《Explorer of Edregon》


 1. A Rather Short Prison Sentence

    ¡°Look, all I¡¯m saying is if they didn¡¯t want anyone wandering through their woods, they should have put up some signs or fences or something,¡± Vin stated matter-of-factly, leaning back in his flimsy chair as he looked up at the two frowning police officers. ¡°How was I supposed to know it was private property?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t the first time Vin had been arrested, and it certainly wouldn¡¯t be the last. In fact, he¡¯d been arrested for trespassing so many times, he¡¯d actually started his own little blog where he reviewed different police stations based on how well they treated him. So far, this interrogation had been a generous three out of ten. They hadn¡¯t even offered him any doughnuts for crying out loud! His seventeen followers were going to be absolutely appalled.


    While he was thinking about the scathing review he was going to leave, the larger of the two officers that Vin had mentally dubbed Officer Bigs reached under the table and placed a standard no trespassing sign between them. Except that someone had clearly taken a sharpie and added a few letters to the sign, changing it from a ¡®No Trespassing¡¯ sign to a ¡®GNome Trespassing¡¯ sign.


    Clearing his throat, Vin slowly stuck his black tinted fingers into his pockets, giving the two officers his most sincere smile.


    ¡°Well now you understand why I had to go in there. I mean, if there were gnomes-¡±


    ¡°Cut the crap kid,¡± Officer Bigs said, frowning at the dirt encrusted vagabond they¡¯d had the misfortune of picking up that night. ¡°We ran your license after we grabbed you. Do you want to explain how you already have thirty-four records of arrest for trespassing at the age of twenty-two? Not to mention the eighteen arrests for loitering, seven for jaywalking, and one for¡­¡± He paused, double checking the printout he was holding in his meaty hands. ¡°...illegally keeping a donkey in a bathtub?¡±


    ¡°Now in my defense, Mr. Scruffles was getting pretty dirty-¡±


    ¡°Vinnie,¡± Mr. Smalls said, interrupting him and causing Vin to wince at the use of his full name. Other than all the neglect and physical abuse, his name was the one thing he¡¯d never forgive his parents for. What was he, an Italian mobster from the 20¡¯s?


    ¡°It¡¯s a miracle you¡¯ve only done a few days of jail time here and there up to this point. Hell, it¡¯s an even bigger one you haven¡¯t been shot yet with how much trespassing you do,¡± Officer Smalls continued, sounding actually worried for him, unlike his big lug of a partner. ¡°But you¡¯re collecting arrests like they¡¯re going out of business. If this keeps up, it¡¯s only a matter of time before you get slapped with something more serious and get thrown in prison. All it takes is one angry judge and your life is over before it even begins.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I make sure to practice my comedy routine so often,¡± Vin said, hoping his grin was big enough to hide how much the officer''s genuine concern hurt him. Most officers just read him the riot act before chucking him in the drunk tank for the night rather than waste their time on him. He always hated when he got picked up by one that actually cared and normally dealt with such cops by doubling down.


    ¡°So long as I keep the judges laughing, they usually let me off with a warning.¡±


    Sighing, Officer Smalls held up a hand, stopping his partner right before he could really get into his bad cop routine and start shouting at Vin about how he¡¯d never survive in prison or some crap like that. ¡°Alright then. I can see we won¡¯t be able to convince you of anything. Luckily for you Mr. Jones isn¡¯t planning on pressing charges, but we¡¯ll keep you here overnight just to be safe. You¡¯ll be free to leave in the morning.¡±


    Their interrogation done, Vin let Officer Bigs lead him over to the drunk tank, giving the man a crisp, mocking salute as the walking donut factory locked the cell door, scowling at him.


    Collapsing on the available bunk, Vin wriggled around, trying to get comfortable as the officers left him to his own devices. Unfortunately for him the cot was hard as a rock, and the only blanket they¡¯d given him was rather thin. He supposed most people unfortunate enough to spend the night in here were often too drunk to really feel the cold.


    Change that; two point five out of ten, Vin thought, mentally updating his future blog post as he stared at the blank ceiling. He didn¡¯t actually own a computer, and typing out his reviews on his old smartphone was a pain and a half, so he¡¯d have to find a nearby library or something once he got out. He was running out of cash too, so after that, he¡¯d have to decide if it was time to snag a new part time job or try his luck at panhandling again. On his way into town, he¡¯d noticed a particularly busy intersection the other day that might-Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Would you like to start over in a new world?


    Startled at the floating words suddenly appearing directly in front of him, Vin flinched violently backwards and nearly tumbled out of his cot. Blinking, he sat up and looked around, staring at the words as they moved with him, never leaving the center of his vision.


    ¡°What on Earth¡­¡± he muttered, blinking a few more times and rubbing his eyes. When the words failed to leave or change in any way, he leaned back against the cold brick wall of his cell, staring at the mysterious sentence. He hadn¡¯t taken any shrooms or LSD in months, and he highly doubted the officers that had brought him in had dosed him with something when he wasn¡¯t looking. He¡¯d always dismissed the crazy homeless people who would rant about the government testing mind control devices on them, but maybe they¡¯d actually been onto something.


    ¡°Hey guys?¡± Vin called out, cursing when he realized he¡¯d never actually gotten either of the two officer¡¯s names. ¡°Either of you seeing this?¡± Unfortunately, either they were choosing to ignore him, or they were busy doing something else, because neither Officer Bigs or Smalls showed up when he shouted. Sighing, he shook his head, turning his attention back to the floating sentence.


    ¡°There¡¯s not even a checkbox or anything,¡± he complained to the CIA agent that was no doubt monitoring him through his embedded microchip or something. He knew dentists were up to no good with their supposed wisdom tooth surgery. How convenient for them.


    Vin closed his eyes and tried to go to sleep, but that quickly proved to be impossible. No matter how much he tried to ignore the strange hallucination, his thoughts kept coming back to the strange, floating text that refused to leave his vision. Cursing, he sat back up and glared at the mysterious question.


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll play. Do I want to start over in a new world? I don¡¯t know, do I get any sort of information here? Like, how¡¯s this world¡¯s healthcare system? Are there flying bears with lasers for feet to worry about? Are humans farmed for their organs or some other Lovecraftian crap? I don¡¯t know if the CIA¡¯s budget is less than it used to be or something, but you guys really gotta do better than this.¡±


    He paused, giving the floating sentence a chance to respond somehow. Lord knows if he was the guy on the other end of the camera with a keyboard in front of him he wouldn¡¯t have been able to stop himself from deleting the first sentence and start sending the person assorted ¡®your momma¡¯ jokes or something similar. But as the minutes passed and the sentence remained unchanged, Vin began to wonder if this truly was something¡­ more.


    ¡°Okay, assuming I¡¯m not tripping¡­ and that I¡¯m not participating in some horrific experiment that will come to light in sixty years and turn into a meme¡­ that really only leaves one explanation,¡± he muttered, squinting at the floating words. Regardless of if he squinted or unfocused his eyes, while everything else in his vision turned blurry and impossible to make out, the crisp, floating words didn¡¯t change in the slightest. He wasn¡¯t sure why that was the deciding factor for him, but for some reason, that small piece of evidence finally convinced him. Clearing his throat, he looked up at the ceiling.


    ¡°Okay first, I¡¯d like to apologize about that time I asked Sarah to dress up like a nun while things were getting hot and heavy in the motel room. Honestly it was my dick doing the talking, and I really hope that doesn¡¯t factor into if I go up or down when I respond to this.¡±


    His piece said, Vin read over the words one last time, grinning at even the slightest possibility that this might actually be real. He¡¯d been cursed from a young age with wanderlust, and ever since running away from home he¡¯d made it his mission to go out into the world and do and see as much of it as he possibly could before he died. But if some higher power was actually offering him the chance to explore an entirely new world?


    Well that was a no brainer.


    ¡°Alright, you win God or Buddha or whoever you are!¡± Vin yelled, getting to his feet and planting his hands on his hips. ¡°My answer is yes! Yes, I want to go to this new world of yours! So, how does this work? Do I click my heels together three times, or-SONOFABI-¡±


    The world erupted into a blaze of light and color almost immediately after he gave the sentence his answer, and Vin found himself screaming as the swirling lights blazed around him. But before he could even take in what was happening and regret his choice, the world¡¯s craziest light show ended just as quickly as it began, and he found himself standing inside a large concrete room beside a couple dozen other people looking as dazed and confused as he was.


    Vin swayed on his feet and probably would have fallen over, if it wasn¡¯t for the firm hand that grabbed his shoulder. Following the arm attached to said hand, Vin found himself staring at a large, muscular man that made officer Bigs look like a runt.


    Slightly more concerning than the man¡¯s monstrous muscles were the military fatigues stretching over his giant form and the assault rifle slung over his shoulder. As the two of them made eye contact, the mysterious soldier gave him a nod.


    ¡°Welcome to Project Ark.¡±

 2. I Didn’t Drop Out Of High School For This

    ¡°Project Ark is a Top-Secret operation currently being undertaken by the U.S. government,¡± the general informed them, his gaze slowly sweeping across the room of seemingly ordinary citizens. Vin tried to count the number of shiny medals decorating the man like a family of eight¡¯s kitchen fridge, but he kept losing track as the general paced back and forth. ¡°The information I am about to give you is therefore beyond classified, and if any of you attempt to distribute said information to the public, you will be executed on the spot.¡±


    Now that silenced the whispers going around the room, and even Vin sat up a little straighter in his chair when he realized the grim faced general didn¡¯t look like he was joking. After arriving via magical rainbow tube wherever here even was, Vin and the others had been quickly shepherded by fully decked out military troops into a nearby conference room and told to give the general their undivided attention.


    He was beginning to understand why.


    Seeing he finally had everyone¡¯s eyes on him, the general nodded, clearing his throat. ¡°Forty-eight hours ago, the President received first contact from an unknown source we have now officially declared as alien in nature. Large portions of the information he received is classified even beyond Top Secret, but by virtue of you sitting here before me today, you have been given the right to hear some of it.¡±


    ¡°In three days, the United States will be sending one hundred people to an entirely new world,¡± the general said, as emotionlessly as though he were telling his son ¡®of course¡¯ when he revealed he got an A on his report card. ¡°We have no knowledge of what this other world will be like, other than confirmation that the gravity and atmosphere will be nearly identical to Earth.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got all these big, tough looking guys with guns¡­ Why the hell are you sending us?¡± A man closer toward the front shouted, throwing his hands up in disbelief. Based on the bright green mohawk and torn up leather vest the man was wearing, he didn¡¯t strike Vin as the military type. Vin glanced at the soldiers lining the sides of the room, waiting to see if any of them would grab their rifles and shoot the guy for interrupting the general, but they all remained standing at attention. The general didn¡¯t even reprimand the man for speaking out of turn, which showed just how dire things truly were.


    ¡°The unknown originator of these messages, who we have dubbed Sender X, gave us a list of rules which I will explain to you if you can sit quietly,¡± the general said, glaring at the punk. ¡°For reasons we don¡¯t understand, the President was only allowed to select fifty of the first one hundred people being sent to this new world. He was informed the remaining fifty would be randomly selected from the ¡®able bodied¡¯ population of the country. Congratulations everyone. You all are the winners of Earth¡¯s first ever intergalactic lottery.¡±


    Glancing around, Vin took in the random sampling of U.S. citizens sitting in the room with him. The spread of men to women seemed fairly even, and while he didn¡¯t have the best eye for age, their motley crew seemed to stretch from around his age to the upper fifties with only a few outliers. He did a brief double take at the single high school looking kid sitting a few rows behind him. He¡¯d eat his socks if that kid was eighteen, but he supposed aliens couldn¡¯t care less for their definition of ¡®adult.¡¯


    ¡°During the last forty-eight hours we managed to select our fifty candidates and bring them to this secret facility, along with having our experts put together a crash course in survival training,¡± the general continued. ¡°Over the next three days, you lot will be trained to the best of our ability to ensure you have the greatest chance of survival possible in this mysterious new world you¡¯ll be sent to once the three days are up. We have no idea what to expect, so your training will encompass as many areas as possible. Everything from self-defense to identifying toxic plants.¡±


    ¡°This situation is obviously unprecedented, but seeing as Sender X chose the fifty of you, the U.S. government is throwing a lot of our standard rules and regulations aside to try and make this work.¡± The general paused, his lips pursing as though his words physically pained him. ¡°Congratulations everyone, you¡¯ve all officially been drafted into the military¡¯s brand new seventh branch. Welcome to the Ark Division.¡±


    That seemed to be the straw that broke the camel¡¯s back, as the room finally exploded with questions and people yelling as they were informed they¡¯d essentially been drafted into the military without their consent. The soldiers lining the walls even had to step in and physically restrain a few people who tried rushing the general, demanding to be sent home. It took the first newly drafted citizen trying to break through to the general getting tased and collapsing to the ground in a convulsing mess to finally get the crowd to quiet down and return to their seats.


    ¡°We don¡¯t like this any more than you do,¡± the general said, fixing his hair as the unconscious man was dragged out of the room. Just before the door closed, Vin realized it was the punk with the mohawk that had shouted up earlier. He looked a lot less threatening with drool all over his face and a large wet spot on his crotch.


    ¡°Then why do any of this at all?¡± A woman around his age still wearing a McDonald¡¯s uniform spoke up, clearly angry despite the wavering in her voice. She had short, curly red hair, and her face was flushed to match. The act of speaking up in front of everyone clearly made her uncomfortable. ¡°Why not just let us follow Sender X to their world and do our own thing?¡±


    ¡°Because this is bigger than any one person,¡± the general snapped, silencing their group as his calm and collected persona finally shattered. ¡°If you knew what I did¡­¡± He paused, taking a deep breath and doing his best to collect himself. ¡°The one hundred of you that will be sent in three days only constitute the first wave. You¡¯ll need to work to prepare our landing zone for wave two.¡± Holding up a remote, the general tapped a button, and the entire wall was revealed to be a smart board of some sort showing a rapidly growing chart.


    ¡°Wave one is only one hundred people,¡± he explained, using a laser pointer to highlight the small start to the chart. ¡°Ten days later, a thousand people will be sent after you in wave two. Waves three through eight will also consist of a thousand people each, and wave nine, the final wave, will contain a total of ten thousand United States citizens.¡± This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    Silence stretched throughout the room as fifty pairs of eyes took in the chart, trying to imagine so many people being whisked away to the new world. Seeing the gravity of the situation had finally set in, the general nodded, slipping the remote back into his pocket. ¡°Our only saving grace is that the duration between each wave increases by ten days every time. That means ten days between waves one and two, twenty days between waves two and three, and so forth. You¡¯ll have some time and plenty of additional manpower to prepare for the massive final wave, but this is why we can¡¯t just allow the fifty of you to run off on your own and get yourselves killed,¡± he said, looking pointedly at the woman who¡¯d asked the question in the first place, causing her to shrink back into herself under his piercing gaze. ¡°Everyone here will need to do their part to ensure everything is ready for those who come after.¡±


    Nobody said anything for a few moments, their eyes busy scanning over the projection chart as the general¡¯s warning echoed freshly in their heads. Eventually, a quiet voice spoke up from the middle of the group.


    ¡°You said the President was contacted forty-eight hours ago,¡± a thin man wearing slacks and a button down said, eyes glued to the chart. ¡°...and that we¡¯d be sent to the new world in three days... which makes five days from initial contact to wave one.¡± The man paused, his hand shaking slightly as he pointed toward the chart. ¡°If you add up the total time between all the waves on top of that¡­ It¡¯s one year exactly.¡± He hesitated, as if unsure if he even wanted the answer to his own question. ¡°You called this Project Ark¡­ What happens at the end of the year? After the ninth wave is sent?¡±


    If the room had been quiet before, it was deathly silent now as everyone stared at the general, waiting for his answer. Sighing, the man¡¯s icy facade broke again, and he ran a hand through his thinning hair.


    ¡°Unfortunately, that¡¯s classified,¡± he frowned, his own eyes flickering to the chart once again, his gaze lingering on the empty space displayed just after the final wave. ¡°All I can tell you is that we, and by that I mean the entire United States government, are depending on you to do your best after being sent to the new world.¡±


    ¡°That said,¡± the general turned back toward them, clasping his hands behind his back and giving them a firm nod. ¡°It¡¯s time to start training.¡±


    -----


    The next three days were strangely both the most intense of Vin¡¯s life, while also being surprisingly enjoyable. On top of his passion for exploring the unknown, Vin loved learning new skills and trying new things. Thankfully it had been decided that there was no point in trying to work in any physical conditioning over the three days. Instead, every moment of their time was spent either listening to an instructor, getting some hands-on experience, or sleeping.


    How to find water, how to administer first aid, how to build a fire; the list went on and on. It seemed like they were bouncing from one lesson to the next too quickly to fully take everything in, but it was explained to them that the higher ups deemed it best that they had a firm understanding of a lot of things rather than a perfect understanding of only a few. Someone had asked why they didn¡¯t just split people up into groups and divvy up the lessons rather than cram everything down everyone¡¯s throats, and they were informed that isolating knowledge in such a way was deemed too dangerous as they had no idea how many people would survive the first few days in the new world.


    They didn¡¯t question the higher up¡¯s decisions after that.


    Vin quickly learned that while he had a knack for many of the survival skills, he was pretty terrible when it came to anything related to combat. When they practiced sparring with one another, he more often than not found himself groaning on the mat, nursing a new set of bruises far more frequently than most of the others.


    ¡°Dude, are you actually trying?¡± Brian had asked the second day, choosing to make sure his mohawk was still standing straight up rather than checking if Vin had broken anything after his latest meet-and-greet with the floor. ¡°Fighting you is like fighting a monkey with two broken arms.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a lover, not a fighter,¡± Vin had groaned, pushing himself up off the mat and hoping he survived the remainder of the lesson. They¡¯d been told the next activity would be fishing practice, and he¡¯d been looking forward to that one.


    Three days seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, and if it weren¡¯t for the various bruises and one or two puncture wounds that may or may not have been fish hook related, Vin wouldn¡¯t have guessed they¡¯d just spent nearly half a week in the worlds¡¯ most intense prep course.


    Another pleasant surprise was that despite technically getting drafted into the military, they weren¡¯t forced to shave their heads or anything like that. That meant Vin got to keep his rather messy haircut he¡¯d recently gotten from a fellow free spirit in exchange for three bucks and a can of beans. He wasn¡¯t exactly in love with his current look, but his dark hair was thick and grew fast enough that he¡¯d normally take whatever he could get.


    With their time nearly up, Vin found himself once more standing in the large concrete room the fifty of them had first appeared in. However, rather than the dazed looks and colorful assortment of clothes, the fifty of them now came far closer to matching the fifty lined up soldiers standing at attention on the other half of the room. While the civilian half wasn¡¯t quite as organized or muscular, they wore the same light grey camouflage clothing riddled with far too many pockets, and had heavy packs secured on their backs.


    As the clock up on the wall slowly counted down their remaining time, their favorite general stepped into the room and addressed the crowd one final time. Half of the room gave him crisp salutes, while the other half continued whispering among themselves, eyes darting to the clock every few seconds.


    ¡°It¡¯s nearly time,¡± the general said, his weary eyes scanning over the faces in the crowd as though searching for some glimmer of hope. Vin didn¡¯t know what the general had been up to the last three days, but the already older man had seemed to have aged a decade in the short time since he¡¯d last seen him. ¡°We don¡¯t know what you¡¯ll find over there, and we don¡¯t know if Sender X will restrict what you¡¯re allowed to bring with you. In the hopes that there are no restrictions, we have distributed a wide variety of equipment and tools amongst your packs. This way, even if your iPads and Laptops are fried in transit, you¡¯ll still have plenty of physical guides and reference material.¡±


    ¡°At this point, I have nothing more to say to you. For those of you who have answered the call, you¡¯ve done your country a proud service. I speak for the President when I say we are honored to have such brave men and women serving this country, and we wish you the best of luck. Godspeed everyone.¡±


    The general snapped them one final salute, and maybe he was just getting swept up in the moment and all, but Vin was surprised to find himself almost tempted to return it. Before he could decide if he should or not, the final seconds ticked off the clock, and Vin steeled himself as the world erupted into color once more, washing away all the people around him.


    Ready or not, it was time for the new world.

 3. God Stole My Glock

    Opening his eyes, Vin looked around at the black void he seemed to be floating within. He twisted around, looking in all directions, but was only met by more darkness as far as the eye could see.


    ¡°Gonna be honest, if this is the new world, this kinda sucks,¡± he called out to the void, not really expecting a response. Instead, some familiar floating text suddenly appeared directly in front of him, waiting for his acknowledgement.


    Welcome to Edregon. As you are only now being integrated into the System, please select a class.


    ¡°Oh, RPG rules huh? Sure, makes about as much sense as everything else,¡± Vin shrugged. As soon as he read the text, a large list of presumably classes replaced the floating words.


    ¡°Jesus,¡± Vin muttered, flicking his fingers and scrolling through what had to be at least a few hundred classes. ¡°Can you break these down into categories or something?¡±


    He¡¯d yet to receive a response from the strange floating text up until now, so he was surprised when the monstrous list of classes actually split into three still large, but far more manageable lists.


    ¡°Now we¡¯re talking!¡± Vin looked at the three lists, noting the categories at the top. The three new lists were divided into combat, crafting, and support classes. Immediately he dismissed the combat classes; the fresh memories of him being slammed to the mat time and time again by the grinning mohawk monster still fresh in his mind. After a moments¡¯ hesitation he dismissed the crafting classes as well. While he did like working with his hands, he didn¡¯t want to spend his new life cooped up in a workshop somewhere. No, what he wanted was something like¡­


    ¡°Jackpot,¡± he whispered, finding exactly what he was looking for halfway down the list of support classes.


    Explorer Class: A class based around discovering the unknown and uncovering secrets.


    Bonus: +1 Endurance per level


    Starting Passive: Mental Map


    ¡°Plus one endurance per level?¡± He asked the mysterious void. ¡°So I get stats like an RPG as well?¡± Rather than answer him, a new text box appeared, this one looking straight out of a video game.


    Vinnie Stone


    Explorer: Lvl 1


    Titles: None


    Exp. 0/1000


    Strength: 13


    Dexterity: 14


    Endurance: 17


    Vigor: 15


    Focus: 11


    Magic: 0


    Passives: Mental Map


    Skills: None


    Spells: None


    ¡°Now you¡¯re talking,¡± Vin grinned, admiring his stats. He had no idea what constituted a good or bad number for each of the six attributes, but he appreciated the fact that all his years of hiking around the country seemed to factor into his endurance and vigor. ¡°So, do I get any details on this stuff?¡± He tried calling out into the void. ¡°Like, is having zero magic something I should fix?¡±


    Sadly, this time he didn¡¯t get any response. Shrugging, he mentally confirmed the Explorer class.


    And recoiled as the void exploded in color.


    Cursing, Vin barely had time to shield his eyes before it was over. Blinking the spots from his eyes, he looked around, gaping at the sudden change in landscape.


    He stood in the middle of a large grassy field with a few gentle hills rolling in the distance. There were scatterings of trees surrounding them, and a nice, refreshing breeze carrying the scent of flowers swept through his hair. Before he could do much more than look around however, he felt a strange series of tingles in his head. Turning his focus to the odd sensation, a barrage of floating messages appeared and disappeared one after the other in rapid fire.


    New world discovered! 100,000 exp gained.


    Level up! Explorer lvl 2.


    Level up! Explorer lvl 3.


    Level up! Explorer lvl 4.


    Lev-


    System override: Level ups canceled, level manually set to 1, all experience removed. Explorer class <bug> updated. Free passive point awarded in compensation.


    Note: Vin, apologies for the confusion, but thank you for revealing that <bug> that slipped through with the Explorer class. If you keep these messages to yourself, you can enjoy the free passive point we¡¯ve chosen to provide you. Speak of it, and we may have to silence you. Enjoy Edregon!


    ¡°What the hell?¡± Vin muttered, eyes scanning across the final message before that too vanished into thin air. Had the system actually spoken to him? And what on Earth did silencing him entail exactly?


    ¡°Gather round!¡± A deep voice called out, forcing Vin to put his perturbed thoughts on hold for the moment. Joining his fellow first wavers, Vin helped form a semicircle facing Colonel Spur, the man who had been given total authority over them. Like just about every other soldier that had been selected to be part of the first wave, Spur had a powerfully built physique. Wearing the same grey camouflage military fatigues as the rest of them, the man¡¯s main distinguishing features were his keen eyes that seemed to pierce deep into Vin¡¯s soul and the brand-new long sword secured against his hip.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Despite only their brief training, Vin was impressed to see all one hundred of them come together in only a few seconds. He did however do a double take at the number of people just like Spur that were suddenly carrying various types of medieval weapons. He was pretty certain he would have noticed if anyone had been carrying a greatsword or a longbow before they¡¯d been warped over here.


    ¡°Well¡­ We made it,¡± Spur said as soon as they¡¯d formed up, surprising Vin by shooting everyone a wide grin. Despite his high rank, the man didn¡¯t seem to act very military. ¡°Can¡¯t say we expected the class selection thing, but at least it looks like we¡¯ll get some interesting tools at our disposal. Here¡¯s what we¡¯ll do to start. We¡¯ll split into groups based on class type, and Lieutenant Myers will come around and collect information on everyone¡¯s class. We¡¯ll plug that into some programs we brought, and while we analyze the data, we¡¯ll divide into groups and start securing the perimeter and looking for basic necessities.¡±


    ¡°Hold that thought Colonel,¡± Lieutenant Myers, Colonel Spur¡¯s second in command called out, currently sifting through a collection of packs on the ground. Her long black hair was secured up in a bun atop her head, and unlike most of her fellow military members, she wasn¡¯t carrying a weapon as far as Vin could tell. ¡°It looks like all our electronics are gone. Not fried like we¡¯d feared, but totally gone. Guns as well.¡±


    ¡°Well crap,¡± Spur said, scratching his head. ¡°Any other surprises regarding the gear we should know?¡±


    ¡°The food and water are still here, as are most of the tools and physical books we brought,¡± Myers said, standing up and frowning as she skimmed through one of the thick encyclopedias. ¡°Though strangely, some of the books now have various sections that have been completely blanked out, as though the words were never printed in the first place. Looks like anything regarding our more advanced technologies, such as electricity or atomic energy.¡±


    ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll have to operate on the assumption that our mysterious Sender X, or System, I suppose, has a desired level of technology we¡¯re supposed to start at,¡± Spur said, glancing up at the sky. ¡°Whether that¡¯s a line we¡¯re not allowed to cross ever, or just where we have to start remains to be seen. Granted, I¡¯m in no rush to be smited, so nobody go about inventing the steam engine for at least the first few days.¡± Colonel Spur earned himself a few chuckles, and people immediately got to work following his directions and forming into three groups. Vin noticed that nearly three fourths of them had selected combat classes, while crafting and support classes were split with about a dozen each.


    Turning to the person next to him, Vin was surprised to recognize the quiet girl who¡¯d first appeared in a McDonald¡¯s uniform. Even without her old uniform her bright red hair made her stand out, and despite the grey military fatigues she¡¯d replaced the uniform with, she still looked fairly out of place.


    Granted, so did he and the other forty-eight civilians. Apparently, it took more than three days of boot camp to turn someone into a killing machine.


    ¡°Hey,¡± he said, giving the girl a quick nod. ¡°What class did you go with?¡±


    ¡°Trapper,¡± she shrugged, seemingly happy to have someone to talk to. ¡°Seemed like a useful way to contribute without putting myself in any direct danger. What about you?¡±


    ¡°Explorer. I was something of a vagabond before all this, and I don¡¯t really like to be tied down,¡± he explained.


    ¡°Oh yeah, you were the guy covered in dirt that came in,¡± she laughed softly, shaking her head. ¡°I mean, I was covered in grease so I don¡¯t really have room to talk, but I remember you. I¡¯m Alice by the way.¡±


    ¡°Vin,¡± he said, shaking her hand. ¡°So, did you get a starting passive too? Anything cool?¡±


    ¡°Hopefully!¡± She grinned, clearly excited about this strange new world they¡¯d been tossed into. ¡°My class came with Personal Trap Sense. No idea what it does yet, but I¡¯m hoping it will let me know when an animal actually triggers a snare or something.¡±


    ¡°Oh man that would be useful,¡± Vin admitted. ¡°Sure wish this weird magical System thing gave us more details on stuff before we made our choices. I got Mental Map, but I don¡¯t know what it does either. Though come to think of it¡­¡± Focusing on his ability, he grinned as a small map appeared in front of him. Currently it was pretty small, only showing the distance he¡¯d walked so far and the surrounding area, but he had the feeling it was going to be invaluable once he started running around. ¡°Strike that, it looks like I get a free map of the places I travel.¡±


    ¡°Wow, I¡¯m betting Colonel Spur is going to want to talk to you about that,¡± Alice said, looking impressed. ¡°I think they were hoping to use drones to map the surrounding terrain, but seeing as we lost all our tech, you might be the next best thing.¡±


    The two of them chatted for a few minutes about their new classes and this entire crazy situation they¡¯d found themselves in until Lieutenant Myers came to collect their information. Sure enough, the moment he explained his passive, her eyes lit up and she immediately sent him to talk to Colonel Spur.


    Vin walked over to the colonel, waiting for him to finish directing a group of a dozen people to search for water before immediately sending another to start cutting down trees. Once he¡¯d given out nearly half a dozen tasks, the colonel wiped his brow, giving Vin his attention.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± He asked, again surprising Vin with his informal attitude.


    ¡°Uh, hi. I¡¯m Vin. Lieutenant Myers told me to come talk to you,¡± Vin explained poorly. ¡°I took the Explorer Class. It came with the Mental Map passive. Looks like I automatically create a map in my head of the places I go, and she thought-¡±


    Vin froze as Colonel Spur darted forward, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him vigorously.


    ¡°Vin, I could kiss you!¡± Spur shouted, letting out a whoop of joy and drawing more than a few gazes from his outburst. ¡°Do you have any idea how useful that is going to be with our drones gone? Just about all us meatheads in the military took combat classes, and about half of the civilians did as well. We have a ton of weapons, but we¡¯re desperately lacking in utility right now.¡±


    ¡°Happy to help, uh, sir,¡± Vin said, stumbling back a half step.


    ¡°Oh you can shove that sir where the sun don¡¯t shine,¡± Spur grinned, a slight southern accent revealing itself in his excitement. ¡°If you haven¡¯t noticed, we are about as far from bureaucracy and regulation as physically possible right now. We¡¯ll no doubt need to come up with some sort of official structure of command as more waves start pouring in, but until then, I plan on enjoying not having to shine my shoes and make my bed every morning.¡±


    ¡°I can do that,¡± Vin said, letting go of some of the tension that had been sitting in his gut with a sigh. He¡¯d never had any sort of problem being his usual self around authority before, but something about being teleported into the heart of a Top-Secret military compound had stiffened him up a bit. Maybe it had been the hundreds of people with rifles practically trained on his back for three straight days. ¡°If it¡¯s okay, I kinda want to jump right into my class and start exploring. Need me to look for anything in particular?¡±


    ¡°Well there are the obvious things like water and food. Berry bushes, wild roots, and the like,¡± Spur said, scratching his chin. ¡°Don¡¯t bother trying to lug it all back yourself, just make a note of any location like that so we can send teams out to collect them when you get back. Other than that, look for anything strange or unusual. Magic clearly exists in this world seeing as we all have it listed as an attribute, so I don¡¯t know, keep your eyes peeled for any wizard towers I guess? The more information we have the better.¡±


    ¡°Oh, and take this.¡± Spur reached into his pack and handed him a monstrous bowie knife that seemed closer to a short sword than a knife. ¡°Hopefully you won¡¯t encounter anything dangerous, but it would be dumb to send you off unarmed. I¡¯d give you some signal flares too, but apparently those were too close to guns for the System¡¯s comfort, because it ate all those as well. Just try and be back before the sun goes down. You know, assuming that¡¯s still a thing that happens here.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be careful!¡± Vin said, strapping the knife carefully to his belt. Waving goodbye to Alice and receiving a thumbs up in return, he turned away from the bustling activity of the first wave, facing truly uncharted lands for the first time in his life. Taking a deep breath, he took a moment to enjoy the fresh air and knowledge that he was about to go where no man had ever gone before.


    Smiling, he hiked his pack higher on his shoulders and picked a direction at random.


    Time to explore!

 4. Death Is A Powerful Motivator

    As Vin walked, he carefully took in the surrounding area, keeping an eye out for anything unusual as he¡¯d been instructed. So far, everything seemed rather¡­ normal. If he hadn¡¯t witnessed the magic of teleportation first hand, he would have assumed he was just strolling through a meadow somewhere back on Earth. The grass was green. The sky was blue. Hell, there was thankfully still only a single sun in the sky that seemed to be moving as expected. It wasn¡¯t until he¡¯d walked for a few minutes that he finally encountered something definitely not from Earth.


    While trekking across a grassy field fairly close to where they¡¯d appeared, a small furry head popped out of the ground, turning to stare at him. Vin stared right back, examining the new animal. Its body was long and slender like a ferret, but its bushy tail and face reminded him more of a squirrel. The two of them stared at each other, waiting to see who would break first. Sadly, Vin lost this world¡¯s first staring contest when a new message from the System popped up in the corner of his vision.


    New species discovered! 100 exp gained.


    ¡°Oh nice,¡± he said, surprised at the unexpected experience. The sound of his voice proved to be too much for the unknown creature, causing it to bound away through the grass, leaping through it like a dolphin through water. ¡°Just got to do that nine more times and I hit level 2!¡±


    Continuing his trek, he encountered some more of the fast moving ferret-squirrels, but they continued to run away before he could get closer than a few dozen feet.


    ¡°Alice is going to have a ball with you!¡± He called out a warning before leaving the field behind him. A few minutes later he received another pleasant surprise.


    New mile explored! 10 exp gained.


    ¡°Okay, a little bit of experience for just wandering somewhere new, and a decent chunk for discovering a new animal,¡± he talked to himself, enjoying the passing scenery as he kept his eyes peeled. ¡°Gotta say, it¡¯s nice racking up experience just enjoying nature.¡±


    Thanks to his Mental Map he was easily able to track the distance he traveled, and he ended up encountering a couple other possible sources of food over the next few miles. He¡¯d spotted a herd of some sort of wild boar off in the distance that looked like they each had a gnarly tusk growing out of their face like a small rhinoceros, a dark green bird that blended in shockingly well with the trees it lived in, and a rodent like creature with eerily human like hands that scurried off with some sort of flower between its teeth the moment it spotted him.


    ¡°Glad we have a good number of options for food at least.¡± Vin walked over to the flower patch that little rat like thing had run out of, plucking one of the flowers and examining it. He¡¯d seen plenty of flowers back on Earth from all his different trips, but he was far from any sort of botanist. The flower petals formed something of a tiny cup, holding a few drops of liquid inside. It reminded him almost of a honeysuckle.


    Remembering his training on edible plant identification, Vin went through the motions. The flower smelled sweet and sugary, which was definitely a good sign. If it smelled old and musky, or even remotely close to almonds, they¡¯d been taught not to put it anywhere near their mouth. But because he¡¯d seen another animal already in the process of eating it, and the fact that he didn¡¯t want to have to say goodbye to enjoying a refreshing honeysuckle under the evening sky, he took the liquid from the flower and rubbed it along the inside of his elbow. If he remembered his lessons correctly, so long as his skin didn¡¯t react in any way over the next eight hours, he¡¯d be okay to risk eating it.


    ¡°Strange that new animals give experience but plants don¡¯t,¡± he mused, twisting the flower stem in his fingers as he kept walking. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll get something after determining if it¡¯s poisonous or not and trying to eat it.¡±


    Vin knew it would probably be more optimal for him to be exploring in ever expanding rings around their base camp, but he couldn¡¯t help himself from just continuing in a straight line for a bit longer. Roaming laps around the base camp would mean he¡¯d still be close enough to camp that he¡¯d be running into people carrying out Spur¡¯s orders, and after three days of living in a cramped underground bunker with so many people, he couldn¡¯t help but satisfy his cravings to be alone out in the wilderness.


    So he continued walking, slowly earning experience for every new mile he covered and mentally mapping the lay of the land. He nearly had a heart attack when a small blur darted out of some nearby grass toward him, but after it pounced and landed about a dozen feet to his left, he discovered it was just a wild cat nearly identical to cats back on Earth other than the extra set of ears located just behind the first one. The cat glanced at him for a moment, one set of ears flicking in his direction while the other turned to listen to its rear. Vin spotted one of the little rat-like creatures hanging from the cat¡¯s mouth before it turned and darted away. Deciding that was as good a time for a break as any, Vin pulled up his System interface to check his experience while he waited for his heart rate to return to normal.


    550/1000


    ¡°Not bad for an hour and a half of walking!¡± He¡¯d discovered five new species and walked just over five miles. If he swung around and returned to camp from a different angle, maybe he could do it all again and hit level 2 before the end of the day! Grinning, he turned to start heading perpendicular to the direction he¡¯d been walking, when a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.


    Glancing to the side, Vin froze at the sight of a giant scorpion slowly approaching him through the grass. The creature had to be roughly the size of a German shepherd, and looked pretty close to scorpions from Earth besides the two additional stingers on either side of the largest one. It moved so silently that if it wasn¡¯t for the monster¡¯s jet-black chitin standing out in the green grass, Vin probably wouldn¡¯t have even known it was creeping up on him.


    New monster discovered! 200 exp gained.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    ¡°Oh that¡¯s not good,¡± Vin muttered, reflexively reading the new message and looking at the monster in a new light. ¡°Sure do wonder what makes a monster different from-OH GOD IT¡¯S FAST!¡±


    While he was muttering to himself, the giant scorpion must have realized it had been spotted because it suddenly abandoned all forms of stealth, rushing toward him with a surprising burst of speed. Nearly tripping over his own feet in his haste, Vin barely managed to stay upright as he took off, not a thought in his mind other than putting distance between himself and the monster that looked like it really, really wanted to eat him.


    While Vin had always been more of an endurance runner than a sprinter, he could certainly be quick when he wanted to be. After running in a dead sprint for about thirty seconds, he risked slowing down to look behind him, praying he¡¯d left the monster in the dust.


    The good news was that the scorpion was clearly not as fast as he was, as the monster had only traveled about half the distance in the same amount of time.


    The bad news was that it was still coming directly at him.


    ¡°Oh, come on!¡± Vin shouted, trying not to look at how sharp its stingers were as he turned and continued running. For the next few minutes he did nothing but run, focusing on putting distance between himself and the angry monster. He had to keep stopping to catch his breath, but every time he did, he¡¯d spot the scorpion a ways behind him, calmly but continuously closing the distance between them. That sight seemed to give him all the motivation he needed to keep going. After a few more minutes of this, Vin spotted something strange enough to distract him from the seemingly inevitable monster right on his heels.


    About a half mile ahead of him the world seemed to be cut in two. It was as if someone had drawn a straight line across the ground, and decided to place an entirely different world across that line. While he was currently running through fields of grass and the occasional thin forest, beyond that line the ground seemed to transform into waves of rocky hills studded with short shrubs and arid bushes.


    ¡°What¡­ is that¡­¡± he panted, trying to make sense of the weird sight he was running toward. He didn¡¯t understand how he hadn¡¯t seen the change in environment coming sooner, but he didn¡¯t really have time to think about it. A quick glance behind him proved the scorpion hadn¡¯t given up the hunt just yet, so Vin shook his head and continued running toward the edge of the world. Maybe if he was lucky the monster wouldn¡¯t follow him out of their current area and he could buy himself some time to think.


    It took a few minutes, but finally, Vin reached the strange merger of biomes. Running over the invisible line, he gasped as the temperature rose a few degrees and the air became just a tad more dry. He swore the sun felt stronger the moment he passed the line as well.


    Then he gasped again at a series of unexpected messages from the System.


    New fragment discovered! 500 exp gained.


    Level up! Explorer Lvl 2.


    +3 Attribute points to spend.


    +1 Skill point to spend.


    ¡°What on Earth¡­ is a fragment¡­¡± he panted, doubling over and sucking in as much air as he could while he read through his messages. ¡°And more importantly¡­¡± Forcing himself back up, he shielded his eyes and looked back toward the grassy area he¡¯d come from. He¡¯d sprinted hard enough that the scorpion was still a few minutes behind him, but it proved to be a rather dedicated monster as it continued moving in a beeline directly toward him.


    ¡°For the love of¡­¡± Sighing, Vin pulled up his System interface and dumped his three attribute points into endurance without a second thought. That combined with his free point from his Explorer class bonus brought his endurance from 17 to 21, and he immediately felt lighter on his feet and less out of breath as he confirmed his selection.


    ¡°Woah, hell yeah!¡± He laughed, taking a few tentative hops side to side. It was as if he¡¯d been carrying an invisible thirty-pound bag on his shoulders his entire life and the System had just grabbed it and hurled it into a nearby forest.


    ¡°I could get used to this,¡± he grinned, before remembering he was currently in something of a life or death situation.


    ¡°Maybe it won¡¯t cross the line when it gets here,¡± he muttered. Not willing to risk his life on a maybe, Vin turned and began jogging across the new terrain. Running over the rocks and hills was tougher than through the grassy fields, but his new endurance helped keep his stamina up immensely. He made it to the top of the largest hill about a quarter mile away just in time to turn around and witness the scorpion cross over the fragment line without hesitation, continuing straight for him. The rocky terrain didn¡¯t even seem to slow it down.


    ¡°You suck! You know that!¡± Vin touched the giant bowie knife strapped to his waist, briefly debating trying to fight the creature now that he had the high ground. But a single glance at those three stingers was all it took for him to trash that idea. No matter how he envisioned the fight going, he just didn¡¯t see a way he could get close enough to stab the monster without at least one of those stingers impaling him. And even if they weren¡¯t poisoned, which he¡¯d bet his fancy new class they were because screw the System, the stingers were still the size of daggers.


    ¡°Yeah no thanks,¡± he grunted, turning and continuing to run.


    Thanks to his increased endurance, he managed to stay just ahead of the scorpion as he ran despite the more difficult terrain that seemed to favor the monster. The bastard chased him for another few miles, and while Vin managed to spot four new species during the chase, he wasn¡¯t really able to take the time and admire them.


    Some sort of pack of armadillos that rolled down the hill to escape him when he crested a hill and surprised them during his run. A short and stocky bird with a beak that looked thicker than its own head he interrupted while it was cracking open some rocks. A six-legged gecko the size of his forearm that had been camouflage to perfectly blend in with the rocky landscape that he only found because he literally kicked it by accident. And an animal that looked completely identical to a wild goat from Earth staring at him with its beady eyes as it slowly licked a rock.


    Vin wanted to take the time and admire the nice new scenery. Take in the exotic new animals and wonder about how they came to be.


    But a certain scorpion had something to say about that.


    ¡°Why me?!¡± He shouted over his shoulder at the scorpion as it passed the goat without hesitation and continued chasing him. Even with his increased endurance, he didn¡¯t have a ton of practice running for miles on end, and the distance between the monster and him had shrunk to only a few hundred feet as he began to slow down. ¡°Go eat the goat you stinging bastard! It¡¯s right there!¡±


    Vin thought he saw the goat slowly turn its head and fix him with another beady stare, its eyes seeming to narrow slightly, its tongue pausing mid lick.


    Note to self, stay away from that goat.


    Panting, Vin tried to come up with a plan as he struggled to make it to the top of the newest hill. He wouldn¡¯t be able to run much longer; he was just about at the end of his rope as it was. His attempts to hide from the scorpion by putting hills between himself and it to block its vision before darting off in a different direction had failed each time he¡¯d tried. The monster seemed to have some method of tracking him.


    He was going to have to fight it.


    Gasping for air, Vin finally made it to the top of the latest hill, his fingers wrapping around the hilt of the bowie knife as he mentally prepared himself for what he was about to do. But just before he pulled the knife free, he paused, staring wide eyed at the sight before him.


    Thanks to the added height from the hill, he could make out his salvation at what he guessed was about a half mile off in the distance, practically glowing in the setting sun.


    He had discovered a village.

 5. Dónde Está La Biblioteca?

    Boy I hope these guys know how to fight and I¡¯m not about to get their entire village slaughtered, Vin thought as he ran down the hill; an actual chance of survival that didn¡¯t involve entering a knife fight with a giant mutant scorpion giving him the motivation he needed to keep his tired legs moving.


    From his spot atop the hill he was able to make out the village in pretty good detail. The buildings seemed to be made from crushed stone and some type of mortar, and they were arranged rather haphazardly, as though there hadn¡¯t been any sort of plan at the start of the village and they just built a new house somewhere on the edge whenever the need arose. The villagers were a bit harder to make out from this distance, but he could definitely see what looked like regular people walking around inside the village.


    ¡°HEY!¡± He screamed at the top of his lungs, waving his arms around as he ran down the hill. ¡°MONSTER!¡±


    He only had to repeat his message one more time before he saw someone point in his direction. He wasn¡¯t sure if this was a common occurrence or if these people were just extremely efficient, but the moment the villagers spotted him and the monster running towards them the village transformed into a bustling hotspot of activity. Within seconds, half a dozen villagers appeared at the edge of the village and began heading toward him, each of them carrying a lengthy spear.


    ¡°Oh thank God!¡± He cried, his legs burning and his lungs on fire as he sprinted toward his saviors. He met the group a few hundred feet out from the village, finally slowing down and coming to a complete stop as he doubled over beside them, his hands on his knees. He tried to speak up and thank them, but he was panting so hard the words just wouldn¡¯t come. Luckily, the six warriors seemed to know exactly what to do, and they formed a half circle spear wall between the monster and himself.


    In amazement, Vin watched as five of the six warriors readied their spears to strike as one the moment the scorpion got within range. To Vin¡¯s shock, rather than trying to maneuver around the improvised kill zone that had been set up, the monster instead rushed directly into it, almost as Vin was the only thing it could see. All five spears struck true, and the scorpion¡¯s momentum halted in an instant, the monster hissing as green blood splattered across the rocky ground. Attacking the monster seemed to finally bring the villagers to its attention, as the scorpion¡¯s stingers shot out, trying to strike the nearest villagers. Thankfully, the stingers weren¡¯t quite as long as the spears were, and the monster¡¯s desperate attacks struck nothing but air.


    Now pinned and unable to move, the scorpion struggled to no avail as the final hunter carefully aimed his spear and thrust it directly into the monster¡¯s head, taking its life and causing its chitin-covered body to drop to the ground.


    Finally, after what had to have been at least half an hour of panicked running, Vin¡¯s nightmare had come to an end. Letting out a shaky laugh, he forced himself to stand up straight and grinned at his saviors.


    ¡°You would not believe how happy I am to see you guys! Thank you for the save by the way. My name¡¯s Vin.¡±


    The presumed leader of the small group of warriors, the man who had struck the killing blow against the monster, stepped forward and looked him up and down. He wore the strangest assortment of armored pieces Vin had ever seen. Most of the armor looked to be made from rock of all things, while the joints were covered in a thick leather. Even his helmet looked as though it had been carved from solid rock.


    Vin didn¡¯t care what world this man lived in; there was no way that could be comfortable.


    Banging the butt of his spear into the hard ground, the warrior frowned at Vin and gestured at his body. ¡°Os ta puste? Ae ots tan murra?¡±


    Vin stared at the man, blinking dumbly as the foreign words went in one ear and out the other. He wasn¡¯t sure why he¡¯d expected the random village of people living in an entirely different world to speak the same language he did, but he didn¡¯t think two high school Spanish classes had prepared him for whatever this was.


    ¡°Uh¡­ This is a longshot, but any chance anyone in your village speaks English?¡±


    The man stared at him blankly. After a moment he grunted, nudging one of the other warriors watching the whole exchange. ¡°Ta voxa ommomo cit puste au Darvai al rife at?¡± The second man seemed to hesitate for a second before sighing, motioning for Vin to follow him.


    Through sheer willpower Vin managed to force his exhausted legs to take one step after another as he followed the guy clearly tasked with bringing him somewhere. Glancing over his shoulder, he watched as the remaining warriors got to work cutting apart the monster they¡¯d slain, separating the meat and the chitin into two different piles. Vin noted how they seemed to be treating the scorpion¡¯s meat extra carefully, ensuring the monster¡¯s blood didn¡¯t get all over everything. As they worked, the leader stood watch, his gaze sweeping cautiously across the rocky terrain and ensuring no threats approached the team while they were distracted.


    As they neared the village, Vin realized it had a lot more artistic flair than he¡¯d been able to see from up on the hill. The buildings were indeed made of stone, but it seemed as though every possible inch of the structures had been delicately carved. Some were abstract and nothing more than random shapes and squiggles, while others were shockingly detailed pictures of spearmen carrying out a hunt or two people coming together under a bright moon.


    ¡°Your village is beautiful,¡± Vin said, admiring one building with a carving of a dozen small children playing some sort of game that involved throwing rocks at a target. He felt the subtle tingling of the System messaging him, but he pushed it aside for the moment. His eyes were far too busy taking in the myriad of sights.


    ¡°Jon verra jautar ta,¡± the man muttered, clearly unhappy he¡¯d been singled out for the task of leading him wherever they were going. While they walked through the village, Vin quickly realized he¡¯d become an object of fascination as dozens of villagers stopped whatever they were doing, instead choosing to watch him with curious eyes. He noted that only the warriors were clad in armor carved from rocks; the villagers appeared to be wearing simple leather clothing. However, both the men and women seemed to have expertly carved accessories made from different types of rocks adorning them.


    He was so distracted that he nearly walked into the back of his guide when the man finally stopped, gesturing for him to enter a small building in the center of the village. Lifting the hide acting as a door, Vin stepped in and blinked at the unexpected interior.


    Admittedly, after seeing the rock armor, rock jewelry, and rock buildings, he¡¯d been expecting rock furniture. Instead, he found himself inside a quaint room containing a few sets of wicker furniture draped in woolens. The walls were decorated with a mixture of carvings and hanging leathers, and the entire room was lit by a few glowing stones hanging from the ceiling. Taking the directed seat, the man nodded and gestured for him to stay there before walking away, letting the hide door covering fall shut behind him.


    Looking around, Vin realized the building didn¡¯t have any other rooms, so he turned to face the front door and waited. While waiting, he pulled up his System interface and looked at the rewards he still had to spend. But first, the message he¡¯d ignored when entering the village.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    New village discovered! 300 exp gained.


    ¡°Hell yeah!¡± Grinning at the unexpected bonus, he turned his focus on his rewards. ¡°A skill point from reaching level 2, and that free passive the System itself seems to be bribing me with,¡± he muttered, wondering just how concerned that should make him. ¡°Hopefully one of these will help with other languages.¡±


    Focusing on his shiny new skill point, his eyes widened at the absolutely insane list of skills that opened in front of him. He¡¯d thought the list of classes had been big, but this list had to be nearly three times that size. At least.


    ¡°Alright, I am not about to read through all that.¡± Remembering how he¡¯d been able to organize the class list, Vin thought about splitting the skills apart, and the System obliged, breaking the list into two different ones, labeled Class Skills and Non-Class Skills.


    A quick glance through the two lists showed that those on his class list cost only one skill point, while those on his non-class list cost two. Seeing as he only had the one point, he dismissed the non-class skills for now and took a look at his options. Thankfully, while still rather large, his class skill list was the far smaller of the two.


    Unfortunately, each skill had literally no additional information other than a name.


    Scrolling through the list, Vin scowled at the lack of information the System provided them. Some skills sounded rather self-explanatory, but there were plenty more that he could only even begin to guess as to their function. Eventually, he picked out a few of the skills that sounded immediately useful or just plain interesting to him.


    Cartography


    Dungeoneering


    Resistance


    Running


    Spellcraft


    ¡°This is where even a short blurb would be helpful,¡± he muttered, wondering if the System was even paying attention or if it just automatically sent any recommendations into some godly waste bin.


    Cartography was self-explanatory. It would probably help him make maps more easily or something like that. With his Mental Map passive, the only reason to take this one would be to make it easier for him to transfer what was in his head onto paper. It might be worth picking up soon, but he wanted to choose something for himself for his first skill.


    Running was another obvious choice, and he was highly tempted to take that skill after that scorpion monster had been kind enough to provide him with the chance to experience firsthand what it was like to be the main character of a terrible horror movie. He probably would have taken this one without hesitation, if it weren¡¯t for the three mystery skills that stood out to him.


    Dungeoneering implied that this world contained dungeons. While Vin hated fighting, just the thought of magical dungeons full of strange treasures and unique challenges filled him with glee. The only thing stopping him was a need for more information. If dungeons locked you in a room with a monster that you had to defeat to progress, he¡¯d avoid them like the plague. But if they were more free roaming and able to be tackled from different angles, he¡¯d absolutely pick up the skill. He¡¯d have to ask around and learn more before pulling the trigger on that one.


    Resistance could be so many things he wasn¡¯t sure what to think of for this one. Would it make him more resistant to fatigue? Poison? Injury? Any skill that sounded like it would help keep him alive was probably a good skill to have, but he didn¡¯t want to risk wasting his first skill point if the skill ended up being terrible.


    And the last wild card, Spellcraft. From the name, it sounded like the skill would help him create his own spells, or at the very least interact with magic somehow; both of which sounded awesome! Except for the tiny fact that his magic attribute was currently sitting pretty at a whopping zero.


    Groaning in frustration, Vin spent a few minutes trying to decide what skill to pick before dismissing the interface all together, pulling up the possible passives instead. He¡¯d pick his skill later.


    Interestingly, the list of passives seemed to mainly include class related choices, meaning there were probably tons of other ones that he¡¯d never have the option to take so long as he stayed as an Explorer. Thankfully the list was a more manageable size compared to the skill list. Though he had an entirely different problem with this new list.


    Every single passive looked fantastic, and he could only pick one of them.


    Vin stared hungrily at the passives as he scrolled through them. Even without any additional information, the names alone made him want them all.


    Iron Stomach¡­ Night Owl¡­ Distance Runner¡­ The list offered about a hundred different passives for the Explorer class, and Vin literally would have been happy snagging any one of them.


    However, when his eyes landed on one name in particular, he knew what he¡¯d have to take first. Sighing in both relief and disappointment, Vin made his choice and watched as the new passive appeared on his System interface.


    Passives: Mental Map, Polyglot


    His decision wasn¡¯t a second too soon, as right after making his choice the hide covering the door was pulled back and an elderly woman stepped inside. Like the rest of the villagers she wore a few intricate pieces of stone jewelry, and she walked with a cane that was covered in carvings of so many abstract shapes and patterns it almost hurt to look at. Giving him a quick once over, she carefully walked over and took the chair opposite him.


    ¡°Do you understand me?¡± She asked, in perfect English to Vin¡¯s relief. Curiously, he could just barely sense a slight humming in his ears when she spoke, and when he answered, he felt the same sensation in his tongue.


    ¡°Yes, I understand you.¡± Seeing her look of bewilderment, he couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. ¡°I actually just picked up a new passive from the System just now in fact. I couldn¡¯t understand your warriors when they led me here, so it seemed like a good choice.¡±


    ¡°That is a useful gift indeed,¡± she said, tapping the ground with her cane. ¡°I was not aware such an option was even offered by the Great System. We will have to add it to our records. What is your class?¡±


    ¡°Explorer,¡± Vin said, eagerly leaning forward. ¡°You have records of the different options provided by the System? With descriptions?¡±


    ¡°But of course,¡± she chuckled, seemingly entertained by his clear excitement. ¡°What good would records be without details? It is tradition for our people to journey to the Great Stone before coming of age and selecting their first class. It is an ancient monolith wider than this very village that stretches up to the heavens. There all may lay eyes upon information carved by their ancestor¡¯s ancestors and plot their entire future if they so choose.¡±


    ¡°So, uh¡­ this stone. Is this some sort of holy site? Or is anyone allowed to go take a look at the Great Stone?¡± Vin asked, trying to keep the excitement from his voice.


    ¡°The knowledge is free to all who seek it,¡± the elder said, raising Vin¡¯s hopes before tearing them right back down. ¡°¡­or at least, it was.¡±


    ¡°Even if outsiders are forbidden now, surely there is something I can do to gain access to the Great Stone? Maybe a trade of some sort?¡± Vin asked, scrambling to come up with a way to convince the village elder. They didn¡¯t exactly bring any sort of riches or valuables with them to this world, but he had to try. Getting their hands on that type of information would be a huge boon to the people of Earth.


    ¡°You misunderstand, child,¡± the elder said, a deep sorrow reflected on her face. ¡°We did not change our rules and traditions all of a sudden. The Great Stone is no more.¡±


    ¡°It was lost when the world ended.¡±

 6. Someone Get These People A Thesaurus

    The faint sound of someone chiseling rock somewhere within the village was all that could be heard as Vin stared at the elder, trying to wrap his head around her words.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ when you say, ¡®the world ended¡¯¡­ what do you mean by that exactly?¡±


    ¡°It is as it sounds,¡± she said solemnly, a single tear rolling down her face as her eyes clouded. ¡°A powerful madness slowly crept up out of nowhere and infested the world. People turned on loved ones overnight. Monsters became more plentiful than gravel. The sky itself grew dark as hope faded away.¡±


    ¡°That does sound pretty bad,¡± Vin muttered, waiting for her to continue as she took a shuddering breath and reigned in her emotion.


    ¡°Villages fell like wheat before the scythe. Even our great cities of stone that had stood for thousands of years collapsed one after another. All seemed lost, and our small village could do no more than isolate ourselves from the spreading madness and pray to the Great System to keep us safe.¡±


    ¡°As the last of our neighboring villages fell, the Great System finally answered our prayers, plucking us from our world like a berry from a bush and transporting us somewhere safe. Edregon.¡±


    Vin could do little more than stare at the elder in wonder, his mind churning as he took all this in. ¡°So this area we¡¯re in. The rocky, hilly zone that stretches for at least a few miles. This is a piece of your world?¡±


    ¡°Indeed. As far as we know, our lone village and the surrounding area were all that the Great System was able to salvage from our world. Our Great Migration and the following Great Reset occurred about three months ago. Since then we¡¯ve sent out a few scouting parties, and thanks to those that returned, we now know that there are six different edges to what is left of our world, each leading somewhere entirely new to us.¡±


    These people sure like putting ¡®Great¡¯ in front of their important things, Vin thought, briefly wondering if it was just his new translation passive simplifying things for him. ¡°Wait. Great Reset? That was something different from you guys getting yanked from your world and put here?¡±


    The elder nodded, a small frown causing her wrinkles to stand out. ¡°Yes. Far from us to question the decisions of the Great System, especially after saving us from the end of our world. But the Great Reset came as quite the shock to my people. Before they were lost to us, our records spanned back nearly ten thousand years, and never had we heard of such a thing.¡±


    ¡°Immediately after placing us on this new world, the Great System stripped us of its many gifts. Classes, skills, spells; everything that the Great System had rewarded us with over our lifetimes removed in an instant. Without warning, all were returned to infancy, and all had to start over from the beginning. With our warriors weakened and mages hamstrung, we shouldn¡¯t have lasted a day against the monsters known to roam around the wilderness surrounding our village. Thankfully, the Great System saw fit to give us a fighting chance, somehow weakening the monsters and reducing their number to allow us to regain some of our former glory. We are far from where we once stood, but in time, we will grow stronger than we ever were before.¡±


    Throughout the elder¡¯s speech, Vin watched as her troubled face slowly shifted to one of determination and strength. By the time she finished there was a powerful fire burning within her eyes that made her seem decades younger. She clearly believed every word she said, and Vin didn¡¯t doubt that the village would one day be a fantastic ally if they could be persuaded to form some sort of alliance with his camp. Spur would probably throw him a party if he came back with word of new allies along with all this information.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry your people had to go through all that,¡± Vin said, struggling to imagine how hard that must have been. To go from the end of the world, to being transported without warning somewhere entirely new, and then having the power you¡¯d spent your entire life building forcibly stripped from you?


    Honestly, he wasn¡¯t sure if he would have been able to keep going after all that.


    ¡°Your words are appreciated,¡± the elder said, nodding in thanks. ¡°Fortunately, my people are as resilient as the rocks we carve upon. Even a broken rock can be transformed into something greater with enough skill and mortar.¡±


    ¡°Your buildings truly are magnificent,¡± Vin said, hoping to lighten the conversation a bit. Though he absolutely meant what he said; the skill required to carve the images into the different structures had blown him away when he first laid eyes on the village. ¡°What do all the different pictures and shapes mean?¡±


    ¡°It is custom for our people to carve important memories into their walls when they receive their first dwelling,¡± she explained, smiling at his genuine interest in their culture. ¡°All our people purchase the Stone Carving skill from the Great System the moment they are able, regardless of their class choice. Stone is crucial to our way of life after all, regardless of what path our people choose for themselves.¡±


    ¡°Based on what I¡¯ve seen of your village, I imagine it levels quickly,¡± he said, laughing. ¡°I can¡¯t begin to thank you for all you¡¯ve told me. My people were moved to this new world rather suddenly as well, but the Great System is brand new to us and we have much to learn.¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡°Truly?¡± The elder looked surprised for the first time since they¡¯d begun talking, her gaze growing distant. ¡°A world without the Great System¡­ I struggle to even imagine what that would look like.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely taking some getting used to.¡± Taking a deep breath, Vin went for it. ¡°Do you think your people would be willing to work with mine? We just arrived in the southern fragment bordering this one earlier today, and it feels like a good idea to make friends with our new neighbors. Maybe we could trade information or resources going forward, or something along those lines? To be entirely honest, I¡¯m not a diplomat. Just a guy who enjoys wandering around and discovering new things. I¡¯m a bit out of my league here.¡±


    His honesty earned him another chuckle from the elder, and he felt hopeful seeing her genuine smile.


    ¡°Spoken like one of my own,¡± she said, tapping her cane on the ground. ¡°My people believe that knowledge and therefore honesty should be shared by all, so I appreciate your candor. In these unforeseen times, I also believe a partnership between our people would be a wise course of action. Despite the loss of our Great Stone, we still have the knowledge that rests within our minds. We would be happy to share it with your people in exchange for good relations moving forward.¡±


    HELL YEAH! He cheered in his mind, doing his best to keep his expression far less excited despite his building desire to jump up and dance a little jig right then and there. ¡°That would be amazing, thank you! When I return to my people, I will let them know and we¡¯ll probably send a few people over to have a more thorough discussion. All that will be up to our leader though, so I can¡¯t say for certain what that will look like.¡±


    ¡°Then we shall look forward to our next meeting,¡± the elder said, giving him a slight nod of the head. ¡°Before you return to your people however¡­ would you perhaps be willing to aid us with something?¡±


    ¡°Uh, sure?¡± Vin said, trying to push all the images of Spur carrying him around on his shoulders to the back of his mind and focus on the elder once more. ¡°What do you need? You should probably know I¡¯m not exactly a high level or anything.¡±


    ¡°One of the first things you will learn about the Great System is that levels are not everything.¡± The elder shook her head, clearly speaking from experience. ¡°What good will a level 50 spearman do when you need a potion brewed correctly, or a newborn delivered safely? No, you must find the right class for the right job.¡±


    ¡°So you need an Explorer for something?¡± Vin surmised.


    ¡°Exactly,¡± she nodded. ¡°When the Great Migration happened and we had our gifts stripped from us, we first focused on building back up our combat prowess and securing our immediate perimeter. It was only recently that we allowed our scouts to venture out further than a few miles and begin searching for others that may have been rescued by the Great System as well. That is how we learned of the many world fragments that make up this new world.¡±


    ¡°With the reduced monster count our Scouts were able to explore this strange new world fairly easily, and we decided to send them deeper into one of the adjacent fragments that looked lush with life and potential. The trip should have taken no more than a day, two at the most. However, it¡¯s been four days since they departed, and I am beginning to grow worried.¡±


    ¡°Why not send some of your warriors?¡± Vin asked, thinking back to how easily the group of six dispatched the monster than had been chasing him. ¡°The ones I ran into seemed pretty competent.¡±


    ¡°The right class for the right job,¡± the elder repeated, shaking her head. ¡°I called them scouts, but they were not Scouts. Their classes were a myriad of combat focused ones. Assuming they still draw breath, whatever problem they encountered that has delayed them must not be one that can be solved by martial might.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that makes sense¡­ but what if they did run into a monster that was too much for them to handle? It would be like sending me into a meat grinder,¡± Vin pointed out.


    The elder frowned, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Meat¡­ grinder?¡±


    I guess the translation passive doesn¡¯t work when the other culture has no close approximation for something. ¡°Sorry, just a phrase my people use. I mean it would be sending me to my death.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see,¡± she nodded. ¡°It is unlikely they ran into a powerful monster. We have been carefully monitoring the monsters as they¡¯ve slowly increased in strength and number ever since the Great Migration, and unless each fragment follows drastically different rules, there shouldn¡¯t have been any monsters able to wipe out our scouts so handedly. Even if they did encounter something too strong for them to fight, at least one or two should have been able to escape and return home to warn us.¡±


    Sighing, Vin ran his hands through his hair and looked up at the ceiling, debating what he should do. On the one hand, if something had waylaid a trained group of fighters, he really didn¡¯t want to go running headfirst toward it. Getting chased for mile after mile by a giant scorpion had been enough for him, thank you very much. But on the other hand, establishing good relations with the village was clearly a top priority. Even without their Great Stone, they obviously had a ton of useful information that he had no doubt would be worth its weight in gold for his people. It would be the difference between figuring out everything from scratch and starting this crazy journey with some sort of manual. Not to mention they might be able to help out if their group was attacked by something they couldn¡¯t handle before they got their System legs under them.


    Spur better thank me for this. Taking a deep breath, he nodded, returning his gaze to the hopeful elder. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do my best to figure out what happened to them.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± the elder said, getting to her feet and taking his hand. ¡°Follow me. I will show you the direction they were headed when they left the village.¡±


    Following the elder out of the stone building, Vin tried to squash the sinking feeling in his gut. Karma was supposed to reward people for doing the right thing after all.


    ¡­Right?

 7. Death by Noodle

    ¡°They headed east from here,¡± the elder said, gesturing off into the distance. The two of them stood at the edge of the village while a handful of villagers watched them from a respectful distance. Vin wasn¡¯t sure if it was because of how highly these people valued honesty, but not a single one of the onlookers was even pretending to be doing something other than staring at them with hope or interest in their eyes.


    Granted it''s not like these people had lawnmowers they could use to pretend to mow a lawn as they looked on.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t happen to have any sort of magical way of tracking them I suppose?¡± Vin asked, trying his luck. ¡°Some sort of magic rock you can give me that will lead me right to them perhaps?¡±


    ¡°We used to have spells similar to that which you describe, but our Shamans and Stone Mages suffered the worst from the Great Reset,¡± the elder said, shaking her head. ¡°It will be some time before we have access to the same level of magic we once did.¡±


    ¡°Sorta figured that would be the case,¡± he sighed. Scratching his head, Vin thought about his next move. He could just wander aimlessly in that general direction. Try heading in as straight a line as possible and hope for the best. But if he were being realistic, that probably wouldn''t work too well for him. But without magic, he didn¡¯t really have any other option. It wasn¡¯t like he knew how to follow tracks after all.


    Vin blinked. Curious, he pulled up the System, focusing on his waiting skill point and taking a second look at the Explorer skill list. Sure enough, there it was, just ripe for the picking.


    Tracking


    Huh. Well how about that. Vin stared at the floating text, his brow furrowed in thought. It certainly wasn¡¯t as fun sounding as Spellcraft or Dungeoneering, but it was exactly the skill he needed in this moment. Not to mention if he planned on spending the rest of his life exploring the great unknown, it was almost certainly a skill he¡¯d get plenty of use out of. Shrugging, he focused on the skill, and his jaw dropped at the sudden influx of information that poured into his head.


    In seconds, he suddenly just knew the basics of how to track. But it was more than that. He didn¡¯t just know the signs to look out for when tracking something or how to read a footprint in the mud, it was like he had secondhand experience stamped into his own memory. Like he¡¯d taken a month long, hands-on survival course dedicated to tracking, but it had been a few years ago rather than fresh in his mind.


    ¡°Now that¡¯s a rush,¡± he muttered, stepping forward and taking a closer look at the ground. Thankfully, the elder had informed him there hadn''t been any rain within the last four days, which meant the tracks were still relatively fresh thanks to the dusty and rocky terrain. Despite his new skill, if it had been only one person, Vin may have been out of luck. But the group of four had been large enough that he thought he¡¯d be able to follow them as long as he paid close attention.


    ¡°Alright, I think I can take it from here,¡± he said, throwing one final look over his shoulder at the hopeful villagers. ¡°If I¡¯m not back in a day or two, I guess you should assume whatever got them got me as well.¡±


    ¡°Good luck to you,¡± the elder said, smacking her cane into the ground one last time. Waving over his shoulder, Vin headed off in search of the missing scouting party.


    My first quest! He couldn¡¯t help but grin as he left the village. This was exactly what he¡¯d hoped would happen when he discovered the Explorer class. Finding new people and cultures, seeing new sights, even helping where he could when possible. Yes siree, the life of the travelled vagabond was never dull.


    Following the tracks was definitely slower going than just wandering around aimlessly, but at least he knew he was going in the right direction. His attention was now split three ways between making sure he didn¡¯t lose the group¡¯s trail, keeping an eye out for monsters, and trying to spot new creatures for that sweet, sweet experience. He wasn¡¯t having any luck on the creature front, but he did receive a nice surprise after about fifteen minutes of following dusty footprints through the rocky wilderness.


    Tracking increased to lvl 2! 200 exp gained


    ¡°Oh!¡± Vin started, his eyes flickering over the notification. ¡°So individual skills can level up, and that grants experience toward the class? Good to know!¡± He tried to determine exactly what had changed from leveling up, but the adjustment from Tracking level 1 to Tracking level 2 must have been fairly minute. If anything, he thought the tracks may have become ever so slightly easier to make out, but it might have been all in his head. At the very least the 200 experience had brought him closer to level 3. The System seemed to track his overall experience rather than wiping the slate clean every level, so he was currently sitting at 2210/3000. According to the elder, the missing scouts had been planning on investigating the adjacent fragment, which was at minimum another 500 experience points coming his way. If he could just find a few more creatures or keep leveling up his new skill, he¡¯d hit level 3 in no time!


    Vin couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at the mental image of returning to Spur not only with news of other people and a brand-new alliance, but having also become the highest leveled person in the camp in less than a day. Who knows, maybe they¡¯d make him humanity¡¯s newest king or something.


    Granted, that sounded absolutely terrible, but it was a funny thought nonetheless.


    With his attention so divided, it took him most of the afternoon to follow the tracks to the edge of the fragment the scouts had headed toward. And while he managed to increase his tracking to level 3 in that time, earning himself another 300 experience, he hadn¡¯t spotted any new creatures.


    He had seen what looked eerily like that same goat that had glared at him earlier watching him from a distance, but he focused on avoiding eye contact and hurried along to the edge of the world.


    This new fragment looked much closer to the fragment the System had first thrown them down on. Where the invisible boundary stood the rocky hills and sparse vegetation he was currently in once again transformed into thick, lush green grass. Yet rather than scattered forests, this new world fragment seemed to be dotted with the occasional giant tree; each one reaching between five to ten stories tall with monstrous canopies rivaling the size of an entire supermarket. After admiring one of the massive, far-off trees, Vin grinned in anticipation and stepped over the invisible line.


    New fragment discovered! 500 exp gained.


    Level up! Explorer Lvl 3.


    +3 Attribute points to spend.


    ¡°Hell yeah!¡± Vin said, pumping his fist and pulling up his System interface.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Vinnie Stone


    Explorer: Lvl 3


    Titles: None


    Exp. 3040/6000


    Strength: 13


    Dexterity: 14


    Endurance: 22


    Vigor: 15


    Focus: 11


    Magic: 0


    Attribute Points: 3


    Passives: Mental Map, Polyglot


    Skills: Tracking lvl 3


    Spells: None


    ¡°Damn, no new skill point,¡± he muttered, scanning over his information. ¡°Looks like the amount of experience needed for each new level increases by 1,000. The amount I get from creatures or fragments isn¡¯t increasing, so the level ups are gonna start slowing down pretty quick unless something changes.¡±


    Shrugging, Vin dismissed his information. While he was enjoying all the benefits the System had to offer, he¡¯d never been one to sweat the small stuff or spend time agonizing over making the optimal decision. He preferred going with his gut and dealing with the universe smacking him over the head with the consequences. It was probably why he¡¯d been arrested so many times, come to think of it.


    Even if he couldn¡¯t really tell how much leveling his skill benefited him, he was thankful Tracking had already hit level 3 because the scouts¡¯ tracks became much harder to follow in this new fragment. Dusty footprints had been replaced with stepped on grass, and a few days had proved plenty of time for the grass to right itself and erase nearly any sign people had been through here. Vin was practically bent over now with his face as close to the ground as possible, relying on the small tufts of grass that had been torn by the twist of a foot or bent too far to recover.


    His close examination of the thick grass ended up being what saved his life.


    Carefully following the tracks, Vin¡¯s searching eyes ended up landing on something big that blended in perfectly with the grass. It took him a second to recognize what he was staring at, and he barely had time to stumble backwards, his eyes going wide as the snake that had been lying in wait uncoiled and lunged forward, narrowly missing sinking its fangs into his calf.


    ¡°Holy-!¡± He yelled, scrambling backwards and putting some distance between himself and the green snake that looked to be about as thick as his arm. The snake was the identical color as the grass, and was easily longer than he was tall.


    New species discovered! 100 exp gained.


    ¡°Yeah, I noticed!¡± He shouted, heart pounding in his chest as he carefully watched the snake. The creature seemed to stare at him, its tongue flicking out to taste the air as it debated whether or not it should press the attack or try its luck with another unsuspecting target. After a few tense moments, it finally turned, sinking back into the grass and all but vanishing from sight.


    ¡°Seriously, screw this fragment,¡± he grumbled, waiting for his heart rate to return to normal before continuing to follow the tracks, going even slower now that he had to keep an eye out for snakes as well. ¡°If I make it out of here alive I¡¯m gonna make that old lady give me her cane as a reward or something.¡±


    Following the tracks deeper into the new fragment he spotted a few more green snakes lying in wait that he so eloquently dubbed grass noodles. Thankfully, they seemed to prefer ambushing their prey, as none of them made any move to chase after him when he skirted their coiled forms. He also spotted a family of small lemurs eating fruits up in the branches of a big tree, a pudgy bird that looked like a brown tennis ball hopping around as it pecked at fallen seeds, and a second species of snake that was much longer and thinner and looked like it somehow lived entirely up in the giant tree as it slithered its way between the branches. He had a feeling if he somehow managed to climb up there he¡¯d find an entire ecosystem hidden within the foliage, but that was a task for another day.


    It was while he watched another new species, some sort of rabbit creature with nasty spurs on its hindlegs, go to town on a few long blades of grass that a flash of red caught his eye. Carefully approaching the unnatural color that stood out in this sea of green, Vin looked at the dull red splotch of color that had splattered across some of the grass. He didn¡¯t need his fancy new Tracking skill to follow what was clearly a trail of blood, and in seconds he stumbled upon the source.


    Lying face down in the grass was a woman; the thin rock armor she wore clearly marking her as one of the village scouts. There was a stone mace lying a few inches from her open hand and the body of a grass noodle with its head caved in right beside her. Despite the small swarm of ants and large beetles skittering all over her body, Vin was still able to make out the fang marks sunk deep into her exposed ankle, telling him all he needed to know.


    Dismissing the new species notifications that must have come from seeing the insects eating away at the woman¡¯s decomposing corpse, Vin turned and began dry heaving as he fell to his hands and knees, his body trying to expel something it didn¡¯t have.


    Oh yeah, I haven¡¯t actually eaten anything yet today. I just seemed to have a full stomach when the System brought me here. The thought seemed out of place as the image of the woman¡¯s corpse refused to leave his mind. Eyes watering, Vin crawled about a dozen feet away, not daring to go any further in case he ran into one of the hidden snakes and ended up just like the poor woman.


    It took him a few minutes to collect himself and stop retching, but eventually, he got it together. Taking deep, shaky breaths, Vin managed to get to his feet and gradually edge his way over to the woman. Careful not to look directly at her or breathe too deeply, he leaned down and snagged her fallen mace, beating a hasty retreat once he had it in hand. He wasn¡¯t even entirely certain why he wanted it, but for some reason he felt better having collected something from the fallen warrior.


    ¡°I¡¯ll say it again,¡± he shivered, eyeing the sea of grass all around him. ¡°Screw this fragment.¡±


    Vin went to continue following the tracks deeper into the surrounding grass, but his legs refused to move. Every time he tried to take a step the image of the dead woman being devoured by bugs appeared crystal clear in his mind, locking up his legs and stopping him dead in his tracks. He couldn¡¯t shake the thought that the next step he took might end up putting himself in the exact same situation that had befallen her.


    Remembering his recent level up, Vin pulled up his interface and looked at his three free attribute points waiting to be allotted. He hesitated for a moment, wondering if this was the right move instead of making himself stronger or faster. But in the end, he realized being stronger or faster wouldn¡¯t do him any good if he didn¡¯t see the threat coming in the first place. Not wasting another second, he dumped all three available points into Focus, bringing it up from 11 to 14.


    It was like the System had injected crushed up Adderall directly into his bloodstream, and Vin¡¯s breath caught in surprise as everything suddenly grew sharper in detail. His eyesight and hearing even seemed to improve a little as he realized he was able to hear a family of lemurs chirping quietly overhead before noticing something rather interesting about the grass a few dozen feet in front of him.


    The sea of grass was swaying in the slight wind, creating the illusion of waves before his very eyes. But now that his focus had improved, he was able to notice that a few small spots of grass dotting the field around him seemed thinner and weren¡¯t moving quite as much as their surroundings. Carefully approaching one such spot, his suspicions were confirmed as he found one of the grass noodles coiled up in wait, it¡¯s extremely effective camouflage not able to do much about the fact that it was sitting on top of some grass, bending the blades down.


    Sending the System a quick prayer of thanks, Vin quickly returned to the tracks, picking up the trail where he left off and moving much faster now that he knew how to spot the snakes¡¯ hiding spots. His increased focus helped with his tracking as well, and by the time he stumbled upon what had to be a dirt road leading off into the distance, he¡¯d increased his tracking to level 4.


    ¡°Guess they found this road and decided to follow it,¡± he muttered, looking at how the tracks led up to the road before vanishing. Unlike the dusty ground in the prior fragment or the sea of grass in this one, the well beaten dirt road didn¡¯t really leave any sort of tracks behind, meaning the trail had gone dark. There were a few sticks the warriors must have shoved into the edge of the road, no doubt to mark where they¡¯d entered it, but that was the only sign that they¡¯d been here.


    According to the sun¡¯s position, evening was quickly approaching, and Vin hoped to be miles away from the snake infested fragment before night fell. Gripping the straps of his pack, Vin grit his teeth and began jogging down the dirt path in the direction the scouts had gone. He¡¯d already come this far; he was determined to finish his mission for the village elder and would at least try to find the scouts before giving up.


    He only hoped he¡¯d find the rest of them in better shape than the first one.

 8. Head Trauma is no Joke

    It only took Vin about a mile of jogging down the dirt path before he stumbled upon the abandoned town. Located between a handful of the massive trees was a lifeless town without a single speck of movement. As he approached, Vin scanned the oddly quiet cluster of buildings, looking for anyone who could help him.


    The buildings looked like they¡¯d been constructed from bricks made of pressed-grass; the finely crafted wooden doors and window frames were the only unique features from each grassy home. Thanks to his newly increased focus, he was able to admire the impressive craftsmanship from afar, and he wondered just how many doors a single one of the giant trees could make when felled.


    New town discovered! 500 exp gained.


    ¡°Huh,¡± he said, glancing at the increased experience gain. ¡°I guess towns are worth more than villages. Despite the fact that this one is empty.¡± Vin looked around at the vacant buildings surrounding him, even going so far as to poke his head into one or two of them. Like the doors, each of the grassy buildings contained finely crafted wooden furniture and various personal items. He spotted piles of clothes, rotting stores of food, and even a few useful tools. What he didn¡¯t spot however, were any people.


    ¡°Of course I¡¯d find a creepy abandoned town in the snake infested fragment right before nightfall,¡± he muttered, poking his head into yet another building. ¡°Where the hell is anyone?¡±


    Seeing as nobody would object, Vin decided to snag a few of the more useful items he spotted as he checked out the town. A coil of rope made from tightly woven grass, a lantern with a handful of candles, and a few pounds of some sort of hardtack, the only edible thing that hadn¡¯t rotted yet all made their way into his pack. He contemplated grabbing the pouches of finely crafted wooden coins lying about here and there, but decided against it. They no doubt were worth something to these people, but in this new patchwork world? There was no way any sort of standard currency had been agreed upon in the last couple of months.


    Nibbling on one of the earthy hardtacks that was a bit too matcha flavored for his tastes, Vin continued exploring the town before a faint cracking sound grabbed his attention. Focusing on the noise, Vin thought it sounded like rocks crashing against even more rocks, and he quickly ran toward the source of the clanging.


    On the other side of town, just a few hundred feet beyond the settlement¡¯s border, he spotted the source of the noise.


    Two warriors, each wearing heavy stone armor, were battling head to head. They both fought with long stone maces like the one he¡¯d picked up off the fallen warrior and thick rocky shields.


    And as far as Vin could tell, both were currently in the middle of trying to bash the other one¡¯s face in.


    While taking in the strange scene, he realized one of the two warriors was defending the final scout, currently lying face down on the ground, their stone armor cracked and broken in a handful of places.


    Vin hung back at the edge of the town, watching the two warriors go at it as he tried to make sense of what was happening. At first, he was just worried about interrupting the dispute that the group was clearly having, but after a minute, he realized something strange was going on. He was far from skilled at combat and had practically no experience, but even he could tell that neither of the two warriors were giving it their all. Each one seemed to pull back on the force of their swings at the last second, or make sure they were targeting a spot on the other¡¯s body that was well armored with their strikes. If it wasn¡¯t for the warrior desperately defending the unconscious one lying on the ground, Vin would have thought they were just sparring with one another.


    After watching the fight for a few minutes, Vin realized he hadn¡¯t made any attempt to hide himself when the warrior defending her fallen comrade finally spotted him, her eyes widening.


    ¡°You!¡± She shouted, blocking a strike from above with a raised shield. ¡°We need help! Something¡¯s happened to Roge!¡± With a grunt, the warrior shield checked her opponent, knocking him back a few feet and buying herself a moment to breath. ¡°All of a sudden he turned on us, lashing out and yelling nonsense. I don¡¯t know how much longer I can keep this up. Help me restrain him!¡±


    Roge clearly didn¡¯t care for her attempt at a reprieve, as the moment he caught his balance he lunged back at his opponent, smashing his mace into her shield as he screamed at the top of his lungs, his very vocal cords seeming to rasp and shake with the force of his warbling cry. ¡°Kill me!¡±


    Well that¡¯s creepy as all hell, was all Vin could think, watching the two warriors continue their fight. Looking closer, he could see the hairline cracks already spreading throughout both of their sets of armor. He wasn¡¯t sure how long the two of them had been at this, but it was clear the battle would be ending sooner than later even if he didn¡¯t intervene.


    While stone cracked against stone and Roge continued to demand his fellow warrior end his life, Vin made his decision. Cursing, he grabbed the coil of rope he¡¯d picked up and charged toward the fight. Before he could change his mind, he lobbed the coil of rope as hard as he could at Roge¡¯s feet, hoping to tangle the warrior up.


    To his shock, his hastily put together plan worked exactly as he¡¯d hoped. The rope unwound just enough to tangle up Roge¡¯s legs for a moment, and the man stumbled, falling to the ground as he tried to step closer toward his opponent. Before he could get up, the woman brought her mace down with an anguished cry, smashing it into the back of Roge¡¯s head and knocking him unconscious. The two of them panted for a few seconds, Vin the first one to break the silence.


    ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± He demanded, gesturing to the two fallen warriors. ¡°Your elder sent me to check up on the four of you when you didn¡¯t come back to the village. I found one of you dead from a snakebite and the other three doing their best to save the snakes the hassle!¡±


    ¡°Then Ogra didn¡¯t make it,¡± the woman said, her already tired expression growing even more weary. ¡°Leaving our world fragment was a mistake. We tried to send her to get help when Roge went crazy, but in her haste, I guess one of the snakes got the drop on her.¡± Sighing, the woman shook her head. ¡°Thank you for coming to help us at least. I¡¯m Samtha, leader of our scouting party.¡± She glanced down at her two unconscious party members. ¡°¡­or what¡¯s left of it anyway.¡±


    ¡°Why have you been gone for so long?¡± Vin asked, trying to make sense of her story. ¡°The elder said it¡¯s been four days. Surely you haven¡¯t been fighting all this time.¡±


    ¡°No, not at first,¡± Samtha confirmed. ¡°It took us a solid day to make our way through the snake infested grasses. After a few close calls, we decided to take our time and move slower than normal. We discovered this town that first night and made camp here. The next day was spent exploring the town, trying to figure out what happened to the people and see if there was anything useful we could bring back to our village. We ended up spending longer than anticipated looking around, and so we decided to camp outside the town for an additional night.¡± Samtha paused, frowning at the fallen Roge. ¡°That¡¯s where things went wrong.¡±This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    ¡°In the middle of the night, we awoke to Roge clawing at his own face and screaming incoherently. When we tried to ask what was wrong, he attacked us, his screams turning to insane demands that we end his life. Roge is a decent warrior, and any member of our village would be happy to fight by his side. But he was never anything amazing. But that thing that attacked us¡­¡± Samtha shivered, looking away from her fallen comrade. ¡°That wasn¡¯t Roge.¡±


    ¡°Roge somehow fought us three on one. Not only that, but he was winning. Despite the fact that he didn¡¯t seem to be going for killing blows, he played with the three of us like we were children who had just taken up the mace for the first time.¡± Samtha¡¯s knuckles whitened and her hand shook as she gripped her mace. ¡°I¡¯ve never felt so helpless in my life.¡±


    ¡°So you sent Olga to get help? Despite the fact that you were already losing a three-on-one fight?¡±


    ¡°Once I realized Roge didn¡¯t seem like he was actually trying to kill us, I ordered Olga to go get help,¡± she nodded. ¡°Unfortunately, it was a bad call. Roge went berserk when he realized Olga was fleeing, overwhelming us in an instant and nearly killing Korey.¡± She said, gesturing to her fallen comrade. ¡°Seeing Korey go down so easily seemed to reign Roge back in however, and he returned to pulling his punches, seemingly content fighting me to a standstill for some reason. The two of us had been locked in a strange mockery of a life and death battle right up until you showed up.¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­ You sent Olga away yesterday,¡± Vin said, doing the admittedly simple math. ¡°You¡¯ve been fighting for an entire day?¡±


    ¡°Our warriors put nearly all our attribute points into endurance, with a few in strength,¡± Samtha explained. ¡°It¡¯s how we¡¯re able to wear armor crafted from stone and wield such heavy weapons. Roge could have ended the fight whenever he wanted, but he purposefully dragged it out for some reason, never capitalizing on any of my openings. It was just a battle of endurance, and that¡¯s something I could keep up for at least a few days straight.¡±


    Damn, dumping everything into endurance might just be the way to go, Vin thought, looking at the warrior who wasn¡¯t even out of breath after fighting for an entire day in armor made from solid rock. ¡°So I¡¯m not sure how to say this¡­ But you do realize you can¡¯t just knock someone out and have them be fine, right? Especially your pal Korey there¡­¡± Vin looked at the fallen comrade who¡¯d apparently been unconscious for nearly an entire day. ¡°Even if they wake up, they¡¯re going to have some serious brain damage.¡±


    ¡°Thankfully, that¡¯s one thing we actually don¡¯t have to worry about,¡± Samtha grinned. ¡°Just about all the warriors in our village take Diehard as their first passive. Turns most killing strikes from bludgeoning weapons into nonlethal attacks, and prevents lasting damage from blows to the head. Makes training much easier seeing as you can¡¯t blunt a stone weapon very well.¡±


    ¡°Oh, well that¡¯s good,¡± Vin nodded, relieved he wouldn¡¯t have to help carry two braindead warriors encased in stone armor a few miles back to their village. ¡°Then I suppose the only thing left to worry about is the fact that your friend is glowing.¡±


    ¡°What do you¡­¡± Samtha¡¯s words trailed off as the two of them looked at the glowing warrior still tangled up in rope. Roge¡¯s body had begun glowing an eerie, luminescent green, and before Vin could suggest that maybe they should back away, a ghostly image of a young woman drifted up and out of him.


    New monster discovered! 200 exp gained.


    The woman floated a few inches off the ground, glaring at the two of them as they stared at her in shock. She wore a simple tunic and pants with a few ethereal daggers strapped to a belt around her leg. There was an empty sword sheath secured to her back, and her hair was haphazardly cut short as though she¡¯d done it herself with one of her many knives. Despite her smaller frame, her body was wired with muscle, and Vin had no doubt in his mind that the girl knew how to use those weapons strapped all over her.


    While Vin and Samtha stared at the floating woman, she crossed her arms and growled, attempting to kick at Roge¡¯s head. When her foot went straight through, she seemed to get even more angry, pointing at Samtha and throwing up her hands.


    ¡°Why couldn¡¯t you have been a Holy Knight or a wandering Cleric or something!¡± The ghost spat, practically yelling in frustration. ¡°Come on lady, don¡¯t you have even an ounce of divinity inside you?!¡±


    Rather than answer her, Samtha turned white as a sheet, taking a step back and nearly tripping over the fallen Korey. ¡°A specter,¡± she whispered, visibly quaking in her stone armor.


    ¡°What¡¯s a specter?¡± Vin asked, slowly taking a step backwards as well while the ghost¡¯s attention was focused on Samtha.


    ¡°A spirit that has lost its way, trapped in our world and unable to move on,¡± she explained in a hushed voice barely more than a whisper. ¡°They are most often aggressive and are unable to be vanquished without the aid of divinity or powerful magics.¡±


    ¡°Got it in one you stony prick,¡± the ghost said, rolling her eyes. ¡°And like you wouldn¡¯t be aggressive if you were stuck floating around all day, unable to interact with anything or talk to anyone without forcibly possessing someone?¡±


    Vin blinked, his foot pausing mid step as he took in the ghost¡¯s words. ¡°Hey Samtha¡­ What do you hear when the Specter¡¯s mouth moves?¡±


    ¡°The otherworldly moaning of a lost soul begging to be released from their eternal prison,¡± Samtha whispered, having yet to take her eyes off the ghost floating before them. ¡°It is the most haunting thing I have ever heard, and I fear I may never sleep peacefully again.¡±


    ¡°Psh, dramatic much?¡± The ghost said, sighing and finally turning toward him. ¡°What about you, beanstalk? Got any divinity hidden away in there?¡±


    ¡°Er¡­ no,¡± Vin said, earning a wide-eyed look from the ghost. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m just an Explorer.¡±


    ¡°Hold up, you can hear me?¡± The ghost asked, her glowing green eyes burning holes into Vin¡¯s own. He thought he could make out an equal mixture of longing and fear on the ghost¡¯s flickering face, as if she was afraid she¡¯d finally found what she¡¯d been looking for and was worried it wouldn¡¯t be everything she¡¯d hoped.


    ¡°Yeah, I can hear you,¡± Vin admitted, praying his honesty wouldn¡¯t land him in trouble. ¡°I have the Polyglot passive. Let¡¯s me understand and speak different languages. I guess that covers whatever weird language ghosts speak?¡±


    The ghost froze in place at his confirmation, even the constant flickering and wavering of her ethereal form seeming to pause for a moment before she screamed, rushing toward him and causing him to trip and fall over at her sudden movement. She tried to take his hands in her own, but they just phased harmlessly through his. The ghost didn¡¯t let that deter her however, as she moved directly in front of his face, her glowing green smile literally beaming at him.


    ¡°Finally! Do you have any idea how long I¡¯ve been waiting for someone I can actually talk to?! You have to help me, please!¡± She begged, floating so close she was practically pushing against his face. Vin tried to scramble backwards, but she just drifted closer, matching his movements and not letting him get away. Finally, he nodded, waving his hands in front of him and doing little more than temporarily disrupting her misty form.


    ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯ll help you!¡± He agreed, trying not to breathe in the ghostly woman before him. He had no idea what would happen if he inhaled a ghost, and he didn¡¯t want to find out. ¡°What do you need me to do?¡±


    ¡°Oh, thank you thank you thank you!¡± She cried, finally drifting away from him and doing a little excited twirl in midair. Coming back down, she grinned, planting her hands on her hips. ¡°It¡¯s quite simple really.¡±


    ¡°I just need you to kill me.¡±

 9. A Small Medium at Large

    Vin stared at the glowing woman floating comfortably a few feet above the ground. Slowly getting to his feet, he brushed himself off and pursed his lips. ¡°Sorry¡­ you want me to do what exactly?¡±


    ¡°Kill me,¡± she said, matter of factly. ¡°You think I want to be stuck like this? A ghost trapped on this mortal plane, never able to rest in peace? I tried to borrow her friend and explain to stony over here,¡± she thumbed over her shoulder toward Samtha. ¡°¡­but things get a little weird when I possess someone against their will.¡±


    ¡°Are you able to understand the specter?¡± Samtha asked, seeming to get ahold of herself now that it was obvious the specter wasn¡¯t about to kill them both.


    ¡°Yeah yeah, one second,¡± Vin told her, turning back toward the ghost. ¡°A little weird? You nearly killed two people!¡±


    ¡°Look, I can¡¯t control my possession very well when the person is fighting me the entire time,¡± the ghost admitted, crossing her arms defensively. ¡°Just like everything else in my life... Or, past life I guess¡­ the only thing I can do well is fight.¡±


    ¡°No kidding,¡± Vin said, glancing at the fallen form of Korey and the chunks of stone armor practically falling off Samtha. ¡°Samtha said that it felt like Roge was toying with her the entire fight.¡±


    ¡°Well yeah, I didn¡¯t want to kill her,¡± the ghost said, rolling her eyes. ¡°How could she help give me peace if she was dead?¡±


    ¡°What are you two saying?¡± Samtha said, growing bolder by the second, her eyes flicking back and forth between Vin and the ghost. ¡°Somehow you¡¯re making those same eerie moaning sounds the specter is.¡±


    Huh, I guess my language changes to match whoever I¡¯m directly speaking to. Neat.


    ¡°The ghost is sorry about attacking you,¡± Vin explained, earning himself a glare from the floating woman. ¡°She wanted your help putting her to rest, but wasn¡¯t able to communicate and kinda lost herself when she ¡®borrowed¡¯ your friend.¡±


    ¡°The ghost has a name, fleshbag,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m Alka. Fist common born Slayer in history.¡±


    ¡°Congratulations,¡± Vin said, giving her a mocking clap. ¡°I have no idea what that is.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± For the first time since she¡¯d floated out of Roge¡¯s body, Alka looked completely stunned. Drifting closer to him, she gave him a confused look. ¡°How do you not know about the Slayers? Did you grow up within the seas of grass?¡±


    ¡°No, and neither did she,¡± Vin said, gesturing to Samtha. ¡°We¡¯re from two of the adjacent fragments. She was part of a scouting party sent to explore, and their village elder asked me to follow after them when they didn¡¯t return home quick enough.¡± Alka¡¯s expression only grew more confused as he spoke, and with a start, he realized what the problem must be. Looking at the poor ghost girl, he cleared his throat. ¡°Alka¡­ Do you know where we are? About Edregon?¡±


    ¡°Of course I know where we are,¡± she gave a forced, hearty laugh, spinning and gesturing all around them. ¡°The town of Harbe, within the Tige Kingdom. I¡¯ve lived here my entire life!¡±


    ¡°Oh man,¡± Vin muttered, scratching his head while trying to figure out how to explain to the floating girl that her kingdom, her world, was probably no more. He figured she must not have access to the System in her current state, and she somehow ended up hitching a ride when the System yanked this section of her world to safety. Trying to come up with a way to delay the conversation, he tried to change the topic, asking the first thing that came to mind. ¡°If you lived here your entire life¡­ Do you know where everyone went? The town was completely deserted when I walked through it.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ yeah, I know where they went. Or at least where they were going before they up and vanished entirely,¡± she said, drifting a bit further away, a slight frown creasing her face. ¡°Because of our intense training and innate willpower, it¡¯s not uncommon for Slayers to become ghosts after their deaths. Especially if they feel they have unfinished business in the mortal plain. Due to the frequency of this situation, there is a protocol put into place by the head of the Slayers himself.¡±


    ¡°When I revealed myself to the town, the Mayor gathered every last townsfolk and marched them to our burial grounds to conduct a special ceremony over my remains, which should have put me to rest.¡± Alka paused, glancing back at the empty town. ¡°...but that was a few months ago. The burial grounds are only a few miles from town, to prevent any sudden undead from harming anyone should they arise, but the ceremony should have only taken a single night.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t think to check on them?¡± Vin asked.


    ¡°Of course I tried that,¡± she snapped. ¡°I seem to be bound to this town for some reason. I can¡¯t go more than a few hundred feet out of the town¡¯s border without feeling some sort of invisible chain yanking me back. I¡¯ve spent the last few months alone, flying in and out of buildings trying to figure out the location of whatever it is keeping me bound here while waiting for my townsfolk to return.¡±


    Slowly the puzzle pieces fell into place, and Vin gradually painted a picture of what had happened. There were still a good number of pieces missing, but he thought he had a pretty solid interpretation of events leading up to now.


    God damn I am not qualified for something like this. I¡¯m an Explorer, not a Therapist, for crying out loud. Taking a deep breath, Vin looked up at the ghost woman. ¡°I think I can explain what happened. But you might want to sit¡­ or float down for this.¡±


    Her frown deepening, Alka floated down to the ground, waiting for him to continue. Now that she was standing like a normal person, Vin was surprised to see she was actually about a head shorter than him. Dismissing the thought, he dove straight into the heart of the matter.


    ¡°Did your world have some sort of corruption spreading through it? Maybe an increase in monsters, or some other, super bad stuff happening?¡±


    ¡°Monster attacks had been growing significantly in number the past few years,¡± she nodded slowly, never taking her glowing eyes off him. ¡°It¡¯s why they increased the number of allotted Slayers, and why a commoner like myself was allowed to become one in the first place.¡± She paused, her eyes narrowing. ¡°What do you mean ¡®your world?¡¯¡±


    ¡°Exactly that. You, me, and stone girl over here are all from separate worlds,¡± Vin explained. ¡°I¡¯m still putting it all together, but it sounds like some sort of horrific corruption was spreading throughout the universe. Multiverse? Whatever, things were getting bad, and fast. In an attempt to save at least some of the people out there, the System grabbed chunks of different worlds that hadn¡¯t been infected yet and tied them all together, like some sort of massive, magical quilt. If my theory is correct, your town ended up being one of these chunks. Except¡­ the people within your town just happened to be on their way to your burial grounds when it was grabbed. They weren¡¯t within the borders of this chunk that was pulled from your world, so instead of coming alone for the ride, they remain trapped on your corrupt, dying world.¡±This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    The longer he spoke, the more confident Vin felt in his personal theory of what happened. He couldn¡¯t imagine any other explanation, besides some outrageously powerful monster appearing that had the ability to slaughter an entire town without a single member escaping. The only thing that confused him was why the System wouldn¡¯t have waited for the townsfolk to return home before grabbing this chunk of Alka¡¯s world. It clearly seemed intelligent, if the note and subsequent death threat he was sent after first appearing on this world was any indication, and he¡¯d thought the entire purpose behind this new world of Edregon was to act as a lifeboat for the dregs of humanity. It just seemed strange that the System would snatch their houses but leave a couple thousand people behind.


    To his surprise, after a few seconds of contemplation, Alka nodded, the worry leaving her face. ¡°Well, that all makes sense I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Wait, seriously? You¡¯re just gonna take everything I saw at face value? Just like that?¡±


    ¡°That chick is wearing armor made from rocks. Nobody would be stupid enough to do that on my world.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­ fair enough.¡±


    ¡°However¡­¡± Alka sighed, rubbing her temple. Vin wondered if ghosts were even capable of getting headaches, because she sure looked like she had one now. ¡°Assuming everything you said is true, and my gut tells me it is¡­ that would mean my remains aren¡¯t even a part of this world any more. Why wasn¡¯t I put to rest when this piece of my world was stolen?¡±


    ¡°No clue,¡± Vin added helpfully. ¡°It seems to me like this new world and System are a bit¡­ unpolished,¡± he said, thinking back to the weird issue that occurred when he first stepped foot on this world. He wanted to say more, but he also wanted to not die. ¡°Regardless, it looks like you¡¯re here now. Are we able to put you to rest if we can¡¯t access your remains?¡±


    ¡°It will certainly be a bit more tricky,¡± Alka admitted. ¡°Though not impossible. If we can find someone with a divine class, they should be able to finish me off with a wave of their hand. The hard part will be finding one. If we were still in my world, we¡¯d just have to find the closest Slayer. But seeing as this new world is some giant melting pot of different worlds¡­¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no telling how long it will take,¡± Vin finished for her. ¡°Hold on, let¡¯s check the obvious first.¡±


    During Vin and Alka¡¯s entire ghostly conversation, Samtha had been waiting patiently. Not wanting to bother asking him to translate every single sentence, she¡¯d instead chosen to check up on her squad members. Vin hadn¡¯t seen what she¡¯d done, but Korey and Roge were once again conscious, their eyes wide as they watched the strange exchange before them. Though their faces paled when Vin and Alka turned their attention toward them.


