess has been quite particr about erasing all mention and memory of such to her people."


    "Very impressive that she was able to aplish such a task," said Sindra. "In a purely quantitative sense, it would seem given the thirty years of her reign, that would be impossible."


    ???Pdins to burn texts, and a hero called Mindeye to erase memories when needed," said Cicero. "Moreso the hero''s powers. From the information I have received from Meld, I understand that this Mindeye is perhaps the true strongest of the Ascendant Order, capable of altering the memories of entire popces across vast swathes ofnd."


    He smiled faintly.


    "Though, it seems, the hero''s power has difficulty interacting with non-humans. Perhaps there is a reason why Soleil has worked so hard to paint the Republic as a hated ''other'', sealing its borders such that there is little to no interaction between them?"


    "Were you not a senator of some position, I would consider this conspiracy, and you belonging within a temple asylum," said Sindra.


    "A good thing I am not speaking nonsense, for elsewise I would have nothing to offer the guildmaster aside from my head," said Cicero dryly.


    "You two have piqued my interest," said Li. "This talk from anothernd and from other perspectives is giving me information that, though it may not necessarily be directly useful now, is certainly interesting to ponder and y with.


    But for now, the cover of night is fading, and dawn will be here soon. And I have other things to attend to. I trust you two will be staying here?"


    "If you wish us to, then yes," said Cicero.


    Gronn nodded.


    Li stood up, taking Tia in his arms. Sindra followed his lead.


    Li bent down and put a palm t on the table. When he withdrew his hand, there were two seeds there. They looked like two thin worms, elongated like bean sprouts with wriggling tails and a seed head in the shape of a tiny, spiked ball.


    "The two of you, take one of these," said Li. He pointed to the drinks on the table. "With a drink, if you would like, as I cannot guarantee that they taste good."


    "And might I ask what they are?" said Cicero intrepidly.


    "Ah, they are called [Shadowpowder Triggerseeds]," said Li. "If ground up and with the right alchemical extraction tools ¨C tools that are far beyond anything in cirction here ¨C I understand their powder can be utilized as an incredible explosive. In their pure, natural state, however, their explosiveness is dormant, awaiting my specific order to trigger them."


    "I see," said Cicero with a nod. "Well, I do understand that trust does not grow quickly."


    "No, it does not, so get to eating."

 Chapter 224 - Battle Plans I

    With the talk on hold for now, Li and Sindra left the Pearl, walking down its stairs at brisk pace, finding it now incredibly empty on ount of the mass amount of power Li had unleashed. Outside the building, he found that the mercenary guards had simply ran, knowing instinctively that whatever maelstrom of power was brewing within they could not match.


    "We should get back quickly," said Li. Tia licked her lips in her sleep with a smile, no doubt dreaming of food. She had to get some sleep in a proper bed, too. "Rivieran knights will be crawling up here soon, and though I do appreciate them, I really am not in the mood to talk to them and assuage their worries."


    Sindra nodded. "Agreed."


    She made to walk away before Li asked her one more question.


    "As for what happened before, with the elf and all, you have no qualms?"


    She did not break her pace at all. "None at all. I will see you tomorrow, seer."


    Li nodded, watching her snake her way through the night. She almost crawled, using her bestial agility to its fullest extent, wing her way up a rooftop and then leaping into the darkness with the silent prowl of a panther.


    He made his own unique way out, casting out his obsidian wings to obscure his form and conveniently fly over to one of the inns beside the Farmer''s Guild unseen. Hended gently in an isted street corner beside an old building fashioned from hardy and weather worn wood with a gaudy painted sign that read ''Pierre''s ce''.


    The inn that Old Thane had been temporarily assigned to until the walls were opened again. Li made his way through the inn''s rickety door and closed it quietly behind him, not wanting to wake the low tier mercenary sleeping on a chair that Pierre, the inn''s owner, could afford to hire.


    Overall, the inn was not a bad ce. It had not an ounce of the luxury of the Pearl, but possessed a down to earth, firelit and stuffy warmth that spoke of a ce that had been family owned for two centuries. It was an inn that had seen mothers cook pies for guests from ordinary walks of life for countless years, and that kind of feeling settled into an almost weing familiarity.


    Li made his way through the first floor and stepped into Old Thane''s room, taking the utmost care not to let the squeaky wooden door awaken the old man. The room was surprisingly spacious, having two beds and its own firece ¨C the nicest room in the whole inn.


    Old Thane was not sleeping. He was sitting on a chair beside the firece with Zagan lying down nearby, though it was evident the old man''s frame dwarfed the chair underneath him. It really was interesting to see how imposinglyrge Old Thane waspared to the average man. He must have been nearly as tall as a Blood Legionnaire. A fact that consistently escaped Li.


    "Lad," said Old Thane with a wide grin. "Wee back. I''m to hear good tiding of your journey, aye?"


    "If you want to," said Li as he moved to the empty bed and tucked Tia into it, making sure she was wrapped snug like a cocoon with the cotton nket before stroking away stray strands of hair from her eyes. "But it''s getting reallyte. You sure you can stay up longer? Now that you know I''m alive, I mean."


    Old Thaneughed. "I''d never doubted that. To be sure, I worried as I always do, but moreso that your journey would not have borne fruit."


    "Well, old man, if you want good news, I have plenty. I''ve found a cure to the demonrot, and with it, I''m going to have our people back out in the fields."


    "Oho, now that is certainly heartening to hear," nodded Old Thane as he faced the fire, the dim light illuminating an expression of faint concern.


    "Something wrong?"


    "I''ve heard tell from the demon that you''ve decided upon marching West."


    Li looked to Zagan, and the demon sat up, about to enter the conversation and defend his action of telling the old man.


    Li raised a hand to stop Zagan. "It is fine. I would have told the old man tonight anyway. It is better that he has had time to process it."


    "Process it,d? Why, I''ve had hours by now." Old Thane stood up and took in a breath, growing still, and for a moment, Li was concerned about the old man. Surely, the old man would be to see Li, the man he considered to be his heir and bearer of his legacy, heading straight to the jaws of danger.


    As even if Li was a god, no, more than a god, the old man did not know. To the old man, Li was still just a man, just a son.


    But surprisingly, Old Thane shuddered in excitement before whirling around to face Li with a smile.


    "Then we are to make battle ns,d! We cannot enter the battlefield with nary a thought between our ears. Gods, it has been long since I have raised my fists. Sworn never to do it lest in defense of something truly good, and now, in defense of people, of faith, of home?


    A cause does not get as righteous as this! Mayhaps the bards shall sing tales of heroism from me rather than warnings of carnage this time around, hah!"


    "Old man, you can''t go," said Li. "You''re the master of fields, one of the most important roles in the whole guild. And although I can guarantee your life, I cannot guarantee that you will not be wounded in the battlefield, especially knowing how hardheaded you can get."


    "Lad, you''ve no reason to worry about my strength if that is what is bothering you," said Old Thane. "The demon here has agreed to let me be his ''host'', whatever that means. All I know is that I shall be swinging my fists with as much fury as my younger years, though now the fury will be righteous."


    Li gave a nce to Zagan.


    "A purely symbiotic rtion," said Zagan. "This personage will not interfere with the aged mortal''s life, nor will his soul be consumed. We shall merely share power, of which this personage has now imbibed plenty from you, O Great One, not to mention that ourpatibility surpasses expectations."


    "Okay, I get it, you two will be strong and can take care of yourselves. But think about it, old man," protested Li. He knew that the old man loved the fight even if he had given it up. Or,e to think of it, the old man had never given up the fight, he had only shelved it away, keeping it in reserve for when he thought his fists could be used for true good.


    "The cottage. Our own fields. All the farmers looking to you for guidance."


    "Ivo will stay," said Old Thane confidently. "The man loves the Winterwoods more than wine, women, or gold. And as both priest and farmer, he far outsses me. The cottage, well, it was surprising, but that nobled with the good voice - Launcelot, was it? He has decided to stay here and watch over the cottage.


    Lad, I know you worry for me, but mine old heart tells me now that my ce is not here, but with you."


    "Well, if I''m bringing Tia, I guess I have no real excuses to keep you tied down here," said Li with a slight sigh and smile.


    "You are bringing the little dragon,d? Truly?"


    "You''re worried, old man?" asked Li. "I know how it sounds. But I don''t think she''ll be happy staying here without me, and I cannot stay. I have promised Zagan to settle the matter of this invasion and his people, and I return favors to those who have given me service."


    "Worried? Hah,d, I am worried for those demons!" Old Thane nodded to Tia. "She will rain fiery wrath and wed terror upon them to be sure. Within her, there is a fierce heart. That, I know well. Not the heart of a dainty little human girl to be sheltered from all harm and hurt."


    "You know, old man, I''m starting to be afraid of what kind of kid you would have raised if you did manage to have a real son or daughter," said Li as he imagined a raging farmer raised with the philosophies of an old man who had been a battle maniac.


    "You need not wonder about that," said Old Thane with a chuckle. "For you,d, are as real a son as any. Now then, shall we talk of battle? Of carnage?"


    "Carnage is an agreeable subject," said Zagan, and Li shrugged and smiled, letting the conversation flow as the old man''s energy would take it.

 Chapter 225 - Battle Plans II

    "Then it is settled. We shall waste away the night in talk of the fight!" said Old Thane as he pped his knee in hearty excitement.


    Li shrugged. "I guess I was going to talk about this with Zagan anyway. So, anything we should know about? How do the demons fight? How have they fought in the past. I am afraid that though I have read about the wars, the texts are very romanticized."


    "I fought in the north," said Old Thane. "Moved me way down through Therandra and A, fighting demons with the beastmen, club tribes, elves, and, of course, Aine."


    "That is right, I remember," said Li. He remembered that Therandra was thend of the beastmen and A was thend of the elves before the Republic officially consolidated its power. "You''ve told me plenty of stories of what you''ve done and who you fought. But still, it would be good to rehash what you''ve experienced. With less exaggeration, of course."


    Old Thane was nearing seventy now, meaning he must have been in histe teens when the fourth demon war of 981 began. Even then, he had distinguished himself by fighting. In fact, when Li thought about it, quite literally every single moment of Old Thane''s early life had been fighting.


    From birth, he lived in a harsh environment where farming was not possible, where every meal was dependent on hunting and killing. Then, as a teenager, he had to rise up and fight monstrosities that would have made the Rivieran knights cower in their greaves.


    Every year from then for decades, he had fought and fought and fought. His current rest as a farmer now was truly well deserved.


    "Hah,d, I''ve tall tales in me heart, aye, but the tales grow tall from good soil. There is good base for them." Old Thane sped his big, calloused hands together and looked slightly up, reminiscing. "There was that first battle. I had just passed the rite of red snow, when all boys in our tribe became men by ying their first prey alone.


    A few days after I had butchered my Ironstag, the demons came. An advance force. Large creatures like bugs aping men, walking on twos but wielding weapons of ice in their many ws."


    "Gelugons," said Li. They were a type of lower leveled demon that were insectoid in shape, upying the frozen waters of demonic territory where they adapted, gaining chitinous ting immune to frost while also being able to bend the cold to their own will.


    "Aye, that is what I learnedter what they were called. The tribe fended them off until they sent forth a challenger of more merit. A superior, they called him. I met him in duel ¨C my very first ¨C and though he gave me many deep cuts, sshing the snow with mine blood, it was my fist that caved his ted head in."


    "I''m beginning to notice that tactic-wise, the demonic army follows some sort of honor protocol. Sending out their strongest in duels and whatnot," said Li.


    Zagan nodded. "Our ways are notpatible with the war making philosophies of man where the weak gather together such that as a whole, they may be something more than their individual weakness. We believe in individual strength and hierarchy, and such, we send lesser demons under ourmand to their deaths liberally.


    The weaker demons thus are gifted the chance to battle and consume and evolve with their equals while we, the stronger, do not have to trifle ourselves with the rabble. When in our conquest, we encounter one strong, that is when we the stronger engage ourselves."


    "Essentially, you swarm people and pick fights with whoever manages to stand out," said Li. "And in return, you give some reprieve to those that manage to beat you."


    "A brief reprieve," said Zagan. "The Swarm is split into seven hordes under themand of the seven heralds, of which this personage was one. Each horde is further divided into countless number of units, their size rted to the strength of the one leading them.


    Thus, it may be that one defeated leader will call the demons under theirmand off, but that does not guarantee that any others will follow in example. Rather, the defeat of one leader will draw others eager to engage in challenge."


    "Then instead of a general defense against a swarm, it turns into something like a boss rush. Interesting," noted Li.


    Old Thane nodded. "Aye, and that was how I engraved my name in the war tales. I too sought challenge, and so, I left my tribe and went from settlement to settlement besieged by demonic force, challenging their leaders such that we might find ourselves in glorious battle."


    "A wonder you did not perish," said Zagan. "Fate itself truly was on your side."


    "Fate, or my fists?" Old Thane smiled. "The difference makes no difference."


    "But then again," continued Li on his train of thought. "The demons did seem to adopt other tactics. For example, the spread of demonrot throughout the forests to neutralize guardians."


    "There are differences in thought among demons, specifically between heralds," exined Zagan. "The more traditional ones, such as this own personage, follows the type of battle that the aged mortal is familiar with.


    Others are more¡­irreverent. Lust and Sloth were such heralds in my time. Sloth created the demonrot and utilized its spread, not believing in exerting effort in battle. Lust took to manipting mortal minds, believing should their minds be enved, that they were defeated."


    "And this time, there''s Gluttony spreading a new demonrot," said Li as he remembered the insect infested ogre.


    "The new generation of heralds has always been more willing to shirk convention," said Zagan with a hint of disdain. "With this personage''s absence, there are but Pride and Wrath to uphold the true ways of demonhood."


    "Exins why the demons have started to tap into eldritch power in spite of your customs," said Li.


    "No. The fault lies solely with the Burning One."


    "Tell us about him," said Li. "It would be good to know about what is basically the general of an enemy camp."


    "A Dark Archon of immense might and knowledge in the mystical arts. A driven one. An ambitious one. And one this personage would call his child."

 Chapter 226 - Rise

    "Child? Demons have families?" asked Li, slightly confused. From what he knew of Elden World lore, demons were created, not born. They spawned out of primordial chaos, making them inherently destructive creatures.


    "Not quite a child. Not in the human sense of the word. But in the sense that this personage became blind and all too forgiving, yes." Zagan''s eyes shed with fiery red tinged with equal parts anger and wistfulness.


    "This personage has spent now seven centuries roaming this world, consuming mortal, monster, and demon alike. Countless souls have passed through him, and with them, all the emotions packed within. Hope. Despair. Rage. Happiness. Love. Hate. And yet, it was two and a half centuries ago that the fieriest soul of all was witnessed.


    Demons are born from spawning pits that lie within the earth, festering and solidifying pure chaos. From birth, we are conditioned to seek more of the chaos, and as such, we feast upon each other as beings of chaos to grow stronger, but above all, we seek the chaos brewing within mortals, for nothing exists that is so nourishing.


    Naturally, a demon spawned closest to En Arkennan, the Heart of Chaos, the source of all spawning pits, will be more powerful from birth. This personage was born directly from the heart when its tendrils could spread through the entire vastness of this world.


    After the gods themselves defeated us and sequestered us to the West, the roots of the heart have receded, and sessive generations of demons have grown weaker. More isted. Demons spawned in the fringends close to human civilization, to the ''Hintends'', as you call it, are even weaker.


    Imps. Firehounds. Creatures not worth mentioning. Not worth devouring. Yet it was here, within a razed human vige, that this personage encountered that soul. An imp leading many of its kind in desire to take overnd and power.


    Its desire was intense. Fueled by vengeance for its fallen and ambition for more, it held within its soul the embers of greedy desire that this personage took a liking to, thus the imp was taken in, guided, for soon enough, its misguided ambitions would be squashed under the might of adventurers."


    "And this was two hundred and fifty years ago?" noted Li. "That would make this imp, the Burning One, quite young."


    "Still a whelp, he is," said Zagan. "And yet, in some ways, that whelp has more wisdom than many. This personage took in the imp in the wake of the third invasion''s failure, when the Elven hero wielding armor and weapon made for ying demons from realm unknown defeated us.


    This personage was herald of greed then as well, and yet, knew that power to reach the title of Burning One was beyond his potential. Thus, he sought another with more potential, a ''child'' if you so desire to call it so, to nurture into the next Burning One to bring demonkind victory."


    "Looks like you were sessful overall. Your imp is now the burning one, and I should say is far more dangerous than any that came before it," said Li.


    Zagan paused to contemte Li''s words. "Yes. This personage has raised the mightiest Burning One yet, but there is no pride. Only regret.


    That insatiable ambition in that imp''s soul never faltered, growing only brighter and stronger as it evolved from imp to demon mage, from demon mage, to archdemon, from archdemon to Dark Archon.


    With that ambition came a willingness to sacrifice everything. All tradition. All lessons this personage taught. From the beginning, the whelp was never attuned with the primal ways of our kind. Spawned weak and isted from the heart, its mind was far more open.


    It umted power slowlypared to its stronger kin, but itpensated in other ways. It sought magics of all kinds. Disguised itself as mortal and tricked beings all across the world for knowledge and power. With that knowledge came tactics, spells, and ways foreign to demonkin, and it used them to devour demons that seemed far stronger than he.


    This personage did not approve. Power should be consumed with one''s own might. The rite of devouring should not be tainted by petty mortal tactics meant for the weak to muster themselves against those naturally mightier than them. And yet, this personage could not truly reprimand the whelp, for then a century of nurturing and potential would have gone to waste.


    Until that is, during the fourth Rite of the Swarm one hundred fifty years past, a tipping point was reached. The whelp had grown mighty enough to join the upper echelons of demonkind, and it served directly under Asmodai, the Burning One of the time.


    Yet as the swarm moved, the whelp only faced frustration. Anger at the old ways of sending hordes of lesser demons to their deaths for no tactical benefit. Anger that no Heralds would listen to it, even ones more free minded such as Gluttony and Lust.


    And when Asmodai insisted upon dueling the Shining Hero for the right to devour the mortal, it was the whelp that stood against the decision, believing it foolish that a general should sacrifice himself when siege and gue tactics would weather down the mortals over the years.


    With Asmodai''s defeat and the dissolution of the Swarm, the whelp exiled itself, believing the old ways impossible to mend. This personage could not have imagined that half a centuryter, the whelp would return powerful beyond measure having attuned itself with the power of the Abyss, demanding to call upon the Rite of the Swarm once more."


    "A young upstart, eh?" said Old Thane. "I imagine there was much resistance against his call to arms."


    "Much," nodded Zagan. "The whelp took to traditional rites. It challenged all seven heralds to prove its supremacy, and it did, even when we used our Herald Shards against him. At that point, this personage, bound by tradition, could not object. The whelp had gained the privilege to call for the Rite of the Swarm, and it did, and with that authority, began to corrupt my kind with the ways of the Deep, seducing all hordes but mine own, Wrath and Pride''s, and this personage served as its herald until he saw reason to break from his ursed servitude through you, Great One."


    Zagan gave a little bow of his canid head to Li.


    "Very interesting," said Li. He knew that the demons of this world essentially followed the lore of Elden World. Beings of primordial chaos that feasted on the chaotic emotions and energies around them. They formed a fighting society where they devoured each other to get stronger and reach their peaks, and the strongest among them could call upon a mass invasion of mortalnds.


    The heralds, as they were called, were the seven strongest demons under the demon lord, or Burning One as it was called here, and they each had a shard of chaos within them that represented a crystallization one of the seven follies of mortals. Each herald thus had an unique and formidable power depending on their shard.


    If this current Burning One could best seven heralds, then it was definitely in the realm of a level 100 monster. That alone was not that impressive. The Darkbeast Hand could easily squash a level 100 monster with its boss tier stats. Whether this Burning One had other special aspects to it like boss tier stats or a broken boss ability would determine if it was going to be a legitimate threat or not.


    But most of all, what did worry Li was the fact that its power was not its own. It had gotten them from something beyond itself.


    "In the end, it alles down to where the Burning One got his strength, because evidently, it is not entirely his. Tell me, Zagan, about the Abyss."

 Chapter 227 - Commitment

    "The Abyss?" Zagan''s voice wavered. Not in fear, but in expressive disgust, the edges of his canid lips curling up in a half-formed snarl. "A foul ce. A foul thing. Alien. Corruptive. The long-standing enemy of demonkind."


    "Enemy?" asked Li, surprised.


    "I share thed''s wonder,"mented Old Thane as he put his hand to his beard. "Of all the many creatures that roam thesends, it is said only three kinds are above all. The dragons, the primordial spirits, and, finally, the demons."


    "That does remind me. A little off the topic at hand, but what of angels? I''ve yet to see one or hear of them," said Li. He knew that in the game, angels and demons were, as they traditionally were, diametrically opposed to each other in the same way light and dark were.


    "Angels? The spirits of light? Gone," said Zagan. "In the beginning, when all magic and beings came crashing upon this world of mortals a millennia ago, there were angels. They fought us, the demons, for supremacy. Yet after the gods drove us west and ascended to their divine ne, the angels left also, and since then, they have never deigned to set their wings upon this ne of existence."


    "I see," said Li. Strange, considering that even in Valhul, there were no angels. Or perhaps, considering that in game lore angels were essentially automatons fashioned through shards of Helius''s life force, Helius no longer had the life force or willpower to maintain them.


    "Then continue with the Abyss. I had wavered the idea of creating a spell to call angels, for they, like your kind, have some measure of resistance to eldritch insanity auras. One thing I notice, Zagan, is that you haveplete contempt for the Abyss. I can understand your distaste of your kind drawing from its powers, but it seems you have a personal chip on your shoulder against the thing as a whole."


    "All demonkind should. That is why the sacrilege is ever more heretic that the Burning One should now ally with the Abyss." Zagan continued his exnation.


    "Eight centuries ago, merely two centuries after the dawn of the gods and magic, an entity fell from the moon. It crashed within the En Okearkos, the great ocean where a great many of the waterfaring members of this personage''s kind lived.


    This personage was not alive for this, but still aged enough to remember the tales and the duty invested upon us. The demons of the time had recovered from their routing by the gods. The second Burning One hade to rise in power, and shemanded seven new heralds, ready to bring forth the full might of the Swarm upon the mortal world once more.


    But the fall of that entity, that alien, foul thing, presented a far greater threat.


    The Burning One saw as the entity''s tendrils spread through En Okearkos, corrupting and twisting all demonkin within, and understood that to leave it alone would be to leave the entire world to destruction.


    Thus, she acted."


    "Demons saving the world? How the taverns wouldugh at that tale were I to spread it. And how the Light would try to purge even me if I spoke of it. A mighty shame - all should know of heroics, regardless of where it hails from."Old Thane nodded slowly, taking in the concept that the race that all mortals feared as evil, chaotic, and predatory above measure, had acted to save the world.


    There was no disbelief in his voice, merely some slight surprise, with even that tempered over his years of experience.


    Zagan stirred. "Hm. You mortal races seem to misunderstand. You are all prey. Whether you crawl on fours or stand on twos or fly on wings, in the end, to us, you are all meals. And yet, for bnce to remain, both predator and prey must even each other out. Should that entity have emerged from En Okearkos, there would be nothing left."


    "Isn''t the whole point of calling the Rite of the Swarm to take over the whole world?" asked Li.


    "And mortal life would still continue. Moderated as the humans moderate their cattle."


    "Fair enough," said Li, because after all, when it came down to it, Zagan was a demon. "So, if I recall correctly, the second invasion happened muchter than the first. Five hundred or so years after, I believe, and yet, there was a Burning One with seven heralds all ready to go just two hundred years in.


    I''m assuming something happened to them."


    Zagan nodded. "The entity was immensely corruptive, but it was not active. It was lethargic. Sleepy. And yet, its scale was massive, unable to be fully destroyed without threatening to wake it. Thus, the solution: a sealing. The Burning One and her seven heralds fashioned their souls into seals and embedded the sealing into their titles.


    The Sin Aspect passed down from herald to herald grants not only power based upon the sin they embody, but also the seal. Thus, so long as a Burning One and seven heralds maintain the integrity of their souls, the Abyss remains sealed."


    "Pretty worrying considering if what you say is true, the Burning One has already beenpromised, meaning that other than you, all the seals are gone," said Li.


    "That is not necessarily so." There was confidence in Zagan''s voice. "The old ways are old for they are meant to withstand the tests of time. The seals are embedded in our souls when we receive the power of heralds or the title of the Burning One. We cannot relinquish them willingly; we must be devoured, and we cannot be devoured lightly, either.


    The Swarm is split into seven hordes undermand of the heralds. Not the Burning One. The Burning One merely holds title over the heralds. Should the heralds themselves rebel against the Burning One, then the Burning One is left with no army. No force.


    The Burning One may hold individual might above all else, but they cannot afford to begin devouring the Heralds for the rest will stand against them quickly enough."


    Li immediately saw holes in Zagan''s statement. Theoretically, the chain ofmands the demons had worked. It had worked for almost a thousand years, after all. But this was an unprecedented time. The Burning One had found some way to tap into the Abyss through some forbidden means even without breaking the seals, and in doing so, gained power capable of corrupting the minds of the other heralds.


    That broke apart the entire safeguard system. It also meant that the seals were in dangerous hands now.


    "This personage understands what you are thinking." Zagan''s voice was more observant. Less confident. "The Burning One holds grasp over the minds of the heralds. Ideally, that should not be so. This personage, Wrath, and Pride stood against the heresy of the Burning One.


    With this personage''s defection, Wrath and Pride should follow."


    "But they haven''t," observed Li. "I hear no news of two powerful demons and their armies anywhere."


    Zagan slightly bowed his head. "And that is why this personage now takes action. There is worry that Wrath and Pride have also fallen. Thus, the millennia old duty to stand against the Abyss lies solely through this personage, and if he must y the whelp, every herald, and every single demon in his way, then so be it."


    There wasplete and utter determination in Zagan''s voice. The demon was willing tomit genocide on his kind solely for the sake of upholding a tradition. Though, of course, in this case, that tradition meant saving the world as well.


    Whatever the case, Zagan must have known about all the tensions brewing in the demonic army when he left for Li''s service. Throughout all the time Zagan had been under Li, the demon must have continuously been waiting for his likemindedpanions to appear, for at the heart of it all, the demon must have been hopeful that there was yet a way to save his kind.


    And now, Zagan could only make the ultimate choice to kill his kind. But, if Li had his way, that was not going to be the only choice the demon could make.


    "Kill every single demon? Do not be ridiculous, Zagan," said Li. "My garden will wee all, demons included. And do you not know my strength? The extent of the miracles I can produce? Your kind is not doomed, and you do not have to wear this heavy burden upon your back.


    The heart of this problem lies solely with the entity in the Abyss. I will personally deal with it, and with the head of the beast cut off, the rest of the rotted body should copse."

 Chapter 228 - The Hall

    When Li got settled to sleep that night, he did so only after he made sure Old Thane himself was sleeping.


    Tia had been asleep for quite a while already, and she continued to pass her time in somnolent bliss, snuggling into apact ball by Li''s side as he sat upright on his bed, his eyes closed not in slumber, but in meditation.


    He had to get everything in order now. Soon, he would leave, and he did not want any loose threads remaining.


    In his meditation, he reached out to his heart, and his consciousness emerged from his human figure, phasing through the inn and gliding across the worried city, past the hundreds of torchlights from guard patrols shimmering on the shaded streets below, past the towering walls of Riviera with its massive stone knights, and to the forest, to his heart.


    Unlike the city so full of man and his fickle worries, the forest was peaceful. Even more peaceful than usual, actually, for the creatures of the Winterwoods could tell when man had left the soil.


    Here, at his heart, surrounded by flora and fauna that thrived, he could hardly tell that there was a war imminent upon the horizon.


    "Great One," said Iona as she materialized in front of the heart in a swirl of green sparks. She bowed her head, red locks shimmering in an alternating glow like the flickering light of a fire.


    "Good to see you are doing well," said Li with a curt nod before he cut out the pleasantries and went to business. "Iona, I know you, the one most closely connected with my soul, knows this, but I will be leaving temporarily."


    "I understand," said Iona. "I have nced into your heart. I see it. Your intentions. Your vision of the future. Of the garden." Her face brightened up. "A wonderful vision. Where all life, no matter how strong or weak, how young or old, may thrive."


    "It''s all theoretics for now. I''ve no illusion I''ll have to make some hard-thoughtpromises down the road," said Li. He was slightly surprised to see a hint of curious emotion on Iona''s face, but as soon as it flickered, it fizzled out. She looked at him now with expectant but calm poise, ready to receive orders.


    "But there is plenty to think about that is right in front of me. This demonic invasion is the single greatest way for me to spread my faith throughout this whole duchy. No, perhaps this entire world. Were I to shatter this world ending threat, then there will be none that will not flock to my garden."


    "And as your faithful root, I shall tend to the garden in whatever way you wish," said Iona.


    One thing that had improved vastly, however, was that Iona talked like her own being. Initially, she was like a hard coded program that only had pre-written responses for certain things Li needed, but now, she could speak with him about most anything.


    Even give an opinion here or there. She was well on track to bing who she once was as Li gained more and more control over his divinity.


    "And that is why I am here. Iona, you will stay with the Justicars. In my absence, you will be protector of the Winterwoods, my people, and Riviera," said Li.


    He held out an open hand towards her, bidding her to give hers, and she did. He held her hand there and focused. A spark of green energy traveled across Li''s astral form, passing the bridge of interlocked hands and reaching Iona''s being.


    "That is a spell crafted by my own will. The [Roots of Order]. This shrine can already emanate the effects of that spell, but I want you to have ess to it as well. Its cost is steep, and so to aid you, I will ce a totem of mine on the fields by the city walls. That way, you may give both the farmers and the citizens of Riviera reprieve from any eldritch rot should it make its way here."


    Iona took her hand and put it over her heart. "I will cherish this spell with all my life," she said, closing her eyes in gratefulness. "And your orders have been heard. In your stead, I will try my best to act as guardian."


    "Good," said Li. He snapped his fingers, and a booming pulse of power cracked from his ghostly digits. "And now, you also have authority over the Justicars. Use them wisely. Goodbye, Iona. When I leave the city, I will make sure to give you a more proper farewell."


    "I will be waiting most expectantly," said Iona, the faintest hints of a smile visible upon her.


    ============


    The next morning, and the entire day, really, went by in a whirlwind of activity.


    As soon as first light struck, Li determined that Old Thane probably had had enough sleep, and Tia, too, was stirring, her energy restored. Zagan did not sleep, but simplyy curled up by the firece, sensing Li''s intentions and determining that he was not needed.


    Li got ready as he usually did. He dressed in the formal attire of his guild but did not so much bother with any personal hygiene. A perk of being divine - he stayed in optimal condition.


    As he put on his jacket, Tia yawned loudly, tracked her eyes on him, saw that he was awake and ready to move, and instantly leaped from the nkets to his shoulder,tching onto his back with newfound energy.


    "New day, new adventure!" she said.


    Li smiled. "Yes, Tia, new day, new adventure. Maybe the very first ''real'' adventure I''ll have in this world."


    He nodded out a slight goodbye to the sleeping old man before he left the room.


    ================


    Out in the city, Li made an immediate trip to the City Hall, scaling the awfully lengthy series of steps to the domed building at the city center. Immediately noticeable was just how many soldiers there were now buzzing about like bees by an agitated hive.


    Knights and soldiers from quite literally every single corner of the duchy. Even beyond, too.


    Rivieran knights in their white and blue armor. The asional rare blood legionnaire in white and red towering over everyone else with their superhuman brawn.


    The shorter, dwarf-rted people of Montagne, their thick, ted iron armor nging with their rough but quick movements. Lightly armored knights from Trieste, the city''s signature weapon of rapiers scabbarded at their hips. The elite knights of the capitol city of Et were here as well, their golden armor shining resplendently under the morning sun.


    There were foreign faces too.


    Mercenaries from the vassal city state of Enna located in Duvin ¨C the same type that had stood guard outside the Pearl. Heavily muscled beastmen and women from the few errant tribes that lived in the deep south of the duchy, specifically in Duvin which had yet to be developed fully by man on ount of the ferocity of its monsters and environment.


    These were not the northern beastmen that Li was familiar with for sure. Their animal bases were what he would describe as sturdier and more pronounced.


    Rhinokin, Loxodons (part-elephant), Aarakocra that were like harpies but far more inhuman, their heads avian and their entire bodies covered in feathers that could stiffen into bristle-like des instantly, and the like.


    They were far more beast than man, towering over the human knights and exuding a feral presence that made sure that other than members of their own race, nobody approached them.


    What caught Li''s eye especially was a group of raucous humans that made their way down the stairs, passing him by and smelling strongly of unwashed sweat and alcohol. They were enormous by human standards, almost as tall as the blood legionnaires, and just as wide with muscle. They did not don armor, however, instead only wearing skins and bearing tribal tattoos across their bodies.


    Northmen. Just like Old Thane. Though, unsurprisingly, far paler for they were unused to the strong sun of the south.


    It urred to Li how limited his experience had been so far in this world. He had only ever stayed in Riviera, at his farm, and though he was slowly expanding his interests, it was still apelling sight to see that there was, indeed, a whole wide world filled with many different races and cultures outside.


    "Wow," muttered Tia as she cocked her head this way and that, trying to gain a glimpse of every single new and strange face. "Many, many, many strange people! Big horn person, long nose man, even fish man!"


    She pointed a wed hand to a Merman that was scaling the steps nearby Li.


    Or rather, half-merman, it seemed, because he had legs instead of the traditional piscine lower bodies of pure mermen. The merman scrunched his scaled brows, feeling ufortable at suddenly being pointed out.


    "Stop that, Tia, the pointing might be rude to other people," said Li gently.


    "Oh, sorry, papa," said Tia. She looked to the merman. "Sorry, fish man."


    Li blinked, wondering if the half merman would take that in offense.


    The half merman insteadughed. "Apology epted, child."


    His voice was far, far older than what his youthful physique might have suggested. It had a croaky undertone to it that felt like it belonged to a grey bearded, wilting old man, not a tall, muscle-bound and trident wielding warrior.


    "Thank you for understanding," said Li with a nod. "Far from home, are we not?"


    "Home is where the coin is," shrugged the merman. "And by the sea spirits, this job will make me wealthy beyond belief. If those grubby Triestan contractors are not nning to cheat me, that is."


    "And if they do?"


    The merman bared a grin filled with shark-like teeth. He held up his trident. "Then they will have to pay far more coin in hired muscle to fend me off. But you, Easterner, are you not the farthest from home?"


    Li shrugged. "They say that home is where the heart is." He felt Tia''s arms around his neck, her precious warmth, and smiled ever so slightly. "I suppose that''s how it is for me."


    "Heh, a romantic, eh?" The merman paused, and the gills on his neck red. "And yet, you''ve the walk of a man ready for war. I am eager to see how you will do upon the battlefield. But for now, I have to deal with this sted sun. I hope to see you on the march today. It is not often I see another that does not belong to this continent."


    The merman reached to his hip and unsped a sizable canteen from a belt. He unscrewed it and poured water over himself to keep his skin glistening with hydration.


    Li left the merman behind with a shrug.


    "Romantic?" asked Tia.


    "He means," said Li rather quickly. "That I am very hopeful about things."


    "Hope good," nodded Tia. "With papa, there is always hope."


    "I''m d you feel that way, Tia," said Li as he made his way up the final stretch of stairs. One thing the merman had said stuck in his head: the fact that the armies were going to be marching as early as today.

 Chapter 229 - Support

    At the top of the stairs, guarding the massive, ornately carved double doors giving entry to the city hall, were a group of knights armored from head to toe in shining gold. They were not superhumanly built like the Northmen or Blood Legionnaires, nor did they seem to exude the kind of primal, feral strength that the southern beastmen had.


    In fact, they did not seem to have the iron will and robotic discipline that the blood legionnaires had either. That was to say, the knights were not untrained. Actually, far from it.


    Li stepped up to the double doors, and the knights immediately reacted. They stared at Li with the poise of soldiers used to guarding. They had that stiff-postured ability to somehow pay attention to you while staring straight ahead to look as intimidating as possible.


    But it was not their skill or posture that impressed Li, if anything did. Their power levels were fairly low. Mid tote thirties, meaning they were definitively a cut above the norm, but not anything overwhelmingly powerful. The blood legionnaires, for example, had an average level that ranged in thete forties to early fifties.


    Which,e to think of it, did mark out a kind of "mortal limit" for human strength, if there ever was such a definitive thing. It seemed that without remarkable talent or good gics, the average human could not break past level forty.


    In any case, what did vaguely impress Li was their equipment. Their golden armor shone with powerful magical radiance, and it was clearly evident that the quality of the armor far exceeded the levels of their wearers. Upon a closer look, he realized he recognized the armor too.


    The Sunforged armor set. Lore wise, it was armor crafted from sunlight made solid through magic. It was extremely resistant to any dark or demonic magics, though they provided little in the way of standing against eldritch power. It also granted an immense amount of bonus health, health regeneration, boosted stats, and a huge bonus to holy magic based upon the number of set pieces worn.


    The armor set was mythic tier, meaning it was to normally be worn by individuals of level sixty to eighty. However, the requirement could be waived to arge degree if the wearer subssed in anything rted to the light. So being a priest or pdin would suffice.


    And all the knights were pdins or priests, it appeared from cursory nce


    "Easterner," said a knight. He nodded to the others around him, and they moved with efficiency, moving past the doors and opening them.


    Li took in that reaction to mean that the knights were expecting him. "I assume my presence is wanted somewhere?"


    "Top floor. Audience room." The knight spoke briskly, almost gruffly.


    "Shiny man,"mented Tia. She squinted her eyes. "Eyes hurt."


    The knights did not react at all, and Li passed them by without much fuss. Inside the city hall, there was aplete whirlwind of activity. Staff zipping by, carrying thick stacks of documents and calling out names and instructions every which way. Above, a droning and magically projected voice worded out directions for some staff to go this way, others that way, and so on and so forth.


    There were no civilians as there usually were. Riviera was in full wartime mode now, using every ounce of its resources and manpower to organize a war effort.


    "Busy," muttered Tia as her eyes darted about, trying to make sense of the hundreds of different threads of conversations and hurried bodies that zipped by her.


    "A little too chaotic, I agree. Let''s go somewhere calmer," said Li.


    Up the familiar stairs, the same stairs he took to obtain to his herbalist''s license so long ago, and passing the hallways of sculped, smoothed marble and facades that depicted a great many battles, he made his way to the audience room used by lord Lys. The floor itself was incredibly empty, forbidden for entry bymon staff.


    Outside the room, there were two more knights wearing sunforged gear, and they parted way to let Li inside. There were familiar faces seated around the round table of the audience room.


    "And speak of the devil," said Swift as he nodded to Li, his feet crossed and upraised on the table in lounging manner. "Or, I should say, god? But that does not roll off the tongue quite as well."


    Sunstar sent out a striking re to Swift''s way, and the young hero became uncharacteristically silent.


    "Interesting," said Li. Lord Lys was at the table, as was Swift, the duchess, and Sunstar. "Though, as I think about it, not too interesting. It would make sense for the duchess to be here, at the heart of the war effort."


    The duchess Vivienne rose from her seat at the head of the table and curtsied. "I would be no leader of mine people were I to cower under the safety of Et''s golden walls."


    "Then am I to see you fighting on the front lines?" asked Li rather sarcastically.


    Sunstar sat beside the duchess, and he stirred, used to taking action against anyone who even slightly offended the sovereign, but knew he could not act out against Li.


    The duchessughed. "Ah, unfortunately, I would be more hindrance than help on the battlefield. But we were discussing that matter about you just now."


    "I see," said Li.


    "Will you not take a seat?" asked the duchess with a smile and a nod as she extended a white gloved hand towards an empty seat.


    "My schedule is rather busy," said Li. "I am expecting to make my business here quick."


    "Ah, a shame. Hopefully, at the least, I or the good lord Lys here may be of assistance?" said the duchess as she reached a hand out to the seat beside her, squeezing lord Lys''s shoulder. Her fingers dug into the portly man''s shoulder, and he blinked several times while nodding.


    "You two certainly have the authority," said Li. "So let us move quickly. Why did you call for me, as if expecting me?"


    "We were curious of your guild''s stance in this war," said the duchess. "All other guilds of Riviera have backed their support for the effort."


    "And?"


    "That does not mean we are asking you for your support. We merely wish to know your stance, and whatever it is, we will ept it. After all, your guild is of significant merit and influence, not even beginning to mention that you have brought to light an entire new faith.


    As leader of both, you certainly have your own say in what you desire."


    "Quite amodating. Well, you are all in luck, for I intend to march west with your war effort." Li could see the palpable surprise on Sunstar''s face, but the duchess maintained a pleasant and neutral smile that gave away nothing.


    "But as an independent power. My faith and the divinity bound to me do not obey any crown. I am no enemy, but I will not bemanded either. The power I have, I use under my desire, not anyone else''s. My followers, too, if any join me, or if new followerse in my wake, will not follow under the orders of any except their own."


    Sunstar''s jaw set. His shining golden eyes ring with an extra burst of brightness. "This is a war, not a sightseeing trip. Those that join the march must do so under proper authority lest there be nothing but disorganized chaos."


    "Don''t be such a hardass, Sunny," said Swift. "He''s a good guy. He''ll do good. In the end, that''s all that matters, isn''t it?"


    "Good does not mean right," said Sunstar.


    "I''ll make this a lot easier for you to decide," said Li. "All of you by now know about the new demonrot. I know that you know that the priests of Light are powerless against it, regardless of what they do. You know how significant that knowledge is.


    What will your people do when they realize the priests of the Light they so dearly worship are utterly powerless before the demons, demons that the Light is supposed to drive away? How much panic will rise? How much chaos? How much of the crown''s authority will chip away?"


    Li paused, letting his words sink in.


    "I have a cure that I am willing to share with your soldiers and people, for they are innocent lives undeserving of corruption. However, you want me to stay? Then you face the rot by yourselves."

 Chapter 230 - Permission

    Sunstar stared at Li. The man did not glower, for it seemed that he had spent so much time fixing his jaw muscles to a kind of stoic half-smile that it was impossible for him to make much of any other expression. Instead, it was his eyes that emanated with emotion, their golden glow flickering with evident but controlled displeasure.


    Li felt Tia''s hands tighten their grip around his neck. She was notfortable in Sunstar''s presence, and it showed. But Sunstar did not continue to direct his gaze at Li, instead, he turned his muscled neck to stare at lord Lys, knowing that the weak lord was a far safer option to antagonize. The lord shrunk into his seat, and that made the two heads worth of height difference between the two that much more evident.


    "It seems that in the city of Riviera, state secrets flow free like wine at a tavern," said Sunstar to Lys. The lord opened his mouth like a fish gasping onnd, but now words came out.Sweat began to form on his forehead as his skin turned several shades whiter.


    "Now,now, there is no need for this discord," said the duchess pleasantly. "Especially when we are on the eve of battle. Come, Sunstar, you must understand the easterner''s position. He is beholden to a god and people we are not familiar with. It would be unbing of us to force our wills upon him."


    With her words, any sign of discontent in Sunstar disappeared, and seeing this, she continued to Li.


    "I am grateful that you have chosen to aid the people of Soleil, and I will treat you and your followers as a fully sovereign force. There will be no issues with this. After all, I have afforded the crown prince of Enna the very same privileges."


    "Enna is a vassal state, your highness," said Sunstar. "The crown prince brings his army of Ennans knowing where his allegiances lie. Though you may invest in him independence as general over his own people, in the end, he fights solely for the crown."


    "I did not think I would be repeating myself so often in one day," said the duchess with a sigh. "I do understand your concerns, my dear Sunstar, but now is not the time to levy them. We must pursue unity."


    "Of course," said Li. "If I am to be an independent force, then, in a way, my services should have a cost attached to them, no?"


    The duchess preemptively raised a hand to bid Sunstar from talking, and she nodded to Li. "Of course. I would not wish any of my precious people to fall under the hideous effects of the rot. What is your proposition?"


    "I provide the cure to the soldiers andmon folk when I can. Your people benefit. In return, my people must benefit too. Give them leave of this lockdown. Let them return to their fields and the forest. Allow them to live in service of the divinity and livelihood they have chosen.


    With my cure and strength, they will have no threat to worry about, nor will they spread the rot to Riviera. More than a fair trade, I should say, for sharing the cure to your people as well."


    "I had thought, upon hearing of your might, to ask you to join the war camps. That is why I had the Sunforged bring you here when possible." The duchess cocked her head and put a hand to her chin. "I am not denying your request and yet, I must ask you to understand if we do not involve you as actively in our war-rted strategics as if you were a general under the crown. Simply a matter of state secrecy and an understanding that we will be acting with the assumption that your aid is not guaranteed."


    "A wise assumption," said Li. "Do not view me as an enemy, but do not see my people as expendable tools and numbers to y with, either. Then, have we reached an agreement?"


    "We have. Between you and me. But of course, as thew of the crown dictates, the lord of the city must give his consent." The duchess looked to Lys with an even smile and an analyzing look reminiscent of a focused viper eyeing its prey. So lord Lys, what say you?"


    Lord Lys looked to his left, to the duchess, then to his right, to Sunstar, and could only give out several shaky nods.


    "Good," said Li. "Tell your armies to not interfere with my movements. I will try my best not to interfere with yours. I will assume that by sunset today, my people will have full leave to move to their fields."


    With that, Li promptly turned around and left, not wanting to stay a moment longer in an environment where Tia felt ufortable.


    The next stop was the farmer''s guild where Li was scheduled to meet with his administrators and give them a rundown of what he expected once he left. For what he was doing now was far above anything in scale he had ever done before.


    He fully intended to use his might to spread the name of the farmer''s guild as much as he could and nt the seeds of newmunities of farmers and priests throughout thends he traveled. On the way to the guild, Tia spoke.


    "Scary shining man," she said, remembering Sunstar.


    "A small man pretending to be big," said Li. "You, Tia, will have nothing to fear for him. If ever he harms even a hair on top of your head, he and life will go through quite a thorough break up."


    "Not scary because strong, because papa always stronger," said Tia. "Scary because¡­empty. Sometimes, I see people. Can tell they are good. Or bad. Angry or sad. But shining man ¨C no good, no bad."


    "Hm," said Li. He trusted Tia''s observations about living beings. She seemed to have a better knack for it than Li did, at the least. "Then what about the duchess? What do you think about her? A good person, or a bad person?"


    "Good, I think," said Tia, but she fell into a contemtive pause. "Don''t know," she corrected. "Can''t see her heart. But she seems to have good words for papa."


    "I''vee to realize that nobody will have bad words for me. At least, they will never say them in front of my face." Li mentally shrugged. He could care less of what machinations mortals and other such drivel concocted against him so long as they did not interfere with him.


    At the least, it was interesting to note that not even Tia could urately see into the duchess''s heart. Li had initially thought that perhaps he could not read the duchess because she was simply too experienced at hiding herself. Though he prided himself over being able to urately assess how someone was by snaking his way through the corporatedder in his past world where everyone was out for each other and put on fake faces, he had to admit the duchess''s veil was imprable.


    But Tia''s observation was something beyond just experience. It was supernatural. Like how Li''s eyes could see the flow of life, it appeared that she could see the flow of good or bad in others. It made her sharp inbat, capable of reading signs of aggression, but it also made her an incredible judge of character.


    That Tia could not read the duchess suggested her inscrutabilityy beyond human training. Li did not personally have enough investment to investigate, but he would get Alexei to do so the next time they met.


    For now, as Li approached the vine covered doors of the farmer''s guild, he had his people to attend to.

 Chapter 231 - New Faces

    In the meeting room of the Farmer''s Guild, Li found quite a few more people than he had initially bargained to see. Not to mention that, judging by the scribble-infested runeboard at the front, there had been much discussion already.


    He had told everyone to be ready for a meeting from this morning all the way to the afternoon because he did not know how long negotiations would take with the duchess, but it seemed everyone was promptly there.


    Everyone, and more.


    upying one half of the wooden meeting table smelling of cedar was the usual inner council of the farmer''s guild. Old Thane sitting straight with his burly arms crossed. Ivo next to him in the exact same posture, basically mirroring the old man in all things except for the fact that Ivo had yet to be bald.


    Ven''thur and Sindra were next to them, with Ven''thur tipping his tophat to Li''s entrance and Sindra busy as usual, her attention focused entirely on scribbling down notes on a piece of paper next to her.


    Already, though, her notes had formed quite the pile, indicating how many lengthy topics had been discussed already.


    Not too surprising considering the other half of the table.


    There was the count Alexei, his tall,nky stature wrapped up in ck, formal suit. His skin was several shades tanner than his usual deathly paleness, and his eyes had shifted color from their deep crimson to baby blues. His face seemed less bony and more filled out, more youthful, and overall, he looked to be quite striking in the looks department.


    Next to him was Gronn. The dragon''s human form was like that of a bodybuilder''s, immensely built andrge to the point where the seat under him looked like it would copse at any given point. His close-cropped hair and roughly square features littered with scars gave him all the poise of hardened warrior.


    By the dragon was Cicero, his wrinkled hands wrapped around a steaming cup of tea as he, like his former student Sindra, looked down at notes he had written.


    And, perhaps most surprising of all, was the presence of the hero Meld. She was not in her hero costume this time around. Without her ck blindfold, wide brimmed hat, and leotard, she looked surprisingly normal in acey white shirt and leather leggings.


    She acknowledged Li with a look, her eyespletely pale and clouded. She, like Old Thane, was blind.


    "Well, this is quite a surprise," remarked Li as he took a seat at the head of the table.


    "Lots of people!" said Tia as she looked around wide-eyed. When her eyes settled on Gronn, she eximed, "And dragon! Like me!"


    "Not like you," said Gronn. "The highers were wrong. You are not lesser blood. You are higher. I am lesser." He bowed his head. "I defer to you."


    "See, papa, even big dragon knows I strong," said Tia rather happily, and Li could only help but smile at her.


    "Oh yes, indeed this was quite a surprise," agreed Ven''thur. "First, I hear tell from the master of fields that you are to march to battle, and then, Sindra brings here her northern friends with a hero of the Ascendant order, and all the while, the oh so esteemed count Alexei of the rie family decides to drop by for a quick visit.


    A shame the gracious count refuses my tea. I quite pride myself in my brewing skills, too. I suppose he prefers¡­other beverages."


    Alexei gave Ven''thur a piercing stare, and Ven''thur did not say much more. The two knew instinctively that they were high tier undead, but where Ven''thur was a man of levity, Alexei was just the opposite, stone cold serious in all of his interactions.


    "I will summarize for you so as to not waste any further time," said Sindra with a quick sidelong leer at Ven''thur, and Alexei nodded at her seriousposure. "As you instructed, this meeting was held from sunrise til'' now when noon reaches near. Old Thane immediately consulted us with what you revealed to him from the night prior.


    Hearing of your ns, we spent much time deliberating upon what to do among ourselves. We decided Ivo would take upon both roles as master of ceremonies and master of fields while myself and Ven''thur will maintain our administrative positions within the city."


    "And¡­everyone else here?" said Li as he eyed the rest of the non-farmer''s guild side of the table.


    "Count rie asked to enter the meeting soon after we reached an agreement among ourselves. He has offered us as much aid as we require during these trying times and also wished personal audience with you. Soon after, Cicero intruded with Gronn and this hero. Before their intentions could be made known too deeply, you arrived."


    "Alexei, good to see you," said Li with a nod, and the count nodded back. "Though, I have to ask, how did you know about this meeting?"


    "I have ears across this entire kingdom. I do not spy on you, per say, but I do keep watch upon the activities of your followers so that I may be more proactive in aiding them," said Alexei.


    That exined why Alexei was so capable of figuring out what Li needed seemingly before Li himself knew and before he ever even approached the vampire.


    "Well, I do not mind you keeping tabs on us. I trust you enough to be discrete and helpful about it." Li turned his attention to the stranger in the room. Meld.


    "And you, hero? I have to say that it is a slight bit ufortable seeing you here. Knowing where your allegiances lie and all."


    "An understandable concern," said Meld.


    "She is with me," intervened Cicero. "As I mentioned to you in our first meeting, we have been working together to unveil the machinations of Lucius and his closest advisors. She and I are here to propose an agreement with you."


    "And Gronn tagged along just to listen?" said Li.


    Gronn grunted. "No. I am here to speak to you. Tell you of my will."


    "I have full faith my guild council have reached eptable conclusions among themselves. So let''s hear what you all have to say. Starting with you, Meld," said Li.


    Meld crossed her arms not in a defensive posture, but more in a thinking manner, one of her hands twirling ever so often as she spoke, as if directing the flow of her words.


    "Cicero informed me of his presence here. Also of the situation that¡­bloomed between you and him," said Meld with the faintest of smiles at her wordy, no doubt knowing that Cicero had a living seed bomb inside of him. "And, as Cicero is my most useful informant in the north, I am naturally tied to his fate."


    "We can offer you the very information we seek," said Cicero.


    Li stuck out an inviting hand. "And that is?"


    "I have been moving from shadow to shadow in the Republic, hearing bits and pieces of conversations everywhere for the better part of five years," said Meld. "But the security around the Imperator and those closest to him, especially those of sourced blood, has been incredibly difficult to prate.


    Yet, in the past year, I have made contact with Cicero, and using his once close rtionship with the Imperator, dredged out some useful information. Particrly now, in the wake of this brewing conflict."


    "I see," said Li. "But I have yet to hear any of this useful information so far."


    "I will state it inly," said Meld. "The Elves have closed their borders nigh entirely in the past few months. Usually, though they hold some conflict between Soleil at the mountain range border by Montagne, they still yet trade with us, particrly with Trieste.


    However, even that came to a stop. They have been preparing for battle, fortifying their western borders immensely with all manner of cannon and mechanized ballista. Such defense is it that I truly cannot see any demonic invasion breaching their borders."


    "You would be surprised," said Li, knowing that the demons this time around were going to be far nastier and stronger than the norm.


    "Yes, the demons have grown more powerful, particrly with the alien energies they now channel. But the Elves hold the Purgatorio. If it is demons, no matter their might, they will not falter easily."


    "Then what now? I''ve never heard of this ''Purgatorio'' in any of the books I have read," said Li. "Nor is information about what exactly the Elves have in terms of weaponry quite publicly avable."


    "Solen texts will not mention these, particrly in the wake of the good duchess''s book burning," said Ven''thur. "But I can exin. Remember that Elven hero we once spoke of? The one whom wielded disastrous weapon that razed the demonic army of the third invasion?"


    Li nodded, noting that Ven''thur did not mention the citadel that too had suffered under that same hero and her weapon. He evidently wished to keep knowledge that belonged to his lich side under wraps.


    "Well, the weapon was not that alone. It was the armor she donned also. Armor from another world, another realm. One far advanced and besieged by demons that had also co-opted mechanics into their being. An armor so soaked in the blood of countlessher creatures that it became the bane of all their kind throughout all realities."


    "I see. And they still have that armor?"


    "Yes, and source-charged heirs to don it," said Cicero. "The demons have never been much of an issue in Lucius''s eyes for that very reason."


    "So what? I see no issue in the elves turtling up, letting the south soak the brunt of a conflict that they can easily win. Was not their n to absorb Soleil as well? This would be an apt way to do it."


    "I would agree with you," said Meld. "Were it not for the Sunspear."


    She sensed that Li was not confused, so she continued. "The Sunspear hasnded far West, near the border between demonic territory and the Hintends. If the legends are true, if it is indeed capable of cleaving apart the world in brilliant sunfire, then it is a weapon more than capable of propelling whatever state that holds it into unchallengeable sovereignty."


    Li nodded. "Considering you, Cicero, knew of this, I am assuming the elves did too. Then naturally, the Elves would be scrambling to retrieve the spear, if only so that it does not fall into enemy hands."


    Meld nodded. "And that is also why the duchess moves now with such haste. But the elves have had more than enough time to retrieve the spear. Using the Purgatorio, they could have snatched it away with utter andplete ease, even if it is now guarded by countless demons."


    "It could be that they do not want to risk losing their precious armor," said Li.


    "It could be," agreed Meld. "But, I suspect, it may be something more. The Republic holds another trump card within their towering factories. The presence of immense, metal arrows that house the power of the sun within them."


    "Nuclear Armament," said Cicero. "But their location remains a secret even to me. To anyone but the Imperator himself and his closest aide, likely."


    "I do not know the full supply of these weapons the elves have," said Meld. "But my investigation, if judged on the optimistic side, still suggests that the full arsenal could easily turn much of the continent into cinders.


    I merely have suspicions unfounded by much evidence, but it is my theory that the elves are positioning themselves for all races to gather around the Sunspear, priming an apt, closely packed target for their weaponry. What better way topletely defang a rival nation whilst eliminating the demonic threat? "

 Chapter 232 - Intrigue

    Silence arose around the table as Meld''s revtion sunk in and everyone began to process it. The idea that the Elves had the potential to ss an entire kingdom with just a mere tap of a button would truly have been a frightening prospect to most everyone on the table.


    But Li did not feel fear.


    The table''s attention noticeably shifted as they felt an intensity dawn upon the room.


    A heavy, invisible weight, an aura that spread dread across the body, drawing out goosebumps and sending pricks all over the skin. It did not matter if they were a high vampire or lich, they felt the same aura just as strongly as the flesh and blood mortals.


    "Papa, are you okay?" asked Tia from Li''sp. She tugged at his arm which rested at the table, spiked, ck vines beginning to grow from the wood around it.


    Li heard Tia''s words and nodded, giving her a reassuring smile. The darkened vines receded, leaving the table upied only by wreaths of healthy, weing green. The weight in the atmosphere faded, and it was as if everyone could begin to breathe again.


    "Sorry, Tia, I was just remembering things. Unpleasant things," said Li. He gave a knowing look to everyone around the table. "Forgive me. I let my emotions bleed out, and now is not the time to let emotions rule over us."


    "A surprise, to be sure," said Meld with a slow, wary nod. Herposure had cracked just a little, having been unprepared to deal with such a powerfully malevolent aura. "I had never yet seen you to be so¡­expressive."


    "Ah, there is not much that can irk me. At the least, that is true when I am on my best days." Li tapped the wood of the table with a finger in absent-minded gesture, some of his mind still wandering.


    Wandering to a world choked in thick, dark smog. Smog that had been born out of the belching guts of countless engines and factories that ran without mercy. Smog that had been cursed with deadliness from the usage of nuclear weaponry. Cities covered in biodomes. Uninhabitable wastnds.


    And more than even that was an image.


    A deeply unpleasant image. One he liked to keep buried. An image on his screen. //BEAST// - Online 730 days ago. The sounds of an argument.


    He took in a breath. Exhaled. Memories flowed out. The current situation around him flowed in. Emotions that had red up, telling him to react and destroy, dimmed as rationality honed by divinity focused his mind.


    "I have made a decision," said Li. "The Republic must fall, and if it will take my full might to erase it, then so be it. I had once thought myself a non-intervening party, someone that onlyid low to do what he loved, but I have already made exceptions.


    One more will not make a difference."


    Cicero''s eyes widened, and his sharp ears twitched. His hands trembled as he drew them together, the quill dropping from his wrinkle weathered digits. "Will¡­will that mean the people will fall too?"


    "Do not be ridiculous," said Li. "I will admit it. Sometimes, I can be cruel. I can take lives. Toy with those weaker than me. I have no illusions about what I have done, nor do I have regrets, even in the times when my actions were out of my control.


    But what I will say is I am no mass-murderer. I do not inscribe the sins of a few upon an entire people and raze them for it. I do not persecute on grounds out of the control of others.


    I judge, and, I would like to think, I judge fairly. So no, the loss of life, I will try to minimize. I havee to see a greater purpose now in you, Cicero. You seek to topple the Republic, do you not? We will do that together, for I know youck the power to aplish it on your own terms."


    Li turned to Meld. "And you, hero, what do you think about this? You do not trust me fully, do you? Will you report this back to your superiors?"


    "Well," said Meld as she gazed in Li''s direction, her nk eyes staring at him somehow with a surprising intensity. "Considering you thought toy out your intentions bare in front of me, I should say you trust me. Somewhat."


    Herposure remained calm even as her next words flowed from her lips. "And I should assume my life would be forfeit now were I to show the slightest suspicion in releasing this information."


    "Like I said, I judge, and I judge fairly," said Li. "You are here behind the duchess''s back. You are not in your heroic uniform. Nor are you carrying your badge. And you have concealed your presence. It is difficult even for me to get a sense of where you are. Were you to slip away out of sight, there would be no other sense capable of tracking you.


    You did not want to be seen by anyone, especially not the many troops affiliated with the duchess littering the streets."


    "A fair appraisal, and quite right," said Meld. "I will state my intentions bluntly. I do not trust the duchess."


    "And yet, you serve her," remarked Sindra coldly. "Served her while she let my people be enved and killed for decades."


    "I believed her the best way to protect thend atrge," said Meld. "One cannot deny all the good she has done. Even among the beastkin that remain here, their lives arergely fruitful and untouched. Need I remind you that the enved beastkin here hailed from the north, sold by elves?


    Yet, I know there is far more to her. Something far colder, and I have always known this. The elimination of all dissenting faiths and doctrines, the enforcement of hero worship such that themon masses blindly adore us, and the maniption of memories are all sins tacked under the shadow of her rule.


    But that she is now willing to y with the lives of her people is what turns me against her."


    Ven''thur chuckled. "Oh, such naivete. Of course, a woman heralding herself as all powerful, donning a crown forged from her father''s crown before her - a crown steeped in the blood of five conquered states, no less - stoops to such levels.


    Good and honest people do not rise to the top, for to reach it, one must always step over the bodies of those that have tried and failed before them. What now? Will you believe the popr vote she is nning to institute is also more than a sham? That she will truly allow another to rule in her ce?"


    "I have no illusions about the state of her rule," said Meld calmly. "But I will tell you now that I have no regrets, either. The people have never had their stomachs fuller and their lives more well secured than now. They will never have to suffer as I and many of the mutants of old had to."


    "I am sure you will feel just the same way when all the ''wrong'' books have been reduced to ashes and your people can no longer tell the difference between history and illusion. From knowledge and farce," said Ven''thur, and although he smiled, Li could tell this, the loss of knowledge, he took personally.


    "I suggest you engage with a more civil tone," said Alexei to Ven''thur, and the lich quietened in respect of the higher vampire. "Snide jabs at allegiances held in good faith do not make for productive discourse. Good hero, I can understand your heart.


    I like to think I share a heart of the same nature." He extended an inviting hand towards her. "So, please, tell us what your intentions are."


    Meld nodded. "My investigation has led me to knowledge I have not shared with the duchess. Such as the fact that the conflict at the border is a fabrication, meant to keep the people of both the Republic and Soleil in a state of constant tension and distraction.


    But distraction from what? I do not know. I cannot even hypothesize yet, for there is yet too little evidence. That, however, is a matter for another time, for the nature of the Elven weaponry makes them the highest priority."


    She directed her words specifically to Li. "Cicero and I will track the location of the weaponry down and bring it to you. I cannot know for certain, but am I confident in assuming you have the means to dispose of the ballistas?"


    "I do," said Li. "And yet, the demonic threat is not a joke either. I cannot sit here and wait for you two to find the location for the lives lost west will be far too high a price to pay. Hm."


    Li grew silent beginning to think of a course of action.


    "The Purgatorio. We could attempt to steal it," said Meld. "The demons will be of no issue with it."


    Cicero shook his head. "A foolish idea. It is likely held with even more secrecy than the missiles, and attempting to uncover information about it would draw the Imperator''s Suppressors upon us in a heartbeat."


    "Both threads lead back to the Chronicler, however. Finding him, her, whatever it is, will solve both issues at once," said Meld. She continued on, exining to everyone in the room. "The Chronicler is an advisor closest to the Imperator. A being shrouded in immense secrecy such that even I could not glimpse them, yet, I know that it has been instrumental in making the items of the Source more than inscrutable trinkets."


    "I did wonder how it was that the Elves could manage to truly understand what it was they had drawn from the Source," said Alexei, no doubt recalling his own fumbling with the Source and how he struggled to make ends of what he was transporting to his world. "An entity, perhaps one from another realm, aiding them could surely alleviate such difficulties."


    "That is my hypothesis, yet, not entirely founded for now," said Meld. "There is simply too little evidence to ground any line of thought upon." She sounded mildly frustrated, unused to working with so little.


    "How long will it take for you to uncover the location of the missiles? Or, at the least, are you confident that you can know when and where they will be fired?" said Li.


    "When the missiles will be fired is something we are certain to know," said Cicero. "All Senators will be informed if the Novus Silos be armed."


    "However, their location will remain uncertain," said Meld. "I have only been able to infiltrate the shadows of a few senators, and none of whom the Imperator invests much trust in. Yet, this is all useless information, for when the ballistas are armed, it will be toote."


    "Not toote," said Li. "I think I have an idea of what to do now."

 Chapter 233 - The Synarch

    Everyone at the table looked at Li expectantly, for at the end of the day, his word was what was going to start moving things along. One thing was for certain. He could not abandon the march west.


    It seemed counter-intuitive, considering he had just been informed about a massive disaster to the north and especially considering his personal vendetta against the weaponry, but, all things considered, a massively powerful demon army about to release an eldritch entity that no doubt was Noctus was going to be a much, much, much more difficult thing to handle than a few missiles.


    At the end of the day, missiles were just that: missiles. With his powers, he could intercept them. Send them away. Disable them. And so on and so forth. That was the beauty and power of magic. But an actual Old One?


    That was a legitimate threat that had no easy workarounds. He could not banish it, because it by nature had resistance to the warping of space and time. He had to destroy it with raw, brute force, and that was not a battle he wanted to engage in if he could.


    One of the reasons why Li could stomp his way through this entire world was because, in gaming terms, this whole world operated on a day 1 patch where content did not exceed vani level 100 standards. The introduction of the Old Ones was the first foray into level 100+ content, and Noctus''s eldritch form was an established boss in the game that, though one of the easier Old Ones to handle, was something Li could not deal with unless it was strictly in a one versus one situation.


    In an one on one situation, the fight would be evenly matched, even favored for the Old One, but Li was confident he could use his experience to clutch out a win, and he knew that sometime, he had to get rid of the entity.


    He could not leave the west unattended as a result. He had to be there. He had to personally purge Noctus if the situation ever arose that the Old One was awakened. But preferably, he wanted the Old One to stay asleep until he could truly engage with it in a duel where the risk of coteral damage or interference was minimal.


    It spoke many volumes that Li thought of actively avoiding a fight if possible. If any in this room understood the true nature, the sheer height of his power, it would certainly have shook all of them to their core that he would even worry.


    "First of all," said Li. "Tell me, Meld, about the recording crystal in your pocket. That is what it is, no?"


    He did not say this usingly. He figured Meld had an exnation, and he was right.


    Meld smiled lightly as she took out the crystal. Sheid its pale white diadem shape on the table. "I hade here with the belief that you I would have to prove myself to much greater extent. So, I recorded an admission of my defection from the duchess. Insurance against me. Keep it if it will ease your mind."


    Li held up a declining hand. "No need. I understand you helped me greatly with the entire Chevrette incident a few months back by not prompting the crown to seize the family''s assets. Consider this a thanks for that favor."


    "Much appreciated." Meld straightened out her hand like the de of a knife and then drew it down onto the crystal, the speed and precision of her movement obscuring her hand not just in motion blur, but in tendrils of shadow as well.


    Her hand cut right through the crystal, and its two halves fell apart before breaking into tiny little shards.


    "And here I thought you could only hide in shadows," said Li.


    "Oh, this is the result of training. We heroes have naturally higher potential for physical strength than regr humans, after all," said Meld. "And the principle is much the same as my normal power. My hand casts a shadow upon the gem before itnds, and then it is a matter of materializing my hand within the shadow, breaking apart whatever is within."


    "See to it that your powers do not get you killed for what I am to request of you," said Li. "You and Cicero will head north. Continue your investigation. Inform me of any developments at all times when you deem them significant. If the missiles are everunched, or if you believe that they will be, then notify me. Tell me where they will strike.


    I will ensure that the area is defended."


    "The issue arises that we have no means ofmunication," said Meld as she tilted her head in contemtion. "Message crystals are an exceptional rarity, not to mention that they are consumables. It will be difficult for me to smuggle away enough to open a sustainable branch ofmunication."


    "I figured so," said Li.


    He had suspected this ever since he hade to this world, but basic user interface abilities like messaging were almostpletely absent. The lore of the game stated just for vor''s sake that yersmunicated each other through special messaging crystals forged by a music god, but it would appear that in this world, these crystals were extremely rare to the point that Li himself had never seen anyone use them directly, only ever hearing about them secondhand.


    He himself did not have any message crystals. After all, in the game, all he had to do was open up the menu and select the messaging icon. There was not even a collectible item for it because it was assumed to be just a basic feature.


    However, there were a few ways to circumvent this. In Elden World, there was a neat mechanic where a yer could be forcibly silenced from their teammates, preventing their voice or messages from reaching their team mates temporarily. This was called True Silence, and it was one of the most devastating status effects in the game, especially at higher levels wheremunication was key.


    But there were ways to counter this.


    Li reached into his own pocket and withdrew a seed. It looked like a blue-tinted miniature brain that fit snugly in his palm, though its leathery texture would remind people of a seed coat. This was one of his precious seeds from his pouch.


    The Synarch.


    It was only Godgiven in rank (levels 80-100), but it was an one of a kind rarity nheless. Meaning that Li also only had one, for his seed pouch was more like a trophy collection where he kept one of every rare seed he had grown. The rest that he cultivated, he kept in arger seed vault forbat or utility purposes, and that vault had not been transported with him.


    Li peeled off the seed''s coat, revealing the brain-shaped seed underneath as it glowed a much deeper blue now that the coat did not smother it. The brain stem frayed out into a tiny little white root that buzzed with magical energy. The seed appeared smoother, almost slimy in its slight shine, and quite positively macabre, though, as noted by Ven''thur gasping and immediately zooming in his monocle, there were some in the room that did not quite care about such things.


    "Take this seed," said Li as he held out the tiny, pulsating brain to Meld.

 Chapter 234 - Meeting To Be

    Meld reached her hand out and her fingers locked around the mini brain as she took it from Li.


    "This feels¡­rather strange?" said Meld. "I''ve not held any seed quite like this."


    "Nor would you want to," remarked Sindra.


    "I''ll exin what this is. It''s called the Synarch. You keep it with you, and you can establish a clear line ofmunication with me just like using a message crystal. You just need to, hm, what was it again?" Li took a second to remember the obscure lore about using message crystals. "Yes, channel some mana into it."


    "Ah," said Meld. Her eyes stared forward as the brain wriggled in her palm. "s, I do not have mana."


    "Right," said Li, remembering that the heroes here did not abide by the same rules as other beings. "Then Cicero, you take it. I also have more of a¡­contingency n against you if you mess up as well, so I suppose you are the better choice to begin with."


    "Two seeds upon my body now," said Cicero dryly as he took the seed from Meld''s hand. "Never did I think I would be a living garden, but here we are."


    "That seed is absolutely priceless and one of a kind," said Li. "If you lose it, you may very well be fertilizer for a new garden."


    "Understood," said Cicero with a nod.


    "Good. Now, I have the seed''s husk." Li held up the leathery outer coating of the seed he had ripped off. "Whoever holds this is on the other end of themunication line. And do not worry about the seed''s functions bingpromised. Its rarityes not from its messaging function, but the fact that it can guard against any and all interference, even effects such as True Silence."


    "True Silence?" Cicero raised a brow.


    "A higher form of silencing effect," said Alexei with a degree of familiarity. Unsurprising, considering he was higher leveled. "It renders the ursedpletely mute from all their senses, unable to reach out even through remote messaging to others."


    "And an abilitymonly attributed to Higher Vampires," noted Ven''thur with a smile.


    "Now that is new knowledge," said Alexei, his stone-cold expression giving zero hint or give at Ven''thur''s antics. "You seem to be a schr of sorts. I am too. Perhaps we may chat about our knowledge some time."


    "It would be my pleasure," said Ven''thur with a slight bow.


    "Alright, now that tea time has been scheduled, I''ll continue," said Li. "Cicero, channel your mana into that and give me any updates you deem important. Do not use the seed too liberally. It does give off magical energy when activated which may be traceable. In other words, I am not expecting a bedtime call every single day."


    "Understood," said Cicero.


    "Good," said Li. "We can test out the seedter. For now, I want to get through other orders of business from our special guests. Starting with you, Alexei."


    The count nodded. "As one of the premiere nobles of this city, I have been privy to the army''s war ns. I have had a few aides replicate my notes summarizing the details and distributed them to Sindra, the most capable master of coin. However, I warn you that once the armies leave Riviera, I will no longer be privy to these ns.


    A few points to note that may draw your attention. Leonid and Launcelot have decided to stay at Riviera with half the first blood legion. The remainder will march with you, it is said."


    "I am sure that news made waves among the nobles and generals here," said Li.


    "Most certainly," said Alexei with a slight sigh. "The utter chaos in the revtion that the Famer''s Guild of all had managed to obtain the might of an entire blood legion, one of the finest fighting forces in the entire duchy. And to further it all, the guildmaster obtained the force through besting Leonid the Heart-Ripper through singlebat. There was much a mor to force your enlistment."


    "A good thing I am going on my own terms," said Li.


    "You speak as if you would have allowed these noblemen to strongarm you into enlistment," said Alexei amusedly, though it was difficult to tell there was any levity in his permanently serious voice. "And further ¨C I cannot grant you the assistance of ck Securities westward.


    I suspect I am drawing significant suspicion in my rtions with you, and I must maintain some measure of distance between us. This temporary leave you undertake will be quite beneficial in that regard."


    "I understand," said Li. "But, tell me, I suppose you can still operate in the shadows?"


    "Certainly."


    "Then I have a request for you. After this meeting." Li turned his attention to Gronn. "And now you. What is your purpose being here?"


    Gronn gave out a grunt of acknowledgement, which Li began to realize was quite a habitual thing for the brawny dragon. "I tell you now what I am to do. I will return north. Take all my lesser brethren. I will send them here."


    Sindra immediately sat up. "Excuse me? How many dragons will that be?"


    "Ten," said Gronn.


    Li felt some confusion. "Only ten?"


    "I cannot save all. Ten I have managed." Gronn growled, more to himself than to anyone else. "Highers suspect me. Tell me now to bring heads. Proof. I cannot wield magic like the highers. They will see through any trick."


    He pointed to Tia. "Intended to bring her as thest to save. Then flee with my brethren. But I know now there is safety here. If you-," He directed his w to Li now. "Are willing to raise us. The lesser. Like her. Then there is hope. Will you take them?"


    "Any you direct here, I will take," said Li.


    Tia pped her hands. "More dragons! More me! Will I see them?"


    "Yes," said Li as he put a hand on her head. "You will. Let''s hope they''re all nice."


    "All of them are friendly," said Gronn. "Young. Like her. Some older. Some younger. But norge difference."


    "And you?" asked Li.


    "After sending the lessers here, I will meet the highers. Attempt to tell them I have failed. That I could not find her," said Gronn. "I may die. I may not."


    Li looked at Gronn again. The dragon''s humanoid form had features he recognized. ck scales that were thick and crudely shaped like roughly hewn tiles. Arge jaw with fangs that jutted out like those of an orc''s. But most noticeably, the grey flesh beneath the scales was not leathery like reptilian skin, but rather smooth.


    "You are a Smander base dragonkin, are you not?" asked Li.


    Gronn paused to wonder where Li was going with this. "Yes."


    "You can regenerate?"


    "Yes."


    "Then give me your arm. If you end up perishing to the higher dragons, I will consider resurrecting you." Li''s voice gained an immediate edge. "In return, do only this. When you meet the higher dragons and tell them you have failed, they will ask you about the details of your hunt, no? Where you went. Where Tia is."


    Gronn grunted affirmatively.


    Li nodded. "Lead them to me. I would like to meet them. Personally."

 Chapter 235 - Split Pathways

    Gronn, for once, actually smiled. It was not a big smile, and somehow, Li even doubted that the dragon''s underbite and eternally gruff scowl could ever manage one. But regardless, it was something.


    A little curvature of the lip that spoke of an understanding that for once, the dragon had a means to get back at the higher blooded dragons that had lorded over him, forcing him to kill those simr to him.


    "I understand," said Gronn simply, for simple seemed to be his motto. He immediately stood from his chair, the wooden structure groaning under his scaled and muscled weight. "Then. I go now. I must not waste time."


    Gronn put one of his burly, brick-like hands meant for beating and wing on his other arm, setting the digits around the curvature of his bicep. Without batting an eye, he tore his arm off with utterly unchanging expression.


    Sindra reacted, jerking back into her chair as her feline eyes widened, her ck pantherian tale standing tall in alert. Cicero looked away and put a hand to his mouth, evidently unused to casual dismemberment.


    But everyone else around the table just sat there as if Gronn had done something as mundane as taking a coin out of his pocket. Old Thane even nodded in respect that the dragon could tear his arm off like that with so much ease.


    "Here." Gronn put his arm on the table. He did not bleed from his wound, nor did the detached arm leak any blood.Courtesy of the exceptional smander trait regeneration that exceeded that of even troll kind.


    "Dragon heal fast," said Tia wonderingly as she looked at the arm. Half-hungrily, too. "Me dragon too. Can I do that?"


    Gronn looked at Tia, his sloped, nted brow ridge intensifying his yellow-glinted stare. "You can. With training."


    Tia cocked her head and smiled at Gronn. "Then, mister, will you teach me?"


    Gronn narrowed his eyes and opened his fanged mouth, his stiff bodynguage evident that he was going to refuse this request, likely understanding he was going on a one way trip. But, looking at Tia''s wondering face so filled with nothing but genuine curiosity and hope, he said, "Yes. If Ie back."


    "<em>When</em> youe back," corrected Li. "If you make a promise to her, I''m the one that''s going to be keeping you to your word." He motioned to the arm on the table with his chin. "And not even death is going to keep you from breaking that promise now."


    Gronn grunted in agreement before he turned to leave the room. "Farewell."


    ===========


    "A being of very few words. A wonder you could get along with him," remarked Sindra to Cicero after Gronn left.


    "I quite liked that aspect of him," said Cicero with a shrug. "At the least, there are no underlying machinations in his words. He speaks simply and truthfully. Quite the reprieve from the intrigue infused nonsense flung around among the oratory of the senate."


    "And can he make his way back north without causing some immense disaster?" said Sindra. "He truly does not strike me as the type to cover his tracks."


    "You would be surprised," said Cicero. "He can be discreet when he needs to be. And his skin is possessive not only of marvelous regenerative ability, but also of reflective capacity capable of rendering him invisible."


    "And you?" said Sindra, going down the list of potential loose ends and suspicions brewing in her head.


    Li was thankful she existed, because if it was not for her, he would be the one asking these questions, and he had to admit he probably would not have thought of as many of them considering his power let him be a little less wary than he could be.


    "Was he not your guard? Your means of travel?"


    Ciceroughed. "Oh, dear Sindra, do you not remember the stories I bought you when you were a child? A dragon would never allow one he does not respect to ride him. No, I shall arrange one of our spies to smuggle me out of this city when the time is right."


    "And I will apany you," said Meld. "My assignment is still to the North, after all. It would only be fitting."


    "Then shall we get moving?" said Cicero. "We are no dragon. By the time Gronn has crossed the northern border, we will barely be out of this city. Ah, how primitive southern transport is. And how taxing it is to my brittle back."


    Meld stood up and nodded to Li. "We will take our leave. Expect us on the road north in a few days when the armies have marched out of Riviera and the city has calmed. For the good of this realm, I wish you the best."


    "I will trust your judgement on getting north," said Li. "Good luck."


    ===========


    That left the guild council and Alexei around the meeting table.


    "I know Old Thane has already briefed you all on what I am nning on doing," said Li, and everyone nodded. That meant that they knew he was going West to fight, and that Old Thane was going toe with him.


    "Good," said Li. He scanned their faces. Specifically, the faces of Sindra, Ivo, and Ven''thur, for they were the ones that would stay. He wanted to see if they objected to his decision, and he could not read any such feeling.


    But he could see other emotions.


    "Sindra, you are worried," said Li.


    "No such thing," said Sindra, her tail curled downwards in anxious gesture. "But the sheer breadth of logistical issues that arises from your absence is staggering to consider. And in the event of your¡­permanent absence where you fall on the battlefield, well-,"


    "Papa never loses!" said Tia adamantly, angered even at the suggestion that Li could falter.


    "Well, there you have it," said Li. "You have seen my strength and felt it. There is nothing that can fell me, and so long as I know that there are lives that I must return to, I will never turn my back. Consider this a necessary absence, for should the threat West not be neutralized, it will only fester with time."


    "What do you have to worry for, little cat!" said Ven''thur with a chuckle. "You worry of the increased workload from the seer''s absence? And here I thought you were a studious one."


    "You know it is not that," said Sindra, sending out a piercing leer to Ven''thur''s smiling face.


    "But worry not on that end, dear Feli," said Ven''thur as he tipped his tophat. "For I, perhaps the most knowledgeable schr left upon this ursed continent-," He briefly turned to Alexei and tipped his hat, saying, "No offense to you, of course, you are a decent schr too," before returning to Sindra and finishing his sentence: "I will be aiding you all the way. I daresay I may very well take your ce as master of coin, too, if you are not careful."


    Sindra loosed a small sigh and shook her head. "I suppose your assistance is appreciated," she said, her tail raising in a slight curl ¨C a sign of friendliness.


    "If this chattering buffoon proves ipetent, do not shy away from my assistance," said Alexei. "You have a sound head upon your shoulders and an even sounder heart, master of coin. I would not want to see it weighed down by baggage." Alexei looked at Ven''thur pointedly.


    "Dear me, where have we gone wrong, my friend? My fellow schr?" said Ven''thur as he shook his head. "Perhaps a difference in our educational backgrounds? We must share a cup of tea to smooth out our differences."


    Alexei rubbed his nose tiredly, not particrly receiving of Ven''thur''s antics. "Yes, perhapster," he said, his voice lingering on the word ter'' quite distinctively.


    "And I''ve no objections," said Ivo to Li. "Only wish I were able to apany you, good seer. What I would give to relive my early adventuring days, fighting side by side with the feared Bloodfist once more."


    "I''ll be sure to bring back a demon''s skull for you, old friend," said Old Thane.


    "You never did grow out of your Bloodfist phase, no matter how much Aine heckled you," said Ivo as he shook his head with a smile. "Thane, I need no trophies. Especially those I have not earned myself. If you are to grant me a gift, then I ask that you only walk back here alive. That will do me more good while I am tending the fields and forests than any old skull."


    "You tend to far more than that," said Li. "Once the guild is allowed leave of the city walls tonight, you are no longer simply master of ceremonies, but the man upon whom I have invested the defense of this of all my people. Of all of Riviera.


    Commune with Ionater, and you will understand."


    Ivo nodded, and Li took this as a sign that everything was now in order.


    "Gather all the followers into the guild now," said Li. "I must inform them of my departure."

 Chapter 236 - Spy

    As the rest of the guild council went their separate ways to bring forth all the scattered followers back to the guild, Li stayed behind in the meeting room with Alexei. The vampire had his hands drawn together in thinking posture, his eyes narrowed in on Li, awaiting their topic of conversation that was fitting only to be spoken between the two of them.


    And Tia, of course.


    "Skinny man strong," said Tia from Li''sp as she eagerly looked at Alexei, no doubt being far more sensitive to thetent power hidden within the higher vampire. "Too strong to be here."


    "Strength is subjective, girl," said Alexei rather stiffly. It was very evident he was unused to dealing with children. "Look to your father, for example. His might inhabits an entirely different dimensionpared to mine own. But nevertheless, I am ttered by your expertly honed appraisal."


    Tia cocked her head up to Li, wanting him to exin Alexei''s words in simpler terms.


    "He means he thanks you for thinking he''s strong," said Li.


    "You wee," said Tia simply with a smile and nod. "We fightter?" she asked in the same pleading manner a child would ask for a bite of candy.


    "Hm." Alexei raised a brow. "Perhaps. If your father will allow it."


    "If there''s anyone I know who gets when to reign in their strength and pull their punches, it is you," said Li. He put a hand on Tia''s head. "But Tia, you will have to get much, much stronger to fight him."


    Tia crossed her arms in defiance, but she knew Li was right. "Soon! When papa travels, we fight many monsters. I eat them, and I grow strong. When Ie back, I fight skinny man."


    "The evolutionary properties of draconic blood and their relevant mutagens are truly exceptional organic marvels," said Alexei. "I do not doubt that with sustained exposure to the varied flesh of sufficiently powerful organisms, especially those encountered west where magic is richer, you will emerge quite advanced in physical development and quality of magical processing."


    "He means you''ll get very strong," said Li, knowing pre-emptively Tia would not understand anything Alexei said.


    Tia nodded her head in agreement, and Li began to unspool the thread of conversation he had wanted to share with Alexei. "Alexei,st I heard, you were monitoring the duchess, were you not?"


    "As much as I can," said Alexei. He drew a hand close to his chin, his alert eyes processing where Li was going with this. "But I cannot say it is monitoring in the strictest sense. I do not have eyes upon her at all times, especially now. What I have uncovered of her past, I have done so years ago. In recent times, getting close to her has be rather difficult."


    "And why is that?" asked Li, not usingly, but curiously, wanting to know as much as possible.


    "I am not the only higher vampire in thisnd, as I have stated," said Alexei. "There is another south. Or rather, what remains of him, for his figure has been transfixed into a tree, his essence leaking out in bloody sap, and those who imbibe it you are familiar with as blood legionnaires.


    Anothery east, near the capitol. She waged war against the duchess and was promptly crushed. As you know, much of her n of vampires has integrated into mine, but still, some remain there, causing caution to be intensely high against vampire-kind."


    "And that makes it difficult for you to put up any intensive surveince on that end of the duchy. Still, I am rather surprised that the higher vampire you mentioned was subdued so easily."


    "She underestimated the heroes," said Alexei. "Her n was specialized in shapeshifting. I am sure she believed she could simply outmaneuver flying brutes such as Sunstar. But she did not expect there to be a hero that could see through her abilities so thoroughly.


    The hero Monster, as it is known after its promotion to the Ascendant Order after defeating the vampire."


    "I see." Li leaned back in his chair a little, looking up in thought. "I intended on asking you to spy more thoroughly at the capitol and the duchess herself. There''s something more off about her than I had originally thought, though I cannot quite put my finger on it.


    But you heard what Meld said. This whole stalemate war on the northern border is a fabrication. A faux conflict meant to drum up a false sense of urgency to keep both popces under easy control. There must be something she is nning, something grander, something perhaps involving the elves, that would be good to know."


    "I agree entirely with your sentiments," said Alexei. "The duchess herself, I can keep an easy eye upon with kin ced through the ck Securities marching with her. But Et will be difficult to prate, for Monster still lies there.


    However, I too seek more answers now. I will send Valery, my most trusted associate, to the capitol. He will serve as my eyes."


    ???Will he not be found out by this Monster? If that hero can sniff out a higher vampire specialized in shifting, then how can he, lesser in strength,pete?"


    Alexei smiled. "Valery is uniquely suited to this, for he, too, is a hero."


    "Excuse me?" asked Li.


    "Half-hero, I suppose, now that he has been turned," said Alexei. "But regardless, his mutation makes him apt at espionage under these circumstances. He possesses the capability to invade the mind of another and entirely control them. I need only provide him with a usable human body and the adequately forged credentials for him to evade all detection."


    "You seem to believe in him fully, and I will choose to ept your judgement," said Li. "Ensure that he also investigates the dungeons in the capitol as well. All corners of the capitol where the duchess may be hiding things that show her intentions for the future."


    "Of course," said Alexei with a bow. He stood up, knowing by Li''s tone of voice that the conversation was nearing its end.


    Li also stood, picking Tia up and hugging her close to him with his arm. She giggled in delight, waddling her feet as she floated in the air.


    "I will be gone some time. I wanted to express my gratitude," said Li. "I understand we began off rocky ground, but I will say now that of all in this world I have met, you have been of the most helpful, understanding, and loyal. You have my thorough thanks, Alexei, and I hope that by now, you are not only helping me out of a sense of obligation."


    "Certainly not," said Alexei. "The bowing, the signs of deference ¨C those are all simply formalities. I choose to aid you for I believe you are instrumental in bringing order to this chaotic world, and the more I see of you, the more I am inclined to believe so.


    I eagerly await news of your exploits to the West, my friend, and I wish you nothing but the best of luck, if even you need such a trivial thing."


    Li nodded, and Alexei smiled. The vampire disappeared then, breaking apart into a sh of misty shadow that seeped out the nearest window.

 Chapter 237 - Understanding

    It did not take long to gather the farmers. Sindra had made sure they could all be easily contacted, having tallied and kept track of every individual room in every unique inn where the followers were distributed.


    With the farmer''s guild now possessing formidable clout, it was also possible to rent out whole inns, meaning it was just a matter of sending fast messengers out to the relevant inns and resting ces to get everyone back.


    Now, as Li stood at his podium in the audience hall of the guild, he took a moment to think and to appreciate.


    Appreciate the sea of faces before him. Some human. Some beastwoman. Some young. Some old. A breadth of diversity that likely had not been seen throughout Soleil for many decades, especially in light of the duchess''s human favored rule.


    But what did unite these varied faces was a sense of tire. Many of the faces were sleep stolen from them by the looming threat of war that had settled heavy atop the city like an iron weight.


    Li did not want to be the one to tell them he, the most radiant beacon of their hope, was leaving them, but ultimately, it was because he was the center of their hopes that he had the responsibility to tell them.


    "Let me begin by saying that I hope that your stay in the inns these past few days have beenfortable." Li leaned into the podium, letting his voice permeate through a projective voice crystal resting atop a silver-wrought perch fashioned in the shape of a branch. A custom order from Alexei.


    "Slept like babes, aye!" shouted an older farmer. "Better thanying on rough hay, I''ll say."


    A general murmur of agreement spread throughout the followers.


    "Good, good," said Li. "You can thank Sindra and Ven''thur for thatter, but I will tell you now that you will no longer be sleeping in inns. I havee to an agreement with the authorities of this city and the duchess of thend.


    When the five armies stationed in Riviera mobilize out at sunset, Riviera''s gates will open. All of you will be able to return to your fields and farmhouses. The beastwomen who have made their homes in the forests will know thefort of the wilds again as well."


    Li saw that the murmur that spread throughout the followers this time was more tentative. A few happy faces, a few worried at the prospect of leaving Riviera''s walls ¨C walls that were mythologized for their sturdiness and strength.


    "Fear not for your safety," said Li. "For Iona, the guardian spirit whom you draw many blessings from, will receive far more strength to guarantee your lives. She will moderate the forest, ensuring that order and bnce bloom, and she along with Ivo will have ess to a cure to the demonrot. A cure that I specifically devised with all my divine might.


    The Justicars whom you have seen standing tall as still sentinels will no longer be still. They will be animated, and I tell you now that the stone golems you see lying watch over the walls of Riviera are no match for them."


    Li paused for a brief second, letting the followers find relief in his words to lessen the blow of announcing his departure.


    "All this, Iy before you in preparation of my departure."


    This time, loud conversation immediately broke out as his followers immediately protested, raising their voices and hands to try and talk to Li while drowning each other out.


    Ven''thur stirred in his seat behind Li, likely considering calming the crowd, but Li held up a hand to stop him.


    "I do not want to leave you," said Li. His voice projected with far more intensity than before. Not an aggressive intensity, but a personal one, his Allspeak letting his words sink deep into each and every worried soul in this room.


    His words carried strength, and with that strength, a promise of safety, and that feeling, he imparted into all the anxious hearts before him. That quietened the followers, and he continued.


    "But many of you are old enough to remember the horrors that the demons can bring. Leaving the demons to be will only stack up more and more misery. Misery that may not be yours at first, but eventually, those hordes will reach Riviera.


    I intend to halt the invasion before that can even happen. To ensure that none of you ever face the wrath of the demons again, I will face all the danger, the horrors, and the struggles of battle. For you. So that you may live your lives in your fields and forests free from worry and harm."


    Many of the eyes in the room cast downwards, ashamed that they were leaving Li to go to war by himself, knowing that they were too afraid and weak to muster up the will to fight themselves. Li did not begrudge any of them for it. Many of them were farmers who had seen firsthand the horrors of invasion, had lost loved ones and fields and limbs and all manner of things precious and close to their hearts.


    It meant they were human. No, mortal. They feared death, and that was natural, and whatever was natural, Li understood.


    At the same time, he could also spy eyes that were alight with fire, ready to raise arms and go with Li. He had thought much about it, whether to bring some of his followers to fight, but in the end, he had decided against it.


    "I am not shaming you, nor am I telling you to raise arms and march west. I will leave tomorrow with Old Thane and my household, and no more lives shall I risk with me. Do not see my absence as misfortune, for it is far from that.


    What I am doing is giving you all of my trust. In my absence, the Winterwoods and the fields of life that we have all worked to cultivate will be at risk. I entrust that duty, the duty to preserve order and life, among all of you, young or old, human or non-human.


    These fields are your life, and I will not tear you from them. But what I will do is ask that you tend to your homes. Defend them when you must. In return, just as I am cing my trust in you, I ask that you ce your trust in me. In my decision and the order I promise."


    Li saw that the followers had grown silent, mellowed by words that touched the very fabric of their soul. He nodded and took a step back from the podium. "Prepare yourselves. Ready your belongings. Take to your ancestral homes. Cherish the trust I bestow upon you."


    ==========


    Li sat around the heart of his shrine with Ivo. Iona hovered in front of them, and threads of green, luminescent energy flowed from Li to each of them. Tia sat on a bed of leaves a little distance away, looking at the whole ritual wonderingly.


    It was nightfall now, and Riviera was visible in the far distance, its great walls and sentry towers brightly lit with firelights and the glow of magical staffs.


    The city had grown much quieter now that the five armies had left, leaving behind only native Rivieran knights and the blood legionnaires under Launcelot. The followers had spread out across the city walls, returning to their fields and homes as Li bid.


    They moved with renewed confidence, their souls touched by Li''s words, but he did wonder how long that effect wouldst upon them with his absence.


    "I believe I havemitted the spell to mine heart," said Ivo. He was cross-legged in meditative position, his scarred and calloused, dirt-stained hands at his knees. His eyes were alight with green energy, and his breathing was shallow as he tried to circte the vast amount of magical energy running through him.


    "Good," said Li. He noted the old priest''s struggle. "Are you sure you can handle it?"


    "So long as I attuned with the Root, it will not be too much of a burden," said Ivo. "It reminds me of when Morrigan taught me a spell to bind myself to the lives and fates of all her followers."


    "The burden you face now should be far less than that," said Li. "So long as you have conduits to channel and manage it from. Here, Iona will ease your burden. Away from the Winterwoods, I have erected a totem at my cottage that you can utilize as well to channel the spell.


    Of course, this is in the slightest chance that the demonrot somehow ever does make its way here. Which I do doubt, considering I will be battling the demons in their home."


    "Aye, but it is always better to be prepared," nodded Ivo.


    "A wise sentiment," said Iona. "And do not be worried if the spell is difficult to grasp for now. I can teach you to better handle it over time."


    Ivo bowed his head. "Much thanks."


    Li looked westward, thinking.


    "Does the battle worry you, good seer?" asked Ivo.


    "No, not that," said Li. "I am just wondering of the future. You know, Ivo, I intend to spare the demons."


    Ivo''s jaw set as he looked down, his expression hardened. He must have had countless memories of war and loss regarding the demons.


    "You know my vision," said Li. "A world without senseless bloodshed. A world where ecosystems can stay in bnce and where all life can respect each other. Not a world without death, of course, for that too is part of the Cycle, but I wish to see a world where petty conflicts do not upturn the order of the world.


    In that world, the demons y a part also, for they too tread upon the dirt."


    "This may be the first I disagree with you, good seer," said Ivo. "But I believe that vision far too idealistic. Demons are beings of chaos. They exist to devour mortals, and they revel in our suffering. That is their fundamental nature."


    "Where there is light, there must be darkness," said Li. "And the demons are not as one-dimensional as you would like to believe. I believe there is room for them to harmonize with the rest of life. These invasions the demons drum up will end, for they topple the nature of bnce in this world. But their existence, I will preserve."


    Ivo frowned. "And in preserving them, they must reach out and consume mortal life. It is part of their inherent desire. How will it be when they devour one of our own? Forgive me for questioning, good seer, -,"


    "No, it is good to question. I brought this topic up because I want you to question me. To make me think." Li grew silent as he continued to stare at the westward distance. "I do not intend on having the demons integrate amongmon mortal lives. Butnd that is theirs shall still be theirs.


    As for the matter of consumption, it is my hope that in times toe, both demons and mortals may reach a mutual understanding and respect that prevents it."


    "Respect?" Ivo furrowed his brows before his expression eased up. "I cannot begin to understand how that will be achieved, but if it can be, it will be under you. That, at the least, I can believe."


    "As I said to the rest of the followers, have trust in me," said Li. "But for now, I am afraid we must halt our conversation for there are a few intruders approaching us."

 Chapter 238 - Worth

    Ivo immediately roused himself to action, standing with a lighting quick speed that belied his advanced years. His hands were stuck out in front of him in warding gesture, the fingertips outlined in glowing green.


    Tia sensed the energy and leaped up from her bed of leaves, smiling as she eagerly expected a fight.


    Iona remained calm, in tune with Li, and because she was connected with him, she knew there was nothing to worry about.


    "Stay your hand, Ivo," said Li. His senses had picked up the footsteps approaching. They were not much to be rmed about. "This will be nothing that requires our strength." He raised his voice. "Come on out! And exin yourselves."


    The bushes around the clearing of the shrine rustled, and several somewhat familiar faces popped out. First, there were a trio of beastwomen. All three of them, Li had seen before. The Serpi that he had initially rescued was there, holding a tablet of solidified sand under her thin arm as she slithered forwards rather nervously.


    Behind her came the Feli that Li had rescued and a Lupi that had been the biggest of them all in the Sumerfell festival, routing all wrestling challengers aside from Jeanne. They had a more confident gait to them, striding forwards with purpose.


    "And the other two?" said Li.


    Finally, another rustle, and another series of faces. New faces, though certainly, Li had seen them before. They were two men from the farmingmunity. Of the newer generation, perhaps among the youngest. They were in theirte teenage years when the creases of hardbor had yet to imprint themselves on their hands and on their faces, though, on closer observation, their faces did serve as home to plenty of small scars here and there.


    They looked quite simr to each other. Simr height, simr athletic build, and the same shade of light brown hair and dark green eyes. Brothers.


    "Mason? Mercer?" said Ivo. "Gods, what are you two young fools doing here. Get back to your fields as the Seer hasmanded."


    "Back to Belmont? That old grump? There is not a hell that can drive us back there," said the taller of the two brothers. "Besides, the grump''s got five other orphans to be apprenticing. He won''t miss us."


    "I daresay we are doing him a favor getting us off his hands," said the younger with a cheery smile.


    "I remember you two," said Li as he traveled through his stored memories of meeting his followers, observing their daily routines, and getting status updates from them through Old Thane and Ivo over the past few months. "Mason and Mercer. The troublemakers. Were you not the ones that stole a cask of wine from a merchant who had stationed his carriage by the guild?"


    "Goods that are not easily guarded may as well be advertised to the whole wide world, and we are opportunists," said the younger.


    The older elbowed him and said in a hushed whisper. "You''re talking to the seer, you know. THE seer."


    "You rascals have no idea what that little episode cost us. Ven''thur sought to establish good rtions with that merchant, and he left that meeting believing us grimy, dirt-working thieves," sighed Ivo.


    "Ah yes, what trouble that did cost us," said Li as he reminisced, though he found it more amusing than annoying, for in the end, he fully knew Ven''thur was more than capable of turning the merchants to the guild''s side given time regardless of minor setbacks like that.


    Li noticed that the brothers had grown quiet, standing still and pale as they awaited some form of divine scolding from Li.


    "At ease, farmers. Or thieves, I suppose," he said amusedly. "The past is written. What I am curious about now is why you stand before me now." He nodded to the beastwomen as well. "And you three also."


    The Serpi was quick to speak. "Mine purpose is to record. When it is that the tides of history swell, ready to crash in momentous surge, it is the writ of sand that meeteth its furor. Thus, I stand before you in proposition. I shall follow you and record thine deeds as is customary for mine people and for the prosperity of the future."


    The blonde maned Feli spoke. "We know you told us to stay. But we cannot. We are fighters. But we respect your words. So, we choose one among us to go. That is me."


    "That is me also," said the massive Lupi beastwoman, puffing up her brawny chest in pride that she was the one to represent the entirety of her pack.


    "I see. That is reasonable," said Li, nodding to the beastwomen. He turned to the two brothers. "And you two? What is your case? Are you the premium warriors of our guild?"


    "Well, er," said the older as he fidgeted in his boots.


    It was evident to Li that both men wanted to follow the expedition west. They were weighed down by sizable packs full of supplies, and they were armed to boot, daggers and swords at their sides.


    "This foolery must end," said Ivo. "Mason, take your little brother back to Belmont''s field, and stay there. I will tell him not to punish you two."


    "Foolery?" protested Mercer, his spirit much stronger than his older brother''s. "We have just as much right to defend our seer and ourmunity as they do!"


    Mercer pointed to the beastwomen.


    "Prove it then," said Ivo. "Face either of them inbat. Then tell me if you are worthy."


    The brothers looked at the Feli. She smiled at them, razor sharp teeth bared and de like ws extended form her fingers. The Lupi loosed a low, non-threatening growl, a sound meant to assess, not to threaten, but considering one of her arms was about as thick as one of the brother''s torsos, any growl sounded like a threat.


    "You see? You recognize you are unworthy." Ivo put a hand to his forehead. "It is drawingte. Belmont will worry. Go."


    "That is simply not fair," said Mercer. "Of course, we do not have the strength of beastmen. But we have our wit. Need I tell you how many times we have escaped the clutches of Rivieran knight patrol?"


    "Boy, I may have been no more conscious than a vegetable for the past thirty years, but even back then, the knights of Riviera paid about as much attention to petty street thieves as they did to rats in the gutters," said Ivo.


    "Times have changed, old man," continued Mercer. "I can''t even begin to tell you of how fierce some of those metalheads can get. And we have gone through adventurer''s training. We can hold our own."


    "Really now?" said Li. He analyzed the two of them, finding their levels to be twenty-two. They were ssed as warriors with high investment in the agility stat. But their levels were far lower than that of the average adventurer, and they did not possess nearly the same number of skills and spells that an average warrior of their level should have had.


    "We finished half of our training," said Mason. "We, er, decided the adventurer''s life did not suit us."


    "No," said Ivo. "I''ve heard enough from Belmont. You lot were expelled."


    "Goodness, it is not expulsion when we fought in the name of justice," said Mercer.


    "On that end, I agree with my brother," said Mason. "We saw a noble boy sic his guards on a street rat. One just like us, training in the guild to be something more. Left the boy so bloodied and broken he could never hope to finish the curriculum. So, we snuck up on the plumped up and sorry excuse of a man and left him sorry for something for once in his life."


    "Alright," said Li, and the two brothers stared hopefully at him with lit up eyes.


    "I can tell you two have no real passion for farming," said Li. "Or for the priesthood, for that matter. You are in thismunity because Belmont takes in orphans and tries to give them something to strive for. Very evidently, working fields is something you two truly do not wish to pursue."


    "No, no," said Mason hurriedly, evidently not wishing to displease Li. "We like the fields. The ploughing and seeding. Picking weeds. You know-," He nudged his younger brother.


    "Yes, and cleaning the stables, too," added Mercer.


    "No need to lie to me," said Li. "I understand that the lifestyles under my guild are not suitable for everyone. And I am sure men like Ivo and Thane went off when they were young and unprepared for battle as well. I may consider letting you twoe." He raised a finger. "However, you will have to prove yourself to me through one trial."


    "Anything, good seer," said Mason with a bow of his head. He smacked the back of Mercer''s head to get his younger brother to do the same.


    "Tia," said Li.


    "Yes, papa," said Tia as she scampered up to Li, leaping into his arms.


    "You have not fought in a while, have you not?"


    Tia shook her head vigorously.


    "Then how about sparring with those two?" said Li.


    Tia looked at the two brothers for one second before frowning. "Too weak. Too boring."


    "Will you do it for papa? One little favor?" said Li.


    "For papa, okay," nodded Tia.


    Li knelt down and let Tia stand on the forest floor. "So, how about it?" said Li. "Fight her, and prove yourselves."


    The brothers looked at each other uneasily. "Are you¡­certain?" said Mason.


    "She is such a small child," said Mercer.


    "Small, but not weak!" pouted Tia.


    "Go ahead and try," said Li. "If you cannot beat a child, then I cannot send you two to waste away your lives."

 Chapter 239 - Star Shaped

    "Well, if that is what you wish, O seer," said Mercer as he started to jump lightly up and down, getting the blood flowing.


    Mason stood beside his younger brother and began to unsp his scabbard from his belt.


    "What are you doing?" said Li. "Use your weapons. Elsewise I will hear excuses about not being able to use your full strength."


    "But-," said Mason as he looked down at Tia, the dragonling barely even reaching past his knees.


    "Just do it," said Li. "Or you''ll make her even more annoyed than she is."


    "That''s right," said Tia as she crossed her arms, haughty expression on her face as she leered at the two brothers.


    "She''s a dragon, brother," said Mercer as he unsheathed his choice of weaponry: two daggers. Basic steel daggers and quite old, it seemed, with how worn and discolored with sweat the leather handles were. "And trained under the guiding hand of the divine seer no less."


    "You are right," said Mason as he unsheathed his longsword, grasping it in both hands. He took a battle stance, his feet evenly apart and his posture slightly lowered to match Tia''s height.


    They had good builds, to be sure. Lean and athletic, more oriented towards moving quickly than overpowering things with brute force. No doubt a product of their environments ¨C it did not do well for street rats making a living by sneaking and slinking to be lumbering hunks of muscle. Exined their rtively high agility stats too.


    "Papa, can I go all out?" asked Tia as she fidgeted, eager to show off her strength. Her eyes of green and ck were afire with mystic light, and the nubs of her wings were beginning to poke through the back of her long tunic.


    "Stay in your current form, Tia," said Li. "You will have plenty of opportunity to loose your strengthter, when we start our journey."


    It would not do for Tia to suddenly transform into a massive dragonling, despite how much she wanted to show off her strength. It would spook the brothers far too much, and he wanted to teach them a lesson.


    A lesson that he did not intend to be harmful to them physically.


    Well, that was his intention. He had little idea how much Tia herself would or could hold back. But Li could always heal any dismembered limbs or shattered bones, so there was that.


    "Okay, papa," said Tia with a little sigh. The light around her eyes dimmed, and her wings sunk back into her form. She smiled at the brothers and held out her arms as if hugging the open air. "So, when we start fight?"


    The brothers looked at Li, and he shrugged. "Whenever you two want."


    Mason looked to Tia with extreme caution, sensing that something was definitely off here. It was evident that the boy was caught in an indecision where he wanted to take a step forward but felt it wrong to do so against a child while also feeling from gut instinct that if he did, he would be severely hurt.


    Very conflicting feelings, those, so it was understandable why he just stood there.


    Mercer, on the other hand-


    "Victoryes to those who seize initiative!" he shouted, dashing forwards with low posture as he twirled his daggers mid-air, repositioning them so that their des faced downwards.


    Halfway to Tia, Mercer''s form disappeared as if swallowed by a sudden burst of shadow. He emerged directly behind Tia, daggers ready to strike. Looks like he had used a skill called [Shadowstep] to close some distance while entering temporary stealth.


    A basic Assassin skill, perhaps one of the first ones learned.


    Tia''s lengthy ears twitched, and she cocked her head curiously. Her tailshed out from behind her like a prehensile whip, crashing into Mercer''s chest with an audible impact. The boy hurtled backwards, flipping twice or thrice before hended t on his back, eyes wide open and coughing from having the air knocked out his lungs.


    "Wow!" said Tia as she turned to Mercer. She pranced up to him, standing over him with her hands behind her back, and gave him a beaming smile. "You disappear! Like sister Sylvie!"


    Her smile faded into an almost worried look. "But¡­ you are slow. Too slow. Not healthy, maybe?"


    "Good distraction, brother!" shouted Mason as he charged forwards, finally putting his indecision to rest. His longsword was held at waist-level, ready to swipe at Tia or cut downwards.


    Li did have to give it to the brothers. Their teamwork was actually quite good. Even now, as Tia distracted herself looking at Mason charging at her, Mercer had used an Assassin skill called [Saving Throw] that healed up a portion of the damage taken from a recent blow and granted a burst of speed, and he used it to take a silent step back, fading into stealth again.


    Mason''s seemingly idiotic decision to shout out and dere his surprise attack was, in fact, a secondary diversion for Mercer to inflict another, more damaging strike with another Assassin ss skill, most likely.


    Tia grabbed Mason''s de in her hands.


    Dark green scales emerged around her usually pale hands, shielding her from the blow and more. The hardness of the scales was such that the de actually chipped and cracked from striking them, and Mason set his jaw as he no doubt felt a jarring impact riding up his arm and through his body like he had swung full force at a brick wall without bracing himself.


    Tia inspected the de in her hands with a light tilt of her head. "Metal stick, but too soft." She looked up at Mason in concern. "How do you use this? Too weak to use. Sister Jeanne says using weak stick not safe. Look!"


    She opened her mouth wide, rows of serrated and ded teeth visible, and chomped down on the metal. With a quick tearing motion, shepletely ripped apart a full half of the longsword, the flexibly forged metal warped like putty as it jutted from her jaw.


    "See-," said Tia as she started to chew. The length of the sword quickly disappeared into her hungry jaws. "Ish bery weak."


    "Tia! You don''t know where that thing''s been," said Li. "Come now, spit it out."


    Tia nodded and spat out a crumpled ball of metal the size of a marble ¨C all that remained of the longsword. "Not very tasty anyway."


    She looked to Li with a slight frown. "Papa, this is boring."


    Mason took several steps back, looking from his destroyed de to Tia, blinking, as if trying to process what was happening. But Mercer was not daunted. He materialized from above Tia, his daggers bared and wreathed in grey streaks, empowered by [Sinister Strike] which granted an agility modifier to his next attack, doubling the modifier''s damage if struck with stealth.


    Tia''s ears twitched, and as she looked up her eyes widened in surprise. She had deemed Mercer so weak that when he disappeared, she literally forgot about his existence. She opened her mouth instinctively, the surprise numbing her rational thinking to hold back, and a bright patch of light started to glow from her throat.


    Li knew this would end up horribly, so he kicked in his superhuman senses and speed. He waved his hand, causing roots to burst from around Tia and grab Mercer before tossing him rather unceremoniously away. Better a few bruises from a hardnding thanplete disintegration that not even conventional resurrection could deal with.


    The air around the shrine almost seemed to thin, and every conventional living being felt their breathing stop for a single moment as a colossal amount of magical energy suddenly poured out from Tia using her draconic breath.


    Then, everything turned bright white as a pir of me cascaded out from Tia. The me seemed to be infused with both shadow and light, as if twin serpents of darkness and light had intertwined in a coiled dance of raging fire. The pir soared up higher and higher, far past the treeline until it seemed to nearly touch the clouds before erupting into a star-shaped explosion, one half light, the other half dark.


    The draconic breath quickly faded away following the explosion, leaving night to spread its shadows over the shrine again, and Tia quickly covered her mouth with her hands and turned to Li with sorry eyes.


    "Sorry, papa," she said. "I know you don''t like me using breath. But was surprised."


    Li walked up to Tia and scooped her up in his arms. "It''s okay, Tia. You were just surprised, that''s all. Papa won''t scold you over small mistakes like that."


    "Thanks, papa," said Tia as she hugged Li. "For understanding."


    "By all that is right and green," said Ivo as he stared upwards at where the explosion had been. It urred to Li that the priest had never before seen Tia use anything remotely close to her full power, and, curiously, her draconic breath was several levels even above what she was supposed to be able to output. "Whatever demon faces that will be but ash."


    All the beastwomen, too, stared at the remnants of the explosion in awe. Only Iona was unimpressed, her attention instead spent on gently motioning with her hands, healing the canopy leaves on trees around the shrine''s edge that had been close enough to burn away from the breath.


    Tia yawned loudly, nestling her chin on Li''s shoulder. She was tired out from using her breath, though she was far better at handling its energy expenditure than before.


    Li turned to the two brothers and found them both lying t on the ground, hands on their heads like they were readying themselves to survive an earthquake.

 Chapter 240 - Caged Birds

    "Get up, you two," said Li, and the two brothers obliged, shakily getting themselves up.


    "Are we¡­are we alive?" asked Mason. Mercer nodded in support of the question as he went to Mason''s side.


    "Yes, you two are alive. Although you-," said Li, pointing to Mercer. "Barely. Were I to have been half a secondte in saving you, you would not have the luxury of rubbing your bruises. You would be a pile of dust, perhaps even less than that."


    The two brothers gave slow, lingering nods, dazed and utterly terrified at the same time. Mason''s longsword, or what remained of it,y loose in his hands, and Mercer had long since dropped his daggers.


    "Now then, witnessing this, do you two truly believe you are worthy of leaving?" said Li.


    Mercer rebounded from his near-death experience surprisingly quickly when he heard Li''s words, the fiery spirit inside of him refusing to be snuffed out. "Curses to the dark, were we to have paid attention during that dragon hunting lesson-."


    Mason elbowed Mercer a little harder than usual, and at a spot on the younger man''s side which was still tender and sore from a hard impact with the dirt.


    Mercer winced and said, "What was that for, brother?"


    Mason shook his head and sighed. "Forget it, Mercer. No more excuses. The head priest is right. So is the seer. We are far too weak to be waving our des about like we mean something."


    Mercer looked down, unable to muster up any more defiance knowing that his brother did not back him. It truly did seem that the two were inseparable, making or breaking each other.


    "But, good Seer," said Mason as he looked up to bravely meet Li''s gaze. "We cannot go back. We are weak, it is true, but that does not matter to us. The life back in the city, where nothing happens, where there is only the fields, I, well, I am terribly sorry to be telling you of all this, but I nor my brother cannot go back to it"


    "Cannot?" said Li. "Or do you not want to?"


    Mason nodded. "You are right, Seer. We do not want to. It is¡­not our life. To be sure, we are infinitely grateful for all that themunity has done for us. And though it is hard for me to admit it, too hard for Mercer to even voice it, likely, we are all too thankful that old Belmont had enough kindness in his rocky heart to take street rats like us, rats that had been behind bars several times, to see if he could turn us into productive men tilling the fields."


    Mason let go of his longsword and took in a breath. "But that is not the life we can devote ourselves to. I am not saying it is not noble, it is beautiful, yes, but it is not the beauty we seek. Perhaps it is a problem in our nature, something that stops us from living a life of peace and boundaries as many normal men do, but we cannot."


    Mason knelt down and bowed. Bowed low, his head touching the grass in supplication before Li, and Mercer quickly followed.


    "So please, Seer," said Mason. "Let us travel West. We need not tag along with you. We''ve supplies to hold our own. You need not even spare a thought about us once we are out of your sight."


    "You fools," said Ivo. "Ungrateful fools, too, blinded by youth." The older man loosed a weary sigh. "Know the value of your lives. Head back to the fields. When this war is over, then you can consider a more exciting life."


    "We are prepared to part with our lives heading West," said Mason. "And we are not simply madly chasing excitement, though that may be part of it. At our hearts, we simply cannot live with ourselves if we had stayed behind walls and forest without fighting."


    "Stand up, you two," said Li.


    The two brothers slowly rose up.


    "Take your supplies and go back to Belmont''s farmhouse," said Li, and the two brothers nodded slowly, their dreams crushed. "And exin to Belmont why you are leaving. Thank him for what he has done for you. Promise to repay him. Then, at noon tomorrow, you may join me in leaving the city walls."


    "Truly, good Seer?" said the two of them in unison.


    "Truly," said Li. "Now leave us."


    "We cannot thank you enough, good seer," said Mason.


    "We shall be sure to spread your good name throughout all the newnds and peoples we stumble upon!" said Mercer.


    "Yes, yes, just stay alive as best as you can," said Li as he waved them away, and they scampered off, taking their big packs of supplies with them with renewed energy as they rushed back to the fields.


    "You three," said Li to the beastwomen. "Are free toe with me." He noticed the massive Lupi eyeing Tia quite warily. "Without needing to fight Tia," specified Li, and the Lupi nodded. "Your people are inherently fighters. Imend that they respected my wishes enough to send only one champion, and I will not oppose thatpromise."


    "But the two boys," said Ivo as he drew his brows together in concern. "Was it truly a wise idea to give them leave?"


    "Now that I have met them personally, I can get a sense of it. They do not belong here, it is true," said Li. "They do not have the disposition to be farmers. Nor can they be priests. Or hunters. They are adventurers at heart. I do not like the sight of caged birds. I will not force the lifestyles of my faith and following upon others unlike what I have seen of...other faiths.


    Even the beastwomen remaining, I gave them all a chance to return home. Those that stayed do so of their own volition." Li turned to the beastwomen trio."And if ever a situation arises where one of you believes this new life of yours is unsatisfactory, then I will not stop you from leaving. It is your life. Your will."


    The beastwomen nodded in unison.


    "Those two boys are no adventurers. They will be devoured alive and whole out there. Hells, wild beasts in the Hintends may ughter them before any demon gets a hint of their scent," said Ivo.


    "Then that is the consequence of their choice," said Li. "The garden I wish to raise will be a sanctuary to all. A safe haven. But upon leaving it, I cannot offer the same protection as I would to those within. And, Ivo, those two, they have made their peace. They leave knowing they risk death, and still, they do so with great heart.


    Of course, that is not to say I will let their carcasses scatter to the wind. I will protect them, but only to an extent. When timees, they will be on their own, and I tell you now they would not have had it any other way.


    They seek to forge their own path and face dangers with their own two hands."


    "Many times, it is hard to remember the higher thinking of a divinity lies within you," said Ivo. He bowed his head. "I understand your decision, good seer. I only ask that you may grant them some means to lessen their burdens a little when they travel on their own."


    "I will honor that request." Li motioned to the beastwomen, catching their attention. "You three should head back too for now. I am not leaving yet. As I said to the humans, meet me at the guild at noon. We will leave then."


    The beastwomen acknowledged Li''s words before they left, slipping away into the forest with the silent grace befitting their bestial agility, though the Serpi was noticeably slower and less discreet about her movements, quite unused even after months of living here to moving through foresnd.


    When they were gone, Li walked next to Ivo and a put a hand on the old man''s shoulder.


    "Ivo, this will be farewell. You know what to do, and if ever there are questions, you have my root to consult. I have to thank you for all that you have done for me until now, and I hope you will keep up this excellent work into the future," said Li.


    "You speak as if you are a warrior heading to yourst battle when you are to return soon," said Ivo with a chuckle. He gave Li an appreciative and short nod. "I will strive to lead our followers to the best of my limited ability. If fate wills it, the whole ce will be even better off than when you left it."


    "I expect only the best from you," said Li with a smile. He let go of the priest''s shoulder and pointed back to the fields. "I have yet something to speak of with Iona. Take your leave, Ivo, and if ever you encounter difficulty that is too much for you, know that you alone among all the followers have a connection deep enough with me to contact me through prayer."


    "I''ll not be pestering you for aid, if that is what you worry for," joked Ivo as he bowed his head. "Best of luck, good seer. I look forward with much curiosity and even more hope as to how you will bring peace to this war."


    Ivo left, taking brisk and long steps out, not looking back, for he was a man of the future and the present, always nning and always readying himself for the sake of his people.


    "You have something for me, do you not?" said Iona as she floated near Li.


    "I do," said Li. "Something quite important, actually."

 Chapter 241 - World Seed

    "Our wills are linked, but they are not truly one," said Iona with a sly smile. "So, I cannot read your mind, no matter how much I so desire. I await in anticipation of what you shall bestow upon me."


    "First of all, I have to give you a proper farewell. I do not know how long I will be away, though I sincerely doubt it will be too long."


    "We are never apart, Great One," said Iona. "Though your physical form may wander, here-," She touched a hand to her heart. "We are always connected. A farewell is quite redundant in that regards."


    "Yes, but proper farewells never hurt. I would have given you one before you were my Root, so I do not see why that should change now," said Li.


    "The sapling priest is right, too," said Iona. "Your absence is temporary. No need for dramatic goodbyes, especially when we ponder the vast breadth of time we shall upy as spirit and divinity."


    "I suppose you are right, and I can see your difficulty to ept basic kindness is starting to show again. And sapling?" said Li amusedly."I''m sure Ivo would be quite peeved at having his many decades of experience and collected wisdom reduced to the moniker of ''sapling''".


    "To mine eyes, he seems a sapling. All mortals do," said Iona. "Which is why it is so rewarding to see them learn and grow under my tutge."


    "I was not able to rte to that feeling before, but now," said Li. He looked to eastwards, to the fields, where even now, he could feel the lives of his followers beat and flow and flux as they struggled andughed and worked. "I can understand that sentiment, if even a little."


    "More than you think," said Iona. "The amount of divine strength you are bearing now is worthy of praise. In a year''s time, I am certain you will be able to shoulder the full burden of your true nature with ease."


    "A year?" Li knew that sounded like a long time, and before he came to this world, he would have felt it long too. But now, when he heard time broken down into years, he felt it all too tiny a measure. A little droplet in the expanse of infinity he would upy.


    A few times, when he sat down to meditate, his mind sometimes wandered, thinking, reflecting, and when it touched upon the topic of immortality and what it meant and its inevitable losses, he felt twinges of loneliness.


    Twinges that he smoothed over by knowing that he would always have a greater duty to work towards.


    "I suppose that is quick, all things considered. In any case, here is my true gift," said Li.


    Li put a hand into his pocket, closing his eyes as he felt his hand sink into the void of his treasured seed pouch. He mentally envisioned the garden he once nted, the precious seeds he had spent hundreds upon hundreds of hours toiling towards with so many friends.


    For quite a while, he had been nning to use this seed. It symbolized so much. Where the Everfortune Blossom signified a new beginning, this one symbolized the highest of heights. The greatest aplishment of his guild and of his own personal gaming career.


    In his reflections, he had deemed this seed the one to nt many years down, after many of his mortal connections had frayed with age, and when he would transition his faith into something greater. Something global.


    But, as it stood, beyond all the sentimental values attached to it, that seed was also the strongest defensive tool that Li had in his entire arsenal. Beyond any spell he had, Ultima-rank or not, and he would not hold back on using it to protect what he had made for himself now.


    He would take this precaution without a shred of hesitation. He knew the chance was infinitesimally low, but in the incredibly rare case that, in his absence, his followers were attacked by something that exceeded the power that even Iona or the twelve Justicars could muster ¨C and there were beings or objects in this world capable of that -, they needed something to protect them.


    Something that could protect them absolutely. Without question or cause for concern. Regardless of whether they fought an Armageddon inducing salvo of weaponry or a corrupted god wielding unimaginable power.


    "Here," said Li as he withdrew his pale hand from his pocket.


    At the center of his palm, a glowing, iridescent bright light shone,pletely burning away the dark of night in its green-tinged radiance. The culprit of the shimmering, ever wavering glow was a surprisingly mundane looking seed.


    It looked like an elongated oval of xen, light green material, and it only spanned the size of Li''s palm. Between each individual nt fiber, however, there seemed to be little crystalline growths, and looking deep into them, in each little twinkling diadem, one would be able to see sights of monumental vastness ¨C crashing waves atop oceans, canyons spanning unimaginable distances, forests dominating the horizon, and the like.


    Iona froze, and her lip trembled as she beheld the seed. She looked at Li, her eyes glowing with bright fire that signaled amazement. She seemed hesitant to even look at the seed, let alone reach out and touch it.


    "This¡­this is¡­" Iona could not finish her sentence, absorbed as she was in the sheer gravity of the seed''s presence, but Li could tell from their shared connection that she recognized what it was. He could not say he was surprised.


    "Yes," said Li. "I am entrusting the [Seed of Yggdrasil] to you. Keep it with you, keep it close to you. If ever in my absence you feel this forest or my followers facing something that can threaten their entire existence, then nt this, and do not let any know of its existence otherwise."


    "To nt such a seed, why, I do not know," said Iona. "I do not know how the World itself will change. I am not worthy of deciding such a change."


    "But I am, and I know it will change for the better," said Li. "And, at the very least, the lives under us will be safe, no matter what. I am willing to risk any measure of change for that."


    The [Seed of Yggdrasil]. Perhaps one of the rarest, if not the rarest seed in the entirety of Elden World, even throughout its many expansions. Rivalled and mirrored only by the [Heart of Darkness], a seed that embodied all the darkness flowing through the world, but Li did not have that seed. One of the few seeds that escaped Li''s grasp.


    For it was only one or the other.


    The plotline for obtaining the seed was as dramatic as it got. It involved the entire world ending due to an invasion from eldritch entities, and it was one of three server-wide events, and thest one that Elden World ever conducted.


    It caused yers from across the entire server to engage in massive raid battles with the Old Gods. Some yers who managed to deal enough damage to the bosses even went back in time to chase down the raid bosses as in lore, the entities could freely pass through the space-time continuum.


    Some even went to others to finish them off, though thes ended up basically just beingrge arenas for the boss fights and not actual new worlds to explore.


    At the very end, a select group of one hundred of the top yers that had done the most damage to the eldritch bosses would engage in a mass raid against the final boss, learning to cooperate with each other where before they very likely would have been at each other''s throats from having been the top yers of opposing guilds.


    And with that boss''s defeat, the one hundred mightiest heroes of Elden world saved the world from annihtion, and each of the one hundred yers was granted a Celestial-tier itempletely customized and tailored for them. The devs even allowed the yers to talk with them and suggest what type and kind of item they wished.


    For Li, it was a decision between the [Seed of Yggdrasil] symbolizing life or the [Heart of Darkness] symbolizing death - a fitting choice for his game character that bnced both light and dark aspects. After some deliberation, he had settled on the [Seed of Yggdrasil], wanting to reward his guild for their strenuous efforts instead of using the [Heart of Darkness] which was solely an individual boost to strength.


    When the seed was nted, it sprouted into a World Tree, the strongest defensive fortification in the entire game, and atop of its celestial branches, Li relocated Arboretum, crowning the tree and sharing sess with the entire guild.


    Li loved those times. That was the absolute peak of the guild, and the peak of the game, too.


    Strangely on part of the devs, they pushed out precious little new content afterwards, and some yers spected that the huge event had cost them too much money or that they were burned out and were working on a new game. Some believed the game was just at its natural end, as it was a little hard to develop new content that felt challenging, fresh, and new after such a massive event.


    Nevertheless, eventually, the yers of Elden World moved onto different games, and in three years'' time, Li was one of the few remaining yers staying in a game that had far passed its prime.


    Although, Li thought with some amusement, perhaps it was just like him to fixate on things that had passed their prime or lost meaning with time.


    "This also means an immense amount to you," said Iona as shades of Li''s memories and feelings flickered into her. "Your most prized possession, and rightfully so. Are you truly, truly certain you wish to entrust this with me? I cannot be worthy of this."


    "This is a relic from another world. Another life." Li smiled. "It is no longer my dearest treasure. You are. You, and all the lives that have let me experience a new life with real meaning. A life with hope where I can reach out and shape my future with my very own hands.


    It belongs to you, and hopefully, it wille to belong to all those who wish to seek shelter under the branches of the tree it sprouts."

 Chapter 242 - Adventure

    Iona took a long pause, gazing at the seed in Li''s outstretched palm. For a second, he thought she was mesmerized by the beautiful sights embedded in every single one of its many crystalline facets, but her eyes had dimmed in their absorbed awe, her zing red pupils now flickering like dim coals.


    Instead, she looked pensive. Contemtive. Then, she put her hand over Li''s, wrapping her palm over the seed as well. The shimmering light of the seed faded as their hands enclosed over it, leaving but a slight humming that echoed between their hands, as if the seed were a living, breathing creature.


    "Thank you," said Iona with a smile. "There is so much that you give. So much in your heart that is generous and good. You give your time, your strength, and yourmitment to those infinitely beneath you. You give that which is dearest to you. And you give it with no reservation, only wishing that what you give will nourish others and let them grow."


    "A side effect of attuning myself with my divinity," said Li. "As you said, forest spirits and guardians are naturally beings that seek to nourish and grow. I can understand what you mean now, and it is through your help as a Root that I can sit here and appreciate it without being a ve to it."


    Iona shook her head emphatically. "No, you are mistaken." She wrapped her fingers around Li''s and raised their hands together. "I told you ¨C I am linked with you. In the time that I have felt who you are, delving into the very essence and color of you soul, of one thing, I am made clear of.


    You have always had a good heart. Do not mistake the mistake of believing that who you are now is a product of your nature. As a man, you held a good heart smothered over by the circumstances of the world around you. As a deity, you simply now have the freedom to show the true colors of your heart.


    If there is one thing I request, it is that you do not let the world outside tarnish this heart of yours."


    "You two very close," said Tia from atop a seat of leaves, her eyes wary. She rested her chin on her hands, her head leaned forward in close inspection to make sure to keep Li under close surveince.


    The revtion of the shiny Celestial-tier seed evidently was not enough to really get her attention, but this was an emergency worthy of her full concern. "But papa mine." She crossed her arms and looked to Li for approval. "Right, papa?"


    "Of course," said Li with a smile. He made sure the seed was nestled snugly into Iona''s palm, and then let go of her hand. She closed her hand around the seed and closed her eyes, the light from the item flowing through her body.


    "Come, Tia," said Li. "You''ve been sitting alone for too long. Let''s go home now. It will be a big day tomorrow."


    "Adventure!" eximed Tia as she leaped almost ten meters from where she was to Li''s shoulder,tching onto his back in her usual manner.


    "Yes, adventure," said Li. ???I suppose it is never too early to begin exploring the world. For you and for me. I have spent all my time in this world tending to thend around and near me. If any other soul hade here, I am sure they would have wreaked all sorts of havoc or made a massive name for themselves."


    "We go together. We fight together," nodded Tia happily. Her eyes shone with anticipation of the future. "Boring days over now."


    "Don''t get too excited now," said Li. "Papa will be making sure you do not misbehave, too." He turned to Iona. "Take care, Iona, of yourself and those under you. Use the Justicars as you see fit. Commune with me if ever there arises a situation out of your control. And I know what kind of person I am ¨C I will not lose sight of that."


    "Of course," said Iona as she finished integrating the seed into her being. Her figure began to flicker, the outlines of her body bing faint as she began to dematerialize. "I look forward to seeing the world you will shape."


    At noon the next day, Li stood outside of the doors of the farmer''s guild, ready to leave the city and head out on his first proper adventure. He had quite a sizable pack on his back filled mostly with supplies for Tia and Old Thane because he wasrgely self-sufficient.


    The top of the pack reached higher than Li''s head, and Tia sat on top of the pack with her legs crossed, eyes wide as she looked around, enjoying the wonderful new vantage point to look at the world through.


    Old Thane stood next to Li with his arms crossed, the end of his lengthy beard tied into a single braid. He did not wear his usual farmer''s clothing,pletely changing his image by wearing basilisk scale pants and worg skin coat.


    He did not wear a shirt under the coat, instead letting impressively muscled arms, chest, and neck show. He had a little bit of a gut, but one that made him look stronger, more dense and thicker like the kind one would see on a powerlifter.


    This was his adventuring gear, and he had insisted on wearing it again for old time''s sake. Li thought it looked just a little ridiculous, but that was just to him. Any other passerby would see the countless scars etched upon the old man''s bare body and know that they spoke of a history of aplished violence.


    Li himself was just in his regr guild uniform, and he did not intend to wear anything else so that he could spread the image of the guild throughout all the people andnds he traveled through.


    "Old man, don''t you get cold wearing that?" asked Li.


    "Lad, I hail from the north where the winds were merciless enough to freeze the eyes solid were they left unshielded," said Old Thane. He thumped his chest, and the impact was solid. "I''ve nothing to fear from the elements. It is the demons that are to fear me!"


    Zagan stirred by the old man''s side, probably taking some minor offense to the statement, but since he had to still pretend to be a dog, he did not say anything.


    "Well, alright then." Li looked behind him where the beastwomen from the night before had gathered. "And you three seem to be travelling very light. I did not bring supplies for everyone, you know, though I suppose food and drink are of no consequence with me."


    The blonde maned Feli and the powerfully built Lupi stood a little distance away from each other, still not toofortable with each other on an instinctive level. They were dressed in in working clothing from their times on the farms or forests, and they notably carried no supplies. The clothing, Li could understand because they did not really wear armor, relying on their natural abilities to weather blows.


    For the Feli, it was her extreme agility and capability to forge blood pacts to heal their wounds or gain even more strength to avoid danger. For the Lupi, it was her natural tenacity. Her high strength levels that granted her incredibly high health on top of fur that blunted physical damage and a significant healing factor.


    "We are used to travel. But not like humans. We carry little. When we need food, we hunt. Water, we find. Carrying is heavy. Heavy is slow," said the Feli, and the Lupi gruffly nodded in agreement.


    "Understandable," said Li. He noted the Serpi dressed in the sand-colored robes of her people. She did have a bag slung across her shoulder, but it was to hold her sand tablets. "And the same can be said for you?"


    "Mine kind may cool the blood within us, letting our hearts slow. Thus, food and water beth of little issue," said the Serpi. "Though, should mine magic dwindle or falter, then movement shall be difficult and slow."


    "You shouldn''t need to expend magic to survive when I am around, so that is fine," said Li. "Though, I am a little curious as to why the harpies did not send a representative."


    The Lupi snorted, the back of her throat loosing a little of a growl as well. "Winged ones are cowards. Take to the sky whenever danger near. Never fight."


    "Putting her words in a more eloquent manner," said the Serpi. "The harpi are no warrior race, nor doth they congregate inmunes like us. Solitary they are, and to travel and fight strikes against their nature."


    "That too is understandable," said Li. He pointed to the two brothers appearing from around a street corner, heavy packs angling their posture down. "A lot more so than those twoing, though I suppose I was the one that granted them permission in the first ce."

 Chapter 243 - The Beginning

    Li watched as the brothers huffed and puffed their way forward until they stopped in front of him, hands on their knees from exerting themselves.


    "Looks like you two need to work on your strength," said Li. "You know, you can still back out of thismitment now."


    Immediately in response to Li''s doubts, the brothers stood up straight, stiffening their muscles and making themselves asposed as possible.


    "We have never been more ready, seer!" said Mason.


    Mercer, the younger brother, pulled out a new set of daggers from his side. They were actually quite nice, their des curved and honed to a fine edge with ck stones embedded in the hilt. A magical weapon. "We''ve even secured ourselves legendary weapons capable of fending off any darkness."


    Mason unsheathed his own new longsword, and it too was magical in nature, the broad de inscribed with gold patterns that mimicked the wavy flicker of fire.


    Li nodded. They were pretty bad weapons, all around, but at least they were not basic Common tier ones, upying the Magical tier meant for those ranging from levels 20-40, though most certainly, these ones were on the lower end of that level spectrum.


    "Magical weapons. Impressive," said Li. "Now, where would you ever happen to find such things? They are quite rare, I hear, and I do not know many smiths that are open to work outside of what they are doing now for the crown."


    "Lads, do not tell us that you stole those," said Old Thane, a flicker of disappointment beginning to show on his face. "I know the spirit of battle and adventure flows through you, I know it well, aye, but that is no excuse to take from the hard work of others."


    "Of course not," said Mercer triumphantly, proud that he did not steal something for once. "Belmont gave us these weapons of his own free will. He sees us as capable warriors worthy of wielding them, to be sure."


    "Though he did take all our life savings for them," said Mason as he put a hand to his head.


    "Ah, Belmont," said Old Thane. "His time as a smith may have passed many years ago, but certainly, I am sure he had some weapons in his collection. Cherish them,ds, for in his prime, Belmont was no smith to scoff at."


    "Of course," said the brothers surprisingly humbly.


    "Alright then," said Li. "Looks like everyone that needs to go is here and ready. All is readied and set."


    "Aside from a proper farewell, no?" Ven''thur emerged from the doors of the Farmer''s Guild, his purple clothing literally glittering under the midday sun. With his monocle, tophat, and cane, he truly looked as eye-catching as possible, and not entirely in a pleasing way.


    Sindra followed behind him, and she evidently thought much the same as Li, her eyes squinting in displeasure as she tried to look past Ven''thur''s sparkling figure. In her hands was a wreath knitted together from a variety of nt parts, and it glowed with a light green tinge that indicated it was magically blessed.


    "Never toote for a farewell," said Li to Ven''thur. "I trust you two will keep the guild from falling apart in my absence?"


    "Dear me," said Ven''thur, putting a hand to his heart in mock offense. "I did not believe you thought so little of me. Certainly not. I shall ensure that no feeble minded Light hawker nor silly merchant will step on our toes, that is to be sure. And Sindra no doubt will do a fine job in handling all those numbers regardless of how dreary they are."


    "Someone has to deal with them, and I shudder to think how this guild would be were it to be you," said Sindra as she stepped forwards, wreath tentatively ced between her hands.


    "That, I can agree with," said Li. He motioned to the wreath and asked, "Might I ask what that is?"


    "Ah this," said Sindra.


    "A sign of her much hidden love for you, of course," said Ven''thur, and Sindra bared a fang at the lich. ???I jest. It is a wreathprised of a precious part of every single farming family in our guild. There are branches from fruit trees, leaves from berries, roots from wheat, potatoes, and even vines from the only vineyard in our midst.


    A token of appreciation meant to bring you luck and remembrance of us in your journey."


    Sindra held out the wreath, and Li epted it. He saw that it was quiterge ¨C unsurprising considering the amount of people in the guild ¨C and put it around his neck like arge ne. He willed his divine presence to fuse with it, binding the nt matter as part of him, ensuring that anytime it was damaged, he could regenerate it just as if it was a part of his own body.


    "It is a wonderful gift," said Li without any reservation. To him, this truly was perhaps one of the best gifts he could have ever received in this world. He did not need riches or gold or power.


    But this was something else, something infinitely more valuable. It was belief and appreciation and faith and devotion manifested into something tangible. "I will cherish it for as long as I can. Please, give my thanks to all my followers."


    Sindra nodded. Ven''thur interjected. "Oho, but you see, good seer, without Sindra, this wreath would never have seen the light of day. It was her idea, and Ivo the one to execute it, but nevertheless, without the mastermind, there would be nothing to behold! If you asked Ivo, were he here ¨C he is out busy in the forest and fields directing it all ¨C he would most certainly agree with me."


    "This was a coborative effort," said Sindra firmly.


    "I am only giving credit where it is due, my dear," said Ven''thur. "You must not downy yourself."


    "I understand," said Li. He looked at Sindra and nodded to her. "Thank you, Sindra, for keeping me in your mind. I hope I can repay you by making this guild the force of change you believe it to be."


    "It is nothing, good seer," said Sindra with a slight head bow, her tail slowly curling around her hip in affectionate gesture.


    "And I too wonder what you will make of this dreary world and its many meaningless conflicts," said Ven''thur. "Perhaps, with your expert touch, you may make this bleak canvas just the bit brighter."


    "Well, I do have a promise to fulfill to you as well," said Li, letting the lich remember the vow to restore Kel''thor Citadel and hispatriots. "Perhaps the canvas will start bing more interesting to you after that."


    "Oh," said Ven''thur, smiling. "It most certainly will. I look forward to our next meeting, good seer."


    "As do I." Li heard the nking of metal greaves approach ¨C the sound of the knights that would escort them out the city for security purposes ¨C and gave onest smile and farewell, waving his hand. "I will leave you two to your work. Do make sure to take breaks once in a while. Especially you, Sindra."


    "Bye bye!" said Tia from atop Li''s pack, waving her scaled hand vigorously, and Ven''thur and Sindra waved back at her.


    And with that, it was time to go. Time to start an adventure.


    The knights led Li and his group throughout the empty streets of the city, though some life had returned to it in limited capacity now that the five armies had left. In a couple of days, people would resume their lives as normal, though travel would still be highly restricted and vetted.


    Already, there were a few protesting Rivierans who knew that the farmers could leave but they could not, but they were met with a swiftly fatal counterargument that should the farmers not return to their fields, their chances of starving increased all the more.


    At the towering gates, the knights opened a small section at the bottom meant for allowing small transports, and as Li prepared to leave, the knights saluted them, wishing them luck, and Li, too, wished them luck for their defense of the city.


    It was a pity that Li could not say farewell to Launcelot for the nobleman was far too busy suddenly leading half a legion and ordering the defense of the city, but one could not have everything go their way.


    Outside the city walls, Li looked westward, not over the Winterwoods, but beside it where a separate set of trails and roads led to the Midpath that went past the edges of the Winterwoods and into a set of mountains called the Triforge for they were once popted by a now long extinct race of dwarves.


    Over that, there would be the sparsely forested ins of the Outends, and through there, they would make it to the Shibboleth, an upraised split in the earth that separated the Hintends from the main continent.


    Most did not travel through the Midpath and the Triforge for the high level monsters infesting it, instead opting to take the safer Winterwoods to reach the Shibboleth. However, crossing the Triforge mountain pass took much less time than going through the Winterwoods and circling around to get to the other end of the mountains.


    And to Li, the danger level of monsters was truly not much of an issue.


    But, as he looked to the horizon, at how it seemed to infinitely expand in front of him, he did decide he did not want to just walk his way through it. At the same time, he did want to synchronize his travel time with that of the five armies, and so he could not simply summon some insanely fast, oppressively powerful creature, especially in light of wanting to make use of this expedition to teach Tia, and most of his faster higher leveled summons were live beings he still had reservations freely creating.


    So, he decided on a middle ground.


    Yes, thought Li as he knelt down and put a hand to the ground. This would be a suitable, if not a little bit of a festive familiar for this adventure.

 Chapter 244 - The Triforge

    "What are we doing, if I may ask?" said Mason as he saw Li kneel to the ground.


    Mercer corrected his brother with triumphant ir. "Obviously, the seer is blessing the soil before he leaves."


    "Ah," nodded Mason.


    Meanwhile, the three beastwomen, Old Thane, and Zagan had stepped backwards, sensing the magical energy beginning to emanate from Li as he chose on a familiar to summon, putting its image in his mind and then channeling his magical energy to fill in that image such that it could manifest upon reality.


    A spark of green crackled from Li''s hand, arcing into the dirt beneath. The spark instantaneously spread out into a lit-up circle of arcane symbols shing with green, though at its center, framing Li, there was another circle that shone with ominous hints of orange and red.


    The ground lurched, as if it had been made water for one instant and swelled up and down, and Mason and Mercer both fell on their backs in utter surprise.


    "You two should stand back," said Li, and the brothers scrambled backwards, giving him space and clearing the summoning circle.


    "New friend!" said Tia as she pped her hands and looked down from the backpack with wide and curious eyes.


    "Friend? Hm. It may not be as yful as you want it to be," said Li as he pressed his hand into the soil. It merged into the firm dirt without meeting any resistance, as if bing part of the earth itself, and then, the light from the circle intensified into a sh.


    The ground under Li began to split and crack apart rapidly, spider web streaks of broken earth quickly bing fissures that swelled up dirt at the center of the circle. From this swell, roots emerged. Crimson, spiked roots. Blood Roots ¨C very simr to that of the [Blood Root] spell that Li could cast.


    The roots wriggled like prehensile tentacles in the air before curling down andtching onto the earth, digging their tips in like anchors. Li stood at the center of these roots, and now he stood, awaiting the rest of the familiar to emerge from the earth.


    The roots pushed, and the full body of the creature broke through the soil in a rumbling entry.


    "Hold tight, Tia," said Li as with a sudden lurch, he found himself several meters high in the air, his feet not on soil anymore, but the t, smooth and orange surface of an enormous pumpkin. Fourrge, thickset roots sprouted from the pumpkin''s sides, curling and digging into the dirt before raising it up like the legs of a spider.


    "High up!" said Tia as she looked down from the backpack, over the pumpkin''s edge where everyone else seemed so much smaller.


    "Care to join us up here?" said Li down to everyone else. The familiar sensed his will and from its stem, several blood roots ¨C thinner than its supportive leg roots ¨C emerged, curling down and offering up a quick ride to the rest of the party.


    Everyone except Mason and Mercer took the roots, but the brothers were left shaking in equal parts fear and awe, for there was no doubt that this creature was, in normal circumstances, not entirely friendly.


    Its size was imposing, giving off the same sturdy and powerful bearing as an armored tank, its pumpkin shell shining under the sun not like organic rind, but more like reinforced metal. It had a face much like that of a Halloween Jack o''ntern, a sinister, jagged grin bared with sharply nted eyes that spoke only of mischief and evil.


    From its eyes and mouth glowed an eerie orange shine, one that made those that looked within queasy and nauseous.


    This was the Elder Vukanovi, a level 75 familiar meant as a tank unit suited for mowing down weaker familiars. It was sourced from folk tales of the Balkans which believed that pumpkins and melons left out at certain nights became "vampires" that moved on their own and drained the blood of humans and livestock.


    In Elden World, Vukanovi manifested as hopping pumpkins that sucked blood. They were not truly vampires, only sharing a penchant for blood, but they were still night creatures attuned with darker magics.


    The Elder Vukanovi was extremely rare and the highest-level variant of vampire pumpkin, acting like a mobile fortress with its extremely durable shell and its capability to spam blood roots to instantly kill familiars of sufficiently low level and health to constantly regenerate its own vitality, making it quite suited to mowing down masses of weaklings, though with stronger opponents, it did struggle.


    Well,pared to the average of this world, the Elder Vukanovi was an apex predator that had precious few much stronger than it.


    One could even hide other summons or allies inside the hollow of the pumpkin, sheltering them from damage and targeting. Apparently, the ce was also quite cozy as well, and Li was somewhat eager to see for himself.


    "Come on, you two," said Li to the two brothers as the rest of the party were carried atop the pumpkin through the roots. "Come up here. Unless you want to cross through the West on your own."


    =============


    The Vukanovi made its way through the Midpath without much issue. There were knight patrols around the strategically crucial road that linked the Triforge to Riviera that immediately saw the massive, shambling horror of a pumpkin and raised their weapons, but from within the pumpkin, Li could project his voice to calm them down, affirm his identity and purpose.


    The Vukanovi also was essentially an automaton following Li''s every single whim and will, so it did not have the unpredictability of a living creature that might haveshed out at creatures that showed it sudden hostile intent.


    The duchess had done a rather good job of informing everyone in the chain of militarymand that Li was approaching and to be aware of it, and so there was not much issue traversing the Midpath. Just the scared looks of knights shaking in their armor at the presence of the nt creature, though in a way, Li did find it amusing that they were so terrified of what was basically a big pumpkin.


    Inside the familiar, Li could indeed confirm the space was cozy. It was almost like a different dimension within. It was a surprisingly spacious single room lit up with a warm, orange light that mimicked theforting luster of a home firece, and the light could be adjusted for easier sleeping.


    There was enough space for everyone to make their own beds and spread out their supplies, and it was possible to look out of the pumpkin through its own sight, though it was impossible for others outside to look into the pumpkin''s light covered eyes and see what was within it.


    "We''ll travel in the Vukanovi for now," said Li. He had a map sprawled out at the center of the room, and everyone else was huddled around it. He pointed a finger to a depiction of three spires linked together by chains. "Until we get through the Triforge mountain pass."


    "The Triforge¡­," said Mason reverently.


    "What of it?" said Li, and the beastwomen leaned in as well, for they were not native to thisnd and knew nothing of what was beyond Riviera.


    "Legends say it is a cursed spire," said Mason. "Once a mighty fortress for dwarves."


    "Now a ruin," continued Mercer. "Three tribes of dwarves there were, and three forges they held in each spire. In one of the earliest demonic invasions, the forges were swallowed in darkness, and then, the dwarves were no more, and the spires ever forbidding to mortal travel."


    "Seems to me some adventurers still pass through it," said Li. "Like Triple Threat, for example."


    "Of course Triple Threat can do that," said Mason with a reverent nod. "They are the finest heroes of Riviera, after all."


    "Ah, I see," said Li. "Then the Triforge will have no problems that should concern us. Then let us n for after we pass through it."


    "Good seer," said Mercer, evidently worried. "I hear tales of an ominous presence in the Triforge. A sleeping evil spirit, some say, one that the dwarves attempted to summon to fend against the demons, only to find that it turned its horrible wrath against them. Even adventurers choose to sneak their way past the Triforge for such reason. Should we truly, well, travel like this? With such noise and presence?"


    "Come to think of it, I have yet to see a Primal Spirit face to face," said Li.


    He knew that Primal Spirits were basically the highest tier of spirits in Elden World ranging from level 60-90, many of them representing primordial elemental or conceptual forces. They were masters of wind, fire, ice, water, rage, love, hate ¨C whatever it was that they embodied.


    His close friend from the past world, Oceanmaster, was also a Primal Spirit in broad ssification, though at level 100+ he ascended even past that into bing an Ocean Vein that was basically more god than any spirit.


    "I would like to see one, if only for curiosity''s sake, and I know it will do Tia very well to see all manner of new people and beings," said Li,pletely unworrried. "So onward we go."

 Chapter 245 - Conversation I

    The way to the Triforge Mountain pass was surprisingly one of uneventfulness. Or at the least, the first day of travel was. It consisted of following the Midpath out through the very outskirts of the Winterwoods, and that was Li''s territory,pletely harmless and under his control. It also helped that the Midpath was very clearly marked with glowing runes etched into the dirt to show where it flowed.


    That night, at the very outskirts of the Winterwoods where the trees grew sparser and the vegetation thicker, Old Thane had gone hunting with the beastwomen and Zagan because the two Rivieran brothers were not yet high enough level to deal with monsters in the fringes of the Winterwoods.


    While the others were hunting, as Li breathed arranged a few incendiary seeds in a tight circle at the center of the pumpkin''s storage space to create a neat and controlled fire, he had asked the two brothers of their future ns.


    "I will make this very clear to you two," said Li. "You cannot travel with me all the way. There wille a time where the danger will be too great regardless of whether you are with me or not, and the truth, though it may sound cold, is that I can no longer afford you the same protection as I did when you were my followers."


    The brothers nodded with good understanding. They sat cross-legged, inspecting their weapons on theirps to see if there were any imperfections before they had to use them to fight.


    "We know, seer," said Mason. He always seemed to be the more level-headed and rational one of the two, capable of tossing away his pride when humility was needed and understanding intentions with more empathy than his brother. "We do. We did not split from your following without knowing what we lost. That you even harbor us here for now is a boon of magnitude that we do not know if we can ever repay."


    "If ever there is someone to repay, it will be Ivo. He vouched for you two to remain safe with me until we reached the Hintends," said Li. He reached to the fire and pulled Tia back, for she had crawled dangerously close to the fire, looking at it with intent. She was always mesmerized and calmed by fire. "Tia, the fire is dangerous. It might not burn your skin, but if a spark gets in your eye, that might hurt."


    "No hurt," said Tia as she drew back to Li''s side, tilting her head from side to side in rhythmic motion, matching the dancing flicker of the me. "Like fire. Warm. Warm like papa." She put a hand to her growling stomach. "When foode?"


    "Soon," said Li. "It has only been half an hour. But we are still in the Winterwoods. I doubt that the beastwomen and Old Thane will struggle much for finding meat. If in ten minutes they do note back, I will give you a snack from the pack."


    Tia nodded eagerly, and Li made a mental note to give some thanks to the owner of Lakeside Bounty, the higher end restaurant that he had freed from Chevrette''s control, for they had heard of Li''s travel and given him high-level and high end preserved and dried foods for the trip.


    "We will not disappoint Ivo, nor you, good seer," said Mercer. "As I have said before, when we make our names great and known, we will have but praise for the good and great farmer''s guild."


    Li was amused. "As I have said, I look forward to that day. That said, I do wish to know when you two will leave to journey on your own. I will guarantee you safe passage through the Triforge mountains and over the Shibboleth, but from there, you must decide on your own."


    From the limited readings avable to Li, he knew that past the Shibboleth ¨C a massive fissure in the ground that split the Hintends from the main continent of Eldenia ¨C the levels of creatures sort of ''reset'', meaning that monsters around the Shibboleth were quite strong, representing the apex monsters of both Hintends and Soleil, but past them, there were vast stretches of lower leveled territory suitable for the brothers to travel around.


    "I have thought about this with my brother," said Mason. "And wish to know if you can carry us to the war encampment of the Five Armies."


    "That far?" said Li. "Well, if ever there was a safe ce, I suppose that would be it."


    Mason nodded. "And it is our hope that we may find some likeminded mercenaries or adventurers willing to bring us into their party. Strength is in numbers, after all, and for us to spread our name into the halls of Valhul, we must at the least survive."


    "It was my idea that a two-man party would garner an even greater legend," said Mercer. "Just look at Twin Winds. Twin brother and sister reaching the hallowed rank of tinum watching but their own backs."


    "Ah yes, brother, I understand that we too are descendants of Helius donning divinely blessed weapons and armor with all the tactical prowess afforded with a soulbound link," said Mason sarcastically.


    "Divine armor this, divine armor that, divine blood here, there -all excuses, brother," said Mercer. He thumped his chest. "For strength lies here. So long as our wills push forward, I''ve no doubt we''ll reach greatness."


    "Yes, and I can very much tell I will be the one keeping our hearts beating til'' we reach that point," said Mason. "For now, little brother, we find men and women with fighting fire much like ours. And besides, were you not the one that wished to see Triple Threat?"


    Mercer crossed his arms. "Who would not? They are the greatest heroes of Riviera. Gold-ranked adventurers ¨C the first Riviera has had in an entire century ¨C and Jeanne, gods, divinely blessed with heroic might and the face of a goddess¡­" He trailed off, a little bit lost in fantasy.


    Mason rolled his eyes and jabbed the handle of his sheathed de into Mercer''s shoulder. "In a thousand years, perhaps, if by some miracle you be immortalized deity, brother, you may have the thinnest sliver of a chance to win her heart."


    "Ah, envious that I am the brother that took all the dashing good looks?" said Mercer, and Mason shrugged in a ''I don''t want to deal with this'' sort of defeated manner.


    "I can have you meet them," said Li. "They are all kind at heart. I am sure they will be willing to direct you two to appropriate adventurers and groups of your ability with far more ability than I could, for I myself am not well traveled."


    "Aha! I knew fate would lead me to the golden maiden''s heart," said Mercer before Mason jabbed the handle of his longsword into the younger man''s shoulder a little harder this time.


    "We are all too grateful to receive your protection and guidance to the heroes of Riviera, O good seer," said Mason with a short bow, and Mercer, prompted by two sharp jabs, followed suit.


    "It is certainly the least I can do for you two," said Li. "The way Westward will be full of dangers. Dangers that you two will now have to face with your own strength. I wish you two the best of luck, but in the end, luck is all that I can give."


    "And luck is all that we need," said Mason.


    "Luck is what has gotten us this far," said Mercer. "No doubt it will continue to serve us further."


    "If you two weak," said Tia matter-of-factly. "Then I can protect! Tia always make sure weak has chance."


    Mason sat up, looking to Li with somewhat pleading eyes that had most definitely discarded any of the pride he had in thinking Tia was some weak child.


    "No," said Li. "Tia, papa will not be with these two, so if you go with them, you will be away from papa. You won''t like that will you?"


    Tia nodded. "Papa right," she said.


    "And I doubt these two fine warriors would want to rely on anyone other than themselves."


    Tia looked questioningly at the brothers. "They strong?" she asked in utter disbelief.


    Li looked to the two brothers. Surely, if their lives had aligned just a little differently, they would not have been on the streets, bereft of opportunity. They would not have been kicked out of their adventuring training. Who knew the potential they had. Or perhaps they had none.


    Regardless, it was up to them to find out the answer.


    "We''ll know soon enough," said Li as he pet Tia''s head.


    At that moment, Old Thane and the beastwomen came back. Li could tell because the light emanating from the roof of the Vukanovi''s hollow flickered a little from the old man knocking at the pumpkin''s head.


    Li willed the Vukanovi to slide open its head, and it did so by parting its rind from the stem in a smooth, controlled motion very reminiscent of an automatic ss sliding door. The sky above was dark and full of twinkling stars.


    Old Thane leaped into the storage space, and the beastwomen followed, with the Serpi being a little less dexterous and instead slithering slowly down the arc of the pumpkin''s innards. When everyone was inside, Li willed the Vukanovi to close its head and begin moving again.


    It moved with rtive smoothness, though it was still possible to tell from a slight lurching that wasparable to being on horseback.


    "Is that dinner?" asked Li.


    "Ayed, a northern ssic!" Old Thane smiled as he mmed down the carcass of a freshly in Frost Spider. It was almost asrge as he was, and it sprawled out a hairy, chitinous mass with its eight legs curled up dead. A fist-sized indentation on the carapace of its head indicated what had killed it, though there were plenty of w marks elsewhere on its body that no doubt contributed.


    Arge gash on its belly showed that it had been thoroughly gutted and cleaned, ready for preparation.

 Chapter 246 - Conversation II

    "Is that¡­edible?" asked Mercer as he and his brother instinctively sat back, their hands reaching for their weapons.


    Frost Spiders were, after all, rather fiercesome foes for the average human here. They were nearly level thirty and their flesh-melting toxin was renowned for how quickly it could turn a fully grown human into a mushy goop.


    Butpared to Old Thane and the beastwomen, it was nothing.


    "Think of them like crabs,ds," said Old Thane encouragingly. He put a spider leg in his broad hand and waved it around in positively repulsive disy that made it quite clear that him being blind could be a blessing sometimes. "See?"


    "I don''t think that''s helping, old man," said Li, though he personally did not care much.Many of the hindering emotions of revulsion had long since left him, especially when it came to death or the unpleasant. "How about we cook it and see how it is first?"


    "Food, yay!" shouted Tia, obviously having no reservations of what her food was or looked like.


    Prepping the food did not take too long, for Old Thane was very much used to dealing with Frost Spiders. As monsters, the creatures either inhabited cursed forests or the cial ice forests of the north where trees grew made not of bark, but of glowing ice and white moss.


    There, the spiders wererger and stronger than the frost spiders here, covered in white fur and having gleaming red eyes, but in the end, they cooked the same in a pot. It was rather simple. The old man carved out flesh from the spider''s abdomen and put it in a pot over the fire and used that along with some water and herbs Li grew with his divine powers as a soup base where he boiled the legs.


    The rest of the spider, he tossed out, for it was not edible, packed as it was with poison that could not easily be neutralized.


    The end result was something that did resemble crab, and it smelled like it too, if a little bit more savory. At the least, it was far more appealing than before, and the two brothers were a little more confident in sitting around the circle that now formed around the bubbling pot, eager to eat.


    Li took a spider leg and cracked it, pulling out soft, steamed white meat and handing it to Tia.


    "Thanks, papa," she said as she quickly devoured it, carapace included, her sharp teeth emitting somewhat disturbing crunching sounds as she chewed her way through it all.


    "Here," said Li as he held out another leg to the brothers. "Don''t eat the carapace like her, though, because your teeth will shatter like ss."


    "Thank you, seer," said Mason as he took the leg and shared it with his brother.


    "It''s actually quite good, though I would say it tastes more like chicken, oddly," said Li as he sampled a bit of the flesh. He did not eat much for he did not need to, and it was the same for Zagan who simply chose to sleep at a corner. "You two should savor the taste. With the curse on the Winterwoods lifted, it will not be long before the Frost Spiders move out to environments that better suit them."


    "Good riddance," said Mercer as he chewed on a chunk of fleshy white. "Damned creatures make my spine shiver."


    "They did not belong here, yes," said Li. "But they still have right to be and to live. Remember that if you two decide to be adventurers of merit. Monsters are as part of this world as you are. Take care to not let your emotions cloud your judgement of their necessity, no matter how horrid or ugly they seem."


    "An agreeable sentiment," said the Serpi as sheid back sprawled in the coils of her lengthy white tail, scribbling away at a y tablet. "Monster, man, fiend, angel, god, demon ¨C all holdeth their roots in thine world. All are part of its bnce."


    "Is that a t of your god?" said Mason.


    "Goddess," corrected the Serpi.


    "And what be it that tablet?" asked Mercer.


    The Serpi raised a thin ck brow. She paused for a second, looking at the two brothers, and finding genuine curiosity on their faces instead of bias, she relented, showing them the tablet. Atop the surface of y was a remarkably realistic sketch of the current scene in front of her. "I record. It is my duty, after all."


    "That is an exceptional rendering!" remarked Mercer. "Not even the finest artists I''ve known can match it."


    "Agreed, brother," said Mason as they scooched closer to inspect the tablet. "Though I suppose we''ve not seen much but the street artists hawking their daily wares."


    "All my sisters are capable of this much, for it cannot be that a schr of the sandscks talent in the art of the stylus," said the Serpi.


    "Sisters?" asked Mason. "Rted by blood? Or a term for your people?"


    "People. We are all blessed to be the chosen of Zahaka, the All-Seeing, and fashioned in her image, we hold no men among our ranks."


    "Then how do you, you know¡­," trailed off Mercer.


    "And you intend to court the golden maiden of Riviera with thisck of tact?" said Mason with a sigh.


    "A select few males from other kin, we take," said the Serpi with all the cold exnation of a biology professor exining mating behaviors. "Then, when they have performed their duties, we release them."


    "Well," said Mercer as he looked at the Serpi. "Does not sound so bad a fate to me-,"


    Mason cut him off with a jab of his elbow.


    "Do snakes fight?" asked the Lupi from a distance, her voice a little muffled from chewing down on a spider leg with the same intensity as Tia.


    "Combat is not our way, nay," said the Serpi.


    "Hm." The Lupi returned to eating, rather disinterested at the fact that the Serpi were not war faring.


    "Considering how the conversation is going, perhaps it is a good time for us to get to know the other a little better," said Li. "And it has been long since I have sat down with individuals under me and talked with them."


    =============


    Throughout that night and over steamed spider and in the presence of a warm fire, everyone talked. At a certain point, Old Thane decided to bring out one of many jugs of ale he had bought and stored. Just like the old man to value ale so much, and when the first jug came out with pale liquid pouring out liberally into bowls, Li understood why his and the old man''s packs were so heavy despite the fact that they knew Li could produce food on the go.


    Well, it was not like Li could me the old man. He liked when the old man was happy, and this was that. The only issue was exining to Tia that she could not drink the mystery liquid, but when he exined that it would taste very, very bad, she relented, though not easily.


    Though, Li supposed, she would easily neutralize alcohol in the same way he could, but oddly, he felt it a little against his principles to let her drink.


    With the alcohol, conversation flowed a little freer as both the Lupi and the Feli quite liked the taste of it, never having drank it inrge quantities in their homnds. The only experience they had of alcohol was when they very rarely traded for it or found it naturally urring in pools of fermenting berries, but thetter method had be much rarer ever since the elves destroyed many of the trees that produced the berries.


    Through the night, Li learned much of what the beastwomen wished to do, for though they were officially deemed champions for his cause, they had their own goals and histories as well.


    Vilga, the Lupi, had been torn from her tribe from a young age. Among the beastwomen, she was one of few that had been in chains since a young age, taken and ced in arenas where she was raised as a diator to fight. There, she became incredibly strong and grew sturdy as well, eating special foods that promoted bodily strength.


    All she had known was fighting, and there, she derived the entirety of her life''s worth until finally, she had been sold down south to a Soleilian nobleman who had a taste for girls built like her. Thankfully, Li had freed her kind before she could go further down that life, but now she faced a sense of istion from the rest of her tribe for she had never truly learned their ways.


    And thus, she wished to explore the world and find who she really was in joining Li.


    She, the Feli, rather loudly dered that she did not believe the lifestyle of hunting and farming as suited to her as it was for her little sister. She did, however, learn much about human culture in the past two months, and came to realize that the job of adventuring seemed to interest her, and in particr, she wanted to hunt down Azhar to teach her the profession''s ways and also to make him one of her mates, for among her kind, the stronger females took many.


    The Serpi As''s purpose was known rather well, for she was there to record Li''s adventures for the sake of future knowledge. She also wished to see how the Midpath was doing for it was a construct created by her goddess, after all. If ever there was damage to it, she would mend it, not to mention that she could make sure that Li could follow the Midpath properly.


    All in all, a rather diverse group with varied interests, but all individuals whom Li was invested in seeing seed for the help they had brought to hismunity.

 Chapter 247 - Shortcut

    After that night, Li and the group traveled at a consistent pace. The Vukanovi made a consistent and solid pace, its roots shambling it forwards past soil, mud, stone, rock, and any manner of terrain. Using its spider-like leg roots, it could even scale sheer rock formations. It far surpassed the pace of any regr work horse or even magical beast based transportation for this reason, and after a full day of traveling, it had left Riviera far, far behind.


    In fact, it almost seemed like human civilization itself had disappeared. First off, there were almost no humans left at this distance. They did stumble upon one or two frontier viges, but they had long since been abandoned, their residents travelling eastwards to take shelter in Riviera or other more heavily fortified areas.


    But it was not just the people that changed ¨C thend did too.


    The terrain shifted from foresnd to more rolling ins with patches of small forest here and there, but what was noticeable was the Triforge mountains standing tall and ominous in the far horizon, their triple peaks craning towards the sky.


    They seemed to be as threatening as the legends and tales surrounding them, for they seemed to be enveloped in a permanent fog of ashen mist. Li could tell even from a distance that the mist was special in nature, inscrutably packed with a magical energy that felt cold and hollow in nature.


    Not the kind of alien cold that emanated from his eldritch powers, but more the kind surrounding the undead. He made a mental note to have some preparations ready against the undead and potentially diforting mental status effects that wading into their territory could have.


    By mid afternoon of the second day of travel, the Vukanovi stopped itself in the midst of a patch of dry grasnds. Through the familiar''s eyes, Li could see that a lone Aarakowa, half man, half bird, hovered over with shamanistic staff in hand, blocking the Midpath which shone its runes through a dirt path running through the tall grasses.


    "Papa, bird man!" said Tia from Li''sp as she pointed to the wall from within the familiar that showed the outside world.


    "Ah, so we''ve settled upon beastman territory," said Old Thane. The wall could only project images the Vukanovi saw, so with his blindness, he was left to piece together clues through what others said.


    "I hear they can tear a man right in two with their talons," said Mason.


    "If their storm calling does not turn you into a burnt crisp first," added Mercer.


    "The Aarakowa are a fierce kind, aye," said Old Thane. "But much the wise type too. I am certain with some talking, all will be solved."


    "Then talk, I will," said Li. He carried Tia up in his arms and bade the others to stay.


    ========


    Outside the Vukanovi, Li beheld the Aarakowa shaman. Certainly, it looked much the same as it would from Elden World. Its racial affinity towards elemental shamanism also remained the same. This particr one, he could tell was quite old.


    His head looked like that of a falcon''s, the yellow beak curved and roughed up with scratches and ridges grown over many years. Large white and ck checkered wings kept him afloat and hovering in one ce. His sharp, beady ck pupils moved with lightning speed around bright yellow sockets, focusing on Li with mostly wariness. Grabbed in wed hand, a roughly carved staff of wood sparked with arcs of blue electricity.


    "May I help you?" said Li from atop the Vukanovi.


    Tia adjusted herself in Li''s arms, cocking her head as she stared with unbridled curiosity at the beastman.


    "You speak the Old Tongue?" said the Aarakowa in his own tongue, one that sounded like a mixture of harsh screeches and clicks. It was simr to that of the harpi''s, but it was far more discordant and guttural, wilder and more aggressive.


    Li''s eyes shed with divine green light. He knew the beastman was referring to his ability to use Allspeak. "You hear correctly."


    The Aarakowa directed its staff towards Li in a probing manner and then nodded in solemn understanding. It stopped moving its wings andnded upon the top of the Vukanovi in kneeling position.


    "You hold the might of the grasses within you," said the Aarakowa. "It has been long since I have seen it. Long I have thought the spirits of the grasses had faded."


    "You have respect for forest spirits, and no doubt, you are well attuned with the forces of nature in general. Yourmitment to the elemental forces is alreadymendable," said Li, noting that the aarakowa was level forty ¨C quite high for this world''s average mortal ¨C and quite proficient as a shaman mage.


    "I am certain you can thus appreciate me. Is this your territory? For if it is so, I seek passage through it."


    The aarakowa''s head bobbed up in recognition. "Your sight is sharp, good spirit, or perhaps spirit vessel ¨C the distinction matters not to me. Yes, this is thend of my people, but passage, you shall receive. But will you not speak more? I am curious to hear why you wish to travel further west towards foul winds."


    "Your people?" Li could not sense much of any life signatures around him. "Strange that they are not near."


    "Hm. Will youe with me?" The aarakowa stood up, its muscle, feather, and scarbound stature towering over Li.


    "We fly now?" asked Tia as she stared at the aarakowa''s wings.


    The aarakowa looked at Tia with surprising gentleness. "No, hatchling. I can sense you have long held your wings back, but now is not the time. What I wish to show your father is within the soil."


    "Lead the way," said Li.


    ===========


    Li followed the aarakowa, and the Vukanovi followed behind them. The aarakowa was silent in leading him throughout the grasnds, breaking off from the Midpath, and the more they traveled, the thicker and taller the grass grew until at a certain point, they reached up to Li''s waist.


    Finally, after what seemed to be the better part of a silent half hour, they reached what the aarakowa wanted to show Li. It was the edge of the grasnds, for they had an end. And end, they did abruptly, spilling off into a massive ravine littered with roots and rocks that must have spanned more than a hundred meters straight down.


    Interestingly, Li could note that the ravine led into rocky, mountainous pathways nked by towering stone spires that, if followed, would lead straight to the Triforge mountain in just another day''s worth of travel. In other words, a shortcut.


    The aarakowa looked out into the vast expanse of the rocky ravine below and then turned around, mming his staff into the dirt. A surge of electricity jumped from the staff, pulsing outwards in a thin veil of shimmering blue. The pulse passed through Li harmlessly, and Tia tried swiping at it, letting out a gasp of wonder when it phased through her fingers.


    The pulse lit up several small pirs of blue light dotted throughout the tall grasses around them. The aarakowa pointed a talon to them.


    "My people," said the aarakowa. "I am an elder and attuned with the spirits. Here-," the aarakowa waved his hand across, pointing out the vast breadth of lights shining into the sky. "Are my people. My ancestors. Graves of those who came before me. A sacred ce. A ce I defend."


    The aarakowa turned back to the ravine and pointed beyond it, westward, past the Triforge mountains looming fog covered in the distance. "The rest of my people, those young and strong, move to fight the foul winds. Others, the hatchlings and the mothers, take refuge in the Greatwoods."


    "I see," said Li. From investigating the updated map that Old Thane had brought, he knew the Greatwoods were a forest that grew near this area, away from the Midpath in such a way that Li and the party would not naturally encounter it.


    It was said to be a forest where the trees were all enormous, forming tightly knight together pirs that towered into the sky.


    "But you," said the aarakowa, pointing his talon now to Li. "I can sense seek also to face the foul winds."


    Li nodded.


    "I tell you now, do not go," said the aarakowa. "I show you the graves as a warning. Many of these graves, they hold bodies from timesst when the same winds flowed. And now, the winds are far darker. Colder. No ce for a spirit of the grasses such as yourself.


    The world will lose much if you are to fade away, for you are now thest of your kind."


    "If I do not go now, the world will lose far more than what it would gain should I stay safe and sound," said Li. "You deeply respect the forces of nature, I can see that. But you of all should know that they cannot be controlled."


    The aarakowa lowered his talon to Tia. "The hatchling, then, I can defend. Send to the Greatwoods, if needs be."


    "Away from papa?" said Tia worriedly.


    "There will be no need for that," said Li. "Though I do appreciate the sentiment. Rather, I instead worry for you. Should the foul winds reach here, the greatwoods alone will be insufficient to defend your people. Or your ancestralnd."


    "Then I defend thisnd to the death," said the aarakowa. He paused. "But it is true. The hatchlings will not survive should the winds reach this far."


    "Land can weather scars. Young lives cannot." Li closed his hand into a fist, and when he opened it, a piece of wood had formed within. It was shaped into the crest of the Farmer''s Guild, and he held it out to the aarakowa. "If ever you find danger brewing nearby, then send your young to Riviera and show them the crest. They will be defended and taken care of."


    "Riviera?" The aarakowa took the crest, inspecting it with its hawkish eye. "A human city. They do not take too kindly to us."


    "Human, beastman ¨C the distinction matters not for those under me," said Li. "At the least, I can guarantee safety far beyond that which the greatwoods can provide. Consider it a token of appreciation for leading us to this shortcut, though I suppose you did so by ident."


    "Shortcut?" The aarakowa looked back down at the ravine. "That is no passage for those that value their lives. Life giving grass bes cold rock. Trees be stone pirs. Creatures of ill intent roam night and day. Beings of Undeath crawl from beneath.


    And then there is the Dread Eye."


    "Dread Eye?" said Li.


    "The path below bes narrower. Rockier. At a point, one must pass by the Dread Eye. A great winged serpent whose eye of purpled evil turns blood to the very cold rock that litters itsir."

 Chapter 248 - Undeath

    Ti heard the word ''serpent'', and her pointed ears pricked up. "Papa? Someone like me?"


    "Perhaps," said Li. "But I suspect not quite as much as you would like."


    "That is so," said the aarakowa. "The Dread Eye holds not the sacred fire of life in its heart, if a heart it even holds. It is death and dread manifested. Undeath."


    "Have you seen this creature?" asked Li.


    "No, but of it, I know well. Its presence has haunted this pit for years long before my life. In the third blowing of the Dark Winds two cycles past, the thrice crowned mountains fell to the Fog. With the Fog, a swell of death and terror, of desperation and suffering and all things harsh and cold passed through even to here, and that swell swirled into a maelstrom given form.


    That is the Dread Eye. Its dark, slithering body lies still, and to all life that enters within its bounds, its eye passes judgement and curses."


    "I understand what it is now," said Li. He noted how the aarakowa referred to the demonic invasions as ''Dark Winds'' and centuries as cycles. The beastman was in tune with a longstanding culture that spanned centuries, remembering all the scars that had been left upon the world through conflicts. "And I have made my decision. Passed this creature, the Triforge Mountains are far more essible, no?"


    "The Dread Eye bars entry into the underground caverns leading into the mountains. Caverns the half men once used. Were the Dread Eye to fall, then surely, those caverns would remain."


    "I see now. This Dread Eye you speak of is a rtively powerful undead creature, and its presence is a known harbinger of undeath and negative energies. Or, as in this case, a manifestation of them. It is likely projecting a wide-ranging curse that is turning this entire ravine into an infested hotbed of undead."


    Li stepped closer to the edge of the cliff, looking down into the ravine that spanned down. His gaze traveled over the rockynd and how at the bottom, wisps of light mist rose up from spaces between rocks, covering the area in a purple haze.


    This was not and in bnce. Whatever had happened to the Triforge two hundred years ago, during the third demonic invasion, had fundamentally altered something deep within thend, causing undeath to spiral out of control.


    He would bring order to this chaos.


    "It is settled, then," said Li. "We will travel down, and we will vanquish this ''Dread Eye'', restoring the bnce of thisnd."


    "Fight! Fight!" Tia wriggled in Li''s arms, her eyes wide as she smiled down at the sheer drop to the ravine, seeing all the undead energies emanating from the deathly ground as a challenge where she could finally let loose.


    "Yes, Tia, a fight," said Li as he patted her head. "And a fight you will take alone."


    The aarakowa stiffened. "You will send the hatchling to fight?"


    "A hatchling, she may be, but she is more a fighter than most any I have met," said Li. "And I will teach her to see what imbnce is. And when it must be uprooted."


    "Your decision, I will respect, grass-touched one," said the aarakowa. He sat cross legged at the edge of the cliff, looking down at the purple shrouded ravine. His avian eyes were sharp and open wide, shining yellow with a focused intensity Li had never quite seen so far in this world.


    "I will watch, as I have watched for many years, as you challenge the depths. The same depths that many younger and more spirited than I have challenged. I shall pray for your victory, and if it is such that the winds do not favor you, then I will ensure your corpses have reverent burial."


    Li smiled back at the aarakowa. "You have lived many years. I recall that your kind can live easily up to a century, or, as you would put it, a cycle. You are likely nearing the end of your cycle, and in all those years, you have never before seen this undeath lifted from thend.


    You have only seen life fall before you. Over and over again. Perhaps at one time, when you were yet younger, you looked to the sturdy backs of warriors in your tribe believing they would lift the haze. Now, the novelty of hope has faded from you."


    Li turned and gave the aarakowa a nod. "I will restore it."


    ===============


    "Papa, will I really fight alone?" said Tia from Li''s arms. They were walking down the side of the sheer cliff leading down into the ravine, and he stopped himself from falling off by having roots grow from the soles of his feet, embedding themselves in the rock face like hooks.


    Tia was not at all scared of being carried down what was essentially a ny-degree angle descent. Mostly because she was fearless by nature, but also because she had flown before, and flying removed any sense of fear for falling she would have had otherwise.


    "Will you be fine with it, Tia?" said Li. He held her tighter to him. "Papa will fight if you want. He can also help as much as you want."


    "Mmm." Tia shook her head. "Not that, papa. I not scared. Happy, actually. Happy to fight. Can I use all?"


    "Yes, you can use all your strength. In fact, you should be for this fight," said Li. "The fight might be¡­hard. Tia, I know you love to fight and you love a challenge, and I''ve felt these days you haven''t been getting that. This one will be a challenge. The hardest one yet for you."


    Li knew that the serpent-like creature the aarakowa spoke of was a being called an Oculon. Initially, he had thought it some kind of basilisk or cockatrice with mentions of a dreaded eye, but this swirl of undeath gave more context for him to identify the creature.


    The Oculon was a floating, serpentine creature shaded in slimy ck, looking almost like a flying eel. It held arge, bulbous head with one massive eye of ck and purple that could create powerful rays of undead energy and nullify other magic.


    It also had ess to other types of rays ranging from petrification to paralysis, though it was not as proficient with them as it was in death and nullification.


    Generally speaking, Oculon ranged from levels fifty to sixty, and Tia was level forty six. This fight would most certainly be difficult for Tia, and Li had to admit he worried, and yet, he took this opportunity as a learning one for him also.


    He would have to let Tia be independent and fight of her own ord as well soon enough, especially considering her elerated growth rate, and so sooner orter, he had to have her truly struggle.


    "Even better!" said Tia as her ws stretched out her fingers with metallic clinks. "I make papa proud for sure."


    "Papa is already proud of you," said Li as he put a hand to her head, ruffling her hair. "Don''t ever think you have to prove anything to me."


    ================


    When Li reached the ravine floor, he found that were he human, his vision would bepletely obscured by the purple mist. Though, with his superior sight, he had no real issue perceiving past it. The mist reeked of death, even smelling of it in a cold, muffled sense. Like the kind of stench that settled in ces where blood spilled and dried constantly.


    The Vukanovi followed right behind, easily capable of scaling the sheer cliff wall as well with its roots. Li spoke to the Vukanovi, rying instructions to those within.


    Li put Tia down, and she syed out her fingers, her ws curling in anticipation of the fight. Already, she could sense hostile presences, and the edges of her lips wafted up into the beginning of a delighted smile.


    Undead littered much of the area around them, obscured and empowered by the mist. Already, Li could hear the click of bone atop rock as skeletal beings started to move towards them, towards the bright sources of life that had intruded upon this realm of death.


    "Up ahead is a creature known as an Oculon," said Li."It is extremely dangerous, and Mason and Mercer, you two are better off staying inside. But everyone else,e out, for we have some fighting to do."


    The head of the Vukanovi slid to the side, and everyone, including Mason and Mercer, hopped out.


    Li raised a brow. "Are you two sure? The Oculon is not a joke. At your current level of strength, I should say even a stray st from its eye will instantly kill either of you."


    "We cannot sit back without fighting," said Mercer as he whipped out his twin daggers.


    Mason rified. "Good seer, we understand our weaknesses, and we also understand that there are many undead in this area. We can handle the lesser ones if that is alright with you."


    "I suppose that works," said Li. He motioned to Old Thane and the beastwomen. "We will clear out the undead up ahead. When we reach the Oculon, Tia will fight it alone, for she must fight to evolve and grow. We will provide her support by ensuring that other undead do not interfere with her."


    "Ah, to see thess grow so quick!" said Old Thane with a heartyugh as he took steps forward with Zagan, clenching his fists and making the curvature of muscle around his arms bulge.


    Vilga and She both smiled and bared their fangs as they walked beside Old Thane, their innatebat instincts kicking in at full throttle. Mason and Mercer quite tentatively followed them, or it was more like they followed behind, terrified even if they did not show it of the mist around them and the sounds of undeath drawing closer and closer.


    As slithered beside Li, taking a tablet out. "If ites to be, I shalt use mine magics to our aid, but forgive me if I am to record as well. I do believe the strength already within us is enough to triumph."


    "Go ahead," said Li as he took in a breath, staring at the dense mist ahead. The outlines of skeletal undead became visible, and he could not help but smile as well, remembering distinctly how simr this was to the very first adventures he had taken back in the game.