    ¡°Hey Samtha. Any chance your village has anyone with a divine class in it?¡± Vin asked hopefully. This would be the world¡¯s shortest quest if so, but maybe he was entitled to be lucky at least once in a while. Sadly, it wasn¡¯t meant to be, as the warrior shook her head.


    ¡°Divine classes were rare on my world. Those that achieved them tended to live around the Great Stone. We certainly didn¡¯t have anyone with one within the village.¡±


    ¡°Figures it couldn¡¯t be that easy,¡± Vin sighed, glancing at the crestfallen ghost. ¡°Wait, how can you understand what they¡¯re saying? There¡¯s no way you guys have the same language.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe it¡¯s some weird ability undead have? I lost the ability to call on the System after I died, so I have no idea.¡± Alka groaned, dismissing his question almost entirely. ¡°Who even cares. How am I supposed to find someone with a divine class like this? I can¡¯t go anywhere, and I can¡¯t even talk to anyone. I don¡¯t want to spend the rest of eternity floating around an abandoned town!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t have to.¡± Making up his mind, Vin looked up at the floating ghost. ¡°I¡¯m an Explorer. My entire thing is kinda running around looking for stuff. If you come with me, we can work on finding someone with a divine class together. Even if they¡¯re rare, surely someone with a divine class ended up getting dragged to this new world.¡±


    ¡°I appreciate the sentiment, but I¡¯m kinda stuck here,¡± Alka said, drifting back down until her feet rested on the ground. ¡°Unless you can figure out why that is, I¡¯m not going anywhere.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you the ghost expert or something?¡± Vin couldn¡¯t help but jab. ¡°You¡¯re the youngest Slayer in your kingdom or whatever, aren¡¯t you? You tell me why you¡¯re stuck here.¡± He¡¯d hoped to light a fire under the depressed woman, and his words seemed to do the trick. Alka recoiled as if his words had been a hot iron, and she flew at him, nearly knocking him to the ground yet again as she floated above his head and glared down at him.


    ¡°Not ¡®youngest.¡¯ First common born Slayer,¡± Alka corrected him, clearly proud of that accomplishment. ¡°And ghosts are ethereal beings bound to the mortal plain by something that they care deeply about,¡± she spoke as though reciting from a textbook. ¡°This can be an object, a place, or even a person. While this acts as an anchor for them, destroying the anchor will not always allow the ghost to pass on. Doing so more often than not will instead enrage the ghost, forcing them to lose any sense of reason they may have and cause them to lash out at random.¡±


    ¡°Okay, we just need to find your anchor then,¡± Vin said, slowly stepping out from under Alka¡¯s floating form and grinning up at her. ¡°It¡¯s clearly not a person as the town is abandoned, and I¡¯m willing to bet it¡¯s not the town either. At least, I¡¯m not getting the vibe that you¡¯re all that patriotic about where you grew up.¡±


    ¡°No, not at all,¡± she agreed. ¡°I had made up my mind to leave town and wander the green sea for a few years after receiving my Slayer class in the hopes of helping with the increase in monsters. I was never really close to anyone in town. Hell, I wasn¡¯t even going to say goodbye before I left. My plan was to leave right after the party celebrating my accomplishment, before the townsfolk could wake from their drunken stupors. Right after getting my¡­¡± Alka paused, rubbing her temple again, frowning. ¡°I was enjoying the party¡­ drinking with some of the big shots in town like the Mayor¡­ but I can¡¯t remember what happened next. Next thing I can remember is floating around town as a ghost.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know how you died?¡± Vin asked, a sinking suspicion beginning to form in his gut.


    ¡°No¡­ the Mayor was so proud to have a Slayer come from our own little town, and a common born one at that,¡± she said, a small smile on her face. ¡°He was a good man. Despite it going against all protocol, he used me as an example for why the commoners and noble class weren¡¯t so different. He even threw one gigantic party to celebrate my accomplishment, inviting both the nobles and commoners alike from the surrounding area.¡±


    ¡°The Mayor sounds like an upstanding guy,¡± Vin admitted. ¡°But I¡¯m assuming he wasn¡¯t the only big shot you drank with that night?¡±


    ¡°Oh no,¡± she shook her head, eyes scrunching as she wracked her brain. ¡°There were definitely others¡­ Mr. Faulk, the noble in charge of our town finances¡­ Mrs. Glown, a noble from the next town over who handled Elder Wood distribution¡­ gah!¡± She yelled, eliciting a few quiet squeaks from the watching warriors as she stomped her foot in midair, trying to tear her own ethereal hair out. ¡°My memories¡­ it¡¯s like trying to grab a fistful of water!¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t say¡­¡± Vin muttered, his mind whirling as the last of the puzzle pieces snapped into place.


    ¡°You have a guess as to what might have happened?¡± Alka asked, looking at him with clear hope in her eyes.


    ¡°More than a guess,¡± he said, nodding his head as he thought over his theory. ¡°If I¡¯m right, we won¡¯t just uncover the source of your death.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll find something much more interesting.¡±

 10. A Little Close for Comfort

    ¡°Samtha, do any of you three have the ability to detect secret compartments? Like, if someone was hiding something underground?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± she nodded, looking puzzled. ¡°At least, to a degree. Korey and myself both have the Sense Stone spell. If there is a compartment in the ground, we will feel the absence of stone. Even simple dirt ground is littered with small rocks we can use. But if it¡¯s a hidden spot in one of the walls, we won¡¯t sense anything with these houses made of their strange grass bricks.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, that should be enough. Alka,¡± Vin called up, distracting the girl from her turmoil. ¡°Would you mind giving me a quick tour of the town? I only want you to show me the buildings owned by nobles.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± she frowned, clearly still bothered by her missing memories. ¡°It won¡¯t take long. Our town was small enough that we only had the one.¡±


    Vin gestured for Samtha and her men to join them as they followed Alka¡¯s floating form back into town. It didn¡¯t take long for her to direct them to one of the larger grass buildings; the wooden door marking the entrance easily the most elaborate carving compared to the other buildings he¡¯d seen.


    ¡°This was Mr. Faulk¡¯s house,¡± she said, her headache seeming to grow worse as she gestured to the door. ¡°He¡¯s the last person I can remember drinking with that night¡­ I¡¯d never met the man before, but from what I can remember, I thought he seemed strangely welcoming for someone I¡¯d heard less than pleasant things about.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t say,¡± Vin muttered, motioning for the group to follow him inside. As he¡¯d expected, the interior of the noble¡¯s home was far more intricately decorated than the other houses he¡¯d poked his head into. He wasn¡¯t sure why wood seemed to be so important to these people, but there were intricate wooden carvings and wooden furniture placed all around the house. Ignoring most of it, Vin wandered through the house, quickly finding a locked door. He noticed that the wood making up the door seemed to be a darker brown than the rest of the furniture, but ignored the fact, gesturing for Samtha to take his place.


    ¡°Samtha, if you would.¡±


    At his request, the warrior stepped forward, raising her stone mace and smashing it into the wooden door with all her might. To both their shock however, the mace actually rebounded off the door, leaving not so much as a scratch on the wood.


    ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯ll admit, I wasn¡¯t expecting that,¡± Vin said, staring in awe at the unmarred door.


    ¡°That door is petrified Elder wood,¡± Alka said blankly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. ¡°You¡¯ll break your weapon before having any luck cracking the door.¡±


    Relaying the ghost¡¯s words to Samtha, the warrior grinned and hefted her mace once more. ¡°We¡¯ll see about that!¡±


    Raising the mace above her head, the warrior must have activated some sort of skill as the head of the mace began glowing a dull gray. Vin had just enough time to cover his ears before she slammed the glowing mace into the door; the resulting explosion of noise was enough to shake his very bones and rattle the structure of the house. Looking up, Vin couldn¡¯t help but laugh at the aftermath of Samtha¡¯s attack.


    Even after all that, the door was completely undamaged. However, both the door and the frame it was still attached to now lay on the ground within the noble¡¯s study. The force of Samtha¡¯s strike had been so great that it had ripped the seemingly indestructible door from the wall; parts of the grassy bricks it had been connected to were now lying shredded around the room.


    ¡°Damn, that is some tough wood,¡± Samtha said, staring at the door in shock. A quick glance at her mace showed a few hairline cracks already spreading throughout the stone weapon.


    ¡°Petrified Elder wood,¡± Alka nodded, admiring the door like it was some sort of mystical artifact. ¡°The material is extremely rare. Only the nobles have the knowledge and means to work with it. I¡­ I remember being so excited about it for some reason¡­¡± she muttered, rubbing her head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re nearly there,¡± Vin said, stepping over the door as their motley crew entered the study. There was a large desk and a massive portrait of one of the giant trees adorning the wall behind it, but not much else. ¡°Samtha, could you use your spell and tell me if there are any hidden compartments in the ground?¡±


    Nodding, she muttered something, and Vin watched curiously as her feet glowed a similar gray to her mace and she began wandering around the room. Vin waited with baited breath as the warrior slowly finished a lap around the room, and then a second. After her third, she looked up at him, frowning. ¡°No secret compartments I can detect. Plenty of small rocks scattered around underground here.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡± He asked, his hopes plummeting. ¡°I was so sure it would be here. I mean, where else¡­¡± He paused, looking at the desk once more. ¡°Oh, you have got to be kidding me.¡± Walking to the other side of the room, he took a closer look at the desk, before stepping right past it, staring up at the portrait of the large tree. Without a moment of hesitation, he reached up and yanked the portrait off the wall, tossing it to the side.


    Revealing a glowing sword resting within a small, hidden cubby.


    The sword was clearly made of the same mysterious petrified wood that the door had been made from, though not nearly as decorated. Somehow the blade looked as sharp as any metal weapon he¡¯d seen despite being crafted from wood, and the entire sword from hilt to point glowed a very soft, gentle green.


    Vin heard a gasp behind him, and he turned to see Alka staring at the weapon, her eyes wide with her hands covering her mouth.


    ¡°Dancing Leaf,¡± she whispered, almost in reverence as she reached out a hand toward the glowing sword, her flickering body not daring to come any closer. ¡°That¡¯s the name I gave my blade. All Slayers that pass the tests are awarded their own petrified weapon, and despite being a commoner, it was decided that I would be granted my own as well.¡±


    ¡°But petrified Elder wood is supposed to be for nobles only,¡± Vin continued, nodding along with her words. ¡°In the most cliche possible fashion, Mr. Faulk couldn¡¯t stand the thought of a lowly commoner getting their hands on a piece of petrified wood. I¡¯m willing to bet he poisoned one of your drinks during your celebratory party, killing you and stealing your sword for himself to ensure that the line between nobles and commoners remained firm. Right up until your entire world died because of it.¡±If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°How?¡± Alka asked, barely managing to tear her eyes from the resting blade. ¡°How could you possibly have put all that together?¡±


    Years of watching low budget dramas and cliche detective shows while hiding in my bedroom in an attempt to distract myself from my parents fighting, he thought, wisely deciding to keep that tidbit to himself. And an assumption that the pettiness of humanity would overcome such tiny boundaries as a growing monster apocalypse.


    ¡°Just a lucky guess,¡± he said, thinking back to all the times he¡¯d been arrested. Plenty of those arrests had been for him ¡®trespassing¡¯ on land that he¡¯d come to learn had been owned by rich assholes, despite seeming like complete wilderness. ¡°I¡¯ve had my fair share of commoner vs noble mentality from my own world. The reason why I figured it was a sword you were anchored to is because of the empty sheath you¡¯re carrying around. Seemed odd for a ghost to have something like that.¡±


    At his words, Alka reached behind her and felt at the empty sheath secured on her back, surprise clear on her face. ¡°It didn¡¯t even occur to me¡­ how could I possibly have forgotten the fact that I¡¯d been given my own petrified blade?¡±


    ¡°Probably something to do with the trauma of dying or something like that,¡± he shrugged. ¡°Like I said, I¡¯m an Explorer, not a therapist. Actually, is that even a class that the System offers?¡±


    Alka ignored his remark, her gaze returning to the glowing sword. The two of them stood like that for a moment, simply admiring the deadly work of art. Well, Alka was still floating, but it was close enough.


    ¡°So why is it glowing?¡± Vin finally had to ask, breaking the silence.


    ¡°All Slayer blades are enchanted,¡± she answered, not seeming to mind the question. ¡°They are capable of interacting with and cutting through weaker magics. Ironically, given my current state, my world has¡­ had, a serious problem with undead. Hence our burial grounds being placed so far from our settlements. This blade would have allowed me to more easily fight against monsters with additional magical defenses.¡± Almost as if she knew what he was going to say, she shook her head. ¡°The enchantment won''t be enough to kill me. That would work with something like a lesser spirit or will-o-wisp yes, but not a bound ghost. At worst it would disperse my form enough that it would take me a few hours to reform near my anchor.¡±


    ¡°And I guess destroying the anchor is entirely out of the question now,¡± Vin said, glancing at the unmarked wooden door lying on the ground. If the sword was made of the same material, and enchanted on top of that, he couldn¡¯t even begin to imagine stumbling upon something strong enough to destroy the blade.


    ¡°Correct. Petrified Elder wood is supposed to be unbreakable. According to legend, the blade will never dull and the weapon doesn¡¯t need an ounce of maintenance. Seems like the perfect tool for a wandering Explorer if you ask me.¡±


    The weight behind Alka¡¯s words took a second to hit him, and he started, turning to see the ghost watching him intensely. ¡°In exchange for allowing me to accompany you until you can find someone with the power to put me to rest, I will give to you my blade. Do we have a deal?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Vin said, rolling his eyes despite the suddenly heavy atmosphere he found himself in. ¡°I already said I would help you, didn¡¯t I? No need to throw a magic sword in there to sweeten the deal.¡± As soon as he accepted her terms, the strange weight that hung in the air vanished, and Alka gave him a toothy grin, her form seeming to solidify to the point of almost looking like a regular, albeit floating, human for a moment.


    ¡°Excellent! In that case, I believe it¡¯s high time I put this godforsaken town behind me. I¡¯ve spent the last three months drifting around here aimlessly, and I¡¯m quite sick of the place.¡±


    ¡°Works for me. After we bring these guys back to their village, I have to make a quick stop at my own camp and report in.¡± Vin paused, wondering how Spur was going to react when he showed them Alka and his new magic sword. God damn it they really were going to try and make him king if this kept up, weren¡¯t they?


    Sighing, Vin reached into the cubby and grabbed his new sword, Dancing Leaf, and examined the blade. The hilt was almost warm to the touch, and he swore he thought he felt the wood shift ever so slightly at his touch to better fit his grip. Before he could examine it too closely however, two surprising things happened in quick succession. First, he received a message from the System he wasn¡¯t expecting.


    New minor artifact discovered! 1,000 exp gained.


    Level up! Explorer Lvl 4.


    +3 Attribute points to spend.


    +1 Skill point to spend.


    Hell yeah, he thought, unable to contain his grin as he looked at the sword in a new light. Now we¡¯re talking!


    But before he could revel in his newfound rewards, he heard a loud gasp, and turned just in time to witness Alka¡¯s ethereal form begin rapidly flickering, as though she were fighting to stay in one piece within a whirlwind.


    Without warning, her ghostly form snapped directly into him like a too taut rubber band, her body and limbs somehow overlaying his own despite their height difference.


    Crying out in shock as Alka¡¯s form merged into him, Vin leapt back, smacking his knee against the heavy desk and cursing in pain. While hopping around on one foot, he patted at his seemingly intact chest with his free hand, not finding anything amiss. Before he could start to wonder if he was finally losing it, he heard a familiar voice inside his head.


    ¡®What..? What happened?¡¯


    ¡°Alka?¡± He said, shaking his head as if that would dislodge the ghost somehow. His heart was still racing at their sudden predicament, but seeing as everything felt totally normal, he tried to stay calm. ¡°Please tell me you have a good reason for flying into me.¡±


    He spotted Samtha and her crew in clear combat stances and quickly waved them down. The last thing he needed was a stone mace to the head on top of whatever was currently happening.


    ¡®I don¡¯t know! One second everything was normal, and the next, it felt like I was being dragged into you by some sort of inescapable current.¡¯


    ¡°Well clearly you¡¯re not possessing me,¡± Vin muttered, opening and closing his free hand just to ensure he could. He didn¡¯t know what being possessed felt like, but he assumed he would know it when it happened.


    ¡®Yeah, I can tell that much.¡¯ He snorted at the clear sarcasm in her voice. ¡®It¡¯s strange though¡­ I feel like I could try and take over your body if I wanted. Like how you can choose to flex a muscle.¡¯


    ¡°Please refrain from flexing anything inside my body, thank you very much.¡± Looking at the glowing sword he still held, he sighed, turning the blade over and examining it from all sides. As though the magic tree smith or whomever that had crafted it had installed some sort of off switch. ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t take a genius to figure out the cause of all this. I guess taking possession of your anchor somehow bound you to me? Or me to you? Or some other third thing? Damn it, I never went to college!¡±


    ¡®Your guess is as good as mine.¡¯


    The two of them stood together in silence for a moment, neither saying anything as they took in their new circumstances. Vin feared how Alka would react to suddenly having herself bound to his form. She¡¯d been forcibly stuck in this town for so long, he hoped she didn¡¯t take her anger out on him now that his own body had become her new prison. After a few tense moments, her voice finally rang out in his head.


    ¡®So am I going to have to pay rent now, or¡­¡¯


    ¡°God damn it.¡±

 11. Backseat Driver

    Despite Alka¡¯s desire to put the town that had trapped her for the last three months behind her, the group decided to spend one more night within the town¡¯s borders. None of them were in any rush to try and navigate through the snake infested grass in the dark. Especially after Vin repeated how he¡¯d found their fourth member to Samtha¡¯s now conscious comrades.


    Vin and Alka spent the last bit of daylight experimenting with their strange new bond. First, they confirmed that Alka was still in fact bound to the sword, not to Vin himself. Only when he held the sword or wore it on his person in an empty scabbard they found did she feel the invisible current pulling her toward him. However, something about the act of officially transferring ownership of the sword to Vin had definitely altered how her anchor worked.


    Before, she¡¯d estimated the area she¡¯d been able to freely float around had been close to a mile in diameter. Now, it seemed to be about a quarter of that. The only reason she could think of was that her bond felt stronger now, preventing her from traveling as far. Curiously, when Vin held the sword, her natural state seemed to become overlaying herself within his own body, and it took her conscious effort to move back out of him. Vin was mildly creeped out by this at first, however, he couldn¡¯t actually feel anything when she did this other than a slight drop in temperature.


    And the constant voice inside his head of course.


    ¡®You know you blink a lot. You should stop that.¡¯


    Groaning, Vin tried to ignore his new backseat driver as he carefully directed them all back through the sea of grass. While echoing him, as they¡¯d come to call it, Alka was stuck seeing what he saw and hearing what he heard. But despite the inconvenience, Alka didn¡¯t seem to mind all that much.


    ¡°I swear I will leave you and your sparkly sword here if you complain about my blinking one more time,¡± he muttered, only loud enough for her to hear. While he could hear her talking inside him, Alka wasn¡¯t able to hear his thoughts; thank god. Because of that, he had to be careful when talking to her to make sure he didn¡¯t look like a maniac mumbling to himself all the time.


    ¡®Dancing Leaf is not ¡®sparkly.¡¯ It¡¯s a masterfully crafted weapon designed for monster killing. And I¡¯m just saying, an experienced fighter will take advantage of how often you blink. It¡¯s the perfect time for them to strike.¡¯


    ¡°Yeah, well it¡¯s a good thing I¡¯m not planning on taking on one of those any time soon,¡± he said, pointing out another grass noodle and maneuvering their team around it. Alka had already mentioned offhandedly that those snakes were actually called greentails, but Vin thought grass noodle sounded better. ¡°Again, I¡¯m an Explorer. It¡¯s a support class. Not really built for fighting.¡±


    ¡®Everyone needs to know how to fight,¡¯ his new morally questionable conscience argued. ¡®Even if it¡¯s not part of your class, you should learn the basics. It will probably save your life one day.¡¯


    ¡°In the event that I ever need to suddenly fight my way out of something, feel free to just take me over and go all ninja on them or whatever,¡± Vin said, giving up the argument. ¡°Just try not to kill anyone if you can help it. I don¡¯t exactly enjoy violence.¡±


    To his surprise, that actually seemed to satisfy her, and she finally stopped trying to pressure him into practicing with his new sword.


    The rest of the journey through the grass sea was uneventful. Vin¡¯s newly improved focus attribute again proved its worth in allowing them to sneak past all the grass noodles lying in wait. Before they knew it, they¡¯d reentered the rocky, hilly biome he¡¯d started his quest from, and it wasn¡¯t long after that that they returned to the village. Someone must have spotted their approach, because when they finally reached the village they were met by the village elder and a crowd of cheering people.


    ¡°Looks like you pulled it off,¡± the elder said, giving him a warm smile as Samtha and the other warriors were pulled aside by some sort of medicine man who immediately began giving them a once over. ¡°Is Olga¡­?¡±


    ¡°She didn¡¯t make it,¡± Vin confirmed, causing the elder to deflate slightly. ¡°The group ran into some troubles and tried to send Olga back to the village to ask for help. She ended up getting attacked by a venomous snake. Died at the halfway point.¡± The group had actually used Vin¡¯s Mental Map to return to the location of her death in the hopes of recovering her body, but something had taken it during the night. There had been nothing left but a few wet chunks of stone armor and some giant claw marks pressed deep into the ground.


    The group had bid a hasty retreat after that.


    ¡°That is a shame,¡± the elder sighed, tapping her stone cane on the ground. ¡°We will hold a funeral for her this evening. You are of course welcome to attend; however, I imagine you have your own matters to see to.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I need to go report to my own camp. I was supposed to be back before nightfall, so hopefully they don¡¯t send their own search party out for me!¡± Vin briefly pictured Spur leading a squad of people, all hacking their way through the tall grass before being ambushed by a bunch of snakes. It would probably be best to avoid such a situation.


    Reaching into his pack, Vin pulled out Olga¡¯s stone mace he¡¯d picked up. ¡°I¡¯m sorry we couldn¡¯t recover her body. But I did manage to bring back her weapon, if that¡¯s any consolation.¡±


    Taking the mace from him, the elder gave it a weary smile, gently stroking the stone head. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll be sure it makes its way to her family. They will be happy to have something to remember her by.¡±


    Vin hesitated, almost asking about Olga¡¯s family before thinking better of it. He¡¯d spotted a few children running around the village during his brief time here. If the elder told him Olga left behind a young child, he wasn¡¯t sure just how hard that would hit him.


    ¡°Well¡­ I should probably head out,¡± Vin said, feeling a bit awkward. What was he supposed to say? I found your missing people; don¡¯t forget you owe me one alliance?


    ¡°Before you go.¡± The elder reached into her robe, pulling out something and tossing it toward him. Snagging it from the air, Vin looked down at the small rock he now held. Dark gray just like the villager¡¯s weapons, the rock was also covered in a handful of strange, jagged symbols. To his surprise, they looked quite similar to some of the symbols he¡¯d seen carved into a few of the village houses.


    ¡°Your actions have certainly warranted an alliance with your people. Or at the very least, opened talks with them,¡± the elder confirmed to his relief. ¡°However, for putting yourself in harm''s way, I feel it appropriate to give you a personal reward as well.¡±


    ¡°That is a training rock. If you study it, it will allow you to learn one of our simplest and yet most useful spells; Sense Stone. It may not sound all that impressive, but it is the first building block required to one day learn our more advanced stone magics. I only ask that you don¡¯t lend the rock out to anyone else and return it to us once you have learned all you can from it. Creating such training aids is beyond us now after the Great Reset. While we will return to our former glory soon enough, it will be some time before we can make objects such as this once again.¡±


    New minor artifact discovered! 1,000 exp gained.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Vin said, staring at the magic rock in awe. He was blown away that the village elder would be willing to part with something so valuable, even if only temporarily. However¡­


    He had no idea where to even start.


    ¡°So, I know you said to study it¡­¡± he paused, turning the rock this way and that. While there weren¡¯t too many symbols across the small rock face, he had absolutely no idea what any of them meant. It was like being handed a complex math problem filled with symbols he¡¯d never seen before and being told to study it in order to learn calculus. ¡°...how exactly do I go about doing that?¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    Chuckling, the elder tapped her cane on the ground twice in rapid succession. Vin almost swore he felt a small wave ripple through the ground, but it might have been his imagination.


    ¡°I see you have yet to pick up the Spellcraft skill,¡± she laughed, smiling as though he¡¯d told the world¡¯s funniest joke. ¡°You can consider this advice part of your reward. The Spellcraft skill is essential for anyone who desires learning the mystic arts, or for those who expect to encounter many artifacts during their travels. I imagine that sword of yours won¡¯t be the last artifact you encounter, so I would highly recommend taking the skill.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for the tip,¡± Vin said, looking at the elder in awe. ¡°Did your own Spellcraft skill let you detect the magic in my sword?¡±


    The elder gave him an amused look, gesturing toward his newfound weapon.


    ¡°The hilt is glowing green.¡±


    Vin blinked, glancing down at the sword on his hip. Sure enough, while the scabbard blocked the light being emitted by the blade, he¡¯d forgotten that the enchantment seemed to cover the entire weapon.


    ¡°Huh. Guess I¡¯ll wrap something around the hilt to help with that,¡± he said, his face heating up. ¡°Don¡¯t want to advertise to the world I¡¯m rocking a magic sword now. No need to draw any targets on my back after all.¡±


    ¡°Indeed,¡± she chuckled, turning to speak with one of the villagers who then ran off. He returned a few moments later, handing a few thin strips of blackened leather to Vin. ¡°Use this to cover up the hilt. The last thing we need is for our first ally in this new world to have his throat slit by some hungry pickpocket.¡±


    Vin gulped, carefully wrapping the leather around his sword hilt until he was certain not a single bit of light was showing through.


    ¡®Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t let anyone kill you that easily. It would be really inconvenient for me after all.¡¯


    ¡°I appreciate it,¡± Vin muttered, making sure to angle his face down so the elder didn¡¯t see his mouth moving. After ensuring the light from his hilt was fully blocked, he bid the elder farewell, promising her that she¡¯d be hearing from his people soon. Asking Alka to keep an eye out for any more of those freaky scorpion things as they began their trek back to camp, Vin followed the elder¡¯s advice and spent his second skill point to obtain Spellcraft at level 1.


    And then nearly passed out as the System hit him in the head with the mother of all textbooks.


    Vin staggered, holding his head in his hands as his brain worked overtime to process and allocate the sudden influx of information. Purchasing the Tracking skill had been like suddenly gaining memories of taking a few tracking courses years ago, but purchasing Spellcraft was like having an entire bachelor¡¯s degree uploaded into his head Matrix style. It took him a moment to even realize Alka was yelling at him.


    ¡®Vin! Are you alright?¡¯


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± he groaned, his legs wobbling as he rubbed his eyes. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you warn me about the Spellcraft skill? That was awful!¡±


    ¡®You honestly believe I took that as one of my skills?¡¯ Again, Vin got to experience the freaky sensation of someone laughing within his own head that wasn¡¯t him. ¡®For one, on my world it was illegal for anyone to take that skill if they weren¡¯t a noble. Not that I would have taken it anyway of course. I used my own points exclusively for combat skills.¡¯


    ¡°Why am I not surprised?¡± Taking a deep breath, Vin shook out his hands and pulled out his newest artifact. Looking at it for a second time, his breath caught as he was nearly overtaken by the stone¡¯s beauty. The way the rigid edges of the different shapes bisected one another. The methods the carver used to adjust the angles and account for the curvature of the stone. How the countless vertices overlapped as though it was their destiny!


    ¡®Uh, Vin? You alright there? You¡¯re looking at that rock like it¡¯s a big, juicy steak. I think you might even be drooling a little.¡¯


    ¡°It¡¯s the most beautiful thing I¡¯ve ever seen,¡± he whispered, turning the rock this way and that; the symbols practically singing to him. ¡°This isn¡¯t just magic¡­ This is art!¡±


    ¡®...It¡¯s a rock.¡¯


    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful is what it is!¡± He shouted, shaking a fist at¡­ himself. ¡°I had no idea magic was this wonderful!¡± Not hesitating for a second, he pulled up his interface and dropped all three of his waiting attribute points from his last level up into magic. He had no idea what it would do, but he wanted more. The moment he confirmed his selection, he gasped as his core was suddenly filled with some sort of intangible, refreshing plasma. He could sense its presence filling him from within, but he couldn¡¯t really feel it or interact with it in any way.


    More importantly, his observations of the stone immediately turned from a passerby admiring the world¡¯s finest piece of art to a student learning from a master.


    Spellcraft increased to lvl 2! 200 exp gained.


    Spellcraft increased to lvl 3! 300 exp gained.


    ¡®Oh God, please tell me you¡¯re not about to turn into one of those book nerds I used to pick on around town.¡¯


    Ignoring Alka entirely, Vin barely remembered to continue walking in the direction of camp as he dove into his studying of the stone. The points he placed into magic certainly helped, but even with his Spellcraft leveling up it was like someone in their sophomore year of college trying to learn by studying a PhD student¡¯s thesis. He could almost understand what the different shapes did and how they worked, but only just.


    It took almost two hours of careful study, trusting in Alka to warn him if anything dangerous got too close to them as they walked before he had his breakthrough.


    New spell discovered! Sense Stone. 2,500 exp gained.


    ¡°What the hell?!¡± Vin gasped, finally tearing his eyes away from the stone as the runic structure and knowledge of how to cast his first spell cemented itself in his mind. ¡°Spells are worth a ton of experience!¡±


    ¡®Not surprising. Unlike skills, spells don¡¯t level up and grant you experience. They are a one and done deal, so you actually get less experience than you would from any single class skill. They¡¯re also difficult to find without a teacher and notoriously hard to learn. At least on my world. Don¡¯t forget it took you a few hours to figure that one out, and that was from a training aid literally designed to teach people.¡¯


    ¡°Good points.¡± Vin wondered how long it would take him to learn a spell from just its basic spellform, or if it would even be possible for him. Realizing he had a couple of System notifications waiting for him, he pulled them up, his jaw dropping as he went through them. Even dismissing the handful of notifications informing him that he¡¯d gained 10 experience for wandering a new mile he had quite a few big ones.


    Spellcraft increased to lvl 4! 400 exp gained.


    Spellcraft increased to lvl 5! 500 exp gained.


    Level up! Explorer Lvl 5.


    +3 Attribute points to spend.


    +1 Passive point to spend.


    ¡°Dear God, I need to learn more spells.¡± He couldn¡¯t help but laugh, rubbing his hands together with glee. ¡°Not to mention figure out what new passive to take.¡±


    ¡®Maybe you should worry about that after you check in with your camp?¡¯


    ¡°Why wait when¡­¡± Vin paused, his eyes widening when he realized just how far he¡¯d walked in his magic obsessed stupor. He could make out the edge of what looked like an under-construction campground about a quarter mile away, and he could already make out a few people waving in his direction, clearly having spotted him.


    Glancing up, he was shocked to see that it was nearly midafternoon; the sun already beginning to work its way back down toward the horizon.


    ¡°Wow, I can¡¯t believe I managed to walk all those miles without running into a tree or something,¡± Vin said, shaking his head in disbelief.


    ¡®I may have tweaked your course a few times here and there. Turns out rather than full on possessing you, I can make slight adjustments to your muscles if I focus hard enough. Figured you wouldn¡¯t notice. I can¡¯t see your fancy map you have in your head, but I did my best to keep us heading in the right direction.¡¯


    ¡°Well it looks like it worked.¡± Sighing, Vin looked longingly at his interface. He had three new attribute points to spend, a new spell to experiment with, and even a new passive to select. However, he¡¯d probably kept Spur waiting long enough. He was supposed to have returned last night after all.


    ¡°No sense putting it off,¡± he said, dismissing his interface with one last look of longing.


    Time to see how his people were faring.

 12. The Woes of Leadership

    Spur sighed, not even bothering to look up from the dozens of sheets of paper he had spread out across one of the many foldable tables they¡¯d assembled in their temporary command center. He¡¯d been busy trying to determine if it was smarter for them to prioritize being closer to a water source versus setting up their permanent camp in a more defensible location when one of his men poked their head into the tent.


    ¡°Repeat that again Thomas,¡± Spur said, closing his eyes and praying the man¡¯s words changed the second time around. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I heard you right.¡±


    ¡°Sir. Two civvies tried eating some strange fruits they found growing from a nearby tree. They¡¯ve broken out in hives and are having some trouble breathing.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought you said.¡± Spur rubbed the bridge of his nose, wondering if the System was testing him or something. ¡°Pray tell, did they not receive their meal rations for the day or something?¡±


    ¡°They did sir. From what we can gather, they seemed to think the alien fruit would give them¡­ superpowers? Or something along those lines. They were hard to understand through all the wheezing, but it sounded like they were looking for ¡®some piece¡¯ of something.¡±


    Sighing, Spur waved a hand, not even bothering to look up. ¡°We don¡¯t have any sort of med bay set up yet; the doctors were slated to come over in the second wave. Send them over to Frank for now, he was a field medic back in the day. Should be good enough for those idiots.¡±


    ¡°Sir!¡± Thomas saluted, leaving the tent. As soon as he was alone, Spur¡¯s hand twitched toward his personal pack he kept close by at all times. Unbeknownst to his superiors, he¡¯d smuggled a little something special into this new world just for himself. He¡¯d been planning to crack it open in celebration of surviving one year on this new world, but it had barely been more than a day and he was already fighting the urge to down the bottle. Steeling his resolve, he looked back to the reports he¡¯d collected with the help of Myers. He had a lot of decisions to make, and not a lot of time.


    While things weren¡¯t progressing quite as smoothly as he¡¯d hoped, in the last twenty-four hours they¡¯d at least managed to take care of all their critical tasks. They¡¯d located a nearby source of water, determined that there weren¡¯t any serious threats in their immediate surroundings, and began cataloging nearby resources they could utilize to construct a real base of operations. From an outsider''s perspective, things would have seemed to be going well.


    Spur picked up the report Myers had collected from one of the captains put in charge of a group of civvies. According to the report, they¡¯d been hunting for potential sources of food when they ended up encountering some sort of monster. The captain had described it as ¡®a small bear with four arms and the snout of a wolf.¡¯ Thankfully the group had a few people with combat classes, and they¡¯d even managed to take down the monster he¡¯d already heard a few soldiers dub the Big Bad Bear.


    Unfortunately, they hadn¡¯t managed to put it down before it killed three of their people.


    All three of which were civilians.


    After that incident, unrest between the camp had escalated. Most of the civilians were questioning orders they didn¡¯t like the sound of, and a good handful were refusing to follow them outright. The worst part was that Spur couldn¡¯t exactly blame them. Unlike the soldiers, these people had been living totally normal lives just a few days ago. They hadn¡¯t been trained to follow orders. They hadn¡¯t been broken down and reconstructed in good old Uncle Sam¡¯s vision. Hell, they hadn¡¯t even gone through any serious training, unless you counted that ridiculous excuse for a boot camp his superiors had thrown together. And now, all of a sudden, these people were thrust into an entirely different world with nothing more than a few days of scattered training to fall back on?


    Forget dissent, it was a miracle half of them weren¡¯t experiencing panic attacks.


    Putting down the report on the monster attack, Spur picked up another one he¡¯d received from Captain Hills. On top of being a crack shot with a rifle, Hills had a degree in psychology. Because of that, Spur had given him the task of watching over the camp as a whole, informing him of any serious concerns that required his attention. He¡¯d expected this report to come sooner or later, but he couldn¡¯t believe it had taken only a single day.


    According to Hills, a good chunk of the civvies were starting to rally around a woman named Patricia Miles. Patricia, or Patty, as she asked everyone to call her, was a very sociable woman who had been CEO of a nonprofit before receiving the message from the System. Hills¡¯ report explained how Patty had been witnessed going around to disgruntled members of the civilian half of the camp, consoling them and earning their trust. She could just be trying to make friends¡­


    Or she could be laying the groundwork for some form of coup.


    Grumbling to himself, Spur dug through a stack of papers and found the information Myers had collected on the woman. According to her report, Patty had claimed to have taken the Bard support class, which came with a free point of dexterity with every level and a passive that gave proficiency with a musical instrument of their choice. On a hunch, Spur took a glance at the sorting of the reports. Myers, bless her overachieving heart, had categorized the reports alphabetically for his perusal. But she had also made a note of the order of the people she¡¯d spoken with. Looking for one report in particular, Spur finally found it.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    The person Myers had spoken to immediately before Patty, apparently a small-time DJ who had been hoping to make it big before all this went down that called himself Rooty Beard, had also stated they¡¯d selected the Bard class.


    Spur frowned, crunching the numbers in his head. He¡¯d been lucky enough that a good number of people had had the sense to count how many starting class options they¡¯d been offered, even if there had been too many to memorize. Strangely, the number of classes seemed to actually be different for everyone, but most people had somewhere around roughly 400 choices. The odds that Patty just happened to select the same class as the person directly beside her¡­


    ¡°I don¡¯t like it,¡± he said, staring at the numbers. From what little he knew about the woman, he just couldn¡¯t see her selecting the Bard class when there were so many more appealing options. ¡°But why lie about your class in the first place?¡± He muttered, trying to wrap his head around the decision.


    ¡°Sir!¡± A familiar voice called out before entering the tent.


    ¡°Not the best time Phil, I actually have to think about something, and you know how much I hate thinking,¡± Spur said, giving a dismissive wave to his third in command. With Myers busy helping him do, well, pretty much everything, Phil had been placed directly in charge of maintaining the perimeter and ensuring no new monsters snuck up on them. The man had already proven himself to be a natural with a longsword, and had recently become the first person in camp to hit level 3 after a number of successful hunts.


    ¡°I think this warrants a break from thinking.¡± Hearing the seriousness in Phil¡¯s tone, Spur looked up, raising an eyebrow at the frown on Phil¡¯s face.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Spur asked, his mind immediately turning to the worst-case scenario. ¡°Did we lose anyone else?¡±


    ¡°Kind of the opposite actually. Remember that civvy you sent out to check out our surroundings that vanished?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, the Explorer. Vin, I think it was.¡± Spur said, thinking back to the lanky man with unkempt black hair and a seemingly constant layer of dirt on his person. While the poor guy had that wiry, durable look that most of the people he encountered living on the street seemed to have, he didn¡¯t look like he¡¯d be able to fight his way out of a cardboard box. Spur had been hesitant to send him out on his own, but his passive was exactly what they needed with their surveying drones taken, and he at least looked like a fast runner. But when Vin had failed to return before nightfall, they¡¯d assumed he¡¯d run into something like the Big Bad Bear and met his demise. ¡°Did you find his body?¡±


    ¡°Well that¡¯s just it sir,¡± Phil hesitated. ¡°Turns out he¡¯s not dead. In fact, he¡¯s approaching camp as we speak.¡±


    ¡°What? That¡¯s great news!¡± Spur said, laughing at something going right for once. The three dead civvies may have been the kindling Patty was using to light a fire under the civilian half of the camp, but Vin¡¯s disappearance that first day technically under his orders had been the spark. His return to camp should help Spur pump the brakes on whatever it was Patty was trying. Despite his excitement, Spur quickly picked up on Phil¡¯s continued uncertainty, and he did his best not to roll his eyes.


    It was always something.


    ¡°You wanna spit it out man, or do I need to order you to tell me what the problem is?¡±


    Phil slowly shook his head, his frown deepening. ¡°It¡¯s not a problem, per say. In fact, you could argue it¡¯s probably a good thing for us.¡±


    ¡°Phil, I swear to God I¡¯m going to command our crafters to build us a toilet just so I can give you this world¡¯s first swirlie if you don¡¯t come out with it in the next five seconds.¡±


    Luckily for him Phil was used to his dislike of military protocol, and the man didn¡¯t bat an eye at his threat. ¡°You know how I selected the Challenger class?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, because you¡¯re so ridiculously competitive I once watched you practice for ten hours straight just so you could beat someone in a game of darts the next day,¡± Spur said, thinking back to their time in the barracks together. ¡°So what?¡±


    ¡°Well, my class starting passive is called Challenger¡¯s Intuition. Essentially, I can see a soft aura around anyone or anything I look at that tells me my odds of winning a fight with said target. Your aura for example is a soft green, bordering on yellow, meaning you would be a small challenge, but not really that much of a fight for me.¡±


    ¡°Hey it¡¯s not my fault I¡¯ve been stuck in here reading reports and giving people orders,¡± Spur said, frowning at the reminder that he had barely hit level 2 despite supposedly being in charge. If he didn¡¯t get experience for running the camp, he¡¯d probably still be level 1 even. He really needed to throw everything over to Myers and get out there sooner than later; his class leveled far faster through combat.


    ¡°Anyway, the strongest thing I¡¯ve seen so far was the Big Bad Bear,¡± Phil said, ignoring his outburst. ¡°Before the three of us took it down, its aura had been a darker yellow, pretty close to turning red. I may have been able to win solo against it, but I probably would have sustained some serious injuries.¡±


    Spur frowned, smart enough to realize where his old friend was going with this. ¡°Go on¡­¡±


    Taking a deep breath, Phil shook his head, his expression equal parts confused and concerned. ¡°Well¡­ I only caught a quick glimpse of him. But when the civvy was approaching camp, I saw his aura with my passive, Spur.¡±


    ¡°It was blood red.¡±

 13. All Hail Democracy

    ¡®This is your camp?¡¯ Alka asked, clearly unimpressed as the two of them made their way through scattered bedrolls and shoddily put together tents on their quest to find Spur. Half of the camp was set up rather well with the tents in rows and all facing the same direction, but the other half looked like the System had grabbed a tiny sliver of Woodstock by accident. Vin knew it hadn¡¯t even been forty-eight hours since they¡¯d arrived in this new world, but he¡¯d kinda figured things would be a bit more organized than this.


    ¡°I told you, we only just got here,¡± he muttered, trying to keep his lips from moving as much as possible. For some reason, he was clearly drawing a good bit of attention, and he didn¡¯t want anyone to see him talking to himself. ¡°I bet Spur knows what he¡¯s doing.¡±


    ¡°Vin?¡± A familiar voice called out. Searching for the owner, Vin spotted Alice looking at him with wide eyes, the lifeless body of one of the squirrel-ferret creatures he¡¯d spotted yesterday clutched in her hands.


    ¡°Alice!¡± He called back, smiling at one of the few people he¡¯d actually taken the time to chat with so far. ¡°Guess that Trapper class is working out for you, huh?¡±


    ¡°Thank God you¡¯re okay!¡± She said, running over and looking him up and down. ¡°Though if I didn¡¯t know any better, I would say it looks like you¡¯re somehow even more dirty than before!¡±


    ¡°It was a hectic trip,¡± Vin admitted, trying not to wince as the image of Olga¡¯s dead body came to mind. ¡°More than I care to admit. How have things been here?¡±


    To his surprise, Alice actually paused to look around, making sure nobody was too close to them before answering, lowering her voice a tad. ¡°Honestly, things have been kind of tense. We thought you were dead when you didn¡¯t come back last night, and we lost a few of the crafter classes during a monster attack. It feels like the camp is quickly breaking into two different groups, and I can¡¯t shake the feeling things are going to get worse before they get better.¡±


    ¡°Seriously? Spur seemed so on top of things when I left!¡±


    ¡°At first, sure. But it wasn¡¯t long before people started to realize that the military wasn¡¯t the same powerful, unopposable force here that it was back on Earth. There are no official laws here; no army to back Spur up other than the few dozen people he brought with him. Hell, they don¡¯t even have prisons, let alone guns. If someone disobeys a direct order, what is Spur going to do? Slit their throat?¡±


    ¡°Jesus, that¡¯s dark.¡± Vin shivered, imagining a grinning Spur coming at him with a knife in the dead of night. ¡°Fair point though. I need to go report to Spur anyway; I¡¯ll let you know if he tells me anything important.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go start letting people know that you¡¯re back,¡± Alice said, giving him one last smile. But just before she could walk off, a hand landed on her shoulder, holding her in place.


    A tall woman with long brown hair smiled at the two of them, her eyes seeming to shine in the afternoon light. She had a friendly air about her, as though her very presence was somehow welcoming you to talk about whatever was on your mind with her. Vin watched as this strange new woman looked down at Alice like she was greeting a close friend.


    ¡°Alice dear, would you mind keeping this to yourself for a little bit? I don¡¯t think riling up the camp with any sudden surprises would be a good idea right now.¡± The woman¡¯s voice was sweet, but commanding. Almost as though she knew you would listen to whatever she asked before she even asked it, and she loved you for it.


    ¡°What do you mean Patty?¡± Alice asked, frowning up at her. Vin noticed she clearly looked a tad uncomfortable with the woman holding onto her shoulder like that. ¡°Don¡¯t you think people would be happy to hear Vin was back? Him going missing was what started making everyone upset in the first place.¡±


    ¡°We''ll let them know of course,¡± Patty said, turning the full force of her smile onto Alice who seemed to shrink back in response. The weight of the woman¡¯s personality was like a weapon she wielded with expert precision. ¡°But we should do it in a manner that calms people down. I¡¯ll be sure to take care of it.¡±


    ¡°Oh Bert?¡± Patty called out, motioning for a nearby civilian to step forward. A thick man with a bushy mustache jumped forward as though he¡¯d been waiting for his summons, smiling warmly at Patty as he answered her call.


    ¡°Would you mind helping Alice here with whatever she was doing?¡± Patty asked, gently patting Alice on the arm with her free hand. ¡°Poor girl is being forced to get her hands dirty cutting up these adorable creatures.¡±


    ¡°I really don¡¯t mind-¡±


    ¡°Of course Patty, whatever you need,¡± Bert smiled, taking Alice¡¯s shoulder and beginning to lead her away despite her protests. It was clear to Vin that Alice wasn¡¯t a fan of either Bert or Patty, but she didn¡¯t seem to want to risk making a scene when so many eyes were on them. Vin hesitated, trying to decide if it would be inappropriate for him to butt in and do something.


    Thankfully, his new conscience made the decision for him.


    ¡®If you don¡¯t stop that guy, I will.¡¯ Vin heard Alka practically growl in his head as they watched Bert continue to ignore Alice¡¯s weak protests.


    ¡°Gladly,¡± he muttered, deciding the simplest solution was to just ignore whatever weird games Patty was playing. Quickly moving in front of Bert, both Bert and Patty¡¯s eyes widened as he blocked the man from leading Alice off, his arms crossed in front of his chest.


    ¡°Look, I don¡¯t know what is going on in camp, and frankly, I don¡¯t care either,¡± he said, staring directly at Patty and making sure she knew his words were directed at her. ¡°But Alice and I were having a conversation before you so rudely interrupted us, and she¡¯s clearly uncomfortable with¡­ whatever¡¯s happening here,¡± he said, gesturing wildly between the three of them. Looking at Alice, he grinned sheepishly. ¡°Sorry Alice, I¡¯m not trying to speak for you or anything. I just hate watching people walk all over others. I saw enough of that back on Earth.¡±


    ¡°No... Thank you for that,¡± Alice said, her gaze hardening. It was as if his intervening had lifted some invisible fog clouding her head, and the Trapper let out a sharp laugh. Spinning around, she shoved Bert hard, forcing the man to stumble away from her as she thrust a finger in his face. ¡°Here I was just talking about how things were different now, right before falling back into my old habits of being a human doormat.¡±


    Yanking a dagger from her belt, Alice brandished it at Bert and Patty, causing Bert to quickly take another step back out of stabbing range. ¡°How about this for a new world resolution? Every time one of you touches me without my permission again, I think I¡¯ll cut off one of your fingers to help you remember. Got it?¡±


    ¡®Oh I like her,¡¯ Alka laughed. ¡®Maybe she didn¡¯t need our help after all.¡¯


    ¡°I think there¡¯s been some sort of misunderstanding,¡± Patty said with an apologetic smile, any semblance of her initial surprise gone. Her expression had instantly morphed into that of someone just trying to help a poor soul who didn¡¯t quite have the full picture understand what was actually going on. Vin had to admit, it was almost eerie how well she could throw those masks on in a moment''s notice.


    ¡°Bert, would you mind leaving the three of us? Might be best to apologize as well. I don¡¯t think Alice realized you were just trying to help, and I certainly don¡¯t want to lose any fingers,¡± she finished with a small laugh, as though it had been a toddler threatening them with a butter knife.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± Bert said, his eyes still on Alice¡¯s dagger before turning and quickly walking away. Once it was just the three of them again, Patty flashed the two of them another award-winning smile.


    ¡°I¡¯m terribly sorry my attempts at helping upset the two of you. I hope you can forgive me.¡±


    Vin glared at the woman, her overly fake voice seeming to make his very skin crawl. He waited for Alice to start swinging that blade around after that terrible excuse for an apology, or at least make a few threatening jabs in her general direction. But to his surprise, Patty¡¯s words seemed to actually dull the sharpness in Alice¡¯s gaze. Alice actually lowered her dagger, sheathing it and scratching the back of her head as if she were embarrassed.


    ¡°Sorry Patty, I know you were just trying to help. It¡¯s just that before coming here, my entire life was spent getting pushed around. By my parents, my manager, my ex...¡± She sighed, kicking the ground with a frown. ¡°I just don¡¯t want to let myself fall into that rut all over again.¡±


    ¡°Of course dear, I completely understand,¡± Patty said, her face the picturesque image of someone consoling a loved one. ¡°Why don¡¯t you let me have a quick chat with Vin here, and then we can talk about it after? Just remember what I said earlier about spreading this around camp.¡±


    ¡°That sounds nice,¡± Alice smiled, before turning to give him a little wave. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to you later Vin.¡±


    Vin watched Alice walk off with her dead squirrel-ferret thing that he just now mentally dubbed a sqerret. Slowly, he turned to stare at Patty, his frown deepening. Something was off about the woman, but he couldn¡¯t put his finger on it. Before he could try and figure out what it was however, another familiar voice called out from across the camp.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ¡°Vin, you son of a gun! Just gonna waltz on in here like you didn¡¯t give us all a heart attack going missing yesterday?¡± Vin saw Patty click her tongue as Spur greeted him loud enough for half the camp to hear, a brief flash of annoyance on her face before it vanished just as quickly as it had appeared. The colonel quickly made his way over to them, grinning ear to ear. ¡°I¡¯ll have you know you just won me what I believe to be the first official bet on this new world! Frank has to give me a massage now.¡±


    ¡°Oh I¡¯ll give ya something alright!¡± A man currently wrapping bandages around two puffy looking guys called out from a few hundred feet away, shaking his fist at the colonel.


    ¡°Classic Frank,¡± Spur said, the grin never leaving his face. He briefly turned toward Patty, nodding his acknowledgement before focusing on Vin. ¡°Anyway, glad to have you back! Got anything¡­ interesting, to report for me?¡±


    It was only then Vin noticed the soldier standing a few feet behind Spur on his right side. The large, bulky man was built like a linebacker, yet carried himself in a way that was careful, almost mechanical. As if every move he made was carefully calculated. He had a longsword sheathed against his hip, and despite his large frame, he seemed poised to strike at any moment. Even now he was watching Vin intensely, and if the hand he had resting on the hilt of his sword was any indication, he was just a little too ready for a fight for Vin¡¯s comfort.


    ¡®I like the look of that guy. You should spar with him when you have the chance.¡¯


    ¡°You have no idea,¡± Vin answered Spur, ignoring Alka completely. He couldn¡¯t exactly answer her inconspicuously with so many people looking directly at him after all. ¡°Though we should probably go somewhere more private. I have a lot to talk about.¡±


    ¡°Fine by me,¡± Spur said, motioning for Vin to follow him back to a large tent set up in the center of camp. Before they could take more than a few steps however, a voice that was growing annoyingly familiar spoke up.


    ¡°Colonel Spur, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s important for everyone to understand the situation we¡¯re in?¡± Patty asked, playing the part of a concerned citizen perfectly.


    ¡°You may be right, but that¡¯s not how the military works Patty,¡± Spur said, not even hesitating in his response. ¡°I¡¯ll brief everyone on what I deem important later on.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t really strike me as the strict military type,¡± Patty said, her almost flirtatious tone sending another unpleasant shiver up Vin¡¯s neck. ¡°A lot of the civilians are worried about what¡¯s out there. Wouldn¡¯t letting them know the truth be the quickest way to calm them down?¡±


    Vin expected Spur to brush her off and continue walking, but the colonel surprised him by turning to face her, seeming to give her suggestion some actual thought. ¡°I¡¯ve certainly considered it. Lord knows I¡¯m not one to follow military protocol very closely. But in this case, the new information might just as easily cause a panic and throw our already shaky camp into complete anarchy. It¡¯s my job to decide what can be shared, and what should remain private.¡±


    ¡°That just doesn¡¯t seem very fair, if you ask me,¡± Patty said, her sickly-sweet voice once again sending prickles across Vin¡¯s body. If he listened to this woman for much longer, he was going to need some moisturizer or something. ¡°If we are planning to continue functioning as a democracy, wouldn¡¯t it make more sense for everyone to have a say?¡±


    Again, Vin waited for Spur to tell the pushy woman to pound sand, and again, he was shocked as the colonel slowly nodded. ¡°What exactly did you have in mind?¡±


    ¡°A council,¡± Patty answered quickly, her grin looking genuine for the briefest moment. ¡°It would seat a few select members, chosen by popular vote from the different groups. Someone to represent the combat classes, someone for the crafter classes, and someone for the support classes. That way, when the council makes a decision, everyone will feel as though they truly had a say in what is decided, and we can work together to decide what information should be shared among the camp.¡±


    Spur was silent for a few moments, clearly deep in thought as he turned the idea over in his head.


    ¡°A council¡¯s not a bad idea to be honest,¡± he said slowly, seeming more and more on board with the idea the longer he thought about it. ¡°It would go a long way toward easing people¡¯s worries and calming the rising tensions around the camp.¡±


    ¡°I absolutely agree,¡± Patty said, her smile practically predatory.


    ¡°However, it¡¯ll have to be more than three seats,¡± Spur continued, causing Patty¡¯s grin to sour. ¡°I represent the camp as a whole, so my seat will be separate from the seat representing the combat classes.¡±


    ¡°If there are four seats, it will be too easy for a decision to come to a tie,¡± Patty pointed out quickly, clearly not wanting there to be any more than three seats.


    ¡°You¡¯re not wrong,¡± Spur nodded, grinning over at Vin. ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯ll also have a special seat representing foreign matters. Vin will take that one.¡±


    Vin stared at the grinning man, not sure he heard him correctly. ¡°You want me to have a seat on your fancy council? Have a say in the decisions we make going forward? Are you serious?¡±


    ¡°Are you kidding? If your news is half as important as I¡¯m starting to suspect it is, I have a feeling foreign matters are going to become extremely relevant sooner than we think,¡± Spur said, clapping him on the back.


    ¡°I think people would get upset at Vin just being handed a seat on the council when the others have to be voted in,¡± Patty said, shaking her head as if it were just too bad such an idea wouldn¡¯t work. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t want to make anyone more angry than they already are.¡±


    While Spur thought over this new point, Vin scratched his prickling neck absentmindedly, considering if he even wanted a seat on the council in the first place. He was a vagabond. A wanderer. Someone without any ties who went where the wind took them.


    Or at least he had been.


    He absolutely still was all that of course. Being sent to a new world certainly hadn¡¯t changed any of that. He had no plans for settling down and staying in camp for any longer than he had to after all. But he had more responsibilities now. He couldn¡¯t just up and leave the people from Earth to fend for themselves when he knew stronger threats were coming and he could very well be the reason their camp lived or died.


    The memory of Olga¡¯s dead and decaying body flickered through his mind, only with Alice lying there instead, her lifeless eyes open wide in shock as dozens of beetles worked their way through her corpse.


    He¡¯d do whatever he could to prevent seeing anyone he knew end up like that.


    Just as Spur seemed like he was going to agree with Patty, Vin spoke up, offering a solution. ¡°People won¡¯t get upset if you explain that it has to be me.¡±


    Patty and Spur both turned to him. Raising an eyebrow, Patty gave him a strange look. ¡°Not to be rude, but pray tell why it has to be you exactly?¡±


    ¡°I have the Polyglot passive,¡± Vin shrugged. ¡°It lets me understand and speak any language. What if we end up encountering people from another world sent here just like we were? You do realize they¡¯re not going to be speaking English, right?¡±


    Patty¡¯s eyes narrowed, but Spur just looked at him in confusion, something not adding up in his head. ¡°I thought your passive gave you a mental map of the places you¡¯d been or something?¡±


    ¡°My starter one does,¡± he nodded. ¡°But you get an additional passive selection at level 5.¡± That is completely true; no need to tell them about my free passive thankfully. I¡¯m quite a fan of living after all.


    His reveal sparked a few different interesting reactions. Patty¡¯s expression went from one of annoyance, to understanding, before quickly settling back into a mask of indifference. Spur looked at him in shock, before his face morphed into the largest grin Vin had ever seen. Most curious however, was the man who had been shadowing Spur this entire time. The large man¡¯s eyes went wide at Vin¡¯s revelation, and Vin distinctly noticed his hand almost unconsciously grip the hilt of his sword, as if he were fighting back the desire to unsheathe it and attack him on the spot.


    ¡°Are you kidding me?¡± Spur asked, laughing and clapping Vin on the back a second time. ¡°You were gone for one day! What level are you?¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s all the same to you, I¡¯d rather not say.¡± Vin looked between the two of them, waiting for an answer. ¡°So, do I get the job?¡±


    ¡°Buddy, you got the whole company,¡± Spur laughed, rubbing his hands together. ¡°Alright, that settles it! Time for a quick round of democracy, and then our first council meeting. Think you can wait an hour or two for us to fill the new seats without running away again?¡±


    ¡°I could use an actual meal,¡± Vin admitted, thinking back to all the strange vegetarian based hardtack he¡¯d swiped from Alka¡¯s deserted town that he¡¯d been eating over the past day. Nobody from Alka¡¯s village was going to miss it after all, so he¡¯d helped himself to plenty.


    ¡°Great! You go get some food, and I¡¯ll send someone to grab you when we¡¯re done here. Phil, come with me. It¡¯s gonna take us a bit to round up all the combat classes, and I could use a hand.¡±


    The man who¡¯d been eyeing Vin like he wanted to jump him nodded, falling in behind Spur as the two of them walked away, leaving Vin alone with Patty.


    ¡°As a support class yourself, I trust you understand the struggles most of our people are having,¡± Patty said, giving him a pointed look. ¡°Everything I¡¯m doing is just to try and make people¡¯s lives better. I hope you can see that.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s true, then we shouldn¡¯t have any issues getting along,¡± Vin shrugged. ¡°Though I trust Spur¡¯s judgment so far. We¡¯re in literally uncharted territory right now, and I think you need to give the man more than forty-eight hours before deciding he¡¯s unfit for the job of leader.¡±


    ¡°A lot can happen in forty-eight hours,¡± Patty whispered, quietly enough that Vin could barely hear her. Before he could respond, the woman turned and walked off, waving lazily over her shoulder. ¡°Well, I need to go run my own campaign and see about actually earning my seat on the council. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll talk soon though.¡±


    Watching the woman leave, Vin sighed, looking around at the poorly constructed camp and planting his hands on his hips. He had an hour or two to kill, and didn¡¯t really know how to do it. Though one thing was certain.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad all that political crap is finally over,¡± he muttered, hearing Alka¡¯s ghostly laughter.


    ¡®No kidding. I¡¯m surprised you made it through the entire thing without stabbing that woman.¡¯


    ¡°I told you, I just don¡¯t like death. Now¡­¡±


    ¡°Where do you think I can find some grilled sqerret?¡±

 14. The Numbers Mason....

    It turned out the answer to that question was the hastily thrown together mess hall. All it took was following the smell of roasting meat, and a few minutes later Vin found himself sitting under a tree with a grilled sqerret on a stick and his System interface pulled up in front of him. It seemed that with just under a hundred people in camp, food was far from one of their current concerns. They¡¯d brought enough rations to last them a few weeks even without supplementing their stores with the local critters. All Vin had to do was give the cook his name and he was provided one of his three allotted meals for the day.


    ¡°Maybe camp isn¡¯t so bad after all,¡± he mumbled around a mouth full of fresh meat. Taking his time and savoring the warm juices, he turned his attention to his interface.


    Vinnie Stone


    Explorer: Lvl 5


    Titles: None


    Exp. 10,950/15,000


    Strength: 13


    Dexterity: 14


    Endurance: 24


    Vigor: 15


    Focus: 14


    Magic: 3


    Attribute Points: 3


    Passive Points: 1


    Passives: Mental Map, Polyglot


    Skills: Tracking lvl 4, Spellcraft lvl 5


    Spells: Sense Stone


    ¡°Hey Alka, what level were you before you died anyway?¡± He asked, taking another bite of his sqerret. One of the reasons he¡¯d chosen this tree on the edge of camp was so he could converse freely with his tag along without looking like a total loon.


    ¡®I had just hit level 20 and prestiged my class from Fighter to Slayer. I probably could have hit a higher level in the few years I had since gaining access to the System, but I decided to focus on my skills over farming monsters for experience. Not everyone makes the same choice, but all the truly fearsome warriors do.¡±


    ¡°Hold up, our classes change at level 20? That¡¯s news to me.¡± Vin frowned, looking at the floating text that made up his life now. ¡°Why does this System give us so little information? I¡¯ve practically had to figure out everything on my own!¡±


    ¡®Everyone is entitled to a class change every 20 levels, but the options the System provides to you will be far smaller than your original class selection. Mine was rather large as I¡¯d practiced with so many different types of weapons, but I knew from the very beginning I¡¯d take the Slayer class if the Slayers accepted me. The Slayer branch of classes are rather special on my world; you have to be accepted by their organization before the System will offer them to you. As for the System¡¯s lack of information¡­¡¯ Somehow Vin could feel Alka shrugging inside him. ¡®No clue. I¡¯m sure there are plenty of people who¡¯ve spent years of their lives studying the System and could give you their theories, but I¡¯m certainly not one of them.¡¯


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t happen to know of any potential classes an Explorer might be offered, would you?¡± Vin asked with bated breath.


    ¡®Nope. The green sea was rather deadly. Few people from my world ever chose to leave the villages, and those that did made sure to stick to the beaten paths lest they stumble upon something that would be best left alone. You¡¯re the first Explorer I¡¯ve ever met.¡¯


    ¡°Really? The snakes didn¡¯t seem like they were that much of a threat. I mean, if I was able to spot them and avoid them, I doubt your Slayers would have much of an issue.¡±


    Alka¡¯s boisterous laughter gave him pause, and he frowned down at his chest. It really was a problem that he couldn¡¯t glare at her when she was inside him like this.


    ¡®The greentails, or grass noodles, as you call them, are far from anything my people would consider a threat. Do you recall the claw marks and pieces of armor left behind at the spot that stone woman¡¯s body was supposed to be?¡¯


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Vin nodded, shivering at the thought. His limited tracking skills had still been enough to tell him that whatever beast had left those marks had to be significantly heavier than he was. And had claws at least the size of his head.


    ¡®There are predators and monsters that live up in the giant trees that would give you nightmares if you ever laid eyes on them,¡¯ Alka said, her tone turning completely serious. ¡®Fighting those that come down and venture too close to the villages is one of the main duties of the Slayers. It is why they are so highly respected, and why few ever choose to leave the sanctity of the villages.¡¯


    ¡°Note to self, never step foot back in your world fragment,¡± Vin said, pulling his legs in closer at the memory of how he¡¯d stood under one of those giant trees and tried to peer up through the lowest layer of foliage. He¡¯d just been trying to admire nature, who knew the entire time he¡¯d been courting death?


    Guess it¡¯s one of the things that comes from being an Explorer in a new world full of magic and danger. Pushing his unknown near-death experience aside, he came back to his interface.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been kinda winging it so far in regards to my stats, but I feel like I should probably come up with some sort of plan for the future,¡± he finally admitted, staring at his six attributes. ¡°I suppose I could focus on one or two of them, or just try and stay all rounded. What would you recommend, Alka?¡± Just like other people, Alka wasn¡¯t able to see his System interface, but he¡¯d read her his information in its entirety earlier.


    ¡®Focusing on a single stat is the simplest way to get yourself killed, or make yourself useless,¡¯¡¯ she said immediately, her scornful tone making it clear what she thought of people who did such a thing. ¡®It doesn¡¯t matter what your class is, the System is designed in a way that you essentially need to divide your attention between multiple attributes. At the bare minimum, crafters need dexterity and focus. Melee fighters need strength, vigor, and endurance. Spellcasters need magic and focus. Granted, support classes are a bit of a grab bag, but you¡¯ll probably figure out soon enough what to put your points in if you haven¡¯t already.¡¯


    ¡°I don¡¯t really plan on fighting, so strength is right out,¡± Vin muttered, going down the list. ¡°Dexterity could certainly be useful, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s critical. Endurance is clearly the bread and butter of the Explorer class seeing as I get a free point in it each level. But while important, I think I¡¯ll be good relying on just those passive points for now.¡± He paused, staring at the next attribute. ¡°What exactly is vigor anyway? How does it differ from endurance?¡±If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡®Endurance is closer to stamina. The more endurance, the longer you can keep doing something strenuous. They are similar, but vigor is how much punishment your body can take. A warrior with a high endurance would certainly be able to withstand a heavier blow than someone without, but a warrior with a high vigor could take a hit that would be fatal to a normal person and shrug it off completely.¡¯


    ¡°Alright, that does sound useful,¡± Vin admitted, staring at his fifteen points in Vigor. It was already one of his higher stats, but it might be worth putting a point into it now and again. Of course, he¡¯d prefer avoiding taking damage entirely if given the option, but he doubted that would be the case. ¡°Increasing my focus was pretty much the sole reason I managed to avoid all the grass noodles, so I¡¯ll probably focus on focus instead. Heh.¡±


    ¡®Oh yeah, nobody¡¯s ever made that joke before,¡¯ Alka sighed. ¡®What about your abysmal magic stat? I can¡¯t believe you had a stat literally start at zero. On my world that would have been considered a disability for the record.¡¯


    ¡°Hey, I can¡¯t help that my world didn¡¯t have any magic in it!¡± Vin argued. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder none of us started with any points in magic! What was considered normal for your world anyway?¡±


    ¡®It differed, just like the other stats, but ¡®normal¡¯ for magic would have been anywhere between three and eight upon choosing a first class. Unlike the other stats, you can¡¯t really increase your magic prior to gaining access to the System, so the stat is purely based on aptitude and the environment you grew up in. I¡¯d heard of a noble house experimenting with forcing their heirs to spend the majority of their childhoods in magic saturated rooms in the hopes of giving them a better start when they turned sixteen, but those might have been baseless rumors.¡¯


    ¡°Good to know though,¡± Vin muttered, eyeing up his pitiful three points in magic. He pulled out the Sense Stone training artifact and admired the beautiful runework once more, tracing the spell lines with a finger. Raising his magic stat had not only filled him with what he suspected was mana, but allowed him to actually make heads and tails of the spell on the artifact. Maybe his Spellcraft skill alone might have been enough, but increasing his magic had certainly sped up the process.


    Before officially making his decision, Vin had one last thing he had to do. Trying to pay close attention to the strange, untouchable plasma that seemed to be floating inside him in a way not all that unlike Alka, he sucked in a breath and spoke the words of his new spell, his focus on the ground beneath him.


    ¡°Sense Stone.¡± Immediately, he felt a bit of that strange substance drain away into the ether; the edges of his mana pool seemed to outright vanish as the spell siphoned it for energy. As soon as that was done, his mind opened up, and he realized he could actually sense the rocks beneath his position.


    Just like Samtha had said, despite the fact that he was sitting on mostly dirt and normal ground, there were dozens if not hundreds of tiny rocks scattered all throughout the earth beneath him. His new sense seemed a bit fuzzy, and he couldn¡¯t quite detect the exact shape or sizes of each of the little rocks, but he could certainly tell they were there.


    With a start, Vin realized the spell was slowly leaching mana from his already tiny mana pool, and he let the working end before it ran him completely dry. He wasn¡¯t sure exactly what would happen if he ran out of mana, and he didn¡¯t want to find out.


    Grinning, Vin stared at the ground under him, now knowing exactly where each of the rocks beneath him was located. It was no exploding fireball or grand resurrection. But he¡¯d had his first taste of magic, and he wanted more.


    ¡°Alright, that decides it! The Explorer class is already doing a lot of work for endurance on its own, so I¡¯ll turn my attention towards focus and magic for now. Which first, means making this a tad less embarrassing.¡±


    Allotting his points from hitting level 5, Vin raised his magic from three to six, grinning at the thought that in one more level he¡¯d be just shy of double digits. He sucked in a breath as he felt his mana pool double in size, the sudden manifestation of intangible plasma within him warming him just a bit, offsetting the constant chill he¡¯d already grown used to from Alka floating within him all day.


    ¡°Magic¡¯s up to six, baby!¡± He said, pumping a fist and grinning at his new stats. ¡°How¡¯s that for disabled, huh?¡±


    "Congratulations,¡¯ Alka said drily. ¡®You¡¯ve finally achieved the starting point of the common Hedge Witch. I¡¯d be shaking in my boots if I still had any.¡¯


    ¡°Oh yeah? What was your Magic attribute before you died then?¡±


    ¡®...You do realize I could have bench pressed your body without breaking a sweat back when I was alive, right? I told you, I focused my efforts on my physical stats. Didn¡¯t really bother with Magic.¡¯


    ¡°That¡¯s a lot of words for ¡®less than six!¡¯¡± Vin said, grinning at the ghostly arm that floated out of his chest and tried to flick him in the forehead to no avail. ¡°Come on, let me have this! You told me you¡¯d hit level 20 before you died, obviously all your other stats are going to be leaps and bounds ahead of mine.¡±


    Alka was silent for a moment. Finally, she sighed, giving up on her attempts to hit him and pulling her arm back inside of him. ¡®Fine. I suppose I can live with you having a single stat higher than mine. After all, the stronger you are, the higher chance you manage to actually find a way to bring me peace.¡¯


    ¡°Good point.¡± Vin¡¯s grin faded at the reminder that Alka was only along for the ride until he found a way to help her die for real. She¡¯d quickly become his only real friend in this new world, and it was easy to forget her true goal. ¡°In that case, do you have any suggestions for my passive point?¡±


    ¡®I thought you took Polyglot with your level 5 passive?¡¯ Alka asked, clearly confused.


    ¡°Yeah about that¡­ So, I can¡¯t actually talk about why or how, but I actually have an additional passive point to work with. Sorry.¡±


    Again, Alka went silent for a few seconds. After what felt like forever, she finally spoke up, thankfully sounding more curious than annoyed. ¡®Don¡¯t want to talk about it, or literally can¡¯t talk about it?¡¯


    ¡°Literally can¡¯t talk about it,¡± Vin confirmed. ¡°I don¡¯t know the specifics, but I¡¯m pretty certain I¡¯ll just¡­ well, die.¡±


    ¡®Oh, that¡¯s all you had to say.¡¯ He felt her shrug, which was a rather strange sensation. ¡®Never saw any myself, but I¡¯m aware there are a couple of ways to earn additional points outside of level ups. Divine rewards, cursed objects, etcetera. If anyone asks, just say you found a cursed potion or something. As long as that doesn¡¯t get you killed of course.¡¯


    ¡°That¡¯s a great idea, thank you,¡± he said, relief flooding through him. ¡°So, suggestions?¡±


    ¡®I mean, you should already know by now that passives are pretty class specific. I doubt any of the ones I took would even be options for you.¡¯


    ¡°I know,¡± he sighed, opening up his possible choices and scanning through the list once more. The options were just as appealing as the first time he¡¯d gone through them, and he almost swore there were even more than before. ¡°They just all seem like fantastic choices, and seeing as I don¡¯t actually know what they do besides making a guess based on the name, I¡¯d hoped you had some advice.¡±


    ¡®Pretty much all passives are good. I wouldn¡¯t worry too much about your choice. There¡¯s more leeway with passive points compared to attribute points, but you still don¡¯t want to be that person who tries to hoard their points and ends up dying from it. I knew more than one Warrior who decided to bank their attribute points until they needed them and ended up paying the price for it. My advice is to pick something that sounds useful to you and go for it. Or if you¡¯re struggling that much, wait a few days and sleep on it.¡¯


    ¡°Probably for the best,¡± he sighed, closing out of his interface and stretching. ¡°Camp isn¡¯t too large, so I imagine Spur and them have got to be just about finished with their elections by now. I didn¡¯t get a chance to let Alice know about the sqerret hunting spot I found yesterday either, so I should take care of that first.¡±


    ¡®Good idea. The faster that girl levels up her Trapper class, the more terrifying of an enemy she¡¯ll be. I¡¯ve seen specialized Slayers take down beasts larger than a house with a single, well placed trap. She will make a good ally.¡¯


    Vin shivered at the image of Alice standing over a blazing battlefield, enemy soldiers simply exploding from plummeting rocks or falling into covered spike pits as they tried and failed to reach her; the woman laughing all the while as brilliant flames blazed around her.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he agreed, walking just a tad faster.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get her on our side.¡±

 15. So, Funny Story...

    ¡°The objective of these council meetings is to decide on the appropriate actions we should take as a whole moving forward, and to ensure each of the three class related factions making up our camp feel like they are being heard,¡± Spur summed up, looking around the small table that had been brought into the command tent. Just like he¡¯d said, there were now five people supposedly in charge of their small camp of Earthers, and somehow Vin the former homeless vagabond had ended up as one of them.


    Spur represented the camp as a whole and Vin was supposedly going to represent foreign matters, but the other three seats had in fact been filled by a few quick elections.


    Acting as the representative for the support classes, Vin was not surprised in the least to see Patty, wearing her too perfect smile and beaming at everyone sitting across from her at the table. He also recognized the representative for the combat classes as Phil, the man that had been shadowing Spur last they spoke, and who still seemed like he was itching to draw his sword on Vin for some reason. The final member, the representative for the crafter classes, had been introduced as a woman named Tasha. She was a short, serious looking woman that reminded him of a middle aged librarian who Vin had yet heard say more than a few words at a time. He wasn¡¯t certain how she¡¯d ended up as the representative to speak for nearly a dozen people when she barely spoke herself, but here she sat.


    ¡°Unless anyone has any pressing concerns they¡¯d like to bring up first, I figured I¡¯d give you all a rundown on what my current plans for the future were, and we could follow that up with Vin¡¯s report on what he found out in his travels,¡± Spur said, his eyes practically gleaming as he looked at the uncomfortable Explorer. ¡°Then we can see if any adjustments need to be made to my plans.¡±


    ¡°Tasha and I do have a pressing concern actually,¡± Patty said, drawing everyone¡¯s eyes toward her as she gave them all a warm smile. ¡°The support and crafter classes feel as though their desires are not being heard. Despite lacking the skills and strengths of the combat classes, they are being made to go out into this new, unknown, and recently proven dangerous world. I don¡¯t think I need to remind you we just lost three of our already few crafters to that recent monster attack.¡±


    Their eyes moved to Tasha, who simply grunted, nodding her agreement. In response, Spur sighed, leaning back in his chair and frowning at the two of them.


    ¡°Right now, what is more important than their skill set is their bodies. We need hands to collect materials and eyes to spot threats. They might not like it, but it''s necessary until we¡¯re more settled.¡± He held up a hand, cutting Patty off before she could argue. ¡°The three deaths were a travesty, of course, and I¡¯m planning to lessen the number of scouting parties we send out so that we can increase group sizes and ensure everyone is better defended. But we can¡¯t just let a quarter of the camp sit on their asses while everyone else is working hard.¡±


    ¡°I agree with Spur,¡± Phil said, managing to take his eyes off Vin long enough to nod toward the two women. ¡°I understand where you¡¯re coming from, but Spur is right. This is a military operation first and foremost. People have to learn to suck up their disagreements and follow orders.¡±


    ¡°Those people were forced into joining the military and you know it,¡± Patty frowned, tapping the table with a firm finger. ¡°What¡¯s to stop them from deciding that staying in this camp isn¡¯t in their best interest and finding somewhere else to live their lives?¡±


    ¡°I mean, the seemingly random monster attacks for one,¡± Spur said honestly, earning another glare from the woman. ¡°What? I¡¯m not going to sugar coat it. You honestly think I¡¯ll believe the weakest portion of our camp would survive heading out on their own? Come on, at least make a believable threat if you want to try and blackmail us.¡±


    Patty¡¯s face grew flushed and she leaned forward, no doubt about to give Spur some choice words before her gaze flicked to Vin for a moment. Vin watched in confusion as she hesitated, slowly sitting back down and taking a deep breath, seeming to collect herself. ¡°Well. I suppose that puts us at a two-to-two vote fight out of the gate.¡±


    ¡°Right you are,¡± Spur grinned, glancing at Vin. ¡°Vin? Thoughts?¡±


    Vin almost shrunk back from the four heavy gazes that landed on him, but he steeled his resolve, remembering why he was doing this in the first place. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m about to say this¡­


    ¡°I think you both have good points¡­ but your thinking is wrong, Spur.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡± Spur asked, a slight frown on his face.


    ¡°You¡¯re thinking about the situation as if we were still back on Earth, and not in a new world following a new set of rules,¡± he explained. ¡°The System gave everyone a class when we came here, but the different types of classes play by different rules. Those of you with combat classes for example gain experience and level up by fighting stuff, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Phil nodded. ¡°The stronger the enemy, the more experience we earn. And we have already confirmed that the experience is split evenly between all members that significantly contribute to a fight.¡±


    ¡°Right, so it makes sense for combat classes to engage in combat as much as possible,¡± Vin explained. ¡°But support and crafter classes function differently. I¡¯m an Explorer, so I gain experience by exploring. Look at what happened when you let me embody my class. I went off to explore the new world, and now I¡¯m probably one of the highest-level people here, right?¡±


    He watched Spur and Phil share a quick glance before Spur nodded, leaning forward. ¡°To be entirely honest Vin, you are the highest-level person in camp. By a lot. We haven¡¯t even been in this new world for forty-eight hours yet. After you, we don¡¯t even have anyone above level 3.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Vin scratched the back of his head, surprised by the news. He¡¯d joked about it to himself earlier, but he hadn¡¯t expected to actually be that far ahead of everyone else. ¡°Well, that¡¯s kinda my point I suppose. Skills and passives, and therefore levels, are the strongest tools available in this world. If you want high level people, you need to let them focus on what grants them experience. Let the crafters craft and the supporters¡­ do whatever their class is supposed to do.¡±


    The tent was quiet as everyone digested this information. After a moment, Spur crossed his arms, his face scrunched in thought. ¡°That makes sense¡­ A lot of the support classes are already gaining experience and leveling up, seeing as their classes tend to go hand in hand with the combat classes. It¡¯s the crafters that are lagging behind.¡±


    ¡°So let them craft,¡± Vin shrugged. ¡°Not to be rude, but the first thing I noticed after coming back today was the fact that the camp is a bit of a mess. Why not let the crafters work on improving it?¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°I was planning on relocating camp sometime within the first few days, so I was focusing on getting eyes on the ground and figuring out where the best place for that was rather than fortifying this location,¡± Spur sighed, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Unfortunately, our Explorer up and vanished, so it¡¯s been taking longer than I expected.¡±


    Vin felt his face heat up, and could hear Alka laughing quietly in his head while Spur continued. ¡°But you¡¯re right. My mindset has been all wrong since coming here. Even if we are planning to move, having the crafters work to improve this location would give them valuable experience to level their classes. Not to mention give us a point to fall back to if needed. Tasha, would you be able to keep your crafters productive and focused if we pull them from their current duties helping the combat classes? They may still need to help collect crafting materials however.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± was all the woman said, seeming extremely confident in the crafters she represented.


    ¡°I suppose all that¡¯s left is a vote then. All in favor of pulling back the crafting classes and allowing them to work on improving the camp?¡±


    Four hands went up immediately, and after a slight hesitation, Phil¡¯s hand joined them as well, making their first official vote unanimous.


    ¡°Well damn, I honestly wasn¡¯t expecting this council to be all that useful,¡± Spur said, letting his hand drop and barking out a laugh. ¡°Good job Patty, looks like your idea actually had some merit.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Patty said, looking far happier now that she¡¯d gotten her way. Vin had watched her through the corner of his eye during his entire conversation with Spur, and she¡¯d seemed both surprised and pleased by all the points he¡¯d made. ¡°I have to say Spur, I appreciate the fact that you are willing to change your mind when presented with reason.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d be a pretty crappy leader if I wasn¡¯t,¡± Spur snorted, shaking his head. ¡°Well, with that out of the way, let me give a quick rundown of what¡¯s to come before we get to our main event.¡± Spur stood up and grabbed a whiteboard, flipping it over to reveal a brief list of bullet points.


    ¡°Priority number one is determining the location for our settlement and moving our camp there of course,¡± Spur said, tapping the first point on the list. ¡°We need it to be defensible, with close access to water, and not too far from this location. We¡¯re assuming the System is going to drop waves two through nine at our current spot, so we want to prevent the need for a grand pilgrimage of thousands of people across too large a distance. Ideally, we wouldn¡¯t move our camp more than ten miles at an absolute maximum.¡±


    Oh crap, Vin thought, staring at the man with wide eyes. ¡°Uh¡­ Spur. Quick question. How far out have your scouting parties traveled at this point?¡±


    Spur paused, grabbing a nearby sheet of paper and scanning it over. ¡°Obviously we lost all our technology, and GPS wouldn¡¯t have worked on this new world without satellites anyways, so we¡¯ve been hesitant about moving too far too quickly as we don¡¯t want anyone to get lost. Not surprisingly, compasses don¡¯t work either. At our best estimate, our furthest team has traveled about four or five miles away from camp before returning, while most don¡¯t travel more than two or three.¡±


    ¡°I was afraid of that.¡± Vin rubbed his eyes, wondering how on Earth he was supposed to break the news about how this world was made. As far as he could tell, their camp was smack dab in the middle of a giant hexagon, about six miles from any one side. Through some crazy magic, the neighboring fragments didn¡¯t actually become visible until you got about a half mile away from the border, which meant no one else in camp currently knew that their new world was actually just a tiny hexagonal slice. Getting to his feet with a sigh, he gestured to Spur¡¯s chair. ¡°You might want to sit down for this.¡±


    Grabbing one of the empty whiteboards, Vin did his best to draw a hexagon with six equal, six-mile-long sides. Then he drew six identical hexagons bordering it. Tapping the middle one, he made a small dot in the very center and labeled it ¡®camp.¡¯


    ¡°So¡­ turns out, this world we¡¯re on? Edregon? It¡¯s actually got a rather interesting story behind it.¡±


    Over the next thirty minutes, Vin explained everything he¡¯d learned about the world so far. How the fragments bordered each other, how each one was actually a salvaged slice of a dying world, even how he¡¯d met the neighboring stone village and helped them retrieve their missing scout party. The only thing he decided to leave out was anything involving Alka. He figured they had enough to digest without also throwing out the fact that he was currently harboring a slightly murderous ghost inside his body.


    By the time he finished his explanation, the entire council was staring at him with wide eyes and open jaws. Even Tasha, the seemingly unflappable crafter representative, was looking at him like he was some sort of alien.


    ¡°So yeah¡­ that about sums it up,¡± he said, taking a seat and trying to ignore the four stares burning a hole through his head. ¡°My point is, I¡¯d recommend not traveling more than six miles in a straight line from camp without taking some serious precautions. Some of the fragments appear to be far more dangerous than others.¡±


    The council continued to stare at him, none of them seeming to be able to form a coherent thought. As he waited patiently for someone to finally say something, he heard Alka laugh.


    ¡®Well. I think you might have broken them!¡¯


    After a long, uncomfortable silence, Spur seemed to snap out of his daze first, shooting daggers at him as he stood up and leaned over the table. ¡°You encountered an entire village of humans living peacefully in this world¡­ and discovered that this world is unlike anything we could have ever imagined¡­ and you didn¡¯t think to tell me about either of these things immediately?¡±


    ¡°I was going to,¡± Vin argued, pointing at Patty. ¡°Then she appeared and this whole council thing started! You agreed to it, and I figured it would be best to wait and fill in the entire council at the same time!¡±


    ¡°Vin made the right decision,¡± Patty agreed, even her usual confident visage seeming a bit shaken by all the recent revelations. ¡°This is too much for just the two of you to know, Spur. Everyone living on this new world needs to know how it works.¡±


    ¡°I agree,¡± Phil said, scratching his chin and staring off into the distance. ¡°But we shouldn¡¯t tell them the parts about the other worlds dying to corruption, or whatever it was that did them in. No need to cause a panic that it might happen here as well. Or to Earth.¡±


    The thought of Earth falling to some sort of spreading corruption seemed to take the wind from Spur¡¯s sails, and he collapsed back into his seat, looking as though he¡¯d aged a decade. ¡°You¡¯re right of course. We¡¯ll let our respective groups know about how the world is made of fragments, and warn everyone about crossing the boundary. Vin!¡± Spur barked, causing him to jump.


    ¡°New orders for you. I want you to spend however long it takes to explore the rest of our current fragment and finally give me a goddamn map. After that, you need to figure out what the surrounding fragments are filled with as fast as possible. Just because your friends at the stone village don¡¯t want to start a fight, that doesn¡¯t mean the next group of people you encounter will be quite as friendly.¡±


    ¡°That was already the plan,¡± Vin confirmed.


    ¡°Good. I¡¯d prefer if you swung back to camp regularly, but I understand if it¡¯s faster for you to make a big ring around this fragment. But no matter what, I need you back here in time for the arrival of wave two, understand? Eight. Days.¡± He paused, tapping the table with each word as though to drive it home. ¡°There''ll be a thousand people coming with this next wave, and we need to present a unified front. I have a pretty good feeling you¡¯re going to blow our growth out of the water as you continue to explore, and I want the highest-level Earther by my side come wave two. Capeesh?¡±


    ¡°Yes sir,¡± he said, balking slightly under Spur¡¯s intense stare.


    ¡°Good. Now for the next item on the agenda.¡± Spur sat heavily in his chair, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples. ¡°Tasha, do any of your crafters know how to brew alcohol?¡±


    ¡°After that revelation, I think I need a drink.¡±

 16. Im The Map!

    Vin¡¯s next few days on Edregon were spent doing what he probably should have done from the very beginning. Following Spur¡¯s orders, Vin started in camp at the center of their fragment and travelled outward in ever increasing rings in order to map out all of the surrounding landscape.


    Realizing almost immediately that the task was going to require him to travel potentially hundreds of miles, he quickly purchased his third passive to help with the daunting task. One that he remembered seeing on his list that sounded perfect for what he had in mind.


    Distance Runner


    Thankfully, the passive did exactly as advertised. It didn¡¯t make him any faster, but as far as Vin could tell the new passive combined with his higher endurance enabled him to functionally run forever; his muscles never seemed to burn or get too sore. It didn¡¯t work for sprinting, but he could now comfortably run at about ten miles an hour for as long as he needed.


    Even with his new passive in tow, it still took Vin two days to fully map out their fragment. Regardless of how far he was able to see, his Mental Map only extended about a quarter mile to either side of him as he explored. That meant in order to map out everything, he had to run nearly a dozen full laps around their fragment; each one significantly larger than the last. Vin was able to keep track of the mileage rather easily thanks to his continuous small experience gains, and by the time he fully mapped out the fragment, he had run just over two hundred miles in two days¡¯ time, even after stopping for meals and getting a full night¡¯s rest.


    With his new map firmly locked in place inside his mind, he was now able to confirm that the fragment the System had dropped them off on was fairly consistent all throughout. Large meadows and scattered forests made up the entirety of their starting fragment, with a couple of small rivers trickling through here and there into assorted ponds.


    On top of that, while monsters were going to be an issue for sure, he was pleased to find that they weren¡¯t nearly as dense as he¡¯d originally feared. During his entire 200-mile run, he¡¯d only ended up encountering a few dozen monsters. Though each and every one of them had done its best to chase after him the moment it detected his presence.


    His tally included a few more of the annoying scorpion monsters like the one that had chased him out of the fragment that first day, a couple freaky looking bear things with too many arms that had tried loping after him despite their muscular build, and some scattered packs of far less threatening looking monsters that were similar to foxes back on Earth, albeit with purple fur and spiny quills running down their backs like a stegosaurus.


    The foxes had honestly been cute enough that he¡¯d been tempted to stay and watch them for a bit, though that cuteness factor had diminished slightly when they¡¯d caught wind of his scent and came after him like a pack of rabid dogs.


    That was the one thing each of the monsters he encountered seemed to have in common. Regardless of their size or shape, the moment a monster sensed him it dropped whatever it was doing and came after him with the intent to kill. Only unlike his first monster encounter, now that he knew what to look for and had improved his focus, he was usually able to pick out the monsters before getting too close to them. Combine that with his shiny new passive, and he could outpace and escape most of the angry monsters with relative ease.


    His first encounter with the giant scorpion had worried him that monsters on this world were like freaky terminator creatures that would never stop chasing you once they started, but it turned out they would in fact give up if you managed to put enough distance between you and them.


    On a more positive note for Alice and their hunters, he¡¯d also discovered a good chunk of new animal species scattered throughout their fragment during his two-day run. The creatures mostly consisted of different types of birds with a few ground critters thrown in here and there. And while none of them were nearly as cute as the sqerrets, any new food source was a big deal, and he made sure to make mental notes on his map about where the best hunting grounds could be found.


    His final surprise of the run had come at the very end, after he¡¯d finished his final lap and officially completed his mental map of the fragment.


    Fragment Fully Explored! 5,000 exp gained.


    Level up! Explorer Lvl 6.


    +3 Attribute points to spend.


    +1 Skill point to spend.


    Not only was the massive experience boost for fully exploring the fragment more than enough to knock him up to level 6, the rewards he got for exploring over two hundred miles of land and finding some new monsters and creatures put him dangerously close to level 7 already.


    Having made so much progress in only two days'' time, Vin was feeling pretty good about everything. After learning how much trouble his night-one disappearance had caused Spur, he¡¯d been feeling a bit guilty, and this was a chance to make things up to the colonel.


    Now he just had to put his Mental Map down onto paper for Spur, and with his conscience clear, he could finally put some much needed space between him and the steadily improving camp.


    -----


    Finally making it back to camp, Vin headed straight for the command tent. On his way, he pulled up his System interface, dumping his newest three points from hitting level 6 into magic and glancing once more at the biggest surprise he¡¯d gotten over the past few days.


    The section immediately below his class was no longer empty.


    Vinnie Stone


    Explorer: Lvl 6


    Titles: Human Vessel (Minor)


    Exp. 19,590/21,000


    Strength: 13(5)The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Dexterity: 14(3)


    Endurance: 25(2)


    Vigor: 15(2)


    Focus: 14(1)


    Magic: 9


    Skill Points: 1


    Passives: Mental Map, Polyglot, Distance Runner


    Skills: Tracking lvl 4, Spellcraft lvl 5


    Spells: Sense Stone


    Shortly after finishing up their first council meeting that second day on Edredgon, Vin had received quite the shock from the System. An unexpected message had come out of nowhere and interrupted his attempt at finding a spot to sleep that second evening.


    New Title Unlocked! Human Vessel (Minor). Reward: 10% of inhabitant¡¯s stats added to your own while serving as a vessel. Allow inhabitant partial body merger for one minute each day.


    Honestly, Vin had been more surprised to see an actual explanation about something given by the System than he had been to gain the title in the first place. Either titles were more special than skills and passives, or the System had simply decided to finally throw him a bone after so long.


    While the System didn¡¯t explain what he¡¯d done to earn the title, it hadn¡¯t taken Vin long to realize it had been about twenty-four hours since he¡¯d willingly taken the magical sword and accidently become Alka¡¯s new anchor.


    That night, Vin had also allowed Alka to try out the partial body merger aspect of the title, and she¡¯d been ecstatic when they discovered what it entailed. For a single minute, the two of them had flipped around and Alka found herself in the driver¡¯s seat of Vin¡¯s body. Not only that, but the 10% of her original stats Vin now benefited from doubled during that time, making her an even more fearsome warrior than she already was.


    Vin couldn¡¯t say he¡¯d really enjoyed watching someone else take over his body, but even he¡¯d had to admit watching Alka use his body to run through a few combat drills with her sword was terrifying. On top of the attribute buffs which had been a godsend for his 200-mile run, his new title gave him a fantastic trump card, even if it was only usable for a short time.


    And seeing as the title was called Human Vessel (Minor), he could only assume it would grow stronger the longer he and Alka remained connected.


    Pushing his daydreams of becoming some sort of professional medium to the wayside, he tried to focus on the here and now as he made his way across camp. He couldn¡¯t help but make note of all the work that had been done over the last two days.


    The once disorganized and hastily thrown together camp was beginning to look like an actual defensible position. Small wooden palisades had been erected, paths were dug into the earth, and he even made out what looked like foundations being laid for permanent structures. The crafters had clearly been busy, and he couldn¡¯t help but smile at the thought that he had a large role to play in that happening.


    Striding into the command tent, he found Spur in what was quickly becoming his natural habitat. Hunched over a dozen different papers and surrounded by white boards.


    ¡°Vin! Welcome back!¡± Spur grinned, pushing the white boards away and walking around the table to clap him on the back. ¡°That was fast! Finally ready to give me that map you owe me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m no artist, but I¡¯ll do what I can,¡± Vin nodded, letting Spur lead him over to a large canvas already spread out over its own table.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need every tree and rock. As long as you can mark the big stuff, it should be fine.¡± Once Vin confirmed he had what he needed, Spur let him at it, returning to whatever the heck it was he did all day.


    Pencil in hand, Vin stared at the canvas, briefly contemplating dropping his new skill point into Cartography before deciding against it. He hadn¡¯t sunk low enough for that just yet. Instead, he picked a corner of the canvas and got to work.


    The canvas was large enough that he could include quite a lot of detail in his admittedly poor drawing, and he quickly felt the effect of his newly buffed dexterity courtesy of Alka as his fingers worked to sketch out the myriad of forests and borders of meadows all around the fragment. He included possible hunting grounds, known sightings of monsters, locations of rivers and ponds, and even made notes of what animals he remembered seeing in what areas.


    With plenty of corresponding pictures of course.


    The sun had already gone down by the time he finished. When he finally put his pencil down and took in the map in its entirety, he was pleased with how it turned out.


    ¡°God damn,¡± Spur¡¯s voice sounded right behind him, causing Vin to jump in surprise and earning himself some mocking laughter from Alka. The man had snuck up behind him while he¡¯d been focused, and now was looking at the map with his brow raised. ¡°That¡¯s some impressive scouting you managed to do in only two days. How did you cover so much ground?¡±


    ¡°A ton of endurance,¡± Vin said, maybe a tad too quickly. He¡¯d almost mentioned his new Distance Runner passive before remembering he¡¯d already told Spur his level 5 passive was Polyglot. He could have tried to pass it off as having already hit level 10, but he felt like that would be a bit of a stretch to believe.


    Thankfully, Spur was too engrossed in the map to notice Vin¡¯s near slip up. His eyes flickered over everything Vin had included, and in practically no time at all, he slammed a finger down on a spot only a few miles away from their current location in the center.


    ¡°That¡¯s the spot!¡± He said, his smile growing wider by the second. ¡°That¡¯s where we¡¯ll start building our new empire!¡±


    Vin looked at the spot the colonel had chosen with such confidence. It was located in the middle of one of the largest meadows, but was still fairly close to multiple sources of water and had surrounding woodlands they could use for materials. On top of that, some of the possible hunting grounds Vin had indicated weren¡¯t too far away. There was only one issue that stood out to him.


    ¡°Spur¡­¡± Vin said, slightly concerned by the fire in the man¡¯s eyes. ¡°That spot is pretty close to some of the monster¡¯s I ran into. Are you sure building so close to them is a good idea?¡±


    ¡°For starters, we don¡¯t know how monsters actually work in this new world yet,¡± Spur shrugged, never taking his eyes off the map. ¡°They might suddenly manifest in completely random locations, or be birthed from some giant underground hive for all we know. We shouldn¡¯t base our selection off of the fact that a few monsters were seen close to that spot. And even if that area is higher in monster density for some reason, you said it yourself it¡¯s important for people to level, right?¡±


    Spur finally turned to look at him, his wide grin almost infectious. ¡°We¡¯ve already figured out that killing monsters gives a much larger amount of experience than killing animals does. Risk and rewards, and all that I guess. I know for a fact that a good chunk of our combat classes will be clamoring all over themselves trying to be the first ones to react to any future monster sighting. I¡¯m not too worried about them just yet.¡±


    ¡®I hope he¡¯s able to keep up that attitude when the monsters break down his village walls and slaughter scores of innocent people,¡¯ Alka all but spat as Spur turned his focus back to the map.


    ¡°Thanks again for putting this together Vin. It¡¯ll be all hands-on deck for moving the camp tomorrow, but you¡¯ve got a more important mission on your hands.¡±


    ¡°Figure out what we¡¯re dealing with when it comes to the fragments immediately surrounding us,¡± Vin nodded, remembering the council meeting.


    ¡°Exactly. With the directions you gave us, I already sent a few guys over to the rock village. Obviously the language barrier makes things difficult, but they already returned to camp and confirmed what you said. The villagers seem pleasant enough and seem willing to work with us in the future, but there¡¯s no guarantee any other people you find will be the same. Your job is to make sure one of the other fragments isn¡¯t inhabited by this world¡¯s version of Attila the Hun, got it?¡±


    ¡°I know, I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡±


    ¡°And when will you be back by?¡± Spur prodded, giving him one last glance over his shoulder.


    ¡°Wave two,¡± Vin rolled his eyes, the colonel¡¯s insistence on the matter fresh in his mind. ¡°I¡¯ll be back before wave two begins, like you asked.¡±


    ¡°Six days, Vin. We only have six more days.¡± Vin thought he saw a troubled look on Spur¡¯s face for a moment, before the man¡¯s usual smile returned. ¡°Let¡¯s have a brand-new camp and an even bigger map ready and waiting for humanity when they finally show up, alright?¡±


    ¡°Sounds good,¡± Vin said, returning the colonel¡¯s smile.


    ¡°Wonderful! In that case, you better go hit the hay and catch some Z¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got some exploring ahead of you!¡±

 17. Welcome To The Jungle

    Vin took a deep breath in through his nose, savoring the fresh air and swaths of open meadow before him. After discovering new world fragments and roaming the open landscape, returning to camp had almost felt like he was willingly walking back into that small cell the System had yanked him from back on Earth.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to believe I¡¯ve only been on this world for a couple of days,¡± he mused, thinking over everything he¡¯d accomplished as he took off toward the unknown fragment bordering the one he was beginning to think of as ¡®the sea of snakes¡¯. ¡°How fast do people normally level up Alka?¡±


    ¡®It depends on a lot of factors of course. Give a Leatherworker endless high quality hides and they¡¯ll level up in the blink of an eye. Stop a Blacksmith from getting their hands on any metal, and their progress stops entirely. On top of that, leveling gets a bit trickier as you start prestiging and your class narrows. The journey from level 1 to level 20 tends to take anywhere between a few weeks to a few years, depending on a person¡¯s environment and how driven they are. But the higher levels are far more complex.¡¯


    ¡°Complex? How so?¡± Vin watched a family of sqerrets roll around and play in an open field as he ran past, marveling once again how he could maintain such a running pace literally forever. Alka was quiet for a moment, as though unsure how to answer his question.


    ¡®When you prestige and select a new class, you grow in power naturally, but your focus narrows. Take myself for example. I chose Fighter as my base class because it is more well-rounded than something like Swordswoman or the like. As you¡¯d expect, with a class like Fighter, I excelled and grew with fighting. It didn¡¯t matter if I was fighting a greentail or some punk that looked at me funny, a fight was a fight.¡¯


    ¡®However, by prestiging into the Slayer class, my class focus would have narrowed. Basically, to continue leveling I would have needed to focus my efforts more towards fighting monsters and dangerous creatures rather than people or animals. Or at least I think that¡¯s how it works. Again, I died almost immediately after receiving my new class, so I might not be the best person to ask.¡¯


    ¡°Fair.¡± Vin continued running, just enjoying the feeling of the wind through his hair as he ran. ¡°Do you have to prestige when you hit level 20?¡±


    ¡®I think so? That¡¯s like asking if you have to pick up a sack of coins you found lying on the ground. If it¡¯s even an option, you¡¯d be a fool not to.¡¯


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, what if I don¡¯t want to go from being just a general Explorer to like, an ¡®Explorer of Forests,¡¯ or whatever the System offers me?¡±


    ¡®Whatever the System offers you will be based on the choices you made going from level 1 to 20.¡¯ He could practically feel Alka rolling her eyes. ¡®I¡¯ve never heard of anyone being disappointed with their prestige options. If you don¡¯t want to be an Explorer of Forests, don¡¯t spend so much time exploring forests. It¡¯s really that simple.¡¯


    ¡°I guess.¡± Vin spent the rest of the run in silence, thoughts of his future bouncing around in his head as he ran.