    "Hunting time!" shouted Tia as she charged forwards, tail swaying from side to side and wings unfurling as she sped past Old Thane and the beastwomen. She pranced on top of a hulking skeleton brute that must have been five times her size and mmed her scaled hand into its skull, shattering it into pieces.


    "Well then ¨C we follow her lead," said Li.

 Chapter 249 - Charge

    Li watched the battle unfold before him from a rather neutral position. He floated above a gathering of roots and leaves wreathed in green energy, taking a high vantage point to see where everything was happening. He saw as Tia surged forwards with an interesting mix of chaotic energy created from childlike glee and raging battle fervor.


    With the widest smile stered on her face, she dived deeper and deeper into the purple mist, her tiny feet almost barely touching the ground as they stepped past stone to stone, each step having so much force in it that they sent her gliding across the air like she was flying.


    The rattle of bones and the groan of zombies filled the choking air, and were Tia any regr human fighter, then certainly she would have felt the terror of the scenery around her. The mist that seemed to get thicker and thicker, swirling and moving as if having a mind of its own, settling and thickening around all living intruders. And in that haze, there were countless threats. Unfeeling undead whose dead limbs felt nopassion, no mercy, only an instinctive desire to bring down the living.


    But Tia was no regr human. She was a dragon, and a dragon merged with Li''s own strength. She shredded through the mist like a whirlwind of unbound violence. With each step she took forward, her ws shed, her tail whipped, and her wings batted, sending clouds of shattered bone and pulverized zombie flesh sputtering from the air.


    "Careful, Tia!" said Li as he kept up from a fair distance behind her, wanting to see how she would handle the situation rtively on her own. "Conserve your energy. The undead mist grows stronger and stronger as you travel further in ¨C wasting mana and skills on these lesser enemies is a bad idea."


    "Okay, papa!" shouted Tia as she took a brief pause and breath. She ducked under hulking swipe from a zombie brute before moving again. This time with more controlled agility, leaping up and tearing off the zombie''s head with one quick and clean motion instead of tearing it apart excessively.


    "Good, good," said Li. He checked on the others.


    Old Thane was in front of Li, the same childlike glee on Tia emanating from him as well. Heughed as he wrapped his brick-like hands around a zombie aarakowa''s head and squeezed, sttering the rotted skull like a watermelon.


    "Gods,d!" said Old Thane. "It does do good for mine health to have some exercise now and then!"


    "Careful, old man," said Li. "If gardening gets your back stiff, I don''t know what all this moving''s going to do."


    "Nonsense,d." Old Thane grunted as he took a step back, sensing that a Skeletal Pir had risen from the ground in front of him. The pir was an amalgamation of several skeletons and zombies attached together with tendons and sinews like string, and its shambling massshed out at the old man with dozens of limbs.


    "This body of mine was never meant to work the earth. But this ¨C this, it remembers well."


    He shot out his left arm in a flurry of punches, casting the Brawler subss skill [Jab Rain]. His arm began to blur as punch after punch came out in session, and as he moved into the Skeletal Pir, his hardened fist began to carve out rapid chunks from it with the same efficiency and explosive force as a machinegun.


    Meanwhile, Zagan trotted behind the old man with an easy walking pace. asionally, he would turn his head towards an undead that slipped past Old Thane''s range and loose a re infused with cursed energy that disintegrated any lesser undead that happened to fall victim to it.


    The demon did not grant the old man any strength, and Li could understand why. The old man wanted to fight, and he wanted to fight with his own strength for now.


    And besides, it was not like the old man was any weakling. He was nearing level 60 ¨C the peak of human strength ¨C but as Li observed, old age in this world affected mortals by severely deteriorating their stats, locking them out of the stat requirements for the higher level skills.


    Even so, Li could estimate that Old Thane was still around level 40 at basebat capacity, which was still leaps and bounds above almost every other human. However, even he could not match the ferocity of the beastwomen.


    Vilga and She were ahead of Old Thane, standing right by Tia, actually, making sure that the dragon''s sides were covered while she charged forward.


    Vilga, despite being an impressive specimen of muscle easilyparable to any bodybuilder, moved with the grace of a world ss gymnast and used her strength with a poise characteristic of a trained martial artist.


    Li recognized she was a warrior primary with her first subss being a brawler just like Old Thane. But where Thane relied on raw strength to weather blows and dish them out with his two subsses of brawler and berserker, Vilga used equal parts agility and strength as brawler and monk, dancing across the rocky battlefield withpact punches, roundhouse kicks, and deadly throws all chained together by flourishing twirls.


    She was the most savage fighter. Her primary ss was as an assassin, but she used her subsses as hunter and blood shaman to be more like a frontline fighter. With blood pact sigils glowing all across her body in crimson gleam, she moved like aplete blur, disappearing and reappearing only to inflict devastatingly lethal single strikes.


    "Are you two holding up fine?" said Li from his root tform, his hands behind his back. Every so often, a skeletal bird or zombie bat or some pesky flying creature would try to flutter up to him,pletely devoid of any rational thought capable of recognizing his threat level. He would simply will his bed of roots tosh forward individual tendrils to swat down the flies.


    "Of course, good seer!" said Mason as he used his longsword like a battering ram to push back a particrly big zombie brute. The hulking corpse stumbled backwards, and Mercer appeared above it, twirling with twin daggers mid-air as he sliced apart the hulk''s neck, decapitating it.


    As his brothernded, Mason provided cover, using a heavy two-handed thrust over Mercer''s shoulder to skewer an approaching skeletal hound''s head.


    "Never better!" said Mercer between controlled breaths.


    "Hm. Do let me know when you need toe up here. When the haze gets thicker, I should assume stronger creatures like Abominations, Geists, Wraiths, and Shades will make their appearance. When that happens, recognize your limits and take shelter here."


    "We fight til'' we can no more!" said Mason as he used [Whirl], spinning once with his longsword while charging forwards to cleave apart a small crowd of skeletons.


    "And with thedy aiding us, it is unlikely we shall ever face defeat," said Mercer as he followed close behind his brother, though the two of them could not muster up enough power to step more than a few meters past Li.


    They were left struggling to try and catch up to the backs of Old Thane, Zagan, and ahead of them, Tia and the beastwomen. Behind Li, the Vukanovi was essentially like a rear vanguard, the roots at its stem acting like impaling stakes that picked off any undead that the charging group ahead left behind.


    "When I can, I shalt use mine magics to aid thee," said As from the root tform, for her priority was in recording. But every so often, she would flit a gaze to the two humans and grant them some minor assistance, casting a sand barrier or using a spell like [stone shard shot] to weaken clusters of skeletal enemies for the brothers did not have bludgeoning weapons suited for breaking them down.


    "Ah," said Mercer as he witnessed As use another stone shard shot to shatter off a zombie knight''s legs. "I will be certain to treat you to a fine dinner after this ordeal."


    As did not look up from her tablet but did respond. "If thou art able to survive, then certainly, I will not deny myself a free meal."


    "See that, brother!" said Mercer as he looked up to As. "My charm never fails me."


    Mason turned around and roughly shoved his brother to the side, preventing a rotten arrow fromnding. Mason turned his shoulder forwards, letting the arrow instead bounce off a shoulder te. "And you, little brother, must learn to think with the smarter of your two heads."


    The brothers quickly regained their stride, looking after each other''s backs with a particrly close unity that even Li could appreciate.


    Li spoke to As. "Why is it that you spend your time to aid them?"


    "When I was yet a hatchling, tales of heroes have always grasped mine interest. Heroes forged unto gold from nothing. I amuse myself seeing some potential of such story with those two," said As.


    "Well, I do not know about that," said Li as he watched the brothers press forward. In their perspective, even if they knew that they had strong allies ahead and a divine messenger behind them, they were still walking into a storm of undeath that would have frozen most of their peers in fear.


    That wasmendable, but in the end, bravery alone was not enough. But it was a start. "Yet, I can see some potential. In any case, will it be fine for me to leave you two with you for now? I will begin moving ahead."


    "That is agreeable to me," said As as she put down her tablet, putting it into a pouch slung by her waist. She prepared more actively to defend and use her magic, and Li could trust her, for in actuality, she was the strongest one here aside from Zagan and Li.


    She was near level 50, and it was evident that she was no empty minded schr either, for though one of her subsses as irvoyant was not toobat oriented, her other subss as geomancer gave her more than enoughbat ability to hold her own.


    Li took a step forwards, and another root tform rose up from the ground, hovering him forwards.

 Chapter 250 - Eye Of The Haze I

    "And how are we doing here?" asked Li from high above, his floating tform of roots giving him bird''s eye vantage point of the developing battle, and developed it had.


    "A challenge, aye, but one within realm of reason for my fist!" shouted Old Thane as used his arm to block a hacking sh from a skeletal guardian, an advanced variant of skeletal knight that had a level of near thirty.


    The guardian''s broadsword dug in an inch into Old Thane''s forearm, but no more, finding it hard to cut into [Iron Skin] boosted flesh. He flexed his forearm, causing muscle to contract over the de and trap it before socking the guardian in its breastte. A breastte that was noticeably less rusted and more robust in both shine and strength than that worn by its lesser counterparts.


    The old man''s fist mmed into the te, denting it severely, and no doubt the shockwave emitted from his blow had cracked much of the bone behind it, but it was not enough to entirely drop the guardian. Zagan looked up at the guardian''s head and casted a [Disintegration Ray] from his eyes. Twin beams of bright red swathed over the helmed skull before disintegrating both helmet and skull into nothingness.


    "I thank ye for that one," said Old Thane as he shoved forwards, sending the guardian''s body mming back into the rock with a metallic impact. He unflexed his arm, and the broadsword dislodged, ttering also on the stone below.


    "Looks like things are getting a little harder," said Li. "As expected. The thicker one travels into Undeath Haze, the stronger and stronger the undead be. Old man, think it''s time to abandon this solo raid?"


    "Aye," said Old Thane with a wistful smile. "I know better than all others that true mightes from the strength of a party, not some bloodthirsty, charge-addled nitwit. I shall join the rest ahead."


    "A good idea," said Li. "I came here to tell you just the same thing. But it seems like you''ve got the gist of it. Join up with the advance group and keep near to Tia, for I am beginning to sense we are reaching the center of the haze."


    Old Thane nodded before rushing forwards, focusing on movement more thanbat now that he had fallen a fair bit behind the advance party of Vilga, She, and Tia. He used skills to stun enemies and shove them aside, using his advanced hearing and other senses to pierce through the blinding haze to navigate and track the sounds of battle ahead.


    Li watched, and whatever undead that Old Thane left behind stunned or shoved, he disposed of in quick order with [Moonbeams] from his eyes that reduced the undead into smoking cinders. Honestly, he could have turned on a wide range [Moonbeam] and just strolled forwards,pletely annihting everything, but that would spoil the fun everyone was having.


    And he liked all of this. This struggle through undead haze to reach a boss. It recaptured if just a little bit the magic that had kept him and his friends to the game for so many years. He smiled as he began to recall.


    The Undeath Haze was a special environmental effect spawned from either a particrly strong undead or an area infused with a massive number of undead energiesprised of such things as the regrets of the dead, suffering, pain, and so on. In this case, an Oculon was the eye of the haze, naturally creating what was essentially a hurricane of charged energies.


    In this hurricane, any undead that was notpletely disintegrated or destroyed with holy type energy would eventually regenerate and respawn, meaning that it was imperative to push through the haze as soon as possible.


    The haze also limited visibility and near the central eye, it also began to afflict status effects such as a potent healing debuff and slowed mana regeneration, though inversely it did hugely buff undead yer characters.


    Li himself actually had bonuses to much of his dark Druidry in this haze, though obviously he did not need to use it.


    Near the eye of the haze, Li estimated that the strength of the undead would rise drastically. The lesser undead from before were around levels 15-20, and that let him judge that this was an incredibly low leveled haze, though of course, rtive to the world''s standards, it was a disastrous threat.


    Here, where Old Thane was, the undead were beginning to reach the twenties, and at the center, there were fewer undead, but they would probably break into the mid thirties. At that point, everyone would have to start working together, and Li was curious to see how that would unfold.


    Li watched with some surprise at the scene unfolding before him at the advance party.


    Here, the haze was starting to swirl like mad, whipping up purple tinged winds that howled not just because of the wind, but also because of wraiths and other evil spirits upying it. The spirits were hard to distinguish, being mere flickers of darkness in the raging maelstrom of purple, but Old Thane could pinpoint their howls and whispers.


    "There, She!" shouted Old Thane as he pointed in front of him, right above Tia.


    Tia herself was in a standoff against an enormous Zombie Drake, sidestepping a breath of liquid rot, and she was entirely focused on the drake before her, eyes narrowed and ears twitching, not at all noticing the malevolent growth of hooded darkness and ethereal limbs willowing above her.


    She hissed as she sped her hands together, a little stter of blood flicking from her palms colliding. She had a few wounds on her by now from the much stronger undead, and the haze''s healing debuff prevented her shamanic healing spells from being as effective. But that meant she had all the more blood to use as a resource for incredibly powerful dispelling spells.


    A red sigil formed around the wraith''s shadowy body in a ring before exploding, setting the spirit aze in blood colored me that quickly disintegrated it.


    Old Thane nodded before looking to the threat that faced him and Vilga, cutting them off from Tia''s duel with the drake. It was a Flesh Golem stitched from the various bodies of several abominations and armored with spiked steel. Through tears in its body, noxious gas spewed forth, threatening to inflict poison damage to all that made contact with it.


    "I shall follow your lead, Vilga," said Old Thane, and Vilga growled before rushing forwards.


    The golem was more than twice her size, but she was easily several times more agile than it. She dashed under a heavy sweeping strike from the golem''s battering ram of an arm and shed upwards with glowing ws, using the [Qi ws] skill that projected mana infused w strikes forwards.


    ded white lights shot forth from her fingers, slicing into the golem''s torso and carving out great scars in it. From those scars, blood and entrails and chunks of body parts spilled out, but the damage was not enough.


    Old Thane followed quick behind Vilga and nodded at her, beginning to analyze how she moved and finding the best way to support her. He noticed that herbat style was almost pure offense, flowing like a raging typhoon in her twirls and relentless offense, but not having much in terms of self-defense.


    "I''ll take this blow!" shouted Old Thane as the golem went for another sweep. He gritted his teeth and took the golem''s club-like fist right to the chest. The fist was almost asrge as the old man himself, but he ground his feet into the rocks and stood firm, grasping at the fist with both his arms, anchoring himself to it.


    His body tinged red, and his veins became unnaturally visible like shivering serpents as he activated [Berserk], finally dipping into his Berserker subss skills. The skill would massively enhance his strength stat while also providing him incredible resistance to most forms of damage including the noxious fumes that poured over him from the golem''s arm.


    "Helm!" shouted Old Thane, though it sounded more like bestial growl at this point. "Break the helm!"


    Vilga looked up at the flesh golem. Its head was a fusion of several kinds. Of humans, orcs, beastmen, and any number of creature, but its multi-eyed and jawed face all found safety under a horned helmet adorned with glowing green runes of defense.


    She grunted before she leaped up once,nding atop the arm Old Thane held still and using it as a stepping stone to jump high above the golem''s head. She spun in the air as she flung down her leg in axing motion, her heel encased in glowing white energy in the shape of a thick spike meant for punching through armor.


    Her heel mmed into the golem''s helmet with a groaning wrench of metal tearing, and the qi-infused impact of the blow traveled down the length of the helm, splitting it neat in two. She leaped backwards, and the two halves of the helm fell heavily down, crushing stone below.


    "She!" roared Old Thane as he used [Giant Strength], his muscles suddenly engorging with mass, making him seem twice his size as he shoved the golem to the side, breaking the bnce it had held in its pir like legs of flesh. "The head!"


    She materialized seemingly out of nowhere on all fours, jumping forwards to the golem''s falling form. She was using [Stalk] to maintain stealth, recognizing that this deep in the haze, she as an Assassin primary could not afford to take hits to the same extent as Vilga and Old Thane.


    But where shecked in durability, she made up for in monstrous offense. She shot forwards, wreathed in spiraling crimson patterns, and she essentially drilled into the golem''s thick neck, shredding it apart and tearing the head clean off in one fell motion.


    "Now, onwards to our dragon!" shouted Old Thane as he tossed the golem''s body behind him with a heavy breath. "She, keep watch over spirits, for neither can I nor Vilga deal with their ilk. And Vilga, fear not for stray blows for I have watch over ye."


    The two beastwomen nodded, and Vilga ran forwards while She faded away into the shadows on all fours.


    Li felt a sense of pride from the old man. It was highly evident that in his youth, Old Thane was the shotcaller. He was the one who glued together the party and made it work.


    It made Li realize just how much more to the old man there had been other than farming, though certainly, that was the part Li appreciated the most.

 Chapter 251 - Eye Of The Haze II

    Up ahead, Tia was almost done fighting the Zombie Drake. The undead creature was a half-rotted corpse of a lesser drake, patches of skeleton showing through its worn flesh. One of its eyes was missing from its socket, and its jaw hung loose and unhinged while its wings were far too tattered to attempt anything remotely capable of flight.


    But still, it was a drake, and with that title came ess to Dragonsbreath. Though much of its physical abilities might have deteriorated, it had ess to a special undead breath that constantly leaked from its broken mouth in the form of a green gas that was corrosive enough to melt the stone floor.


    Tia, however, took zero damage from the breath, immune as she was to poison. Instead, she dodged the zombie drake''s awkward swipes, but Li quickly realized she was not tearing into the undead with the same gusto she had shown all the other unfortunate specimen before her.


    nking the drake''s huge, lumbering form were roughly hewn stone pirs standing tall, and around the pirs, the haze concentrated into a raging whirlwind that was physically imprable by regr means. The only ess point was through the stone pirs, and they formed a natural chokepoint guarded by the drake.


    Old Thane and the beastwomen could not approach too close for fear of the gas, and it was evident he was thinking of a way around this. For this zombie drake was thest thing standing between everyone and the eye of the haze where the Oculon resided.


    But Li took concern for Tia and decided to break his non-intervention, floating past Old Thane and travelling into the noxious green gas. He took zero damage and instead jumped down to the ground, right beside Tia.


    Tia saw him and stopped, staring at him with questioning eyes tinged with confusion. Tia by now had engaged more and more of her powers and draconic side. Her horns wererger, crackling with arcs of magical energy. Most of her skin was covered in scales, and her ws were ck now, longer and more deadly. Spikes jutted from her tail.


    Her wings were farrger, and two bony spikes protruded from their ends. Her jaws, in particr, had grown, and the teeth were sorge that they almost seemed to spill out from her mouth as the line between her human form and draconic one began to break down.


    The zombie drake saw the stopped movement and attempted to swipe down on Tia with its hand, but Li pped the drake''s hand away. Perhaps with a little too much force, as the ppletely dislodged the drake''s hand from its arm, sending it sttering into the pirs beside it.


    "Tia, what''s bothering you?" said Li. "Is it the drake? Does it bother you because it looks like you? If so, have no worry, for in undeath, it is basically just the same as the rocks you stand on."


    Tia shook her head.


    "This¡­this-," She motioned all around her, and Li realized she was referencing the green gas. "Very familiar. Make me curious, but also sad. Don''t know why." She breathed in and cocked her head, furrowing her scaled brows. "Know this. I do. Like it. Feels warm. Little like papa, but not really."


    Li began to realize what she was talking about. He put a hand to Tia''s shoulder. "Tia, dear." He tried to find words but realized he did not know exactly how to skirt around topics like this. "I know it is a littlete, but I can exin why this feels familiar. It is about your mother. I know I have never told you about it, but when this is all over, I promise I will. Okay?"


    Tia brightened up, for the topic of her mother was always one she was curious about, but one that Li had not given direct answer to yet. "Okay, papa. Just have to beat thing after this one, right?"


    Li nodded and pulled Tia to his side for a short hug, wondering how she would respond to the reality of her circumstances. First off, that she was not truly Li''s child. Secondly, that her mother likely was not alive or, at the least, not searching for her any longer. These were topics he knew he had to talk about but still did not want to approach as even if he had godlike power at his fingertips, that changed nothing about him being a father.


    "Something wrong, papa?" she asked, curious as to why Li would show affection when usually he was more reserved about it, but ultimately, she did not mind, nuzzling her cheek into his chest, taking care that her horns did not hit him.


    "No, Tia, it''s nothing," said Li. He patted her back and pointed forwards. The zombie drake was readying another swipe. "But remember, we still have a problem to deal with, don''t we?"


    Tia nodded vigorously as she broke off from Li''s embrace and began to fight seriously. She stood in front of Li, her arms opened wide as she readied herself to take the iing blow from the drake''s ws. She caught the enormous reptilian hand with a grunt of exertion, straining against a hand that dwarfed her entirely in size.


    The zombie drake loosed a rattling echo ¨C what it could muster up as a growl from its thoroughly mangled throat and jaw ¨C as it exerted force, trying to crush Tia with all its weight and remaining might. She stood under the giant hand, her own two arms raised up to press the crushing weight away from her.


    Tia growled back, and hers was truly what one would expect from a dragon. It was a deep rumble more powerful than any engine Li knew, and it had weight behind it, rattling the bones of all those that heard. Her arms began to shudder as her scales started to grow,yering on like te mail before starting to protrude in spikes around her forearm and elbow.


    Her draconic blood manifested more and more, and her eyes gleamed with ferocity, one of her eyes shining green, the other ck. She shed an ear-to-ear grin filled with protruding teeth as she pushed out one huge burst of force, sending the impressive weight of the drake toppling back.


    She did not have enough strength to entirely copse the drake, but its malformed and rotted legs provided little in the way of bnce, and it rattled as it began to topple backwards almost in slow motion on ount of its size.


    Light began to form around Tia'' sternum, a brilliant bright strip of white light travelling up to across he neck, spilling out in blinding rays through her teeth.


    "Control, Tia, remember," said Li, for he knew if she used the full strength of her dragonsbreath, she would be left with no magical energy for the threat beyond the drake.


    Tia nodded in understanding before unleashing her attack. When her mouth opened, it was not explosive light that shot forwards, but instead a raging torrent of green me. Unlike the shade of green of the mist around them that oozed with noxious gleam, this was a more vibrant green, one verdant and lively, the same shade that would find its home at the healthy heart of a forest.


    Nevertheless, even if the fire had all the life-infused power of nature behind it, one would find themselves instantly reminded why nature as a pure force was feared.


    The fire swarmed over the zombie drake''s form, easily catching to its rotted and dried flesh in an enormous congration that swelled in a roaring, crackling pir that reached high up into the sky, sending out a signal light of green that drowned out even the thick purple haze.


    The drake rattled again as its existence began to break down, the life energy infused fire directly countering its undead nature. Malevolent spirits that had swarmed around the near area, drawn to the fight like moths to a me, immediately shrieked and floated away, terrified at light that broke against the dark of the haze.


    "A wondrous show, little dragon," said Old Thane as he moved up with the beastwomen. The toxic gas from the zombie drake had disappeared, pushed away by the force of impact from Tia''s fire igniting the zombie drake''s flesh.


    "Dragon," said Vilga reverently with a short bow of her head, and She followed suit, and Li knew this was because to beastmen tribes of the north, the dragons were considered terrifying forces of nature to be respected.


    Tia cocked her head and put a shy hand behind it. "Hehe, nothing, really. Just me fighting! Old man have fun too, right?"


    Old Thaneughed. "Certainly! It has been long since I have worked these old bones as hard. But the fun may draw to an end, I am afraid. Beyond lies a presence that shall require all our full mights."


    "Ahead," said She, pointing a w beyond the zombie drake''s burned out corpse where the two pirs stood tall, heralding an entrance blocked by a raging whirlwind of haze so thick it formed a natural barrier. "Bad. Far, far stronger than this."


    Vilga only snarled at the haze, sensing by instinct that She was right but not possessing the shamanic knowledge that would have let her know in more detail about the threat of undeath. After all, much of her fighting had been limited to the pits of the arenas which were more like exhibition matches and duels rather than anything like this.


    Li looked at the barrier of haze. If it operated the same as it did in Elden World, then it was basically the entranceway to the boss arena where the entity or area creating the haze could be confronted. But in this world, things were a little different.


    He could tell with his enhanced sight that passing through the extreme concentration of undead haze would be quite damaging, and there was even an instant kill effect added into it that could certainly be resisted with levels or defenses, but he would use this as an convenient excuse to get Tia to do this fight by herself.


    After all, much of the reason why he had decided to step back on helping was because he wanted Tia to go all out and truly live up to what her draconic bloodline demanded of her.


    "The barrier above is dangerous to regr mortal flesh," said Li. "Old man, She, Vilga, you three stay here. Guard this area. Do not let more undead wander in. I will have the Vukanovi on standby beside you to defend you, and soon, I should assume that As and the two brothers will arrive.


    Tia''s magic resistant dragon scales can pierce through the haze, and I need not say anything about me. We will go and confront the eye of this haze and put an end to it."

 Chapter 252 - True Form

    Li put a firm butforting hand on Tia''s shoulder, squeezing it ever so gently.


    "Ready, Tia?" asked Li as he looked ahead, beyond the disintegrating zombie drake carcass and to the mass of whirling, raging purple winds and energies that formed a natural barrier to the boss arena.


    "Always, papa," said Tia with a nod. "Especially with you."


    Li smiled and walked forwards, Tia holding his hand as they stepped together into the raging winds of undeath.


    Each step they took towards the space between the pirs the zombie drake once guarded intensified the winds exponentially, and by the time they were right in front of the pirs, ready to reach out and touch theyer of condensed purple energy, the winds howled with a bone rattling intensity that surely would have sent the average human flying back.


    It certainly had the aura of approaching a boss arena, and to his relief, Li found that Tia approached with eager steps, fangs and ws bared in sheer anticipation of the battle beyond. She had no true sense of fear, it seemed, or at the very least, he had never once felt any true fear from her. Whether that was because he had protected her or whether it was part of her nature was something he did not really want to find out.


    "Here we go, Tia," said Li. He held her scaled, rough hand and reached it out to the purple barrier. When their palms touched, there was an immediate chill than ran across their skin ¨C the chill of death.


    But Li and Tia were both magic resistant to a degree that the chill was no more than just that. A chill. And they pushed forwards, their hands parting the barrier with surprising ease. As they took steps forward, the barrier closed behind them, enclosing them in darkness.


    "Papa will not help you," said Li. "Well, he will help you if you need it and if you ask for it. But Tia, this is going to be your fight. What I want to say is that you should hold nothing back. This will be the greatest challenge you have faced yet."


    Tia nodded, tightening her hand around Li''s as they parted through the dark. "No worry, papa, I know. I know danger, challenge. I know, and I fight."


    Past the veil of undead haze, the two found themselves stepping into a massive circr crater bordered by pirs that each channeled more of the haze, forming a domed barrier that separated the crater from the outside world.


    Around the crater, the upturned figures of giant iron carts, some dented, some torn, some melted,y. The remains of huge, shattered bouldersy scattered among them, and around these corpses of the earth were the countless bones of dwarves. Bones that should have faded away long, long ago but instead remained suspended in time from the undead energy charged in the environment.


    And at the center of the crater, there it was. The Oculon.


    In the dark, its dozens of bulbous, slit pupiled eyes of gleaming purple and red trained themselves on Li and Tia, the eyes charged with nothing but raw aggression. Its dark, eel-like body, almost asrge as that of the zombie drake''s, undted in the air, and it opened a wide mouth lined with teeth that glowed like purple energy constructs.


    The Oculon roared, emitting a low, shrill, ear-piercing scream that sounded like an unfathomably alien siren.


    Tia blinked. "It dragon?"


    Li put his hands behind his back and furrowed his brows. "There should be no rtion. Oculon are formed purely from undead energies concentrating in one area. They are their own species. The serpentine body is simply a coincidental form. Do not hesitate, Tia, and fight to your fullest."


    Tia nodded as she stretched out her green-scaled wings, and they shone like twin triangles of verdant green light in the dark of the crater that served as the arena for this fight. She leaped up, getting to an altitude even with the Oculon, and pushed her wings back, sending her surging forwards.


    The Oculon''s many eyes centered on Tia, and dozens of flickering lights emanated from their pupils, acting like tracingsers that tried to lock onto her. She recognized this and tried to make evasive maneuvers, the tips of her wings folding ever so slightly back to pull her up higher.


    However, the Oculon''s focus was deadly precise, and the targetingsers trained on Tia quickly, locking on. Dozens of eyes shed momentarily before firing off angry red [Destruction Rays].


    Li resisted an urge to defend Tia as he saw her eyes widen in surprise,pletely unprepared for how fast the rays approached. She barely had enough time to shell herself in her wings, hardening scale growths around them for extra protection before the many beams crashed into her with an earth-rumbling explosionced with crimson red light.


    Tia crashed back into the ground hard, gouging out a sizable crater as she tumbled several times before her ws caught traction on the ground, skidding her to a stop. The flesh on her wings was tattered, singed with fire, and several burns dotted her arms. However, she hadrgely covered herself from more serious damage, and she looked to the Oculon with fire in her eyes.


    Oculon were masters of rangedbat, their eyes capable of firing off a variety of ray based projectile attacks aided by a race specific targeting system that made the rays unavoidable through regr dodging once locked on. Actually dodging an Oculon''s salvo was incredibly difficult, but that did not mean it was invincible.


    The Oculon blinked its eyes hard, arcs of magical energy crackling as it momentarily rested to charge up its rays again. Ultimately, if one could not avoid the Oculon''s gaze, then it was better to tank an attack and retaliate.


    Tia noticed this, her eyes narrowing as she quickly began to realize that there was no reason to remain in her small, restricted human form.


    For perhaps the first time ever since she had assumed a human form, Tia let it go, closing her eyes as light enveloped her, turning her into a bright, featureless silhouette. That silhouette grewrger andrger ¨C evenrger than the Oculon itself, until finally, it formed into the shape of a proper drake.


    One with the majesty and presence befitting one of the strongest monsters.


    Li himself felt surprise looking at how different she was.


    Tia''s two wings stretched out in vast arcs of sparkling emerald, the scales reflecting bright light that permanently shone from her chest. Flowers and vines curled around the length of her wings, swaying ever so gently in the wind. Leafy spines lined the curvature of her back, but this was where the greenness of nature ended.


    The lower half of her body''s scales were thickly ted and ck in color, tapering off into roughly hewn edges that flickered with shimmering shadows. Her ws were long and curved like reaper''s scythes, and her tail ended in a cross formation ofrge, spear-like bony spikes that glowed lightly green with venom.


    The Oculon opened its eyes and blinked again, this time in mild surprise as its many eyes met Tia''s gaze of ck and green. She reared her head back, her antler-like horns drawing in specks of green energy as she channeled up a st of draconic fire.

 Chapter 253 - Pursuit

    Li could not help but smile. In the months that they had bonded together, she had taken in his power directly from their soulbound link, and it showed. He could see himself through her. In the flowers and vines entwined around her wings. In her deer-like antlers. In the shadows flickering between her darker scales.


    It made her all the more aware that she was indeed his daughter. Perhaps not by blood, but the one he chose and the one he decided to bear the responsibility of raising nheless. Seeing how his care had quite literally manifested on her, he could not help but feel proud, proud that she had grown so healthy, strong, and happy.


    And also surprisingly, he did not realize how strong she had be. Now that her powery fully bare before him, he could tell she had elerated in strength far beyond his expectations. He estimated she was nearly level 70 where the Oculon was 60, if that, but even then, this fight could not be decided so easily.


    He crossed his arms and looked as Tia fired off a st of nature infused dragonfire from her mouth and antlers. The stream of verdant green energy did not so much flicker chaotically like a fire as it did shimmer, undting in wavesced with green energy shaped into leaves.


    This wave of breath crashed right into the Oculon, but it had the presence of mind to immediately erect its barrier. Its eyes all shone for a single instant of yellow before a purple dome surrounded its serpentine, floating form, and the green me crashed against it, roaring all around it and engulfing it in a brilliant nova of light and me.


    "Keep at it, Tia!" said Li as he saw the green fire die down, unable to prate the barrier. And yet, the barrier was noticeably more transparent than before, leeched of its strength. "You have yet to fight a mage type, but they will always have barriers, and once that''s down, they are powerless before a frontline fighter like you."


    Tia nodded her draconic head before charging forwards again, her great emerald wings pping and sending out surges of wind that blew back even the huge chunks of boulder near her with all the ease of a squall beating back garbage cans.


    Strangely, Li noticed that the Oculon did not move backwards. That was entirely unlike the A.I. of the enemy in Elden World which recognized it was a mage type monster and sought to keep distance, raining down hell with its various eyes and rays. It seemed¡­hesitant, its eyes tracing Tia with its trackingsers but still stealing a nce backwards, as if considering retreat but deciding against it.


    Tia left caution to the wind and kept forwards, her head forward and legs tucked to her body as her wings shot her forwards like a living bullet. She had already resolved herself to trade blows with the Oculon, understanding inherently that trying evasive maneuvers would only keep her circling around the thing, unable to close distance.


    The Oculon growled as its many eyes shed again, this time with a myriad of colors. Blue, red, ck, yellow ¨C all different types of rays. They shot forwards in a deadly lightshow, and right as theynded, Tia braked midair, her tail flicking to stop her momentum as she curled her body in apact, defensive ball as she tucked her head in and cloaked herself with her wings.


    [Disintegration Ray]. [Destruction Ray]. [Freeze Ray]. [Shock Ray]. [Force Ray]. All of these exploded on contact with Tia in a multi-colored explosion.


    Li raised a brow as he saw through the glimmering smoke of the st. Roots had grown all across her wings, forming into two thick shields, though the rays had reduced them to scorched, frozen, crumbling and warped pieces. Nevertheless, the root shields hadrgely prevented the rays from damaging Tia herself, and she unfurled her wings, casting off the broken shields and setting herself back in flight.


    This time, the Oculon did not have time to charge up another set of rays before Tia mmed into its barrier, her sizable weight amplified by momentum turning her into a living battering ram. At this range, however, the Oculon hesitated to fire off its full arsenal of rays for fear of including itself in the explosion, and instead its eyes shed a light cerulean as they tried to channel a [Force Push] to telekically detach Tia.


    But Tia was too quick. Her tail straightened out, the cross pattern of sharpened bone at its tip stiffening in the same way a knight''s sword would tense before he struck. Green light so bright it was almost white wrapped tightly around the edges of the bone, forming into a rapidly elerating edge of concentrated life energy.


    Sheshed her tail straight into the barrier, and it punched a hole right into it. Shards of purple psionic energy scattered to the ground as a widening hole cracked into the barrier, and the Oculon widened its many eyes in palpable surprise.


    Tia did not waste any more time. She jammed an arm into the hole and growled as she broke the barrier apart from within. Without the barrier separating her, she dove right into the Oculon, savagely chomping down on its face, her many teeth crushing eyes and tendrils that exploded with bloody pops.


    The Oculon roared in pain, its shrill, siren like voiceced with psionic agony that sent winds surging all around it, but Tia kept herselftched on, only biting in deeper as her ws sunk into the Oculon''s body.


    But the Oculon would not simply roll over and die this easily.


    Tia herself hissed as the Oculon opened its mouth and bit down on her neck. By how Tia had positioned herself near the top of the Oculon''s head, it did not have the leverage to close its jaws around the soft of middle of her longer neck, but instead mped its many purple energy charged teeth onto the sturdier base of her neck.


    Regardless, with several of its eyes popped or mangled and blood spurting freely from its face, the Oculon held on, using its psionically charged teeth to try and inflict a lethal blow on Tia. Tia, thoroughly surprised as she had only ever focused on the Oculon''s eyes, reacted instinctively and shoved the Oculon away, utching from it and charging up another dragonbreath to unleash now that the Oculon''s barrier was down.


    But this time, the Oculon, blood spurting in heavy streams from its various mangled or popped eyes, saw the writing on the wall and backed away, its serpentine body wriggling as it manuevered backwards.


    Tia fired her dragon breath, but it missed with the Oculon using its remaining eyes to cast a boosted [Force Pull] that diverted the trajectory of the fire down to the ground. The fire roared as it spread through the cratered floor,yering it with molten hot rock.


    The Oculon turned around and casted [Phase Rush], using its psionic powers to wreath itself in a propelling aura that sent it hurtling back in full blown retreat.


    "Don''t let up, Tia!" said Li as he ran near her. "Barriers cost mana to create, and the fact that it is not generating another one means it is almost out."


    In Elden World, mages after level thirty could opt in to be able to constantly generate a mana barrier to provide their normally frail defenses with a boost. This came, of course, at the cost of the fact that the barriers essentially ced a percentage tax on total mana pool to create, and re-creating the barrier would need time and the same amount of mana, not to mention that there were several barrier piercing skills and spells out there, meaning that most of the time, unlesspletely specialized in creating barriers, these shields were more insurance policy than anything else.


    Li himself even as a mage did not use a barrier, for example, because he had decided to invest heavily into strength as well to ess his druidic spells and shapeshifting which provided far more a defense than a mana barrier.


    Monsters attuned with magic such as the Oculon could also create this kind of barrier, but they faced the same weaknesses. It created a barrier using undead energy, but Tia''s life energy infused fire heavily damaged it, not to mention the fact that barriers naturally took more damage from head on physical attacks for they were more suited to tanking damage from spells.


    With the barrier down, the Oculon had essentially wasted a significant chunk of its mana pool, leaving it only able to retreat for now. Tia, even if she did not know the intricacies of game mechanics, understood instinctively that the Oculon was moving back out of desperation in the same way a predator could smell the stench of fear on prey, and she was more than ready to chase the creature down for a death blow.


    Tia loosed a light growl of understanding before she stretched out her wings and shot forwards in hot pursuit, Li following behind now with wings of his own.

 Chapter 254 - Hydra

    The high speed could not havested long for the haze wreathed arena was only so big. Or that was what Li thought, but the crater was surprisinglyrge, spanning over a vast swathe ofnd dotted with shattered boulders, dwarven skeletons, and as they flew in further, the skeletal remains of beasts of burden such as rock smanders and the dull, deactivated and spherical cores of stone golems. There were torn up rails, their iron bars twisted and strewn around like toothpicks.


    Whatever this area had been, it had evidently been used for some kind of mining purpose.


    The chase ended at the other end of the crater, almost a full minuteter. That did not sound like much time, but the Oculon and Tia flew at breakneck speeds that would have put almost anything Li had seen in this world to shame.


    The Oculon stopped in front of the other end of the haze dome, blood pouring from its many grievous wounds. The haze had concentrated even thicker here, but even then, Li could see that beyond the dome, there stood the tall and imposing silhouette of the Triforge mountains.


    Li was right. This was a shortcut. The only issue being that one had to fight through an army of undead and a high-level monster to reach it.


    "Careful, Tia!" said from Li from behind her. "It is cornered, but that does not mean it is powerless."


    Tia hovered in midair, her antlers acting as conduits for green energy to begin swirling around. She kept some measure of distance for she did not want to get into a tangle with the Oculon''s surprisingly damaging jaws and knew that its barrier was down.


    The Oculon''s maw curled up into a purple smile. Its remaining eyes glowed a deep shade of purple.


    The haze began to swirl and concentrate around the Oculon, funneling into a quickly growing vortex of undeath. Its wounds began healing rapidly, and even more so than that, its entire form seemed to grow unstable, shuddering under the veil of purple as it began to turn into something else.


    Tia fired her dragonbreath, not wishing to give the Oculon time to recover, but her breath scattered as the intense wind pressure of the haze vortex blew it away. She looked to Li for guidance, and he could only raise a brow in some concern.


    This, Li was genuinely surprised about. In Elden World, there was no such mechanic as this where the source of the haze could absorb it to strengthen itself. But as his sharp eyes tracked the flow of the undead winds, he realized the haze did note from the Oculon. It had never generated it in the first ce.


    Instead, it poured out from tunnels and gaping vents in the mountain behind the Oculon.


    Even then, the haze had always been more of an aesthetic thing. Something to tell yers that an area was under heavy undead influence. It could not be interacted with by either monster or yer, only dispelled when the source was destroyed.


    "I''ll handle this, Tia," said Li as he began to fly forwards. "This is out of my expectations, and I don''t want to endanger you any more than I want."


    Tia roughly shook her head, and Li could feel through their soulbound connection that she earnestly wanted to fight on her own strength. That she was feeling more so than ever a sense of being alive, of feeling threatened and challenged and craving those sensations ever the more. And under those sensations, he could sense pleading.


    The same type of pleading a little girl would give their father when she wanted something. And Li relented, nodding to her and staying back. He reminded himself he was not here to coddle her. He was here to see her develop and struggle as her blood demanded of her.


    The haze vortex calmed rapidly, and as it died down, the air became thin. So thin that Li could feel that any human would have suffocated. The Oculon emergedpletely different. Its serpentine body remained the same, but its head had split into three fully grown and healed copies crowned with draconic horns and squirming tendrils of red.


    Li immediately said to Tia, "This is too dangerous for you now. Let me handle it."


    For the Oculon had be some strange fusion of three headed dragon and Oculon. A creature Li did not recognize at all from the game as though the Oculon might have been serpentine in appearance, it had zero rtion to dragonkind.


    This was an entirely new oddity, and one that Li was not prepared to let Tia deal with for even if he did not know what the creature was, he could still sense its power, and he estimated that it had jumped from level sixty to seventy.


    But Tia only stared straight forwards, seemingly ignoring Li''s words. She had her eyespletely trained on the dragon-oculon fusion not in her usual focused battle fury, but instead in surprise. A sliver of flesh slipped over her eyes as she blinked, and Li realized she was feeling a sense of reminiscence from seeing the three heads.


    Li paused for a split second, wondering what to tell her, and in that second the evolved Oculon''s three sets of eyes shed red. Li raised a hand, preparing to deflect iing rays, but he was still in the mistaken mindset that this was an Oculon.


    No rays came. Instead, a localized, telekically charged explosion erupted around Tia''s head in a burst of force and disintegrating red energy. A powerful blow that surely would have pierced through the magic resistance and defenses Tia had, especially considering she had not been prepared to take the attack.


    Li saw the dense smoke curling around Tia''s neck and head, and he felt her life force dip.


    That was when the world itself seemed to split apart.


    A bolt of green divine power crackled from Li''s body in a gargantuan pir as anger loosed the usual restraints he ced on himself. No, even more so than loosening restraints, it enhanced his unbound power, letting it out in an earth shaking shockwave thatpletely blew away the purple haze.


    All the haze that had formed ¨C centuries of undeath concentrated and swirling upon itself ¨C thinned and scattered within seconds. The purple dome of haze shattered, and the skies cleared. The earth shook and cracked, fissures lining the crater and causing undead to spill into them to their demise.


    The light of the sun and the blue of the sky became visible shone through, but the oculon abomination did not have any time to be surprised at light it had never before seen. For it seized up, all its eyes trained on the enormous swell of raging strength around Li that seemed only to grow and grow and grow in strength, warping the space around it, tearing up thend beneath it, and gathering hurricane force winds that made the haze tinted squalls look like gentle summer breezes.


    Li could heal Tia. He could even resurrect her if he needed to. But that did not change the fact that it was unforgivable ¨C absolutely unforgivable ¨C that anything, anyone had hurt her to this degree. His skin shuddered and cracked, peeling off in strips, but he still had at least some presence of mind to put some effort in keeping it on, for he knew that Old Thane and the others could not be far behind.


    But the abomination before him was dead. There was no question about it. He raised a hand to the air, concentrating the enormous pir of power around him into a colossal sphere of whirling winds and green, vtile energy. This was not any spell.


    It was just his raw power unleashed and formed in a way to utterly destroy.


    The abomination turned around, its eyes looking to one of the massive tunnels leading into the mountain, perhaps looking to slip into it to escape, but that would do nothing.


    As it stood right now, if Li threw down this ball of energy, well, the name "Triforge mountains" would no longer be apt considering there would be a soreck of one mountain peak.


    But he felt a familiar flicker of warmth in his heart. It was Tia.


    "It''s okay, papa." Tia''s voice came from her body, and when he looked to her, he blinked in surprise as he saw two pairs of eyes looking at him.


    From her head injury, Tia had grown two heads. One emerald scaled and green eyed, the other covered in ck, spiny bone ting and staring with a dull ck stare. She spoke, managing now to talk even in her draconic form ¨C she had evolved.


    "I''m fine!" said Tia, sounding cheery, though Li knew at the heart of it, she was terribly concerned for him. For she had never seen him this angry, and that alone was cause for concern.


    Li felt his emotions begin to quell, and with them, he felt the power he had built up overhead also dimming. Though, as he realized, it was not fading away. No, instead, it was travelling to Tia, circling around her body in gentle wisps of green that began to circle around her twin heads, dancing around her horns in rings reminiscent of halos.


    "I finish fight, then make papa happy," said Tia, her two heads nodding, and she pped her wings, speeding forwards above the oculon abomination.


    The abomination hissed and its triple set of eyes glowed again, but this time, Tia was ready. The massive amount of energy she had received from Li through their soulbound connection formed a natural barrier around her, and the telekically charged disintegration explosion erupted uselessly against it, unable to prate past it.


    "You¡­dragon," said Tia to the abomination. "I see your heart. Sad. Lonely. Waiting. But now, no more wait."


    She drew her heads back, and the halos around her horns shattered, their energy supercharged particles floating around her mouths in the form of charged dragon breath.


    The Oculon abomination seized up, its many eyes straining and bleeding as they attempted toprehend the enormous amount of divine energy that Tia now wielded, and it closed its eyes. Perhaps in strain, perhaps in eptance.


    Tia took this as a sign and unleashed the deathblow.


    She sent two streams of dragonsbreath fueled by Li''s own power, and the spiraling streams of green coalesced upon the form of the oculon creature. It was almost as if the whole world had lit up green, and for a brief moment, the oculon''s silhouette was visible, and in another, it had disappeared,pletely disintegrated into nothingness.

 Chapter 255 - Aftermath

    With the death of the oculon-dragon fusion, the remainingyers of haze that survived Li''s outpour of divine energy faded away, thinning into transparency that let the bright, sunny rays of the sun above pierce through.


    With how bright and golden the sun was and how crystal-clear blue the skies above were, it almost looked as if there had never been an undeath riddled atmosphere in the first ce. Under natural light and sky, the crater so riddled with broken down mine carts, rails, and shattered rocks had a hauntingly beautiful appearance to it, as if a visage of nature that had ousted the race of time against mortal civilization.


    Li and Tia both looked up as they saw little specks of shining green fall from the sky like snow. A sign of impressive control from Tia. She had channeled the enormous brunt of Li''s divine energy in a way such that after destroying the Oculon, the remaining vast pool of power shunted upwards into the sky, scattering into what were now little kes of power that wafted down slowly and gently.


    Had she thrown the energy out as Li had intended right at and through the oculon, then he had little doubts that she would probably have severely damaged the mountains, though to a slightly lesser extent than Li. It seemed when she received power from Li, it was at a slightly inefficient rate.


    Li let his wings slow, and he too glided down to the ground, and Tia''s huge form also did the same. Side by side, they floated down with the snow shower of divine energy to the crater. There, little shoots of grass were pushing through the once barren, undead earth, marking ces where the flecks of divine power had dropped.


    A tremble in the air brought Li''s attention back to Tia, and he saw that she was sealing her draconic form again. He looked up as he saw her turn into a faint silhouette shrouded by a bright backdrop light of white. As the light dimmed and shrank, the silhouette also became smaller, until finally, it formed into the regr shape of Tia''s human form.


    With a slight difference.


    When the light faded entirely, Li was left looking not at one pair of eyes, but two. One green, one ck.


    Tia now had two heads, just like how she had in her draconic form. And like in her draconic form, one of her heads was framed in ck scales, and the other in green. More draconic horns sprouted from her ck scaled head, and antlers stood tall above her green head.


    Nevertheless, Li rushed in to take her in her arms, for he cared little how she looked, jus that she was happy and healthy.


    Well, he had known she was fine ¨C he could sense it through their soulbound connection and by looking at her draconic form-, but even then, seeing her healthy and smiling at him was more than enough reason to give him relief.


    Tia giggled as Li swept her up for it was not too often that he would ever rush in to give anyone a hug.


    "I''m okay, papa!" said Tia''s green head as she too wrapped her arms around Li.


    "I know," said Li.


    After a few seconds, Li put Tia down, and she looked up at him with twin smiles, both lined with teeth noticeablyrger and sharper than before.


    "More hugs!" said the ck-scaled head in quite the demanding tone.


    "No, one good enough," responded the green-scaled head as it looked with some judgement at the other. "And papa tired."


    "I''m not tired," said Li with a smile. "And you''ve earned it, managing to beat something this strong."


    He scooped Tia up in his arms again, hugging her and this time cing her around his shoulders where she usually perched.


    "Dragon very strong, but Tia stronger," said green Tia. ck Tia shook her head. "Papa gave power. Not fair."


    "Hm," said Li, observing the dynamic between the two heads. He knew they were one and the same person ¨C Tia. But everyone had sides to them, and he surmised that this was like a physical manifestation of that. "It might not have been fair, but before the transformation, you were beating it. And dragon? Did you think that was a dragon?"


    He asked genuinely for he knew his status checking skill would not have worked on whatever the Oculon had turned into. It only ever worked on things that had been in the game, and that was definitely not that. In that sense, Tia and her innate ability to sense into the hearts of others to know what they felt and who they were was far better at identifying than he was.


    Both of Tia''s heads nodded, and green Tia spoke. "Was dragon before turning into monster. Old dragon. Waited here for long, long, long time."


    "For centuries, if the old Aarakowa is right," said Li as he looked out to where oculon had been vaporized. The purple haze still trickled out of the vents and tunnel openings leading into the mountains, but at a far lesser rate than before. The Oculon creature was channeling the haze from the mountains, and without it active anymore, the undead energy did not flow as fiercely. "But monsters like that do tend to stay in one spot."


    Tia shook her head. "Dragon wanted to leave. Very much. But had to wait. Guard. Guard for¡­" She scrunched her brows, trying to remember what she had seen and felt by looking into the Oculon''s many eyes after it had transformed. "For a friend. Close friend."


    "Another to fight!" said ck-scaled Tia with thorough enthusiasm.


    "Oh, you''ll be getting some rest is what you''ll be doing," said Li. "We have plenty of time to kill going through the mountain, and you''ll be taking a break."


    "But papa," said ck-scaled Tia. She pointed to the mountains. "Friend to fight there."


    "I see," said Li. Even though it might have been hard to get the gist of what Tia was saying through just her words, he could always understand what she fully meant because of their innate connection.


    And this time, he knew that she was saying that the Oculon had not been a creature that manifested randomly as specters of undead energy as was the case in Elden World. It was more a regr undead, formed from a dragon, and a dragon that had been meant to guard this area.


    And guard it did, guarding and guarding for centuries, and even when pressed with severe force, it hesitated to retreat, in the end never once considering turning tail and slithering its way into the mountains for refuge.


    It guarded for someone. A close friend, as Tia said, or, as Li could surmise, its master. And it was evident that the master still resided within the mountains itself.

 Chapter 256 - Knowledge

    Li thought about this for a second. If the strange hybrid of dragon and oculon that they had just fought was easily nearing level seventy, then it stood to reason that the master of it was even stronger. Though perhaps that was not true as well, considering that the undead haze had so strongly empowered the former drake.


    In any case, from what he had seen in this world, Li knew there were precious few entities beyond level fifty, let alone beyond seventy. In all likelihood, this dragon master was going to be the primal spirit that presumably resided within the Triforge mountain.


    An entity single-handedly responsible for bringing an entire race of dwarves to ruin, killing so many that even now, undead haze oozed from the mountain, fueled eternally by the agonized souls of a whole people.


    But Li did not worry. For at the end of the day, he was absolutely confident that no threat was beyond his means.


    "Even if this mystery fellow in the mountain wants to fight," said Li. "You, my dragon, are not going to. Rest is just as important as fighting, and you''ve fought hard today. Harder than I would have ever expected."


    "No fair. Boring!" said ck-scaled Tia as she frowned, but green-scaled Tia gave her a withering leer before smiling at Li. "Okay, papa, I rest for today. Tired anyway."


    ck-scaled Tia did not object, lowering her head, and Li knelt down to pat both heads. "Thank you for being understanding."


    At that moment, Li heard the rapid fire walk of the Vukanovi, its leg-roots pattering atop the cratered ground in fric pace. He looked back to see the Vukanovi no worse for wear with the rest of the party atop it.


    There was the advance party with Old Thane, Vilga, and She, and they nursed a fair amount of wounds. The old man, in particr, had variouscerations and puncture wounds littering his body, and even now, he sat cross-legged atop the pumpkin creature, using his hand to pull out a shaky arrow. His wounds quickly began healing, no doubt his Berserker subss''s regenerative abilitiesing into function.


    ===========


    Vilga sat next to Old Thane and Zagan''s sleeping form and meditated, using her monk subss to heal her wounds by flowing mana to them.


    She, however, was not so lucky for her subsses did not give her strong ess to healing, only pain tolerance. She instead used her long, rough tongue top up wounds for Feli saliva had a minor effect of halting bleeding.


    The rear group was mostly unharmed. As sat atop her coils, rapidly writing atop a tablet. She had no wounds about her, which made sense due to her high level and the fact that as a mage, she likely had a mana barrier to aid her. Mason and Mercery unconscious but breathing and bearing only minor wounds behind her.


    Li picked Tia up and jumped, soaring several dozen meters in the air before he gracefullynded on the Vukanovi''s head.


    Immediately, he snapped his fingers, and everyone''s wounds healed, little streams of green energy flowing from his hand to mend every hurt and harm.


    "Old man, what happened?" said Li. "The wounds you had were pretty bad. Not the kind you''d get from the weaker undead you were facing before."


    Old Thane mmed his chest with his fist and smiled broadly. "You should have been there,d! The moment ye breached that whirlwind of death, knights of the great twilight rose up against us. How many was it again,ss?"


    The old man pped Vilga''s broad back excitedly, and she opened one eye in minor irritation at having her meditation interrupted.


    "Twelve," said Vilga. "Thirteen, counting big one."


    "Aye, the big one. A mighty powerful one, he was," said Old Thane. He clenched his scar painted fists with a sigh. "And another to fall below my blows in glorious singlebat."


    Li knew that undead knights were generally powerful monsters, but from what he heard, he could not ce what type of the many undead knights they had fought. Regardless, it was evident they had been through quite the struggle.


    "You took a lot of hits, old man," said Li. "One of them looked like a sword went right through your gut. I know being a Berserker means you don''t drop dead from vital hits like that, but you should watch yourself more."


    "Hoh, I am more humble than you think,d," said Old Thane. "That knight was a fierce one. No doubt in his past life, he must have been the vanguard of an entire kingdom. A warrior of superb merit such as Leonid Drozdov. Or perhaps Ironheart in of Montagne. Or Gale the Immovable were he still young and spry.


    s, the duel was beyond mine own advanced years. Thus, I drew from another."


    Old Thane tilted his head towards Zagan, and the demon twitched an ear in recognition, but nothing more than that. So Zagan had given Old Thane some help at the end. Aforting thought as in Li''s absence, the old man would always be protected as he doubted there was much that could overpower Zagan.


    "Strange familiar," said She as she cocked her head at Zagan, her nose twitching as she tried to ascertain the demon''s scent. "But very strong."


    Zagan stirred in his sleeping position, taking offense to being called a mere familiar.


    "Not quite a familiar," said Li. "He is a friend and advisor to me. That alone should tell you of his significance."


    She nodded, stopping her investigation of Zagan but still having enough feline curiosity to side eye the demon.


    "And you," said Li to As. She looked up from her tablet with her trademark bored face, though it was evident at how her pointed ears stiffened that she was at alert for his words. "Did not find much trouble? Especially with those two holding you down."


    As shook her head. "They were mine own burden to choose to bear. But nay, not much struggle did I encounter. Merely the lesser undead."


    "And they got knocked out by lesser undead?" said Li as he looked to Mason and Mercer''s unconscious forms.


    "Ah, not so," said As. "When I came upon my travellingpanions here-," She pointed a long-nailed finger to Old Thane, She, and Vilga. "I perchance happened upon their predicament. Twelve Rotguard Knights matched to the Lupi and Feli, and a Rotguard Elite to the aged human."


    "Let us start using our proper names," said Li, and As nodded.


    "My apologies. A habit of mine." As continued. "The overwhelming pressure the Rotguard loosed felled the two young adventurers, and myself,cking of the healing arts, could do naught but carry them.


    The twelve Rotguard, mine magic aided in destroying. The Elite, Thane felled."


    "The Serpi, I mean, As is strong," said Vilga as she opened an eye to look at As with some degree of respect. "She says she has not learned to fight, but her magic is powerful.


    "Of course," said Old Thane. "In the far flung eastern Sandrivers of the Republic, littered as it is with horrific Deathworms, Gigantopedes, Rattlewyrms, and other monsters of such slithering and poisonous ilk, adventurers will find nothing but death. Unless they happen upon the Serpi, for then, they will find sce and safety."


    "All adventurers, we grant refuge," exined As. "Lodging in exchange for their unique stories and tales. Though, of course, should they lose our interest, they will be left to the will of the sands once more."


    "Ah, I remember mine own adventurers in the Sandrivers. It was through there that I passed from the Northwastes to the Elven tribes, then to Beaumont. Never before had I known scorching heat til'' then."


    "Exins how you handle the Solen sun so well," said Li. He spoke to As. "You could identify the exact type of undead they were fighting. Is that part of what you learn as a recording scribe?"


    As nodded. "That is so. Never before had I seen a Rotguard-ss undead before, but I knew of them well from description and mannerism recorded in tablets among mine sisters before me."


    "A good thing, too. Rotguards are pretty nasty, as far as enemies go," said Li, reminiscing. "Undead born from the powerful and trained flesh of superb warriors, most often the vanguard of a monarch, and among them, the Elite can be considered a champion among champions.


    So, in a way, old man, you are right. The Rotguard Elite probably was the reanimated corpse of the strongest warrior from a kingdom. And considering where we are, I am going to guess from the dwarves that once lived here."


    "Hah, I knew my instincts were not far off," said Old Thane.


    "You too seem to possess deep knowledge," said As. "Thest recorded instance of Rotguard emergence, to mine memory, is the year 333, three years after the fall of Ardenhelm, the fortress of frost Lupi in the northwastes. That thou possesseth knowledge of creatures so obscured by the shroud of time and geographic expanse is quite intriguing to me, as if thou held ess to the great Compendium of the gods themselves."


    "Hm." Li thought about this. He knew what As was talking about. The Compendium was an item that all yers had that was basically an encyclopedia that they could open up which recorded monster encounters and item discoveries automatically.


    In the lore, Zahaka the serpent goddess created it to aid adventurers, though it would seem that in this world, thependium was not mass produced.Or even known of, if the raised brows of Old Thane and the Feli were anything to go off of.


    "Ie from a far flungnd inmunion with a far flung deity. It is likely I have knowledge not even your goddess knows of."


    As''s eyes brightened up for the first time, an eager smile flitting about her thin ck lips. "And shalt thou be inclined to share some with me?"


    "Keep recording what we do and what I say, and you''ll have more than enough to record," said Li. "I would not want to burden yourself anymore than that. And besides, long and boring lectures on what I know do not belong on an expedition such as this.


    Come, let us instead ready ourselves to wade into the Triforge Mountains."

 Chapter 257 - Into The Mountains

    As flitted out her forked tongue, a little peeved that she could not get Li to sit down and regale her for hours and hours about knowledge he had. Not that he was too opposed to it. It was more like he did not want to be the center of conversation for hours, vomiting out factoids he knew. Despite the fact that he figured himself a good enough public speaker, he did not like being the center of a regr conversation for too long.


    "That ce bad," said She. She pointed a wed, gold furred hand to the entrances of the Triforge Mountains where purple haze still curled out. "Source of death."


    Vilga crossed her burly arms together and narrowed her eyes as she peered at the entrances, not being as knowledgeable aboutmystical fields such as undeath as She but still trusting the Feli''s words regardless.


    "Aye, but if needs be, I will be apt vanguard for these dastardly tunnels," said Old Thane as he took a confident step forward. "For the dark of caverns and tunnels will do little against me."


    "Sorry to say, old man, but you can take a seat too," said Li.


    He snapped his fingers, causing the wreath around his neck ¨C the same one that Sindra had given to him ¨C to grow bioluminescent blue flowers that were more than bright enough to light the way through the tunnel. He then pointed his hand towards the unconscious forms of Mason and Mercer, shrouding them in green that would fend them against the effects of the haze within the mountain.


    "We''re going to be taking a break from fighting for the most part, and I''ll be leading. Until we reach whatever it is that''s causing this haze in the mountain."


    Li led the entire party throughout the winding tunnels of the Triforge mountains, his divine presence warding off the purple haze while the light on his wreath shining bright, making sure that nothing came as a surprise.


    The insides of the Triforge Mountain were a haunting tapestry of the past. There were iron bar supports at the top of the tunnels as well as wooden pirs ced every so often with rusted bell andntern light hanging off of them, though it had been centuries since thenterns had ever been lit. The metal heads of picks and shovels as well as the warped and deteriorating figures of weapons, mostly axes and bludgeoning weapons,y scattered about, their skeletal owners lying beside them.


    And many were these owners. Countless corpses of dwarves, their skeletal frame shorter and stockier than those of men, littered these stony innards. Pieces of metal they wore, mostly armor, remained on their bones, all other clothing having long since rotted away. Around all their necks were nes with rough, uncut gemstones or ores etched with what Li could read as their names and what tribe they were from.


    A sizable portion of these dwarven skeletons did reanimate, fueled by the haze, but all Li had to do was flux his divine aura, and they faded away.


    At a certain point an hour in, they reached a spot to rest in. It was at the end of the tunnel they had entered, atop a tform of stone, wood, and metal attached to a chain that could loosen or coil onmand of a lever. An elevator system, in essence, and atop this sizable tform, the party sat.


    "Careful, Tia," said Li as he saw Tia lean against a guardrail, peering over it down to plummeting, haze shrouded depths. There seemed to be absolutely no life in these mountains aside from the asional undead, and it was questionable to even call that life to begin with.


    Beyond the elevator tform they sat on, Li could see with his enhanced sight that far in the distance, there was another tform that marked the other side of the mountain. It would seem that at the base of the mountain where they were currently at, the dwarves were not too active. There were not too many structures around, no ces that looked anything like housing. Just some mining equipment, mostly.


    This ce was more like a transit point. The dwarves probably took the elevator up or down to more popted areas. Or they did two hundred years ago.


    "It down there!" said Tia as she pointed a w over the guardrail, towards the depths below. "Dragon''s friend."


    "The primal spirit," said Old Thane.


    "No such thing," said As with a didactic shake of her head. Throughout the whole way across the tunnel, she had been scribbling furiously on tablet after tablet, evidentlypletely enraptured by the ruin around her.


    "Really now?" said Li. He saw her put a tablet in her satchel, finished sketching and writing on it with her stylus, and manifested another with her magic. "And I am a little curious. It seems that you would have had more than enough tablets to fill up that small bag. Is the insiderger than the outside? Dimensional storage of sorts?"


    He wondered if she had anything simr to the inventory that yers had.


    "Dimensional storage?" As pondered the word before she shook her head. "Nay, no such thing. Magic that warps the rigid structure of space lies not within domain of mortal hands. But a shard of it, I can ess with divine aid.


    Thus, whence I am done with my recording, I ce mine tablet in this vessel, and it crumbles, its contents transferred and inscribed upon the St, the neverending tablet in mine homnd upon which all history lies written and observed."


    "A glorious sight," said Old Thane. "It points high to the sun, and below the sands, I am sure it touches near to the heart of the world itself. Witnessing it with mine eyes, when I still had them, made me truly feel small. Small in such a way that no Jotunn could make me feel.


    Like I was witnessing the vast breadth of eternity, knowing well how mine mortality was but a speck as tiny as one of countless grains of sand within the Sandrivers."


    As smiled. "I am d that thou hath understood the wonder of the St." Her smile faded into a thin-lipped expression of disgust. "Yet others do not think the same."


    "Aye, I''d heard tell that the Elves sought to take the St from ye," said Old Thane.


    "Philistines, all of them, refusing even our scribes to record their new ways," said As. She sighed. "Though I suppose that must be said of allnds now. Ever since the Third Darkening, the kingdoms of man became ever more chaotic, ever more distrustful of that which was not human, and the north became the ything of Elven schemes.


    My sisters once roamed the far-flung edges of this vast and beautiful world to record its wonder, and now, we are rejected everywhere."


    "Strange to see you so far from home in that context," said Li.


    "Snakes never seen in many years," agreed She as she sat on her haunches. The golden, tough fur that usually grew out when she fought had receded now, leaving her fair, conventionally pleasing features uncovered. "Once, snakes came to us. Wrote about us. But with elves, no more."


    "I have never before seen your kind," said Vilga as she gnawed on a bone she had found from the skeleton of arge beast of burden. Tia wanted to do the same, but Li had told her not to because who knew how long those bones were collecting dust and nastiness.


    "But you are strong. Very strong. If all your sisters are just as strong, then you do not worry, no? Fight elves and win. Take what you want afterwards."


    As shook her head. "Nay. The way of the sword is not ours to follow. If ites to be that our presence is rejected, then we cannot force our will upon the unwilling."


    "But strong means nobody mess with you," said Tia as she waltzed back to the group, sitting beside Li.


    Vilga grunted in agreement.


    "Hm." As paused for a while. An uncharacteristically long time, for usually, she had answers right at the top of her head, or if needed, took only a second to elocute herself. "I suppose. But a way forced upon others through the back of a de''s edge means that it holds not the legs to stand upon itself.


    Regardless, if thou art curious about why I am here, far, far flung from mine home, then it is because I am one of few, perhaps the only among mine sisters whom hath mustered the will and courage to traverse the outside world once more."


    "Snake people magic is strong," said She. "How did you get captured? Like us?"


    "Ah, that." As shrugged lightly. "My sisterhood enforces an oath upon us. To not raise our magics wantonly against others. We are allowed to wield them to fend for ourselves, but my caution in withholding it led to my magic''s neutralization in surprise attack."


    "Cowardly," muttered Vilga. She snorted. "Such is the way of the elves. They glorify singlebat and the honor of the fight in arenas, but when they want for something, they take without any shred of honor."


    "That is not the true way of the elves," said Old Thane. He had his arms crossed, his stare zed and looking back to the past. "Even when my hair still stood tall and ck, there were yet many elves that followed the ways of nature where the life of the earth and those that tread upon it are sacred above all.


    After all, it is among the elves that herbalism in its truest, purest state began. Among elves, my dear wife Aine perfected her craft."


    "No more," said She. "Elves different now. Use big, loud metal. Fire. Destroy forest. Homes. My home. Take us. Make us work." She put a hand to her neck, where once there had been a ver''s cor. "Sell us."


    "Aye," said Old Thane quietly. "Years and years, I spent on my farm, never once looking outside to the world around me, never paying attention to how it changed for better or for worse. I suppose when Aine left, the world simply became that much duller.


    And now, I cannot help but think that I had yet held more years to make a difference. In the north. In the south. Anywhere."


    "You have made a difference, old man," said Li. "You''ve raised Triple Threat, and I guarantee they''re going to make their mark in this world, and it''ll be a good one. And without you, I have no idea where I would be. All I know is that because of you, I can at the least confidently say I have made this world just a bit better.


    And I guarantee you, it will only keep getting better."

 Chapter 258 - Descent

    "Papa always make things better," nodded Tia.


    "And old man," continued Li. "You''ve got your chance to make things right now. With me, you''ll be part of something bigger and better. I''m going to end this demonic invasion, this war, and all the chaos that made it possible in the first ce."


    "Aye,d, I''ve no doubt you will," said Old Thane. He smiled. "Once ye set your mind to something, nothing seems to take you off it." He cracked his neck and sighed. "Enough of hearing this old man''s ramblings about the past. The present is now, and the future is ours to take now that we have set upon the glorious path of adventure."


    "That''s the spirit," said Li. "Moping doesn''t suit you, old man. Now let''s get ourselves moving down."


    ================


    As was the one to know how to make the tform move, navigating the lever and the various ces it could be moved to in order to direct the direction and degree of movement from the elevator.


    She knew all this because she had studied all cultures of the world, at the least, up until the third demonic invasion urred and the Triforge dwarves wentpletely dark, their kingdom and people seemingly shattered overnight.


    "You mentioned you did not believe a primal spirit ended the Triforge dwarves," said Li as he watched As dust off the lever, her slitted eyes narrowing as she figured out how to head down.


    She nodded to herself, grasped the heavy, pir-like iron lever, and pulled it with surprising strength. It groaned in protest, and a cloud of dust arose around it, but the tform shook and the chain holding it in ce rattled above in sess, moving everyone down.


    "I am sensitive to magic," said As. "The presence of primal spirits, I too am familiar with, for a sand spirit doth grant us protection in our home. But here, I sense no such presence."


    "I have to agree with you on that end," said Li. "I sense nothing. Too much of nothing, in fact."


    He was uncharacteristically feeling the slightest bit uneasy. Aside from the undeath haze that permeated the entirety of the mountain''s innards, there were no other magical signatures. Not a single living thing either. Just pure nothingness. Ruins. Stillness borne of death and decay.


    If there truly had been a Primal Spirit here, he would have felt its power, for Primal Spirits by nature could not easily conceal their presences, constantly fluxing whatever element or concept they embodied.


    "I''d heard tell that what brought ruin upon the dwarves was a mighty demon,"mented Old Thane.


    Li shook his head. If there had been a demon, Zagan would have known before anyone else, and the demon had notmunicated anything to Li.


    The tform shook precariously for a moment before beginning to move down, the huge, rune-studded chains supporting it loosing out a ttering rhythm. This sudden movement jarred awake Mason and Mercer, for both brothers had been out cold, recovering their consciousnesses from the previous fight with the undead.


    They groaned in unison as they sat up, blinking their eyes as they got used to the strange blue light emanating from Li that provided the only source of illumination in the mountain.


    "You two okay?" asked green-scaled Tia as she leaned forwards, looking at them with glowing eyes.


    "Fine, fine," said Mason as he knitted his brows together. "And yet, perhaps not so. It would seem I am seeing double. Two heads?"


    "Weaklings not okay," said ck-scaled Tia.


    Mercer jolted awake, and his brother followed suite as they looked at her, and this made Li realize that perhaps the sight of a two headed girl was a little bit jarring for normal people.


    "What happened!?" said Mercer as he scooted backwards, his back hitting the guardrail. "Did the foul undead magics warp her?"


    Tia cocked her heads at the brothers'' reactions and then nodded to herself. She put her hands on her ck-scaled head and then pushed down. In positively unnatural motion, her head retracted into her body, and it was as if it had never been there in the first ce.


    She bared a fanged smile at the brothers. "Better?"


    "I-I suppose," said Mercer.


    "No such thing," said Li with a sigh. "The undead were defeated, and you two have As to thank for your lives."


    Instantly, Mercer brightened up, and he looked to As and bowed his head. "Ah, it is truly embarrassing for a fighter such as myself to need rescuing from ady. I do apologize."


    "Thou art weak, and thou thus need protection. It is natural. Do not mind it," said As as she returned to recording with fervor.


    Li noticed this and he spoke to her. "This mountain seems to have attracted your attention far more so than anything we have happened on until now. Why is that?"


    "When the Triforge dwarves fell, so too did any continuing records of them," exined As. She smiled, her forked tongue flitting out. "And now, I am first of all to continue their story. This is why I left the Sandrivers. For this novelty. For this thrill of the new."


    "An adventurer at heart, aye," said Old Thane.


    Mercer stood up, his legs a little wobbly, but he managed to look somewhat okay. He shed a smile to As. "Adventure, you say? Then how abouting with us when the time is right?"


    Mason sighed and pulled his brother back. "Brother, sometimes, I do wonder how it is that you manage to scour up such needless courage. You are asking her to yoke herself down to the two fools who she burdened herself to save."


    "Hm." As looked to the brothers, analyzing their potential rather coldly. "I am not opposed to the idea. Should thou survive til'' the seer parts ways, then it may be that I may record thine tales. But for now, take thou energy to rest and survival."


    "See, brother!" said Mercer to his older brother. "Confidence. That is key."


    "Whatever." Mason put a hand to his face before dragging his brother back with him by the guardrail, looking down. "And this is the Triforge, I presume? Gods, to think that we are enteringnds that have never before been seen in centuries."


    "Cursednds." Mercer shuddered, looking down at the seemingly infinite rocky abyss below.


    "There is no such magic here," said Li.


    She sniffed the air and agreed. "I know curses. Like them. And can smell none." She sneezed, rubbing her nose with her hand as her cat ear twitched. "Only dust."


    Vilga kept to herself for now, just meditating to restore her mana, and though she was listening to the conversation, she had nothing to add to it for she had no knowledge of magic nor anything of the south.


    "Tell me, As," said Li as he could see far further down than everyone else, his eyes piercing through the dark to see that below, there were hundreds of bridges and pathways crisscrossing like cobwebs, many of them lined with rails and carts, with some of these carts still full of rocks and minerals of many kinds magical and non-magical.


    Iron Golems sat hunched over and deactivated along these paths, some of them still carrying heavy blocks of rock for construction purposes. Dwarven skeletons were everywhere in just the same state as the ones lying along the surface tunnels, as if they had been alive one moment, then instantly dead the next.


    "You seem to have the most knowledge of this world out of all of us. What was this dwarven kingdom like? This ce seems to have been dedicated entirely for mining."


    As took a few moments to collect her knowledge, remembering what she had learned. In those moments, Mercer blurted out, "A shadowy, cruel people, the dwarves were. I''d heard tell that all cursed weapons still used today are all made from them."


    "Absolutely not," snapped back As, and Mercer blinked, taken aback. As collected herself and exined. "That is the fabrication of the current duchy of Soleil, and history that hath been twisted is high sacrilege to mine eyes and ears.


    Nay, the Triforge dwarves were a mild peoples, descended from the dwarven king Andvar who fought in the First Darkening when the gods themselves battled upon this realm.


    Andvar and his brother split ways and their peoples, some travelling north to what is now Montagne, some further beyond, to the far reaches of even the Northwastes. But the vast majority foundnd and rule within these southern mountains, using their innate connection with the world to fashion the insides of these towering crags into blooming civilization.


    The southern dwarves of the Triforge are far less given to war than their counterparts in Montagne, and yet are far more attuned to the flow of the world, knowing well where to mine and how to shape the earth to their will. It is they who singlehandedly through friendly trade uplifted the metalwork of man over a hundred years in progress."


    "But that is simply wrong," said Mercer. "None of the Arcanist scrolls nor scribes ever speak of such things."


    "The Arcana?" As snickered. "The single greatest affront to the purity of history know to this world. How I would wish to personally wring all their heads from their necks."


    The bloodlust that emanated from As was starkly noticeable,pletely shing with her usual calm and cool, and it immediately cowed Mercer, for it became very evident with how the very air felt like it became heavier, grainier, that As''s bloodlust was not something many could survive in this world.


    "Leave it, brother," said Mason as he put a hand to Mercer''s shoulder. "We are narrow minded youths in a wide world, and As is learned of manynds and peoples."


    As''s temporary bloodlust faded. "Understand that I direct not my displeasure towards thee. Thou hath lived and learned only what though hath heard. I cannot fault thee. But listen to me, and I hope that thou shalt learn truth."


    She continued to Li.


    "The dwarves of Montagne too lost their kingdom and the vast majority of their peoples during that conflict, sacrificing everything to hold a line against a Herald at the Montagne mountains.


    There yet are descendants of Montagne''s dwarves, hence the shorter, stronger statures of the people of Montagne and their affinity for mining, war, and golemancy.


    But the Triforge dwarves under King Tyr perished during the Third Darkening under entirely unknown circumstance. There art only spection as to their demise, and I am here to record what hath truly befallen them."


    "I see, so you are in the dark too," said Li. "Well, all I can say is that it seems like whatever wiped them out, took them out in an instant. Look-,"


    The tform had lowered enough for everyone to be able to see what Li had seen beforehand. The countless paths of minecarts and deactivated golems and corpses.


    "All of them seemingly killed while going about their daily lives. Zero signs of struggle. No coteral damage anywhere. A whole civilization just entirely ended at the snap of a finger."


    As scribbled on her tablet. "Hm."


    "Sad," said Tia. "Many, many people. Many hearts, I hear still. Feel hope. Strong hope. Lost hope."


    "That, I can sense too," said Li. "Even from the undead outside. It makes sense. Undead rarely arise simply because of dead bodies, or else the number of undead would over run this world. Strong and unfulfilled emotions bring them back, and in this case, it is hope that has been grown and lost.


    Yet, I struggle to piece together what exactly happened still."


    "Patience,d," said Old Thane. "I know ye do not like the feeling of the unknown, but this, too, is part of adventure. I am sure as we travel down, we will find our answers as adventurers do."


    "Guess I''m not really cut out to be a typical adventurer," said Li with a shrug. In hindsight, it was true. He liked to minimize risk when he adventured in the game, never liking unknowns, always trying to make sure he knew what he was getting into. It made him a good yer, but in a sense, not a great adventurer.


    "No such thing," said Old Thane. "It matters not how ye think of the adventure, whether all is nned or all is known. Adventure is what you make of it,d, nothing more, nothing less, and if the unknown be part of it, then so be it."


    The old man raised a fist.


    "And so, let us rally together to face the great unknown below!"

 Chapter 259 - The Helgat

    For the better part of half an hour, the tform made its way down, the chain above groaning and creaking precariously. Every so often, the chain would glow, causing another coiled chain lying nailed to the mountain wall to unspool and attach to the tform, resetting its length for further travel.


    And like this, they made their way through the skeletal remains of an entire civilization. Until at a certain point -


    "What in the world?"


    Surprisingly, it was Li that uttered this statement. He narrowed his eyes as he saw coiled around the bridges, pathways, and mining contraptions what was best described as a ck ooze. It shuddered rhythmically, as if breathing, and it glowed with a sickening shine that indicated a slimy, slick texture when the light Li shone nced upon it.


    And there was so much of it, too, wrapped around almost every surface, all of it attached to each other in tendrils like a massivelyplex web. Notably, there were no corpses here anymore, likely absorbed into the sprawling mass.


    The party tensed up, seeing what Li saw, and immediately all of them stood up, wary of the unknown.


    Li was surprisedrgely because he truly had no idea what this substance was. It did not match anything he knew. His first thought was some kind of ck slime which would have been rather high leveled, but no, this was not anything like that. In fact, he could not sense anything from it at all. No magic. Nothing to read for their status.


    Much like when Li tried to read the statuses of full-blooded heroes.


    The ck mass shuddered in unison, and Li spoke, "Stay near me, all of you!"


    As he anticipated, the mass attacked, and tendrils shot out from every single direction, aiming to grasp at and overwhelm the tform.


    Li immediately cast [Moonbeam], not holding back at all on power output as twin lights of silver lit up the dark innards of the mountain. Thankfully, the moonbeams were highly effective, burning up and disintegrating the approaching ck mass with ease. But the attacks came from all directions, and even as Li covered vast swaths of area with his moonbeams, the mass seemed to be infinitely regenerative, and soon enough, the tform began to shake and rock violently.


    Tendrils had likely managed to lock onto the chain holding the tform, and it was only a matter of time before it snapped and everyone went into a freefall.


    And so, Li prepared a defense. He leaped into the air and closed his fist, casting [Chrysalis]. A cocoon-like shell of green energy materialized around the tform, snapping off the chain. He prevented the energy encased tform from going into freefall by shifting his arm into a mass of roots, extending them to curl around the cocoon like an anchor, tethering it to him as he sprouted wings to keep everyone afloat.


    In the short time Li focused on creating the chrysalis, tendrils had struck at him, or rather, they focused more on attaching to him. The ooze seeped into his skin, causing the muscle fibers and blood vessels beneath to cken and swell, but because this organic form was simply just an artificially constructed vessel, it did no real damage.


    Instead, it let Li know that the kind of damage these tendrils did were entirely independent of magic, passing through his innate magical and physical resistances. These things did not belong to Elden World.And thankfully, it would seem that they could not pierce through the energy construct barrier that was the A-ranked Chrysalis spell.


    He reactivated his moonbeams, burning away the stray tendrils that had managed totch onto his arm and legs.


    But as Li peered down, he realized the sheer enormity of volume that this thing was attacking with. Fifty meters down was the t base of the mountain, and it would be no exaggeration to im that all of it waspletely covered in this mass.


    Simple moonbeams would not do enough, and he was not going to go ahead and Fusionboost himself as he was not in anywhere near a threat level simr to the Darkbeast hand, though the mechanics of the fight were simr.


    Instead, he opted for something else.


    "All of you, close your eyes," said Li. "Unless you want to go blind."


    Currently, Li flew along with the smaller version of the multi-colored [Wings of Simurgh], but even at full shapeshifted power, those wings did not have the consistent damage to destroy the ck slime.


    The wings sucked into Li''s back, and for a second, the tform was in free fall. But as bright light exploded like a nova around Li, the tform halted. Wings red to Li''s sides. Bright red, feathered wings lined with gold and covered with an ever-flickering aura of bright white light, much like the sr res around the sun''s corona.


    The wings extended far out, being muchrger than Li himself, and the light they emitted was so intense the average person would have gone blind looking at it. But more than that was the brutal heat emanating from it.


    All the ck mass nearby immediately burst into mes before disintegrating into charred nothingness, and even the mountain sides so far away were beginning to glow red as their rock started to grow molten and melt.


    These were the [Wings of Sanzuwu] belonging to an immensely powerful crow monster that was said to have a shard of the sun itself within it. There were ten of its kind, and when all ten crows were together, they could cast an Ultima-tier spell that manifested a miniature sun.


    What Li could do right now with this shapeshifting was far less in scalepared to that, but it was still enough to beat away the ck mass''s approach.


    As Li descended, the ooze retreated. Initially because it could not advance due to the intense heat, and then afterwards in legitimate retreat, sinking away. Which indicated that it had some form of intelligence or instinct. Or perhaps someone controlling it.


    With the ooze gone, Li could see that it had seeped through what appeared to be two enormous bs of solid, rune-carved metal sealed together to form the mountain base. It was evident that judging from how the bs ovepped andtched together, that it was something like a horizontally oriented gate that could open up to reveal more space below.


    Li reached this gate and withdrew his wings, resting the Chrysalis on the ground. He did not deactivate it because the lingering heat from his wings still warped the air, though remarkably, the gate itself stood unharmed, its runes still glowing with active power that he recognized as highly magic-resistant.


    "Okay, all of you can open your eyes again," said Li as he stood right outside the cocoon, looking into everyone closing their eyes. Tia had both her hands wrapped tight over her eyes, but it was evident at how they shook that she very much wanted to see out of them.


    "Do not step out of the barrier yet," said Li. "I used a wide area of effect heat based attack to destroy the threat. But it may yet return, not to mention that the heat still remains in the air. Especially you two, Mason and Mercer ¨C the moment you step out, your lungs will copse and burn up."


    "Duly noted, sir," said Mason with a shiver at how astounding Li''s power was.


    As put a hand to her chin as she peered around her. "This is the Helgat, the gates that lead into the dwarven civilization proper under the ground."


    "So no dwarves lived above?" said Li.


    She shook her head. "Nay. The Triforge Dwarves are more attuned with the earth than their Montagne counterparts, thus, they preferred theforting cool and dark of the underworld. But still, to think that thou art capable of damaging the Helgat with magic ¨C thou art truly a force of nature unparalleled."


    "Actually, I am more surprised I did not melt straight through this," said Li. He inspected the runes, each of them the size of a man and glowing bright purple with anti-magic energy.


    "Gods," said Mercer as he looked down, seeing the metal gate shine with a cold, slightly blue luster. "This is Adamant. I''d only heard tell of it in stories and myth. And here, there is so much of it. Even a shard of it enough to forge a dagger could make a man rich for an entire lifetime, and here¡­"


    His words trailed off as he saw the adamant gate stretch far into the distance, far beyond the boundaries of light that Li shone.


    The gate was immensely physically sturdy, to be sure, being likely a dozen or so meters of solid reinforced Adamant ¨C a Mythic ranked substance ¨C but he was not at all impressed by that. What was more of note was its magic resistant enchantment strong enough to resist the mes of the Sanzuwu, an A ranked attack that nothing in this world could have escaped unscathed.


    "The Helgat is one of few artifacts yet wrought into existence by the gods themselves," said As. She motioned to the runes. "These runes thou see before thee hath been written by the Great Serpent herself."


    "That would exin it," said Li. Already, the heat in the air was fading rapidly, the magic resistance barrier absorbing and neutralizing it.

 Chapter 260 - Helgat Shattered

    And yet, Li had to wonder. "For what reason would Zahaka do this for dwarves, I do wonder. They do not seem to worship her, nor do they seem like people who are particrly given to magic themselves."


    "In the First Darkening, all three gods gave liberal gifts to the mortals that stood with them against the demons and the dark, regardless of whether the mortals were their believers or not," said As. "Though mortal greed, conflict, and the vtility of time hath lost many of these Godgiven artifacts to the ages, there are yet those that remain.


    Such as the walls of Riviera, fashioned in tandem by the Fiery Bull and mine own goddess. Or the sunlit dome blessed by Helius covering Et."


    "There is one among us," said She. "From our god. Khaal the Nightstalker. de of curses. Pride of my people. But...lost now."


    "The Nadir," said As. "de forged of primordial darkness and curses. Once wielded by the Hintenders, then taken in rightfulbat by the Feli, and now lost to demonkind during the Fourth Darkening. Guarantees that something must die whenever it is drawn, whether that be an enemy or the user itself."


    "I find again," said She confidently. "When we go west. To my home. I take from demons. One reason why I go."


    As made a note in her tablet. "And I shall record thine efforts dutifully. Ah, what an interesting epic it shalt be. The gold maned Feli, strong and brave among her kind, once reduced to the yoke of bondage, now risen above her circumstance to snatch from demons once more the divine artifact of her peoples."


    She might not have been able to follow exactly what Asa said, but she did get a basic idea of it, and she smiled, liking the notion of basically being the protagonist of her own story.


    "Regardless of whether this gate is divinely enchanted or not," said Li. "We have to go through it to see what''s going on below. This strange ooze has intrigued me, for I have not seen anything of its like."


    "Neither have I," said As, a hand stroking her chin. "It would be most gripping to my attention were we to investigate further."


    "Then we shall go!" said Mercer, quite obviously wanting to please As.


    "But how?" said Mason with more doubt. "No magic works upon the gate, and it is pure adamant. Adamant, brother. Metal we have only heard of in legend. They say that even falling stars from the heavens above may not bend it. Nothing we can muster will shatter it."


    "Lads, you are too narrow minded," said Old Thane. "In the fourth invasion that I meself fought in, there was a tinum-ranked dwarven adventurer that wore adamant armor and de, and in the face of the masterful swordsmanship of the herald of Pride, his armor was like naught but paper, torn apart in a mere instant."


    Zagan stirred at the mention of a herald sin, especially pride with whom he seemed to have a personal connection too, but he did not react further.


    Li knelt down to the gate, putting his hand on the hot, blue tinted metal. He felt for the gate''s strength, getting a gauge of how durable it was. Certainly, he knew what adamant was and how durable it was. It was basically the best ingot one could farm until moving onto higher level godgiven to celestial gear.


    Essentially adamant armor was the link between midgame and endgame gear.


    "But we have not the might of a demon general," said Mason. "And the good seer I know is a man of magical mysteries. It would seem to me impossible to pierce through this gate of legend."


    "And who decided that?" said Li. He smiled as he raised his arm into the air. An orb of green energy glowed and pulsated at his chest, where his heart was ¨C the [Heart of the Forest] buff activating and massively enhancing his physical stats.


    His raised hand shook for one second before shifting. It turned into a thickset branch of ashen oak gnarled with lines reminiscent of battle scars. The wooden arm was several timesrger than his usual one, belonging to what must have been a giant, and its fist was like a mallet, the fingers wide and the knuckles studded with wooden protrusions that acted like the nature friendly version of brass knuckles.


    And then two more of those arms sprouted from his back, all three arms now poised high in the air, balled into fists packed with power.


    [Shapeshift: Aspect of the Treant Asura]


    A full shapeshift into the Treant Asura, a creature at minimum level ny and the strongest offensive variant of treant, even stronger in raw damage output than the Treant Justicars, was what Li usually preferred when he had to really get down into a melee brawl as it still allowed him to cast many druidic buffs and spells. Though the Howling Ursine form was what he generally took in more defensive battles with its regeneration and brawn.


    "Brace yourselves," said Li. "Things might shake a little."


    "Do not tell me he is going to smash his way through the gate? A gate of adamant? Of divine blessing?" asked Mason as he looked to his brother who also stared back at him with wonder. They turned to everyone else, but the others leaned forwards, interested in what Li was about to do, knowing that they were about to witness a miraculous spectacle.


    "With papa, nothing impossible," said Tia matter of factly.


    Li took in an excited breath, feeling power surge into his arm. Not the kind of power he felt with magic, though that was there. This was raw, physical power. The kind you smashed and tore with. And he had not used this kind of power in a while.


    Breathing out, Li mmed his three fists into the massive adamant gate. A surprisingly muted, dull sound nked out from the impact. That was one of the properties of adamant: absorption of physical force which also included muting sounds of impact. That made it extremely suited for physical defense, but weaker against purely magical power, but of course, these divine runes covered that weakness.


    But the damage that came form the blow was far more devastating than what the sound would have indicated. Massive cracks emerged from the point of impact, streaking far into the distance in fissures of split and sparking metal. The runes flickered chaotically, the structural integrity of the gate faltering.


    Li smiled, seeing the damage, and he let truly let loose. His three arms blurred as they unleashed a barrage of punches upon the gate, shaking it up and down, and Mason and Mercer fell down as the tform lurched up and down atop the breaking gate.


    The fissures lining the gate began to increase in number, then in deepness, then, as once they reached a critical mass with so many breaks and faults and cracks along the gate that the runes themselves became unreadable, the whole structure shattered like a pane of ss.

 Chapter 261 - The Source

    "By all that is right!" Mason shouted as he flinched, feeling the sudden final lurch of impact as the Helgat, a divine artifact that had withstood a millennium of history, shattered. He and his brother Mercer both reacted, putting their hands over their heads instinctively.


    Everyone else, however, looked up at Li as he calmly grabbed the chrysalis with his tether of roots, manifesting once more the Sanzuwu wings to keep everyone afloat and not hurtling down into the abyss below. He watched as the shards of adamant that once formed the Helgat fell down into a yawning void of darkness, their blue glimmer rapidly fading.


    Li narrowed his eyes as he peered down. "More darkness, huh?"


    "It should not be so," said As as she put a finger to her lips. She noticed Mason and Mercer still cowering and spoke out. "Collect thine wits. Thou art about to witness lost history discovered oncemore. Grant it the respect it deserves."