    What did he want to be an Explorer of?


    -----


    ¡®I hope you like swimming.¡¯


    Vin tried to ignore Alka¡¯s cackling laughter inside his head as he stood on the border between fragments, staring out at the miles and miles of open ocean. Just like the other two borders he¡¯d seen, it was as though a giant had carved an endless straight line into the earth, snatching away the preexisting terrain. But instead of placing a new chunk of land in its place, this time they¡¯d decided to fill the entire thing with water instead.


    ¡°How does this even work?¡± Vin exclaimed, watching the gentle waves roll in and crash against the edge of their grassland fragment like it was a solid wall. The ground he was standing on should have eroded away by now, or crumbled at least partially into the sea. But instead, the two fragments looked as though they weren¡¯t even touching one another.


    ¡®Gods and magic,¡¯ Alka managed between her laughter. ¡®Don¡¯t think too hard about it.¡¯


    Grumbling, Vin watched the crashing waves for a few minutes, trying to decide what to do. He was a pretty good swimmer, and he only could have gotten better with all the points he¡¯d had dumped into endurance. But he still didn¡¯t think that made it a good idea to try and swim his way through this fragment. What if this world had sea monsters? Or poisonous sharks? Hell, he wouldn¡¯t put it past the Gods that be to have filled this one with snakes as well, just to mess with him.


    Sighing, Vin stuck his head through the invisible barrier separating the fragments, careful not to fall forward into the water. Even just sticking his head through was enough to feel the salt in the air and the spray of water on his face.


    New fragment discovered! 500 exp gained.


    ¡°I bet there¡¯s some super cool underwater city down there or something,¡± he continued to grumble as he stepped back, staring longingly into the water. ¡°You just wait, Atlantis!¡± He shouted, shaking his hand at the vast ocean. ¡°When I get some sort of water breathing magic, I¡¯m coming back for you!¡±


    ¡®I wouldn¡¯t count too much on that,¡¯ Alka said as he turned and began running alongside the impossible border between meadow and ocean. ¡®Without a magic focused class or a teacher, few people ever get their hands on even a single spell. You got lucky with the stone village.¡¯


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll keep making my own luck,¡± Vin argued, not willing to give up on his goals of learning more magic now that he¡¯d had a small taste. ¡°I have the Spellcraft skill, and I¡¯m dumping points into magic like it¡¯s going out of style. All I need to do is find more runes and I¡¯ll figure it out for myself!¡±This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡®Whatever you say.¡¯


    With Vin¡¯s speed, it didn¡¯t take them too long to hit the next fragment bordering his own, and he had to stop and marvel at his first glance of three worlds converging at a single point. The first fragment, where he currently stood, was a gentle meadow with small hills rolling off into the distance. The next, a massive ocean stretching as far as the eye could see.


    And adjacent to both of those, was what Vin could only describe as an impossible forest.


    In all the time he¡¯d spent bumming around back on Earth, he¡¯d hiked through more forests than he could count. National parks, private property, even just random woodlands scattered across the country. He was pretty confident he knew what a forest looked like.


    And it wasn¡¯t this.


    Vin stared, bug eyed, at the hundreds of different species of trees all scattered throughout the edge of the forest. Bark color, leaf shape, trunk width, branch growth¡­ It looked as though no two trees were even remotely alike.


    ¡°How does a forest like this even happen?¡± He muttered, stepping across the border and laying a hand on the closest tree; a thick one that reminded him of the classic oak, other than the fact that its leaves were nearly a foot wide, and the trunk seemed to split into four separate trees at head height.


    New fragment discovered! 500 exp gained.


    ¡®I don¡¯t like this world,¡¯ he felt Alka shudder, somehow pushing herself even further inside him in an attempt to escape the wall of trees. ¡®Trees mean danger to my people. This is like walking into a living hell.¡¯


    ¡°It¡¯s certainly weird¡­ but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that dangerous. No creepy, super thick canopy above us at least like in your world, just a regular one,¡± he pointed out. While looking up, he spotted a striped lemur hanging from one of the nearby trees. The lemur gave him a curious look, almost as if it was wondering where he had come from.


    A sudden thought popped into Vin¡¯s head. Carefully watching the lemur and dismissing his experience notification for discovering a new species, he took a slow step back, exiting the forest fragment. Immediately after crossing the border, the lemur¡¯s eyes widened and it looked around, as though trying to figure out where he had gone.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think animals are able to cross between fragment borders,¡± Vin said, watching the lemur panic at his sudden disappearance. ¡°Hell, it looks like they aren¡¯t even aware of them somehow.¡±


    ¡®Gods and magic,¡¯ Alka repeated.


    Vin continued watching the lemur until it eventually gave up on trying to find him and darted away, swinging between the different types of branches. Maybe it was returning to its family to warn them of the scary, vanishing human it had found.


    ¡°That¡¯s another thing,¡± he said, venturing back into the forest and beginning to navigate through the dense tree line. ¡°Each fragment is only like 12 miles long at its widest point. I¡¯m no biologist, but I¡¯m pretty certain these fragments shouldn¡¯t be able to maintain their ecosystem¡¯s as well as they have. Especially with random monsters roaming around.¡±


    ¡®What part of ¡®Gods and magic¡¯ are you struggling with here exactly?¡¯


    ¡°All of it I guess,¡± Vin snapped, nearly tripping over a squat tree with branches that reached down and dug into the ground like roots. ¡°My world didn¡¯t have Gods and magic. At least, it probably didn¡¯t. If it did, it certainly wasn¡¯t as noticeable as this. I¡¯m just used to there being fairly simple, easy to understand explanations for most things.¡±


    ¡®I don¡¯t know what could possibly be simpler than Gods and magic.¡¯


    Sighing, Vin shelved the argument, not in the mood to leap into a theological debate with the ghost inhabiting his physical form at the moment. Obviously she was right, as what else could you possibly call beings capable of weaving fragments of entirely different worlds together besides Gods? But it still irked him to a degree when he was curious about how something worked and the only answer he received was ¡®Gods and magic.¡¯


    Maybe that¡¯s why magic interests me so much? I obviously can¡¯t just become a God, but nobody can stop me from studying magic.


    Vin contemplated his minor revelation as he continued deeper into the forest, stopping periodically to admire a particularly wacky looking tree or observe a new species. He found a skilled chameleon blending in with different colored bark as it hunted some form of hummingbird darting around too fast for him to make out. He watched a family of moles that seemed to burrow through wood as if it were dirt, setting up colonies throughout a few of the different larger trees. There were even a handful of foot-long centipedes that spiraled their way up the thinner trees like a snake, disappearing into the colorful canopy.


    He didn¡¯t like that last one all that much.


    Or at least, he wouldn¡¯t have if the System hadn¡¯t sent him a much-anticipated notification immediately after he spotted it.


    New species discovered! 100 exp gained.


    Level up! Explorer lvl 7.


    +3 Attribute points to spend.


    ¡°Well that makes the new nightmare fuel worth it at least! Shame some of the levels only give you attribute points and nothing else.¡±


    ¡®Oh no, only free Godly power beyond mortal comprehension; woe is you!¡¯


    Vin rolled his eyes and dropped the three points into magic, finally bringing his new favorite attribute into the double digits at a respectable 12 and enjoying the sensation of his plasma-like mana thickening. He still didn¡¯t exactly know how much increasing his magic was doing for him as he hadn¡¯t found another spell to try and learn yet, but he felt confident he was making a good choice!


    ¡°Man, seven thousand experience to hit level 8,¡± he muttered, eyeing his next threshold as he ducked and crouched his way under a series of low hanging branches. ¡°I¡¯m starting to see why some people take years to hit level 20.¡±


    ¡®You have no idea. You¡¯ve basically had most of your experience handed to you on a silver platter up until now. We combat classes actually have to work to level up you know!¡¯


    Before Vin could reply, he emerged from the cluster of low branches he was walking under and stood up.


    And found himself staring at the very sharp looking tips of six arrows.


    A half dozen archers, each wearing clothing and armor that looked like it was made from woven leaves and strips of bark tied together, had arrows nocked and trained on his chest. Vin knew next to nothing about weapons, but even he could tell that all of the short bows his ambushers held looked to be exceptionally well cared for, and he had no doubt that all six of the archers knew exactly how to use them.


    The strangest thing, however, were the archers¡¯ features. They had ears far thinner than a regular person¡¯s that ended in points, and their eyes were narrow like a cats. Their faces were sharp and angular, and despite looking like a mixture of men and women, each of the archers had long hair secured in a thick braid, some of them reaching all the way to their waists. It only took Vin a second to realize what these people reminded him of, and the System confirmed his suspicion.


    New sentient race discovered! 5,000 exp gained.


    While Vin took in the hunting party of what had to be elves, he slowly raised his arms over his head, hoping he wasn¡¯t about to be turned into a human pincushion. Holding his breath, he heard Alka mutter begrudgingly inside his head.


    ¡®Alright, maybe your class comes with some risk to it.¡¯

 18. An Unexpected Guest

    ¡®Come on, give me the reins, I can take ¡®em!¡¯


    ¡°You can not take them!¡± Vin hissed, earning himself a raised eyebrow from one of the closer elves. Clearing his throat, Vin smiled at his ambushers, thanking the System once again for offering him the Polyglot passive. ¡°Hello! I¡¯m Vin, an Explorer-¡±


    ¡°Silence!¡± One of the elves in the back shouted, pulling his bowstring back a few more inches and raising his aim from Vin¡¯s chest to his head. ¡°You have trespassed in the Sacred Forest, and for that you shall be punished!¡± Vin noted how the elf speaking to him had the longest ponytail of the entire group; his hair dangling down almost to his upper thigh. The other elves seemed to defer to the words of the shouting one, so either the hair was a total coincidence, or some sort of mark of seniority.


    Vin wasn¡¯t sure how to argue his case when he¡¯d been ordered to be silent, so he was thankful when the elf that had heard him muttering to Alka spoke up, glancing at their leader. ¡°Smohl, the human speaks the forest tongue. Perhaps we should bring him to the Ancient Ones? He clearly came from beyond the Sacred Forest. Maybe he can help us.¡±


    ¡°Or maybe he is part of why we need help in the first place!¡± Smohl shouted, directing his fury toward the elf speaking in Vin¡¯s defense. ¡°Hold your tail, Puwen, or you shall be punished right alongside this interloper!¡±


    ¡°At the very least, he should be sacrificed,¡± another elf, this one female, spoke up. Lowering her bow, she eyed Vin from top to bottom and licked her lips with a grin that sent shivers down Vin¡¯s spine. It was only now he realized the elves had sharp, pointed teeth that looked like they¡¯d be more appropriate on a shark than a person. ¡°If the Ancient Ones like the taste of him half as much as I think I would, they will be quite pleased.¡±


    ¡°It has been some time since we last had a proper sacrifice,¡± another elf, this one older with a thin scar across their face added calmly, lowering their own bow. ¡°Perhaps that is why the kingdoms once again believe they can enter the Sacred Forest uncontested.¡±


    The apparent leader, Smohl, looked like he was about to blow a gasket at everyone questioning his decisions, and Vin wondered if he was about to have a brain aneurysm right then and there. But after a few tense seconds, he seemed to calm a bit, gritting his sharp teeth and nodding.


    ¡°Fine. We bring the interloper to the village and sacrifice him as a fresh warning. Sending the kingdoms the proper message takes priority over my righteous anger after all.¡±


    During this little discussion, Vin had been waiting for an opening to try and escape, but the hunting party showed their experience. Despite the discourse within the group, there wasn¡¯t a single point where he didn¡¯t have at least three different arrows trained on his chest, and he didn¡¯t doubt that each of them would find their mark if he tried to make a move. Even if he turned his body over to Alka, she might be able to stop one arrow mid-flight with her insane skills, but he wasn¡¯t willing to bet his life on her stopping all three. Not when the archers were standing barely a dozen feet away.


    ¡°I think we should go with them,¡± he muttered as quietly as possible. ¡°Their Ancient Ones might be more reasonable, and they sound pretty powerful. Maybe they have the divinity needed to help you as well.¡±


    He could practically feel Alka hesitating inside of him as the younger looking elf and the one with the scar on his face strode over and stripped him of his pack and sword. But in the end, she didn¡¯t argue.


    The younger one grabbed his sword and freed it from its sheath, staring at the glowing blade with wide eyes as he lifted it up. ¡°Ancient One¡¯s sap this thing is nasty!¡± The elf with the scar slapped him on the back of the head, causing the excited elf to blush as he returned the sword to its sheath and fell quiet.


    ¡°He has a second object of power in here,¡± the female elf that had given him shivers said curiously, removing the teaching stone from his pack. Flicking her thin tongue in the air like a snake, she gave him a strange look. ¡°It is odd enough to find someone with two objects of power in their possession, but even stranger still is that they have different tastes. The human already has a unique flavor I¡¯ve never encountered before.¡±


    ¡°Then we are making the right move bringing him to the Ancient Ones alive,¡± Smohl said, turning and motioning for the party to follow. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean I am willing to listen to the words of an interloper. Myrn!¡± The leader barked, earning a jump from the young elf that had taken his sword. He¡¯d been busy admiring the hilt of the weapon and hadn¡¯t been paying attention. ¡°¡­If the interloper so much as speaks, use that blade you seem so interested in to remove his tongue. He¡¯ll probably still live long enough to make it to the Ancient Ones after all.¡±


    ¡°Of course, Smohl,¡± Myrn said, nodding quickly.


    Not wanting to risk the young elf¡¯s willingness to follow his elder¡¯s orders, Vin could do nothing but walk between the hunting party as the seven of them made their way deeper into the crazy forest. He was pretty certain the first rule of kidnapping was never let yourself be taken to a secondary location, but he wondered if that rule still applied when your kidnappers were heavily armed and planning to sacrifice you to their ancient God.


    ¡­You know, that¡¯s probably exactly when the rule applies.


    Vin hadn¡¯t expected them to make great time traversing through the thick forest of strange trees, but the party of elves surprised him once again. His captors somehow seemed to glide over the difficult terrain, traversing over roots and gliding between branches like they weren¡¯t even there. Vin swore he saw a few branches literally move a couple inches on their own at one point to allow the elves to squeeze through them more easily.


    Just as he was beginning to think they¡¯d make it to the supposed Ancient Ones without issue, a roar erupted from up above them, and a monstrous ape descended from the tree tops like a plummeting boulder. The leading elves dove backwards not a second too soon, as the large ape crashed directly into the ground where they¡¯d been standing just moments before, smashing its fists into its chest and letting out a second ear splitting roar that seemed to freeze the very blood in his veins.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    New elite monster discovered! 500 exp gained.


    Well that can¡¯t be good, Vin thought, staring at the hulking form of the elite monster before them. The ape had to be nearly 10 feet tall standing on its hindlegs, its arms the size of tree trunks. It was covered in a thin layer of black fur and had huge fangs jutting out of its mouth that looked like they would tear through Vin like butter. Its eyes were bloodshot, and they narrowed at the hunting party as the beast began charging toward them like an out of control gorilla.


    ¡°Trunkback!¡± Smohl shouted, as though the rest of the party had somehow missed the giant monster snapping branches and literally pushing small trees down as it rampaged toward them. Immediately, Smohl and the three elves that hadn¡¯t been forced to dodge the monster¡¯s initial landing drew and let loose their arrows so fast Vin barely saw them move.


    Unfortunately, their bows that had seemed so threatening just moments ago weren¡¯t quite so dangerous when it came to an elite monster.


    The elves had clearly trained for situations like this, as all four arrows were aimed directly at the monster¡¯s eyes, and Vin found out very quickly why that was the case. Showing some insane reflexes, the monster threw a muscular arm up to shield its face as it continued forward, intercepting all four of the elves¡¯ shots. And while the arrows did thud into the flesh of the monster¡¯s arm, they barely drew even a trickle of blood, doing absolutely nothing to slow the monster down.


    Vin and the elves dove to the side of the steamrolling monster, but the youngest one with Vin¡¯s sword was just a second too late. Finally reaching them, the monster swung its massive fist, connecting with the young elf as he attempted to dodge and caving in his ribcage, sending his body flying into a nearby tree with a sickening crunch. Vin had no doubt that the elf had died instantly, and his party seemed to come to the same conclusion.


    With guttural roars of grief, the five remaining elves loosed shot after shot into the monster as it turned and began charging once more, this time targeting the elf with the scar. The hunting party must have fired over two dozen arrows into the monster in those brief seconds, but none of their shots were powerful enough to do more than tickle the horrifying monster.


    Reaching its second target, the monster showed off its yellow fangs with a grin as it lashed out and caught the scarred elf by the leg as he tried to dodge away; the leg looking like a twig in the monster¡¯s massive hand. Spinning, the Trunkback turned and threw the elf at a different member of the party with such force that Vin heard numerous cracks as the two collided and were sent tumbling in a heap to the ground.


    ¡°Shia, hold it still!¡± Smohl shouted, continuing to pelt the monster with arrows in an attempt to draw its attention from the two downed elves. As if she¡¯d been waiting for her cue, the snake-like elf quickly threw out a hand toward the monster, shouting with a wild grin.


    ¡°Entangle!¡±


    Vin was startled as he somehow felt the woman¡¯s mana for the first time reach out of her body and imbue itself into the surrounding forest. Instantly, the forest came alive, bending to the woman¡¯s will and attempting to slow the beast down. Roots erupted from the ground, lashing around the monster¡¯s feet and legs while branches twisted from above, ensnaring its head and blocking the Trunkback¡¯s vision. In a single breath, the forest had been brought into the fight and immobilized the monster.


    But it wasn¡¯t enough.


    Letting out another bone shaking roar, the monster showed its incredible strength by reaching up and tearing the mass of magically empowered branches from its head in a single tug, throwing the wood aside before yanking a foot out of the pile of roots on the ground. Vin stared in horror as the monster quickly freed itself, the magical prison only able to halt its movement for a few seconds.


    Thankfully, that was apparently all Smohl needed.


    Carefully lining up a shot on the stationary monster, Smohl sucked in a deep breath and let his arrow fly. ¡°Piercing Shot!¡± He screamed as the arrow shot forward toward the monster¡¯s face with such force Vin could hear the wind whistling around its shaft. Just like the previous arrows, the monster¡¯s unnatural reflexes kicked in, and it threw up a hand to block the projectile.


    Unlike the previous arrows however, this one tore straight through all the layers of muscle making up the monster¡¯s arm, and continued forward to lodge itself deep in the monster¡¯s eye with a sickening thud.


    If Vin had thought the Trunkback¡¯s roars had been loud before, that was nothing compared to what came out of its mouth after being injured. The force of its roar was so powerful Vin¡¯s vision went black for a second and he stumbled, barely managing to stay on his feet. Glancing at the party of elves, he saw Smohl drop to a knee, blood dripping from the elf¡¯s pointed ears as Shia collapsed to the ground unconscious. The only other elf still standing, Puwen, if Vin remembered correctly, was leaning hard against a tree, his legs shaking and eyes half closed as he fought to remain conscious.


    ¡®I think now might be a good time to use your trump card.¡¯ Alka said, sounding far too casual for the situation. His head still reeling, Vin nodded, focusing on his title and suddenly finding himself watching his body move like he was an outside observer. Alka only had 60 seconds¡­


    But that would prove to be far more than she needed.


    The moment the ability activated, Alka dashed to the fallen elf that had taken their sword, grabbing the blade and spinning to meet the monster that was now leaping at them. The Trunkback must have somehow realized what she was going for, because it had immediately ripped its other foot free of the elf¡¯s spell and used its incredible strength to cross the distance between them in a single bound.


    Putting the elves¡¯ graceful movements to shame, Alka twisted his body in such a way that not only did she dodge the monster¡¯s earth shaking landing and subsequent smashing of its fists, she flicked her sword with disdain, lopping off the monster¡¯s left arm at the elbow as if all the thick cords of muscle running through it had been made of paper.


    From his backseat, Vin stared at the monster¡¯s stump in shock as blood began pumping out of it. The Trunkback itself seemed just as surprised as he was, its eyes widening as it held up its arm and stared in confusion at where its missing hand should have been. Alka didn¡¯t give it a chance to realize what had happened however, stepping leisurely forward and lashing out with her sword.


    In two quick slashes, the monster¡¯s legs were severed from its body, and the Trunkback crashed ungracefully to the ground. Before the monster could even cry out in pain, Alka stabbed forward, piercing its throat with her blade before yanking it to the side, decapitating the monster and sending its head to the ground with a wet splotch.


    In only a handful of seconds, Alka had taken the hulkish monster apart like a child playing with an old action figure. Cleaning their sword of blood with a quick flick, Alka turned and ginned at the wide eyed Smohl who was only just now pushing himself shakily to his feet.


    ¡°Well that was fun!¡± She said, eyes flicking between the remaining elves as she effortlessly spun their sword, showing off her dexterity with the blade.


    ¡°Who¡¯s next?¡±

 19. Lending A Shoulder

    Ignoring Alka¡¯s taunt, Smohl stumbled over to the two elves that had gone down in a tangle of limbs when the Trunkback had thrown one at the other. Dropping hard to his knees, the elf checked their pulses. At least one of them must still have been breathing, as the leader quickly turned and yelled over his shoulder.


    ¡°Puwen! Rouse Shia! Eigan is dead but Woad still breathes. We need her magic!¡±


    Vin and Alka watched as Puwen shook off the remains of whatever the Trunkback¡¯s roar had done to him, stumbling his way over before practically collapsing beside Shia; the unconscious elf that had cast the spell. Reaching into a small pouch on his side, he pulled out some sort of crushed up herb, holding it directly under Shia¡¯s nose. It must have been some sort of natural smelling salt, because the snake-like elf¡¯s eyes flew open immediately, and she began retching, recoiling from the herb.


    ¡°Broken branches, what''s going on?!¡± She cried, her eyes watering as she took in the scene before her. Seeing Smohl crouched over their fallen comrades must have been enough for her to put the pieces together as she quickly got to her feet and ran over. Taking one look at the downed elves, she crouched down, gently placing her hands on the scarred elf¡¯s body.


    ¡°Renewal.¡± She said, her hands glowing as mana flowed from her into the scarred elf. Vin watched in wonder as the elf¡¯s many broken bones seemed to shift back into the correct position, and the lacerations covering his body knitted themselves closed before his very eyes.


    Shia kept her hands on her comrade¡¯s body as the magic did its work, but as the seconds passed, Vin began to notice the sweat dripping down her face. Focusing on the sensation of the magic, he thought he could feel her mana pool rapidly thinning, and the woman appeared to be straining to squeeze out every last drop of what she had left. Eventually she got to the point where she¡¯d used so much mana no amount of straining would produce anything more, and she fell to her hands and knees, gasping for breath as sweat poured off her in buckets.


    It must have been enough however, as Smohl sat back with a sigh of relief, a small smile on his face. ¡°It was enough, Shia. Woad is stable for now.¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­ he is¡­¡± The woman got out between rasping breaths, her own shark-like grin plastered on her face. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ amazing¡­¡±


    During all of this, Alka stood in control of Vin¡¯s body, watching the scene play out before her with sword in hand. Vin knew their minute was rapidly ticking down, but he wasn¡¯t sure what the right move was here. Did they flee from the battered and beaten down elves while they were distracted? Did they continue on to meet the mysterious Ancient Ones? The only thing he knew for sure was that if Alka moved to strike the remaining elves down he would yank control back before she could reach them. Their party had suffered enough from the Trunkback as it was.


    Thankfully, Alka didn¡¯t try and lunge forward to finish what the Trunkback had started. To his surprise, she calmly walked over to the first elf that had fallen, picking up their scabbard from the ground and sheathing their sword. Grabbing his fallen pack, she secured both once more on his person. Before Vin could start to wonder what was going on, he found himself jerked back into his own body, once again in control of himself.


    ¡®Something is wrong in this forest,¡¯ she said. ¡®I can only assume that the Great Reset your stony friends talked about must have happened to everyone brought to this new world. These people fought like skilled warriors, but their attacks had no force behind them. Other than that one¡¯s Piercing Shot, which must have been his first capstone skill.¡¯


    ¡°Interloper,¡± Smohl called out, startling Vin as the elf stood up and frowned at him. ¡°...thank you for saving our lives.¡± The words seemed almost more painful to the elf than the Trunkback¡¯s roar had been, but he said them anyway. ¡°Clearly you possessed the skill to have fled at any point while we were distracted. Instead, you chose to stay and slay the monster for us. Why?¡±


    Vin stared at the elf that had argued he should be killed on the spot to his comrades. Sighing, he turned to take in the two dead elves; each one a mess of broken bones and ruptured organs. He felt his stomach lurch at the gruesome sights, but he managed to keep his lunch down, if only just barely. ¡°Is it that hard to believe I just don¡¯t want to see people die?¡±


    Smohl said nothing, staring at him for a few more seconds before turning toward his comrades. ¡°Puwen. You and I will carry Woad back to the village. Shia used too much of her mana and needs to rest. Interloper,¡± he glanced over his shoulder. ¡°...you should come with us.¡±


    ¡°Smohl, you can¡¯t be serious-¡± Puwen began before Smohl cut him off with a raised hand.


    ¡°Not as a sacrifice of course. Not after what you did for us.¡± Smohl pursed his lips, his expression pained. ¡°...I should have listened to Puwen from the beginning. You should meet with the Ancient Ones. Maybe you will be able to help us. Either way, the choice is yours.¡±


    Having said his part, Smohl strained to pick up the scarred elf, and Puwen quickly joined him. The two of them began making their way through the forest once more, albeit far more slowly now that they had an unconscious elf to carry. Shakily getting to her own feet, Shia turned and gave him an uncertain grin, her pointed teeth still sending small shivers down Vin¡¯s back.


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d be willing to lend me a hand?¡± She asked, pushing a few strands of hair that had come loose from her braid behind her pointed ears.


    Until now, Vin had been a little distracted by the whole held at arrowpoint situation to really take in the elves completely. He¡¯d noticed their clothing consisted of little more than bark and leaves, but he hadn¡¯t realized just how weird it truly was.


    Like the other elves, Shia¡¯s clothes appeared to consist of interlocking leaves woven together as if they were some sort of natural chainmail, with a few thin pieces of bark acting as additional armor attached to her via woven vines. Vin could only assume either there was some magical element involved, or that the elves favored mobility over armor, as the entire outfit looked like it wouldn¡¯t stop so much as a butter knife.


    Looking at her, Vin had to admit Shia herself was rather attractive. Her skin looked almost unnaturally soft, and like the rest of her party, she was in incredibly good shape. Vin could easily think of a dozen people he¡¯d met in his travels back on Earth that would have thrown themselves at her feet if they¡¯d ever met her in person.


    Shame he couldn¡¯t stop imagining those pointed teeth ripping out his jugular every time she smiled.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Doing his best to ignore the shivers her smile continued to send down his spine, he stepped forward and offered the elf his arm. Clearly not expecting him to actually help her, Shia quickly hid her surprise behind another shark-like grin and gracefully accepted his arm, leaning heavily on him as they followed the other two. Vin realized pumping all of her mana into her spell must have been far more draining on the elf than she was trying to let on, as it felt practically more like he was carrying her than just helping her walk.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± He couldn¡¯t help but ask as her legs refused to stop shaking.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± she grinned, sending a fresh shiver down his back. ¡°Just used up a little too much mana back there. Had to make sure Woad would pull through.¡±


    ¡°I noticed. That was an impressive spell you used. I sensed you funneling your mana into him.¡±


    ¡°Ah, a mage yourself, are you?¡± Her grin widened at the compliment. ¡°I should have suspected after finding those objects of power in your pack.¡±


    ¡°Well, a wanna-be mage I suppose,¡± Vin admitted, sheepishly thinking about his ability to sense rocks compared to the elf¡¯s ability to command a forest to fight for her and to heal severe wounds. ¡°I only know one spell so far. But I''ve been dumping all my attribute points in magic the past few levels, and I have the Spellcraft skill!¡±


    Despite her looks, the elven woman still terrified him. However, she was the first person he¡¯d met that seemed to have a good handle on magic, and he¡¯d be a fool to waste the opportunity to learn.


    ¡°Well now, that¡¯s all you really need to start your journey to becoming a mage. That and a willing teacher of course.¡±


    ¡°Who taught you your magic? The Ancient Ones?¡± Suddenly the thought of meeting the people Smohl had been planning on sacrificing him to excited him. What was a little risk of death when the supposed all powerful murderers might teach him a spell or two?


    His newfound fascination toward magic might be starting to become unhealthy.


    Snorting at his question, Shia shook her head. ¡°The Ancient Ones have far more important things to do than teach me magic. No, I learned from my master. A Druid far more powerful than I could ever hope to reach. Even before our powers were stripped from us.¡± This last sentence was muttered almost too quietly for Vin to hear, but the words were spoken with both anger and longing.


    ¡°Did your people also lose their levels and skills about three months ago?¡± He asked, earning a shocked look from the elf.


    ¡°Also? You mean it wasn¡¯t a targeted attack on our Sacred Forest by the surrounding kingdoms?¡±


    ¡°No, it definitely wasn¡¯t,¡± he confirmed. ¡°Though the truth might not actually be any better. What do your people think happened?¡±


    ¡°The surrounding kingdoms have always been angered by our Sacred Forest lying directly between them. Only a few weeks after they formed an official alliance, we suddenly found ourselves stripped of our levels and a massive portion of our Sacred Forest gone; replaced with strange terrain that hadn¡¯t been there the day before. We waited for the knights to ride in and attack us in our vulnerable state, but they never came.¡± Shia stared off into the distance. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t the surrounding kingdoms, who was it?¡±


    Oh boy, this never gets any easier. If this keeps up, I should have business cards made with this information printed on them or something. Refining his explanation a bit further every time he went through this, Vin quickly informed her of what he knew about this new world. To his surprise, rather than shock or disbelief, Shia sighed in relief once he was done.


    ¡°Oh thank the Ancient Ones! These past few months we¡¯ve been waiting with bated breath for the kingdoms to finally come and finish their attack, never knowing which day would be our last. If what you say is true, we no longer need to fear being run down and our Sacred Forest destroyed!¡±


    ¡°I mean, yeah that¡¯s good and all¡­ but aren¡¯t you worried about the whole ¡®ripped from your world¡¯ thing?¡±


    ¡°So long as we have our forest and the Ancient Ones, it doesn¡¯t matter where we are,¡± Shia smiled. ¡°Not to mention defending the forest from roaming monsters had grown increasingly perilous in the months leading up to losing our levels. Many of our peoples¡¯ lives were lost, so hopefully this gives us the chance to heal and regrow. Even my master, unquestionably the strongest of us, nearly lost his life defending the Sacred Forest from a flying monster five times the size of that Trunkback. If we¡¯d suffered many more attacks like that, we would have been finished.¡±


    Five times?? Vin struggled to even imagine a creature that large, let alone think about fighting one. It sounded like the corruption he¡¯d heard about from the stone villagers truly had spread across the entire universe.


    ¡®I sure hope we get to fight something like that before you give me my final rest!¡¯


    Battle junkie, Vin thought, not willing to risk whispering the insult with the elf literally hanging off his arm.


    The two of them walked in silence for a bit. Vin didn¡¯t know how long it took for someone¡¯s mana to replenish from near empty, but Shia didn¡¯t seem to be in any rush to let go of his arm. After a few minutes, Vin decided to try his luck.


    ¡°So I was wondering¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but it is highly taboo for my people to sleep with those that come from outside the forest,¡± Shia sighed, shaking her head. ¡°As much as I would love to partake in your flesh, I¡¯m afraid I must decline.¡±


    ¡°What? No!¡± Vin said, possibly louder than necessary. Partake in my flesh? That sounds way too much like she wants to eat me. ¡°I wanted to know if you¡¯d be willing to teach me any of your magic!¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ well, that is a different matter!¡± Shia grinned, giving him a fresh look at her pointed teeth. Seriously, what did her diet consist of, pure gristle? ¡°Assuming the Ancient Ones don¡¯t sentence you to death, I¡¯d be happy to teach you a spell or two as thanks for saving our lives. I always wanted to try being someone¡¯s master, but I am not old or strong enough to take on a student just yet.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯d happily be a test student for you.¡± Vin¡¯s mind went to the two spells he¡¯d witnessed the Druid cast. Both Entangle and Renewal had seemed extraordinarily useful, and he¡¯d be happy to learn any such spells from the elven woman. While imagining what she must have been like before the Great Reset, a thought crossed his mind.


    ¡°Did you lose access to your spells when you lost your levels? I know everyone lost their attribute points and skills, but I haven¡¯t really met any spellcasters yet.¡±


    ¡°Some of them. Spells that were granted to me via my class were lost, but the spells I¡¯d learned through devoted study and with the assistance of my master remained with me. However, a good number of them require more mana than I currently possess with my reduced magic attribute, and my focus is no longer high enough to maintain the runic formations within my personal mana, so I am unable to cast them as I am now.¡±


    Ah, that makes sense. He¡¯d wondered how losing a spell he¡¯d spent hours or days learning would have worked. He was thankful to hear the System wasn¡¯t just scooping large chunks of memory out of peoples¡¯ heads. That would have been a tad concerning.


    ¡°Shia!¡± He heard Smohl¡¯s voice from up ahead. ¡°Is the interloper still with us?¡±


    ¡°Yes, he¡¯s still here!¡± She called back, giving Vin one more pointed smile.


    ¡°Well then hurry and catch up!¡± Smohl called back, sounding exasperated. ¡°The village is just up ahead.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s time for him to meet the Ancient Ones.¡±

 20. The Ancient Ones Await

    The elven village was every hippie¡¯s wet dream come to life. Somehow the elves had managed to grow trees in such a way that they formed the very walls and ceilings of their houses, making every single one of the hundreds of houses Vin could make out a living work of art. Some houses were short and stout, decorated with sprawling root systems while others were thin and stretched up into the forest canopy, allowing plenty of room for their people without having to expand the borders of their village very far.


    New village discovered! 400 exp gained.


    Vin briefly wondered why his experience gained for discovering the elven village was higher than what he¡¯d received for the stone village, but his attention was pulled elsewhere as the residents of the village quickly noticed their arrival.


    Immediately, a handful of elves ran over and took the unconscious elf from Smohl and Puwen, rushing him away to what Vin could only assume was some sort of hospital. Two more ran over to assist Shia, but she waved them off, clutching Vin¡¯s arm all the tighter and causing some wide eyes when the helpers realized she was being supported by a human.


    The hunting party¡¯s clear injuries, combined with their missing members, caused a small stir to spread through the village.


    But that was nothing compared to their reaction to him.


    News of Vin¡¯s arrival spread like wildfire, and he¡¯d barely taken a few dozen steps into the village before a small crowd had formed around them. Staring at the hundreds of sets of pointed teeth, Vin finally understood what the last french fry in a fast food bag must feel like. To his surprise however, most of the elves were looking at him with curiosity or shock rather than anger, as though they¡¯d never seen a human before and were wondering what he was doing here. Though there were certainly a few that looked at him with undisguised hatred or fury, and Smohl must have noticed as he raised his voice for all to hear over the low murmuring.


    ¡°The outsider is being taken to the Ancient Ones!¡± He announced, his words echoing throughout the village. Immediately, as if he were Moses parting the Red Sea, the hundreds of elves making up the crowd split aside in an instant, opening a path for them to travel deeper into the village. Even the elves with clear disdain for him stepped out of the way, their loyalty and belief in the Ancient Ones seeming to trump their hatred for humans.


    ¡°These Ancient Ones must be something special,¡± he muttered, eyeing the many faces within the crowd as they walked through. His comment had been meant for Alka, but Shia, still clinging to his arm, must have heard him as she gave him a questioning look. Realizing his polyglot passive would have made it sound like he''d been moaning under his breath as he spoke in ghost-ese, he cleared his throat and repeated himself, in the elven tongue this time.


    ¡°That¡¯s putting it lightly,¡± Shia chuckled, waving lazily at a few other elves in the crowd openly staring at Vin with something far too close to hunger for his liking. ¡°The Ancient Ones have been our sworn protectors for millennia now. Without them, the Sacred Forest would have been overrun centuries ago. They keep us safe, so it¡¯s no wonder the people act the way they do. I¡¯m actually one of the few elves who view them merely as powerful protectors. Most of these people before you venerate them as living Gods.¡±


    The village was dense enough that it took them a couple of minutes to reach the center, and Vin could only stare in awe at what he found. It had been hidden by the numerous trees at first, but there was no hiding this natural monument for long.


    Standing tall and proud in the center of the village was a monstrous conglomeration of different trees. Hundreds of unique trees had somehow been woven, spun, and grafted together to form one single, gigantic tree reaching far into the canopy. The tree had to be at least a hundred feet wide, and Vin couldn¡¯t even begin to imagine how tall it was. He¡¯d once visited the National Monument in D.C. and the living structure standing before him put that to shame.


    ¡°Even if I don¡¯t see them as Gods, I do have to admit their house is pretty impressive,¡± Shia said, chuckling at Vin¡¯s expression. ¡°We call it the Tree of Ancients. For pretty obvious reasons.¡±


    Vin managed to pull his eyes from the upper reaches of the Tree of Ancients, and he finally noticed the dozen elves surrounding the tree¡¯s roots; each one holding a gnarled staff in their hands. Each stood tall, their many staffs planted on the ground and glowing a strong, green light as they bowed their heads in what could have been either meditation or prayer. From this distance, Vin was just able to sense the mana flow going from the elves directly into the ground, before the roots sucked it all up like a bone-dry sponge. He supposed that answered his question as to how such a gigantic plant received the nutrients it needed to survive.


    ¡°Gods and magic,¡± he whispered as he took in yet another miraculous sight that he never would have experienced back on Earth. Every time he stumbled onto something like this he thanked both his past self for choosing the Explorer class, and the System for making all this possible.


    Smohl seemed not only content to give him a few minutes to bask in the glory of their sacred tree, but even a bit satisfied, as though despite his dislike of humans he was proud to show off his village and all its glory. Eventually however, they had to continue moving.


    Before Vin knew it, he was standing at the base of the Tree of Ancients, staring up in awe at the towering structure. This close he was better able to make out where one species of tree ended and another began, but unlike the grown houses they¡¯d passed, there were no hollows in this tree acting as natural windows. It was one unified, glorious work of art.


    While the crowd had let them pass without incident, the mass of elves had followed the hunting party as they walked, even picking up more people along the way. A quick glance back showed Vin what had to be at least a few thousand elves gathered behind them, packed into every possible opening and even climbing on top of the nearby tree houses.


    Clearing his throat, Smohl spoke to the Tree of Ancients. ¡°Oh Ancient Ones! A wandering Explorer has entered our Sacred Forest. Despite our initial hostility, he saved our party by slaying an attacking Trunkback, and has asked for an audience with you!¡±


    ¡®I don¡¯t recall us ever actually asking for an audience with their tree God, you know. They kinda just decided all that themselves.¡¯


    ¡°Shush!¡± Vin hissed, not wanting to miss whatever was about to happen. He was glad he¡¯d kept his eyes locked on the tree, because only moments after Smohl had finished speaking a small portion of bark at the bottom of the tree began wavering like a disrupted mirage, before a man stepped directly out of the shimmering wood.


    While humanoid, the man was clearly far from human. His skin was brown and grainy, like the bark of an old oak tree stretched into a human form. His clothes were similar to the woven, interlocking leaves that the elves wore, except for the fact that his seemed to be growing out of his own bark-like skin. The whites of his eyes were instead a soft green, and the pupils a rich, deep brown that focused first on Smohl, before shifting to land on Vin. The being that could only be an Ancient One smiled, and Vin let out a sigh of relief he hadn¡¯t realized he¡¯d been holding when the being¡¯s teeth were revealed to be similar to his own rather than pointed like the elves. After taking in the strange man, Vin¡¯s eyes widened at the System notifications that popped up.


    New magical beast discovered! 500 exp gained.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    New sentient race discovered! 6,000 exp gained.


    Level up! Explorer lvl 8.


    +3 Attribute points to spend.


    +1 Skill point to spend.


    ¡°Hello, young human,¡± the Ancient One said, his voice rich and deep for having such a thin frame, as if he were actually three times his size. ¡°Welcome to the Sacred Forest.¡±


    As Vin quickly dismissed his latest notification, he was startled by a flurry of movement all around him. Every single elf, regardless of age, gender, or any other discernible feature like the length of their braids, suddenly had their faces pressed against the ground, bowing in reverence toward the Ancient One. Even Shia, for all her talk about not seeing the Ancient Ones as Gods, had her face pressed against the soil. Seeing the panic in Vin¡¯s face, the Ancient One let out a soft chuckle, which sounded more like branches shaking in the wind than actual laughter.


    ¡°Fear not, my young human. I don¡¯t expect you to bow. For centuries, my people have tried to get the elves to view us less as deities and more as partners, but alas, they refuse.¡± As he spoke, the Ancient One gazed upon the bowing elves with a clear expression of love, like an elderly man watching a group of his grandchildren playing in his garden. ¡°Do not worry. Once we have left they will loosen up and go about their day.¡±


    With the wave of his hand, the bark of the giant tree rippled once more, and Vin found himself staring at a dark wooden door suddenly inset within the tree as though it had always been there.


    ¡°Please. After you.¡± The Ancient One said, opening the door and motioning for Vin to head in first.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Vin said, carefully stepping past the bowing elves and approaching the Ancient One. He certainly wasn¡¯t about to not venture into the gigantic magic tree when invited in after all. Hoping he was concealing his manic grin of excitement, Vin stepped through the door and found himself standing inside a small but cozy sitting room.


    Not surprisingly, seeing as he was inside a giant tree, the walls, floor, ceiling, and pretty much every other aspect of the room was made of wood. What was interesting however, was how much variety and creativity the Ancient Ones had managed despite that. The floor was a rich, brown lacquered wood, while the walls were more like the inside of a log cabin made from different types of tree. There was a small table growing out of the floor with two chairs that seemed to be made from small trees, their branches woven together to form the backrest. There even seemed to be some sort of kitchen attached to the side of the room with an assortment of cabinets, though Vin couldn¡¯t even begin to guess what might be inside them.


    ¡°Please, have a seat,¡± the Ancient One said, gesturing for Vin to take one of the two chairs. ¡°Care for a drink? Tea? Coffee? If it can be grown, I can provide it for you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, tea would be great, thank you!¡± Vin said, surprised by both how comfortable the living chair was and the Ancient One¡¯s hospitality. Silence stretched across the room for a few minutes as the Ancient One prepared tea for them both. Vin was more than happy to simply look around the room, getting an inside view of the humongous tree and marveling at how magic had been used to create such a wonder.


    Finally, the Ancient One joined him at the table, taking the seat across from him and placing two wooden cups filled with steaming tea in front of them. ¡°We don¡¯t have milk or sugar unfortunately, but let me know if you would like any honey.¡±


    ¡°Uh, this should be fine. Thank you,¡± Vin said, taking a tentative sip of the tea. It was the strangest blend of earl grey and herbal tea that he¡¯d ever experienced, but it was tasty enough and gave him something to do besides gawk at the strange man in front of him.


    Unfortunately for him, the Ancient One seemed content to wait as long as it took for Vin to finish sipping his tea, simply continuing to smile at him like a kindly old grandfather watching his favorite grandson. Eventually, Vin had to pause, and he sighed as he put down his cup. He waited a few more seconds, but when the Ancient One made no move to speak, he decided to get the ball rolling.


    ¡°Do you mind if I ask you something?¡±


    ¡°By all means, please go ahead,¡± the Ancient One said, continuing to smile.


    ¡°I can¡¯t quite understand the mixed signals I¡¯m getting from you and the elves about humans. When I first ran into Smohl and his party, there was an argument about whether to kill me or to sacrifice me to you. When we entered town, most of the elves looked at me more like I was an object of curiosity rather than something to be feared or hated. And you seem to have nothing against humans either. Well, that or you¡¯re just giving me a nice last meal before the sacrifice or whatever.¡±


    The Ancient One nodded along with his points, not speaking until Vin had finished. ¡°None of that was a question you know.¡±


    ¡®Oh great, he¡¯s doing the ¡®wise and annoying elder¡¯ trope. I hate those kinds of people.¡¯


    Vin rolled his eyes, silently agreeing with Alka on this one. ¡°Then I suppose I¡¯ll officially ask. Why the strange, mixed reaction toward humans?¡±


    The Ancient One leaned back in his chair, and Vin was surprised to realize the sounds of groaning wood were coming from his body rather than the furniture. ¡°The history of the Sacred Forest stretches back countless generations, and I doubt you wish to spend the next few weeks here learning all of it. The short version is that the surrounding kingdoms, primarily made up of humans, orcs, and elemental-kin, disliked not being able to take what they wanted from the Sacred Forest, and they tried more times than you can imagine to invade. As a result, the elven warriors have fought against humans for as long as they can remember. That is bound to breed resentment, even if it is unwarranted.¡±


    ¡°So you don¡¯t share their anger?¡±


    ¡°My people live long, long lives,¡± the Ancient One said, chuckling. ¡°While I admit the majority of other races I have encountered over the years have been of the raiding and pillaging sort, I have met my fair share of friendly, helpful humans who were just as awestruck by our way of life as you are. I¡¯ve been watching you since you set foot in the Sacred Forest, and allow me to give you my official thanks for saving some of my young charges from that rampaging monster.¡± The Ancient One stood up, his body creaking as he gave Vin a shallow bow.


    ¡°Oh, of course, no need for that!¡± Vin stammered, deciding to drink deeply from his cup to hide his face heating up. Nobody had ever bowed to him before, and the first person to do so was some sort of ancient half-God?


    What a weird day.


    Sitting back down, the Ancient One took a sip from his own cup, letting out a sigh that sounded like wind whistling through leaves. ¡°Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, I¡¯m afraid I must throw etiquette to the wayside for a moment, if that is alright.¡±


    ¡°Sure¡­¡± Vin said, trying to move his hand slightly closer to his sword hilt without the Ancient One noticing. Clearly he wasn¡¯t as sneaky as he¡¯d hoped, as the Ancient One simply chuckled, shaking his head.


    ¡°Oh no, you have nothing to fear. I simply have something of a large request I would like to make of you, and I¡¯m afraid asking such after you have already done so much for my people would be considered rude, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°Eh, I was never really one for politeness,¡± Vin shrugged, trying not to let the relief show on his face. If the Ancient One decided he did want to turn him into fertilizer, there wasn¡¯t a whole lot he¡¯d be able to do about it after all. ¡°What¡¯s the request?¡±


    ¡°Before we get to the request, there¡¯s something you should know.¡± The Ancient One finally lost his smile, his expression turning serious for the first time. ¡°This bit of knowledge, however, is currently a secret from the elves. I would have to ask you for your word that you won¡¯t share with them what I¡¯m about to tell you.¡±


    Vin wasn¡¯t sure if it was just his imagination, but he swore the entire room seemed to shrink slightly, pressing in on them just a little bit more as the Ancient One waited for his answer. Gulping, he hurriedly nodded. ¡°Of course! Your secret is safe with me!¡±


    In an instant, the Ancient One¡¯s smile returned, and Vin breathed easier as the room seemed to return to normal, no longer feeling like it was going to collapse in on itself and crush him into paste at any second. ¡°Excellent! I appreciate your candor. This particular piece of information would cause nothing but worry and fear for the elves, and I¡¯d like to prevent that for as long as possible.¡±


    ¡°I totally understand,¡± Vin said, wondering what on Earth the ancient being sitting before him could possibly want to share with him, and how he could possibly help. Was there some super powerful monster approaching the forest? Were they running out of food? Some sort of magical virus decimating their people? Shaking his head, he pulled himself back to the here and now. ¡°So, what¡¯s the bad news?¡±


    ¡°Well you see¡­¡± The Ancient One took another sip of his tea, sighing in enjoyment of the rich flavor and giving Vin an almost apologetic smile.


    ¡°All the other Ancient Ones are dead.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯ll soon be joining them.¡±

 21. Save The Trees

    Vin blinked at the Ancient One as the strange tree-like man took another sip of his tea, breathing in the deep aroma before placing the cup down. As though he hadn¡¯t just confessed to Vin that his entire race of God-like beings was dead and he¡¯d soon follow.


    ¡®Well¡­ that¡¯s some confession.¡¯ Alka said, seeming almost speechless for once.


    ¡°No kidding,¡± he muttered, clearing his throat when the Ancient One gave him a curious look. ¡°So, uh¡­ did you like¡­ kill them all or something?¡±


    ¡°Oh no, nothing of the sort,¡± the Ancient One chuckled. ¡°As I said, I¡¯ve been watching you since you entered the forest, so I am already aware you know of how we are on a new world and of the strange phenomenon we experienced where everyone lost their levels.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. The first villagers I encountered called it the ¡®Great Reset.¡¯¡±


    ¡°Oh, I do like that,¡± the Ancient One smiled. ¡°Sounds very grandiose. Anyway, back on our world, my people and the elves had formed something of a symbiotic relationship over the last few millennia. We dryads, the official term for our race, took care of the Sacred Forest¡¯s defenses and by proxy the elves that lived within it. At the same time, the elves began producing more and more Druids and other classes capable of providing us with much needed nature magic, and turned their primary focus to sustaining us. The larger we grew, the more the Sacred Forest grew, the more elves were born to assist us, and the larger we grew. It was a cycle that worked particularly well for thousands of years, and none of us were in any hurry to change it.¡±


    ¡°But three months ago, the Great Reset happened, throwing our delicate balance into disarray. You see, after millennia of relying on the elves¡¯ powerful Druidic magic for growth and sustenance, what do you think would happen when all those Druids suddenly lost their levels?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d lose your only source of magical food,¡± Vin answered, thinking back to the dozen Druids he¡¯d seen pumping energy into the giant tree¡¯s roots, and how the roots had practically guzzled the magic down as though they were dying of thirst.


    ¡°Precisely. Unfortunately for us, my people are actually magical beasts. Our magic is purely natural and we are somewhat separate entities from the System. While the elves were reset back to infancy, no such reset occurred for us. In the blink of an eye, we¡¯d lost our primary source of energy, and we¡¯ve been rapidly starving ever since.¡±


    The room was silent as Vin took all this in. Everything the Ancient One, the dryad, had said checked out with what he already knew. Even so, it was hard to imagine such a powerful race of people just letting themselves starve out like that.


    ¡°I understand you¡¯re starving¡­ but you said your people died. What happened?¡±


    ¡°As we are technically beings half made of magic, life and death are not quite the same for my people as it is for yours,¡± the dryad explained. ¡°After the Great Reset took place and we realized what had happened, my people came to a decision. Even simply projecting our forms out from the Tree of Ancients consumes energy, so the rest of my race entered a state akin to hibernation. Currently, we''re using our own life forces to sustain our actual physical bodies, the Tree of Ancients, which is slowly consuming my people a little bit at a time.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s horrible!¡± Vin stared at the dryad in shock, unable to believe what he was hearing. ¡°Can they be woken up again? How long do they have?¡±


    ¡°Technically yes, they can be. However, their magic would have to be replenished before doing so. Currently it would be akin to freezing a human in time, removing a fraction of their heart, and then unfreezing them. Even if only a sliver of the heart is missing, the human won¡¯t last long without it. As to how long they have before they are consumed entirely¡­¡± The dryad leaned back, pursing his lips.


    ¡°...it¡¯s hard to say really. It¡¯s not as though we¡¯ve ever done this before after all. The elves will slowly level up and increase the potency of their magic, which will slow down the rate of decay affecting my people, but we stand no chance of regaining the power that was lost before we are fully consumed. If I had to make an estimate, I would say my people have anywhere from a few months to a few years. There¡¯s really no way to be sure.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Vin ran his hand through his hair, letting out a sigh of relief. A few years, hell, a few months even was a lot less imminent than he¡¯d feared. ¡°I get why you want to keep this from the elves. That said, how exactly am I supposed to help you with this?¡±


    ¡°Before my people entered their hibernation-like state, we did our best to brainstorm various solutions to the problem,¡± the dryad explained. ¡°The biggest issue however, was lack of information. This is a brand-new world, and we simply don¡¯t know what exists beyond our borders. For the elves, leaving the Sacred Forest is taboo, so we have been sitting blind within our fragment these past few months. That left us with only two broad ideas to solve our problem.¡±


    ¡°The first solution would be for us to somehow get our hands on a Major Artifact, or possibly a Greater one that was specifically nature aligned. Unfortunately finding either of those would be a monumental task, which makes our second idea more likely to succeed.¡±


    ¡°While the artifact solution would potentially solve our problem entirely, in truth, we only need to buy enough time for the elves to reclaim their former glory and achieve the strength needed to sustain us once again. Because of that, a temporary solution may be enough. If we could get our roots on the corpses of enough magical beasts, we could use them as fertilizer, and it should theoretically keep us sustained long enough for the elves to catch back up, if only barely. The problem with this idea is that we would need either an astronomical number of weaker magical beast bodies for it to work, or a couple of far stronger ones. Both pose their own problems for obtaining and transporting.¡±


    ¡°For either of these plans to work, we¡¯d need the assistance of someone from outside the village. Someone not only willing to search the world for what we need, but someone capable of doing so.¡±


    ¡°Someone like an Explorer,¡± Vin said, finishing his thought.


    ¡°Precisely,¡± the dryad nodded. ¡°To be honest, the fact that you wandered into our forest, someone both capable of communicating with the elves and with the exact skillset we need, was nothing short of a miracle. The first few people who attempted to do so after we arrived on this world unfortunately had their lives snuffed out by the elves before my people even got the chance to speak with them.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you had other people attempt to make contact with you already?¡± Vin asked, leaning forward in his chair. ¡°And you killed them?¡±


    ¡°Again, the elves killed them. Not me.¡± The dryad sighed, a look of sorrow on his face. ¡°To be fair, the people made themselves known by attempting to chop down trees on the edge of the forest. To the elves, trees are sacred plants, and thus they dealt with the intruders ruthlessly and without remorse. After that initial slaughter, the people on that fragment haven¡¯t attempted to make contact since.¡±If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡®These elves sound a tad murdery, even for my tastes,¡¯ Alka finally chimed in. ¡®But the dryad is alright I guess. Don¡¯t forget to ask about people with divinity.¡¯


    ¡°Alright, this is a lot to take in,¡± Vin admitted, taking a sip of his tea to buy himself some time to think. ¡°Before I agree to anything though, I have a few questions. To be frank, I¡¯m almost certainly going to help you just because I absolutely love your magic tree, and I dislike the idea of an entire race of magical people dying. But I just want to clarify a few things first.¡±


    ¡°By all means,¡± the dryad said, smiling warmly at Vin¡¯s honesty.


    ¡°First off, what on Earth is your name?¡± Vin demanded. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking of you as ¡®the dryad¡¯ all this time, and if I¡¯m being honest, the longer I do it the more racist it¡¯s starting to feel.¡±


    ¡°My people don¡¯t actually have names, so ¡®the dryad¡¯ is perfectly fine.¡± Seeing Vin¡¯s frown, he chuckled. ¡°You are welcome to call me whatever you wish, if that makes you more likely to accept my cumbersome request. Perhaps some form of tree-based pun? You humans always seem to love your puns.¡±


    ¡®Oh! Arbor! Bark! Leaves! Wood! Uh¡­ Branchy?¡¯ Alka rattled off in quick succession.


    ¡°Those aren¡¯t even puns, you¡¯re just listing parts of a tree,¡± Vin muttered, pretending to cup his mouth in his hands as he thought.


    ¡®Like you got anything better?¡¯


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I can do better than goddamn branchy.¡± Snapping his fingers, he grinned. ¡°Erik! Short for Erikson. Like Leif Erikson!¡±


    ¡®...I don¡¯t get it.¡¯


    ¡°He was a famous viking back on my original world,¡± Vin explained, seeing the look of confusion on the freshly dubbed Erik¡¯s face as well.


    ¡®...What¡¯s a viking?¡¯


    ¡°Anyway! Now that you have a name, my second question! Do you have anyone with access to divinity within the Sacred Forest?¡±


    Hearing him finally ask, Alka immediately stopped complaining about his stupid naming scheme, turning her attention entirely on her new hope. Erik seemed mildly surprised by the question, but he still answered.


    ¡°We did in fact have a single elf that was blessed by the Goddess of Nature,¡± he said. ¡°However, when we were transported to this world three months ago, he vanished without a trace. I would have known if he¡¯d left the village, as I can see through all the trees within the Sacred Forest, and he didn¡¯t cross by a single one of them. Nonetheless, nobody has seen him since that fateful day.¡±


    ¡°Could he have teleported or something? Flown out of the village maybe?¡± Vin felt like he was grasping at straws, but he was still hopeful there was a chance they¡¯d run into the divine elf somewhere on their journey. Unfortunately, Erik shook his head.


    ¡°His class was Druid of the Divine. I can say with certainty that he didn¡¯t have access to magic such as that.¡±


    ¡°Damn,¡± Vin cursed as another potential lead was removed just as quickly as it had begun. Alka remained silent inside him, not commenting on Erik¡¯s revelation. ¡°Any chance you think one of your current Druids might end up catching one of the Gods¡¯ eyes anytime soon?¡±


    ¡°In all my millennia of existence, I¡¯ve only seen it happen a handful of times,¡± Erik admitted. ¡°While anything is possible, I wouldn¡¯t bet on that occurring for whatever it is you need a user of divine magics for.¡±


    ¡°Worth a shot.¡± Vin sighed, shaking his head. ¡°Well then, I only have one other question really.¡± Scooting forward in his chair, Vin leaned toward the first truly magical being he¡¯d ever discovered, doing his best to keep his excitement off his face. ¡°In exchange for helping you¡­ can you teach me magic?¡±


    For his part, Erik didn¡¯t seem to mind Vin getting up in his personal space, which he supposed made sense as this technically wasn¡¯t even Erik¡¯s actual body after all.


    ¡°Sadly, as my magic is natural and not given to me by the System, I am unable to teach you,¡± Erik said, crushing Vin¡¯s dreams of being taught by the magical tree man. But before Vin¡¯s hopes could sink too low, the dryad smiled. ¡°...However, I would be happy to ask one of our Druids to teach you a few spells in exchange for your help, if that is acceptable. I also have a few Minor Artifacts I¡¯ve taken off invaders of our forest over the years that should help you on your journey.¡±


    An actual magic teacher and more magical artifacts? Hell yeah Greenpeace, I¡¯ll save the trees!


    ¡°That sounds more than fair to me,¡± Vin said, standing and shaking Erik¡¯s hand. ¡°So how will this work exactly? Assuming we are banking on solution number two; collecting magical beasts for you to eat¡­ How am I supposed to transport them back to you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m planning on sending someone to assist you on your journey, if that is alright with you. I will give them some methods of handling all that, so you won¡¯t need to worry.¡±


    ¡°Works for me,¡± Vin shrugged. ¡°Just make sure you pick someone with a lot of endurance, or some way to travel quickly. So long as they can keep up, I don¡¯t mind having a travel companion.¡±


    I already have one after all.


    ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be a problem,¡± Erik said, leading him over to the door. ¡°I¡¯ll have a word with Smohl and see about getting you a place to stay in the village for a few days while I finish preparations. Does that work for you?¡±


    ¡°As long as nobody stabs me in my sleep,¡± Vin nodded, thinking back to the handful of elves that glared at him like he was something they found on the bottom of their shoe.


    ¡°I can assure you, while you are under my protection, there is quite possibly no safer place on this entire new world than the Sacred Forest.¡±


    Leading them back outside, Vin was surprised to see that at least a few hundred elves remained clustered around the Tree of Ancients. The moment they stepped out of the tree, all the elves hit the deck once more, pressing their faces into the ground in reverence. This time, Vin was close enough to hear Erik¡¯s weary sigh as the man stepped forward.


    ¡°My children,¡± Erik began, his melodic voice drifting over the entire crowd. ¡°This human has agreed to assist me with a problem that threatens the entire Sacred Forest and should be treated with the same kindness and respect I would expect you to treat your own.¡± Vin expected to see heads raised in shock or even some outcry, but there was nothing but silence as every single elf in the crowd remained motionless, locked in worship toward the Ancient One. Erik must have had full faith in his directions being carried out, as he continued without pause. ¡°He will be staying within the village for a few days. He has had a long journey and will need to focus, so please give him some space during his time here. Smohl, a word, if you will.¡±


    Finally, there was movement from the frozen crowd as Smohl hurried to his feet and quickly stepped up to the Ancient One. The elf dared not look Erik directly in the eyes, but he listened carefully as the dryad explained Vin¡¯s need for a place to stay. Once that was taken care of, Erik turned to Vin one final time, offering him a sad smile.


    ¡°I appreciate you taking the time to speak with me, and your willingness to help my people. Please don¡¯t hesitate to come to me if there is anything else you need for your journey.¡±


    Having said his piece, Erik turned and walked into the tree through the closed door without even bothering to open it, which then vanished in a shimmer of wood right behind him as the tree returned to its unblemished self. It took a few seconds, but after Erik was truly gone, the elves slowly began rising to their feet and going about their days. Vin received dozens of stares and curious glances as they left the area, but it seemed as though not a single elf dared go against Erik¡¯s request that they leave him alone while he was here.


    ¡°Come with me,¡± Smohl said, gesturing for Vin to follow him. ¡°The Ancient One gave me specific instructions on where you can rest the next few days. He also asked for you to let me know when you¡¯re ready for your magic instructor.¡±


    ¡°As soon as possible,¡± Vin said quickly, already imagining adding a few new spells to his repertoire.


    ¡°The Ancient One said you would probably say that,¡± Smohl said, actually going so far as to let out a small laugh of all things. Vin could barely believe that this was the same man that had wanted to execute him on the spot just earlier today.


    Letting Smohl lead the way, Vin fell in behind the elf as the two of them headed back into the thick of the elven village.


    It was time to learn some magic!

 22. Hey Kid... Wanna Learn Some Magic?

    As it turned out, the place that Erik had in mind for Vin¡¯s stay was actually the now vacant house that had belonged to the Druid of the Divine before he went missing. The house had been empty for the last three months after all, so Erik apparently saw no problem with Vin using it for a few days.


    Unlike the rest of the elven village, where it seemed most elves lived in essentially large apartment buildings with carefully grown walls and floors, the house that Vin found himself standing in was actually a house. Located a few hundred feet from the rest of the village, the missing Druid had clearly been something special.


    Similar to the Tree of the Ancients, the Druid¡¯s house had walls made up of a mixture of various tree species, and the interior was quite spacious. Seeing as things couldn¡¯t be nailed into the walls without damaging the trees the house was grown out of, there were a lot of natural shelves growing from the walls themselves that held a spread of portraits and small wooden sculptures, and the house itself seemed to be lit via a few simple floor lamps that consisted of little more than glowing gemstones.


    Unsure of how long he had until his magic teacher arrived, Vin decided to kill time exploring the house. It appeared to have multiple rooms after all, and while it wasn¡¯t the first fantasy building he¡¯d had the pleasure of entering, it was certainly the fanciest one. After making his way through the different individual rooms, he was in the middle of trying to figure out what the impossibly comfortable bed in the master bedroom was made of when a familiar voice spoke up from the doorway.


    ¡°It¡¯s stuffed with shiverwing feathers,¡± Shia said, causing Vin to jump and spin around. The elf was leaning against the open door frame, a sly grin on her face at catching him unguarded. ¡°They¡¯re small, colorful birds with wings that beat so fast the very air looks like it¡¯s shivering. We don¡¯t really use currency here, at least not in the way I understand you humans do, but that one mattress is probably worth more than any other non-magical item within the village.¡±


    Thinking back, Vin remembered some of the small hummingbirds he¡¯d spotted flitting around the forest. Each one had been small enough to fit comfortably within his fist. Looking at the human sized mattress in a new light, he struggled to even imagine the sheer number of tiny feathers it would have taken to fill it.


    ¡°No wonder that guy was blessed by the Gods,¡± he said, shaking his head. ¡°Anyway, what¡¯s up? Not that I don¡¯t mind the company, but I thought Erik told everyone to stay away from me for the evening?¡±


    ¡°He did,¡± Shia nodded, tapping her chin with a slender finger. ¡°Though he seemed to think you wanted to learn magic for some reason. I mean, you¡¯re absolutely free to send your magic instructor away if that is your desire, but¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re my magic instructor?¡± Vin asked, unable to keep the uncertainty from his voice. On the one hand, he had personally witnessed the effectiveness of Shia¡¯s spells, and she was the entire reason he was so excited to learn nature magic. On the other hand, Shia had made more than one comment inferring that she wanted to try eating him at some point, and she seemed to have picked up on how uncomfortable her pointed teeth made him.


    As though she could read his mind, Shia grinned, showing off her rows of shark-like teeth. ¡°Believe it or not, I¡¯m actually the highest leveled Druid within the village at the moment. Combine that with the fact that we¡¯ve already met, and Erik thought I was the obvious choice.¡± Shia heavily exaggerated the name Vin had given the dryad, and Vin realized with a start it was the first time he¡¯d heard any of the elves reference the dryad by anything other than the Ancient One. Shia must have noticed his surprise, because she snorted.


    ¡°I told you earlier, I¡¯m one of the very few elves that doesn¡¯t see that man as some form of God,¡± she said, rolling her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I respect the hell out of him and would follow just about any order he gave in a heartbeat. But I would do it out of appreciation for what the dryads have done for us. Not blind admiration.¡±


    Vin nodded, completely understanding where she was coming from. Not only was Erik clearly powerful, but from the brief time he¡¯d spent with the man, the dryad had seemed like a good person as well.


    Stretching, Shia yawned and motioned for Vin to follow her back out to the central room, not even looking behind her as she spoke. ¡°Well, seeing as we don¡¯t have a ton of time before Erik finishes up his preparations and sends you on your merry way¡­¡± She grabbed a chair, taking a seat at the table growing out of the floor as Vin did the same across from her. ¡°...what say we get started on your first lesson?¡±


    ¡°Yes please!¡± Vin said, nodding excitedly. He¡¯d been wondering how exactly magic was taught from one person to another for a while now. His first and currently only spell had been learned from an artifact designed to teach others after all; it didn¡¯t sound like that was the way most people were taught magic. Sure enough, rather than pull out a carved branch or any sort of object for him to study from, Shia leaned back in her chair and raised a finger.


    ¡°Lesson one¡­ What is magic?¡±


    Oh, guess we¡¯re covering actual fundamentals before learning spells. Vin deflated slightly as he realized it might be some time before he was slinging around any nature spells. Even so, he was still interested in magic as a whole, and he couldn¡¯t help but look forward to hearing the elf¡¯s explanation as to what his new obsession actually was.


    ¡°Some sort of energy source used to power spells?¡± He offered.


    ¡°That¡¯s similar to what a lot of people seem to think,¡± she nodded. ¡°Personally, I view magic as more of a metaphysical key to unlocking powers beyond our understanding. Lots of people will tell you different answers, but the truth is nobody truly knows what magic is. The good news is you don¡¯t have to know. So long as you understand how runes function and have enough mana, you can cast magic.¡±


    Using her finger, Shia traced a dozen runes in the air between the two of them. To Vin¡¯s amazement, a bright green energy trailed along behind her finger, allowing the runes¡¯ shapes to remain visible and easy to read as they hovered in the air.


    ¡°This is the spellform for Sense Life; the first spell I¡¯ll be teaching you and the most basic one we Druids use.¡± Shia gestured toward the floating structure of runes, and Vin finally noticed that they didn¡¯t make up a flat plane. There was some curvature to the way she¡¯d drawn them and a few of the runes even seemed to intersect others in ways that seemed intentional to form even more, smaller runes within the already complicated structure.


    ¡°Spells are like puzzle pieces,¡± she continued. ¡°More complicated spells will have more pieces, but they will always build off of simpler, smaller spells. My Entangle spell you witnessed for example, is far more complicated than this one. But if you look at that structure closely, you¡¯d be able to find the structure for Sense Life hidden within it. I can¡¯t very well use magic to command plants to entangle my foes if I can¡¯t sense the plants and direct my magic at them after all.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Vin nodded slowly, his eyes still hungrily taking in the floating spellform before him. So magic is something like a computer program, and you link smaller spells together to make larger ones. Thankfully, it seemed magic and programming were only similar in that basic concept, because Vin had absolutely no idea how to code.


    ¡°So how come I was able to cast Sense Stone without drawing those runes? And I definitely didn¡¯t see you stopping to draw any complicated shapes in the air when you used your magic earlier.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, magic would kind of suck if you had to stop and draw floating three-dimensional structures whenever you wanted to cast something,¡± Shia snorted. ¡°And to answer your question, you did draw those structures, you just didn¡¯t realize it.¡± Partially standing, Shia tapped two fingers against the strange chainmail-leaves covering her navel.


    ¡°When you cast a spell, what you¡¯re actually doing is constructing the spell¡¯s runic formation within your own mana pool,¡± Shia explained, briefly tracing the runes on her stomach to drive the point home. ¡°Drawing the runes with your mind is exponentially faster than with your finger, and it¡¯s what allows us to cast complicated spells in mere moments. You only have to construct the runic formation correctly at least once for the System to confirm you mastered the spell and ingrain it into your System interface, but even then, the more you practice it the faster you¡¯ll be able to use the spell going forward.¡±


    ¡°You got lucky that someone decided to lend you that object of power,¡± Shia said, sitting back down and pointing at Vin¡¯s bag containing his first artifact. ¡°The biggest hurdle for new mages is learning how to gain a fine enough control of their mana to construct a spell¡¯s runic formation within their mana pool. Learning that fine mana control can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few years, depending on a person¡¯s natural talent. If my guess is right, that object of power you possess somehow helped you develop that control while it taught you the spell engraved on it.¡±


    ¡°Wow,¡± Vin said, staring at his bag and mentally thanking the stone village elder once again. ¡°So without that mana control, people can¡¯t learn new spells?¡±


    ¡°Not from a runic formation, but they can still obtain new spells from the System itself,¡± Shia explained. ¡°Most spell focused classes have the option to obtain new spells in lieu of skill points. So they¡¯ll still be able to grow, they¡¯ll just be limited to whatever spells the System offers them.¡±


    ¡°In that same vein, I should warn you now that unless you¡¯re one hell of a prodigy, you¡¯ll probably never be able to cast more than the most basic of spells,¡± Shia said, giving him an apologetic smile. ¡°More powerful spells have more complicated runic formations, and they get pretty crazy fast.¡±


    ¡°I get that these structures will no doubt get confusing quickly¡­ but it sounds like all there is to learning a new spell is copying the formation, right?¡± Vin asked, looking once more at the floating runes that made up Sense Life. ¡°If all I need to do is make a structure within my mana pool, that doesn¡¯t sound so bad.¡±


    Grinning, Shia leaned far back in her chair, putting her feet on the table and gesturing for Vin to give it a shot. Shrugging, Vin studied the runic formation carefully before grabbing hold of that seemingly intangible plasma floating within him that he now understood was his own mana.


    Carefully, concentrating as if he were tensing tiny, specific muscles within his core, he condensed portions of his mana into fine lines making up the structure floating above the table between them. Piece by piece, he did his best to get every single angle right and make sure that the entire structure was curved correctly. He got to about the halfway point before he slotted another small chunk of condensed mana into the structure.


    And Shia exploded.


    Screaming, Vin toppled out of his chair at the sudden explosion, rolling to his feet and bringing up his hands in front of him defensively. After a moment, he realized not only had Shia not exploded into a million pieces, she hadn¡¯t even moved from her spot.


    ¡°Congrats on your first runic backlash,¡± Shia grinned, gesturing for him to sit back down. ¡°What did it feel like?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I could have sworn you just blew up,¡± Vin said sheepishly, righting his chair and taking his seat, his hands still shaking from the sudden vision. ¡°What the hell was that?¡±


    ¡°When you don¡¯t have a magic artifact holding your hand, you have to worry about constructing the structure incorrectly,¡± Shia explained, still grinning at his sudden outburst. ¡°You¡¯re trying to construct Sense Life; a spell designed to help you detect life energy. You messed up the structure, and thus ended up crafting the spell, just incorrectly. If you had cast the spell correctly, you would have obtained a soft but definitive sense of myself, as I am a living creature. It¡¯s hard to pinpoint exactly what runic backlashes cause, but in this case, I¡¯d guess your incomplete spell didn¡¯t have a cap on the amount of life energy it brought back to you. At my level, I have a lot more life energy than anything else around, hence it literally looked like the energy exploded out of me.¡±


    ¡°Damn, magic is harder than I thought,¡± Vin admitted, pulling up a notification he¡¯d received from the System.


    Spellcraft increased to lvl 6! 600 exp gained.


    I guess failure is really the best teacher, he grinned, dismissing the notification.


    ¡°Runic backlashes are the primary reason few people dare trying to manually learn anything more than basic spells,¡± Shia explained. ¡°Obviously there¡¯s no telling what a backlash will entail, but the more dangerous the spell, the more dangerous the potential backlash. Until you get a high enough Spellcrafting skill, magic attribute, and focus attribute, I¡¯d be very wary of trying to manually learn anything above a basic sensing spell unless you have an instructor capable of healing present. A lot of spell focused classes offer a passive that diminishes the strength of runic backlashes, but I doubt your Explorer class will have the same.¡±


    ¡°Got it,¡± Vin said, pulling up his interface and dumping the three points he¡¯d earned for hitting level 8 into magic, bringing it up to fifteen. Briefly, he went over his personal stats, grinning at the fact that he was already nearing the experience needed for level 9 after meeting Erik. He didn¡¯t know how many sentient races there were in the universe, but he hoped for his sake every single one of them had been brought to this new world.


    Vinnie Stone


    Explorer: Lvl 8


    Titles: Human Vessel (Minor)


    Exp. 34,160/36,000


    Strength: 13(5)


    Dexterity: 14(3)


    Endurance: 27(2)


    Vigor: 15(2)


    Focus: 14(1)


    Magic: 15


    Attribute Points: 0


    Skill Points: 2


    Passive Points: 0


    Passives: Mental Map, Polyglot, Distance Runner


    Skills: Tracking lvl 4, Spellcraft lvl 6


    Spells: Sense Stone


    ¡°Luckily, for a spell as simple as this one, you shouldn¡¯t experience any sort of backlash more severe than what you just did,¡± Shia said, yawning once more and getting to her feet. ¡°Now, I was already ten hours into a hunting trip before running into you and the Trunkback and everything else that¡¯s happened since then. I put enough mana into that runic structure of Sense Life for it to last a couple of hours, so I¡¯m going to go experience the wonders of that shiverwing mattress while you keep practicing. Sound good?¡±


    ¡°Works for me,¡± Vin confirmed, already working on his second attempt at copying the spell¡¯s structure. He thought he heard Shia chuckling as she left the room, but his focus was entirely on the floating runes before him. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was his newly increased magic or the level he¡¯d just earned in Spellcrafting, but he was feeling more and more confident by the second.


    He¡¯d have his second spell memorized before the night was through!

 23. An Elven Opinion

    Shia yawned, rolling over with a smile on her face as she realized the dream she¡¯d been having about sleeping on a cloud had been entirely real. She¡¯d been waiting for a chance to try out her master¡¯s fancy shiverwing mattress ever since he¡¯d first bragged about it to her.


    She had to admit, it was pretty great.


    Not in any rush to leave her own personal paradise, Shia stared up at the interwoven trees making up the ceiling. Her master has always loved shimmer trees, and the sheer quantity he¡¯d used for his ceilings when growing his house created a dazzling effect when the dim morning light came in through the window. Admiring the quiet display, Shia let her mind wander not for the first time toward her master¡¯s disappearance.


    The two of them had been in the middle of one of his strange lessons when an alarm had gone out. The roving monster hordes had been growing in both frequency and strength, so it was no surprise that her master was being summoned during his down time. As he always did, he¡¯d grabbed his Ancient Staff, a unique object of power crafted from a piece of the Tree of Ancients and gifted to him by the dryads themselves, before rushing out to find the largest, most dangerous monster among the invading pack. Shia had been right behind him at first, but she¡¯d ended up splitting off to join the rest of the Druids defending the civilians.


    They¡¯d managed to fight off the wave of monsters, but while recovering from the attack, the unthinkable had happened.


    Their levels had been ripped from their grasps.


    Shia shuddered, remembering the sensation of years of her life¡¯s experiences suddenly vanishing, leaving her a hollow husk of her former self. All of a sudden, she was no stronger than an adolescent accessing the System for the first time. Without her mana, she could no longer cast all the spells she¡¯d worked so hard to learn.


    It hadn¡¯t taken her long to realize the same was true of everyone else, and mass panic had spread all throughout their village. Thankfully, the seemingly unending waves of monsters steadily growing in strength that had plagued them the past few years had vanished along with their levels, otherwise they would have been overrun in an instant.


    Knowing he¡¯d had more levels to lose than anyone, Shia had then tried to find her master and ensure he was okay.


    But he was gone.


    There was no sign of her master anywhere. No note informing her he¡¯d gone off on a fruit picking journey and would return in six months¡¯ time, and no sign he¡¯d left on some erratic personal quest that would see him returning with the hide of some unheard-of beast. She even checked with the Ancient Ones, and they confirmed they had no idea what had happened to the strongest elf in the village. It wasn¡¯t the first time he¡¯d vanished unexpectedly, but it was the first time he¡¯d managed to do so without the Ancient Ones noticing.


    Without a master and starting again at level 1, Shia had thrown herself into her studies and the forest over the past three months with near reckless abandon. She¡¯d worked harder than ever before in an attempt to work her way back up to even a portion of her former power, and while she still had a long way to go, she was at least nearing her first prestige. What scared her was not knowing if the System was going to offer her the same choices it had last time. What if it didn¡¯t offer up the same prestige class she¡¯d selected the first time she¡¯d hit level 20?


    Clicking her tongue, Shia rolled out of the luxurious bed, anxious to take her mind off her worrying. She knew if she went down that spiral of negative thought there¡¯d be no talking herself out of it and she¡¯d waste another day that could have been spent training and retrieving her old strength. She¡¯d never be able to figure out what happened to her master if she didn¡¯t get stronger after all.


    Tossing her clothes back on and casting a quick Cleanse to rid herself of any morning breath, Shia fixed her pointed grin on her face, double checking to make sure nearly all her teeth were showing. Her master¡¯s voice flickered through her mind as she recalled one of his many strange lessons.


    ¡®Remember Shia, most of the other races find our pointy teeth unsettling. When dealing with them, be sure to smile as widely as possible. An unnerved opponent is a weakened opponent after all!¡¯


    She had asked him just how many other races he¡¯d interacted with during his excursions outside the Sacred Forest, but he¡¯d acted like he hadn¡¯t heard her and made her do smiling exercises until he deemed her look ¡®sufficiently unhinged.¡¯


    Satisfied that she looked like a deranged lunatic that could take a bite out of someone at any moment, Shia left the bedroom and walked back to where she¡¯d left the strange tasting human.


    Her odd sense of taste was one of the things that had actually drawn her master¡¯s attention back when she was younger. For most people, increasing their focus attribute improved their vision and hearing on top of their mental focus. But for some reason, when it came to Shia, her focus attribute seemed more tied to her sense of taste. At first, she¡¯d thought this was a useless defect that would stunt her growth, but she¡¯d quickly realized that as she improved her focus and magic attributes, she was actually able to taste magic itself. Anyone with the magic attribute could naturally detect magic, but she seemed able to taste it.


    It was a skill she¡¯d still been developing even before they¡¯d had their levels stripped of them, and if anything, her experiences had only made it develop faster this second go around. It was thanks to this strange sense that she¡¯d detected the human approaching their hunting party long before anyone else had.


    Unlike elven magic which was almost exclusively nature or life based, the human had brought a few foreign magics with him. She¡¯d first picked up the taste of general, pure magic, followed quickly by what had to be earth magic. The weirdest one was the overwhelming taste of death magic radiating off his person of all things. She¡¯d quickly identified that the pure magic and stone magic had been coming from his two objects of power, but the death magic seemed to emanate from his very being.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    She still hadn¡¯t figured that one out.


    Shaking her head, Shia walked into the central room, pausing at the sight before her. She¡¯d expected to find the human passed out on one of the couches, exhausted from spending most of the night trying to learn the Sense Life spell she¡¯d left up for him.


    Instead, she found him sitting cross legged on the very table they¡¯d sat on either side of last night, seemingly in some sort of trance with his head bowed down. Not even the sound of her approaching and leaning toward him to more thoroughly examine him seemed to shake his concentration.


    The Explorer wasn¡¯t the first human she¡¯d seen of course, but he was certainly the first one she¡¯d actually interacted with. All the other humans she¡¯d ¡®met¡¯ hadn¡¯t lived much longer than it took to shoot them with a few arrows after all.


    This one, Vin, she reminded herself, was definitely unusual. Most humans that invaded their forest and gave her the luxury of hunting them were large and brawny; trusting their physical prowess to keep them safe from anything the elves could dish out. Vin was the first human she¡¯d met that didn¡¯t have some form of combat class.


    Not that that seemed to stop him much apparently.


    She¡¯d been unconscious for the actual moment, but when she asked Smohl about what happened between the Trunkback¡¯s scream knocking her out and her coming to, the man had simply shivered and did his best to retell what he¡¯d seen.


    According to him, the seemingly weak and frail human sitting before her underwent some sort of transformation during the fight. Smohl swore the man¡¯s bright blue eyes had suddenly turned a blazing green, and his movements morphed from those of a wandering Explorer to those of a Swordmaster. Apparently, he¡¯d held his blade almost lazily, like the Trunkback wasn¡¯t even a real fight, and Smohl had expected him to get crushed into paste when the beast leapt at him. That was of course right before the human ended up dispatching the monster effortlessly, as though the act was as trivial as dicing up an onion.


    Shia leaned in closer, staring at the face of the human Explorer from mere inches away. Try as she might, she just couldn¡¯t imagine the seemingly happy-go-lucky man in front of her who was perhaps a bit over eager to learn magic as the monster slaying combat maniac that Smohl had described.


    Of course, it was during this investigation that Vin finally woke from his strange trance, discovering her face and accompanying manic grin mere inches from his own. Letting out a startled cry, Vin fell backwards off the table, banging his head on the ground. Chuckling, Shia shook her head.


    How in the forest was this man supposed to have slain a Trunkback?


    ¡°What the hell?¡± Vin asked, getting to his feet and rubbing the back of his head. ¡°Do you make a habit of waking people up like that?¡±


    ¡°Only humans,¡± she replied, making sure to smile wider than she normally would; her master¡¯s lessons always echoing in the back of her mind. ¡°So, you were sleeping then? Is sleeping in a sitting position on a wooden table when there are plenty of more comfortable spots some sort of strange human custom?¡±


    Almost as though a spark had been lit, Vin¡¯s own eyes lit up, and his face broke into a big grin. ¡°Not sleeping! Meditating! I picked up the Meditation skill last night because I figured it would help with my concentration, and it did! It even helps replenish mana faster while using it as well. Check it out!¡±


    Raising a palm toward her, Vin spoke, the strange warping of his words quite familiar to Shia. ¡°Sense Life.¡±


    Flicking her tongue out, Shia could easily taste the life magic emanating from the human standing before her as he cast his first successful life aligned spell. Granted, it was a little hard to pick out with the practical veil of death magic he was exuding, but it was distinctly there.


    ¡°You managed to pick up the spell in a single night,¡± she said, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Not bad.¡± Not bad is an understatement. He¡¯s no prodigy, but he¡¯s definitely got the knack for magic. Shia¡¯s own master, assuming any of his stories were true, had apparently learned to manipulate his mana all on his own within days of just seeing the technique, and formed his first runic formation mere minutes after having it shown to him for the first time. She didn¡¯t know if any of it was true, but the Gods had to have chosen him for some reason after all.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Vin said, his grin only growing wider. ¡°It took me a couple of hours, but once I got the runic formation down and the System awarded me the spell, I spent the rest of the night using my Spellcraft and Meditation skills to analyze this.¡±


    Reaching behind him, Vin pulled out his object of power that tasted of pure magic and placed it on the table between them. ¡°The sword is enchanted to interact with and better kill things that rely on magical defenses, so I figured the root of its runic structure had to be different from life or earth magic, right?¡±


    ¡°Makes sense,¡± Shia said, slowly nodding. All artifacts had their runic structures making up their spellforms ingrained deeply within their physical forms. Anyone with the Spellcraft skill and high enough magic and focus attributes could read them if they so choose, but seeing as few people bothered learning spells in this way due to the risks, few ever bothered. If he was going where she thought he was¡­


    ¡°It took me the entire night, but I finally did it!¡± He laughed, slapping the hilt of the sword and grinning like a maniac, his eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep. ¡°I managed to sift through the runic structure and isolate the first building block, just like how you explained. It was close enough to the two I already knew that I was able to find it, but different enough to still be a challenge to learn.¡± Raising a hand yet again, Vin took in a deep breath, focusing on the sword in front of him. ¡°Sense Magic.¡±


    Naturally, Shia didn¡¯t see whatever the spell showed him, but she could certainly taste the magic coming off of him. A simple, sweet taste that she always thought of as pure, unaligned magic itself drifted off the human as his new spell was cast. While Vin practically danced around, pumping his fist in the air, she simply stared at him, her usual smile pulled taut.


    ¡°Let me get this straight¡­ After my explicit warning not to experiment without an instructor present, you not only dove into the runic structure of an obviously complicated object of power, but then worked on replicating a portion of that structure within your own mana, that you thought, might possibly, be the root spell?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Vin said, seemingly tired enough to not notice the frown growing on her face. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it worked!¡±


    Me neither, Shia sighed, eyeing the ridiculously lucky human that didn¡¯t even realize how close he¡¯d come to blowing himself up as he celebrated.


    Ancient Ones give me strength¡­


    I have my work cut out for me.

 24. Ohhh Tingly!

    Vin spent the next hour getting berated by his new magic instructor. Apparently, what he¡¯d done had been ¡®idiotic,¡¯ and ¡®reckless,¡¯ and ¡®liable to get himself killed.¡¯ According to Shia, reverse engineering a spell from an artifact was already a dangerous thing to attempt, and to do so without a more experienced mage watching over him to make sure he didn¡¯t accidentally melt his own eyeballs was practically suicidal.


    While Vin didn¡¯t one hundred percent agree with her, he was quick to apologize and promised he¡¯d ask a mage to watch over his future attempts¡­ so long as there was one nearby. Shia didn¡¯t look all too pleased with that answer, but she seemed to accept it in the end, sending him to grab a few hours of sleep before their study continued.


    Vin considered that a victory, and he grinned to himself as he took a turn on the shiverwing mattress, staying conscious just long enough to allot his three new attribute points into magic. His actions may have been reckless, but they had also driven his Spellcraft up to level 10, his Meditation up to level 4, and gotten him two new spells. The experience from all that had been more than enough to get him to level 9. Hell, learning one more spell would knock him up to level 10!


    His daydreams of wandering the new world in search of new spells to hunt down didn¡¯t last long however, as the shiverwing mattress seemed to physically drag him into a deep sleep within seconds of lying down.


    When he finally awoke, Vin was horrified to discover it was already midafternoon, and he wasted no time rolling out of the universe¡¯s most comfortable bed and rushing back out to the main room. Thankfully, Shia was sitting at the table already, working her way through what looked like a plate piled high with bacon and sausage.


    ¡°Finally up then?¡± She asked, using her sharp teeth to rip a particularly thick slice of bacon in half. Her mouth full, she gestured for Vin to take his seat, and Vin finally noticed the second, seemingly smaller plate she¡¯d prepared for him. Like hers, there was a decent amount of meat, however there were also a few small berries he didn¡¯t recognize that looked like some sort of blend between strawberries and grapes.


    Realizing he was in fact starving, Vin didn¡¯t waste any time taking the offered plate and digging into a late lunch. Popping one of the curious berries into his mouth, he was surprised to find it tasted tart, like a grapefruit, rather than sweet as he¡¯d expected. Getting to work on his own meat, Vin did his best to watch the elf eat without staring as Shia continued to quite literally tear her way through her meal. Her teeth made short work of even the thickest of pieces of meat, and he honestly didn¡¯t understand how she chewed her food without shredding the inside of her mouth. They ate for a few minutes in silence before he finally had to ask.


    ¡°Are elves carnivores?¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± Shia mumbled, currently working her way through the last of her sausage. The elf had been seemingly lost in thought as they ate, but Vin¡¯s question brought her back to the present. Swallowing, she raised an eyebrow. ¡°Our people essentially worship a living tree. Shouldn¡¯t be all that surprising that we prefer to eat meat over plants whenever possible.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense,¡± Vin nodded, glancing down at the last of his oddly tart berries. ¡°...My eating these wasn¡¯t disrespectful or anything, right?¡± The last thing he wanted to do was run off his new magic instructor. He hoped he hadn¡¯t failed some sort of hidden test.


    ¡°No, you¡¯re fine,¡± Shia snorted to his relief. ¡°We¡¯re not complete carnivores. Meat does make up the vast majority of our diet, but we¡¯ll eat whatever the Sacred Forest provides us. Some elves will even go so far as to magically grow their own gardens, but public opinion is a bit divided on whether or not such a practice is ethical.¡±


    ¡°Huh,¡± Vin mumbled, finishing off his plate as he tried to wrap his head around the ethics of forcing plants to grow just for you to eat when you technically worshiped the mother of all plants. He guessed he shouldn¡¯t have been surprised to learn that elves weren¡¯t just a simple race that all shared the same feelings and ideas. Humans certainly didn¡¯t, so why should any other race?


    ¡°Anyway, if you¡¯re done eating, we can continue your magic lessons,¡± Shia said, showing off her teeth with a large grin. ¡°...or we could continue our current discussion, and I can tell you all about the Forestry Party; a small group of elves that have declared quite loudly that our true diet should be nothing but leaves and have gone to extreme lengths over the years to magically alter their anatomy to make such a thing possible.¡±


    ¡°That is actually an extremely difficult choice,¡± Vin admitted, imagining a dozen elves parading around the village with picket signs and teeth that had somehow been magically filed down. ¡°...but I¡¯ll choose magic for now!¡±


    ¡°I figured as much,¡± Shia chuckled. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see how well you handle this.¡±


    Using the same trick she¡¯d shown him yesterday, Shia wrote out a new runic formation in the air; only this one was nearly three times larger and far more complicated than the previous. Immediately, Vin recognized the Sense Life runic structure located at the bottom of the spellform.


    ¡°This is the runic structure for Renewal. It¡¯s about the simplest healing spell there is, because all the spell does is convert your personal mana into life mana and direct it at an injury, allowing the life magic to do what it does best. Luckily for us, life magic on its own will work to return a person or creature back into the optimal, original state. It¡¯s basically brute forcing the healing process, which makes the spell extremely inefficient.¡±


    ¡°Still, magical healing sounds fantastic!¡± Vin said, his eyes already eagerly scanning over the new spell structure. ¡°Does it have any limits?¡±


    ¡°Well obviously the spell is powered by your mana, so the lower your magic attribute the less healing it will provide,¡± Shia said. ¡°But it is also a bit limited. If someone is blind from birth for example, a Renewal spell won¡¯t do them any good, because that blindness is considered their original state. It also struggles with more complicated healing like regrowing missing limbs or organs.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡± Vin was only half listening to Shia at this point, pushing his focus attribute to the max in order to memorize the structure¡¯s complex shape. I really need to start splitting my points between focus and magic instead of just dumping them all into magic, he thought as he closed his eyes and settled into his new meditative state.


    Vin had taken a risk spending a skill point on the Meditation skill, but it had quickly proven to be an excellent choice. While meditating, he was able to shut off nearly all outside distractions and turn all his attention inwards. This made trying to recreate a runic structure within his mana pool a much more manageable task, as he was able to devote the entirety of his focus on the task at hand rather than his surroundings. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    The main downsides of his new skill of course being that entering such a state would be rather dangerous anywhere where a monster could stumble upon his inattentive body, and the fact that he somewhat lost his sense of time while he was Meditating.


    So it was that when he finally managed to construct the complex structure, without creating more than a small handful of runic backlashes, he opened his eyes in triumph only to realize the sun had already started to set. Noticing the change in his posture, Shia got up from the couch she¡¯d been lounging on, walking over and giving him an eerie grin.


    ¡°Well, how did it go?¡±


    Rather than answering her, Vin raised a hand, closely examining his fingers as he cast his new spell. ¡°Renewal.¡± With his higher magic attribute, he was able to feel the life magic flow out of his hand before dissipating into the air when it found nothing to target.


    To his surprise, he quickly realized Shia¡¯s warning about the spell¡¯s inefficiency hadn¡¯t been an exaggeration as his seemingly massive mana pool compared to when he¡¯d started out began draining at a concerning rate. In only a few seconds, he¡¯d burned through nearly a quarter of his mana to keep the spell powered, and he quickly willed the runic formation to dissipate inside him, ending the spell before it ran him dry.


    Grinning from ear to ear, he turned to share his excitement with Shia before a strange thrum resonated within his body. Vin started as a small wave of energy seemed to pulse outward from his core all the way to the tips of his extremities, before quickly snapping back and flowing straight into his center and vanishing.


    ¡°Woah¡­¡± He muttered, staring at his still tingling fingers.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Shia asked, looking concerned. ¡°Runic backlash?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ I just had some sort of¡­ pulse shoot through me or something,¡± Vin tried his best to explain, shakily getting to his feet. The Meditation skill did wonders on preventing cramps and keeping his limbs from falling asleep, but it was far from perfect. ¡°Never felt anything like that before.¡±


    ¡°Oh, is that what happened?¡± Shia asked, her concern quickly replaced by her usual grin. ¡°Well then, congratulations on hitting level 10! You should check your System notifications.¡±


    During his first few uses of Meditation, Vin had continued to be snapped out of the skill every time the System oh so helpfully informed him he¡¯d increased his Spellcrafting or Meditation skill. After the disruptions had finally caused a thankfully minor backlash during his attempts at recreating Sense Life, he¡¯d finally figured out he could will the System to enter something of a silence mode, removing even the minor buzzing sensation informing him of each new notification.


    Free from his Meditation skill, Vin willed the System to return to normal and took in all the notifications he¡¯d received over the past few hours. First were the skill notifications he¡¯d earned for the hours of Meditation and work on the complicated runic structure within his own mana.


    Meditation increased to lvl 5! 500 exp gained.


    Meditation increased to lvl 6! 600 exp gained.


    Spellcraft increased to lvl 11! 1100 exp gained.


    Meditation increased to lvl 7! 700 exp gained.


    Spellcraft increased to lvl 12! 1200 exp gained.


    After those came the one he¡¯d been most excited for, signaling the reward he received for all his hard work.


    New spell discovered! Renewal. 5,000 exp gained.


    And last but not least, the apparent cause for the freaky tingling sensation that had just swept throughout his body.


    Level up! Explorer lvl 10.


    +3 Attribute points to spend.


    Capstone awarded: Runic Recalibration


    Vin stared at the new notification he¡¯d never seen before. Instead of the additional skill point and passive point he¡¯d been expecting, he¡¯d received some sort of Capstone ability?


    Shia must have noticed the confused look on his face, because she immediately broke out laughing. ¡°Ancient One¡¯s sap, you look like someone just stole your favorite tree!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just confused,¡± Vin admitted, feeling his face heat up slightly. ¡°I was looking forward to picking a new passive when I hit level 10. What¡¯s a Capstone?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s easy to forget you came from a world without the System,¡± Shia said, sitting down and shaking her head. ¡°Every 10 levels that don¡¯t involve prestiging, the System rewards you with a Capstone ability. It¡¯s often something like a skill and passive rolled into one, which is why you didn¡¯t get either for level 10. Unlike skills and passives however, a person¡¯s Capstone is awarded directly by the System based both on your actions up until this point and your inner desires. Nobody is really sure what exactly that strange pulse is, but I always assumed it was the System running some sort of full body check before awarding a person their Capstone.¡±


    ¡°You seem to have something of an almost unhealthy obsession with magic, and I¡¯d be willing to bet a large chunk of the experience you earned getting to level 10 came from messing with runic formations or magic items in general,¡± Shia said, raising her eyebrow as if daring Vin to disagree. ¡°That said, you probably received some sort of magic based Capstone. Am I right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Runic Recalibration,¡± Vin read off his notification, enjoying the alliteration. ¡°Any idea what it does?¡±


    ¡°Nope,¡± Shia shrugged. ¡°But you¡¯ll probably figure it out easy enough. My level 10 Capstone is Friend of Nature. Same one I got before I lost my levels in fact. It does a few different things, but the one I appreciate most is empowering all of my nature aligned spells to a certain degree.¡±


    ¡°That does sound useful,¡± Vin agreed, his hopes rising. Focusing on his mana, he quickly put together the runic structure for Renewal and cast the spell; not having to speak the spell out loud when manually casting a spell he¡¯d painstakingly put together.


    Previously, whenever he¡¯d finished a spell¡¯s structure, the runes had turned almost rigid inside his mana pool as the spell activated and the mana flowed through the carefully arranged runes, like electricity through hardened wires. Now though, the structure seemed almost¡­ malleable. The runes felt like they still had some give to them despite the mana flowing through them.


    Examining the structure¡¯s new feeling with his magic sense, Vin was surprised to realize he somehow instinctively knew what a few of the previously unknown runes within the structure were in charge of. If he adjusted the angle of this one in just this way for example¡­ and thickened a few lines here and there¡­


    Shia¡¯s eyes widened as the uncontrolled flow of life magic from his hand suddenly narrowed. Instantly, the mana drain from the spell was practically cut in half, as Vin found his wide cone of life magic he was spewing into the air transformed into a far more controllable line.


    Forcing the amount of life magic he was shooting off to widen and shrink like he was covering a running hose with his thumb, Vin gave Shia a big grin.


    ¡°I think I figured it out!¡±

 25. Extra Credit

    It took two more days for Erik to finally finish his preparations, and Vin hadn¡¯t spent that time idly. With his new Capstone in hand, Vin had delved deep into the few spells he knew and tried to figure out what exactly the different runes did.


    He quickly learned that while Runic Recalibration gave him some innate understanding of an individual rune¡¯s purpose and allowed him to make minute adjustments to a structure after a spell had already been cast, it did not make him immune to runic backlash. Luckily, he still hadn¡¯t tried learning any actual damaging spells, and the resulting backlash from accidentally detonating life magic inside himself tended to end with him feeling better than before the backlash occurred.


    By the end of his final day in the elf village, he¡¯d nailed down not just how to raise or lower the amount of mana he put into his spells, but how to better direct them as well. Even more exciting was the fact he¡¯d managed to learn the spells Replenish and Entangle from an increasingly annoyed Shia, raising his Spellcraft to level 15, Meditation to level 10, and bumping himself not just to level 11, but to level 12 in the process. He¡¯d already witnessed the usefulness of Entangle, but when Shia had shown him a spell for refilling berry bushes and the like, he¡¯d quickly jumped at learning Replenish as well.


    The moment he finally cracked the formation for Entangle and hit level 12, Vin assigned his attribute points and looked over his interface with proud accomplishment.


    Vinnie Stone


    Explorer: Lvl 12


    Titles: Human Vessel (Minor)


    Exp. 69,460/78,000


    Strength: 13(5)


    Dexterity: 14(3)


    Endurance: 31(2)


    Vigor: 15(2)


    Focus: 20(1)


    Magic: 21


    Attribute Points: 0


    Skill Points: 2


    Passive Points: 0


    Capstone: Runic Recalibration


    Passives: Mental Map, Polyglot, Distance Runner


    Skills: Tracking lvl 4, Spellcraft lvl 15, Meditation lvl 10


    Spells: Sense Stone, Sense Life, Sense Magic, Renewal, Replenish, Entangle


    While the thought of learning new spells had excited him enough to spend five straight levels dumping his fresh attribute points into magic, Vin had finally wised up and begun increasing his focus as well. After spending hour after hour struggling to perfectly create a runic structure within his mana or adjust a tiny portion of a single rune with his new Capstone, he finally understood just how important a high focus was going to be for him.


    ¡°It¡¯s like watching a fish that spent its entire life out of water finally get tossed into a pond,¡± Shia muttered just loud enough for him to hear, clicking her tongue as he dismissed his interface. ¡°You¡¯re nowhere near as talented as my master, but you¡¯re just good enough to be annoying.¡±


    ¡°Sorry?¡± Vin half asked, half laughed. ¡°Maybe you¡¯re just that good of a magic instructor?¡±


    ¡°Hmph,¡± Shia grunted, crossing her legs and glaring at his smile. ¡°Oil me up all you want, you¡¯re not getting any more spells out of me.¡±


    ¡°What! How come? Come on, the moon is barely up, we can squeeze in one more spell!¡± Vin practically begged the irritated elf, contemplating whether he should get down on his hands and knees. Unfortunately, his begging didn¡¯t seem to have any effect.