    Hearing As''s words snapped Mercer out of his stupor and he shook his brother to normalcy. Li could not really me them for how they reacted. For all this time, they had witnessed power that seemed feasible to them. Power that they knew was incredible but within the boundaries of reason they had built up through their whole lives.


    But for the first time, they truly saw before them raw, overwhelming strength that shattered all their previous conceptions about the invincibility of divine might and blessing and myth and legend.


    "What do you mean?" asked Li to As. The glowing red light from his fiery wings lit up a significant amount of space below, but even that was not enough to appreciably see anything except for darkness.


    "There should be light. The dwarven city of Stedheim lies below the Helgat, and though the dwarves be people of the earth, by no means are they of the dark. Whencest recorded, Stedheim was a city of lights andughter, of warmth from the heat of its three great forges."


    "I sense absolutely no life below," said Li as his green tinted eyes peered down, their life sensitive gaze finding but muted nothingness. Not even the choking undead mist was here.


    Tia, too, nodded, agreeing with Li. "Nothing. Scary nothing."


    "A crying shame," said Old Thane. "By the time I''d made me way down south, the triforge dwarves had already fallen. I had heard many tales from their rtives in Montagne of the great city of Stedheim, how within its three great pirs there was equal parts hard work and merry drinking.


    But s, the tides of war and time and fate favor but precious few."


    "At the very least, havinge this far, knowing that this ck mass lies below, I will give the dwarves peace of memory. Ensure that they are remembered properly." Li fluttered his wings, and he began his descent down below.


    ===========


    As the light from Li''s zing wings lit up the centuries sealed civilization of Stedheim, he first encountered more of the ck mass. It pulsated in a massivework of interconnected tendrils lined with strange dark veins that seemed to stretch out infinitely, and yet, this time around, the mass was not hostile.


    It seemed instead rather dormant, even making way for Li as he approached, as if afraid of the light and heat he emitted, shrinking away with surprising quickness. But after some amount of descent, through the cobweb of tendrils, Stedheim became visible.


    "Impressive," remarked Li.


    "Impressive?" As shook her head with a wistful smile. "Impressive is insufficient to describe the scale of Stedheim."


    Mason and Mercer stood at the edges of the chrysalis, peering out with childlike wonder, and Tia joined them with the same level of energy. Vilga and She were a little moreposed, but even then, the twinkle of wonder and curiosity shed in their eyes.


    Stedheim was, in essence, three enormous pirs of stone that supported the vast underground cavern that once housed the entirety of the dwarven civilization. Each pir was spaced far from each other, visible only when Li shot out bursts of me to light up the scene for everyone else. They were far enough from each other that Li could make out that they lied underneath each of the three peaks of the Triforge Mountains.


    And upon flying closer to a pir, it became evident of the sheer enormity of its scale. Each pir must have had, in total volume, space simr to Riviera itself, one of the four cardinal cities of Soleil. When Li reached the pirs, the ck mass that covered them in a thick coating of tar like ooze shuddered and withdrew, revealing countless openings carved into the stone that looked like doors and windows, leading into living and working spaces.


    Sort of like the mega apartments back in Li''s own world, though instead of reaching high into the sky, these spires reached down below, deep into the depths of the earth.


    "Wish you could see this, old man," said Li.


    Old Thaneughed. "No worries,d. I''ve told you already ¨C my blindness is a part of myself that I have long epted. There is no need to wish for this or that. And, though it may be hard to believe, I can ''see'' quite well."


    He nodded down to Zagan, who twitched his ear in recognition.


    Li understood. He knew that Old Thane essentially used his various senses to construct a mental image of the world around him, and because of his superhuman senses, he could do so at an efficiency and rity that far outstripped what any normal blind man could.


    And from Zagan, he could sense a fair amount of magical energy tethering into Old Thane, massively enhancing his stats such that it must have seemed like aside from seeing color, he could construct the world around him nearly to the detail of a non-blind man.


    "Such scale," muttered Mason. "And these pirs are not roughly made either. Their surfaces are so intricately carved, smoothed, each and every living space marked with runes of ownership for what must have been countless dwarves."


    As rapidly scribbled on her tablet, recing them in quick pace as she energetically recorded everything she saw. "Each of these pirs lie below one of the peaks of the Triforge and are equal in magnificence to any great human city. The pirs lie at three points of a World Vein, for the dwarves were masters of reading the flow of magic through the earth and harnessed it with an efficiency not known to any mortal race.


    Two hundred years in the past, and thou wouldst have seen the mesmerizing, awing glow of a World Vein as it powered each of the pirs, sending lines of shining orange reminiscent of melted rock all throughout. Fitting for a people dedicated to the forge.


    The light would have provided warmth and light and power, and with those, there would have been the merry bustle of countless dwarves living in harmony."


    "And all of that gone," said Mercer somberly.


    "All gone," repeated Tia with a frown. "I hoped something here. Dragon outside protecting here. Thought there was still life. Something to protect."


    Considering the sheer size of the pirs, there must have at one point been over half a million dwarves living here, and yet now, there was not a single living, breathing soul remaining. Strangely, the ck ooze as it withdrew to reveal the pirs, showed no damage to the pirs themselves.


    "There may yet still be something," said Li. "We keep going down."


    As exined. "At the base of each pir lies a forge of unparalleled greatness, and all three link together to create the Triforge itself, the only forge known that properly channels the immense might of a World Vein. It is there that the vast majority of mystical artifacts of legend that thou hear of in tales and legend were forged."


    "Perhaps this ck mass feeds off of energy," said Li. "A World Vein would do wonders for it."


    "Perhaps," said As. "And yet, the absence of magic in it does wonder me against such thought."


    "I see," said Li.


    "World¡­vein?" asked Mason.


    "As can exinter," said Li. He began to pick up pace, actively flying downwards. "After I get to the literal and figurative bottom of this situation."


    ==============


    As Li traveled further down, the spires changed, the living spaces carved in them bingrger and more ornate. As exined that these were noble spaces for the dwarves valued closer connection to the depths, often living longer and healthier lives the closer they were to the World Vein, and so the spaces close to the base were like prime real estate meant for the upper ss.


    But even here, there was no life.


    Instead, the ck mass''s presence became that much thicker, but it was still not hostile, retreating when Li approached and shrinking back in ce after he left.


    At the very base, right by the Triforge of legend, As also exined there would also stand a royal pce that could put even the duchess''s pce in Et to shame.


    It did not take long for Li to reach the bottom of the pirs to where the triforge and royal pce were. Or rather, where they were supposed to be.


    Instead, he found the source of the ooze.

 Chapter 262 - King

    Li felt cold rock under his feet as his wings halted movement. ck, writhing mass shrunk away from his light and heat, revealing all around him the vast expanse of what must have been the dwarven royal pce. There were intricate carvings and murals etched into the smoothened rock beneath his feet, and the stumps of broken pirs and supports stood awkwardly, surprisingly in good condition due to the fact that the slime had preserved them.


    In the distance, at the very edge of the light Li could cast, there sat a hunched over figure of ck,pletely enveloped in the slime. All around him, the ck ooze stretched out, wriggling and writhing as they pooled from web like tendrils from his body. There was no doubt about it ¨C he was the epicenter of it all.


    Behind the figure was the enormous silhouette of a gargantuan, ring-like structure surrounding a dome of ted, rune-carved metal, though the runes did not glow with any appreciable energy. The structure must have beenrger than any building in Riviera, even the massive mansions in the noble estates, and from it, Li could sense the slightest remnants of magical energy now that the ooze had withdrawn.


    Energy that felt familiar ¨C it was the power of a World Vein.


    "The Triforge," remarked As in awe. "The sphere epasses the World Vein, drawing upon its power, and the ring transfers its immense might upwards and outwards, powering the three forges and pirs that support all dwarven civilization."


    She took out a tablet, making a note in it. "Though it would appear it is inactive. And the World Vein itself drained."


    "A world veinpletely leeched dry?" remarked Old Thane. "I thought that impossible. Only one world vein do I know, and it has held steady since the beginning of time itself."


    "I know that thou hail from the far north. Thus, I presume thou must speak of the Elivagar, most ancient storm of ice that keeps the wastes chilled and harsh," said As. "But that storm, though fueled through millennia by world vein, is but natural phenomena, perhaps aided by primal spirit. Nature doth not waste and drain as hath been done here."


    "Theoretically, it is possible to drain one," said Li, remembering what he had experienced from Kel''thor citadel. He knew that a world vein provided a massive amount of magical energy, but from judging it with his own eyes, he could tell that were he to link to one and rapid-fire cast Ultima-ss spells, he could certainly drain one.


    "But that would require an energy expenditure exponentially more intensive than anything I have witnessed in this world. However, I have a feeling our answers lie right before us."


    "Is it truly wise to approach that?" asked Mason.


    "Looking at it makes me shiver," said Mercer as he clutched his twin daggers. "But Old Thane is right: what is adventure without braving the unknown, brother?"


    "All of you should still stay in the chrysalis," said Li. "I cannot tell you what this man or creature can do. So far, it has ceased hostile action with the darkness it controls, but the situation is still vtile."


    "Lead the way, seer," said As as she took out several tablets. "I look forward to witnessing history created right before me."


    When Li approached the figure, it did not move. Not a single bit. Even when he was right in front of it, it still stayed motionless, though the ooze around it did shrink away. Up close, Li could see that the figure was quiterge, but not anything immensely gigantic.


    Around the same weight ss as the heavyweight humans like Leonid Drozdov and the hintender warrior Vahid, with Old Thane falling a little shorter behind them. And yet, strangely, the proportions of the figure indicated someone far shorter. A stocky barrel chest with thick, broad shoulders and squat legs.


    "A dwarf?" asked Li as he scrutinized the figure from several meters away, not willing to get too close. For one thing, the figure waspletely covered in the ck mass, though in his case, the ooze shaped itself into a more definite structure that looked like a full set of ted armor so sturdily built that the dwarf looked like a miniature tank.


    He had a helm of the same ck mass on, but beneath the helm, no facial features were visible. Just darkness.


    "Not any dwarf." As widened her eyes as she hurriedly scribbled on her tablet with more fervor than ever before. "It is King Tyr himself. Look upon that helm, how its horns curve into the curls of the Mountain Stonegoat: the symbol of the royal family."


    "The dwarven king that reigned during the time the dwarves disappeared?" asked Li.


    As nodded once, focusing on her recordings.


    "Are¡­are all dwarves this big?" said Mason as he looked up at Tyr''s imposing, ckened figure.


    "And here I''d thought dwarves were all half men," said Mercer. "World truly is big, huh, brother."


    "No, there art an oddity abound," said As. "Tyr, if this truly be him, has grown far beyond the natural limits of his race."


    Li narrowed his eyes as he stuck out a tentative hand, bringing more light towards Tyr''s helmeted face. Even when light beamed directly into the helm, there were no features visible. Perhaps the ck mass had eaten up all of the king, and it only shaped itself in his image for some reason.


    As Li''s hand reached closer, the king shrunk back at the growing light, turning away his head and crawling away. The sudden burst of movement from what had seemed like a ckened corpse made everyone in the chrysalis aside from Old Thane and Zagan jump back in surprise.


    However, the king did not make any hostile move, instead shirking away like a child afraid of the dark, or in this case, the light. He crawled on all fours several meters away, curling up into a ball, hugging his greaved knees to his chest as he rocked himself back and forth before growing as still as a corpse once more.


    "I see," said Li. "No hostile intent."


    Li heard a knocking sound, and he looked back to the chrysalis to see Tia rapping on it.


    "Papa, can Ie out?" she said. "I talk to him."


    Li thought about it for a second, fearing for her safety, but then swallowed the concern down. He wanted her to make her own decisions too, and as Old Thane said, what was an adventure without facing the unknown? He nodded, and Tia phased through the chrysalis.


    "Only if you stay close with me, though," said Li as he grabbed her hand, reaching apromise for his own peace of mind to make sure she was still somewhat protected.


    Tia nodded, and together, they walked up to the king. At a certain point, Tia tugged at Li''s hand, wanting to let go, and she looked up at him with a smile. "I go alone. Please, papa?"


    Li looked at the king''s slumped over figure and nodded slowly, letting go of Tia''s hand. He still kept his attention razor focused, however, ready to cast any kind of defensive spell to protect Tia if things went awry.


    "I see your heart," said Tia as she tiptoed forwards, also wary. "Heart of friend from dragon outside. Good heart."


    As Tia came right up to Tyr, the king''s ckened formpletely dwarfing her, a change urred.


    The king raised his head from his knees and looked at Tia for several seconds before shuddering.


    "Hildr?" came the king''s voice. It was raspy. Tinged with a rattle. Warped. Inhuman and definitively not mortal. "My dear, darling hydra. Is that you?"


    Tia shook her head. "No. She¡­gone now. Free. She waited for you. Why stay here?"


    The king looked at Tia, as if pondering her words, and then shook his head. "No, it is not you. It was never you." With that, he put his head between his knees again, falling still.


    "You are sad," said Tia. She scrunched her brows, struggling to get a strong read of the king''s inner being. "But why? You tell your friend to wait, but you nevere back. You sit here. Why?"


    The king''s form did not move, staying as still as a statue.


    Li came up to Tia and put a hand on her shoulder. "I can sense barely any semnce of life from this. I do not think he can be reasoned with. Tia, my dear, go back. It does not seem like we will get any answers as to what this ck ooze is, and if I cannot determine that it is safe, I will destroy it."


    His fiery wings red up, the light and heat starting to rise in intensity.


    The king tilted his head up, looking towards the wings. The ck ooze around him shuddered, and Li could tell that a sh of hostility rose within thework of darkness, but as soon as it spiked, the king grasped his knees and held them even tighter to himself, like he was a child crying in the dark, and with that, the tendrils stopped moving entirely.


    "I see. So, you too are suffering," said Li. Fire began to form bright white ribbons around his wings. "I will free you."

 Chapter 263 - Tyr I

    As Li approached the downtrodden king, the mes on his wings eagerly flickering towards the monarch, Tia stopped him, grasping at his hand. She looked up at him, squinting her eyes through the bright white aura of fire that shone from Li.


    "Papa, can we help him?" asked Tia.


    "It does not seem like there is much to help anymore," said Li as he looked to the king, or whatever was left of it.


    Tia nodded and said, "But still, good heart. If I can connect, then I can bring him back. Hard to connect with, though. If papa helps me, maybe we can see?"


    "You want me to help you?" asked Li.


    Tia nodded eagerly, and through their linked hands, he could sense her intentions. She read his understanding and turned towards the king, staring with her ck and green pupils right into the monarch''s shadowy visage, no, past it, into his heart, his soul.


    And as she did so, Li felt himself linking with her sight, seeing and feeling the same, and he knew what he meant when she asked him to help her. She wanted him to simply be there for her, not only to understand her but also to allow her to better channel power from him, and as she did so, he came to the realization that just as she could draw power from him, so too could he draw from her own unique abilities.


    In this case, it was her uncanny ability to read into the souls of others. One that was originally Li''s, but he could only express it in the capacity of reading into those linked with him such as his followers. He had done so with Ivo when the man had been crippled. But Tia had taken the ability and made it her own, developing it into something that could universally gaze into others.


    Li began to see what she was seeing. The physical world disappeared from his sight as his shared sight with Tia honed in on the king, at first onto his being and then beyond it, into a murky world of fog.


    Everything here was muted, dark. There were muffled sounds that managed to permeate the fog: the ttering of metal, a woman''s voice, the drone of many people speaking something indistinguishable. There were sights. The sh of sparks. A nce from red, gentle eyes.


    But, like Tia said before, it was impossible to make out anything. The dwarf''s soul waspletely clouded over.


    "Nothing impossible with papa," came Tia''s voice, and Li knew she was right. He would always make sure that no matter what happened, that one statement alone, he would ensure would stand true. He focused on the warmth of Tia''s hand and began to transfer his power to her.


    And as he did so, the world of fog began to dissipate, arcs of green driving away the cloudiness, until, finally, the dwarf''s soul became clear to read.


    Li recognized this sight. It was where he stood now ¨C the base of Stedheim''s three pirs. But this was vastly different. The royal pce he had seen only through its preserved floor and a few sad shattered pirs and supports stood tall and whole.


    He found himself in what appeared to be a throne room of vast proportions. It was fashioned of solid, dark stone, indicating a sense of roughness, but the pirs and domed ceiling above were gilded and studded with intricate, curled patterns of precious gems that glittered under a bright orange light.


    The light came from the spherical engine fueling the Triforge. Now that Li could see it active in its full glory, he could witness the enormous spherical dome of metal revolving around the pir of world vein energy that flickered from the earth, seams in the dome opening up ever so slightly in intervals to let out bright bursts of magical light.


    From the sphere, lines of solidified light ¨C conduits for channeling magical energy ¨C linked the world vein to the rest of the dwarven pirs of Stedheim. In a way, it reminded Li of a science fiction concept he had seen. About something called a Dyson sphere that epassed the sun to draw its energy.


    In front of the sphere, a throne as tall as the ceiling rose up, its stone carved structure lined with indentations of energy. On the throne, there was the unmistakable figure of king Tyr in his original, unckened state.


    As the scene became clearer, it became more immersive until it became memory itself - .


    =============


    Tyr looked down at his hands. They were broad, brutish things with thick, calloused digits and knuckles filed down to ts from constant impact.


    Hands meant for war. And with these hands, he had warred constantly for the better part of a month now, fending against the demons as they marched upon his home, his mountain, and most importantly, his beloved people.


    And yet, he saw as his hands trembled. How they were lined with so very many scars of varying shapes and sizes. Most noticeably, there were the burns ¨C great big patches of discolored and disfigured flesh that at this point made up more of his hand than unblemished flesh.


    These were hands made for war, and for so long, Tyr had always felt insecure about them. As the third brother in line to a king that had been known for uplifting the kingdom through innovating mining and crafting, he had always felt himself unworthy of his royal blood. Little did he know of golemancy, nor did he have the right mind to take to artificing or even leading.


    All he knew was to fight, and for years, that had not done much aside fromnding him in asional trouble and making him leader of a knightsguard that had done precious little for the past few centuries. He was always the failure of the family. One spoken about only in whispers, never able to do achieve more than the ordinary rabble that concerned themselves with the de, not the gear.


    For nobody dared to threaten the dwarves of the Triforge. Reaching the mountains from the Hintends was an immensely dangerous endeavor in of its own, and humans forming the six city states of the Alliance were all too focused squabbling among their own to ever pose a true threat.


    Thus, the Triforge prospered untouched and seemingly invincible, only everid low once during the Second Darkening three hundred years prior, when the world was yet still forging bnce after the First Darkening that began it all.


    But what ever were the chances for another Darkening? After the second, the demons had thoroughly been routed, the dragons sending them reeling back in purging dragonme and thest of the angels sacrificing themselves to seal the evil creatures in their far westernnds of chaos, away from any mortal life.


    s, fate proved to be a cruel and unpredictable mistress.


    For the Lightseal had inexplicably shattered, and another Darkening, the third of its kind, had begun once more.


    Now, for the better part of a half year, Tyr had fought. He fought and fought and fought, and then fought again. He saw his mene and go, burning away in hellfire or torn apart by w or melted by poison.


    He saw his father, the king, fall, then his brothers one by one, until now, it was he, the prodigal son, the useless prince who knew nothing but the fight, who ruled as king, and even now, all he could do was fight, for that was all that he had known. All that he was good at.


    It was not enough.


    Tyr clenched his fists.


    He should not have been surprised. He was never enough. Never had been. But soon, for once he would be worthy. Worthy of being royalty, of wearing the heavy crown gracing his matted hair, of the sacrifices that so many of his people had made for him, of bearing hopes and dreams all his people had set upon him.


    He would be worthy after this one single ritual that would change everything and grant him the promised might of the gods.

 Chapter 264 - Tyr II

    "What are you worried about?" came a voice as clear and flowing as crisply as running spring water. Perhaps there was even an icy note to it, the kind that came from voices that often analyzed and observed.


    Tyr wrapped his hands into tight fists, the metal of his gauntlets grinding as he stemmed his trembling. A faint smile wrapped around his cracked and burn twisted lips, though barely visible under the shadow of his royal Stonegoat helm.


    "Nothing, now that you are here, Signi," said Tyr. He stood and turned, the earth colored royal cape at the back of his armor fluttering with the motion.


    Pale red eyes and glinting silver hair met him. Striking features from Signi, his wife, and features that signified she had all the traits that he did not. This far down, near the heart of the world which beat strongly with magic and life through its many roots and veins, there were those among Stedhelm whom developed new traits.


    Signi was one of them, hailing form a noble lineage of shamans with reddened eyes that could see and analyze all around them in detail, even allowing them to temporarily glimpse the future with their perception.


    "You look wonderful," said Tyr, seeing Signi wearing her adamant chain armor wrapped around with trimmed furs meant to channel magical energy.


    "As forward as ever with that simple tongue of yours," said Signi as she came to Tyr''s side, beside the great throne iid with gleaming orange circuits powered by the Veinheld, the great sphere that channeled the world vein to give the dwarves all the power that they had ever needed.


    "I cannot think beyond what is in front of me, you know that," said Tyr as he reached out to hold Signi''s hand. Their armor covered hands came together as best as they could, but even though they could not feel each other''s warmth through the metal, the gesture wasforting all the same.


    Tyr sighed and looked ahead, down the length of the royal throne room. Or, more like an engine room. The vast, domed expanse was ck in color, the stone below inscribed with ancient murals of the first dwarven king and all the glory that he had brought, but that was where the old stopped and the new began.


    The pirs that stood from the stone to reach the circuit covered dome above were allprised of moving parts and clicking mechanisms of heavy rock and polished metal, all working in conjunction to seamlessly channel the enormous energy output of the Veinheld.


    He motioned around the room with his free hand. "Look. This throne room. My birthright, it is said, now that my father and brothers have all perished, but I hold not the knowledge to operate it. It is said that the Veinheld''s maintenance is what makes royalty, well, royalty.


    It is the blood and heart of our people, and we, as those who bear royal blood, hold the responsibility to keep it running. But in that regard, I am useless. I have always been useless."


    "This again?" said Signi. "You cannot me your blood for what youck. Instead, you must use what you have to the best of your ability. As you have been doing now."


    Tyr nodded slowly but shook his head. "All I know is how to be a sword. A de to be pointed at, to be used. I know nothing else: my own deviant blood shows that. How can an abomination such as myself ever truly rally the hopes of an entire people?"


    If Signi''s lineage could develop their special red eyes and white hair, then the royal family had the most useful bloodline of all developing gleaming rainbow eyes that could see the flow of power through the earth and minds that could create and shape stone as naturally as breathing.


    But Tyr was an odd one, expressing his royal blood instead in the shape of skin that was as sturdy as the hardest of ores and might and stamina that never faltered so long as his two feet could stay upon solid, firm earth. But none of these traits made him fit for rule atop the throne, and for that reason, noble society shunned him.


    Constantly, Tyr had always found himself in doubt. Was he some wayward bastard as so many others mocked him to be? Was he only ever to be useful to fight and shout among the rabble of fighting knights not even worthy of stepping in the bounds of lower, more noble Stedheim? Could he ever amount to anything? Was he worth anything?


    When the demons first attacked, Tyr felt his life validated. For once, his life and blood of fighting was given purpose, and he was an one man army, his immense, earthborne might letting him cleave through demonkin with ease.


    His father for once treated him with value, holding him equal in might to an entire army, and when his father passed in battle, his two elder brothers, too, also revered his might.


    Of course, they only ever saw him as a weapon. A sword to wield against the demons. But Tyr did not mind. For once, he had purpose. For once, his life had meaning. It felt good to be able to close his mind to rule and fight and fight and fight.


    But now, he was king, and the responsibility crushed him with its weight. He knew not matters of administration. He did not even know the basic sacred knowledge of operating the Veinheld. Of stone shaping, he knew nothing, had not even the capacity to perform it, nor did he know how golems worked or where to send ores or when to fire each of the forges or how to settle noble disputes and so on and so forth.


    But Signi did. She always knew what to do while he knew how to fight. It had always been that way, ever since the times they were young and rebelled against their families, leaving home to try and be adventurers.


    And now, even with the years putting youthful adventure and energy behind them and giving way to responsibility and duty, she had no trouble bing his other half, working as his head advisor and doing all that was not fighting in his stead.


    "Look," said Signi as she grasped his hand firmly and shook it, rattling his armor. "I will not twist my words with needless sor. You arecking in many areas. I know that well fromying by your side for forty year-cycles.


    But you can fight, and you have fought. More so than anyone else. And it is that drive to fight, to do what you are best at, that gives the people hope. You may not see it, but the people do believe in you.


    Tinkering with golems or maintaining the Veinheld or listening to the squabbles of nobles are all important parts of being a king, yes, but at a fundamental level, the king protects his people and there is not a single soul that has done that better than you."


    "I¡­I know," said Tyr. He looked down again. "I fight because I can close my heart and mind to all my other worries when I do so. But every time I am back here, away from the front lines, I cannot help but fear for the people. All their hopes rest upon me. Every single one of their futures, whether they be noble ormon or elderly or young depends upon me. The pressure, it is so very much. Too much, many times I ponder."


    He took in a breath. "Tell me, Signi, is there no other way to halt the advance of the demons? Two Heralds now do war upon our ancestral home, and only I am capable of fending against them. Should this ritual fail and I perish, there will only be but failure.


    Did not our envoys to the city state alliance bear fruit? Will not the tinum adventurer Lirae to us? Perhaps the elves with their newfound weapon that ys all manner of demonkind?"


    Signi took her hand from Tyr''s and instead ced it on his shoulder te. She shook her head curtly, but her eyes were understanding of his plight. She had known him for so long, after all, and she knew how deeply he could be wrapped up in his thoughts, how years and years of internalizing that he was a worthless abomination could still surface now even when he was king.


    "The six city states of the Alliance are reeling from attacks to their own territory," said Signi. "Never were they capable of rising above their own bickering, and that holds true even now. Our envoys to them have been left unanswered.


    Lirannaven the Golden instead must spend her time defending the humans. Last I heard, she was far south in Duvin, doing battle with the herald of envy along with the legions of blood.


    As for the elves, though their newfound weapon certainly brings great hope with its defeat of both herald sins of greed and pride, it will be much time before they can ever reach our mountains for we are on opposite ends of the continent.


    The swarms of Gluttony and Wrath will end us before the elves have made even half their way to us."


    Signi rapped Tyr''s helm to rouse him and continued, "But you should not fear, my husband, for the very power that the elves used to bring forth their demon purging weapon is that which we utilize now for this ritual.


    Using the power of the Veinheld, we may forge a path into the realm of the gods, and though we may not be able to wake them from their slumber, it is certain that you shall at the least be able to tap into the vast well of their divine might. Certainly enough to fend against the demons."


    "But what guarantee is there?" said Tyr.


    Signi had told him of this ritual beforehand, and though he had zero understanding of the magical theory and concepts behind it, the effects, he understood and now grappled with. The ritual would use the throne, the master control of the Veinheld, and siphon off the vast majority of the Veinheld''s power, draining the World Vein in order to tap into a previously never before seen power using Tyr''s immensely durable and earth connected body as a conduit,


    Thus, Tyr would receive any power the ritual tapped into, which in this case would be a connection forged with the slumbering gods. With the might of the gods, demons would be of little issue. The matter was simply that should the ritual fail, then the Veinheld, the main power source that fueled the war golems and mountain defenses that kept the Triforge from falling to Wrath and Gluttony would shut down, and that would doom his people to extinction.


    Though, in a way, it would still be onest message against the demons, for the only reason they besieged the mountains so was to tap into the Veinheld themselves.


    "I myself did not believe the ritual''s efficacy. After all, the gods have slumbered since the very first Darkening, and though we may practice their magic, it is precious rare that any have ever heard their voices," said Signi. "You know how much of a skeptic I am. I believe only that which mine eyes see. But I have seen, and I believe.


    This ritual is form of the Chronicler, the very being who allowed the elves themselves to find their own salvation."

 Chapter 265 - Tyr III

    "But the mechanics of this ritual-," protested Tyr as he began to find the shadows of doubt ¨C familiar little things, they were, though they became not so little when he let them take root ¨C curl around his heart and mind.


    "Are not yours to concern yourself with," said Signi in matter of fact voice. "You would know not of the intricacies detailed in the form regardless of how I exined them to you, and I will be first to admit that I am no wise and talented educator. But I know what my gifted eyes see, and I tell you now that the form the Chronicler has devised is without fault."


    "This¡­Chronicler. He, she ¨C whatever it may be ¨C also worries me. Can it truly be trusted?" Tyr put a hand to his helm, remembering the Chronicler.


    A tall, thin being. Humanoid in figure but wrapped in so many sandy robes that it was impossible to tell much more. Not even its body shape nor features, for the robes billowed and fluxed independent of the wind, swaying and moving with magical maniption. Its face, naturally, was covered, hidden under both hood and veil, and Tyr suspected even were those coverings torn apart, there would only be shadowy darkness underneath.


    A strange being, to be sure, and one Tyr had never once encountered, nor had he ever heard of. Neither did Signi know of its origins, though she surmised that it was some form of primal spirit that had fallen from its original position.


    But it was not just the Chronicler''s inscrutable appearance that troubled Tyr,


    The Chronicler hade in the past week unannounced which was an exceptional feat in of its own. Not only would the being have had to breach unnoticed past the tightly wound ring of demonic forces surrounding the mountains, but it would also have to sneak past the heavy defenses, traps, surveince, scrying, and dwarven troops thoroughly guarding the mountains themselves.


    And yet, the Chronicler had managed to do just that. With ease and without injury, for that matter. Tyr had granted it a royal wee for he did know from Signi of its role in granting the elves up north victory over the demons, and the Chronicler was all too eager to share its knowledge with the dwarves to save them of their own demonic plight.


    Thus, Signi and the many arcane dwarves learned from the Chronicler, and in the span of three days had wired the Veinheld for this ritual.


    A ritual that would dip into what the Chronicler called the ''Source''. The Source of All Things where magic, no, where the very concept of power began. It imed that the source would allow them to tap into the realm of the gods, to the mythic Valhul where they slumbered, and it had ryed this knowledge to themon people.


    At that point, there was nothing Tyr could do about his doubts. The people found hope in the Chronicler''s words, and he could not betray their hopes as king. After all, he was a central part of the ritual as well, his earth bound blood being crucial for channeling and grounding energy that was to reach into the far flung expanses of realms both physical and spiritual.


    "I have triple, no quadruple checked the magical form the Chronicler has taught us," said Signi. She nodded to herself. "It is immensely impressive. Such that I myself know that not even in a hundred years of study would I ever be able to replicate something of itsplexity and depth, and I am considered a once in a generation prodigy among our own kind.


    These eyes of mine that can perceive so much to the point that they may even grasp the future are the only reason I could trulyprehend the ritual, its countless interlocking and weaved rune scripts, channel paths, mana wirings, and spirit arcs. And with these eyes, I tell you now that this ritual is genuine, and that it shall work.


    The power of the Veinheld will be enough to fuel itsplex breadth, and that raw power will be shaped urately into a means to tap beyond our current realm to that of the gods."


    "Hearing your words gives mefort," said Tyr. He took in Signi''s words and let them reach into his heart. They were cold words, in a way. Logical and ordered. Meant tofort, yes, but in a way backed by analytics and evidence rather than any empathetic belief.


    For that was how Signi always was. The nner. The one with foresight. The thinker and the organizer. And that part, he had appreciated always. That part, he had loved. For it was all that he was not. The necessary ice to cool down a heart that often boiled from overthinking and insecurity. "They always have. You see things as they are. Unclouded by emotion nor flickering heart."


    He sighed. "I have trusted you for forty year cycles, I will trust you here now."


    Signi nodded, and she put her arms around Tyr, holding him tight to her. "I know so much has sat atop your shoulders. I know it more than anyone else, for the burdens you cannot bear, I do. Tyr, my beloved, this will be a chance for you to be free of those burdens. With the ritual''s power, you may end this war, and with this war''s end, you have ample means to abdicate the throne and live a retired hero''s life free of burden with me."


    Tyr smiled and gave Signi''s hand a tight squeeze. He stood up, and she stepped back from him, giving him space, for she could sense the resolution building up within him.


    "I would like that," said Tyr. "But we shall think about thatter. For now, the ritual awaits." He raised his voice. "Hildr!"


    His voice boomed across the throne room, and it shook and rumbled for an instant before a rock hydra snaked its way from the other end of the vast room, weaving through pirs with agility that belied its size.


    Tyr opened his arms up wide as the rock hydra approached. Unlike its more deadly variant in the Hintends, the rock hydra had not nine heads, but three, and its body was stubbier and more squat, much like that of a wyrm''s. Its scales were also grey instead of a toxic green, being stonier and studded with hardened metals for the rock hydra was not poisonous like its western rtives.


    Instead, it was more a physical specimen, being thoroughly tougher and faster.


    The hydra nuzzled one of its heads into Tyr, and even its single head nearlypletely shadowed over the dwarf. He petted the hydra as well as he could.


    "Good girl," said Tyr. He had known Hildr almost since the day he first wielded a sword, for every elite dwarven knight would pair and bond with a rock hydra native to the mountains so as to forge a close kinship tost a lifetime.


    It would be no exaggeration to im that Hildr was like family to Tyr.


    "Hildr, my dear, I know you love this warm room so very much, but it is time to leave," said Tyr. "I must be alone for this."


    Hildr loosed a low grumble as she withdrew her head, her yellow eyes falling down in sadness.


    "But worry not," said Tyr. "I will be finished within the hour. For now, take flight down to the Ironforged Gates that guard our home, this ancestral mountain stronghold that we have defended for so very many years together.


    For when I emerge once more, it will be in glorious rebirth, with the power of the gods flowing through me, and I will meet you at the gates and we shall fly together in one final thrill of battle."


    Hildr''s eyes brightened up, but she stayed aback, a little concerned. She grunted, and Tyr understood.


    "Ah, this rebirth- it will not change me," said Tyr. "Signi has made it clear to me. It will only grant me power, and with it, we may give our home peace. I will always be the same, my dear, the same Tyr that I was when I was a boy waving my de about like a fool and you a hatchling struggling to fly.


    And now, we will fly together as divinely blessed rider and hydra ¨C how far we havee. Promise me only that you will wait for me at the gates, for I know how impatient you can be."


    Hildr nodded her three heads and grunted in eptance before charging out the throne room, her wings fluttering as she sailed across and out, up towards the surface. He smiled fondly at her excitement for battle, and he eagerly awaited the ritual''s end til'' he could ride atop his beloved Hildr with his wondrous wife Signi and free his home from the darkness that choked it.


    He could finally meet his peoples'' expectations. He could finally be worthy of the crown atop his helm.


    He did not know this was thest time he would ever see Hildr. Thest time he would ever see Signi. Thest time he would see much of anything aside from darkness.

 Chapter 266 - Broken

    Li stepped back as he felt the cloying darkness of the broken dwarven civilization return around him. He blinked his eyes. The change was intensely jarring. This throne room, this broken space filled with broken things and a broken man, was once something that hummed and whirred with life and magic and light.


    He felt Tia squeeze his hand as she too returned to the world from within Tyr''s heart, finding the shift just as jarring. Feeling her hand returned Li fully to his senses ¨C he had to be strong, unaffected like an oak in the wind for her, after all.


    He stepped in front of Tia while keeping hold of her hand, letting her have somefort as she adjusted. The shift was jarring not only purely from a visual aspect, but also emotionally and spiritually. Diving into hearts as deeply as Tia did was something far more intimate than any kind of artificial dive Li had experienced in virtual reality or even when he saw into his head priest Ivo''s past.


    Artificial reality made him know that he was in something fake. A game. And in Ivo''s case, Li felt more like an outward spectator looking into something else, something that was not his. But in Tia''s case, her soul essentially resonated on the same frequency with whoever she was diving into, and that meant when she peered into their memories, she felt everything.


    All the senses. All the emotions. All of it.


    And Li could tell that the emotions he felt were not exactly pleasant. An overwhelming sense of anxiety. Nervousness. Fear. A need to suppress those emotions, only for that whole bottling process to keep those negative emotions festering.


    Then despair. Despair so thick and dark that it was many shades darker than the ruins around him.


    "Tyr," said Li finally, his voice projecting loud and clear through the broken throne room. "I know you can hear me. I know you are still in there."


    Tyr lifted his helmed head from his knees, peering the dark spot where his eyes should have been at to Li.


    "You have drawn me from my slumber," said Tyr. "I know you have seen within my soul. But I have nothing to give you. Nothing to talk to you about. I am nothing."


    "The great king Tyr speaks once more," said As quietly, more to herself than anyone else. She scribbled on her tablet, awed that she was in the presence of living history.


    "Great?" Tyr''s voice wavered and echoed in entirely unnatural way, as if there was a second, more guttural voice underlining his own. Heughed dejectedly, as if the mere mention of the word ''great'' was so offensive as to elicit nothing but snorting scorn from him.


    "You were great. That is undeniable," said Li. "All your people believed in you."


    Tyr shuddered. "They believed in a lie. The lie that was me. The lie that I was anything but worthless. And now, that lie has killed them."


    "This darkness¡­" Li waved his hand around to the immense mass of ck slime, to the hugeplex of tendrils that pulsated all throughout the dwarven city. "Was it this that ended them?"


    "No, it was me," said Tyr, shaking his head. "It was me. My failure. Myck of ability and worth. They said I was worthy of the ritual, but no, I was not, and now, everyone is fallen."


    "Hm." Li looked to Tyr, at the huge dwarf''s motionless, listless form, and he knew that the dwarven king was broken beyond repair. The kind of depressive depth that was nigh impossible to crawl out of, and he could not me the monarch, for after all, that depth was carved by the life of his entire kingdom, all that he had known and loved.


    But at the same time, Li needed to know if the ck slime ¨C the reason he came down here in the first ce ¨C was under control.


    "This darkness. I know it is tethered to you. Anchored to your being." Li''s eyes shone green, analyzing the king. The slime was alive on its own, yes, but it seemed to have some sort of intricate connection with Tyr. Two lives bound into one.


    "And not in a malicious way. It is not taking from you. You are not taking from it. Almost like a symbiotic rtionship. No, now I see. You have control over it."


    Tyr nced at Li. "Now, I do. But what use? What of it? I held no control over it when it mattered the most. When I needed to protect my people. Only after it devoured them whole could I reign it in, and now, it leaves me unable to die for an eternity."


    Tyr sighed and flicked his hand, bidding Li to go away. "Go. Leave me to slumber. I wish not to be here, reminded of my own disgusting self."


    Li shook his head and prepared to leave, for he could now piece together what had happened, even if the king himself was unwilling to let his painful past out entirely.


    It was evident that the ck slime was some foreign entity that Tyr had called using the Source. The original ritual was meant to forge a path to Valhul, where the gods were, but this slime was nothing at all like anything rted to the gods. The closest the slime could have been rted to would have been Khonsu, the sinister masked god of agility, but Li could tell quite well that the slime was of alien origin in the same way the heroes were.


    Thus, the ritual had failed, bringing in this destructive ooze instead of divine might, and Tyr, as the anchor and root for it, essentially devoured his own people. The Helgat must have slowed down the ooze''s spread, but all the dwarves above the gate would have fallen quickly to demons once cut off from the main body of dwarven civilization.


    It was curious that the demons had not passed the Helgat, but it was also understandable. Likely, they would have sensed the slime''s presence beneath and thepleteck of power from the Veinheld, and that was what the demons had been here for in the first ce.


    Without the Veinheld active and unwilling to wade through the slime, the demons left, leaving Tyr alone in the ruins of his kingdom.


    Li could understand the kind of hopelessness that Tyr wallowed in. After all, he himself felt something simr when he was younger, when he felt like he had dreams he could never reach and that his whole life was just apromise with what he wanted but could never have.


    And he knew that when hopelessness reached this deep, it was hard for almost anything to prate it.


    But Li could try, if just a little. "Tyr, your people may have fallen, and nothing will bring them back, but the reason you wielded your sword still remains. The demons have brought forth another Darkening, and this ritual has not entirely failed."


    He motioned to the slime. "You wield this power. I know you may loathe it. That it may remind you of everything you wish to forget. But there are new lives out there that you can save. At the least, you can help others from facing the same horrors you and your people did."


    Tyr put his head between knees and sighed. "No. No, I cannot fight."


    "Cannot?" Li narrowed his eyes. "Or do you not wish to?"


    "Does it matter? I will not fight. I am unworthy of it. If I fight, nothing good wille of it. I will only bring ruin." Tyr looked up briefly, flitting his gaze around himself to the ruin scattered everywhere. "And all that I fight for is gone. I have only ever lifted my de for my people and those I loved. All of those are gone. I am left with nothing. I fight for nothing. I am nothing."


    "I cannot convince you further, then," said Li as he turned back to his party. "This is not the Tyr of myth. No warrior king. He is broken, and I cannot help him."


    He stepped towards his party, fully intending to leave, but he realized Tia was staying behind. She remained standing there, looking to Tyr.

 Chapter 267 - Inheritance

    Li looked at Tia as she stared up at Tyr, her head tilted and thinking. He thought for a second whether to call her back to his side, but he decided against it, wanting to see what she had in mind.


    In the meantime, As interjected, raising a respectful voice to the fallen king. "King Tyr, I am sure that thou knowest of mine kind. The Triforge Kingdom took kindly to my sisters, and many a day in my youth have I spent reading upon the many wonders of thy kingdom.


    Seeing this ruin brought my heart great sorrow, but seeing that thou art still here, thou great name so filled with strength and might against demonkind, I am heartened. And hopeful. Will thou not join us in arms against the demons?


    As the seer hath said, thou people hath perished, but many lives more now would findfort in thy strength."


    "There is nothing left for me to defend," said Tyr. "I fought for my people. My people are no more. I have no reason to fight. I do not deserve to fight. Leave me in my peace and sce."


    Tia took a few steps up to Tyr, her wed feet pattering on the cracked stone floor, and as she approached. Tyr noticeably reacted, raising his head and staring at her through a veil of darkness.


    Tia put her hands to her sides and scowled at Tyr, her fangs ever so slightly visible from the curve of her lips.


    "Why so sad about being lonely?" asked Tia pointedly.


    Tyr paused for a moment before speaking. "You do not understand. Your heart is pure and young. Go. Do not speak with me longer. Do not look upon my corrupted, horrid, downtrodden form, nor my twisted and worthless heart."


    "I don''t want look at you," said Tia. "But she did. Your friend did. Hildr wanted to see you. Very much. For long, long, long time."


    Tyr did not respond, but unlike when he spoke with Li, he did not drop his head between his knees, but instead kept his gaze affixed to Tia.


    Tia waited for Tyr to speak, but when he did not, she continued. "You left her. Never saw her. But she waited for you. Why? Why you sad about being lonely when your friend waited for you. Waited very close for very long."


    Tyr did not respond.


    Tiaid out the truth. "You abandoned her."


    "No, no," said Tyr shakily as he crawled backwards, thrusting his gauntlet out towards Tia to ward her away, like she was some dreadful, looming monstere to take his head. "No, that is untrue. Hildr, she-she was too far gone. The curse of undeath reached her, just as it did to the rest of mine people. That was not her."


    "But you knew," said Tia. She put a hand to her heart. "When dragon like me feel close to someone, we see our hearts. Even if eyes cannot see, we can still feel. You knew. She was hurting, different, but she still felt the same. Wanted to see you."


    Tyr fell silent again, this time, in contemtion. He brought his shadowed gauntlets together in posture simr to pensive prayer. The silencested for a minute this time, and all the while, Tia kept her gaze up to Tyr.


    Her gaze was fierce, but it was not cruel. It did not judge, for Tia knew better than anyone the suffering Tyr had gone through. But it still questioned, feeling the hurt of a promise of two hundred years broken.


    "I will admit it," said Tyr finally. "I knew there was still a shard of her, even as she twisted into a creature of death. But to have seen her as she is now ¨C warped and made monstrous solely due to me, due to the rider whom she loved and trusted so, so much-,"


    He shook his head. "I cannot. I would never be able to face her. And were I to see her, I would have to raise my de against her, to free her from her undeath coil. And that-," His hands trembled. "No, I cannot do it."


    Li interjected, seeing a glimmer of possibility to draw Tyr out of his darkness. "You say you have nothing left to fight for, and that is why you sit still in sorrow, but right outside this keep, you had your soulbound waiting for you.


    She waited for you, for your promise and, no doubt, wanting for you toe out and free her from her unnatural state. She wanted you to fight for her, and yet, you just sat here because you were simply too afraid to face your mistakes."


    Tyr sighed deeply, his great form heaving up and down with the motion, and the mass of ck flesh above him shuddered and pulsed. "You are correct. I cannot argue against you, and there is no point. I know. I left her because I was too coward to face the consequences of my actions.


    But that is the end of it. I am still too fearful to see her. To free her. Let alone to ever muster up fighting spirit for that which is not dear to me."


    Li shook his head in disappointment. Tyr was too far gone in his depressive state to do anything if not even the suffering of someone so deeply close to him was not enough to get him to act. "You don''t have to free her. We already did. Stay here, monarch, and take care that this foreign entity does not grow out of control."


    "You¡­you freed her?" said Tyr.


    "If you are to thank anyone, then thank her," said Li as he nodded to Tia. "She was the one to glimpse into Hildr''s heart and to know her suffering."


    Tyr looked down at Tia and then looked away, putting his head into his hand. He shivered in something like a sob, but not quite ¨C it was evident that he was long past the stage of tears and had fallen into an endless listlessness where he had not even the energy for crying.


    "I thank you," said Tyr to Tia. "I thank you for doing what I should have for years upon years. I thank you for taking upon duty that should have been mine. I thank you for being the courage that I never could scrape up."


    He paused. "But I cannot fight with you. I am not what I once was, nor will I ever be."


    "Then I will leave you to your thoughts," said Li. His decision seemed cold, but it was one of reason. He could not be the one to sit down by Tyr and lift him up from his own head, nor was he equipped to do so. There was simply nothing he could do, even if he could pity the monarch.


    "Yes, leave me," said Tyr. "I will not bother you more. I am sorry to have bothered you even now."


    "I not being mean," said Tia as she saw the king withdrawing into himself again. "Did not mean to be mean asking you about your friend. She¡­would understand you. Because she loved you. But you gave up too fast, and I knew she would not like that. She never wanted you to give up. Always wanted you to be free and happy."


    She frowned at Tyr, and this time, her frown was gentle. "Now, you are not free. Not happy. Maybe outside, you can be happy again. Like she wants you to be."


    Tyr contemted Tia''s words in a bout of silence before shaking his head.


    "I do not deserve freedom nor happiness," he said. "My hands are soaked in far too much blood for that. I¡­thank you dearly for what you have done for Hildr and for conveying her feelings to me."


    Tyr''s words became more resolute, gaining a little shard of strength, but the voice was still hollow and weak. "But now, there is all the less reason for me to ever leave these ruins. There is no vestige of my people nor loved ones left to protect, nor am I worthy of protecting anything, for that matter. I will have my being escort you all to the surface. Again, my deepest of apologies for burdening you."


    Thework of ck flesh around and above Tyr shuddered before moving with squelching sounds, gathering around Li and the party in the form of a tform.


    "But-," said Tia.


    "Little one, I value your words and what you have done," said Tyr. "I know that I am not happy. I know that I am not free. But I am not yet ready for either. You remind me much of Hildr, and hearing her words from you have brought me to reflection and thought.


    Perhaps, in time, I will try to make peace with myself. But that time is not now."


    Tyr put his head down, and his figure stiffened, turning still like a statue, dormant as it was before Li and Tia had seen into his heart. There was no reaching Tyr again at this state.


    Li put a hand to Tia''s shoulder. "Let''s go, Tia. It is not our ce to give him the peace of mind he seeks. Come, the rest of our own adventure awaits."


    Tia looked to Tyr for a lingering moment before nodding to Li. Together, they walked back to the chrysalis, and the ck flesh gathered under it, solidifying into a tform that started to draw upwards from several tendrils connecting it to the mountain walls above.


    The tform moved quickly, so quick that in just a few seconds, Tyr''s body was not visible anymore.


    "Hm?" noted Li as he saw a ck tendril rise up from in front of him in the shape of a four petaled flower. The head of the flower melted away, revealing arge, ted grey scale.


    "Take it, little one." Tyr''s voice echoed throughout the entirety of the mountain, transmitted across the length of the entirework of dark flesh in rippling echoes, as if they were extensions of his vocal chords - a testament to his fine control over them. "It is myst remaining token from Hildr. I have kept it safe from decay for centuries, but I am no longer worthy of it. You who have freed her and understood her heartst should have it.


    Consume it and inherit her powers. She always wished to fight free and unbound by any petty politics or duty with me. In some way, perhaps this will fulfill that wish. Farewell.


    Fight strong. Fight well. Fight."

 Chapter 268 - Exit Triforge

    Li opened up a small pocket of space in the chrysalis, letting Tia put her small hands out and take the grey scale. The scale looked huge in her hands, appearing like a solid te of metal almost asrge and even sturdier looking than a metal breastte.


    The scale was a light, faded shade of grey littered with scratches ¨C the marks of time. However, there was a faint gleam about its surface that shone even through the age. A light blue shine that flickered like cold me.


    "Impressive," said Li as he inspected the scale in Tia''s hands.


    "What is it, seer?" said Mercer, ever more curious than his brother Mason who even now stood silent and wary, overwhelmed by the sheer scale and speed of events that had just transpired. "That you would deem anything impressive is rare indeed."


    "Aye, it is hard to impress thed," said Old Thane. He smiled. "Makes me curious about this scale, too."


    "Nothing too much," said Li. "Are any of you familiar with how rock hydras or mountain drakes strengthen their scales?"


    "I do recall reading something about it." Mercer scratched his head. "s, it has been too long since my expulsion from adventuring curriculum."


    "Not that you were ever one for the books anyway," said Mason. He nodded, remembering. "If I recall correctly, is it not true that earthen dragonkin fortify their scales by sleeping on precious ores?"


    "Or consuming them," added As.


    "All correct," said Li. He pointed to the blue gleam that flickered off the scale. "That scale is infused with adamant, though the scale itself has grown softer from centuries of decay, even if this ck matter slowed it down. Tia, if you consume that, I have no doubt you will be far, far stronger."


    Tia looked down at the scale pensively. "Feels wrong. This scale¡­not me. Was for him."


    "And now, he has given it to you," said Li. He knelt down and put aforting hand on Tia''s head. "It will surprise you all to hear this, but there was once a time I felt much the same as Tyr.


    Sometimes, your head is the worst ce to be, the easiest ce to get stuck in, and that stops you from ever moving forward. It keeps you in the past, sinking and sinking until you feel like there is no point to anything.


    And sometimes, the only way out, the only way up, is to let go. Let go of the past. My suffering was nowhere near what Tyr is facing now, but I can understand what he is trying to do. He gave away that scale because he wants to face the present, and to even begin to do that, he needs to move on from the past.


    Tia, that scale is for you and only for you. Tyr has let go of it, and for the better."


    Tia nodded and looked up to Li with saddened, big eyes. "Papa, are you still sad?"


    Li shook his head. It sounded so silly, but the time he was at his worst, his most cynical, was when he realized his dreams were never going to be fulfilled. No matter what he did, he would never live the life he wanted or walk through a green and blue world. He could have been the greatest genius of his times, but even then, society would never have allowed him to break the status quo.


    That realization crushed him. But finding Elden World let him face the reality of his life better and gave him the strength topromise on his dreams. In a way, it sounded quite sad, settling on his dreams like that, but trying to keep yourself living to dreams so high they were always out of reach was quite possibly the most exhausting thing anyone could put themselves through.


    Settling for virtual reality gave his mind some peace, and with that peace, he made friends and happy memories. It was not perfect, but then again, what ever was?


    "No, I am fine," said Li. He looked at Tia''s caring face and smiled. "Never better, in fact. Don''t worry about me. Take the scale, Tia. You will get stronger with it, and the more you fight, the more you carry on the memories entrusted, and the more you will help to ease Tyr''s heart."


    "Okay," said Tia quietly as she looked down at the scale for one lingering nce before opening her mouth wide, her double rows of vicious teeth fully bared, and chomped down. The scale was soft enough to chew, though its metallic sturdiness made ear-splitting wrenching sounds as Tia''s teeth cracked and warped it.


    Everyone except Li, Zagan, Tia, and As covered their ears.


    Tia finished eating the scale, tearing it up chunk by chunk, and as she gulped down thest of it, a blue light swelled up in her chest, visible through her clothing. She blinked several times, her eyes widened in surprise, and her breathing began to shallow.


    Li came close to her side, a little concerned, but she smiled to show she was okay. The light faded from within her body, and as it did so, she blinked hard. When she opened her eyes, a sh of green light erupted from them, sting forwards in concentrated rays.


    Thankfully, Tia was in enough control of herself to face away from everyone, and the rays crashed on the chrysalis, absorbing into the sturdy magical construct without damaging it. She blinked several times again, her eyes a little watery, and she raised her arms to her eye level, looking at faint patches of blue tinted scales forming on her skin.


    "Interesting," said Li. "It looks like you''ve inherited powers from when Hildr was both an oculon and a rock hydra."


    She had evolved, gaining new abilities and several levels.


    Tia rubbed her eyes before yawning. "Tired."


    And like before when she evolved, she was drained of energy, though it seemed not to the same degree as she had been when she was a wyrm and gaining strength at breakneck pace.


    Li hugged Tia and raised her up in his arms. "You''re long overdue for a rest. A well-deserved one, too."


    =====


    The mass of ck fleshtched around the chrysalis propelled it up at incredible speed, and it did not take long before the party was past the shattered remnants of the Helgat. Here, as Li watched sitting down with Tia in hisp, he figured they would stop, but the flesh construct continued to move them up.


    It formed an ever-elongating pir beneath the chrysalis, snaking it up past the many bridges and broken pieces of dwarven civilization. They moved above the tunnels they had entered the mountain through, leaving instead through a domed gate at the top of the mountain.


    A tendril of ck flesh shot out from their tform, digging into the heavy gate of fortified and enchanted metals. The malleable, alien flesh did not pry the gate apart with force, but instead snaked its way into its crevices and locks, operating its opening mechanism to slowly roll it apart, revealing the sunny sky above.


    As the sunlight streamed it, it revealed countless perches of rock carved into the walls of the mountain''s innards, and each perch had a rune inscribed detailing two names. The name of a dwarf and their draconic mount. This must have been where the dragonkin riders rested and entered and exited.


    In a way, it was symbolic that Tyr sent them out through here. Like he was giving his dearest friend onest flight.

 Chapter 269 - Forwards

    "Hm," said Li as he saw sunlight and blue skies. The pir of flesh continued to raise the chrysalis up, outside of the gate and onto the very top of the mountain where finally, itid the chrysalis down on t, smoothened stone.


    "What is it?" asked Old Thane. The old man knew Li well enough to differentiate between what his ''I see''s and ''Hm''s meant, and this time, the ''hm'' was one of serious contemtion. "A matter of concern,d?"


    "Not anything too serious," said Li as he saw the flesh pir withdraw and the domed gates close. "I was sensing the ckened flesh all throughout our ascent, getting a read of its movements and its scale. It managed to bring us up through the entire length of the mountain with little issue, and I reason it could have sent us away even further.


    The sheer amount of flesh linked to Tyr is staggering. If he unleashed all of it, I have no doubt he could easily crush entire armies."


    "A right tragedy he does not raise his strength with us," said Old Thane. "But I know well how a warrior''s heart may struggle. I cannot me him for his inaction."


    "I am not entirely sure I still trust him," said Mercer. "He is a dwarf. He may yet trick us."


    "And what doth it matter that he is a dwarf?" said As. "Thou hath not seen much of the world not read its rightful histories. Keep thy mind open and do not let thy misconceptions shadow what thou can learn from this adventure."


    "You are right," said Mercer. "I should not assume anything. My apologies."


    "Thou at the least hath a mind open to learning." As''s thin, ck lips curved slightly in a half smile. "If thou art truly curious, and curiosity, I do respect, then in times of rest upon our journey, I will not be opposed to learning thee of true history."


    Mercer''s eyes brightened up. "I would very much like that."


    "As would I," said Mason. "Seeing so much so quickly, how this world is so big and full of so many dangers ¨C it makes me feel so very small inparison. It will do well for me to learn, if only to better acquaint myself with dangers to protect my dolt of a brother."


    "Hold that feeling of smallness to your heartd," said Old Thane. "The smaller you feel now, the more you appreciate the great big wideness of the world in the future."


    "Understood," said Mason, his tone deferential.


    It was evident that Old Thane had some reputation that garnered respect among the brothers. Unsurprising considering the old man was a war hero.


    "But say," said Mercer. "As, are you hard of hearing? When Tia chewed upon the scale, the noise nearly split my ear in two, and yet, you were fine."


    "Ah," said As. She put a pale finger to her elongated, nearly elfin ears. "Our ears work differently than thee of warm blood. We do not so much hear sound as we feel it, and that which may sound harsh and grating to thee may be muted to mine own senses."


    "Lucky," said She as she scratched her fluffy blonde ear. "Crunching sounds very hard to hear. My ears sensitive."


    "Sorry," said Tia, her voice a little bit sleepy but still remorseful.


    "No, dragon cub, no sorry," said She. She smiled at Tia warmly, her gaze filled with patience that was unsurprising considering she had a little sister. "I am not bothered. But still-," She looked at Vilga who stood tall and strong with her arms crossed, looking out at the rolling view below the mountaintop. "You seem fine, and I know your kind have ears like me."


    "I have learned to meditate," said Vilga. "I can ignore distractions."


    "And yourmon very good," said She. "Make me jealous."


    Vilga closed her eyes. "I have been a ve far longer than you have, so I have learnedmon for longer as well."


    It stood to reason that Vilga, having been a ve to the fighting pits for most of her life, would have fluency in themon tongue.


    "I remember now," said She. She frowned. "Sorry."


    Vilga kept her eyes closed, remembering, but she smiled, her fangs baring. "No need for sorrow. The pits made me strong, and I like being strong."


    She opened her eyes to the present, her deep blue pupils taking in the magnificent scene atop the mountain. Clouds gathered just below the mountaintop in faint, wispy strips, and beneath them, the rolling mountainside was visible, stretching far out into the foggy distance. There were patches of green dotting the rocky mountain, but aside from that, there was no sense of life at all.


    Just pure and unadulterated silence. The undead haze around and within the mountain had ensured that no life had ever been able to take back the mountain for two centuries. That took away little from the majesty of the view.


    In the distance, the two mountaintops that made up the rest of the Triforge mountains peaked above the clouds, and beneath them, massive bridges of ck metal linked each mountain. The dwarven people might have long left this world, but their works, the great marvel of nature they lived on, all remained standing in some way. Memories carved into the earth that showed that they were here, that they had lived and died just like any other mortal race.


    Vilga grew somber as her eyes took in the scenery. "I did not just leave to fight strong beings, though I would like that. I left because I wanted to know if there was something more for my life than fighting. I never knew anything else other than it because it was forced on me.


    Maybe, in this big world, I thought, I would find something else to make my heart race. This ce makes me feel small, but like the old man said, I like the feeling. It makes me hopeful that the world has something else other than the fight."


    As scribbled on her tablet as she nced up at Vilga. "That is the first that thou hath spoken so much. I mean no offense, but thy words are quite elegant. Far moreso than I would have thought. It is evident that thou hath done much reflection into thy self, and I shalt say now that thy story is one that I too eagerly record."


    Vilga blushed but maintained her stoic, crossed arms posture, her tree trunk like arms rippling with muscle. "I¡­I do not like to speak much, but I think much, and just now, I felt it right to speak my mind. Something about this ce."


    "And a good thing you did," said Li. He deactivated the chrysalis, and it faded like a mirage. "All the better for us to know each other better."


    "This ce has magic," said She. "Maybe why you felt like talking more." She tapped her foot on the floor, drawing attention to it.


    The mountaintop was small and carved down to a t surface inscribed with countless runes in a circr pattern. When Li read them, he found they were runes symbolizing reflection, thought, and understanding.


    "I am shaman, so I know," said She. "We focus in ces of power. Like this one. Makes us think and feel in some way. Connect to spirits. This ce used for shamans. Dwarf shamans, I think." She tilted her head, closing her eyes and letting the feeling of the ce sink into her. "A calm ce. For calm magic. Thinking magic. Not like mine."


    "And what do you practice?" asked Mercer.


    She smiled. "Blood magic. We focus in blood pools. Guts of the hunted on us. Makes us hungry. Fiercer. Close to the hunt." She licked her lips. "Want to hunt."


    "Aha¡­I understand," said Mercer as he stepped back, quite intimidated.


    "There must be a spirit this connects to, then," said Li.


    "No more." She shook her head. "ce has some power, but spirit dead. Would have been gentle spirit."


    "This was altar of Vale, primal spirit of sight. Farsight, insight ¨C all of it under her domain," said As as she looked down at the runes, reading them and remembering from her own studies and readings. "It is recorded that dwarves devoted to Vale were gifted her eyes. Eyes pale red like blood. Hair silver like tempered steel."


    "I see," said Li. He filed the knowledge in his head, but he focused more on the feeling of the ce around him.


    It had a schrly air to it too. One he rather liked. Were the spirit Vale to have been alive, no doubt, he felt he would have gotten along with her. But now was not time to dwell in the past. There was much adventure waiting ahead.


    He snapped his fingers, bidding the Vukanovi to reach his location. It had been unable to enter the tunnels leading into the Triforge mountains, but Li had beckoned it to scale the mountain while keeping track of Li''s location so that when they left the mountain, they would have transport ready and avable.


    Because Tyr had so suddenly taken Li and the party out of the mountain, the Vukanovi was scrambling to scale the mountainside to reach them, but it woulde in due time.


    "Many things dead or lost from demons," said She. She balled her hand into a resolute fist. "But I fix that. Take back Nadir and protect my people. Give them freedom."


    "All of you have such grand goals, and the strength to achieve them." Mason spoke up, his voice a little quiet. "And I am here merely trying to get a good adventure in."


    "And in adventure, we will find grand goals and more," said Mercer. He lightly punched his older brother''s shoulder inforting gesture.


    "Aye," said Old Thane. "And did yeds not draw your des to defend your homes? That is noble goal enough. Let not others and their goals distract ye from yours. After all, for now, we are all in this party together, and together, we will adventure, no matter how small or big or weak or strong we are."


    "Always together!" said Tia as she nuzzled into Li''s chest, hugging him far tighter than usual, and it was because he knew she had felt alone and afraid. Feelings from synchronizing with Tyr. They were feelings she hated the most, but she had been strong and not let them show in front of Tyr because she did not want him to feel bad.


    Li put his arms around Tia, running a hand through her roughened hair. He looked out to the horizon, westward, beyond the veil of cloud, where past the bridges linking the Triforge peaks together, there would be an entirely newnd.


    The Hintends. The Shibboleth. Then, even further west than that, En Arkennan -nd of the demons. It filled him with a sense of anticipation, of adventure, that he thought he had long lost.


    But no matter the scale of adventure, where it would lead him, he knew one thing to be sure:


    "Always together," he repeated as held Tia tight to him, feeling the life of the rest of his party also beating, relying on him, and yet also striving ever forwards.

 Chapter 270 - Three Leaves: Rocky Road I

    The Hintends ¨C Five days out from the western coast of the continent


    "Suppressive fire, Az!" Sylvie shouted as she hid behind a dented boulder. She breathed heavily, feeling the rough, rocky ground beneath her and the dry, almost burning air sucking into her lungs and cracking her lips.


    A dozen meters to her side, beneath another boulder, Azhar took out his skeletal bow and slipped out of his cover. His quiver was empty, having long since been drained in this hours long battle. But his bow could manifest arrows of bone, and he did so now. Three long, sharpened femurs materialized between his fingers.


    He nocked the arrows, wreathing them in a film of ck magical energy, and fired. The arrows split into a total of twelve identical copies ¨C the effects of the [Split-Shot] skill ¨C and sailed in beautiful, neat arcs before boring into the stony skulls of kobolds.


    The kobolds were thin, misshapen creatures with humanoid bodies and draconic heads dotted with beady yellow eyes. They were made out of grey rock, looking entirely like artificial constructs, and indeed they were, created as familiars by the real threat up ahead.


    Sylvie bit her lip as she pressed her back against the boulder and began to think, assessing the situation. She had always prided herself in her perception, her eyes capable of perceiving so much at once, and she prided herself even more in her ability to process what she saw so efficiently.


    To the point where when she exined to Jeanne how she kept her mind apace in even the most tense and deadly of battle situations, Jeanne had teased her by saying that maybe her hair had gone silver from overthinking stress.


    In a way, Sylvie wished she could be like Jeanne. Just shoving and smashing her way through life with enough strength that she did not need to think much about what she did.


    The half hero stood ahead out in the open, wielding her priest''s staff as a bludgeoning weapon, shattering the bodies of kobolds that escaped Az''s keen eye and showers of arrows.


    The earth rumbled, and Sylvie peeked out from her cover to watch Jeanne dash to the side, narrowly escaping a stomp from an enormous, grey scaled dragon foot. In retaliation, Jeanne roared as she swung her staff straight into the foot in a brutish show of force that hardly any other priest would ever be able to replicate.


    But this was Jeanne, blessed with heroic blood, and her staff exploded into the scaled foot in cracking impact as metal crashed against rocky, scaled skin. Her hit blew back the foot just a little, lining a scale with cracks, but that was about it as far as damage went. Spurts ofva poured out from the cracks, but when they spattered on Jeanne, they did not burn her skin, only warping the metal of her armor.


    "Jeanne, do not waste energy trading blows!" shouted Sylvie. "The rock hydra''s scales are aurichalcum-infused! You will only strengthen it!"


    "I know!" growled Jeanne in frustration at the fact that she could not beat the towering hydra to death. Sylvie could understand, for after all, for if the rock hydra''s scales were infused with any other metal aside from perhaps adamant, Jeanne could smash through it easily with her prodigious power.


    But aurichalcum was special, capable of converting half of all physical damage into mana. And rock hydras were already among the most durable of dragonkin.


    "Then focus on evading!" shouted Sylvie. "You''ll burn us all alive at this rate!"


    Sylvie squinted her eyes and parted some sweat matted hair from her forehead, looking up. It was night, but there was so much light that it might as well have been day, and the source of thaty floating in the sky, right above the huge bulk of the fully grown rock hydra.


    A sphere of molten rock gleaming with heat and light rotated above like a miniature sun, and arcs of orange energy linked it to the rock hydra who fueled it with its mana.


    The heat from that orb was so intense that Sylvie and Azhar could only huddle behind the rocks to prevent their skin from burning up. Jeanne could resist it with her heroic durability that also seemed to make her nigh immune to damage from heat, which was even more useful considering the rock hydra seemed to have bathed in a fault in the earth, infusing itself not only with aurichalcum, but withva that coursed through its scales and skin like veins.


    But ultimately, if she could not harm the hydra, then all she could do was stall it. Which was the whole point, actually, but Sylvie sighed as she found her n thwarted not by herself, but by the ipetency of others.


    "Will your de work soon?" said Sylvie as she looked ahead with her back against the boulder. A little ways from her, shaded under the boulder''s shadow, there knelt a young man with bronzed skin staring down at a silver-green longsword.


    Sylvie could tell at first nce that it was a weapon nearly iparable to anything she had ever seen before. The length of its white de shone in a shimmering haze like moonlight on the water''s surface, and lining its edge was an iridescent, teal green glow radiating with heat and power.


    The intricacy of the ivory white patterns of flowers and rays of light decorating its pommel and the night-ck, star speckled color of the handle indicated materials unavable to man and skill beyond the finest any cksmith she knew could produce.


    For this was the Moon Reaver, a Divine ss item ¨C one of the few of its kind to exist or have ever existed in this world ¨C and the greatest treasure of the southern city state of Enna.


    "By the moon, this damned thing is failing me," said the man as he rapped the gleaming white de with a frustrated rap of his knuckles.


    And this was the divine weapon''s wielder. Zal ¨C the crown prince of Enna.


    "My love, you know better than to insult our most divine of treasures," spoke a woman about the same age as the man. She was wrapped up in flowing, silvery white robes that seemed like moonlight forged solid, and strikingly green eyes shone through a thin veil of white.


    "You are right, my darling Rudaba," said the man as he flourished a dashing smile and leaned forwards, giving the woman a kiss on her cheek.


    The woman bashfully turned her head to the side. "Oh, to show me such love even on the battlefield."


    "When my heart races in the fight, it reminds me only of you," said Zal.


    "Can you two please stop twittering like love birds and focus on the task at hand?" said Sylvie, her voice bleeding with more of an edge than she would have liked it to. She was happy about seeing the two being so loving with each other, but the topic of love was not something she particrly liked to dwell on.


    She ignored a sudden urge to think of Li before she cleared her mind with one quick breath. "Jeanne is out there risking her life, awaiting the Moon Reaver''s activation. Tell me, is it ready? I understand it may be a secret of your state, but our lives and the march of the five armies depend upon it."


    "Oh, believe me, I would not hide anything from a fellow adventurer," said Zal. He looked down at the Moon Reaver in confusion. "But the de should be responding to me. It is nightfall, the moon is visible, and I believe I am fighting for good. All the conditions are met."

 Chapter 271 - Three Leaves: Rocky Road II

    "Those are the conditions?" Sylvie nced up at the molten orb blotting out the moon. She pointed to it. "Then I can see an immediate problem. Perhaps you should have told me about these conditions before I crafted our battle ns with you as a crucial part of it."


    "Well, I cannot reveal the secrets of the Moon Reaver too easily," said Zal with a shrug.


    Sylvie sighed, wondering how Zal and Rudaba managed to be one of five tinum ranked adventuring teams in Soleil. Well, she could figure. The Moon Reaver was immensely powerful, even when it was not fully activated, and Zal''s skill as a warrior swordsman was undeniable, nor could Rudaba''s mastery of healing be scoffed at.


    But these two never really seemed to think their steps through, always going about believing fate would set the best path for them. That happy go lucky attitude did irk Sylvie, but she kept her annoyance to a minimum as she thought of the task at hand.


    "As a team, Triple Threat has no powerful ranged abilities," said Sylvie. "We have no means of breaking that orb. Rudaba, you are versed in your state''s magic, no? Do the priestesses of the moon have any magic powerful enough to shatter that?"


    Rudaba shook her head. "I am afraid not. The moon, unlike the sun, is gentle and cold. We heal and nurture. Destruction is not within our capabilities."


    "Punching that orb will do nothing. It is molten and will reform. I cannot use Jeanne." Sylvie elocuted her thoughts out loud. "Azhar has norge, shy attacks that can eliminate the orb in one fell blow. Nor do you, from what I have seen, prince Zal."


    Zal nodded. "Were the Moon Reaver active, then I could surely sunder apart this overgrown lizard and its chew toy in one blow. But s, it is not."


    "You need not remind me of what we do not have," said Sylvie as she felt sweat drip down her neck. The heat of the molten orb was growing oppressive, but she did not let that muddle her thoughts.


    The original n was simple.


    A scouting party of lesser ranked adventurers had scoped out the rock hydra, and the army generals had determined it needed to be removed for it blocked a crucial mountain pass leading to the western coast where Trieste would provide a much-needed boost of supplies and troops to the main marching army.


    The army had long suffered in the Hintends for its monsters and environment were far harsher than that throughout most of Soleil. Or rather, it was the adventurers that took thergest brunt of harm, for the armies naturally intimidated most monsters through sheer numbers.


    Only the stronger monsters would dare to approach a huge gathering of humans, and these, the adventurers needed to deal with, not only due to their expertise, but also because when it came down to fighting strong monsters, throwing a mass number of inexperienced knights at it was often a horrible n.


    One needed strong individuals, not armies, to take down powerful monsters.


    The rock hydra was such an example of a strong monster. By the markings on its scales, it was likely over two hundred years old, having somehow escaped the fall of the Triforge mountains where it once lived to settle here, farther west. It, like dragonkin did, grew stronger with age, and by now, it was an incredibly formidable being.


    Azhar knew of its existence for his people, native to the Hintends, considered it almost a deity. Azi the Molten, it was called. A guardian of a mountain pass that granted passage only to those that it deemed worthy. But it was impossible for five entire armies to be deemed worthy, and so the order wasid down to eliminate it.


    Of the four tinum adventuring teams in all of Soleil, two ¨C Twin Winds and Hex ¨C were resting, with the northern team Ironlink staying to defend their homnd. That left Moonguardprised of Zal and Rudaba to deal with the hydra, and Triple Threat had gone with them as the strongest gold ranked team capable of standing among tinums without being blown away.


    The strategy was simple. Sylvie knew of the hydra''s general abilities from the scouting party. She knew its scales absorbed shock and that it was magically attuned, capable of summoning kobold familiars en masse to do its bidding and also stone shape.


    Thus, Jeanne would pave the way with her heat resistant body and superb strength, and Azhar, Sylvie, and Moonguard would fan out the kobolds. At a certain point, Jeanne would distract the hydra, and then Zal would eliminate the hydra in one blow with the Moon Reaver.


    Sylvie nced back to Zal and saw him still looking frustrated at his de, and she crossed out that n. But no matter. She had contingencies.


    She looked down briefly at her ne. Li''s gift to her ¨C but that did not matter right now. She thought of what it could do. Bymuning with it, she could essentially ''lock in'' five weapons to manifest, but once locked in, she could not change them out for a full day.


    Currently, she was locked out, and the weapons she had now were all meant for closebat where she excelled. Theoretically, one of the weapons was destructive enough to blow apart the orb but getting close to it was not something she could do without burning up. Nor could Azhar do the same.


    She briefly considered whether Azhar could fire the weapon like an arrow, but the specific weapon she needed to use here was a double headed axe that would be impossible to try and shoot.


    But Jeanne could easily do it. Sylvie could see a clear n ahead now.


    "Jeanne!" shouted Sylvie. "Retreat backwards! I''m going to give you a weapon ¨C make sure to swing it at the orb!"


    "Got it!" replied Jeanne, her voice surprisingly unmuffled despite being a fair distance away. Good vocal cords, though not the greatest at actually singing.


    Sylvie looked back at Zal. "Get in position to use the Moon Reaver. The weapon I am giving Jeanne is one time use. If the hydra forms that orb once more, we will not get another chance."


    "Understood," said Zal as he picked up the longsword in tense hands, steadying his breath and gaze. Rudaba put a hand on his shoulder, gently giving him somefort.


    But as Jeanne''s steps grew closer, something else rushed forwards. It came from above. A flying figure radiating golden light that hovered high above Sylvie, looking down at the battle with sunlight filled eyes.


    That figure was utterly unmistakable to quite literally anyone in Soleil, and Sylvie held in a breath as her eyes widened.


    It was Sunstar.


    But why would the great hero waste his time here?


    It was already decided upon that the strongest of the Ascendant Order would limit their exposure to battle to conserve their strength for the demons. This, Sylvie had been somewhat suspicious of, for it felt far more like the heroes were being hidden, and if they were hidden away against something, then were not themon knights and adventurers left to face that very something?


    Sunstar, in particr, had mostly been no more than a figure to raise morale, flying above the armies and beaming down a big smile so that he ¨C the shining beacon of hope that had defeated the demons before ¨C could inspire hope.


    It worked, and there was not a single instance where he did not draw apuse and smiles, and yet, Sylvie could not findfort in his presence.


    "It appears that this dirty creature is troubling you all," said Sunstar, his voice booming and his smile wide as he crossed his muscr arms together, shooting out a fiery stare to the rock hydra. "But by the might of the sun, no more!"

 Chapter 272 - Three Leaves: Rocky Road III

    Sylvie took a moment to collect herself, and in that moment, a hundred thoughts ran across her head. She tried to calcte what exactly it meant for Sunstar to appear here and shout that he was going to fight. How would his presence change her ns?


    Fundamentally, the answer to that question came down to another, more basic one: how exactly strong was he?


    She did not know. Nobody really knew.


    His strength was the stuff of legends, sung of by bards and chronicled by the most eloquent of poets, and yet, there was precious little she could reference with her own eyes, and above all, she believed what she saw more so than any epic or song.


    And she had seen nothing of Sunstar personally.


    There were also little to no eyewitness ounts of his strength. That was one thing she had a particr curiosity about. Whenever Sunstar opted to intervene in killing a monster here and there, he did so first by clearing out any adventurers in the area. To prevent coteral damage, it was said, but she had always thought that perhaps there was a secret behind it.


    Exactly what - she did not know - but soon, she would see for herself.


    "Jeanne, get back!" said Sylvie, prioritizing the safety of her teammate and sister first and foremost. She assumed Sunstar would at the least, based off his bravado, be able to hold the hydra off enough for everyone to regroup and gather their bearings.


    "Az, and you two," said Sylvie as she spoke to Moonguard. "Regroup, but be ready for-,"


    Her words ended as she stared off at Sunstar, her attention captured by the fact that the hero did not wait, did not think, he just dove in head first, flying with his fists stuck out ahead of him as he sailed right towards the hydra.


    Sunlight enveloped his figure in a bright, heat waveden aura, and he looked like a miniatureet as he shot forwards. The hydra reacted, opening its sizable maw and firing off a massive torrent of me easily capable of engulfing an entire squadron of men. The fire itself crackled with arcs of red energy, magically infused with immensely high heat empowered even further by the orb of molten rock revolving in the sky like a malevolent eye.


    Sunstar dove into that me breath hot enough to have threatened even the sturdiest among the tinum ranked adventurers withplete and utter ease. His light wrapped form cleaved through the fire, parting it in two as instead of being repelled, he actually gained more and more speed until finally, he crashed right into the hydra''s mouth.


    A burst of exploding me and sloshingva erupted from the point of impact, temporarily clouding the scene, but Sylvie''s eyes were sharp, and she used [Hunter Sight], a dual ss skill for hunters and assassins for temporarily looking through blinds and illusions, to look past the blinding lights.


    Sylvie stood up, breaking her cover, ignoring the searing heat of the air as she stepped forwards, blinking at the sight in front of her.


    Jeanne, too, had stopped herself from retreating, instead turning around to follow Sylvie''s stare.


    Sunstar had flown straight through the rock hydra, tearing past its throat and punching out to the other side. For a single moment, covered as he was in blood and fire that stood out starkly against the light colors of his golden suit, he looked horrifying, slick red drenching everything except his eyes that still shone with a piercing luminescence.


    It reminded Sylvie of seeing the feral, glowing yellow eyes of predators in the night as they circled a campfire.


    But that was only for a moment. Heat and energy emanated from Sunstar, and the blood evaporated off, leaving his golden bodysuit and pale blue capepletely spotless. He smiled an impossibly perfect and white smile as the rock hydra stiffened, blood spurting from the hole in its throat, before it began to copse slowly and heavily like a tipping tree.


    The orb of molten rock, disconnected now from its main magic source, darkened, cooling rapidly into regr stone before cracking apart and falling to the ground. The countless kobolds in service of the hydra also broke apart, crumbling like dust.


    Just like that ¨C a creature that could have given an entire army trouble defeated in a single move.


    "Greetings, good adventurers!" said Sunstar as he floated downwards, his cape billowing behind him. Despite it being night, the natural sunlight he gave off was so bright that at the least, he was always permanently illuminated.


    He gave a lingering nce to Jeanne first, then turned his illuminated eyes to Sylvie and the others. He bowed, flourishing it with an arc of his arm. "As always, it is an honor to meet those who defend the fair people of Soleil from monsters. Your work is always and truly appreciated."


    "Why are you here?" said Jeanne.


    Sylvie stirred. Unlike usual, Jeanne''s voice was muted,cking the strength she usually projected herself with. Azhar came to Sylvie''s side, and by exchanging a nce, she could feel they were thinking the same thing.


    Thest meeting between Sunstar and Jeanne was one that touched on an incredibly sensitive matter, and Jeanne had so far ignored it, not wishing to think of the implications of Sunstar being her father and what it meant. The biggest implication was that Sunstar had abandoned her and her mother, and that was one that Sylvie and Azhar had let her have her space with.


    But it was obvious Jeanne had not processed everything, and Sunstar''s presence was not going to help.


    "Toe help, of course," said Sunstar as he came down to ground level. "I hope we will not treat each other as strangers. For after all, we have met before, have we not?"


    He stepped towards Jeanne, and she stepped back. Sylvie stepped between them, Azhar taking her lead.


    "That does not answer the question," said Sylvie as she craned her neck up to look up at Sunstar''s formidable height. "The entire point of adventurers taking upon this venture was that you would conserve your strength and hide yourself from the prying eyes of enemies. Will this notpletely defeat that purpose?"


    "ying that house pet means nothing to me," said Sunstar as he looked not at Sylvie, but continued to point his gaze at Jeanne.


    "I was under the impression I would be seeing less of you by taking these hunts," said Zal as he took careful steps forward, green eyes narrowed on Sunstar as he leaned against his divine de. "So, what has changed?"


    "Ah, the crown prince of Enna. A pleasure to meet you," said Sunstar as he gave a light bow. "I must thank you again for lending Enna''s army in this march, and even more so that you lead it personally."


    "I would not leave the Moon Reaver anywhere else other than my side. Least of all with my father who already has given away the army to you," said Zal.


    "I assure you, good prince, your city''s contribution is for the greater good," said Sunstar. "And it is only with the duchess''s infinite generosity that she did not seize the Moon Reaver when Enna so graciously chose to fold itself into the duchy. I trust you will appreciate that kindness."


    "Oh? Is that how it is? We folded ourselves into the crown you serve?" Zal''s hand lied lightly around the handle of the Moon Reaver. "Amusing. I was but a boy when it happened, but I do hold myself to have a sharp memory. Was it not you that broke into our sacred temple of the moon to demand our allegiance?"


    "I merely asked," said Sunstar as he maintained his wide smile and light tone, not taking Zal even the slightest bit seriously. "And your father was wise enough to ept. I am sure that wisdom has passed on to you."


    Rudaba put her hand on Zal''s shoulder and shook her head, stopping Zal from continuing this confrontation.


    "I am not here for you, prince," said Sunstar. "If that is what you are curious about. My business is only with Triple Threat. You should return to camp and find some rest. The march tomorrow will be hard, and we may yet need your excellent swordsmanship."


    "Fine," said Zal after a moment looking into Sunstar''s unbreaking smile. He whirled around on his heel, taking Rudaba by her arm and left.


    "Yer here for us?" said Azhar.


    Sunstar did not look at Azhar. "More specifically, I am here for Jeanne." He nodded to Sylvie. "I acknowledge your words. I am under orders to preserve my strength and conceal my presence. But what father would note running to the aid of his daughter when he senses her in danger?"


    "Funny ya didn''t say that the past twenty years she was alone," said Azhar.


    Sunstar ignored Azhar''s words and spoke to Jeanne. "Come, my daughter, it is past time that we discuss our rtion and reveal it to the duchy. I understand if you do not wish to join the Ascendant Order, but at the very least, you should not hide in the shadows any longer.


    You are the daughter of the greatest hero known among man, and you should shine as bright as your blood decrees you to."


    "Azhar spoke to you," said Sylvie. She felt irked that the hero could ignore Azhar as if he did not even exist, but she did not let that bleed into her tone. She tried to be calm, though she had to admit it was difficult. "And he raised right points. Will you not answer him?"


    "Circumstances," said Sunstar simply. "But matters of family should be discussed only between myself and Jeanne."


    "Yeah?" Azhar snorted. "We are her family, ya halfwit. Had her back since we were kids. Got more right than you to be callin'' her family, that''s for sure."


    "Hintender," said Sunstar as he finally pointed a gaze to Azhar. The hero smiled, but something about his stare felt dangerous. But only for a single moment before he continued with light tone. "I must thank you and Sylvie here for taking care of Jeanne for so long. It is my greatest shame to have been unable to be with her, but I can exin all to her. I only ask for time alone."


    "Stop it, you two," said Jeanne as she came forwards, stepping ahead of Sylvie.


    "Ya sure?" said Azhar, frowning. "Don''t gotta deal with this if ya don''t want to."


    "He''s right," said Sylvie.


    "I know, and thank you," said Jeanne with a smile. "But I know what I want to say."


    "Ah," said Sunstar. "I can see that you have begun to ept your heritage. Whence shall we meet for a much-needed talk? It need not be today, either. Perhaps the morrow when you are more rested?"


    Jeanne shook her head once. Sylvie saw as Jeanne stared right at Sunstar with resolution shing in the blues of her eyes. "No, I only have a question: why did you abandon my mother?"


    "Your mother?" Sunstar paused. "Is another topic we may discuss in time."


    "No, I want an answer now," said Jeanne. She looked back to Sylvie and Azhar. "And I want my brother and sister here with me to hear it."


    "It is¡­a matter of the crown," said Sunstar. "I cannot discuss it with you lest in private."


    "Then that will be the end of it," said Jeanne as she stepped past Sunstar, bidding Sylvie and Azhar toe with her.


    The hero did not move, and, as Sylvie noted with a slight shiver as she too walked past him, did not stop smiling.


    "You are yet conflicted. I understand," said Sunstar. He began to fly, hovering upwards. He looked down at Sylvie and Azhar, and for the slightest of moments, Sylvie''s eyes ¨C sharp as they were ¨C felt like they captured a little break in the smile, some tiny, infinitesimal twitch that felt truly off putting, like seeing a crack in a porcin doll revealing only darkness.


    "I will give you more time, but know my daughter that should you desire answers, I will always be present for you," said Sunstar as he floated into the sky, slowly at first, and then at explosive speeds once he reached high enough, his form streaking in the night sky like a shooting star.

 Chapter 273 - Parentage

    Li sat atop the round head of the Vukanovi, feeling it lurching ever so slightly up and down as it scaled its way down thest of the three Triforge mountains. It had taken the entire rest of the day to travel across the mountains, even with the dwarven bridges still connecting them.


    The sheer scale of the mountains made Li realize even more that at its height, the dwarven kingdom must have been truly exceptional. But now, there was but silence.


    But, as Li tuned into his senses, the silence around the mountains was not eerie. Clinging with death and rot. With the undeath haze lifted from the mountains, they returned instead to a natural kind of silence.


    The haze had killed off most life, but already, Li could see little bits of life starting to peak. Tiny sparkles of green that registered on his sight that meant that the rocky earth could finally wee nts other than the bleached or ckened kind that grew in undead areas.


    The original ecosystem of the mountains with its skies dominated by rock hydras and its slopes travelled by mountain stonegoat would likely nevere back, but perhaps something new could be born to fill up this silent void once more. Already, bolstered by the life energy brimming from Li''s very presence, nts were beginning to shoot up and grow.


    Li felt his attention turn from the environment as Tia stirred in hisp, nodding head from side to side as her eyes twinkled green and ck in the night. Though they were scaling down at quite the sheer angle, vines around Li kept him and Tia anchored to the Vukanovi, and it seemed that she liked travelling like this.


    It was new, kind of like rock climbing if one could ignore the plummeting heights, but Tia, born to fly, had no such fear.


    Li looked up, seeing a sliver of moon eking out its light through a veil of clouds, and he wondered how to approach this topic.


    The topic of telling Tia about her parentage, that was. She might have been innocent, but he knew she was not stupid. She already knew she was not blood rted to Li, but she did not ever seem to show that it bothered her. He doubted she would react too strongly to whatever he told her, but at the same time, he was ready tofort her about anything if she needed it.


    In any case, it would still be good to sit down with her and tell her the details through and through.


    "Tia, about your mother," said Li a little awkwardly, not knowing how to ease into the conversation while figuring that a direct approach would be best.


    "Mmhm," nodded Tia. She was still a little bit groggy from sleeping through her prior evolution, but sleeping through most of the day had done much for her wakefulness now.


    "Well, she was like you. A dragon. Or, specifically, a hydra," said Li.


    "Hmm," said Tia. "I felt many eyed dragon simr to me. Maybe that''s why."


    "Yes, but your mother was not from here. She came from farther west. Much farther. Where we are going, in fact," said Li.


    Tia cocked her head. "Will we meet her then?"


    "Hm." Li shook his head after a while. "No, I do not think that is likely. You see, Tia, she gave you, when you were still an egg, to me because she was running from the west. She is not here anymore."


    "Running? But why?" said Tia.


    "The demons," said Li. "The very same reason we are travelling west now."


    Tia looked up to Li with a smile. "I can tell papa worried. Can tell through his heart. But no worry. I am fine. Just curious about mother. About more like me. Will we see more like me?"


    "Like you?" Li looked down to meet Tia''s gaze. At her twin-colored eyes. At her antler-like horns. "I¡­do not know. Maybe there will be wyrms. More hydras, perhaps. But Tia, you are not like any of them anymore. You are special."


    "Because of papa!" said Tia with a giggle. She looked back down, staring at the cliff face continuing far, far below, its end so far down that it was impossible to make out. "Sometimes, I see little humans like me. But also not like me. See them y with each other. Think about it but know that humans are not me. Can''t y with them. Think maybe I can make friend with dragon like me if I find."


    She paused, sensed Li''s worry, then smiled back up at him. "But no worry. Being with papa makes me happy enough."


    "There are dragons like you, Tia, in the north," said Li. He thought of the northern dragons and he grimaced, knowing how they felt about Tia''s bloodline. "But they will not like you."


    Tia cocked her head. "Why not?"


    "Because, well-," Li paused to gather his thoughts. "Because sometimes, simrity just makes small differences stand out that much more. Makes them easy to pick on. Your mother, Tia, her blood runs through your veins, and because of that, the northern dragons, even if they look like you, may not like you."


    "Oh," said Tia. She grew quiet but maintained a smile. A softer smile than before. "Papa, did mother like me? Did she want me?"


    Li gave Tia a hug. "Most certainly she did. Like I said, Tia, you were special. Very special, among your kind and to me. To your mother, too. She left you with me because she wanted you to be protected."


    Tia nodded. "I understand if she did not want me. Sometimes, mothers leave daughters. Only natural. But knowing she did makes me happy."


    Li felt slight surprise at how nonchntly she processed the idea of abandonment, but he knew he should not be too surprised. Tia, fundamentally, was zero percent human. Well, that was not entirely urate, for very likely, Li''s still human persona had bled into her, not to mention her environment, but when it came to instincts and nature, she had no illusions.


    Animals would abandon their young for their self-survival. Wolves would cull the disabled from their litters. Some creatures would eat their young for sustenance if needed. Li presumed dragonkin were still very much in tune with the colder side of nature, and Tia understood that at an instinctive level.


    "But will shee back?" said Tia after a moment of thought. "Papa will be my only, but I just wonder. If she running, and she wanted me, and she was nice, and she came back, would not mind helping her. Seeing her."


    "She will likely note back. She is probably dead," said Li. The words were matter of fact, perhaps harsh to some other ears, but Li realized he should not underestimate the fact that Tia could handle a lot more than she looked like she could.