    ¡°It¡¯s for your own good,¡± she explained, shaking her head. ¡°Even if half of them are rather simple, in the last few days you¡¯ve picked up five new spells. Sense Magic, which I still think is a stupid spell by the way, is obviously a general or pure magic spell, so nothing to worry about there. But Sense Life and Renewal both use life magic, while Replenish, and Entangle each use nature magic. Your magic attribute is still pretty low, meaning if you learn any more spells utilizing either of those alignments anytime soon, you¡¯re liable to give your mana an affinity.¡±


    ¡°Of course, something else the System didn¡¯t bother to warn me about,¡± Vin sighed. ¡°So, what¡¯s an affinity do exactly? Prevent me from casting other types of magic?¡±


    ¡°Not entirely, but it would certainly make it harder,¡± Shia confirmed. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t already guessed, I¡¯ve purposefully given my mana affinities to both life and nature magic. The good thing about having an affinity is that even if we used the same amount of mana and had the same magic attribute, spells I cast using those magics would be stronger than spells you cast with them. The bad thing is the inverse is true as well. If I were to try and cast a spell involving death magic for example, it would be weaker than if you did the same.¡± Vin noticed how Shia seemed to give him a strange look when she mentioned death magic, but he shrugged it off, already thinking about what this new piece of information meant.


    Obviously, the thought of his spells growing more powerful was enticing. But honestly, Vin didn¡¯t really care too much about power. It was the act of seeking out and discovering new magic that pushed him. And if obtaining an affinity made it harder for him to learn certain runic formations, that meant an affinity was definitely something to avoid.


    ¡°Is it possible to get rid of an affinity?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Shia nodded. ¡°But it requires you to hold back from casting magic for months, or even years depending on how strong your affinity has already grown.¡± She paused, tapping her chin as she thought. ¡°Theoretically, casting spells that use opposite affinities might speed up the process I suppose. Or spells with just general magic, like your stupid Sense Magic spell.¡±Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°It¡¯s not stupid!¡± Vin argued, frowning at his irate instructor.


    ¡°People with the magic attribute can already sense magic!¡± She replied, rolling her eyes. ¡°Why use a spell for something your own senses can freely tell you?¡±


    ¡°For one, it¡¯s an important building block for other spells,¡± Vin pointed out. ¡°Besides, maybe it¡¯s more accurate?¡± Since learning the spell, Vin hadn¡¯t really messed around with this one in particular. After all, Shia was completely right. With his magic attribute finally at a respectable number, he could faintly sense magic being cast around him, and even determine certain aspects of it if he focused hard enough.


    For example, without even casting his spell he could feel the magical auras being given off by his sword and the stone in his pack. He could even pick up the slight auras coming off the gemstone floor lamps scattered around the house. Curious to see how it differed from his own new senses, Vin cast the only one of his spells he¡¯d truly learned all on his own.


    ¡°Sense Magic.¡± Just like before, wherever he aimed his focus the faint magical auras surrounding the gemstones and his artifacts transformed into glowing beacons to his magic sense. While he lost the ability to make out details surrounding the various magical items such as their affinities, their existence became far easier to make out.


    More as an excuse to flex his new Capstone than anything, Vin adjusted a few of the runes making up the spell¡¯s structure, massively expanding the range and force of the spell for just a split second before casting it a second time.


    The altered spell consumed a much larger chunk of his mana than the original, but just as he¡¯d hoped the mana rocketed out of him in a single massive pulse that covered the entire house. Heedless of any walls or physical objects in the way, anything with a magical aura that the pulse connected with lit up in his brain like a Christmas tree.


    Vin swayed slightly at having nearly a third of his mana used up in an instant, but he was too distracted to worry about something as mundane as that.


    His spell had turned up something strange.


    ¡°Hey Shia¡­ did you know this Divine Druid guy personally?¡±


    ¡°A bit,¡± she confirmed, hesitating for the barest of moments. ¡°Why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°Oh, no real reason,¡± Vin said, rubbing his head as he was hit with a small mana headache. ¡°I was just curious if you had any idea what he kept in his magic safe.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± She frowned. ¡°The Druid of the Divine didn¡¯t have a magic safe. Nobody would dare take anything from him after all. Not only was he the strongest within the village, he was revered by our people, second only to the Ancient Ones themselves.¡±


    ¡°Well then¡­¡± Vin headed over to the bedroom, sensing Shia following behind him. Once inside, he approached the mattress responsible for the greatest sleep in his entire life and carefully heaved it aside. There, hidden within the living bed frame, was a large wooden lid nearly taller than Vin himself. The lid was covered in mana filled runes, yet strangely, it was completely absent to Vin¡¯s newfound senses that came from his magic attribute. If it hadn¡¯t been for his spell¡¯s ability to detect magic itself, he never would have noticed it.


    ¡°What in the forest¡­¡± Shia whispered, her breath catching. Running a hand delicately over the engraved lid, Vin watched the familiar sight of her tongue flicking out of her mouth. He¡¯d grown quite used to seeing the strange way the elf detected magic over the last two days.


    ¡°The lid doesn¡¯t taste like magic at all¡­ but there is clearly a spell at work here,¡± she concluded. ¡°Some sort of spell designed to hide a magical aura so a person¡¯s innate magic sense wouldn¡¯t pick up on it would be my guess. How strange¡­¡±


    ¡°It might be designed to hide from your tongue, but not from my Sense Magic spell,¡± Vin said, with just the right amount of smugness in his opinion. He expected to hear some snarky comeback, but Shia was too distracted, her attention focused entirely on the hidden compartment before them. Carefully, she lifted the wooden lid, and the two of them gasped as the powerful sensation of nature magic swept over them.


    It felt like stepping out of an air conditioned building directly into a summer field, the sun shining down at just the right temperature and a warm breeze blowing through your hair. Shaking himself out of his stupor, Vin noticed a single tear trailing down Shia¡¯s face as she stared into the hidden compartment.


    Inside the hollow bed frame lay a short staff. Unlike any sort of walking stick Vin had ever seen, he knew the moment he laid eyes on it that the staff was alive.


    It looked as though two small saplings had been encouraged via magic to twist around one another as they grew, until they merged together into one powerful piece of spiraling wood. At the top, where Vin would expect a magic staff to have some sort of gem or orb or something along those lines, the staff ended with a miniaturized canopy of leaves that even seemed to be flowing in a nonexistent wind. It was like a twisting tree had been miniaturized.


    And packed full of immensely potent nature magic.


    Slowly, Shia reached in and gripped the magic staff, pulling it out of its hiding place and bringing it close to her chest. Sniffling, she wiped the tears from her eyes as her smile wavered.


    ¡°It¡¯s a present,¡± she finally said, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the staff. ¡°That¡¯s why he was hiding it. He knew I¡¯d taste the magic and ruin the surprise if he didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­ so why was the Divine Druid guy hiding a present for you?¡± Even as the words left his mouth, Vin put two and two together and smacked himself. ¡°Oh duh¡­ he was your instructor, wasn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± she nodded, her eyes yet to leave the staff she held so lovingly. ¡°Under his instruction, I was quickly approaching my second prestige. He¡¯d hinted that he¡¯d have to do something special for the occasion, but he refused to elaborate when I asked him.¡±


    The news that Shia had almost hit level 40 before the Great Reset rocked Vin a bit, but he said nothing. He was content to watch the elf relish one last act of kindness from her missing master. From all the times she¡¯d spoken of the man over the past few days, she¡¯d made it very clear how she¡¯d felt about him.


    To Vin¡¯s surprise, Shia held out the staff, giving him an encouraging smile. ¡°Here. You get experience from discovering objects of power, right? Seeing as you were the one who discovered it, it¡¯s only fair to let you have your due.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Vin said, gingerly taking the miniaturized tree in hand. The bark was somehow both smooth and rough at the same time, and he felt as though he could trek over this new world¡¯s largest mountain with the staff in hand. The moment his fingers closed around the staff, a familiar notification popped up.


    New Lesser Artifact Discovered! 5,000 exp gained.


    ¡°A lesser artifact?¡± He muttered, turning the staff over in his hands before handing it back to the eagerly awaiting elf. ¡°Damn, that¡¯s some gift.¡±


    ¡°And he would have considered that nothing,¡± Shia giggled, bringing the staff close to her chest once more. ¡°My master believed relying on objects of power with too much magic packed into them was the best way to stunt one¡¯s growth. He could have easily crafted me something far more powerful than this, but this would have been his way of saying he still cared about my future.¡±


    ¡°Wish I could have met him.¡±


    ¡°Me too,¡± Shia said, her eyes getting a bit more watery. Getting to her feet, she cleared her throat and turned so Vin couldn¡¯t see her face. ¡°Erik asked me to tell you he¡¯d meet you at the edge of the village come morning. I¡¯ll show you to the meeting place, so just make sure you get enough rest.¡± Having said her part, the teary-eyed elf quickly left the room, the staff still clutched to her shaking chest.


    Sighing, Vin rubbed the back of his head as he thought about what to do going forward. Admittedly, he¡¯d gotten a bit distracted by the allure of learning more magic. It had already been a full week since arriving on this new world, which meant he only had a few days left to check out the final two fragments surrounding their own and make it back to camp before wave two arrived. Spur would be royally pissed if he missed wave two after he promised he¡¯d be there.


    Deciding the best thing to do now would be to follow Shia¡¯s instructions and get some rest in preparation of leaving the Sacred Forest behind him, Vin went to reassemble the bed before pausing, his hand gripping the edge of the compartment lid used to hide the artifact¡¯s magical aura.


    Vin stared at the runes carved all along the compartment lid, feeling them dig into his hand as he held it.


    A runic structure designed to hide magical auras¡­ that probably wasn¡¯t nature or life magic.


    Right?

 26. The Giving Tree

    Vin couldn¡¯t help but let out a massive yawn as they made their way to the edge of the elven village, earning himself a raised eyebrow from Shia as they walked. The elf struck a far more imposing visage now that she held the minor artifact in hand. So much so that the handful of elves that were up this early seemed to be more interested in the miniature tree she was carrying than the human walking by her side.


    Vin couldn¡¯t blame them. After honing his ability to sense magical auras under Shia¡¯s tutelage, he could finally sense just how densely packed that staff was with nature mana.


    ¡°I thought I told you to get some rest,¡± Shia muttered as they approached their meeting place with Erik. ¡°You have a long mission ahead of you after all.¡±


    ¡°The runic formation engraved on that lid was more complicated than I expected,¡± Vin explained, stifling another yawn. ¡°I don¡¯t know what the problem was, but it took me most of the night to get it down. Randomly losing my vision to a few backlashes didn¡¯t really help either.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Shia¡¯s steps faltered and she turned to glare at him. ¡°What part of ¡®runic backlashes are dangerous¡¯ did you not understand?¡±


    ¡°Eh, I figure so long as I don¡¯t try and learn any actual dangerous spells I¡¯ll be fine,¡± Vin couldn¡¯t help but grin. ¡°Besides, this new spell was totally worth it!¡±


    Not only had learning the new spell bumped him up to level 13, but the additional night of practice had raised his Spellcraft skill two more levels and his Meditation skill by one. He could already tell his skills seemed to be taking more effort to level up now that they had gotten so high, but the experience payouts were huge every time it did happen.


    Shia must have decided arguing wasn¡¯t worth it as she simply shook her head and led them the last few hundred feet to the meeting spot. As they approached the edge of the village, Vin recognized a faint shimmering in one of the nearby trees just before Erik stepped out of it.


    ¡°You can do that to normal trees too?¡± Vin asked, surprised to see the dryad so far from the Tree of Ancients.


    ¡°I am connected to every tree in this forest after all,¡± Erik smiled, as though that was enough of an explanation for now. Vin wasn¡¯t sure if it was his increased focus or if he just hadn¡¯t noticed it the last time they¡¯d met, but the dryad¡¯s bark-like face seemed to be creased with more wrinkles than he remembered. ¡°How did your days of study go? Were they as productive as you¡¯d hoped?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll say!¡± Vin paused, squinting at the dryad. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you already know how they went though? The house you put me in had living trees for walls after all.¡±


    ¡°My people make a point of ensuring the elves have their privacy,¡± Erik explained. ¡°We don¡¯t peer into people¡¯s homes unless there is a very good reason for it. And Shia¡¯s master made it very clear he did not care what reason we had, he demanded we never turn our eyes into his residence. We have continued to honor that request even after his disappearance, and I now believe I understand why,¡± Erik said, smiling at a blushing Shia as she clutched her new staff. ¡°That is a wonderful gift your master has left you. I doubt I have to tell you such, but be sure to treasure it. Artifacts don¡¯t grow on trees after all.¡±


    Vin stared at the millennia old magical beast, his mouth open in shock at the man¡¯s pun. But before he could call him out, he was hit by an even greater surprise.


    The dryad¡¯s form blurred for a moment as a second humanoid figure seemed to float out of it. To Vin¡¯s shock, he realized Alka was now standing beside the dryad, grinning at him.


    ¡°What¡­ Alka! What¡¯s going on?¡± He said, startled to see his ghostly companion willingly showing herself to others.


    ¡°Once I realized you were going to be spending entire days cooped up in that house staring at runes, I decided to explore the village a bit,¡± Alka shrugged. ¡°Erik here spotted my drifting around pretty quickly and invited me to hang with him in the Tree of Ancients. That thing is awesome!¡±


    ¡°Hold on, you¡¯ve been gone for days?¡± Vin paused, pulling up his interface. He would have noticed if the temporary attribute points from his Human Vessel title had vanished. Sure enough, the bonus numbers were still right there on his sheet. ¡°How do I still have these bonuses with you not floating inside me?¡±


    ¡°I think when you first accepted the sword, you officially became my anchor, regardless of if I¡¯m with you or not,¡± Alka shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡¯d have to ask a more experienced Slayer if I wanted a more concrete explanation. More importantly, did you seriously not notice I was gone for three whole days? I swung back every so often to check up on you, but I hadn¡¯t realized you weren¡¯t even aware I was gone.¡±


    ¡°I was a little bit distracted,¡± Vin admitted, scratching his head sheepishly. Glancing at a thoroughly confused Shia, Vin realized even if Erik had some magical way to communicate with the dead, to the elf it would sound like he and Alka were just making ghostly moaning sounds at one another.


    ¡°Shia, this is Alka,¡± he said, gesturing to the grinning ghost. ¡°I picked her up a few fragments away during my travels. We¡¯re actually hunting for someone with access to divinity so they can put her to a final rest.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why you were so interested in my master,¡± Shia said, putting the pieces together.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Vin nodded. ¡°It would have been really convenient for us if he¡¯d still been around. Hopefully we¡¯ll be able to find someone else graced by the Gods sooner or later.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of your journey,¡± Erik cut in, gesturing to the sword strapped across Vin¡¯s back. ¡°Would you mind lending me that weapon for just a moment?¡±


    Vin glanced at Alka, but the ghost simply nodded with excitement. Shrugging, Vin handed over the sword, curious to see what Erik was planning.


    ¡°Ever since you first stepped into the Sacred Forest, I¡¯ve had my eyes on this artifact,¡± Erik explained, bringing the sword up to his face and twisting the blade around in his hands. ¡°The magic imbued within the blade is not anything special, but it is exceedingly rare for a dryad as old as myself to find a form of wood they are unfamiliar with. But I suppose with the merging of so many worlds, it is something that will be happening more and more frequently going forward.¡±


    ¡°Petrified Elder wood,¡± Alka said proudly. ¡°Indestructible, and worth more than some minor noble houses back on my world.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, the wood is quite the wonder,¡± Erik admitted, admiring the grain. ¡°Even with my mastery over nature, I don¡¯t believe I currently have the power that would be necessary to fully destroy the blade. But to make just a few slight adjustments¡­¡±


    Without any warning, Erik¡¯s body exploded into a shining green light, causing Vin and Shia to flinch back, shielding their eyes from the sudden display of power. Squinting, Vin tried to see what was happening.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Just barely, he could make out Erik within the green aura as the dryad burned magic power that made his own mana pool look like a pathetic puddle. Erik had his entire focus locked on the blade before him, and Vin could swear he felt minor fluctuations in the magical aura surrounding the blade. And then, almost as fast as it had begun, the aura vanished.


    Vin rubbed his eyes, willing his vision to return to normal as Shia sputtered beside him.


    ¡°Ancient One, you shouldn¡¯t be burning your power so wastefully!¡± She said, glancing around to make sure there weren¡¯t any nearby elves to hear her.


    ¡°Wait, you know about the current situation?¡± Vin asked, blinking the last dots from his eyes. ¡°I thought that was like top secret or something?¡±


    ¡°My master made sure I understood the true reliance both the elves and the dryads have on one another,¡± she admitted, shrinking back slightly under the intensity of Erik¡¯s grandfatherly smile. ¡°I might not know exactly what¡¯s going on, but it wasn¡¯t hard to put two and two together when nearly all the dryads vanished after our greatest Druids lost their strength.¡±


    ¡°My child, that is exactly why I asked you to aid our young friend here,¡± Erik explained, his eyes soft as he took in the timid elf. Vin hadn¡¯t been totally certain before, but there was no doubt in his mind now. It was difficult to make out due to the dryad¡¯s bark-like skin, but after that incredible display of magical power, the man looked as though he¡¯d aged at least a couple of years. ¡°Even with the loss of your master, you continue to be one of the most impressive druids within the village. It is because of that, I must make one more selfish request of you. Though I believe my request aligns closely with what you truly desire.¡±


    ¡°I would like you to journey with our human friend here as he hunts for a way to save our Sacred Forest,¡± Erik explained to the shocked elf. ¡°He has so graciously agreed to help us in our time of need, but he will need strong companions to help carry him through this turbulent new world we find ourselves in.¡±


    Shia looked more and more confused as the dryad spoke. Finally, she shook her head, taking a hesitant step back. ¡°You want me to leave the Sacred Forest? Now, while you are at your weakest? If I¡¯m truly one of the strongest Druids we have, shouldn¡¯t I be dedicating myself to helping you here? Especially with my new staff?¡±


    ¡°While your efforts here would certainly be appreciated, it would be akin to using one¡¯s strongest medicine to treat the symptoms rather than the disease itself.¡± Erik smiled warmly, taking in the uncertain elf before him. ¡°I don¡¯t wish to add any more pressure to young Vin here, but if his mission is unsuccessful, it will not matter how many low level Druids I have channeling magic into the Tree of Ancients here. I would rather risk a little extra power to ensure his journey goes smoothly. Which is why I did this.¡±


    Without warning, Erik tossed the enchanted blade to the side, directly at Alka¡¯s ghostly form. By reflex, she reached out to grab the hilt, and to everyone¡¯s shock, actually caught the blade in midair. The three of them stared at the floating sword in her hands as Erik let out a melodic chuckle.


    ¡°The weapon was already enchanted to alter how it interacts with magic. It took a bit more out of me than I was expecting, but I was able to adjust the enchantment covering the hilt. The result is as you see before you.¡±


    Slowly, as if she was afraid the blade would pass through her fingers at any moment, Alka swung the blade, completing a single arc. Growing confident, she tried a quick slash, then a few stabs. Laughing, she entered into one of her combat drills, and Vin stared in awe at the speed of which the sword flew around. Seeing as she didn¡¯t actually have a physical body, she didn¡¯t seem to grow tired or have any need to rest.


    ¡°This is amazing!¡± She exclaimed, finally ending her drill with a frenzied flurry of slashes. Grinning wildly, she turned and gave Erik a deep bow. ¡°I can¡¯t begin to thank you enough for this. Just being able to interact with the world again means more to me than you could imagine.¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­ I could understand that!¡± Shia said, pointing at the beaming ghost.


    ¡°Indeed. I did more than just make it so you could hold the sword,¡± Erik said, gesturing toward Vin. ¡°You are anchored to both the sword and your young friend here. Because of that, I was able to utilize the enchantment on the sword to¡­ tweak your connection, in a way. So long as you and Vin are anchored, you will be able to benefit from his Polyglot passive.¡±


    ¡°You can do that? How?¡± Vin asked, staring in awe at the dryad. It was easy to forget the kind, elderly man standing before him was actually a millennia old magical beast. Who knew what secrets and powers the dryad held.


    ¡°Magic is a wonderful thing full of infinite potential,¡± was all the ancient dryad said, a strange hint of regret seeming to creep up into his voice. ¡°The more you study it, the more you¡¯ll learn that you¡¯ve never truly delved deeper than the surface.¡±


    Vin deflated when he realized that was the extent of the sagely advice he¡¯d be receiving from the dryad as Erik turned his focus back toward a still hesitant Shia.


    ¡°My child of the forest¡­ while I won¡¯t pretend I ask this favor of you for any reason besides the potential saving of my people, don¡¯t think I don¡¯t see the yearning in your own heart.¡±


    Vin wasn¡¯t sure what he was talking about, but Shia clearly was, as she flinched back like she¡¯d been slapped. Pulling her staff close once more, she looked hopefully toward the Ancient One. ¡°Do you really think he¡¯s still out there?¡±


    ¡°Shia,¡± Erik chuckled, saying the elf¡¯s name for the first time. ¡°Over my admittedly long life, I have witnessed only a half dozen or so elves receive blessings from the gods, and none of them impressed me more than your master. I am thousands of years old, and I expect that crazy old elf to outlast me.¡±


    Shia couldn¡¯t help but laugh, and Vin watched as her uncertainty slowly faded, quickly replaced with a look of determination. Standing up straight, she held her head high and planted her new staff on the ground, grinning her familiar too-wide grin that sent a brand new shiver down his back.


    ¡°Ancient One,¡± she said, her voice steeled with resolve. ¡°I would like to ask permission to leave the Sacred Forest.¡±


    ¡°You never needed my permission, child¡­ but I will give you my blessing,¡± Erik smiled sadly at the young elf. ¡°I only hope you return victorious one day, with enough power to knock that senseless old master of yours down a few pegs.¡±


    ¡°Now then, my magical display will no doubt have caught the attention of a few elves, and I don¡¯t want to hold up the start of your journey, so I will make this quick.¡± Reaching into a nearby tree, Erik pulled three shining objects from the wood as though they¡¯d been sitting in some sort of unseen hollow all along. ¡°I did say I had some artifacts for you after all.¡±


    ¡°First, a ring of barkskin.¡± Tossing a ring to him, Vin caught it and stared at the simple wooden ring. Unlike when he¡¯d received his first artifacts, his magic attribute was high enough now that he could feel the nature magic radiating off of it. It wasn¡¯t anywhere as strong as Shia¡¯s staff, but it was still significant.


    ¡°That will increase your natural defense to a degree,¡± Erik explained. ¡°Trees are far from indestructible, but they are certainly tougher than flesh.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Vin said, dismissing the notification that he¡¯d earned another 1,000 experience as he put the ring on his finger. Immediately, he felt a warmth spread out from his right hand across the rest of his body, and his skin seemed to harden to the touch. Thankfully it didn¡¯t change his outward appearance as far as he could tell, because it would be hard to explain to anyone why he suddenly looked like Erik¡¯s long lost cousin.


    ¡°Less exciting, but still an important item for any Explorer,¡± Erik continued, next handing him a fairly ordinary looking waterskin. ¡°This is enchanted to pull ambient mana from the air and convert it to water. You can also pump your own mana into it for a quicker refill if needed.¡±


    ¡°I bet this will be useful,¡± Vin said, nodding his thanks and tucking the waterskin into his pack. With the crazy variety in fragments, he figured it was only a matter of time before he stumbled upon a fragment where finding water would be a problem.


    ¡°This last one is for Shia,¡± Erik said, handing a thin wooden choker to Vin for a moment to allow him the experience gain before clasping it around the elf¡¯s neck. ¡°You¡¯ll be exploring fragments of other worlds filled with people and cultures we can¡¯t even imagine, and you can¡¯t very well be the only member of your party in the dark. This will allow you to understand other languages that you come across. Be warned however, it is not as powerful as Vin¡¯s Polyglot passive. While you will be able to understand and speak to others, you won¡¯t be able to read or write in their tongue.¡±


    ¡°I will treasure this,¡± Shia said, nodding her thanks to the smiling dryad.


    ¡°Now, I believe this old tree has kept you long enough,¡± Erik said, gazing upon the three of them with hope and pride gleaming in his eyes. ¡°I wish you a successful journey, and that you make some fond memories along the way.¡±


    ¡°Best of luck to you all.¡±

 27. It’s Coarse and Gets Everywhere

    ¡°So what¡¯s the plan?¡± Shia asked as they made their way out of the Sacred Forest. As one last parting gift, Erik had pointed them in a direction that was free of any monsters, so they were making good time as they walked. They¡¯d had to wait a few minutes to allow Shia to run back to her house and grab some essentials like a cloak and a travel bag seeing as she hadn¡¯t known she¡¯d be joining them, but they hadn¡¯t minded the wait.


    ¡°Well, I have to return back to my people ideally by tomorrow evening,¡± Vin said, trying to figure out a timeline in his head. ¡°In two days the System is going to bring a thousand people from my original world over to this one, and I promised I¡¯d be there for it. I think our wave arrived sometime around noon, so hopefully the second wave won¡¯t be until noon as well.¡±


    ¡°Strange that your world is having people sent in waves instead of a single fragment,¡± Shia said, somehow willing the brush and branches in front of them to shift out of the way just enough not to impede them.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know the half of it,¡± Alka said, floating along beside the two of them. Ever since she¡¯d gained the ability to speak again, she¡¯d barely spent any time echoing Vin¡¯s form. Vin could tell by her twitching fingers she desperately wanted to grab the sword and hack down all the foliage in their way, but out of respect to Erik and the Sacred Forest, she managed to contain herself. ¡°I¡¯ve been to his camp and seen his people. Buncha weirdos if you ask me.¡±


    ¡°Again, my world didn¡¯t have magic or monsters or anything like the System,¡± Vin sighed, shaking his head. ¡°Other than in video games I guess. This was all very sudden and quite a lot for most people from my world to take in. You should be impressed that we managed a semi-functional camp at all.¡±


    And I hope it¡¯s still standing when I get back, he added silently to himself. He hadn¡¯t exactly liked the vibe he¡¯d felt when he left, so he could only hope Spur and the rest of the council had a handle on things. Now that he had some experience working with and detecting magic, he had a theory he wanted to test when he got back as well.


    ¡°So we¡¯re heading back to your camp then?¡± Shia asked.


    ¡°Not yet¡­ I was actually tasked with exploring the six fragments surrounding our own, and I still have two left on my list,¡± Vin explained. ¡°The goal is to hit those two really quick and do our best to determine if either are harboring a bunch of people that want to kill us, or giant monsters that plan to treat us like chew toys. Once that¡¯s done, we¡¯ll run home just in time for the second wave!¡±


    ¡°Let me get this straight. You were given a time sensitive mission to complete by your people¡­ and then you spent nearly half that time learning magic in our village?¡± Shia asked, rolling her eyes as Vin blushed in embarrassment. ¡°I guess I shouldn¡¯t expect anything else from a magic addict.¡±


    ¡°Hey! Magic is awesome!¡± Vin defended himself. ¡°And Erik asked me to wait for him to get everything ready! What, was I just supposed to say no and walk away?¡± He paused, thinking back to their last encounter with the dryad. ¡°Actually, what did he need to get ready exactly? I figured he just pulled these artifacts out of a tree vault or something.¡±


    ¡°That would be this,¡± Shia said, indicating the pouch nestled securely against her hip. ¡°When I ran home to pack, Erik met me there and explained what my role in this quest was to be. He provided me with a large quantity of magic seeds he¡¯d prepared that will help us on our journey.¡±


    ¡°Oh, well that¡¯s good.¡± Vin thought back to his first conversation with Erik, remembering that the dryad had explained the companion he¡¯d be traveling with would handle sending magical beast corpses back to the Sacred Forest. Honestly, he¡¯d kinda forgotten all of that during his magic lessons. ¡°Anything we should know?¡±


    ¡°I think it will be more fun to be surprised,¡± Shia said, flashing him her pointed smile.


    The three of them walked, and floated, through the rest of the Sacred Forest, chatting about their previous adventures. Shia talked about some of the hunts she¡¯d participated in over the years, while Vin and Alka worked together to get the newest member of their party up to speed on the fragments they¡¯d visited so far.


    As one might expect from an elf that had never left the dense foliage of the Sacred Forest, Shia seemed most excited about the ocean fragment that Vin had literally poked his head into for a few seconds. Vin hadn¡¯t thought about it too much, but the Sacred Forest didn¡¯t really have any standing bodies of water; just a few streams and meager rivers running through it here and there. The thought of a gigantic area of water miles wide was apparently quite enticing to the elf.


    Before they knew it, they hit the end of the Sacred Forest and found themselves gazing upon the next fragment bordering Vin¡¯s starting one. Unlike his previous expeditions, the Sacred Forest was thick with trees, so he didn¡¯t see the abrupt change in scenery until the very last second. One moment he was walking through trees and grass, and the next, he found himself standing on sand.


    New fragment discovered! 500 exp gained.


    Vin stared in shock at the desert landscape extending out into the distance before them. Unlike deserts back on Earth, the sand seemed to have a distinct pinkish shade that grew darker the higher any of the dunes before them reached, to the point where the tops of the dunes looked nearly blood red. The massive sun hanging heavily overhead looked to be nearly three times larger than it was mere moments ago, and the heat hit him like a punch to the gut as the temperature rose what felt like fifty degrees the moment they entered the fragment.


    ¡°What¡­ what is this place?¡± Shia asked, sweat already dripping down her face as she shielded her eyes from the sun and looked around. ¡°There are no plants! No life! Not even the color green!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, welcome to a desert,¡± Vin said, already cursing the fact that he didn¡¯t have a cloak like Shia to protect him from the sun. ¡°I¡¯ve never actually been in one, but my world has plenty of them.¡±


    ¡°Never seen one myself, but I¡¯ve heard of places like this back on my world that only the bravest of traders would dare to cross,¡± Alka added, completely unperturbed by the blistering heat. ¡°I think I¡¯m starting to see why.¡±


    Vin briefly considered backing out of the hellish fragment and skirting around the edge of the Sacred Forest and their primary fragment to get to the next one before deciding against it. They were on a time crunch after all, and the entire point of his exploring was supposed to be to determine threats. He couldn¡¯t very well say he accomplished that just by poking his head in here. The ocean was one thing, but he couldn¡¯t exactly use that excuse twice.


    Sighing, he hefted his pack and started walking. ¡°Come on. The sooner we start moving, the sooner we¡¯ll be out of this place.¡± Despite his high endurance, he didn¡¯t dare try his luck running in these extreme conditions. The last thing he needed was to give himself heat stroke and collapse in the middle of the desert.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    The three of them made their way deeper into the fragment, trekking from one sand dune to the next, keeping their eyes peeled for any threats. Thankfully, Shia had packed a spare cloak, so Vin was able to get at least a little protection from the beaming sun. Erik¡¯s waterskin quickly became Vin¡¯s favorite artifact as well, as he and Shia traded the artifact back and forth regularly, forced to spend a bit of mana each time due to how frequently they needed to drink.


    To Vin¡¯s surprise, the longer they walked, the more he discovered that the desert wasn¡¯t entirely barren of life. Similar to deserts back on Earth, they would occasionally spot small critters burying themselves in the dunes, or tiny lizards camouflaged to blend in with the pinkish sand as they hunted down insects. They even stumbled upon a few small trees every so often that looked like stubby shrubs with large flowers decorating them. Vin was curious to see if they could tap the trees for liquids like you would a cactus, but not curious enough to risk poisoning himself to try.


    Blinking at the sudden realization, Vin glanced down at the crook of his arm, closely examining his arm for any sort of rash or irritation. Seeing Alka¡¯s raised eyebrow as he checked on his unblemished skin, Vin chuckled, waving her away.


    ¡°Just checking on something I¡¯d completely forgotten about in all the craziness that¡¯s happened.¡±


    Note to self, remember to try some of those honeysuckle looking plants next time we¡¯re in the area. I bet Shia has some sort of spell to cure poison anyway.


    After an hour or so of walking in blistering heat, they crested a dune and stopped at the welcoming sight before them.


    ¡°An oasis!¡± Vin shouted, grinning at the first natural drop of water they¡¯d seen since entering the fragment.


    Nestled between a few of the reddish dunes was a thin valley with a small pond in the center. While he didn¡¯t spot any of the stubby shrubs that dotted the desert, there were a few other scraggly looking plants jutting up out of the ground all around the water. With his high focus, Vin could even make out a few of the familiar lizards enjoying the free bath.


    But as his eyes finally left the welcoming sight of water, he froze, halting in his tracks and holding up a hand for Shia to do the same. He¡¯d missed them at first, but he could clearly make out a small handful of tents erected a short ways away from the oasis.


    ¡°There are people down there,¡± Vin whispered, pointing out the tents to a squinting Shia. ¡°We should probably be a bit more careful moving forward.¡±


    ¡°Should we just avoid them?¡± Shia asked. ¡°We don¡¯t actually need the oasis with your water skin after all. No sense risking a fight we don¡¯t actually need to have.¡±


    ¡°Vin¡¯s supposed to figure out if they''re dangerous,¡± Alka pointed out, shaking her head. ¡°Can¡¯t exactly do that if he doesn¡¯t talk to them.¡±


    ¡°Alka¡¯s right,¡± he nodded. ¡°Thankfully I don¡¯t see any human heads on spikes or anything like that from up here, so hopefully they aren¡¯t bloodthirsty marauders.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I wouldn¡¯t mind some bloodthirsty marauders right about now,¡± Alka grinned, eyeing the sword on his back hungrily. They¡¯d discovered that while Alka could interact with the sword, holding onto it for too long ended up draining her somehow over time, and she had a hunch that it would destabilize her entirely if she held it long enough. Not wanting to spend the hours needed to reform herself, they¡¯d decided to leave the sword with Vin until she actually needed it to fight.


    ¡°I don¡¯t doubt it,¡± Vin muttered, shaking his head. ¡°For now, how about we go in peacefully? Maybe don¡¯t stab anyone unless they stab first?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re no fun,¡± Alka whined before floating back into Vin¡¯s frame, echoing him once more.


    ¡°That is still so weird to see,¡± Shia said, eyeing him warily. ¡°She just floats around inside you? And you don¡¯t feel anything?¡±


    ¡°Actually, it does feel kinda chilly when Alka is echoing me,¡± Vin said, grinning at Shia¡¯s wide eyes and jealous look. ¡°I normally don¡¯t even feel it with my high endurance, but I can definitely feel it now that we¡¯re in a desert!¡±


    With Alka hidden and Shia cursing him from behind, the two of them made their way carefully down the red dune before slowly approaching the cluster of tents. There were only a few set up, but as they got closer, Vin gradually became able to make out some marks on the ground. Luckily for them there didn¡¯t seem to be any wind in this fragment, and there certainly wasn¡¯t any rain, meaning the marks were just as fresh as if they¡¯d been left only a few minutes ago.


    A quick check of the tents which consisted of little more than a handful of hides strung up on poles confirmed that they were all empty other than a few ragged blankets. Vin took a few minutes to go over the marks surrounding the tents, receiving an unexpected notification for his efforts.


    Tracking increased to lvl 5! 500 exp gained.


    Oh nice! He thought, grinning at the chance to improve his first skill again. He hadn¡¯t had a need for his Tracking abilities since hunting down the missing stone villagers.


    ¡°There were a lot more tents here originally,¡± he explained, gesturing to a few different spots where the sand was unnaturally disturbed as he stood up, brushing the sand off his pants. ¡°Hard to say how many, but at least two or three dozen. Not sure what happened or why, but as far as I can tell, everyone just picked up and left. No clue why they left a few of the tents behind.¡± Seeing Shia¡¯s raised eyebrow, he laughed. ¡°I have the Tracking skill.¡±


    ¡°Oh, good pick,¡± she nodded. ¡°I almost went with that one, but ended up going with Hunting instead. It¡¯s less broad, but better for finding animals in the forest.¡±


    ¡°You people and your non-combat skills,¡± Alka said, drifting back out of his body once they¡¯d determined the camp was empty. ¡°If it doesn¡¯t help you kill monsters, is it really worth wasting a skill point on?¡±


    ¡°This might come as a shock to you, but there¡¯s more to life than fighting, Alka,¡± Vin said, shaking his head. ¡°Anyway, we can¡¯t exactly determine if these people are friendly or not if they aren¡¯t here, so I say we move on.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t have to tell me twice,¡± Shia said, shooting a hesitant glance over at the pool of water. ¡°Though while we¡¯re already down here¡­¡±


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you just berating me for wasting time at your village when I¡¯m on a deadline?¡± Vin asked, laughing at the elf¡¯s growing red face. To be fair, both their faces were already rather red from the heat, but he could tell she was embarrassed.


    ¡°You spent days in my village! I just want a minute or two to cool off!¡± She argued, throwing her cloak behind her and striding toward the water, staff in hand. As she approached the water, the handful of lizards happily bathing let out startled little squeaks as they bolted from their slice of paradise. Careful not to cut herself on the prickly looking plants surrounding the oasis, Shia stepped into the shallow water and sat down, fully immersing herself from the waist down.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know what you¡¯re missing!¡± She called out, her pointed teeth shining in the harsh sunlight.


    Rolling his eyes, Vin left the tents behind him, moving to join the elf in the water and get out of the heat. But before he could even make it halfway across the abandoned camp, the ground began trembling violently beneath his feet, and he was nearly thrown headfirst into a nearby dune.


    ¡°What the hell?!¡± He yelled, struggling to maintain his footing as the sand began moving all around them. His eyes widened as the shifting sands revealed something large and fleshy under the strange looking plants surrounding the oasis, and he screamed.


    ¡°Shia! Get out of the water!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± She called back, raising an eyebrow as he stumbled around drunkenly. She clearly wasn¡¯t able to feel the vibrating ground from within the oasis. ¡°Why would I-¡±


    That was all she got out before the monster¡¯s mouth she was sitting in slammed shut, swallowing her whole.

 28. Crimes Against Frogkind

    New Elite Monster Discovered! 500 exp gained.


    ¡°No, really?!¡± He yelled, dismissing the notification as he took in the hulkish monster emerging from the sand before him. When the sand had shifted enough to finally reveal the small mountain of flesh attached to the weird plants surrounding the small oasis, he''d realized they were actually teeth.


    Of course, he''d realized it far too late to stop Shia from getting swallowed.


    Ah crap. I¡¯ve seen Dune, I¡¯ve seen Star Wars, how on Earth are we going to fight a giant¡­ sand¡­ he paused, watching the monster fully unearth itself.


    ¡­Frog?


    Rather than the gigantic sand worm he¡¯d been expecting, he found himself staring at a frog the size of a small bus. The frog had tough looking reddish-yellow skin, allowing it to blend in perfectly with the surrounding sand. Its two large, bulging eyes seemed unbothered by the sand sticking to them, and its legs looked powerful enough to send him flying into the next fragment if the monster decided to try kicking him. Letting out an earth rumbling croak, the monster slowly turned to look at Vin and Alka.


    ¡°Damn, that¡¯s one hell of a toad,¡± Alka said, seeming unconcerned as she eyed up the monstrous creature.


    ¡°You uh, don¡¯t think we should help her?¡± Vin asked, watching the toad stare blankly back at them. Before Alka could respond, the toad¡¯s massive hind legs exploded with force, sending sand flying everywhere as the monster leapt nearly straight up into the sky. To his horror, Vin realized there was now what had to be nearly two tons of toad flesh hovering directly overhead, and the toad¡¯s intentions were made clear as it quickly came plummeting down at them.


    ¡°Jesus!¡± Vin cried, sprinting out from under the falling toad and barely keeping his footing as the monster smashed into the desert like a meteorite right where he¡¯d been standing, sending more sand blasting everywhere. ¡°Alka, now would be an excellent time to get stabby!¡±


    ¡°Stop panicking,¡± the ghost said, rolling her eyes as Vin realized she was floating right beside him. ¡°If I get stab-happy there¡¯s a good chance I end up dicing up our new friend as well by accident. She had her fancy new staff with her right? I wouldn¡¯t be too worried.¡±


    Before Vin could argue, a sickening noise reached his ears that he could only compare to someone punching a hole through a wet chicken breast with their bare fist. Glancing at the toad, he was shocked to see a ten-foot-long tree branch thicker than his own head sticking out of the side of the monster; the branch seeming to have punched through the thick flesh with little effort.


    The toad paused in its attempt at crushing them, blinking at the sudden hole in its side. It let out one last weak, sand rattling croak before five more branches punched through it from the inside out going every which way, eventually tearing the toad apart and revealing a soaking wet elf clutching a magic staff.


    Not seeing any wounds on Shia, Vin stared in shock at the staff. The once small tree that made up Shia¡¯s new staff was somehow supporting all the gigantic branches sprouting out of it, each one currently covered in bits and pieces of bloody toad flesh. As he watched, Shia must have done something because the large branches quickly withered away and withdrew, dropping the monster remains onto the sand as they pulled themselves back into the staff and left her with a diminutive tree for a staff once more.


    Wiping a layer of blood and mucus off her face, Shia stepped over the toad¡¯s bloody carcass and walked over to them, her expression unreadable.


    ¡°Waterskin. Now.¡±


    Vin hurried to hand over the waterskin, and Shia stomped over to the empty tents, pulling one closed behind her. It took about fifteen minutes, but eventually, she walked back out, her body and clothes about as clean as they could be with only water at their disposal. Tossing the waterskin back to him, she shuddered, shooting a quick glance at the remnants of the monstrous toad.


    ¡°I would like to leave the desert now, if that¡¯s alright with you.¡±


    -----


    The three of them made haste through the rest of the desert, keeping clear of the few other oases they stumbled upon. Vin didn¡¯t know how many were giant toads and how many were real, and he had absolutely no interest in figuring that out. Thankfully they didn¡¯t end up encountering any other makeshift camps as they traveled, so it was only late afternoon by the time they reached the edge of the fragment.


    Without a literal forest of trees blocking their way, they were able to see the strange appearance of the next fragment once they got close to the magical border. Vin offered up a silent prayer of thanks to the System when the next fragment was revealed to be a normal, grassy looking plain. The sight of green and the distinct lack of sand was all the encouragement Shia and he needed, and they quickly rushed their way out of the desert.


    New fragment discovered! 500 exp gained.


    First ring of fragments discovered! 5,000 exp gained.


    Level up! Explorer lvl 14.


    +3 Attribute points to spend.


    +1 Skill point to spend.


    ¡°Oh nice, big exp boost for finally discovering all the fragments surrounding our starting one,¡± Vin said, grinning at his new interface. He really needed to go on a spending spree. He was now up to six unallocated attribute points, not to mention three unspent skill points. ¡°I wonder if I¡¯m setting some sort of record for leveling at this point.¡±


    ¡°Highly doubt it,¡± Shia said, taking in a deep breath of the refreshing, cool air that smelled faintly of flowers. ¡°In times of war, it¡¯s not unusual for talented fighters to go from level 1 all the way to their first prestige in the span of a few days. Of course, combat classes have it easy. All they need to do is kill enemies and they gain experience.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, not like killing enemies is challenging after all,¡± Alka said, rolling her eyes.


    ¡°Not that it¡¯s not hard, it¡¯s just potentially limitless experience,¡± Shia shrugged. ¡°Take my class for example. As a Druid, I do actually get experience from combat, but only if I utilize nature magic, and mana isn¡¯t infinite. Other than that, I need to spend time communing with nature or practicing with my magic to level. On top of developing my skills of course.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s interesting. I have to discover new stuff,¡± Vin shared. ¡°Did you get experience from skewering the monster toad then?¡±


    ¡°Enough to push me to the next level and then some for killing it solo,¡± Shia grinned, before shuddering at the still fresh memory. ¡°Not that I would want to go through the experience a second time.¡±


    ¡°Still, that¡¯s one amazing staff your master left you. What spell did you use to kill the toad anyway?¡±


    ¡°Rapid Growth,¡± Shia said, smiling down at her staff and gently stroking the miniature leaves adorning the tree. ¡°Like most Druid magic, few of my spells are actually designed for combat, but nearly all have the flexibility to be used in such situations as needed. You¡¯d do well to pick up a damaging spell or two when you get the chance.¡±Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°I guess,¡± Vin said, letting the topic drop as the three of them began heading into the new fragment. Shia was right of course. With how many troubling situations Vin kept finding himself stumbling into, and how heavily he was dedicating his attribute points into magic, the intelligent thing to do would definitely be picking up some combat spells. He just didn¡¯t like the idea of using magic as a weapon. Even the thought of it felt as though he was dirtying the wondrous nature of the element.


    Vin thought on the subject as they walked, wondering what type of combat magic he would even want while enjoying the far more refreshing temperature now that they¡¯d escaped the desert. Though this new fragment quickly proved to be a bit more lively than the last, even requiring Shia and Alka to dispatch a few packs of the purple fox-like beasts with quills running down their spines that Vin recognized from his own fragment. Though based on the sheer number they ran into, he could only imagine this was the fragment they originated from.


    The foxes weren¡¯t all that dangerous on their own, but they always seemed to attack in small packs of a half-dozen or more. And if that wasn¡¯t bad enough, Vin discovered to his horror that the foxes¡¯ main fighting strategy was to get close to their opponents and jab them with their many quills. Which then began glowing.


    And exploded.


    Thankfully they realized this early on when Shia knocked one of the monsters into its friend and the two of them took each other out, incidentally covering the elf with blood and monster bits for the second time in one day. After that, they adjusted their strategy to ensure only Alka got within melee range of the angry foxes.


    Whenever a new pack appeared, Shia utilized a spell that caused blades of grass to twist together and punch up from underneath the small monsters, piercing them through the stomach and keeping them pinned until they bled out while Alka simply borrowed her old sword and diced the rest of the monsters up like it was nothing.


    Vin merely watched the bloodshed unfold before him each time a new pack attacked as he tried to figure out what his fighting style might be in the future. He hated the thought of using magic to kill, but he also couldn¡¯t see himself swinging around a sword or even shooting something from afar with a bow. He¡¯d never been a violent person, but that wasn¡¯t to say he wouldn¡¯t protect himself if push came to shove. He¡¯d been on the receiving end of someone¡¯s fists more than once back on Earth when lazy cops threw him in the drunk tank when he was arrested for trespassing. He never threw the first punch, but he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to defend himself if the need arose.


    The problem was, there was a big difference between pushing an aggressive drunkard hard enough they fell to the ground and killing something.


    ¡°Lots of little pests in this fragment,¡± Alka pointed out as they finished off another pack of the monsters. The frequent attacks had slowed them down pretty significantly, and they¡¯d barely traveled a mile into the new fragment over the last hour. ¡°Honestly, I think I prefer when we get attacked by one large one, like the Trunkback. Much more fun that way.¡±


    ¡°No thanks,¡± Shia said, wiping the sweat from her brow. After so many quick fights in a row, she had to be running low on mana by now. ¡°I¡¯m in no rush to fight another Trunkback anytime soon. It was already a miracle so many of us got away unscathed from the one we fought the other day.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we take a break,¡± Vin offered, feeling a bit bad that he hadn¡¯t really done anything to help with the monsters besides throwing in the occasional Entangle. ¡°It¡¯ll give you a chance to recover your mana, and me a chance to spend some of my new points.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t say no to that,¡± Shia nodded, plopping herself down against a nearby tree and closing her eyes.


    ¡°Cool. Alka, do you mind keeping watch?¡±


    ¡°Can do,¡± she said, grabbing the sword and ¡®walking¡¯ away. Vin had noticed that despite the fact she was still technically floating, ever since regaining the ability to speak with people and interact with her sword Alka had been choosing to pretend to walk rather than float more and more frequently.


    Shrugging, he sat down beside Shia, pulling up his interface with a thought.


    Vinnie Stone


    Explorer: Lvl 14


    Titles: Human Vessel (Minor)


    Exp. 94,720/105,000


    Strength: 13(5)


    Dexterity: 14(3)


    Endurance: 33(2)


    Vigor: 15(2)


    Focus: 20(1)


    Magic: 21


    Attribute Points: 6


    Skill Points: 3


    Passive Points: 0


    Capstone: Runic Recalibration


    Passives: Mental Map, Polyglot, Distance Runner


    Skills: Tracking lvl 5, Spellcraft lvl 17, Meditation lvl 11


    Spells: Sense Stone, Sense Life, Sense Magic, Renewal, Replenish, Entangle, Concealment


    ¡°Hmmm,¡± he wondered out loud, reading over his attributes. His endurance was doing more than fine with the Explorer class bonus giving it a free point every level, and he still didn¡¯t care too much about strength and dexterity. Yet as much as he wanted to keep dropping everything into magic and focus, he was hesitant to continue letting his vigor remain so low in comparison. Especially after witnessing the strength packed into some of the monsters they¡¯d encountered so far.


    It pained him a bit, but he quickly placed five points into vigor before he could change his mind, gasping at the sudden sensation spreading throughout his body. It was the first time he¡¯d manually increased his vigor, and the change was startling.


    It was like he¡¯d lived his entire life with a mild cold, and raising his vigor by 33% caused his ears to pop and his chest to clear up. Sucking in a deep breath, he laughed, enjoying the odd sense of strength and vitality he felt buzzing within his body.


    Alright, vigor is way better than I expected. Grinning, he placed his final point into magic before pulling up the possible skills for purchase. It didn¡¯t feel right walking around with so many available skill points when they could be earning him experience in his travels. Seeing as he had three free points, he even pulled up the general skill list containing skills that cost two a piece, frowning at the sheer size of available skills.


    ¡°Hey Shia,¡± he asked, earning an irritated groan from the weary elf. It sounded like she was trying to nap. ¡°Sorry, quick question. Are there any skills that are good for everyone to take?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a broad question,¡± she sighed, not bothering to open her eyes. ¡°Depends on what you want to do. I know a lot of people take Dismantle or Skinning because they''re good for harvesting monster parts and animal hides. Then you have First Aid, Stealth, Climbing, Whittling, Taming¡­¡± She rattled off skill after skill. ¡°The list goes on and on really.¡±


    ¡°Those do sound useful,¡± Vin admitted.


    ¡°Bah, take a combat skill!¡± Alka called from a few dozen feet away, clearly having been listening in to their conversation. ¡°Even if you don¡¯t want something like one of the countless weapon expertise skills, there are plenty of useful ones. Off the top of my head there¡¯s Evasion, Blocking, even Feinting! Oh, you could snag Charging! Good for running into and away from combat!¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll pass on the combat skills,¡± Vin said, earning a look of disappointment from Alka. He thought back to the original handful of skills on his class list that had piqued his interest. ¡°What about Dungeoneering? Either of you ever tackle a dungeon?¡±


    The two women gave him a strange look, before glancing at one another and shaking their heads.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a skill I¡¯ve ever heard of¡­¡± Shia shrugged. ¡°And there certainly wasn¡¯t any sort of prison like that in the Sacred Forest.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t say I¡¯ve ever heard of people regularly exploring dungeons on my world either,¡± Alka added. ¡°I mean, there were plenty of rumors of nobles having dungeons that weren¡¯t exactly legal, but I can¡¯t imagine that¡¯s what your skill is for.¡±


    Huh. How strange. Vin stared at the skill, wondering what exactly it could be for. A sample size of two wasn¡¯t exactly massive, but it was interesting neither Shia or Alka had ever heard of the skill. After a few minutes of deliberating, he decided to go with his gut, purchasing the skill and preparing himself for the System¡¯s weird Matrix style information download. To his surprise, after waiting a few seconds in anticipation¡­


    Nothing happened.


    Opening his eyes, he checked his interface to make sure he¡¯d bought the skill. Sure enough, his interface now had Dungeoneering lvl 1 listed on it, but he hadn¡¯t learned anything new.


    Well that¡¯s odd. Shrugging, he decided to ignore the skill for now, figuring it would come into play sooner or later. With two skill points still to his name, he flicked through the general skill list again. He didn¡¯t know if he¡¯d ever have two skill points at the same time again, so if he ever wanted to take a serious look at the general skills, now would be the time.


    Unfortunately, there were just so many, and while he could certainly see uses for most of them, none of them really jumped out to him.


    I mean, I see the appeal of things like Calligraphy and Dancing, but they aren¡¯t exactly useful. Then you¡¯ve got more interesting ones like Forgery, Disguising, and hell, even Puppetry, but again, not useful to me. Sighing, Vin dismissed the general skills and turned back to his class list. He was tempted to pick up the First Aid skill Shia mentioned, but now that he had access to healing magic, it seemed like a waste. In the end, he snagged another one of the skills he¡¯d had his eye on from the beginning, giving himself Resistance lvl 1, before deciding to keep his last point in reserve for now.


    ¡°Alright, points spent and ready for action!¡± He said, getting to his feet and giving the glaring elf a big grin. ¡°Ready to keep trekking?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to convince a swarm of ants to live in your bedroll while you¡¯re sleeping,¡± Shia muttered, pushing herself up and walking past him.


    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit!¡± He laughed, retrieving the sword from Alka and trailing behind the irritated elf. ¡°Wait, you can¡¯t actually do that though, right?¡±


    ¡°...Shia?¡±

 29. Is There Someone Else Up There We Can Talk To?

    ¡°Look, it''s not that I don¡¯t think you¡¯re strong¡­ All I¡¯m saying is a horse sized duck is a lot bigger than you think.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps¡­ but if I don¡¯t have my sword in this situation, I¡¯d prefer only having to focus on a single enemy than trying to deal with such a large group of smaller ones. Though I maintain my point that I would never have been caught out in the wilderness without my sword in the first place.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a hypothetical question Alka, not an actual situation. I already told you, they¡¯re just silly questions you ask friends to pass the time. It¡¯s like me asking if you would rather have an extra eye or an extra ear.¡±


    ¡°...Can I see out of-¡±


    ¡°Ancient One¡¯s sap, you both suck,¡± Shia sighed, glaring at the two of them as they snickered. After the waves of monsters finally began thinning out, Vin had introduced Alka to the concept of would you rather from Earth to pass the time, and the ghost had immediately become enamored with the game. Of course, she played it from the viewpoint that there was only one correct answer to each of the questions and anyone who argued otherwise was a fool, but at least it made their trek more entertaining.


    Still recovering from her mana headache, Shia had been less than amused.


    ¡°Come on Shia, it¡¯s fun!¡± Alka said, grinning as she floated over to the grimacing elf. ¡°Give it a try! Would you rather kill a rockhead with a spear, or kill a slenderbelly with a hammer?¡±


    ¡°Uh, that¡¯s not really how you play the game,¡± Vin pointed out. ¡°...and I don¡¯t think she knows what those creatures are.¡±


    ¡°So? You think I know what a duck is?¡±


    ¡°Thank the trees I see something!¡± Shia shouted, pointing off into the distance, clearly relieved to be done with this conversation. Shia¡¯s focus attribute must have still been higher than Vin¡¯s, because even with her pointing it out it took another minute before he could make out anything more than a far off white splotch.


    Off in the distance stood some sort of fortress spanning miles wide. A huge, white wall topped with ramparts and the occasional guard tower stretched across the horizon, dwarfing the handful of trees growing close to it. Vin could just make out a massive gate set into the wall that would have allowed a pair of eighteen wheelers to enter the fortress side by side with room to spare. Though at the moment, the monstrous gate was clearly sealed shut.


    ¡°That¡¯s one hell of a wall,¡± Alka whistled, looking surprised. ¡°Huh, I can still whistle as a ghost? That¡¯s kinda strange.¡±


    ¡°That wall has to be surrounding an area at least a few times larger than my entire village,¡± Shia said, ignoring Alka¡¯s comment as she stared at the fortress in awe. Even from this distance the size of the wall was unnerving. ¡°How long would it even take to construct such a thing?¡±


    ¡°I think some classes work really well with stone,¡± Vin commented, thinking back to the first allies he¡¯d made on this new world as he felt his teaching artifact bump against his back with every step. He really needed to return that sooner than later; doubly so now that he actually understood how important it was. ¡°More importantly, that gate looks pretty shut to me. I hope that¡¯s only so they can show off to travelers how amazing it must look when they open it.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t get your hopes up,¡± Alka said, squinting at the gate. ¡°I didn¡¯t invest all that many points into focus, but I think I know a group of dead bodies when I see one.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Following Alka¡¯s gaze, Vin pulled his attention from the amazing work of architecture to the land leading up to the gate. Sure enough, he thought he could just barely make out what looked like a handful of crumpled figures scattered around in the grass directly before the sealed gate. ¡°Well¡­ that can¡¯t be good.¡±


    ¡°For all we know they were bandits or something, and the people inside the wall were just defending themselves,¡± Shia pointed out, before pausing to glance at the size of the wall once again. ¡°...Really, really, stupid bandits.¡±


    ¡°Well we can¡¯t very well come all this way and not introduce ourselves,¡± Vin sighed. ¡°Especially if they¡¯re trigger happy. The whole point of my exploring is to figure out what threats surround us after all. I don¡¯t think Spur will be happy if these guys sortie out and attack us from behind while we¡¯re distracted building our camp.¡± He paused, looking toward his companions. ¡°Did I use that word right? Sortie? I met a guy in New Jersey once who was really into LARPing. Pretty much anything I know about castle warfare comes from him.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what LARPing is, but yeah that¡¯s what a sortie is,¡± Shia confirmed. ¡°The Sacred Forest has essentially been at a constant war with the surrounding kingdoms for the last few centuries, so I¡¯m pretty familiar with wartime vernacular. The only reason things died down the past couple of years was the dramatic increase in monster attacks. We were all too busy trying to survive to waste time killing each other.¡±


    ¡°Man, that sucks,¡± Alka grimaced. ¡°Yeah, the increase in monsters wasn¡¯t great for my people either. But on the other hand, it did cause the nobles to open up the Slayer Guild to us commoners for the first time, which was pretty fantastic for me seeing as that was my dream and all.¡±


    ¡°It was also the reason you were murdered, Alka,¡± Vin pointed out.


    ¡°Eh, win some and lose some,¡± the ghost shrugged.


    Agreeing to at least attempt to speak to someone from the fortress, the three of them made their way over to the giant gate. After a quick discussion, they decided to try and appear as harmless as possible, so Alka went back to echoing Vin for the time being.


    As they approached, Vin was finally able to make out what exactly had befallen the group of bodies lying outside the gate.


    Arrows. Arrows had befallen them.


    While whoever was manning the gate appeared to be lacking in skill based on the sheer number of arrows sticking out of the ground instead of the bodies, they certainly weren¡¯t lacking in ammunition. Thanks to his Tracking skill, a quick glance at the field of death was all Vin needed to put together what happened. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Based on the scuffs in the dirt and the trail of arrows, it looked as though the group of travelers had first pressed up against the gate in the hopes of somehow forcing their way into the fortress, before finally turning tail and running when the guards eventually opened fire on them. Of the eight people in the group, two of them had almost made it to safety behind a nearby hill, but they too eventually fell, a half dozen arrows in each of their backs and nearly five times that many scattered across the ground around them.


    Shuddering at the bloody scene before them, Vin tried to ignore the two bodies farthest from the gate as they walked past, but something familiar caught his eye.


    ¡°Hey Shia, look at that,¡± he said, pointing at a few bundles of sticks and leathers that had fallen from their hands. ¡°Look familiar?¡±


    Recognition bloomed in the elf¡¯s eyes, and she snapped her fingers. ¡°The tents from the desert fragment! Guess we know what happened to those guys at least.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, that camp looked like it had at least a few dozen people, and I only count eight bodies lying here. Maybe a few of them were allowed into the fortress after all?¡±


    The mystery would have to wait however as when the two of them got within about fifty feet of the massive gate a voice called out from somewhere high up within the walls.


    ¡°Stop right there if you value your lives!¡± A deep, powerful voice boomed without a face to match. Only now did Vin realize the walls were covered with a seemingly endless number of murder holes, and he shivered at the thought of countless arrows pumping out of them. ¡°The Holy Citadel of Entais is currently in lockdown. None may enter or leave the citadel until the lockdown is ended!¡±


    Immediately, Vin and Shia looked at one another, and he could actually feel Alka shift around inside him at the news.


    ¡°Holy Citadel?¡± Shia whispered to him, unable to hide her sharp-toothed grin.


    ¡°Apologies!¡± Vin cried out, excited at the prospect of a holy anything. ¡°We did not know we were encroaching upon the¡­ magnificent citadel of Entais! We are but weary travelers hoping for somewhere to rest for a few days. Is there truly no place for us within your walls?¡±


    Vin wasn¡¯t sure why, but something about the man¡¯s tone made him feel like he needed to speak like an 18th century aristocrat or risk getting turned into a pincushion. His gut seemed to be correct at least, as no sooner had the words left his mouth that an armored head and shoulders poked itself over the wall, looking down at them. The full plate helm hid most of the man¡¯s features, but Vin could make out a long brown beard practically bursting out of the bottom of the helmet.


    ¡°Oh? At least you folk speak the holy tongue of Trecor!¡± The man called down, nearly all of the hostility gone from his voice. ¡°Those barbarians you see down there only spoke some harsh sounding language I¡¯d never heard of before attempting to force their way into the citadel. It¡¯s a shame what we had to do, but none may enter the citadel while it is in lockdown, and they refused to heed our warnings.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you could tell us why it is in lockdown?¡± Shia called up, careful to keep her hood up over her head to hide her pointed ears. They hadn¡¯t discussed it beforehand, but Vin didn¡¯t blame the elf for still being wary of unknown humans. Her people had warred with them for literally thousands of years after all.


    ¡°Of course,¡± the man shrugged, seemingly unconcerned by the question. ¡°No rule against chatting with travelers after all. Honestly, you lot are a sight for sore eyes. The first few weeks of lockdown were interesting, but it¡¯s been over three months now!¡±


    Sighing, the guard shook his head, his brown beard swishing to and fro. ¡°Whilst we were busy defending the city from wave after wave of horrific monsters, Arch Cleric Jobiah¡¯s voice suddenly boomed across the entire citadel, informing the people that the gods were about to change everything and ordering the citadel into lockdown. No idea what he meant by that, but not moments after, some evil entity stripped our levels from us, and the sea of monsters surrounding us on all sides so thick you could practically walk on them vanished without a trace!¡±


    ¡°Jesus, sounds like their world had it pretty bad,¡± Vin muttered, trying to imagine the sheer number of monsters it would take to surround something as large as the citadel to that extent. Tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands? The inhabitants of every fragment he¡¯d interacted with so far shared similar stories of ever-increasing monsters, but nothing that crazy.


    ¡°Goodness, that¡¯s terrible!¡± He called up to the guard. ¡°But if it''s been three months and the monsters all vanished¡­ why are you still in lockdown?¡±


    As they watched, the guard seemed to squirm slightly, even going so far as to scratch the side of his helmet with a gauntleted hand.


    ¡°It¡¯s not the place of one such as myself to question the decisions of the Arch Cleric¡­¡± he called back. ¡°After making their announcement, the Arch Cleric retreated within the citadel¡¯s inner walls to the central holy district along with the rest of our divine warriors. We are still waiting for them to leave the holy district and give us further orders, but I¡¯m sure they will come out any day now!¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­¡± Shia called up, a hint of excitement in her voice. ¡°You¡¯re saying you haven¡¯t even seen your Arch Cleric since you lost your levels? Or your other divine classes for that matter?¡±


    ¡°Correct,¡± the guard nodded. ¡°We can only assume they are working hard on a way to dispel this curse that has drained us of our levels. We owe our divine warriors our lives many times over, so we shall respect the law and wait for them as long as it takes!¡±


    Grabbing his arm, Shia pulled Vin closer, turning to shield her pointed grin from the guard watching them. ¡°Did you hear that? The moment the reset happened, all the citadel¡¯s divine classes vanished without a trace! Sound familiar?¡±


    ¡°Your master,¡± Vin muttered, things slowly clicking into place. ¡°So he didn¡¯t go anywhere on his own¡­ the System moved him somewhere else when it took your fragment. And it must have done the same to everyone else with a divine class as well!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m thinking,¡± Shia nodded, growing more excited by the moment. ¡°That means my master probably isn¡¯t even on this world right now!¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ you seem oddly happy about this revelation.¡±


    ¡°Are you kidding?¡± Shia grinned. ¡°This gives me an actual starting point for my search! My master spoke to me a few times about different planes of existence, even going so far as to hint once or twice about times he traveled across the planes in search of magical plants and reagents for his studies. If he could do it, so can I.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s certainly a lofty goal,¡± Vin said, wondering what level you even had to hit in order to cross between worlds. ¡°...but I¡¯m happy to help however I can!¡± Suddenly, the realization of what all the divine classes across the world vanishing meant for his other companion, and Vin felt his heart sink.


    ¡°Crap¡­ Alka¡­¡±


    ¡®It¡¯s fine,¡¯ the ghost said, her voice void of any emotion. ¡®Even if what that random guard says is true, and you should really work on not taking everything you hear at face value by the way, I¡¯m sure the Gods left behind a divine artifact or two we could use. We need to get into that holy district.¡¯


    ¡°True,¡± he muttered. He felt like he should say more, but he got the feeling Alka didn¡¯t want to talk about it. At the same time, the guard finally called back down to them.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you¡¯re whispering about down there,¡± he shouted, shaking his head. ¡°...but whatever plan you¡¯re trying to come up with won¡¯t work. You seem like fine folks, but nothing you say would make me go against a direct order from the Arch Cleric. Apologies, but you¡¯ll have to find somewhere else to spend the night.¡±


    ¡°We understand!¡± Shia called up, waving her thanks to the guard. ¡°We appreciate all the information. Good luck with your shift!¡±


    Not waiting for a reply, Shia grabbed Vin¡¯s hand and led them away from the wall, withdrawing back past the corpses to the surrounding grasslands.


    ¡°You sure you don¡¯t even want to try convincing him?¡± Vin asked, surprised the elf had given up so easily. ¡°I mean, he probably wasn¡¯t going to change his mind, but he seemed like a decent enough guy.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter that he wouldn¡¯t let us in,¡± Shia said, her grin sending its usual chills down Vin¡¯s back.


    ¡°I have an idea.¡±

 30. Just One Bite?

    Shia¡¯s plan required them to wait until nightfall, and it relied on a few too many assumptions for Vin¡¯s taste. But in the end, they all agreed it was their best shot at making it into the locked down citadel. Thus, after spending that evening trekking along the outer wall and confirming it truly did encompass the entire citadel, that night Vin found himself scaling a three-story tall tree as silently as possible that Shia had grown with her magic directly next to the wall.


    The plan relied heavily on the theory that the guards manning the wall were all still level 1 or at least close to it even three months after the System reset. If none of the people inside the wall could leave, then none of the combat classes had been gaining much experience after all. The theory had been rolling around in Shia¡¯s head ever since she saw how many arrows it had taken the guards to kill the people from the desert fragment. Not exactly the sign of a high-level warrior.


    Based on how far the guard towers were placed from one another along the wall, whoever designed the citadel¡¯s defenses clearly did so with defenders having a high focus in mind. If the guards were indeed still low level, and if their focus attributes were still low, then Vin and Shia stood a good chance of making it over the wall without being spotted while under the cover of darkness.


    Hoisting himself up another branch, Vin glanced once more at the surprise notification he¡¯d received that evening that was making this stealth climb far easier than he¡¯d expected it to be.


    Title Evolution! Human Vessel (Minor) evolved into Human Vessel (Lesser). Reward: 20% of inhabitant¡¯s stats added to your own while serving as a vessel. Allow inhabitant partial body merger for one minute twice a day.


    Some quick mental math was all it took to realize it had been just over a full week since he¡¯d first met Alka and somehow became bonded with the ghost. The result of the title upgrade was the bonus stats he¡¯d been receiving from Alka doubling so long as Alka or her sword was on his person, giving him now an extra 10 points in strength and 6 in dexterity, both of which were extremely helpful for scaling a tree in the dead of night.


    Reaching the top of the tree and pulling himself up onto the edge of the wall, Vin quickly made sure there weren¡¯t any guards nearby before helping Shia scamper over. With a wave of her hand, the magically grown tree seemed to decompose right in front of his eyes, quickly diminishing in size before there was little more than a small pile of rotting bark leaning against the outer wall.


    ¡°Decay,¡± Shia hissed when she saw his raised eyebrow. ¡°Now come on, we have to get off the wall before we¡¯re spotted.¡±


    Nodding, Vin gestured for her to take the lead, and the two of them ran to the other side of the wall. They made sure to keep their heads low as they moved, so Vin didn¡¯t see the interior of the citadel until he crossed the wall and looked up.


    For a moment, he forgot he was in the middle of a stealth operation, his mind going blank as he gasped at the sight before him. The citadel wasn¡¯t just some random, massive fortress¡­


    It was an entire city.


    From up on the wall, Vin could easily make out miles of buildings and roads stretching out off into the horizon. Large clusters of houses clearly designated different sectors within the city, and he could even see multiple open spaces for markets and what looked like parks of all things. Even this late at night, the streets were illuminated with thousands of lamp posts, showing a good number of people still out and about. Vin supposed in a city this size, it wasn¡¯t too surprising that so many people worked night shifts.


    ¡°That¡¯s our target,¡± Shia whispered, pointing toward the city center.


    Sure enough, smack dab in the middle of the city was a second version of the wall they¡¯d just scaled. Based on the number of house-sized banners decorating the wall, each one depicting different Gods carrying out powerful acts of war and magic, Vin thought they could safely assume that was the holy district.


    ¡°I think that wall is even bigger,¡± he hissed, trying to use some of the buildings surrounding it for scale. ¡°What is with these people and giant walls?¡±


    ¡°Well it sounds like they had a good reason for building them if they really were getting attacked by thousands of monsters at once,¡± Shia replied, pulling out a rope from her pack. Quickly tying it around one of the ramparts, she gave it a firm tug to ensure it would hold their weight before giving him a nod. Not wasting any more time, the two of them tossed the other end of the rope down the interior side of the wall and made their way down. With his newfound extra strength, Vin was pleased to find climbing three stories down a rope was practically a breeze, even without footholds.


    As soon as they both touched down Alka drifted out of his body, grabbed their sword, and floated up to the top of the wall. The moment both sword and ghost left his possession, Vin felt his body practically deflate as he lost his bonus stats. It was hard to describe the sensation of losing half your strength as anything other than unpleasant.


    Thankfully, it didn''t take her long to complete her portion of the mission. A small slash was all it took to sever the knot Shia had tied, and they quickly pulled the rope down after them.


    ¡°Well, we made it in,¡± Vin grinned, enjoying the feeling of his first successful heist. ¡°Now what?¡± As if weighing in with its opinion, the System flashed him a quick notification.


    New city discovered! 1,000 exp gained.


    Don¡¯t mind if I do!


    ¡°Ideally, we use the cover of night to get into the holy district as well,¡± Shia said as she packed the rope back into her bag. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯d prefer we wait a day to scope things out and try tomorrow night, but you said you want to get back to your people before then right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Vin nodded. ¡°Tomorrow¡¯s the last day before more of my people show up. We need to do this quickly and get out as fast as we can.¡±


    ¡°Probably good advice for robbing any holy vault,¡± Alka added before handing him their sword and merging back into his body. Vin sucked in a breath as he was once more hit by the bonus stats all at once. The sudden boost was quite the sensation.


    ¡°Then we¡¯re on quite the deadline,¡± Shia frowned, squinting at the distant wall. ¡°We better start moving. This city is big enough that it¡¯s going to take a good chunk of the night even just getting over there.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Following Shia¡¯s lead, Vin pulled his borrowed cloak¡¯s hood over his head as the two of them left the outer wall behind them and started making their way through the citadel. Due to the sheer size of the citadel he didn¡¯t think someone realizing they didn¡¯t belong was going to be a problem, but better to be safe than sorry.


    As they made their way through the city, Entais quickly proved to be even more impressive than Vin had first realized. The roads were wide and neatly paved with stone, and every few dozen feet were large lamp posts that easily illuminated their surroundings despite it being the dead of night. Vin briefly wondered if they also used enchanted gemstones as a power source, but they didn¡¯t have time to stop and find out.


    The buildings were built from a glossy white stone that looked identical to the wall they¡¯d scaled and seemed sturdy enough to act as miniaturized fortresses if the need ever arose. Whoever designed the city clearly intended for the entire citadel to function as a defensive structure, including everything from the houses to the taverns.


    Speaking of, Vin glanced into one of the taverns they passed, careful not to show his face. Even this late at night, the tavern was well lit and full of rowdy patrons eagerly guzzling down ale or boisterously clapping friends on the back. Far more surprising than all the activity however, was the occasional set of pointed ears he spotted. Doing a double take, Vin stopped walking, staring intensely at the few sharp featured patrons grinning and drinking along with all the humans.


    ¡°Shia,¡± he hissed, grabbing the elf¡¯s attention. ¡°Look in there!¡±


    Clearly annoyed at having been stopped, Shia gave him a look before taking a peek into the tavern, immediately realizing what he¡¯d seen.


    ¡°Those¡­ those are elves!¡± She gasped, staring at her own people. As they watched, the elves continued enjoying themselves as though they did this every night. Competing to see who could drink the most, throwing dice at the back tables, even arm wrestling with some of the burlier humans and laughing when they lost handily. It was pretty easy to see that the elves were treated just like any of the other people inside the tavern, although it was strange to see them enjoying life in the city.


    ¡°I guess elves and humans have better relations on the world this fragment came from,¡± Vin shrugged, watching one hook arms with a particularly hairy man as they each drank from their tankards.


    ¡°I¡¯m just surprised to see other elves at all,¡± Shia admitted, squinting at the happy tavern goers. ¡°Look closer. They are definitely elves, but they¡¯re a bit different from my people.¡±


    Vin wasn¡¯t sure what she meant at first, but it didn¡¯t take him long to spot the biggest difference. Unlike Shia¡¯s elves, the ones on this fragment didn¡¯t have teeth that looked like they were designed to make pulled pork out of any meat they ate. There were countless smiles and grins he saw from the elves within the tavern, and not one had the same pointy teeth as Shia.


    Hell, one of them was even enjoying a salad, which he was pretty certain was almost taboo for the elves from the Sacred Forest.


    While Vin watched the elves from outside the tavern, he heard someone clear their throat behind him.


    ¡°Hey buddy. You planning on going in, or you just gonna block the door all night?¡±


    ¡°Sorry! Didn¡¯t realize I was-¡± Vin turned to apologize to the irritated man, only to freeze at the sight of the beast standing before him.


    Covered from head to toe in sleek, black fur, the man standing in front of him looked like someone had used photoshop to do their best to combine a cat with a human. He wore a loose tunic and pants, but every exposed inch of skin had fluffy black fur sticking out of it. The man¡¯s face was angled like that of an animal, and he had two cat ears sticking out of the top of his head. Despite his lack of lips and inability to frown, Vin got the distinct impression the man was annoyed with him. The slanted, predator-like eyes certainly helped with that.


    New Sentient Race Discovered! 7,000 exp gained.


    ¡°What? I got something in my whiskers?¡± The cat-man asked, misinterpreting Vin¡¯s stare and giving his whiskers a quick rub. His hands were more paw-like than human, but they still seemed dexterous enough for his purposes. Not feeling any food on his face, the cat person shrugged and pushed his way past a still staring Vin, entering the tavern to a large host of excited shouts and raised tankards. He was clearly a regular.


    ¡°What the hell was that?¡± Shia asked, also doing a poor job to hide her gaping as she watched the cat person walk up to the bar and begin lapping at an extra wide and shallow tankard placed in front of him.


    ¡°I think there might be more races in the universe than we first thought,¡± Vin said dumbly, before shaking himself out of his trance. ¡°As curious as I am about that guy, we don¡¯t have time to stand around and watch him all night. The sun will be up in a few hours.¡±


    ¡°Right, right¡­¡± Shia said absently, her eyes still glued to the furry stranger. Taking one last look at the cat person, she seemed to almost physically tear her gaze away from the strange sight. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    That tavern goer wasn¡¯t the only cat person they spotted as they made their way through the city, and Vin quickly realized that the race of cat people was far more diverse than humans. Their coats of fur seemed to cover the entire rainbow of colors, and some had sleek, thin coats while others were rough and shaggy. They all wore clothes like regular people, but practically all their outfits were extra baggy, no doubt to try and keep their fur from getting pinched or pulled in painful directions.


    Vin thought he did a fairly good job of keeping his gaze respectful, but Shia was another story. The elf couldn¡¯t seem to keep her eyes off the race of cat folk, and the two of them earned more than one glare or upward turn of the nose as they walked. It wasn¡¯t until they¡¯d been walking for nearly an hour that Vin realized what was actually going on.


    A young cat person with a well-maintained brown coat of fur spotted Shia staring at him and froze like a deer in headlights before actually dropping to all fours and sprinting off down an alleyway. Vin went to crack a joke at the odd behavior, before he spotted the moisture on Shia¡¯s face.


    ¡°Shia¡­ are you drooling?¡±


    ¡°What? No!¡± The elf exclaimed, quickly wiping her mouth and waving off his crazy accusation as her face turned red. ¡°Of course not!¡±


    ¡°You totally are! Oh my god please tell me you¡¯re not going to try and eat someone!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to eat one!¡± She said, stomping her foot and glaring at him. ¡°I mean¡­ I¡¯m certainly not going to kill one. But if we find one that just happened to die of natural causes¡­¡±


    Vin stared at the elf in shock, having absolutely no idea how to even respond to that. Alka¡¯s roaring laughter inside his head certainly wasn¡¯t helping either. After a few moments of embarrassed silence, Shia sighed, squeezing her staff.


    ¡°Look, my people are essentially carnivores, and within the Sacred Forest at least, generally the more intelligent an animal is the better it tastes. I can¡¯t help but imagine how utterly amazing a race of sentient beast-folk must taste¡­ but that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m going to go around killing and eating them!¡±


    Shia¡¯s argument was weakened slightly by the full body shudder that seemed to travel through her at the thought of tasting one of the cat people, but Vin couldn¡¯t hold that against her. He supposed he¡¯d be reacting similarly if they discovered a race of people made entirely out of chocolate walking around.


    ¡°Okay.¡± He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. ¡°Sorry, you just caught me off guard there for a moment is all. I would hope this goes without saying, but obviously I trust you not to go around eating people.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Shia said, smiling at him. Vin noticed she seemed to be making a conscious effort to keep her smile smaller than normal to better hide her pointed teeth from the people around them. ¡°If you catch me staring at one of them again¡­ would you mind nudging me or something? I¡¯ll do my best, but honestly, it¡¯s taking most of my focus just to keep myself from drooling.¡±


    ¡°I think I can do that much,¡± Vin chuckled. He started walking again, when a new gasp from Shia stopped him short. Praying he wasn¡¯t going to find her drooling over a particularly plump cat person immediately after all her talk, he turned to find her frantically feeling at her hip.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± He asked, his heart sinking at the sheer panic on Shia¡¯s face as she desperately searched her person.


    ¡°It¡¯s my pouch of seeds Erik imbued with his magic and gave me for the journey,¡± she said, looking at him in horror.


    ¡°It¡¯s gone!¡±

 31. Two Small Problems

    ¡°What do you mean it¡¯s gone?!¡±


    ¡°I mean it¡¯s gone! The whole pouch is gone!¡± Shia said frantically, scanning the ground around them. ¡°I swear, I just had it a few minutes ago! I can¡¯t help but touch it every so often just to make sure it didn¡¯t fall off or anything, so I know I had it until recently!¡±


    Ah. So that¡¯s what happened. Sighing, Vin shook his head. ¡°You probably got pickpocketed. Someone must have noticed how frequently you checked on the pouch. Rule number one of exploring new cities; hide your valuables. First time I stepped foot in Detroit, someone managed to swipe my iPod without me even noticing. Never managed to make a playlist like that one again either.¡±


    ¡°You think someone took it?¡± Shia said, causing Vin to take a step back from the sheer fury in her eyes. ¡°How did they manage to take my pouch right under all our noses?¡±


    ¡®To be fair, I can only really see what you see,¡¯ Alka defended herself. ¡®I¡¯m pretty sure your focus is finally better than mine was when I died anyway.¡¯


    ¡°Alka can only see through my eyes, and I didn¡¯t notice anything,¡± Vin said, hoping to calm the panicking elf down. ¡°Look, we should be focusing on how to get the pouch back instead of blaming one another.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Shia agreed, taking a deep breath. ¡°Should we ask a guard or something?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re kinda not supposed to be here¡­ remember?¡± Vin pointed out. ¡°For all we know, people living inside the citadel have to carry identification papers on them or something. Last thing we need is to lose the seeds and be thrown in holy jail or whatever.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± she muttered, face scrunching up in thought. Suddenly, her face lit up and she grabbed his arm. ¡°Whoever took the pouch couldn¡¯t have gotten far in only a few minutes. Can you use Sense Magic again like you did when you found my staff? Maybe they¡¯ll still be in range!¡±


    ¡°Oh ho, you want me to use my stupid spell to try and-¡±


    ¡°Vin¡­¡± Shia threatened, her grip tightening around his arm.


    ¡°Sorry! On it!¡± He said, deciding now was not the time to push the elf¡¯s buttons. Constructing the runic formation within his mana, he cast the spell, utilizing his Runic Recalibration capstone once more to adjust the detection spell to function like a radar pulse. Not wanting to risk missing the pouch, he recalibrated the rune that determined how much mana the spell took and dumped nearly a quarter of his entire mana pool into the spell. He had a lot more mana than the last time he tried doing this, so he figured that should be plenty.


    Vin gasped for breath and dropped to one knee as the thick pulse of mana erupted out of him in all directions, silently traveling down the street and directly through buildings and people as it hunted for magic.


    Immediately, he realized he may have made a mistake, as dozens upon dozens of pings started coming back to him all at once; the sheer quantity overloading his brain for a moment. If it wasn¡¯t for his enhanced focus being able to parse through all the different signals, he probably would have knocked himself unconscious.


    Resistance increased to lvl 2! 200 exp gained.


    Huh¡­ I wonder if I just did the equivalent of sending a mental attack at myself.


    ¡°Vin!¡± Shia cried, crouching down to check on him.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­¡± He grunted, taking her offered hand and pulling himself back to his feet. ¡°Just didn¡¯t realize how far that spell was going to travel. Need to be more careful about recalibrating how much mana a spell can take.¡±


    ¡°Did you find it?¡± Shia asked, her eyes shining with hope.


    ¡°I think so,¡± Vin nodded. ¡°Along with what I can only assume are a bajillion enchanted gemstones based on the equal distances between each one. I forgot about all the lamp posts lining the roads, otherwise I probably would have sent out a smaller pulse. I also got a few other individual pings on people here and there, which is surprising to say the least. But I only felt one small cluster of items giving off magical signatures.¡±


    Taking the lead, Vin led them over toward the source of the signals, before realizing the fatal flaw with his altered spell. While it allowed him to pinpoint magical signatures at range, it did nothing to reveal mundane materials. Vin quickly found himself standing in front of a seemingly closed general goods store that was less than a hundred feet from where they¡¯d been standing, staring at the locked door. The polished, white stone of the building didn¡¯t exactly look all that fragile, but the wooden door was another story.


    ¡°Well¡­ according to my spell, the pouch is twenty feet straight ahead, and about ten feet straight down. Probably in a basement or something.¡±


    ¡°Stand back,¡± Shia said, raising her staff and approaching the door with fire in her eyes.


    ¡°Wait wait wait!¡± Vin said, stopping the elf before she destroyed half the shop or something equally extreme. ¡°We¡¯re supposed to be keeping a low profile, remember?¡± Looking around, he already saw a few people throwing glances their way as they walked by. Thankfully the road was fairly sparse this late at night, but that just made whatever they were doing stand out all the more. Their only saving grace was the seeming lack of patrolling guards.


    ¡°Well I¡¯m not just going to wait around for the thief to take the pouch somewhere else,¡± Shia huffed. ¡°You got a better idea?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if better is the right word for it,¡± Vin said, scratching the back of his neck. It wasn¡¯t his favorite idea, but at least it wouldn¡¯t draw attention to them specifically. ¡°Hey Alka... any chance you could go fly underground to the edge of your range before popping up? Maybe scare a few people? I¡¯m hoping the screams will draw people¡¯s attention away from us while we break in.¡±


    ¡®Bleh, I hate the feeling of traveling through solid objects¡­ but fine. Just this once.¡¯ Vin felt Alka drop out of him, sinking into the ground and presumably flying a quarter mile away to the edge of her bound range.


    ¡°Alright,¡± he turned back toward Shia. ¡°As soon as you hear screams and Alka draws their attention, let¡¯s bust our way in. You got a plan?¡± Seeing Shia¡¯s nod, the two of them waited for their cue.


    They didn¡¯t have to wait long, as less than a minute from Alka¡¯s departure they heard a number of far off screams shatter the silence of the night. Just like he¡¯d hoped, the dozen or so people nearby all turned toward the source of the screams as they tried to figure out what was happening, and a few even began to cautiously head in that direction as if to help.


    Not needing any encouragement, Shia held her hand over the handle of the wooden door and silently cast what Vin recognized as Decay. In moments, the portion of the door with the lock built into it rotted away, and Shia managed to grab the metal lock before it could fall and clang on the stone floor. Cracking the door open, she ushered them inside before closing it behind them. Vin could only hope nobody walking by noticed the fist sized chunk of wood that was suddenly missing from the shop¡¯s front door and went to investigate.


    Looking around, Vin took in the interior of the general goods store. It was like someone had imported a Goodwill into a fantasy world. The shelves were lined with so many random knick knacks and banged up weapons that Vin wouldn¡¯t have even known where to start searching if he hadn¡¯t received a magical ping from his spell. Everything from dried potion ingredients to common smithing supplies could be found here, and Vin had to tear himself from the displays in order to search for the basement entrance.


    Thankfully, the trapdoor to the basement wasn¡¯t actually hidden, and the two of them quickly found themselves behind the shop counter, standing over the trapdoor as they came up with their plan.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    ¡°Let¡¯s try and go in quietly, and then surprise the thief,¡± Vin said, gesturing to Shia¡¯s staff. ¡°Maybe err on the side of containment over killing if at all possible?¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Shia frowned. ¡°But if they look like they¡¯re getting away, I¡¯m not going to hold back.¡±


    Nodding, Vin opened the trapdoor as silently as possible, gesturing for the elf to take the lead. Once Shia was partway down, he followed after her, careful to leave the trapdoor open in case they needed to make a quick getaway.


    It wasn¡¯t a long way down to the basement, and within moments Vin was standing beside Shia at the foot of the ladder. The basement was more of a cellar, turning out to be little more than a storeroom filled with crates and even more pieces of random assorted junk. Shia was already scanning the room for the thief, her staff held up and at the ready, but the dim light coming from the one weak gemstone in the ceiling was barely enough to see by. Vin was about to point to the corner of the room where he¡¯d detected the pouch when a blur of movement shot across the ground.


    Without hesitation, Shia cried out ¡°Entangle!¡± and a few small branches launched out of her staff toward the blur. Vin was surprised to see her focus her magic on the staff at first, before realizing there wasn¡¯t really any other nature to target within the stone cellar.


    Luckily for them, the room was small enough that the staff was able to reach the blur before it vanished amongst the junk, and the two of them marched over to see what they¡¯d snagged.


    Trapped within a tangle of small branches was a large rat, which Vin could have sworn was glaring at them. What was more surprising than the angry rat however, was the fact that it was wearing a tiny saddle on its back, equipped with stirrups and some pouches.


    ¡°Uh, Shia¡­¡± Vin said, pointing at the saddle. ¡°Are you seeing what I¡¯m see-¡±


    He was interrupted by a painful prick in his ankle, and he spun around just in time to see another, even smaller blur, disappear behind a nearby pile of crates.


    ¡°Ow!¡± He yelped, leaning down to rub his ankle. Whatever had pricked him hurt far more than any bee sting he¡¯d ever experienced. ¡°What the hell are we fighting?¡±


    ¡°Whatever it was, it got me too,¡± Shia said, checking her ankle and squinting into the dark cellar. ¡°Maybe the thief has some sort of control over rodents? That would explain how they got my pouch. A rat is small enough it could have slipped past us without our noticing.¡±


    A sudden thought struck Vin, and he glanced back at the captured rat once again, eyeing up the tiny saddle carefully strapped to its back. No way¡­


    ¡°Shia,¡± he said, wondering how to voice his idea without sounding crazy. But before he could get the chance, he felt his legs begin to wobble, as though they had both suddenly fallen half asleep.


    Resistance increased to lvl 3! 300 exp gained.


    ¡°Wha¡­¡± Was all he got out before Shia dropped like a sack of rocks beside him, crashing to the floor in a heap. Leaning heavily against the ladder, Vin managed to stay standing, if only barely. His body didn¡¯t hurt per se, but his muscles felt as though he¡¯d just finished up the most intense workout of his life as they screamed for him to lie down and rest. Thankfully, it seemed whatever had caused Shia to collapse like a puppet with its strings cut didn¡¯t seem to be hitting Vin as hard.


    ¡°Damn, that¡¯s some endurance stat you have on you,¡± a quiet, mocking voice called out from across the room. ¡°That or you¡¯re oddly strong against poisons, but I¡¯m willing to bet the former.¡±


    As Vin watched, their attacker finally revealed himself, stepping out from behind the pile of crates. Vin found himself staring at a man armed to the teeth. The stranger had short, wild blond hair and wore a leather vest equipped with a bandoleer of daggers across his chest. His belt looked like it had more pockets than not, and each one seemed full to bursting with different tools or materials.


    Their attacker had a hard glint in his eyes that spoke of surviving hardship and a past riddled with tragedy and woe. He looked like a seasoned adventurer, prepared for anything and everything that might befall him. Like someone who had fought tooth and nail to survive up until this point, and he would continue doing so until life finally threw an obstacle simply too big for him to handle.


    Vin felt like that was an apt analogy. Mainly because¡­


    He was approximately six inches tall.


    Vin openly gaped at the tiny man who stared back defiantly at him, seemingly daring him to make some sort of comment. While Vin tried to figure out what to say, he received two new System notifications.


    New sentient race discovered! 8,000 exp gained.


    Level up! Explorer lvl 15.


    +3 Attribute points to spend.


    +1 Passive point to spend.


    Well that proves I¡¯m not dreaming at least. Clearing his throat, Vin nodded at the stranger.


    ¡°Hello! I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot here-¡±


    The stranger interrupted him with a snort, shaking his head. ¡°You giants¡­ always so quick to resort to force, before pivoting just as fast to begging when that fails you. Why should I listen to a word you say when you came into my home and attacked me and mine?¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t intend to attack you, we were just looking for an important pouch that was stolen from my friend here,¡± Vin said, gesturing to the crumpled Shia. ¡°But seeing as we found you here as well¡­ You¡¯re spewing a lot of big talk for a common thief, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about,¡± the stranger said, shaking his head with a shrug. ¡°Here I was, going over my inventory for opening the shop tomorrow, when two giants broke in and attacked me. If that inventory may have included a fallen pouch I discovered on the ground while taking a nighttime stroll, then so be it. That¡¯s no excuse for breaking and entering after all. Who do you think the guards are going to believe?¡±


    Vin hesitated, trying to find a hole in the man¡¯s logic. They didn¡¯t exactly have any proof that the small stranger had stolen from them. Unless this city had some sort of magical truth detecting spell, it really was just their word versus his. The stranger seemed to realize he had Vin stumped, as he smirked triumphantly.


    ¡°I guess that only leaves us one choice then,¡± a strained voice sounded from the ground. The tiny man¡¯s smirk vanished as Shia slowly began moving, leaning heavily on her staff as she pushed herself to her feet, shaking all the while. She glared at the stranger, clearly having been conscious for the entire conversation.


    ¡°Shia? How did you...?¡±


    ¡°Neutralize Poison,¡± she said, spitting on the cellar ground. ¡°Unfortunately, the spell takes a while to clean out the entire system, but it does its job.¡±


    ¡°Gods damned mages,¡± Vin heard the man grumble under his breath. ¡°That¡¯s what I get for not wanting to waste one of my lethal poisons.¡± With a twirl of his fingers, two new daggers, each only about the size of a bee¡¯s stinger appeared in the stranger¡¯s hands. ¡°Look, I¡¯d really prefer not having to waste my more expensive poisons on the two of you. Why don¡¯t you both just cut your losses and walk away? You might be able to stop me before I stick you with this toxin, but is it really worth the risk?¡±


    ¡°My legs are feeling a bit shaky at the moment,¡± Shia admitted, giving the tiny man a wide grin. Vin couldn¡¯t help but notice how the stranger¡¯s seemed to falter in surprise for a moment at the sight of Shia¡¯s teeth. ¡°...So what if I just did this instead?¡±


    A small pulse of magic from Shia caused her staff to retract its branches, pulling the rat toward her. Snatching the rodent from within the tangle of branches, Shia gripped it tightly, preventing it from escaping.


    ¡°Removing that poison took a lot out of me,¡± she said, grinning wickedly at the small man. ¡°Thankfully, it looks like I have just the thing for a quick pick me up!¡± Adjusting her grip so that she held the rat by the tail, Shia dangled it above her head, licking her lips as she made eye contact with the stranger. Vin was surprised to see that even with the rat¡¯s frantic attempts at escape, not once did it utter a single squeak.


    Slowly lowering the rat toward her gaping, razor filled maw, Shia only got about halfway before the stranger sheathed his daggers and threw up his hands. ¡°Alright, you¡¯ve made your point! Put Reginald down and I¡¯ll give you back whatever it was I took from you!¡±


    ¡°Reginald?¡± Shia snorted, before shaking her head. While she did stop lowering the rat toward her mouth, she made no move to release it. ¡°You¡¯ve got the situation all wrong, pipsqueak. Bring me my pouch, and then maybe, maybe, I¡¯ll let your little pet go.¡±


    Vin could tell the man was seething, but surprisingly, he did exactly as instructed. Disappearing into the back of the cellar for a few moments, he quickly returned with Shia¡¯s pouch. It was somewhat comical watching the man struggle to drag a pouch larger than he was behind him, but he managed. Walking right up to them, he tossed the pouch at her feet, staring up at her defiantly with his arms crossed.


    ¡°There¡¯s your stupid pouch,¡± he said, squinting at the giant before him. ¡°Now let Reginald go or so help me, I¡¯ll cut my way into your stomach and do my best interpretation of a rabid Nagolian howler.¡±


    ¡°No clue what that is, pipsqueak,¡± Shia said, tossing the rat across the room and snatching her pouch off the floor. The stranger tracked the rat as it flew, his eyes wide with horror before watching the rodent land safely on a pile of old linens Shia had clearly been aiming for. Seeing his rat was unharmed, the man let out a deep sigh, running his hand through his wild hair.


    ¡°Gods damned giants and their freakish strength,¡± he muttered, turning back to glare at the two of them once more. ¡°Alright, you got your stupid pouch. Any other demands you want to make while you¡¯re here?¡±


    Shia ignored him for a moment, busy sifting through her pouch. Everything must have been where she¡¯d left it, because she let out a sigh of relief before tying it back onto her belt. Turning her attention once more to the small man, she grinned, sending a shiver through the stranger as he stared up at gleaming rows of teeth nearly the size of his own limbs.


    ¡°Demands? No, I don¡¯t have any demands¡­¡± she said, crouching down to better look the tiny man in the face.


    ¡°But what about a job offer?¡±

 32. The 1%

    The tiny man raised an eyebrow, staring up at Shia. ¡°...A job offer? Are you serious?¡±


    ¡°Deadly,¡± the elf grinned. ¡°My friend and I here are planning something of a heist¡­ and we could certainly use someone with your expertise that knows the lay of the land within the citadel.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re from outside the citadel?¡± The stranger¡¯s eyes widened as they flicked between Shia¡¯s pointed teeth and her staff. ¡°Well I guess that explains why you¡¯d be doing something as foolish as wandering the streets at night with something that valuable so loosely guarded. Any resident of Entais would definitely know better.¡±


    ¡°Shia¡­¡± Vin started, looking at his companion with concern. ¡°Do you really think asking for his help is a good idea? I mean, he did literally just poison the two of us.¡±


    ¡°While we could take a crack at the holy district on our own, I¡¯d feel better having someone with his skill set with us,¡± Shia admitted, gesturing to the collection of random junk all around them. ¡°I have a feeling my pouch isn¡¯t the first thing this guy has stolen.¡±


    ¡°I prefer the term appropriate, thank you very much,¡± the man said, shaking his head. ¡°But hold up. You¡¯re trying to break into the holy district? Are you both mad?¡±


    ¡°Why? What defenses do they have in place?¡± Shia asked, her eyes gleaming with hunger.


    ¡°They don¡¯t need many defenses when the entire place is crawling with divine classes,¡± the stranger snorted. ¡°And let me tell you, divine classes are demoncrap. I swear, half of them have some method of seeing through any type of stealth, and the other half literally have their Gods whispering in their ears half the time. Sneaking past them is impossible.¡±


    ¡°Hypothetically speaking, what if the entire district was empty?¡± Shia asked. ¡°No divine classes to speak of. Could it be done then?¡±


    ¡°So long as we¡¯re speaking hypothetically, can I have a tuxedo made of gold and a house made of cheese?¡± The stranger asked, rolling his eyes. ¡°But sure, in your fantasy scenario where not a single one of the thousands of divine class holders within the holy district are home, it would be possible. During lockdown all family members, aides, and anyone else staying in the holy district are relocated to temporary housing in the city proper, so at the very least you wouldn¡¯t have to worry about sneaking past any of them. You¡¯d just have to find a way past one of their magic gates.¡±


    ¡°Magic gate?¡± Vin asked, his attention now drawn like a moth to a flame any time he heard the m-word uttered.


    ¡°Yeah, each of the entrances to the holy district has some sort of fancy runic gate,¡± the man shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m no magic expert, but I heard it has some way of detecting if you have any divinity in you when you try to cross. Supposedly, unless you¡¯re being accompanied by someone who does, you can¡¯t even make it through the gate. Why do you want to break into there anyway?¡±


    ¡°To steal their divine artifacts,¡± Alka said, floating up out of the floor next to Vin. Vin could sense Alka through their connection when he was trying, but he¡¯d been a bit distracted. So when she suddenly appeared, Shia and him both jumped a little.


    But that was nothing compared to the stranger¡¯s reaction.


    Screaming at the top of his lungs, the small man turned white as a sheet, stumbling backwards and falling to the ground as Alka stared down at him curiously. Breathing heavily, he raised a shaky finger, pointing it at the ghost.


    ¡°What the hell is that?!¡± He yelled.


    ¡°She, is Alka,¡± Vin said, rubbing his brow. ¡°Alka, did you really have to scare him like that?¡±


    ¡°I mean, I thought it was funny,¡± the ghost said with a toothy grin. ¡°Not my fault he¡¯s such a chicken.¡±


    ¡°The two of you consort with the undead?¡± The stranger asked, his gaze flicking between the three of them. ¡°Such acts will bring ruin to you both!¡±


    ¡°Look, I don¡¯t really feel the need to take life advice from a professional thief,¡± Shia said, rolling her eyes. ¡°Alka is a friend, and if you are against her existence so much, that¡¯s all the more reason for you to help us break into the holy district. We¡¯re trying to find a divine artifact capable of bringing her peace.¡±


    ¡°Why an artifact?¡± The man asked, a bit of color finally returning to his face as he looked at them in confusion. ¡°Just ask one of the divine warriors to bless her when the lockdown is lifted.¡±


    Shia and Vin glanced at each other for a moment, before Vin scratched his head. ¡°Yeah¡­ about that¡­¡±


    The next hour was spent informing their new acquaintance of what was actually going on in the world. During their talk, Vin learned that the tiny man, whose name was Scule, was a petian; a race of people that seemed identical to humans, other than the fact that they were barely half a foot tall. While the petian didn¡¯t seem to want to talk about his personal life much, Scule did inform them that he¡¯d lived his entire life within the citadel, and even mentioned that he had taken the Rogue class when he finally grew old enough to gain access to the System.


    Apparently the citadel was a melting pot of cultures and races, and one of the largest bastions of divine might found on his entire world. When Vin explained how the citadel had been ripped from its world and brought to Edregon, Scule simply shook his head in disbelief.


    ¡°I find it hard to believe the Gods would do something like that,¡± he snorted, carefully combing Reginald¡¯s fur with a tiny brush. Despite all the large strangers surrounding him, the rat seemed content to lie there, clearly pleased at having his shiny coat maintained. ¡°Nearly my entire life was spent hearing how the density of monsters was growing year after year,¡± Scule continued. ¡°Without the citadel¡¯s overwhelming strength, the rest of my world wouldn¡¯t last a week.¡±


    ¡°Regardless, it¡¯s the truth,¡± Vin shrugged. ¡°I can¡¯t speak for why the Gods did what they did, but you¡¯re welcome to come see for yourself after we hit the holy district if you want. Shia and I will be leaving this fragment tomorrow. Personally, as long as you don¡¯t try to poison us again, I don¡¯t care if you want to join us.¡±


    ¡°Maybe¡­¡± the Rogue said, shaking his head. ¡°I¡¯ve lived my entire life within these walls. Only the strong were ever able to survive out there. When everyone lost their levels, I took it as a wakeup call. I¡¯d planned to grow stronger this time; strong enough to finally venture outside of the walls and see what our divine warriors were really fighting for¡­ but I figured the Gods had other plans when they halted my growth.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what?¡± Shia asked, looking surprised. ¡°What do you mean they halted your growth?¡±


    ¡°Oh, haven¡¯t hit your first prestige yet huh?¡± The Rogue chuckled. ¡°Here¡¯s one more bit of knowledge for you then. The System doesn¡¯t work the same way it used to.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± For the first time, Vin heard what sounded like fear in Shia¡¯s voice as she carefully eyed the petian.


    ¡°You can¡¯t just hit level 20 and prestige anymore,¡± Scule said, shaking his head. ¡°It¡¯s not that easy. Apparently, you have to do something worthy of prestiging now. No idea what that means, but it¡¯s the only notification I¡¯ve gotten. Despite hitting the required experience and everything I¡¯ve tried, I¡¯ve been stuck at level 19 for the past month now.¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s not how the System works,¡± Shia frowned.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s kinda what I meant when I said the System is different now,¡± Scule said, rolling his eyes.


    Vin watched as Shia struggled to take in this new information. He wasn¡¯t entirely sure why, but the elf seemed especially distraught to learn the new System had some slight changes compared to the old. Alka looked surprised, but didn¡¯t really seem to care all that much. While thinking about what this new rule meant, Vin realized something.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°So wait, if you need to do something worthy of a Rogue class to prestige¡­ wouldn¡¯t breaking into the holy district and stealing their divine artifacts count?¡±


    Scule stared at him wordlessly, his mouth open in shock. Finally, he broke out in loud, boisterous laughter. ¡°You¡¯re right!¡± He laughed, shaking his head. ¡°I never even considered it because I thought the act impossible, but if something like that isn¡¯t good enough for the System, I don¡¯t know what would be!¡± Wiping a tear from his eye, he grinned at them. ¡°Alright, whatever the plan is, count me in. Not sure if I¡¯m agreeing to join you when you leave the citadel just yet, but I¡¯ll at least help you break into the holy district. So long as it really is empty of course.¡±


    ¡°Alright, we have a Rogue, and an actual idea of what we¡¯re up against,¡± Vin said, turning toward Shia. The elf still looked distracted by the revelation about the System, but she managed to snap out of it when everyone¡¯s eyes turned toward her. Vin wasn¡¯t sure when it had happened, but at some point, Shia had become the de facto leader of the heist.


    ¡°Right¡­ well, we probably only have another hour or two at most of night left. We should probably get moving.¡±


    -----


    ¡°So¡­ I take it that¡¯s the magic gate?¡±


    Vin stood before the entrance to the holy district with Shia on his right and Scule on his left, currently sitting atop Reginald. Alka had withdrawn back into his body so as not to make more of a scene than she already had. The three of them had skirted around the crowd of guards and heavily armed civilians currently searching for the ghost as they made their way to the entrance to the holy district.


    The gate that Scule had warned them about was anything but subtle. Whoever had designed it either had the absolute worst taste in art, or clearly had wanted to make some sort of statement.


    Two beings, clearly supposed to be Gods based on the power seemingly radiating off them, stood on either side of the entrance, acting as the left and right sides of the gate. Between them were a human and a cat person. The human appeared to be lying either unconscious or dead on the ground between their feet, acting as the bottom of the gate, while the cat person functioning as the top was currently held in a fearsome game of tug of war between the two gods as they pulled him taut; agony clear on his face. The air within the gate shimmered as though it were a mirage, completely blocking the view of what was going on inside the holy district.


    ¡°Jesus, I thought the divine classes were supposed to be good guys!¡± Vin exclaimed, staring at the tortured cat person¡¯s expression.


    ¡°Who gave you that idea?¡± Scule snorted. ¡°There are as many Gods as there are stars in the sky, and the divine classes often end up taking on traits of those they worship. Sure, you¡¯ve got your Gods of love, peace, friendship, etcetera, etcetera. But you¡¯ve also got your Gods of death, pain, war, and so on. There are a lot of different gates leading into the holy district, this one just happens to depict two of the harsher Gods.¡±


    ¡°No wonder the gates aren¡¯t guarded,¡± Shia said, looking around at the empty street. ¡°Nobody in their right mind would want to walk through something like this. Even if it wasn¡¯t magically warded.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I kinda like it,¡± Alka said, drifting just her upper body out of Vin¡¯s back to peer more closely at the screaming cat-person statue. Scule jumped at her sudden appearance, but at least he was past the point of screaming whenever Alka decided to show her face now. ¡°The world is full of pain and suffering. Nothing wrong with depicting that a little for all the people living safely within these walls.¡±


    ¡°A ray of sunshine, as always Alka,¡± Vin sighed. ¡°Alright, who''s up first?¡±


    Stepping forward, Shia waited for Vin to begin casting. The three of them had discussed the plan moving forward, and everything hung on whether or not Vin¡¯s newest spell would work the way he believed it would.


    Reaching out to tap Shia on the shoulder, Vin put together the runic structure for Concealment inside himself, blanketing the elf in his mana. Thanks to his improved stats, he was able to feel his mana slowly form a thin covering around Shia, fully covering her body and possessions and preventing any magical signatures from escaping his veil.


    Nodding, Shia took a deep breath before striding straight through the horrifying gate. Vin held his breath as she crossed the threshold and vanished from sight. After a terrifying few seconds, her hand reappeared, giving them a thumbs up.


    Their theory was right!


    When Scule explained how the gates worked, requiring someone with a divine class to get through them, Shia had theorized they were enchanted with some sort of spell to look into a person¡¯s mana pool and search for a shard of divinity to determine if they were allowed to pass or not. Vin¡¯s Concealment spell he¡¯d picked up from Shia¡¯s master¡¯s house blocked magical leakage, meaning in theory it should be able to prevent the gate¡¯s magic from even recognizing any of them as people and allow them to pass through without issue, as though someone had tossed a rock through the gate. The only problem would be if the gates were also enchanted with some form of Sense Magic or other defensive measures, but they were banking on what Scule had said.


    Why bother putting in so many defenses when the holy district was always crawling with all seeing divine warriors anyway?


    It seemed like their risk had paid off, because rather than activating an alarm or being smited from the heavens, Shia was clearly still alive and kicking. Vin wasted no time casting Concealment three more times, making sure to even cover Reginald in his veil of magic. Once the party was past the gate, Scule took the lead.


    ¡°Your ghost friend needs to stay hidden inside you so long as we¡¯re in here,¡± the Rogue said, frowning at Vin. ¡°Even if the divine classes are gone like you claim, there¡¯s a good chance they may have left traps behind or the like. I don¡¯t care if she wants to be obliterated, but I certainly don¡¯t want to be joining her.¡±


    Seeing Vin¡¯s nod, Scule turned and led them into the holy district. Even more impressive than the citadel, whoever had constructed the inner district had clearly spared no expense.


    The buildings were absolutely massive, some stretching entire city blocks and had clearly been built to house hundreds of people. There was some variation, but most of the buildings appeared to be built out of golden bricks that were literally glowing, casting enough light that Vin could easily see the road before them despite the late hour. They passed large gardens and beautiful sculptures, and took in sprawling fountains and shimmering mosaics as they walked. Vin even thought he spotted a sculpture adjusting its posture when it thought none of them were looking, but he couldn¡¯t be sure.


    ¡°This place is amazing,¡± Shia whispered, staring at a tree that had been expertly grown to look like a magnificent griffon. Somehow, the grower had even made it so the leaves created a powerful, bushy mane that was flowing despite the lack of wind.


    ¡°Amazing, yes,¡± Scule said, practically drooling at the sheer number of golden bricks surrounding them. ¡°...but also empty. Looks like you guys might have been onto something after all.¡±


    While smaller than the rest of the citadel, the holy district was still large enough that it took them some time to make it to the center. It certainly didn¡¯t help that their eyes were constantly pulled from one seemingly impossible sculpture to the next as they walked. By the time they reached the center of the holy district, laying their eyes on a massive colosseum, the sun was already stretching up in the sky.


    ¡°If there are any divine warriors left, that¡¯s where they¡¯d be,¡± Scule said, staring at the colosseum located in the center of the entire citadel. Each column holding up the colosseum seemed to be built from a different gleaming metal, and the morning sun reflecting off the differing colors made for a dazzling sight. ¡°I¡¯d ask you to leave this to the Rogue, but I¡¯m willing to bet you guys don¡¯t trust me enough for that yet, huh?¡±


    ¡°Got it in one,¡± Shia said, grinning at the tiny man. ¡°We head in together. We¡¯re pretty confident we won¡¯t be running into any divine warriors, which means all we need to worry about is magic already put into place.¡±


    ¡°Suit yourself,¡± Scule shrugged. ¡°But if you giants trigger a trap with all your weight, don¡¯t come crying to me.¡±


    The three of them approached the colosseum before stopping in their tracks as a shimmering wall of golden light suddenly sprung up out of nowhere. Similar to how the edges of the fragments worked, they hadn¡¯t been able to make out the transparent wall until they were standing right before it. The wall formed a massive, transparent bubble surrounding the entire colosseum.


    ¡°What the hell?¡± Vin said, peering curiously at the bubble as he strained his focus and magic attributes. ¡°I¡¯m not getting any sort of magic reading off this.¡±


    ¡°Me neither,¡± Shia said, squinting at the near invisible barrier. ¡°And seeing as it clearly is magical, that means it has to be divine magic. My master showed me a few of his divine spells during training, and I couldn¡¯t pick up anything off of them either. Divine magic seems to play by different rules than regular magic.¡±


    ¡°Well that¡¯s just great,¡± Scule said, rolling his eyes. ¡°You geniuses were supposed to be in charge of the magic defenses. Got any other ideas?¡±


    ¡°I mean, there¡¯s the obvious,¡± Vin shrugged. Quickly casting a fresh layer of Concealment over himself, he reached out, tentatively laying a hand on the bubble before anyone could stop him. Thankfully, rather than disintegrating, he was surprised to receive a message from the System. But unlike most of his notifications, this one had a golden background and seemed to be glowing.


    Warning. You are about to enter a Divine Sanctum. While inside the Divine Sanctum, access to the System interface will be temporarily lost.


    ¡°Well then¡­¡± he said, reading over the golden notification a second time.


    ¡°...That might be a problem.¡±

 33. A Helping Hand

    ¡°So what now?¡± Scule asked, peering at what had to be his own glowing notification. Vin briefly wondered what Scule¡¯s tiny notifications would look like compared to his own, but he forced himself to remain focused.


    ¡°What do you mean, ¡®what now?¡¯¡± Shia asked. ¡°This doesn¡¯t change anything. We head in there and grab some divine artifacts. Shouldn¡¯t you be itching to get your Rogue fingers on something shiny and powerful?¡±


    ¡°I prefer to keep my itchy fingers attached to my itchy palms, thank you,¡± Scule said, nervously petting Reginald. ¡°I don¡¯t like the look of this weird glowing notification, or the freaky bubble. Rule number one of surviving on the streets; if you don¡¯t like the look of something, you turn around and run the other direction.¡±


    ¡°What happened to that big talk about robbing the holy district and prestiging?¡± Shia snorted.


    ¡°You can¡¯t prestige if you¡¯re dead,¡± Scule said matter of factly.


    ¡°Shia, it¡¯s alright, he doesn¡¯t have to go in if he doesn¡¯t want to,¡± Vin said, peering into the bubble. It seemed to encompass the entire central building of the holy district, which meant there was no way around entering the Sanctum if they wanted to try and get their hands on the divine artifacts. ¡°Just means more rare, powerful, priceless artifacts for us, right?¡±


    ¡°Oof, you really know how to hit a Rogue where it hurts,¡± Scule winced, his eyes flicking over his shoulder to the golden bricks making up the majority of the buildings. Vin could practically see the thoughts turning in his head. If those were just the common building materials¡­


    What were they keeping inside the Sanctum?


    After a few moments, Scule sighed, shaking his head. ¡°I¡¯m booking it out of there at the first sight of danger, alright? I don¡¯t want to hear any complaining when I don¡¯t play the hero.¡±


    ¡°No complaints here,¡± Vin grinned. ¡°Everybody ready?¡± Getting nods from his companions, and even a quiet squeak from Reginald, Vin turned to the bubble. Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward.


    Entering the Divine Sanctum was a bit anticlimactic. Sure, he hadn¡¯t expected one of the Gods to come down and greet him personally, but he thought there would be something. The feeling of being scoured by holy fire? Tingling across his extremities as the Gods judged him from far above? A deep, echoing gong from the heavens?


    Instead, there was a slight popping in his ears, as if the pressure of his surroundings had changed. He also felt a strangely familiar burst of warmth in his chest, but he couldn¡¯t quite place the feeling.


    ¡°Huh,¡± Scule said after following Vin into the bubble once he¡¯d confirmed it was safe. Rubbing an ear, the petian frowned. ¡°Kinda expected more, you know?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s not grow complacent,¡± Shia warned, her grip tightening on her staff. ¡°The bubble encompasses the entire central colosseum. There¡¯s no telling what waits for us inside.¡±


    Taking the elf¡¯s advice to heart, the three of them gingerly walked deeper into the Divine Sanctum. Vin half expected something to jump out at them any moment, but the holy district remained as silent and empty as when they¡¯d first arrived. They quickly passed the large, gleaming pillars of metal and found themselves standing outside the grand entrance to the colosseum, staring up at the shining doors.


    ¡°Moment of truth,¡± Vin muttered, pushing the doors open. It required every ounce of his Alka-enhanced strength, but he managed to push them open a few feet. Just enough for them to enter without having to squeeze in.


    Well, him and Shia anyway. Scule and Reginald were able to stroll on in with room to spare. Despite the tiny man¡¯s clear worry, that didn¡¯t stop him from being the first one to rush into the supposed treasure chamber as soon as the door cracked open.


    Following after, Vin stepped into the colosseum and stared in awe at his surroundings. The holy district¡¯s central colosseum was actually one massive room larger than any single building he¡¯d ever stepped foot in. There were countless rows of pedestals stretching out across the entire open floor, and while the vast majority of them were strangely empty, that still left dozens upon dozens of items that he could actively feel powerful magics radiating off of.


    But despite all the artifacts just lying around for the taking, Vin¡¯s attention was focused elsewhere. Directly in the center of the room, hovering about thirty feet off the ground and surrounded by a ring of statues holding their arms up to the sky, was a miniature sun. Nearly the size of a car, the glowing white sphere spun lazily as it gave off magical pressure equivalent to that of a nuclear reactor; the force of its magic almost enough to make Vin shield his eyes. But despite its grandiose nature, Vin quickly realized something was very wrong.


    As the sphere turned, he was shocked to see a significant number of dark cracks spider-webbing their way across the sphere¡¯s surface.


    The artifact was severely damaged, and it was still outputting that kind of magical pressure.


    What would it have felt like if it were whole?


    ¡°Beautiful isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Vin tore his eyes from the giant sphere, spinning to face the source of the unknown voice. Sitting with his back against the wall was a bedraggled man who looked like he had seen better days. He had long, knotted grey hair that was a tangled mess, and a scraggly beard that clearly hadn¡¯t seen a razor in some time. The elderly man wore a simple white robe that was covered in layers of dirt and dust as if he¡¯d rolled around on the ground before sitting in that exact position, unmoving for the last year.


    Nodding toward the sphere, the man gave him a wide grin, revealing a surprising set of pristine teeth that didn¡¯t look like they belonged to him.


    ¡°I remember the first time I laid eyes on Qiatha¡¯s greatest work. Took me three days to get those spots out of my eyes!¡± The man laughed, his laughter booming across the entire colosseum like cannon fire. ¡°Granted, I was a lower level back then, and the Grand Artifact was unbroken.¡±


    ¡°Are you one of the divine warriors?¡± Shia called out, her staff shaking slightly as she aimed it at the stranger.


    ¡°Me? A divine warrior?¡± The man chuckled, shaking his head. ¡°No, the Gods never saw fit to bless someone like me with a piece of themselves. Even so, they couldn¡¯t dispute the fact that I was skilled. Skilled enough to be made master of the vault anyway.¡±


    Vin¡¯s heart sank as the man pushed himself to his feet, shaking the dust off his robe and giving them a crazed grin. Only now did Vin spot the sheathed short sword the man was holding.


    ¡°Care to tell me what brings you four here?¡± The man asked, nodding off to the side. Following his gaze, Vin spotted a wide eyed Scule pressed against the back of one of the far pillars, doing his best to hide. From the angle he was hiding, the stranger shouldn¡¯t have been able to see him at all.


    ¡°We¡¯re looking for a divine artifact to help put a ghost to rest,¡± Vin said, somehow instinctively knowing that lying to this man was a bad idea. ¡°Everyone with divinity seems to have vanished, so we thought this place would be the best spot to find an artifact.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m well aware they¡¯ve vanished,¡± the man said, barking out another laugh. ¡°I was surrounded by hundreds of them when the Gods ripped us from our world. Those wide eyes and startled faces were hilarious when they were all left behind!¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°The people with divinity were left behind on their corrupt worlds?¡± Shia asked, taking a half step forward. ¡°They weren¡¯t put somewhere else?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s certainly what it looked like to me,¡± the man shrugged. ¡°Granted, I was a little busy answering a surprise question from the System. Tell me, if you were given the chance to leave a world ravaged by endless swarms of monsters and full of holier-than-you pricks, and exchange it for a brand new one where you could start over and didn¡¯t have to spend your days helping freshly blessed idiots pick out artifacts far more powerful than they had any right taking, what would you do?¡±


    Vin shot Shia a concerned glance. The longer the man seemed to speak, the more unhinged and angrier he began to sound. Before either of them could reply, he continued.


    ¡°Only it turns out, if your level is too high, not even the gods themselves can give you a fresh start! No, the best they can do is send you an apology and separate you from the fancy new System; trapping you in a bubble and watching as you slowly wither away, separated from the rest of humanity!¡± Shaking his sheathed sword up at the heavens, the man screamed, the sheer volume of his voice causing Vin to wince and take a half step back. He didn¡¯t know what level the man was, but he had a feeling that if the colosseum had been made of any weaker materials its very walls may have started to shake from his cries. The stranger made the Trunkback¡¯s roar seem like a pathetic whimper.


    ¡°Trapped in a bubble,¡± the man muttered after his scream puttered out. Blowing a ragged strand of hair away from his face, he turned to glare at them. ¡°The one, lone benefit to this hell of course being that I no longer needed to deal with random upstarts coming and bothering me for artifacts that they have no right taking.¡±


    ¡®Uh oh,¡¯ Alka said, mirroring his own thoughts as his heart began racing. Shia was clearly getting the same dangerous vibe he was, because she held her hands up placatingly, doing her best to look harmless as she gave him a warm smile.


    ¡°Our apologies, we didn¡¯t-¡±


    It was Vin¡¯s own enhanced focus that let him track even the blur of the man¡¯s movements, but it was thanks to the bonus strength and dexterity he received from Alka that he was able to shove the elf out of the way of the man¡¯s slash in time as it somehow travelled dozens of feet from his blade in a heartbeat, aimed directly at his companion.


    Though he wasn¡¯t quite fast enough.


    Vin felt a slight pinch in his arm as Shia stumbled to the side and the man¡¯s attack blasted past them, carving a deep groove in the stone floor as it travelled across the entire length of the colosseum before slicing deep into the far wall. Glancing at his arm, Vin stared in confusion at the stump that sat where his hand should be.


    Despite the ring of barkskin that supposedly increased his durability, his left arm had been sliced clean off just below the elbow. The cut was so clean in fact, that his own body didn¡¯t seem to realize it had been harmed for a moment. Vin stared at the sight of his own bone and muscle for a brief second, before blood finally began spurting out of his missing limb.


    ¡°Vin!¡± Shia cried, her face paling at the sight of his missing arm. Hurrying to her feet, she rushed over and began casting.


    ¡°Renewal!¡± She cried, pumping life magic into his stump as quickly as she could.


    Huh. Shouldn¡¯t this hurt a lot more than it does? Vin wondered blankly, staring at his missing arm as the life magic slowly worked to seal off the wound and stop the bleeding. He felt like he should be screaming or crying right now, but he just felt strangely lightheaded and cold.


    ¡®Vin, you¡¯re going into shock,¡¯ Alka warned him, her voice sounding strained. ¡®I can feel your body freaking out. The life magic will help, but I need you to stay focused, alright?¡¯


    ¡°Sure, no problem,¡± Vin muttered out loud, earning himself an even more concerned look from Shia as his arm slowly closed. It seemed like Renewal was strong enough to seal the wound, but not enough to regrow his arm.


    During all this, the man simply watched, laughing maniacally to himself as Shia worked desperately to save Vin¡¯s life. The man¡¯s sword was finally unsheathed, and Vin found himself staring at the shining blade that had just claimed his arm. He felt like the blade should be stained red, coated in his dripping blood. Instead, it looked pristine, as if it had even just been polished.


    ¡°Oh man, I forgot how much I loved watching the weaklings struggle,¡± the man laughed, wiping a tear from his eye. ¡°Tell you what, you guys came here for some divinity right? Well, the only thing I can think of more entertaining than just killing you all, is watching your hopes die first.¡±


    Sheathing his sword once more, the crazed man sat back down and waved toward the ring of statues surrounding the grand artifact in the center of the room. ¡°Go on and try praying to the Gods with those statues of them. Plead to them for help, ask for their assistance, whatever, just go try talking to them. Once you realize that even the Gods have abandoned this new world, once your last hope is lost and you realize you¡¯re truly alone, then I¡¯ll kill you.¡± Licking his lips, the man shuddered at the thought.


    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him Vin, focus on my voice,¡± Shia whispered, continuing to cast Renewal into his arm despite the fact that his wound was fully healed. The blood had finally stopped and he had a fresh layer of skin stretched over where the second half of his arm should be. ¡°Alka, I know you probably want to try fighting that guy, but he¡¯s way too strong, and Vin needs every extra point of vigor he¡¯s getting from you right now. The man¡¯s giving us a chance to put some distance between us, so we¡¯re going to happily follow his instructions and then come up with a plan. Come on.¡±


    Leading Vin by the stump, Shia brought the two of them away from the deranged warrior and toward the center of the room. Vin was still finding it difficult to focus on any one thing for more than a few seconds, but he let himself be led, trusting in Shia¡¯s judgement. He wasn¡¯t the only one it seemed, because despite the restlessness he could sense from Alka shifting around inside him, the ghost continued echoing him instead of shooting out to take a crack at their attacker. Before he knew it, he realized he was standing before the ring of statues.


    Each statue was of a God staring up toward the Grand Artifact; their arms outstretched toward the glowing artifact floating above them as though they were the ones keeping it afloat.


    Vin found himself staring into the face of a carefully carved woman wearing some sort of fancy robe and sandals. Her smile was so realistic it seemed to give off a layer of warmth, and her long hair was somehow carved so delicately there were individual strands hanging suspended in the air. The craftsmanship and detail were so impressive he bet half the stone village would have traded their personal crafting tools just to get a glance at the statue.


    Trying to focus, he shook his head, laying a hand on the statue and closing his eyes. The stone cloth felt almost real under his fingertips, and he could have sworn he felt the material shift at his touch. He didn¡¯t really know what he was supposed to do, but he figured it couldn¡¯t hurt to go with the classic. It was that or get attacked by the crazed man once more after all.


    Uh¡­ hello¡­ God? Gods? Whomever? ¡­Are you there?


    As he¡¯d expected, there was no answer. Sweating, Vin imagined the man waiting for them unsheathing his sword again with a grin before coming to lop off his other arm.


    Look, I don¡¯t know how this works exactly¡­ but we could really use your help right now. The guy that is holding us at sword point might not be one of your people directly, but I think he worked for them, and that kinda makes him your responsibility, in my opinion.


    Realizing he was rambling, Vin sighed, gritting his teeth. I don¡¯t know if you can hear me, or if you¡¯re even truly Gods or whatever, but I do know you¡¯re real. Or at least something up there is. You threatened to kill me the moment I stepped foot on this new world, and seeing as that wasn¡¯t my fault in the slightest, I feel like the very least you could do is answer me. You owe me that much.


    Vin waited with bated breath, straining his ears as he listened for some sort of reply. But there was nothing but silence. His heart began pounding as he accepted that they would have to work together to find a way to beat the high-level man on their own. Shaking, Vin slowly let his now only hand fall from the woman¡¯s statue as he took a step back, opening his eyes and turning toward Shia.


    But she was gone.


    Vin spun around, eyes widening as he realized he was once more standing in a black void identical to the one he¡¯d found himself stuck in when he first came to this world. His heart pounding for an entirely different reason, he turned back to the stone statue only to find himself looking at a smiling woman standing before him. The impossibly lifelike statue was no longer made of stone, and the very much flesh and blood woman now standing before him gave him a warm smile like someone greeting an old friend.


    ¡°Hello again Vin,¡± the woman said, her voice sounding almost artificial to his ears. It was like someone had taken the top hundred most beautiful voices he¡¯d ever heard and blended them together somehow. The effect was both hypnotic, and slightly disturbing. Seeing she had Vin¡¯s full attention, the woman nodded.


    ¡°Let¡¯s chat.¡±

 34. Divine Discussion

    ¡°What are you?¡± Vin couldn¡¯t help but ask, all his previous thoughts vanishing in light of the woman¡¯s sudden appearance and hypnotic voice.


    ¡°That¡¯s a tricky question,¡± she said, giving him a sad smile. Her hair seemed to float around her head as though they were underwater, and the effect was more than a little distracting. ¡°I can tell you what I was in the old universe. A powerful God with countless trillions of people spread out across untold worlds worshiping her. Now?¡± She sighed, and Vin watched as wrinkles seemed to spread across her face in the blink of an eye. Except instead of normal wrinkles, these seemed more like cracks in reality, each one letting him peek into a bottomless black pit far darker than the void surrounding them. ¡°Now, even I¡¯m not sure what I am anymore. A fragment of my former self, willingly donated toward the construction of a new world in the hopes of giving life a second chance.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a God?¡± Vin asked, trying to comprehend everything he¡¯d just been told. ¡°And wait, what do you mean old universe? What happened to it?¡±


    Instead of answering him, the woman sighed again, and Vin swore he felt the endless void surrounding them expand ever so slightly as she did so. While he was still reeling from that, she asked him her own question.


    ¡°You seem to have grown a fondness for magic in the short time you¡¯ve been on Edregon, Vin. Tell me¡­ Unlike most life forms within the old universe, you come from a world almost devoid of magic. Maybe not the concept, but the actual form at least. Now that you¡¯ve experienced it for yourself, what is magic to you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a chance to create wonders beyond your wildest dreams,¡± Vin found himself answering truthfully, as though the concept of lying didn¡¯t even exist in this strange black void surrounding them. From the very first time he¡¯d tapped into his mana and cast a spell, he had become enthralled with magic¡¯s seemingly infinite form, and he struggled to find a way to put that into words. ¡°Endless possibility, limited only by the caster.¡±


    ¡°Endless possibility¡­¡± the Goddess muttered, shaking her head. ¡°Oh Vin¡­ you¡¯ve blindly stumbled onto the root of all our problems. I knew I liked you for a reason.¡±


    ¡°Magic is a problem?¡± He frowned, remembering the joy he felt every time he mastered a new runic formation and channeled his mana through it. ¡°How? Magic is amazing!¡±


    ¡°Magic is chaos,¡± she said blankly, and the black void suddenly shattered around them, transformed into a prismatic whirlwind of color and sound that overwhelmed Vin in an instant and nearly drove him to madness. But before he could descend fully into insanity, it all vanished, replaced once more with blissful nothingness.


    ¡°You see, endless possibility means never ending change,¡± the woman continued, as if she hadn¡¯t just peeled back the wallpaper of the universe and given him a glimpse at what lay underneath. ¡°It is only through strict control and regulation of magic that we Gods have been able to create anything close to livable worlds and functioning societies.¡±


    ¡°Runic formations,¡± Vin managed to mutter, his head still reeling from the explosion of color and sound.


    ¡°Precisely,¡± she nodded. ¡°Scaffolding put in place by the Gods to prevent wild magic from transforming every world across the universe into a replica of what I just showed you.¡±


    ¡°I can see why you put those safeguards in place,¡± Vin said, his eyes finally able to focus on the woman once more. ¡°But why tell me all this? All I did was ask for your help in getting us away from that maniac who chopped my arm off.¡±


    ¡°Oh? You¡¯re not interested in the secrets of the universe?¡± The woman asked, giving him a coy smile. ¡°You don¡¯t care about what happened to the divine classes like your friend¡¯s master? You don¡¯t want the location of a magic spell powerful enough to send your ghost companion to her final rest? You¡¯re not interested in sending a message back to those you left behind on Earth?¡±


    Vin stared at the teasing Goddess in shock, his thoughts reeling at the sudden possibilities. Before he could say anything though, the woman giggled, and the resulting quaking of the void around them nearly sent him sprawling to the ground.


    ¡°Can you actually tell me all that? Or are you just messing with me?¡± He finally sputtered, quickly growing tired of being a seemingly omnipotent being¡¯s plaything.


    ¡°In the old universe, I would have already given you those answers. Just because I find you entertaining,¡± the woman replied with a sad smile. ¡°Unfortunately, it is exactly that mindset that led to the destruction of so many worlds. That brought us to where we are now.¡±


    ¡°The reason I¡¯m telling you all this is because I felt you deserved an explanation as to why I cannot wave my hand and help you escape Entais¡¯ Guardian of Relics,¡± the woman said, causing Vin¡¯s hopes of survival to plummet into the void around them. ¡°Tell me Vin¡­ I just explained how we Gods created rules and strict regulations for magic to prevent its chaotic nature from erupting forth and destroying everything. Other than runic formations, does that sound familiar to anything you¡¯ve encountered since coming to this world?¡±


    ¡°The System,¡± Vin said breathlessly, easily recalling the countless organized tables and numbers that appeared whenever he willed it. After all, what could mentally assigned numbers that adjusted one¡¯s physical ability be besides magic?


    ¡°The System,¡± she nodded. ¡°The greatest joint working of the Gods to ever be created. It not only protected mortals from the chaotic nature of magic, it allowed them to tap into it and grow! It was a marvel of magical engineering, and it would have ensured growth and prosperity across the entire universe until the end of time¡­ if only we had followed the very rules we¡¯d put into place.¡±


    Again, the woman¡¯s appearance seemed to age another few decades, and Vin now found himself speaking with an elderly woman whose expression was that of someone warning their great grandchildren not to follow the same mistakes she had. Her expression was still filled with warmth and love, but her gaze had gone hard.


    ¡°While we Gods are capable of many great and terrible things, restraint was never one of them. The more people who worshiped us¡­ The more mortals who looked up to us, asking for assistance or answers, the more we found ourselves nudging the scales just a little bit.¡± She shook her head, a single, shining tear falling from her cataract filled eyes into the void. ¡°If only we¡¯d realized what we were doing¡­¡±Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Every time we gave someone the smallest sliver of divinity, every time we tossed a mortal a boon for no reason other than their plight entertained us, we introduced foreign magic into the System that had been oh so carefully designed. Our downfall was our own impressive creation.¡±


    The Goddess raised a hand, and the black void surrounding them changed once more. Only, rather than a violent explosion of color and sound, this time, Vin suddenly found himself standing inside a runic formation more complicated than anything he could ever imagine. The runes varied in color and size, in shape and dimension, and the entire work seemed to stretch on an unfathomable distance. Somehow, Vin could feel the size of this impossible working, and he shuddered at the strange innate understanding that the runic structure he was floating within was larger than most planets.


    ¡°Is this..?¡±


    ¡°The runic formation comprising the old System,¡± the woman nodded. As Vin hurried to take advantage of this magical marvel, his eyes trailing from one impossible shape to the next, he began to notice something unnerving. Many of the runes seemed to have almost¡­ rusted, somehow. Their magic felt weak and unstable, forcing surrounding portions of the System to work harder and causing undue strain on the structure as a whole.


    ¡°The wear our actions had on the System was so minimal, and the number of redundancies we built into the structure so high, that countless millennia passed before we began to notice what we were doing,¡± the woman continued, her own eyes drifting through the insane work of the Gods. ¡°Our meddling in mortal affairs had slowly but surely corrupted the old System. Monsters had always been a necessary byproduct of our efforts to restrain the chaotic nature of magic, and thus an increase in the number and power of monsters was the main way the corruption spread.¡±


    ¡°All the world fragments I visited¡­ all the people I spoke with¡­ the one common thing I heard was a heavy increase in monsters in the years leading up to you snatching them from their worlds,¡± Vin said as all the pieces finally fell into place. ¡°You keep calling this the old System,¡± he said, gesturing to the planet-sized runic structure around them. ¡°If divinity ended up corrupting the old System¡­ was the Great Reset due to you shifting the entire universe over to a new System? One without a shred of divinity to ensure the same thing didn¡¯t happen again?¡±


    ¡°Oh Vin,¡± the woman said, suddenly standing directly in front of him, young and beautiful once more. ¡°In the old universe, I would have granted you a boon just for that.¡±


    ¡°So your explanation¡­ your answers¡­ all¡­ this,¡± he said, waving angrily at the runic structure still surrounding them, refusing to take a step back from the Goddess standing in his personal space. ¡°All of this was just to explain to me why you¡¯re going to let me die once we¡¯re done talking here? Because this new System has rules against giving mortals any of your divine power?¡±


    ¡°I did not say I would do nothing,¡± the woman smiled. ¡°I just said I cannot grant you a boon for nothing.¡± She was standing close enough that a few drifting strands of her floating hair brushed against Vin¡¯s face, each one sending what felt like a small electrical jolt through his body. ¡°The old System was designed over a timeframe that would melt your brain if you tried to comprehend. This new one, however, was built a bit more hastily. We were able to copy large sections of the old one to save time, but we¡¯ve discovered a few errors we made in our haste here and there that we¡¯ve had to correct on the fly. Such as the Explorer class receiving experience for discovering a new world when they first stepped foot on Edregon,¡± she winked.


    ¡°The main difference between the new System and the old are the ironclad rules against us Gods interfering with mortals at a whim,¡± she explained. ¡°Despite how much I want to make you one of my chosen ones, granting you a slice of my divinity and power beyond your wildest dreams, the new System prevents me from doing that. And for good reason. However, we Gods did not abandon you mortals entirely.¡±


    ¡°So you can help me,¡± Vin asked, trying to cut to the chase. Not that he wasn¡¯t interested in everything she was saying, but he had no idea how much time was passing in the real world while they chatted away here inside this strange void. For all he knew, when he finally woke back up, it would be just in time to find his head being sliced clean from his body.


    ¡°We have devised a method to regulate divinity within the structure of the System,¡± she nodded. ¡°A way to allow mortals to use our powers that does not result in corroding the System itself. Unfortunately, the only way this was possible was to make it completely tied to the System this time. Entirely regulated; fair and available to every capable mortal who chooses to discover one of our holy sites and ask for our aid. No more playing favorites or bestowing power at a whim.¡±


    ¡°Assuming a mortal fulfills the strict requirements, and vows to continue to fulfill them, we can grant them a divine boon,¡± she finally explained. ¡°These boons are as varied as there are Gods in the universe, but each one contains a power any mortal would be happy to possess. And you, little Vin, with your actions mere moments before contacting me, have finally fulfilled the final requirements of a boon I believe you will find quite useful in your travels.¡±


    With a wave of her hand, another glowing, golden System notification appeared before him, just like the one notifying them of the Divine Sanctum.


    Vow of Benevolence: You vow to attempt to solve problems with peace before violence. You will not attack other sentient beings unless attacked first, or in order to save the life of another.


    Reward: The Grace of Gods (Boon): Once a day, the first attack that would kill or severely maim you will be fully negated.


    ¡°Wow,¡± was all Vin could say as he stared at the golden notification. A single get-out-of-jail-free card each day was a useful boon indeed. ¡°...This would have been great about ten minutes ago, you know.¡±


    ¡°It was your unconscious decision to give up a part of yourself to save your friend that earned you the right to take this vow in the first place,¡± the Goddess giggled. ¡°Our divine power is not something we can just hand out to anyone anymore. Only your internal aversion to unnecessary violence and active act of sacrifice were what granted you the right to this boon in the first place.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough I guess,¡± Vin said, rereading the notification before accepting it. A gentle, warm wave of air seemed to pass through his body, rejuvenating him and causing him to sigh with contentment. It felt like he had a small spark of fire burning within his chest, and with a start, he realized what this meant. ¡°So wait, just to confirm, I have some divinity within me now, right?¡±


    ¡°That is correct,¡± the Goddess said, giving him a sad smile. ¡°Unfortunately, your boon is one purely of defense. You won¡¯t be able to use it to bring your friend peace.¡±


    ¡°Damn it,¡± Vin swore, his hopes sinking just as fast as they¡¯d risen. ¡°...And there¡¯s nothing you can do?¡±


    ¡°I have already explained how my hands are tied,¡± the Goddess said, shaking her head. ¡°I will even tell you that your hunt for a divine artifact will never bear fruit. Any divine artifacts that were located on our chosen fragments were converted to pure magical energy to help drive the creation of this new world. If you wish to use divinity to put your friend to rest, you will have to find someone with an offensive boon somewhere on this new world willing to help you, or find a spell powerful enough to accomplish your goal.¡±


    ¡°Well that¡¯s something at least,¡± Vin said, meeting the Goddess¡¯ eyes and bowing for the first time in his life. For some reason, it just felt right. ¡°Thank you for everything you¡¯ve done. I guess you can throw me back out there now, and I¡¯ll just pray the crazy guy with a sword only tries to stab me a single time.¡±


    ¡°Oh, my little Vin,¡± the Goddess said, shaking her head with a grin. ¡°I can¡¯t grant you any more of my power than I already have, but that does not mean I am planning to abandon you. Especially not when you¡¯re so entertaining to watch.¡±


    ¡°There is one final thing I¡¯m going to tell you. This knowledge will not only give you a chance to escape the Divine Sanctum of the Relic Guardian, but also offer you the possibility of saving many other lives you are not yet aware are in danger.¡±


    ¡°Now, listen carefully¡­¡±

 35. A Desperate Gamble

    Lorkal sent another ranged slash lazily toward the annoying petian, watching the tiny man dive out of the way at the very last moment for the umpteenth time. There were gouges and nicks scattered all over the place from how long he¡¯d been toying with the Rogue, and rubble littered the stone ground from the countless pedestals that had already been cut to pieces. It would have been child¡¯s play to dart forward and actually take care of the little pest, but he had to do something to entertain himself until the human and elf finally finished their conversations.


    Glancing over at the two interlopers who had dared to come ask for one of his relics, he confirmed they were still deep in prayer with the Gods. It had been over an hour now, and still they weren¡¯t done!


    His hand twitched, itching to send a slash their way and finish them off, but he managed to contain the urge. It would be all the sweeter to cut them down once they¡¯d come to the crushing realization the Gods could do nothing to help them.


    The blasted Gods¡­ Lorkal growled, sending another two quick slashes at the petian, who even now was attempting to take advantage of the lull in his attacks to scale a pillar and steal one of his artifacts. He had to give the little man credit, even after an hour of dodging increasingly deadly attacks he never lost sight of what he was after.


    Lorkal was a thrice prestiged Guardian of Relics. Even if most of his skills had been sealed away by the Gods when they dragged him along into this new world, the lowly Rogue had absolutely zero chance of stealing any of his treasures from him. His strength attribute alone was probably higher than all of the Rogue¡¯s attributes put together.


    ¡°How much longer do you think you¡¯ll be able to keep dodging?¡± Lorkal called out, easily able to make out the Rogue¡¯s panting and the sweat dripping down his brow with his high focus. Even when the Rogue ducked behind a pillar, Lorkal had no difficulty locating him via his heavy breathing.


    Like every other time he¡¯d tried to engage the Rogue in conversation, the blasted petian ignored him, preferring to focus on catching his breath whenever he got the chance. Sighing, Lorkal prepared to send another slash his way, when a few sparks drew his attention toward the center of the room.


    The Grand Artifact of Qiatha flickered brightly, shooting sparks of pure magic off to the side as the magical construction desperately tried to fulfill its original purpose. Lorkal waited with bated breath as the damaged artifact struggled and whined. After the Gods had left him here and stolen all of his divine artifacts, the grand artifact was the most impressive one he had left. Finally, as it had done countless times before, it managed to send out a dense pulse of magic, and Lorkal let out a sigh of relief as he watched a large Demon Bear suddenly materialize about fifty feet away.


    Roaring in confusion, the ten-foot-tall bear covered in flaming black bony protrusions shattered a half dozen pedestals in a single confused swipe as it tried to figure out what was going on. Lorkal grinned at the sudden intake of breath he could hear from the petian currently hiding behind a pillar a good ways away, no doubt shocked at the bear¡¯s sudden appearance.


    ¡°You want to take this one, or should I?¡± Lorkal called out, grinning wildly as the bear began sniffing around, its head turning in the direction of the tiny intruder. ¡°I¡¯d finish it off, but I¡¯ve been taking care of these monsters for months now. Honestly, other than that big wave about a week ago, it¡¯s gotten pretty boring!¡±


    In all the three months he¡¯d been trapped within this bubble, the sole source of entertainment he¡¯d had was the Grand Artifact of Qiatha. Designed to redirect the manifestation of select monsters from the surrounding area to this very room in the hopes of relieving some pressure off those fighting on the walls, Lorkal had been slaying scores of random monsters for weeks now.


    Unfortunately, the artifact was so intricate it was supposed to receive regular tune ups from a team of dedicated enchanters every couple of days, and the lack of care was beginning to show. While Lorkal loved each and every one of his artifacts and would give anything to protect them, he didn¡¯t have the magical knowledge required to fix the damage spreading across the artifact from a lack of maintenance. The longer it went without repairs, the deeper the cracks spread, and the more he worried each time it sputtered to life.


    When the artifact had suddenly redirected hundreds of monsters all at once to his doorstep about a week ago without any warning, he¡¯d feared that would be it for the jewel of his collection. But Qiatha had shown her brilliance yet again, as her grand work had managed to hang in there just a little longer.


    Pulling himself from his memories, Lorkal realized the petian was actually shouting at the Demon Bear now, even going so far as to throw pieces of rubble at the monster for some crazed reason. For its part, the bear didn¡¯t even seem to realize it was being attacked. Ignoring the petian¡¯s best efforts, the monster continued sniffing the air, its nose close to the ground as it moved in search of something on the other half of the room.


    Lorkal watched with curiosity as the monster continued sniffing, its head tilting this way and that. What could it be looking for? He didn¡¯t have any food stashed around or anything. Hell, after refusing to take any of the Gods¡¯ handouts, he¡¯d been surviving off of nothing but the monsters the grand artifact had brought him for three months now. He faintly recalled being warned years ago that monsters could only be safely eaten in small, regulated quantities, but it wasn¡¯t like he had any other options. One of his artifacts had been a cornucopia capable of conjuring entire feasts, but naturally, the Gods hadn¡¯t seen fit to leave him with that one either.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    His unbridled rage flared up again at the thought of the lost artifact, and he unleashed another slash, this one far stronger than anything he¡¯d sent toward that bumbling Rogue so far. The Demon Bear¡¯s snout was pressed to the ground as it focused on its search, but it had just enough time to look up in surprise before it was sliced completely in half, its dense muscles and thick bone doing absolutely nothing to deaden Lorkal¡¯s attack.


    Panting and literally seeing red, Lorkal tried taking a few calming breaths, not wanting to lose his cool and risk damaging any of his few remaining relics. For some reason, he¡¯d been having these flashes of violent rage more and more frequently since he¡¯d been trapped in here. Naturally, the Gods must have done something to him after deciding stealing the majority of his treasures hadn¡¯t been enough. Blasted beings, the lot of them.


    As though they¡¯d been listening to his very thoughts, the Gods finally saw fit to interrupt his internal ranting at that moment. He watched as the human and elf both seemed to stir at the same time, blinking and shaking their heads as they left that eerie black void he was plenty familiar with and returned once more to the here and now.


    ¡°Vin,¡± he heard the weird, feral looking elf whisper the moment she had her bearings. He¡¯d never seen an elf with pointed teeth before, and he had to admit, his first attack on the elf that had claimed the boy¡¯s hand may have been partially due to his initial surprise. ¡°The God I spoke with¡­ he said you had some sort of plan?¡±


    ¡°Not a great one, but at least it gives us a chance,¡± the human whispered back, absentmindedly touching his new stump with his remaining hand. ¡°Besides, we don¡¯t have any time to waste. If what I was told is true, we need to get back to my camp now.¡± Shooting a glance toward Lorkal, the human actually had the spine to turn his back on the man who had just taken his arm from him, choosing instead to look up at the Grand Artifact of Qiatha in all its damaged glory.


    Lorkal frowned, watching the human seem to prepare himself for something. He¡¯d expected a lot more begging and panicked crying when the duo discovered there was nothing the Gods could do to save them from his blade. The Gods had already explained to him that they were no longer able to interact with people directly. He knew they couldn¡¯t have just waved their hands and given the two endless divine power.


    So why were they so calm?


    He didn¡¯t like the way the human was eyeing up Qiatha¡¯s artifact either; almost like he was both in awe of the magical display hovering overhead and saddened by what was about to happen. Lorkal decided right then and there that he should stop messing around and kill them before anything bad happened to his artifacts. He readied his blade for one final swing, this one wide enough to slice both of them neatly in half. But just before he struck, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye.


    That blasted Rogue was taking advantage of his distraction to try and swipe one of his artifacts! Again!


    With a roar, Lorkal redirected his attack, sending a massive arcing slash sweeping across the room at the pesky petian. With his collection in danger, he finally stopped caring about collateral damage. He needed to take care of these intruders now.


    His attack severed dozens of pedestals and even destroyed a few minor artifacts in the blink of an eye as it soared toward the Rogue, and he grinned as he watched the doomed Rogue finally lay his hands on one of his artifacts, oblivious to his impending death. Seeing as he was about to be cut to ribbons, he¡¯d even forgive the petian for daring to touch one of his treasures just this once.


    But in the split second between the Rogue¡¯s fingers closing around his artifact and Lorkal¡¯s attack reaching him, the tiny man was suddenly yanked backwards by some sort of cord wrapped around his waist, pulling the Rogue to safety and forcing his attack to miss by barely a hair. Lorkal watched in shock as the cord revealed itself to be the tail of a hidden rat, and the Rogue landed gracefully in a saddle strapped to the small creature, grinning in victory as he held the artifact up above his head.


    Everything went red as Lorkal let out an earth rumbling scream of rage. Tensing his legs, he readied himself to dart forward and cut the Rogue and his pet rat down for daring to lay their tiny hands on one of his artifacts. But before he could strike, Lorkal realized the rumbling of the ground beneath his feet wasn¡¯t actually coming from him.


    Looking back at the other two intruders, he stared in horror at the sight of the human sending some sort of concentrated beam of mana directly into the core of Qiatha¡¯s grand artifact floating overhead. In response to the foreign mana, the already heavily damaged artifact was beginning to spin far faster than he¡¯d ever seen it spin before, firing out erratic pulses of magical energy and causing the colosseum and everything within it to shake as the black cracks already infecting it spread at a prodigious rate across its otherwise gleaming surface.


    ¡°What are you doing!¡± He screamed, using his immense strength to travel the distance separating them in an instant, backhanding the human with enough force to liquify his low-level organs and send him splatting against the far wall. He was vaguely aware of the elf and petian fleeing the shaking building, but he only had eyes for the jewel of his collection.


    He watched in horror as one of the most powerful and priceless relics he¡¯d ever had the privilege of guarding trembled and cracked apart above his head. Some small part of him warned him he had to get away; that the magical backlash of such a powerful artifact exploding would almost certainly be enough to kill even someone as strong as him.


    But Lorkal didn¡¯t care.


    ¡°My treasure!¡± He screamed, throwing his sword to the side and leaping thirty feet straight up into the air. Landing on the gleaming, shaking surface of Qiatha¡¯s greatest work, he dug his fingers into the spreading cracks, securing a hold on the spinning relic as he desperately tried using every iota of his incredible strength to keep the cracks from spreading any farther.


    ¡°I won¡¯t let them take you from me!¡± He cried, already feeling the warbling magical energy pulse and twist erratically against his chest as the relic destabilized; the chaotic magic burning its way through his dirty robe as he continued to hold on.


    Letting out one final, soul rending screech of rage at the Gods for taking everything from him, Lorkal felt actual pain for the first time in years as the seemingly infinite amount of magic swirling within the jewel of his collection finally burst forth.

 36. Boom

    ¡°Keep running, keep running!¡± Vin repeated, doing his best to put as much distance between them and the shaking colosseum as possible. As he ran, he tried to ignore the ache in his back he¡¯d received from slamming into the wall of the building at what felt like Mach three speeds. He was thankful that the Gods included the resulting impact from the crazed guardian¡¯s backhand to be part of his initial attack, but they could have at least prevented the resulting aches and pains.


    ¡°Surely this is far enough?!¡± Scule called out, looking worriedly at a panting Reginald as the rat tried its best to keep up with Vin¡¯s top speed. It had been awhile since Vin had broken into an all out sprint, and he hadn¡¯t realized how much his slowly increasing endurance was affecting him.


    ¡°Trust me, we want to get as far away as possible!¡± He yelled, quickly checking to make sure Shia hadn¡¯t fallen too far behind. To his shock, the Druid¡¯s staff had transformed into some sort of wooden cat-like creature, and she was riding it right beside them, easily keeping pace.


    ¡°It¡¯s just one artifact!¡± Scule continued, shaking his head. Vin noticed he was clutching some sort of black bag in his hands, but he didn¡¯t have the breath to waste asking him what it was. ¡°Even if it explodes, that colosseum looked sturdy enough to contain-¡±


    Scule¡¯s words were lost as an incredible shock wave slammed into them from behind. The three of them were sent flying like leaves in a storm, hurtling down the thankfully empty road a good few dozen feet before rolling painfully to a stop. To his horror, Vin realized he couldn¡¯t move, and he panicked for a moment, wondering if he¡¯d come down wrong and been paralyzed. It wasn¡¯t until he watched his body groan and pick itself up that he realized Alka must have taken control of his body at the very last second to double the attribute benefits he shared from her.


    ¡®Huh. Didn¡¯t know you could do that on your own.¡¯


    ¡°Me neither!¡± She shouted, pressing a palm against his ear. ¡°I can¡¯t hear anything!¡±


    Vin got to experience the strange sensation of not being able to hear himself speak through his own bleeding ears, but still able to hear Alka thanks to the vibrations in his chest.


    ¡®Give me control again, I think I can heal our ears.¡¯


    Shrugging, Alka let her minute end early, and Vin suddenly found himself piloting his body once more. Thanks to Alka¡¯s quick thinking, causing his strength to skyrocket and improving his vigor a good bit, the explosion hadn¡¯t damaged him too badly. After a quick glance to confirm his companions were also all still alive and moving, Vin looked back at the colosseum.


    Whatever architect had designed the holy district must have been high level indeed, as despite the raw power of the explosion that had sent them tumbling like ragdolls, the colosseum itself remained standing strong, the only difference being the giant plume of colorful smoke pouring out of the building¡¯s center. Though while the colosseum and surrounding buildings seemed unfazed from the blast, the shockwave had been powerful enough to knock down the rows of lights lining the street leading to the center of the district, scattering their still glowing gemstones all over the place.


    Shoving one of the glowing gems into his pack for later, Vin held his one hand up to his ear and cast Renewal. He was worried for a moment that the spell wouldn¡¯t be strong enough to fix his ears after it had failed to grow back his arm, but as his hearing gradually returned, he relaxed. A quick second cast fixed his other ear, and he then moved to take care of Scule while Shia fixed up Reginald.


    ¡°Alright, quick question,¡± Scule said as his hearing slowly came back. ¡°What the hells was that?¡±


    ¡°The Grand Artifact of Qiathia,¡± Vin said, loud enough for Shia to hear as she took care of the rat. ¡°An artifact designed by this fragment¡¯s greatest Enchanter. It detects where monsters are going to spawn within a certain radius and redirects them to the space around itself. It¡¯s an extremely delicate artifact and was already heavily damaged, so when I concentrated my Sense Magic spell into a beam and pumped my mana into it, it caused it to overload and detonate.¡±


    ¡°Oh! That explains the giant bear!¡± Scule said, punching a fist into his palm. ¡°I¡¯d instructed Reginald to hide while I distracted the sword maniac, but some huge monster bear appeared out of nowhere and started going after him. Thanks for leaving me all alone with that guy by the way!¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you come pray to the Gods with us?¡± Shia asked, finishing up with Reginald and getting to her feet. ¡°You probably would have been safe if you¡¯d prayed also.¡±


    ¡°And miss out on the chance of grabbing one of those artifacts?¡± Scule snorted. ¡°No thank you! Speaking of which¡­¡± With a triumphant grin, the Rogue held up a small pouch nearly as large as he was. Vin could detect a heavy layer of some unknown magic woven through the bag, but it wasn¡¯t one he¡¯d encountered before. Investigating with his magic sense, he ventured a guess.


    ¡°Something to do with size magic? Or space magic? The best word I can think of to describe what I¡¯m feeling is vastness.¡±


    ¡°Beats me!¡± Scule chuckled. ¡°You think there were instructions on those pedestals or something? I just know that maniac went bonkers when I grabbed it, so it has to be something good.¡±


    ¡°I think I know what it is,¡± Shia said, squinting at the bag and flickering out her tongue. ¡°My master had a satchel that tasted very similar. Can I see it for a moment?¡±


    Scule hesitated for a second before handing the pouch over to the elf; his eagerness to learn what his new artifact did clearly outweighing his concern that she might run off with it. Looking at it curiously, Shia reached out and put her hand into the bag. Vin watched in shock as her hand went deeper and deeper, until she somehow had her entire arm up to the shoulder shoved into the pouch that was barely as large as Scule.


    ¡°It¡¯s space magic,¡± she confirmed, pulling her arm out of the small pouch. ¡°I don¡¯t know how much can fit inside, but it¡¯s definitely space magic. Here, for your experience.¡±


    Shia tossed him the pouch, and Vin was suddenly reminded of his missing hand as he fumbled to catch it. Trying not to think about it, he passed the pouch back over to Scule¡¯s waiting hands and took a look at his notifications. To his shock, he had quite a few major ones waiting for him.


    New Divine Sanctum Discovered! 10,000 exp gained.


    Level up! Explorer lvl 16.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    +3 Attribute points to spend.


    +1 Skill point to spend.


    New Grand Artifact Discovered! 25,000 exp gained.


    Level up! Explorer lvl 17.


    +3 Attribute points to spend.


    And then from catching Scule¡¯s new fancy bag¡­


    New Lesser Artifact Discovered! 5,000 exp gained.


    ¡°Holy crap, I just received an insane amount of experience,¡± Vin said breathlessly, barely able to believe his eyes. He hadn¡¯t even spent his attribute points or passive point from hitting level 15 yet, and already he¡¯d been shoved all the way to the very edge of level 17. He couldn¡¯t believe the System had awarded him for discovering the Grand Artifact when he hadn¡¯t actually made physical contact with it, but he guessed destroying it must have counted.


    ¡°That¡¯s nothing! Guess who finally broke through that stupid level 20 barrier!¡± Scule cheered, waiving the magic pouch over his head like a flag. ¡°Suck on that System! You guys are looking at a brand-new Determined Rogue class. And you won¡¯t believe the new passive I got.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Shia asked, raising an eyebrow. She was slowly sweeping a Renewal spell over her body to heal dozens of assorted cuts and bruises. ¡°Something good?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s called, ¡®Eyes on the Prize,¡¯¡± Scule chuckled. ¡°Apparently, I can now select a single object as my designated target, and I get a boost to my attributes that slowly ramps up over time so long as I¡¯m actively trying to steal it. Nice that the System rewarded me for spending the last hour dodging that maniac¡¯s flying slashes while trying to grab this bag.¡±


    ¡°Good job staying alive,¡± Shia nodded, finishing up her self-healing. ¡°Vin, didn¡¯t you say something about needing to get back to your camp? You sounded pretty urgent earlier.¡±


    ¡°Oh God, yes!¡± He cried, dismissing his notifications. The explosion had literally knocked him senseless for a minute there, and then he¡¯d gotten distracted by the unexpected level ups. ¡°Monsters! Magic! It¡¯s all connected!¡±


    ¡°Easy there,¡± Shia said, laying a comforting hand on his shoulder while he tried not to hyperventilate. ¡°Just tell us what¡¯s wrong.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± He took a deep breath, deciding to keep it simple for the moment. ¡°Monsters are a direct result of magic. The God I spoke with explained how they are a necessary byproduct of the System. Theoretically, the more magic that is used, the more monsters end up being created. It¡¯s just that you would need to use magic on a truly tremendous scale in order to actually noticeably impact their spawn rates.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m following so far,¡± Shia said, and Scule nodded, listening curiously.


    ¡°Well,¡± Vin continued. ¡°In order to bring people from my world over to this one, that¡¯s exactly what the Gods have to do. They use a tremendous amount of magic, causing a gigantic spike in monsters being spawned. It¡¯s not divine magic mind you, but it¡¯s still magic.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. Your people were brought to the fragment neighboring the Sacred Forest,¡± Shia pointed out. ¡°That¡¯s only a couple of miles away. We should have noticed an uptick in monsters invading the forest if that were the case.¡± Suddenly, her eyes widened, and she turned back to look at the remains of the smoking colosseum behind her. ¡°The grand artifact¡­¡±


    ¡°Exactly! Despite its failing condition, the grand artifact of whomever was still actively working. It must have pulled most of the monsters that summoning the first wave of people from my world caused!¡±


    ¡°You know, Slashy McSlash Face did mention something about that,¡± Scule said, his brow furrowed in thought. ¡°I was kinda focused on the whole ¡®not getting cut in half¡¯ thing, but I think he said something about the grand artifact giving him a particularly large wave of monsters to deal with about a week ago.¡±


    ¡°And that was just for a hundred people from my world,¡± Vin continued. ¡°The wave arriving tomorrow morning is for a thousand people, meaning the gods are going to need to burn something like ten times the amount of magic as last time. And now that the artifact is destroyed¡­¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to stop all those monsters from spawning,¡± Shia finished, her face going pale. ¡°We need to warn your people and make sure they are prepared for the fight of their lives. One sec.¡± Reaching into her pouch of magic seeds, Shia pulled one out that radiated nature magic so powerfully Vin found it difficult to even look at. Planting the seed into a nearby patch of dirt, Shia cast Rapid Growth on it, and Vin watched in awe as the seed immediately sprouted into a tiny version of Erik, only with roots attached to the ground where his feet would have been.


    ¡°Shia? Vin? Good to see you both again so soon! Is everything alright?¡± Mini Erik asked, his voice still carrying that strange, melodic tone despite being the same size as Scule. For his part, the petian just stared in shock at Erik¡¯s sudden appearance.


    ¡°We¡¯re fine, but there¡¯s something you need to know,¡± Shia said, quickly relaying everything Vin had just warned her. Recalling the calendar he¡¯d viewed back in the underground training area for Project Ark, Vin jumped in at the end to add the scheduled future waves as well, including his fear of what the final wave of ten thousand people would end up looking like. Erik listened to the two of them calmly, thanking them for notifying him as quickly as they did.


    ¡°I¡¯ll start making preparations for the Sacred Forest,¡± he said, and Vin noticed how Shia began breathing easier, as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. ¡°No need to worry about us just yet. You should keep working on your mission. If we want any chance of surviving that final wave coming in a year''s time, we are going to need the other Dryads back and running at full power.¡±


    ¡°My thoughts exactly,¡± Shia nodded. After a quick goodbye, mini Erik rapidly shriveled back into a single seed, which Shia carefully picked up and placed back in her pouch.


    ¡°Well, no wonder you guys tried so hard to get that pouch back,¡± Scule said sheepishly, earning a glare from Shia. ¡°Sorry again about all that. It¡¯s not often I feel bad about stealing, but you guys clearly have a lot going on.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Vin said, waving the petian¡¯s concerns away. Or he tried to, before realizing he was just gesturing with his stump. Taking a deep breath, he shoved his inner turmoil and horror deep down for the moment.


    He had more important things to worry about right now.


    ¡°Scule, we¡¯re done in this fragment,¡± he explained, already trying to calculate how long it would take them to make it back to his camp. ¡°The two of us are heading back to my people as fast as possible to warn them about the impending monster attack. What I said earlier stands; you¡¯re welcome to join us if you want. Even if it was for your own selfish reasons, if you hadn¡¯t spent all that time distracting the Guardian, who knows if he wouldn¡¯t have just grown bored of us praying and decided to cut us down instead of waiting. Shia?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care if he joins us,¡± the elf shrugged. ¡°Gives me more chances to get back at the pipsqueak for stealing my pouch after all. And Reginald is pretty cute.¡±


    Hearing his name, the rat¡¯s head perked up, and he gave Shia some wide puppy dog eyes, earning a few more pets from the cooing elf. Again, Vin wondered just how intelligent that rat actually was. Scule watched Reginald practically melt into Shia¡¯s hands, snorting at his sell out of a partner.


    ¡°Well it''s not like I had any big plans after this,¡± the petian shrugged. ¡°It sounds like you¡¯re something of a traveler right? Always heading to new places with fresh targets, never staying in any one location long enough for the guards to get a bead on you?¡±


    ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t exactly-¡±


    ¡°Say no more, I¡¯m in!¡± Scule grinned, shooing Shia¡¯s hands away and jumping up into Reginald¡¯s saddle. The rat gave him an annoyed look, but quickly forgave him when he reached down and scratched under the rat¡¯s chin. ¡°Just let me know if there¡¯s anyone we meet I shouldn¡¯t try and steal from, and we¡¯ll probably get along just fine.¡±


    ¡°This might be a bad idea,¡± Vin muttered as Shia transformed her staff into the strange wooden cat made of branches once more, earning a quiet round of applause from Scule and an impressed squeak from Reginald.


    ¡®Eh, a good Rogue can be worth their weight in gold,¡¯ Alka argued. ¡®Better just hope petians weigh more than they look!¡¯


    Sighing, Vin shook his head, grinning against his better judgment at the ghost laughing inside his head. He¡¯d put together quite the strange team during his limited time on this world so far.


    Time to see what they could do.

 37. Walk and Talk

    ¡°The plan is simple,¡± Vin explained as they ran toward the magical border separating the citadel fragment from his camp¡¯s fragment. Luckily, breaking out of the citadel had been far easier than breaking in; especially when all the guards were distracted chatting with one another about what that huge explosion from within the holy district might have been, and it looked like someone was burning a dozen tons of Skittles. He¡¯d expected at least a few of them to finally throw caution to the wind and attempt to enter the holy district after what they¡¯d done, but it seemed not even an explosion as powerful as that one had been enough to break the faith they had in their divine classes.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know exactly when the monsters will spawn, but my guess is it will be sometime during the night. After all, if the gods let them spawn too close to the incoming wave of humans, all the fresh level 1 people would be turned into monster munch.¡±


    ¡°I used to stay at a tavern that sold monster munch,¡± Scule piped up, currently sitting on Vin¡¯s shoulder. They¡¯d realized rather quickly that while Reginald could sprint faster than Vin, he couldn¡¯t maintain Vin¡¯s long-distance pace for more than a few minutes. And so it was that Vin found himself now running with a tiny man on his shoulder and a rat comfortably snug in his shirt¡¯s front pocket with its head sticking out. ¡°Used pieces of real monster too! At least, that¡¯s what the tavern keeper always said to try and sell it. You know, up until one of his regulars went crazy and put a knife through his chest.¡±


    ¡®Monster is tasty when prepared correctly, but you have to be careful not to eat too much of it in a single sitting,¡¯ Alka explained as he ran. ¡®I¡¯ve even heard rumors that eating monsters beyond a certain level of power can have permanent effects on people.¡¯


    ¡°Huh, interesting,¡± Vin muttered, wondering if he should start eating monster before shaking his head at his lack of focus. He could only hope that the crazy blast that sent them flying earlier hadn¡¯t left him with a concussion. ¡°Regardless, assuming we don¡¯t run into any problems, we should get back to camp by midafternoon. We need to let Spur know everything that¡¯s coming, and hopefully that will give our crafters and combat classes time to prepare. I¡¯m imagining some hastily built spike walls or things like that.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like as good a plan as any,¡± Shia nodded, easily keeping up with Vin¡¯s pace thanks to her staff¡¯s convenient wooden cat mode. Not for the first time, he found himself watching the strangely realistic cat made from branches and brambles lope around beside him like a living creature. Vin didn¡¯t know how long it could do that, but Shia didn¡¯t seem overly concerned about running out of juice halfway to his camp, so he decided not to worry.


    ¡°I figured this went without saying, but I¡¯ll do what I can to help your people,¡± the elf added, flashing him a pointed smile.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Vin said, returning the smile. Huh¡­ I wonder when I stopped getting freaked out by her teeth?


    ¡°Don¡¯t expect too much from me, but Reginald and I will do what we can as well,¡± Scule said, giving him a mocking salute. ¡°I have a feeling my poisons won¡¯t work as well on monsters however, so I¡¯ll probably be running interference more than doing any actual hunting.¡± Scule¡¯s declaration was joined by a tiny squeak from Vin¡¯s pocket, sounding Reginald¡¯s resolve.


    ¡°Thanks guys, I appreciate it,¡± Vin nodded, a small weight lifting from his chest. The newly minted Determined Rogue claimed he wouldn¡¯t be doing all that much, but as far as Vin knew he was still one of the highest leveled people Vin had met on this world, and that had to mean something.


    Other than the insane artifact guardian of course, but he didn¡¯t really count.


    ¡°This might shock you, but I¡¯ve decided to come and help as well,¡± Alka said, floating out of his body and rolling her eyes as she drifted along beside them. ¡°I can¡¯t put my finger on it, but I just have this strange desire to never go further than a quarter mile from you. It¡¯s uncanny.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see if we can¡¯t get that looked at by a doctor or something when we have the time,¡± Vin grinned, earning a snort from the ghost.


    With nothing to do but watch the landscape quickly go by as they ran, Vin pulled up his interface and looked at the treasure trove of points he had to spend. After so many back to back level ups, he now had nine attribute points, a passive point, and two skill points, all sitting around collecting dust.


    He was about to dump his attribute points directly into magic and focus like he¡¯d been doing, when he paused, thinking back to their recent encounter.


    ¡°Hey Alka, how was that guy able to move so quickly anyway? I barely even managed to see him move. Was it just a high strength score?¡±


    ¡°Speed is actually more attributed to dexterity than strength,¡± Alka explained, pretending to run alongside them despite the fact that her feet never actually touched the ground. ¡°Unless you want to just launch yourself forward blindly at a target of course, that¡¯s all strength. Granted, being really fast and nimble doesn¡¯t really do you any good if you can¡¯t put any force behind your blows, so most fighters try to raise both.¡±


    ¡°Unless you use poisons!¡± Scule grinned, waving one of his needle-like daggers up in the air.


    ¡°Unless you use poisons,¡± Alka nodded, looking thoughtful. ¡°But even then, unless you have a magical weapon, you¡¯ll eventually get to the point where your strength isn¡¯t high enough to penetrate the hide of whatever you¡¯re fighting.¡±


    Scule lost his grin, looking down at his dagger with a frown. Vin swore he could hear Reginald squeaking quietly from his pocket, almost as if the rat was laughing.


    ¡°So if I¡¯m looking to get faster, then raising dexterity is the way to go?¡± Vin asked, wanting to confirm before he made his selection. No matter how hard he tried to keep shoving the memory down, the sensation of his arm being sliced from his body due to his lack of speed continued to float to the front of his mind again and again.


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Alka said, her transparent eyes flicking toward Vin¡¯s missing arm for a moment. ¡°Vin-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± he lied, quickly allocating his points so he didn¡¯t have to dwell on it. He shoved six points into dexterity, raising it from 14 to 20, and the remaining three into focus, bringing it from 20 to 23. No point in being faster if his brain couldn¡¯t comprehend what it needed to react to after all. Sighing in relief as he felt his tendons and joints grow stronger and more limber, he suddenly lurched forward, windmilling his arms to stay balanced before realizing his running pace had already increased a good bit.


    ¡°Probably should have stopped running before allocating those,¡± he said, forcing a laugh. Alka was still looking at him funny, but the ghost seemed content to let the topic drop for now. ¡°Now, let¡¯s take a look at passives¡­¡±


    Pulling up the list of passives, Vin was surprised to see it was a bit longer than he remembered.


    ¡°Do you get more options for passives as you level?¡±You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    ¡°Yeah. Other than the basic ones, most passives actually have requirements you have to meet before they even show,¡± Scule said, still turning his dagger this way and that in thought. ¡°Take my first passive, Animal Companion. I¡¯m pretty sure the System only offered it to me because I¡¯d already invested a skill point into Animal Training and had been working hard to train Reginald.¡±


    ¡°You were offered Animal Training as a class skill for a Rogue?¡± Shia asked, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Seems a bit odd.¡±


    ¡°Oh you have no idea,¡± Scule chuckled, finally sheathing his dagger. ¡°It seems like Rogues can be built in tons of different ways, because our class skill list is long.¡±


    ¡°So what does Animal Companion actually do?¡± Vin asked, curious about another class¡¯ passive. He definitely hadn¡¯t been offered that one, so Scule was probably on to something about the requirements needing to be met before certain passives appeared.


    ¡°Feels like a lot of random things,¡± Scule shrugged. ¡°Training Reginald started going much faster, and he grew far more intelligent than a regular rat. It¡¯s hard to explain, and it¡¯s not telepathy, but we also gained some sort of¡­ empathic link? We can understand what the other one of us wants to do, to a degree, as well as what they¡¯re feeling.¡±


    Reginald let out a pleased squeak of agreement, earning a chuckle from the petian. ¡°For example, I can tell you Reginald is currently feeling quite happy. I can sense his satisfaction at not having to run, and how pleased he is to sit in your pocket.¡±


    Vin glanced down, seeing the rat nod in agreement.


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s a pretty amazing passive,¡± he decided, going back to his own passive list with a more critical eye. Distance Runner was certainly useful, and he couldn¡¯t exactly fault it when he was benefiting from it literally at this very moment, but it wasn¡¯t all that impressive. Being able to run forever sounded far less cool when a possible alternative was making a sentient animal friend. In the same vein, Polyglot was ungodly useful, but again, not all that flashy. For his newest passive, he wanted something a bit more magical. Something to increase his survivability if at all possible. Something like¡­


    Vin paused, his eyes resting on a new passive option that definitely hadn¡¯t been there back at level 5.


    ¡°Hey Alka¡­¡± He said, grabbing the Slayer¡¯s attention. ¡°Ever heard of Threat Detection?¡±


    ¡°I have,¡± she nodded. ¡°If I remember correctly, I think it does exactly what it sounds like. Gives you some sort of sixth sense that alerts you to certain dangers before they strike. It¡¯s not infallible, but it¡¯s still pretty popular with high level Slayers on my world.¡±


    Welp, that¡¯s an instant buy, Vin thought, thanking Alka before purchasing his newest passive. With how often he got into dangerous situations, that passive would pay for itself in no time flat.


    Hell, it was probably his penchant for finding himself in such situations that he unlocked it in the first place.


    After making his selection, Vin tensed, wondering if he was about to get bombarded with unexpected information like he did with his skills other than the mysterious Dungeoneering. But to his surprise, nothing seemed to change. Assuming that meant he wasn¡¯t currently being threatened, he shrugged, turning to his skill points.


    Vin looked at his list of skills warily, wondering what to do with them. He still wasn¡¯t sure how smart his last two purchases had been. Dungeoneering had yet to do anything for him at all, still sitting untouched at level 1. And even after leveling it a few times, he had absolutely no idea what benefit Resistance was giving him. The skill had even gone up two more levels while within the Divine Sanctum, probably due to his body going into shock from blood loss, and he still wasn¡¯t sure what it did. If he had to guess, he¡¯d venture it increased his resilience to ongoing effects, like when Scule had poisoned him, or when he¡¯d given himself a migraine by accident.


    Sighing, he skimmed through the skill list a second time, trying to think of what would be useful. Unlike his passives, the Explorer skill list sat unchanging from the last time he¡¯d gone over it, and he¡¯d be willing to bet the general skill list hadn¡¯t changed either. Even so, he was already sitting on two skill points, and he was a hair''s breadth from level 18 where he¡¯d get yet another one, so he really felt like he should spend one.


    Realizing he had a new sounding board to bounce ideas off of, Vin glanced at the petian standing on his shoulder. To his surprise, the tiny man was now wearing a cape of all things; the dark fabric fluttering behind him in the wind as they ran. It took Vin a moment, but he laughed as he realized the cape was actually the magical bag the Rogue had swiped from the colosseum. He¡¯d somehow managed to transform the drawstrings into something of a clasp, and he was turning this way and that, giving the pouch-cape some experimental tugs.


    ¡°Love the new look,¡± Vin said, earning a snort from the tiny man.


    ¡°I know it¡¯s a little silly, but its usefulness outweighs the ridiculousness,¡± the Rogue argued. ¡°It¡¯s far too big to attach to my hip, and this way I can reach over my shoulder into the bag if I need to store or retrieve anything.¡±


    ¡°Honestly it¡¯s smart,¡± Vin admitted. ¡°Anyway, I already asked Shia and Alka this question earlier, but I figured I¡¯d hit you with it as well. I¡¯m struggling to decide what to spend my skill points on. Any recommendations?¡±


    ¡°Skills huh?¡± Scule sighed, sitting down on his shoulder. ¡°Tricky question. While there are a few skills that are good for just about anyone, I tend to fall into the camp of people who think you should just go with your gut. It¡¯s more important you pick a skill that you¡¯ll actively level and use than one that might be useful in certain situations.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fair¡­ much better advice than what I received from a certain combat hungry ghost.¡±


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not my fault you have terrible taste in skills!¡± Alka argued, rolling her eyes. ¡°If you¡¯re struggling that much, why not just save them until you prestige?¡±


    ¡°Wait, what?¡± Vin said, glancing at the sheepish looks the ghost and elf were giving him. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Sorry Vin, it¡¯s easy to forget you don¡¯t know the basic ways the System works,¡± Shia said, her face reddening. ¡°After your first prestige, you can use skill points to manually level your skills. Most people end up purchasing a solid four or five skills before devoting the rest of their points toward leveling them. Many skills will also offer an evolution at certain points, usually level 20, and those cost skill points as well.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡± Vin took a deep breath, shaking his head. He wasn¡¯t exactly happy his companions had forgotten to inform him of something so important, but he couldn¡¯t really fault them. They hadn¡¯t even been working together all that long to be fair.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, thanks for telling me now.¡± Looking over his skills, the only one even remotely close to level 20 was Spellcraft, so he¡¯d be sure to keep a skill point in reserve for that in case he could upgrade it. But that still left him with one he felt he should spend.


    Sighing, he went back to the only skill on his original list of interests that was still unpurchased. There was no question he¡¯d use the skill, so he may as well grab it if only for the experience gains.


    Finally purchasing the Running skill, Vin felt a textbook of running knowledge slam itself into his head. Immediately, he realized there were dozens of small things he could be doing better. Switching how his weight landed on his feet, adjusting how he swung his arms, even correcting his posture and how far forward he was leaning. Within seconds after purchasing the skill, he decided he¡¯d made the right choice. His gait already felt smoother, and when combined with his Distance Runner passive, he had no doubt he¡¯d be leveling up the skill insanely fast.


    Grinning, he focused on maintaining his new form as the miles flew by, growing ever closer to the location of his people¡¯s new camp.


    I wonder if I can hit level 18 by the time we get there.


    Vinnie Stone


    Explorer: Lvl 17


    Titles: Human Vessel (Lesser)


    Exp. 152,220/153,000


    Strength: 13(10)


    Dexterity: 20(6)


    Endurance: 36(4)


    Vigor: 20(4)


    Focus: 23(2)


    Magic: 22


    Attribute Points: 0


    Skill Points: 1


    Passive Points: 0


    Vows/Boons: Vow of Benevolence/Grace of Gods (Boon)


    Capstone: Runic Recalibration


    Passives: Mental Map, Polyglot, Distance Runner, Threat Detection


    Skills: Tracking lvl 5, Spellcraft lvl 17, Meditation lvl 11, Dungeoneering lvl 1, Resistance lvl 5, Running lvl 1


    Spells: Sense Stone, Sense Life, Sense Magic, Renewal, Replenish, Entangle, Concealment

 38. Homecoming

    As it turned out, the answer to that question was a resounding yes. Over the hour it took for Vin and his group to cross the border between fragments and make it to the location of the new camp, he¡¯d leveled up his new Running skill five times, earning more than enough experience to tip him over into level 18. After obtaining Threat Detection and increasing his dexterity, Vin was feeling confident enough in his defenses to return to his old ways, and he tossed the three attribute points into magic once again.


    It seemed his fear of losing more limbs was only ever so slightly less than his excitement toward learning more magic.


    He wasn¡¯t sure what that said about him.


    Luckily, the run had been fairly uneventful. Vin finally had enough focus to spot most threats long before he reached them in this open terrain, and enough endurance and dexterity to fairly easily run around them. They encountered a half dozen monsters and plenty more interesting animals in his straight shot back to camp, but they were able to avoid any direct fighting.


    The run was so uneventful in fact, Vin even managed to finally get to something he¡¯d been meaning to do for some time now. Entrusting his companions to steer him in the correct direction while his mind was elsewhere, he let his body run on autopilot as he focused on learning his latest spell. He couldn¡¯t exactly meditate while running, but that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t still focus on runic structures.


    Once he¡¯d finished that task, he checked his Mental Map and finally took note of the sheer amount of area he¡¯d discovered at this point from his travels. Seeing how much ground he¡¯d covered, he decided to invest a skill point into Cartography after all, just so he could give Spur something more detailed and better looking than a map that looked like it came from the back of a cereal box.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯d hope this goes without saying, but just so we¡¯re clear,¡± Vin started as they grew closer to the spot Spur had indicated he¡¯d planned to start the new camp. ¡°Alka, try not to scare anyone. Shia, try not to look like you want to eat anyone. Scule, don¡¯t go around stealing from anyone.¡± After a brief pause to let the quick barrage of complaints pass¡­


    ¡°Their own fault if they¡¯re scared of ghosts.¡±


    ¡°Come on, that was one time!¡±


    ¡°But what if it¡¯s really shiny?¡±


    ¡­Vin glanced down at his pocket. ¡°Reginald¡­ I trust at least you will make good decisions.¡± The rat looked back up at him, nodding his head in affirmation.


    Taking a deep breath, Vin led his group the rest of the way. Despite the hurry they were in, Vin didn¡¯t want to drive the camp into a panic at their arrival so he had Shia return her staff back to normal, and Alka thankfully returned to echoing him without even having to be asked. Scule offered to hide in Shia¡¯s pouch of magic seeds, earning himself a flick from the elf that nearly sent him tumbling to the ground before wisely deciding to just remain on Vin¡¯s shoulder for the moment.


    It was about a half mile out from the camp¡¯s new location when they finally ran into someone from his world. Vin spotted the man in standard Project Ark greys long before he spotted them. The man had a bow and a quiver of arrows strung to his back, but other than that he still looked more like someone from Earth rather than a foreign world.


    ¡°Hello!¡± Vin called out, causing the man to jump and spin around. It looked like he¡¯d been busy investigating a patch of mushrooms growing near a cluster of trees, so maybe he was looking for new sources of food. ¡°How are things back at camp?¡±


    ¡°Uh, they¡¯re fine,¡± the man said, far too busy staring at the tiny man standing on Vin¡¯s shoulders to pay any attention to him. Scule¡¯s form was so distracting in fact, Vin didn¡¯t even think the man noticed the elf standing beside him. ¡°What...?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t actually have time to chat,¡± Vin said, cutting off the bewildered scout. ¡°I have an emergency report for Spur. Can you point me in the direction of the camp?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± The man said, not taking his eyes off of Scule even as he pointed. ¡°It¡¯s that way¡­¡±


    Confirming the man¡¯s vague directions aligned with where Spur said he was planning on setting up camp, Vin nodded, giving the man a serious look and trying to put some weight behind his words.


    ¡°I know you¡¯re probably under orders right now, but I¡¯d come back to camp if I were you. We¡¯re about to be under serious threat, and we¡¯re going to need all hands-on deck if we want to have even a chance at survival.¡±


    That finally snapped the man out of his daze as he took in Vin¡¯s expression. ¡°How bad?¡± He asked, his eyes growing wider as they finally landed on Vin¡¯s missing forearm.


    ¡°Bad,¡± was all Vin said.


    ¡°Oh boy¡­¡± The man sighed, coming to a decision. ¡°There are a good number of other people scouting the area as well. If you¡¯re already going to talk to Colonel Spur, tell him I¡¯ll start spreading the word for everyone to return to camp.¡±


    Having made his request, the man took off deeper into the forest, searching for the others. Vin watched him go for a moment, shocked by how slow the man was running before he directed his party to continue making their way into camp. He wondered what a few dedicated crafters could do in only five days¡¯ time.


    A lot, as it turned out.


    Vin stared in shock at the makings of an actual settlement currently under construction in the center of an open meadow. They weren¡¯t anything fancy, but there were already a handful of rows of simple, bare bones log cabins with primitive cobble paths running in between them, and a couple more houses being built even as he watched. He knew they didn¡¯t have enough crafter classes to explain the sheer number of people he saw currently sawing their way through logs or hammering in nails, meaning Spur must have organized some of the combat classes to help out in their down time.


    He¡¯d hoped to spot some defenses in place, but the growing village didn¡¯t even have so much as a picket fence surrounding it just yet. Everyone¡¯s focus seemed to be on buildings and roads at the moment, and he saw a few people working on what looked like a well in the center of everything.


    ¡°This is bad,¡± he muttered, ignoring the growing number of looks he was receiving as he strolled down the brand-new road into camp. ¡°Shia, in the least racist way possible, you know wood pretty well. How likely do you think those log cabins would hold against a monster attack?¡±


    Snorting at his comment, she shook her head. ¡°Depends on the monster, but against one or two? Probably just fine. Against a few dozen¡­¡± She frowned, clearly envisioning the destruction and death that Vin himself saw. ¡°¡­probably not very well.¡±


    ¡®The good news is that Spur seems to already have people organized,¡¯ Alka pointed out. ¡®Hopefully switching their focus from building houses to building rows of spikes or whatever will be easy.¡¯


    ¡°You got your work cut out for you,¡± Scule added, looking around. ¡°I mean, the three of us just waltzed right into your settlement, right? Not a single person posted to stop and check us or anything?¡± The Rogue shook his head, looking disappointed. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t even be a challenge to make off with all your camp''s valuables. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve ever been disappointed in seeing a place so poorly guarded.¡±The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Again, unlike you guys, we¡¯ve literally only existed on this plot of land for like a week,¡± Vin said, feeling the need to defend his people a bit from his companions¡¯ disappointed looks. ¡°Unlike your fragments, we had to start completely from scratch. The Gods brought over a huge chunk of your Sacred Forest, and your entire goddamn citadel when they moved both your people for crying out loud!¡±


    ¡°You know what, fair enough,¡± Scule winced, holding up his hands in defeat.


    ¡°Vin?¡±


    Vin turned from the embarrassed Rogue to finally find a familiar face peering at him. Phil, the twitchy, right-hand man of Spur¡¯s that Vin always caught staring hungrily at him out of the corner of his eye, had just walked back into camp from a different direction. Unlike most of the people Vin had seen so far, Phil actually looked like someone who had embraced their new life on this fantasy world wholeheartedly.


    Phil¡¯s grey fatigues had been torn and sewn back together in multiple places, no doubt from numerous battles, and the man walked proudly with his fingers never far from the hilt of the sword dangling at his hip. He¡¯d clearly seen his fair share of fighting already, and Vin didn¡¯t doubt for a second the man was one of the highest leveled people from Earth.


    Strangely though, the closer the man got to Vin, the more his face seemed to pale, until he looked like he was doing his own impression of Alka¡¯s ghostly form.


    ¡°What level are you?¡± Vin heard the man mutter under his breath thanks to his enhanced focus. Phil barely even spared Shia and Scule more than a passing glance, his eyes locked almost hungrily on Vin¡¯s own as his hand unconsciously gripped the hilt of his sword.


    ¡°Hey Phil,¡± Vin nodded, hoping the man wasn¡¯t about to try and strike him down. His divine boon was still on cooldown from being slapped across the colosseum after all. ¡°Where¡¯s Spur? We have an emergency.¡±


    ¡°An emergency?¡± Phil repeated, the word seeming to snap him out of his hungry look. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d rather not have to explain everything twice,¡± Vin said, shaking his head. ¡°In fact, can you round up the other council members? This concerns everyone after all.¡±


    Picking up the serious nature of whatever was happening, Phil gave him a quick nod, letting go of his sword and pointing toward the second largest of the current buildings. ¡°That¡¯s the new headquarters, you¡¯ll find Spur in there. Tell him I¡¯ll be back with the rest of the council in a few minutes.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Vin said, getting one last hungry look before Phil tore himself away, breaking into a jog as he ran toward the edge of camp. To Vin¡¯s surprise, as soon as the man was out of earshot Shia let out a deep groan, covering her face with her hands.


    ¡°Ancient One¡¯s sap, is that what I looked like while staring at the cat people?!¡±


    ¡°No, you were actively drooling,¡± Scule said, nodding toward the red elf. ¡°I remember it well because I had to time jumping up to steal your pouch carefully so I didn¡¯t get drool on Reginald.¡± The petian dodged out of the way of another flick from the embarrassed elf, chuckling all the while. ¡°Also, I feel I should probably bring this up now, but I haven¡¯t the faintest idea what the two of you were saying for the record. Some language I¡¯ve never heard before.¡±


    ¡°Ah crap,¡± Vin said, rubbing his brow with a sigh as he made his way to the building Phil indicated. ¡°Sorry Scule, I honestly forgot about the whole language problem because Shia, Alka, and I all have ways around it now. Shia, until we find a solution for Scule, do you mind translating?¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± the Druid huffed. ¡°But if he makes any more comments about my drooling, I¡¯m feeding him to Blossom.¡± Seeing their blank looks, she held up her staff. ¡°That¡¯s what I named my staff. I¡¯m not sure yet if it can eat in cat form, but I¡¯m certainly willing to try and find out.¡±


    ¡°Heard and understood,¡± Scule said, saluting Shia before leaping from Vin¡¯s shoulder over to hers. ¡°Reginald, you want to join, or you good there?¡±


    Vin heard the content squeak from the rat, feeling it wriggle deeper into his pocket.


    ¡°Just don¡¯t forget you¡¯re my animal companion, alright?¡± Scule muttered, rolling his eyes.


    Language issues solved for the moment, Vin approached the new headquarters, surprised to see two people actually standing guard out front. One was a heavy-set man leaning against the wooden wall with a large mace strapped to his belt, and the other was a tall woman standing ramrod straight with a quarterstaff firmly planted on the ground. Walking up to them, Vin nodded.


    ¡°Hello! I¡¯ve got some important news for Spur. I¡¯m the Explorer that left camp on his orders a few days back.¡± The two guards stared with wide eyes at the strange party before glancing at one another, and Vin could practically hear the unspoken argument going on between them regarding which one actually had to do their job. After a few tense seconds, the mace wielder sighed, standing up straight and nodding towards the impassive Shia and waving Scule.


    ¡°And those two are...?¡±


    ¡°Companions I picked up along the way,¡± Vin answered, trying not to grow impatient. Every second mattered after all. ¡°They¡¯re going to help deliver the news.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­¡± The guard sighed, running a hand through his short hair. He looked like he was having some sort of internal debate and was trying to figure out what to do, but the other guard had no such issues.


    ¡°Colonel Spur is busy at the moment,¡± she said, glaring at her fellow guard. ¡°He gave us strict orders to keep everyone away for the time being, so you¡¯ll have to leave.¡±


    ¡°Abby,¡± the mace wielder whispered, leaning toward his partner as he nodded toward Vin¡¯s party. ¡°I think that¡¯s an elf with a little man standing on her shoulder. Don¡¯t you think Colonel Spur would want to speak with them?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not supposed to think Greg, you¡¯re supposed to follow orders,¡± Abby hissed. Immediately, Vin realized Abby must be military, while Greg was probably one of the civilians who¡¯d just happened to have chosen a combat class. Vin suppressed a groan as the two of them bickered. He really didn¡¯t feel like dealing with this right now.


    ¡°Listen, Abby,¡± he said, stopping their argument before it could take off. He didn¡¯t like talking over people, but all he could think about were the screams of people getting torn apart by monsters suddenly appearing next to their defenseless camp. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you heard, but I¡¯m apparently one of the members of the fancy new council Spur put together. That means technically, I outrank you. And seeing as Spur asked me to come give him my report as soon as I got back, that is exactly what I¡¯m going to do. You¡¯re welcome to try and stop me, but I am packing magic the likes of which you¡¯ve never seen, and I have had a very, very, long day.¡±


    Having said his part, Vin started walking forward, praying the guard would listen to reason.


    He didn¡¯t know why he even bothered.


    ¡°That¡¯s not how the military-¡± Abby began, reaching out to stop him with a hand on his shoulder as he went to enter the building. But before she could even touch him, Alka shot out of his body, stopping directly in front of the guard with a wild grin on her face.


    ¡°Boo!¡± She shouted.


    Screaming, the guard tripped over her own staff and fell to the ground, scrambling to put as much distance between herself and the laughing ghost as possible. Shaking his head, Vin¡¯s step didn¡¯t even falter, and Alka quickly merged back into his body as he entered the building. A quick glance at the pale and shaking Greg was all the confirmation Vin needed that he wouldn¡¯t try and stop him.


    Stepping into the new headquarters, Vin was surprised to see it was actually decently furnished. Along with the same array of temporary whiteboards and flimsy tables that Spur had set up in the old headquarters, there were even a few basic wooden pieces of furniture that had clearly been crafted by hand. Looking to the center of the room, Vin spotted Spur with his sword drawn, readying himself for a fight. After a moment, the colonel blinked, squinting his eyes as if he wasn¡¯t believing what he was seeing.


    ¡°Vin?¡± He asked, slowly lowering his sword. Spur¡¯s eyes were bloodshot, and the poor man looked like he hadn¡¯t slept in days. ¡°Why did I hear screaming? And am I dreaming, or do you have an elf with a discolored smurf on her shoulder right behind you?¡±


    Blinking, Vin looked back just in time to catch Shia translate the colonel''s comment, and got to witness first hand the moment Spur dug his own grave. He had no idea what ''smurf'' translated to in Scule''s language, but based on the petian''s hardened expression, it probably wasn''t very good. Deciding that was a problem for later, Vin sighed, turning back to Spur.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t a dream, but you¡¯re going to wish it was,¡± he said, wondering where to even begin.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got bad news.¡±

 39. A Sudden Yet Inevitable Betrayal

    ¡°You¡¯ve got bad news,¡± Spur snorted, sheathing his sword and shaking his head. Before he could say anything more, an angry guardswoman stormed into the room, glaring at Vin before snapping a salute at Spur.


    ¡°Apologies Colonel! Despite your orders, these three managed to get past us. Please allow me to remove them from headquarters.¡± Abby looked like receiving the order to physically remove Vin and his group would bring her nothing but joy. But to her disappointment, Spur waved a hand lazily, leaning back against one of the tables.


    ¡°Abby, first of all, how many times do I have to tell you to relax? You know your orders to keep people out were in regards to Patty¡¯s people, I just couldn¡¯t say that on the record. Second, do you honestly think you could remove any one of these three?¡± Spur shook his head, pointing toward Scule. ¡°That guy¡¯s the size of a sandwich, and I¡¯m pretty sure he could kick either one of our asses.¡±


    It took Shia a moment to translate, but once she did, Scule burst out laughing, flexing his tiny biceps and doing his best to look intimidating. Abby merely frowned at the tiny man while Spur rolled his eyes.


    ¡°Case in point. For now, would you mind heading back out to Greg and continuing to keep an eye out for Patty¡¯s people? I have a bad feeling things are about to get serious.¡±


    ¡°Sir!¡± Abby said, saluting Spur one last time before heading back to her post outside. She clearly wasn¡¯t happy, but she confirmed Vin¡¯s suspicions about her being military by following Spur¡¯s orders anyway.


    ¡°Sorry about that,¡± Spur said, giving Vin a weary smile and walking over to clap him on the shoulder. Only then did Spur¡¯s eyes flick to his missing arm, and the colonel froze. Carefully, he stepped back, fully taking him in from head to toe. Vin didn¡¯t know what he saw, but after a few seconds the colonel whistled, slowly shaking his head and dropping himself heavily onto one of the wooden seats. ¡°Damn¡­ you look like you¡¯ve been through hell and back these past few days. I¡¯d offer you a drink if I didn¡¯t get the feeling your news is going to require us being sober.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve got a big problem, and not a lot of time to prepare,¡± Vin said, skipping over the unspoken question about what had happened to him. ¡°I already spoke to Phil. He said he¡¯ll get the council together.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Did he now?¡± Spur groaned, rubbing his temples. ¡°Of course he did. Must have decided whatever emergency you brought us this time was bigger than the current emergency we¡¯re dealing with.¡±


    ¡°What emergency?¡± Vin asked, frowning at the exhausted colonel. Spur looked like he hadn¡¯t gotten more than a few hours of sleep since the last time he¡¯d seen him. The man had dark bags under his bloodshot eyes, and while they didn¡¯t exactly have functioning plumbing for a shower, he looked like he desperately needed a dip in the nearby river.


    ¡°Patty,¡± was all Spur said, rubbing his eyes and sighing. ¡°Shortly after you left and we moved camp to this location, the woman took that as an opportunity to make her move. I don¡¯t know how she did it, but she somehow managed to get a sizable chunk of the combat classes on her side. Even a few people from the military half!¡± Spur exclaimed, as though the mere thought of any of his soldiers breaking rank was unthinkable. ¡°I swear, the woman was born with a silver tongue. When you take into account the crafter and support classes already under her, the camp is split almost perfectly in half now, with her half refusing to follow any of my orders.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Vin paused, waiting for Spur to keep going. But when the colonel failed to say anything else, he frowned. ¡°That¡¯s your emergency? Some squabble over who¡¯s in charge of a hundred people? Are you serious?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s far more dire than that,¡± Spur said, shaking his head. ¡°As the initial wave of people from Earth, we¡¯ve gotten a jump start on leveling compared to everyone who comes after. Few have managed to even hit level 10 just yet, but with their new attributes, nearly any one of the combat classes in camp is still strong enough to snuff out a normal human¡¯s life without even trying. Without their guns, a dedicated squad of us could slaughter the thousand people making up the second wave before they even knew what hit them. Now that Patty has amassed enough followers, we think she¡¯s planning to make her move sometime tonight, taking over right before wave two arrives and setting herself up as some sort of empress of this new world.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Vin sighed, rubbing his eyes. ¡°Why not go after her then? Arrest her or whatever?¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t find her,¡± Spur admitted, grinding his teeth. ¡°At this point, I''m pretty certain she''s hiding in the nearby forest or something. She pops up now and again to sway a few more people to her side every so often, but by the time I hear about it and respond, she¡¯s long gone. She¡¯s certainly slippery, I¡¯ll give her that. The people we¡¯ve identified as hers and interrogated have all refused to give up her location, but we don¡¯t exactly have jails or anything built right now, so I¡¯ve had to let them all go.¡±


    ¡°Spur, I understand the problem, but we¡¯ve got a much bigger one heading our way-¡± Vin started, before the door flew open and Phil stepped in, cutting him off.


    ¡°She¡¯s agreed to a council meeting,¡± Phil said, unable to hide his surprise.


    ¡°What? She¡¯s refused every council meeting we¡¯ve attempted since the first one. Why now?¡± Spur replied, sitting up straight; his red eyes widening at the clearly unexpected news.


    ¡°No clue,¡± Phil shrugged. ¡°Her people said she¡¯d be joining us shortly. What¡¯s the plan?¡±


    ¡°No time for an ambush,¡± Spur muttered, having seemingly forgotten about Vin and his companions entirely for the moment. ¡°I doubt she¡¯ll try anything with you here, but better safe than sorry. Have Abby find as many of our people as she can and instruct them to wait fifteen minutes before surrounding headquarters. Nobody leaves without my say so.¡±


    Nodding, Phil turned to relay the news to Abby before stopping in his tracks. Preventing him from carrying out Spur¡¯s instructions was a tall woman with shining eyes and a commanding air about her standing in the doorway. Stepping into the room, Patty flashed them all a blinding smile filled with perfectly white teeth.


    ¡°Well now, it¡¯s been far too long since we¡¯ve had the five of us under one roof,¡± Patty said, her words seeming to hang in the air as the quiet woman appointed as leader of the crafters entered right on her heels. Vin couldn¡¯t remember her name, and he didn¡¯t think he was going to get the chance to ask as he felt the tension in the room skyrocket.


    ¡°And whose fault is that Patty?¡± Spur said, getting to his feet and crossing his arms. ¡°You and your lapdog there have dodged every attempt we¡¯ve made to hold a second council meeting. If I recall correctly, forming the council was your idea in the first place! Rather strange of you to field the idea just to abandon it the next day.¡±


    ¡°It just didn¡¯t feel right holding a meeting without all five of us being here,¡± Patty said, finally turning her bright eyes toward Vin. Despite her attempts at giving off an unshakable air, she couldn¡¯t help but pause as her gaze swept over him and his companions, her eyes widening slightly at the sight of the elf and tiny man standing beside him. Managing to tear her gaze off them, her eyes finally landed on Vin¡¯s missing limb, and her lips pursed. ¡°My my, seems like you¡¯ve had quite the interesting adventure, haven¡¯t you?¡±The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°Yepp, nothing but kittens and rainbows,¡± Vin drawled, frowning at the unexpected sensation he was feeling every time she opened her mouth. Glancing at Shia, he noticed the slight frown on the elf¡¯s face as well, confirming his suspicions. He briefly contemplated confronting the empress-wanna-be, but decided it could wait. They had bigger things at stake after all. ¡°Now that you¡¯re here, can we start the meeting? I¡¯ve got some news that would qualify as DEFCON 5 or whatever the hell you say in the military.¡±


    ¡°The higher the number the better actually,¡± Spur said, not moving his glare off of the still smiling woman in the slightest. ¡°DEFCON 5 means things are normal, no danger. DEFCON 1 is an impending threat of nuclear war.¡±


    ¡°Fine, DEFCON 1 then,¡± Vin said, exasperated. ¡°Can we just start the meeting?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, can we?¡± Spur replied, practically spitting the words at Patty. Vin was shocked to see the colonel acting like an angry child, but a single glance at his bloodshot eyes and hunched back was all it took to remind him that Spur probably hadn¡¯t slept in days.


    ¡°Please, by all means¡­ take a seat,¡± Patty said, her tone almost musical as she waved her hand at a nearby table. If Vin had any doubts about his suspicions, that simple order was all it took to dispel them as he watched the colonel¡¯s exhausted body turn and move toward the table so suddenly Spur seemed to surprise himself.


    ¡°Vin¡­¡± Shia whispered, grabbing his arm before he could join the rest of the council. ¡°She¡¯s-¡±


    ¡°I know Shia, I can feel it now,¡± Vin whispered back, shaking his head slightly. ¡°But I don¡¯t think now¡¯s the time. It sounds like she already has half the camp under her control, and we need every single person if we want any chance of surviving through the night. What if killing her puts them all in temporary comas or something?¡±


    ¡°What are you two muttering about?¡± Scule asked, leaning so far forward he nearly tumbled off Shia¡¯s shoulder, saving himself from an embarrassing fall at the last moment with a quick grab of the elf¡¯s long braid. ¡°...and does it have something to do with the fact that I suddenly find myself wanting to steal one of those wooden chairs for seemingly no reason? I mean, look at them! they¡¯re not even all that well made!¡±


    Snorting at the Rogue¡¯s interpretation of ¡®take a seat,¡¯ Vin pulled Shia¡¯s hand off him and joined the rest of the council before anyone could start throwing punches. It was interesting that Patty¡¯s strange power seemed to work on people that didn¡¯t even speak the same language as her, but he didn¡¯t have the time to analyze her magical ability right now.


    Despite not knowing exactly what Patty was doing, it seemed Spur at least was picking up on the fact that something was wrong as well, as his glare had only grown in intensity since Patty had first walked in.


    ¡°Well, we finally have all five of us together again,¡± Spur started, tearing his eyes off Patty long enough for his gaze to sweep around the room. ¡°Whoopty freaking do.¡±


    ¡°Colonel,¡± Phil said curtly, frowning at their leader.