    "Oh," said Tia. She frowned, pausing for several seconds. Li could sense sadness in her heart, but it was not deep. Understandably so ¨C she did not and had not known her mother enough to feel a strong sense of loss. "Did demons hurt her? But ck dog seems so nice. Did not know demons so mean."


    "No, not demons. Probably dragons in the north. Your mother went to them for help, but likely, they attacked her."


    Tia sat still for a bit, looking ahead, thinking. "Papa, I want to go north too. Where dragons are. I did not know mother, so not sad much. But mother made me, and because of that, I know papa. Owe her. Want to see if she still there, even if not likely."


    "The dragons there will not like you," said Li. "They will want to hurt you. And they will be very strong."


    "I know," said Tia. "But I getting stronger. And, even if they don''t like me, still want to see them. Want to see dragons like me. Want to know why they don''t like me. Maybe if I talk, see their hearts, they change their mind."


    "You might not like the answers they give you, Tia," said Li. He could sense from within her that she felt a strong, deep sense of curiosity to see the dragons more so than there was any kind of desire to avenge her mother.


    Like Tia said, she felt more like she owed it to the one who gave her life to at the least try and see if her mother was alive, to help her if she could. But mostly, she had a yearning to see beings like her, for, as Li began to realize, she truly was so very alone in his part of the world.


    Tia was thest of her kind in the west. An one in a kind being in the south where none of the regr humans would ever dare to approach her or talk to her, mostly out of fear. Fear that she did not mind, but fear she realized made her different from them. She wanted to feel a kind of sameness that she could feel with Li with others.


    But the dragons in the north, even if they were more like her at this point than any wyrm or hydra or human, would not take kindly to her, and Li did not want her to face the heartbreak of being rejected by creatures she believed would be close to herself.


    Tia smiled at Li and nodded. "Know that. But still want to see. Hear for myself."


    "I see," said Li softly. He put a hand on Tia''s head, feeling the warmth in his palm. He sighed. Even if he did not want her to get hurt, he knew it would not do well to control her, either. That, he was beginning to understand.


    "I will not stop you from doing what you really want, Tia. I know you want to see your kind, to see what they are like. But after all this, if you do go north, it has to be with me. Promise me that, okay?"


    "Okay," said Tia. She smiled up at Li. "Why would I not go with papa? Always like when you are near."

 Chapter 274 - The North

    "Good, good," said Li, nodding to Tia and to himself. He held her close to him, making sure the vines attaching him to the Vukanovi were secure. "Tia, how about we go back inside with the others?"


    Tia shook her head and yawned. "No. Want to stay here. With just papa." She blinked a few times as she smiled and stared straight down, her sight scanning across the sheer length of the mountainside. "And like seeing this. Very new. Never see big rock so close before."


    "Mountain," corrected Li.


    "Mountain," nodded Tia. "Very, very big. Like it. Maybe, if I grow up and find new home for papa and me, it will be on mountain."


    "Is the cottage not enough for you?" asked Li, a little worried. After all, perhaps the small confines of the cottage did restrict her somehow, considering she was a dragon and all.


    Tia shook her head. "Cottage good. Like being there. With old man and papa. But something about mountain feels nice." She swayed her head from side to side with a smile, her nose ring as she took in a breath of the thin but crisp and clean mountain air. "Free."


    "I can see what you mean," said Li. "Well, make sure not to leave me too soon."


    "Never!" Tia giggled. "If papa stay at cottage forever, then I do too. No worry."


    Li ruffled Tia''s hair with a smile, wondering himself what would happen as Tia grew up. She matured at an astounding pace, learning and developing physically and mentally far faster than any human child. A side effect of her draconic heritage, he figured.


    In just about three months, she was basically now a ten-year-old. If she grew at this pace, then within another month or two, she would be a teenager. How would she change then? Would she go through a group of troublesome teenage years like human children did? Or would she stay much the same? Would she want to stay with him still? Or would she want to leave?


    Li would ask Azhar when he met the adventurer out west. But regardless of the answers he got, he told himself he would try and respect Tia''s wishes. He did not want to confine her to anything. He did not want to keep her under any of his expectations. He wanted her to be free and happy and grow as she wanted to.


    Though of course, he would still be overly protective whenever it came to be that her life was in danger. That, Li did not think he could ever reallypromise on, though he was getting better at letting her facebat by herself and make her own decisions.


    As the hours passed and the night grew deeper, Li found himself thinking with Tia sleeping softly in hisp. By daybreak, they would pass the Triforge Mountains and soon encounter the Shibboleth. ording to legends, it was a great cleave in the earth that split the Hintends from the main continent. Created when Helius and Noctusbined their powers for a powerful attack to blow back the first herald of Wrath -a demonic giant called Asmodai whose fiery head reached above the clouds.


    A little side thought Li had was that it seemed that as time went, the power level of this world went down. From what he heard of myths and legends, the very first war against the demons that directly involved the gods was one of massive,ary scale, involving the eastern continent too.


    Many of the creatures described in them would easily be capable of razing the entire continent. Asmodai, for example, Li could identify as a Musphelite, a high level variant of Jotunn that was at minimum level eighty.


    If what Li recalled about the god was true, that they only appeared when the world was in its gravest need, then he could understand why they never appeared again, for the threat level of the demons or creatures and magic in general seemed to deteriorate over time.


    Why, Li did not know. Perhaps a question to hold and ask someone of schrly knowledge like Ven''thur or Alexeiter.


    But besides that side point, Li''s talk with Tia raised questions about the north. He had been getting routine updates from Riviera by Ivo for the duration of their travel. Every few days, Ivo would report through Li''s totem the status of the farms, the guild, and the city itself.


    So far, nothing of note worth was happening.


    Most of the troops that were stationed at Riviera had left on march for the west, but that did not mean the city was undefended. Leon, Launcelot''s brother, had arrived recently, and with his key, the defense of Riviera wasplete. The walls flowed with power, its statues ready to animate at a moment''s notice, and above them, an azure dome of magic stood tall and strong.


    The farmers, of course, could not enjoy the defenses of the dome and walls, but Iona had been working overtime, stationing the justicars in key locations around the farms and raising a veritable army of powerful treant warriors.


    It would not be an exaggeration to im that with Iona''s power, Riviera''s own defenses, and Li''s totem that could fend against demonrot, that Riviera was the safest ce in the entire duchy, and it showed. Migrants from all around the kingdom, including beastmen from the west, were filing into the city.


    The city itself could feed them with the massive amounts of crop from the farmer''s guild, but itcked housing. Most of the refugees therefore camped along the farms inrge tented settlements organized by Sindra in tandem with the city council. Alexei was generous in providing financial support and manpower as well.


    But the situation to the north was much murkier. Li had received only a single update from Meld through the synarch seed, and that was almost a week ago to say that they were flying on Gronn en route to a key destination.


    Li figured now was a time as good as any to get another update from them. He put his hand into his pocket, caring not to move much to awake Tia, and withdrew the stem of the synarch seed he had given meld. He channeled magic into it and focused, reaching out to the seed of the stem in Meld''s possession.


    After almost a minute of waiting, the connection established, and Meld''s voice rang through into his mind.


    ''Having a long break now, are we?'' said Li mentally.


    ''My greatest apologies.'' Meld''s voice, or her mental voice, rather, sounded incredibly tired.


    Li raised a brow. ''Is something the matter?''


    ''I am recovering from a few injuries.'' A pause. ''Nothing grievous, however.''


    ''Was this not supposed to be a stealth mission? Exin to me everything that happened. Yourst report to me came from atop Gronn''s back. You were one day''s flight away from Cicero''s safe point, were you not?''


    ''That is where I am now. There wereplications. We flew high, far higher than the clouds themselves, for Cicero rmended that was an elevation that elven irvoyant mechanisms could not identify. However, shortly after myst report to you, we were attacked.''


    ''Elves?'' asked Li. He did not have an exactly clear idea of what level of technology the elves had. He knew generally that at a standardized level, the elves seemed to have technology that straddled the line between modern and magic, existing at a steampunk aesthetic. That kind of technology likely did not have the ability to take to high elevations with any real finesse.


    However, the elves, from what Cicero knew of, had remarkable outlier cases where they had advanced technology that equaled modern era weaponry that Li was familiar with. Artillery lines and standardized rifles, for example, were not unheard of, not to mention the presence of nuclear weapons.


    It was not unthinkable that the elves could possess fighter jets or craft even more advanced.


    ''Not elves,'' said Meld. ''Dragons.''

 Chapter 275 - The Shadow: Attack I

    Meld felt Gronn''s scaly back shift and rock under her with an undting chaos far more intense than the wildest of horsebacks. Winds buffeted her, making her figure length ck cape flutter wildly. She kept a hand atop her head, holding down her broad brimmed hat so that it did not go flying off.


    This was the first time Meld had ever traveled on a dragon, and though it was not the first time she had ridden on a flying mount, she had to admit this was far different. There was something about the scale of it.


    Standing atop a creature that stood at the pinnacle of the food chain whose every grunt shook her like an earthquake, whose every wing beat sounded like explosions, gave her a sense of security.


    Meld filed the experience into her memory, taking note of Gronn''s physical dimensions. The hardness of his scales. The speed of his flight. All details she could reference other dragons withter if they became enemies to her. Or to use against Gronn in the case that he became her enemy, for there was never such a thing as being too careful.


    Which made her mind wander to Li.


    Meld narrowed her eyes. Or the equivalent of the motion, considering her eyes were perpetually shrouded under her blindfold. She sensed the darkness of night around her in a way that could only be described as supernatural, feeling how the shadows covered and gave shape to everything around her.


    How long ago was it that she had given up her eyes? Of a world with colors bright and beautiful instead of outlines of muted ck? Was she ten? Fifteen?


    She did not remember too clearly. Nor did she care much. It was just one of many, many things she had sacrificed for the good of the realm.


    "It is a wonder you are able to stay so bnced," came Cicero''s voice. It was magically projected or otherwise the speeding winds would havepletely drowned it out. The aged elf was hanging on for dear life on one of Gronn''s scales, his eyes squinting as they struggled against the buffeting wind.


    It was a miracle that the elf had not fallen off, but that was not due to his own physical strength. A mound of hardened earth covered the lower half of his body, anchoring him to a few of Gronn''s scales.


    Meld noted Cicero''s capabilities. The old elf was surprisingly quick on his feet in terms of magic. Not too surprising, considering he was a schr who also learned of the magical arts. Specifically, Cicero was an elementalist, being a graduate of Novus, the top academic institution among the elves.


    If Meld recalled the history of the academy correctly, then Cicero would have gotten his elementalist degree during a time when Novus was more focused on magic than technology, making him not too shabby with the arcane arts.


    Right now, he was using [Rock Tomb], normally a movement suppressing spell, to bind himself down to Gronn.


    But nothing that would pose a significant threat should he be one.


    "The shadows anchor me," said Meld as she nodded down to her feet. Her voice, too, projected with Cicero''s magic. Her legs were halfway sunk into one of Gronn''s ck scales, twin ripples of shadowy space circling around them, like she was sinking into portals.


    "Curious how the powers you heroes possess work," said Cicero. "Not a single bit of mana do I sense, and yet, it would seem that whatever you are doing is magical in nature."


    "Not everything revolves around magic," said Meld. "As you must be much familiar with. The elven defense strategy for this invasion utilizes little of the old magic, no?"


    "Correct. Fortified artillery lines and mine fields across the western edges of the Republic should easily scatter any charging mass of demons. Then there are the seventy-five wings holding twenty aircraft each. A rail system with steam-trains equipped with heavy cannons that will help in supplies and bombardment. All of this too equipped with ATD shells and explosives."


    Meld could sense a slight hint of pride when Cicero listed out his country''s military capabilities. A little surprising, considering that the elf was one who seemed more in favor of the Republic when the elves were more known for their magic and wisdom. But she knew that national pride could run deep in the veins.


    "Quite formidable," said Meld. She was one of the very few individuals from the south who would have known about anything Cicero said. Isted as the north was from the south, the average Solen knew of elven machinery only in outdated terms such as ''golems'' or ''flying vessels''.


    It had only been a month since Meld had contacted Cicero, but in that time, she had learned a massive amount about the elves and their military capability. In fact, she had probably learned more than what she had gleaned in her past five years working espionage across the northern border.


    And from this sentence, Meld gleaned that ATD, or anti-demon weaponry was now more widespread, indicating that the elves had some way to reverse engineer aspects of the Purgatorio they still had as one of their greatest war assets.


    It was one of the theories that Meld was working with. That the elves had some way to reverse engineer their technology and standardize it, for they would never have been able to advance the whole of their society this much in the span of just over a century.


    Either an object or an entity, and so far, though she did not have much to go on, she suspected it was an entity, and her primary suspiciony with the mysterious figure known as the Chronicler.


    Though that suspicion raised so very many questions.


    Did the Chronicler hail from a different realm where this technology existed? And yet, if it did, it seemed to be able to engineer technology across many realms and disparate states of advancement. Was it an entity then that could travel across many realms?


    If so, then why was it here? Why did it help the elves? What was its purpose?


    But all questions forter. To ponder when she had more avable evidence to work with.


    "Mobilizing all of that military might would have easily razed most of Soleil," said Meld. "And that is not to mention the missiles you speak of. I must wonder as to why the Imperator has not made a move against us yet."


    "You know as well as I do why not," said Cicero. "You heroes are thergest deterrent out there. And Sunstar, especially. Bombs and bullets may destroy cities and their citizens, perhaps even kill the duchess, but they will not kill him, and a rampage from him is one that none in this continent would dare to risk.


    And that is not to mention that magic is unpredictable, particrly the old and divine power that some pockets of the south still wield. A full-scale offensive would be devastating for both ends, nor would Lucius consider one. Knowing him, he would prefer a more peaceful alternative for an union."


    "Perhaps that is why the conflict at the border has never escted," said Meld. "Magical barriers and artillery standing against each other across mountains, but no troops or vehicles ever passing through. A deadlock for as long as I can remember, no, from even before I was born.


    A permanent state of war between north and south, and yet, not a state of war so real that it affects either country."


    "Having an enemy to war against gives Lucius much justification for his power," said Cicero. "I would imagine that your duchess has reached the same conclusion with her popce."


    Meld nodded. "That is the conclusion I have reached. When you reached out to me for the first time a month prior, letting me know that the conflict between our people was essentially orchestrated, I rationalized the revtion as such.


    Yet, I must wonder to what end? Surely, the goals of the crown and your imperator will diverge someday, for neither will give in to the other."


    "Lucius seeks for peaceful assimtion. After all, he does not even recognize that Soleil has seceded from the Republic. Bombing what he considers to be rightfully people under the Republic is not something he will easily consider."


    "Peaceful? Your imperator, as I am aware through my investigations, has culled much of the beastman people. He packs the rest into reservations or inducts them into cities asboring second ss citizens. Surely, Soleil will only suffer a simr fate, and surely, you understand that the duchess will never allow that to happen."


    "I¡­know Lucius. He is a good elf at heart, dedicated strongly to not only our people, but for the good of the world. Though the years and pressures of rulership may have warped his principles, making him more extreme, I have no doubt that his end vision is one of perfect unification. The beastmen will be uplifted into our progressed society when they are ready, and so too will the south."


    Meld saw Cicero grimace and close his eyes.


    "But Lucius cannot be allowed to trample over the fundamental bnce that we elves have upheld for millennia. We value innovation and progress and tomorrow, but we do not do so by sacrificing the fruits of yesterday. His experiments with the source bring progress at the cost of ruin to the world.


    It pains me to say this as one who once considered him a dear friend, but his rule must end."

 Chapter 276 - The Shadow: Attack II

    "And if we are sessful, his rule will indeed end," said Meld. "Should I be able to disable the missile silos, then the imperator will lose his greatest trump card in deterring the south, and yet, the state will not lose so much of its fangs that the south will retaliate.


    It will be a perfect opportunity for you to fill a power vacuum and pursue peace considering you have quite a few traditionalists supporting you in secret."


    "That is the hope, though I am not so sure I in my advanced years should be one to hold reign over the Republic," said Cicero.


    "Regardless of what you decide to do, you must ensure that you or your sessor will pursue for peace. True peace." Meld''s voice did not change a single beat as she continued. "Or your life is forfeit. You know better than any among your kind that there is no escaping me should my sights set upon you."


    "I know," replied Cicero coolly. "Yet, I do wonder. We worry about our future ns presuming the demons will be defeated."


    "The north will be fine, will it not?" said Meld. "For the demons to invade the Republic, they must cross through the Felfire strait, and the mountain range of Torr Valeris will keep them at bay. It is only the south and the west that will bear much of the burden of this invasion."


    "Not so," said Cicero. "Even in the past Darkening, the dragons did not intervene. I doubt it will be so for this one. Though of course, Torr Valeris still serves as a strong deterrent for the dragons will never allow demons to enter their territory unharmed, limiting the size of the invading demonic force."


    Meld knew little of the dragons and their rtion to the elves. She wanted to glean more information about this, for a draconic alliance would be something she had to thoroughly consider in her assessments of the north. "You have not reached out to the dragons? I presume Gronn is not representative of the majority?"


    "The dragons look beneath all that is not them, and even among themselves, they will scorn lesser bloodlines. They have practiced a policy of non-intervention for centuries. There is no convincing them," said Cicero. "That has not changed with Lucius, though I cannot be entirely certain. Gronn here I could only reach for he is a renegade among his kind, requiring aid to save the kin he once was ordered to eliminate."


    Meld knew that Cicero was helping Gronn by providing safe transportation of dragon eggs, hatchlings, and cover for older dragons who needed a spot to rest and hide not only from draconic eyes but elven troops. In return, Gronn promised the aid of the dragons allied with him, and though that may not have been many, any dragon was a force formidable.


    "It is quite a wonder that you yet retain such influence and wealth when your opposition to Lucius is one rather publicly known among your senate," said Meld.


    "I am sure Lucius still sees me as his friend in some way, though it is difficult for us to be on speaking terms. He would not strip me of my estates as he has done with others, for he trusts me." Cicero shook his head and changed the subject. "And what of the south? I know the duchess marches the five armies west to meet the demons head on. Are you confident of their victory? That they may truly seize the Sunspear?"


    "Nothing is certain," said Meld. "All I can say is that I have faith in the duchess''s decisions, for though her methods may in times be murky, they are still for the good of the people. And there is the matter of Li. I am not certain about the true boundaries of his power, but I am confident in cing him as a war asset easily on par with Sunstar."


    "I doubt he can be considered an asset," said Cicero. "He is too powerful to be controlled."


    "That is true, and yet his intentions are pure. They will protect the realm. That, I may surmise from my previous interactions with him."


    Meld felt Gronn rumble, his body shaking like an earthquake before his gruff, deep voice echoed outwards.


    "I sense enemies," growled Gronn.


    Cicero widened his eyes as much as he could. "What? We are flying far higher than what elven craft nor sensors can handle."


    "Not elves. Dragons." Gronn paused, his breath catching.


    Meld immediately felt her instincts re up. She knew something was horribly wrong if even a powerful dragon like Gronn was holding his breath in surprise.


    "Valerikynthimos," said Gronn in almost a sense of awe.


    "Gods, what!?" shouted Cicero in pure terrorpletely unbing of his usual more reserved cool. "The drake-queen of the elements herself!?"


    Meld immediately readied herself not for serious confrontation but escape. It was not that she was a coward.


    On the contrary, she felt not even a single shred of fear in her heart. She simply operated efficiently based off of the context clues and situation around her, and she could immediately glean that if Gronn, a powerful dragon, stood in awe of this newfound enemy, then she herself had little to no means of defeating it.


    Better to spend her efforts and thoughts on something productive rather than some sort of ham-fisted and ultimately futile offensive.


    "Are you nning on confronting this dragon?" said Meld to Cicero. Her voice was calm but loudly projected, cutting deep into Cicero and shaking him away from his temporary fear.


    "Not in a thousand years-," began Cicero.


    "Then we escape now," said Meld as she leaped up from her temporary shadow portals, reaching by Cicero''s side and putting a hand on him.


    "Hold fast!" shouted Gronn, and a momentter, his body lurched backwards, and Meld dropped halfway down into a portal once more to anchor herself.


    It was evident that Gronn had been struck with a powerful impact, and the force of it easily tore Cicero apart from the dragon''s back. Meld, however, was quick, and she immediately reached out to grab Cicero''s arm and stopped him from plummeting down to the depths below.


    Though Meld might not have been the heaviest of hitters nor the fastest of runners among the Ascendant Order, she was still a hero, and with that came formidable natural strength honed by years of intensive training.


    "What is the situation?" said Meld to Gronn, and the dragon sensed her voice.


    "I was hit. By a spine shot. Lesser dragons of the emerald wing n. Dogs to Valerikynthimos." Gronn''s voice deepened into a particrly guttural growl as he uttered the other dragon''s name. "Emerald wing whelps cannot harm me. But Valerikynthimos, I cannot defeat."


    "Then work towards an escape," said Meld. "There is no point fighting battles you cannot win."


    "Valerikynthimos will chase me, and I cannot escape her," said Gronn. "But she will not care for you two. Go. I will deal with this. My business anyway."


    "Gronn, are you certain?" asked Cicero.


    "Go," said Gronn gruffly and simply. There was not a shred of hesitation or remorse or anything resembling sadness in his voice. Just a simple deration. This must have been the pride of dragonkind.


    Meld saw Cicero hesitate, biting his lip as he tried to think of something.


    Meld hoisted Cicero up and then roughly squeezed his shoulder both inforting gesture and to shake him up to the seriousness of the present situation. "Your magic is pitiful, and my powers are suited for assassination, not battles of mythic scale such as this. We cannot lose our lives here. We cannot waste more time. We leave, now.


    If you disagree with me, I will knock you unconscious and take you against your will."


    Cicero nodded. "But how? We are far above even the line of clouds. A fall from this height will turn us into little more than mush."


    Meld tightened her grip on Cicero as she felt Gronn lurch, his wings beating down to send him hurtling high up in a sudden instant. The rapid intensity of the movement caused whish that disoriented the elderly elf, and she took care to put a hand to his head to prevent him from breaking his neck.


    She could sense a massive and exceedingly quick projectile speed past below, right where they had been. Judging by the way the dark clung to its form, it was a long, thin, spine the size of three horses lengthwise.


    "I will waste no more time. Trust me." Meld grabbed Cicero to her and then dislodged herself from the shadow portals that kept her legs anchored to Gronn. She expected the old elf to begin protesting, but he simply clenched his jaw in equal parts determination and fear, epting the situation and believing in her.


    Respectable will.


    Meld felt her wide hat fly off from her head. Her hair tie also blew apart as rapid winds began to whirl around her rapidly falling form. Her hair, long and silvery white, fluttered out, forming a little tail of silver above her as she fell. The ck of her sizable, cloak-like cape fluttered all around her, causing a constant cacophony as winds buffeted it.


    The cape helped her orient herself so that she could fall with her feet pointing downwards, and she made sure to keep Cicero held up high above her head. She concentrated, knowing that even the tiniest miscalction would lead to both of their deaths.


    When they would reach terminal velocity ounting for the winds. And from the winds, how they had blown before, how the cloud cover below was thick and rain-filled, she knew they were over the northern center of the Republic that had the most rain during this time of the year.


    Precisely where, she could not an exact coordinate, but she knew they must not be flying anywhere over heavily popted areas. The ground in this part of the country would be either thickly forested or t and dead. She hoped she wouldnd on deadened ground, but she knew it was entirely up to chance.


    Chance, she hated, but she could deal with it. She always tried to minimize chance, because usually in her observation,pensating for chance required sacrifices, and sacrifices, though she was willing to make as many as it took, she was not fond of.


    That was what she thought as she kept her mind focused on her surroundings while she plummeted down to the earth.

 Chapter 277 - The Scale: Dogfight

    Gronn flew in ce, innately directing the flow of wind generated from the beating of his enormous wings around himself in such a way that he could hover naturally despite his sheer size. His yellowed eyes narrowed as he clenched his armor-ted jaws. He sensed the air around him, feeling the vibrations of movement flow past him from the wind.


    It reminded him of the past, when he was a little smander trying to survive in the harsh waters of the Valian mountain ranges as the humans called them. His senses had always been alert to the flow of power in the water, the vibrations of every creature that swam and dove, for at a moment''s notice, he could be killed.


    It was a feeling of alert instinct that came only to those that were hunted. The type of instinctive feeling that came only when death was near. A feeling he had long thought he had forgotten.


    Gronn grunted and drew his wings together in front of him. They were almost asrge as his entire body and were like twin greatshields, ted in thick ck scales as they were. At their ends, two long, serrated, and curved spikes of bone sprouted.


    Valerikynthimos would not lower herself to fighting him unless she had to. She would send her emerald wing dogs to do the job instead.


    One of them approached, speeding forwards in an eager rush to obey his higher. His long, serpentine form streaked through the night sky. His for long, insectoid wings fluttered rapidly beneath his carapace ted head. His draconic eyes lit up green in the dark, and when they trained on Gronn, the pincers at the sides of his head opened up in a shrill roar before he curved his lengthy body, shooting out several spines attached along his back.


    Gronn pushed his wings back, propelling him forwards as he closed his eyes, letting his armored eyelids cover the soft organs beneath. Three spines bounced off his sturdy armor, durable even among dragon kin, and he thrust out his wings, crashing the bone spikes at their tips into the body of the emerald n drake.


    The drake shrieked as the two spikes crunched through its carapace without meeting a shred of resistance, tearing through the length of its thin body and popping out the other side. Gronn opened his jaw, and sparks showered from his lips as the armor ting them scraped against each other.


    Gronn''s jaw was enormous,prising nearly half his head in a strong overbite, and it was heavily padded not only with thick ck armor-like scales, but also highly dense and powerful muscles.


    Among dragons of his tier, Gronn''s bite force ranked near the top, andbined with his brute force and immense regeneration, he did not think himself prideful to believe himself near the top of the normal dragons, especially within a close ranged brawl.


    Though,pared to Valerikynthimos, a higher blood even among the higher ones, he was still nothing.


    Gronn bit down into the emerald n drake, and his jawpletely snapped the drake in half. He spat out a chunky mass of crunched up carapace and bloody flesh, and the two halves of the drake fell lifeless and curled up down to the ground so far below.


    Gronn growled as he covered his head with his wings. Countless spines battered him from every which way, but none of them could pierce his hide. Notably, though, they all aimed near his head, knowing to try and gouge out his eyes. From the flow of vibrations in the wind, he guessed there were seven drakes from the amount of spines hitting him and the direction they came from.


    They were all pitiful weaklings, and stacking seven of them together would do nothing to Gronn. But they knew he had to take the offensive for Valerikynthimos wasing.


    Gronn pushed his wings forward, blowing himself backwards, as if to escape. Immediately, he could feel a difference in vibrations in the air. One of the emerald drakes was surging forward, trying to cut off his escape with its pincers, for though its spines were unable to harm Gronn, its pincers could pierce his scales and potentially even impart enough venom to harm him through his regeneration.


    Gronn expected this, and when he sensed the drake was near, he flicked his wide, red tail back, stopping his flight and turning him right around to bite down on the drake''s head. He spat out a pulped up drake head as another corpse fell down below.


    "Valerikynthimos!" roared Gronn. "You would let your dogs do your work for you!?"


    Gronn only had a moment''s notice to raise his wings up in a guard before he saw blinding light fill his vision. He felt searing heat at his wings, then at his chest, and then at his back, and he knew that within the span of a single second, an attack had torn through his entire body.


    "You are as much a dog as any of them." Valerikynthimos did not so muche into vision as she did materialize, her form piecing together from a tornado of sparkling kes of light. Her body was long and serpentine. Entirely white and smooth without scales, and instead, light shone from her body, forming in an aura of brightness that shone iridescently like a rainbow at its ends.


    She was farrger than the emerald n drakes that were half Gronn''s size, matching him lengthwise, though her serpentine body was necessarily much thinner. And yet, Gronn knew that her power did not lie in her bulk.


    No, her power came from her magic. The queen drake of the elements, as she was called by the mortals here, many of whom worshipped her. Her face was angr and sharp, her eyes inky ck with no pupils. Pink whiskers swayed from the sides of her cheeks, and around her neck, four long, tendril like pink protrusions emerged, each of them surrounded with frills that glowed a different color.


    "The only difference being that you are in need of more disciplining," said Valerikynthimos as the frills around her neck curled towards Gronn, each of them channeling enormous amounts of magical energy in the form of elements. Fire, water, wind, and earth all.


    Gronn felt blood trickle from his jaw. His vision shook, and his body shuddered. She had fired a thinly concentrated beam of heat that had pierced through his heart. But he clenched his jaw firmly shut and called up his power.


    The hole in his chest sealed up as his heart regenerated, and in a moment''s notice, he was fine again, for as a dragon with a smander base, he had never forgotten his roots, and the regenerative power he had cultivated ever since he was a smander was second to none.


    "You dare to enter thesends without fulfilling your duty?" said Valerikynthimos. "Without the quarry I asked for?" Her eyes narrowed. "But I am feeling rather generous today. I know there are a few of the unclean ones you have hidden away. Bring them to me along with the prey I assigned you, and perhaps, I may spare your life. For you do not truly believe you can defeat me, do you? You are not that stupid, are you?"


    Gronn squinted at Valerikynthimos, seeing the radiant halo of light around her, feeling the prodigious amount of magical energy packed in them. How much stronger was she than him? Two times? Three? No, perhaps even four.


    The now six emerald n drakes fluttered around her, lowering their heads like the obedient dogs they were to her presence.


    Gronn began to think.


    He had always thought of the simple way forwards. A side product of his upbringing. Kill or be killed. Do or die. But the past few years had forced him to think beyond such a simple dichotomy. If he obeyed her now, he could live again, and he could try to escape from her watch and rescue the hatchlings. But he doubted she would let him travel alone anymore.


    But perhaps, if he could reach that human, no, not human ¨C he knew that by now ¨C that greater one, the seer, as the mortals called him, perhaps things could be different.


    And yet, as he looked upon Valerikynthimos, deep into the dark voids of her eyes, he knew what wanted to do.

 Chapter 278 - The Scale: Free

    Fight or run.


    Those two things, Gronn knew well. It was all he had known in his one hundred and seventy-seven years of existence. A short lifespanpared to the higher bloods atop the highest ranges of Torr Valeris. Yet still long enough for him to reflect.


    As a hatchling in the crashing rapids of the Valian ranges, he ran. Ran and ran. Picked up snippets of food here and there as he dodged hungry jaws and sneaked under prying eyes. By running, he knew how to be afraid, and knowing fear, he knew how to survive. He grew used to fear, immune to it, and by the time he achieved his first real kill, fear had been engraved into him so many times he felt it as his ally, something not to overwhelm him, but something for him to know and use to hone his instincts.


    As the moments passed into days and the days flowed into months and the months crashed into years, there came a time that he made the choice to fight more than he did to run. He hunted and killed and ripped and tore past his smander stage into a drake, and by his hundred and twentieth year, he became a fully fledged dragon.


    Never once did he ever question why it was that he fought. Why he desired so strongly to get stronger. Why every single dragon kin around him, whether they were smanders or wyrms or drakes or even dragons, always felt a calling pulling them towards the distance, to the horizon, to the far-ranging skies where the great peak of Torr Valeries stood mighty and tall, piercing past the veil of the clouds high above, above even the boundaries of this very world.


    Be strong to ascend the peak ¨C a message inscribed into the instinctive code of every single dragonkin in existence. A powerful instinct as impactful as that which drove fight or flight in all living creatures.


    At first, he knew not why that voice beckoned to him. Where it came from. Then, when he grew strong enough, his scales asrge as the brick and mortal homes humans dwelled in, he coulde near to the base of Torr Valeris, past the countless mountains surrounding it teeming with fierce and dreadful life.


    There, he came into the fold of the true dragons that dwelled within the hallowed heights of Torr Valeris itself, and his quest for strength became instead one of servitude. For to reach higher and higher up the rungs of the great mountain, he had to serve the higher blooded, and he did so, unquestioningly for fifty years.


    For he knew no other life.


    Nothing beckoned to him more than the never-ending desire to ascend Torr Valeries. Even his unquenchable thirst for strength, the desire to eat and rest and grow stronger and stronger, was all so that he could reach the top of Torr Valeris.


    Thus, he entered into Valerikynthimos''s service, for she as one of seventeen higher blooded dragons ¨C original descendants hailing from Val, the great elder ¨C held authority to grant passage to the heights of the mountain to those she deemed worthy.


    Thus, he culled the bloodlines deemed unworthy. All dragonkin beyond the Valian ranges: dragonkin that had split off from the original blood of Val and rejected the eternal message of ascent.


    He did not think much of it. For thirty years, he obeyed. He fought dragons like himself. He killed dragons older than himself. He culled dragons far younger than himself. It did not matter to him, for that was simply the way of life, of living with the blood of the dragon running through one''s veins.


    Death simply meant you were not prepared. The flight instincts too undeveloped, for often the dragons that left the brutal environment of the Valian ranges had grownzy and weak in their far-flung foreignnds lording over mortal races much weaker than them. They had forgotten the primal instinct of fear that was crucial to making one strong.


    They were weak, and so they died. That was the judgement he made. The judgement heid down upon them. A judgement that came naturally for there were countless others that would have made the very same judgement upon him when he was weak.


    It was only when he had a hatchling of his own, taken in by the allure of an impure dragon in the far flung reaches of the south, that he came to realize the value of life. When he looked into the wondering, so very innocent and nk eyes of his offspring, he could only see potential. Infinite potential.


    And who was he to cull that potential, to determine it weak and unworthy?


    "So, what will it be, dear Gronn?" Valerikynthimos''s voice rang through the air, anchoring Gronn back to the present. "You were oh so close to reaching the heights of Torr Valeris. If you do not fail this task, I may yet forgive your imperfections. I may yet still allow you to enter the vale where your blood may be recognized as worthy."


    Gronn stared into the eyes he had put himself under for fifty years. Thirty of those years hunting, twenty of them pretending to serve while saving. And yet, that did not change the fact that those were all years he was not free.


    He set his jaw, steadying his head back to ready for a charge as the muscles around his body and back tensed and rippled, his wings stiffening and spreading to his sides.


    The elf would take care of those Gronn had saved. All the hatchlings, eggs, wyrms, and young drakes were due to make their way south, away from the grasp of the higher. It was already toote for Valerikynthimos to undo what Gronn had done.


    And it was selfish, but he remembered. His arm and the seer.


    He had a life to lose. A life he had lived in eternal servitude, first to the curse in his ancestral blood, then to the higher dragons that perpetuated it. If he was going to lose this life, then he wanted to do it while feeling free at least once.


    Gronn roared, for he was never one for many words, and he thrust his wings backwards, propelling himself forwards. His wide tail straightened behind him with a solid push, sending him hurtling forwards like a meteor of muscled destruction. His enormous, ted jaw was open, and his ded wings thrust forwards, ready to skewer Valerikynthimos.


    "Disappointing. And I was ready to take in another consort," said Valerikynthimos as she closed her eyes in disdain, thin veils of membranous flesh slithering over the inky orbs.


    The four frills around her neck gathered a colossal amount of magical energy, enough to warp the space around her. The emerald wing n drakes around her scattered away, shrieking in fear.


    For the slightest of instants, the elements ran wild around her. A torrent of fire sorge that it could engulf an entire forest red up from one of her frills, a tidal wave of water capable of engulfing an entire city pouring out from another, a surge of hurricane force winds from another, and a veritable mountain of glistening crystals erupted from thest.


    Then each of the four elements shrunk into four rapidly elerating and hyper condensed orbs around her frills.


    Gronn was near now, to the point where in the next half second, he could bite down on her neck and tear her throat apart. He knew that if his initial charge could shatter through her magic barrier, that if by some miraculous chance his jaws could set around that neck, then he could kill her.


    But that did not happen. All that Gronn saw was light so brilliant it even blinded him as the four orbs shot towards him.

 Chapter 279 - Status Report

    Li took in the status report of what Meld had said. He knew so far about the details of the attack, who did it, when, and approximately where, but not afterwards. At the very least, he knew that Meld would never speak without feeling she was absolutely secure, and so they had reached some form of safe haven after escaping.


    Not to mention Li wanted to know of Gronn''s fate.


    ''Dragons?'' Li narrowed his eyes, setting his jaw. ''Here I thought they subscribed to a non-interference policy. And from what Cicero told me, his safe point is far from Torr Valeris where the dragons usually flock. They were targeting Gronn, but they did not bother to pursue you?


    ''No. Gronn does not speak much, but what little of the dragons and their customs I have learned from him, I perceive that they hold themselves with a degree of pride that stopped them from lowering themselves to scouring the ground searching for two lowly mortals.''


    ''I see. And you two, how did you survive that fall? I can understand perhaps a powerful warrior, but neither of you seem to have the physical durability to endure such a fall.''


    ''My gift. I may meld into shadows, hence my name. At the very moment of impact, provided Ind upon shadows, I can break any fall by sinking into them. Momentum disappears in a most unnatural and sudden way when I enter the shadows, and so any object that I hold when I myself disappear will lose all built up velocity.


    In this case, that object was Cicero. s, neither of us escaped unharmed, though the elf is doing far better than I. Inded upon thickly forested area, and I could not prevent myself from crashing through treetops.''


    ''Any severe injuries?'' asked Li.


    ''Severalcerations across my body, the deepest of which were six centimeters in depth, but my suit saved my vitals. A few contusions, a cracked rib, and a shattered elbow. Internal and external bleeding prevented me from maintaining consciousness. Cicero''s knowledge of healing magics was insufficient in dealing with my wounds, for my heroic blood rejects such magic. However, Cicero managed to guarantee us to safety.''


    ''So you two did get to reach the safepoint,'' said Li with a nod of relief.


    ''Yes. And my injuries are nearly healed.''


    ''Already?'' Li raised a brow.


    ''Many of us heroes are blessed with bodies naturally physically more capable and regenerative than that bestowed upon the normal human. Provided we train our bodies, we can easily exceed regr human limitations. Certainly, we cannot reach the might of warriors or the speed of assassins and rangers without corresponding powers, but we are still quite sturdy. My power, too, grants me an elerated healing factor in the presence of shadows, though it is not anything close to instantaneous regeneration.''


    ''I see,'' noted Li. ''The safe point, then, tell me how you feel about it. Any irregrities?''


    ''None. It is a vi on the countryside. Remotely situated from Elven demolitions projects and cities. Far even from the many roads the elves have carved. It would appear Cicero is the only one to have such a vi in this area, and I cannot sense other presences.


    The vi itself is thoroughly warded against magical interferences and spying. It is also equipped with technology to prevent scrying from elven technology.''


    ''Good,'' said Li. He took a moment to pause, remembering the arm that Gronn had torn for Li in case he needed to be resurrected. That arm was in safekeeping in the Farmer''s Guild, but if needs be, he could have Ivo take it to his totem and channel his resurrective spell there.


    ''And what of Gronn? Did he perish?''


    ''No.''


    ''No?'' Li felt mild surprise. From what Meld spoke of the situation, it seemed that Gronn would have went in facing certain death. If Li himself was right in assessing power levels, he figured that Gronn, as a mid-level eighties dragon, would certainly find it difficult to fight against higher dragons that ranged in the nies.


    Not only was there a level gap, but there was also the fact that higher dragons, like higher vampires, had incredible racial powers that came with their higher status that made them far stronger than normal dragons. Dragons had a massively varied range of powers that came with their higher status depending on their theme.


    For example, a higher ice dragon would have some extremely powerful ice-based ability unique to it, or perhaps a powerful dragon that had size and durability would have an ability that rendered it immune to magic.


    Higher dragon abilities were some of the most powerful racial abilities to exist, many of them making draconic bosses incredibly difficult even among the huge host of creatures in Elden World, and it would be no exaggeration to im that some higher dragon abilities were on par with lower end Ultima-ss spells.


    ''My consciousness faded soon after mynding,'' said Meld. ''But Cicero did tell me of the details afterwards. The skies brightened immensely, he said, and a surge of power echoed, and with that, Gronn''s presence faded. However, he was not killedpletely.


    A sliver of his flesh escaped destruction, and itnded on the far-flung edges of the forest wended upon. From there, it regenerated, and two days after we reached the safe point, Gronn too came to us.''


    ''I see. That is quite interesting,'' said Li. He did not know of any abilities like that for dragons in Elden World. But in a sense, it did make sense that Gronn, or dragons in particr, could have powers far different than what Li was familiar with.


    Dragonkin developed and grew by consuming, and what they consumed factored into what they became. It made sense that in world unrestricted by the rigid limitations of code, there would be dragons with abilities and strengths that Li had never seen.


    When he thought about it, Tia herself was one such example, growing far differently than what her original gics might have destined her on ount of Li''s own presence.


    ''And how is he?'' asked Li. ''Strong enough to be active once more? If would seem that the dragons are narrowing down on his treachery. It will do good for him to move quickly with the dragon kin he has saved and send them to Riviera. I will send advance message to the guild and the city of their arrival.


    I highly doubt that Riviera will deny the aid of dragons to aid their walls.''


    ''He is thoroughly weakened,'' said Meld. ''And it will take years for him to recover fully, he says. But do not worry about the dragon kin ¨C Cicero has seen to their immediate movement to the south.''


    ''Good,'' said Li. ''If they need help crossing the border, then I am willing to send a Justicar or two to aid them.''


    ''I will forward your generosity to Cicero,'' said Meld. ''And I fear it may be needed. The dragons have moved far quicker than Gronn has anticipated, and he worries now that not all his kin will be able to cross the border, especially in his weakened state.


    I know not the might of the wooden knights in your service, but I can only presume they are powerful enough.''


    ''More than enough,'' said Li. ''And now, you two. Now that you have reached your safe point, I am assuming you have made ns to infiltrate the elven capitol?''


    ''Indeed. I have never been this far into elvennd, but now that I am, a matter of infiltration will be nothing to me. I will follow Cicero''s shadow into Primus where he is due to attend a meeting of the senate. He will cross paths with one of the senators closest to Lucius, and from there, I will hop shadows until I am deep within the imperator''s closest circle, listening into all their secrets.''


    ''Good,'' said Li. He was satisfied with what he had heard so far. Nobody had died just yet, though there were threats looming. It would seem that the dragons of the north were quite a bit more belligerent than even he initially thought them to be.


    If Tia wanted to go north, he would not stop her, but he woulde with her, and he would be ready. Ready to defend her. Ready to teach these dragons the meaning of true might should they overstep their boundaries.


    But that was a matter for another day. For now, there was the journey to the west.


    ''Do ensure to keep updating me of the situation, for none of you are close enough to me that I may feel your presences to see that you are alive. Now then, I will break this mind link. Good luck.''


    ''Same to you,'' said Meld. A slight pause. ''The lives of many shall rest upon you upon the westward battlefield. I hope that they may find themselves leaning upon a strong shoulder.''


    Li considered the statement. ''A bnced shoulder,'' he said before ending the link.

 Chapter 280 - The Adventurer

    Two days of travelling saw the Vukanovi travel past the Triforge mountains. Unfortunately, past the great range of three mountains that once housed the might of an entire civilization, there was nothing but further decay. In fact, theck of life on the triforge mountains paled inparison to the wastes beyond it.


    At the least, the Triforge mountains had signs of civilization upon them. Some life returning to them now that Li had lifted the undead haze and sowed the seeds of life with his presence. But here, down the mountain, there truly was nothing.


    Complete and utter barren stretches of cracked earth smothered over by a tar ck burntyer. Atop it, ayer of ash had built up, and each step of the Vukanovi''s vine legs puffed out little clouds of ash that floated high in the air before ever so slowly falling down, as if gravity itself had cloyed into a choking heaviness in the area.


    Visibility was nearly entirely shot, with thick ash fog clouding everything, and atop the burnt earth, nothing grew and nothing tread. Even if Li focused his life senses to their maximum limit, he could sense no life nearby, with the nearest beating hearts belonging to underground dwelling creatures far, far below the broken surface.


    And that was to be expected. For the better part of a day, Li had ordered everyone to stay inside the Vukanovi after Mason and Mercer almost died inhaling the ashen fog. The ash was toxic, imbued with an ursed magic that scorched the brothers'' throats as if a raging ze had been lit in their innards.


    Thankfully, Li had managed to cure them, and now they sat around the center of the Vukanovi, still warily holding their throats as they looked pensively at a crackling fire that emitted images of the outside world.


    "I have never seen anything like this," said Li as he sat beside Old Thane. Tia snored in hisp lightly, but he could tell from the slight twitches of her tail as it curled around his knee that soon she would wake. "This kind of environment. This kind of fog. It does not correspond to any status effect that I am familiar with."


    Zagan opened a red eye beside Li, but the demon did not do more than that, instead simply looking at the fire with a surprising amount of interest, images of the destendscape reflecting upon his beady crimson eye.


    Everyone else looked towards As, knowing her as the resident schr and know-it-all when Li was stumped.


    However, As could only shake her head as she scribbled in her tablet. "Tis all new to me as well. The nature of this fog confounds me, and the parched earth doth appear razed by me, and yet, no ze do I know of that may cken earth for two cycles."


    "You can at least tell when the earth was torched?" said Li, nothing that two cycles meant two centuries.


    As nodded. "In the brief glimpse I have had of the earth, mine familiarity with earthen magics allowed me to glean when it was warped under fire."


    "I see." Li nodded to himself. "Then I doubt we are in an immediate threat. Unless whatever caused his fire two hundred years ago is still alive."


    "I''ve an idea,d," said Old Thane as he looked down, keeping his ears open and alert to the flow of the conversation.


    Li perked up. He knew that in matters of history, he was not well versed. He knew only the history of the world in so far as what he could read from official Solen texts, and he knew they were heavily biased, not to mention that past a hundred years ago, whatever they recorded seemed more like heavily romanticized myth than anything resembling reality. "Oh?"


    Old Thane probably knew a lot more genuine history than Li by having lived through it and meeting others who had done the same.


    "Oh?" said Li. As also cocked her head, her ear twitching eagerly.


    "The Third Darkening saw the end of the Triforge, that is known well, aye," said Old Thane. "And I must say that it was well before mine time, so I know little of it. But adventurers as old as I know well of those that have tried their luck to traverse past the forbidding Triforge.


    We know of Lira the Seeker, the greatest among all adventurers who embodied the spirit of wanderlust that so possesses us strongly."


    "Lira the Dragon yer," said Vilga in whispering remembrance.


    "Lira the Demon Feller," said She.


    "Lira the Seeker, to be more precise, and the title that she would hath most preferred in life," nodded As with understanding. "tinum ranked adventurer and the only one who hath managed to reach such a hallowed rank solely through her own might. I have heard much of her exploits, tis true, across north and south and even east.


    Hence, her titles known amongst us. Giant yer. Dragon yer. Spirit yer. And in the third darkening, yer even of a mighty demon sin."


    "¡­Lira?" asked Mason, and Mercer looked equally as confused.


    "You two have no idea of an adventurer of this caliber?" asked Li. He remembered the name Lira. It hade up when Tyr was asking his wife about potential reinforcements to help them. From the emotions the king was feeling, Li could figure that he had put a sizable amount of hope in Lira''s arrival, indicating immense belief in her abilities even to ward off an entire invasion of demons.


    "She seems like no joke. If she was powerful enough to best even a demon sin, then I have doubts as to whether she was even truly human."


    "Some said she had the blood of gods within her, aye," said Old Thane. He pointed his nk stare towards the two younger adventurers. "The blood of gods that belonged not to the light that Soleil reveres so. Her name and exploits have faded from the histories of thisnd. Only adventurers mighty enough to travel far and wide know of her truly."


    "A shame," said As. "I consider it a privilege to hath been graced with the chance to fully imbibe my mind in her exploits within the archives of my sands." She put a hand to her elbow in questioning posture. "But what of her? What be it her ties to this barrennd?"


    Old Thane thought for a second, gathering far flung reaches of his memory. No doubt, he was trying to piece together something from the many tales he had heard across so very manynds and years of adventuring, not to mention his own experiences.


    "Records of her death," said Old Thane. "Tales of the death of an adventurer so mighty always be tales of myth and legend. Many know not where she went, only that she chose an adventure knowing it would be herst. Many believe she headed East, some to the far South where whispers speak of anothernd never before touched by man, and some-,"


    "Believe she wandered here, beyond the Triforge, in the space between the mountains and the Shibboleth," said As. "A ce that none hath ever before trodden since the Third Darkening."


    "Oh? And why is she important to this ce?" said Li, trying to find out how this adventurer rted to everything. "Did she cause this anomaly? Did her deathe from the hands of something that caused this?"


    Old Thane shrugged casually. "I know not,d."


    "Well then, we only got to hear a story that may or may not even be true," said Li.


    Old Thane shook his head. "Not so. Lira carved history where she went. Where her feats flowered, wars ended, great beings fell or rose, kingdoms grew or faltered. Anything about her is worthy of noteworth."

 Chapter 281 - Demonkind

    Li failed to see the point the old man was making. "Okay then, so this adventurerdy is quite special in that she had the power to shape history. But that alone does not tell me what exactly she has to do with this ce. I am not questioning the usefulness of your knowledge, old man, just trying to understand it better."


    "Ah,d, I would be hard pressed to exin it to ye," said Old Thane. "It is just a feeling. There is no mention of Lira that holds not some great significance somewhere. I should imagine it so here, but I''ve no evidence to give ye, no ims forged solid under peer discourse and experimentation as the Arcanists do."


    "I see." Li could parse what the old man was trying to say. This adventurer, this Lira, was so renowned, so special, that any tales about her had to have had some kind of merit to them. Something important. Thus, that there were stories of her passing into this area for her final adventure would surely mean something.


    Though, of course, this was like believing in folk tale. There might have been something to do about her here. There might not. Lira had not been alive for over a century as far as Li could tell, and most of her records were purged. It was a wild attempt to try and link her solidly to anything in the present.


    As evidently thought the same, as she spoke, "I''ve a deep fondness for the tales of heroes and myths of yore, and I am familiar with the rumors of Lira''s final adventure ¨C after all, thest venture of a character that shone so splendidly through the annals of history would naturally be wreathed in wondering whisper.


    But whispers are merely that ¨C fragments of thoughts half-formed, of events half-recorded, seen by many yet written by none. Tis my thought that perhaps demons are at the root of this¡­this Destion, yes." She scribbled down on her tablet. "Yes, that shalt be an apt name for this barrennd. I shall call it so."


    "I can understand where you areing from. When I glimpsed into Tyr''s heart, I could see that the advance of demonkind outside the mountains pressured his rule," said Li. "But this kind of environment is one I do not associate with demonkind."


    "Hm, is it that though hath deep expertise about demons?" said As with raised brow.


    "And what of it?"


    "Ah, nothing to me." As put her y stylus to her lips as she peered at Li with curiosity. "I would be quite curious of one well versed of the demons, for theirnds alone do mine sisters record little to naught of. Hospitality does not dwell within them in great spades."


    "Would not surprise me," said She as she leered her feline, red tinted eyes at the fire crackling in the Vukanovi. "This ash - if it came from demons. Demons only hurt and destroy. Only make suffer and pain. Take and steal."


    "And that is why we stand against them," said Mercer with gusto, sitting up straight. "We march west to fight against their horror and evil as the great warriors of the past have done so before us."


    Vilga grimaced, rubbing her muscled, trunk-like arm with a surprisingly dainty gesture. "When I still fought in the dueling pits, I fought a demon once. Captured demon. Horrible thing. I could see in its eyes the desire to maim and dominate. Nothing else. When I caved its ribs in, the hate that glowered at me was enough to keep my next three nights sleepless for fear of some dreadful curse beyond the grave."


    "Typical for creatures that are born not of the Light, but of the unfeeling dark," said Mason. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a locket with its head fashioned into a six-pointed sun ¨C the symbol of the religion of Light. He clutched it in his hand.


    "You believe in the Light?" said Li as he took note of the locket. "I am not pressuring you to answer as a seer for another faith. I simply want to know."


    Mason contemted the question before shrugging. "Once, I did. My father was a priest of the Light, and he taught my brother and I much of its warmth and blessings. Of thends of golden wheat and eternal sun promised in the life beyond this one to all those devoted."


    He pocketed the locket again. "But he was also the one to leave us on supposed pilgrimage when coin ran dry. I would like to believe that so long as I fight, and that I fight for good that I can be proud of, I will have lived a life worthy of the gods and spirits and anyone else higher up and peering down upon me."


    "A good philosophy," said Li. "I encourage you to stick to it."


    "My beliefs do not challenge you?" asked Mason tentatively.


    "Not at all." Li paused. "Have you or your brother ever gone to Ivo and the druids for learning?"


    Both brothers shook their heads with some embarrassment, for it was a requirement for being in the fold of the Farmer''s Guild. Ivo insisted on it, though Li was not too strict on enforcing it.


    "Then I will exin. The faith I wish to spread is not so much faith at all. It is simply an understanding that you and everyone else walking upon this world is part of it. Responsible for it. The druids learn this by attuning themselves with nature, understanding the beauty of its breathing, of its every ebb and flow.


    We are beholden to the earth beneath us just as much as we are beholden to each other. In that way, your ideal of living a life for the good of others is not one I will reject. No, I would wee it instead. I do not demand absolute obedience to me or any rigid, unchanging doctrine. Think for yourselves to do what is best."


    Li saw Mason and Mercer nod at Li, and he paused for a moment, wondering whether he should continue. To bring this up now.


    At the end of it all, Li wanted a world that was stable and at peace with itself and with all the lives upon it. Was that truly possible? He wondered that plenty himself. There would always be divides between people. Differences. And differences meant conflict. He wanted those conflicts to fade away with his faith as a mediating force, but at what point was he to demand obedience? To use force to arbitrarily decide who was right and who was wrong?


    And how would he even begin to approach differences across not just people, but beings? Especially between all the mortal races and demons. For Li knew from interacting with Zagan that demonkind was not a monolith. They had their ways, but they had conflict and strife among themselves.


    Demons had spent a thousand years wreaking havoc upon mortal races for it was hard wired in their natures to hunger for negative emotions. It would seem they would be fundamentally ipatible with any sort of mutual understanding between themselves and others. And yet, Li felt he owed it to Zagan''s service to grant demonkind a chance in his eternal garden.


    "But I will say now that what you believe is good may not always be right. That is why I wish you to think for yourselves. To ever change your judgement to the world that changes always around you," said Li. "For I am not going west with the intent to destroy the demons. I am going to help. To restore order. Certainly, those that oppose me thoroughly, I will deal with, but a demon''s life is still life. I will aim to preserve their kind, to grant them a chance."

 Chapter 282 - A Demonic Dilemma I

    A heavy silence descended throughout the confines of the Vukanovi as Li ended his sentence. The space inside the Vukanovi wasrge enough where everyone had easily enough space to sprawl out and sleep and tend to their own, but now, that space seemed smaller, almost constricting as the weight of Li''s words dawned on those present, no doubt dredging up old scars.


    "No."


    Ears perked up as She''s voice rung through the Vukanovi.


    "No, no, no." She''s lips were curled back, the bloody red of her gums showing as her sharp, needle-like teeth red out as anger coursed through her veins. Anger not directed at Li nor to anyone there, but anger that still flowed regardless, and her body expressed it unconsciously. "Demons ruin everything. Burn my home. Make tribe weak. Take Nadir ¨C our soul."


    Mason saw She''s indignation and felt enough courage to speak up himself, knowing that he would not be alone in opposing Li. "I must agree with the beastwoman. I¡­," He nced at As for a moment before swallowing down a breath to continue. "I know that I know not history as it truly is. But I know it to be true that the demons have wrought untold suffering upon ournds. Upon allnds. If there is any truth I know to be certain, then it is that. It cannot be that for a thousand years, the Light has fought against the dark of demonkind for simply nothing."


    Mason looked to his younger brother, perhaps looking for something like reassurance, but he did not find it. Mercer sat cross-legged with his gaze directed downward, listening. His usual energy was not gone, but instead, it showed in the furrows between his eyes as he concentrated with tightly wound lips, wanting to hear out both sides first before forming any opinions of his own.


    Vilga''s boulder like shoulders slumped ever so slightly in a shrug. "I do not know. I have lived through twenty eight years if my trainer in the pits was right of my age. I am too young to have known the demons as they were. Only as I have fought them, and to date, I have shed with but one. I see them as foul creatures, but there are a great many vermin in this world."


    "Because you are ve," cut in She. "ve since young. Taken care of by the elves. I too am young. Younger. Twenty-two years, I think. But I live where demons were. Where they fought. With shamans and elders that remember them, remember who they burned and what they stole."


    She took in a breath that calmed her a little bit, but not quite enough. "You grew up with elves. Little elves that never lost anything to demons. You just like them. You lucky. I am not."


    "Hm." Vilga stared at She, their yellowed, predatory eyes matching. Both pairs of eyes were the kind that never backed down from any challenge. Nor ones that took any kind of insult lightly. And now they stared each other down.


    Vilga''s eyes wererger, suiting her canid features, and they were calm yet deadly focused. She''s eyes were sharper, fiercer, her stare more directed.


    "You are right," said Vilga as she broke off the staring contest. She crossed her arms. "I know nothing. That is why I adventure. To know. And to make my own judgements."


    In the face of the sudden de-esction, She grew quiet, then flitted her eyes away, ashamed she had let her passion boil her blood so.


    "It is said that discord among adventurers sows naught but heavy misfortune," said As. "Both of thee are quite young, and thou minds art most painted by the environs within which thee grew. But I hath learned the value of neutrality ¨C the very core principle unto which my sisters and I dedicate ourselves to as stewards of history.


    Thus, it is in upholding that principle in mine forty years that I shall say now that the demons do have ce upon this wide world. "


    "But how?" Mason leaned forwards in questioning. "If the legends that I grew up with, the myths I cherished so dearly, are indeed true, then did not your own goddess fight against the demons in the First Darkening?"


    "Quite so. For a hundred years, too. But doth that wear away any at their marks upon history?" As flitted her tongue out. "Nay. For a thousand years, they hath lived among themselves innds never before trod upon, carving out their own history, and that history, the sheer breadth of it, doth hold value."


    "Then eradicate the demons and record what they knew," said Mason. "Do not let them continue to exist to cause suffering anymore."


    "Lad, calm down," said Old Thane. "If years be a measure of wisdom, then do heed this old fool. I have fought personally with demons in the fourth darkening. Known them. Drew their blood, had them draw mine own blood."


    "Yes, you did fight them-," began Mason.


    "And I broke bread with them, too." Old Thane listened to Mason pausing and continued. "Aye, that I did. The demons are not a thing,d, one big monstrous mass uniform in its darkness and horror. Nay, every demon stands different. Some are mighty. Some are wise. Some are fools. Some are cruel." He paused. "And some are kind, in as much the way they can be."


    "Kind? Demons?" Disbeliefced Mason''s words.


    "Aye," said Old Thane. "The demons of Pride are mighty and fierce indeed, but show them yer spirit, and they''ll be the first to spare ye. Give the demons of Greed a deal, and they will hold true to their word, more so firmer than any man. The demons of Lust, well,ds, I do believe ye are too young for that," said Old Thane with a chuckle. "When the demons invade, they are no different than a conquering army."


    "And conquering armies we must rebuff to the best of our might," said Mason. "What is different here?"


    "Aye, no disagreement there," said Old Thane. "But eradication? Lad, that word is too big for ye britches. For all of ours. So much is lost in eradication In aplete loss of a people, and that is what the demons are. Mightier than us, different in their ways from us humans, aye, but still, they are a people of this earth.


    "The aged human doth speak truly," said As. "Precious few records there are of demonkin, but what hath been collected showeth not a hive mind, but something more akin to tribes. Seven tribes united under a banner of war. Seven bodies disparate from the other, prone to arguing and fighting and disagreement.


    Were the demons truly unified, then I shalt fear that this world may have long been under their rule."


    "Precisely why we must strike them out before they can do so!" said Mason. He pointed to Li. "The three great gods left us mortals in the wake of the first darkening, but now, a new god has risen, and his messenger lies right here, willing to aid us. Divine might should be used to strike out the demons utterly."


    "No," said Li. "I strike out what I must, but no more than that. The people that have walked upon this world for a thousand years should continue to walk upon it. Together."


    Mason looked at Li, his blue eyes matching Li''s glowing green stare, and the young man could only look away.


    "Lad, I know how ye feel," said Old Thane. "But ye have not even seen a demon, nor ever fought one. In this adventure, ye shall, and when ye do,e back to us with ye beliefs if they be the same."


    "I understand," said Mason after an extended pause of thinking.


    "Not me," said She.


    Li was about to speak before As took his spot in exining.


    "I know well of the histories of thy people. Perhaps among mine sisters, I am but one of few brave enough to wander past the Sandrivers to record thee still," said As. "Thus, I ask of thee: what hast the demons done to thee to wrong thee?"


    "They burn away our home-," began She.


    "Three tribes of Feli ¨C the goldmanes, pantherians, and tigrans - doth did live upon Sher-Halha, or better known inmon tongue as the northern central ins. Is this the home that thou speaks of?"


    She nodded.


    "The Fourth Darkening didst see the demons encroach upon Sher-Halha, tis'' true, and yet, the Fourth Darkening amongst all others was the shortest byrge margin. The Fourthsted but five years before the Shining One ended it.


    The Thirdsted fifteen years. The Second fifty. The First an entire cycle. Five years was not enough for the demons to fully raze Sher-Halha, nor wouldst they have desired so for it would hath beennd they wished to live upon.


    Then when the Fourth Darkening did end, why did thy people not return to thy homes?"

 Chapter 283 - A Demonic Dilemma II

    She''s mood did not falter at the questioning. Her words, though hampered by ack ofnguage skills, still expressed as much passion as they could in their presentation. It was highly evident that there was a deep chip on her shoulder against the demons, and one likely ancestrally passed in nature considering the timeline of events.


    She had not been alive for the events of the Fourth Darkening, Li could figure, but the amount of emotion she drew on now was real and bright. Likely, consequences from that war marred her upbringing.


    "Elders said because demons made us weak," said She.


    "Ah, therein lies the dilemma," said As as she raised a pale, w tipped finger. "Weak against what? Defeated demons? Not so. Elves. Elves drove thy people away from thy ancestral home."


    As pointed to Vilga. "Thy people too, and that is why thou hast been a ve to the elvish arenas since youth."


    "But many of my elders killed," said She. "Nadir stolen from us. Not by elf, but by demon."


    "Didst thou know personally of these fallen elders?" said As.


    She shook her head. "But I feel their rage. In the blood they leave behind."


    "Ah, that is why the fires of passion doth stir so deeply and brightly within thee," said As. "The burden of blood magic. The blood that flows througheth our veins passes onto the next generation, but amongst thee, practitioners of the ancient art, that blood carries burden. Emotion. Anger. Vengeance.


    Thou dost harbor grudges of a generation past. A young mind such as thee ought not deal with such burden, but tis'' understandable. I shalt not say that the losses of thy people are to be trivialized. But tell me, when thou didst tell us the cause for thy adventuring, did thou not say it was for the Nadir?"


    "Yes. What of it?" said She. She did not understand a good chunk of the flowerynguage that As employed, but she could get the gist of it, and she honed in on the question she understood best.


    "Then, once thou has the Nadir, what next?"


    "I protect my people. My sister. Make sure we all free. Take fight to demons. Stop them from hurting ever again."


    "If there is one thing I can guarantee," said Li. "It is that I will not allow the demons to enve a people or reduce them to cinders. Not now, not ever. That too is part of the order I envision, and I will use my full might to ensure it. You will not need to a lift a finger for that, nor would I want generational grudges to interfere in my judgements."


    "And thus, the dilemma arises, She," said As. "Thou doth wish to protect thy people, hence thy search for the mighty Nadir, and yet, it shalt not be demons that bear down upon thee. It will be the elves as they hath done so for the past thirty years.


    Thy passion is fierce. Thy will is bright. But much of it flows not to the right channels."


    "I find Nadir," dered She. "I do that. If demon stop me, I fight them. Kill them."


    "I am not stripping you of your right to fight," said Li. "I myself will not be abstaining from killing. But killing that goes beyond order, beyond the scales of bnce, I will mediate. Your right to self defense will never evene close to weighing on those scales."


    She purred at Li''s statement. "I kill, too. Not just to defend. For vengeance."


    "I will not stop you. But you will do so through your own power, for the grudges of your people are not mine," said Li.


    "Don''t mind. Most of my life, I fight alone anyway." She turned away, moving to a corner of the Vukanovi before curling up into a tight ball to go to sleep, tired from being questioned so much. Evidently, she had never been one to be questioned so.


    It did make a bit of sense. When she fought, a gold mane grew around her neck, indicating strength beyond the norm of her people, hence why she even came on this adventure in the first ce. If her tribe respected strength, then likely, she had never been questioned much, and her youth would have made hercent to it.


    Whatever bitterness Li could sense in She, he did not want to approach. He was not good at the intimate kind of talking and questioning that could change people''s world views. No, he worked through his actions for the most part, and the power granted to him in this vessel was useful in that regard. Hopefully, she woulde to terms with her ancestral grudges as time passed and the adventure continued.


    "Papa," murmured Tia as she fidgeted in hisp, rousing from her sleep. She stretched her legs out, her wed toes wriggling as her face scrunched up in exertion. Green and ck scaled wings fanned out from behind her, covering over Li. "Don''t like being inside all day. Want to go out."


    Li pat Tia''s head, and she looked back at him pleadingly. "Tia, it is dangerous outside, you know that."


    "Then I can fly!" said Tia. Her wings trembled in excitement at the thought. "Can fly with papa! You can make big green shield, then we can fly up."


    Li conceded that was certainly possible, but even that, he was a little against the idea. The ash was of a power he could inherently feel was foreign to Elden World magic. It did not have the same wavelength to it in much the same way that heroic powers or Tyr''s alien slime did. This was mainly why he was operating with such caution, not even going out himself.


    He could not know for certain if any of his Elden World barriers would work against the ash. In the brief moment of exposure, he had when it suddenly washed over his party, he could tell that it was not too harmful, only injuring Mason and Mercer whom, no offense to them, were pitifully weakpared to even the other party members, let alone Li.


    Tia had been unhurt as well, but he had no idea what prolonged exposure could do.


    Li felt Tia tug at his Farmer''s Guild jacket cor, the brown cloth tearing slightly in her grip. "Please, papa?"


    Li took another look at Tia''s eyes and sighed, allowing reason to flee him for a bit. "I suppose we can go ahead and fly for a little bit. The rest of you-,"


    Li was about to tell the rest to stay behind in the Vukanovi''s shelter, but he saw Zagan arise from his prone position by the fire, trotting to his side. The demon clearly indicated that he wished to apany Li.


    Li nodded slightly to the demon.


    "Stay behind, where it is safe," finished Li.

 Chapter 284 - Zagans Thoughts I

    Li raised up a tform of vines and branches to the ceiling of the Vukanovi, carrying with him Tia and Zagan. He put a hand to the ceiling, narrowing his eyes as he exerted his magical energy delicately, willing the ceiling of the pumpkin monster to open up just enough that the least amount of deadly ash would flow in.


    "Thou hast no need to worry," said As as she picked up on Li''s intent. She made a sweeping motion with her hand. Wisps of blue mana parted from around her, flying up to the ceiling and then expanding, materializing into ayer of golden sand.


    From the way the sand seemed to shimmer, as if each grain was alive and moving, Li could tell this was the C-ranked spell [Quicksand Barrier].


    "With that, thou can pass through without worry of the poison outside flowing within," said As.


    "I know," said Li, and As flitted out her forked tongue in curiosity.


    "Thou hast knowledge of sand magic, too?" asked As. "That is curious indeed. Never before in mine years hath I witnessed one so versed in so very many magics as thee."


    "Just consider me well studied," said Li as he opened up the ceiling of the Vukanovi, slowly at first, tentative to see whether the ash could permeate through the sand, but it did not.


    "Gods," came Mercer''s voice.


    Li looked down at the young adventurer, and so did everyone else. After all, he had been the only one to remain so silent during the somewhat heated conversation about demons before. Perhaps he had something notable to add.


    "You-," said Mercer as he looked at As with eyes slightly wide with surprise. "Are forty?"


    "Okay, nothing important. I''m leaving now," said Li with a slight sigh, though he did smile.


    Atop the Vukanovi, Li squinted his eyes as he held Tia near him. The ashen fog was extremely dense here, so dense that he could not even see even an inch in front of him. The fog seemed almost solid, weighing on his skin in a noticeable weight.


    It was strange, this ash. If it was a regr particte, then Li could have easily seen through it with his massively superhuman sight. Or heard past it. But he could not. It muted his senses, blocking even his hearing as it seemed the fog muted even sound from passing through it.


    At the least, Li could not perceive it doing any damage to him. Rather, it even felt a little, how could he put it, familiar? The ash had a faint chill to it that was not entirely unpleasant, like a cool touch of water in summery heat.


    "Papa, what''s wrong?" came Tia''s muffled voice. She was covered under several massive banana leaves growing from Li so as to prevent exposure to the ash.


    "Nothing," said Li. "Get ready to fly, Tia, and fly fast, too. We will have to fly straight up to escape this ash."


    "Race!" said Tia with excitement. He could feel her wings starting to stretch out, straining at the barrier of leaves around her.


    "Not today, Tia, today, papa will be flying with you," said Li.


    "That okay too!" said Tia, more excited to be outside than anything else.


    Li cast [Wings of Simurgh], the feathery, elementally infused wings sprouting from his sides and stretching taut, tense with power and ready to fly.


    "Then here we go!" said Li as he jumped up, blowing his wings down. He could also feel a little burst of wind from beside him as Tia too crashed her wings down, sending them both up hurtling at blurring speeds.


    It took just over half a minute to clear the fog ridden area, which, in perspective, was an extraordinarily long time considering how fast Li and Tia were flying. But now that they were high up, Li could scan the area without interference.


    "I see. It does not look like there is an end to sight for this ash," said Li as his eyes narrowed, the green energy shining in his pupils intensifying as he focused his sight. Even far into the horizon, the ashen fog hung thick, a curtain of white shrouded atop the deste earth.


    The fog did not move, even as Li felt the windy day send its breezes his way. It would appear that the ash waspletely supernatural in nature, suspended almost in time as it sat immovable and immutable. Even if Li used a spell with high power to try and blow the fog away, he doubted it would work.


    "Don''t like it," said Tia.


    Li looked to her. She was keeping herself hovering with her wings. The way her wings pped sozily, he knew that biomechanically, it was not possible for her to hover so perfectly in ce like that. But magicy within her blood, in her wings, in every single breath she took, and it seemed it aided her movements even if she did not consciously will it.


    Zagan was in her arms, carried up with her arms under his front paws. Li remembered that the demon had despised being held like this by Jeanne, but right now, there was no sign ofint. Perhaps because this was Tia, an innocent child and also Li''s daughter.


    "Cold," continued Tia with a slight shiver. She hugged Zagan tighter to herself, letting the demon''s shaggy ck fur warm her. "Fog cold. Don''t like cold."


    Li knew well of Tia''s aversion to the cold. Her bad dreams were always about cold ces. Cold things. If ever there was a fearful bone in her body, it would be a worry about the cold. He flew next to her, putting aforting hand on her head.


    "I know. But we get to run from the cold up here," said Li. He looked up to see the dawn sky. It was still dark, but the sun was about to rise, lightening the ck of night into something cooler, something prettier, bluer.


    "Mm-hm." Tia nodded. She looked down to Zagan and put her chin atop the fur of his head. "Are you okay?"


    Zagan spoke. Not telepathically as he had always done, but with his own voice. It had been a while since Li had heard it, so he was reminded at how inhuman it was. Deep, guttural,ced with a rattle that sounded like the growl of a predatory beast, and seemingly devoid of any warm inflection.


    "Why do you ask such a question, child?"


    "Because they were mean to you down there," said Tia.


    "The chattering of mortals is of no consequence to this personage. Their hate and their fear are but the protest of the weak, unworthy of hearing."


    "I understand how you feel," said Li. He knew that the demon considered himself far higher than any mortal, and it was true in terms of sheer power, age, and scale. "But perhaps it would be best to mediate such sentiments in the future. I will be aiding and working with a great many mortals, after all."


    "That, this personage already does," said Zagan simply. "You have questions for me, do you not? This personage sensed them and is ready to answer all that which your curiosity stirs."


    "More talk?" said Tia, pouting. "Want to explore!"


    "I''m not so sure, Tia," said Li. "Magic does not seem to sense through this fog. If we get lost, it will be hard to find each other again." He looked at Tia''s defeated face and then considered a workaround. "But I can fly and follow you. Papa might be a little busy talking, though."


    "That''s fine, so long as papa with me," said Tia.


    Li nodded and looked to Zagan. "Can you fly?"


    "Of course." Zagan squirmed, and Tia let him go. Before the demon could fall, a sh of fiery red burst from his back, and two draconic, obsidian scaled wings stretched out, manifesting from angry red silhouettes.


    Tia stared wonderingly at Zagan. "You dragon too?"


    "Nonsense." Zagan began to rify. "This personage is a demon of deals, as is much of the swarm of greed. In deals, we bet, and we gain. These wings, this personage has gained from a dragon in the time of the Third Darkening."


    "I see," said Li. "You made a deal with a dragon? It gave up its wings? For what?"


    "For strength, of course. That is all the dragons seek," said Zagan.


    "But being strong good," said Tia.


    "This personage did not deny that," said Zagan. "But let not a drive for strength dominate your mind. Rigidity in purpose causes stagnation, and stagnation breeds weakness."


    "A surprising statementing from you," said Li. "I thought demons and dragons were rather simr in their natures. Consuming and growing strong while having pride in their principles, ways, bloodlines, or whatnot."


    "For five hundred years, that is what this personage believed. Believing in principle. Principle and ritesid down since the Convergence itself when the first demons fought for supremacy against the three great gods."


    Zagan''s red eyes shed as his draconic, fireced wings moved around him. But before he continued, he addressed Tia. "You need not concern yourself with this talk. Fly, child, and we shall follow."


    Li nodded in agreement.


    "Okay!" said Tia. "I go fast, though, so keep up!"

 Chapter 285 - Zagans Thoughts II

    With that, Tia pped her wings once, and she was gone, speeding away up and forwards like an emerald bullet. Her tiny figure flew withplete grace, a wide smile stered atop her face as the wind billowed and pushed her back while she spun figure eights throughout the wide and free sky.


    But despite that, Li kept up rather easily, and Zagan did also, both of them keeping up leisurely enough to track her with one eye while having the other focused on each other and the conversation to be had.


    While they flew, Li made sure to keep tabs on the Vukanovi, sensing its health and location.


    "But it is not so now. This personage has thought long and at depth during his service to you, Great One, witnessing your dreams of united order and what it must take and what it must mean to embrace that which is different and new," said Zagan. "It has be apparent now that change must be in order. Amon was heretical in many ways, but this personage was wrong to me him for embracing change."


    "Amon?" asked Li.


    "The reigning Burning One."


    "And your once pupil," noted Li.


    "Once," emphasized Zagan. "This personage will not hesitate to strike down the heretic should the chance arise."


    "And I fear that it wille to that," said Li. "If what I remember is correct, so long as the Burning One is alive and maintaining the Rite of the Swarm, then he has control over the entire body of demons, no? The only way to break apart the rite is to eliminate the Burning One, just as was done in the Fourth Darkening."


    "There is yet another way. The Rite of the Swarm may be taken through rightfulbat by those with demonic blood flowing within them."


    "That does expand possibilities," said Li as he thought of the implications of this. Though, as he processed the revtion, he realized it did not change too much. Rather, it made things easier for him.


    "Zagan," continued Li. "How much of my power have you restored yourself on by now?"


    "This personage has feasted quite amply. His strength has returned to a height that eclipses that which has ever been reached before."


    "Good," said Li. "Then I want you to face the Burning One and take the Rite of the Swarm from him. Be the new leader of the demons. Be the one to bridge my message to them."


    "This personage has no qualms with that. But the power he holds now will not be sufficientx for the Burning One."


    "Really now? I understand that the current Burning One has been siphoning power from corrupted eldritch sources, but I only have previous Burning Ones to base his power off of. And from what I know, Sunstar alone was enough to defeat the previous Burning One, and if I lend you enough strength, you should easily eclipse that level of strength."


    Tia stopped in the air, huffing as she took a quick break. They had flown up much higher now, up to the point where a huge, full cloud of snowy white floatedzily in front of them. She watched it with curiosity.


    Li smiled at Tia. She was probably thinking that the cloud looked like the fluffy sugar candy that some of the street food sellers in Riviera peddled.


    Zagan''s eyes dimmed in thought, and a discernable change in his aura alerted Li''s attention.


    "It is not strength in its raw form that this personage is concerned of," said Zagan. "It is the nature of this current Darkening, if indeed it can even be called such. It is unlike any that this personage has ever seen. It has been long since any emotion resembling something so fickle and weak as worry has entered this heart, but it does so now."


    Worry and Zagan were two things Li had a hard time ever corrting together, and that alone made him that much more alert and wary of what the demon was saying. "How so? What is so different this time around?"


    "Whence this personagest left the Burning One''s service, there were not yet anymands made for the seven swarms to begin moving. The Burning One only stowed himself away inmunion within the Abyss, and there, none could reach him.


    Thus, this personage decided to act on his own."


    "Which is why I saw you invading Riviera, but no other swarms or demonic heralds came," said Li. "Until Gluttony."


    "And Gluttony appeared before us thoroughly corrupted, spreading a gue of madness that reeked of the Abyss," said Zagan. "Pride, an old friend that has fought with this personage since the Third Darkening five hundred years ago, still cannot be reached. This personage fears the swarms are no more, or at the least, hold not the principles which they once lived and died by.


    A Rite of the Swarm as it has been through the ages is not a time to fret and n. It is a celebration. An unleashing of all seven swarms in symbolicmemoration of the Signum, the seal that the Light god and his angels forced upon us, breaking. We celebrate in image of our ancestors in the First Darkening, spreading our might throughout the known world."


    "What about world domination?"


    "Something akin to that would be a natural consequence of our celebration, this personage supposes. However, the Rite of the Swarm celebrates freedom first and foremost. With the freedom to roam and do as we wish, then no doubt, as the mightiest of beings, the world would fall under our heel, but that is a consequence, not so a goal.


    However, that freedom this personage shall admit does hinder us. We gather not as armies, but as swarms, and a swarm has no heed for rank and file or order. We are seven swarms of countless differing tribes loosed to their own devices upon the world.


    The Burning One maymand, but never before has one been able to truly exert authority capable of binding the swarms into a strategically guided body of soldiers. Nor should such be attempted, for the swarms would rebel in any of their freedoms finding restriction."


    "And yet now this Burning One seems to have a tight leash over the seven swarms," Li pointed out. "A leash you believees from eldritch maniption."


    "This personage does not like the term ''leash'' used for the mighty demonic see, but it is so. This personage surmises that with how little the seven swarms have stirred, with even the bloodthirsty packs of Wrath holding still, that all of demonkind has fallen."


    "And again, I have the power to undo it," said Li. "I hold the same power that this Burning One is trying to tap into. No, not just that, I am that power ¨C it is part and parcel of my being. I am not trying to tap into or siphon or steal anything, I simply am. I have little doubt that I will be able to undo whatever the Burning One has brought upon the demons."


    "Never has this personage questioned your ability. There is simply a questioning of intent. Why is it so that the Burning One holds the seven swarms back? It is entirely unlike any of the prior Darkenings."


    "And tell me, how were the other Darkenings? You can go into detail. It would be good to get a sense of how the demons worked before this whole abyss ordeal."


    "Hm." Zagan closed his eyes, remembering.

 Chapter 286 - Zagans Thoughts III

    "Then this personage shally before you the events of the Fourth Darkening, one in which he was yet herald of Greed," said Zagan. "First, there was Ijiras of En Vexnn, or that which you know as the never-ending storm of the Northwastes."


    "Demons live even in the Northwastes?" said Li.


    "Three centers do we demons inhabit. En Arkennan, the center of chaos ¨C that is where the seven swarms originate. En Vexnn ¨C the center of the eternal storm. And En Okeas ¨C center of the watery depths that has now been warped into the sealed Abyss."


    "I see."


    Seeing that Li had no further questions, Zagan continued. "Ijiras was mighty indeed, rising to the top of the storm, feasting upon the strongest of demons of frost and wind and lightning until finally, she found herself bored of the challenge of En Vexnn. She left her home and came to En Arkennan, challenging all leaders of the seven swarms and finding herself triumphant.


    With that, Ijiras invoked the Rite of the Swarm, and none other than she was better for it. She embodied the principle of the Rite and of demonkind perfectly. Strength, she sought above all else, devouring and destroying all in pursuit of ultimate power.


    Ijiras named her seven heralds, with this personage and Pride continuing our duties as heralds as we had since the Third Darkening."


    "You were not challenged for the title?" asked Li.


    "Of course, we were.


    But among the swarm of Greed, this personage is one unnaturally suited to battle. The demons of Greed are those that which deal in trickery and pacts. In magic and thought do we indulge ourselves in, but this personage, ever since he was but a mere hellhound, has always been close to the primal savagery of battle, of bloodletting by me and tooth and w, and as such, has remained undefeated.


    Pride, my old friend, is one simr, though his mightes from a dedication to swordsmanship paralleled by none. As is fitting for one who was once human."


    "Human?" asked Li, a little surprised. Though he did remember that the herald of Lust in the Fourth Darkening was also originally human as Zagan once said.


    "An Easterner just as your human vessel shows," said Zagan. "He had pursued a ''dao'' or ''way'' as he called it, of swordsmanship his whole life, and he had be a man of legend in his home. A sword saint, as was called.


    But he grew tired of his home and left, marking his way through the continent of Eldenia, challenging all that it had to offer, and then to the Hintends, then to En Arkennan where he willingly became a demon to freely traverse the cursednds fatal to mortals.


    All in the pursuit of his way."


    "He must have been extraordinarily powerful," said Li, knowing from his interaction with Lady Zhen that the eastern continent was significantly stronger than the average in Eldenia. If Pride was a man who had risen to the top of that continent and be even stronger as a demon, inheriting the special powers of a demon sin, he very well may have been equal to a level 100 character.


    "A wonder he did not be the Burning One himself," noted Li.


    "His duel with Ijiras ended when he conceded, satisfied with her strength even when he could have fought to a much bloodier end. For he rejected all titles of authority. In sheer might, he may have grasped the title of Burning One, but it was his path to take.


    Even as a herald, he did not exercise any control over the swarm of Pride, allowing their traditions of knighthood and warrior spirit continue on without any interference, though this personage imagined that those values resonated with him well."


    "The way you speak of him ¨C you seem to hold great respect for him," said Li.


    "This personage respects those that adhere to principle, even if it they be not his own. Hence, tolerating the aged mortal of yours. Pride was much the same."


    "And you are telling me with all this firepower, a Burning One, a herald nearly equal to her in power, and seven swarms of demons, that they could not take out the Eldenian continent?"


    "A weakness of adhering to principle," said Zagan. "Ijiras did notmand. She simply went forth, leading a charge wherein she sought out strong opponents to destroy, to freeze their souls to add to her collection. She cared not of what forces she lost nor what they did, and that was true for all other swarms.


    Wrath charged forwards with his packs with nothing resembling strategy. Envy and his ilk only ever cared of stealing and taking. Gluttony lived only to feast and feast.


    Lust sought a subtler method of conquest, one more suited to what she had learned in her time as a human seductress. She and her swarm charmed those that practiced magic, gaining their secrets and devising a Rot capable of suppressing the forest Guardians and spirits who would have challenged us thoroughly.


    This personage toomitted himself and his swarm to something more than the brute fight, for the demons of Greed have never been ones to revel truly in the thick of battle. We went north, seeking to sway the hearts of the mortals there and steal away the Purgatorio that felled the Burning One of the Third Darkening.


    s, we found no victory."


    "Did the elves repel your forces?"


    Zagan shook his head. "Little did they oppose us. We moved from west to east through continent, and the elves reside in the farthest eastern part of northern Eldenia. But between the elves and our forces were the beastmen and the club tribes."


    "No dragons?"


    "The dragons actedst in the Third Darkening, indeed being the reason for our demise, defeating our then Burning One. But having proven themselves, they no longer oppose us, seeing us beneath them." Zagan said this in a matter-of-fact tone, not at all seemingly having his pride hurt that the dragons considered them so. "But that is their choice, and one we respect for they have proven their might."


    "I see. Then I find it interesting that the north was able to hold out against you. You must have had more heralds with you as well, and there would only be beastmen tribes left to fight you."


    "Gluttony and Envy apanied my swarm north," said Zagan. "Both desired the Purgatorio as well, coveting it as the rarest of symbols of power to steal away. But the opposition from the beastmen and the club tribes was far, far greater than expected. Truly, it was an age of heroes for them.


    The king of the lupi and the three matriarchs of the pantherians, goldmanes, and tigrans united in unprecedented alliance never before seen since the First Darkening itself. This personage''s swarm and Gluttony fought well, as well as his bloated, bumbling form could, and he managed to steal away the Nadir of the goldmanes, but against three more divine weapons forged by the three great gods, he fell.


    Envy fell to the club tribes, for they too had united under a temporary alliance. Orcs, trolls, cyclopes, and goblins of all fought against Envy and his swarm, isting them until an Elven weapon fell upon the battlefield, eviscerating all in brilliant nova.


    And this personage was thus left with a swarm cut in half by losses and the Elven Purgatorio yet un-retrieved. Still, this personage thought he still had a chance. It would only take the right elf to corrupt and infest to break apart their fragile society.


    But Ijiras, dazzled by the Shining One''s strength, wished to duel him, and she fell to him, their fight leaving even the reaches of this world itself, into the dark of the starry skies.


    And thus, the Rite of the Swarm was broken."


    "And Pride? He was a Burning One level fighter. How was he repelled if Sunstar was busy with Ijiras?" Li asked.


    "Pride fought a mighty hero. A man named Sigmund the Indestructible," said Zagan.


    "I recognize that name," said Li. He knew the name from a tale by Old Thane. Sigmund was the man that almost killed Old Thane when he was younger in the north. He had thought that Sigmund was going to be a one-off mention never relevant again, but here the name was. "But he was truly that powerful?"


    Zagan nodded. "The hero was invulnerable to seemingly any kind of damage, and he adapted each time he fell, gaining speed, strength, flight ¨C whatever it was necessary to keep him in the fight. Pride dueled the hero for eight days, and the wake of their battle left three cities razed to cratered rubble, but finally, Pride prevailed.


    Yet, the injuries Pride sustained were far too much, and he retreated. His swarm, ever loyal to him, fell back with him."


    Zagan continued, faster paced now, listing off the deaths of the remaining heralds like he was ticking names off a list.


    "Wrath tore a warpath through the deep south but fell to the Moonreaver when he reached Enna.


    Sloth fell in the Chattering Forest.


    The circumstances of Lust''s death this personage does not know, but she has certainly perished for her herald sin returned to En Arkennan in waiting for a new bearer."


    "All that in a span of five years," said Li. "Though not close to being a long time inparison to the other Darkenings, it is still enough. Five years to wreak havoc on mostly what must have been the north. I can begin to see how much devastation the beastmen tribes faced in trying to stop you all.


    They must have suffered countless losses in a five year long conflict of that scale."


    "Were the Purgatorio to have been unleashed, that devastation may have been staunched," said Zagan.


    "Is what I was thinking too," said Li.


    "But listening to the prattling of the mortals, this personage has begun to understand why the elves did not act. They wish for dominance, to rule over all, and they cannot rule that which is strong. They took the Fourth Darkening as a chance to vastly weaken the beastmen and club tribes, and now, those tribes lie under the yoke of the elves."


    Zagan snorted. "The cruelty of demons, was it? It does pale inparison to the machinations of mortals and their pettiness. Their willingness to abuse and sacrifice for their goals."


    "Say that the Rite was sessful, and you won. What would you all have done?" asked Li.


    "We would have had our fill of negative emotions," said Zagan. "Then, this personage imagines, many of us would have pulled back to En Arkennan where still our home lies and where we hold duty to guard the Abyss.


    The mortals are mistaken if they believe their entire existence in danger. Should they all perish, then we too would lose most delectable a meal. No, we would keep them alive."


    "As ves?" said Li. "Like cattle, essentially. If you see them as food, that is."


    "Hm." Zagan bared his teeth in something resembling a smile. "This personage knows some demons that would prefer such. But no, we would keep the mortals ruling among themselves, fighting with themselves, for fear and anger are treats, yes, but to crush the mortals under heel and very like chattel would mean they would lose the ability to produce even finer, more delicate meals such as greed and sloth and lust.


    All those emotions are bred best organically among themselves, not from us."

 Chapter 287 - Fthagguan

    "In a way, you demons do understand what bnce is and how to keep it," said Li. "But of course, it remains to be seen whether every demon is as level headed and reasonable as you are, Zagan."


    "This personage is one that has remained alive for half of all history since the Convergence. There are few wiser than he, few that have waded through the vast river of time. Many demons there are, many that are more impulsive, more worldly, less principled, it is true."


    Zagan''s eyes shed with a hint of threatening red. "But within our natures is a deference to power. Should youy downmands in a position of might, a position with which you are quite familiar with, then this personage''s kin should fall in deference to you as this one has."


    "I do not like enforcing ideas through might, but I can understand when it is needed," said Li. "And in the case of your kin, with how much they value the idea of power, I believe it will be necessary. However, I will warn you now that this Rite of the Swarm must be broken apart. It cannot exist in a world with the order I am to envision."


    "This personage understands," said Zagan simply.


    "That is not to say I am going to seal your kin away. They have faced that treatment for a millennium already."


    "Then what is it do you propose? Demon kin will always wish to feed. We may feed upon each other, but the temptation of mortal sin will always allure us."


    "I have considered that also, and it makes for a challenge in integrating your kin with the rest of the world. But is that not bnce? That there is both life and death?" Li nodded to himself. "The demons will spread among the world if they so wish. But I know as you have said that many are fond of their home. Those that desire to stay will stay.


    Those that do choose to enter the wider world, into the fold of my garden, will have to do so with necessary restrictions under my guidance. They will have to be messengers of myself. Messengers of the death that I am to represent also.


    Death, I cannot entrust to mortal lives. But your kin know it well. They will be my emissaries of death, feasting upon enemies of the garden, preying upon mortals engorged with sin that do not deserve the gift of life."


    "This¡­will take time," said Zagan. "And you must show power if they are to listen. Overwhelming, crushing power. Such as that which you showed this personage."


    Li closed a fist. "That, I have plenty of. I will break the Rite of the Swarm and cleanse your kin of whatever madness affects them. Those that oppose me still, even after they are beaten, I will have to deal with."


    "Kin of this personage that does not heed power ¨C the purest of all principles ¨C are not worth the breath they draw," agreed Zagan.


    "And you, Zagan, will have to be the one to enforce much of this change. You are a demon, you know your ways, and you know the value of what you are changing." Li looked to Zagan, his green lit eyes full of life matching the demon''s fiery, reddened pupils in a contrasting match of life and death. "Will you be willing to be my herald? A herald of change?"


    Zagan lowered his head. "This personage knows change. How it is needed, how it cannot be forced unnaturally. He will ensure that this time, change falls upon the demonic see properly."


    "I know of none better for the task," said Li with a smile. "Probably because you are the only demon I know."


    "You should not worry, Great One, for this personage considers himself a representative among representatives of his kin, of their true ways," said Zagan.


    "I was joking, Zagan," said Li. "I already know you are worthy."


    "Papa!" Tia''s voice cut through the air, interrupting the conversation.


    Li immediately turned to her direction. He saw her a dozen meters away, suspended in the air as she looked down, squinting and pointing to the ground with her w.


    "What''s that?" asked Tia.


    Li focused his own eyes, and at first, he saw nothing, just the same oldyer of ashen, nearly solid white. But then he saw it. shes of light permeating through the ash. Faint flickers that barely colored the fog, but it was still visible.


    "Something is there," said Li. His tone be more serious, more authoritative as more unknowns came into consideration. Normally, though he was serious, he took things in stride, but right now, with this fog he knew nothing of, he was on higher alert. "I am sorry, Tia, but we have to get back with the others. Come, let us leave."


    ===================


    Inside the Vukanovi, Li watched the screen projected atop the central fire. Because he was looking at is with such tension, everyone else was silent, feeling the gravity of the situation. He wondered whether he was making everyone worry without reason, but at the same time, he could not help it. Better to be alert than to be sorry.


    For now, Li could only see a wall of white from the fog. He willed the Vukanovi to keep moving forward, towards the light, but slowly and carefully, itsbat capabilities readied at a moment''s notice.


    "Light not so scary," said Tia as she fidgeted by Li''s side. She tugged at his jacket cor, wanting tofort him. "When I see it. It was warm. Not like cold fog."


    "I believe you, Tia, but papa just has to make sure," said Li with a slight smile as he kept his attention up, for the Vukanovi was nearing the source of the light in the depths of this deste, ash chokednd.


    Zagan, unlike before, did not lie down in sleep, but instead also sat beside Li, his eyes gazing into the image. The demon was ready to fight.


    So too was everybody else. Old Thane and Vilga''s fists were clenched. She''s ws were out. Mason and Mercer held their longsword and daggers respectively.


    It took a tense minute, but the source of the light became apparent. The fog cleared up abruptly, almost as if the Vukanovi had stepped into apletely different dimension, but as Li narrowed his eyes to watch for details, he realized that this was just a small clearing in the fog.


    The sky was still shrouded in ash. But up ahead, perhaps forty meters away, there was a scene that Li took in at first with calm analysis, then with genuine surprise.


    There was a flickering ripple in space at the center of the clearing, distorting and twisting the colors of the space around it into constantly shimmering and fluxing spirals. In front of that spatial flux, a woman sat atop a squid-like creature that dwarfed her several times over.


    Its bright, angry red tentacles stretched limp behind it like tails of fire and its bulb-like head was molten red and lined with fiery cracks like the surface of a burnt, and a single eye stared listlessly down to the cracked earth with a dim purple glow.


    Li recognized the creature. It was a Fire Vampire. A dead one, though, thankfully.


    Li immediately bade the Vukanovi to stop. He knew well what Fire Vampires were, how tremendously difficult an enemy they could be even for Li, especially in swarms. They had no rtion to vampires, for those, Li could deal with in spades, and they were known also as Fthagguans.


    Eldritch monsters of fire that acted as emissaries for an Old One named the Living me.


    The woman sitting atop the fire vampire looked up to the Vukanovi and stood. She was dressed in light crimson armor that shimmered like smoky fire, and her eyes were lit up iridescent with the colors of the rainbow as she stared directly at the Vukanovi through a sheen of messy, long golden blonde hair.


    As her multi-colored eyes set on the Vukanovi, she thrust her arm out besides her, her hand open, grasping a weapon that rapidly began materializing in her hand in a shower of sparks. It looked initially like a spear, but as it formed morepletely, Li realized it was a lengthy torch, though unlike any ordinary one.


    It was made of ck, segmented metal so dark it reached a shade of vantack. The butt of the torch ended into an elongated, two pronged point, and the head of the torch was borately patterned in a spiral of ck metal curved into the image of a flickering me.


    The torch lit up, a surprisingly normal colored fire bursting from the vantack metal in a neat, controlled ze.


    When As saw the torch, she hissed not in threat, but in surprise.


    "What is it,ds?" said Old Thane. "Mine hearing is quitecking in these confines, aye."


    "A shame that thou hath lost thy sight," said As as she immediately materialized a tablet to record with. "For thou wouldst have looked upon the form of Lira the Seeker, greatest adventurer to have ever walked upon the slopes of this world."


    "Nobody leaves the Vukanovi," said Li as he raised himself to the ceiling. "I will handle this. No, I am the only one capable of handling this."

 Chapter 288 - Torchbearer

    As Li emerged out of the Vukanovi, the first thing that immediately struck his notice was not Lira nor the Fthagguan corpse. No, it was the atmosphere around him. Tia was right. The air here was cold.


    Not temperature wise, but in a way fundamentally deeper, beyond the physical, perhaps spiritual, perhaps even beyond that. There was a sense of coldness that leeched past the confines of his human meat puppet and into the heart of his being.


    It was one that was deeply familiar, chilling in a calming, soothing,forting way. A pinprick numbing sensation he had not felt in quite a while.


    Eldritch power.


    Lira''s voice cut through the air. "State your purpose."


    There was a slight hint of authority in her voice, but it was not an unfriendly one.


    Li hopped down from the Vukanovi, his feetnding upon the hard, cracked earth below. He was wary of Lira, for as he tried to scan her status, he realized he could not. She had anti-warding and magic resistance sufficiently strong enough to negate his status check spell which, though simple, was still B ranked, making it quite far above anything regrly known in this world.


    "I am only here to pass by," said Li. He could not afford arge-scale conflict here, not with the Vukanovi behind him. "Heading to the Hintends."


    "The Hintends? I suppose that is fine. But I will have to take a closer look at you," said Lira. "It has been over a century since any have ever traversed this broken path, so you must understand my wariness."


    Lira leaped up from the Fthagguan corpse. She soared high in the air, travelling forwards in a graceful arc andnding a few meters away from Li. When she stood up, she was slightly taller than even Li.


    As their eyes met, he noticed her face. Conventionally pretty, as it were, yet arge burn twisted her right cheek and a long, jagged scar ran down from her forehead, past her eye, and down pat her mouth, warping the once shapely lips to an odd angle.


    Most strikingly though, were her eyes that shone bright with the all the colors of the rainbow glimmering together in a gemstone like shine. Li did not recognize where those eyes came from or what kind of power they belonged to.


    Nothing about Lira felt off in the sense that all her power seemed to belong to this world, so her eyes must have been blessed with a magic developed solely on this world.


    A few seconds after Lira''s gaze settled on Li''s eyes, her brow raised in surprise, then recognition, then that feeling traveled through her whole body in a current of action that had her switch up into a battle stance, feet square and spear-torch held with the sharp spear side thrust towards Li''s throat.


    "No¡­," whispered Lira through her teeth. "You are one of them." She clenched her jaw not in anger, but in nervous worry. "Then I have failed," she said to herself.


    "One of what?" Li looked down at the spear point, knowing conflict was near. He mentally bid the Vukanovi to scramble back as fast as it could to make some distance.


    "One of <strong><em>them</em></strong>," said Lira with venom in her voice as her eyes flitted back, motioning to the Fthagguan corpse near the spatial flux. "And seeing you, the sheer amount of power flowing through you, I know you are more than a mere messenger or emissary. You are the real deal. An Old One."


    "So what?" said Li, hiding his surprise. Precious few could ever sense that side of him for it was buried beneath both his human vessel and his more forward forest and life attuned side. To date, it had only been Zagan that had known quickly, and that was because he had exposure to eldritch forces.


    "So," said Lira resolutely. "You die."


    "I assure you." Li shook his head slowly, each side-to-side motion a charged threat. "You do not want this fight."


    "No. I do not want to fight. But I must." Lira saw through Li, behind him, but kept her spear point still inches away from Li''s throat. "I will wait. Until that familiar and the mortal lives residing within are gone."


    "Then so be it," said Li. "Know that in the end, I gave you a chance to stand down."


    Lira did not speak anymore, honing her attention on Li as she kept the tense standoff between them, her spear near his neck and him standing tall, almost casually, his hands straightened, ready to cast magic or act at a moment''s notice.


    The standoffsted half a minute, enough time for the Vukanovi to have covered significant distance, and at that moment, Li sensed a shift in the atmosphere and moved his hand to grab the spear. He did grab the spear, but not before it had sunk deep enough into his throat to have been a lethal wound for any normal human.


    Li blinked in surprise as he immediately began to use more of his physical stats, breaking past the limiters he set on himself when fighting lower leveled mortals. He gripped the spear tight in his fist so that Lira could not withdraw it.


    From the speed at which Lira had thrust her spear, a speed unaffected by any skills or spells, he could estimate that her agility actually outstripped his at the base level when he did not draw on the stats given to him by the Elden Seed.


    That meant that at the bare minimum, Lira had more agility than a level 100 mage. Not that mages were at all the type to devote points into agility - and in fact, it was Li''s weakest stat that he barely invested into, but it did mean that at the least, Lira was a humanoid fighter far beyond any that Li had encountered so far.


    He estimated her to be around level 70 if she was purely a physical fighter, though, considering her weapon of choice, she was likely higher.


    "Parading around in a puppet made of flesh, pretending to be mortal. What were you doing?" said Lira as she looked at the spear point buried in Li''s throat, at how he stared back at her with ease even with metal sticking in his jugr. "Turning the masses into your mindless ves? Toying with the heart of innocents?"


    Li drew the spear out of his throat, and before even blood could spurt out of the hole, it filled up with green energy, regenerating in an instant. "You seem to be mistaken about my nature."


    "Conniving. Cruel. Chaotic. Need I list more inherent to your ilk?" Lira tugged once at the spear, but realized quickly she would not win in a contest of strength against Li.


    Li noted that.


    As someone who was ssified more urately as a battle mage, he had far more investment in the strength stat than conventional mages that spread their stats across magic and agility for higher damage and uracy. Higher level shapeshifting in lore required high strength because only strong bodies could shift to strong beings, and Li was quite adept in the field. If he had to estimate, his raw strength - his health and physical power - was around that of a level 100 warrior when fully using NG+ stats too.


    This meant that Lira herself was not a full warrior who invested entirely into strength and agility.


    No, she very likely was either a battle mage herself or subssed as one. Not to mention her choice of weapon was not a simple warrior''s weapon, but primarily a catalyst for magic.


    Lira''s figure glowed in a burst of magical energy, and the me at her torch began to flicker once more, ready to build up to an attack.


    Li knew what that weapon was, and he knew that it was a legitimate threat to him. He struck Lira in the side with an open palmed hit before the torch me could fully develop. A cracking boom of impact echoed through the air as she staggered backwards only a few meters away, but enough that the torch''s me dimmed down now that its owner was not touching it directly.


    Lira took in a breath but remained standing and rather unhurt.


    Quite respectable that Lira could take that hit so well. An ordinary human would have turned into bloody paste. A warrior of Leonid Drozdov''s capacity, top among the mortals, would have flown back dozens of meters.


    "Quite interesting to see the Prometheas being wielded here. And here I thought I would never see a Divine ss artifact ever again," said Li as he took the torch out of his neck. He was entirely prepared to throw it behind him, far, far away where Lira could not use it, but as he turned around, bringing the torch back to toss it like a javelin, Lira moved also.


    Lira disappeared in a shower of sparks, her form dematerializing. Li instantly recognized this as [Fire Jump], a B ranked spell that allowed for nigh instantaneous short-range teleportation.


    Li saw Lira appear from behind him, dropping from the sky and grabbing the torch by its neck. He already expected her to try and get her weapon back, and he was ready for it. During the short interval where he spoke, he had taken the time to cast [Heart of the Forest] on himself, heavily boosting his stats.


    With the burst of strength and speed, he did not throw the Prometheas as Lira would have expected, but instead mmed it down in the ground, crushing her under it.


    A crater shattered open below Lira as she hit the ground in a rumbling echo, but she smiled at Li. Her hands were still on the Prometheas, surprisingly.


    Li immediately stepped back to make distance as the torch me flickered again. He had miscalcted. He threw her down with enough strength, he thought, to severely injure but not kill her, wanting to question her and estimating her to be around level 80 at the high end with a strength stat lower than both her agility and magic, making her especially susceptible to direct hits.


    Lira stood up, pieces of shattered rock falling from her form, but she was essentially unharmed, the torch held at her side. The magical energy around her was surging at levels far beyond what they were before, manifesting in an aura of orange that began to melt the ground her, coloring the ckened earth back into liquid rock.


    "I expected nothing less of an Old One," said Lira. Her smile changed, her teeth bing sharper. Her eyes became even brighter and from the sides of her head, two ck horns striped in molten red emerged. Notably, though, one of them was broken in half, the breakpoint outlined in glowing orange energy.


    "I see. So you were holding back, dragon," said Li. "You should not have done that."


    "High dragon," corrected Lira as her rainbow eyes shone with an even further intensity. She wielded the spear side of the Prometheas back at Li again. "I may have failed my duty to guard this world, but if this me of mine may purge even one of you monsters, then I will be satisfied."

 Chapter 289 - Prometheas

    Li started off by discarding his human form. He had to do it. This fight was going to be serious, and though he was not willing to go entirely all out just yet, taking off his human form would let him at the least ess the full breadth of his stats without worry.


    Because Lira, as a High Dragon, would have boss tier stats on top of a special ability that could potentially be equivalent to an Ultima-ss spell.


    She also wielded a divine-ss item, making her far more a threat than any he had faced before on this world. Even more so perhaps than the Darkbeast Hand.


    Fitting, Li thought, for someone whose name was known for being the greatest adventurer.


    As his human visage crumbled away in a shower of disintegrating particles, Lira leered at him. "You cast away now your disguise. Your true nature shows through. In the dread of your true form, through the skull within whose sockets I see nothing but darkness.


    "You would do better to talk less and focus more," said Li as he pointed his branched finger down. He cast first [Torrentlily Triggerseed] and then boosted it immediately with [Wild Growth] and [Cluster Growth].


    The torrentlilies would nt in the ground and when an enemy stepped near them, would flower their azure lilies and shoot out geysers of pressurized, explosive water. Wild growth boosted their power, and cluster growth raised the amount of triggerseeds from one to three.


    Li did not take more than one single motion to cast all three spells, but Lira was perceptive enough to notice.


    "Mines? You think too little of me, monster." Lira aimed the Prometheas torch at Li. An orb of zing me billowed outrge enough to engulf an entire building before condensing, packing down into a marble sized mass. "This distance you have set between us will be your undoing."


    Li immediately recognized this spell, and he raised his arm in front of him. He had wanted to start off by shapeshifting, and indeed, the torrentlily was part of a strategy involving it, but he needed first to ward off this attack.


    A thin beam of crimson red light beamed out from Lira''s torch, acting like aser of immensely concentrated heat.


    This was an A-ranked spell called [Meltpoint Hellbeam] that dealt massive burning damage shearing off a percentage of max health per tick of damage.


    Perfect for melting through tanks, and it seemed that Lira could already tell that Li had a massive amount of strength and health.


    Li had an innate weakness to fire damage from being an Elder Leshen and taking his hit head on would make a decent dent in his health pool.


    He cast [Ashwood Barrier], a B-ranked spell that turned his arm into a rectangr shield of white wood that notably had no weakness to heat, though it still took normal damage.


    An A-ranked [Meltpoint Hellbeam] empowered by the Prometheas, a divine ss item that boosted all fire spells channeled through it, would easily overpower the [Ashwood Barrier], but Li was testing out a new power of his.


    Li remembered Iona, getting a clear image of her in his head, and then used her authority over forest fires, channeling it into his own being.


    He imbued the [Ashwood Barrier] with it, causing red lines to crease over it, and the [Meltpoint Hellbeam]ser struck with a high pitched, boring impact.


    It sounded like a high-powered screwdriver tearing away, and theser did manage to melt and gouge into the barrier, but not quickly enough.


    Li knew the hellbeam was a channeled spell, meaning Lira could do nothing else other than cast it. He took this moment of reprieve to cast [Shapeshift: Howling Ursine], his tankiest frontline form that could also pack a solid punch.


    The ashwood barrier broke apart, but the hellbeam did not strike Li''s wooden flesh, but rather thick, ck fur resistant to elemental damage. He stuck his massive paw out, easily dealing with the theparatively tiny beam now that he was nearly the size of an entire building.


    Li moved forwards, against the hellbeam, and Lira stopped channeling. He took the chance to start charging towards her on all fours, his sword-length ws digging out marks in the cracked earth and his fiery purple wings beating, propelling him forwards.


    Lira smiled as she mmed down her torch, fire sputtering from her mouth as she shouted, "A frontal fight, is it? Thene!"


    Li roared as he stood over Lira, his two massive, bulky ursine arms over her, ready to m down on her and tten her into nothingness.


    Lira disappeared in a bright sh, zipping around him at extreme speeds like a bright orangeet, appearing once by his leg, once by his arm, once by his neck, and so on until she touched every major part of his body all within the timespan of an instant.


    Lira materialized behind Li, and a hundred searing cuts emerged around him. This was [Sleight of me], a B+ ranked spell normally reserved for fire elementals that let them perform several nigh instantaneous fire enchanted attacks.


    Li knew the spell, so he knew precisely where in rtion to him that Lira would materialize.. He was ready, ignoring his wounds and unleashing a heavy swipe at her. Lira had to take the perfectly timed hit as she could not dodge it, managing to block some of the impact with the Prometheas as a buffer.


    However, the swipe still sent her barreling straight into the air, rapidly bing a fading dot in the distance, perhaps capable of sending her above the clouds, until she righted herself.


    Four little jetstreams of fire zed from her back through vents in the back of her armor, acting like aircraft thrusters.


    Li noted with some interest at how her armor changed its form to amodate the fire like a jetpack, looking like a quaint yet oddly fitting fusion of futuristic body armor and medieval armor.


    A few cracks lined her armor, but the damage was not too severe.


    Li himself did not take much damage either. The Howling Ursine form saw to that with its massive resistances and immense health pool. But Lira had ess to fire abilities that she should not have as a non-elemental.


    That meant she was an Ascendant, someone who had ssed in an element rted subss, probably a pyromancer in her case, and reached the height of the field, binding a high-ranking elemental within their own being.


    Strange, though, thought Li as he pressed the attack, wanting her to reveal more of her abilities. Ascendants started off at level 90, as did high dragons.


    Yet, Lira did not seem to be as physically gifted as her level and racial trait should have indicated.


    He buffed up his speed and strength as much as he could with Heart of the Forest, one of very few buffs he could carry over with him through his transformations and swiped down at Lira again.


    Lira narrowly dodged with another jump as his swipe crashed into the earth, creating a massive semi-circr crater that could have easily fit a squadron of men in it.


    In the air, she pointed the Prometheas down to Li, materializing what must have been a hundred ming spears above her.


    They cascaded downwards, all of them mming down on Li in a rain of piercing, solidified me. He did not care, though, and he leaped up, letting all the spears pierce into his body.


    He opened his jaws and snapped at Lira, and this time, she did not dodge, instead deftly positioning the Prometheas so that it prevented his jaws from closing around her.


    "Guiding me, O let your order be known," chanted Lira, fully activating the Prometheas. The torchlight atop the Prometheas flickered.


    Li braced for damage.


    The seemingly normal fire burning on the Prometheas shrank for an instant. Then it expanded into an explosionrge enough to engulf the entire clearing twofold.


    The fire was so bright that it looked entirely white, and the explosion must have been visible even above theyer of fog, no, far above it.


    Li fell from the sky andnded on his four paws. He felt his weight sink into the ground for a second. He could only see darkness before his eyes regenerated, but as they did, he could see that much of the earth had turned liquid molten in a yawning crater.


    The blow had melted off most of his face and upper body, leaving a clean white skeleton patched with dangling, charred flesh.


    Liranded a distance away from Li, ring at the fact that he was still alive. The me atop the Prometheas was gone now and would take time to recharge.


    Such was the weakness of the Prometheas.


    It empowered the wielder''s fire-based spells and stored a portion of their power in the form of a massive A+ ranked explosion called the [Guided Purge], but loosing the explosion would leave the torch inactive, its passive empowering ability gone until enough fire spells were cast again to re-ignite it.


    And Li''s own passive ability was kicking in. [Undying Heart of the Howling Ursine] activated when he was below half health, hugely elerating his natural health regeneration. Another reason why the Howling Ursine was so sturdy.


    "None before have survived this blow," said Lira. "Especially not one of your kind."


    "And I am telling you again that I am not like my kind," growled Li, his voice deep and bestial. "But now I see through you. This fight was interesting, but it is over now."

 Chapter 290 - Dispel

    Li realized immediately the damage he did to Lira had stuck with her. The cracks in her armor from his prior few blows remained there, and though it was minor damage, it did give him clues as to how to approach this fight.


    "Not like your kind?" scoffed Lira. "No, your kind are true to their nature. They seek chaos and ruin. The end of all things. Abominations that have no concept of goodness or love or all that makes this world and all those like it so blessed."


    She poised the spear end of the Prometheas torch towards Li, and even though the torch me was now out, she did not falter, believing fully in her abilities. "And it is my responsibility that every single one of your ilk should fall, regardless of whether the Guiding me can judge you."


    "The Guiding me of the Prometheas does massive bonus damage to eldritch entities, yes," said Li.


    He stood up tall, his towering figure looming over Lira, his shadow faint from the fog and yet stillrge enough to easily dwarf her. "But you are foolish to have unleashed it when I am utilizing my shapeshifting. Especially shapeshifting at a level so high that only forest spirits such as myself are able to cast it."


    "Forest spirit?" Lira took a moment to assess Li, trying to gauge his words, but she continued with the same ferocity in her voice. "No, that cannot be. The spirits and guardians of the forest value life and warmth. You are not that. I sensed it the moment you locked eyes with me. You may wear the guise of a spirit, but you cannot hide your true nature here where the dimensional barriers draw thin."


    "I am both spirit of the forest and old one. I can be both chaos and order, and it is order that I have chosen to uphold," said Li.


    "Perhaps once, many years ago, I may have believed your words. But I have learned through far too many mistakes on far too many worlds to never trust the words that sputter from your aberrant mouths." Lira lowered her stance just a little, preparing a charge.


    Li only stared at her with his fire lit eyes, ready to take her attacks and swat her down if he got the chance, but that was secondarypared to observing what she did.


    The molten earth around Lira blew away like water in a pond ploughing up from heavy impact. Her magical aura surged to insanely high levels, and since it was heavily tied with fire, it superheated the earth around her even more until just a secondter, she had created an even deeper crater of liquid and burning rock around her.


    Her aura formed into red arcane sigils that revolved rapidly around her, granting her a massive boost to all her stats. This was [Arcane Overdrive], an A ranked spell for a subss of warrior called the Mystic Knight that focused on magic boostedbat.


    It was one of the strongest spells in the mystic knight arsenal, heavily boosting all stats in exchange for rapidly depleting mana. As par for course, multiple other buffs surged around her as well, underlining the raging red aura around her with hints of blue and green, but all buffs rted to the Mystic Knight ss.


    Another clue towards confirming Li''s suspicions. He retreated, jumping off thevayered ground with his paws. Before he could evennd, Lira was upon him, a reddened blur that zipped past him at hyperspeed, shes of ckshing out as she struck him countless times.


    All around him, she darted, nigh unperceivable to Li in his Howling Ursine form due to itsck of agility, but even then, even if he was at his original form drawing on the stats from the Elden Seed fully, he knew that it would have been hard to keep up.


    Lira was far, far, far beyond any spearman or warrior he had ever seen in this world. It was not even close. If Leonid was considered the highest end of mortal might, and Li had to describe the gap between Leonid and Lira, he would say that there was an entire''s worth of difference between them, maybe more.


    She moved around Li in a circle so fast that she melted the earth underneath her even further, and the amount of blows she unleashed went from ten to a hundred to a thousand to countless in a nigh instant, and soon enough, the intensity and pace of her movement and attacks was such that fiery wind started to whip around Li in a raging tornado.


    And from that tornado came her blows, blows trained by centuries of training and dotted with high level Lancer skills that Li could barely perceive and recognize.


    [Godspeed sh]. A ranked. A slicing blow thrown with such precision that it reached the realm of the divine, slicing even through space and dealing massive true damage.


    [Severing of the Wisdom God]. A ranked. A three-fold series of powerful shes said to have been used to sever the head of the wisdom god Ganesh.


    [Raging Rivers, Crashing Mountains]. A ranked. An eastern themed attack with the spear or sword that involved a hundred strikes thrown so quickly they merged into one single, obscenely powerful strike.


    All these hits among countless others battered Li, and he could hear the ground shatter under him, sloshing upva. Shockwaves from attacks travelled past his body and split apart the earth in all directions behind him, creating massive fissures.


    The entirendscape was rumbling and shattering and tearing apart ¨C a true battle between high leveled entities.


    And throughout all this, Li kept himself moving back, throwing out the asional defensive swipe, but he could not hit Lira as she was now, buffed up to the max. Now, he thought, she seemed about as physically powerful as she should have been.


    He sustained damage even through the massive regeneration of his powerful passive, and soon, he dipped right below what he knew to be fifty percent health. This was enough damage to use. He used his paws and massive front legs to cover his head, weathering another hundred blows in a half second, but a half second enough to regenerate his throat and head.


    Taking in a breath, he used the Howling Ursine''s special ability [Thousand Echo Howl], the same ability that hadpletely eviscerated the eastern golem Lady Zhen. He cast his howl downwards, aiming for an omni-directional st.


    The howl left his lungs like a high ordinance bomb, immediately blowing away the entireyer of moltenva atop the earth before shattering it even further in an even deeper crater. The concussive shockwave of his voiceced with the echoing sobs and wails andments of countless souls traveled outwards, crashing with the raging red tornado Lira created with her movements.


    In an instant, the tornado died down as Lira stopped, having to raise her arm and cast [Magic Greatshield], hiding behind the crimson red shield construct as the howl mmed into her. Countless cracks wreathed the greatshield within a few seconds of impact, and soon, it shattered, blowing her back far into the distance.


    Again, though, Lira steadied herself in the air, her thrusters shooting out me to keep her from flying too far out from the fight. Though she was a dot in the distance, Li could see through his rapidly regenerated eyes clearly that there were cracks lining her entire body.


    Damage.


    And confirmation.


    She was not the real Lira. She was a construct. An absurdly powerful one, yes, but Li knew that Mystic Knights had ess to the immensely powerful spell called [Perfect Arcana: The Warrior] that allowed them to create a direct copy of themselves that stood at level eighty but retained all the equipment, skills, and spells of their level 100 self.


    It seemed that in this world, it even copied skills and memories, meaning in Lira''s case with all her martial prowess, the spell was significantly deadlier.


    The only downside was that the construct could not heal by any means and had all the weaknesses inherent to magical constructs. Which included dispelment.


    With enough distance made, Li got out of his Howling Ursine form and into his true form. A dangerous thing, because even without Lira''s ess to the Guiding me, he still lost his regeneration on top of staying at half health. But he had already won this fight.


    Each of the steps back he had taken in his Howling Ursine form were meant to get him closer and closer to where he had initially nted his cluster of torrentlilies.


    He was now close enough to make one quick leap back to the area, and he could see through his empty sockets that Lira was speeding towards him, the thrusters in her armor exploding with fire as she pressed forwards, spearpoint aimed at him.


    She was rapidly closing the distance with her boosted stats, and perhaps, if Li had been less careful and observant, she might have been able to catch him.


    But that was not Li. He knelt down and put a hand over his arm. He had no regr ess to dispelment, but he did have the [Thousand Eye Band], a celestial item part of his core arsenal that had the old one Sho-Gath imprisoned within it.


    Like he had done with his fight with Chi-You, he took intentional damage to draw up enough of a blood offering to Sho-Gath in order to ess the Old One''s arsenal of spells, one of which was an immensely powerful dispel.


    Bloody red particles flowed from Li into the band speckled with countless red, bulbous and alien eyes, and the band shuddered, taking in the offering.


    Lira was upon Li now, but the waterlilies triggered as she neared. The earth rumbled, and then from deep under the ground, enormous geysers of water erupted, mming into Lira and sending her hurtling into the sky.


    But strangely, as Li willed the band to cast the dispelment called [Smog of the Imprisoned Horror], the spell did not manifest. Instead, the countless red eyes aimed towards Li, training their gaze on him, and then, darkness swallowed his vision.

 Chapter 291 - Uncertainties Of The Universe

    Li found himself a disembodied piece of consciousness adrift amid a sea of pure, infinite darkness. He was almost used to this sensation now, and he found he could move his consciousness, traveling through the dark without feeling a particrly terrible sense of disorientation.


    Though he had no physical body to speak of, he was no longer as conditioned to think himself limited to physical flesh and blood as he had been when he first came into this world.


    He knew he was something more now, and he could sense that there was another that was much more within this expanse of darkness.


    His mind homed in on the being''s presence, and as soon as he did so, it manifested, as if called to him.


    A vast red eye manifested from a crimson flicker. It stood out greatly amid the darkness, an orb of red centered with an ever wobbling and fluxing ck pupil. The size of the eye escaped all humanprehension, and not because of a sense of sheer enormity.


    Rather, it was simply iprehensible. There was no set size to it. It was small andrge and wide and narrow all at once at impossible scales, and Li knew that no primitive human eye could have ever truly managed to grasp the essence of its shape, for the entity was beyond the normal three dimensional boundaries that created mortal ideations of shape and existence.


    "Ah, there you are. Warden of my prison," said the eye as its pupil focused on Li. "Amusing. A twist of this universe''s many fluctuating uncertainties that an aspect of the Gate itself watches over me."


    The voice was surprisingly calm. Gentle, even, and yet, not at all sympathetic. Its tone might have been friendly, but there was something about the way the voice rang, at how there was some kind of empty, robotic drone to it that made it clear that this voice did not belong to an entity that grasped any true notion of human warmth.


    "You are Sho-Gath, I presume?" said Li. "I always did think about what it meant for my items to be real. About all the entities trapped or bound to my celestial gear or spells."


    Sho-Gath chuckled, peals of hisughter echoing through the dark, and in a rare situation, Li felt unsettled. Thatugh had so much¡­contradiction to it. It was a sound meant to convey something positive, and yet, it felt so empty, so cold, so wrong.


    "Oh, I am not bound to your gear specifically. My prison, this box that has contained me, has taken many forms. Across many worlds. Across eons. You are but thetest to hold my box, though I must say you are the most amusing. And the first that is of my own kind.


    Far, far more amusing than any mortals that held my chains. Mortals that could never even begin to grasp how infinitely small they werepared to the breadth of malevolence they drew from."


    Li knew the lore about the [Thousand Eye Band] item that kept Sho-Gath imprisoned. It was said to be forged from the primordial void using space and time as ores, and though that had sounded just like vor text before, he could grasp that it had meaning now.


    "Why do you reach out to me now?" said Li. He and Sho-Gath might have been of the same kind, but Li could tell at a fundamental, conceptual level that they were diametrically opposed.


    Li had chosen to uphold Order. Life and creation.


    Sho-Gath was malevolence manifested. Meant to envelop and choke out all that was warm and living and structured. Chaos.


    "Partially, because it is just now that you are beginning to attune to your true nature," said Sho-Gath. "But mainly because you stood where your world''s aura was thin."


    "World''s aura?"


    "You are young, I forget. Then I will exin for I must thank you for your blood offerings and most entertaining journey," said Sho-Gath. "Worlds that hold life within them envelop themselves in an aura signifying Order. It is difficult for beings of Chaos such as myself to manifest fully within these worlds as a result.


    Thus, you see some of my brethren, the more patient kind, meddling about with mortal cultists and zealots and the like. Not my pace, you see. I prefer to unleash myself fully, to envelop a in the choking smog of the hate that forms me.


    I may not be able to enter a with its aura intact, but surrounding it fully, showing its denizens flickers of my form, visions in the smoke thaty bare all that is desperate and deste, makes them understand the true meaning of malevolence.


    How pithy their hate is. How tiny and insignificant it ispared to the sheer breadth and coldness of the uncaring void that is the universe. They realize then the universe around them is not one benevolent, but malevolent, indifferent to, no, desiring of their suffering, their inevitable death and decay."


    Sho-Gathughed again before continuing. "Ah, but now I am confined to this box. And you, my young friend, can glimpse me now for you stepped upon a piece of your world where its aura has faded."


    "I see," said Li. That exined the spatial tear that Lira seemed to be guarding and the presence of a Fthagguan in front of it. Why the fog felt so familiar in its coldness ¨C it was because it was eldritch in nature to begin with.


    "Then you must have called me here for a reason," said Li.


    "We are the highest beings of this universe," said Sho-Gath. "And it is only among ourselves that we may fight and die or be imprisoned or freed."


    "You want me to free you," realized Li.


    "You are an aspect of the Gate. Higher ranking than I am should you mature. And, as I see it-," Sho-Gath''s pupil narrowed, the ever-shifting blob of darkness thinning into a pinpoint. "An aspect of Order as well.


    Crawling chaos it was that created this box, and it is Order that will undo it. You, my longtime friend, are uniquely suited to assisting me in my predicament."


    "I cannot free you now," said Li honestly.


    "And I do not expect it," said Sho-Gath. "When you mature, if we are still together, and I should hope we are, I only ask that you strike thetches off this box that constrain me so.


    What is it that I will do for you, you wonder? How will it be that I, a being of sheer Chaos, may aid you, a being of Order? Is that what you are thinking?"


    "Yes," admitted Li.


    Sho-Gathughed again. He never seemed tough at anyone, only to himself, but that made theugh even more unsettling. "I am invested in your journey; I will admit it. Among the many keepers of this box, you are the only one whose blood offerings I have taken with eagerness, granting shards of my power with willingness.


    I will continue to aid you, provided you continue to grant me your blood offerings, of course. And when it is time, when you are matured and I am free, I will not spread my form towards this world that you protect. Nor shall I ever raise my malevolence towards you or whatever other worlds you decide to champion."


    "And will I not be able to achieve the same result by keeping you imprisoned?" said Li.


    "Of course. But trust me, Gatekeeper, you will not regret shattering this box that binds me. I know it. And I do not twist my words with deception as some of my brethren do."


    "How? What do you know?"


    "I do not know for sure. But I can sense it." Sho-Gath''s eye glowed bright for an instant before dimming. "Through time and space our forms may travel, but time and space molded by others of our kind be difficult to unweave and tamper with. I cannot see all that lies in the future for you, but I know you will not regret granting me my freedom."


    "It may be some time before you find your freedom," said Li. "I will have to live many mortal lifetimes before I begin to fully embrace and mature into this side of mine."


    "Oh, you are starting to use words like ''mortal''. You are already maturing, but yes, it may take centuries. A millennium, perhaps. Perhaps more. Uncertainties of the universe, no? But I am willing to wait. The spans of time you bring up to me are naught but specks in a desert vaster than any that you have borne witness to."


    Sho-Gath chuckled to himself. "I sense that you find my proposition agreeable. It is done, then. I will remain in this band an ever eager witness to your journey until you embrace yourself, all of yourself, fully. "


    Sho-Gath''s form started to waver, growing opaque in the darkness like a mirage. This meeting was ending. "And perhaps that time maye much sooner than you think."


    "What do you mean?" asked Li.


    "I cannot know for sure. Uncertainties of the universe, no?"

 Chapter 292 - Soulgazing

    Li blinked as he found himself back in the world. He was kneeling down, his wooden fingers curled over the [Thousand Eye Band] at his arm. The exact same position he was before he had entered into Sho-Gath''s dimensional prison.


    Except that the Old One had done as Li had initially bid, loosing his anti-magic smog all around the area. The smoke was darker than the night and shes of red shaped in brief visages of eyes dotted its body.


    "You win this time, destroyer," said Lira. Li saw her on one knee a few meters away, her glowing red body standing out amidst the thick, living smoke. Her massive magical aura waspletely gone now, eaten away by the darkness around her. The smoke seemed to curl into her being, little gaseous wisps from every direction flowing into her and slowly breaking her magically constructed body apart.


    Lira leaned her weight shakily against the Prometheas as she nted it on the ground. "But heed my words. With my demise, my true self will return, and whatever death and destruction you wreak now I will undo. I swear it upon all the lives that depend upon me."


    Li shook his head. "Perhaps now you will be more inclined to listen." He saw how weak she was. The smoke had eaten away immensely at her health, and right now, she was holding on by a sliver, her magical form moments away from dissolvingpletely.


    He dispelled the [Thousand Echo Band], and it faded away, the faintest ofughs echoing as it disappeared. With it, the smoke went, clearing the darkness from the area to reveal the still molten, smoking, and crateredndscape that Li and Lira''s battle had created.


    Lira nced at Li before she grunted, willing herself to stand up even at the tiniest sliver of health she had left. Her magical body waspletely lined with cracks now, and she looked transparent, an opaque image of the area around her visible through her.


    "You intend to y with me? Torture me?" Lira smiled, fangs bared fully as she took the Prometheas in hand and wielded it once more. "You''ll not find me easy prey."


    "No, you have not been," said Li. He sighed. "And I never intended to hunt you down. You simply do not listen. Maybe now that your construct is about to fade, you will be more open to talking."


    "Talk? What is talk but another means for your kind to manipte and scheme?" Lira shook her head. "Destroy me. Call to the rest of your kind through the tear. But know that I will return, and that I will halt your advance in this world."


    Li wondered whether it was a hallmark of an old and great adventurer to be as stubborn as a rock. First Old Thane, and now Lira. He tried to think of a way to get her to stand down for after talking with Sho-Gath, he knew that Lira had information he was quite curious about.


    Such as the nature of the dimensional anomaly she was guarding. The fact that she seemed to have traveled to multiple worlds and fought beings like Li throughout them. But just as he started to have trouble thinking about how to approach the topic, he could feel a familiar presence nearing him.


    Tia burst through the fog, her wings beating wildly behind her as she propelled to Li at speeds that sent waves of wind spiraling behind her. She mmed into Li with concussive impact that probably would have killed a good majority of creatures in this world, but Li caught her in a hug.


    "Papa!" said Tia with relief, shivering a little. She looked up to Li with her ck and green eyes and smiled. "You alive!"


    "Alive? Tia, you know by now to have more trust in me," said Li teasingly.


    "True," said Tia. "I mean, you okay too."


    "Of course," said Li. "I am sorry I have been gone so long."


    "No, no," said Tia. "I just worried because big pumpkin run away. Then I sense and hear big explosion. Everyone else scared, but I worry for papa. Broke through pumpkin to see you."


    "Tia, I appreciate the concern, I do," said Li as he patted Tia''s head. "But breaking the Vukanovi puts the others in danger. They may not handle the fog as well as I do. Or you do, apparently."


    "Snakedy cover hole with sand," said Tia. "She told me to go if I worry, so I did."


    "Ah, well then, I suppose that is fine," said Li. It would appear that in Li''s absence, As took the role closest to being second inmand, though likely, she made decisions with Old Thane.


    "Papa?" said Lira. She narrowed her eyes at Li not in enmity this time, but more in curiosity. She looked to Tia. "Little dragon, you say that he, that abomination, is your father?"


    Tia broke off from hugging Li and swaggered up to Lira with fangs bared and chest puffed out. "Papa is not a¡­a¡­whatever that is! Not mean word." Tia''s expression changed into wonder as she quickly settled her gaze on Lira''s one remaining horn. "You are dragon? Like me?"


    "Like you," nodded Lira as she knelt down to Tia''s height. Her rainbow eyes looked over Tia, and then stared off to Li. "What are you ying at with her?"


    "I am not ying at anything," said Li, a little bit annoyed now. Then he got an idea.


    He came up to Tia''s side and shifted back to his human form before taking her hand. "Tia, it looks like papa and this dragon have gotten off to a bad start. We do not understand each other. Can papa ask you to see into her soul with him so that she can see ours?


    If words will not work, then I know that will."


    Tia nodded and looked to Lira for permission. "Is that okay?"


    Lira nodded to Tia. "I suppose I do not have much of a choice as I am now. Go on, then, little one."


    Tia came close to Lira, and her eyes, one pitch ck and one glowing green with life, met Lira''s eyes of radiant multi-colored iridescence. As the eyes met, the molten and batteredndscape around them faded away, into darkness.


    And it was then that Li glimpsed into the soul of Liravalennan, daughter of Val - the highest and oldest among all dragons.

 Chapter 293 - Liravalennan, The Shining Star Of Val I

    A new scene materialized out of the dark as Lira''s memories filled in the void.


    A cavern. Hard to tell whether it was manmade or not. Theyout of the space was circr and the rock thatprised the floor, walls, and ceiling were spotlessly smooth. Twelve concentric rings were carved in this space, and at the very centermost ring, there floated an orb, twin strands of iridescent energy flowing from either end of it andtching onto the floor and cavern roof.


    The orb must have been around the size of a small house ¨C a testament to how vast the cavern was considering the orb inhabited the smallest ring within it. Brilliant rainbow light shone from the orb in countless scintiting rays, providing a bright enough light source topletely light up the cavern.


    In front of the orb sat a young girl, her legs crossed as she twirled her volcanic red hair in her fingers. She had on a in ck gown, and for a second, Li was reminded strongly of Tia. But he knew it was not her. No, this was Lira, and as that realization set in, the soul gaze became stronger, the dive deeper, and the memories began to flow entirely from Lira''s eyes.


    "I''m bored," said Liravalennan. She always was nowadays.


    Every single day, it was the same thing. Eat and train and eat and train and eat and train. She liked the eating part more than the training part, especially because her bigger sisters and brothers always made sure to bring her the best food they could find, but by now, she found that boring too.


    And she had a suspicion that her big sisters and brothers did not like her. Father always made them bring her the best food they found, and they always seemed to give it out begrudgingly. Especially big sister Valerykynthimos.


    Well, atleast they got to explore the world. Meanwhile, she was just stuck here. Training with father to get stronger and stronger until she could control the gifts he said made her special.


    Training was fun, too, at first. She liked to fight the monsters and creatures that father conjured up, and in the past year, she even started to spar with her bigger sisters and brothers. But now, after ten years of eating and training, she was bored.


    Bored out of her mind. She never left this ce, and big brother Thessval often told her stories about the world. He told her how big the oceans and seas were and how they connected everything together. That there were countless different people and creatures and beings all wonderful and interesting in their own right.


    Well, he told her until father found out and he got punished. Now she did not see him anymore.


    "I''m bored," repeated Liravalennan, louder.


    Father spoke to her, his voice projecting from the orb. "Dear shining star of mine, what do you wish for?"


    "I want to leave," said Liravalennan tly. "I want to get out of here and explore. I know there is a lot more to see than what is in here. I know you may believe me too weak, but I am strong. I can spar with big sister Valerykynthimos now, and she is the strongest out of them all."


    "You cannot leave. Not until you are capable of controlling the Omniscale," said father. "You know this already. Speak no more of this topic."


    Liravalennan crossed her arms and stared down at the ground, pouting.


    "Here, you desire exploration? Then tell me what you wish to see," said father. His magical energy crackled, and the cavern changed its environment instantly.


    First, there grew a miniature forest. Then, when it did not grab Liravalennan''s interest, a sandy desert. Then rolling seas.


    Liravalennan shook her head, her two ck horns flickering with fiery red light. "I do not want this. I have seen all of this a thousand times before. I want the real thing. The real world."


    "Believe me, my shining star, you will see the world when you are ready. When it is time, you will be the greatest dragon that has and will draw breath. You will be my champion. Defender against the darkness toe. And naturally, ruler of all that is upon this world."


    "Okay, but why can I not do that now?" Liravalennan said, her fangs baring as she grew agitated. "I am ready, I know it."


    "Not until the Omniscale is fully within your control," said father. "And until then, it is far too great a risk for you to leave my protection, for the Omniscale is treasure beyond any in this world. It is the greatest hope of our kind, the reason why I call you my shining star. Within it lies the strengths that every single dragon before you have evolved."


    Lira looked down at her sternum where a singlerge rainbow-colored scaley embedded. Even now, it was hard to control, it was true. The amount of power in it was staggering, and she could not draw on it long until she lost consciousness.


    But she did not need it to be strong. She was already strong with her natural fire and strength and speed. Strong enough for the world, she was sure.


    "Dear shining star, you wille to understand," said father as he sensed Lira''s discontent. "I have bred you from my own being. All other high dragons drink from my blood to reach their ascendant status, but you are blood of my own blood, flesh of my own flesh.


    And your existence is far greater than simply yourself. You have a destiny to uphold. There will be great darkness toe, and you are the only star capable of standing against it.


    For seven centuries, I have seen this world bicker among themselves, all its lesser, foolish creatures snapping their dull and primitive jaws at each other, knowing not that the darkest night toe will draw near.


    For seven centuries, I have ensured that all dragons, all that are tied even to the thinnest to mine original Elder blood, desire from birth to be strong and ascend my body to reach my head. The head that you, my shining star, were born in to begin with.


    Countless dragons have spent centuries attempting to scale my body so rife with danger, and in all that time, only twelve dragons have managed to be high dragons, ascending to this head of mine. These, your elder sisters and brothers, are still nothing to you.


    Mere experiments of evolution. They are the twelve strongest bloodlines forged from centuries of conflict I have engineered all so that I may have the most powerful of bloodlines to gather into a perfect vessel ¨C you, my dear shining star.


    You are the strongest of us all. The best of us all. And you will lead us against the darkness even as the primitive world around my great body burns."


    "Whatever, father. I''m going to sleep," said Lira with a sigh. She had heard that lecture perhaps a million times by now. Every single time she wanted to leave or do something other than eating and training. So much drivel about destiny and fate and how much of it rested on her shoulders and h h h.


    Why did she not ever get to choose her own destiny? Why did she have to bear the burden of her people? Why could she not live for herself?


    =====Another scene.


    Liravalennan clutched at her chest, her breath drawing in hoarse, choking whistles as she tried to repair the gaping hole where most of her lungs and organs should have been. She staggered through the forest.


    She did not know which forest, just that it was a forest. But at the least, it was not the same magically generated forest she had seen far too many times with her father.


    Was she going to die? The Omniscale at her chest glowed, but she could not draw power from it.


    Maybe father was right. Maybe she should have stayed until she could handle the Omniscale better, that way, she could at least get herself to heal.


    Was she not ready for the outside world? No, it was not that. If it had not been for her elder brothers and sisters attacking her when she tried to escape, she would have been fine.


    She bit her lip and held back a tear.


    They had attacked her because father told them to. He wanted them to kill her but to take care so as to take the Omniscale back intact. He never cared about her to begin with, only thatplicated and far off dream he always talked about.


    She was the vessel for that dream. Just that - a vessel. Nothing more. Receable.


    She winced as she smelled the smoky char of her own burned flesh. She learned painfully today that big sister Valerikynthimos had always been holding back. The full brunt of her lightning was not something Liravalennan could handle.


    Then, she could no longer hold her tears back. Thessval hade back for her, fighting off everyone else. He sent her off into the waters he controlled and bid them to carry her far away, hidden and out of sight.


    And now, after days of barely keeping alive with a hole in her chest, the waters had washed her up to this forest. She could finally live her dreamed desire of roaming the world.


    Maybe she would not live much longer to enjoy her freedom, but at the least, she was free. Free from the destiny her father had put on her. She crumpled down to both her knees, her vision blurring.


    She knew Thessval, the only high dragon that ever truly cared about her, was dead, and soon, so would she be. At least she would get to thank him when she saw him.

 Chapter 294 - Liravalennan, The Shining Star Of Val II

    Liravalennan saw through shaky vision the blurry forms of two giant beasts. ck furred, sauntering forwards on all fours with two tawny heads and sharp teeth that sputtered fire.


    Some kind of hound, it seemed from how they looked, and though she had fought and killed countless kinds, even ones far, far bigger and more dangerous from having being adapted to Torr Valeris, she did not have the strength to fend against these weaklings.


    Whatever. She just hoped they would make things quick. Maybe eat and break apart the Omniscale so her father could never get it back again. She bowed down her head, trying to take in a final wheezing breath from the hole in her chest.


    She blinked as she saw a pir of coiled lightning bolts m into one of the two headed hounds, instantly frying it into a lump of charred flesh before it could even yelp.


    The other hound raised its hackles as it looked at its deadpanion, but before it could get into any semnce of a defensive stance, it was dead.


    A white blur shed past, mming into the hound and then crashing it into a tree. The blur settled into the image of a warrior armored in white lined with crimson patterns curled into roses.


    A red cape fluttered behind him as he nailed down the hound to the tree with a long, ck spear tipped with a blood-colored head that looked like it was made from spiked crystals.


    The hound coughed blood from both its heads, its heart crushed, before it grew still. The warrior withdrew his spear and flicked it to the ground, slinging off blood. The crimson spearhead glowed menacingly in the dark of night, filled with a cursed magic.


    Liravalennan had fought humanoids before, but very rarely. One time, the higher dragons had brought up a team of them for her to fight. She had beaten them handily, of course, and eaten them, but now, she felt a twinge of regret, knowing that the very same species saved her now.


    Strange sounds filled her ear. She had no idea what it was, just that it was sound with purpose to it. Constructed piece by piece in such a way that it had meaning, like it was anguageden with a message of soothing gentleness. Hearing it, she felt calm, and soon, warmth filled her chest.


    She looked down and saw with surprise that her wound had healed up, though she did not have the energy to use the mor spell that made up her gown, leaving much of her upper body bare.


    The warrior came up to her and tore off his cloak, wrapping it around Liravalennan.


    "Take this," said the warrior, and it was then that it became noticeable that the warrior was a woman. She took off her helm to show her smile as aforting gesture. Her eyes were a deep, bloody red, and yet, they did not exude anything but concern and care.


    "Are you hurt any?" said the woman further.


    "Hurt? I think not!" A man stepped forwards dressed in sky blue robes that flowed down to his ankles. In his robes was patterned the visage of a long, dark blue dragon, and seeing it, Liravalennan stifled more tears from flowing out. It looked very much like Thesseleval. "My flute has traveled far and wide, east and west and now south, and never before has it failed to heal hearts and bodies, or in this case, both."


    "Look at her," said the spear wielding woman as she rolled her eyes. "The moment you step into sight, she looks almost to cry. Quite amon effect you do seem to have upon girls."


    "Hm? I cannot help it," said the man as he took a strange contraption of bamboo and slung it over his shoulder. It looked like a staff, but it was far shorter, and there were holes in it. He swiveled back his head and smiled, letting his long, silky ck hair flip. "This jade white skin and sculpted jaw are all I need to draw women to me. Like moths to antern."


    "I do not understand you," said a humanoid that came up as well. Liravalennan recognized him as a merman with his glossy blue skin, but instead of having yellow eyes, his eyes gleamed a crackling, deep blue. His back was hunched in bad posture and his head a little down in what seemed like permanent penance. "Why chase after women? What is the point? Nothingsts."


    "Who are you?" asked Liravalennan.


    "I-," began the robed human, eager to speak first. He put a hand to his chest and bowed deep as he introduced himself. "Am Jung-su. Grand flutemaster of the Pearl Court. Well, former. Now a travelling bard. Oh, right-," He tapped a gold te on a ne at his chest. "And gold ranked adventurer."


    "Call me Irina," said the warrior as she helped Liravalennan up to stand.


    "Of house Drozdov!" said Jung-su. "How could you forget the noble blood that runs through you? By the heavenly court, imagine the surprise when here in the south, there are people that bow down to you at your very sight? You, the most vulgar and uncouthdy I have everid eyes upon."


    "Fuck nobility. And fuck you," said Irina with a smile. She put a hand to Liravalennan''s shoulder and they met eyes. "Can you stand, my dear? Do you feel well?"


    "I¡­good," said Liravalennan. As a high dragon, she could understand the intents of many lesser races, but speaking it was another matter. She had learned the Common tongue, but she was quite rusty.


    "I am Tritos," said the merman as he continued to stare at the ground. He was the tallest andrgest of the group by a good margin, but unlike regr mermen, he was slim in build and instead of wearing their traditional scaled armor, he instead dressed himself in arge ck cloak surrounded with rune inscribed chains.


    Lightning crackled from his body, and Liravalennan jumped backwards, Valerikynthimos''s lightning still fresh on her mind.


    "She hates me too," said Tritos. "I am not surprised. I am a reject among my own people and all else."


    "We are all rejects, Tritos," said Irina. "If my family could will it, they''d have my head on a pike and the Heartseeker back among them."


    Jung-su was about to speak, but Irina pointed at him in warning. "Don''t you dare speak of your woes. Tritos is exiled because he cannot control the storm god within him. You are exiled from yournd for seducing a prince''s wife. If you kept your pecker in your robes, you would be living just fine."


    "I have no argument to make there." Jung-su shrugged and turned his attention to Liravalennan. "Then, my beautiful, fairdy with hair that burns like fire and eyes that radiate with all the colors of the rainbow, I would be honored to learn your name."


    "Liravalennan."


    "Ah," said Jung-su. He paused awkwardly before he said, "May I shorten it to Lira?"


    "Yes." Liravalennan tossed the name around in her head. Lira. She liked it. It was what could be considered her given name with the "val" indicating her heritage and the "ennan" meaning shining star. The name "Lira" was free from both her father and the destiny he had forced upon her.


    "Do you have a ce to return to, Lira? A home?" asked Irina. "Family?"


    "No," said Lira emphatically with a solid shake of her head. "None. No family. No home. And don''t want to go back even if I could."


    "It is not good to be alone in this world," said Tritos. "I know, because I have been alone for so very long."


    "Who says she has to be alone?" said Jung-su.


    Irina turned to Jung-su. "You cannot be serious. We are an adventuring team. We will face great dangers at every twist and turn. You cannot bring this girl with us."


    "Girl? She is no mere girl," said Jung-su. "I know, for my flute has reached her. She is a fighter. She is a warrior. Her heart is strong, and her will even stronger. And look at her horns ¨C she will never find safe purchase in any human stronghold.


    No, she will be better with us. Oh yes, and healed, I should say she could beat any of us quite easily. No reason not to try and recruit her."


    "That¡­," said Lira as she pointed at the strange half-staff at Jung-su''s hand. "Is a flute? What is it? Why does it make that sound?"


    "Ah, another fan of my masterful skill, I see!" Jung-su stretched out his hand, showing Lira the flute. "But tell me, Lira, you do not know of music?"


    "Music?" Lira cocked her head. She knew much about the outside world, she had thought. She knew how to fight almost every creature and monster as part of her training. But she had never heard of this music. Abat ability, perhaps?


    "Oh, my dear, my dear, how I pity you so. Music is how the heart itself speaks. With music, you may hear how the very soul speaks. It has no barriers ofnguage, reaching into all across borders and scales and skins and horns," said Jung-su.


    "I like it," said Lira. "New to me. You said you were adventurer? What is that?"


    "We are all adventurers," said Jung-su as he motioned to his partners. "All of us are a team, equal in importance, equal in the respect and consideration we hold each other with."


    "We y monsters," said Irina.


    "No, no," said Jung-su as he waved his flute in a negatory motion. "We do put to rest monsters here and there, yes, but that is not what an adventurer does. Adventurers explore. We are seekers that go tonds far and wide, dark and bright, for after all, what is the point in living upon this great big world only to die in a single plot of tinynd, never exploring past it?"


    "Adventurer¡­," said Lira, letting the taste of the word settle on her tongue.


    "So, what say you, Lira?" said Jung-su with a wide and bright smile. "Do you like the sound of that? The song of adventure?"


    Lira met his smile with one of her own. "I do."

 Chapter 295 - Liravalennan, The Shining Star III

    "You...why have you returned after turning your back to the will of Val?"


    Lira shrugged.


    She sat atop the head of the high dragon Valerikynthimos, or the White Queen of the Elements as she was called among the mortals that worshipped her.


    The high dragon''s enormous, serpentine body sprawled out atop cratered and smoking earth, marking out a shining white line amid the ckened rock.


    Her body was riddled with bleeding scars and the six pink frillsprising her elementally charged mane were dull, drooping down with quiet, pitiful crackles of once roaring lightning.


    "Wanted to meet the old man again. Call it homesickness," said Lira as she looked up, towards thest stretch of Torr Valeris that stood right at the cusp of the void between the world''s skies and the infinite starry expanse of space.


    She was one of an exceeding few creatures in the entire world with the power and privilege to reach this far up Torr Valeris, at the highest point in the world.


    Funny that the tallest spot of this whole was her father''s head. There must have been some kind of joke about pride there, but two hundred and twelve years had mellowed her humor just a tiny bit.


    Maybe that was why all the high dragons were so damn grumpy.


    "You take our crowning treasure, break your horn to sever your ties with us, consort with the mortals, and now, you wish audience with Val?" Valerikynthimos''s voice boomed, and Lira shut her up by mming the Prometheas down on her head.


    "It''s been two hundred years, big sister, and you still talk the most out of all of us." Lira looked around her. There were eleven more high dragons of varying shapes and sizes sprawled out in states of injury and unconsciousness throughout the mountainous battlescape. "And you still have no idea that staying up here, holed up in this mountain and lording over everyone and thinking everything under these heights truly beneath you makes you weak. Empty."


    "Oh?" hissed Valerikynthimos. "And you are strong because you cavort with those that are less than the very air we breathe? That ring on your finger - you believe that is proof you are better than us?"


    Lira held out her hand and looked at her wedding ring, smiling at the emerald winking back at her with its luster. It had been many years since the other half of that ring had returned to the earth, but that did not reduce the shine of the memories any.


    "Yes I do," said Lira simply as she stood up and then mmed the Prometheas down hard on Valerikynthimos''s head, causing tremors to rumble through the earth from the sheer impact. The high dragon grew still, knocked out cold.


    "Now to talk to father," said Lira as she jumped up, fire billowing from the thrusters in her armor as she headed up to the stone carved visage of her father''s head.


    ====


    "Hello, father," said Lira as she stepped into the cavern that housed her during her youth. Or perhaps her prison. It was much the same as it was, and she remembered clear as day despite the experience being two hundred years ago.


    There was father still, his soul still trapped in the rainbow colored orb at the center. A side effect ofpletely fusing with the World Vein that once stood here - he became part of the world itself, a naturalndmark more so than any independent, living being.


    In a way, Lira pitied her father. She was old enough to know now that he did not do what he did out of sheer and senseless selfishness. From the moment he hade to this world, he had foreseen its end, and he had sacrificed everything to make sure that he could produce a champion capable of fending against it.


    Fusing with the vein, imnting a gic drive for all dragons to want to grow stronger and reach the top of this mountain, and using the vein''s powers such that the environment his body became was brutally harsh and nourishing to produce the hardiest of dragons - all of it was to produce a champion.


    A shining star. Lira.


    "My dear shining star," came father''s voice. It sounded just the same as it had been the day she left. "You have returned. I knew you would ept your destiny."


    "I have," said Lira.


    "Good," said father. "Then you have integrated the Omniscale into your being?"


    "I have. I might as well be the strongest being to have ever lived on this. As strong as any of the great gods. Perhaps stronger."


    "I had feared without my guidance that the Omniscale would destroy you, but I have always held hope in your abilities, for you are blood of my own blood." Father paused, contemting Lira. "With such power flowing through you, then you must realize now the folly of staying among the mortals. They are fickle. They will never unite. The demons, too, are little, greedy creatures.


    They will all be consumed by the darkness whereas you, my shining star, will stand bright against the darkness, and our mountain will remain while the world burns.


    Then we will restore the world anew. Recreate it in your image as it was meant to be, my shining star."


    "I will pass on that," said Lira with a curt shake of her head. "I have toe to tell you I will uphold the destiny you have ced upon me. I know of the darkness. I have seen it firsthand, and I know its danger.


    I will be a shining star. But not for only you, for only us, but for all.


    All the mortals. All that live on this world. All that live on other worlds."


    She turned around, the weight of the Prometheas sittingfortably on her shoulder. "And I will not wait for the darkness to descend. I will take the fight to them, ensuring that never will they disturb this world nor awaken the shadows that slumber deep within.


    In other words, this is goodbye, father. Take sce in that though not all has gone ording to your will, that I will still defend you and your children, that your sacrifices will not have been in vain."

 Chapter 296 - The Rift

    "You''ve lived an interesting life," said Li as the visions stopped and everyone returned to the present.


    "Many would consider that an understatement, but yes," said Lira. Her weapon now stood by her side, held away from her, away from any intent to fight. "I could say the same about you. Little would I have ever known that there are those among your kind that defend and nourish."


    "How much of myself did you see?" asked Li.


    Lira looked at Tia with a smile. "Enough. Enough to trust you, for now."


    "For now? Well, I do suppose that is good enough considering how stubborn you are," said Li with a sigh, his branched and leafed form heaving up and down with the motion.


    "A bad trait of mine. Never has lessened over the centuries," shrugged Lira. She knelt down to Tia''s level. "And to you, little dragon, I am d you are in capable and caring hands."


    "Of course!" said Tia as she tugged at Li''s hand proudly.


    "It is good to know that there still yet bloodlines of dragons that elude my father''s will," said Lira. She looked up to Li with admiration for once. "And it is good to know a parent that knows the importance of what it means to live free."


    "I try my best."


    Tia smiled up at Li. "Papa is the best!"


    Li put his hand down, and Tia hopped into it. He raised her up to his shoulder such that she could easily see Lira eye to eye.


    Tia pointed to Lira''s eyes. "Pretty. Are you dragon like me? When I get eyes like that?"


    "These eyes are a curse, little dragon," said Lira. She shook her head. "They may shine bright, but the blood they draw from is dark and selfish. To me, it seems your eyes far prettier. The bright green and the midnight ck. They remind me of this world, at how it has so many ups and downs but in the end, it is still beautiful."


    "Thanks," said Tia shyly.


    "And I am a dragon like you," said Lira. "But in some ways, we are different. I know how you feel, little one. You want to see other dragons. You want to go to Torr Valeris."


    Li listened to hear what Lira would suggest.


    "You should go," said Lira to Li''s surprise. "You wish to explore, and nothing should stop you. But know that what you find, you may not like. Still, it should be you thates to that realization."


    Tia nodded. "I know. Papa tells me the dragons can be mean. Still want to see. Want to know."


    "Good, good," said Lira. She directed her attention to Li. "I know you will apany her to Torr Valeris should she go. You will find resistance, and I have no qualms with you crushing it. But if you can, spare my father Val."


    "You of all people would ask for that?" said Li.


    "I have no attachment to him. But he is important. He has fused with the world vein he slumbers upon, and his death means the death of the vein. There are ten veins upon this world and each is paramount in preventing the Old Ones fromying their tendrils here.


    This one is already lost. Losing another would be disastrous."


    "I see," said Li. He recalled what Sho-Gath had told him. The Old One could only reach out and contact Li because of ack of "Aura" in this area.


    This tied in with Tyr''s memories. The world vein the Triforge dwarves sat upon died when Tyr drained it, and now, the aura that covered the, infusing it with a power that could repel the Old Ones, had weakened, particrly in this area.


    Hence this tiny portal that Lira guarded over, though there were still details Li wished to know.


    "When the timees, I will do what I deem is right. But the life on this world, I will always have in mind," said Li.


    Lira nodded and looked to Li, her rainbow eyes meeting Li''s empty eye sockets. "I presume you have questions for me?"


    "Yes. What were you doing here?"


    "Guarding this rift," said Lira. "It is the least I could do to make things right. I was too busy beating back the demons in the south. Were I here, the vein would never have dried. s, I knew not there even was a vein here."


    "When did youe to realize the importance of the veins. Of the existence of those like myself?" said Li.


    "I have always known to a degree. My father bred me to be the strongest of my kind solely to stand against the Darkness," exined Lira. "And I knew the Darkness was not the demons, for they were beneath the dragons of Val. No, I knew it was a force beyond them, but even father had not a clear idea of it. Only a vague, prophetic vision.


    In fighting the demons during the Darkening, I talked to them. Came to know them. I understood then that the Heralds were seven parts of a greater seal guarding an even greater evil, but there had yet to be anyone in anynd that knew much of this threat.


    When the Darkening ended, this fog clouded the expanse between the Triforge and the Shibboleth. I investigated it, of course, and found nightmare creatures pouring through from this rift. I ughtered them all and created this copy to stand guard over the rift whilst I attempted to know more of the nature of this anomaly.


    My search for knowledge led me to Kel''Thor Citadel where I reached Shen''Sai, a lich who had explored into the depths of the great dark expanse beyond our. He was the only one that knew of the nature of the nightmare creatures, of the Old Ones that threatened existence at every corner across the stars.


    With him, I came to understand the nature of the Abyss."


    "I am curious of it too," mentioned Li.


    Lira nodded. "The slumbering Old One in the Abyss is but a messenger."


    "That, I know," said Li, remembering the lore around Noctus turning into an Old One and calling for other eldritch beings to threaten the world. So it would seem that Noctus served the exact same purpose here.


    "Then I will tell you of the important parts. Noctus remains asleep primarily because of the ten world veins and the aura they create. The seals the demons have devised using the Signum that once imprisoned them as inspiration is impressive, yes, but not enough.


    Should the veins fall, then the demonic seals will tear apart like paper, and Noctus will awaken, bringing forth the true Darkness."


    Lira pointed to the small tear in space. "That is Noctus attempting to open a void to his brethren with his dreams. The portal is small, capable only of attracting servants and spawn of the Old Ones, and that is because of the demonic seals.


    The only reason that even this small rift managed to open is because the Third Darkening and the fall of the world vein here coincided. Many of the heralds that carry the seven shards of the seal were in with recement hosts not yet found. With both world vein drained and the seal weakened, this rift opened.


    In many ways, the demons must be thanked for saving this world, for without their seals, the Old Ones would have surely devastated this following the Third Darkening."


    "Protect the world veins. Protect the heralds." Li nodded. "Then this world will remain safe. Or, as I am nning to do, kill Noctus."


    Lira narrowed her eyes. "I have no doubt should you truly unleash your strength, you will match Noctus. But a battle between the two of you will be on a scale unparalleled. The damage to this world will be severe - it may even destroy this world entirely.


    I will admit I have no idea how to deal with the slumbering monster other than to keep it asleep. I hope you will be more useful than me in that regard."


    "When ites down to it, I am sure I will manage," said Li. He had always known that a fight between himself and Noctus would be a difficult one.


    Noctus was the only being here that was from New Game+ content. Stronger than any of the three great gods. The only one that existed on the same ne of power as Li.


    In the game, Li had a truly fifty fifty solo raid matchup against Noctus, though with even just one additional yer, the fight became rather easy.


    He was confident to a degree because he had so many more powers than he had in the game, and he knew that when the time came, when he had to, he could tap into his eldritch powers while Noctus himself had only slumbered, his strength level staying presumably static unlike the gods such as Chi-You who had developed new skills and powers through time and training.


    But this was something to deliberate with more time. With more information that woulde as Li reached the West.


    "For now, I will close that rift," said Li.

 Chapter 297 - Sealing

    Li approached the rift.


    "Tia, stand behind me," said Li as he knelt down, eyeing the fluxing ck tear in space through his empty eye sockets. He could feel a distinct chill emanating from the rapidly osciting rip, the kind that Tia did not like.


    "Tell me," said Li to Lira as the dragon watched from behind him. "Where does this rift lead exactly to?"


    Lira shrugged, her armor nking with the movement. "I do not quite know. When my real body traveled through it, I saw that it simply stood in an empty void of darkness. The void that lies above the skies."


    "Space," said Li. "Did you see anything else around you? Stars? Other worlds in the distance?"


    "Stars, yes," said Lira. "But I know now from Shen''sai that those little twinkling lights are unfathomable distances away. Aside from stars, nothing. Simply the void. But rifts like these emanate a signal, you see, a coldness averse to all life and yet just as alluring as amp light to moths to those of your kind."


    She narrowed her eyes at the rift. "Thankfully, the herald seals of the demons prevented this rift from ever opening wide enough to create a strong enough signal. It has only enough scent to it to attract messengers and straggling spawn that travel the vast void haphazardly.


    Every so often, perhaps once a decade, there will be a monstrosity that sniffs this rift out, and I am here to fell it."


    "I see," said Li. "That exins the dead fire vampire. To my knowledge, the fire vampires travel in packs, forming livingets of fire and flesh. Were there not more? Or rather, did not the Old Ones inmand of theme with them?"


    "No, and thank all that exists for that, for the first time I traversed the rift, I was not yet strong enough to contend with the Old Ones, nor had I this torch to fend against them. I suppose the me creatures were far flung scouts, far enough from their main body that their absence draws no attention. Disposable feelers in the dark."


    "You did not have the Prometheas to begin with?" Li felt surprise.


    He could understand how Lira fought against Old Ones with the item. It was specifically designed to beat back Old Ones with its anti-eldritch properties, and it was also a New Game+ item. Well, it existed in the base campaign, but in the New Game+ added content, one could take the Prometheas and upgrade it to a Celestial-tier item easily on par with or exceeding Li''s own celestial gear.


    The entire upgrading process was a whole pain to deal with. In the lore, the original Prometheas was a construct created by Helius to fight against his corrupted brother, but it proved too weak to fight against the multiary and dimensional threat of the Old Ones.


    Thus, any good-aligned character could right before the very final boss go on a space faring quest and, at a ce called the Font of Life at the heart of the universe, it was said, they could dip the Prometheas and upgrade it into a weapon that even Old Ones feared.


    Right now, though, the Prometheas was in its base, divine tier state. Still capable of harming Old Ones, but a little outscaledpared to truly endgame content.


    "No. I found this weapon in another world. Much like this one. The very same magic flowed through it, but s, it was destroyed by an Old One. Yet in its core, there still stood this weapon shining with the light to destroy the dark. Forged toote to save that world, but not toote for others."


    "The very same magic you say?" Li perked up, dying closing the rift as his interest began to rise.


    "I do not understand the concept too well, but Shen''sai states that it is a phenomenon called alternate dimensions. Many different versions of our realityyered atop each other on the same board, but still distinct. I suppose that world was a version of this one." Lira shook her head with a sigh. "A premonition of what is toe should the Darkness reach this world."


    "Alternate dimensions¡­," muttered Li, understanding the massive implications of this revtion.


    How many more worlds were there just like this one, based off of Elden World? How different were they?


    Or, perhaps a more striking question: were there more yers?


    Li knew that it was exceedingly unlikely any yer was in this world or had been in it, but perhaps he had been thinking too small. Perhaps they were in entirely different worlds. Alternate dimensions. Different realities.


    "Tell me, Lira," said Li. "Tell me of your travels. Where your real body is now. Whether there were more worlds like this."


    "When I first investigated this rift shortly after its emergence, I slew the creatures that had emerged through it. But before I myself took to traversing the rift, I called to Shen''sai, a specialist in spatial and dimensional travel who had long left this world, and he came back.


    With his expertise, we traveled the rift, clearing out any threat on the other side. We traveled further, to other worlds, ands still, to this day, we travel, fighting against the eternal Darkness" said Lira. "But I have encountered no more worlds like this other than the one in which I found my weapon.


    As for where my real body is, well, I do not know. It is too far away for me, a construct, to connect with. But I know that once you close this rift, it wille back, and then the memories I have made since its absence will flow back.


    I am sure my true self will then aid you should you need it." Lira jabbed towards the portal with the sharp side of the Prometheas. "We will have more time to talk. For now, it would do well to close this rift, if you so can."


    "I can," said Li. "But what of you? How long will your constructst?"


    "My construct is bound to the guardianship of this rift. With it closed, I will perish in a day, I suppose," said Lira casually. "But that is more than enough time to talk, and I have grown quite bored of sitting here all day, every single day for the past hundred or so years."


    "Only a day?" asked Tia, worried.


    "Worry not, little dragon, for as a construct, I was always meant to be a temporary existence," said Lira. She spoke to Li, "I only ask that when this form of mine dissipates and solidifies into a shard of memory, that you return it to my true self when she arrives."


    "I have no issue with that. I trust that in times toe, your true self will be aiding me?"


    "If you ever even need any help, then yes," said Lira.


    "Then so be it. This rift will be no more," dered Li. He came up to the rift and looked at his hands for a second, the sharp branches that formed his fingers and the nt wreathed palms that glowed with life. He neared them to the portal, the rift a fluctuating bubble of darkness norger than a basketball, and sensed the chill emanating from it.


    The cold wilted the green nt life on his hands, and yet, it still beckoned to him with familiarity, like visiting an old childhood home.


    He jammed his hands into the rift, feeling energy and force whirling around his fingers,rge arcs of ck energy crackling around him.


    He did not have any spells to close a rift like this. But he had powers beyond Elden World, powers that proved he was beyond this world and many like it.


    He tapped into his eldritch side.

 Chapter 298 - Whispers In The Dark

    There was no sense of nausea this time. Li knew where to go. How it felt tomune with an other that was still him. Seemed like a contradiction, that, and if he had to try and exin it out, he knew he could not.


    All he could say was that it felt natural.


    Darkness clouded his vision, and that darkness began to flicker and start warping, like space twisting and turning and tearing.


    Then the darkness faded away, revealing water tinted in various shades of gray, the dull light of a grayscale sun shining neutral rays through the depths of shimmering, color muted water.


    And spending an instant here, he knew he now had the power to close the rift. He did not have to go through the hoops of talking with his embodied other this time, though he doubted it would be thest he would see of it. Perhaps it was because closing the rift was a rtively trivial matter


    He knew that in the world above, outside of the space that housed this side of him, he was already moving to close the space.


    And yet, his consciousness still stayed here.


    This time, he was in the water. Sinking.


    Soon enough, the gray rays of dull light disappeared. The water became darker and darker until finally, the grey became ck, the waters so devoid of any semnce of light that there was nothing but the void.


    Or, as one could put it otherwise, the abyss.


    A voice echoed to him through the water. It was muffled, garbled, barely audible as it traveled through the waters from seemingly all directions. A voice quiet and tired, the intonations lingering at the end of each sentence like talk from a man barely woken.


    "Why?" said the voice. "Why do you do this? Why do you side with them?"


    "It is my decision. And I do not have to exin it to you."


    "You are so far beyond them. They are specks of dustpared to you. Infinitely insignificant motes drifting on a single rock surrounded by an infinitely vast, infinitely colder universe."


    "I know."


    "No, you do not. Why else would you protect them? Uphold Order? What is it you truly believe wille from this? For every speck of Order. For every little particle of warmth. There is a far wider, broader, vaster expanse of cold.


    Chaos is the natural state of all. You wille to know it, I promise you, and then, you will understand. You will agree with me. You value Order. When my call is sent, Chaos wille. Chaos will be uniform. Chaos will be the new state of Order, as it has been in the beginning and always shall be in the end.


    An Order more stable, more constant than the fluctuations of life and free will."


    Li did not respond, and the voice continued.


    "There is no point to this. Guarding over one rock. In the grand scheme of the cosmos, it matters not. Keep me aslumber. Destroy me. But for what? Chaos is eternal. Ever encroaching. Ever present. You cannot spend an eternity fighting against the natural state of existence."


    "I will be the judge of what I can or cannot do."


    "You are misguided. But you wille to know. Tell me, Gatekeeper, what is it that you believe you will protect? All the life you know now will wilt in time. In a century, no, a millennium, beyond that, then what?


    Who will you know? What will you care about?


    Who will care about you? Who will know you as you are now?


    What will you have?"


    Li felt a tug of familiar warmth on his arm. He felt himself floating upwards, through the abyss of water, the voice below rapidly fading.


    "I''ll have a daughter," said Li.


    Li found himself staring at his hands. The wooden palms were pressed together, and he felt them exerting force, like he had crushed something in between them. The nt life that curled around his hands and arms that had wilted started to grow back, the grey, ck shades of death fading away as green life returned.


    "Papa, you''re back!" said Tia.


    Li looked back to see Tia rubbing her eyes as she got off from the ground, a tiny crater behind her, like she had been blown back into the earth.


    "Are you alright, Tia?" asked Li as he turned, ready to heal her.


    Tia answered by pping her wings and sailing into his arms, showing that yes, she was as healthy as could be.


    "Was I¡­was I gone long?" asked Li.


    "No." Lira came into view, her hair blown back messily. "Only for a minute. You dipped your hands into the rift, closed it, but the moment before it fused shut, something held you in ce. A fairlyrge shockwave sted us back, but it did not take you much longer than a few seconds to overpower thest remnants of that ursed rift."


    "Good," said Li. He felt Tia snuggle into his leafy chest. "Good."


    "And now, look at that." Lira pointed to the sky with her torch, smiling.


    The fog started to clear up. The azure blue skies became visible, and instead of the thick white veil of fog, the only whites that floated now wererge, fluffy clouds. The light of the sun shone once more, its warmth washing over Li and Tia.


    "With the rift sealed, thisnd is now free of its tainted air," said Lira. She sighed and sat down with her legs straight. "And now, my duty is done."


    "Wow," said Tia. She pointed down. "Look at that, papa! From you!"


    Li traced where her finger pointed to see that the cracked, battered, barren and destroyed earth, once covered in various shades of scorched ck, now started to find itself painted over in smatterings of green.


    Then flowers. All kinds of flowers of all colors. The scale of the regrowth was massive, and Li felt surprised ¨C this was far more extensive and faster than what his usual passive presence could do.


    Within minutes, thendscape had just as much green and vibrant colors as it did ckened rock. Waves of life infused energy echoed out from Li, each ripple nting and growing more and more life.


    Remnants of the power he must have used to close the rift. To oppose Noctus and his whispers.


    "It has been over a hundred and fifty years since thisnd has ever borne the fruit of life," remarked Lira in awe. She sat up cross-legged, dispelling her arcane armor so that she could run her bare fingers over the growing grass, her scarred and calloused finger hovering over a sunflower. "It is good to see it return before I fade away."


    "Are you going?" asked Tia from Li''s arms, worried.


    "Yes, but I know you will see me again, so worry not, little dragon. In time, my true self wille back to this world. Hopefully, your father will have done all the heavy lifting and gotten this whole mess with the Darkness sorted out.


    And I still have until midnight to enjoy myself, so I am in no hurry to say any goodbyes."


    "Hopefully," said Li as he shifted back to his human form, willing the Vukanovi back now that there was no threat. "But that does not mean you should expect to get out of helping any. If your help is needed, that is."


    "It is never a bore to fight for a good cause," said Lira. She caressed the golden petals of the sunflower. "No nobler and grander fight is there than that to protect all life. And it is good to see you fight for the same cause."


    Li nodded, smiling at Tia as she upied herself in wonder at the growing nature around her. "Yes. Nothing nobler."

 Chapter 299 - Denouement

    Li sat down in front of a towering ash tree he had created, resting his back against the sturdy trunk. Tia sat in hisp, nodding her head from side to side as she hummed a little tune she had picked up from somewhere. Probably in the streets of Riviera.


    The tune made Li realize how far away they were already from the city he once never thought he would leave. How he would get even farther and farther away as he went West. It was oddly fitting, in a way. He left Riviera just as he came to realize he wanted to influence more than his farm ¨C he wanted to shape this very world.


    Or, as he wasing to realize more and more: protect it.


    The wind picked up, the low sing song of a gentle breeze fluttering through the air and picking up a stray leaf or two -the first time a breeze had ever touched anything green here for nearly two centuries. In a way, it was remarkable how much of a fresh start Li''s very presence gave this ce.


    It heartened him to see the life sprouting out from where there was once nothing. Almost an indescribable feeling, but if he had to give words to it, it was like seeing a child''s first movements. Something small with the potential to be much, much bigger.


    He looked down to Tia, hearing her hum and seeing her take her attention to the sky where the sun started to set, casting its warm, amber glow for onest time before night took over its celestial duty. She had that potential too.


    For the past few hours, Lira, who nowy with her hands forming a pillow under her head atop a bed of grass and flowers, told Li about what to expect in the future regarding Tia. After all, there was no better person to tell him this than a high dragon herself.


    Shemended Li about what he had done so far. Told him that he was right on the mark about giving Tia the best food possible and letting her have the freedom to take hard fights for herself.


    That was how dragon kin evolved, though, as Lira noted, with an entity as powerful as Li being Tia''s soulbound, the eating part became less necessary as she would naturally grow strong just by being with him.


    Still, consumption elerated the strength growth process, not to mention that Tia liked to hunt and fight.


    Overall, as time passed, Tia would grow, maturing into her teenage years within the span of the next two months.


    Then, her aging would rapidly decelerate, only getting slower with age, until by the time she hit what would be the mid twenties to a human, it would take time on the order of centuries to have her age even five years.


    Lira confessed that she did not know what it would be like for Tia''s aging process because of her unique connection to a being like Li. Likely, Lira theorized, Tia would age even slower than normal dragon kin, perhaps never aging at all once she hit her physical prime.


    Tia''s mind would mature as quickly, though that did not mean she would automatically learn about the world. Instead, her base instincts to fight and to consume would sharpen faster than did her worldly knowledge, making her more aggressive, perhaps even cruel, but with guidance and experience, she would find a sense of self bnced with her instincts.


    What Lira did worry about was the nature of Li''s fragmented being. A human sense of self, a side of life and guardianship, and a side of old, alien being all mashed together.


    Indeed, the high dragon was surprised Li had even managed to stay so stable a being this far, and no doubt, had he not had someone like Old Thane to tie him to the human things he liked and Iona to guide him through melding his guardian powers, he had no idea what he would have been like.


    Now, it was only a matter of assimting his nature as an Old One with the others. Seemingly impossible, but already, Li had made tiny baby steps towards it bymitting himself to Order. Still, the sheer vastness and scale of his Old One nature meant that he had to essentially lock it away, and that, Lira warned, could produce issues for Tia.


    Tia grew to be like Li through their soulbound connection. Even her appearance embodied this. She could look like a human but had pieces of life and death, order and chaos, speckled across her. For now, she stayed in rtive harmony, but as she grew, drawing deeper into Li, she would find herself in conflict.


    The very same kind of conflict Li had to ovee.


    When that time came, Lira said, Li would have to be the mentor to guide Tia through it all, for Lira herself knew nothing of a soulbind situation as unique as this.


    Hopefully, Li thought as he smiled down at Tia, he could be there for her. Be the mentor she needed. No, he had to be. It was his duty as a parent.


    The sound of the Vukanovi shambling into sight got everyone''s attention, and Li propelled the Vukanovi forward with a flick of his wrist, making a tform of roots carry it across the air and plop it down by the de surrounding the ash tree.


    The top of the pumpkin familiar''s head opened up, and everyone sprawled out.


    Nobody seemed much worse for wear other than Mason and Mercer, their hair a mess from probably tumbling around when the Vukanovi retreated from Li and Lira''s battle.


    "Gods," said Old Thane as he leaped down from the Vukanovi, his boots hitting grass. He breathed in deep, his broad chest expanding like a wall. "How the air here has changed. Smells as clear as the air in Riviera!"


    She and Vilga leaped down behind Old Thane, tentatively stepping across grass as they curiously sniffed the air too, finding not fog, but fresh winds carrying the scent of flowers and freshly grown grass.


    As slithered down the side of the Vukanovi with surprising speed, taking note all the while of the area around her, probably sketching it to provide a before and after contrast in her records.


    "The Seer can do anything," said She with a proud nod. "Brings life and peace everywhere. Even where there is none. I don''t like some thing he say. About demons, too. But still know he will make things right."


    Vilga nodded, but being more reserved, did not say more.


    Mason and Mercer tumbled out of the Vukanovi and crumpled on the grass, exhausted from being pinballed around the insides of the familiar, most likely. Zagan sailed over them,nding neatly on all fours. The demon gave the two young men a scornful nce before trotting away, lying down beside Li.


    "The Seer, eh?" said Lira. Li had gone over her about what he had done in this world as well. She knew what things about him to keep a secret. "I was never a fan of this god or that. Always soplicated, that topic. So many things calling themselves gods, too, and so many of them so easily kible."


    She stretched before sitting up, smiling, her sharp fangs visible and rainbow eyes twinkling. "But I have to say, if ever there was a god to believe-," She pointed a finger to Li. "Then whichever one he champions is the right one."


    The sound of heavy stone thumping down on grass drew the party''s attention back. As had dropped her tablet, and now pointed her stylus at Lira with trembling hand.


    "What is it?" asked Mercer, worried as he hovered a hand over his sheathed daggers. Mason, seeing his brother on edge, also tensed up.


    "Take thee hands of thy weapons lest humiliation fall upon thee," said As, and the brothers eased up. "I am merely overwhelmed. Worried I was that perhaps this was not the true Lira, that she was felled by the Seer, but now, to see that she is well and at peace, it doth grant me excitement."


    "Hello," said Lira with a big wave.


    As slithered up to Lira with a bow, picking up her tablet along the way. "If it may please thee, great adventurer, will thou not talk with us? Tell us of thy adventures? For to fill in the iplete records of Lira the Seeker shall surely prove to mine sisters that this world is yet worth braving to record."


    "Oh, a Serpi," said Lira. "Good to see your kind remain as beautiful and curious as always. And I am not so sure. I tend to ramble, and I''ve no guarantee I can spin an entertaining tale. That is the realm of the bards and songsters, and I have little more than a warrior''s brute ways."


    "Aye, I''d still be game to hear ye," said Old Thane as he made his way up. "For once, someone other than me will be telling tall tales of their adventures. Though in your case, I should reckon they truly are impressive."


    "So you finally admit you tell some tall tales here and there, old man," said Li. "Though don''t yourself down. You''ve got plenty of eye openers yourself."


    "Heh, but nonepared to the legendary Lira the Seeker." Old Thane waved everyone in. "Come, She, Vilga,ds. Why not hear from a living legend herself?"

 Chapter 300 - History Lesson I

    "Me? A living legend?" A hint of a blush colored Lira''s cheeks, and she shyly turned her head to the side, a long lock of gold and fire streaked hair falling perfectly by her rainbow eye. "My, I do not know about that. I merely did what I thought was right."


    "Well, certainly, you did many things right," said Mercer, the younger of the two adventuring brothers ever eager to cozy up to beings that happened to be beautiful. "Your looks alone I would gander that the bards and songstresses would have sung of until their throats ran raw."


    Liraughed. The amused type ofugh that sounded like an adultughing at a child''s antics. "It has been almost two hundred years since I have had aplimente my way. I thank you for livening up my watch. But-," She raised her left hand, showing the emerald-jade ring on her finger. "Widow though I may be, I am stillmitted."


    "Oh," said Mercer.


    Mason shoved his brother back with a shake of his head. "Now then, on to more important matters. You see, living in Riviera my whole life, I havee to realize that my views on this world are shallow.


    I know not of nearly anything I thought was once undeniable truth."


    "You are out of Riviera now and exploring. On a good start to widening your mind, I should say," said Lira.


    Mason nodded. "And that is precisely why I must seek your counsel. We are in the midst of a Darkening, the fifth of its kind, and for the first time, we march now upon the demons instead of having their kind savage ournds and families.


    And yet, I hear talk of sparing them. Of understanding them. I¡­can understand it, but my heart cannot ept it."


    "The fifth Darkening? Hm." Lira cocked her head with casual ponderance. "Quite a lot must have happened since I ended the third if in two centuries, we are already upon the fifth."


    "You are strong. Very, very strong," said She. "And you fight demons already. Why not help us?"


    "Ah, I would, but s, this form you see now is but merely a construct of magical energy, due to fade at midnight," said Lira. "My true form is beyond this world. It shall return soon, but until then, I would not worry much."


    She nodded her head back to Li. "You all seem to be in capable hands. And you, young man-,"


    Lira turned her attention back to Mason. "From Riviera, you say? From how few creases of strain and turmoil there are upon your face, I should wager you have never left the city nor faced siege nor war.


    Nothing against that, of course. Being able to live in peace is a great privilege that should be honored, not mocked. And I will not deny that demons can be savage and cruel and destructive, for they are not human.


    They do not share your morals and sensibilities and never will.


    And yet, all creatures that live upon this world y a part upon it." Lira shrugged. "The demons, in particr, hold back an evil far greater than they, and they have done so for almost a millennia, for in the end, they too live upon this world and wish for it to prosper."


    "A¡­far greater evil?" said Mason.


    "You''ve already heard about it," said Li.


    He did not expect Lira to reveal the existence of Noctus like this, but when he thought about it, it was better to get it out with and exined to a degree.


    Would make the brothers and the beastwomen at the least a little more understanding of his goals with the demons.


    "The strange rot that came from the insect demon," said Li. "That rot is not demonic in origin. It is something else. Something far, far worse. I know you and your brother march now to fight against the demons, but you are marching against demons under the thrall of a far worse evil."


    "An evil they must worship or bind themselves to," said Mason. "It cannot be that darkness does not consort with darkness."


    "Not necessarily. Like Old Thane said, demons are different. Maybe some willingly came under the entity''s thrall, but I am hopeful that the vast majority did not.


    That is why I am going. I can cure the rot, and I am going to free the demons from their control and grant them a chance to help us. And I can assure you now, shirking the help of demons just for what or who they are is a foolish decision in light of the scale of evil that you face. That these wordse from my lips should be cause for concern alone."


    "Then we must inform the duchess!" said Mason. "I am surprised she knows not of this already. Her heart is golden and generous, and her mind wise and adept. I am sure she will make good use of this knowledge."


    "Out of the question," said Li sharply. When Mason flinched, Li lowered his tone. "For various reasons, I do not trust the duchess. I would prefer to do things my way. No risk of interference that way. If you are worried about the safety of the five armies, then know that I have them under consideration as well."


    "A wise decision," agreed As. She narrowed her eyes in a half re as she thought of the duchess. "Records of the duchess art murky, wreathed in equal parts smoke and blood. That which history doth not illuminate clear are oft those who wish to bend history to their will ¨C and there is no better indicator of evil in mine eyes."


    "Evil?" Mason whipped around to As, and Mercer put an immediate hand on his older brother''s shoulder to calm him. "The duchess''s generosity has lifted the entirety of Soleil from the despair and turmoil of the dark ages.


    That we can say we are in a golden age rivaling the era of the first and second light lies upon the shoulders of the duchess and the Order of Light that blesses her."


    "Dark ages?" questioned Li. He knew of the era of the first and second lights. Well, what the history book left from Aine told him, at least. But past that, he knew little.


    The era of the first light was the name the humans used for the brief period of time the three great gods came down to drive out the demons, introducing Elden World magic and advancements everywhere.