    ¡°Yeah yeah, sorry,¡± Spur said, rubbing his eyes and waving at the warrior. ¡°I haven¡¯t gotten a ton of sleep lately. I¡¯ve been busy balancing both running the entire camp while leveling my class so as not to be left behind. And if that wasn¡¯t enough, for some reason people keep coming to me with benign questions at all hours of the night, to the point I had to waste valuable manpower placing guards at my door. You wouldn¡¯t happen to know anything about that, would you, Patricia?¡±


    For the first time since she walked in, a frown flickered across Patty¡¯s face before quickly being replaced with the woman¡¯s usual smile. ¡°My, sounds like poor leadership if you ask me. Perhaps if you-¡±


    ¡°For the love of God!¡± Vin shouted, slamming his one fist down on the table, causing everyone to jump at the loud noise and turn toward him. A small part of him noticed he¡¯d cracked the solid wood table thanks to the bonus strength he had from Alka, but that wasn¡¯t important right now. ¡°We do not have time for this! What is this? Middle school? We have an army of monsters only hours away from slaughtering everyone here, and the two of you are both too busy with your own agendas to get off your asses and do anything about it!¡±


    ¡°Now hold on-¡± Spur started angrily, but Vin talked right over him, not willing to give up the room now that he''d finally gotten a word in.


    ¡°You,¡± he said, pointing at the camp¡¯s official leader, causing him to flinch as though he expected a bolt of lightning to shoot out of his finger tip. ¡°¡­need to focus less on leveling and more on organizing the camp! Of course you¡¯re going to fall behind in levels, that¡¯s a sacrifice of putting the camp¡¯s wellbeing before your own!¡±


    ¡°Well said,¡± Patty smirked, before flinching herself as Vin rounded on her, shoving his finger in her direction next.


    ¡°And you,¡± he continued, glaring at the cause of most of their problems. The warning he¡¯d just given Shia already forgotten in the face of these two idiots openly fighting with one another. ¡°¡­you need to stop using your magical voice to take over the camp! What are you, some sort of knock off Disney villain?!¡±


    The moment the words left his mouth, the room went deathly silent. Spur¡¯s angry sputtering faltered, and Phil¡¯s gaze spun toward the Siren or whatever her class was as he grabbed his sword, his other hand gripping the edge of the table so hard the solid wood began to splinter. The appointed leader of the crafters remained unfazed, as though she wasn¡¯t actually listening to their conversation, which was far from Patty¡¯s reaction.


    Patty stared at him with wide eyes, her mouth hanging open in shock. Vin realized it was possibly the first time he¡¯d seen the woman¡¯s true emotions on her face, and he snorted at the thought.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve gotten pretty good at feeling magic over the past week,¡± he said, seeing the unspoken question in her wide eyes. ¡°Spoiler alert, I¡¯m betting your trick doesn¡¯t work on people with high magic and focus attributes. Or maybe it¡¯s just the difference in our levels.¡±


    ¡°Nope, definitely the first one!¡± A small voice called out from the ground. Vin glanced down to see Scule trying his damndest to shove one of the wooden chairs into his magic bag. While he¡¯d managed to fit an entire leg into the bag, it seemed the artifact wouldn¡¯t open wide enough to fit the rest of the chair. Realizing his problem, the petian frowned, planting his hands on his hips and looking up at the rest of them.


    ¡°Anyone happen to have a tiny saw, perhaps?¡±


    ¡°Phil!¡± Spur shouted, pointing at the still shocked Patty. Not needing any more instruction, the battle loving warrior ripped his sword free of its sheath and stood up. But before he could launch himself at the woman, Patty finally recovered from her initial surprise, glaring at them all as she spoke.


    ¡°Freeze,¡± she commanded, the very air inside the headquarters seeming to halt as the word left her mouth. Vin felt his muscles tense and lock up as Patty¡¯s order wormed its way into his head, wrapping itself around his body as though he were bound by bands of iron. Her words seemed to have the same if not a stronger effect on the rest of the table as Phil halted, falling back into his chair, and Spur turned into a statue, his eyes bulging at his inability to move.


    In an instant, everyone in the room had fallen under the power of Patty¡¯s magical voice, and the woman let out a cackling laugh as relief flooded through her.


    ¡°Finally!¡± She said, wiping a few beads of sweat from her brow and grinning at them.


    ¡°Now it¡¯s my turn!¡±

 40. Resistance is Futile

    Patty¡¯s usual beaming smile had been replaced with a victorious grin as she gazed around the room at the stunned and frozen council members, before turning her focus on Spur. ¡°Do you have any idea how long I¡¯ve been waiting to shut you up? For a military man, you talk far too much for the record. I can¡¯t tell you how many times I almost pulled the trigger on my plans, but it looks like waiting for my Capstone skill was the right call. Now that we¡¯re all together, I think it¡¯s time-¡±


    ¡°That. Is. It!¡±


    Patty froze mid monologue, turning in shock to the furious Explorer who was somehow still able to speak through her powerful new skill. For his part, Vin felt as though he had twenty-pound weights strapped to every possible inch of his body, which made even speaking difficult, but not impossible.


    Resistance increased to lvl 6! 600 exp gained.


    ¡°How..?¡± Patty stared at him in horror, but Vin cut her off with a glare, uttering a single word.


    ¡°Alka!¡±


    Far quicker than Phil had moved, a ghostly blur shot out of Vin¡¯s body, blasting across the room in an instant before stopping directly beside Patty¡¯s suddenly frozen form. Everyone¡¯s eyes widened at the sight of the ghost girl¡¯s toothy grin as she held the edge of a very real sword against Patty¡¯s throat; a few trickles of blood already running down the enchanted blade.


    ¡°Tough luck with your first evil plan,¡± Alka said, shaking her head with a sigh. ¡°Might I recommend poison next time? It¡¯s surprisingly effective.¡±


    Confusion flickered across Patty¡¯s horror-stricken face as the ghost holding her hostage gave her evil murder advice. Before things could devolve any further, Vin slammed his fist down on the table a second time to reclaim everyone¡¯s attention, only wincing a little bit at the pain radiating through his no longer enhanced hand as it connected with the solid wood.


    ¡°It¡¯s like trying to help a bunch of toddlers!¡± Vin cried, taking in the chaotic scene before him. The supposed leaders of their new world consisted of a crazed woman thirsting for power, a quiet crafter who barely seemed to have a thought of her own, a battle obsessed warrior hungry for violence, and a man so sleep deprived Vin kept expecting him to lose consciousness at any moment.


    Things were bleak when the person that had literally been a wandering vagabond barely two weeks ago suddenly seemed like the most put together member of the council.


    ¡°Silence,¡± Patty said, somehow having the guts to continue trying to use her power on them despite the situation she currently found herself in. While her actions did cause Vin to feel as though his mouth was suddenly filled with thick molasses, it mainly just stoked the flames of his rapidly growing fury.


    ¡°Alka, if she tries using her power on us again, feel free to separate her head from her body,¡± Vin said slowly, having to focus all his attention on moving his weighted tongue correctly. He earned himself a whitened look of fear from the woman as his reward.


    Resistance increased to lvl 7! 700 exp gained.


    With every level of Resistance he earned, the effects of Patty¡¯s words lessened ever so slightly. Moving his gaze around the table, he checked on his fellow council members. At the very least, he was confident that thanks to Patty¡¯s latest order he wouldn¡¯t be interrupted for the next minute or two.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to make this as abundantly clear as I can,¡± he started, making sure to direct his attention equally between the four other council members. He even included the leader of the crafters, the poor woman had eyes filled with fear as she suddenly found herself frozen in place and unable to speak with a murderous ghost standing right beside her. ¡°I don¡¯t even want to be on this stupid council, but obviously, someone has to knock some sense into you idiots.¡±


    ¡°This. Is. Not. Earth.¡± He said, thrusting a finger hard against the table with every word, trying to drive his point home. ¡°We¡¯re on a magical world containing powers we barely understand and dangers we can¡¯t even comprehend. There¡¯s no room for plotting or secrets or any of that pointless crap here. At least not until we have some form of an actual society put into place.¡±


    Vin hadn¡¯t exactly seen that many towns yet in his travels, but he could only assume that plenty of them were still filled with backstabbing and idiocy despite the magical dangers they were surrounded by.


    ¡°Now that I finally have your attention, I¡¯m going to tell you about the immediate threat that will be arriving on our doorstep in only a few hours that you all seem to care so little about.¡±


    With a literally captive audience as his listeners, Vin finally explained what his party had learned about regarding the horde of monsters that would be appearing shortly before the second wave of Earthers arrived. The longer he spoke about the danger and the sheer number of monsters they''d have bearing down on them, the more anger bled out from the gazes around the room; his fellow council members'' expressions turning troubled as they finally realized the seriousness of the threat coming their way.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Well, except for Phil. That man¡¯s eyes seemed to shine brighter and brighter in anticipation as Vin spoke. Even if Vin hadn¡¯t been able to feel Patty¡¯s orders wear off as his body loosened up again, he would have been able to tell the magic was gone as Phil began practically vibrating in anticipation at the fight to come.


    ¡°So there you have it,¡± Vin concluded, actually thankful for Patty¡¯s attempted coup or whatever the hell she¡¯d been doing. If it weren¡¯t for her magical bindings, he was pretty sure it would have taken far longer to get his explanation across. ¡°We need to start building defenses yesterday, and prepare everyone for the fight of their lives.¡±


    ¡°You truly think it will be that bad?¡± Spur asked, rubbing his jaw after finally breaking free from Patty¡¯s enchantment. Thankfully, despite a quick glare at the woman still being held at sword point, the colonel seemed to understand they needed to focus on the real emergency heading their way.


    ¡°No way to tell how bad, but it¡¯s definitely not going to be pretty,¡± Vin said, closing his eyes and trying to imagine what the next few hours would look like. ¡°We have no way of telling how many monsters will be created from the backlash of the System bringing a thousand new people here from Earth, and we don¡¯t know when or where they¡¯ll actually start spawning either. Which is why we need to do less talking, and more preparing!¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Spur sighed, rubbing his eyes and blinking hard a few times before turning to Patty. ¡°If it were up to me, I¡¯d have you executed right here and now for that little stunt you tried to pull. But we need those crafters of yours working on the double, and as much as I hate to admit it, it sounds like we¡¯re going to need every ounce of power at our disposal for the upcoming battle.¡±


    ¡°Sir, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s wise,¡± Phil interrupted, putting his excitement at the upcoming fight on hold for the moment as he frowned at Patty. ¡°Now that we know what she¡¯s capable of, what¡¯s to stop her from turning against us in the thick of battle? Or immediately after while we¡¯re exhausted? I hate to say it, but if something happens to Vin, we¡¯re helpless against her as we are now.¡±


    ¡°I can help with that,¡± Shia said, stepping forward and reaching into her pouch. Pulling out a single seed the size of a pea, the elf flashed everyone a rather disturbing grin. ¡°This is a wrigglethorn seed. A particularly nasty plant that only grows inside animals and rips them apart from the inside out. If she eats it, the only chance she¡¯ll have at survival is if I use my nature magic to stunt its growth while she passes the seed naturally. My attributes are high enough that while her magic affects me, she can¡¯t make me follow her commands.¡± Shia shrugged, looking at the woman with a crazed grin filled with pointed teeth. ¡°If she turns against you during the battle, I¡¯ll just let her die one of the most gruesome deaths my people know of afterwards.¡±


    ¡°Good enough for me,¡± Spur said, his bloodshot eyes narrowing at Patty. ¡°Two options then. Eat the elf¡¯s murder seed and help us, or we kill you here and now. Your choice.¡±


    At Vin¡¯s nod, Alka finally removed the sword from Patty¡¯s throat, and the woman took in a deep breath, shakily reaching up to touch the blood dripping down her neck. Despite her resounding defeat, Patty somehow managed to keep part of her superior air about her, huffing as she glared at the grinning elf.


    ¡°And what happens to me if you end up dying during the battle?¡± She asked, her eyes flickering fearfully to the small seed in Shia¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Think of that as encouragement to try really, really hard to ensure that doesn¡¯t happen,¡± Shia said, her grin somehow growing even wider.


    Shuddering, Patty hesitated for only a moment before reaching out and plucking the seed from the elf¡¯s hand. With barely a second thought, she popped the seed into her mouth and swallowed it, grimacing at the knowledge that she¡¯d just eaten a ticking time bomb.


    ¡°Well, now that that¡¯s taken care of¡­¡± Spur said, getting to his feet with only a slight wobble. ¡°Phil, go rally the combat classes. Let them know what¡¯s coming and get everyone prepared. I¡¯ll go with Patty to direct the crafters to start building defenses. Once we get plans in place, we¡¯ll get everyone working on those.¡±


    ¡°Sir,¡± Phil said, nodding and rushing out of the room. Vin could have sworn he even saw an excited grin peeking through the man¡¯s usually impassive face. Groaning and rubbing his eyes yet again, Spur went to follow, only to find his path barred by Alka and her enchanted sword.


    ¡°Uh¡­ excuse me?¡± Spur said politely, clearly remembering how quickly Alka could move when she wanted to.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going anywhere,¡± Alka frowned, taking in Spur¡¯s bloodshot eyes and disheveled appearance. ¡°You¡¯re practically delirious from lack of sleep. I¡¯m not about to let you lead a hundred men and women to their deaths due to a bad order. You need some rest.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll rest when I¡¯m dead,¡± Spur said dryly, moving to pass Alka. With a blur of motion, the tip of Alka¡¯s sword was suddenly pressed against Spur¡¯s forehead, and the colonel froze in his tracks, his weary eyes going crossed as he looked up at the blade.


    ¡°Does it look like I¡¯m resting?¡± Alka said, matching his tone. ¡°Surely you have a second in command or someone you can trust with preparations, right? Even just a few hours of sleep will make a world of difference.¡±


    ¡°Vin, call off your undead lapdog this instant,¡± Spur snapped, carefully turning to glare at him. ¡°We don¡¯t have time for this!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, we don¡¯t have time for this at all,¡± Vin agreed. ¡°Patty, do you mind?¡±


    Spur¡¯s eyes widened, but before he could argue, a grinning Patty cleared her throat and spoke directly at him.


    ¡°Sleep.¡± She said, her magically infused voice hitting the colonel like a truck and causing his eyes to roll into the back of his head as he collapsed to the ground. Despite her order being directed toward the colonel, even Vin felt a slight wave of exhaustion wash over him, and he watched Shia do her best to stifle a yawn.


    Whatever class Patty had, it was powerful indeed.


    Quickly moving Spur to one of the couches, Vin stood up, nodding his thanks toward Patty. He silently noted her red face and how heavily she was now panting after using her Capstone skill so many times in quick succession. Briefly, he entertained the thought of asking her about her class, but they just didn¡¯t have the time.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go find Lieutenant Myers and explain the situation,¡± he said, motioning for Patty and his companions to follow him as he made his way out of headquarters.


    ¡°Hopefully those crafters will have leveled up enough over the last few days to help us pull off a miracle.¡±

 41. Prepare for the Worst

    The next few hours reminded Vin of all the group assignments he¡¯d always hated back in high school. The ones with dozens of people running around in a panic after waiting until the last minute before trying to accomplish far more work than they actually had time for.


    After finding and filling Lieutenant Myers in on the situation, the woman had once again shown exactly why Spur held her in such high regard by taking control of the camp in an instant and snapping out orders for people to follow like their lives depended on it.


    Because they did.


    After a streamlined announcement of what was to come that skipped over practically all the details, a half dozen teams were quickly constructed, each led by two crafters to ensure the teams could both give orders and still utilize their own skills at the same time. Even after all this time, Vin didn¡¯t actually know much of anything about how the crafter classes worked, so he was rather grateful when Myers took the time to explain the basics.


    ¡°The crafter classes seem to function differently than support and combat classes,¡± she explained in between answering logistical questions from all the people constantly running up to her. ¡°Whereas most people chose one of many classes and were then stuck with it, crafters only technically have the one class option and seem to build their class how they want as they level. They do start off with a specific specialization, but most of their starter skills are rather general skills that, luckily for us, are useful for just about any form of crafting. So even a crafter that chose something obscure to specialize in like glassblowing can still construct wooden barricades far faster than a normal person.¡±


    Myers fixed a particular crafter running by with a hard look as she said this last bit, getting a sheepish look in return from the man carrying an armful of planks.


    With that knowledge, Vin spent a few minutes watching the crafter-led teams get started on digging pits and sharpening wood into spikes before running off to take care of his own tasks. Thanks to his high endurance, skills in Tracking, and his Mental Map passive, he¡¯d been given the job of hunting down all the people currently out on missions within their fragment. Despite the fact that it was already late evening, they were still missing a handful of people, and the Lieutenant wanted every single head accounted for before nightfall.


    At first he¡¯d almost refused, planning instead to head over to the stone villagers and warn them about the incoming danger before rushing back. But when he told Myers his plan, she¡¯d requested he put their own people first, pointing out that his unique set of abilities would make hunting down missing people much faster for him, whereas anyone could run in a straight line out to the stone village and back to deliver a warning.


    Vin had wanted to check up on them and make sure they were okay, but he had to admit Myers had a good point, and he begrudgingly agreed to her plan. After writing down a quick note in the stone villagers'' language warning them of what was coming, he handed it off to one of their faster combat classes and turned his focus toward finding the people still away from camp.


    Luckily, Vin had already fully mapped their fragment, which made tracking down the missing people all the easier. Using a combination of his Tracking skill and the occasional Sense Life pulse courtesy of Runic Recalibration, he managed to find all of the missing people in only a few hours, even earning himself his first new level in Tracking in quite some time.


    By the time he made it back to camp with the last person in tow, a lower leveled Archer by the look of the bow strung across their back and their desperate gasping for air, the sun had fully set and darkness had overtaken their camp. From the few minutes he¡¯d spent watching the crafter-led teams working before he¡¯d left, he hadn¡¯t expected much.


    Which made the sudden appearance of a brand-new fortress all the more surprising.


    Vin stared at the palisades and scattered pits filled with sharpened wooden stakes surrounding their camp on all sides. Carefully making his way inside, he spotted rough piles of arrows stacked along the inner walls, and even crude barrels filled with hastily sharpened javelins being delivered all across camp. Anyone who wasn¡¯t barking orders or building up their defenses was busy sharpening stakes and making sure they were readily accessible for those that would be manning the walls.


    ¡°Forget Spur, that woman should be the one in charge,¡± Alka whistled, watching a random runner deliver yet another armful of simple javelins before taking off back the way they came, no doubt going for the next batch. The fact that barely anyone was paying attention to the ghostly warrior drifting along beside him just went to show how focused everyone was on increasing their odds of survival. ¡°Prioritizing ranged weaponry was a smart call when a good quarter of your fighting force aren¡¯t combat classes. A javelin to the face will hurt just about any monster, regardless of the thrower¡¯s class.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the idea,¡± a familiar voice called out from behind him. Turning, Vin grinned at the dirt covered girl standing behind him with a loose pile of wooden stakes tucked under one arm.


    ¡°Alice! Glad to see you¡¯re still in one piece! You helping with the defenses?¡±


    ¡°Helping? Try leading them,¡± the Trapper snorted, her toothy grin all the more prominent in contrast to the thick layer of dirt on her face. ¡°You see all those pits out front? I practically dug half of them myself.¡±If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°Seriously?¡± Vin glanced over her shoulder, peering once more at the dozens of pits scattered all around the camp perimeter that people were hurriedly trying to cover up with branches and leaves. Each one was deep enough that a normal human would have a tough time getting out, without factoring in the rows of stakes he¡¯d seen jutting up from the bottoms of the pits. ¡°How on Earth did you manage that?¡±


    ¡°Capstone skill,¡± Alice grinned, holding up a hand and wiggling her fingers. ¡°I got Fast Trap Setting when I hit level 10. The quality suffers a bit when I use it, but I can work nearly three times as fast with it active. Perfect for when the trap is something as simple as a spike filled hole!¡±


    ¡°Useful indeed,¡± Vin nodded. ¡°Congrats on hitting level 10 by the way.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Alice smiled. ¡°Not too many people have yet, so it feels pretty good. Like I¡¯m making the most of this new life, you know?¡± She paused for a moment, seemingly lost in thought before shaking her head. Raising an eyebrow, she nodded toward Alka. ¡°So, uh¡­ you wanna introduce me to your floating friend here?¡±


    ¡°Sorry! Alice, this is Alka; a warrior I found in one of the adjacent fragments. She¡¯s sorta¡­¡±


    ¡°Dead,¡± Alka said, rolling her eyes. ¡°The word you¡¯re looking for is dead.¡±


    ¡°Well, other than the whole transparent thing, you look pretty good for a dead girl,¡± Alice remarked, looking the Slayer up and down. ¡°You planning on helping us defend the camp?¡±


    ¡°You know it,¡± Alka grinned, fire already burning in her eyes as she somehow cracked her ghostly knuckles. ¡°The only good thing about being stuck here like this is being able to keep killing monsters. I gotta find that dryad a nice present for fixing up my sword for me. Things were way more boring when I was stuck just floating along inside you.¡±


    ¡°You guys met a dryad?¡± Alice asked, looking between the two of them in disbelief. ¡°Like, a talking tree kind of dryad?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been a long week,¡± Vin sighed. As much as he wanted to finally sit back and regale one of his few friends with stories from his travels, they still had plenty of work to get done. ¡°Tell you what, assuming we both survive the next couple of hours, I¡¯ll tell you all about it.¡± A sudden thought struck him, and he tried to keep the concern off his face as he looked carefully at Alice. ¡°By the way, you haven¡¯t been spending much time around Patty, have you?¡±


    ¡°Are you serious?¡± Alice spat, the mere mention of Patty¡¯s name causing her face to scrunch up in anger. ¡°After you helped me snap out of whatever spell she had me under, I¡¯ve made a point of not taking crap from people. The last time one of her lackeys refused to take no for an answer when I told him I didn¡¯t want to be a part of her little cult, I shoved him into a snare trap I¡¯d just finished and left him dangling upside down for a few hours. They got the message after that.¡±


    Relief flooded through him, and Vin couldn¡¯t help but grin at Alice¡¯s proudly displayed new backbone. At the very least, it didn¡¯t look like he¡¯d have to worry about anything bad happening to her when he was out exploring.


    ¡°Glad to hear it. I¡¯m probably not supposed to go around talking about it, but it turns out she has some strange ability to sway people¡¯s thoughts with her voice, and even force you to follow simple orders. She might not be a problem for much longer, but until then, if she ever tries talking to you one on one, I¡¯d stab first and ask questions later.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡± Alice scowled, clearly remembering all the times she¡¯d gone along with Patty¡¯s seemingly innocent requests without thinking. ¡°Thanks for the warning. If Spur doesn¡¯t get rid of her after all this is over, I might just do it myself.¡±


    The three of them chatted for a few more minutes before Alice decided she¡¯d recovered enough to try and squeeze in a few more pits before the monsters showed up. Watching the Trapper head back out, a fresh bundle of stakes under each arm, Alka grinned.


    ¡°I like her. She¡¯d make a good Slayer if she decides to go that route.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s definitely changed since I first met her,¡± Vin said, briefly remembering the uncertain girl in the fast food outfit he¡¯d met back when the System had yanked them all from their ordinary lives. In less than two weeks, she¡¯d gone from a quiet worker that kept her head down to someone capable of not only surviving, but thriving in this strange new world riddled with dangers. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go see how Shia and Scule are doing. Hopefully the two of them haven¡¯t caused too much trouble while we were gone.¡±


    Vin had been hesitant when his companions offered to stay behind and help with preparations as he hunted for missing people, but after taking a look at what they¡¯d accomplished, he had to say they¡¯d had the right idea.


    Shia had clearly spent her time growing rows and rows of thorny vines all throughout the open space between where the archers and non-combat classes would be hurling javelins from and the edge of camp. If any monsters managed to get past the stake filled pits, the wooden palisades, and the combat classes that specialized in melee fighting, they would have to shred themselves apart on Shia¡¯s plants before they could feast on the more fragile crafter and support classes.


    Shaking his head in disbelief at the fact that Shia had a goddamned barbed wire spell all this time without telling him, he spent the next few minutes trying to find Scule, before finally resorting to his Sense Life spell and being surprised at what he found. Walking back out of camp, he had to wait another few minutes before a familiar face finally poked itself free from the dirt.


    Reginald stared up at him in silence for a moment, the rat seemingly unsurprised to find him standing there waiting for them. After Vin received a squeak of greeting that sounded a little too much like an actual word, Reginald finished digging himself out of the ground, revealing a small tunnel and a tiny man right behind him.


    ¡°Oh, hey there,¡± Scule said, nodding up at him as he exited the tunnel right behind his animal companion. Doing his best to lean casually against one of the dirt walls, the petian stuck his hands in his pockets and looked around, as if making sure nobody else was watching them. ¡°What, uh¡­ Whatcha doing?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you know, just wandering around. Checking on everyone and seeing if anyone needs any help. Like my new Rogue buddy I made recently,¡± Vin said, staring down at the petian. ¡°Just one quick question, Scule.¡±


    ¡°...What the hell are you doing?¡±

 42. An Old… Friend?

    ¡°Who, me?¡± Scule asked, looking surprised. ¡°Oh, you know¡­ Just checking out all these old tunnels I found. Making sure they¡¯re secure. Wouldn¡¯t want any tiny monsters scrambling through them up into the middle of camp during the fight, am I right? Kinda defeats the purpose of all those walls your people are building.¡±


    Vin didn¡¯t even bother saying anything, choosing instead to stand there with his arms crossed, staring down at the petian. After a few tense seconds, Scule sighed, kicking at a stray clod of dirt and throwing up his arms.


    ¡°Alright, fine! You win! I was preparing of course,¡± Scule finally admitted, as if what he¡¯d been doing was obvious. Even Reginald seemed to roll his eyes at Vin¡¯s question before getting to work clearing a bit more dirt from the tunnel entrance. ¡°You think a good Rogue does anything without preparation? There¡¯s a reason I¡¯ve lived long enough to hit level twenty all over again, and it¡¯s because I don¡¯t jump headlong into fights I¡¯m not prepared for.¡±


    ¡°Makes sense I guess¡­ Especially when you¡¯re only a few inches tall,¡± Vin said, watching Reginald speedily take the loose dirt and somehow use it to shore up the tunnel itself by compacting it against the tunnel walls. ¡°I¡¯ll admit I¡¯m kinda surprised that Reginald can dig so well to be honest.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you would be. People with animal companions can spend skill points to give their companion skills,¡± Scule explained. ¡°I gave Reginald a few, including the Digging skill. And from how often it comes in handy, he¡¯s practically part mole by now.¡±


    Reginald suddenly turned to work on the other half of the tunnel entrance, his tail whipping around to ¡®accidentally¡¯ smack into the back of Scule¡¯s head, sending the petian stumbling forward. Scule turned to glare at his companion, but Reginald was already hard at work reinforcing the tunnel walls with his back to them.


    ¡°Shoulda bound myself to a cat, or a bird, but nooo, just had to pick a rat,¡± the Rogue mumbled, rubbing his head. ¡°Anyway, do you need anything, or just checking in? We¡¯re just about done out here, so we¡¯ll snag a ride back into camp if you¡¯re heading there next.¡±


    ¡°Just making sure you weren¡¯t trying to make off with the camp''s valuables, as limited as they may be,¡± Vin admitted to Scule¡¯s shocked face. ¡°When I felt you tunneling your way out of camp, I gotta admit I was a bit worried you were trying to make a run for it.¡±


    ¡°Hey now, I¡¯ll have you know I am a Rogue with taste, thank you very much! I only bother stealing things with value. I wouldn¡¯t be caught dead taking any of the crap your people have.¡± Scule looked absolutely appalled that Vin would even suggest such a thing, and Vin could do nothing but roll his eyes and pretend like his new-found friend didn¡¯t just admit he would have happily stolen from his people, if they weren¡¯t already dirt poor.


    ¡°So sorry,¡± Vin snorted. ¡°It¡¯s easy to forget you¡¯re a thief with standards. And why not just tell me all that from the beginning? You looked more than a little suspicious walking out of that tunnel the way you did.¡±


    ¡°Apology accepted,¡± Scule nodded, hopping onto Reginald¡¯s saddle in one smooth motion before the rat scampered up Vin¡¯s clothes, coming to rest on his shoulder once more. ¡°And if you must know¡­¡± Scule paused, clearing his throat. ¡°...it ruins my image.¡±


    ¡°...your what?¡±


    ¡°My image!¡± He repeated, lightly smacking the side of Vin¡¯s head. ¡°When I pop up out of nowhere, everyone is all surprised, and I look so cool! But if people know I¡¯m just coming out of a tunnel I painstakingly dug ahead of time¡­¡±


    Rolling his eyes, Vin decided this was one argument he didn¡¯t have the energy for right now. Instead, he headed back to camp in search of Lieutenant Myers. He didn¡¯t know what to do with himself at this point and figured the lieutenant would have a better use for him than anything he could come up with.


    They found the lieutenant speaking with someone who clearly had a combat class based on the two nasty looking curved blades strapped across his back. Something about the unnatural shade of the man¡¯s messy hair and the annoyed look he was giving Vin stood out to him, but he pushed the thought aside, nodding toward the lieutenant.


    ¡°Lieutenant,¡± he greeted her. ¡°I imagine everyone I directed back has checked in by now. Anything else you need from me?¡±


    ¡°Thanks for doing that Vin, that should be all for now,¡± she said, giving him a small smile. ¡°In fact, I¡¯m about to order everyone to fall in and get some rest. We have no idea when the monsters are going to start spawning, and the last thing we need is for everyone to still be working when they arrive. You should get some rest as well while you can.¡±


    ¡°Probably a good idea,¡± Vin nodded. In fact, after the crazy day he¡¯d been through, he was shocked to realize he still didn¡¯t really feel all that tired. Chalking it up to his rather high endurance, he found himself looking once again at the scowling man standing beside the lieutenant. After a second, something finally clicked, and Vin¡¯s jaw dropped in shock when he realized who was standing before him. ¡°What the hell¡­ Brian?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Shredder, now, bastard,¡± the man growled, glaring at Vin like he¡¯d kicked his dog. Vin stared at the once defiant man in shock, barely able to believe the guy he¡¯d seen get tazed rushing the military that first day they¡¯d appeared underground was now standing crisply at attention, clearly receiving orders without complaint. Even his mohawk appeared to have been cut off, if a bit crudely.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Shredder? Are you serious?¡± Vin couldn¡¯t help but chuckle, earning himself a deeper frown from the guy who¡¯d taken so much enjoyment knocking him around during their brief combat training. Vin wouldn¡¯t go so far as to say he was a bully, but Brian was clearly a bit rough around the edges.


    ¡°Shredder, enough,¡± Lieutenant Myers said, somehow with a completely straight face to Vin¡¯s surprise. What was even more surprising however, was the fact that Brian obeyed, immediately taking a step back and doing his best to look impassive. Myers turned to look at Vin, her expression bordering on something close to disappointment. ¡°Vin, I¡¯d think you of all people would be willing to call someone by their preferred nickname. I¡¯ve read your file you know.¡±


    ¡°Ah, sorry,¡± Vin winced, silently thanking the lieutenant for not using his real name in retaliation. As far as he knew she and Spur were the only two people in this entire world who knew his name was actually Vinnie, and he planned on keeping it that way. Unless he ever needed to start up an underground mob of course. Turning toward Brian, Vin nodded an apology. ¡°Shredder it is then.¡±


    Brian, or Shredder, merely grunted, but that seemed to be good enough for the lieutenant at least. Nodding, she pointed him toward one of the empty buildings, instructing him to get some rest. Vin happily took her up on the offer, only making a small detour to grab Shia before claiming one of the rough beds for himself and doing his best to get some sleep.


    After all, there was no telling how long they¡¯d have before all hell broke loose.


    -----


    Vin felt another bead of sweat trickle down his back as his eyes flicked across the empty field before him, the rising sun slowly lighting up what was soon to become a bloody battlefield. He¡¯d been waiting for so long that at this point he was beginning to flinch at every bird call and sudden cough from the nervous defenders spread out around him. Every flicker of movement caused him to twist around and search for the snarling maw of a monster he expected to see lunging toward him.


    Once the last bit of daylight had fled the night prior, Myers had called everyone in to try and get at least a few hours of sleep. Nobody knew when the monsters would show, but everyone had clearly assumed it would be sometime during the night. But as the hours passed one after another, and there was still no sign of any impending danger, tension began building across camp until you could practically taste it in the air.


    ¡°Maybe they won¡¯t show up?¡± Scule said for the third time, casually leaning back in his saddle and doing his best to look relaxed and unworried despite his constant scanning of the horizon and Reginald¡¯s twitching ears. ¡°Maybe the artifact didn¡¯t end up getting destroyed after all.¡±


    ¡°You felt the explosion,¡± Shia said, her knuckles white as she gripped her staff with both hands. ¡°That artifact is no more, and we can only hope it took that deranged man out with it. I know he can¡¯t leave the domain the gods placed him in, but I¡¯d sleep easier knowing he was gone for good.¡±


    ¡°No kidding,¡± Vin muttered, trying his best to ignore the dull ache where his forearm used to be. He¡¯d been doing a decent job of keeping busy enough to not have time to think about his missing hand, but now that they were just waiting around with nothing to do, the gut-wrenching nausea he felt every time he tried to grab something or scratch his face and realized he couldn¡¯t was coming back full force. Still, now was not the time for him to break down, and he leaned on his impressive focus attribute to help keep his mind on the current threat.


    ¡°Stay focused,¡± he repeated to his group for what felt like the tenth time. ¡°I still don¡¯t think there¡¯s any way the Gods would let the monsters spawn too close to the fresh level 1 people, which means they should be arriving any minute now.¡±


    As if the Gods themselves had been waiting for their cue, Vin suddenly stiffened, his high focus and magic attributes allowing him to sense what felt like the very fabric of the world starting to flutter and shake around them. The trace amounts of ambient mana in the air began to swirl around in tiny pockets as far as his eyes could see, gradually condensing in on themselves and giving off an unpleasant sensation that he could only describe as chaotic.


    Sensing Shia stiffen beside him as she no doubt felt the same sudden twist of mana, Vin pointed out at the empty fields surrounding their camp, screaming as loud as his lungs would let him.


    ¡°They¡¯re coming! Get ready!¡±


    Ignoring the clamor of people rushing to their feet and the rustling of barrels being emptied of javelins, Vin continued staring at the impossible sight before him. Despite knowing what was causing the mana in the air to react in such a way, his attributes evidently weren¡¯t high enough for him to fully witness what was going on. More and more mana seemed to just appear out of nowhere before being sucked into those miniaturized storms and bending in on itself, growing denser by the second.


    ¡°Alka, Scule, can you guys see what¡¯s happening?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Scule said, now fully alert and positioned on Reginald¡¯s saddle, one of his daggers already in hand and coated in some sort of pink liquid. ¡°Just looks like a regular empty field to me. Though something is freaking Reginald out.¡±


    Sure enough, the poor little rat was twitching like it had been electrocuted, his bulging eyes flicking from one end of the field to the next as if trying to locate the source of the swirling magic.


    ¡°I feel like I almost can,¡± Alka frowned, scratching her head. ¡°It¡¯s similar to the sensation of knowing you¡¯re being watched. I don¡¯t know what it is, but I can sense something is off.¡±


    ¡°Maybe because you¡¯re a ghost?¡± Vin muttered to himself, squinting at the growing number of strange phenomena before them. If every one of those transformed into a monster¡­


    Before the dread even had time to set in, the countless individual storms of mana began erupting. Each of the swirling balls of packed magic transformed one after another, suddenly given physical form and erupting into masses of hungry flesh and angry bodies. Vin stared across the rapidly forming field of enemies, his heart sinking even as the notifications began erupting across his vision.


    New Monster Discovered! 200 exp gained.


    New Monster Discovered! 200 exp gained.


    New Monster Discovered! 200 exp gained.


    New Mon-


    Vin willed away the steady stream of notifications that seemed to pop up one after another without pause, sucking in a shaky breath as he took in the monsters closest to them.


    The Gods themselves had told him that magic was chaos¡­


    ¡­and he was beginning to see what they meant.

 43. War is Hell

    Vin stared across the rapidly filling field of monsters, phantom pain throbbing in his missing hand as he tried to clench it. There had to be just as many monsters appearing as there were Earthers in the first wave, if not more.


    Doing his best not to lose hope, Vin took in the monsters closest to them.


    The first monster to fully manifest was a thick, scaly creature with eight stubby but powerful looking legs that stood close to the ground, looking around in confusion. Its forked tongue flicked out of its mouth, seeming to inform it of their presence as it slowly turned their way, revealing its lack of eyes and the sizzling, acidic saliva dripping from its maw. Barely a dozen feet to its left popped in some sort of lanky monkey-like thing with blades extending from its wrists where hands should have been, screeching up at the sky as it jumped up and down in rage. Sparks flew as it scraped its blades together, and Vin had no doubt they would tear and rend flesh with little issue. Just past the monkey appeared to be what Vin could only think of as an oversized armadillo; the monster nearly as tall as he was and able to curl up and fully shield itself using the dark blue armored plates growing up out of its body. Immediately after forming it began to roll around with ease, snapping branches and crushing rocks wherever it went.


    Every single monster that Vin laid eyes on seemed totally different, and each one was equipped with an entirely unique way of killing him and his people should they break through their hastily built defenses.


    ¡°That¡¯s a lot of monsters,¡± Shia whispered, her voice shaking despite her best efforts.


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me,¡± Scule said, slowly pulling out his second dagger and carefully coating it in a sappy substance that smelled surprisingly like cherries. ¡°¡­I think I¡¯m going to go into my tunnels now.¡±


    ¡°Stay safe,¡± Vin said, taking his eyes off the ever-growing field of monsters just long enough to see the petian give him a mocking salute before disappearing down a nearby hole. Taking another deep breath, he turned toward the only one of them that had a look of excitement instead of terror on their face. ¡°Ready to get started?¡±


    ¡°Does a borgal crap where it eats?¡± Not giving him a chance to respond, Alka grabbed the offered sword from Vin¡¯s hand, giving it a few practice swings before turning toward the rows of monsters. More and more of which were beginning to look in their direction, as though they could sense the camp¡¯s location. While a decent handful had thankfully begun fighting amongst themselves, it looked like most of them were far more interested in the squishy looking prey timidly hunkered behind the wooden barricades. As the first few monsters finally began approaching with a horrific cacophony of growls, snarls, roars, and screams, Alka floated over the palisade and dashed out to meet them, yelling her own battle cry.


    Vin watched with bated breath as Alka reached the first line of monsters, the raging beasts lashing out at her with whatever they had available.


    They didn¡¯t stand a chance.


    Alka flowed like a whirlwind of blades, her sword cleaving limbs and heads from bodies wherever she went as she shot across the battlefield. Vin could only look on in amazement as Alka showed them what her world¡¯s Slayers were capable of.


    A wolf with teeth the size of his fingers lunged at her midsection, only to blink in shock as it was decapitated before it could even close its mouth. A bird with wings sharper than any blade he¡¯d ever seen attempted to swoop through her flickering form, only to let out a pained screech as it hit nothing and tried to lift back into the air with two thirds of its wing missing. Some sort of burrowing monster launched itself out of the ground at her, only to meet Alka¡¯s twisting blade head on, sending each half of its body soaring past her in a gory display of skill.


    ¡°Ancient One¡¯s Sap!¡± Shia exclaimed, staring at Alka with wide eyes as the ghost carved her way across the battlefield. ¡°She¡¯s a monster! I knew she was skilled from when she used your body to take down the Trunkback, but this is insane!¡±


    ¡°Well her class was literally designed with the sole intention of fighting monsters,¡± Vin said, wincing as Alka sliced a humanoid monster in half from the crotch upwards. ¡°Add her magic sword to the mix, and you¡¯ve got quite the killing machine.¡± But even as he watched, he began to notice where the one-woman killing machine struggled.


    Thanks to her enchanted sword and the petrified elder wood it was made from, Alka was able to slice through most things with ease. But stuck as a ghost, she didn¡¯t have any actual strength attribute. That meant every attack relied almost entirely on the magic in the blade and the razor sharp edge, while the force of her strikes themselves were that of someone not even level 1. Whenever she encountered a monster capable of actually blocking her sword, or smart enough to stay away from it entirely, there was absolutely nothing she could do.


    Vin watched as her sword rebounded off the impressive carapace of the armadillo-like monster as it rolled past her, heading straight for their fortifications. For her part, Alka showed her battle experience by immediately turning to the next monster she could fight rather than waste time trying to chase the armadillo down.


    Tearing his eyes off of Alka¡¯s slaughter, Vin watched the rolling monster barrel toward them like an out of control truck, completely ignoring the waves of wooden javelins and arrows bouncing off its shell as it sped across the empty plain. Gritting his teeth, Vin prepared himself for it to smash through their palisade.


    Yet seconds away from smashing into their front line fighters, the ground suddenly erupted underneath the monster, and it let out a strangely high-pitched cry as it plummeted into the hidden spike-filled trap. Vin heard a chorus of cheers erupt from the line of defenders manning the wall, and saw a few people clap Alice on the back as the Trapper did her best to contain her proud grin. Vin cheered right along with them, having heard from the lieutenant that Alice had even decided to forgo sleep in order to continue digging throughout the night.


    His elation only lasted so long however. Seemingly out of nowhere, the sounds of horrified screams and panicked cries erupted from the other side of camp, and Vin cursed his complacency as he took off toward the distressed cries with Shia right behind him. He¡¯d gotten so engrossed watching Alka hold an entire field of monsters at bay on her own that he¡¯d forgotten she was only one person.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    She couldn¡¯t defend every side of their camp at once.


    Darting past the handful of buildings the crafters had constructed before everything went to hell, Vin tried to check on the other sections as best he could as he ran toward the screaming. To make things easier on everyone they¡¯d broken the camp into four sections for this battle.


    To his surprise, Vin had originally found himself placed in charge of Section A. He¡¯d tried to push the responsibility onto someone else, but Phil had been strangely adamant that he take the role, the intense man explaining that they needed their heaviest hitters divided as evenly as possible if they wanted any chance at survival.


    In the end, after a quick but devastating display of Alka¡¯s ability and revealing to the shocked group that he and Shia were capable of healing magic, Vin had gotten them to acknowledge Alka was a better choice for holding the line, while Vin and Shia would have the job of roaming between the sections to heal people as needed.


    The screaming was coming from Section C, the one furthest across from him, meaning he was able to get a good look at Sections B and D as he ran.


    Section B was led by Phil himself, and the dangerous looking man showed exactly why he¡¯d been put in charge of the combat classes as he fought off multiple monsters at once. Vin¡¯s step almost faltered as he finally got the chance to witness the man¡¯s blade in action.


    Unlike Alka, who seemed to naturally flow from one attack to the next almost like a dancer, Phil fought like a killing machine. Every strike was calculated, every step carefully executed to just barely dodge an attack or put him in the optimal spot for a counter. There was nothing flashy or fancy about the man¡¯s fighting style, which made the fact that he was practically single handedly holding the line for Section B all the scarier.


    Section C on the other hand, while still hanging on, was doing so by but a thread. Vin was surprised to find Bri-Shredder leading the defense, the man barely managing to keep the waves of monsters from overtaking the palisades thanks to the squad of combat classes backing him up. Vin had thought the military had somehow broken the wild man in while he was gone, but watching him fight, Vin realized he hadn¡¯t changed all that much after all.


    Shredder had clearly chosen his new name for a reason, as the man used his twin blades to tear into every monster that came his way one after another with reckless abandon. Unlike Alka and Phil however, there was nothing beautiful or mechanical about his fighting style. In fact, Vin couldn¡¯t help but think it looked downright idiotic.


    Rather than waste energy dodging or blocking, Shredder seemed to be good at one thing and one thing only.


    Attacking.


    In the few seconds Vin had to spare while running toward Section C, he witnessed Shredder take numerous blows and gashes all across his body; the man¡¯s blood already running in rivers down his chest and limbs after only a few minutes of combat. What was strange however, was that not a single one of his injuries seemed to hinder the man. And in exchange for landing the blows on him, the monsters that had attacked him had in turn been torn to shreds, hacked apart by a snarling Shredder that seemed almost more beast than man at this point.


    Making a mental note not to make fun of the man¡¯s new name any more, Vin put the image of a blood drenched Shredder at the back of his mind as Section C finally came into view. His heart sank as he took in the sight of the combat classes trying desperately to hold the line; the monsters already having pushed them back to where the support and crafter classes were holed up with their ranged weapons. If it weren¡¯t for Shia¡¯s rows of magical thorns slowing down the larger monsters and Spur fighting like a man possessed, his attacks seemingly fueled with nothing but sheer rage that these monsters dared attack his people right in front of him, the monsters almost certainly would have broken into the camp by now.


    Thanks to the seemingly endless barrels of javelins and the pits and palisades funneling the monsters to attack at only a few spots, they¡¯d managed to hold the line, but only barely. While Shia ran over to heal the combat classes fighting beside Spur, Vin looked around, wondering where all the screams had originated from.


    He didn¡¯t have to wonder for long.


    New Elite Monster Discovered! 500 exp gained.


    Standing at the other end of Section C before a half dozen combat classes was a snake the size of a small bus with a long, bloody horn jutting out of its forehead. Its gleaming silver scales were splattered with blood and gore, and if the pile of impaled and crushed bodies were any indication, the monster didn¡¯t have much interest in eating people. Even as he watched, the giant snake alternated between thrusting its head forward in an attempt to impale people, and using its muscular body as a freakishly large whip, trying to crush people into the dirt or send them flying.


    Before Vin could decide what the best course of action was, the snake¡¯s tail shot out once more, slamming into one of the combat classes that was too slow to dodge and sending his body soaring through the air like a ragdoll. Vin watched in horror as the man¡¯s body impacted the ground only a few feet from him with a sickening crunch, rolling a few feet before coming to a stop against one of the buildings with a loud thud.


    Sprinting to his side, Vin¡¯s stomach lurched as he took in the fallen warrior. Half of his chest had been completely caved in, and the man¡¯s face was so messed up he couldn¡¯t even tell if it was someone he knew. Trying his best to keep his breakfast down, Vin immediately began channeling Renewal, running his glowing hand over the man¡¯s many injuries. When nothing happened, he desperately tried dumping more mana into his spell with Runic Recalibration; first two, then three times as much. Yet no matter how much mana he poured into the spell, the man¡¯s body lay there, unchanging. Before Vin could try anything else, a hand grabbed his shoulder, yanking him off the man and spinning him around.


    ¡°He¡¯s gone!¡± Lieutenant Myers cried, shouting to be heard over the nearby roars of the attacking monsters and snapping Vin out of the strange trance seeing a man killed in front of him had put him in. For the first time Vin could remember, the lieutenant looked frazzled, as though this was the first situation in her entire life that she didn¡¯t have completely under control. Her uniform was ripped and covered in dirt and blood, and she held a bulky, strange looking crossbow in one hand that Vin had never seen before. ¡°Don¡¯t waste your time trying to do the impossible! We need you there!¡±


    Following her finger, Vin stared at the giant snake making its way through the last line of defenders with ease. Based on how quickly it struck, they had only seconds before it finally breached their camp and set upon the crafting and support classes desperately hurling javelins to no avail before it hit the other sections from behind. If that happened, everyone would die.


    Trying to put the image of the man¡¯s crushed body out of his mind, Vin nodded, pushing himself to his feet. Seeing the understanding in his eyes, Myers finally released him, turning to glare at the snake herself. ¡°I¡¯ll support you the best I can, but I won¡¯t be able to do much directly unless you can pin it down. I haven¡¯t had a lot of time to level, and I¡¯m not actually a combat class.¡±


    ¡°Well, neither am I,¡± Vin chuckled weakly as he came to terms with what he was about to do. Gritting his teeth, he leaned down and began running.


    Directly at the elite monster about to kill them all.

 44. A Moment of Silence

    Explorer: A class based around discovering the unknown and uncovering secrets, Vin thought as he ran toward the snake large enough to devour him in a single gulp. This is not part of the job description!


    Despite Vin¡¯s speed, the snake managed to strike forward and impale another one of the defenders through the chest with its horn before he could reach them. This actually gave the surrounding fighters a brief window to strike back at the monster, and Vin was happy to see that they didn¡¯t let it go to waste.


    Unfortunately, the snake quickly proved that it wasn¡¯t just its attack capabilities that made it an elite monster, and Vin¡¯s heart sank as all three of the fighters that were fast enough to attack the snake¡¯s extended body looked on in horror as their weapons bounced harmlessly off the gleaming silver scales.


    ¡°The one time I¡¯m away from my magic sword,¡± Vin muttered, finally getting close enough to try and help. ¡°Entangle!¡±


    Entangle was an interesting spell in that it was the only one in his arsenal that depended on his surroundings so heavily. The more vegetation he was surrounded by, the faster and stronger the spell was capable of binding things down. Within the Sacred Forest, Entangle was a force to be reckoned with, and only something with immense strength like the Trunkback would be able to break its way free. Casting the spell in a location without any natural vegetation on the other hand, such as the desert fragment they¡¯d quickly traveled through, resulted in nothing happening.


    Vin prayed the massive amount of mana he dumped into the spell after adjusting its runic structure would be enough to make the short grass all around them actually do something. Thankfully, it seemed he was in luck for once. The moment he completed the spell the grass surrounding the snake exploded upwards with tremendous speed, catching the monster off guard and wrapping tightly around a third of the snake¡¯s lower body.


    Clearly caught off guard, the snake let loose a cry that sounded closer to a roar than a hiss, immediately beginning to jerk violently side to side in an attempt to free itself. To Vin¡¯s horror, he watched as the sheer size of the snake proved to be too much for even his empowered spell as the snake continued tearing its way through the grass with every twist.


    Crap, the grass isn¡¯t strong enough! Panicking, Vin let loose another empowered cast of Entangle, trying to buy himself time to think of a way to take down the giant snake before it could kill them all. For the first time since he¡¯d discovered magic, he actually felt his mana reserves dip dangerously close to half empty; the sheer amount of mana he¡¯d needed to dump into the grass to make it effective finally taking a toll on even his high magic attribute. With yet another thing to panic about, Vin was just about to start freaking out when he received help from an unexpected source.


    Just as panic was starting to set in, a heavy thwump came from behind him, and Vin flinched as something streaked past his head. Whatever the mysterious projectile was, it missed him by mere inches before slamming into the upper body of the immobilized snake, causing Vin to leap back in surprise when it detonated in a small but powerful explosion of purple and red flame. As the resulting wave of heat washed over him, Vin turned to stare in shock at the source of the unique attack.


    Standing just a few feet behind him, having only just caught up to him, was Lieutenant Myers, already loading a new odd-looking bolt into her equally odd-looking crossbow.


    ¡°What the hell was that?!¡± Vin exclaimed, staring at the lieutenant in a brand-new light.


    ¡°An explosive bolt I¡¯ve been working on,¡± Myers said, cranking back the new bolt and taking aim at the stunned snake once again. ¡°I don¡¯t have many bolts like that prepared, and crossbows are harder to aim than guns, so I didn¡¯t want to risk missing. Thanks for pinning it down.¡±


    Vin watched in awe as Myers lined up her shot and fired a second bolt at the stunned snake, causing another miniaturized and colorful explosion. She was basically firing off the equivalent of a magical, medieval grenade launcher at the ensnared monster. Before even checking to see how the snake was fairing, Myers began loading a third bolt, catching Vin¡¯s wide-eyed look and giving him a small smile. ¡°I¡¯m a crafter,¡± she explained, cranking her crossbow back yet again. ¡°...with a specialization in monsters. Seeing as we lost our guns, once we discovered those fox-like monsters that were capable of exploding, I thought building something like this would be a good project to start with.¡±


    Only now did Vin recognize the purple shade of the bolts Myers was loading, and he immediately took a step back without thinking as soon as he realized what she was firing.


    ¡°No kidding,¡± Vin muttered, peering at the body of the now charred and smoking snake. While it had managed to withstand the first explosion, the second one seemed to have been enough to put it down. Vin winced at the powerful crash as the snake finally slammed into the ground, the vibrations nearly knocking the nearby combat classes off their feet.


    Shaking himself out of his stupor, Vin remembered he had a job to do, and he immediately covered the last few feet between himself and the injured fighters. He didn¡¯t exactly have any medical training besides the basic first aid he and every other member of Project Ark had gone through, but he did his best to triage on the spot as he went about healing people. Going down the line of fighters he found no lack of wounds in need of healing, and his already spent mana reserves began dipping dangerously low after only a few minutes of spellcasting.


    Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do for the near dozen people the elite monster had already killed. Instead, Vin swore to himself that nobody else would die on his watch so long as he had a speck of mana still inside his body.


    As the battle raged on and the minutes passed, Vin did his best to focus on what only he could do rather than worry about the hordes of monsters besieging them. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Heal a crying Swordsman¡¯s slashed open arm.


    Don¡¯t look at the angry monkey with blood drenched blades for hands.


    Fix a ghostly white mace wielder¡¯s punctured stomach.


    Don¡¯t look at the three-foot-tall spider with feet like sharpened spearheads.


    Yank a few razor-sharp quills from a shaking Archer¡¯s shoulder.


    Don¡¯t look at the screeching bird firing sharpened quills from up above them.


    If Vin had any reservations about missing out from not taking a combat class upon arriving in this new world, they were thoroughly squashed after spending most of his remaining mana running around their defensive line, doing what he could to save as many lives as possible and get people back in the fight. More than one person he healed seemed shell shocked, unwilling to get back up and dive back into the horrors attacking them.


    Thankfully, Spur had expected that, and he already had a solution in place.


    ¡°Fight,¡± Patty commanded yet again, actually coughing up a few specks of blood after using her power so many times in a row.


    Just like the last few times she¡¯d done it, Vin watched as the warrior he¡¯d just saved from certain death from a horrific slash across his throat heard the order. Immediately, the warrior stopped shaking, his eyes somehow both glazing over and igniting as color returned to his pale face. Leaping to his feet, the man grabbed his fallen sword and charged back to the defensive line with a furious cry, his recent near-death experience completely forgotten for the moment. Before he had even left, Patty¡¯s thin frame was wracked with a horrific cough, and Vin helped her take a deep swig from his waterskin.


    ¡°I can only do that one, maybe two more times,¡± Patty rasped in between coughs, her voice raw as though she¡¯d spent the last hour screaming at the top of her lungs.


    ¡°Every person you can get back in the fight matters,¡± Vin said, trying to squash down the feeling that they were doing something horrible. He couldn¡¯t help but think that forcing people who didn¡¯t want to fight anymore to put their lives on the line had to be some sort of crime, but he had to admit Spur had a solid argument. When Spur had originally explained his plans for Patty during the battle and Vin had voiced his initial concerns, Spur¡¯s defense had been rather clear.


    ¡°Project Ark is technically a branch of the military, and a specialized one at that,¡± the colonel had shrugged. ¡°If I order someone to hold a line, and they disobey orders, I technically have every right to execute them on the spot. Obviously, I wouldn¡¯t do something like that without reason, but if we¡¯re planning to hold out against who knows how many monsters with less than a hundred men, we¡¯re going to need every able-bodied person with a weapon in hand manning the line.¡±


    Vin wasn¡¯t sure if the colonel had still been a bit upset about forcefully being put to sleep, but regardless, he had a good point.


    They didn¡¯t have the luxury of letting people step back from the fight right now.


    ¡°This is not how I imagined I¡¯d be using my powers,¡± Patty chuckled weakly, a few more drops of blood trickling down her lips from her ruined throat. Vin briefly thought about healing her before deciding against it. His mana was down to the last dregs, and he wanted to save it for any actual life-threatening injuries he encountered.


    It had nothing to do with Patty being a terrible person.


    Nothing at all.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget, once your power is used up, you¡¯ll be throwing javelins with the rest of the support classes,¡± Vin said, trying to keep the weariness from his voice as he scanned the defensive line for anyone who was desperately in need of healing. He¡¯d lost track of how long they¡¯d been fighting for, but it couldn¡¯t have been more than half an hour at most, and already everywhere he looked he saw countless superficial wounds that he just couldn¡¯t spare the mana for right now. He had no idea that being trapped in the thick of things on a life or death battlefield would make every minute feel like an eternity.


    ¡°Ah yes, how could I forget the orders of our esteemed leader,¡± Patty croaked, rolling her eyes. ¡°Honestly, I doubt I could hit the side of a barn with one of those things. We¡¯d be better off if I-¡°


    A sickening, wet crunch cut Patty off, and Vin turned to stare at the horrifying scene before him in shock.


    While just moments before Patty had been making snarky comments and nursing her throat, Vin now found himself looking at a corpse lying crumpled on the ground. A crossbow bolt had sunk deep into Patty¡¯s eye, killing the woman instantly and preventing him from having any chance at healing her with Renewal. For a few seconds, Vin just stared at the body of the woman he¡¯d been speaking with mere moments ago, unable to grasp what had just happened.


    ¡°Patty?¡± He said aimlessly, somehow expecting the woman to yank the bolt out of her eye and give him a scathing remark like he¡¯d come to expect. Instead, the only response he received was silence. Silence that somehow overpowered the constant screams and sounds of tearing flesh that had surrounded him since the battle had begun.


    Vin tried to turn and look for whoever had shot the bolt, but his body refused to move. His feet were rooted to the spot, and try as he might, he couldn''t tear his eyes away from the fresh corpse of the fallen woman.


    Taking a shaky breath, Vin forced his eyes shut and tried to focus on taking large, deep breaths as the sounds of battle raged around him. He knew he should be looking around for the person who had shot Patty. He knew he should be running around healing people as best he could. Hell, he knew if nothing else, he should join the defensive line and start hurling wooden javelins at the monsters still threatening to destroy their camp and kill them all.


    Instead, he stood there with his eyes closed and counted.


    Ten seconds, he thought to himself, ignoring the screams and snarls seeming to come from every angle. That¡¯s all I need. In ten seconds, I¡¯ll get back to everything I have to do. Steadying his breathing, Vin took his time, slowly counting to ten as he did his best to let the weight of the world slip off his shoulders for just a single, fleeting moment. He had to resist the urge to slip into his Meditation skill, knowing that if he did that there was a real risk of him just deciding it wasn¡¯t worth coming back out until the end of the battle.


    After what felt like no time at all, his ten seconds were up. Showing the greatest display of willpower in his entire life, Vin opened his eyes, grimacing one final time at Patty¡¯s corpse before turning to scan his surroundings. Unsurprisingly, especially after he¡¯d waited ten whole seconds, there was no sign of anyone holding a crossbow over their head and sprinting away in a suspicious manner.


    Putting that matter of Patty¡¯s murder aside for the moment, Vin started heading back to the defensive line when a few screams broke out in a familiar direction. Rushing toward that section of the wall Vin¡¯s legs froze, nearly sending him tumbling to the ground as he spotted the cause of the fresh panic.


    ¡°You have got to be kidding me.¡±


    Roaring in front of him, currently churning its way through their already weakened defensive line, was a familiar giant snake.


    Back from the dead and angrier than ever.

 45. Fight Fire With Fire

    Flicking its head, the giant snake tossed the limp body it had stuck on its horn to the side, letting it drop to the ground with a sickening thump. Vin stared at the elite monster that had somehow risen from the grave, his eyes darting to the three fresh victims it had already claimed. To his shock, he also spotted what looked like the deflated and shrunken charred corpse of the snake tangled in the grass from his spell only a few feet from the monster. It only took him a second to realize what must have happened.


    ¡°The bastard shed its skin?!¡± Vin exclaimed, confirming that the snake was in fact the same monster he¡¯d thought Lieutenant Myers had taken down before. A quick look around him showed Myers backing up a beaten and bloodied Spur at the other end of Section C as the colonel went toe to toe with what looked like a bipedal tiger made of stone. Realizing he wouldn¡¯t be getting bailed out again anytime soon, Vin grit his teeth, trying to come up with a solution.


    Even if he couldn¡¯t sense the exact amount of mana inside himself, his throbbing headache made it quite clear that he barely had enough mana left for a standard Entangle spell at this point in the battle, let alone an empowered one. Alka was still busy with their enchanted sword on the other side of camp, so he still didn¡¯t have a weapon capable of cutting through the snake¡¯s scales either. Shia had long since gone to help Shredder with the defense of Section D, and he hadn¡¯t seen Scule or Reginald since the start of the battle, so he couldn¡¯t count on any assistance from his companions.


    Think, Vin, think! He racked his brain, trying to think of something, anything, that would work against the giant monster as it continued its killing spree. He¡¯d never realized just how limited his current spell selection was, even with his ability to alter runic structures on the fly, and he swore then and there he¡¯d focus on improving his magical arsenal if he survived this battle.


    I could what, adjust my Renewal spell and try to give the snake cancer or something? That might kill it in ten years, but doesn¡¯t do me any good right now! Use Concealment to sneak up on it? That¡¯s not how that spell works, and even if I could, I can¡¯t actually hurt it. No, the only thing that did anything was trying to restrain it, but even with mana empowering the spell, the grass just isn¡¯t strong enough to hold the snake for more than a few seconds. I need something that won¡¯t snap under the monster¡¯s incredible strength. Something durable. Something like¡­


    Vin paused, his eyes landing on what might very well be the answer to their problems.


    ¡°Oh, I hope this idea isn¡¯t as stupid as I¡¯m starting to think it is.¡±


    Not giving himself a moment to talk himself out of his desperate idea, Vin sprinted forward, darting past the surprised line of defenders and running directly toward the massive snake. Even the monster seemed momentarily taken aback by his sudden charge, but it didn¡¯t remain surprised for long. Letting out its strange hiss-roar hybrid, the snake¡¯s head shot forward as the monster attempted to impale him on its horn like it had so many others. Yet right before he was skewered, Vin used the final dregs of his mana to fire off an empowered version of the new spell he¡¯d learned during his run back to camp.


    ¡°Light!¡± He screamed, burning through all his remaining mana to unleash a concentrated beam of light that would put any spotlight to shame directly into the snake¡¯s eyes. The spell only lasted a split second before his mana sputtered out, but it was enough to blind the snake, causing it to reflexively flinch away and its head to miss him by the slimmest of margins before slamming into the ground a few feet to Vin¡¯s left. Not wasting this chance, Vin continued his mad dash, thanking his past self for investing a few points in dexterity as he ran for the only thing he thought would be durable enough to help him restrain the monster.


    With only seconds before the snake would be on him again, Vin reached his target and quickly grabbed the snake¡¯s own discarded skin, yanking it free from the bits of grass still wrapped around it.


    Thankfully, the large snake skin seemed to have shriveled up drastically after being discarded, making it far easier for Vin to rip free from the grass than he¡¯d been expecting, even with only one working hand. And unlike regular snake skin, despite having been blown up twice and hacked at with weapons, the empty skin was still in pristine condition, if a little blackened, meaning it would hopefully be strong enough to carry out Vin¡¯s insane plan.


    The snake skin felt strangely smooth to the touch and he grabbed as much of it as he could carry, trying all the while not to think about that same texture inevitably crushing him into the ground when the snake next attacked. Thankfully, he should have at least a few seconds-


    Some silent, unknown alarm screamed in the back of Vin¡¯s head, and he somehow knew without a shadow of a doubt that death was coming from directly above him.


    With no time to think, Vin instinctively trusted this strange feeling of dread and threw himself to the side, barely dodging the snake¡¯s muscular tail as it slammed down hard where he¡¯d been standing a split second earlier, causing the very ground to shake from the force of the impact. Realizing how close he¡¯d just come to being flattened, Vin shuddered, sending a second silent prayer of thanks to his past self for picking up the Threat Detection passive.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    Even if he still had his divine boon active for the day, he didn¡¯t know how much that would help him against something like being crushed to death, and he wasn¡¯t in any rush to find out.


    Gripping the snakeskin in hand, Vin watched as the snake yanked its horn out of the ground and turned to stare at him, blinking the last of the dots from its eyes. He wasn¡¯t sure if the snake recognized him as the one that had held it in place while Myers blasted it, but the monster¡¯s slitted eyes seemed to radiate hatred as it stared at him. Ignoring the yelling, jeering defenders trying to draw its attention, the snake seemed to tune out the rest of the world, its focus entirely on Vin.


    Great plan genius. You barely managed to get the snakeskin, and now you¡¯re going to die clutching it like a security blanket. If there¡¯s some sort of afterlife, I¡¯m going to give the Gods a serious piece of my mind about all this.


    For a few tense seconds, neither Vin nor the snake moved. Vin because he had absolutely no idea how to go about getting the snakeskin around the snake without getting impaled or crushed, while the snake just seemed to enjoy basking in his despair. Just as Vin began accepting his inevitable demise, he spotted a blur of motion erupt from the ground less than a dozen feet from the elite monster.


    Like miniature guardian angels, Scule and Reginald flew out of a nearby hole in the ground directly at the giant snake, utilizing their incredible speed to close the gap in the blink of an eye. Before the snake could even register what was happening, the duo reached their target, and Reginald slowed down just enough for Scule to lean over and plunge both of his daggers into the monster¡¯s lower body. Each of the tiny blades stabbed straight through the snake¡¯s fresh skin like needles as they sank deep into the muscle underneath.


    Vin wouldn¡¯t have thought the giant monster would even notice the two tiny pricks from Scule¡¯s daggers, but to his surprise the snake reacted immediately. The moment Scule¡¯s attack landed the snake let out a roaring hiss unlike anything Vin had heard before, and it reflexively swung its tail toward the rat and his rider. Vin watched in horror as the muscular tail shot toward Reginald, but the little rat impressed him once again.


    Without any direction from Scule, Reginald leapt up off the ground, landing briefly on the side of the snake before kicking off for additional height, barely managing to clear the tail that swept through the space they¡¯d been standing in just moments before. The snake¡¯s tail ended up missing the duo by barely a hair, instead slamming into its own body and eliciting a fresh roar of anger from the monster.


    The second Reginald landed on the ground, the rat sprinted over to Vin, pausing for just a moment.


    ¡°That was the most potent muscle relaxant I had!¡± Scule shouted, carefully watching the snake to ensure it wasn¡¯t about to try and crush them again while Reginald tried to catch his breath, still panting heavily from his brief sprint. Thankfully, the snake seemed to be busy reacting to the poison, as rather than attempting to crush them, it was slowly swaying back and forth, seemingly struggling to keep its eyes open.


    Scule looked at the still upright snake and clicked his tongue, frowning. ¡°That much poison would be enough to kill a regular person five times over, but I don¡¯t know how effective it will be on something like that. This is why I don¡¯t like fighting monsters!¡±


    ¡°Well I appreciate the help. I¡¯m pretty certain you just saved my life,¡± Vin admitted, a sense of hope rekindling within his chest as he watched the snake struggle to stay awake and upright. His grip on the snakeskin tightened as he realized his half-baked plan might actually work now. Hell, he might even live through this battle after all.


    ¡°Great!¡± Scule said, grinning up at him. ¡°Try and remember that when you hear about what I stole from your camp!¡± Before Vin could say anything, his companions took off once again, darting down another nearby hole and vanishing from sight.


    ¡°Damn it Scule,¡± Vin muttered, unable to hide his grin as he steeled himself for what came next. He never would have expected a kleptomaniac the size of a cell phone would make such a useful companion, but he supposed this new world was filled with all sorts of surprises. Besides, no Scule means no Reginald, and I¡¯m already growing pretty fond of that little rat.


    The snake finally seemed to have adjusted somewhat to the poison, as despite the heavy swaying, the monster was once more focused on him. Slowly slithering forward, it reared its head back for its next attack. This time however, thanks to Scule¡¯s poison slowing down the monster, when the snake¡¯s head shot forward in an attempt to impale Vin on the end of its horn, Vin was ready.


    Using the snakeskin like a matador would a cape, Vin twisted to the side, narrowly avoiding the piercing strike before leaping up onto the back of the snake¡¯s neck. Cursing his missing hand yet again, Vin shifted the handful of snakeskin he currently held to his mouth and bit down, leaning forward and grabbing the other end before the monster could remove its horn from the dirt. Yanking his makeshift rope tight around the snake¡¯s neck, Vin pulled the snakeskin taut and held on with all his might as the snake reacted to the sudden strangulation.


    Immediately, the snake tore its horn from the earth and lifted its head up into the air as it thrashed from side to side in a desperate attempt to dislodge Vin from his impromptu seat upon its neck. Clamping his legs together and holding on with every fiber of his being, Vin continued pulling on his makeshift garrote; one end gripped tightly in his right hand and the other clenched between his bleeding teeth.


    The pain in his mouth was like nothing he¡¯d ever experienced, and his head was being thrown around like a dog on a chew toy as the snake flung him about, but he knew if he ended up letting go he¡¯d never get a chance like this again. While he wasn¡¯t all that confident in his strength, thanks to Scule¡¯s poison weakening the snake and the durability of the monster¡¯s own skin he was pulling on, this was a battle of endurance more than anything.


    And Vin had endurance in spades.


    Screaming around the snakeskin in his mouth, Vin held on as the monster continued to buck under him. The snake tried everything it could to get him to let go, but Vin refused to release either end of his improvised rope. As the monster gradually grew weaker from a lack of oxygen, its movements finally slowed, and then halted.


    Just as Vin was beginning to wonder if it was finally over, the snake jerked into motion. Raising its body up as high as it was able, the monster whipped itself violently backwards, directly at the ground with the full intention of crushing Vin under its enormous weight.


    Vin had just enough time to scream around the bloodied snakeskin before he was smashed into the ground with a few metric tons of monster directly on top of him.

 46. A Hard Fought Victory

    Vin stifled a gasp, nearly releasing the snakeskin in his mouth as a burst of golden light erupted from him at the moment of impact. To his amazement, the force of the divine energy not only protected him from certain death, but also managed to push him and the snake into the air once more to ensure he wasn¡¯t pinned under the monster¡¯s bulk. And while his divine boon had saved him from taking any damage, the same couldn¡¯t be said about the snake, who seemed even more shaken after having slammed its own head into the ground so violently.


    The snake¡¯s last ditch effort failing to dislodge him marked the beginning of the end for the elite monster, and with every second that passed after that the snake seemed to grow weaker and weaker. Finally, after one last weak jerk of its neck, the monster collapsed, falling to the ground and nearly dislodging Vin at long last from the sudden impact.


    Realizing he was still screaming around the now blood-soaked snakeskin, Vin finally stopped. Even so, he refused to let up on his grip until he was sure beyond a shadow of a doubt the snake was truly dead this time. Once he was finally certain the monster wouldn¡¯t be getting back up a third time, he released the snakeskin from his trembling fingers and bleeding jaw. Shakily getting to his feet, Vin looked up and discovered nearly a quarter of their camp standing there, staring at him with wide eyes and slacked jaws.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why is everyone out of formation?!¡± He shouted, spitting out a mouthful of blood. His words were practically slurring together as he tried talking with what felt like a severely sprained jaw, and seeing as nobody answered, he wasn¡¯t even certain they could understand him.


    Scanning the awed faces, Vin tried to figure out what was going on. Based on the wooden javelins some people were holding, the crowd was a mixture of all three types of classes. As he tried to make sense of things, there was a commotion amidst the crowd, and Spur pushed his way through, leaning heavily on an improvised crutch as he limped over to him.


    Vin stared at the colonel, shocked that the man was even capable of standing up looking like he did. Not only was he covered in dozens of small slashes, bruises, and what looked like burns of all things, the colonel seemed to have a literal hole through his left calf that was seeping blood despite the hastily thrown together bandage, and a small chunk missing from his side to top it all off. Following his eyes, Spur chuckled.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not looking forward to my passive finally turning off. Last to Fall. Gives me huge boosts to endurance and vigor as long as I¡¯m leading my men into combat. Though even with that I¡¯d kill for some good old fashioned morphine right about now.¡±


    As Spur¡¯s words registered, only then did Vin realize what had finally changed.


    The sounds of battle had ended sometime during his wild rodeo on the giant snake. No more screams, no more roars, no more cries for help or people begging for their loved ones as they were dragged back into the swarm of monsters could be heard. Slowly, Vin looked around, taking in the blood-soaked battlefield.


    What had to be hundreds of monster corpses could be seen scattered about all over the edge of camp, and while he spotted clumps of human bodies here and there, there weren¡¯t nearly as many as he¡¯d feared. Turning back to the colonel, Vin stared stupidly at the man.


    ¡°So¡­ that¡¯s it? It¡¯s done?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± Spur nodded, reaching out and clapping him on the back. ¡°Trust me, I know it¡¯s hard getting used to, but most battles come to an abrupt end before you know it. Either you die, or your enemy does. One way or another, you often go from fighting for your life to just not in the blink of an eye. Takes time to get used to.¡±


    Vin continued staring at the colonel. Despite all signs pointing to the fact that Spur¡¯s words were the truth, Vin just couldn¡¯t believe it. They¡¯d been fighting with everything they had for what felt like an eternity. And now it was just¡­ over?


    Spur clearly had experience dealing with situations like this, as he gently pushed Vin forward, directing the stunned Explorer away from the scene of so much death and destruction.


    ¡°While you were fighting that snake, the rest of us finished up the final dregs of the monsters. Plenty of people wanted to rush in and help you in your fight, but I figured we¡¯d just be getting in the way at that point. Though I¡¯ll admit, I thought I¡¯d made the wrong call when the snake tried to suplex you into the ground. What even was that golden light that blasted out of you?¡±


    ¡°Divine magic,¡± Vin said numbly, letting himself be steered through the crowd of onlookers and back into camp. He almost went into detail about his boon, but even in his shell-shocked state he realized he should probably keep some cards close to his chest. That small description was more than enough anyway, as Spur just shook his head at Vin¡¯s answer, barking out a laugh.


    ¡°Divine magic? I swear, every time we talk you drop another bombshell on me. You might not want to let people in camp hear you say you¡¯re using divine magic. I think more than a few of them are already close to worshiping you after you ran around healing their injuries before going out to literally strangle an elite monster to death with your teeth of all things.¡±


    Glancing around, Vin did in fact notice more than one person still staring at him in wonder as Spur led him into the center of camp. Even as people went about tending to the wounded and shoveling monster parts into designated spots, plenty of people found the time to pause what they were doing to give him an appreciative nod or a world-weary grin.


    ¡°Unfortunately, as much as I¡¯m sure you¡¯d like to bask in all your newfound fans, our work is far from done today,¡± Spur sighed, leading them into headquarters. Entering the large building, Vin was surprised to find only one other person sitting inside, clearly waiting for them. He¡¯d expected to find the rest of the council, but instead, it was only Lieutenant Myers who stood up as they entered, giving Spur a sharp nod. Unlike Spur, the lieutenant seemed to have managed to avoid getting any serious injuries, and other than a light slash across her cheek the woman looked as professional as ever. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Somehow she¡¯d even found the time to change out of her torn and bloodied uniform. Despite everything they¡¯d all just been through, her fatigues weren¡¯t sporting so much as a single wrinkle.


    There was a soft click from behind him, and Vin turned to see Colonel Spur locking the door before giving him a weak grin.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t have any plans to kill you now that we made it through the battle or anything,¡± he chuckled, limping across the room and collapsing into one of the wooden chairs, graciously accepting a cup of water from Myers. ¡°...Not like we¡¯d be able to do that at this point anyway. You¡¯ve got far too many surprises tucked away after all you¡¯ve been through, not even including those strange companions of yours. In fact, that¡¯s what I wanted to talk to you about,¡± he admitted, motioning for him to take a seat.


    Vin sat down on the couch across from the colonel, curious where he was going with this. With a groan, Spur pushed himself up into a more respectable sitting position and gave Vin an analyzing look. All of a sudden, the flippant Spur he¡¯d come to know was gone, and Vin found himself speaking to Colonel Spur for the first time.


    ¡°Frankly, you are too much of an unknown, and there are plans in motion that I can¡¯t have you interfering with,¡± the colonel said, his words cold and his gaze calculating as he carefully watched Vin. ¡°...And seeing as I have neither the ability nor the desire to silence you, there remains only one other choice for me.¡±


    Vin watched the colonel hesitate for only a moment before coming to the decision he was making the right choice. Leaning forward, Colonel Spur stared into his eyes, making sure Vin was fully focused on what he was about to say.


    ¡°Listen carefully, because within the hour I¡¯ll be committing an act of treason that would most likely get me summarily executed back home¡­¡±


    ¡°...and I want you by my side while it happens.¡±


    -----


    Vin stared at the remnants of their original camp as they waited the final few minutes until wave two was supposed to arrive. Their supplies were limited enough that Spur had ensured every last tent stake had been pulled up and moved with them to their new camp during their migration, but Vin was still able to make out the area they had camped those first few days on Edregon. It was hard to believe how much had happened in what had barely been a week and a half.


    Glancing over his shoulder, he spotted Shia off to the side arguing with Scule about something, all the while petting a happily sleeping Reginald in the crook of her arm. While Spur had asked Vin to stick with him for the arrival of wave two, he had requested his nonhuman companions stay out of sight for at least the first few minutes. Despite how much he¡¯d appreciated the help they¡¯d given during the recent life and death battle, he¡¯d pointed out that coming face to face with an actual elf and six inch tall man immediately after coming to this world might be too much for some people, and Vin had begrudgingly agreed.


    Naturally, he did at least have Alka echoing his form once again and his enchanted sword back on his person; both of which made him feel far better about whatever was going to happen in the next few minutes.


    Someone with only minor injuries jogged up to their group, relaying a quick message to Lieutenant Myers before saluting and withdrawing to join the rest of the onlookers standing off to the side. Everyone who had still been capable of walking after the recent battle had been ordered by Spur to join them, and Vin was still shocked at how low that number ended up being when all was said and done.


    ¡°That¡¯s the latest report,¡± Myers said, giving Spur a small frown. ¡°Frank said he believes anyone whose injuries were too severe has passed already, and that we shouldn¡¯t have any more surprises. The final numbers are twenty-six dead and seven with permanent injuries Shia won¡¯t be able to heal, such as missing limbs. Thanks to the actions of Vin and his companions, the number of dead ended up being far less than we were expecting.¡±


    Despite Myer¡¯s optimism, Vin found himself staring straight ahead, his mind preoccupied as different scenes from the horrific battle replayed themselves over and over again. The giant snake crushing and impaling over a dozen people on its own. All the people who died screaming to the monster horde before he could make it to them. Patty getting murdered directly under his nose in the middle of their very own conversation.


    There was nothing to be happy about regarding that battle. Even so, that clearly wasn¡¯t how Spur and Myers saw it.


    ¡°It¡¯s thanks to Vin and his companions that we survived at all,¡± Spur snorted, shaking his head. ¡°Though I¡¯ll admit, our people performed better than I expected as well. I¡¯ll have to come up with some sort of medal to give to Phil and Shredder for their contributions. As well as Alice and our team of crafters. We wouldn¡¯t have lasted five minutes without our defenses after all.¡±


    ¡°Still,¡± the colonel sighed, glancing up at the sky as though expecting to see an airplane touching down any moment. ¡°If you factor in those three crafters we lost early on, that¡¯s nearly a third of our initial hundred people wiped out within ten days. If we weren¡¯t about to commit high treason, I¡¯d be terrified of handing in my report.¡±


    Spur glanced sideways at Vin at the mention of treason, but the Explorer remained silent. Vin had been confused at first after Spur¡¯s declaration, but once Spur explained what he was planning and why, he¡¯d shrugged, telling him to go right ahead and confirming he wouldn¡¯t try and stop whatever was going to happen.


    He''d accomplished his goal of saving as many lives as he could. What happened next was all politics, and frankly, Vin was far too tired to care.


    Besides, Vin had far more pressing things haunting his thoughts at the moment than whatever Spur was about to do. It had been over twenty-four hours since he¡¯d last slept after all, if you didn¡¯t count the restless tossing and turning from the night before the battle, and Vin hadn¡¯t even had time to fully process the loss of his arm, let alone all the death he¡¯d just witnessed. It was going to take something far more pressing than a little high treason to pull him from his spiraling thoughts.


    Without any sort of warning or preamble, a thousand small holes were suddenly ripped open in the fabric of reality one after another, each one depositing a squinting and confused individual directly in front of their small band of exhausted and bloodied people. Just like when wave one had first appeared, Vin noted that the vast majority of the thousand people contained within wave two held a variety of medieval weapons.


    ¡®Look alive Vin, you¡¯ll have plenty of time for torturing yourself once we¡¯re done here. I have a feeling you won''t want to miss this.¡¯


    Vin frowned at Alka¡¯s jest, but he did his best to push the horrific images of those he¡¯d failed to save from the recent battle aside in order to focus on what was about to happen. If things played out how Spur was planning, there was a possibility things were about to get messy.


    Clearing his throat, Spur took a single step forward, clapping his hands together and calling out loud enough for everyone in the giant crowd of disoriented people to hear him.


    ¡°Hello everyone, and welcome to your new home away from home!¡±

 47. The Second Wave

    Seeing he had everyone¡¯s attention, Spur continued, his voice booming out across the meadow. ¡°I hope you all had a pleasant trip and that you¡¯re ready for a fun time at camp!¡±


    Most people simply looked at Spur in confusion, but at least some must have recognized him as Vin saw a good dozen of those closest to them turn and snap crisp salutes as though they were back in boot camp. Though not everyone that recognized him reacted in such a way.


    ¡°Colonel Spur,¡± an irritated voice rang out as a manicured woman with a long bow strapped to her back stepped forward. The woman didn¡¯t really strike Vin as the military type, and Vin didn¡¯t know how to read military ranks, but seeing as how the scattered military members parted like water and hurried to get out of her way as she walked forward, he could guess she was rather high up there. Based on the sarcastic grin Spur wore, he clearly recognized her.


    ¡°Ah, Brigadier General Lones! So they did decide to send you in charge of wave two after all! My oh my, how on Earth did you get that honor? Last I read they were still deciding between you and Brigadier General Witherson. What¡¯d you do, have her killed in her sleep?¡±


    When Spur failed to salute the general, Lones had frowned at the disrespect. But when he directly asked if she¡¯d had Witherson murdered, she began sputtering in shock and outrage, clearly not used to being spoken to in such a manner. Before she could respond, a second voice called out from the new crowd.


    ¡°Actually, they decided to send us together.¡±


    A second woman stepped forward, this one striking Vin as military immediately. Heavily muscled, yet strangely without a single weapon to be seen, the woman Vin could only assume was Brigadier General Witherson walked up to stand beside Lones, presenting a unified front. Maybe it was because of Vin¡¯s high focus, but he swore he saw the woman frown ever so slightly at her fellow general before turning her attention toward Spur.


    ¡°Colonel Spur, I am aware of your¡­ tendency, shall we say, to disregard rank and military decorum. But considering the circumstances, now may be a good time to be on your best behavior. Brigadier General Lones and I have been given complete authority by the higher ups of Project Ark to assume command now that we¡¯re on the ground after all, and keeping our military structure in place will go a long way toward ensuring our survival in this foreign land.¡±


    ¡°Meaning it¡¯s fully within my authority to have scheming little miscreants court-martialed and even executed, should they prove to be a problem,¡± Lones said, sneering at Spur. Witherson shot another quick frown at her companion, but didn¡¯t say anything to contradict her.


    Rather than give Lones the apology she was clearly expecting and waiting for, Spur clapped dramatically, his eyebrows raised. ¡°Wow! Complete power over others with literally no oversight. Congratulations! It¡¯s what you¡¯ve always dreamed of having after all!¡±


    That comment was apparently too much for Lones, as she turned beet red, snapping her fingers like she was ordering around a team of servants.


    ¡°Major McDaniel! Major Yates! Take Colonel Spur into custody! I¡¯ll decide what to do with him later.¡±


    As though they were used to this, two burly men stepped out of the watching crowd and began making their way over to Spur. One had a heavy mace strapped to his belt, and the other a large maul slung over his back. Shaking his finger like he was admonishing a child, Spur tutted the approaching men.


    ¡°Now now, things aren¡¯t about to go down like you¡¯d hoped they were, Lones. I''ve been working myself to the bone these past ten days with your very arrival in mind. Vin, if you would be so kind?¡±


    When he explained the plan earlier Spur hadn¡¯t informed Vin he¡¯d be asking for his help, but having been in Brigadier General Lones¡¯ presence for less than a minute, Vin already better understood why Spur was taking such a risk.


    He¡¯d already regenerated a portion of his mana thanks to some time spent in Meditation after the battle, so he shrugged, raising his hand. ¡°Entangle.¡±


    Seeing as he was only trying to halt two adult men rather than a three-ton snake monster, he didn¡¯t bother adjusting the spell with Runic Recalibration. Sure enough, the base spell was more than enough for his purposes, and the moment the word left his lips the grass shot up out of the ground and tightly wrapped itself around the men¡¯s lower legs, halting them in their tracks. One of them even face planted, his legs getting snagged midstride.


    Vin felt the eyes of a thousand shocked people staring at him after that open display of magic, but strangely, he wasn¡¯t bothered by it. He didn¡¯t know if he¡¯d just become numb to what other people thought of him by this point, or if he was just too emotionally drained from everything that had happened recently.


    ¡°You!¡± Lones sputtered, her eyes bulging out after Vin detained her muscle so easily. ¡°You just¡­ assaulted two military officers!¡±


    ¡°Oh, we¡¯re about to do far worse than that,¡± Spur chuckled darkly, squinting at Lones like she was something he¡¯d found on the bottom of his shoe. To Lones¡¯ credit, she must have realized things truly weren¡¯t going to go the way she¡¯d planned, as she reached for a holster at her hip with speed that only came from years of serving in the military.


    Spur didn¡¯t move so much as a muscle, grinning at the confused look on Lones¡¯ face as she realized her gun had mysteriously vanished. Realizing she was completely defenseless, the blood quickly drained from her face and she took a hesitant step back.


    ¡°Ah¡­ there it is,¡± Spur said with relish, taking a step forward to keep the distance short between them. ¡°Finally, she realizes what¡¯s happening here!¡±


    ¡°Colonel Spur,¡± Witherson said, her calm and cool demeanor unchanged despite everything that was happening right in front of her. Her eyes flicked quickly between Vin, Spur, and Lones, as if analyzing the situation in real time. ¡°I believe the majority of us are in the dark as to what you are referring to. Care to enlighten us as to what is happening?¡±


    ¡°Why, I¡¯m happy you asked Brigadier General Witherson!¡± Spur said loudly, ensuring everyone could hear him as he unsheathed his sword and pointed it at a shaking Lones. ¡°This woman here¡­ why, this woman is nothing more than an insect. A pitiful creature that somehow managed to worm her way up the ranks over the years. A blight on the military, who has been responsible for harassing, torturing, and even going so far as to make people¡¯s lives a living hell until they left the military all together.¡±Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    ¡°Lies! All lies!¡± Lones shouted, turning around to see if anyone would come to her aid. But the combination of witnessing Vin deploy actual magic, along with their guns suddenly vanishing kept anyone from intervening. ¡°Nothing has ever been proven in court!¡±


    ¡°The fact that you think that means your actions were okay is exactly why you¡¯re currently in the situation you¡¯re in!¡± Spur shouted, the tip of his blade unwavering as Lones paled before him. ¡°Do you honestly think an innocent person would say something like that? That the courts found them justified?¡±


    ¡°Colonel Spur, it sounds like you are accusing Brigadier General Lones of some heinous acts,¡± Witherson said calmly, but still loud enough for her voice to carry. Her eyes flicked to Vin once more, before clearing her throat. ¡°I assume you have some method of proving your claims?¡±


    ¡°Elena!¡± Lones said, staring at her fellow general in shock. ¡°Surely you¡¯re not going to let this farce continue!¡±


    ¡°Brigadier General Lones,¡± Witherson said, without a shred of emotion to be heard. ¡°I find myself without my firearm, in another world, standing against a man who has clearly demonstrated some ability far beyond my understanding. I believe it would be in our best interest to hear them out.¡±


    ¡°Thank you general,¡± Spur said, never taking his eyes off of his target. ¡°It just so happens that my companion here isn¡¯t the only one capable of magic. There are a lot of things you don''t know about this world just yet, and while we will fill you in over the coming days, allow me to give you a sneak peek as to the things to come.¡±


    To prove his point, Spur hefted his sword above his head for all to see, raising his voice to the point he was practically shouting. ¡°After a very recent battle, I am proud to announce that I have become a level 13 Commander! And what that means, is that the Gods that be in this world have granted me my first Capstone skill! Something I¡¯ve always dreamed of having! The entire reason I pushed myself so hard ever since arriving on this new world! Allow me to show you all, the magic in this world!¡± Taking a deep breath, Spur screamed out his Capstone skill, the very power echoing across the crowded field.


    ¡°Traitor-bane!¡±


    With a crack of thunder that sent a flinch through the crowd like a wave, Spur¡¯s raised sword began glowing a painful bright white, forcing those closest to them to shield their eyes from the glow. Pointing the shining blade at Lones, Spur called out, his voice echoing across the field.


    ¡°This ability allows me to detect those within my ranks that would do us harm!¡± He explained to an ever paling Lones. ¡°And seeing as I have yet to officially transfer command of this active operation to either general here, at this moment, I am the highest authority on the field!¡± Spur seemed to pause for the briefest of moments, and again, it was only thanks to Vin¡¯s high focus that he saw Witherson¡¯s ever so slight nod before the colonel continued.


    Taking a few quick steps forward, Spur stood directly in front of the cowering Lones, staring down at her like she was scum. ¡°Brigadier General Lones!¡± He cried, raising his glowing sword high above their heads. ¡°I ask you one question, and one question only! Can you honestly tell me that you are working with our people¡¯s best interests in mind?¡±


    ¡°This is madness!¡± The cowering general screamed, trying to backpedal before tripping and falling to the ground, looking around for someone to help her. ¡°I am a brigadier general! I¡¯ll have you all court-martialed if nobody does anything!¡±


    ¡°Brigadier General Lones,¡± Witherson called out softly, her arms clasped behind her back as she calmly watched the proceeding. ¡°Perhaps you should answer the colonel¡¯s question.¡±


    ¡°Elena!¡± Lones shouted at Witherson, desperation clear in her eyes as she realized her fellow general wouldn¡¯t be stepping in. Looking for something, anything, that could save her, the woman¡¯s eyes fell on Lieutenant Myers and the marks on her uniform. A small glimmer of hope ignited in her eyes when she saw the crossbow attached to Myers¡¯ hip. ¡°You! Lieutenant! Stop this madness and I¡¯ll see you promoted to colonel before the day is over!¡±


    Slowly, Myers pulled her crossbow from its holster, loading a seemingly normal bolt and cranking it back before pointing it directly at the shocked woman¡¯s face. For the first time Vin could remember, Myers had clear anger on her face, almost an exact mirror of Spur¡¯s own.


    ¡°I had friends that suffered at your hands you know,¡± Myers said, glaring daggers at the panicking woman. ¡°Good people that could have made a difference in the military, forced to upend their lives and leave because of your actions. And even the few who were able to stick it out and stay in the military until they managed to get transferred or you lost interest in them never were quite the same after what you put them through. Some became alcoholics. Others continued the cycle of abuse to their own underlings. And others yet developed unhealthy obsessions that almost got them killed over the years.¡±


    Vin caught a brief shuffle of movement out of the corner of his eye, and a quick glance at the crowd of people from wave one showed a battered and bloodied Phil standing ramrod straight, watching everything go down with an almost too blank expression on his face.


    ¡°My point¡­¡± Myers continued, gesturing toward Spur¡¯s glowing sword with her crossbow. ¡°...is that I recommend you answer the colonel¡¯s question within the next three seconds, or I¡¯ll save us all some time and shoot you in the face right here and now.¡±


    Silence stretched across the empty field as a thousand people held their collective breaths, waiting to see what would happen. Finally coming to terms with the fact that nobody was going to step in, Lones took a shaky breath of her own, scowling up at the now impassive Spur.


    ¡°Yes! Of course I have everyone¡¯s best interest at heart!¡±


    Before she¡¯d even finished her sentence, Spur¡¯s blade bathed the woman in a deep, crimson red light; the very blade itself seeming to drip with blood.


    Seeing Spur¡¯s wicked grin, the last bit of color drained from the Brigadier General¡¯s face as she began sputtering.


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand! Everything I did was just to toughen people up!¡± The woman cried out, attempting to shuffle backwards out from under the glowing red blade hanging directly above her like a guillotine. All the while Spur walked steadily forward, never lowering the gleaming blade as he savored the moment he¡¯d been working so hard for.


    ¡°It was tough love!¡± Lones begged, her eyes flickering through the unmoving crowd for some form of salvation. ¡°It was to make them stronger! I was doing it for them!¡±


    ¡°Funny,¡± Spur said, giving the woman one last look of disdain. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m doing this too.¡±


    In a single slash, Spur brought down the glowing red blade, separating the screaming woman¡¯s head from her body with ease. As her corpse crumpled to the ground, all the light from his blade vanished in an instant, returning to a pale, gray steel once more. Letting out a breath that Vin felt Spur must have been holding for years, the colonel gave General Witherson a simple nod before turning and throwing his hands up to the wide-eyed crowd that had travelled between worlds just to witness one of their own leaders¡¯ execution.


    ¡°I said it before, but allow me to say it one more time!¡± Spur called out, grinning wildly at the thousand people standing before him.


    ¡°Welcome to your new home everyone!¡±


    ¡°Welcome to Edregon!¡±

 (48) 2.1. A Well Earned Rest

    Leaning back against his favorite tree, Vin dug into his grilled sqerret with relish, all but moaning as the savory, meaty juices dripped down his chin. Apparently not one, but three of the crafters from the second wave had chosen cooking as their specialization, and Vin swore right then and there that he¡¯d sacrifice just about anything to keep the three of them safe.


    Attempting to wipe his face with his free hand, Vin paused, a spike of pain and sorrow radiating through him as he realized for the umpteenth time that everything below his left elbow was just gone. It had been nearly three days since losing half of his arm, and even now the pain was as fresh as ever.


    Even knowing Shia should be able to regenerate it one day after regaining the attributes she lost from the Gods resetting everyone back to level 1 was little comfort. Who knew how many weeks, or even months that could take.


    ¡®You¡¯re doing it again,¡¯ a voice sounded inside his head, snapping him out of his downward spiral. ¡®I told you Vin, a missing hand isn¡¯t the end of the world.¡¯


    A chill travelled up and out from deep within him as Alka¡¯s ghostly form left his body and manifested next to him. The Slayer chose to sit beside him on the ground despite the fact that she couldn¡¯t actually touch it.


    Even after everything they¡¯d been through, Alka looked the same as the first day they¡¯d met over in her fragment; strapped to the teeth with ethereal daggers that couldn¡¯t actually harm anything and an empty sword sheath slung across her back.


    ¡°This might come as a surprise to you, but ¡®get over it,¡¯ isn¡¯t really the best advice to give someone that¡¯s grieving,¡± Vin frowned. ¡°I lost my hand, Alka. My entire hand!¡± He repeated, waving his stump in front of the first friend he¡¯d made on this crazy world.


    ¡°And gained a divine boon in return,¡± Alka said, rolling her eyes. ¡°I knew at least a dozen guys in my village that would have taken that deal in a heartbeat. And that¡¯s without knowing that they¡¯d be able to grow the hand back one day!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well you lived in a snake infested hell hole,¡± Vin muttered angrily, not wanting to get into this argument yet again. The downside of having your best friend anchored to you and unable to drift out further than a quarter mile away was that it was a real pain when the two of you fought. ¡°I don¡¯t want to get into this with you again. How are Shia and Scule doing? Haven¡¯t seen much of them since we led the second wavers back to camp.¡±


    ¡°Fine, last I checked. Shia¡¯s been busy tending to the rest of the wounded and getting everyone back on their feet, and Scule¡¯s been taking advantage of the lull to restock his supply of poisons. Apparently your fragment has a decent amount of toxic plants scattered about. Nothing too crazy, but enough to take people out of commission for a while.¡±


    ¡°No kidding,¡± Vin muttered, remembering the two idiots that had tried eating some random fruit they¡¯d picked without testing it and nearly died when their throats swelled up. ¡°Scule adding more poisons to his collection is slightly worrying, but I guess I should just be happy he¡¯s not running around robbing everyone blind.¡±


    A few days ago the thought of Scule dabbling with new poisons would have been far more concerning. But after the petian had saved his life during their last battle by risking his life to poison the giant snake he¡¯d been fighting, Vin was a bit more open to the idea.


    Vin sighed, leaning his head against the rough bark of the tree and staring up at the clouds as Alka vanished. His mind drifted back to their recent fight for survival and the crazy sequence of events that had followed immediately after. Witnessing a thousand people from Earth suddenly pop into existence directly in front of him wasn¡¯t something he¡¯d be forgetting any time soon after all.


    He¡¯d also been surprised to discover that carrying out a military coup against a trained force nearly twenty times your own was a lot easier than he would have imagined.


    Apparently all it took was magically erasing their guns and displaying supernatural powers beyond mortal comprehension.


    After General Lones¡¯ impromptu trial, things had gotten a little crazy. The general¡¯s severed head rolling across the ground had seemed to finally snap most of the crowd out of their shock at witnessing magic for the first time, and it had taken General Witherson and her own officers a good couple of minutes to rein everyone in.


    Once they¡¯d been sure nobody was going to do anything stupid like attack Spur or flee for their lives into the nearby forests, Spur and Witherson had worked together to gather all the members of wave two before leading them over to their makeshift camp.


    Which had been surrounded by hundreds of still fresh monster corpses.


    And more than a few human ones as well.


    That had finally rid the second wave of any lingering complaints about their current situation, and nobody had argued when Witherson officially announced that she was allowing Spur to remain in command. With the help of Lieutenant Myers and Witherson¡¯s own officers, Spur had broken up the thousand fresh faces into smaller groups and began the clean up effort.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    It was around that time that Vin had finally broken off from the main group. By then, it had been over twenty-four hours since he¡¯d last slept if you didn¡¯t include the scattered rest he¡¯d gotten while waiting for the monsters to spawn and attack them.


    During that time he¡¯d broken into a massive citadel in search of a holy artifact capable of killing his best friend, experienced getting his arm cut off by a deranged swordsman that had to have been at least three times his level, had the secrets to the universe unveiled to him during a one-on-one conversation with a God of all things, and saved everyone¡¯s lives by strangling an elite monster the length of a bus to death with its own discarded skin.


    He¡¯d earned a nap.


    Spur must have agreed, as the colonel hadn¡¯t said a word when Vin walked off, choosing instead to focus on solidifying his command over the members of wave two. If he was planning to catalog everyone¡¯s class and abilities like he had with wave one, he had his work cut out for him after all.


    Not wanting anyone to interrupt him, Vin hadn¡¯t even gone to his assigned room back in camp, instead choosing to head out of camp all together and finding a patch of grass that looked particularly soft. Trusting in Alka to wake him if anything dangerous got close, he¡¯d collapsed, finally letting all the fatigue catch up to him and welcoming the dark embrace of sleep.


    By the time he¡¯d woken up nearly an entire day had passed, and still nobody had bothered coming to find him. Not ready to deal with people just yet, Vin had stayed out in the forest, munching on more hardtack from Alka¡¯s hometown as he practiced meditating in an attempt to clear his mind. The more time he spent meditating and going over his runic formations, the less time he had to remember the sensation of his arm getting chopped off or the sound of Patty dying right beside him to a random crossbow bolt.


    He¡¯d spent another day like that, simply enjoying the quiet sounds of the forest and trying to come to terms with everything he¡¯d been through. Despite the fact that he hadn¡¯t gone very far, he wasn''t interrupted by anyone from camp, and he suspected that Alka was keeping people away from him while he got his thoughts sorted out.


    It had taken Reginald stopping by and delivering a warm meal from camp to finally draw him out of his introspection, the rat squeaking hello and dropping off the grilled sqerret before running back toward camp, no doubt in search of Scule.


    Coming back to the present, Vin finished off the surprise meal with an appreciative sigh, doing his best to clean up with only one hand before pulling up his system interface. While he didn¡¯t gain any experience from fighting, he¡¯d discovered dozens upon dozens of new monsters during their recent battle, and gained quite a few levels in both Spellcraft and Meditation over the past two days.


    Vinnie Stone


    Explorer: Lvl 19


    Titles: Human Vessel (Lesser)


    Exp. 186,160/190,000


    Strength: 13(10)


    Dexterity: 20(6)


    Endurance: 38(4)


    Vigor: 20(4)


    Focus: 23(2)


    Magic: 25


    Attribute Points: 3


    Skill Points: 2


    Passive Points: 0


    Vows/Boons: Vow of Benevolence/Grace of Gods (Boon)


    Capstone: Runic Recalibration


    Passives: Mental Map, Polyglot, Distance Runner, Threat Detection


    Skills: Tracking lvl 6, Spellcraft lvl 20, Meditation lvl 16, Dungeoneering lvl 1, Resistance lvl 7, Running lvl 8, Cartography lvl 1


    Spells: Sense Stone, Sense Life, Sense Magic, Renewal, Replenish, Entangle, Concealment, Light


    Vin glanced at his overall level, his eyebrows raising as he realized he was just a few thousand experience away from finally hitting level 20. As far as he knew, Spur¡¯s own level 13 was the second highest in camp, meaning he was leaps and bounds beyond anyone else from Earth.


    And that didn¡¯t even factor in the bonus stats he got from Alka or his divine boon from the Gods, let alone his various spells and deadly companions. While his own experiences had gone to great lengths to show him there were things in this world far more dangerous than himself, he couldn¡¯t help but feel good about all he¡¯d accomplished since arriving in Edregon.


    Continuing his current plan, Vin placed his three points into magic, bringing it up to 28 before turning his attention to his level 20 Spellcraft skill. Sure enough, as soon as he focused on it, he received a new message from the system.