    During this era, Helios founded Soleil and ushered in an age of peace and cooperation. A royal bloodline descended from the sun god himself named the Lightborn came to rule the south.


    A mythical age from a thousand years ago that Li knew to doubt details about.


    The era of the second light came far more recently.


    Right after the third darkening, thetest Lightborn came forth wielding long lost armor forged by the sun god and began to stand against the evil of the north, especially as the Elves began to consolidate their power and be thergest threat to the south.


    It was here that the Order of Light also became entrenched as the main religion it came to be known today, for once, as Aine was proof of, there would have been countless different faiths worshipping forest spirits or mountain guardians or river elementals and whatnot.


    Unfortunately, it was said that thest Lightborn was assassinated by the Beaumont nobles who then took over Soleil with the intention of turning it over to the elves, joining their Republic.


    Until, of course, the duchess rose to power, eliminated the Beaumonts, and returned Soleil to independence.

 Chapter 301 - History Lesson II

    "An era of inuracy and turmoil," said As. "A period of fifteen years from whence the duchess rose to power and the Beaumont royal bloodline faded. And yet, there art no true details of this rise.


    Not even interviewing at length with the elderly and historians of all the cardinal cities yields a proper, unified narrative."


    "Turmoil, yes, but now, things are better," said Mason. "Because of the duchess. The tainted and traitorous Beaumont bloodline is gone now, and though the Lightborn blood is now lost forever, the great sun god has ced his trust in the hero Sunstar."


    Li held back a snort. He knew Helius and he knew Sunstar.


    He could not imagine the sun god having the will to give his blessing to anyone, least of all Sunstar. It seemed that the Lightborn bloodline originally ruled Soleil having blood directly from Helius himself, but now that it was lost, the duchess used Sunstar as a surrogate for it to justify her rule.


    "The Beaumonts did the best that they could," said Lira. "All of you speak of events far pastst I walked this world freely, but during the Third Darkening, the Beaumonts were worthy of respect.


    Soleil was not independent then, being one of seven bickering and quarreling kingdoms, and yet the Beaumonts were the first to try to put aside their differences to fight the Darkening."


    "The Beaumonts did not rule during the Third Darkening. They stole the crown afterwards," said Mason, and Li cocked his head, knowing that the books said that the Beaumonts essentially usurped power via assassination after the Darkening.


    "I am old, but I should say my memory is still fine," said Lira. "The Beaumonts have ruled over Soleil since the Schism following the Second Darkening that broke Soleil apart into seven kingdoms. Do they not still rule now?"


    As began to exin. "The human, hm, Mason, doth be greatly misguided, weaned on inuracies as he has been. I hath read much into the chronicles of ''history'' that the schrs of Soleil now write.


    There is im that the Lightborn family ruled for five cycles ever since the descent of the gods, conjuring up a fanciful image that for five entire cycles, across even another Darkening, that the south remained unified under a single bloodline, only to be broken up by the machinations of the Beaumonts."


    She shook her head. "A recollection that doth reduce theplexities of history into the realm of fairy tales. Nay, the Lightborn bloodline fell in the Second Darkening of 500, and following a great civil war known as the Schism, the south split into seven kingdoms."


    Mason sat down, putting a hand to his head as he tried to think through everything. It was evident that the young man had always grown up with a strong sense of duty and pride to his country.


    He wore a sun ne from the Order of Light, believing in the good of the Light and what it meant. He fought for his people, yes, but also for a sense of country.


    Of pride in the concept of Soleil, a concept that he did not know was likely mostly fabrication constructed by the duchess to consolidate her power.


    And yet, he must have developed this strong drive because his whole life, he had been told a history that did not exist.


    A history that told him that everything good came from the duchess and that at any moment, that good could slip away if he did not fight for the Light and the duchess and whatever else it was that the people of this country were taught to uphold.


    Mercer, on the other hand, just nodded through much of the conversation. Although the two brothers were very simr in their goals to protect, where those beliefs came from were very different.


    Mercer did not give a single care about history or anything that needed him to sit down and read a text. No, he fought because he simply wanted to protect those immediately around him and to seek glory and valor while his brother fought for love of country and the ideals it stood for.


    Many would have said that Mercer''s desires were shallower, less noble than his brother''s, and yet, was it not better than being a ve to higher ideals built upon lies?


    "Soleil itself was merely but one of the seven kingdoms, ruled by varying bloodlines til'' the Beaumonts secured power," continued As. "The south has never known anything resembling unity until the Era of the Second Light when Hadrien Lightborn, possessing of the long-lost divine blood of the sun, brought the kingdoms to heel."


    "Seven?" said Mason, his mind ncing upon another disparity in his head. "But it is my understanding that there have only ever been six kingdoms."


    "Doth thee not wonder why there art so few beastkin among the south?" said As. "And yet, there art many in the far ranges of Duvin, far enough from Soleil that it hath never truly been popted til'' now?"


    "Thisnd has always been for mankind," said Mason. "Helius himself blessed thisnd for man''s sake, and that is why the beastmen are north or south, in the farthest ranges of Duvin."


    As flitted out her tongue in displeasure. "Nay, not divine intervention. The reason is Hadrien Lightborn. Or, as his name doth be known in the north, Hadrien the Conqueror. With divine armor and endless greed, he crushed the six kingdoms known to thee now and brought them in.


    The seventh was a kingdom of beastmen. Lizans and ckfur Lupi. Once tribes of raiders in the central forests of the south, they consolidated under a rule of twin monarchs til'' Hadrien ughtered them all, believing first and foremost in the purity of a Light that shone only upon humans ¨C this sentiment thou sees even now


    Now no more Lizans walk this world, and the few ckfur Lupi that lived scattered far south to the wilderness or the north to the realm of the Republic.


    For these sins and more, Hadrien Lightborn was struck down by the heavens themselves, his divine armor destroyed and the Lightborn bloodline lost once more.


    It is then the Beaumonts, managing to survive Hadrien''s purges, took power back oncemore."

 Chapter 302 - Faith

    "Hadrien Lightborn is the greatest man to have ever walked thisnd. A mighty warrior championing the divine armor of the sun itself whose strength was matched only by a faith in the Light that was second to none," said Mason. He said this more to himself than anyone else.


    "And at his deathbed, a foul Beaumont rogue''s dagger in his neck and poison coursing through his vein, Helius himself brought down a pir of light to carry him to Valhul."


    "Hm," said As, a hint of amusement forming into the beginnings of a smile around her ck lips. "Indeed, the pir of light part doth be correct. A pir of divine judgement as it were, smiting Hadrien''s boundless cruelty from this world and taking back treasures tainted by his ambition."


    With some level of amusement as well, Li heard that and wondered how awful this Hadrien Lightborn must have been for Helius, the chronically depressed sun god who seemed to care little about almost anything, to actively smite the human down.


    "But the Light-," said Mason. His fingers clutched around his sun ne. "It is undeniable that the Light has done good. Where it shines through the south, there is only but peace and prosperity. The famines and wars of the past before the duchess and her new light are gone.


    I myself may not be a thorough believer in the light ¨C I do not go to the temple every week nor do I dip my hands in the sunwells to repent of my faults ¨C but I know that all around me, people believe in the Light, and they must do so because of a reason."


    "Thou art far more open minded than much of thy kind," said As. "Thou believes in the Light for the good it hath wrought, and thus, thou hast no conflict with the faith that the Seer espouses, for it too, in thy eyes, has nurtured good."


    "That is right," said Mason. "I know it is na?ve, but I know that if something creates good, then it must be good at its heart."


    "A reasonable assumption, that is," said As. She stopped writing on her tablet, putting it by her side now and fully engaging in the conversation.


    Li did not intervene as As basically geared up topletely break down Mason''s world views. Views that had been built up for a lifetime. But then again, Mason''s lifetime was what, twenty years? If that? It was better for him to see the truth now rather thanter.


    "Schr that I am, I hath read some of the doctrines of the Light and the views that they im hold true of the north," said As. "Tell me, Mason, what doth the priests of the Light say of the north in terms of faith? How many gods doth the north believe in?"


    "Countless," said Mason. "Spirits and minor gods for the littlest of things. A god of doors, even. That is why the faith is spread so thin across the north, preventing divine magic from manifesting."


    "But¡­I have god magic," said She as she cocked her head in genuine confusion.


    "Heretical magic as it were in the Light''s eyes," said As. "But aye, let us take thy magic into ount. Magic that calls upon the Old Panther of the Hunt, aspect of the Nightborn, one of the three great gods.


    Then there art the Whitefur Lupi that doth worship the Cold me, one of six aspects of the Six Armed bull, another of the great gods.


    But let us not exclude the sun. There art the Harpi of the northern skyspires that reach so close to the sun that give service to the Phoenix, aspect of the Great Sun that doth epass that which is known as the Light.


    Beyond even aspects of the three great gods, then there art countless more, tis'' true. Worship of the forest spirits before their fall.


    Worship of the river elementals, elementals of all kinds fire, wind, earth, and so on, spirits not merely forests but also mountains and ins and jungles, spirits old that hath gained much power, high dragons, and so on and so forth."


    "What does all of this have to do with the Light?" asked Mason, his brows creased.


    "So many faiths across so many peoples, and yet, doth thee not wonder why there art only but the Light in the South? Whenst there were seven whole disparate kingdoms?"


    "It is because the Light united man in the era of the First Light and continues to do so now," said Mason. "If there is one thing that distinguishes us from all others that tread this world, it is that."


    "Doth thee not wonder why even among thy vicinity there art priests of what they say art the ''old ways'' practicing Druidry?" As flitted her tongue out, sensing Mason beginning to think more. She struck to the point.


    "Many faiths there were in the South. Mayhaps not as many as there were in the north, but still, far, far more than the Light alone. Devotion to the forests, to elementals, to spirits ¨C all that and more. Whenst didst these faiths fade?


    The rise of the Light.


    The Order of Pdins doth drew rivers of tears and blood during the times thou calls the Dark Ages, burning the altars of many and slitting their priests'' throats. That doth includeth, of course, the followers that the Seer now gathers once more. Some of mine sisters as well."


    "That makes no sense," protested Mason. "The Light is good. It shines on all so long as they ept it. And this is embodied with the duchess. She allows the Seer''s faith to thrive."


    "She allows my faith to thrive?" Li scoffed. "No, I allow it to thrive."


    As nodded. "It is the Seer''s power that guarantees the life of his faith and its followers. Thus, therein lies the truth of faith. Faith is but a manifestation of power. Just as power may take the form of a de, waging war and ruin, it may take the form of faith, a healing hand that promises light and warmth.


    In either case, the goal of power is to create or enforce order. In the case of the Light, that power hath been used for good in many ways for it cannot be disputed that the humans of Soleil live well. And yet, what did it cost?


    How many lives? How much blood? How many wails of suffering? How many other faiths ended, how many races purged?"


    "But¡­what proof is there?" "You say so much, you know so much, and yet, what is there to make me believe you?"


    As thought about this for a second, bringing her y stylus to her lips. Her slender, pale shoulders shrugged with a lethargic movement. "Nothing, I do suppose.


    Thou wouldst not understand that the words of a schr of the Sandrivers, though perhaps not perfect,e as close to truth as possible. Now, shouldst the duchess and her orders of pdins have not purged all history and aplishment which was not human, then thou wouldst have known."


    "It is true. The schrs of the sands are perhaps the fairest and truest source of all that has happened in thisplicated and chaotic world," said Lira. "Such was their value that they alone were granted privilege to traverse nearly all borders to record with a neutrality and sense of duty that all could not help but admire."


    "Aye," said Old Thane. "It is a tradition among old adventurers that only those among us that have braved enough to reach the Sandrivers to read the histories of this world know truly what it means to be an adventurer, for it is through that we may cast aside the differences of race and politics and upbringing to seek the universal thrill of the unknown beyond."


    Lira sounded amused. "Ah, that tradition still exists? To think my adventure to the Sandrivers would have started a tradition that stood the test of centuries. Though, it seems, much of my name is known not."


    "Only among the old guard of adventurers, aye," said Old Thane. "And even then, mere snippets. It is truly an honor to stand in your presence, Seeker."


    "Oh please, one such as yourself with greying hairs and all the wisdom thates with them should not be granting me any honor." Lira shook her head. "I am still a child at heart, chasing adventure after adventure. From this world to the next."


    "When this Darkening and the conflicts of man and elf end, I shalt make thepleted records of thy adventures known once more," said As proudly.


    "Nearly alone among mine sisters do I travel the old path of the wandering scribe, but already, I hold within mine tablets enough novel history to convince them that the old ways art worth their merit."


    "Ah, so the schrs of the sands no longer travel the world," said Lira.


    "The world hath be a ce much unweing since thou hast left," said As. "And history, once invible, hath be a tool of war and control. Mine sisters and I thus hold no safe asylum in anynds for alone doth we champion truth."


    As put down her tablet in a rare moment and gazed at Lira with hopeful eyes. "Wouldst thou not consider fighting for this realm once more, to right that which is wrong? I know as one that is supposed to champion neutrality that I should not ask for this, and yet, I cannot help but ask."

 Chapter 303 - Dialogue I

    Lira sat up with a quick movement, tufts of grass blowing up and drifting gently down around her, a few strands sticking to her radiant hair. She sat cross legged with her posture a little forward, her hands on her ankles in a rather child like sitting posture that reminded Li of Tia.


    She tilted her head this, then that way, her lips thinned as her brows knitted together in concentration. While she thought, Mason, seeing that the conversation had moved on, stood up, excusing himself to be by himself. Mercer perked up and left with his brother, no doubt tofort him.


    Lira gave the two brothers a lingering gaze as they disappeared off from the edge of the firelight, their backs growing darker as they went into the night. "I cannot deny that in the many years I have been away that change has not been wholly kind to this world. If it is even such that you-,"


    She nodded to As. "A sand schr strictly devoted to neutrality, sways from your oath even this little bit to beseech me for aid."


    "Aye, tis so." As''s gleaming yellow eyes flitted down for a second in a ponderance of shame at having the terms of her oath reminded to her. "But I ask such of thee now for mine sisters uphold their oath knowing not the nature of this world, how it has changed in the near cycle that they hath long decided to enclose themselves within the Sandriver.


    The winds of change hath passed by the oath, and now more than ever, change doth gather, and not kindly, I should say, but in a storm that I fear shally waste to all, and what use art our tablets and stele shouldst there be but the ashes left by war?"


    She took to As''s side. "You are strong. Very strong. Fight with us. Save lives."


    Vilga looked on the conversation with noted interest but did not try to engage, her arms crossed as she simply listened, contemting. Old Thane, however, did not hesitate to chime in.


    "Lassies, give the seeker space to grant us her answer," said Old Thane. "It is her choice whether she decides to raise her spear for us or not."


    "Her choice?" She''s voice deepened. "Or responsibility? Many can die or many can live No choice. Only the fight."


    "Aye, I understand," said Old Thane. "There are lives at stake. Many, many lives. Innocent lives among them, to be sure. But choice is sacred. You may judge the seeker for her choices, but she has the right to make them herself."


    "Come now," said Lira. "My true form has not even descended upon this world yet."


    "When it does?" said She.


    "I will fight," said Lira. "But perhaps not in the way you wish me to. My eyes can sense that there is a fire burning within you. Against demons." Lira shrugged. "I do not y demons."


    "But you are demon yer," said She.


    "And yer of elementals and dragons and even gods, they say," said Lira. "Does not mean I go out of my way to kill all of them.


    No, I am to fight against the true Darkness that your Seer himself stands against. If, of course, by the time I get here, I am even needed. Your Seer seems more than capable enough."


    "Speaking of," said Li. "When will you get here?"


    "I do not know. My memories split off from my true self shortly fifty years ago. said Lira. "My true self is alive, I can sense it, and I have sent a calling for my self to return, but where she is, what she is doing, I do not know. It may be the very morrow that she returns. It may be the following year."


    "Then I''ll take that as an answer not to rely on you," said Li.


    "Even better." Lira smiled. "Less work for me. More time for me to make sure other worlds are protected. Which brings me to this point." She looked around to the rest of the party. "I am not staying upon this world. If I return and the Darkness is dealt with, I cannot be bound here. There are other worlds and lives I must fight for."


    "Why?" said She. "You born here. Live here. This is your world. Why go to others? Why not fight for this one?"


    "Oh, believe me, if this world were reeling from chaos and in shambles, then I would stay to aid it," said Lira. She took up the Prometheas lying on the grass and whirled its ded side to point at Li. "But I sense that it already has more than worthy enough a protector and guardian, do you not all agree?"


    Lira jammed the Prometheas into the earth and snapped a finger, causing a fire to light the torch side. As the light illuminated her, it became increasingly evident that she was bing more and more transparent, her construct form fading.


    "Now then," she said. "I am quite disheartened to hear only what has went wrong in this world. Surely, there is some good? The old human has said that Riviera''skeside breezes are still gentle, no doubt inspiring of warmth and love.


    Tell me, all of you, before my form fades away, what else remains good? Consider it a message, a gift to my true self when she returns to the home she left so very long ago."


    ===


    "You really should get back to the camp," said Mercer. He had been following behind Mason for a few minutes now, watching as his older brother kept walking and walking in this vast wastnd of cracked earth, though now there were a few patches of green sprouting up between the breaks.


    "We are missing out on so much. They are cooking food by now, I am sure, maybe passing around some ale, not to mention the lovely, I mean, Lira. We''ll not get a chance to see someone like her, I am sure," continued Mercer.


    Mason stopped, and for a second, their silhouettes lined up through the moonlit dark. Mason was a taller, stiffer shadow, standing almost a head higher than his brother with a straight posture that might have gotten themon man to mistake him as a soldier.


    Mercer''s head tilted up and he slinked back a little, his shoulders low, casual, his whole body loose, more at home leaning on something than standing straight.


    Blue eyes met blue eyes. One pair was half closed in a smile, the other wide with sternness.


    "Is that all you think about, brother?" said Mason. "Food, drink, and women?"


    "Gods," said Mercer. "I was only trying to get you back to camp."


    Mason sighed. "Yes, you are right. Apologies, brother. I just¡­I just cannot fathom how you can stand here with nary a single worry.


    You''ve heard them back at camp, at how everything we have heard in our lives has been one massive lie. How even the noble cause our father died for was nothing but a sham."


    "Noble?" Mercer''s usual smile faded, a flicker of something darker twitching at his eyes. "Look, I know you have always wanted to follow into father''s footsteps, but isn''t it about time we forged a path for ourselves? Without the rules of ages old faiths and crummy militaries to weigh us down."


    Mason shook his head. "Mercer, maybe you are still a little too young to understand, but we need to fight for somethingrger than ourselves.


    You saw it firsthand on the streets we raised ourselves on. So many people fighting for today, for the now and what can help themselves and only themselves at the moment. You saw how much greed and misery and pain there were.


    And you saw how with the duchess and the Light, people started to fight for more than stealing bread so that they could stave off starving for another day. I know it is tempting to follow your base desires, but we must think beyond ourselves."

 Chapter 304 - Dialogue II

    Mercer cocked his head as he narrowed his eyes, his demeanor gaining a certain cold edge to it that made his older brother alert.


    "Beyond ourselves? Brother, what exactly are you using me of?" asked Mercer.


    "Do not mind my words. That was simply a minor point. A bit of lecturinge to surface," said Mason. "What I truly wish to talk about is the value of the Light and what it means, what it-,"


    "I care nothing for the Light," said Mercer. "And speaking of it only wastes time."


    "Because you take all the good the Light has done for granted," began Mason, but Mercer cut him off again.


    "Taken it for granted?" Mercer''s voice rose as he almostshed out. When he spoke again, his tone quieter, but there was still something there, something that made it clear that emotion and hurt bubbled right under the words he formed.


    "What did I take for granted? A father that walks out on us, abandoning two boys of twelve and eight, condemning us to the streets."


    "You know he did not want to leave us," said Mason. "I know you know this, deep in your heart. Father was a pdin ¨C he had to fight when the calling came, and he did fight. Against night creatures that terrorized our very own soil. He fought nobly. valiantly."


    "All that nobility and valiance and fighting for the Light, and he came back as a shriveled, blood drained corpse," said Mercer. "Tell me, brother, why did the Light not grace him with its protection? Did the Light send the debtors to our home and throw us to the streets?"


    Mason shook his head. "That is all besides the point. Father had to fight a great evil, just as we must fight now, and he fought for a cause greater than himself. Yes, times of turmoil were upon thisnd when he passed, and the crown could not take care of us.


    But look now. Any knights and pdins that fall in the northern border or the southern jungles or to any manner of monster within the duchy now sees their families cared and provided for. The debtors and rogues that gued this city have now all rotted away in dungeons.


    Father''s death may have yed but a small part, but in the end, it did move our country to greater heights."


    "That does not change the fact that in the end, he chose the Light, thisnd, over us," said Mercer.


    "And I can understand him," said Mason. "In a way, he fought for us, brother. Not just for us, but the countless many lives that would have fallen should he not have raised arms. He fought for something greater than himself."


    "And in fighting for something so muchrger than himself, he lost sight of those closest to him." Mercer sighed. "There is a reason I do not argue about father with you. Not anymore. You will never change the way you think.


    Even now, when so many tell you that the Light is not perfect, you cannot bring yourself to believe them. You break away from the truth to speak to me. Why? Did you believe I would take your side?"


    Mason crossed his arms. "No, but I thought you would take a moment to listen to your older brother. You call me stubborn but look at you. Impulsive and headstrong and easily distracted. Do you not know that it is because of the new order''s peace that you and I, street urchins with not a coin to our name, even had the chance to be an adventurer?


    And you failed the curriculum because of your weak will. Because you could not bring it upon yourself to fight for something beyond yourself."


    Mercer''s lips screwed into a scowl. "You want to me me for that? The years should not have worn our memories down that much. The two of us both failed the curriculum in the very same mission."


    "Because you abandoned your position in the rear guard," said Mason. "You left two trainees to die. Thank the Light they survived through your mistake, though now they will never walk to pay for it."


    "You cannot be serious," began Mercer.


    "I am," said Mason. "Youcked discipline. Discipline you would have had fighting for something greater than yourself. I understand. You broke off from the rear for you thought the minotaur far too strong for those of us in the vanguard to handle.


    But your orders were clear, our formations drilled into us. There is a reason for orders. We in the vanguard could not have prevailed against the minotaur, but we would have stalled it enough for the rear and central parties to clear a path for retreat.


    When you broke rank toe to the vanguard, though, the rear copsed ¨C everything copsed. Were it not for seasoned adventurers near using to our aid, all of us would have fallen."


    "I came to the vanguard for you," said Mercer. He drew close to his brother, shaking his head. "You likely would have died had I not intervened. How can you not understand this?"


    Mason looked down at Mercer. "I do. But that is what I mean by discipline. Vision greater than yourself. It is always better to fight for something more than yourself."


    "Then tell me, brother, what did you fight for back then?" said Mercer.


    "For the duchy, of course," said Mason. "To rid the borders of foul monsters. To that end, we adventurers must be willing to make sacrifices for the cause. I may have fallen, but more lives would have been saved elsewise."


    "Do you know what I fought for?"


    Mason heard the usationced in that question and did not respond.


    Mercer jabbed a finger into Mason''s chest. "I fought for you. Not for myself, not for others, but for you. And I am disappointed the Light or the duchy or whatever else greater it is stops you from seeing that."


    Mercer turned around and headed back to the camp, leaving Mason contemting in the dark.

 Chapter 305 - River

    Back at the camp, midnight drew near. The fire that everyone sat around started to die down, no longer fueled by dry pieces of wood that Li manifested every so often to keep it going.


    In the dwindling, warm light of the fire, the dark of night started to draw near, but unlike the darkness from before, choked with fog and heavy with lifelessness, this dark was one that was natural,manded not by an otherworldly fog, but by the familiar silver moon above.


    Li felt his hands rhythmically move through Tia''s head, keeping her asleep in hisp.


    The ash tree behind him had grown to astronomical heights by now, creating a sort of naturalndmark that, hopefully in time, many woulde to see when they came to travel through this part of the southern continent for the first time in two centuries.


    Mason and Mercer hade back from whatever talk they had had, but it was evident that it was not a good one. The brothers sat apart from each other, Mason staring down at the fire pensively while Mercer stood a distance away, absent-mindedly twirling a dagger up and down.


    From the expressions on their faces, it was obvious that both did not have their minds on the conversation at hand.


    "Well, I am heartened to hear that this world has not fallen intoplete disrepair," said Lira. She swept her glowing rainbow gaze across the circle of people, nodding at everyone. All the members of the party had spent time to tell Lira on her request of what was still good and familiar in this world.


    "Riviera still stands proud and tall as the city of the great azureke, its shining walls and sleepy woods keeping its people safe.


    Montagne is still ever a mighty spectacle with its mountainside houses and fortresses and to think that Trieste still has ferrymen rowing starstruck lovers through their beautiful canals more than a hundred yearster, why, it does bring back memories."


    Lira smiled, and Old Thane nodded with a simr smile.


    "Aye," said Old Thane, no doubt remembering a time when he and Aine as adventurers traveled and fought and loved, seeing the vast wide world, and enjoying it to the fullest.


    Lira continued. "Duvin, in particr, my, it is good to hear that it has rebuilt itself from the destruction wrought upon it in the Third Darkening.


    I had thought the noble families of Duvin broken and scattered, but to see that the legions of blood still march with as much pride as they did makes me feel better about how things endedst."


    Lira looked up and blinked at the moon. When she spoke, she spoke softer, more to herself than anyone else. "Irina would have liked to hear her family did not fall due to her, I am sure. But s-,"


    She looked to She and Vilga, beastwomen of the north. "It is saddening that the north has changed so much. That the forests have wilted down, that my brothers and sisters of Torr Valeris have never changed their ways, that the elves have be tyrants whence before they were such wondrous stewards of both nature and progress, ever curious and yet always knowing to bnce life and the future."


    Lira shrugged. "Perhaps it is not all too surprising. The elves have always ced their own before all else. In a way, their behavior is their strong bonds with each other taken to the extreme."


    "If you sad, then fight," said She. "Fight and make things right. Why not fight?"


    "I never said I would not," said Lira. "As I am now, I would. But it may not be so for my true self. One hundred and fifty years is quite a bit of time, and that time may even be longer considering the unpredictable nature of warp travel.


    That is why I want to hear all the good that still remains in this world. Those memories I know will reach my true self no matter what state she is in. I do not know whether she still holds any love for this world, but these memories, memories of all that which is still good, I know will reach her heart.


    And besides, I already told you. I have faith that your seer will do quite a good job on his own. Or do you not trust him?"


    She looked at Li with a worried nce.


    "A jest," said Lira. "I know you believe in him and that you simply wish for assurance." She paused. "I cannot give you that. Notpletely, at the least. But what I can tell you is that you are strong. All of you around me-," She swept her gaze around once more, and this time, she pointed at every single mortal in the party, noticeably leaving out Li.


    "All of you have potential. Strength. Not only of body, but of will. Do not waste your strength believingpletely on the might of others. Believe in yourselves first and foremost, and I am certain that fate will be kind to you.


    If there is one power that these eyes of mine retain even as a copy, it is the ability to see fate, howrge or small individuals are in the grand scheme of things, how much of a ripple they will cause in the world. And all of you have the potential to cause mighty ripples."


    "Oh?" said Li. The ability to witness fate was not an Elden World ability. It must have been something Lira was born with or something she developed independently. "And I presume you cannot see my fate?"


    "I¡­can," said Lira. The way she carried herself, the air of casual confidence, it did not lend to her being the type to easily weigh in any pauses between her words. That alone brought everyone''s attention straight to her, not to mention the sheer curiosity involved in wondering to what degree someone as powerful and important as Li could affect a change in fate.


    "Hm?" said Li, probing for an answer.


    Lira cocked her head one way, then the other, taking the moment to stare at Li with an expression that teetered between concern and concentration. She eventually decided on a shrug to convey herself.


    "I have said that all around me are capable of creating ripples in fate," said Lira. "I shall exin myself further. I perceive ''fate'' as a body of water. Vast in scale and epassing all that is to do with this world.


    There, countless ripples echo throughout, some small, somerge ¨C therger the echo in fate, the greater its impact on this world. There is no doubt that all of you present here are capable of creating echoes muchrger than any single individual can muster.


    But him-,"


    Lira nodded towards Li. "When these shining eyes of mine stare upon him, I do not see any ripples."


    "Somethingrger than ripples, aye?" said Old Thane. "Thed is mighty impressive, he is. I''d know more than anyone that he will make a change in this world like none other.


    Everyone nodded along with Old Thane, but Lira shook her head.


    "I do not see ripples. I do not see anything at all. The river is gone."

 Chapter 306 - Seekers Parting I

    "The river is gone?" Li perked up. He stared at Lira for answers. "What exactly do you mean by that?"


    Lira answered with a simple shrug. "I cannot say. I know that these eyes of mine that can see the flow of fate only work in worlds where there is life a plenty. Elsewhere, such as in the void of stars, I see nothing."


    "So what are you suggesting?" Li narrowed his eyes. "That somehow I am responsible for ending all life on this world? Ending this world, even?"


    "That is what I initially thought," said Lira. "Seeing that was one of the primary reasons I did not trust you and attacked you. I hope you will understand me a bit better."


    She left out the fact that she had attacked Lirgely also because of what he was in respect of his decision to conceal his true nature from those around him.


    "I can understand," said Li. "But what I do not understand is what your vision about me means."


    "I would not think too much about it," said Lira.


    "Hm? Is the prospect of the end of all life on this not worth thinking about?" said Li.


    "Yes, of course, but my ability to see the ripples of fate is limited. If, for example, the ripple you cast is infinitely vast, so muchrger than any else such that it drowns out everything else, then it may be that I perceive such scale as the river itself disappearing." Lira cocked her head. "Or perhaps your fate is tied to the end of all life or the shattering of this world. It is anyone''s guess, really ¨C my capacity to perceive fate was never meant to deal with scale such as this."


    Lira gave Li a knowing look, and Li understood what she wanted to convey. It was a warning to be careful of the battles ahead, for even if it was impossible that himself Li would ever destroy the world, he might unintentionally do so through a battle with another.


    He had known since the moment he knew he would potentially have to face Noctus.


    Yes, Li could fight Noctus. Yes, he could win, probably more times than he would lose now that his powers went beyond those he had in the game world.


    But what of the cost? He could not kill Noctus instantly, and unlike in a game, a boss battle of that caliber would never be confined to a tidy and neat arena.


    A full scale confrontation between Old Ones such as Li and Noctus was, as Li was increasingly beginning to realize, beyond the capacity of a single. One single damage oriented Ultima-ss spell from Li was capable of likely shattering the vast majority of an entire continent.


    What would happen if spells of that caliber began to sh with each other?


    One of Noctus''s most well-known and strongest spells was the ability to call down a mass meteor shower. That alone could likely wipe out a continent also, not to mention making the rest of the world utterly uninhabitable.


    This was power. This was a sh between titans amidst a world made of paper and inhabited by ants.


    Li breathed out, his expression set and serious.


    Lira saw this and said, "I would not worry much were I you. Relying on my vision is thest thing even I would do. Fate is fickle in the same vein that rushing water is. More likely than not, I am simply incapable of truly perceiving your fate.


    And besides, I know that you have the capability to safeguard this world. You know this too. And now that I have seen into your daughter''s memories, I believe you will wield your power and influence to that end."


    "Well, I guess that is reassuring in some way," said Li. He sighed, deciding to himself that in a way, Lira''s attitude was the right one to take. There was no point fretting about unclear fates in an unpredictable future.


    No, it was better for him to act in the present and now to seize how the future turned out.


    "I believe in you,d," said Old Thane, breaking the silence of worried faces among the mortals in the circle. "Always have. Known you were destined for greatness since the day I took you in. And, it seems to me, your greatness is such that not even fate itself can handle it, heh."


    The others nodded to Old Thane''s confident and cheery tone, but there was still a small sense of unease that Li sought to remove now.


    "Thanks, old man," said Li. "But Lira is right. I am going to make this world right, and I know I will. All the life that was lost in past conflicts, I am restoring. Even now, you can see around yourselves life returning to what was once barren and deste.


    It does not matter what stands in front of me. To make things right, to preserve the preciousness of life, I will ovee any obstacle, no matter how small orrge."


    "Well said." Lira stood up with a nod. "A good thing to hear before I go."


    She walked towards Li, her tall, almost towering frame still seeming strangely gentle. Perhaps it was her demure dress she wore now instead of her armor, one that looked like it should have belonged to a daintydy, or perhaps it was how fragile she seemed now, cracks lining all of her skin, her form almostpletely see-through.


    Tia stirred in Li''s arms, using her scaled hands to rub her eyes as she blinked, waking up. When she saw Lira, her eyes widened in waking.


    "Dragon going!?" said Tia as she looked high up to Lira.


    "For now, yes," said Lira. "Come, little dragon, I have something to give you."


    "Really?" Tia looked up to Li for permission, and he nodded. She wriggled out of his arms and walked up to Lira.


    Lira kneeled down, but even with that, she was taller than Tia.


    "Sorry for sleeping," said Tia. "Can''t handle long talks."


    "You and me both," said Lira with augh. "Truth be told, I have another hour or so before I fully fade away, but I feel as if I have heard and said enough. Ah, though, it is still so wonderful to see another dragon. One that has not been corrupted by the blood of Val. Shows that there is still some freedom among our kind.


    Here, little dragon-," Lira balled her hand into a fist and held it out towards Tia. Tia stared at it with expectant curiosity.


    "What is it?" asked Tia, licking her lips in the hopes that it was something edible.


    "I cannot give you much. I am only a shade, after all. An illusion created from arcane magic," said Lira. "All that I will give you, all that I have on me, it will all fade away. But this, I hope will still be a pleasant sight for your eyes."


    Lira unraveled her fist, revealing a ne within. The links of the ne were fashioned in the shape of small, interlocking chains of what looked like solid, glowing red fire. The chains held a diadem shaped ruby that glimmered with a dull, ever present light, like embers smoldering in a fading fire.


    Tia took the ne in her hands and looked at it with cocked hand. "Pretty," she said. "Can I eat it?"


    "Hm, I suppose you could," said Lira. "But it would not taste good. Would not taste like anything, really. And it would not do much for you."


    "Then what is it?" asked Li.


    "My crystallized memories," said Lira. She put a hand over Tia''s, closing the girl''s fingers around the ruby. "Keep this safe for me, little dragon. When the timees and my true selfes, do me a favor and give it to her. It may be necessary. And who knows, I do not know how, but maybe it wille to be useful for you as well."


    Lira unsped her hand around Tia''s and Tia gave Lira a small nod, looking wonderingly at the gemstone ne.


    "You put it around your neck," said Lira. "Unless you would prefer a bracelet? I can certainly shape it like so."


    "No no, it okay," said Tia. She tentatively put the ne around her neck, and Li began to realize then that he was distinctively not a good guide for Tia in terms of getting her to be familiar with, well, girl things.


    The few times Jeanne and Sylvie came over, they would dress her and tell her how to act properly and what to like and what to do, but Li himself had never really given thought about it.


    Not to mention that Tia was not exactly fully human, and, in a way, he came to realize increasingly these days, neither was he ¨C he never even once thought about immersing Tia in the more ''human'' cultural things that he would have were he to have been fully human.


    Lira smiled and patted Tia''s shoulder. "Good. I hope you will not grow up to be too much of a heart throb. Human boys can be all too troublesome sometimes, though potentially sweet."


    "Any reason you want to give her your memories to carry?" said Li. "Figure they''re safer with me, no?"


    "And will she not be with you always? There is no difference then. And I wish to give her some sort of parting gift, if a temporary one," said Lira.


    She did not look at Li as she spoke, and there was something off about her tone. Lira, despite how long lived she was, was always a straightforward person. Entirely unlike the duchess who had used the years to hone her expressions and words to be utterly unreadable.


    Li let this slide, however. He could easily check to see whether the memory crystal had anything wrong with it, and he did not sense that Lira would ever want to really hurt her or him at this point. Seeing into her soul made him understand her much better than many, and he knew well that she was not the type of person to ever hurt others with underhanded methods.


    "I suppose so," said Li.

 Chapter 307 - Farewell

    "Then that settles it," said Lira promptly. She stood up, patting Tia''s shoulder before turning to the others.


    It was very evident by now that she did not have long in this world before her construct form faded. Flecks of glowing red magical energy were starting to swirl off of her, like she was made of sand blowing away slowly but surely in a gentle breeze.


    It was eerily beautiful, in a sense, her fading was with the gleaming sparkles of red glittering in the night, hovering in dancing arcs above her head and reaching high into the sky.


    "Thou taketh thy leave now?" asked As with a certain degree of saddened disappointment. Her pale, slender fingers clutched at a sand tablet tucked to her side.


    "Aye, was a fine time to hear of your tales," agreed Old Thane.


    Vilga did not speak but sat cross legged with her eyes focused intently on Lira ¨C sign that she was attentive but not talkative as usual.


    She was in the same seated position, but her expression was one that was a little more wistful, perhaps still a little disappointed that the dragon would not grant her the help she wanted.


    Mason and Mercer were still moping around and quiet in the corner. Li would have to ask them why a littleter.


    "I had perhaps an hour of time left, but I have heard enough and talked enough. I am not the greatest conversationalist, so I would have felt rather awkward mulling about while fading away," said Lira. "At the least, I have filled in your tablet about the rest of mine adventures. I shall hope that when my true self descends upon this world, she will have many more tales to speak of from many more worlds."


    "I shall look forward to it," said As with a short bow of her head, her yellow eyes gleaming with curiosity at the mention of other worlds.


    Lira nodded to As and then addressed the others.


    "I do not have that many profound finalst words in mind," said Lira with a shrug. "I have never been an eloquent speaker. All I can say now is to reiterate that you have the potential to make strong ripples in fate. But take care that these ripples are neutral ¨C they measure only the size of your influence.


    It may be that you will twist fate for the worse. Hopefully-," she continued, giving She a nce. "It will be for the better. Now then-,"


    Lira stood up tall and looked to the sky. The crimson flecks breaking apart from her body began to crumble apart in higher volume, rapidly, until there was huge pir of red light shining from above her, reaching like a tall candlelight into the sky with flickers of both light and warmth.


    Her body began to break apart at the extremities, her hands and legs fading away first.


    "I suppose this is goodbye. For now. Til'' I see you all next." Lira smiled, her fangs baring. "I look forward to where fate takes you all."


    "Oh, right!" said Tia. She clutched at the ruby around her neck and said, "Thank you! Papa always says to thank people for gifts."


    "Oh, darling, you are only holding onto that for me," said Lira. "No need to thank me. I should be thanking you. I know you wish to see my father and the dragons of Torr Valeris one day, and hopefully, I will be there to guide you through thends.


    If not, make sure to ce all your trust and love in your father. He is a better being than most atop that peak."


    Tia nodded, and Lira finally began to truly break apart, her torso shattering into a burst of energy particles, her face breaking apart like ss, shards of it flying above into the sky.


    Nobody else said a vocal goodbye to Lira, not because they did not want to, but because they were watching in awe. The shower of swirling red energy that rose up from Lira had formed a canvas upon which flickering, hazy and red tinted images shed.


    A rapid snapshot story of her memories. At first, they flickered slowly, like a picture book turning, and then, showing her in Torr Valeris, showing her fighting, training, showing her wounded ¨C all images Li and Tia were familiar with.


    Then the pages began to turn faster and faster as the vast years of her life unfolded to the point that the mortal eye would have been hard pressed to perceive much of anything.


    But Li could. He could see her reaching into the dimensional rift with a blue robed lich by her side.


    He could see her flying through the vastness of space, the thrusters in her armor jetting out streaks of red, magical fire that formedet-like tails. He could see her on a deste, smoking world with the lich beside her, pointing this way and that, guiding her and telling her of the world''s end.


    He could see her on another world, one with life in it, one very much like his own with humans and towering cityscapes and yet without the choking ck smog that dominated his past life. A world of modern and human civilization that had not yet reached the stage of self-destructiveness that characterized his own.


    On this world, he saw her defend herself against both humans that shot sts of magic- magic he did not recognize ¨C at her alongside arrays of gunfire.


    Then another world.


    A deste world once more, massive fissures lining it surface while volcanic eruptions boomed in the distance, signaling an unstable core that would doom the world to destruction soon. The lich was there again, putting a skeletal finger to his sharp, bony chin as he weaved blue lines through the air, searching, finding something.


    They were toote to save the world, but there was still something they could salvage.


    They did find that they were looking for. He saw her travel deep underground, into the depths of the itself, into a cavern of light he could not recognize, and at this point, the memories became hazy., blurry.


    But here, he could still see her her reach out to find the Prometheas.


    And here, her memories ended, the interference breaking them up with a distortion that made them nigh unrecognizable, and also likely because of her memories spanning too much time for her cloned copy to further process.


    And yet, there was still one more thing he saw. He saw in that light the outline of a crossbow he thought he recognized.

 Chapter 308 - Memories

    Lira disappeared with that final snapshot of memory. Her actual disappearance was far less of a spectacle than whole breaking apart light show that led up to it. It simply was like she had never existed at all.


    There was no trace of her. All the brilliant red specks of magical energy that formed her were gone, and it was impossible even to sense any remnants of them anymore.


    But while everyone else focused on where Lira had been, wondering about the seeker in some capacity, Li''s mind wandered elsewhere. That crossbow, or whatever sliver of it that shed in his eyes as he saw it in the most fleeting of instants was something he thought he recognized.


    Its huge build colored ck and speckled with glowing yellow like the night sky and the shining white tips of the crossbow bolts made it almostpletely certain that it was the [Cosmic ster], a Celestial ss item that represented the pinnacle of area of effect damage dealing ranged weapons.


    But it was not the item alone that made Li wonder. It was who he knew that used it. That was the signature weapon of //BEAST//, his old friend and guildmate. Of course, he knew that the weapon was not entirely exclusive to her.


    Celestial tier items were generallypletely one of a kind to indicate their vast power and to reward the enormous struggles a yer had to go through to obtain them, but the [Cosmic ster] was the sister weapon to the [Cosmic Piercer] that looked almost identical, the only difference being that the piercer was more specialized for single target damage.


    Still, it was jarring to see that weapon.


    It made Li think. Ponder on Lira''s words.


    She had mentioned traveling to other worlds. Different realities. He already acknowledged the possibility that there might have been other yers in different versions of this world, and yet, this possibility weighed on him far, far heavier now that it became personal to him.


    //BEAST// was one of Li''s best friends. Along with Oceanmaster, they might as well have been his only two real friends. Two shining stars of genuine human connection among the sea of fake connections and corporate, money grubbing acquaintance making that seemed to dominate his life.


    All the more ironic that he made his most genuine bonds across virtual screens, but perhaps the distance of the screens was what let them set aside any differences of distance or border or belief they had to connect.


    Was //BEAST// on this world?


    The world seemed so deste. Completely destroyed and devoid of life. Whatever shining ce that Lira went to in order to retrieve the Prometheas was not a ce that had any real life in it, only remnants of power.


    Then was she dead? The possibility seemed all too high.


    But what if she was not?


    Would he try and go to her? Reach out to her?


    Certainly, he could try to make something work with his eldritch powers that could manipte space and time, though as of now, he did not know howrge a cost it would carve from himself to break those barriers of space time.


    But, as he thought about it, the question arose: should he?


    He remembered thest time had had ever seen her. Through five years of knowing each other, ying Elden World, bonding, getting to know each other,ughing, and crying and getting angry together, she had always been quiet about what her job was.


    Then they knew.


    A quiet day, it was supposed to be. On the eve of Arboretum''s fifth anniversary where they along with the rest of the ny-five guild members had just cleared an impressive dungeon. It was after the raid, when the original three founding members kicked back to talk.


    There, she revealed she was a journalist. An investigative journalist that worked with one of the few free and independent papers in the world. She wanted to let her closest friends know because the day afterwards, she was going to travel to a mounting conflict in Southeast Asia where the new cold war between east and west had caused massive tensions involving a toppling regime and a rebel insurgency.


    This was the most dangerous assignment she had ever undertaken, and she felt conflicted. For most of her career, she had spent her time with lower level corruption cases of which there were plenty. This was the first time she would cover something big.


    Something real, she imed. Her whole life, she wanted to make a change in this bleak world, and when she could not, when she did not have the courage to, she escaped to Elden World to feel like she did something big.


    And now, she had the chance.


    But she was afraid. She knew the danger, so she turned to her two closest friends to ask what she should do.


    Should she go?


    Oceanmaster had said no. It was nonsensical to risk her life for anything. Nothing was worth fighting for in this world. She might as well be happy with the game.


    Li had told her to go. He knew she wanted to make a difference in the world in her own way, and he knew this was big for her. He knew what it felt like to lose sight of your dreams and be lost, and he did not want that for her.


    The aftermath of that decision broke the guild apart. She never came online again. Oceanmaster quit from the guild and severed connections with Li. He took an extended leave of absence from being guildmaster.


    Like dominos toppling, everything seemed to go wrong after that. Elden World started to stagnate, no new content developing and the game slowly falling behind itspetitors. A few developer controversies made the yer base bleed, and a yearter, Li was left tending to a garden full of rare, hard won seeds like a gravetender taking care of tombstones.


    "Papa?"


    Li blinked and looked back down, snapping his mind back to the present. The here and now in a world so very far away from where his memories were. He saw Tia looking up at him with evident worry on her face.


    "You okay, papa?"


    "Of course. Just thinking," said Li as he put a hand on Tia''s head.


    "About what?"


    Li nced around to find the rest of the party looking at him, having moved past Lira''s disappearance to see whether he was okay.


    No, he realized. His ce was here. Right here in this world he had chosen to protect. When all was said and done, order realized and bnce restored, then he would entertain bridging any gaps in his past.


    For now, there was so much in the here and now. So many lives and hopes relying on him.


    "Nothing much," said Li, a little loud to make sure everybody heard. He smiled and whisked Tia off her feet, putting her on his shoulder. Her ruby ne glinted red in the night, lighting up her toothy smile in a faint shade of crimson.


    "All of you, get some sleep. It iste, and I want to move soon after first daybreak," said Li. "I want to reach the Shibboleth by afternoon tomorrow. It is about time we reached the western continent."

 Chapter 309 - Midpath Reconstruction

    The Vukanovi traveled furiously, and Li spent much of the night simply watching the screen projected within the pumpkin creature while everyone slept. As was the only one that stayed up, not needing to sleep as much as the others and acting as a guide to Li.


    She made sure he traveled across the Midpath that her goddess had created so very long ago, in the dawn of magic. For even here, through the destion wrought by the Triforge''s world vein draining, there were still remnants of the Midpath that once guided mortals from the western continent to the southern and vice versa.


    "Stop here," said As as she pointed to the screen. Her ck, sharp nail poised itself at a diadem shaped indentation in the ground that still managed to glow with a faint white light. All around it was just wastnd.


    With the Veinheld''s destruction at the Triforge mountains coupled with the scorched earth tactics of the demonic invasion of the Third Darkening had left the vast stretches ofnd from the Triforge all the way presumably to the Shibboleth a deste, lifeless waste.


    Butnd that Li covered restored life everywhere, and though for now there would only be the asional patches of green shooting up through the life parched earth, that was just the beginning. Like a rolling stone gathering mass, this initial burst of life would proliferate exponentially, and soon enough, life would return to this emptiness.


    And with it, Li realized as hemanded the Vukanovi to stop by raising his hand, the necessity of something like the Midpath to guide mortals once more.


    Outside the Vukanovi, Li stood by as he saw As slither towards the diadem indentation. The indentation in the ground was massive, easily capable of fitting in an elephant within its bounds. She lowered herself close to the ground, putting her hands slightly above the line in the cracked earth where the indentation began.


    "What exactly are these?" said Li as he watched As restore the Midpath.


    "ess points for divine power," said As. She closed her eyes and held in her breath. Her hands trembled, but as they shook, the light in the indentation began to intensify. "Mine goddess may channel her might through these points, and in doing so, the Midpath shalt once more be restored."


    "Interesting," said Li. He knew that the three great gods were trapped in Valhul, unable to interact with the mortal world, and yet, it seemed that to a degree, the mortals themselves could still tap into their divine power.


    Li saw as a jolt of light arced from As''s hands like electricity, tapping into the indentation and causing it to grow ever more intensely. Countless sigils and runes became visible throughout the indentation. A whirring sound began to emanate and wind and pressure swirled up in a pir-shaped vortex.


    Sand began to manifest out of seemingly nowhere, sucking into the vortex and beginning to fill it out like colors filling out a sketched outline.


    "Ah, so it seems like you simply channel a little spark of divine energy which activates the power dormant within the runes and sigils carved throughout the indent in the ground. Much like car keys starting an engine," said Li.


    As raised a brow. "Car?"


    "Something like a golem," said Li. He had slipped up in referencing the modern world. Probably because lingering thoughts still remained about //BEAST// and his past life. "Do not think much of it. The point is, I understand how this works."


    "Hm. I shalt one day convince thee to enlighten me of thy vast stores of hidden knowledge," said As.


    Li watched as the sand solidified into an obelisk that towered a dozen meters into the air. Runes and sigils started to line its length, and each letter glowed with a different but equally bright color that cut through the night.


    So it seemed that the gods could leave ''ess points'', but that name was misleading. Nobody was essing the gods themselves. Instead, it was more like the gods were leaving behind tools and trinkets that needed little shards of their divine energy to act as something akin to authorization codes.


    Made sense, considering how distant the gods seemed to be in Valhul. And yet, there was one instance that Li still remembered.


    "As, how is it that your goddess can see through your eyes?" said Li, recalling the incident when he had first met the Serpi, when they did not have any trust with each other and how she had attempted to cast divine magic that Li stopped.


    "Ah, that," said As. She squirmed a little, embarrassed. "Forgive me for that outburst, twas'' unsightly. But to answer thy query, it is such: the sisters of the sands hath a strong connection to our goddess, much, much stronger than any other race of mortal.


    For it is only among us that Zahaka shares the brunt of her blessings. For the other gods that hath spread their power among many, even splitting their strength among varying forms to reach a greater breadth of peoples, divine might is spread thin, less concentrated."


    Pride leeched into As''s voice. "Alone among the races of this world do the sisters of the sands hold capacity tomune with a great god."


    As then looked at Li and scrambled to correct herself. "Ah, nay, not alone. Thou art in directmunion with a great divinity as well."


    "No need to worry about it," said Li. "I just find it interesting. So Zahaka can actually talk to you? And you can talk to her?"


    "Nay, ourmunion is not as great as thee," said As. "Once, perhaps in a cycle, the sisters may receive whispers from Zahaka. We feel her presence whenever we cast our magic or call for her aid, but it is faint. See through us, mayhaps she can, but even that is rare ¨C only when we doth channel a great amount of her divine might do our eyes light with the great serpent''s wisdom, allowing her to see through us.


    And as a high priestess, I am few among mine sisters that the great serpent even holdeth the privilege to use such might in the first ce."


    "I see," said Li.


    The obelisk, now fully solidified, emanated magical energy, lighting up a glowing white path that stretched far behind it and far in front of it, indicating a path to the Shibboleth.


    Li looked up at the sky. He figured he could get back to Valhul by tapping into his eldritch side. No, in the very first ce, he came to realize now that he was better attuned with his powers, that was why he had been transported there in the first ce.


    Using eldritch power made him an anomaly in this world. A shifting mass of spatial and dimensional uncertainty, and the world had acted like a white blood cell fighting off an infection, immediately quarantining Li away.


    Maybe, if he returned, Zahaka would have by now found out a way to free herself and the other gods from Valhul.


    But did he want that?


    Li nced back at As, watching her sp her hands together and close her eyes in front of the obelisk as she whispered a prayer.


    Certainly, there would be many that would be happy the gods would descend. The gods might even help to right this world, surely dismantling the elves or helping against Noctus. Li knew Helios would dly take up arms once more to fight his brother.


    But no.


    Not now, at least.


    The three great gods were extreme variables, and their power challenged Li, and if he wanted to order this world as he wanted it, he could not have other deities interfering with him. A simple matter ofpetition.


    If it came down to it, if he needed allies against Noctus, if he needed the gods to rally with him to restore peace, then he would not hesitate to try and free them.


    But until an absolute necessity arose, he would hold off on it.


    Not to mention there was no real guarantee that he could even free them without significantly deteriorating his sense of self by breaking thews of space and time with his eldritch powers.

 Chapter 310 - Shibboleth

    When As finished activating the beacon for the Midpath once more, she looked up to Li with a curious tilt of her head.


    "Prithee tell me, Seer, if this be not too personal, why doth thee keep thy past secret? So much of thy knowledge hidden? To mine eyes, tis'' evident that thy knowledge shouldst enlighten this world greatly," said As.


    "I know surprisingly less than you think," said Li. "Just enough to know where this world is headed without proper guidance. Which is why I''m here in the first ce."


    "But wouldst it not behoove thee to share thy knowledge with me?" As eagerly manifested a sand tablet and held a stylus over it. "Thy divinity, for example, and what it wishes for. Thy past in the East, for surely one of thy caliber has had a most interesting past rivaling even that of the Seeker."


    "I understand how much you want to know, and I can respect that. I truly do. I was once a schr myself, or something like that," said Li as he reminisced about studying through college and graduate school. "But for now, I would like to keep my past hidden."


    "I understand," said As with a respectful nod, the sand tablet disappearing in her hands. She began to slither back to the Vukanovi, but Li stopped her with his words.


    "But in time, you will know about me," said Li. As turned back to him with wonder. "Everyone will."


    He thought about when he wanted to reveal his true nature as a being beyond a god. At first, he did not want to reveal it to Old Thane, but as he began to think about it, he came to increasingly realize that the old man''s love for him was not contingent on whether he was a divinity or not.


    It was Tia''s care for Li that made him realize that. There was something about familial bonds that overcame boundaries of being, no matter how deep or wide they were.


    But he could not guarantee that same level of eptance to the other mortals that his garden would eventuallye to epass. Approaching as a god that had reign over death, very much looking the part as well, would not be conducive to mortals epting him.


    He would first expand his influence, the name of his guild, the faith he had flowered, and when the mortals could understand him as a force of Order, someone that could bring some good to the chaos that gued them, then he would assume his full nature as a god meant to shepherd them.


    "Ah, then it doth seem that I must wait in line with the rest for thy knowledge," said As with a crestfallen look, her face looking down with her lengthy ck hair hanging low.


    "You are joking, right?" said Li.


    "Of course." As flipped her hair back with a smile. "Tis'' a show of theatre. Mine sisters are quite capable in it, though it has been long since I hath practiced any act."


    "I see. Makes sense that ys and historical recordings would go hand in hand together," said Li.


    "And there will be no grander story than that which will be told from thine adventures, I am sure of it," said As as she waved her hand, creating a tform of sand to form under her and float her up to the top of the Vukanovi. "If thou would wish to keep thy knowledge for a grand reveal, then I am all for it."


    The vukanovi opened up, and she lowered herself down.


    "Story, huh," said Li, reflecting on the nature of his longevity.


    As recorded history, immortalized it in records and in stories, and yet, he understood that the concept of that would mean something so different to him. He was immortal. He would live through everything, remember everything ¨C history would simply be a part of him.


    The idea of that would have seemed so very overwhelming just a few months back, but now, it seemed natural. Not that he had lived many years, that was yet toe, but the prospect of facing it did not elicit any nervousness from him anymore.


    A good thing, thought Li. He was getting ready to bring Order to this world. Long term.


    ===


    In the morning, the vukanovi reached the Shibboleth.


    Li looked around to see everyone sleeping except As who stayed up all night to see the Shibboleth with great excitement. For nobody had ever seen the great divide between the western and southern continents since the Third Darkening a hundred and fifty years ago.


    "Everybody, wake up," said Li, projecting his voice to ensure nobody stayed asleep.


    Old Thane, Vilga, and She woke up in an instant, their eyes flitting open and their bodies tensing up in lighting quick session.


    Mason and Mercer groaned collectively as they rubbed their eyes, driving away their grogginess.


    Tia was thest to wake up, blinking slowly with heavy eyelids as she yawned, but even she soon had her eyes open wide in wonder as she looked at the screen in the Vukanovi projecting the outside world.


    The Shibboleth, as its name would suggest, was indeed a massive divide.


    But massive was underselling it. The Vukanovi stood on the edge of a cliff face perfectly horizontally shaped and t, as if created by a massive knife slicing thend apart, and reaching far out into the horizons, and in the far, far distance, obscured by clouds, there was another cliff face, much, much higher up, that also seemed to stretch from side to side infinitely.


    "It would be a waste to look at this ce through a screen," said Li. "As says nobody has seen this sight for a hundred and fifty years. We should respect it by getting to it with our own two eyes."


    "Aye, I''ll try me best," said Old Thane with a smile.


    "And when did you start cracking blind person jokes, old man?" said Li with a shake of his head.


    "Adventuring does bring out my joking side," said Old Thane. "And it has been long since I have adventured. Expect many more out of me."


    "Try not to overuse them," said Li. "And I''ll describe it to you best I can, old man. But I figure even you''ll benefit from getting some fresh and new air. Now let us get a move on, all of you."


    Outside, the sheer scale of the Shibboleth became clear.


    It was quite literally a continent-wide divide, the two separate cliff faces stretching out so far that even Li''s enhanced sight had trouble perceiving the far end of it.


    "It is said that in the wake of the great Convergence, Helios wielded the almighty Sunspear to strike down Zeras, the primal Burning One, and that one blow split apart thends to forge what is known now as the Hintends and Eldenia."


    "A continent splitting attack, is it?" noted Li. "Not bad."


    "Not bad?" muttered Mason as he gawked at the huge, clean slice in thend. "Surely, there has been never a blow to match the power of that light since."


    "If you manage to stay alive, maybe you will be lucky enough to witness one," said Li. "Now then, I think As has more to say, so keep your ears open."


    As nodded and pointed up, beyond the cliff face they stood on to the other one. The other cliff face must have been dozens of kilometers away, barely visible, but even from this distance, it was possible to tell that the other side, the Hintends, were situated at a far higher elevation, almost nearing the clouds.


    "There lies the Gigant," said As. "Realm of all that is giant. And it is heartening to see that it has survived all this time, even through the Third Darkening. Pray, do take breaths, tell me howst thou feels."


    Mason and Mercer took in short breaths.


    "Feels like I cannot take in much at all," said Mercer.


    "Perhaps we are too far high up?" pondered Mason.


    "That, and the high concentration of magical energy in the air," noted Li. "Far denser than usual."


    "Tis'' so." As continued to point to the other side. "And there, the air bes ever thicker, ever stronger. Air fit for giants, but not for themon man."


    "Will we even be able to breath up there?" asked Mercer.


    "How will we even get there to begin with?" said Mason. "There is naught but empty space and an immense fall between here and there."


    "Your breathing will be fine. I will see to that," said Li. "As for getting there-," He motioned to As.


    As slithered up to the edge of the cliff face, the ground underneath her lit up by a faint white sheen that demarcated a path. Here, the Midpath started to fade again, far away from thest beacon as it was. But conveniently ced at the edge of the cliff face were two indentations meant to hold obelisks.


    "I shalt light these beacons, and they shall create forth light stretching to the other end. This is the final stretch of the Midpath that had once connected two continents together: a bridge created through the great serpent''s magic and the sun god''s solid light." As ced her hands over the indentations, and they began to light up. "But s, it doth not seem that the sun god''s light will grace us now."


    Li had talked with As about the Midpath and the bridge it formed during the ride here. The light from her goddess would basically create a framework for the bridge, but it was Helios''s light that would fill that frame in with actual solid, protected light.


    However, Helios''s constructs no longer functioned in the world. They had not since some time after the Second Darkening, likely coinciding with the sun god losing his brother to the abyss. Not to mention there was nobody in the party sufficiently connected with Helios as a priest to activate anything the god might have left behind.


    "The sun god will not grace us with his might?" asked Mason in some disbelief.


    "No," said Li. He put his hand out, narrowing his eyes as he estimated what the structure of the massive bridge would be like, what it would take to create it and renew it in his own image. "But I will."

 Chapter 311 - Midpath Reborn

    "You will?" asked Mason as he stared at Li in a sh of disbelief that quickly turned into apologetic recognition. "Of course, good seer. Forgive me if you thought I was doubting you."


    "Do not beat yourself up about it," said Li with a nod. "All your life, you have known one god, one light. And I will say now that your faith is not misced. Your god of light is certainly a powerful one and, deep down, a good one.


    He would be happy to know that there are genuine people with genuine beliefs under his light even now."


    "Good seer, how would you know this?" asked Mason.


    "Call it a hunch. Something you pick up from being close to divinity for so long." Li stepped forwards and waved everyone else back except As.


    "As, is this theyout for the Midpath bridge?" said Li as he peered straight ahead.


    Twin obelisks of sand, muchrger than the ones she had erected across the Midpath, stood beside her, and from their rune carved surfaces there arose a massive flux of brilliant white magical energy that flowed out in whirring strands.


    The strands wove around each other in equally sized hexes, building up aplex and clear outline of what the Midpath bridge must have once been. It looked exactly like a blueprint drawn up by an architect, and even Li found himself impressed at its sheer scale and artistry.


    The Midpath bridge stretched from this side of the continent to the other, a full dozen kilometers or so, with the bridge itself being nearly half a kilometer wide. The bridge''s design itself looked like a strange blend of ssical Greco-roman architecture and fantastical magic elements.


    The length of the bridge was a construct of pure energy, and flickers of faint color indicated that whenpleted, the colors of the rainbow would run down the length of the path. ssical arches set apart in intervals of a hundred meters rose across, and perched atop them, there were facades of winged angels raising torches high up, acting as beacons of light.


    "Angels," muttered Mason under his breath. His blue eyes glistened as he saw the beauty of the statues apparent even through the iplete blueprints of weaved white lines of magic. He saw their great wings unfurled to their sides, stretching downwards as if to caress the bridge in protective embrace.


    When his eyes moved to the angels'' hands, they narrowed in confusion. "But¡­"


    "Doth they look different from the angels that thou know?" said As, gently.


    Mason nodded.


    Li had to agree. He had seen an angel statue here or there, for they were talked about in the myths of Soleil and the light as servants of the great god Helius before they ascended to Valhul. In any depiction of angel in Soleil, they were distinctively human, the only inhuman part of them being their wings.


    But here, it was evident that the angels were beastwomen.


    Harpies, to be precise, as was apparent by their taloned fingers and pinkies that stretched out from behind their hands to form their wings.


    Though, as Li realized, they were different from normal harpies too. Their torsos seemed mechanical in nature, formed from smooth, metallic surfaces interlocked around an orb-like core.


    He knew what these were. Angels, especially variants at a higher level, were more mechanical than organic beings, with the highest ranked types such as Seraphim looking like winged mechs more so than any flesh and blood fighter.


    These were Aviania, level seventy angels that harpies using light based divine magic could ascend to when they met some conditions.


    "I mentioned before that the harpies of the north too worship the Light," said As. She pointed to the hollow statues of the Aviania. "Tis why. The harpies are sons and daughters of the Light also. The originals if I may add. Sessor to the first angels that once guarded this realm."


    "The Light was not vested unto man?" said Mason.


    "Oh, it was," said As. "But not only to man. Tis'' a strange thing, how thy kind hath warped the Light. The main t of it still stands, that the Light shall shine upon all no matter their shape nor size, and yet, how that principle has warped to the shape and size of man only is one that still confounds me."


    "Will these Aviania activate if I restore this bridge ording to the blueprints?" said Li. His eyes, now far more sensitive to the flow of magic than before, could tell that this blueprint, this weave of white hexes, required additional divine energy to fill in.


    But he had to hand it to Zahaka. The design of the blueprint was masterful. All he had to do was pump in his power, and the hexes would circte them, shape them, and form them exactly into the specifications of the bridge.


    In a way, it was very much like the ritual she used to channel Li''s power to transport him back from Valhul to the physical world. It would seem that she was continuously studying, improving upon her former designs to create newer and better spells.


    He wondered how far the goddess had progressed by now.


    "Aviania? That is their name?" As scribbled down a note in her tablet. She looked to Li with the stylus at her lips. "As for thy query, I doth not know. The Midpath was built in the dawn of the Convergence when yet the gods still roamed this realm, and since then, there hath been none godly enough that could ever restore it."


    "Suppose there is no harm in trying," said Li. He walked to the edge of the cliff face, standing between the two obelisks drawing up the blueprints.


    "Stand back, all of you. The scale of this operation is beyond you all for now," said Li as he stretched his arms out to the side. An aura of green started to shimmer and flicker all around him, waving faintly at first before filling in with bright color that crackled.


    "Go, papa, go!" said Tia as she pped her hands, always eager to see Li disy his power.


    Li smiled and tilted his head back for a bit, making sure everyone was far enough back, and when he confirmed they were, all of them watching him with intently, he took in a breath. He slowly put his arms forward, his fingers sying out.


    He watched arcs of radiant green streaking out from his fingers and arms, reacting with the white lines of Zahaka''s old magic. The hexes that interacted with Li''s life energy glowed the same shade of green, showing that his divine magic was just aspatible here as Helius''s must have been long ago.


    Then there was no need to hold back.


    Li unleashed his power full throttle, his eyes glowing so bright they could have blinded anyone that stared at them. A mountainous aura of trembling green rose up around him for a split second, lighting up the sky in a verdant instant before the entirety of that magic packed aura funneled into the blueprint.


    It was like some heavenly giant had taken a great brush dipped in green and swathed it over the intricate collection of hexes. The once white web of magic turned green, and then life started to grow.


    The rainbow path, once a construct of solidified light, filled in with bony white ashwood. The arches dotting the path, onceprised of solid golden light from Helius, instead now built themselves out of the same ashen wood, vines and leaves curling out in decoration where before there would have been patterns of gold in the shape of sunlight.


    And yet, it was not that Li''s energy overpowered the original design.


    No, instead, it was more a fusion.


    The ashwood path started to light up, seven neat rows of flowers, each a different color of the rainbow, growing across its length, maintaining the rainbow lighting that was part of Zahaka''s original design.


    Amid the leafy green that grew on the now wooden arches, there arose countless sunflowers, their golden heads shining bright with the resplendent luster of the sun.


    The Aviania, however, did not manifest, remaining as unaffected blueprints unreached by Li''s divine power.


    "Odd," said Li as he peered at the hollow hexes making up the Aviania. Maybe he could not create life under another god''s domain.


    He briefly considered spawning treants or some other guardian familiar in ce of the Aviania, but he did not have to consider long.


    A sh of golden light broke from the sky as clouds parted. The light enveloped the length of the bridge, and as it touched down on the divine construct, the Aviania begin to fill in with solid gold.


    Li widened his eyes in surprise. This was the unmistakable energy signature of Helius. And, as he realized, it was not just the god''s power that was here. No, Helius''s presence was also here, if a bit faint.

 Chapter 312 - The Sun God I

    "He is here!" Mason almost shouted as he saw the brilliant rays of gold dawn upon the reborn Midpath, coloring in the blueprints of the Aviania angels into mechanical structures of gold and white te surrounding azure blue cores.


    "The One Light himself. I¡­I¡­had no idea it would feel like this." He put a hand to his heart, and his fingers gripped his shirt tight, and yet, his expression, though awed, remained neutral. "It¡­does not feel warm. As warm andforting as I thought the Light would be."


    The light spread from statue to statue in weaves of gold before finally arcing its way to the twin sand obelisks Li stood in front of. The luminescence gathered, swirling in tight-knit strands that eventually became sopact they created a swirling portal that shimmered like a miniature sun, though, as Mason noted, no heat came from it.


    Everyone in the party except for Li took steps back, for even if there was no heat from this light, the sheer output of magical energy from it was enormous, bending the very space around the portal in distortions that mimicked heat waves.


    This was the power of Helius, after all, an entity that stood above even the Three Great Gods.


    And Li could feel that the light shone for him.


    "Papa, you going?" said Tia as she tugged at Li''s brown coat sleeve.


    "Hm." Li stared at the portal, wondering about if things could go wrong. Would this lead to Valhul? If so, then did he have a way out?


    It was odd that Helius would ever invite Li back into Valhul if the god had no way to send Li back. But there was a chance. Had the god be antagonistic? It seemed highly unlikely.


    Regardless, if Li had to prepare for a worst-case scenario, he would rather be safe than sorry. He was curious about this portal, massively so, in fact, considering this would be the first time he interacted with any of the three great gods since what seemed like an eternity ago in the first month of his time in this world.


    He wanted to know of their status and their ns, for they alone were entities rted to this world big enough to match the impact he could make. It was crucial that all of them cooperated together.


    If things went massively wrong, Li would not hesitate to draw upon his eldritch powers to break space and warp himself away, even if it would cost him some of his humanity.


    "Yes, Tia. Father is going," said Li. "This portal was meant for me. I would be rude not to ept the invitation."


    "You¡­hold personal counsel with the One Light himself?" asked Mason in ck jawed awe.


    "Why do you think I am so confident in making judgements about the Light?" said Li. "I will let you know how things are on his end soon enough."


    "Stay safe, papa, ande back soon!" said Tia. "Make sure to think about me."


    "Of course, Tia." Li smiled and put a hand to her head. "I always think about you."


    He stepped up to the golden portal, eyed it once, then stepped past it.


    The sun.


    Li found himself floating a hundred or so meters away from a gargantuan sun, though even with its size, it was evident that it was not a real sr body. An imitation. Perfect in terms of visual appearance with its orange, white-speckled spherical body lined with bright white, ring bands that formed a corona.


    But there was no dangerously high heat emanating from it. In fact, there was no heat at all. Nor was there bliding amounts of light. Rather, the light that shone from the miniature sun seemed rather dim for its size, casting just enough to light up the surroundings of this new area.


    Li could see floating in free, white space blue orbs of varying size, their figures lined with dull gold patterns reminiscent of circuitry. One of these orbs, about the size of a small house, approached Li, and atop it sat Helius.


    Li willed himself to move,nding in front of the sun god atop the orb. He inspected Helius again, wondering if anything had changed.


    Helius was still much the same. His ragged, unkempt gold hair ran down beyond his shoulders. His facial features were as gaunt and sunken in as ever, dark bags under golden eyes that should have been filled with fiery light. He was still thin, his divine armor absent with a tattered white sackcloth in its ce.


    "You seem well," said Li.


    Helius looked up at Li for a second before shrugging. "Well as I can be, I suppose."


    "What brings me here?" said Li.


    "You restoring the Midpath," said Helius.


    "Care to exin a bit more?"


    Helius nodded. "Of course. Sorry. I have lost a bit of touch in how to speak with others. I have been watching your journey. I knew you would reach the Midpath. The Midpath is one of the few remaining structural gateways that exist to manifest my divine power upon realm, if temporarily. I did not want to miss the chance to convene with you."


    "I see," said Li, nodding to himself in some relief that the gods were not opposed to him or that the world had entrapped him again. In fact, this ce did not seem at all like Valhul. "Where is this?"


    "Just as you encountered Chi-You in his personal realm, so too do I possess one," said Helius. "Though it was Zahaka that created realms for Chi-You and Khonsu. This realm is one of my own power. An intermediary dimension that once channeled my power to fuel my angels. Though now, it is cold and inactive."


    "I see. Is there a reason we did not meet on Valhul?" said Li.


    "I do not control Valhul. The World does. If you enter there again, I have no means of sending you back. Zahaka can, but I doubt you wish to go through that lengthy process again." Helius waved his bony hand around him, gesturing to his dimension. "But entry and exit from this realm, I alone control."


    "I am curious about Zahaka. She was working on a means of taking all of you out of Valhul, no? How is the progress on that?"


    "I do not talk with Zahaka much. She does not talk much to us either anymore. She has grown distant. Absorbed in her work, perhaps, or something else on her mind, but I do not care much. From what she does tell, she is close. Soon, she says. Perhaps in time for me to aid in your purpose heading to the west."


    Li narrowed his eyes. "You speak about your brother. Noctus."


    "Yes." Helius sighed, his eyes growing distant. A few secondster, they focused again. "Yes," he repeated. "You journey now to face him."


    "He has be a problem," said Li. "Or rather, others have begun to use his power, spreading madness and corruption anywhere. I see no end to this unless I wipe out the source of the problem itself. This, I hope you do not oppose."


    "Of course not. One of the reasons why I wished to speak to you was to confirm your intent to fight against Noctus." Helius put his pale, bony hand out in front of him, the fingers wide, as if he were reaching out to grab something. Then, his hand closed into a tight fist. "And to tell you I will fight."


    "I do not know about that," said Li. "It is not that I will not fight Noctus, but I worry about what this fight will entail. Even should you and the three great gods descend to aid me, awakening Noctus will still cause a fight of mythical proportions.


    Any war you may have had with Burning Ones and demons will look childish inparison. Noctus is stronger than any of you in Valhul. Even if all of us took him down, if Noctus manages to unleash just one errant blow, then it may be that millions of lives are lost."


    "You will not have to worry about that," said Helius. "I have nned for centuries to right my wrongs and end the misery I brought my brother to. This realm-," Helius gestured to the dimension around him again. "Will contain Noctus. Here, I will iste him.


    Another reason I called for you. I wished to give you peace of mind knowing that my realm is at your disposal."


    "I see." Li brought a hand to his chin. "Indeed, that would work. Noctus is potentially capable of dimensional travel, but doing so will take time, and we will not give him that time if we face him inbat.


    But still-," Li looked to the sun engine, at the countless blue orbs that must have once fueled many, many angels. "Will you not feel loss in having this realm be destroyed?"


    "All the angels are dead," said Helius. "That is one of my many regrets. That I abandoned them when my mind reached its lowest depths." He shook his head. "But even I cannot alter time and fate. They are gone, and I do not wish to create anymore, not when I have proven myself to be such a failure.


    I have no attachment to this realm anymore. It is nothing more but a graveyard for beings I once thought I would nurture forever."

 Chapter 313 - The Sun God II

    "You still have people you can still nurture," said Li. He spoke in small part for Mason''s sake, wanting to give the young man perhaps some idea that his idolized god of light embodied the part in some way, but he mostly spoke for his own curiosity.


    He wanted to know to what extent Helius could impact his people if he could even at all. ??


    Helius nced at Li. "You speak of the mortal travelling with you, do you not? The na?ve one."


    "Oh, you have been keeping that close of a tab on me?" said Li.


    "It is his presence that allowed me to manifest my divine light upon the Midpath," said Helius. "My might is great enough that it does not require a dedicated priest to manifest, merely a believer, no matter how small they are."


    "That is quite impressive," said Li. Even Li right now, with his inadequate mastery over his divine powers, could not easily just manifest himself at a channel with anyone. His channel, his totem, required a sufficiently strong enough priest to call Li directly, and right now, Ivo, the head priest, was the only one capable of it.


    "You should not be impressed. It has done nothing for me. It has not made me any less of a failure. And you will soon surpass it, I surmise." Helius looked at his pale palm, at the wasted skin stretching taught over bone. "You have the world dancing in your palm. You can walk it and change it. I cannot."


    "But you can," said Li, remembering As''s small history lesson.


    There was that one Lightborn, as they were known, thest one called Hadrien the Conqueror who was apparently so terrible a man in his misuse of Helius''s divine armor that he was destroyed by Helius himself.


    "What of Hadrien Lightborn? Did you not intervene to strike him down?" said Li.


    Helius smiled painfully. "Oh. Him. Yes. I destroyed him. I could only do so because the armor he wore still provided a direct channel to me, if that is what you are curious about."


    "I see," said Li. Helius was surprisingly perceptive, seeing into Li''s desire to probe out the degree of influence the sun god could emit even in Valhul.


    "I embody the sun that shines upon this world," said Helius. "In a way, half the world at light provides a gate for me to channel through."


    "You can affect the world essentially anytime you want? Then how can you call yourself imprisoned?"


    Helius put his index finger and thumb apart, leaving only a tiny space. "Only the slightest amount. A good miracle here and there. An illness cured. A priest empowered. You see what I mean?"


    "But even that, you can do, and yet, you choose not to," said Li. His voice held no judgement to it, only a neutral curiosity.


    Helius, sensing theck of judgement, continued. "I cared. Once. You may not understand it now, as you are, with the human still within you, but it is hard.


    So very hard. To care about the mortals. To care about anything, really.


    I propped up their mighty kingdoms. I gave them their capitol shrouded in my own divine light. I loved them. Sired heirs with them. Fought demons for them.


    Then Ie to Valhul, and I see. I watch. I wait. The years pass.


    Years. So many years. Centuries. A millennium.


    Their kingdoms rise and fall and split apart into so many pieces.


    They war. They squabble. They kill each other. Those with my divine blood lead and fight and kill them. They in turn fight and kill my heirs.


    Darknesses with the demons. They unite. Darkness falls. They split apart again.


    This happens again.


    Then again.


    Nothing changes, regardless of whatever small miracle I grant them.


    It is all the same, in the end. No matter what I do, I fail. Why try?"


    "Your name is being tarnished now," said Li. "In the name of the light, your light, there are those that wipe out entire peoples and twist history, bending the minds of people into something believing a reality that does not exist.


    What about this? Your legacy used for something you did not envision?"


    "Did I not?" Helius gave a little half shrug. "It is all the same. Nothing changes. They raise a tyrant,nguish under it. They learn for some time. Then they find another tyrant.


    I wish to say that some part of me does not relish saying this, but I cannot: I do not care for them much, nor what they do with my name, for if my name shall fall into oblivion, the whole world turned against it, then it is for the best.


    Such is the fate of a name drenched in nothing but failure."


    "You do not care for them? Yet you entrusted them with the Sunspear, your greatest weapon," said Li.


    "Someone worthy among them," corrected Helius. "I still do not wish to see this world burn. And though I may not care of the mortal humans as a whole, but in the hearts of an individual few, I know there is great beauty. There is drive. Determination. Nobility.


    In such spades that this withered heart of mine can never again match. Thus, I sent the Sunspear out to someone far worthier, far better than I. Whoever that may be, I grant my blessing."


    Helius held up his hand, and Li''s eyes widened as the ashen hand flickered, growing ever so slightly translucent.


    "All my blessing," said Helius.


    "You¡­are dying," said Li, surprised to a degree he had not been for quite a while.


    Helius nodded with a nonchnt eptance, an eptance he had likely understood and known for seven centuries. "For the better. I will join my brother when the time is right."


    "Are you not a function of the world? As you said, the sun that shines upon it?" Li wracked his brain for significance about the three great gods and Helius.


    The three great gods each governed one of the primary stat attributes as well as primary sses. Without them, there would be wide spanning and likely heavily damaging effects to the magic of this world.


    But Helius quite literally governed over a primary function of life itself. Noctus, his brother, would have governed the moon and death, and because the deity, even corrupted was still asleep, both those functions still remained stable as they were before his eternal sleep.


    One of the reasons why Li did not want to wake Noctus was that he feared by doing so, these functions of undeath and moonlight would cease to work as they did now.


    Though of course, with the systematic wipeout of undead via artillery and firearms from the north and purging through heroes in Soleil, there was inherently less risk. Still, there was no telling what could happen.


    "Life and light itself are yours. Will you take countless lives with you to your suicide?" said Li, judgement leeching into his voice for the first time.


    "Of course not," said Helius. "I may not care of what the mortals do to themselves or to me, but even now, I could not bear ever causing their ends with my very own hands. Already, I havee close by sacrificing my brother.


    The Sunspear is the key. It holds all my power. My divinity and authority. And the centuries of time I have spent fashioning it to be the ultimate weapon against the Chthonia.


    As for me, I will be content to use up the final dregs of my divine power against my brother to put him to sleep. To, in the end,y in eternal rest with him."


    Li nodded, growing quiet at the mention of the Chthonia.


    In the Elden World game, the Chthonia was the title spanning the vast new game+ campaign, and it began with a corrupted Noctus signaling eldritch entities across the vast, uncaring breadth of space toe attack the world.


    Li had seen through Lira''s memories and known that the Elder Dragon Val was preparing for an eternal darkness far greater than the demons. He had suspected this was the Chthonia, but he had put his hopes against it, for the Chthonia was something an entire server of yers fought against.


    But now there was confirmation, and the only yer on this world to stand against it was Li.

 Chapter 314 - Sunspear

    "I sense difort welling within your heart," said Helius.


    Li looked at the sun god, but the sun god was staring straight ahead, into the collection of floating blue orbs that once fueled the lives of an entire race of angels. ??


    "Perceptive, are we?" said Li. "Is that one of your powers also?"


    "Life and emotion are two strands of the same thread," said Helius. "The worry I sense in you, it is true, then. As a yer, you must have faced the cycle of the Chthonia already. You understand its scope. You are beginning to feel concern."


    "You know, I am curious about one thing. How much of your past life do you remember? When you were not in this world?" said Li.


    "All of it," said Helius. "Ten thousand years of governance upon the Elden World. Then you yers arrived, beings of power that flowered and grew and eventually surpassed in quick order. When the Chthonia began, you lent us your aid, and the Elden World was saved.


    Then, all of you faded, trickling away, until finally, when the World drew its end, devoid of you yers that had carved your names upon it so strongly, I and the other gods found ourselves upon this new world.


    In memory of the Elden World which we shared, we christened this one Eldenia, but always, we have wondered the nature of you yers, whether you would return. And you have."


    "Very interesting," said Li. From Helius''s words, he could gather that there was a point where Elden Worldpletely shut down. After Li''s own transmigration to this world. It was when it shut down that Helius and the gods arrived here.


    Meaning that the transportation process from Elden World to here was atemporal. Those that were transferredter could arrive earlier as was the case with Li and the gods.


    "As for the Chthonia," continued Li. "I am worried. This world means far more to me than did Elden World. There is far more at stake, but the threat is just as great, and this time, I am alone with my own powers withheld. At any given moment, it may be that my eldritch power will draw the ire of this world."


    "No." Helius shook his head. "Another reason I brought you into my realm. To avoid Zahaka''s ears. No, I do not think your powers have effect upon the Worldwill. We are bound to the Worldwill as its guardians, extended functions that govern naturalws for it, but you are different.


    Your very eldritch nature itself means you are unbound. Unchained to this world, for though you yet have great love for this world, you are a creature meant for the stars."


    "What reason would Zahaka have for withholding this information from me?" said Li. "And how did you figure this out?"


    "My own studying. In reforging the Sunspear such that it would prove absolutely lethal to all creatures of the cosmic void, I grasped more of your kind''s nature. I assume Zahaka withholds this information from you as she does not fully trust you, in part due to your inherent nature with the void."


    "Ridiculous," said Li. "I am stewarding this world where you four are no longer present. I am no threat."


    "I know. But Zahaka has known of the Chthonia''s threat for seven centuries. Among us, she alone has studied the threat and prepared for it to a degree far greater than even myself.


    This purpose has consumed her, and I may presume, has made her suspicious to a degree. Yet, she does not life a finger against you. I would not worry about her. I know she wishes this world well in her heart."


    "I see," said Li. "If you speak to her, I only wish to convey a warning that if she impedes me in defending and righting this world, then it is she who will stand upon the wrong side of the history her followers so dearly uphold."


    Helius nodded. "Noted."


    Li thought of what Helius had said about the Sunspear. In Elden World lore, Helius created the ultimate weapon against the eldritch forces when they came to invade. This was the Prometheas, a torch reforged from the divine ss sunspear.


    Lira possessed the Prometheas, though hers appeared to be from a different yet parallel world to this one. The Helius of this world, however, seemed to have simply reforged the Sunspear with additional effects, presumably ones simr to the anti-eldritch properties possessed by the Prometheas.


    It made sense, these differences, when Li considered that the original Prometheas was created using Helius''s death whereas the enhanced Sunspear still left Helius alive to face his brother personally.


    "This Sunspear, you are certain it will fall into worthy hands?" said Li.


    "Certain. The only thing I am certain of anymore," said Helius. "That, and my death toe. This Sunspear will be the mightiest weapon ever known to this world, rivaling even the celestial-blessed weaponry that you bear in your unleashed form.


    Only a mortal that embodies the brilliance of what the mortal heart can aplish will ever wield that. Who that is, I do not know, but all else that wish to touch spear will find it unwilling to bend to their will."


    Helius sighed. "When the time doese, I ask of you to guide the bearer of the Sunspear, to have them battle with you against Noctus. The Sunspear I designed with the sole purpose of neutralizing Noctus. It will silence his calls to the void. It will keep him isted in this abandoned realm of mine. It will kill him.


    And when it kills him, it will kill me."


    "Depends on whether this Sunspear bearer will show up in time," said Li.


    "Oh, they will. That, I can foresee," said Helius.


    "But you cannot foresee who they will be?"


    "Future sight is a fickle thing. You should know as a being of the void that epasses both space and time."


    "I am afraid I have not yet tapped into those powers too strongly."


    "Good. The uncertainty of the future and the certainty of space are fundamental aspects that keep mortal lives grounded. That keeps your human will strong. Do not forsake them so easily." Helius nodded before standing up, raising a hand alight with power. "I have kept you too long. Go, Elder One, and set aright this world in need of guidance."

 Chapter 315 - Crossing The Midpath

    Li appeared in the material world again, blinking as the realm of gears and blue orbs disappeared. Faint flickers of golden light dissipated around him, leaving him staring down the winding yet majestic path of the Midpath.


    The Aviania angels perched atop the arches lining the bridge were not active, their blue cores dull andcking energy. Helius had been right ¨C he truly had given up on his angels.


    But all that power had to have gone somewhere. It went to the Sunspear, and once Helius himself faded away and his essence imbued itself fully into that weapon, it would be easily on par with the Prometheas in terms of killing eldritch beings.


    Well, it was a good thing Li was out to retrieve it by going west.


    "Papa, you back!" said Tia as she grabbed Li''s arm from behind.


    "And not gone very long, just like I promised," said Li. In fact, as he started to figure out from the sky ¨C the very same early dawn he had left behind ¨C he had probably not been gone almost anytime. "Looks like I was gone just a few minutes."


    "Every minute without you boring," said Tia.


    Well, we will not have any more detours for now," said Li with a smile as he hoisted Tia up to his shoulder. "We go now to this Gigant."


    "Aye, we''ll be the first men in centuries to ever wade these giantnds," said Old Thane as he flexed his arms in preparation. "Oh, the prospect of adventure, of new adventure, does make this old heart beat so strong."


    "If I may, seer," came Mason''s voice.


    "Hm?" said Li.


    "What¡­did you have audience with the One Light?" said Mason.


    "I did," said Li matter-of-factly. He stared at Mason''s almost ck-jawed awe, a stare with eyes alight in curiosity that clearly expected good news from the sun god.


    Li looked at Mason and wondered how the young man, a boy, really, evenpared to Li.


    How old was Mason? Twenty? And his brotherfortably only in histe teenage years. Both of them were basically children. Even in his past life, Li would have been their senior by a bit over a decade. Older enough than them that the only time he would ever see people their age was if they showed up to hispany as new interns, some of them holding that same starstruck or determined glint to make it big and do something with their lives that Li once had.


    Inevitably, the years would wear that shine down, and then, there would be nothing, just another cog in thepany machine that droned on and on.


    Li mentally shook his head, clearing the old pessimism from him. If there was any part of his humanity that he could afford to lose, it was that, a byproduct of a world that had lost its heart and soul.


    No, this was a new world. And unlike before, Li had the power to change it and shape it to his will. If there was anything his training with divine powers taught him, it was that: he had power. He had power over life itself.


    His very presence could infuse life where before there was nothingness. He could hear and change the songs of life, a remarkable feat that no level of gic engineering from his past world could ever muster up to. And, exercising these powers, his perspective grew.


    Mortal lives were, at their base, a collection of notes and beats strung together in a bag of fragile flesh and blood. At any given moment, that bag could pop with all the intensity and suddenness of an imploding balloon, leaving nothing behind, only death.


    But even if that was what they were, they were not <em>just</em> that.


    They had potential to be more, to show more, they just needed the right environment to grow in. This, Li knew he had to keep in mind lest he be too detached, too used to seeing the lives around him, some of which were close to his heart, as units and not people.


    "May, I ask, seer, what did the One Light say? The priests all im to hear his voice, but this, I doubted. I knew the One Light was there, shining over us all, but I did not know he had a voice. Tell me, seer, how was it?" said Mason.


    So much expectation. Li could see that Mason had faith in something that was not truly there. Helius could not give a damn about any single mortal, though he would be willing to give his life to save them as a whole.


    "Your One Light will fade soon," said Li.


    Mason looked taken aback.


    "It is true. None do hear his voice. He has withdrawn himself. In thising conflict, he may very well fade entirely," said Li. "But he ends his light for the sake of a greater good. For your lives and your futures."


    Li eyed Mason, looking into his expression. "I can sense disbelief in you. That is only natural. You have spent your whole life believing in how eternal this light is. But you know very well not to doubt my words.


    I do not tell you this to dampen your spirits. I tell you this to let you prepare for a world without the One Light. His light has done good, but at the heart of it, it is up to you, the people that live atop the dirt, to continue that good, not in the name of some light or some god, but for yourselves and the future."


    Li''s expression darkened slightly as he remembered the iing threat of the Chthonia. "And if people like you are ever to steward and champion this world, you must grow stronger, and you must learn to set your differences with others aside, because in the end, to the threat that ising, whether you are mortal or demon does not matter ¨C all of you are just meat, just things to be fed on and devoured and chewed up until you are nothing."


    Li paused for a second as a silence settled among the party. Worried expressions formed on all their faces as words of concern from Li himself settled in their hearts.


    "Forgive me," said Li. "I said something a little too ominous. The future is not set, it never is, so do not worry so much. It may be a grim one, it may not. But if it is indeed dark, then the answer is simple: join me in making the future brighter."


    Li nodded to Mason. "That is what your One Light would have wanted for you."


    "But I already strong!" said Tia as she pulled on Li''s sleeve again, the vast majority of his speech having flown over her head.


    "Of course, of course," said Li as put a hand to her shoulder. He pointed out towards the glowing white Midpath bridge, towards the enormous treeline of the Gigant forest that reached above the clouds. "And I''ve decided: we are going to get stronger, all of you together. I will help you in theing fights, but I will not intervene unless necessary.


    Hopefully by the time we cross this forest, all of you will havee out a little more prepared for things toe."


    In essence, Li wanted to powerlevel this party. He knew that would take longer for them to reach the West, but Tia and Old Thane both were part of this group. He did not want them defenseless and reliant on him, for even if they were strongpared to many in this new world, they were ants if the Chthonia came to be.


    He did not know if they or the rest of the party could level beyond their natural set talents, or if levelling even worked the same as it did in the game, but he would experiment now and try.


    For much of his time in this world, he had only focused on farming, not giving a thought tobat rted mechanics such as leveling because he was just strong enough to deal with everything himself.


    But for the first time, this was going to be a threat he could not handle entirely alone. He needed the people around him, the people that cared for him and he them in return, to be able to stand by themselves.


    "Aye, I''m game," said Old Thane with an expectant smile as he tightened his fist. "My fists are slow now, they are, but crossing the Gigant ¨C and of legend ¨C will hone them well."


    There was still a hint of unease lingering in the air, and Old Thane sensed it.


    He raised his voice and addressed the party. "Do we cower for a future we know nothing of? A future we can shape with our fists? Nay! We follow Li, and by the time we cross the Gigant, we''ll have might to our names that will earn us seats in the records of history themselves!"


    "I will make certain of that,"mented As as she wrote down Old Thane''s dialogue in her tablet.


    "All of us have different goals, aye," said Old Thane.


    He looked at She. "Some of us wish to reim the pride of our people and fend for our homes.


    He looked to Vilga. "Some of us wish to discover ourselves, to know who we truly are through the fiery forge ofbat and adventure."


    He looked to Mercer. "Some of us simply want the greater adventure."


    Then to Mason. "But all of us, in the end, as Li says, are the same: we wish to do good on our adventures, and without the might to make the right, what use can we be? I''ll not dawdle while a Darkening shakes this world, and neither should the rest of ye."

 Chapter 316 - Chaos To Come

    Old Thane''s words heartened the group a little, but there still lingered a sense of unease. Everyone aside from Tia and As. Tia was only happy to be tagging along, and As maintained an impressive mind of steel that kept her writing and recording in spite of anything that could worry her.


    But the others, their unease was still present. Such was the gravity of Li himself foretelling a darker future. To them, Li must have seemed essentially a god, a being that could channel power they did not understand at unfathomable quantities.


    That he leeched worry into his voice made their worriespound tenfold. In part, that worry came from the fact that they did not know about the nature of the threats toe and what they would need to do to avoid it.


    "I will tell you all of the threats toe as we move. All of you have the determination toe on this journey. Now prove that determination through the fight." Li started across the Midpath.


    "Fight! Fight!" said Tia as she skipped behind him, her crimson ne shing in the remnants of dawn light left by Helius.


    Everyone else followed, their worries reced in part by wonder as they tread across the magically constructed walkway of the Midpath bridge. The Vukanovi followed behind for the Midpath was an enormous bridge, easily capable of fitting a dozen people stretched from arm to arm horizontally.


    Li passed under one of Helius''s Aviania arches, the shadow it cast forming a flicker of darkness on the glowing white path.


    "The threat toe, the true threat, is not the Darkening," said Li.


    "Not demons?" said She.


    "No." Li pointed to the sky. "The true threates from the stars. At night, when the sun falls, you see darkness, yes? Darkness filled with stars. That darkness is where they wille from."


    Everyone looked up.


    "Star stones,d?" said Old Thane.


    Li understood that in this world, star stones were their term for meteorites. He shook his head.


    "No. Living creatures. Nightmare creatures that exist only to revel the destruction of all things," said Li. "They will stop at nothing to see this world reduced to primordial chaos or enved under their heel, and their might easily rivals that of the three great gods."


    "We cannot fight against that," said Vilga, notably breaking from her silence. "I was in the fighting pits. I know when a fight is lost."


    "But we have him." She pointed to Li with a w.


    "And there is only one of him." Vilga looked to the sky. "Many of them."


    "Do you not see,ss?" said Old Thane. "That is why we journey now. To earn the might to fight against them."


    "I told you all of a darker, greater threat that I am journeying west for. It is precisely one of these creatures that are agents of chaos," said Li. "One that is slumbering, but even in its slumber, the tendrils of its maddening influence reach out.


    You have seen that influence firsthand for yourselves in Riviera. This demon rot as you call it is no product of the demons, it is a product of chaos far greater than them."


    "Then the demons have allied with this terrible force," said Mason.


    "No, I understand that is the natural conclusion to draw, and I know that I have been vague about them, but now that I know the possibility of chaos descending to this world is a possibility to reckon, it is better to be specific.


    The demons are forcefully enved to the rot, well, a good amount of them at the least. Freeing them from the control will only give us more allies against this encroaching chaos. In fact, this entity of chaos that slumbers in abyssal depths has slept in this world for centuries, kept sealed only by the efforts of the demons themselves."


    "Impossible," said Mason. "The demons have tried many times to conquer this world. They would have used such power for themselves. You said this thing is an agent of chaos? I see no difference between it and the demons."


    "This power will end this world. I have no doubts that the demons have arisen to conquer and cause destruction, but you are sorely mistaken, boy," said Li. "You do not even have the slightest conception of what chaos is.


    True chaos.


    True chaos is nothingness. Complete and utter nothingness. It does not pay heed tonds or territories or ves or gold ¨C it has nothing it wants, nothing it wishes to keep for itself, nothing it will spare.


    It only desires one thing, and that is more of itself, more chaos, more and more until there is nothing left in this world and all worlds except the cold of the void before the stars themselves gathered from cosmic dust.


    You think the demons with their warring desired chaos? No, they would have razed manynds, burned many mortals, but in the end, this world would still stand. Perhaps, a boy like you would still have even lived, except instead of bowing to a human monarch, you would have been under a demonic overlord.


    But chaos? You think you will have anyone to bow to aside from the cold, infinite expanse of the void? A tyrant, no matter how cold he is, will still care for his subjects in some way, but chaos? Chaos is uncaring. You will be scattered dust regardless of how much you fight or grovel or how small or big you are."


    Li nced to Zagan trotting at his side. For so long, the demon had been quiet, likely in deep contemtion throughout this entire journey of how to free his people. In a way, he fought just the same as the mortals behind him.


    "Chaos will not care whether you are human or demon or beastman. So why would we? That is why I will not ughter the demons with my might. I will cure them, take those to my side that wille. I understand this will upset many, but when they see Chaos dawning, they too will know that the safest shelter is under the shadow of my Order."


    A ssh echoed from below, far below where the ocean must have flowed through this continental rift. A grumbling roar approached rapidly, and within a few seconds, the enormous brawn of a Flying Giantfish soared high up, above the Midpath, its four translucent, almost insectoid wings fluttering.


    The giantfish snaked its lengthy body down, baring sharp teeth and a glowing, hungry pair of reddened eyes at the party.


    A hungry flying fishe to try and feed. An interruption? Li was not in the mood for this.


    Li turned to Mason and stepped up to him. The boy reflexively cringed backwards at Li''s almost threatening aura.


    "I will borrow this." Li took the longsword sheathed from Mason''s hip.


    He turned back to the descending fish and craned his arm back, the de the sword gripped in his hand. He did not hold back his strength. He instinctively fused magical energy into the de to reinforce it then threw it at full power to the fish.


    The longsword whistled like a bullet as it punched through the fish''s mouth, sliced through all of its innards, and then punched through the other side from its tail in half a second. The sword continued to shoot upwards, disappearing into the clouds.


    The light in the fish''s eyes died down, and it grew limp, falling back down into the depths below.


    "Hm," said Li as he saw the enormous corpse shrink as it fell. "That cleared my head a bit."


    "I¡­I am sorry for offending, seer," said Mason with a bowed head.


    "It is fine," said Li with a small sigh. "My apologies for the lost de. I understand it was a weapon of some value, given to you by the smith that once raised you. I willpensate by creating weapons for you."


    He turned to everyone, eyeing their shoddy equipment. Mercer fought with twin daggers that barely reached the magical item rank. She and Vilga fought with their own racial traits. She with her ws and speed and Vilga with her brawn and bestial reflexes.


    Old Thane fought only with his fists and had just a few northern animal skins to cover his body. As did not use any catalyst to channel her magic.


    If they were going to fight, they needed better gear for sure.


    "You know, this is quite interesting. This almost seems like a rather typical tale. A party that heads out to stop a world ending threat. Is that not quite themon and alluring tale?" said Li.


    "It is," said As, tongue flittering out. "One of my favorite types of epics, they are."


    "And if you all are going to save the world, you will not be doing that wearing and wielding scrap. I will fashion weapons for all of you. Time for a much-needed upgrade."


    "Ohoh, I''m game!" Old Thane punched his chest in brimming glee.

 Chapter 317 - Hollow Branches

    "Then let me work while we move. And now that I know there are distractions about-," Li snapped his fingers and motioned for everyone to clear the middle of the path.


    The Vukanovi skittered through the gap and bent down its legs of vine, lowering itself.


    "Hop on. Walking will take us a full day to cross this bridge. All of you should savor this view, this entrance into the West-," Li swept his arm to the side of the bridge, to the yawning chasm shrouded in misty fog spat up from rolling ocean waters. At the vast expanse of sky above and the vast stretches of mountainside that formed a colossal canyon at an awing scale.


    He shot a knowing nce to Mason and Mercer, both of whom could barely handle keeping on their own feet inside the Vukanovi when it moved full throttle. "I will cast spells on both of you two to ensure that you can stay atop the mount. Get used to the feeling of having more strength and speed than your body allows for, as you two will need the buffs to keep up."


    The two brothers nodded.


    "Good, then let us move," said Li.


    ===


    As the Vukanovi moved through the Midpath at over a hundred miles per hour, Li sat cross legged and close eyed in meditation atop the Vukanovi''s head. He sensed almost nothing form the outside world. A dim whine that must have been the whistling of wind rushing by. A tick and tock that must have been the Vukanovi''s legs cracking across the Midpath.


    Warmth in hisp ¨C Tia.


    His attention, his will, melded with his inner world thatprised two separate yet same selves.


    Funny, it was to think about, eldritch nature and its contradictions. Separate yet same. Chaos and Order.


    In the darkness, he willed his consciousness out, a wisp of green, and it met with his other, a tendril of grey, and then, for a brief moment, they became one. His other had read his intent, and Li could feel just enough eldritch power, that odd cold yetforting feeling rushing into him, but it was faint.


    Just enough power for his needs.


    Li had immensely powerful buffs, but he did not have any that were significantly longterm other than the one he had created to halt the eldritch infused demonrot. Buffs themselves were short term by nature, and even the one he fashioned to be more permanent required his totem as a channeler for it, not to mention its immense cost.


    In the case that members of this party strayed from him, they needed a more cost efficient and permanent solution: weapons.


    But Li did not have the capacity to create weapons. But he could always just create a spell for it, and so long it meshed with his current abilities, the cost would not be prohibitively high.


    First, he used his divine authority over life to form the base of the spell. He could create weapons and constructs from wood and nts and flowers infused with his divine strength. Then actually making the weapon powerful, granting it notable special effects and actives capable of causing destruction was the domain of his eldritch power.


    Fuse the two, forge the spell ¨C


    Li saw for a sh in this realm of inner darkness a burst of colors. Sigils and letters of arcane origin that swirled around him in lines and lines of multi-colored light. A kaleidoscope of rotating lines of mystic lettering that formed the ''code'' of magic in this world.


    Then, it was gone.


    Spell forged:


    [Hollow Branch Arms]


    [Rank: B]


    [To any unit designated as a ''follower'', create an item designated as a ''hollow branch''. This item starts off at a base rank of C with no special properties. However, this item will grow with the wielder, molding to their souls and needs and developing passives and actives dependent on their growth. Growth includes the increase of levels as well as differences in the soul itself.


    In addition, hollow branches may be upgraded if superior items or item materials are found. These items or materials may be integrated into the hollow branch to transfer its properties and effects.]


    Li opened his eyes, looking back to the material world. He saw the glowing white Midpath rush past him as the Vukanovi charged forwards, though it did not move at full speed. At maximal speed, the Vukanovi would withdraw its legs of vine and simply start rolling, but this would obviously make it extremely difficult to sit on top of it.


    He nced down at his hands, looking at twin wreathes of ck and green crackling from his fingertips. The eldritch power he used had a cost, and though it was not much to create this level of spell, it made his mind wander back to Noctus.


    If Li was going to fight Noctus, he could not fight the eldritch entity with just half of his strength. Li needed to use everything at full throttle. And the only method he knew how to do that without severely sacrificing the resource he used to fuel his eldritch power ¨C his humanity ¨C was through Zahaka''s ritual that ''reset'' him.


    At the same time, he was not sure it was necessary. Helius had assured Li he had spent centuries devising a way to iste and destroy Noctus. But was it truly enough to trust Helius, a broken shell of a god?


    But Zahaka and the other gods, did Li truly want them here? He would like their help against Noctus, to be sure, but the harsh reality of it all was that at the end of the day, they werepetitors.


    Li was a god. They were gods.


    He wanted to make his mark on this world, to put it under the shade of his Order. They aside from Helius had already made their mark on this world and no doubt would want to keep their authority.


    There would be sharedmon interest in defeating Noctus, but then, after that?


    Uncertainty. Especially on Zahaka and Khonsu''s part. Chi-You, Li could tell was simpler minded, purer in heart. The other two were mysteries, especially in light of Helius revealing that Zahaka herself did not fully trust Li.


    Thoughts to consider. At the very least, Li understood with the confirmation of the Chthonia that he could not adhere as strongly to his old principles.


    Especially in regard to summoning new life. He had always intended to break that rule once he went west as a show of grand power to the western peoples, giving them protection and hope and a spectacle to bring them to his side.


    This, Li had strategized for he knew that the Hintenders in the west, though part of the duchy, were the most isted from it, and their peoples already discriminated against. It would not be difficult to sway them in contrast to the nigh brainwashed masses of Soleil itself.


    The backdrop of the Darkening and its massive threat would prevent the duchess from ever lifting a finger against Li. She only had everything to lose. Without Li''s assistance, her war effort became significanlypromised.


    And if she moved against Li when he was bringing good everywhere he went, it would only damage the reputation she had spent decades building up.


    In many ways, this was simply a scaled-up version of what Li was already doing. She could not harm him or do anything to him because he was not only too powerful, but also because his herbalism and Farmer''s Guild had only ever done good for Riviera, increasing its grain output and making healing more essible.


    Was Helius even truly right, though? The sun god had said the Chthonia wasing, that Zahaka had prepared for it for centuries, but was that a certainty?


    Would it not be prevented if Li and Helius killed Noctus in the proper way, using the Sunspear to seal the abyssal god such that it could not call for its brethren?


    "Papa, what you thinking about?" said Tia as she tugged on Li''s hands. The arcs of ck and green energy faded as her hands touched his.


    "What kind of weapon I should give you," said Li.


    Tia smiled. "Oh! Gift from papa. Will it make me strong?"


    "Hm. For you, not as much. But it will grow with you, so you must take good care of it," said Li.


    "I take care of anything papa gives me," nodded Tia.


    "I know you will, Tia." Li turned around to see Old Thane, She, and Vilga sitting on the Vukanovi, watching the scenery of the Shibboleth blur by.


    Mason and Mercer were wide-eyed, not even blinking as they pointed at this thing and that while asionally staring at their hands and moving them around. They were unused to the buffs boosting their strength to keep and also unused to the sheer scale and magnificence of the world around them.


    "All of you, sorry to disturb, but I am ready with your weapons," said Li.


    "About time!" said Old Thane. "So, what will it be,d? These old hands know how to use a club or spear, but truly, the fists speak my fighting spirit the best."


    Vilga nodded to Old Thane in understanding as a fellow martial artist, though their styles could not have been more different.


    "Don''t worry about that. I''ll shape the items to suit your needs. Now, let me tell you what these items will give you-,"


    "I am sorry to interrupt, great seer," said As. She pointed forwards with her stylus with raised eye. "But thou shouldst see this."

 Chapter 318 - Gigant Dungeon

    "What is it?" said Li. He looked up to As with immediate concern and then followed the direction of her serpentine gaze. His senses were currently tuned down because he was not inbat, but even then, nothing truly important should ever slip by him.


    "I see," said Li.


    Up ahead perhaps twenty hundred meters, the end of the Midpath bridge stood. Twin pirs of obelisk stone stood from each other, carved in with countless light runes that channeled the mighty power of the Midpath from one end to the other.


    Beyond it, therey a gigantified forest. Trees that towered over a hundred meters tall that grew in such clusters they would quickly begin to blot out the sun entirely. This, Li was not surprised about. He had seen iting from far ahead, of course.


    But what he did note was that there seemed to be a ripple in space flowing from the obelisks marking the end of the bridge. A very faint, almost imperceptible ripple.


    "I am surprised you even caught that. You have sharp eyes," said Li to As.


    "Not mine own," said As. "But when I am in the presence of the magics of mine goddess, these senses of mine are greatly sharpened."


    "Hm." Li scrutinized the end of the bridge as the Vukanovi neared it. He did not stop the party yet. This ripple was not at all like the strange dimensional rift that Lira guarded.


    No, this was entirely different. In feeling, primarily, for this ripple did not emanate with a deadened cold. But in basic shape, too. The spatial distortion seemed to have an even, flowing pattern resembling a spiral instead of a chaotic mess of twisted and warped space.


    From this spiral, Li by heightening his senses could feel normal Elden World magical energy emanating from it. He remembered too where these spiral spatial patterns formed from.


    He of all people would have been incredibly familiar with this.


    "This is an entrance to a dungeon," said Li.


    "Thou doth know of dungeons?" said As, surprised, though quickly, she grew calm, knowing that nothing about Li should truly surprise her for long. Still, she peaked down to her tablet and scratched a note in it.


    "Yes. But I had not expected to encounter any. I have not seen any so far," said Li. "And no records or books that I have read seem to ever mention them. Do any of you other than As-," said Li as he turned to the rest of the party, his eyes flickering green. "Know anything about dungeons?"


    "Nay," said Old Thane.


    Mason and Mercer shook their heads.


    Vilga narrowed her eyes to signify she did not know and that she was listening, and She cocked her head like a confused cat.


    "Dungeon? Sounds like a bad ce!" said Tia as she tugged at Li''s sleeve. "Are-are we going to bad ce?"


    "Let me see," said Li. His eyes shed even brighter green, and he analyzed the density of magical energying from the spiral of warping space.


    In Elden World, Spiral Doors indicated the presence of hidden dungeons, and using a general [Sense] skill could yield the average level of monsters in a dungeon, though some dungeons were impossible to use irvoyance magic on.


    Thankfully, this dungeon did not seem hidden.


    The approximate level of monsters in this dungeon ranged from 30 to 50. Li put a hand to his chin, assessing this information. Tia could survive on her own in this dungeon, as could As. Old Thane, Vilga, and She could probably manage by working together.


    Mason and Mercer, though, well, they were basically just ants. They were level 19 and 17 respectively. Even these levels were a result of having leveled 3 times since the beginning of their adventure with Li.


    They would need Li''s support.


    "Well, not too bad," said Li. "Most of you can handle passing through to the dungeon. You two-," Li pointed to Mason and Mercer. "Will have to stay beside me to be in range of my buffs. Otherwise, you will die."


    "I will never leave your side, good seer," said Mercer as he kneeled, and Mason looked awkwardly at his younger brother for a moment before kneeling with him.


    "Okay, we do not do that here," said Li as he beckoned them up. "Instead of kneeling, think about how to fight and survive. You two will have to leave my side and fight, I will not entirely be a babysitter. Again, I might be the seer of a divine entity, but I do not want fanatical worship that relies entirely on me.


    That said, I will not let you two die, I did promise to let you reach the main camp in the Hintends, but if I see you two are not trying particrly hard, well, I cannot promise my healing will be prompt to heal wounds from mistakes."


    "Understood," said Mason, and his brother nodded along.


    Li did not mention it, but he was also curious about the concept of leveling. With Hollow Branch items, every single person in this party would possess items that grew with their own levels.


    But how did leveling itself work? This was a seemingly fundamental question that Li hadpletely ignored because he was far too strong for it to matter and because until now, he never really cared much about leveling those under him.


    Was it the same as the game? Killing a monster to gain experience? It did seem so. After all, the brothers did level up. But they leveled at a rate far slower than they would have under Elden World game mechanics.


    Simply being in Li''s presence as he smote down mighty creatures would have given them residual experience.


    But it seemed unless they were the ones to fight and put down a creature with their own effort, they received little to no experience.


    The same followed for Tia, hence why Li allowed her to fight so much by herself now.


    "That being said, let me familiarize you all on what a dungeon is," said Li. He put a didactic finger up. "Anything past that spiral door leads into what is essentially an entirely different space. A whole new dimension, if I remember correctly.


    Once you enter, you cannot exit the same way. There will be exits, but only further in the dungeon. Or you can simply traverse the entire length of the dungeon and find an exit that way. Traditionally, dungeons will beyered.


    Spaces stacked upon each other. So you reach the end of oneyer, and then you find another Spiral Door to the nextyer, and so on. At certainyers, there may be strong monsters you must defeat to progress, or in some cases, you may simply evade them.


    Everyyer of a dungeon can be highly distinct from each other with different environments. It is therefore extremely difficult topletely prepare for a dungeon, requiring a diverse party with diverse equipment. In our case, however, you have me, and I can easily take the role of an entire one-man party."


    Everyone nodded along to Li, taking deep interest in his words. He felt odd exining what a dungeon was this far into his stay in this world.


    Why was is that there were no dungeons? Li had once thought they simply did not exist in this world. But then again, he had not left the bounds of Riviera, so perhaps he was simply not traveled enough.


    "Anything you wish to add, As?" said Li, seeing whether she knew more that he did not.


    "That is quite an apt exnation, O seer," said As. She paused for a few seconds, putting her stylus to her red lips as she thought. "Dungeons are records of near myth. Many there were following the Convergence, but many did the gods seal with their might.


    That the Gigant be a dungeon doth vex me. The records hath stated that the Gigant a space that mortals traveled through well in times past with the guardian of the Gigant, the primal spirit Skadi, leading the way for mortals through her blessed waters.


    For those that eschewed her blessing, they were left to challenge the harsh Gigant with their own might, and thus far, there hath been none but Lira the Seeker who hath truly traversed the Gigant without the aid of Skadi."


    "All the more reason we should be ready to fight," said Li. "Like undead gatherings that tend to center around a single entity, Spiral Doors are often linked to a powerful monster. In this case, I suppose it is this Skadi that As speaks of."


    "Tis quite odd, though," said As. "Skadi, daughter of the primordial giant, was much unlike her father, favoring the lives of mortals. She wouldst never have closed her home from the world like this."


    "Much time has passed since thest time anyone hase here," said Li. "Who knows what it is like now. Regardless, we will find out. I figure that will give you something to write about, no?"


    As smiled, readying another tablet. "I doth suppose so."


    The two spoke to each other with a light air even as everyone else in the party grew serious at the prospect of fighting a Primal Spirit and a whole host of monsters.. As was fearless because of her devotion to recording even that which was dangerous, and Li was fearless because of his might.

 Chapter 319 - Armored And Armed

    Li gave a nod of acknowledgement to As, and the serpentine woman flitted out her forked tongue, pleased that there were still many who acknowledged her schrly knowledge. He stepped forwards to the Spiral Door, a swirling mass of twisted space spanning the width of the Midpath bridge.


    The forest environment of the Gigant was still visible behind the Spiral Door, its towering, hundred meter treespletely devouring up any view of the sky, but Li knew that this was not necessarily an urate depiction of what it looked like.


    One had to travel past the Spiral Door to truly enter the Gigant, for as a proper dungeon, there was no flying over it or entering through the underground or whatnot. And the Spiral Door was like a dimensional doorway, meaning that it was only by passing through it that one could get a proper and urate view of what was behind.


    For all Li knew, the forests that appeared visible from behind the Spiral Door were just an illusion, something that had been propped up almost a thousand years ago. It was entirely possible that maybe the entire forest had rotted away or maybe it was just the same.


    It was up to Li to figure out.


    Li hovered a hand over the Spiral Door, and that was when he felt it: cold.


    Tia felt it too. She clung to Li''s side, tugging at the sleeve of his brown Farmer''s Guild jacket.


    "Papa¡­," began Tia.


    "I know," said Li with a concerned furrowing of his brows. He addressed As. "As, do you happen to know more about the Gigant? How manyyers it has as a dungeon? The type of monsters within it?"


    As put her stylus to her red lips and wondered for a moment. "I hath only¡­second-hand recollections. But yes, I doth posses some idea.


    It is said that the Gigant is and of the giants. The three races of giants that came with the Convergence ¨C the treants, the Musphelites, and the Jotunn- deemed themselves too great to upy the greater world.


    Thus, they made peace and life in the Gigant. A world within a world.


    It is said that each people of the giants creates oneyer. The forests with the treants, and of fire for the Musphelites, and a snowynd for the Jotunn."


    "Demons, then," said Li. "Musphelites are fire giants, yes, but they are also demons."


    "Tis'' so," said As.


    The mention of demons sent a wave of chilling silence over the rest of the party, particrly with Mason and Mercer, but Old Thane and Zagan remained unfazed, though Zagan did noticeably stir in reaction.


    "Yet, it cannot be so that the Musphelites raise their great fists against us," said As. "In the First Darkening, tis'' true that Asmodai, the king of the Musphelites, attempted conquest of the greater world as a herald of Wrath.


    But when he was struck down, the very blow that reduced him to ashes creating the Shibboleth, the Musphelites epted the rule of Skadi, the gentle queen of ice who treats life dear to her heart."


    Li began a telepathicmunication with Zagan.


    ''It is true,'' said Zagan. ''Since the First Darkening, the Demonic See has never called upon the might of the Musphelites again. Nor was it ever possible.


    The Gigant Dungeon is imprable unless Skadi, the center of the dungeon, wishes for the intrusion, and she has made it quite clear that she reviles our kind.''


    ''I see. Then all of us are going into this situation blind. Then I will be taking extra precautions,'' said Li. He ended his telepathic link with Zagan and turned to the rest of the party.


    "I have reason to believe that behind this Spiral Door, the Gigant may be more dangerous than I have thought. For that reason, I will be casting this spell," said Li. He put his palms towards everyone. His eyes shed a bright green.


    "[Living Armor: Justicar Set]" chanted Li.


    A pulse of green energy willowed out from Li''s palms and washed over the party members, temporarily turning their bodies alight with bright green. They gazed down at their glowing bodies with wonder.


    "Ooh! I''m shiny!" said Tia as she waved her hands in front of her face.


    A secondter, and the light died down, revealing wooden armor encasing every individual. The armor was fitted to their specific ss and builds.


    For Mason, a warrior, the armor was heavier. A full set of knightly armor fashioned from sturdy yet flexible and light oak. An antlered helm encased his head, leaving his blue eyes poking out from a visor of leaves.


    For Mercer and She whose primary sses were Assassins, they gained much lighter armor. Weaves of vines and leaves that mimicked lightweight chainmail. A few thinner tes of oaken armor protected vitals such as the chest and groin, but it was evident that flexibility and movement were prioritized in the armor''s design.


    Hoods of ck leaves covered their faces, and a cape of the same ck-tinted leaves trailed behind them, granting them additional bonuses to stealth.


    As, as a Mage, gained a mantle created from a weave of glowing red leaves. This would not grant her much direct physical protection, but it would massively enhance any magical barrier she had around herself or casted.


    Old Thane and Vilga were warriors like Mason, but due to having bare handed specialty sses, they gained lighter armor. A nice medium between the Assassin armor and Mason''s full body ting.


    Tia, however, surprised Li. She did not gain a suit of armor, but instead, it was like she had absorbed the spell.


    The only thing that changed about Tia was that some of the scales visible on her human form gained an oaken, wooden texture, indicating her natural defenses had been imbued with the properties of living armor.


    "This is a spell called [Living Armor]," exined Li. "It is B ranked, so it will protect your lives well enough against any ordinary giant. You will know if an enemy or attack is too powerful for the armor to handle. However, the armor will grant you regenerative properties and repair itself so long as you stay within my vicinity or, to a lesser extent, the vicinity of a forest.


    This will ensure your lives. Now, to arm all of you:"


    Li put his hands together, and a surge of magical energy crackled between his pressed palms. He casted multiple instances of his newly crafted spell: [Hollow Branch Arms]. When he was done, multiple weapons, all different from each other ording to specifications that Li thought suited their owners best, floated in the air before hovering into the open hands of their users.


    Mason received a wooden longsword. Mercer received twin daggers of wood. Old Thane and Vilga both obtained wooden knuckles. She gained a single, curved dagger. As obtained a staff of wood.


    Again, the spell interacted differently with Tia. Li was going to shape a de for her as well, but when the unformed magical energy recognized it was to be meant for her, it changed instead seemingly of its own ord into a small, round shield strapped to her wrist by vines.


    Li could tell thatpared to the awe of the armor, everyone felt far less overwhelmed by the weapons for they were entirely in, looking like shoddy wood carvings.


    "These are weapons called [Hollow Branches]. Cherish them with your lives. They are tied to you, and the more you wield them, the more they will grow with you. Their base rank is B, but their limits are far higher than that should you manage to push your strength to those levels," said Li.


    "B-rank?" stated As with wide eyes. "Behemium ss spells are already in the realm of myth."


    "And I have a feeling that now IS a time of myth. The world is in danger. Step up to it. Be the heroes and legends of the myths you read about," Li nodded to As.. "Or write about."

 Chapter 320 - Musphelites

    Everyone in the party understood the significance of a B-rank spell, and this, Li had even almost slightly started to forget. The power level of this world was so low that ordinarily, even a C-rank spell was a feat worthy of praise where to Li, it was useless unless it had niche, good effects.


    B-rank was the minimum of what Li considered routinely usable, and here, it was already in the realm of myth.


    Regardless, that just reassured Li more that the lives of this party would be safe so long as he was around.


    "Haha, that''s myd!" said Old Thane as he beat his wooden chest te armor with a fist. "Casting mythical spells with utter ease. I say without my guidance, he would never have grown like this!"


    "Sometimes, I think you take me for granted," said Li.


    He mentally rolled his eyes at Old Thane and continued on seriously: "This should be enough to get us all through. Again, I will allow you all to fight and grow stronger, but if a situation ever bes too dangerous, then I will intervene,"


    Li put his hand in front of the Spiral Door''s warped pattern of space. He felt the cold emanating from it. "Now then, this Spiral Door is what is called ''Corrupted''. Means that very likely, there''s a dark force within it. The same kind of dark force that led the orcs against Riviera.


    However, all of you are near me, so you should not fear any madness from such influence. And though there is a dark force within, it does not mean that the dungeon is any much stronger."


    Li knew of dungeons corrupted by eldritch forces. It happened often during the final expansion when the Old Ones were introduced fully. Corruption, however, as he had said, did not change the difficulty of a dungeon much, raising its potential level by 10 at max, potentially.


    What made it problematic was that there were more status effects and potentially more annoying enemies to deal with, with eldritch madness being a severe status that dealt massive physical and mental damage, but with the proper preparations, a corrupted dungeon was not much more difficult than its uncorrupted counterpart.


    Of course, eldritch madness was an extremely dangerous status effect regardless, functioning by exposure effect to any eldritch influences, presences, or attacks, with enough umted exposure reaching a breaking point that dealt massive damage.


    It was not umon for higher tier eldritch entities to manage to deal 60% of a yer''s maximum health in raw, pure damage if they managed to stack the madness to trigger. However, Li''s very presence would negate this madness, so there should not be much of an issue navigating this dungeon.


    Li pressed his hand to the spiral spatial distortion, felt resistance, then pushed further, shattering the space as if it was made of ss. The shattered pieces of space colored with the supposed images of the Gigant forestscape behind it broke apart to reveal the true reality: fire.


    Fire everywhere. The giant trees of the Gigant were still there, but instead of standing tall with thick, green leaves that covered the heavens, they were wrapped by the destructive embrace of me. A gush of heated air rushed out, singing the grass outside where Li and the others stood.


    "The living armor will protect you from the heat," said Li. "Come on. No cold feet now."


    "Fire! Go! Go!" said Tia with a toothy smile, evidently far more positively disposed to fire than cold.


    Li smiled at her and, taking her hand, took the first steps into the Gigant dungeon. As he did so, the others followed behind, with Zagan taking up the role of a rear guard.


    When everyone entered, the shattered space patched back up, sealing them all shut in the dungeon. Now, there was no exiting this ce until they found a proper exit point.


    "Gods, the heat," said Mason. "With the air, the heavy air, it is hard to breathe."


    "It is not too bad, brother. Try to breathe through the armor, if I am making any sense," said Mercer.


    Li nodded to Mercer. The younger sibling had caught on quick. With their own physical abilities, they would have suffered greatly under this heat. It was the living armor enhancing their very cells that allowed them to survive, and so relying upon it like a venttor was the best way to function.


    Zagan sniffed the air and his crimson eyes narrowed in recognition.


    Li came to the same conclusion quickly.


    "This is Hellfire," said Li. "Not ck Hellfire, thankfully, or else it would be too much for most of you here, but still, far more dangerous than normal me regardless."


    "Demons, then," said Mason, almost in a whisper. He gripped his longsword tightly in both hands. "If it is demons I must strike down, then I will do so dly. With all my might."


    "Again, do not get ahead of yourself. Living armor is weak to fire, and fire stunts its regeneration. Even a mid-tier demon could make short work of you. And I am here to assess the situation and see if the demons can be rallied to us," said Li.


    "But-," Mason began before Mercer elbowed his shoulder te with a wooden ck.


    "Yes, Seer, I let my zeal overtake me. I have not forgotten your words," said Mason.


    "You lose your papa to demons?" said Tia, looking into Mason''s heart. "You are hurting. Seeing demons, hearing demons, makes you hurt."


    "How-yes," said Mason, knowing better than to question Tia''s many abilities at this point.


    "I see," said Li. "It is not so much religious fervor that drives you. If it was that, then I would say it would be quite hard for you to see my way. But the Light is what you rely on to seek vengeance against demons.


    Unpacking vengeance is difficult, and it will not be done in one conversation. But I say this now: if you let it consume you, muddle your mind, your movements, you will die here."


    Mason took in Li''s words and then nodded deeply. "Understood, Seer."


    "Good." Li took steps forward, focusing his will into the Gigant. Even if this was a gigantified forest, it was still a forest regardless, and within a forest, Li was at the supreme height of his power.


    With higher connection to his divinity, he could ess many of his racial leshen passives even in his human form, and he did so now, sensing the area for enemies.


    "Hm. So there you are." Li pointed a finger to a massive tree trunk just a dozen meters away. Then, by pointing down, he bid growth.


    The ming treetop doused its fire through sheer vegetative growth, and as vines and branches and leaves exploded outwards from the treetop, they sped around a demon and mmed it down into the ground.


    Because of the sheer size of the Gigant tree, the demon hiding in the treetop fell almost fifty meters and crashed into the forest floor with enough force to leave a crater. The demon itself was fairly sizable. Eight meters in height, though it was crumpled on the floor.


    Humanoid in appearance with flesh like molten rock and eyes burning with fire. Obsidian horns jutted from his head.


    "A Musphelite," said Li. "To be expected. Now then-,"


    Li snapped his fingers, and vines grew from the forest floor, again dousing any mes with sheer growth. They wrapped around the fire giant and brought its giant frame in front of Li. The giant''s heady limp, the fire in its eyes flickering down, but it was still semi-conscious.


    Almost instinctively, everyone else in the party stepped backwards. A fire giant was a creature of myth. Average level of 40. Higher end Musphelites could reach all the way up to level 90. The party was smart to withdraw, for they would require a coordinated effort to take down even one fire giant.


    Zagan, however, did not move. Instead he stared at the fire demon with close intent, checking for eldritch corruption.


    Li did the same.


    "I sense corruption in you," said Li. "I would cure you, but it seems your friends are quite opposed to it."


    As if on cue, fire giants began manifesting everywhere, their giant forms materializing in showers of ming sparks. This was a demonic ability called [Hellfire Transport], and it was only possible if a demon stronger than the basic fire giants, a higher demon, was utilizing it to transport units.


    There was, however, an extremely long cooldown on every unit transported, so these fire giants were basically stranded now.


    Still, they numbered a fairly sizable host. Twenty strong, appearing between tree trunks and trudging forwards. Two of them were armored in volcanic rock and held enormous greatswords capable of shattering small buildings in their hands.


    "Hm." Li looked at the fire giants, and they gazed back with fire in their eyes both in a literal and metaphoric sense. There was only zing aggression there. "Looks like diplomacy will have to wait a bit.. Everyone, ready yourselves to fight."

 Chapter 321 - Separation

    Li watched as the giants began to charge forwards, their footsteps sizzling and sending out mes and sparks across the forest floor, their weight and heavy armor loosing quaking clicks.


    The entire party tensed up, holding their weapons firm as the tide of enormous, zing bodies approached.


    Tia smiled as she pranced from one foot to the other, eager for the fight.


    Li noted with calm that among the twenty-two giants, only eleven were approaching. One greatsword giant and ten barehanded ones. The greatsword giant, judging by the fact that four horns protruded from its molten helm instead of two, was higher in rank, leading the ten behind it in a charge.


    The other host of fire giants, then, was led by the remaining greatsword giant who stood back, watching the results of this charge with zing eyes of orange.


    Li knew immediately that eleven giants was far too much of a force for the party to reckon with. He could not have them dying on him, for even though he did have a resurrection spells, it was an Ultima-tier spell that he could not freely use, for Elden World had always been strict about resurrection mechanics.


    Only the most specialized of priests and temrs could afford to cast resurrection freely, and even then, it was an A-rank spell at the minimum.


    "Stay put," said Li to the party. He put a hand on Tia''s head. "And youe with me, Tia."


    "Okay!" said Tia as she unfurled her ck and green wings, hovering in the air.


    Li smiled at her before turning to the approaching charge of giants, theirbined heavy steps now quaking the earth. His glowing green eyesnded on the greatsword giant at the front.


    "I''m ready, papa!" said Tia, as she sensed through her Soulbound connection Li''s intent.


    "Good. Because papa is going to be moving real quick," said Li.


    "Got i-," began Tia before she was cut off from Li charging forwards, into the fray.


    "No fair!" said Tia as she leaped off the ground, batting her wings with a surge of gusting winds as she tried to keep up with Li.


    Before the greatsword giant at the head of the charge could react, Li had mmed into him, driving him down with feet on the giant''s chest. The giant groaned, and his voice sounded like fire given speech: a roaring, crackling, deep cacophony.


    The force of Li''s impact had driven the giant backwards, and where before he was at the head of the charge, there were now two giants ahead of him, looking back at their leader with shock.


    Li turned around and lifted an index finger to the air. "[Ironbark Wall]"


    With that chant, an enormous wall of thick, gleaming, almost metallic wood rose from the forest floor, separating the two giants from the rest of their host and leaving them to fight the party.


    Two giants, Li calcted, were enough for the party to deal with. Defeating them would likely grant them many levels, particrly in the case of Mason and Mercer both of whom were severely underleveledpared to the rest of the party.


    Now, the rest, Li looked up to see a dozen plus pairs of burning eyes aimed at him and Tia. The rest of the giants in the charge looked at Li and then began to pour forth their hostile intent. Fire started to sputter and rage from their backs in zing auras, and in their bare hands, swords of me and molten rock manifested.


    A typical ability of fire giants. Fire auras and me weapon generation.


    Li felt the greatsword giant beneath his feet start to move again, groans turning into a roar as he tried to sit up, spilling Li away from his body.


    But Li only stamped down with his foot, sending a shockwave surging from the blow and shattering the giant''s molten breast te. The giant''s two dots of ming eyes widened as they stared straight up, the wind knocked out of him from the casual blow of a man less than a quarter of his size.


    The remaining giants hesitated to charge, the ming weapons in their hands trembling as they began to perceive Li''s strength.


    Good. This indicated that the giants had not lost their minds to eldritch corruption or else they would have been mindless units more so than beings.


    "Now then, we can finally have a talk," said Li.


    "Talk? But I wanted to fight!"ined Tia.


    "And I do think you will," said Li. His eyes narrowed as he saw the other host of fire giants standing from far off continuing to look at Li without an ounce of fear in their eyes.


    The ones around Li seemed to have lost their fighting will seeing their leader so helpless under Li''s feet, and they acted organically, being fearful to move, being hesitant to do anything.


    "They do not seem to want to fight anymore," said Li, and Tia followed Li''s gaze at the hesitant giants.


    "If you don''t want to fight, go home!" said Tia. "Stop burning forest!"


    The fire giants stepped back at Tia''s reproach, and yet, Li felt a little uneasy. These giants, it seemed, were normal.


    But the other ones. The other host of fire giants led by the remaining greatsword wielder were different.


    The other greatsword giant was quite a distance away and on an elevated mound of ground, taking a viewing vantage point. His host of ten giants were positioned in a neat, semi-circr formation in front of him with such precise positioning that they almost seemed to have been ced there by someone.


    Li had expected to sense fighting intent from these giants, or fear that the rest of the giants that had taken the charge were now so easily scattered, but there was nothing.


    No emotion.


    Instead, the greatsword giant raised its de towards Li, and so too did the ten giants around it, all of them projecting ming des. Then, they turned the des towards themselves, stabbing themselves through the hearts.


    All of them copsed down to their knees, the mes around their bodies, a sign of a fire giant''s life force, flickering down rapidly.


    Li was left confused, and at the same time, he started to understand.


    "No-," Li began, understanding that this was a kind of spell, a ritual akin to spells like [Life Pact] or [Ritual Sacrifice]. He had a dyed reaction because it was not a spell he was at all familiar, and that dy proved crucial.


    Li charged forwards, attempting to break the semicircle ritual formation, but the moment his feet left the ground at hyperspeed, the world around him shifted, the colors and space distorting. The burning forest and all the fire giants around Lipletely disappeared.


    Recing that was instead more fire. More burning. A pure and proper hellscape.


    Li stood in the middle of what seemed to be ake ofva and me. Sshes ofva and fire rose all around him, washing over him, but they could not burn even a single stand of his hair, being as ineffectual as water.


    Li shook his head to flick off droplets ofva as he took note of his surroundings.


    Dark clouds of sulfur clogged the skies, and tornadoes of fire whirled in the distance. Past theke, he could see huge dark mountains and volcanoes rise up into the skies, belching out ash and me.


    This was almost exactly simr to Musphel, the home of the fire giants in Elden World. He had been forcefully teleported.


    "Tia-," Li began with a start before realizing that Tia was there, tugging at his coat tail behind him. She was looking around with confusion in her eyes.


    "Where¡­where we?" said Tia.


    Li scooped her up in his arms in relief and sheughed in happiness at the sudden gesture.


    "It looks like I am not the only one capable of forging spells," said Li. Both Tia and Li looked around to the rising spouts ofva, hearing the distant rumble of eruptions, and feeling the ash gather at their skin.


    He took in a breath of ash and heat, feeling the magical energy and sensing it simr in wavelength to that from the forest. In other words, this was still the dungeon. Anotheryer. Theyer of the fire giants, most likely.


    "We go back? Friends back there!" said Tia.


    "If this had been an ordinary spell to force teleportation on us, then yes," said Li. "But this is not. This is¡­quite clever. We will have to get back on our own."


    Li pondered the nature of this spell. It thoroughly utilized Elden World game mechanics to its advantage.


    yers, no matter how strong they were, were bound by certain game mechanics. One of these being that they could not simply just teleport to the end of a dungeon. Even if a level 100+ yer cleared a level 10 dungeon, he would still have to go through all theyers the proper way.


    There were, however, dungeon traps that could teleport party members elsewhere. In some cases, certain dungeon mobs or bosses could do the same.


    These, Li werepletely familiar with, and many of them were easily noticeable or had tell-tale windups. But it waspletely out of the ream of Li''s knowledge for a spell to exist wherein fire giants could transport others.


    No, this was not a fire giant spell. Some other entity had created it, and, highly likely, fashioned it directly in preparation to use against a single powerful entity. The vast majority of transporting dungeon traps were area of effect, and so one counter to them was parties could just pile on the trap and be transported all together, thus highly incentivizing parties from sticking together.


    In this case, however, the transportation spell was purely single target, and seemingly tailor made for Li, having modifiers against stronger entities and forestborn beings.


    In other words, there was an entity here that knew of Li and had prepared for him.

 Chapter 322 - Ritual Sacrifice

    "What we do, papa?" said Tia.


    Li put her down, and she fidgeted for a few seconds, adjusting her bare, scaled feet on the molten rock and magma bubbling around them. She got used to the temperatures soon enough, which was expected of her. Aside from a few dragon types, most dragons possessed an innate resistance to me.


    The living armor Li cast had infused with her dress, preventing it from just scorching up in the air, and she pranced about, dipping her toes inside a particrly deep divot ofva.


    "Wow. Fire water!" said Tia.


    "It''s calledva. When rock gets hot enough and melts, it turns into that," said Li.


    "Lava," said Tia, rolling the word around in her head andmitting it to memory.


    Li gave her a faint smile as he focused on what to do. He waspletely cut off from the rest of the party. Even Zagan who possessed a telepathic link with him. This meant that in this dungeon, Li was likely in apletely differentyer than the others, and he had no idea of his orientation, whether he was higher or lower.


    One thing though, he knew well: he had to get to the bottom of the dungeon to figure out what was happening. There was an entity here transporting units, and likely, it was a boss type unit, though whether it was the dungeon of the entire boss or just oneyer was up in the air.


    Regardless, Li would find this entity if he traveled to the end of thisyer or one of theyers beneath it. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck.


    Looks like he was going to be clearing this dungeon, then.


    Almost as if to challenge Li''s decision, he felt presences invade his general vicinity. Unlike when he was in the forest, he could not urately pinpoint every single presence, but he had sharp enough eyes to see flickers of me dotting around the environment, across spires of rock and cliff faces.


    All high vantage points looking down on Li.


    The flickers of me formed into the shape of giants. This time, giants with great bows of solidified me in their hands. All of those bows were aimed at Li, arrows of fire almost three meters long nocked and ready to be loosed.


    These giants, Li noted with narrowed eyes, could not be saved. Bright red tentacles sprouted from their chests, wriggling and writhing as they massed around their bodies as signs of deeply embedded corruption.


    They were too far gone.


    Tia saw this and leaped in front of Li, her wooden shield poised in front of her. "We alone, but I protect papa!" she eximed, her green and ck eyes intensely bright.


    "Don''t worry, Tia," said Li. "We are not alone. With me, there is never such a thing as ''alone''."


    This type of environment was the absolute worst for Li in terms ofpatibility. He had various negative statuses affecting him such as constant burn damage, curse damage, and a negative modifier to all his druidic spells, for this hellscape of me was the antithesis of his forestborne power.


    Yet, a dungeon of this level was still pitiful against Li. He knelt down and mmed his hand against the molten ground beneath him.


    "[Earth Shattering]," said Li, casting an A-ranked spell.


    A seismic shockwave surged out from Li''s palm, rippling across the moltenke and sloughing up massive waves ofva. Any solid rock it encountered, it shattered, and the earth trembled and quaked as the shockwave traveled far,pletely destroying the bases of the pirs the fire giant archers rested upon.


    The archers lost their bnce and fell far to the ground beneath them, and Li fully intended to just finish them off with physical blows, granting Tia the experience to fight some of them.


    However, Li again noted with surprise that the giants, as they fell, acted in synchronized unity, dematerializing their bows and instead creating daggers in their hands. The daggers stabbed into their necks.


    Li however, was ready this time. He casted his eldritch Druidry. Waves of ck and green erupted from his hand as he pointed downwards, casting [Root of Vulthoom]. The deep purple, spiked root filled with red eyes manifested from his hand and drove into the shattered, molten ground, flowering further thorns and roots inside.


    "To me, Tia," said Li as he grabbed her close to his side.


    It was obvious that these fire giants had sacrificed themselves again for some kind of dungeon-rted ritual against Li, probably to teleport him somewhere else. However, with the [Root of Vulthoom], Li could remain rooted to this space, for the root affixed things on a spatial and temporal level.


    The falling bodies of the fire giants faded away into embers, and then, Li felt trembling beneath his feet. Theke ofva around him began to glow intensely bright, the orange almost melding into white, and he realized what was happening.


    The fire giants had not activated a dungeon-based teleportation trap with their deaths, but instead an ordinary environmental trap meant for dealing damage.


    Li snapped his fingers and cast [Chrysalis]. The A-ranked barrier activated, and quickly, weaves of bright green circled around Li and Tia, encasing them in a cocoon of translucent, verdant energy.


    Theke around them exploded, volcanic activity underneath cascading into aplete eruption that sent the cocoon surging into the ashen red sky in an enormous geyser of upturned melted rock, magma, and heat.


    "We flying!" said Tia with excitement, no doubt finding the prospect of riding a volcanic eruption into the sky fun in the same way a child on a rollercoaster would.


    When Li felt the cocoon stop moving, likely high up in the air, he deactivated [Chrysalis], preventing it from taxing his magical energy too much. Sessively casting so many A-ranked spells took a toll even on Li, and if he was not too careful, he could conceivably run out, especially in this dungeonyer where mana regeneration was also stunted.


    Li and Tia were now high up in the air, level with the ashen clouds, and Tia unfurled her wings to hover, holding Li up with one hand as she recognized that Li did not want to spend magical energy on wings just yet.


    "All these little tricks. All of them paid for with lives," said Li. He looked down below where the eruption had urred. Where before there was ake ofva, there was now just a gaping crater of angry molten orange.


    A dungeon trap activated with the lives of its denizens.


    Smart, though, Li had to admit. Because the spell was one that Li had never encountered before, he had no idea how to approach it. All he could make were inferences and observations.


    The first ritual sacrifice of the fire giants had caused Li and Tia to be transported away. This made Li cautious of teleportation based effects. However, this time, it was instead simply a frontal attack made by activating a dungeon trap.


    The effect was that Li had to expend almost twice the mana to defend himself, using costly mana on casting [Root of Vulthoom].


    Whoever was controlling these fire giants understood that Li did not know the nature of their spell, indicating that they too had knowledge of the Elden World spell roster, and abused that to their advantage, trying to drain him of mana.


    Another yer? Li furrowed a brow at this possibility. If it was, then any battle between him and a truly maxed out yer, potentially one engulfed in eldritch corruption, would be quite hard fought.


    But Li had too little information to act on for now. What he did know was that he could generally approximate what this ritual sacrifice spell did.


    By seeing it in action twice now, he could guess that the spell sacrificed denizens of a specific dungeonyer to activate thatyer''s traps, with teleportation being a trap that existed across allyers of this dungeon, hence why fire giants sacrificed in the firstyer of forests could still activate a trap there.


    Knowing this, Li could reasonably predict what type of traps he would encounter based on theyer he was in.


    "Feel bad for big fire people," said Tia as her slit pupils narrowed, showing her that none of the fire giants had survived. "They don''t want to hurt themselves, but they do."


    "Yes," said Li. "Whoever is controlling them is truly an eldritch entity indeed. The cruelty fits the bill."


    Li knew the type of cruelty that came from eldritch power well. It was a kind that was best described aspletely cold. There was no passion of hate in there. It simply was. Eldritch cruelty reveled in pain and chaos not because of any rhyme or reason, but simply because it was its inherent nature.


    As simple and ordinary as breathing.


    "Tia," said Li. "We''re going to find whoever is controlling these fire giants and take them down. To do that, we have to go further in the dungeon. Down."


    "But everyone away from us, they are up," said Tia. "All of them there. Without you, papa. And¡­and they weak."


    Li nodded to her, acknowledging her concern. He smiled. "Don''t worry about them, Tia. If I believed they were in any real danger, I would be rushing up to meet them now.


    But they''re in capable hands."

 Chapter 323 - In Capable Hands

    ==


    "Hold,ds, hold!" Old Thane''s shout resonated through the burning forest battlefield, rising far above the raging crackle of mes, the heavy thudding of fire giant steps, and the sh of giant me swords against wood.


    The shout had no reason to belong to a man as aged as Old Thane, and yet, the way the blind man moved, it was difficult to tell he was far past his prime.


    He shoulder mmed into the knee of a fire giant, catching the giant off bnce and forcing the mming trajectory of his me sword away from turning Mason into a smidgeon of burnt blood.


    "As!" Old Thane shouted again as the fire giant reared its attention on him, burning eyes of pure ming light flickering in annoyance.


    The giant mmed a crushing hand down on to Old Thane, but he raised his arms up and caught the attack.


    A surge of fire and heat wave distorted winds burst out from Old Thane stopping the impact, and the palms of his hands singed as his muscles rippled and bulged, surging with a red aura that indicated he had activated [Berserker''s Rage], a staple of the Berserker subss to boost strength, speed, and damage resistance.


    Yet, fire giants were ever the formidable foe, and though their great size meant their agility stat was low, making their uracy and movement speed unimpressive, they more than made up for it with their prodigious natural strength, easily surpassing pure brawlers like Old Thane in singlebat.


    But this was not singlebat.


    "Reprieve shalte to thee soon," said As, calm in her voice for as situations became tenser, she only ever became more focused, more calm.


    Her yellow eyes glinted as her pupils slit into narrow lines as she pointed her wooden staff at the fire giant.


    Wreaths of golden light swirled around the staff in flowing patterns, causing sands to arise from around the fire giant''s locking into a solidified mound around his legs.


    The giant grunted as it saw this sudden development, and instead of trying to break free, aimed its me sword against Old Thane while he was pinned by the giant''s hand.


    "Tis'' brutish but predictable," said As as she pointed her staff down.


    The [Sand Tomb] around the fire giant''s legs sunk under the ground as if parted by quicksand, and the giant lost its bnce again.


    Old Thane took this moment to get out from under the giant''s grip and side step back, and as the giant crashed face first into the ground, Old Thane charged up a [Painkiller], a powerful Berserker ss blow that dealt more damage based on how much the user had taken.


    Old Thane''s wooden, gauntleted fist smashed into the side of the fire giant''s head with resounding impact, causing it to snap back and disorient the monster.


    "Now!" growled Old Thane. "Converge!"


    From stealth emerged Mercer with his twin des and She with her short sword.


    They were not too coordinated, both of them circling in front of the fire giant to try and cut its eyes out, but She was more experienced, allowing Mercer freedom to act as she broke off, leaping onto the giant''s head and using it as a tform to flip to its back exposed back which she stabbed into with no hesitation.


    Mercer grunted as he mmed twin daggers into both the giant''s eyes.


    The critical damage caused the fire giant to roar in pain, fire bellowing out from its body and causing Mercer to immediately scramble backwards.


    Mason grabbed his brother''s cloak from the back and pulled him back to aid his escape, leaving them both with justva singed hairs for their trouble.


    She, however, smiled and continued forwards, letting theva spatter around her skin and burn it. She used the damage to channel her blood shamanism, and with it, cast [Bleeding Edge], coating her wooden sword in a rapidly rotatingyer of sharpened blood meant for inflicting as much bleeding damage as possible.


    With [Blood Boost] pumping through her body, lighting all her veins up with a crimson red visible through her skin in grotesque fashion, She sped around the giant, shing everywhere she could, some of her attacks sinking into critical spots and causing veins of fiery blood to burst, gushing out molten rock and me everywhere.


    "Gods, we really are weak,"mented Mason as he and his brother stood shoulder to shoulder, supporting each other through panting breaths and watching as She wreaked bloody havoc on the fire giant.


    "You''ve got that right-," began Mercer before his sharper senses caused his blue eyes to widen. "Watch out!"


    A fireball flew their way before Vilga emerged alight with mes from having managed to defeat a fire giant in singlebat.


    Cauterized sword wounds littered her muscr body, but she still had more than enough energy to snarl and punch the fireball with a [Iron Fist], the Qi wreathing her hand in ayer of blue aura that let her interact with projectiles.


    The fireball shattered apart into tiny specks that Mason managed to block with his shield.


    "No time for chatter,ds!" said Old Thane as he retreated back, staying near Mason, Mercer, and Vilga. She hade back too, having executed the fire giant. As stood back further behind them as their mage and support.


    In front of them, more giants were closing in.


    Li had created a massive wall of wood to separate the fire giant army, leaving just two giants for the party to deal with, but now, the giants had scaled the wall, leaping down from it with solid thumps as their hefty weights settled on the forest floor, their every step burning foliage.


    Many, many giants. Almost ten of them, it seemed, and probably moreing.


    Vilga spat out some blood and exhaled a strong breath through her burnt and parched lips. Patches of burns lined her face and her thick silver mane was singed ck at its tips. However, she just smiled, baring her fangs, her gleaming yellow eyes wide with adrenaline and battle hunger.


    She mmed her gauntleted fists together.


    "Come!" she roared, her once quiet demeanorpletely gone now that her blood had started to flow, bringing her back to how she had been bred to be through decades fighting every single day, three hundred and sixty-five days of the year for fifteen years: a veteran of the Republic Arenas once feared as the Savage Fist.


    "Y-yes!" shouted Mercer rather weakly, raising his dagger to support Vilga, though he was evidently much, much more worried about losing his life than she was.


    Mason watched as the ten giants began to charge forwards now, their huge bodies causing quakes. He raised his wooden shield and peered through the visor of his oaken helm with worry.


    "Where is the seer!?" said Mason. "I thought he would have dealt with these foul beasts yet!"


    "It is difficult to sense him," said As. "His magical energy flows strong, yet none of it do I now perceive."


    Old Thane stood beside Vilga at the front and smiled just as broadly as the Lupi warrior.


    The Savage Fist and the Blood Fist together. A union that would never have been known had not the all weing nature of Li''s presence made its mark on this world.


    Yet, a union that would not be enough.


    "Is what she says true?" said Old Thane as he rolled his shoulders, feeling the blood trickle from burns and wounds littering his body. "Zagan."


    A brief pause. The fire giants approached ever the closer, but everyone''s attention, everyone except Old Thane, stared back at Zagan, the unassuming ck dog that followed them everywhere.


    Old Thane kept his fists clenched and stared straight ahead. "I know ye were to keep yourself hidden, but if thed is gone, now is no time for it."


    "The Serpi is correct in her arcane judgement," said Zagan, his deep voice projecting outwards, an infernal rattle underlining it. Mason and Mercer, unused to demonic influence of this caliber, felt shivers rattling across their bodies.


    "Aye." Old Thane nodded to himself. "I worry little of thed and the girl. They are mighty. But we will need some help."


    "This personage understands the situation." Zagan trotted forwards, his ck fur swaying like mesprising a royal cloak as he stood in front of Old Thane.


    Old Thane''s smile broadened even more. "Then shall we? I am quite greedy for battle meself."


    Zagan''s crimson eyes zed. "It shall be so."


    Zagan''s form turned into a cloud of ck me for a moment before funneling into Old Thane.


    Old Thane sighed as he felt power flow into him, the effects of his agingpletely reversing. His wrinkles faded. The fat gathered around his belly melted away. His muscles filled into his skin, veins bulging and old scars popping through taut, youthful skin.


    His usual hunch disappeared, and he grew taller, noticeably taller until he was just a few heads shorter than the smallest three-meter-tall giants.


    The loose skins that wrapped around his shoulders and legs, skins of mighty beasts such as Dire Crusher Boars, Frostbears, Yeti, and even the scales of cial Serpents began to fill out, worn by the younger body they truly belonged to.


    No more did Old Thane look like he was out of ce wearing his gear. He was ferocity incarnate, his teeth tapering into near bestial points. Many of his veins bulged through his skin, and they were ck, flowing with demonic energy.


    "Aye," said Old Thane as he cracked his neck and clenched his fists. "Aye. This be the might I had. The violence I held down."


    On Old Thane''s exposed chest, where his heart was under his te like pectoral muscle, two red eyes popped out, and from them, Zagan''s voice emerged.


    "This personage grants you power to fulfill the safety of this party as the ''Seer'' wishes. Waste no more time inpleting this objective, mortal."


    "Hehe, aye, aye," said Old Thane. He looked back at Vilga, and she stared at him with surprise now. "Yer a lot like me,ss. I know how much ye wanted the fight. So I''ll be sure to leave ye some scraps."


    With that, Old Thane looked forwards, at a fire giant that now was within ten meters of him, and charged forwards, his speed so explosive that he was a blur. He tackled the fire giant''s leg and took the giant''s multi-ton weight clean off the ground as if it was as light as a feather.


    Roaring like a wild beast, Old Thane swung the giant around like a ragdoll, building up speed before tossing the giant as a projectile right into a group of three other giants.


    The thrown giant crashed into the group and scattered them backwards, causing them to tumble several times on the dirt, disoriented.

 Chapter 324 - Battle Hunger

    Who-who are you?" began Mason as he witnessed Old Thane utterly manhandle the giants.


    "Shut your mouth, littled, and raise your shield for your brother," said Old Thane. He trudged forwards, and this time, the giants stopped, having seen how easily they were man handled.


    "This¡­this is demonic magic," said As. "I must hold down a great urge to withdraw mine tablet. Were there no danger to divert mine attention, I shouldst be writing ¨C it is a rare sight indeed to witness demonic magic, especially of this caliber."


    "Demon?" Vilga cocked her head as she peered at Old Thane. "Not like a normal demon. There is no rage. No hunger."


    "Not all demons are creatures of base desire, baring hatred and foul negativity," exined As. "Some are far more refined. Such as that one." She pointed her staff to Old Thane. "And well hidden. No trace of such magical energy didst I sense even once before this time from that one."


    "Demon or no demon, does this mean we get to survive?" said Mercer with bated breath.


    "Or do we trust the demon, knowing how their kind is?" began Mason, and She nodded along with him.


    "Lad, if ye don''t trust me, then go ahead without me. See how long ye live," said Old Thane. "That goes for the little kitten with ye too."


    With that, Old Thane charged forwards as a blur. With his physical stats restored, no, further enhanced, he could ess the many stat gated skills and powers of his subsses. He leaped up in the air, both fists high up, and then mmed them down into a hammering strike on the head of a fire giant.


    An earth splitting shock shot out from the blow, and when the giant''s head mmed into the ground, it split the ground with deep cracks as if a meteorite had crashed into it.


    "Looks like my [Hammer of Wrath] is still in top performance," said Old Thane. He turned to the party and shouted at them, his teeth bared in sharp fangs. "Get a move on! Forwards! Forwards! To thed!"


    While he was distracted, a fire giant stabbed into Old Thane''s back, and the ming sword of the monster seared through Old Thane''s flesh and split through to the other side.


    Old Thane looked down at the enormous de jutting out from his gut. Blood trickled from his lips.


    "Gods! They''ve taken him down!" said Mercer as Mason stood in front of his younger brother, shield upraised in desperatest defense.


    Old Thane justughed. A mighty, heartyugh.


    The fire giant behind Old Thane cocked his head in confusion and tried to pull his de out, but found that it was stuck, as if embedded into the trunk of a mighty oak.


    "d to have abs again," said Old Thane as he looked down at his rock hard abdominal muscles where before there had been a gut from retirement. The muscles clenched, holding the me sword in his gut tight.


    With a smirk, Old Thane brought his fist down on the me sword and snapped it in half. The ded half of the sword fell down to his foot, and he kicked it up in the air before moving forwards, taking the rest of the de embedded in him out.


    He then leaped in the air and kicked the de in the air backwards, sending it flying backwards, embedding it straight in the fire giant''s head.


    Old Thanended on the ground and wiped blood from his lips roughly, smearing red all over his face. His pupils, narrowed into predatory slits, showed only the rush of excitement. A red aura of rage flickered all around him, converting his damage into additional stats via a Berserker ss passive known as [Battle Rage].


    "Berserkers do not die from a mere flesh wound like that,ds," said Old Thane to the amazed faces of Mason and Mercer. "Take care if ye go to the north that you remember this, lest you anger a Berserker''s pride and feel their fist upon yer pale southern faces."


    With that, Old Thane whirled around and continued his charge forwards. The giants were hesitant to approach, but Old Thane kept up.


    "What''s wrong, giants!?" he shouted as he mmed into the legs of another giant, toppling it down before jumping on the giant''s head and then unleashing a volley of heavy blows on his helmeted face. "Come forwards! Show me the might of the Jotun that I have descended from!"


    "These are not Jotun, mortal," said Zagan calmly, correcting Old Thane. "They are Musphelites. Demons like this personage. The onlymonality between the two are prodigious size."


    "Oh, that so? Sorry for lumping you all in together," said Old Thane.


    "No matter," said Zagan. "I sense the scent of corruption within them. Kill them, mortal, and kill them without prejudice. Leave but one alive for this personage to question."


    "Kill? dly," said Old Thane. He cracked his knuckles as he stepped forwards, eager to bash in another giant head. He looked around to the ming forest around him. "All this destruction on so much green. Thed must have been holding back so very much on ye. To save ye for his cause.


    But I have no such patience."


    The rest of the party watched as Old Thane pressed forwards, savaging the rest of the giants. He fought like a wild beast, not caring at all of damage, only ever evading strikes directly to his head or heart. All other strikes, he simply bore, gainingrge cuts and burns a plenty.


    All the while, Old Thane just smiled andughed, blood drooling from his mouth as he shouted for more and more. He broke bones, pulled out entrails, smashed skulls, and even crushed a heart.


    "The demon has corrupted him," remarked Mason in utter awe as he kept his shield up, less so in fear of the giants now, but in fear of Old Thane.


    "No," said Vilga. Her arms were crossed as she peered ahead with her steely gray eyes, calm now from her battle hunger. "He is like me. Possessing of hunger for the fight. For some, the hunger consumes them. For others, it can be controlled.


    When the battle is over, he will be back."


    "What do we do until then?" said Mercer.


    "You watch.. Unless you wish to be struck by him," said Vilga tly.

 Chapter 325 - Battles End

    The battle raged on, and as the party watched Old Thane one-sidedly ughter the Fire Giants that previously had seemed like such a massive, uneatable wall of a threat to them, they could only wonder at the might of what was once one of the mightiest adventurers throughout Soleil, a decorated hero of a Darkening, and the strength of a five hundred plus year old demon.


    "If a demon is that powerful, what hope have we of defeating them? How did we ever manage to do so in the past Darkenings?" said Mercer as he let his twin wooden daggers hang limp by his sides.


    "Because we had the gods by our side," said Mason.


    "Incorrect," said As. "Only in the First and Second Darkenings didst the gods truly stand strong against the demons. Since then, it is not gods that have saved thee. Saved us all.


    It hath been heroes. This is why I adore the nature of epics as tales. They telleth of heroes. Of how they are created."


    As raised a pale hand towards the burning forest all around her. "Heroes are forged in mes. When there is only darkness, it is then that a hero riseth to bring forth the light. When there is pain, it is then that the hero riseth to sooth the masses."


    "Like the heroes of Soleil now that cross the skies," said Mason.


    "Perhaps," said As. "But thou shouldst understand. A hero is not a title that is granted. It is not one decreed by a cape, granted by some crown, nor one reserved for those that possesseth certain powers.


    A hero maye from anywhere, for it is not who they are, the form they are born with, what they are blessed with, that trulypletes them, but what they do."


    "That¡­," Mason paused for a moment, his eyes flitting upwards, reaching out to the sky. Even though he could only see the oversized branches of the Gigant forest, his eyes saw past them, to the past.


    "Sounds like what father used to say," said Mercer,pleting his brother''s statement. "Why we became adventurers in the first ce. Or tried, to be more urate."


    "And why is it that we hath to bring the fight to the demons?" said As. "Is it not that a demon now saves us? That a demon hath been by our sides this whole time? Shouldst not the demon before us be considered a hero for us?"


    "It...it is still hard for to stomach this," said Mason. "We were supposed to bring the fight to the demons."


    "No, we fight against the greater darkness that the seer hath told us of," said As. "I can tell, Mason, that thou wisht deep down to be a hero. Thus, thou believest that to be a hero, to save people, thou must follow the crown, the light, and fight against the demons.


    Thou doth not know what to fight for. What to fight against.


    But if thou doth desire to be a hero, to help as many as possible, to carve thy name into the epics of history with thy actions, then is it not that you must fight against the greater darkness toe? What good shall it be to raise thine ire against demon kind when they themselves may have to join our fight?"


    "I know," said Mason quietly.


    "Doth thee truly?" said As.


    "I know!" Mason said, this time louder. He sighed. "I know that how I think is wrong. You have pointedit out many times already. But father¡­he was killed by a demon, and I have been told to fight and fear them my whole life.


    This does not feel right even if I know it is. Even if I know the seer is right, I still question him, even when I know he knows vastly more than I do. But I cannot help it."


    "Do not vex thyself too deeply into this matter now," said As. She put aforting hand on Mason''s shoulder. "It will taketh time to soothe thy mind and the experiences that hath been raised into thee."


    Mason nodded, and As withdrew her hand.


    "Brother, I should mention I am quite jealous of you," said Mercer as he gazed at As''s hand.


    Mason smiled slightly at his younger brother''s antics.


    "You may know, but I don''t," said She. The gold-furred Feli gripped her curved short sword tight in her hand as she stared at Zagan. "The demons have wronged my people. The blood of shamans before me, all of them scream from the burns of demons."


    "Thou, I shalt talk toter," said As. "For now, it doth seem the battle draws to an end."


    "Indeed," said Vilga.


    Old Thane was now face to face with the final fire giant captain. One wielding a ming greatsword. The fire giant was taller than the others, standing at nine meters tall, and two smaller, six meter tall giants stood at his side.


    "You are no match for me!" shouted Old Thane as his red Berserker''s aura raged around him, all of his umted damage and burns funneling into more power, more stats, more ferocity. It also granted him more of a resource to expend to cast stronger Berserker ss skills.


    Behind Old Thane were the broken and torn apart bodies of the entire rest of the fire giant cohort.


    The greatsword giant understood this fact and dug its greatsword into the ground. The other two giants did the same. They withdrew daggers, ready to ritually sacrifice themselves again.


    "Aye, the easy way out, eh? Not on me watch!" roared Old Thane as he charged forwards, using the Berserker ss skill [Rage Breaker] to empower his charge with a powerful stunning and knockback effect to break any channeled spells.


    However, toote. The giants slit their throats, casting their ritual magic. A pentagram of me filled with sigils floated above them, glowing red as some form of transportation spell began to manifest on Old Thane''s speeding body, warping the space around his limbs.


    But then, the warped space simply shattered before reforming back to ordinary space.


    Old Thane had simply charged through the spell, mming into the great sword fire giant, though by now, the fire giant was already bleeding out its molten life blood. The huge great sword giant''s corpse tumbled backwards form the impact of the charge, limp and dead.


    "What was that?" remarked Old Thane as he stared down at his molten covered hands. "I could have sworn I was toote and the confounding spell they cast upon thed was cast upon me."


    "The Herald Shard of this personage," said Zagan from Old Thane''s heart. "As the Herald of Greed, this personage possesses the capacity to render this personage or apatible host the effect of pure unstoppability when they desire to reach a target or destination.


    No manner of spatial maniption, binds, nor barrier will prove resistance enough. Yet, this personage does regret that it could not have foreseen this and utilized the shard for the Seer."


    "Thed will be fine," said Old Thane.. "It is now time to find him."

 Chapter 326 - Amon, The Burning One

    The party heard Old Thane''s words and began to move, knowing that if they wanted a guarantee of their survival, then they needed to find Li.


    "Where shall we find the Seer, though?" said Mason, and as As did not counteract his words this time, it was evident that there was no good answer to this question among the party. "He could be anywhere. He could be further in or he may even be outside of this dungeon."


    Zagan, however, resonated his voice through the twin crimson eyes that poked out through Old Thane''s broad, te-like chest muscle. "The connection to the Seer that this personage possesses has dimmed considerably such that direct talk from mind to mind is severed. However, this personage still possesses the capacity to sense a faint link to the Seer.


    Through this link, this personage thus knows that the Seer lies deeper within the dungeon."


    "And the words of a demon-," began Mason before he was cut short by Mercer elbowing him in the side.


    "Demon, lead the way, and we will follow," said Mercer.


    "This personage is no mere ''demon''," said Zagan. "Ones such as yourselves shall address me with the title of ''Great''. No less than that shall be tolerated."


    The power in Zagan''s voice was self-evident, radiating outwards in echoing peals that seemed to rumble the earth itself. It was power that promised the simple truth that should Zagan desire so, every single individual in the party could immediately die under his gaze with not a single thing they could do to fend against it.


    "But this personage will tolerate a time of adjustment needed for you lowly mortals to address him properly. For now, there is a more pressing matter for this personage to attend to," said Zagan. "Human, move to therger giant''s corpse."


    "Aye," said Old Thane, and he leaped up, crossing several meters in a surprisingly graceful instant as he stood over the great sword wielding fire giant''s helmeted head. A pool of molten liquid, its blood, drained out from its severed neck, forming a burning, sizzling puddle underneath it.


    "This magic¡­I know of its scent," said Zagan. "It is not the magic of the Abyss, but demonic in nature."


    "Are not these fire giants demons of their own right?" said Old Thane.


    "No. They may be demons, but they are far removed from the main See. They are more attuned to nature than themon demon," exined Zagan. "The fire giants served the Demonic See only once, in the First Darkening when they were led by the primordial me titan Asmodai, the then Herald of Wrath.


    With the fall of Asmodai, the fire giants returned to the Gigant, never again desiring to aid the demons for losses to their kind."


    "And of this Darkening? Do ye know whether the giantse to the demon''s aid now?" said Old Thane.


    "Last this personage was in the ranks of the Burning One, he heard tell that the fire giants were sought after, but unlikely to return an invitation to enter another Darkening," said Zagan. "For such is the nature of the Gigant. A self-contained world, and yet one of vast significance, its stability directly intertwined with the bnce of weather in the greater world around it. Thus, no Burning One has ever tried to force the hand of the fire giants, for to break this bnce would usher in change across the world unforeseeable."


    "And yet, me seems to think that the fire giants have taken a side now," remarked Old Thane. "Against thed, they were prepared, aye."


    "Indeed," said Zagan. "And this personage knows how. The stench of their magic is quite familiar to this personage. It is the magic of Amon, this personage''s former pupil and the reigning Burning One."


    "Youngds under our tutge will always be rebellious, eh?" said Old Thane to Zagan with a fanged smile before he grew more serious. "But to create new spells? This Amon has some skill to his name, aye. Me thought new spells impossible to forge again."


    "Not impossible," said As. "Our great goddess Zahaka goveh the Spellstream. The river of magic and mana from which mana and magic derive. With her blessing, users of magic could forge and tune spells to their will.


    Mine sisters and I were emissaries of this process, acting as intermediaries by which spells and magic could be changed.


    But s, thine kind, or rather, human and elven kind alike hath turned their backs upon us, and thus, spell forging hath be an extinct art."


    "Your knowledge ismendable but iplete," said Zagan. "The Spellstream is governed not solely by Zahaka, elsewise she would have taken magic away from the demons during the First Darkening when she herself fought against us.


    The Spellstream is a vaster power than any of us. Any demon, any god. It is a primordial force interwoven with the fabric of reality itself, reality that spans beyond this world to the countless others in the distance of the starry void and beyond.


    Zahaka is merely a conduit for it in this world. There is nothing that prevents another from tapping into it provided they possess the adequate power, or, in Amon''s case, the proper set of forbidden rituals."


    Zagan paused for a moment, his crimson eyes leering down at the deceased fire giant. "Last this personage saw of Amon, the child had yet to perform a breakthrough to reach true ess to the Spellstream.


    It would seem that the child has surpassed these hurdles. No doubt, utilizing in some part the forbidden and heretical powers of the Abyss."


    "That is so, my dear teacher." A new voice echoed from the fire giant''s corpse. It was a calm and measured voice, one nary any emotion. Coldly calcting.


    The puddle of molten blood underneath the giant''s head bubbled before swirling upwards, floating in the air in a sphere that then molded into the visage of arge, all-seeing eye.


    "So this is thepany that you now sully yourself with? Come now, my once master, will you not join my side again?"

 Chapter 327 - Zagans Response And Lis Quest

    "The Abyss has corrupted you," said Zagan. "And this personage understands that such corruption may be cured only through force."


    "So is that what you will do, my master? Force a cure upon me? Such as that which your ''Seer'' has crafted?" said Amon.


    "The cure is for the rest of our kind," said Zagan. "You, this personage must personally vanquish to atone for the mistakes of rearing the likes of you. All that has befallen the Demonic See, this personage ces me in the foolishness of believing that you were capable of more than merely falling to the nearest temptation for power."


    "You would kill me? Your former student?" said Amon. An amusedugh resonated from the eyeball that projected Amon''s voice. "Of course you would. For once, you are beginning to sound like your old self. I issue my leave now, but know this, my master, that shard of yours that you possess ¨C I will have it in time.


    When all that I have orchestrated has beenid bare, you will know the good of my deeds."


    With that, Amon''s voice faded, and the fiery red eye that projected his voice disappeared into a shower of crackling, dimming sparks, leaving nothing but the sound of fire burning the Gigant forests.


    "Thou art a Herald Sin," remarked As, finally, after a brief period of silence. "One of seven who art mightiest among the Demonic See. And thou hast been among us all this time?"


    "This personage merely holds the Shard of Greed," said Zagan. "His position as Herald has long been retired once entered unto the service of the Seer."


    "And Outworlder?" said As. "That doth be a term that I hath not heard before. Yet, the Burning One doth say he himself is one, and that the Seer also be one. They art connected? Of the same kind?"


    "Impossible," said Mason. "Where the Seer brings forth life and hope, the Burning One has only brought forth fire and destruction. Just look around you."


    "On that end, I do agree with my brother," said Mercer as he pointedly stared at the raging forest fire around them.


    "It merely means that both have tapped into powers beyond this world," said Zagan. "Do not question your mortal minds more over such a matter. Instead, apply yourselves to restoring this forest, for that is what your Seer would have wished."


    A maw filled with teeth surrounding a put of inky darkness formed on Old Thane''s chest, right beneath the two crimson eyes of Zagan. The roaring fires around in the environment began to funnel into the maw, as if sucked in through vacuum force.


    "Ahh, the feeling of ripped and torn flesh forcing itself back," said Old Thane as waves of ck magical energy washed over him. Zagan was repurposing the mes he absorbed into additional stats and healing for Old Thane. "It is the best, aye. And the demon is right. We must press on, vanquish these mes, and find thed as soon as we can.


    The further time we spend talking among ourselves, the longer we are apart from thed, and the more dangerous this bes.


    I am mighty, aye, even more so with the demon aiding me, but even that may not be enough."


    Old Thane trudged forwards, cracking his neck as he went deeper into the Gigant. As he did so, the mes around him all absorbed into Zagan, leaving smoking, charred forestscape, but at the least, it did not burn any further.


    "Come on, then," said Old Thane. "And watch yer own backs. If it be that I must fend for myself, then I can do little to protect yepared to thed."


    ==


    Li flew alongside with Tia in the skies of the secondyer. He projected the shapeshifting spell the [Wings of the Sanzuwu], and fiery feathered wings spread from his back, at home in the volcanic ash and intense, rippling heat waves of this molten hellscape.


    "Papa, slow down!" said Tia as she huffed and puffed to try and keep up, her eyes squinting and her emerald scaled wings pping with all her might.


    "Come on, Tia, you can handle this much!" said Li with a faint smile, egging Tia on, for he knew he needed to push her to keep her growing stronger.


    "I take a break on birdie!" said Tia after she pushed herself for one more burst, a shockwave bursting from her tail as she pped it in the air to try and generate enough force to reach Li, but to no avail.


    Below Tia, there was a veritable legion of enormous eagles. Eagles with wingspans that easily reached twenty meters. Massive beasts who would have cast great shadows overnd, their gleaming yellow eyes fiercely alert to snap up prey in their obsidian ck talons.


    Around their wings, an aura of faintly green glowing wind gathered, causing twin trails of gleaming energy to flutter behind them as they soared forth in a V-formation under Li and Tia.


    Tia plopped atop one of them with a contented sigh, burying her face in the eagle''s thick feathers


    These were twelve [Alpha Roc], creatures that reached level 60 that Li could summon quite liberally with a B+ ranked spell known as the [Gathering Flock]. They were all individually quitebat capable, more than strong enough to single-handedly take on a fire giant, but they were even more useful for their incredibly sharp eyes that saw both far distances and through faint shifts in magic.


    The Alpha Rocs scanned thendscape below, picking out any threats and irregrities.


    These, Li had wanted to use mostly to spot traps far before they sprung up on him and to catch fire giants before they could react to him in the distance. That way, Li figured he could capture a fire giant and use his newly crafted anti-eldritch corruption spell to cleanse them and figure out exactly what the hell was going on.


    Unfortunately, however, even after thirty minutes of high speed flight, all Li and his flock of Rocs had seen was just barren, mingnd with the asional volcano spurting outva or geyser bursting with superheated steam.

 Chapter 328 - Fire Gigant

    After almost an entire hour of flying through the ashen, moltenndscape that was the secondyer of the Gigant, Li finally found something of noteworth. One of his Alpha Rocs notified him, giving him a distinct sense of threat.


    A whole hour of boredom had left Tia sleeping snugly, cuddled up on the back of an Alpha Roc, and Li raised his voice as gently as he could.


    "Tia," said Li. "Time to wake up. We''ve got something."


    Tia heard Li''s voice and woke up slowly, rubbing her eyes with her small hands and yawning. "Papa? We fight now?" she said groggily.


    "Yes, and this is going to be your fight, Tia. Make sure to get a stretch in to work out the stiffness after you wake up," said Li.


    "Okay!" Tia immediately sprang up into action, standing on the back of the Alpha roc and starting up some dynamic stretches. She crossed one arm over the other and craned her neck from one side to the other with a smile, the prospect of a fight getting her wide awake.


    Her emerald green wings sprouted from her back, stretching outwards too.


    "What is it, papa? What I fight?" said Tia as she now leaped up and down expectantly. The roc under her narrowed its fiercely sharp eyes in mild annoyance but put up with Tia''s antics.


    "You''ll see, Tia," said Li. The roc fleet he had summoned was in a V-formation, with the tip of the V far ahead of Li.


    Over a set ofrge mountains of ck rock lined with rivers of molten liquid. Their tops were enshrouded in clouds of thick ash, and Li and the rocs crossed over it. The ash killed all visibility for a few seconds, and during this time, Tia shuddered.


    "Are you okay, Tia?" said Li.


    "Don''t like this," said Tia. "The white air. Reminds me of the cold ce."


    "It''s called ash, Tia, and I understand," said Li. He knew she was reminded of the thick fog from before, the one surrounding the tear in space that Lira guarded. And he knew how much she disliked the chill of eldritch energies. "Come here."


    He extended a hand to her from above, his fiery Sanzuwu wings keeping him soaring up. She leaped up and took the hand, and Li scooped her up in his arms in a hug.


    "Love papa''s hugs!" said Tia as she waddled her legs while Li carried her.


    "Oh, iing!" said Li, and he pped his ming wings down, sending him soaring higher in the air as a fireball rippled past beneath him.


    Then, dozens and dozens of fireballs soared around everywhere, and the Alpha rocs broke formation to engage in evasive maneuvers. Among summons Li could create, they possessed exceptionally sharp eyesight and even the coveted Truesight that saw through visual blocks and could even track targets using lower leveled invisibility.


    The rocs swerved and spun in the air, fireballs never evening close tonding on them despite the fact they came from the thick of the fog.


    Li was the first to break through the fog of ash with Tia in tow.


    "That what I fight, papa!?" said Tia, slightly nervous for the first time.


    "Yes, yes it is," said Li.


    They stared down at a giant, but not just any giant. An enormous one almost forty meters tall with a small crown of molten rock on his head, zing with mes that towered dozens of meters in the air. Its zing red eyes settled on Li and Tia in pure aggression, and it loosed a guttural roar that sounded like an earthquake given voice, rumbling through the air and the ground.


    The giant stood knee deep in ake ofva and fire, and all around him, me Sprites, living spirits of me, floated upwards, their mouths forming from their flickering bodies and shooting out fireballs.


    "Rocs, take those sprites out,"manded Li, and the rocs under hismand all loosed a battle cry, their screeching whistles cutting through the air in a symphony of battle readiness.


    Li analyzed the fire giant beneath. It was a variant of giant known as a Gigant, likely what the Gigant Dungeon was named after, and a Boss monster of thisyer. However, quite likely not the only boss of thisyer, just one of many.


    This, Li could tell from the amount of mana emanating from the gigant. Though certainly impressive, cing it at approximately level 70, it was not capable of sustaining this entire, vastyer by itself.


    Curious why it was here and not the rest of its fire giant brethren. Regardless, Li now had the perfect target to test out his new spell to cleanse eldritch rot, especially on a higher profile target like this one that was a Gigant and important to thisyer of the dungeon.


    But first, Li wanted to let Tia cut loose for a bit, because he could tell she was getting antsy. She had not had the chance to ever fight because the fire giants from before, when Li was on the firstyer, had justmitted suicide for their ritual teleportation spell.


    The fire gigant had no weapon, but instead raised his hands up into the air towards Li and Tia. Its hands started to glow a bright, blinding whiteced with a fiery tinge of red. Then, beams of me sted outwards, beams that were half a dozen meters in circumference.


    Li maneuvered around the beams, easily dodging them.


    Li tried to get a read on whether eldritch corruption emanated from the fire gigant. There did not seem to be any, and yet, the fire gigant reacted only with pure aggression against Li. Odd, but perhaps this was a variant of corruption that escaped easy detection.


    Li''s n of having Tia fight it for now would not change, for the fire gigant''sbat capability was still the same, and Li had a heightened awareness to help Tia and be by her side at literally any given moment, because he did not want to be separated from her to a great extent.


    "Papa, to fight big man, I need to go big too," said Tia.


    "Cut loose, Tia. Show him what you''ve got," said Li with a smile. "But take this with you. It will keep papa close to you when you need it. [Switch Vine Seed]."


    Li manifested a bright green orb like seed in his hand and pressed it into Tia''s palm, and she palmed it with a nod.


    "When you need, press into that really hard, and papa will be with you really fast, okay?" said Li.


    "Okay!" said Tia. Her skin started to darken, ck and green scales starting to emerge all around her body. Her heterochromatic eyes of green and ck began to glow fiercely, and her body shuddered as her draconic form began to inch out.


    "Now," said Tia, her voice distorting into a growl. "I fight!"

 Chapter 329 - Tia Unleashed

    "You ready, Tia?" said Li as let Tia hang from his arms.


    "Ready!"


    "Alright, off you go." Li let go, and Tia flew straight down, passing through clouds and pockets of ash and distorting waves of heat. Her body zed over with a sheen of gleaming ck and green until she disappeared in the thick of a particrlyrge cloud.


    When Tia emerged out the other side of the cloud, she was in her full draconic form. She had changed a good amount since the time she fully unleashed her draconic form against the undead haze. She was slightlyrger, for one, and now there were several new elements to her that showed signs of the journey she had taken so far with Li.


    Her antlered horns were wreathed in ck magical energy. Her scales were a bright emerald green on the upper half of her body, gleaming with a luscious shine like the green of leaves reflected off of early morning dewdrops. The scales lining the underside of her neck and belly were a lighter shade of ck, but overall, verdant green dominated her color palette.


    The scales over her wings and around her tail were thicker and colored like oaken wood, arranged in a tiled formation reminiscent of te armor. This was the [Living Armor] and [Hollow Branch] spells that she had absorbed from Li.


    Both of them manifested as defensive features on Tia''s body, showing that despite being a fighter, she was always one to look into the souls of others, to understand them and to protect those she loved before all else.


    Some patches of scales around Tia''s vitals, around her chest and lower stomach, were studded in gleaming blue adamantite from having devoured the metal back in the Triforge Mountains.


    A single red gem shone with a fiery luster on Tia''s neck ¨C this was Lira''s ne.


    Li felt proud of Tia, that she hade so far in so short a time. All of the time they had spent together was manifested on her so clearly, and in her strength, too, she had progressed.


    Tia was now level 68 with extra stats from being a dragon, so she wasfortably stronger than the vast majority of all of humanity by this point. Strong enough to take on the Gigant, that was for sure.


    Li watched carefully as Tia soared downwards, her wings ttened against her back to give her an aerodynamic boost.


    The Fire Gigant roared and fired two more beams of me from its hands. Tia dodged these with graceful ease, weaving past the beams and shooting straight down to the Fire Gigant''s head.


    Meanwhile, Li saw as the Alpha Rocs engaged in battle with the me Sprites. Where the Alpha Rocs were level 60, the me Sprites ranged from level 20 to 40. Individually, the sprites were no match for the Rocs, but the sprites numbered easily in the hundreds, seemingly emerging in an unending swarm from theke of fire that spawned them.


    The Rocs would quickly get overwhelmed over time.


    Li swept his hand forwards, gazing down at the Rocs as they mmed into me Sprites, digging their de-like beaks deep into the fiery bodies and tearing out their monster cores, eliminating them.


    "[Dire Frenzy]. [Beast Vigor]. [Protection of the Wild]" said Li, chanting out three buffs for the Rocs to use. Dire Frenzy massively enhanced their stats and granted them the ability to restore their health by taking down enemy units, giving them huge sustainability againstrge swathes of weak mobs like this.


    Beast Vigor boosted their health regeneration and improved their resistances, especially against fire type damage.


    Protection of the Wild granted them a one-time use barrier that would severely negate the damage of a blow that would deal more than fifty percent of their max health. This was to prevent the Rocs from being identally sniped by the Fire Gigant''s wide area of effect attacks.


    The Rocs, their veins bulging, their eyes widened and filled with the adrenaline of Dire Frenzy, and surrounded by a sheen of defensive green aura, continued their attack with full and deadly confidence, tearing apart swathes of me Sprites.


    Meanwhile, Li dealt with plenty of me Sprites of his own in the manner he was most used to using to dispatchrge clumps of weak enemies. He fired off [Moonbeams] with his eyes, spreading out their intensity to coverrge, conical areas to dissolve and destroy me Sprites en masse.


    Tia roared as she crashed into the Fire Gigant''s head with¡­a headbutt of her own. Despite being a sixth of the Fire Gigant''s size, Tia was not much weaker in raw stats, and her headbutt knocked the Fire Gigant''s enormous forty meter bulk backwards with a painful grunt.


    The Fire Gigant rubbed his head and then opened his gleaming white hot mouth and bellowed out a wave ofva and fire.


    Tia flew backwards to make some distance and countered with a breath of her own. She met the beam ofva with a fiery breath of her own, unleashing a huge torrent of ck demonme. The dark fire mmed into theva, and the white and ck beams shed together both in force and in color contrast.


    The space between the beams started to distort, the heat waves emanating from the concentrated strikes intensifying tremendously before a deafening explosion urred from the mass buildup of energy. The shockwave blew Tia a dozen meters backwards, but she righted herself in the air with a p of her wings.


    The Fire Gigant stumbled back but prevented himself from falling in hiske ofva.


    "Tia!" shouted Li as he sprouted a summon known as a [Autonomous Death Vine] on his back that sent out spiked veins every which way, killing and skewering any me sprites that annoyingly got close to him. "Fire breath is not going to work on him!"


    "But¡­but I like fire breath!" said Tia. "Wanted to see if mine stronger than big fire man''s."


    The Fire Gigant changed its posture, cing its open palms near the top of its head, hovering around its crown of me. Swirls of fire began to condense above the crown points, forming an orb of bright orange, and thenva and further fire began to swirl around this in an attack that rapidly began to charge up in mana density and destructive force.


    An attack easily capable of severely wounding Tia.


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