    Level 20 Spellcraft is capable of skill evolution. Spend a skill point to evolve skill?


    It was the first time he¡¯d received such a message, but thanks to his companions he¡¯d known this was coming. Mentally confirming, one of his two skill points disappeared, and his Spellcraft skill vanished, replaced with something new.


    Spellcraft lvl 20 has evolved into Runecraft lvl 1! 200 exp gained.


    Vin waited a moment for any sort of follow up or in depth explanation, but he didn¡¯t know why he bothered. Like always, the system didn¡¯t give him any information as to how Runecraft differed from Spellcraft, and left it entirely up to him to figure things out.


    Thankfully, he was all but positive Shia herself had to have performed the identical skill evolution already, meaning he actually had somebody he could ask for help this time.


    ¡°You finally done being all aloof and mysterious?¡± Alka asked, walking back over to him. ¡°I¡¯m getting tired of scaring all the new people away from this section of the forest. From what I¡¯ve gathered it sounds like Spur ordered people to give you some space, but that hasn¡¯t stopped everyone. I think there¡¯s a rumor going around or something that you¡¯ll grant people wishes if they can find you.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ The whole ¡®powerful elder meditating in the forest¡¯ isn¡¯t really my thing,¡± Vin chuckled, getting to his feet and collecting his trash. He¡¯d spent far more time wandering the wilderness back on Earth than most, and he¡¯d always hated seeing just how much litter got everywhere. If this new world ended up just like Earth, it certainly wasn¡¯t going to be because of him.


    ¡°I think you¡¯re a few years too young for that anyway,¡± Alka snorted, reaching out to take some of his trash. Nodding his thanks, Vin handed her his tray, staring blankly as it phased right through her ethereal fingers and clattered to the ground.


    Rolling his eyes, he did his best to keep the smile off his face as he ignored the cackling ghost and regathered his trash.


    He wasn¡¯t sure how, but he¡¯d get her back for that somehow.


    But first he had to face the music.

 (49) 2.2. Plotting a Course

    Vin hadn¡¯t gone too deep into the forest, meaning it wasn¡¯t long before he found himself at the edge of camp once again. Already the additional thousand people they¡¯d gained from the second wave were hard at work. Crafters were working on a legitimate wall around the camp and assembling simple houses for people to live in, warriors were sharpening weapons and training against one another, and he could only assume the myriad of random people working on their own individual projects were the support classes.


    He got caught up for a few minutes watching a man with a rather thick, dirty looking beard entertain a sweaty group of crafters with his guitar before finally pulling himself away, continuing deeper into camp. Despite all the new construction and people buzzing around, he knew exactly where to find Spur.


    To his surprise, he discovered two familiar faces still standing guard outside the command building. And based on their reactions when they spotted him, they clearly recognized him as well.


    Greg''s face paled and he clutched his heavy mace as Vin walked up to them, but Abby actually snapped a salute, even going so far as to nod respectfully.


    ¡°Councilor,¡± she said curtly, planting her quarterstaff on the ground and stepping aside, clearing the doorway for him. Jumping slightly, Greg hastily followed suit, saluting and moving out of his way.


    Giving them both a strange look, Vin nodded, heading into the command center and finding Spur deep in conversation with General Witherson. The two of them were hunched over, pointing and arguing about something on Vin¡¯s old map he¡¯d left for Spur what felt like an eternity ago. The moment Spur spotted him entering the room, the colonel paused, a massive grin spreading across his face.


    ¡°Well, well, well, look who finally decided to grace us with his presence!¡± Spur said, walking over and clapping Vin on the shoulder. ¡°I was beginning to fear you weren¡¯t coming back!¡±


    ¡°I just needed some time to think,¡± Vin said, returning the colonel¡¯s smile. Before the giant battle, Spur had been practically delirious from lack of sleep and juggling far too many things for a single person. It was good to see him in such high spirits.


    ¡°Good to officially meet you Vin,¡± Witherson said, shaking his hand and offering a brief nod. ¡°Spur¡¯s briefed me on everything you¡¯ve accomplished since wave one¡¯s arrival in Edregon. Impressive work for a civilian.¡±


    Witherson was a rather large, muscular woman, so it was strange to realize his grip was actually stronger than hers due to their difference in strength attributes. If she noticed, the general didn¡¯t say anything.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± he said, gesturing toward the map. ¡°What were you guys talking about?¡±


    ¡°Possible trade allies, fragments with the potential to kill us all, you know, boring stuff,¡± Spur shrugged, waving a hand dismissively. ¡°Nothing to worry about in the here and now. How are you holding up after the battle? Lieutenant Myers wanted to check in on you, but I figured it was better to give you some space.¡±


    ¡°Fine, I guess,¡± Vin said, scratching his head. He wondered how to put everything he¡¯d been feeling into words. ¡°It was certainly¡­ a lot, seeing people dying all around me like that. Honestly I feel a bit strange that it¡¯s not affecting me more.¡±


    ¡®That would be your focus attribute,¡± Alka sounded inside his head. ¡®Focus helps with mental stress, and yours is already more than double the average human¡¯s.


    ¡°Huh, makes sense,¡± Vin muttered, before realizing Witherson was giving him a strange look. ¡°Sorry. Alka pointed out that a higher focus means you handle stress better. It hadn¡¯t occurred to me.¡±


    ¡°Ah, Spur did fill me in on your¡­ ghostly companion,¡± Witherson said, shooting Spur a questioning glance. ¡°While I¡¯d love to sit down and chat with her sometime in the near future, it¡¯s you we need to talk to at the moment.¡± General Witherson looked like she was about to order him to do something before catching herself, shaking her head slightly. ¡°Spur thought it would be a good idea to hold a new council meeting. Seeing as you¡¯re already a council member, what are your thoughts?¡±


    ¡°Seriously? We¡¯re sticking with the whole council thing?¡± Vin asked, raising an eyebrow at Spur. ¡°I thought that was just because Patty brainwashed you into making one.¡±


    ¡°That may have been how it started, but to be honest, I kinda liked not having to run everything on my own,¡± Spur shrugged. ¡°I also don¡¯t want to accidentally turn our new society into some sort of dictatorship like Patty intended, so I think maintaining the council is in our best interests.¡±


    ¡°I guess¡­¡± Vin said, clamping down on the shudder that threatened to travel through him as he remembered the sound Patty had made when the crossbow bolt snatched her life right out from under him. ¡°...But with Patty gone, won¡¯t we need a new election? Things seem busy enough now as it is with all the new people getting settled.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re going to forgo the elections this time,¡± Spur grinned. ¡°Hey, there¡¯s got to be some benefits to performing a successful military coup, right?¡±


    ¡°Colonel Spur,¡± Witherson frowned, clearly not entertained by his antics.


    ¡°Right, right, apologies and all that,¡± Spur said quickly. ¡°And for the record, we didn¡¯t just lose Patty. Tasha was among the twenty-six people we lost during the battle as well.¡± Seeing his blank expression, Spur sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. ¡°Tasha. The representative for the crafters?¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± Vin said, remembering the unnaturally quiet woman that had followed Patty around. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize she¡¯d been killed.¡±


    ¡°Yes, well, you kinda dipped off into the forest and left the clean up to the rest of us,¡± Spur said, causing Vin¡¯s face to heat up. That hadn¡¯t been his intention, but that was exactly what had happened.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Sorry about that.¡±


    ¡°Vin, you¡¯re the entire reason we¡¯re standing here having this conversation in the first place,¡± Spur laughed, picking up one of the white board markers and twirling it around his fingers aimlessly. ¡°Forget your efforts in healing the wounded and taking down that giant snake, it was only because of your warning that we were semi-prepared for what was coming at all. Not to mention stopping Patty from turning us all into her slaves,¡± Spur added, frowning at the thought. ¡°Honestly we should be getting you a big shiny medal if you ask me. Or three.¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°Colonel Spur is getting a bit off topic. As he tends to do,¡± Witherson added, clasping her hands behind her back and shooting Spur a tired glance. ¡°Regarding the now empty seats on the council, I will be taking the seat representing the crafter classes despite my low level in an attempt to placate those in the second wave who still believe I should be the one in charge, and Mrs. Horne will be representing the support classes. We were actually planning on holding our first meeting as a new council later today.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Well, good job getting that all sorted so quickly,¡± Vin said, Spur¡¯s praise making him rather uncomfortable. At the very least he was glad they didn¡¯t need to wait for the thousand new people to get organized and vote for the new council members. He didn¡¯t know who Mrs. Horne was, but they were practically guaranteed to be better than who they were replacing. ¡°You¡¯re a crafter, General Witherson?¡±


    ¡°Indeed,¡± she nodded. ¡°Before joining the military, I worked in the trades. As soon as I saw the classes offered I figured we¡¯d have enough muscle heads picking from the combat list,¡± she paused, glancing at the grinning Spur. ¡°...so I decided to go with crafter. My specialization is in carpentry. Once we finish up here, I¡¯ll head back to organizing the teams putting together housing for everyone.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already filled the good general in on the importance of letting people level up their classes and all that fun stuff,¡± Spur grinned, clearly remembering Vin giving him the same revelation. ¡°With the knowledge of what¡¯s coming in a few weeks with the arrival of wave three, we need to make sure our people are ready this time. Speaking of which¡­¡± Spur paused, walking over and slapping the crude map Vin had drawn for him what felt like ages ago. ¡°...while we¡¯re getting the council together, why don¡¯t you take some time and give me a new map? Now that you¡¯ve explored the fragments surrounding us, I¡¯d like one with a bit more detail. You know, maybe something that wouldn¡¯t be confused with a kindergartner¡¯s work if I hung it on my fridge?¡±


    ¡°I can do that,¡± Vin laughed, relief flooding through him at Spur''s antics. He¡¯d felt as though there was a small, dense storm cloud of fear and anger hovering over his head ever since losing his arm and witnessing all that death in the recent battle, but Spur¡¯s familiar attitude was a welcome breath of fresh air that seemed to blow a portion of it all away. ¡°You know, I actually grabbed Cartography as a skill the other day. Though it¡¯s still level 1, so don¡¯t expect anything too crazy.¡±


    ¡°Vin, if I wasn¡¯t already taken by my love of this country, I could kiss you,¡± Spur said, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye. ¡°General Witherson, would you do me the honor of joining me for lunch before we grab the rest of the council?¡±


    Muttering something under her breath that sounded like a prayer for strength, Witherson didn¡¯t bother to respond, merely turning around and leaving the command center without another word.


    With one last wink, Spur ran out after her, leaving Vin alone once more. Shaking his head, Vin walked over to the array of charts, grabbing a giant sheet of paper and tapping into his strange knowledge of map making that hadn¡¯t existed prior to purchasing his skill.


    ¡°You sure you¡¯re ready to jump back into all this?¡± Alka asked, drifting out of his body and peering at him. ¡°You sound better, but still don¡¯t seem quite like yourself.¡±


    ¡°Alka, I just witnessed over a dozen people die before my very eyes,¡± Vin said, not bothering to look at her as he began sketching out his new map. ¡°I know your world was a lot tougher than mine, but you should be impressed I¡¯m not curled up in a ball somewhere rocking back and forth. It¡¯s going to take more than a day or two before I feel up to joking around with you again.¡±


    ¡°Got it, three days it is,¡± Alka nodded, a deathly serious expression on her face. Rolling his eyes, Vin ignored her and turned back to the map.


    In the center sat their hexagonal fragment, the only one he¡¯d fully mapped out and could draw in its entirety. The fragment was entirely gentle rolling meadows and the occasional patch of forest, with a few shallow rivers for water. Compasses didn¡¯t actually work here on Edregon, but for the sake of his map, he designated a random direction as ¡®north.¡¯


    On their north-eastern border was the first fragment he¡¯d ventured into, containing the village of stone workers. Their land was more arid and rocky, and there was a goat that he was hesitant to run into again, but the villagers were good people who had already started talks of trade with his camp. He also still had their educational artifact that they had left him, which he really needed to return at some point.


    Directly north was Alka¡¯s fragment. A dangerous fragment filled with tall grasses hiding venomous snakes and impossibly large trees with entire deadly ecosystems somehow hidden in their canopies. He filled this fragment with all sorts of danger signs, seeing as just about everything he¡¯d encountered there would happily kill someone.


    To the north-western border was the fragment that was entirely water. He hadn¡¯t done more than stick his head past the border for the easy experience, meaning he didn¡¯t really have anything to add on his map, quickly continuing counterclockwise.


    South-west was the Sacred Forest, a fragment filled with a sprawling forest containing hundreds of unique tree species. Not to mention Shia¡¯s village in the center, a jaw dropping cluster of living houses grown from different trees, all surrounding a tree larger than any building Vin had ever seen. The Ancient Tree was home to the leaders of the elves, known as the Ancient Ones. Currently only one was active, who Vin knew as Erik. Despite not seeming as outwardly dangerous as Alka¡¯s fragment, due to his experience with the Trunkback that had attacked them and the elves¡¯ bad blood with humans, he filled this fragment with warning signs as well.


    Directly south was a fragment he hadn¡¯t spent long in; a desert filled with reddish sand and a blazing sun. The temperature was scorching within that fragment, and other than the giant frog that had nearly eaten Shia, they hadn¡¯t really seen any other threats. They had come across an abandoned camp of people, and while they¡¯d discovered what had happened to a portion of that camp, that still left nearly two-thirds of the people from that fragment unaccounted for.


    The final fragment surrounding them was to the south-east, a far more friendly environment similar to their own fragment, although one that seemed plagued with small, exploding, fox-like monsters for some reason. Most noticeable of course, had been the massive, multi-mile wide citadel they¡¯d stumbled upon in the center. There was an entire city of people living within those walls, though they were blissfully unaware of the fact that they¡¯d been ripped away from their world, believing instead that the reset to level 1 was due to the work of some powerful demon. They were waiting patiently for their holy warriors that no longer existed to come and lead them once more, and they refused to open the citadel¡¯s gates for anyone to go in or out until that day.


    That hadn¡¯t stopped Vin and his companions from breaking into the city of course, picking up Scule and Reginald before invading the holy district where Vin traded half his arm for a divine boon and some unexpected information from one of the Gods. He would have traded his divine boon back for his arm any day of the week, but seeing as the Gods¡¯ information had led to him saving his entire camp from slaughter, even he had to begrudgingly admit it was more than a worthwhile trade.


    Ignoring the phantom pain throbbing in his missing arm, he put the finishing touches on the new map and leaned back, taking it all in. It had taken him a couple of hours, but at least it had been worth it.


    Cartography increased to lvl 2! 200 exp gained.


    Cartography increased to lvl 3! 300 exp gained.


    Cartography increased to lvl 4! 400 exp gained.


    Cartography increased to lvl 5! 500 exp gained.


    Vin grinned as the already small amount of experience he needed to hit level 20 shrunk even further. At this point, he was a single new spell away from hitting his first prestige class.


    As he wondered what his new class would be, the command center door swung open once again, and he received a pleasant surprise.


    Apparently Mrs. Horne, the person Spur and Witherson had chosen to represent the support classes, was someone he already knew.

 Bonus Chapter #1: ...Where The Hell Is The Kid?

    John leaned back at his desk, resisting the urge to put his feet up as he frowned at the paperwork he was supposed to fill out for picking up that kid from Mr. Jones¡¯ property. Despite the fact that he¡¯d never even done anything with all that land besides nail up a few No Trespassing signs, the old badger was fiercely territorial of his woods. Claimed he was planning on building a hunting lodge one of these days, and that he ¡®didn¡¯t want no squatters getting in the way.¡¯


    John had worked at this station for twenty-seven years now, and he was still waiting to see this hunting lodge get built.


    As it were, it had taken John nearly half an hour of convincing and even going so far as to promise Mr. Jones a loaf of his wife¡¯s freshly baked pumpkin bread to get the man to agree not to press charges.


    ¡°Poor kid,¡± John muttered, thinking back to the startled and dirty face of the drifter when he¡¯d first discovered him sleeping in one of Mr. Jones¡¯ old hunting stands. The boy looked like he¡¯d needed a hot meal and a warm shower more than anything, but John had been forced to bring him to the station instead. If Terrance hadn¡¯t been out on patrol with him, John probably would have just brought the boy back to his place. Lord knows Annie wouldn''t have let the boy leave until he¡¯d had some of her home cooking and was clean enough for church.


    John sat there, wondering how Vinnie had even gotten to their little town in the first place. Based on his arrest record, he¡¯d spent the last six years travelling all over the country, never staying in one place for more than a few weeks from what he could tell.


    John and Annie had never had children of their own, so he couldn¡¯t exactly claim he would have done better, but John couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that it should have been the boy¡¯s parents sitting in that cell right now in place of him.


    Shaking his head, John picked up the paperwork required for Vinnie¡¯s arrest and tossed it in the trash. Getting to his feet with a groan, he headed into the kitchen that consisted of little more than a closet with a coffee maker and put on a new pot. He figured by the time he finished his coffee, Terrance would be asleep at his desk again, and he could slip the boy out and over to his house without his partner ever knowing. If Terrance even remembered the boy in the morning, he¡¯d just tell him he released Vinnie a little early.


    While John waited for the coffee to brew, Terrance finally reappeared, scowling as he walked over to his desk and planted himself behind his old computer.


    ¡°That brat needs to have the book thrown at him,¡± Terrance spat, shaking his mouse far harder than necessary and waking his computer up. ¡°I told you not to talk Mr. Jones out of pressing charges.¡±


    ¡°Terry, he¡¯s just a kid,¡± John sighed, frowning at his partner. Terrance had been transferred to their small station from a much larger one a few years back, and the man was a bit more of a stickler for the rules than the rest of them. ¡°Everyone makes mistakes when they¡¯re young. It¡¯s not like he robbed a bank, the kid was just wandering through what looked like some abandoned woods.¡±


    ¡°You call it wandering, I call it what it is. Trespassing,¡± Terrance shot back, giving him a pointed look. ¡°Might be trespassing today, but who¡¯s to say it¡¯s not murder tomorrow. It always starts somewhere.¡±


    Before John could point out how ridiculous he was being, Vinnie¡¯s voice called out faintly from all the way down the hall.


    ¡°Hey guys¡­ Either of you seeing this?¡±


    ¡°Figures. Bet he¡¯s on drugs too,¡± Terry scowled, his chair creaking under his impressive weight as he forced himself back to his feet. ¡°Still think we shouldn¡¯t have tested him?¡±


    ¡°For crying out loud, he¡¯s not on drugs,¡± John sighed, putting down his mug and shaking his head. ¡°Seriously Terry, not every Tom, Dick, and Harry we pick up is a serial killer in the making.¡±


    ¡°Not if they¡¯re held accountable,¡± Terry shot back, motioning for John to go first. ¡°After you. But if we find him naked and smearing his own crap on the wall, you¡¯re the one cleaning it up.¡±


    ¡°Good lord, Terry,¡± John frowned, wondering just what the man had been forced to deal with working as a cop in the big city. Not wanting their disagreement to turn into anything more, especially not in front of the kid, John forced himself to let it go and head into the hallway.


    Focused on getting his keys out of his pocket as he walked over to the one cell their tiny station had, he heard Vinnie shout one more time, before he was abruptly cut off.


    ¡°SONOFABI-¡±


    ¡°Hey now, careful with the language young ma¡­¡± John¡¯s words faltered as he looked up, finding an empty cell in front of him. John blinked, rubbed his eyes, and blinked again. Despite that, the cell remained completely empty. Free of any recently picked up wanderers.


    ¡°Well? Is he decent?¡± Terry called from the main office.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Terry, come here a sec.¡±


    ¡°I told you, I¡¯m not helping clean¡­¡± Terry walked over to him, stopping as he finally realized what John had. ¡°...where the hell is the kid?¡±


    ¡°I was about to ask you that,¡± John said, glancing at his partner. ¡°You¡¯re the one who put him in there. Did you forget to lock the door or something?¡±


    ¡°What? Of course I locked the door! Look at it, it¡¯s still closed!¡± Terry said, pointing violently at the locked cell. ¡°Did you let him out early again like you did with that hitchhiker last month?¡±


    ¡°How could I have, I was in the office the entire time!¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    The two of them stared at each other for a few seconds, before turning back to the empty cell.


    Like the rest of their small station, the cell was pretty bare bones. Other than an admittedly less than comfortable cot, a blanket that was more for show than actual warmth, and a sealed window about half a foot wide, there wasn¡¯t much to look at. The bars were only a few inches apart, and there were vertical ones running every two feet from floor to ceiling, so it wasn¡¯t like he could have squeezed his way out.


    John and Terry continued staring into the empty cell, neither of them quite sure what had happened.


    ¡°We just heard his voice a few seconds ago,¡± John said, talking out loud more to himself than his partner. ¡°Even if you had left the door unlocked, it¡¯s not like he had time to run away.¡±


    ¡°Not that it matters, because I didn¡¯t leave the door unlocked,¡± Terry scowled. ¡°Kid was pretty scrawny... Maybe he slipped between the bars somehow?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone¡¯s that scrawny,¡± John said, scratching his head.


    ¡°You got any better ideas?¡±


    Rolling his eyes, John walked over and tried sticking his torso through the bar. Admittedly he was a bit¡­ rounder around the gut than he¡¯d been at Vinnie¡¯s age, but he couldn¡¯t even fit his torso through, let alone his midsection.


    ¡°No, definitely not through the bars,¡± he wheezed, carefully pulling himself back out, his frown deepening. ¡°What if he¡¯s one of those tubers Jim keeps going on about? And this is some sort of weird prank.¡±


    Jim was their youngest and newest member to join their four person strong force, and he was always going on about the videos he watched on his phone when things were slow.


    ¡°Kid didn¡¯t even have a phone on him, no way he was any sort of viral star,¡± Terry said, shaking his head. ¡°Maybe Jim or Francine stopped by without us knowing and took the kid for some reason?¡±


    ¡°Those two couldn¡¯t sneak their way through a graveyard,¡± John snorted. ¡°Besides, the kid just shouted something as I was walking toward him. I swear, one moment he was barely ten feet from me, the next, he was gone.¡±


    The two of them were silent, both staring into the empty cell as if it somehow held the answers. After nearly a full minute of silence, Terry finally whispered.


    ¡°What if we¡¯re on drugs?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± John said, looking at his partner like he¡¯d gone mad.


    ¡°No, think about it! People don¡¯t just up and vanish out of locked cells! What if the kid somehow dosed us with something, and while we were hallucinating, imagining he was here all this time, he¡¯d already taken off! That would explain everything!¡±


    ¡°Terry, when exactly would the kid have dosed us with something?¡± John said slowly, raising an eyebrow. The big city had certainly given Terrance a different viewpoint on things, but sometimes it caused him to go a bit far.


    Like the time he¡¯d found a pile of viscera out in the woods and had been convinced their town had a wandering cult preparing for a mass ritual, when it was actually just Margaret¡¯s dumping spot for all her taxidermy waste.


    ¡°Think about it! LSD can be absorbed directly into the skin, and the smallest of doses can cause you to start tripping. Maybe the kid had done so much of it there was some residue on his clothes, and we accidentally dosed ourselves. I¡¯ve seen it before, that''s got to be what happened!¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s your theory?¡± John said, staring at his partner. ¡°We¡¯re tripping on acid?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I think so,¡± Terry nodded, seemingly relieved he finally had a possible answer to how the kid had vanished.


    The two of them looked at each other for a few more seconds, before John turned back to the empty cell, scratching his chin. Taking in a deep breath, he slowly let it out, counting to five and waiting for something to happen. When nothing did, he frowned.


    ¡°...acid is kinda boring, huh?¡±


    ¡°No two trips are ever the same! So I¡¯ve heard,¡± Terry argued weakly. ¡°If we¡¯re not hallucinating, what could it possibly be?¡±


    The two of them continued staring into that mysterious empty cell, struggling to come up with an answer when John suddenly snapped.


    ¡°Ah, I think I got it!¡± He grinned, pleased with finally figuring out what must have happened.


    ¡°What?¡± Terry asked, practically pleading with him. ¡°What do you think happened?¡±


    ¡°Only one thing it could be honestly,¡± John shrugged. ¡°Kid was raptured.¡±


    Terry stared at him, slowly closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. After a moment, he spoke, his eyes still firmly closed. ¡°John¡­ You go to church every Sunday, right?¡±


    ¡°Mhm.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d call yourself a rather pious man, right?¡±


    ¡°Sure would.¡±


    ¡°You and Annie even volunteer down at that soup kitchen the next town over, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, whenever we have the time.¡±


    ¡°Then please, by all means, tell me why it is you think that dirty kid with an arrest record longer than some books got raptured, while you, annoyingly the most selfless man I know, who would give a homeless man the very shirt off his back, got left behind?!¡±


    Terry¡¯s voice had slowly increased in volume until he was shouting by the end of his rant, spittle flying from his mouth and his eyes wide open and bulging as he stared down his coworker. For his part, John merely wiped his face on his sleeve, patting Terrance gently on the shoulder and giving the furious officer a sad chuckle.


    ¡°Oh Terry¡­ You haven¡¯t been with our station all that long yet, but I wasn¡¯t always this way. I¡¯ve got skeletons in my closet just like everybody else, and if God saw fit to leave me behind because of them, who am I to argue.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re joking.¡± Terry said, staring at him in shock. All his anger seemed to fade away the moment his most frustratingly upstanding partner admitted he wasn¡¯t quite so perfect as he seemed. ¡°What ¡®skeletons¡¯ could you possibly have that I don¡¯t know about?¡±


    John¡¯s face suddenly lost its smile, turning hard and cold so fast Terry nearly flinched. He¡¯d never seen the officer look like this before, and he gulped as the older man slowly leaned forward, his breath tickling his ear as he whispered.


    ¡°...I smoked a reefer once.¡±


    As John leaned back, giving him a conspiratorial wink, Terry could do nothing but let out an exhausted sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose and shooting the empty cell one last look.


    ¡°You know what¡­ I don¡¯t even care anymore. Wanna toss the kid¡¯s paperwork in the trash and pretend like he never existed?¡±


    ¡°Way ahead of you,¡± John chuckled, putting his arm around his large partner and steering him back into the office. ¡°Come on, coffee¡¯s almost done, and I¡¯ve got a brand new loaf of pumpkin bread Annie made me.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Jones will just have to wait for the next one.¡±

 (50) 2.3. A Brief Debriefing

    ¡°Hey Vin!¡± Alice said, walking over and giving him a quick hug. ¡°Glad to see you¡¯re okay! I was worried when you disappeared after we brought the second wavers back to camp.¡± Alice held him at arm''s length, looking him over carefully. ¡°You holding up alright?¡±


    ¡°Just dandy,¡± he said, offering her a weak grin. ¡°So¡­ Councilor, huh? Moving up in the world.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me,¡± she snorted. ¡°I was just as surprised as you when Spur came to me and offered me the position. Though I guess it makes sense. A lot of my time is spent waiting to sense my traps activating, meaning I have plenty of time for handling council junk.¡±


    ¡°Not to mention you played almost as important a role in our camp¡¯s survival as Vin did,¡± Spur chimed in, locking the door behind them and gesturing for everyone to take their seats. ¡°Everyone from the first wave is well aware that it was your pitfalls and spike traps that bought us breathing room against the horde of monsters. Without those, we would have been overrun in seconds.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I guess I am pretty great,¡± Alice said, earning herself a chuckle from Spur.


    Taking his own seat at the central table, Vin realized with a start that Phil had somehow managed to sneak into the room while he¡¯d been chatting with Alice. Despite his muscular physique, the leader of the combat classes moved with an eerie silence, not made any less creepy by his seemingly always present stare whenever Vin looked his way.


    ¡°Phil¡­¡± Spur said, visibly exasperated. ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything at first because I thought it was hilarious, but you¡¯re going to have to stop staring at Vin like he¡¯s a Thanksgiving dinner if we want this council thing to really work.¡±


    As if he hadn¡¯t even realized what he was doing, Phil blinked, finally looking away from Vin and grunting an apology.


    ¡®Man, that guy really wants to fight you,¡¯ Alka needlessly pointed out.


    ¡°I know, but I don¡¯t want to fight him,¡± Vin muttered as quietly as he could. After finally getting the chance to see Phil in all his fighting glory, Vin had absolutely no desire to go up against the man. He didn¡¯t know what his class was, but Vin had a sneaking suspicion that Phil was probably the second highest level person in camp after him.


    Realizing Witherson was giving him an annoyed look, Vin stopped conversing with Alka, clearing his throat and giving Spur his full attention.


    ¡°Well then, I suppose our first item on today¡¯s agenda is a quick discussion of the current state of things,¡± Spur said, shuffling through some papers he no doubt got from Lieutenant Myers before picking one and reading through it. ¡°As of right now, factoring in the casualties from the recent battle, the three crafters we lost early on, and the influx of members from wave two, we currently have 1,070 people residing in camp. Seven of those people¡­¡± Scule paused, his gaze flicking to Vin¡¯s missing arm for the briefest of moments. ¡°...eight, I should say, have received permanent injuries. Luckily, just about everyone is still capable of contributing, although one person was paralyzed from the waist down when a razor sharp quill severed part of his spine.¡±


    Vin winced at the thought of what that had to feel like, and based on the pained faces surrounding the table, he wasn¡¯t the only one sympathizing with the poor man.


    ¡°During my briefing you told me Vin and the elf both have healing magic,¡± Witherson stated, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Why can¡¯t they just heal the wounded?¡±


    ¡°From what Shia explained to me, it¡¯s not that simple,¡± Spur replied, motioning toward Vin. ¡°Do you want to add to that? You are our resident magic expert after all.¡±


    ¡°There is a lot more to magic than you think,¡± Vin said, wondering where to even begin. ¡°Spells are essentially cast when the caster carefully directs their mana into a stable runic formation. In order for a spell to work, you need enough mana to power the spell, enough focus to keep the spell in check, and a runic structure that actually does what you want it to do. The healing spell I know and used during the battle, Renewal,¡± he paused, wiggling his fingers and shooting out a small beam of life mana despite the fact that nobody else at the table could sense it. ¡°...is honestly barely a spell at all. All it¡¯s doing is transforming my own mana into concentrated life mana, which naturally works to heal whatever I aim it at.¡±


    ¡°So in order to heal a missing limb, you¡¯d have to better understand biology?¡± Alice asked, clearly interested in all the talk of magic.


    ¡°Not just that, but I¡¯d have to expand my knowledge of runes as well,¡± Vin explained. ¡°The problem with that is learning runes on your own is dangerous. Poke and prod around even a little bit and you risk giving yourself runic backlash, which can be really, really bad. I got lucky that my Capstone skill actually gives me a little leeway there, giving me some innate knowledge of what certain runes do along with a few other benefits.¡±


    ¡°What about offensive magic?¡± Phil asked, tapping the table. ¡°How easily could someone learn to throw a fireball for example? If we¡¯re going to encounter enemies capable of magic in this world, we¡¯ll need to learn to harness it for ourselves.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, it would depend on their teacher, their magic and focus attributes, discovering the correct runes¡­¡± Vin sighed, counting items off his fingers. ¡°...there¡¯s really no way to tell.¡±


    ¡°For now, let¡¯s focus on continuing to train your warriors as you have been,¡± Spur ordered, getting a brief nod of acknowledgement from Phil. ¡°Maybe we can look into creating some sort of mage corps once we have a better understanding. Last thing we want to do is help our people blow themselves up after all.¡±


    ¡°Enough about magic,¡± Witherson said, pointing past everyone to the map Vin had just finished a few minutes ago. ¡°Spur¡¯s filled me in on the monsters that threaten us, but I¡¯m more interested in our neighbors. Our camp is barely fit to house fifty people, let alone a thousand, and our defenses would make my old drill sergeant cry if he could see them. Even with all our manpower, it¡¯s going to take us some time to get things up to snuff around here and turn this campground into an actual fortified base of operations. Are we at risk of being invaded in the meantime?¡±Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Vin said, getting up and bringing the map over. It was a little tricky to carry such a large sheet of paper with only one hand, but nobody said anything as he finally got it over and on the table.


    ¡°At this point, I¡¯ve only encountered civilization in three of our six surrounding fragments,¡± he said, pointing to each one in turn. ¡°The village of stone workers we¡¯ve already initiated contact with and have agreed to peaceful relations. The elves within the sacred forest I have a personal agreement with, and their beliefs prevent them from leaving the forest anyway. And last is the citadel, which is currently under a self imposed lockdown that isn¡¯t going to be lifted anytime soon.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what¡¯s this about a citadel?¡± Spur asked, his eyebrows shooting up as he looked at the fragment Vin had drawn, finally noticing just how large Vin had drawn the citadel itself. ¡°Is that drawn to scale?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s pretty big,¡± Vin nodded. ¡°At least a few miles wide, containing an entire city worth of people. However, like I said, they enacted a lockdown three months ago when their fragment was snatched up by the gods. Nobody is allowed in or out until one of their holy warriors says otherwise, and they have no idea that their holy warriors are all gone.¡±


    ¡°A city that big means quite a lot of people,¡± Phil said, looking like he was running some calculations in his head. ¡°Hard to estimate when they¡¯ll run out of food when we don¡¯t know how magic factors into their situation, but they¡¯ll run out sooner or later. And when they do¡­¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll be forced to lift the lockdown whether they want to or not. Flooding out of their city and swarming our camp like locusts,¡± Spur finished, frowning.


    ¡°What if we use this opportunity to establish good relations with them first?¡± Alice chimed in, peering at Vin¡¯s poorly drawn citadel. ¡°Right now we¡¯re foraging and gathering food far faster than we can eat it. I don¡¯t know how, but it doesn¡¯t seem like we¡¯re making the slightest dent in our fragments¡¯ local resources. What if we offered to trade that excess over to the citadel? Maybe for information, or goods we can¡¯t make ourselves yet?¡±


    ¡°Not a bad idea,¡± Spur admitted. ¡°Vin? Think it would work?¡±


    ¡°Probably. The guards at the main gate were pretty amicable so long as we didn¡¯t try and break in,¡± Vin said, thinking back to the bodies they¡¯d found riddled with arrows by the gate. ¡°Though you¡¯ll need someone who can speak their language. Any sort of misunderstanding could turn dangerous fast.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve actually had a stroke of luck on that front,¡± Spur grinned, grabbing a notebook and flipping through a few pages in search of something. ¡°Myers brought this to my attention the moment she heard¡­ here it is!¡± Spinning the notebook around, Spur placed it on the table, pointing half way down a long list of names and classes. ¡°One of the newest members from wave two was a civilian who worked in public relations. Ended up picking Diplomat as their class of all things. I¡¯ll give you one guess as to their starting passive.¡±


    ¡°Polyglot?¡± Vin offered.


    ¡°Bingo!¡± Spur laughed, grabbing the notebook and putting it away. ¡°At the very least, we don¡¯t have to worry about losing contact with our neighbors while you¡¯re out and about on your own anymore. We¡¯re planning on instructing a few other classes that we believe will get it offered at level five to pick Polyglot as well, so hopefully we¡¯ll have more than just the two of you soon enough.¡±


    ¡°Honestly, that¡¯s a weight off my chest,¡± Vin smiled, relieved that one of the strongest tethers binding him to camp had finally snapped. As much as he wanted their camp to survive and flourish, he just couldn¡¯t stand being bound so tightly to any one place.


    ¡°Speaking of our neighbors, I was actually planning on dropping by the stone village before heading out to explore the next ring of fragments,¡± he added, the stone artifact practically burning a hole in his pocket at this point. ¡°Need me to bring them anything?¡±


    ¡°In fact I do! After you told us about how much they prized information, Myers had the idea to offer them a few of our easier to read books. Obviously they can''t read them, but we have plenty of duplicates and it¡¯s the thought that counts.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you¡¯re leaving already?¡± Alice asked, clearly saddened by the news. ¡°You only just got back a few days ago, and you spent all that time hiding in the forest!¡±


    ¡°I too am curious how we plan to conduct council meetings with Vin gone for days at a time,¡± Witherson added, pointing out the obvious. ¡°Especially this early on in our camp¡¯s foundation. We¡¯ll need to meet frequently, possibly multiple times a day moving forward.¡±


    ¡°Lord give me strength,¡± Spur muttered under his breath, his words only audible to Vin thanks to his high focus. ¡°While Vin is absent, things will function like usual. In the event we need to decide something by vote and end up tied, my vote will count as two.¡±


    ¡°That hardly seems fair,¡± Witherson said, crossing her arms.


    ¡°You¡¯re forgetting the entire reason we have a council is because I want there to be one,¡± Spur said, leaning forward and fixing the general with a cold stare. ¡°If you don¡¯t like it, we¡¯ll get someone else to represent the crafters.¡±


    The military commanders stared at one another for a moment, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife. Alice¡¯s gaze flicked back and forth between the two of them as if wondering who would strike first, while Phil took advantage of the moment to stare hungrily at Vin once again.


    Finally, after a few seconds, Witherson sighed and leaned back, relaxing in her chair.


    ¡°I¡¯ll put up with it. For now. But I plan to revisit this issue once I have a better understanding of this world and I¡¯ve caught up to you in level.¡±


    ¡°Psh, in your dreams sister!¡± Spur grinned, immediately switching back to his usual easygoing self. ¡°Anyway, now that that¡¯s settled, time for a far more exciting agenda item. Camp disputes!¡±


    A series of groans spread around the table as Spur laughed, pulling out a much thicker folder of paper than Vin had hoped for and giving them all a mock look of disappointment as he pulled out the first sheet.


    ¡°Shame! Shame on all of you! Keeping our people happy is essential to keeping everything running smoothly, and that starts with intervening in their stupid arguments that they felt the need to bring up to us.¡±


    Clearing his throat, Spur began reading, seeming to savor every word as he read out the first of many disputes.


    ¡°Issue one. Apparently there¡¯s a large boulder a half mile from camp that two different crafters both wish to use for a sculpture.¡± He paused, raising his eyebrows as he read through the details. ¡°Well, the solution seems simple enough to me.¡±


    ¡°I call for a vote on whether or not to solidify the rule of dibs into our new government¡¯s constitution¡­¡±

 (51) 2.4. What Are Friends For?

    After nearly two hours of weighing in on the many disputes that had made their way to the council¡¯s desk, Vin was finally free of his duties as a councilor. Apparently taking a thousand people and throwing them into such an unusual situation was a lot trickier than doing the same with only a hundred.


    Yawning, he walked with Alice out of the command center, nodding at Greg and Abby as they made their way over to the mess hall for the lunch they¡¯d both missed. Vin had been busy with his map earlier, and Alice had been helping instruct some of the second wavers on how to make traps. They¡¯d never be able to hold a candle to her own Trapper class of course, but the knowledge of how to make even simple traps would be invaluable.


    ¡°I have to admit, when Spur asked me to step up and join the council, I thought things were going to be a bit more exciting than that,¡± Alice laughed, waving at a few people she recognized as they walked by.


    ¡°Just be happy you weren¡¯t a part of it back when Patty was around,¡± Vin grumbled, ignoring the stares and whispers he was getting as they grabbed their food. One of the downsides of a high focus was that he couldn¡¯t help but keep overhearing his name being whispered by many of the second wavers when he walked by. ¡°Spur and Patty were like two little dogs barking at each other any chance they got. Still, I¡¯m surprised Spur didn¡¯t seem to care when I brought up how Patty was murdered. I¡¯d thought he¡¯d want to try and figure out who killed her.¡±


    ¡°She had it coming,¡± Alice frowned, obviously still upset about the way Patty had used her powers on her. ¡°Once the truth came out about what she¡¯d done, there were more people in the first wave that wanted her dead than not. I doubt Spur¡¯s nifty Traitor-bane trick would even work in this case, as you could argue killing Patty was for the good of the camp. Unless they end up murdering someone else who isn¡¯t hated by just about everyone, they¡¯ll probably get away with it.¡±


    ¡°I guess¡­¡± Vin let the topic drop, focusing instead on lunch. Rather than more sqerret, it looked like the chefs had prepared hearty salads made from a mix of strange looking greens and some sort of eggplant-like chunks. Thankfully they¡¯d managed to put together a delicious dressing that made the meal far more appetizing.


    ¡°You know with these chefs making food for over a thousand people three times a day¡­ I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they became the highest level people in camp by the time wave three rolls around,¡± Vin mused, crunching into his salad. He moaned in pleasure at the discovery of tiny, sweet berries hidden under the greens, each one doing wonders to mask the earthy taste from the plants.


    ¡°I can think of worse classes to amass power,¡± Alice laughed, digging into her own salad. ¡°What would that even look like anyway? Would they just dump all their points into dexterity and turn into some sort of ninja-chef?¡±


    ¡°Your guess is as good as mine,¡± Vin shrugged. ¡°Anyway, how are things with you? I didn¡¯t get the chance to ask earlier, but I imagine after the battle you must have shot up in level, right?¡±


    ¡°You could say that,¡± Alice grinned, leaning in closer and lowering her voice. ¡°In fact¡­ I¡¯m level 14 now! Fourteen! Can you believe it?¡±


    ¡°Damn, four levels from one battle,¡± Vin whistled, leaning back in amazement. ¡°That¡¯s quite the feat.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t say I didn¡¯t earn it though,¡± Alice said with a proud smile. ¡°I¡¯m just happy I was able to make such an impact on everything that happened. Speaking of people who made an impact¡­¡± She paused, giving him a strange look. ¡°...Is Alka with you?¡±


    Before Vin could answer, Alka drifted sideways out of him, appearing on the bench beside him as though she¡¯d always been sitting there. The ethereal, green girl looked as tough as always, and Vin felt like she should have had a tankard sitting in front of her to complete the picture.


    Alka gave Alice a big smile, nodding respectfully.


    ¡°Those were some impressive traps you had in place. Thanks to you, I knew any monster that slipped past me would be taken care of, and I was able to focus on my own fight.¡±


    ¡°Are you kidding? You practically held Section A all on your own!¡± Alice argued, her eyes widening at Alka¡¯s sudden appearance. ¡°You were so fluid and graceful that watching you fight was like watching a choreographed dance. I¡¯ve never seen anything like it!¡±


    ¡°Slayers are trained to be flexible above all else. There¡¯s no end to the different types of monsters one may encounter, meaning you have to be ready for everything,¡± Alka said, eyeing up Vin¡¯s salad longingly.


    Realizing he could actually help with that, Vin coughed, holding out a hand toward his companion. ¡°I¡¯m not planning on getting into any life or death battles today, Alka. Want to borrow my body for a minute and try the salad?¡±


    Grinning, Alka ignored his outstretched hand, shooting back into his body and activating his Human Vessel title. Letting it happen, Vin suddenly found himself observing his surroundings as if he were watching a movie, unable to command his limbs even if he wanted to. The sensation never really got any more comfortable regardless of how many times they did this, but seeing Alka¡¯s enthusiasm at having a physical body again made it worth it.


    Not wasting any time, Alka grabbed his fork and immediately began shoveling the greens down their throat. She only had sixty seconds after all, and she wasn¡¯t going to waste a single one.


    ¡°God, this stuff is fantastic!¡± She moaned, making sure to scrape the dressing off the side of the bowl once she¡¯d run out of salad. ¡°You should take some to go before we head out!¡±


    ¡®That¡¯s not a bad idea actually¡­ I¡¯ll see if the chefs would be willing to make some travel rations for us,¡¯ Vin said.


    ¡°That is so weird¡­¡± Alice muttered, carefully watching as Alka finally gave up on scraping the dressing off the bowl with their fork and began just licking the bowl clean instead like a starved animal. ¡°And you can just do that whenever?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but not for long,¡± Alka got out between licks. She managed to finish up just in time as Vin suddenly snapped forward, finding himself holding a completely polished bowl with a few dozen people staring at him like he was insane.


    ¡®Woah, close one!¡¯ Alka laughed inside his head as Vin sighed, disregarding the strange looks and placing the bowl down. People had already been watching him before he let Alka take control, so it really didn¡¯t make much of a difference. ¡®Thanks for that by the way. Getting to feel things again really helps make all this more bearable.¡¯


    ¡°Let¡¯s try and do that at least once an evening then,¡± Vin offered, knowing how hard Alka had it. ¡°The uses reset every day anyway, so it¡¯s use them or lose them.¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡®Sounds good!¡¯


    ¡°It¡¯s a shame that¡¯s something only you can do,¡± Alice frowned, playing with her salad with her fork. ¡°I¡¯d happily let Alka borrow my body for a bit each day if I was able. No offence, but I bet she¡¯d be happier with a girl¡¯s body than a guy¡¯s.¡±


    ¡®Damn, why didn¡¯t I think of that? Here, give her the sword, that¡¯s a much better idea.¡¯


    ¡°Alka¡­¡± Vin warned, rolling his eyes at the cackling going on inside his head.


    ¡®Don¡¯t get your panties in a twist, beanstalk, I know you¡¯re my best bet at finding someone capable of actually killing me. Besides, I don¡¯t really mind the fact you don¡¯t have tits. So long as you can hold a sword, that¡¯s good enough for me.¡¯


    Hearing Alka¡¯s words, Vin couldn¡¯t help but glance down at his missing arm, his phantom hand twitching in his mind.


    ¡®Oh crap, Vin, I didn¡¯t mean-¡¯


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± he said, standing abruptly and nodding toward Alice. ¡°It was good to catch up Alice, but I need to round up my crew and head out. Want to make it to the stone village before night falls.¡±


    Not waiting for a reply, Vin dropped his tray in the area designated for return and made his way out of the mess hall. The stares and whispers seemed to follow him as he wandered around camp hunting for his companions, but where earlier all the attention had just seemed annoying, now it felt almost smothering to him.


    ¡®Vin, I¡¯m sorry, you know I-¡¯


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about it right now Alka, I just want to find Shia and Scule and get out of here,¡± Vin snapped, growing more frustrated by the minute as he wandered about. Their camp was still barely large enough to be anything more than just a few clusters of buildings, how hard could it be to find the only elf and petian in the entire fragment?


    Finally, Vin realized he¡¯d overlooked something obvious, and he made his way out of camp entirely. Heading over to the closest forest, he spotted three people huddled behind a large rock, muttering amongst themselves as they stared into the nearby treeline. Based on their still rather clean grey military fatigues, they had to be second wavers.


    Clearly able to make out what they were looking at thanks to his higher focus, Vin sighed, walking up behind them. He really didn¡¯t feel like dealing with people right now.


    ¡°She can hear what you guys are saying you know,¡± he said, causing the three men to jump and spin around, looking at him guiltily. ¡°Her ears aren¡¯t just for show, and her focus attribute is probably three times your own.¡±


    The largest of the three, a guy that had already torn off the sleeves to his uniform in order to show off his tattoos no doubt, grit his teeth, taking a threatening step toward him. He had at least a solid foot on Vin, and looked like he could unbend a horseshoe if he tried hard enough.


    ¡°Oh yeah? And who are you to-¡±


    ¡°Kyle!¡± One of the other two hissed, grabbing the big man¡¯s arm.


    ¡°What?¡± Kyle snapped, glaring at his underling.


    ¡°That¡¯s the guy,¡± his minion hissed again, his wide eyes taking in Vin¡¯s missing hand and the sword hilt wrapped in black leathers attached to his hip. ¡°The one everyone¡¯s been talking about!¡±


    ¡°Who? This guy?¡± Kyle asked, laughing and shaking his head. ¡°Seriously? You¡¯re the guy that tied up General Lones¡¯ goons with your magic powers? The one who strangled a giant snake to death with your teeth? Who apparently controls the undead to fight for you with a wave of your hand?¡± With each statement, Kyle¡¯s voice grew more and more mocking. Clearly the larger man didn¡¯t believe any of the claims that had been floating around.


    ¡°Are you kidding? Forget that, I hear his dick¡¯s as large as I am!¡±


    The three men jumped back in surprise at the sudden voice and Vin sighed as Scule finally revealed himself. Apparently the petian had been hiding practically beneath their feet the entire time and they¡¯d never noticed.


    Naturally, that was a level 20 plus Rogue for you.


    ¡°What the hell is that thing and why is it speaking French?¡± Kyle shouted, clearly caught off guard by the sight of a six inch tall man with a black cape standing there with his hands on his hips.


    ¡°Damn, I hate it when people can¡¯t understand my witty jokes,¡± Scule muttered, frowning at the cowering giants. ¡°Vin, would you mind getting on that sooner than later? It sucks being the only one in the group that only speaks one language.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do what I can¡­ Speaking of, how are you understanding them in the first place?¡± Vin asked, suddenly realizing Scule was without his translator.


    ¡°That would be me,¡± he heard Shia faintly whisper, as though her lips were pressed right up against his ear.


    ¡°Gya!¡± He jumped, spinning around in search of the invisible elf. Once he realized she wasn¡¯t there, he felt his face start to heat up as Scule began laughing.


    ¡°Don¡¯t feel too bad, she got me with that at first too,¡± Scule chuckled, waving his hand dismissively toward Kyle and his two goons. ¡°Reginald, take care of these three for me, would you? I think distilled frogal extract will be enough for the likes of them.¡±


    Before Vin could ask what Scule was planning, a small brown blur shot out from behind the boulder and each of the three men yelped in turn, jumping on one leg as if they¡¯d been stung. Within seconds, each of the men began shouting and scratching at their legs as a nasty red rash slowly spread up from their ankles.


    ¡°Scule¡­¡± Vin warned, preparing himself to carry the three men to the infirmary their camp now had before the petian held up a hand.


    ¡°Relax, frogal extract is an extremely fast acting irritant, but it wont spread farther than a couple of inches. And because of how fast acting it is, it¡¯ll only last an hour at the absolute max.¡± He paused, looking thoughtfully at the shouting men as he scratched his chin. ¡°...you know, unless they''re allergic.¡±


    Thankfully, each of the three rashes had already stopped spreading at the bottom of each man¡¯s calf. Granted, none of the men seemed all too pleased about that. Shooting Vin and Scule a rage filled glare, Kyle turned and hopped back toward camp with his two goons in tow, struggling to walk while scratching his lower leg.


    Once the men were gone, Reginald popped back out from behind his rock, looking a little too smug for a rat in Vin¡¯s opinion. The tip of his tail was covered in some sort of tiny looking spearhead, and Vin realized the rat now had a few small vials of varying colors attached to his saddle.


    ¡°Like the upgrades?¡± Scule asked, patting Reginald¡¯s head and motioning toward his tail. ¡°After someone got their grubby little hands on Reginald and threatened to eat him, I realized he needed his own method of defending himself.¡±


    ¡°Grubby little hands?¡± Shia asked, finally stepping out of the forest and raising her eyebrow at the Rogue. ¡°I¡¯m impressed you can say that with a straight face seeing as my hands are bigger than your entire body.¡±


    ¡°Oh you know¡­ metaphorically little,¡± Scule said dismissively, waving his hand. ¡°Anyway, what¡¯s up Vin? Haven¡¯t seen you in a bit. Finally done sulking?¡±


    Immediately after the words left the Rogue''s mouth, a portion of Reginald¡¯s tail that wasn¡¯t covered in a spiked tip smacked Scule in the back of the head, causing the petian to stumble forward and trip over a rather hard blade of grass that hadn¡¯t been there moments before, sending him sprawling face first into the dirt. Before he could get up, Alka shot out of Vin¡¯s body with sword in hand, carefully placing the blade blunt side down on top of Scule, trapping the small man against the ground. The entire sequence of events happened so fast, Vin barely had time to register what had happened.


    ¡°I give, I give!¡± Scule called out, slapping his hand against the ground as Alka leisurely sat atop the blade, giving a thumbs up to the elven Druid and reaching out to give Reginald a ghostly high five.


    Staring at the ridiculous scene before him, Vin could do nothing but burst out laughing, his laughter coming so hard tears welled up in his eyes. He felt another chunk of that dark storm cloud that had been drifting over him since the recent battle dissipate under the grins of his companions as Scule cursed and threatened to steal everyone¡¯s shoelaces once he got free.


    Wiping the tears from his eyes, Vin grinned at his strange assortment of friends, realizing things were going to be alright. They hadn¡¯t known each other long, but they¡¯d journeyed across world fragments together and fought for their lives beside one another multiple times already. Yes, he¡¯d lost people he¡¯d been trying to protect, and he¡¯d even lost a physical part of himself. But he would grow stronger and make sure nothing like that ever happened again.


    ¡°Alright guys, let him up,¡± Vin chuckled, grinning at the muttering petian as he patted himself free of dirt. ¡°I hope you guys are ready, because it¡¯s time for us to head out.¡±


    ¡°I have an overdue rock to return.¡±

 (52) 2.5. The Village of Sakis

    By this point, their motley gang had perfected their system for travelling from one fragment to the next. Due to the fact that a person had to travel anywhere between six to twelve miles to cross the length of a fragment, depending on where they ran through it, the only one in their group capable of running that in any reasonable time was Vin.


    Everyone else had found alternative solutions.


    Where Vin relied on his high endurance and his Distance Runner passive, Shia¡¯s method was far more mystical. Her magic staff that consisted of two small trees growing intertwined with one another was capable of morphing into a strange wooden panther-like creature made of branches that seemed to be able to run without end. Shia sat atop it as it bounded forward, somehow entirely at ease despite the complete lack of saddle.


    For whatever reason, despite the fact that she could simply float along beside them, Alka preferred to pretend to run next to him as they travelled. Her footsteps were entirely silent as she technically wasn¡¯t actually touching the ground, but that didn¡¯t stop her from swinging her arms and looking every bit like a regular runner. Other than the fact that her glowing green body was completely see through of course.


    Reginald was lightning fast in short bursts, but couldn¡¯t keep up with Vin¡¯s endurance for more than a few minutes, so he was nestled comfortably in Vin¡¯s shirt pocket. One of the nice things about Project Ark¡¯s grey fatigues was that there was no end to the number of pockets the military had decided to slap onto them, so the rat had his pick of the litter if he ever wanted to change things up.


    And with his ride out of commission, Scule was content to simply ride on Vin¡¯s shoulder as he ran, trusting in his high dexterity no doubt to keep him from toppling off with every bump.


    Despite the fact that their group was travelling at a pace that would have impressed any professional marathon runner back on Earth, Vin was the only person actually expending any effort as they ran, which meant the group was able to chat freely amongst themselves as if they were all just sitting around.


    Even when Vin really, really wished they couldn¡¯t.


    ¡°...anyway yeah, that pretty much wraps up the time I had to give Reginald the talk about the birds and the bees. Not something anyone warns you about before picking the Animal Companion passive,¡± Scule said, kicking his feet as he lounged on Vin¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Reginald¡¯s tried to get the family together on more than one occasion, but while smart, regular rats aren¡¯t that smart, you know what I mean?¡±


    ¡°Still, I had no idea Reginald was a great-grandparent,¡± Shia said, looking impressed. ¡°Next time we break into the citadel, we¡¯ll have to say hello and leave them a gift or something.¡±


    ¡°We barely got out of the citadel with our lives the last time we were there,¡± Vin argued, remembering the explosion that had nearly wiped them all out. ¡°You really want to go back already?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like we can blow the holy district up a second time,¡± Shia shrugged, petting Blossom as the cat ran. ¡°Besides, I haven¡¯t officially given you the news yet. I finally prestiged!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s awesome! Congrats!¡± Vin grinned, happy to hear his friends were getting stronger as well. ¡°What¡¯s your new class?¡±


    ¡°Wild Druid. It¡¯s not actually the same prestige class I received the last time I hit level 20, which I imagine is due to the fact that I actually left the Sacred Forest this time around.¡± Vin noticed that while Shia sounded excited, she looked a bit sad about the news, as though she still wasn¡¯t sure how she felt about her new class.


    ¡°Well don¡¯t leave us hanging,¡± Alka said, picking up her fake-running pace and moving over next to the Druid. ¡°What¡¯s your new passive?¡±


    ¡°The Forest Within. I¡¯ve explained how my mana has a nature and life affinity before, right? Well, this means that not only are my spells just a little bit more effective in general, they also won¡¯t be as heavily impacted if I need to cast them in environments that would normally stifle my magic, such as areas tainted heavily with death mana, or a literal desert.¡±


    ¡°Damn, lucky giants,¡± Scule grumbled, glaring at her. ¡°Wish my level 20 passive was an effect that was always on.¡±


    ¡°Guess you¡¯ll just have to wait until level 40 and hope for the best,¡± Shia said, shooting him a pointed grin. Vin tried not to chuckle as he sensed Scule¡¯s full body shiver at the rows of pointed teeth directed his way. It had taken him a while to get used to the elf¡¯s smile, so he didn¡¯t blame the petian for being unnerved.


    It probably didn¡¯t help that Shia could technically eat Scule in a single bite if she really wanted.


    ¡°Anyway, like I said before, I actually have a couple more spells in my arsenal that my master helped me learn back before the Great Reset,¡± Shia continued. ¡°I finally got my focus high enough to handle the runic formation of my Whispering Wind spell. Uses very little mana, but the runic formation is a pain and a half to keep stable.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s the spell that you surprised me with back there?¡± Vin said, putting two and two together.


    ¡°Yepp,¡± Shia grinned. ¡°I can pick a target or an area and hear what¡¯s being spoken there, as well as throw my own voice wherever I please. Super helpful for hunting parties or relaying orders when trying to be stealthy.¡±


    ¡°I can imagine!¡± A sudden thought struck him, and Vin gave his magic mentor what he hoped were big, pleading eyes. ¡°You know, that spell sounds like it¡¯s affiliated with wind rather than life or nature. I don¡¯t suppose¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, I can teach you the spell,¡± Shia said, rolling her eyes. ¡°Assuming your own attributes are high enough to learn it of course, you¡¯re right that it won¡¯t tip your personal mana into having an affinity.¡±


    Woohoo! Vin mentally cheered, trying to keep the excitement off his face. ¡°Thanks Shia, I¡¯m looking forward to it!¡±The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    The four of them continued chatting amongst themselves as they ran, and it wasn¡¯t long before they hit the border dividing the two fragments. Thankfully there weren¡¯t any giant scorpions waiting for them and seeking revenge for their fallen brethren, and they crossed over into the stony fragment without issue. As the dry, warm air settled upon them like a thin blanket, Scule frowned.


    ¡°Bleh¡­ Can¡¯t say I¡¯m a fan of this fragment. A bit too hot if you ask me.¡±


    ¡°Just be happy you didn¡¯t have to trek across a literal desert,¡± Shia said, shuddering at the memory. Not only had they suffered through the blazing heat, she¡¯d nearly been eaten alive by a giant frog monster after all.


    Vin passed around his enchanted waterskin, using his own mana to refill it and allowing everyone to take a drink before they continued on. They only had a few more miles to go, but no sense in letting themselves get dehydrated when they had magic at their disposal.


    Vin hadn¡¯t been back to this fragment since leading Samtha and her fellow missing warriors back to the village, but the environment was just as he¡¯d remembered it.


    Shia laughed at the swarm of dusty armadillos that got spooked at their rapid approach, curling into balls and rolling away as fast as their bodies could take them. Alka licked her lips when she spotted a fat looking bird trying to use its thick beak to crack into a rock, requesting he grill one and let her take over his body later so she could give it a taste. Scule looked on in amazement at one of the camouflaged geckos that Vin could now spot far more easily with his higher focus. The petian mentioned offhandedly how useful such an ability would be for an animal companion, and earned himself a disgruntled squeak from Vin¡¯s pocket.


    Vin even spotted a new creature he hadn¡¯t seen the last time he was here; a small, grasshopper-like critter that seemed to live amongst the rocks. He only spotted it this time when a handful of them exploded out of one of the rocks the bird broke open, quickly leaping in all directions in an attempt to escape their winged doom.


    He wasn¡¯t sure if he should be relieved or worried at the fact that despite keeping his eyes peeled as they ran through the fragment, they never once encountered that unnerving goat.


    The sun had just begun to set when they finally crested a hill and the familiar village came into view. Not much had changed since the last time he¡¯d been here, though the fact that he wasn¡¯t currently being chased by a murderous mutant scorpion was a welcome one.


    Not wanting to freak anyone out, the four of them slowed to a walking pace, approaching the village at a far more reasonable speed. As they got closer, Vin suddenly remembered something that he hoped wouldn¡¯t be a problem.


    He¡¯d actually left out his whole interaction with Alka when he¡¯d explained to the village elder what had happened during his journey to save Samtha the last time he¡¯d been here. And as thanks for saving them, Samtha and her team had respected his request to keep that bit to themselves while he was there. But based on their society¡¯s strange appreciation toward honesty, he could only assume the whole village probably knew all about Alka by now.


    Because of that, as Alka drifted back and went to echo him once again he stopped her, shaking his head.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t interacted with these people much, but they seem to value honesty pretty highly,¡± he explained. ¡°I was a bit panicked last time we were here and didn¡¯t want them to think I¡¯d been possessed, but I don¡¯t think you should hide this time.¡±


    ¡°Suit yourself,¡± Alka shrugged, continuing to walk alongside them as they approached the village.


    Vin had thought it impressive how quickly someone had spotted him last time during his panicked run, but he realized that without any sort of walls or natural fortifications, the village had to have people standing watch at all times.


    Sure enough, once again he spotted commotion in one of the taller buildings, and a familiar force of six spear wielding warriors met them at the edge of the village. Vin even recognized a few of their faces.


    Led by the same disgruntled man that had actually killed the scorpion chasing him last time, the six warriors stopped a few dozen feet away, leveling their spears at them and dropping into combat stances. Vin knew from experience just how deadly those stone tipped spears could be, and he motioned for his companions to halt.


    ¡°Who are you and what do you want?¡± The leader demanded, his spear tip pointed unwavering at Vin¡¯s chest. Vin waited a moment to see if he had any other demands or if the warrior would recognize him, but it seemed he¡¯d changed enough since he¡¯d last been here that the warrior no longer saw in him that fearful, exhausted boy who¡¯d practically come crawling to them for help.


    Before he could answer however, one of the warriors straightened from their combat stance, adjusting their stone helmet and giving him a shocked look.


    ¡°Vin?¡±


    Shifting his focus to the warrior in the back, Vin grinned as he recognized Samtha¡¯s startled face. The woman looked a hell of a lot better than the last time he¡¯d seen her. Her cracked armor had been repaired, and the deadly looking spear was a nice improvement over her chipped and crumbling mace she¡¯d been using when he found her.


    ¡°Hey Samtha!¡± He called out, waving at the surprised warrior. ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡±


    As soon as he spoke, a spark of recognition lit up within the leader¡¯s eyes, and the man placed the butt of his spear against the ground, peering more closely at him.


    ¡°You are the one that was being chased by the hunter? How did you learn our language in such a short time?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you know¡­ Magic and all that,¡± Vin said, waving off the man¡¯s curious look as he walked toward Samtha. ¡°So, is working as a border guard a promotion or a demotion for you? I¡¯m hoping my request for you to not mention Alka until I¡¯d left wasn¡¯t asking too much.¡±


    ¡°No no, it was fine!¡± Samtha laughed, clearly caught off guard by his sudden appearance. ¡°The elder completely understood your hesitation, and she appreciated you didn¡¯t try to ask us to keep the events that occurred a total secret. And patrolling the border is a job all warriors within the village are tasked with, I just happened to be on rotation today.¡± Samtha gave his shoulder a strange look, and Vin only then remembered that he had Scule sitting beside his head.


    ¡°Ah, sorry! Samtha, these are my companions,¡± Vin said, introducing them each in turn. Samtha bid them all welcome, and even gave Alka a small nod when it was her turn, clearly remembering the ghost.


    Not that Vin could blame her, seeming as Alka had not only possessed one of her friends, but nearly killed Samtha herself after an entire day of exhaustive fighting.


    ¡°We were hoping to speak with the elder and maybe stay for a day or two if that was okay,¡± Vin added, hoping they had some form of inn they could use. He¡¯d stayed in more run down motels than he could count back on Earth, ranging from positively decent to absolutely horrid, so he was used to taking what he could get.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be a problem!¡± Samtha said, pausing to glance at their group leader. Receiving a nod from the man, she grinned, motioning for Vin and his friends to fall in behind her.


    ¡°Follow me!¡± She said, leading them into the village proper and gesturing around them with her spear. ¡°I know it¡¯s not exactly your first time here, but allow me to give you a proper introduction.¡±


    ¡°Welcome to Sakis!¡±

 (53) 2.6. The Return Of The Rock

    The first time Vin had visited Sakis, he¡¯d been led straight to what he now knew was essentially the elder¡¯s waiting room where she conducted all her business. This time, Samtha made sure they got the full tour.


    The eager warrior led them through the small village, introducing Vin to a handful of people and showing off some of her favorite ¡®life records¡¯ carved around the village. These records were the carved pictures of important memories that every house had at least one wall consisting of.


    Vin had a feeling that ¡®life record¡¯ wasn¡¯t a perfect translation from his Polyglot passive, but he couldn''t exactly complain seeing as he¡¯d be utterly screwed without it.


    Most surprising to him though was the realization that Samtha¡¯s village was actually smaller than his own camp now that the second wavers had arrived. As best he could tell, Sakis only held around six or seven hundred people at most. Naturally, that wasn¡¯t to say they were weak. It had been over three months since the Great Reset, and based on the ease of which the warriors carried themselves despite the stone armor they were clad in, and the intricate designs their carvers were capable of, they hadn¡¯t spent their time idly.


    Speaking of which¡­


    ¡°Are these runic formations?¡± Vin gasped, the intricate shapes adorning many of the buildings all around him finally registering in his mind. He¡¯d enjoyed the abstract designs and strange symbols since he¡¯d first laid eyes on them, but he¡¯d just assumed they were some form of art. He¡¯d never actually seen runic formations written out on such a large scale before, and the truth behind the carvings simply hadn¡¯t registered with him.


    ¡°Of course!¡± Samtha said, saying goodbye to the baker she¡¯d just introduced them to after promising to pick up some treats from him later that week. ¡°Anytime we put up a new house our Stone Mages go ahead and carve in the essential runes for the new owners. Things like temperature control, durability, all things any dwelling should have,¡± she explained, running her hands over one of the walls of runes. ¡°Things like this used to be something our mages would have their apprentices do as it was a rather simple task, but ever since the Great Reset, a working such as this is about the peak of their ability.¡±


    ¡°But how?¡± Vin asked, struggling to wrap his mind around the massive slabs of stone before him. ¡°Runic formations are so complex¡­ Hell, they don¡¯t exist on a flat plane!¡±


    ¡°They actually can,¡± Shia interrupted, eyeing up one of the walls herself, clearly impressed with the craftsmanship. ¡°I didn¡¯t give you the full lecture before because you¡¯re a complete beginner and you are far from ready to try enchanting anything anyways, but runes behave a bit differently in the real world versus within your personal mana. It¡¯s how we¡¯re able to create many enchanted items in the first place.¡±


    ¡°Makes sense to me, as someone who doesn¡¯t have the faintest idea what you all are talking about anyway,¡± Alka said, glancing at the walls with clear disinterest. ¡°Are we done with the tour yet? I kinda wanted to go back to the training ground and watch some of the warriors spar. Now watching people try and smash each other¡¯s faces in with stone weapons, that¡¯s interesting!¡±


    ¡°Everyone knows about you by now, so you¡¯re welcome to go where you¡¯d like,¡± Samtha smiled. ¡°Just¡­ maybe don¡¯t go floating into anyone¡¯s house without asking first?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, no worries there,¡± Alka snorted, shaking her head before walking off.


    ¡°Yes¡­ I too, would like to go watch people attack one another,¡± Scule said, rubbing his hands together without even realizing it. ¡°That sounds like an excellent way to spend one¡¯s time.¡±


    ¡°Do I have to take your bag-cape away?¡± Vin asked, earning a wince from the not so subtle Rogue as he dropped to the ground.


    ¡°Oh what, just because I¡¯m a Rogue, you think I¡¯m planning to run around stealing from everyone?¡± Scule asked, planting his hands on his hips and looking up at him with disdain. ¡°Shame on you and your prejudices! Why, I¡¯m so offended, I think I¡¯ll go for a walk to cool down. You probably won''t see me until morning, so don¡¯t bother-¡±


    ¡°Reginald, if he steals from anyone in the village, I¡¯m not going to let Scule ride on my shoulder anymore,¡± Vin said, sensing an uncertain twitch against his chest. ¡°...Which means you won¡¯t get to sleep all warm and cozy in my pocket while we travel.¡±


    There was a high pitched squeak of outrage, followed by Reginald leaping out of his pocket and jumping down to land beside Scule. Thrusting at the petian with the tip of his tail as if daring him to ruin this for him, the rat gave one single, threatening squeak of a warning.


    Throwing up his hands, Scule scowled.


    ¡°Fine! Turning a man¡¯s own animal companion against him, I see how it is! Should have gotten myself a cat¡­¡±


    Grumbling to himself, Scule and Reginald walked off, the Rogue only remembering to turn and head in the same direction as Alka at the last minute. Shaking his head, Vin turned toward his last companion.


    ¡°Did you want to break off as well? I won¡¯t be offended if you do.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget I¡¯m acting somewhat as an ambassador for my own people,¡± Shia said, giving him a pointed grin. ¡°I should probably introduce myself to the village elder, if only to see for myself what kind of a person she is.¡±


    ¡°Suit yourself.¡± Vin turned to Samtha, who had been waiting patiently. ¡°Thanks again for the tour Samtha. Would you mind letting the elder know we¡¯re free to chat if she is? We can show ourselves to the central room.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good!¡± Waving goodbye, the stone clad warrior jogged off, leaving the two of them by themselves.


    A quick glance at his Mental Map was all it took for Vin to direct them to the center of the village, and it wasn¡¯t long before the two of them were sitting in the surprisingly comfortable wicker furniture, waiting for the elder to show.


    ¡°I have to say, I¡¯m rather glad we got a chance to come to this town,¡± Shia said, admiring the stone carvings and hanging leathers decorating the room. ¡°This is my first actual human settlement I¡¯ve ever visited. Your camp doesn¡¯t really count just yet, seeing as it¡¯s a work in progress and all, and the citadel was a melting pot of different races. It¡¯s nice seeing a few hundred humans just living regular lives, not batting an eye at an elf wandering into their village.¡±


    ¡°I think they were more interested in Scule than you or Alka,¡± Vin chuckled, remembering some of the wide eyes stares the petian had gotten as they¡¯d walked through town. ¡°I guess elves are far closer to humans in their eyes than a six inch tall person.¡±


    ¡°I suppose,¡± Shia muttered, fiddling with the end of her braid. Vin went to ask if she had something on her mind, when the hide covering that functioned as a door was pulled back, revealing a kind faced older woman.


    ¡°Welcome back Vin,¡± the elder smiled, her cane clicking against the stone floor as she made her way into the room. Just like the last time he¡¯d seen her, the elder was adorned in carefully carved stone jewelry, yet she somehow managed to keep them from clacking against one another as she moved with a strange gracefulness.


    Vin had intended to greet the elder when she walked in, but his plan went out the window the moment he laid eyes on her cane.


    ¡°What is that?¡± He asked, his eyes widening as they took in the myriad of runes carved all along her cane. Similar to the walls they¡¯d just been looking at, only now did Vin realize that the elder¡¯s cane was actually covered from top to bottom in complicated, dense runework.


    ¡°Ah, I see you haven¡¯t been slacking with that Spellcraft skill I recommended,¡± the elder chuckled, her smile widening at his slack jawed expression.


    Snapping out of his shocked state, Vin felt his face heat up at his rude behavior. Sitting back down, he bowed his head toward the elder.


    ¡°Sorry for my outburst... I¡¯ve seen a good number of artifacts before now, but none of them were covered in so many visible runes like your cane is.¡±


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s quite a simple explanation for that,¡± the elder said, sighing as she sank into her seat across from them, the wicker creaking as though she were far heavier than she looked. ¡°But before we get into all that, do you mind introducing me to your friend here? She looks like she comes from a rather far off world indeed.¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± Vin said, clearing his throat and gesturing toward Shia. ¡°Elder, this is Shia. She¡¯s an elf from the Sacred Forest, a fragment adjacent to my own. While her people aren¡¯t direct neighbors of yours, they¡¯re still pretty close.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you,¡± Shia said, giving the elder her trademark pointed grin. Vin winced at the jagged display, but he needn¡¯t have worried.


    ¡°How interesting,¡± was all the elder said, not so much as flinching at Shia¡¯s shark-like teeth. ¡°Tell me child, last I spoke with Vin, he told me his world did not even have access to the Great System before coming here. Was yours the same?¡±


    ¡°No, we definitely had the system on my world,¡± Shia confirmed. ¡°And we experienced the same Great Reset Vin told me you spoke about.¡±


    ¡°Well, I am indeed sorry for your loss. And forgive me for saying so, but it is nice to know that we are not alone in our suffering,¡± the elder said, giving Shia a respectful nod.


    ¡°No need to apologize, I completely understand,¡± Shia smiled. Vin couldn¡¯t help but notice that the elf''s lips seemed a bit less pulled back, as though she wasn¡¯t trying to show off her jagged teeth as much as she normally did.


    ¡°Well, I must say, it would seem as though quite a lot has happened to you since last we spoke¡­¡± the elder said, her eyes flicking briefly to Vin¡¯s missing hand. Thankfully, there wasn¡¯t so much as a scrap of pity in the woman¡¯s eyes, and Vin let out a pent up breath he hadn¡¯t even realized he¡¯d been holding. He didn¡¯t know why, but that look of pity was always the worst part whenever anyone took in his injury. Even worse than talking about it for some reason.


    ¡°...but before we get into that,¡± the elder continued, holding out a gnarled hand. ¡°I do believe you have something for me?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Jumping up, Vin reached into his bag and pulled out his first ever artifact. Admiring the confluence of rigid lines and varying angles one final time, he placed the rock in the elder¡¯s waiting hand, finally returning what had been lent to him what felt like an entire lifetime ago.


    ¡°Thank you Vin,¡± the elder said, smiling down at the rock clasped in her aged fingers. ¡°I have to say, it takes a special kind of person to return a borrowed artifact rather than run off with it. Even one created to act solely as an instructional aid.¡±


    ¡°You were the first person not from my world I spoke to after coming to Edregon,¡± Vin said, scratching the back of his head at the unexpected praise as he sat back down. ¡°Not to mention you started me on the path of learning magic!¡±


    ¡°And how far you¡¯ve walked down that path in such a short time!¡± The elder chuckled, slipping the artifact into the folds of her robe. ¡°Now, with that out of the way, I believe you had some questions about this?¡±


    The elder tapped her cane on the ground, sending small quakes throughout the entire stone room they were sitting in.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Vin said, staring at the cane in hunger. ¡°Like I said, I¡¯ve never seen an artifact like it. Why is it so different?¡±


    ¡°Well now, based on her expression, I think your friend there may have the answer for you,¡± the elder said, inclining her head toward Shia. ¡°Would you like to tell him?¡±


    ¡°Again, knowing your tendency to try incredibly dangerous things before you¡¯re ready, I was planning on saving this discussion for later,¡± Shia sighed, shaking her head. ¡°But I guess if you want to blow yourself up, that¡¯s not up to me to decide.¡±


    ¡°The reason her cane looks like that, is because it isn¡¯t actually an artifact at all.¡±

 (54) 2.7. Caught Red Handed

    ¡°What do you mean, not an artifact?¡± Vin asked, staring blankly at his magic mentor. ¡°Look at it, it¡¯s covered in runic formations!¡±


    ¡°Precisely,¡± Shia nodded. ¡°Think about it Vin, you¡¯ve encountered far more artifacts in your short time on Edregon than most people will in their entire lives. Even minor ones are actually rather rare, you just have an insane knack for getting your hands on them it would seem. How many of them were covered in runes like that?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Vin paused, thinking back. Retracing his steps in his head, he started as he realized Shia was right. He¡¯d encountered other objects covered in runes before, such as the glowing gemstones from the citadel he¡¯d learned his Light spell from, or the concealed cubby built into Shia¡¯s Master¡¯s own bed he¡¯d studied to learn Concealment. But neither of those objects had prompted the system to give him any experience, meaning they weren¡¯t artifacts.


    ¡°...Only the stone,¡± he finally admitted, pointing to the elder¡¯s pocket. ¡°I assume you¡¯re about to lord your knowledge over me and tell me why that is?¡±


    ¡°Precisely,¡± Shia grinned, any hesitation she¡¯d just displayed over teaching him entirely forgotten. ¡°Unless the elder would prefer?¡± She asked, shooting a questioning glance at the woman.


    ¡°By all means, please go ahead,¡± the elder smiled. ¡°I¡¯m curious to hear if magic differs between our two worlds after all.¡±


    ¡°In that case¡­¡± Shia took a deep breath, entering mentor mode. ¡°When people talk about enchanting something, there are actually two ways to go about doing that. The first method, and the one you¡¯re more familiar with, is creating an artifact.¡±


    ¡°Construction of an artifact is done by forming the correct runic formation within your personal mana like you would for casting a spell, except rather than allowing the spell to activate, you have to hold the formation in place. While holding the structure steady and inactive, a feat I assure you is far more difficult than it sounds, you then pull the formation out of you and imprint it upon a physical object; another extraordinarily difficult feat.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s why none of the artifacts other than the stone have runes physically carved onto them?¡± Vin asked, nodding along with Shia¡¯s explanation.


    ¡°Exactly. When you used your sword to learn Sense Magic, how did you see the runes making up the spell?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not entirely sure¡­ I used my magic and focus attributes to direct my attention into the blade and was somehow able to visualize its runic formation¡­¡± He paused, realizing what she was getting at. ¡°Ah. I tapped into the formation someone had imprinted onto the blade, huh?¡±


    ¡°Precisely. Anyone with high enough magic and focus attributes is able to visualize the runic imprint of an artifact, but it¡¯s dangerous,¡± Shia said, frowning at him. ¡°Thankfully, your sword is only a minor artifact. The spell imprinted on it isn¡¯t very powerful, what makes the sword so dangerous is the material it''s made from. If you¡¯d tried sending your focus into a more powerful artifact, you literally could have melted your own brain. Or worse.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± was all Vin could say, doing his best to shrink back into his chair under the annoyed gaze of his mentor. He was embarrassed enough that despite how much he wanted to know, he decided against speaking up to ask exactly what would have been worse than his brain melting.


    ¡°Oh, indeed,¡± she said, still frowning. ¡°Anyway, this first method, what my people call runic imprinting, is how artifacts are made. The alternative method of enchanting is called runic engraving. Such as with the elder¡¯s cane there. Unlike imprinting, engraving is the physical act of carving runes onto something, and then filling it with mana when you¡¯re done. There are some nuances you need to learn in order to engrave correctly, because as you pointed out earlier, runic formations created within our own mana aren¡¯t on a flat plane. This often requires the formations to be a bit more complex, unless you are just engraving a fairly simple spell.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I can¡¯t help but notice how you didn¡¯t stop to mention the dangers of engraving multiple times like you did with imprinting,¡± Vin pointed out. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t everyone just do engraving then if it¡¯s so much safer?¡±


    ¡°There are a number of reasons,¡± Shia sighed, ticking them off her fingers. ¡°First off, while engraving is far safer, it¡¯s actually much more difficult to do. It¡¯s hard enough having to learn what runes do in the first place for casting spells, and adding the nuances needed to engrave spells on a flat plane is like learning to understand a new dialect. Technically the same language, but still different. It¡¯s not impossible to work your way backwards from engraving to spell, like you did with the Concealment spell, but it¡¯s another story entirely going from spell to engraving.¡±


    ¡°After that, there¡¯s the mana consideration. For some reason, imprinting a formation into something and turning it into an artifact allows the object to draw mana from the world around it. Runic objects on the other hand, require a continual supply of mana in order to function. How frequently they need to be refilled depends entirely on the skill of the engraver, the materials they¡¯re using, and the effect they are achieving. With all those different factors, it could be anywhere from days to years.¡±


    ¡°Those definitely sound like annoying downsides,¡± Vin frowned, imagining having to continuously replenish his different artifacts with mana. But if he could make his own artifacts¡­


    Shia clearly didn¡¯t like where his mind was heading, because she snapped her fingers in front of his face, startling him out of his daydreams of being decked out in magical armor.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean you should run off and try your luck at imprinting runes without any actual training, Vin.¡± Shia stared at him, making sure she had his full attention. ¡°If you engrave a formation into an object incorrectly and put some mana into it, at best nothing will happen, and at worst the object you spent so much time on might violently shatter. Do you want to guess what might happen if you imprint an object incorrectly while trying to make an artifact?¡±Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    ¡°Brain melting?¡± Vin offered.


    ¡°Brain melting,¡± she nodded. ¡°You know how I stressed the dangers of runic backlashes during spell creation? Because you¡¯re forcing the mana to build up and not activate the formation during imprinting, if you mess up, the backlash is magnitudes worse, Vin. I honestly can¡¯t stress this enough.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I got it,¡± he said, holding up his hands defensively. ¡°I know I was a bit stupid jumping in head first into spell creation before I was ready, but I¡¯m not suicidal. I swear I won¡¯t try creating any artifacts without direct supervision.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± Shia sighed, glancing over at the elder. ¡°Did you have anything you wanted to add?¡±


    ¡°Oh no child, I think you did an excellent job explaining,¡± the elder smiled, tapping her cane on the ground twice in quick succession. ¡°Curiously, rather than imprinting and engraving, my people call these two methods imbuing and carving. If anything, I don¡¯t think you stressed the dangers of imbuing, or imprinting, enough.¡±


    ¡°You could probably guess from our walls and my cane, but my people practice almost exclusively runic engraving,¡± the elder continued, holding up her cane and nodding at the intricate array of runes carved all over it. ¡°We are a patient people and have no lack of stone. Should we mess up, it is simple enough to find a new piece and start anew. That stone I lent you is the only example of imprinting in our entire village in fact,¡± she added. ¡°Want to take a guess as to why it¡¯s also covered in runes?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s designed as a learning aid,¡± Vin guessed, already having put the pieces together. ¡°So you enchanted it using both imprinting and engraving.¡±


    ¡°Correct,¡± the elder said, tapping her cane again with a smile. ¡°The Stone Mages in our village wouldn¡¯t risk putting anything more dangerous than a simple Sense Stone spell into the object, and the act of using both techniques actually helps speed up how quickly a person learns the spell.¡±


    ¡°Making it the perfect instructional tool,¡± Vin finished, in awe of the ingenuity. Already his mind was ablaze with the fact that there was practically an entire new field of magic he¡¯d had no idea existed. This time however, he was planning to take Shia¡¯s words to heart. He¡¯d spent enough time with the elf at this point to realize when she was being serious, and while he never thought of himself as being the smartest guy in the room, he wasn¡¯t dumb enough to risk liquifying his brain just yet.


    Maybe in another ten levels or so.


    ¡°Okay. That¡¯s a lot to take in, but it all makes sense,¡± Vin said, scratching his head. ¡°Then my only question is¡­ Why does the System reward me for discovering artifacts and not runic objects?¡±


    ¡°Why does the System do anything?¡± Shia shrugged. ¡°In this case, my best guess would be because artifacts are harder and more dangerous to make.¡±


    Yeah that¡¯s fair. Vin sighed, contemplating the question. If he ever got the chance to chat with the Gods again he was going to need an entire week to field all the questions he had for them.


    ¡°Well now, as interesting as this has been, I heard from Samtha that you and your friends were thinking about spending a few days here in our village?¡± The elder asked. ¡°Night is already upon us, and these old bones don¡¯t stay up as late as they used to. How about I show you where you¡¯ll be staying and we can chat more tomorrow if you¡¯d like?¡±


    ¡°That sounds great, thank you!¡± Vin said, getting to his feet. ¡°Sorry to take up so much of your time. I was honestly only planning on dropping by for a quick hello and to return your rock. I¡¯ll admit I wasn¡¯t expecting the full magic lesson.¡±


    ¡°Think nothing of it child,¡± the elder smiled, patting his arm. Despite her age, her fingers were calloused and hard, like the very stone her people carved upon. ¡°Nothing brings me joy quite like teaching the younger generations. I only wish I could say the same for all of our Stone Mages,¡± she clicked her tongue, heading out the door and gesturing for them to follow her.


    ¡°We have a few buildings that we used to allow wanderers and those visiting from other villages to stay in, though they have been empty ever since the Great Migration, so you don¡¯t need to worry about imposing,¡± she chuckled, leading them toward the edge of the village. ¡°You needn¡¯t worry about comfort; the guest houses have the same carvings as any of our own lodgings. Now, if you find you need anything during the night, be sure to-¡±


    The elder froze as a scream erupted from the other side of the village, the shrill sound piercing through the general, comfortable murmur of the village and blanketing the settlement in silence. Before Vin could even react the elder was darting toward the source of the scream, her supposedly old bones making short work of the distance.


    Vin and Shia only had to share a quick look before the two of them went racing after her, hot on her heels. Vin was shocked to find that the elder was actually faster than he was before remembering that speed was largely determined by dexterity. He had no doubt that the stone carver had dexterity in spades.


    Please let it be that Alka accidentally scared someone, please let it be something as minor as that, he prayed as they ran toward the source of the scream.


    The village was small enough that they arrived at the source of the scream in no time, only to find a sobbing woman being consoled by a host of villagers. There were a full dozen warriors surrounding one of the stone buildings on the edge of the village, each one with either a spear or mace at the ready.


    Vin spotted the elder standing in the open doorway, the hide covering held above her head blocking the moon light and casting a dark shadow on her face. Spotting Vin out of the corner of her eye, she seemed to hesitate for a moment before turning to frown at him, a hard look in her gaze.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Vin asked, doing his best to ignore how a handful of the stone spear tips shifted to point toward him as he approached. ¡°Is everything okay?¡±


    ¡°No. No it is not,¡± the elder said solemnly, gesturing for him to look inside.


    Confused, Vin stepped into the doorway, his heart stopping at the scene he found before him.


    Inside the quaint little house that looked far more lived in than the elder¡¯s waiting room, lay a dead man on the floor. The man¡¯s eyes were wide open and he had a look of shock on his face, as though he was just as surprised by his death as everyone else. The entire room had been ransacked, with leathers strewn here and there and shattered jars scattered upon the ground, spilling preserved food everywhere.


    Just inside the room stood a full squad of armed warriors, the half dozen men and women facing the dead man with cold fury on their faces.


    Their weapons leveled at the six inch tall man standing directly in front of the man¡¯s corpse, his bloody hands raised high above his head.


    Scule¡¯s eyes met Vin¡¯s, and the petian let out a sigh of relief, a bit of color flooding back into his face as he called out.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t what it looks like!¡±

 (55) 2.8. A Tiny Discussion

    ¡°He didn¡¯t do it!¡± Vin repeated for what felt like the hundredth time, continuing to argue with the guard standing in the doorway. But just like all the previous attempts he¡¯d made at stating Scule¡¯s innocence, the guard remained impassive. Vin may as well have been arguing with a statue for all the good it was doing him.


    Grinding his teeth, Vin stomped back from the guard, going back to pacing around the room aimlessly. He had no idea what was going on, and he didn¡¯t like being in the dark when one of his friends was potentially in danger.


    After discovering Scule standing over the corpse of one of their own, absolutely covered in the man¡¯s blood, the village warriors had immediately taken him into custody. No doubt sensing that Vin had been about to make a scene, the elder had quickly intervened and pleaded with Vin to wait for her in the central room. It was only after she¡¯d promised that no harm would come to the petian until after she¡¯d spoken with him and her people had investigated the crime scene that Vin had finally relented.


    Seeing as the petian was a complete stranger to these people, he was already lucky the villagers hadn¡¯t just attacked Scule on sight when they found him in such a compromising position. Tensions were running high, and he didn¡¯t want to become the spark that ignited this uneasy powder keg.


    Even so, Vin wanted nothing more than to march right over to where Scule was being held and break the Rogue free. But there were two important things holding him back.


    First was the fact that his people and the village of Sakis were in the early stages of forming what would no doubt end up being a critical alliance going forward. The Earthers needed knowledge more than anything, and the stone warriors seemed to have that in abundance.


    The second reason was a bit more humbling.


    He wasn¡¯t even sure if he even could rescue Scule.


    It pained him to admit it, but it was growing clear that all the time he¡¯d spent around camp had affected his image of himself. Specifically, how powerful he was. Despite not even being a combat class, thanks solely to his limited spells and higher level, he was leaps and bounds tougher than most of his fellow Earthers. Vin didn¡¯t like to compare himself to others, but he¡¯d been unable to help but notice things like how much faster or stronger he was than practically everyone back in camp.


    But here in Sakis¡­


    Vin thought back to just a few of the things he¡¯d witnessed but hadn¡¯t really given too much thought to. Samtha smashing her way into the noble¡¯s study over in Alka¡¯s abandoned town with a single skill empowered strike. The fact that she¡¯d been able to fight non-stop for over a day straight, despite being weighed down by armor made of solid stone. Hell, the elder, a wrinkly old woman that was more gristle than muscle, had just beaten him in a foot race barely an hour ago!


    They didn¡¯t show off much which made it easy to forget, but the warriors of Sakis were strong. Unlike his people, everyone else on Edregon had been given a three month head start over them. And while some had squandered those months, like the people living within the citadel, the villagers of Sakis clearly hadn¡¯t.


    Vin wouldn¡¯t be surprised if just about every person within the village had either already prestiged, or was at least close to it.


    All that to say, he didn¡¯t like their odds of starting a fight with a few hundred people potentially around his level or higher. Not even factoring in that plenty of them were actual combat classes.


    ¡°So¡­¡± Alka finally asked, lounging on her side in midair as though there was an invisible couch in the middle of the room. She¡¯d been surprisingly quiet all this time, but it seemed even she¡¯d finally grown bored of watching him pace back and forth. ¡°¡­what¡¯s the plan?¡±


    ¡°There is no plan,¡± Vin sighed, finally giving up his endless pacing and leaning his back against the cool stone wall. ¡°We wait for the elder to come tell us what they found at the crime scene, and then we argue Scule¡¯s case for him. You know as well as I do he didn¡¯t kill that guy.¡±


    ¡°Do we though?¡± Shia quietly asked, the elf looking hesitantly toward him. Shia had spent the last hour sitting hunched over in one of the wicker chairs, tapping her foot incessantly and twisting her braid between her fingers.


    Vin could only stare at the elf in shock. His mouth opened, but he couldn¡¯t seem to form any words. Before he could get the chance, she hurried on.


    ¡°Vin, I like Scule as much as you do, but so long as we¡¯re stuck here waiting let¡¯s at least be honest¡­ We¡¯ve only known him for a couple of days. And we didn¡¯t exactly meet him in the greatest of circumstances either.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a big difference between stealing and killing,¡± Vin argued, unable to believe what he was hearing. Sure, Scule and Shia seemed to bicker more than the rest of them, but he¡¯d thought it was just playful teasing. The fact that Shia was even considering Scule might not be innocent¡­


    ¡°Of course there¡¯s a big difference,¡± Shia frowned. ¡°But it¡¯s not like stealing was all he did. He poisoned us Vin, before we¡¯d even exchanged two words with him. If we hadn¡¯t happened to have methods of resisting it, who knows what could have happened.¡±


    ¡°It was only a muscle relaxant¡­¡± Vin argued weakly, slowly sliding down the wall and landing with a thud on his rear. He wanted to believe that things would have turned out the same way even if they had been entirely at Scule¡¯s mercy, but Shia was absolutely right. It hadn¡¯t been more than a couple of days since they¡¯d met Scule, and a large portion of that time hadn¡¯t even been spent together.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    While his initial meetings with Alka and Shia hadn¡¯t been great either, what with Alka possessing one of the stone villagers and Shia threatening to sacrifice and/or eat him, the two women had drastically different scenarios than the petian.


    He wasn¡¯t sure if it was due to their strange connection that had formed when Vin had unknowingly become her new anchor, but Vin had a strong, almost unconscious understanding of what made Alka tick. The Slayer was exactly as she appeared to be; a ghost that just wanted a way to free herself from her own trapped existence. That¡¯s not to say she wasn¡¯t her own person with complex thoughts and ideals, but Vin could almost feel what kind of a person Alka was.


    And while he didn¡¯t have such a connection with Shia, he had spent a good couple of days in close quarters with her learning magic before they¡¯d even begun travelling together. Not to mention that she had the backing of Erik, a practically demi-god like being that literally exuded peace of serenity from his very being.


    Scule¡­


    Well, Scule was backed by his tamed rat.


    Most of the time.


    Speaking of which¡­


    ¡°Hey, have either of you two seen Reginald?¡± Vin asked, suddenly realizing he had no idea where the rat was. Reginald hadn¡¯t been in the room when Scule had been discovered standing over the dead body, and the rat hadn¡¯t made an appearance since.


    ¡°Now that you mention it¡­¡± Shia blinked, no doubt coming to the same conclusion. ¡°No, I haven¡¯t seen him since you and I split off to speak with the elder.¡±


    ¡°Want me to go take a look?¡± Alka asked, a bored look on her face.


    ¡°No, the elder requested that you remain here with us,¡± Vin reminded her.


    ¡°Booo,¡± Alka moaned, letting out a heavy sigh and slowly spinning her body until she was upside down. Seeing as she still looked as though she was lounging sideways on a couch, it was a bit strange talking to her like that. ¡°I¡¯m bored!¡±


    ¡°Alka, we may be in serious trouble right now,¡± Vin snapped, glaring at his ghostly companion. Shooting a glance at the guard still standing in the doorway, he focused on his Polyglot passive and made sure he wasn¡¯t speaking the stone people¡¯s language.


    Lately, he¡¯d begun to notice that his passive seemed to make his words understandable by everyone around him unless he focused on a specific language at a time. He didn¡¯t know if his passive was evolving or he was just getting better at using it, but he didn¡¯t exactly know how to find out.


    ¡°If they decide to execute Scule, there might not be anything we can do about it!¡±


    ¡°Pipsqueak probably should have thought about that before getting caught literally red handed,¡± Alka drawled. ¡°Besides, that elder lady loves you ever since you brought Samtha¡¯s group back. Even if Scule did kill someone, I doubt she¡¯d be willing to risk throwing her entire alliance with you up in flames just because of one little death.¡±


    ¡°You really think I¡¯m going to take political advice from the girl that died from poison at her own party?¡± Vin shot back, clenching his fist.


    ¡°Enough!¡± Shia shouted, jumping to her feet and slamming her staff onto the ground. The leaves of the twin trees seemed to billow under gale force winds for a half second, shutting the two of them up. ¡°I know you¡¯re both anxious. I am as well. Despite what I said earlier, I¡¯m just as worried about Scule as the two of you. My master merely trained me to try and look at a situation from every angle.¡±


    ¡°But!¡± She added, cutting Vin off before he could speak. ¡°¡­even factoring in how we originally met Scule and know almost nothing about him¡­ That doesn¡¯t change the fact that he¡¯s risked his life for us on more than one occasion in the short time we¡¯ve known him.¡±


    Vin paused, realizing he was about to snap at Shia for even proposing Scule might be guilty in the first place. Taking a deep breath, he held it for a few seconds before letting it out slowly. He willed the anger born from uncertainty and nervousness that was poisoning his thoughts to flow out with his breath, out of his body and away from his mind. Just because he was afraid, didn¡¯t mean he had to take it out on his friends.


    Meditation increased to lvl 17! 1,700 exp gained.


    Vin dismissed the notification, unable to keep the slight smile off his face despite the situation as he practically felt the potential bursting out from within his core. He now needed less than five hundred experience to hit level 20 and prestige, and it felt like his body was a coiled spring, waiting for that final push.


    ¡°He did keep that crazy sword guy distracted while the two of you stood there like idiots talking to the gods,¡± Alka offered, crossing her hands behind her head and looking contemplatively at the floor, which was actually the ceiling to her at the moment. ¡°If you asked him he¡¯d probably say that was just a happy coincidence while he was trying to steal an artifact, but I¡¯d bet the best time to steal one would have been to wait for the guy to strike the two of you down and grab it while he was distracted.¡±


    ¡°While I was healing Shredder and trying to keep Section C of camp from collapsing during the battle, I saw him pop up out of the ground a few times,¡± Shia admitted, grinning at the memory. ¡°Despite the fact that nobody could understand him, more than once I watched him appear at the last minute in front of some poor sod about to get killed and intervene, yelling all the while about how much of an idiot they were while he distracted the monster or jabbed it with his daggers.¡±


    ¡°He saved my life during my fight with the giant snake,¡± Vin added, remembering how Scule and Reginald had appeared like guardian angels, barely avoiding the snake¡¯s crushing tail and risking their lives to weaken the monster for him and give him a fighting chance. ¡°If they hadn¡¯t hit him with that poison, I¡¯m about ninety nine percent sure I would have died.¡±


    ¡°I think that says all we need to know about the two of them,¡± Shia said, finally letting go of her braid as her grin widened. ¡°I mean, I already trusted Reginald. But I feel better about Scule now.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I got a lot of respect for anyone who is forced to exist in a world of giants and still chooses to try to live their best life,¡± Alka said, finally righting herself and giving Vin a nod. ¡°Don¡¯t ever tell him I said that though, or I¡¯ll deny it.¡±


    ¡°That settles it then,¡± Vin said, a warm sensation spreading throughout his chest as he smiled at his companions. Seeing them band together like this, thinking about all they¡¯d been through in the short time they¡¯d known each other filled Vin with a strange feeling he¡¯d never really experienced before. It took him a moment, but with a start, he realized what it was he was finally feeling.


    Trust.


    For what might have been the first time in his life, Vin looked around the room and realized he¡¯d managed to find people he could put his trust in. While Scule wasn¡¯t here at the exact moment, the realization that he trusted each and every one of his companions with his very life was almost too much for the once lonely vagabond to handle.


    Knees shaking, Vin steadied himself against the wall with his hand. Chuckling, he looked at his two friends, unable to keep the smile off his face as he took a deep breath and steeled his resolve. Whatever came next might not be easy, but they¡¯d do it all the same.


    ¡°We¡¯re getting Scule out of wherever they¡¯re holding him.¡±


    ¡°Tonight.¡±

 (56) 2.9. An Old Stone

    The elder frowned, tapping her cane against the stone floor as she tried to decide what to do. To anyone unfamiliar with their customs and the intricacies of runic carving, it may look like she was fidgeting aimlessly. In reality, she had to be remarkably careful with every tap. Her cane was a powerful runic object that had been passed down from elder to elder for generations, and a few of the spells stored within the cane could level the building they were currently in if she accidentally released them.


    Her wrinkles deepened as she stared at the source of her latest problem; a miniature man currently sitting with his arms crossed and a large scowl on his face. While they did have a simple jail located near the center of the village, it really only consisted of a single cell.


    And it certainly wasn¡¯t designed to hold someone smaller than a newborn.


    Their rushed solution was to grab some leather cord and tie a knot around the tiny man¡¯s waist, securing the other end to a loop quickly molded out of the stone wall. Without his weapons the man would have to spend at least a minute or two untying the cord, and despite the fact that they didn¡¯t speak each other¡¯s language, the two guards standing with spears trained on him at all times seemed to get the message across that he was to leave the cord alone.


    She¡¯d also relieved him of his cloak that radiated some unknown magic to her senses, but left him with the many tiny vials scattered about his person. She was well aware of the hazards that came with handling unknown poisons, and without his daggers they would be useless to him regardless.


    ¡°We should make an example of him elder,¡± the head of her Stone Mages demanded yet again, glaring at the prisoner with vitriol burning in his eyes. The man wore a grey, dusty robe, and his whitening beard was frayed from how much he kept pulling on it. ¡°We need to make an example that these foreigners will understand. They can¡¯t just waltz into our village and kill one of our own! And one of our mages no less!¡±


    ¡°Steady yourself Eithan,¡± the elder ordered, not even bothering to look at the man. He¡¯d been up in arms the moment he¡¯d learned one of his fellow mages had been killed, and the usually reasonable man was beside himself. ¡°We must wait for Raulfa to get back to us with details from her investigation.¡±


    ¡°Steady myself?!¡± Eithan snapped, slamming a fist into the wall. She was lucky it was one of her mages and not warriors having a meltdown, otherwise a good chunk of the building may have collapsed already. ¡°I was the one who taught Toby his very first spell, and now the man is dead! You expect me to steady myself?¡±


    ¡°I expect you to act like the head of my Stone Mages rather than a fumbling apprentice,¡± the elder said, causing Eithan to recoil as though she¡¯d slapped him. Taking advantage of his momentary silence, she pushed forward. ¡°Even if Raulfa¡¯s investigation shows that this man did in fact murder Toby, you know very well I can¡¯t just make an example of these people. Not only did Vin risk his own life to bring back Samtha and her team, he is the key to forming relations with our new neighbors that already outnumber us two to one, and who will only continue to grow in size if their story is to be believed.¡±


    Eithan stared at her, the weight of her words seeming to push down on his rage and let a fraction of the calm, reliable man she¡¯d appointed head of the village¡¯s mages float to the surface.


    ¡°Do we really need their alliance that badly?¡± The mage asked, his eyes widening at her strained expression. The man was an excellent mage and a fantastic teacher, but he was clueless when it came to anything that didn¡¯t involve magic.


    ¡°The world isn¡¯t changing, Eithan. It has changed,¡± she said, her grip tightening on her cane. The walls she¡¯d built within herself to keep her concerns locked away began cracking, and she let out a heavy sigh as all her years spent as elder seemed to hit her all at once. ¡°For most of our people, the scariest part of our recent ordeal was the Great Reset. But it was not losing our levels that worried me. It was losing everyone we used to call friend outside the bounds of our village in one fell swoop.¡±


    ¡°What happens if we experience another famine and we don¡¯t have the cities to lean on? Or a plague sweeps through the village and there isn¡¯t a divine wanderer to swoop in and save us? We are strong, Eithan, like the very rocks we carve upon. But we are merely one small village in a world that seems to be larger than ever,¡± she explained, all the worries buried deep within finally bursting out of her. ¡°We need people we can rely on. Perhaps even more importantly we need not to make an enemy of our new neighbors that come from such a strange, System-less world. We have no idea what they are capable of, and that terrifies me.¡±


    Silence stretched between the two old friends as they stood there, the elder¡¯s outburst weighing heavily on them both. Her words seemed to have had the added effect of dousing the fire raging in Eithan¡¯s eyes, and the mage gave her an apologetic look.


    ¡°Argy¡­ elder,¡± he corrected himself, clearing his throat as though he hadn¡¯t accidentally just called her by her old nickname. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m sorry. Toby¡¯s death came as quite the surprise, as you can imagine, and I hadn¡¯t realized just what kind of pressure you¡¯ve been under these past few months.¡±


    ¡°That was my intention,¡± the elder chuckled, giving him a weary grin. ¡°Half the responsibilities of being village elder seem to be just keeping everyone calm and hiding how much deep rubble we¡¯re truly in.¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    The two of them shared small smiles, and the elder felt as though she was a young girl again, laughing at her friend as he cursed the Great System and struggled to cast his first Shifting Stone spell.


    Though as much as she wished moments like these with old friends could last forever, their duties always caught up with them.


    The hide covering lifted, and Raulfa finally showed herself. The head of the village¡¯s warriors was a large woman clad head to toe in thick stone armor that obscured most of her features, but couldn¡¯t quite hide the deep scar running down her left cheek. Rather than a standard weapon, she wore her trademark gauntlets, which rumor had it were the very same pair she¡¯d worn when she single handedly took down a pack of roaming monsters rampaging toward their village. The elder didn¡¯t put much stock in the rumor, however.


    It had actually been two packs, after all.


    In an unusual sight, their village¡¯s strongest warrior actually had a frown on her face, and the elder¡¯s heart dropped as she waited for the bad news.


    ¡°It was poison,¡± Raulfa confirmed, walking over to join them. Shooting a sideways glance at their prisoner, she paused for only a moment before continuing. ¡°¡­poison delivered via a series of small cuts¡­ all located on the man¡¯s lower right calf.¡±


    The silence following her verdict seemed to weigh heavily across the entire room, and the elder saw the two guards standing watch over the prisoner tighten their grips on their weapons, their knuckles turning white as if awaiting her inevitable orders.


    Not even Eithan dared to speak, his gaze firmly locked on her as he waited with everyone else in the room for her words.


    Sensing herself standing upon a dangerous tipping point, the future of their entire village balancing upon the next words to leave her mouth, the elder took a deep, trembling breath.


    And said nothing.


    The silence stretched for two seconds. Then three. Then ten. The longer she went without saying anything, the more confused the people standing in the room with her began to look. After thirty seconds, they began shooting each other uncertain glances, as if trying to encourage one of the others to speak up and ask her what was going on.


    Finally, after a minute of her standing there thinking, Eithan cleared his throat once more.


    ¡°Elder¡­¡± he began, stopping immediately as she held up her hand.


    ¡°Regardless of what anyone here thinks should be done, I gave my word to Vin that no harm would come to his companion until I spoke with him again,¡± she said, making sure she spoke with all the authority that she carried as village elder. ¡°Nobody is to touch the prisoner unless he tries to escape. Is that understood?¡±


    Getting two hurried nods from the guards, she turned her attention to her closest advisors. Raulfa punched her two stone gauntlets together without hesitation, her head warrior used to following orders without question. But Eithan¡­


    ¡°Elder, Toby was poisoned,¡± he said, clearly exasperated. ¡°¡­with the injury located in a spot no regular sized person would ever go for. Surely-¡±


    ¡°Is that understood?¡± She repeated, narrowing her eyes and cutting him off. The Head Mage¡¯s eye twitched, but he slowly nodded.


    ¡°Understood. Elder,¡± he finally said, his lips pursed with displeasure.


    ¡°Good. Now, I¡¯m going to go speak with Vin. I want the two of you to go around and work on calming people down. Make sure everyone knows that there aren¡¯t going to be any more attacks and that they don¡¯t need to worry.¡±


    ¡°What about Sheila,¡± Eithan asked, his voice cold and hard. ¡°What should I tell her is being done with her husband¡¯s murderer?¡±


    ¡°You can tell Sheila we are investigating the current suspect,¡± the elder frowned, already missing her old friend she¡¯d felt like she¡¯d briefly reconnected with. ¡°She has a kind soul that girl, and despite how she must currently be feeling, I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll understand that we wouldn¡¯t want to punish the wrong person in this matter.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be thrilled at the news,¡± Eithan sneered, turning and making his way out of the room, angrily throwing the hide covering aside.


    ¡°Want me to follow him?¡± Raulfa offered once the man was gone, raising an eyebrow. ¡°You know as well as I do he¡¯s almost certainly off to go stir up some trouble.¡±


    ¡°Leave him be,¡± the elder sighed, feeling like she had her own set of stone armor weighing her down. ¡°He¡¯s not so far gone as to go against my word. Not yet.¡±


    ¡°Toby¡¯s death¡­ This is some poor timing with everything that¡¯s currently happening,¡± Raulfa said, lowering her voice to the point the guards couldn¡¯t hear her. ¡°You don¡¯t think¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think the mages are at that point just yet,¡± she said, shaking her head. ¡°Besides, I¡¯ve known Eithan for quite a long time. He¡¯d never do something like this, and even if I''m wrong, the man¡¯s not that good an actor. If he had something to do with Toby¡¯s death, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to hide it from me.¡±


    ¡°Still, the mages aren¡¯t going to take this lying down. And who knows what the other apprentices are going to do,¡± Raulfa pointed out. ¡°Once they hear you have yet to punish the foreigner, they¡¯ll start wondering if he¡¯s actually guilty. That maybe Toby¡¯s killer was actually someone a bit¡­ closer to them.¡±


    ¡°Let me worry about village matters Raulfa,¡± the elder sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. If only she¡¯d known things were going to turn out this way years ago. She very well may have told the old elder that once offered her his cane to shove it where the sun didn¡¯t shine.


    ¡°For now, prepare your warriors for the worst, but do your best to keep everyone calm,¡± she ordered. ¡°We sit upon the precipice of total destruction, the last thing we need is some frustrated apprentice doing something they can never take back.¡±


    ¡°Elder,¡± Raulfa nodded, punching her gauntlets together in salute once more. Turning, the head of the warriors strode out of the room, nodding briefly at the two warriors standing guard and getting crisp salutes back in return.


    ¡°Great System, give me strength,¡± the elder murmured, squaring her thin shoulders and taking a deep, steadying breath.


    It was time to see what Vin had to say about all this.

 (57) 2.10. Talk About Bad Timing

    ¡°Okay, so I¡¯m with you on the part involving the rope and candle wax, but I think we should revisit your idea with the wicker furniture,¡± Vin said, frowning at their hastily drawn diagram Shia was scratching into the stone floor with his knife. ¡°I just don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be able to muster up enough force to turn it into shrapnel.¡±


    ¡°I told you, let me worry about the explosion,¡± Shia repeated, patting her bag of magic seeds lovingly. ¡°I got everything I need right here. Now Alka, you remember your part of the plan?¡±


    ¡°I mean, I think so. But I still don¡¯t know if I can make a fire big enough to-¡±


    The three of them froze as their guard who had been giving them strange looks for the past hour finally stepped aside, allowing the elder into the room.


    ¡°Thank you Fredrock, I can take it from here,¡± she said, patting the grown man on the arm like he was a young child.


    ¡°Elder,¡± he nodded, punching his fists together before leaving.


    The elder walked over to them, raising an eyebrow at the crude scratches marred into her once pristine floor. ¡°Dare I even ask what the three of you are doing?¡±


    ¡°Probably for the best you don¡¯t,¡± Vin said, his face heating up. Despite how worried he was about Scule, he couldn¡¯t help but feel like his grandmother had just caught him drawing on her walls in permanent marker.


    ¡°Then I suppose I won¡¯t,¡± she said, the hint of a smile flickering across her weary face. Sighing, she gingerly took a seat, gesturing for the three of them to join her. Sharing a quick nod, Vin and Shia sat across from her, and even Alka decided to join them.


    The elder looked at the three of them carefully, as though weighing something in her mind. Vin didn¡¯t know what her investigation had consisted of, but for the first time since he¡¯d first met her, the elder actually looked her age for once. After a few seconds of tense silence, the three of them each on the edge of their seats, she finally spoke.


    ¡°Toby is dead, and according to our head warrior who I had look at the body, he died to poison,¡± she stated, her face utterly blank. ¡°¡­poison that got into his body via a few small wounds near the bottom half of his leg.¡±


    Vin¡¯s heart sank and Shia gasped, her hands covering her mouth. He still wanted to believe in Scule, but that evidence was pretty damning. Though while the two of them recoiled at the news, Alka merely crossed her arms.


    ¡°So?¡± The Slayer said, looking rather unimpressed. ¡°I can think of five different monsters off the top of my head that would fit that method of killing. Hate to say it, but that doesn¡¯t prove squat.¡±


    ¡°Not the words I would use, but my sentiment exactly,¡± the elder agreed to Vin¡¯s surprise. ¡°Unfortunately, however, it carves a bad picture for your friend. Bad enough that many of the upset villagers will think it¡¯s all the evidence we need to convict him of Toby¡¯s murder.¡±


    ¡°Let us talk to him then,¡± Vin pleaded, praying the elder would see reason and they wouldn¡¯t have to resort to their back up plan.


    Mainly because their back up plan was a tad rough around the edges and more likely to get them all killed than to free Scule, but also because he didn¡¯t want to throw away the good relations he¡¯d built with the village of Sikas so far.


    ¡°I thought your people were all about open honesty and gathering knowledge,¡± he argued, remembering the first conversation the two of them had shared. ¡°You can¡¯t very well call it a proper investigation until we get Scule¡¯s side of the story.¡±


    Luckily, it seemed the elder had been chosen to lead the village for a reason, because the older woman smiled, tapping her cane on the ground softly.


    ¡°That is precisely why I came to see you in fact. But before I bring you to your friend to act as a translator, there¡¯s a few things I want to discuss with you. There is a problem you need to understand currently going on within our village, as I fear you will view us in a bad light if you remain unaware. It affects how your friend is being viewed as well.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Vin nodded, happy to listen to whatever the elder wanted to share so long as it would get them to see Scule. ¡°What¡¯s the big secret?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, it¡¯s not a big secret to anyone within the village, which is half the issue,¡± the elder sighed, her chair creaking as she leaned back into it. ¡°The problem relates to our Stone Mages and their apprentices, of which Toby recently was one.¡±


    The elder paused, seeming to choose her words carefully. ¡°Tell me. How would the three of you feel if you¡¯d spent your life working toward something. Earning power, garnering recognition, basking in admiration of your peers¡­ only to have it stripped away from you, all in an instant?¡± She asked, looking at each of them in turn. ¡°On top of which, while you floundered, desperate to claw back even a shred of your former glory, people who hadn¡¯t struggled, hadn¡¯t suffered as you had were suddenly considered your equals?¡±


    ¡°This is about the Great Reset,¡± Vin stated more than asked, earning himself a nod from the elder.


    ¡°The problem our village is currently facing is the upheaval of our traditions, and the diminished power disparity between our Stone Mages and their apprentices,¡± the elder explained. ¡°It used to be that hopeful children with the right potential would be welcomed as an apprentice to one of the current Stone Mages. The older mage would teach them how to sense mana, how to craft runic formations, how to use magic. In exchange, the apprentices would help the mages with whatever tasks they needed done. Honestly, more often than not that just amounted to doing the older mage¡¯s chores.¡±This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    ¡°Now however, when everyone reset back to level 1, those who were once powerful mages that commanded respect were all of a sudden only as powerful as their own apprentices.¡± The elder sighed, shaking her head. ¡°To be blunt, it was a mess those first few weeks. I told you when you first arrived here that we¡¯d only recently begun sending scouts into the neighboring fragments. To be entirely honest, that was primarily because those first few months I¡¯d wanted all our warriors close in case an all-out war broke out between the mages and their apprentices.¡±


    ¡°So basically, your oh so powerful mages lost all their magic and all they had to offer their apprentices, they didn¡¯t like the idea of losing their servants,¡± Alka summed up.


    ¡°That¡¯s basically what happened,¡± the elder nodded. ¡°Suddenly just as strong as their former teachers, the apprentices decided that it was only fair for either them to be labeled as full-fledged mages in turn, or for their old teachers to lose their old status.¡±


    ¡°Hold on,¡± Shia interjected, looking confused. ¡°When I lost my levels, I still retained knowledge of all my spells that I¡¯d learned without the System¡¯s help, even if I don¡¯t have the attributes to cast all of them just yet. Wouldn¡¯t your former mages still have that knowledge, separating them from their apprentices?¡±


    ¡°You must be quite the spellcaster indeed if you have so many self-taught spells under your belt,¡± the elder said, looking impressed. ¡°For most of our mages, other than the first couple of spells that make up the base of most of our magic, the rest were almost entirely provided by the System as rewards for leveling. Other than the current head of our mages Eithan, few ever managed to learn more than a small handful of weak spells of their own volition.¡±


    ¡°You did tell me most people didn¡¯t bother learning spells the way I do,¡± Vin pointed out, remembering his lessons with Shia. ¡°So that means the older mages truly were set right back to square one with their apprentices?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. While most did still have their impressive knowledge of runic carving, they now lacked the dexterity to actually utilize or teach said knowledge. Unfortunately, many of our former mages are older and rely heavily on their apprentices to help them with daily tasks. As you can imagine, they were thus staunchly opposed to both losing their apprentices due to them graduating, or due to their own loss of status.¡±


    ¡°How do you even solve a problem like that?¡± Vin asked, not able to come up with an alternative.


    ¡°Poorly,¡± the elder said bluntly. ¡°For the time being, due to everything else I had on my plate to figure out, I issued a quick order. The mentor-apprentice relationships would be upheld for the moment, but in exchange, I lessened the requirements the apprentices needed to meet in order to advance. Once any of the apprentices were able to show me a few select spells, I said I would personally promote them into full-fledged Stone Mages.¡±


    ¡°The problem with that was in trying to appease both sides, I just made everyone unhappy,¡± she frowned. ¡°Even if only temporarily, the apprentices were still stuck listening to people that no longer had anything to teach them, and the Stone Mages were upset that their apprentices would be advanced to full-fledged mages with far less work and effort than they themselves had once had to put in.¡±


    ¡°I am still unsure what I could have done better, but there¡¯s no sense worrying about the past,¡± she mused, tapping her cane a few times as she stared over Vin¡¯s shoulder, lost in her thoughts.


    ¡°I¡¯ll admit, this is all very interesting¡­¡± Vin coughed, bringing her focus back to the present. ¡°...but how does that relate to our current situation?¡±


    ¡°Toby was one of the older apprentices, and admittedly, one of our brighter ones,¡± she explained with a chuckle. ¡°He¡¯d been close to graduating from his apprenticeship before the Great Reset had even occurred, which made him one of the more vocal apprentices in favor of getting out from under his old master.¡±


    The elder paused, her eyes growing misty at the thought of the dead villager. ¡°He was a respectful lad however, and he didn¡¯t argue a single time after I made my initial ruling. Instead, he chose to put his nose to the grindstone and work on his magic. Because of that, he managed to shoot ahead of not only his peers, but many of the former Stone Mages as well. After only a handful of months he managed to pass the simplified test I¡¯d put together, graduating from his apprenticeship in record time and becoming one of our newest Stone Mages.¡±


    The more the elder explained, the more dread Vin felt welling up inside him, to the point where he was hesitant to ask his next question.


    ¡°So, Toby finally graduated and became an official Stone Mage, despite the outcries of all the former ones,¡± Vin summed up, hoping he didn¡¯t already know what was coming next. ¡°And this graduation was...?¡±


    ¡°Two days ago,¡± the elder said bluntly, confirming Vin¡¯s fears. ¡°And now, not even half a week after he¡¯d become a symbol toward his fellow apprentices and the source of outrage among the former mages, he¡¯s dead.¡±


    The three of them sat in silence for a moment, each one lost in their own thoughts as the elder watched them. Eventually, Shia spoke up, her quiet voice sounding far too loud in the stillness that had fallen over the room.


    ¡°So now that Toby¡¯s dead, the longer you wait before officially declaring Scule the murderer¡­¡±


    ¡°The more his fellow apprentices will begin to suspect it was actually one of the angry former mages that killed him,¡± the elder nodded. ¡°Now you see the problem I¡¯m facing as the elder of this village. It¡¯s not enough to declare your friend as innocent. I need to figure out what actually happened, or half my village could very well self-destruct when I release your friend.¡±


    ¡°I understand what you¡¯re facing, but regardless of what might happen, you wouldn¡¯t punish an innocent man for a murder he didn¡¯t commit, right?¡± Vin asked, looking hopefully at the elder. He thought he¡¯d had a pretty decent understanding of the woman, but he knew nothing could screw with a person¡¯s morals like the weight of responsibility.


    ¡°Of course not. I would never do that to someone I had even the faintest hunch was innocent,¡± the elder smiled reassuringly, her knuckles whitening around her cane as she tapped it against the ground. ¡°For now, as thanks for sitting so patiently through an old woman¡¯s tale, how about we go check on your friend and finally hear his side of the story? After all, maybe he¡¯ll be able to shed some light on what to do moving forward.¡±


    ¡°I bet all he¡¯ll be shedding is a few sets of silverware and some loose change he found while walking around,¡± Alka drawled as the three of them got up. Shaking his head, Vin motioned for the elder to lead the way, and they quickly fell in step behind her.


    Just you wait Scule, Vin thought as the hide covering fell shut behind them. The Explorer clenched his fist, determined to do whatever it took to see his friend free.


    We¡¯ll figure this out together.

 (58) 2.11. A Small Truth

    ¡°I have to say Vin, I¡¯m a little confused. I swore I said, ¡®this isn¡¯t what it looks like,¡¯ but clearly you must have heard, ¡®lock away the tiny man and throw away the key.¡¯ Might want to get your ears checked.¡±


    Vin rolled his eyes at the petian¡¯s remark as they walked into the small jail, but he couldn¡¯t wipe the grin off his face at finding his new friend unharmed and waiting impatiently for them. The elder dismissed the guards, asking them to wait outside as the rest of Vin¡¯s companions flooded into the room.


    ¡°Would you believe the elder asked us if we wanted to come see you an hour ago and we told her to let you sweat a little?¡± Alka grinned, floating over to the Rogue and poking him with an ethereal finger half the size of his body.


    ¡°Hey, stop that!¡± Scule yelped, jumping up and doing his best to dodge Alka¡¯s incessant poking. ¡°It¡¯s super cold!¡±


    ¡°Glad to see you¡¯re in such high spirits,¡± Shia snorted, crossing her arms. ¡°Guess we were worried for nothing.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you know me,¡± Scule grinned, finally giving up on dodging Alka¡¯s attacks and shivering as her hand phased right through him. ¡°Never one to let the man break me down. Or decrepit old woman in this case.¡±


    Wincing, Vin turned to glance at the elder, finding her watching their reunion with a gentle smile. For once, he was glad she couldn¡¯t understand what Scule was saying.


    ¡°Scule, what the hell happened?¡± He asked, cutting right to the chase. The elder made it sound like they were on a timer after all, so no sense beating around the bush.


    ¡°Oh I see, now they want my statement,¡± Scule said, huffing and turning away from the elder in defiance. ¡°Why should I help them now?¡±


    ¡°Well, a large chunk of the village wants you executed,¡± Alka pointed out helpfully.


    ¡°Damn, woman really knows how to motivate a guy.¡± Sighing, Scule sat down, glancing at his blood-stained hands. ¡°Before that though¡­ Just tell me. Did the guy end up making it?¡±


    ¡°The dude you were found next to?¡± Vin asked, blinking in surprise. ¡°No, he was pronounced dead.¡±


    ¡°Killed by poison,¡± Shia added, leaving the second half of her statement unsaid.


    ¡°Like a Rogue knifed him,¡± Alka added, immediately saying the unsaid part anyway.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, you don¡¯t have to tell me how bad this looks,¡± Scule said, rolling his eyes. ¡°And I know it was poison that killed him, I was there. The whole reason I¡¯m covered in blood is because I was trying to save him.¡±


    ¡°Maybe start from the beginning?¡± Vin offered, motioning the elder to come closer. ¡°I¡¯ll translate for the elder.¡±


    Nodding, Scule shifted slightly on the stone floor, trying and failing to get comfortable. Scowling, he gave up after a few seconds, deciding to just get on with the story anyways.


    ¡°So there I was. Wandering around the outskirts of the village for¡­ no real reason in particular,¡± he coughed, glancing away from the three sets of unsurprised looks. ¡°The reason doesn¡¯t matter! Anyway, while scoping-wandering around, Reginald and I heard a faint thud come from inside one of the stone houses. Those hide coverings don¡¯t really do a great job at insulating noise, and I know the sound of a body collapsing to the floor when I hear one.¡±


    Vin decided not to translate that last part for the elder, and quickly motioned for Scule to continue.


    ¡°Naturally, I wanted to make sure whoever had fallen over was okay. You know, maybe receive a reward or something for helping an elderly person out. Old people always have the best heirlooms after all. But when Reginald and I went in to check it out¡­¡±


    Scule paused, his eyes flickering to his blood stained hands yet again as he searched for the right words.


    ¡°I¡¯d never seen anything quite like it¡­ Inside I saw a man lying there on the ground, spasming and struggling for air as if dying to some sort of fast acting poison. And next to him, ransacking the place and throwing as much food in a sack as possible was some sort of monster.¡± Scule jumped up, throwing his tiny arms as wide as he physically could.


    ¡°Nearly three times my size, with grey, bubbly skin and green tipped claws, the monster spotted me the moment I walked in. Its large, crooked smile took up half its face, and it hissed at me before darting straight for us. Before I even knew what was happening Reginald leapt out of the way, and the monster took off into the night. I decided to stay and try to help the man, but I ordered Reginald to follow the monster and try to stop it. Or barring that, at least figure out where it came from.¡±


    ¡°That explains why we haven¡¯t seen Reginald in awhile,¡± Shia muttered, looking concerned. ¡°I hope the poor guy¡¯s okay.¡±


    ¡°What, Reginald? That rat has a demon¡¯s luck,¡± Scule snorted, waiving a hand dismissively. ¡°If he still hasn¡¯t come back yet, that just means the monster came from pretty far off.¡±


    ¡°If you were trying to help the guy, how did you get covered in blood?¡± Vin asked, trying to make sense of everything. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you try feeding him an antidote or something to counteract the poison?¡±


    ¡°Ah, a common misconception,¡± Scule said, shaking his head. ¡°If the poison spreads through blood, it¡¯s faster for the antidote to do the same; preferably through the same introduction point as the poison. It was a long shot, but as a connoisseur of poisons myself, I keep a few general antidotes with me that can slow or even fully stop some weaker stuff. I was in the middle of shoving one of my antidotes as deeply into the man¡¯s wound as I could when his wife found me.¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°No wonder they arrested you,¡± Alka snorted. ¡°Talk about unfortunate timing.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I get why they did it,¡± Scule sighed, scratching his head. ¡°Without Reginald, I didn¡¯t really stand any chance of running away, so I figured it was safest to give myself up and wait for them to bring you over to help me explain what really happened.¡±


    ¡°Well I¡¯m glad you didn¡¯t try and fight off the warriors,¡± Vin said, giving Scule a reassuring smile before turning to face the elder. ¡°So there you have it. Not only did Scule not kill the man, he was trying to save him.¡±


    For her part, the elder had stood through Vin¡¯s translation of the story silently, nodding along with Scule¡¯s sequence of events. Her expression had darkened at Scule¡¯s description of the monster, and she leaned heavily on her cane, a contemplative look on her face.


    ¡°If what your friend says is true, the village may be in serious trouble,¡± she finally said, giving Vin a weary look that seemed to carry the weight of her years spent as village elder. ¡°I almost pray your friend is indeed lying. Otherwise we have a deadly monster that¡¯s shown remarkable intelligence and has already proven it¡¯s capable of slipping in and out of our village undetected.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s worse than that actually. Much worse, in fact,¡± Alka said, drifting over to hover before the elder. ¡°We¡¯re not dealing with a monster at all.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± The elder asked, her frown deepening. ¡°Are you claiming that because of its intelligence?¡±


    ¡°Oh no, there are definitely intelligent monsters out there,¡± Alka said, shaking her head. ¡°Some of them are even smart enough to learn how to set traps or speak our language. But there¡¯s one thing that all monsters share across the board, and at least according to what I¡¯ve witnessed so far across the handful of fragments we¡¯ve explored, this rule remains ironclad.¡±


    ¡°Their appetite.¡±


    The room went silent as everyone stared at Alka, the Slayer hovering just a few inches off the ground as she continued. ¡°Unlike people or animals, monsters are made of magic. Because of this, they are driven to consume mana in place of anything you or I could eat. The simplest method of course, being taking a nice, juicy bite out of any regular old person.¡±


    ¡°Wait, if monsters are made of mana, how can people eat them afterwards?¡± Vin asked, trying to wrap his head around this sudden revelation. He knew from his conversation with the Goddess that monsters were a byproduct of magic, but he hadn¡¯t really stopped to think about what that meant. ¡°And if it¡¯s mana they want, why would they attack the people from my world? Everyone from Earth starts off with a magic attribute of zero!¡±


    ¡°They are made from magic, not of magic,¡± Shia corrected him, none of Alka¡¯s words seeming to come as a surprise to her. ¡°When they are formed, they are given flesh and blood bodies, albeit ones with a bit more mana density than regular living animals. Enough to poison someone if they consume too much of their flesh too quickly. Their bodies are actually closer to yours or mine than an actual magical beast, like Erik. As to why your people were attacked, that was almost certainly magical residue.¡±


    Seeing Vin¡¯s blank face, Shia rolled her eyes.


    ¡°Vin, your people were part of a magical ritual on a scale that dwarfs anything I could even dream of. Transferring hundreds, or thousands, of people between worlds all at once?¡± She shook her head, letting out a sharp laugh. ¡°I can¡¯t even begin to imagine the sheer amount of mana required to do something like that. No doubt anyone who was a part of the ritual still has some of that mana lingering on them, and will for some time.¡±


    ¡°Okay, so monsters eat people, or the mana inside people,¡± he summed up, earning a nod from Shia. ¡°So the fact that whatever Scule saw was gathering food from the man¡¯s house rather than chowing down on him¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re dealing with a sentient race,¡± Alka nodded, tilting her head. ¡°Or at least, semi-sentient. You sure you didn¡¯t hear it say anything that sounded like words, Scule?¡±


    ¡°Unless its language is entirely constructed of harsh hissing, no,¡± Scule frowned, looking at Vin. ¡°I know I joked about this earlier, but I¡¯m starting to think we need to move the whole ¡®getting Scule a method of understanding languages¡¯ task up on your to do list.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get on that right after we finish clearing your name,¡± Vin drawled, glancing at the elder. ¡°I¡¯m assuming these creatures aren¡¯t from your old world. Did your warriors explore any of your other surrounding fragments besides the one Samtha¡¯s team went in?¡±


    ¡°No, definitely not from our world,¡± she confirmed, looking pensive. ¡°And other than a quick look, we dared not head deeper into any of the other fragments after what happened with Samtha¡¯s team. Not before regaining more of our lost levels.¡±


    ¡°Any bit helps,¡± Vin encouraged her, excited to hear about more unexplored fragments. ¡°Even if they only glanced in, what did they see?¡±


    ¡°Adjacent to Samtha¡¯s fragment was one filled with a strange, freezing powder,¡± the elder explained. ¡°Apparently the environment was cold, colder than anything my people had ever experienced before.¡±


    ¡°Alright, some sort of arctic tundra I guess,¡± Vin muttered, gesturing for her to keep going. Scule hadn¡¯t said the creature was covered in fur or even wearing anything remotely similar to clothes, so it probably wouldn¡¯t live in freezing temperatures.


    ¡°Next to that was one far more hospitable. The land seemed to be one giant, flat rock, stretching as far as the eye could see. We briefly contemplated exploring further into this one, but one of the scouts with a Dangersense passive began sweating almost immediately, refusing to go further than a few feet beyond the border. He couldn¡¯t explain what was setting it off, but something about that fragment is inherently dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Great, mysterious flat rock face of death, good to know,¡± Vin nodded, curious about this scout¡¯s passive. It sounded similar to his own Threat Detection, so he wondered what the difference was between the two.


    ¡°After that is an unpleasant one, filled with wet, sopping ground almost impossible to walk on and pungent, unpleasant smells filling the air,¡± the elder said, wrinkling her nose at the thought. ¡°One of the scouts stepped poorly and went from dry land to submerged in an instant, nearly drowning as the ground seemed to come alive and suck her in. I still remember the stench on her clothes after all this time.¡±


    ¡°Some sort of swamp then,¡± Alka said, looking thoughtful. ¡°That would track for the creature having an innate poison ability on its claws. Its small size would help it stay atop the marshy land as well without getting sucked in.¡±


    ¡°Damn, can¡¯t say I¡¯m a huge fan of swamps,¡± Vin groaned, already imagining the smell and humidity in the air. He¡¯d spent a few days checking out the Everglades back on Earth, and that had been plenty of time for him to come to the conclusion that swamps weren¡¯t for him.


    ¡°The only other adjacent fragments are the one your people are in, and the citadel,¡± Shia pointed out. ¡°It has to be the swamp.¡±


    ¡°I know... Doesn¡¯t mean I have to like it,¡± Vin grumbled.


    ¡°Well, we know what actually killed Toby, and where it most likely came from,¡± Shia said, looking at the elder. ¡°Is that enough to get Scule released and calm the apprentices down?¡±


    ¡°It will be hard without proof¡­¡± the elder said, hesitating. ¡°I hate to ask this of you Vin, but perhaps-¡±


    ¡°Elder,¡± one of the guards interrupted, poking his head inside the hide covering and doing an excellent job of keeping his eyes on the elder rather than Vin¡¯s strange party. ¡°Raulfa is asking for you.¡±


    ¡°Tell her to wait. I¡¯m a tad busy at the moment,¡± the elder said, frowning.


    ¡°Apologies elder, but I think it¡¯s important,¡± the guard said, glancing over his shoulder as if listening to someone.


    ¡°Something about a rat with a saddle showing up on the edge of town.¡±


    ¡°...dragging a dead body behind it?¡±

 (59) 2.12. A Slate Wiped Clean

    Vin got to experience being beaten by an elderly woman in a foot race for a second time that day as they ran off in the direction the guard told them. Despite the lack of sun, Raulfa was easy to spot thanks to the cluster of warriors on the edge of the village holding glowing gems high above their heads.


    Pushing their way through the throng of distracted warriors muttering amongst themselves, Vin gasped as he finally broke free.


    Directly in front of him, with a proud grin on his narrow face and looking as adorable as ever, was Reginald.


    Sitting atop the corpse of a horrific creature.


    There was no question the dead creature was the one Scule had seen, or at least another member of the same race. Only about two feet tall, the creature looked like a toddler¡¯s horribly proportioned drawing come to life. Its thin, spindly arms were nearly as long as its entire body, ending in three fingered hands tipped with nasty looking green claws. A dark purple tongue hung loosely out of a far too wide mouth filled with crooked, misshapen teeth, and its skin did in fact look like a bubbly grey mess that was pulled far too taut over the creature¡¯s skeleton.


    Vin waited a beat to see if he¡¯d get a notification for spotting the creature, but when none came, he stepped forward, joining the elder and a monster of a woman clad from head to toe in stone armor. Only lagging a few seconds behind the elder, he managed to catch the tail end of the woman¡¯s explanation.


    ¡°...just appeared, somehow dragging the creature behind itself with its tail. Luckily the warrior that first spotted it recognized it as the animal the tiny man was riding when they came into town and had enough sense not to attack on sight. It¡¯s just been sitting there ever since, waiting.¡±


    ¡°Thank you Raulfa, you have no idea how much this helps,¡± the elder said, relief washing over her face. Turning to find Vin beside her, she grinned. ¡°That is enough to get your friend released. He sure is lucky to have such a faithful companion.¡±


    ¡°I doubt Scule would want you giving Reginald such a big head,¡± Alka chuckled, floating by overhead.


    ¡°You got that right! Give him a single compliment and he never lets you hear the end of it!¡± Scule called out, darting out from under the crowd¡¯s legs and running over to give Reginald a big hug. ¡°I take back every bad thing I ever said, you¡¯re the best rat a guy could have!¡±


    ¡°How..?¡± The elder asked, her eyes widening in shock.


    ¡°What, the cord?¡± Scule asked, snorting at the elder¡¯s expression that transcended language barriers as he scratched Reginald under the chin. ¡°Lady, I¡¯m a Rogue. You might as well have asked me politely not to leave for all the good that cord was going to do.¡±


    ¡°Scule apologizes for leaving the cell,¡± Vin interpreted, stepping between Scule and the handful of warriors that immediately lowered their spears at the petian when they realized he was free. ¡°When he heard his animal companion was back, he was desperate to see him.¡±


    ¡°Reginald!¡± Shia shouted, breaking out of the mass of people and running over to scoop up the rat, knocking Scule over in the process. ¡°Never scare us like that again, you hear me!¡± She scolded, clutching the rat against her chest.


    For his part, Reginald let out a high pitched squeak that sounded positively apologetic to Vin¡¯s ear, before actually saluting with his tail.


    Just how intelligent is Reginald anyway¡­ Vin wondered as an unfamiliar face forced themselves to the front of the crowd.


    ¡°What is the meaning of this?!¡± An older man in a grey robe and desperately in need of a beard comb asked, his eyes flying back and forth between Scule and the elder. ¡°Why is the murderer out of his cell?¡±


    In response to his outburst the elder frowned, tapping her cane against the ground like Vin had seen her do dozens of times before. Only this time, when her cane touched the rocky ground, the very earth erupted in motion.


    Panicked cries went up as the surrounding warriors and curious onlookers struggled to stay on their feet, many stumbling to the ground or grabbing a nearby structure for support. Vin barely managed to keep his own balance by windmilling his arms, and he watched as the older man¡¯s eyes widened before he crashed to the ground, his robe flaring out from under him. After a few seconds, the shaking stopped and the dust settled. Ignoring the hushed voices spreading throughout the crowd, the elder stepped toward the fallen man, looking angry for the first time Vin could remember.


    ¡°I warned you once about spreading false information, Eithan,¡± she spoke, her voice somehow booming out across the village despite her low tone. Her stunt with the miniaturized earthquake had instantly quelled all the different discussions going on around them, and the elder was now the focus of everyone¡¯s attention.


    ¡°People of Sakis!¡± She announced, her voice continuing to boom loud enough for even those on the other side of the village to hear. ¡°No doubt you already heard earlier today of the tragedy that struck our village. One of our very own Stone Mages, Toby Hilkom, was attacked and killed in his very home.¡± She paused, as if giving everyone a chance to digest her words. ¡°Thanks to the brave efforts of our same allies that ventured out and brought Samtha¡¯s team back safely, we now know exactly what creature was responsible for Toby¡¯s death, and have killed it in kind. The creature¡¯s body will be displayed within the jail cell until tomorrow for those who would like to see it with their own eyes.¡±


    The elder ignored the collective wince from the onlooking crowd as she tapped her cane against the ground once more, turning toward Raulfa. Vin hadn¡¯t missed the fact that out of everybody, warriors and regular villagers alike, the stone clad woman had been the only one that seemed completely unfazed by the sudden earthquake, having not moved so much as a single step throughout all the shaking.Stolen story; please report.


    ¡°Raulfa, have some of the warriors bring the creature¡¯s body to the cell, and station a few guards to keep watch over it,¡± she ordered, giving the creature one last look of disgust. ¡°Hopefully that will be enough to satisfy the apprentices¡¯ growing dissent. I¡¯ll figure out what to do with it after that.¡±


    ¡°Elder,¡± the woman nodded, knocking her gauntlets together and immediately barking orders to the group of surrounding warriors, berating the ones that had fallen to the ground.


    Sighing, the elder turned her attention back to the older man who was only just now getting to his feet. Brushing the new layer of dust off his robes, he returned the elder¡¯s annoyed gaze with one of his own.


    ¡°Was that really necessary?¡± he asked, stroking his beard and somehow managing to make the messy thing even worse. Vin was pretty certain he could even see a few rocks sticking out among the salt and pepper hairs.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯m done with you Eithan,¡± the elder frowned, thrusting the end of her cane at his chest. The color immediately drained from the man¡¯s face as he stared at the cane like he was looking down the barrel of a gun. ¡°You¡¯re still standing on hot rocks for rushing things and not letting me do my job.¡±


    ¡°Yes, well¡­¡± the man cleared his throat, at least having the decency to look embarrassed. His eyes flicked back to the dead creature as the warriors hauled it away, and he sighed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Ar-elder. I know better than anyone just how high tensions are right now between the mages and the apprentices¡­ I just didn¡¯t want to see anyone else get hurt.¡±


    ¡°And in your haste to give the apprentices a target for their anger, you nearly sentenced an innocent man for the crime of trying to save Toby¡¯s life.¡±


    Eithan flinched at the elder¡¯s emotionless comment, seeming to withdraw into his own robes. Looking ashamed, the man turned toward Vin and his group, pressing his fists together so hard his knuckles turned white.


    ¡°Please forgive me for acting in such haste. As I¡¯m sure the elder informed you, tensions are running high across the village these days. Even so, that¡¯s no excuse for my actions, and I should have given your friend there the benefit of the doubt. If there is anything I can do to make it up to you as a reward for trying to save Toby and taking down the monster that actually caused this, please just say the word.¡±


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t mention it,¡± Scule said after Shia translated, waving away the mage¡¯s apology. ¡°Spending a few hours alone in a cell isn¡¯t really much of a big deal. Besides, I would have left if I was actually uncomfortable. Your guys¡¯ opinion of a jail is pretty much a joke.¡±


    ¡°Scule appreciates your apology, but says he¡¯s just happy to be free once more,¡± Vin translated, frowning at his friend. He was starting to wonder if getting him a translation ability would honestly be more a hindrance than help at this point.


    ¡°Surely there must be something?¡± Eithan continued, his eyes flicking to the rune covered cane still pointed threateningly at his chest. Sweat began beading on his forehead as the runes started glowing slightly, and he began stammering. ¡°Please, I¡¯m the head of the village¡¯s Stone Mages, just say the word and I¡¯ll figure it out. I could conjure up a house for you on the edge of town, or perhaps create a simple runic object for you?¡±


    Vin continued acting as translator and Scule paused, scratching his chin.


    ¡°Actually, that¡¯s not a bad idea. These guys seem to specialize in stone magic, right? Ask him if he can create something that will increase Reginald¡¯s defenses. He¡¯s the real hero of the day after all.¡±


    He gave Reginald a big smile, and Vin discovered that rats could blush as Reginald¡¯s ears turned a pinkish hue, the rat scuffing his paw in the dirt.


    ¡°Oh, and have him teach you some magic or something,¡± Scule threw in offhandedly, hoisting himself up into Reginald¡¯s saddle and patting the rat on the head. ¡°That sounds like it¡¯d be useful, yeah?¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Vin asked. ¡°You might be able to ask for another runic object instead.¡±


    ¡°Eh, think of it as a thanks for sticking with me,¡± Scule said, giving him a sheepish smile. ¡°I know we haven¡¯t been traveling together for long and the evidence didn¡¯t really favor me, so I appreciate your guys'' faith in me that I didn¡¯t kill that guy. As a Rogue, we¡¯re not really given the benefit of the doubt all that much.¡±


    Vin couldn¡¯t hide his giant smile, and the petian¡¯s face turned a similar shade of pink as Reginald¡¯s ears, the small man grumbling to himself about them being a bunch of saps.


    ¡°Hey, where¡¯s our reward for believing in you?¡± Alka asked, frowning down at him. ¡°I argued for you as well, you know.¡±


    ¡°If I ever find a way to kill you, I promise I¡¯ll do it first chance I get.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± she grinned, drifting back over to Vin. Shaking his head in exasperation at the ghost, Scule directed Reginald to turn away from the cluster of people. Glancing up at Shia, he spotted the elf¡¯s own expectant grin and he clicked his tongue.


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask Reginald to gnaw the weird points off your ears later when he¡¯s not busy.¡±


    Before Shia¡¯s face had even finished turning to outrage, Reginald shot off, and Scule called out over his shoulder as he disappeared into the night.


    ¡°Gonna do some reconnaissance on the creatures! Be back soon!¡±


    As soon as the petian vanished, Shia stomped her foot, scowling in the general direction he¡¯d gone.


    ¡°How many ants would it even take¡­ Ten? Twenty?¡± She began muttering to herself, lost in her own thoughts of revenge as she started counting on her fingers. Vin made a mental note not to sleep near Scule in the foreseeable future as he relayed the Rogue¡¯s requests to Eithan.


    ¡°Ah, a fellow mage, are you?¡± Eithan asked, looking far more confident now that he had actual requests to fulfil and the elder¡¯s cane was no longer aimed at him. ¡°I don¡¯t mind working with you for a few days while I put together something for his mount, but I wouldn¡¯t get your hopes up too high. Unless you want to take on an earth affinity for your mana, I won¡¯t be able to teach you very many spells.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, I¡¯m just happy to learn more magic,¡± Vin said, grinning at the thought of adding to his repertoire of spells. Maybe he¡¯d finally get something he could use in actual combat other than Entangle.


    Making a plan to meet Eithan first thing in the morning, the elder finally led them to one of the spare houses and told them she¡¯d check in on them sometime tomorrow.


    Vin was pleased to discover that while small and barely furnished, the house was still rather comfortable. The runic carvings on the walls seemed to be doing exactly as promised, and Vin claimed one of the two beds for himself, dropping his pack on the ground and letting out a groan after all the excitement of the day.


    ¡°Tell me about it,¡± Shia chuckled, plopping down on the other bed and stretching, letting out a big yawn. She¡¯d either already gotten over Scule¡¯s comment about her ears, or was just biding her time until the petian returned.


    For his sake, Vin prayed it was the former.


    ¡°Ready to learn some more magic tomorrow?¡± She asked, giving him a pointed grin.


    ¡°Not yet¡­¡± Vin said, his heart already starting to race as he came to terms with what he was about to do. Like magic, the fatigue in his body seemed to wash away and he practically began vibrating with excitement.


    ¡°First I need to prestige.¡±

 (60) 2.13. Level 20

    Vin breathed out slowly, letting the smooth lines flow from his mental map out onto paper. He¡¯d seen a quite good bit of this new world ever since arriving on Edregon, and he¡¯d decided it was finally about time he began a journal to keep track of everything. But before all that writing, he was first drawing his own miniaturized map in the front cover for when he inevitably ran across another poor soul who didn¡¯t understand what was going on and he needed to quickly explain how this new world worked.


    It wasn¡¯t a business card, but it would have to do.


    He tried to keep focused on his map, ensuring locations of vital places were as close to accurate as possible, but his mind kept drifting even as he worked.


    What would prestiging finally be like?


    At this point, he was the only member of his party that had no idea. Alka had passed the rigorous tests of the Slayers and become accepted as one of their own, even if she hadn¡¯t lived very long afterwards. Scule had managed to steal an artifact from within the holy vault of the citadel right out from under the nose of their deranged guardian, proving to the System he was worthy of his new class. And Shia, he¡¯d learned, had achieved her prestige class amidst her mass healing and defense of his own Earthers during the recent giant battle.


    He didn¡¯t actually even know for sure if he¡¯d be able to prestige at this moment. He was banking on the hope that the System had already acknowledged he¡¯d done something worthy of being a prestiged Explorer and didn¡¯t require people to do it after getting to the level 19 cap. Unfortunately, because this was totally new and not a part of the old System, none of his friends had any idea if that was the case or not.


    It better be, he huffed to himself, carefully sketching out a frog with a big skull and crossbones in the desert fragment portion of his map. I¡¯ve risked my life to explore every fragment surrounding ours. I drank tea with an ancient magical beast inside his own giant tree. I entered a divine sanctum, destroyed a grand artifact, and discovered how to commune with the Gods for crying out loud!


    Calming himself down, Vin went back to his map, ensuring his lines remained nice and clean. He wasn¡¯t even sure how much longer-


    Cartography increased to lvl 6! 600 exp gained.


    Level up! Prestige Requirements Met!


    Please Select Class Evolution.


    Vin grinned as the messages he¡¯d been waiting for finally appeared and the familiar thrum of energy rocketed out from his core, stretching all the way to the tips of his fingers before retracting as the System analyzed him.


    Pushing his journal aside, he tried to calm himself down, wanting to make sure he had a cool head for this decision. Shia had long since gone to sleep, and he didn¡¯t want to disturb the elf while she was quietly dreaming. She¡¯d told him to wake her up if he had any questions, but also said that prestiging was more of a personal choice. According to her, he should just go with whatever option called to him.


    It was exactly the kind of unhelpful advice that Vin had come to expect from his friends.


    Unable to wait any longer, he finally turned his attention to the list of possible prestige options. Whatever he picked would be his class for the next twenty levels, so he better make sure he picked a good one.


    To his surprise he had a decent number of options; almost a full dozen in fact. And while a few of them didn¡¯t interest him in the slightest, he groaned at the realization this was going to be a difficult choice.


    Dismissing the ones he wasn¡¯t interested in, Vin found himself giving a second glance to five of the remaining options.


    Runic Explorer: A class based on exploring the unknown and learning the ins and outs of runic objects.


    Bonus: +1 Endurance per level, +1 Focus per level


    Starting Passives: Mental Map, Careful Carving


    His first option was already extremely enticing. Bonus stats to one of the two attributes he really cared about, and a passive that sounded like it would help him if he decided to try his hand at making runic objects. On top of which he got to keep his Mental Map passive, which wasn¡¯t actually the case with all of his options¡­


    Spellcasting Student: A class based on furthering your knowledge of magic as a whole.


    Bonus: +1 Magic per level, +1 Focus per level


    Starting Passives: Careful Carving, Iron Mind


    This one really irked him, because it was almost exactly what he¡¯d been hoping for. Bonus stats to both of the two attributes associated with spellcasting, the Careful Carving passive for creating runic objects, and Iron Mind, which he could only assume would have something to do with making the construction and holding of runic formations inside his personal mana far easier.


    The only downside of this class was that it looked like it was an adjacent class evolution rather than a direct upgrade. He¡¯d be leaving the Explorer class tree behind for what looked like the Student one, losing his Mental Map in the process.


    Vin tried to imagine exploring the crazy patchwork world of Edregon without his Mental Map passive, shuddering at the very thought. Without GPS or even a compass to help guide someone, the only way to keep track of where you¡¯d been was through a carefully detailed map. And while he did have Cartography, he didn¡¯t want to have to stop and update his map every ten feet.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    And it would only get more difficult the further he travelled from their main fragment.


    Shoving that one aside for now, he looked at his third option. This one was still on the list of potentials for reasons entirely unrelated to magic.


    Durable Explorer: A class based on exploring the unknown, regardless of the dangers it may present.


    Bonus: +1 Endurance per level, +1 Vigor per level


    Starting Passives: Mental Map, Diehard


    Vin¡¯s missing hand throbbed as he stared at the class that seemed most likely to keep him alive in this crazy world.


    Suffice to say, Vin had taken a lot of punishment during his brief time on Edregon for someone that didn¡¯t even have a combat class. If not for his divine boon, he would have been dead twice over already. It was no wonder the System had provided him with this option, and the thought of adding to his survivability was definitely appealing.


    He knew from watching Samtha¡¯s group shrug off lethal blows or ones that should have left them with severe brain damage at the very least that the Diehard passive was nothing to sneeze at. While he wasn¡¯t leaning toward this option, he couldn¡¯t dismiss it outright.


    Magical Explorer: A class based on exploring the unknown and discovering spells along the way.


    Bonus: +1 Endurance per level, +1 Magic per level


    Starting Passives: Mental Map, Iron Mind


    Similar to Runic Explorer, this option checked most of the boxes he was looking for. He¡¯d get bonus stats in one of his two favorite attributes, get to keep his Mental Map passive, and would even get a passive that would most likely be extremely helpful for improving his spellcasting capabilities going forward. It was a strong contender, and he was pretty certain he had his top three picked out already.


    Though he did have one final option that looked a bit interesting.


    Wanderer: A class based on wandering wherever your heart desires, free to make your own choices.


    Bonus: +2 Endurance per level


    Starting Passives: Mental Map, Free Spirit


    Another adjacent evolution that would lose him his Explorer class, this one was interesting because of both the double dipping into endurance, and the fact that it seemed to break the mold of ¡®adjective + base class,¡¯ making it a unique class similar to Alka¡¯s ¡®Slayer.¡¯ It looked like he¡¯d be able to keep his Mental Map passive, and he had absolutely no idea what Free Spirit would give him, but he had to admit it sounded enticing. Maybe he¡¯d gain the ability to never be locked up or have his freedom taken away from him. He wasn¡¯t exactly planning on breaking any laws in the near future, but he had to admit, as someone that had been arrested once or twice back on Earth, it was an appealing option.


    Sighing at the first world problem of having too many good options, Vin eventually dismissed Durable Explorer and Wanderer with a wave of his hand. While the extra survivability would be nice, and Free Spirit intrigued him, he¡¯d come to terms with his spellcasting addiction at this point.


    He wanted magic.


    Vin looked over his three remaining choices yet again, struggling with two conflicting sides of himself.


    For as long as he could remember, Vin had been plagued with wanderlust. Back when they¡¯d still cared, he¡¯d given his parents heart attacks time and time again as a kid for wandering off and getting lost whenever they turned their backs for even a moment. The ever-burning desire to discover what was just beyond the horizon was a core part of himself, and that had only grown even more powerful since arriving on Edregon.


    And yet since arriving, he¡¯d awakened a new desire. Something far newer than his thirst for exploration, but almost as powerful a driving force for him.


    Magic.


    Ever since picking up the Spellcraft skill, Vin had become obsessed with magic. In its own way, magic was like its own impossibly vast world filled with incredible mountains and endless valleys, both of which he could just barely see from his meager starting point. He wanted to explore this new world he¡¯d stumbled upon, see for himself just what heights he could reach and just how far he could go.


    Struggling to come to a decision, he wished Alka was here so he could use her as a sounding board. Unfortunately, seeing as she didn¡¯t need to sleep, the ghost has volunteered to patrol the perimeter of the village and keep an eye out for more of the freaky creatures. He¡¯d asked her what her thoughts were on prestiging before she¡¯d left, and her advice echoed unhelpfully in his head.


    ¡®Whichever one makes you better at killing monsters!¡¯


    ¡°God damn battle junkie,¡± Vin muttered, putting his face in his hands and letting out a quiet groan. He hadn¡¯t known why he¡¯d expected anything different, but it sure would have been nice.


    He bet Reginald would have some good advice for him.


    Sighing, Vin looked longingly at all three options, his finger slowly wavering as he raised it. With a tiny flick that felt like he was tossing a part of himself in the trash, he dismissed Spellcasting Student.


    Vin knew he was making the right choice, but it still pained him like no other. He needed the Mental Map passive to continue his current lifestyle on this insane world. As much as he desperately wanted to focus on magic, he also knew with a hundred percent certainty that he¡¯d be kicking himself for giving up Mental Map anytime he had to travel anywhere.


    Ignoring the longing ache in his chest, he turned his focus toward his final two contenders, scanning through them once more.


    Runic Explorer


    Bonus: +1 Endurance per level, +1 Focus per level


    Starting Passives: Mental Map, Careful Carving


    Magical Explorer


    Bonus: +1 Endurance per level, +1 Magic per level


    Starting Passives: Mental Map, Iron Mind


    He toyed with the edge of his journal, running his fingers along the smooth leather as he thought. The attributes didn¡¯t really matter at this point seeing as he¡¯d just be raising the alternate one with his free points, so it really boiled down to the passives.


    One of which sounded technically twice as useful as the other.


    With one last, longing thought given toward crafting something like the elder¡¯s cane one day, Vin dismissed Runic Explorer with a wave of his hand, looking at the winner of his internal struggle. Careful Carving sounded useful alright, but if Iron Mind did what he suspected, it wouldn¡¯t just be useful for helping him make artifacts.


    It would be useful for learning and casting spells as well.


    Not giving himself a chance to second guess his decision and start pulling up the classes he¡¯d already dismissed, Vin made his choice, leaning back in his chair and gasping as a second wave of energy washed over him, this one far denser than the first.


    For the briefest of moments, Vin couldn¡¯t even breathe; the magical pressure pushing down on him like the hand of a giant. But just before he could panic, almost as quickly as it had begun the pressure vanished.


    Frantically sucking in air, Vin knocked his chair back as he rocketed to his feet, doing his best to take some sort of defensive stance. His heart pounding, he mentally prepared himself for some other invisible attack. But as the seconds ticked by and nothing happened, he realized it was already over.


    Slowly sinking back down into his chair, he noticed he had two unread messages from the System. Willing them open, he took one look at his new messages and grinned.


    Class Evolution Complete.


    Level up! Magical Explorer lvl 20.

 (61) 2.14. Hey Kid… Wanna Learn Some More Magic?

    ¡°Before we begin, let me ask you this¡­ What is magic?¡±


    Vin stared at his new magic instructor, blinking at the familiar question and experiencing a sudden sense of d¨¦j¨¤-vu to his very first lesson with Shia back in the Sacred Forest. Did all magic teachers start their lessons this way?


    ¡°Magic is chaos,¡± Vin said, recalling his conversation with the Goddess. ¡°It is endless power, for good and for bad, which we give order to via runic formations to carry out our simple whims.¡±


    Eithan blinked, staring at him like he¡¯d suddenly grown a second head. Clearing his throat, the older man slowly nodded. ¡°Well¡­ That¡¯s certainly an answer I¡¯ve not heard before. You¡¯re not exactly wrong, but it¡¯s a bit of a depressing viewpoint, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°I view magic as opportunity,¡± he continued, waving his hand with a smile and summoning a stone out of thin air. Snatching it before it could hit the ground, he held the ordinary looking rock out to him, giving him a good look at it. ¡°Just like how this stone could become just about anything in the hands of a skilled Carver, a skilled mage can take magic and do just about anything with it, given enough time and study.¡±


    Vin nodded, appreciating the Stone Mage¡¯s outlook on magic. He liked thinking of magic as an opportunity as opposed to an inevitable maelstrom of destruction held at bay solely by the colossal workings of the Gods.


    ¡°Now, I warned you of this last we spoke, but unless you want to risk giving your mana an earth affinity you shouldn¡¯t learn more than a handful of earth based spells for now,¡± Eithan repeated. ¡°It¡¯s not exact, but the safest rule is generally not to learn more spells than a tenth of your magic attribute plus one, rounded down. Meaning if you have twenty points in magic, you¡¯d risk developing an affinity if you learned more than three spells.¡±


    ¡°Makes sense,¡± Vin nodded, checking his System interface despite knowing exactly what numbers it would show.


    Vinnie Stone


    Magical Explorer: Lvl 20


    Titles: Human Vessel (Lesser)


    Exp. 192,160/210,000


    Strength: 13(10)


    Dexterity: 20(6)


    Endurance: 39(4)


    Vigor: 20(4)


    Focus: 25(2)


    Magic: 30


    Attribute Points: 0


    Skill Points: 1


    Passive Points: 0


    Vows/Boons: Vow of Benevolence/Grace of Gods (Boon)


    Capstone: Runic Recalibration


    Passives: Mental Map, Polyglot, Distance Runner, Threat Detection, Iron Mind


    Skills: Tracking lvl 6, Runecraft lvl 1, Meditation lvl 17, Dungeoneering lvl 1, Resistance lvl 7, Running lvl 8, Cartography lvl 6


    Tier 0 Spells: Sense Stone (earth), Sense Life (life), Sense Magic (neutral)


    Tier 1 Spells: Renewal (life), Entangle (nature), Replenish (nature), Light (light), Concealment (neutral)


    After prestiging last night, he''d been surprised to find that the spell portion of his interface had been restructured under tiers and affinities. On top of that, he also had a few unexpected and brand new messages waiting for him.


    New spell witnessed! Tier 1 Earth Spell (Summon Stone). 1,000 exp gained.


    New magical affinity discovered! Earth affinity. 1,000 exp gained.


    Well that¡¯s certainly new. Vin hadn¡¯t given too much thought to how prestiging would alter the inner workings of his standard Explorer class, but it looked like on top of his new bonuses and passive, the ways he went about gaining experience had changed. He¡¯d have to do some experimenting later and see what else was different.


    ¡°My magic attribute is at thirty,¡± he told Eithan, earning himself a surprised look.


    ¡°That¡¯s remarkably high for a non-spell focused class,¡± the man said, clearly wanting to ask him some questions but managing to restrain himself. ¡°Regardless, that means you shouldn¡¯t learn more than four earth based spells if you want to play it safe and keep your mana neutral. You might be fine at five, but there¡¯s always a chance you¡¯ll develop an affinity if you push it.¡±


    ¡°I already know Stone Sense, so really only three new ones.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Stone Sense would have been the first spell I taught you anyway, so you¡¯re not wasting a slot or anything,¡± Eithan reassured him. ¡°That runic formation is the starting point of just about all of our spells. In fact, there is another one you¡¯ll have to learn as well before we can get started.¡±


    ¡°Summon Stone?¡± Vin guessed.


    ¡°Right you are, lad!¡± Eithan grinned, clearly enjoying having a student that was on the ball. ¡°The two of these spells make up the base of all our runic formations, so you won¡¯t be able to cast any of our more complicated earth magic without both of them under your belt. Just about all fields of magic have the same two bases; a tier 0 sense spell, and a tier 1 creation spell. Once you have Summon Stone down, then we can talk about what you want your final two spells to be.¡±


    ¡°Alright, ready when you are!¡± Vin said, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet in anticipation. He couldn¡¯t wait to sink his teeth into a new type of magic, and he swore he could already taste it.


    ¡°Well then,¡± Eithan said, standing proudly before him and giving him a wide smile. ¡°Go find a rock!¡±


    Vin stared at the mage in confusion, his enthusiasm quickly diminishing.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°A rock, lad. Go find a rock!¡± Eithan repeated, shooing him with his hands.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    Slowly, looking quizzically at his mentor all the while, Vin bent down. The entire fragment consisted of dusty, rocky terrain, so Vin had no issues reaching out and grabbing one about the size of his hand without ever breaking eye contact with the grinning mage. Standing back up, he presented his find to his mentor.


    ¡°A rock,¡± he said dumbly, wondering where they were going with this.


    ¡°Yes, indeed,¡± Eithan said, stroking his messy beard. ¡°Now, describe it to me.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ It¡¯s hard. Kinda cold, I guess. A bit dusty¡­¡± Vin stared at his new mentor, wondering if he¡¯d made a poor choice. ¡°¡­I¡¯ll be honest, I¡¯m not sure what you¡¯re looking for here.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what I¡¯m looking for,¡± Eithan chuckled, gesturing toward Vin¡¯s rock. ¡°What matters is what you are looking for. Tell me Vin, most of my students are starting from complete scratch, so I guess I forgot to check with you before starting this lesson. But do you have any spells that create a physical something out of nothing? Any creation based spells, I should say?¡±


    Vin ran through his rather limited spell list in his mind, pondering the question. Most of his spells either let him detect something or emit something, but none created something from nothing. Although seeing as it didn¡¯t have a ¡®sense spell¡¯ base like the rest of his spells, he could only assume his newest spell Light counted as a creation base spell as far as magic was concerned. Entangle was also close, but that spell required preexisting vegetation to function, he just made it grow faster. He couldn¡¯t actually create plants out of thin air. And seeing as it was built off of Sense Life, it couldn¡¯t be a creation spell according to Eithan¡¯s definition.


    ¡°Maybe, but I¡¯m not entirely sure,¡± he admitted.


    ¡°Nothing to be ashamed of!¡± Eithan smiled. ¡°The reason I¡¯m asking you to describe your rock is because I¡¯m about to let you in on a little secret most fledgling mages don¡¯t realize for quite some time.¡±


    Holding out his other hand, Eithan must have cast Summon Stone again, as a second rock appeared out of nowhere clutched between his fingers. Only unlike the first ordinary looking rock he¡¯d summoned, this one was distinctly different. While the first one looked like a pale grey, this one was far darker and had much rougher edges.


    ¡°A question for you, Vin. How is it that I can use the identical runic formation in a second Summon Stone spell, and yet get a completely different rock?¡±


    Vin stared at the mage¡¯s hands, his eyes flicking back and forth between the two clearly different rocks. Unless Eithan also had an ability like his own Runic Recalibration, he had no idea how the man had managed to adjust his spell.


    ¡°Some sort of passive?¡±


    ¡°A good guess, but no,¡± Eithan said, shaking his head. ¡°While I do have a few passives that aid me in my casting, they aren¡¯t why I was able to get two distinctly different rocks out of the same spell. The answer, is that many runes are not quite as definitive as you¡¯d expect.¡±


    ¡°Take my Summon Stone spell for example. Do you think the runic formation for such a simple spell includes individual runes for the rock¡¯s size, color, weight, and all the other details you or I could sit here listing about any given rock for hours?¡±


    ¡°I guess not,¡± Vin said, starting to see where the mage was going with this.


    ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t. While all the factors that make spells so complicated still apply of course, such as positing the runes correctly within your mana and angling them so just within the formation, the heart of the spell, the rune for rock, ironically, is rather flexible. Upon flooding the formation with mana and casting the spell, in that moment the rune checks in with the caster for their idea of what a rock is, and uses that as the template for its creation. By changing my mental image of a rock, I can use the same spell to get two entirely different results.¡±


    ¡°So spells aren¡¯t just rigid things after all¡­ But how does that work? Gemstones are technically rocks, aren''t they? Couldn¡¯t you use that spell just to summon gems then?¡±


    ¡°First off, I¡¯m impressed you¡¯re aware that some gems are technically a type of rock,¡± Eithan said, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Normally it takes a few lessons to get my students to accept that fact. But to answer your question, no, that wouldn¡¯t work. Not because your idea isn¡¯t sound, but because there already exists a rune for gem. Whatever strange intelligence governs the language of magic apparently decided that the two concepts of rock and gem are different enough to warrant different runes. If I tried to picture a rock as a diamond for example, the mana would somehow cross check other runes to see if one existed that better fit my mental model. If that was the case, my spell would fail.¡±


    ¡°I think I need a minute,¡± Vin said, holding a hand to his head as his world view was forcibly expanded yet again. His mind whirled with this new understanding of how magic worked. The way Eithan described it, he almost made it sound as though mana was alive. How else was it able to tell what mental construct fit into what rune? Was it just the Gods making these decisions behind the scenes like he¡¯d been told? Or did the mana spread throughout countless worlds truly have some sort of deep, underlying awareness that the Gods were simply building on top of?


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I had my own existential crisis when my mentor revealed all this to me when I was a mere apprentice,¡± Eithan chuckled, giving him a sympathetic smile. With barely a rumble, two perfectly crafted stone stools rose out of the ground, their legs still merged perfectly with the hard earth. Taking a seat, the Mage motioned for Vin to do the same.


    Wary of any more mind blowing secrets being dropped on him the moment he let his guard down, Vin complied. Practically collapsing on the offered stool, he glanced at his newest notification.


    New spell witnessed! Tier 2 Earth Spell (Stone Furniture). 2,000 exp gained.


    I guess there¡¯s a rune for furniture, and he was imagining stools then?


    Vin slowly shook his head, his mind awash with possibilities. He¡¯d already viewed magic as some sort of incredible force only limited by the caster¡¯s focus and mana, but Eithan¡¯s revelation made him wonder just how much more there was to learn. It felt like every answer he discovered regarding magic just brought him more questions, and he was beginning to suspect no one mage truly had all the answers.


    Eithan clearly had experience dropping this word shattering revelation on students prior to Vin, as the man seemed content to simply sit there and watch the far off villagers go about their days as he waited patiently for Vin to digest everything. They¡¯d picked a spot not too far from the village to practice, and Vin couldn¡¯t help but notice the occasional dirty look he seemed to be getting from some of the older looking villagers in dusty robes.


    Evidently he wasn¡¯t the only one, as after a few minutes Eithan sighed, frowning back toward the village.


    ¡°Please let me apologize on behalf of the Stone Mage¡¯s in our village. I have something of a reputation as a good teacher, and because of our current situation, many of the older Stone Mages want me to stop teaching entirely lest the apprentices grow strong enough to pass the elder¡¯s new test.¡±


    ¡°They actually asked you to stop helping people grow stronger?¡± Vin asked, shocked to hear anyone would actually have the gall to make such a request. ¡°I feel like with all the craziness of the Great Migration they would want to help people grow in power as quickly as possible.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve been fortunate that prior to yesterday, almost no threats have come from any of the surrounding fragments. Other than some straggler monsters from that large wave you warned us about the other day,¡± Eithan shrugged, summoning a small stone to his hand and turning it this way and that, examining it. ¡°Not only that, but we¡¯ve even had fewer regular monster attacks now than before we were transported here. With peace grows carelessness, and most of our older Stone Mages are more concerned about losing their free helpers than they are about empowering our future mages.¡±


    ¡°Well, if it helps¡­ I can tell you in good faith that the number of monsters spawning is probably going to increase over the coming days,¡± Vin said, trying not to sound guilty. The memory of him and his friends getting thrown across the holy district when the Grand Artifact of Qiatha blew up flicked through his head for a moment, but he quickly squashed it down.


    ¡°Really?¡± Eithan asked, giving him another curious look. After waiting a few seconds for an explanation that wasn¡¯t coming, he chuckled. ¡°The elder seems to hold you in rather high regard, so I suppose I¡¯ll just have to take your warning at face value.¡±


    ¡°Now, enough chatting about old fogeys that only care about having someone wash their clothes for them,¡± Eithan said, standing up and holding up a glowing finger.


    ¡°Let¡¯s learn some magic!¡±

 (62) 2.15. They Don’t Just Eat Rocks?

    Despite Eithan¡¯s unique take on magic and having lived on an entirely different world than Shia, it turned out that teaching someone how to cast a new spell was pretty much the same regardless of where you came from.


    Sure, Eithan made him spend a few hours closely examining hundreds of different rocks and making lists of all their many features, but once he was satisfied with Vin¡¯s understanding, he gave him the runic formation of Summon Stone and tasked him with memorizing it while he took care of some things.


    Confident that he was relatively safe so close to the village, Vin¡¯s surroundings slipped away as he utilized his Meditation skill, turning his focus inward and getting to work reconstructing the runic structure of Summon Stone within his own mana. Immediately, he detected a couple of changes from the last time he¡¯d done this.


    First off was his newly evolved skill Runecraft. It seemed to still function the same way Spellcraft did, allowing him to analyze the many runes and slowly determine what they represented and how they were supposed to be aligned, but it was like turning in an old Volkswagen Beetle for a shiny new Mustang. He could literally feel the increase in brainpower as he worked his way through the runic structure, and he was even fast enough now to occasionally catch himself right before igniting a runic backlash within his mana.


    Even more impressive than his evolved skill however was the passive he¡¯d gained for hitting level 20 and prestiging. He¡¯d hoped Iron Mind would give him a boost to his concentration, but the passive went leaps and bounds beyond his expectations.


    Not only did the passive improve his concentration to a degree, but he found after staring at a runic formation for long enough, he could actually recreate it in the back of his mind as though he¡¯d taken a 3D picture of it.


    This didn¡¯t help him learn the spell any faster of course, as he still had to come to his own personal understanding of the spell and flawlessly recreate the runes within his personal mana, but it meant he would no longer be trapped next to a floating runic structure until he¡¯d finally mastered the spell. As long as he was given the formation once, he could now snag a mental snapshot of it and take it on the road with him.


    He had some innate understanding that he could only hold two or three of these images as he was right now, but he had the feeling that number might increase the more he practiced or leveled.


    So it was with a huge grin that after only half a day of intense study, and two minor runic backlashes that had covered parts of his body in a paper thin layer of stone, Vin slipped out of Meditation for the final time and held out his hand.


    ¡°Summon Stone.¡±


    As though it has always been there, a simple, basic rock without any fancy colors or features popped into existence, falling an inch directly into his waiting hand. Gripping the fruits of his labor, Vin couldn¡¯t help but let out a whooping cry, jumping off his stone stool and pumping his hand.


    And nearly collapsing to the ground as he realized his legs were completely asleep.


    Falling back onto the stool, Vin winced as he tried to work the blood back into his legs, cursing himself for not having stood up a single time since that morning. While certainly impressive, a stone stool wasn¡¯t exactly the most comfortable piece of furniture, and Vin prayed he¡¯d one day meet an Archmage capable of teaching him some form of Summon Comfy Armchair.


    The annoying pins and needles did little to overcome his excitement however, and Vin looked in wonder at the rock in his hand. Without a single remarkable feature, it looked like any random rock you could pick up just about anywhere. It wasn¡¯t anything all that impressive really.


    Except for the fact that it hadn¡¯t existed just a minute ago.


    This is wild, he thought, holding the rock up and squinting at it, as if trying to see some sort of imperfection that would differentiate this rock from all the normal ones around him. Somehow he¡¯d taken the invisible, intangible mana inside his own body and turned it into something. Sure, that something was a boring old rock, but it was still a physical object. Not that he¡¯d had any doubts, but this proved that there really was no limit to what magic could do.


    Shaking his head in wonder, Vin felt the tell-tale buzzing of unread notifications on the edge of his consciousness. Squeezing his rock, he pulled up his System interface and grinned at all the messages he¡¯d ignored for the past couple of hours.


    Meditation lvl 18! 1,800 exp gained.


    Meditation lvl 19! 1,900 exp gained.


    Runecraft lvl 2! 400 exp gained.


    New tier 1 spell learned! Summon Stone (earth). 5,000 exp gained.


    Glad I still get experience for learning new spells, he thought, only a little put out by the lack of skill increases. He¡¯d been working on learning that spell for the better part of a day, and he¡¯d only gotten two levels in Meditation and one in Runecraft for all his efforts. It made sense for skills to slow down the higher they got in level, and Runecraft was already an evolved skill on top of that, but it was still a bit disappointing.


    Still riding the high of learning a brand new spell, Vin wanted nothing more than to go find Eithan and demand they start working on his next one. But a deep rumbling in his stomach convinced him he should probably take a break.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    For however long it took him to scarf down a sandwich at least. Or whatever the villagers of Sakis ate for lunch.


    Once he¡¯d gotten feeling back in his legs, Vin carefully tucked his totally normal non-magical magic rock in his pack and headed off to find something to eat. The elder had given them directions of where to go for meals while they were here, but Vin had been so excited to learn magic this morning that he¡¯d forwent breakfast entirely.


    Trying to remember the elder¡¯s instructions, Vin wandered through the small village, looking for the right building. If he recalled correctly, he was looking for a building with a carving of two children playing with their pet mondra, one of those six legged salamanders he¡¯d nearly stepped on that could naturally camouflage themselves to such a degree that he swore magic had to be involved somehow.


    Apparently, mondras made for surprisingly good pets, although Vin still didn¡¯t know if they were mainly indoor or outdoor pets. He hadn¡¯t really seen many out and about within the village, but that really didn¡¯t mean anything.


    What with the whole camouflage thing and all.


    Stopping to let a group of children run past and briefly watching their game that seemed to consist of rolling a spherical rock around by expertly pelting it with other rocks, he finally managed to find the building he was looking for.


    Sure enough, one of the large stone walls had a beautiful carving of two laughing children tossing up their pet mondra, their arms outstretched as they prepared to catch the falling salamander. Vin couldn¡¯t help but admire the Carver¡¯s skill, as whoever had made this piece of art had even managed to capture the look of sheer terror on the face of the poor lizard that had never been meant for flight.


    ¡°Good old Martin¡­ Not every day you find a mondra quite like him. Few of those lizards are willing to put up with little ones to the same extent he did.¡±


    Realizing he wasn¡¯t the only one admiring the carving, Vin turned to find a man in what looked like leather overalls giving him a big smile. The stranger had long hair tucked back in a ponytail, and a few small streaks of something dark across his face.


    ¡°I¡¯m Peter,¡± he said, lightly putting his knuckles together in front of his chest. ¡°I take it you must be the stranger everyone¡¯s talking about?¡±


    ¡°I suppose I am,¡± Vin chuckled, going to return the strange greeting only to realize he physically couldn¡¯t with his left hand missing. Feeling his face heating up, he quickly dropped his arms to his sides, clearing his throat as he did his best to ignore the pang of loss welling up from deep within him. ¡°I¡¯m Vin.¡±


    ¡°Well it¡¯s good to meet you Vin,¡± Peter grinned, seemingly unperturbed by Vin¡¯s failed greeting. Somehow the man managed to not even glance at Vin¡¯s missing limb, which he greatly appreciated. ¡°The elder told me you¡¯d be swinging by for something to eat. Though when you didn¡¯t show up for breakfast, I thought maybe you¡¯d run off again already!¡±


    Vin couldn¡¯t help but smile at Peter¡¯s boisterous laugh that sounded like it should belong to someone nearly twice his size.


    ¡°Sorry about that¡­ Eithan agreed to teach me some magic, and I got so excited I decided to head straight there after I woke up.¡±


    ¡°Ah, say no more,¡± Peter nodded. ¡°Never had the knack for it myself, but my son there...¡± he paused, gesturing to one of the children in the carving with a warm smile. ¡°...Wyatt, decided to go that route. I¡¯d always envisioned him taking over the harvest when he got older, but I¡¯m glad he found something he was passionate about.¡±


    ¡°Oh, is he one of the Stone Mages? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve run into him yet.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t,¡± Peter said, his smile turning melancholy as he gingerly stroked the carving. Only then did Vin realize the man¡¯s fingertips were also stained in that same, dark color as the streaks on his face. ¡°He was off visiting the Great Rock when it all happened. I have no idea where he is now, but he didn¡¯t make the trip with us.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    Vin stood there, awkwardly watching the man have an intimate moment with the carving of his lost son. What was he supposed to say? Sorry your boy got left behind when the Gods kidnapped the rest of you?


    Thankfully, the somber moment only lasted a few seconds, and the man quickly turned his attention back to him, his sadness nowhere to be seen.


    ¡°Anyway, I know wherever he is he¡¯s doing just fine,¡± Peter said, his words sounding confident. ¡°I raised him to take care of himself after all!¡±


    Motioning for Vin to follow him, Vin was surprised when Peter led him around to the back of the building rather than inside. After mentioning a harvest, Vin had expected some sort of garden.


    What he hadn¡¯t expected was a small vineyard descending down into the earth.


    Vin looked around in shock at the rows of trellises lining the earthen walls as Peter led them down some carved steps. The entire man-made cavern had to stretch underneath a good quarter of the village, the roof of which was held up by numerous supporting pillars, each one also being used to grow some sort of crop that looked like an apple but was only about the size of a grape. Every possible inch of the walls seemed to be in use, and Vin spotted a few dozen villagers moving around, checking on the different plants and harvesting some here and there.


    ¡°Welcome to the farm,¡± Peter grinned, chuckling at Vin¡¯s expression as he led them between the rows of crops. ¡°The soil up above isn¡¯t very well suited for growing crops, so we grow most of our food down here. We don¡¯t have the biggest variety, but it keeps our bellies full.¡±


    ¡°This is insane,¡± Vin said breathlessly, trying to judge just how much dirt and rock had to have been excavated for this cavern to exist. He¡¯d gone caving a few times back on Earth, but never before had he seen such a large underground structure.


    ¡°There are hundreds of solid stone houses up there,¡± he said, looking hesitantly at the ceiling up above them, wishing desperately that they¡¯d built more pillars. ¡°How do you keep the roof from collapsing under all that weight?¡±


    ¡°Come on, you just said you came from a lesson with Eithan, right? Magic!¡± Peter laughed, plucking one of the weird, tiny looking purple apples from a nearby trellis and tossing it at him. ¡°Here, try a vatos. And don¡¯t worry, these ones are seedless.¡±


    Catching the offered fruit, Vin hesitantly plopped the whole thing in his mouth. Biting down on the soft fruit, his eyes widened at the fleshy pulp that exploded within his mouth, the sweet juices a welcome surprise. It was like getting a small mouthful of a delicious peach, without the fuzzy skin or giant seed to worry about.


    ¡°That¡¯s fantastic!¡± He said, looking at the towering trellises with a new appreciation. ¡°Is there any way you could show my people how to grow these things?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯d need to set up the proper environment for them, but I don¡¯t see why not,¡± Peter shrugged, popping a vatos into his own mouth. ¡°The initial vines take a good while to grow, but if you maintain them and prune them correctly, they¡¯ll keep producing for pretty much forever.¡±


    Note to self, tell Spur we need to set up an underground garden. I have no idea what his plans are for farming, but he must have some sort of long term goals. Hell, did we even bring any seeds with us from Earth? I didn¡¯t see any, but they must be somewhere¡­


    Vin hadn¡¯t realized he¡¯d gotten lost in thought until Peter tapped a knuckle against the trellis, the knocking snapping him out of his musings.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re eager to get back to your magic, so why don¡¯t we load you up with some fruit and get you on your way? As much fun as I do have showing off the farm, I can¡¯t slack off too much or the elder will give me an earful!¡±


    Grinning, Vin followed after the loud man, listening to his descriptions of the different fruits and happily accepting a basket to toss some into as they went. As excited as he was to get back to his magic lessons, he had to admit seeing the way Sakis sustained itself was pretty interesting.


    After only visiting the village a few times, he¡¯d begun to fear that the people here just ate rocks.

 (63) 2.16. A Whole New Tier

    ¡°So, what is it you want to be able to do, Vin?¡± Eithan asked him, the two of them having retaken their stools on the outskirts of town once more.


    After lunch, Vin had found Eithan waiting for him here, and the two of them had immediately jumped back into the lesson. Once he¡¯d shown Eithan he¡¯d gotten a handle on Summon Stone, the Stone Mage had been impressed and declared it was time to step it up a notch.


    ¡°Seeing as you can only safely learn two more earth affinity spells, really it boils down to what you want to be able to accomplish,¡± Eithan explained. ¡°So, what are you looking for? A method to defend yourself? Something more utility based? An offensive spell? Most of my spells are still lost to me until I can raise my attributes once more, but I have a couple of lower tier earth spells you could pick between.¡±


    ¡°Would you mind showing them to me?¡± Vin asked, both excited just to see more magic and eager for the easy experience gain his new class seemed to provide.


    ¡°Sure,¡± Eithan shrugged. ¡°You¡¯ve already seen Stone Furniture for utility, so let¡¯s start with defense then. Say there was a monster rushing at one of my students, and I wanted to protect them.¡± Gesturing to the side, the mage spoke.


    ¡°Stone Wall.¡±


    Immediately a thick, six foot tall wall erupted from the rocky ground, rising into position in barely a second. Vin stared in awe at the monolith now marring the once flat area next to them, easily able to imagine a monster running headfirst into the sudden barrier.


    New spell witnessed! Tier 2 Earth Spell (Stone Wall). 2,000 exp gained.


    ¡°A critical spell that all of our Stone Mages are required to learn,¡± Eithan said, lowering his hand. ¡°A well placed wall can mean the difference between life and death after all.¡±


    ¡°Why did the wall rise out of the ground rather than just appear, like with Summon Stone?¡± Vin asked, looking at the wall curiously. ¡°It uses the Summon Stone spell as the base of its runic formation right?¡±


    ¡°Indeed it does, and an excellent question,¡± Eithan smiled at him. ¡°If I had to guess, I¡¯d say it¡¯s probably due once more to the runes¡¯ understanding of what a wall is. Tell me, when you think of a stone, it¡¯s rather simple to imagine a stone flying through the air as though someone tossed it, yes?¡±


    Vin nodded, and Eithan continued. ¡°But when you think of a wall¡­ Can you really imagine a wall just floating in the air?¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡± Vin said, realizing what he was getting at. ¡°Walls have to be built on the ground. And while I guess I could imagine some powerful wind picking one up and hurling it around, that¡¯s definitely not their natural state.¡±


    ¡°Precisely. Which is exactly why the wall remains in contact with the ground during its formation, despite the fact that I am technically creating it out of my own mana.¡±


    ¡°Now, once the spell is complete, it doesn¡¯t have to remain like that of course,¡± Eithan said, pointing a finger at the new wall. ¡°Stone Shot.¡±


    As though propelled by an explosion, a small shard of stone manifested in front of his finger and rocketed toward the wall, smashing into the structure with a loud bang that sent cracks spiraling throughout its face. Eithan fired off two more shots, each one smashing into the wall with just as much force, until his third shot finally knocked the stone wall over entirely in an explosion of dust.


    New spell witnessed! Tier 2 Earth Spell (Stone Shot). 2,000 exp gained.


    ¡°This is the simplest offensive spell there is when it comes to earth magic, but that doesn¡¯t make it any less dangerous,¡± Eithan said, a solemn look on his face. ¡°It pains me to say, but I¡¯ve seen more than one eager apprentice during my life accidentally strike someone with this spell in their haste to practice their magic.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve got an excellent friend in mind that can help me with target practice,¡± Vin grinned, imagining Alka¡¯s frown as he tried to pelt her with magic rocks.


    ¡°Well then, you¡¯ve got three options, and only two available slots you can fill without risking taking on an earth affinity to your mana,¡± Eithan summed up.


    ¡°What would you like to learn first?¡±


    -----


    ¡°Magic sucks,¡± Vin complained, pressing his forehead into the cool stone table as his friends ate a rather late dinner around him. Scule and Reginald still had yet to return, but he¡¯d run into Shia and Alka back at the house they were staying in after finally giving up on his spell for the evening.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    ¡°Vin. It¡¯s a second tier spell.¡± Shia rolled her eyes, ripping into her drumstick with a hearty sigh. ¡°Of course it¡¯s going to take you more than a few hours to learn.¡±


    ¡°I just don¡¯t understand how there¡¯s such a jump between tier one and tier two!¡± Vin complained, his mind swimming as he tried to picture the complicated runic formation for Stone Shot once again. He¡¯d spent all evening working on understanding it and copying it with his own mana, and all he had to show for his efforts were a few nasty lacerations from runic backlash when he¡¯d summoned a stone that had promptly exploded in his face.


    Naturally he¡¯d healed the physical wounds with Renewal, but there was nothing he could do about his damaged pride.


    ¡°If you ask me, I think this is healthy for you,¡± Alka grinned, floating over to him and poking him in the side with a cold ethereal finger. ¡°You were getting a bit too cocky learning so many simple spells so quickly. About time something put you on your ass.¡±


    ¡°If you think this is bad, just wait until you see tier three spells. Or four,¡± Shia snorted, shaking her head. ¡°I¡¯d only managed to wrap my head around a single tier four spell before the Great Reset, and that feat had taken me a few weeks of nothing but studying. I¡¯m not even sure if I slept, it¡¯s all a big blur to be honest.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Vin asked, lifting his head enough to glance at the Druid. ¡°I thought you were a pretty high level back then?¡±


    ¡°I was in the upper thirties, but that¡¯s honestly not all that impressive,¡± Shia admitted, wiping the bird¡¯s juices from her face. ¡°A good rule of thumb when it comes to spellcasting is that tiers often coincide with groupings of ten levels. So someone with a level in the twenties might have some tier two spells, thirties might have tier three spells, and so on. The fact that I was able to learn a tier four spell at all before even hitting my second prestige was a huge accomplishment, something my master reminded me of whenever I got frustrated.¡±


    ¡°Well there you go, my level¡¯s in the twenties. I should be able to figure out this tier two spell,¡± Vin grumbled, dropping his head back onto the table.


    ¡°Vin, you literally just prestiged,¡± Shia drawled, clearly done trying to drive her point home. ¡°If a tier one spell takes you a few hours to learn now, it¡¯s not that surprising that a tier two spell would take you a day or two.¡±


    ¡°Oh, let him sulk a little,¡± Alka said, dismissing him with a wave of her hand. ¡°Anyway, he¡¯s been staring at rocks all day, and I¡¯ve been helping patrol the perimeter in case any more of those freaky swamp guys show up. What have you been up to?¡±


    ¡°I spent most of today down in their farm,¡± Shia said, her face glowing at the thought of all the new plants. ¡°Alka, you have got to check it out. Despite their lack of nature magic, they somehow found a way to sustain enough plants to keep their village comfortably fed year round! It¡¯s honestly incredible.¡±


    ¡°Eh, my town didn¡¯t have any Druids or fancy nature magic and we managed,¡± Alka shrugged, not nearly as impressed as the elf. ¡°Based on what I heard, the hardest part of farming on my world was keeping the green sea trimmed back to provide us with farmland. The grass grew fast enough that we needed people dedicated to cutting it back pretty much all day, every day. I think they even had their own Trimmer class or something.¡±


    ¡°What would something like that even prestige into?¡± Vin asked, his moping unable to keep up with his curiosity.


    ¡°Hell if I know,¡± Alka shrugged. ¡°Can¡¯t say I really hung around the farms all that much. Far too busy practicing and honing my skills.¡±


    ¡°Come on, they grow so many plants without using nature magic!¡± Shia repeated, looking at the two of them like she couldn¡¯t believe they weren¡¯t blown away. ¡°You guys don¡¯t think that¡¯s crazy?¡±


    ¡°Shia, I think that¡¯s how most people grow plants,¡± Vin said, begrudgingly sitting up straight and giving her a tired look. ¡°My world didn¡¯t have any sort of magic at all, and we managed to feed nearly eight billion people to the point where a good number of us were obese. Granted there were plenty more people struggling for food all across the world, so I guess our system was far from perfect.¡±


    His two friends looked at him like he was insane, their mouths hanging open slightly.


    ¡°Did you say eight billion people?¡± Shia repeated, almost struggling to say the word.


    ¡°Yeah, last I remember. Probably a bit higher than that actually,¡± Vin shrugged. ¡°Why, how many people lived in your worlds?¡±


    ¡°I mean, I have no idea, but I can¡¯t imagine it was that many¡­ We didn¡¯t really pay attention to anything outside the Sacred Forest, and you¡¯d have to ask Erik if you want numbers on how many elves there used to be. Alka, what about you?¡±


    ¡°More than ten,¡± the ghost snorted, rolling her eyes. ¡°I told you, I spent all my time practicing. Why would I care how many people our Scholars estimated there were throughout the kingdom, let alone the whole world?¡±


    I guess that is a random piece of information to know. Vin hadn¡¯t considered that it was only thanks to such conveniences like telephones and the internet that they''d managed to come to that number in the first place. Briefly he wondered just how many people there actually were on Edregon, but seeing as they had absolutely no way of knowing, he¡¯d have to shelve that question for a while.


    ¡°Well, even if neither of you are impressed, I think it¡¯s remarkable what they¡¯re doing here,¡± Shia repeated, frowning at the two of them. ¡°More importantly however, what¡¯s our plan moving forward, Vin? As nice as the break has been, and as entertaining as it was to see Scule arrested, I don¡¯t think staying in the village is really going to do much for us. With your new passive you can keep working on your new spells as we explore, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I think as soon as we get the runic object Scule requested for Reginald we¡¯re good to head out,¡± Vin confirmed. He had a feeling that if they stayed here too long, the elder would eventually end up asking him to take care of another task for her involving the swamp creatures. And while he didn¡¯t mind helping, he had to remember that Shia and Alka had their own goals they were travelling with him for, neither of which would get any closer to completion if they just stayed here.


    ¡°Alka, you good if we bypass the swamp for now? I know you¡¯re always itching for a fight, but I can¡¯t say I¡¯m eager to get bogged down.¡±


    ¡°I only fight people when I have to, it¡¯s monsters I enjoy killing,¡± Alka said, crossing her arms. ¡°Don¡¯t confuse me with some crazed serial killer.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, didn¡¯t mean to say it like that. Though I guess that settles it,¡± Vin said, looking at his two friends in turn. ¡°As soon as Scule and Reginald come back and get their runic object, we¡¯ll head out.¡±


    ¡°Start thinking about which fragment we should hit first.¡±

 Bonus Chapter #2: Gate Duty

    Janson sighed as he looked out across the grassy plains surrounding the great wall, leaning forward on his halberd and squinting up at the sun in an attempt to check how much of his shift he still had left. There hadn¡¯t been any threats detected yesterday, and there hadn¡¯t been any threats detected the day before that as well. In fact, it had been almost a solid month now since some powerful demon had stripped their levels from them, and he could count on one hand how many times anything even loosely considered a threat had approached the wall since then.


    All that to say, he was fairly confident that there weren¡¯t going to be any threats today either.


    ¡°How¡¯s that grass looking? Any taller than it was an hour ago?¡±


    Janson rolled his eyes, glancing over at his neighboring guard as she approached him along the top of the wall. Despite the fact that Marg was stationed over at the adjacent watchtower, his fellow guard had a bad habit of growing bored and coming to bother him at least once every shift.


    ¡°Marg¡­ How many times do I have to tell you this is gate duty,¡± he grumbled, stamping his halberd against the floor. ¡°Gate duty. Not watchtower number one duty. You know I¡¯m supposed to report you for leaving your post.¡±


    ¡°Ah, but if you did that, who else would come keep your sorry ass company,¡± Marg grinned, pulling a deck of playing cards out of her pocket. ¡°Besides, it¡¯s been awhile since we last played. I¡¯ve got my eyes on a new bracelet over in the worker¡¯s market, and you¡¯re getting old enough that I bet that heavy coin purse of yours is starting to hurt your back. I¡¯d be doing you a favor by emptying it really.¡±


    ¡°Old?¡± Janson snorted, shaking his head. ¡°I¡¯m not even forty! Why, if we weren¡¯t on duty I¡¯d¡­¡±


    Janson paused, realizing he was somehow sitting at the small, temporary table they kept up here for breaks; a recent addition that they hadn¡¯t needed back when they¡¯d had their endurance scores up in the high sixties. They used to be able to keep watch for days on end if needed, but now they could barely stand for a few hours without needing a break here and there.


    Janson looked up in shock at Marg as she shuffled the cards across from him, trying to figure out what just happened. ¡°When did you-¡±


    ¡°You hear about the latest conspiracy going around the craftsman district?¡± She asked, dealing out six cards to each of them before placing the deck in the center of the table and placing four cards face down in what was known as the battlefield. Based on the set up, it looked like they¡¯d be playing a few rounds of Paladin¡¯s Blade. ¡°Apparently rumor has it that the curse that stole our levels is actually some sort of sickness, and that¡¯s why the divine classes are staying hidden away in their holy district. To make sure it doesn¡¯t spread to them while they try and figure out a way to cure us.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous,¡± Janson snorted, glancing at his cards and silently cursing as he realized he didn¡¯t have anything better than a pair of bracers. Tossing a copper in to ante anyway, he fixed Marg with an exasperated look. ¡°If this was some kind of illness, even the weakest of divine healers would be able to cure it in an instant.¡±


    ¡°Alright, why do you think they¡¯ve been gone for so long then?¡± Marg challenged, anteing herself and flipping over the first of the four facedown cards. Janson tried not to let the surprise show on his face as the exact card he needed was revealed, turning his pair of bracers into a full chest plate. Despite how these games normally went, it was starting to look like he might actually win back some of the money he¡¯d lost over the past few weeks.


    ¡°I think they¡¯ve taken the fight straight to the demon responsible for all this mess,¡± he said, trying to pretend to think carefully before casually tossing a full silver into the middle. Seeing Marg raise her eyebrow, he hurriedly continued, trying to distract her. ¡°Think about it! Why open a portal to the demon¡¯s home realm out here where anyone could wander over and fall in? It makes far more sense to open it in the holy district where they don¡¯t have to worry about guarding the perimeter. The reason it¡¯s taking so long is because they have to map out the realm and fight their way over to the demon. No doubt a demon powerful enough to strip everyone of their levels has a good number of underlings. Maybe even an entire army under him or something!¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Marg hummed noncommittally, pausing only for a moment before matching his silver. ¡°Still, you really think it would take them an entire month with all the power at their disposal? I once saw Arch Cleric Jobiah wipe out an entire field of monsters with a single wave of his hand. His divine fire melted them down like they were made of parchment!¡±


    ¡°Demons are so feared for a reason,¡± Janson said, flipping over the next card and dismissing it when he realized it didn¡¯t do anything for him. ¡°Maybe the demon realm has some sort of anti-divine properties? Or makes their miracles weaker?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a scary thought,¡± Marg shuddered, tossing three more coppers into the pot. ¡°A realm where even the Gods are weakened¡­ I really hope that¡¯s not the case.¡±


    ¡°Even a weakened God would be more than enough to take down a demon,¡± Janson said, tossing in three coppers of his own and another silver coin, ignoring the pointed look from his fellow guard.


    ¡°If that were true, then why is it taking them so long?¡± Marg countered, matching his additional silver.


    ¡°Well it¡¯s not the Gods fighting, now is it,¡± Janson drawled, rolling his eyes. ¡°Obviously despite how strong our divine warriors are, a massive amount of power is lost as it travels from God to man. You¡¯ve seen the casualties just as I have.¡±


    The two of them paused for a moment, each solemnly thinking about the last couple of years. The swarms of monsters had continued to grow larger and larger with every passing month, and although they had no shortage of divine warriors to combat the seemingly endless monsters, not even divine class holders were immortal.


    Janson had personally witnessed hundreds of divine class holders perish over the years from his perch up here on the wall, despite doing his best to back them up using the wall¡¯s built in enchantments and his own crossbow. Most of the losses were from fresh divine classes straight from the holy district. Give anyone sudden Godlike power, and it took a will like iron to keep themselves from wading deeper into the sea of monsters than they could handle.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    There were always more divine class holders of course, as all the Gods needed to do was pick a replacement and send them in next, but Janson swore for every new divine warrior sent their way it felt like a hundred new monsters spawned in retaliation. They¡¯d been fighting a never-ending war for years right up until the demon had snatched their levels and the monsters had vanished for some unknown reason.


    ¡°Do you think you would do it?¡± Marg suddenly asked, breaking the silence as she flipped over the third card. Janson had to physically restrain his eyes from bulging out of his head as his hand went from a full chest plate to full suit of armor.


    ¡°What was that?¡± He gulped, hoping Marg couldn¡¯t see how badly he was sweating right now. Never in his life had he been dealt a full suit of armor, and he had to double check and make sure his hands weren¡¯t shaking as they held his cards.


    ¡°Would you do it?¡± She repeated, looking thoughtfully at her cards a she waved away her chance to bet. ¡°Take on a divine class I mean. If today, right now, a God appeared in front of you and offered you a sliver of their divine power. Would you take it?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s how it works,¡± Janson said absentmindedly, doing his best to calmly toss three entire silver into the pot, all while hoping Marg would think he was just bluffing. ¡°They don¡¯t just appear in front of people. I¡¯ve actually asked, and it sounds like they mainly speak to their chosen warriors in visions. Or the occasional dream. I think it changes based on the God.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I wasn¡¯t quizzing you on your divine knowledge,¡± Marg said, shaking her head and tossing her own three silver into the pot. To Janson¡¯s utter shock, she then reached back into her coin purse and tossed three more silver into the pot, grinning wickedly at him. ¡°I said would you do it?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know,¡± he admitted, hesitating as he stared at the mound of gleaming coins sitting between them. They were quickly approaching an entire week''s worth of wages, which was far more money than Janson had ever bet on any one thing in his entire life. Glancing back down at his cards, he confirmed he was sitting on a full suit of armor, literally the second-best hand in the entire game. There was only a single hand better, and that required the divine might card to be found on either the start or the end of the battlefield. With only a single card left to reveal, even if she had the set she needed in her hand, there was no way she¡¯d get that lucky.


    Grabbing three more coins from his rapidly shrinking coin pouch, he tossed them into the pot, swallowing hard. ¡°Obviously the thought of throwing around divine power like some sort of Hero is enticing¡­ But you wouldn¡¯t just be living your own life anymore, you know? You¡¯d be serving a greater purpose.¡±


    ¡°A more righteous purpose if you ask most people,¡± she countered, nodding for him to flip over the final card. Holding his breath, Janson slowly revealed the last card, his blood chilling as he spotted the familiar golden aura painted upon the card.


    Divine might.


    ¡°Huh,¡± Marg said, looking just as surprised as he was. ¡°Didn¡¯t see that coming.¡±


    ¡°Me neither,¡± he chuckled weakly, hoping his face wasn¡¯t paling too much. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d happen to have a Paladin¡¯s Blade in hand, would you?¡±


    ¡°Now Janson, where¡¯s the fun in me telling you what I have before we finish scavenging?¡± Marg grinned, motioning for him to make his bet. ¡°Come on now, we should really get back to manning the wall. Wouldn¡¯t want any of that grass to grow too tall under our watches, now would we?¡±


    Janson shot his fellow guard a glare, staring down at his hand. He knew he had the second-best hand in the game, but he couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that something was up. After a few seconds he sighed, waving his chance to bet.


    Grinning, Marg reached into her coin purse and pulled out an oddly specific number of coins. Janson raised his eyebrow as the guard placed seven more copper pieces in the gigantic pot, smiling at him all the while. Sighing again, he matched the final bet after only a brief moment of hesitation. He was in this deep after all, no sense baking out now.


    Offering the Gods a quick prayer, he revealed his hand, laying it down on the table between them. ¡°A full chest plate!¡± He announced, with far more confidence than he felt.


    Marg whistled, looking impressed. ¡°Damn, that¡¯s pretty good. Although¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not the best.¡±


    Janson flinched back as Marg slammed her hand onto the table, grinning all the while. ¡°Take a look at this!¡±


    Cursing himself for betting so much money on a single hand when Marg had been taking him for all he was worth these past few weeks, Janson peeked through his fingers at the guard¡¯s revealed hand, prepared to see the Paladin¡¯s Blade itself.


    Instead, she had nothing stronger than a pair of boots. The literal worst hand in the game.


    Blinking, Janson stared at the yawning guard already getting to her feet and stretching. She didn¡¯t seem upset in the slightest to have lost so much money.


    ¡°You¡­ you bet nearly an entire week''s worth of wages... on a bluff?¡± He asked incredulously.


    ¡°Hm? Oh no, the Commander caught wind of just how much money I¡¯d collected from you these past few weeks and ordered me to give it all back. I just thought this would be more entertaining,¡± Marg grinned, grabbing all the cards and putting them away. ¡°I stacked the deck before even coming over here. I have to admit, it¡¯s hilarious how easy you are to read. I thought you were going to pass out when you realized you had a full chest plate!¡±


    Janson could only frown at the laughing guard, grumbling to himself and scooping all his ¡®winnings¡¯ into his coin purse. While he certainly appreciated getting his money back, Marg could have just handed it to him like a normal person.


    Sighing, Marg shook her head, still smiling as she gazed out over the wall at the monster free meadows they were guarding. ¡°I¡¯d do it, for the record.¡±


    ¡°Do what?¡± Janson asked, grabbing his halberd and standing, quickly taking a look of the surrounding area and confirming everything was just as empty as when they¡¯d sat down.


    ¡°Take the divine class. If it was offered to me,¡± Marg shrugged, glancing at him. ¡°I know it¡¯s a big responsibility, but think about all the good you could do with that kind of power, you know?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±


    The two of them stood there for a moment, staring out at the calm meadow that had once been the grounds for the bloodiest war in the citadel¡¯s history. Even now, Janson could swear he could still hear the snarls of monsters and the cries of divine warriors calling out to their Gods, begging for them to save them.


    Before he could come to a decision as to if he would or not, Marg clapped him on the shoulder, giving him one last grin.


    ¡°When you finally decide if you¡¯d take the offer or not, come swing by watchtower one and let me know. Sounds like a fun way to kill some time.¡±


    ¡°Marg¡­¡± he warned, getting nothing but a chuckle back as the guard turned and finally headed back to her post.


    Sighing, Janson shook his head, turning his focus back to the calm, peaceful meadow before him. While he¡¯d take this any day of the week over the horrific war he¡¯d grown used to, he wished their divine warriors would finish up whatever it was they were doing and come out soon.


    He wasn¡¯t sure how many more surprise visits from Marg his coin purse could take after all.

 (64) 2.17. Some Unholy News

    After another full day of rocks blowing up in his face and Eithan occasionally offering his encouragement from a safe distance away, Vin finally mastered Stone Shot. Firing a few missiles of rock at some walls Eithan summoned for him as targets, Vin didn¡¯t even care about the fact that every single one of his attacks went wide. On a world filled with dangerous monsters that couldn¡¯t be reasoned with, the fact that he actually had his first useful combat spell was comforting all on its own.


    Not to mention the other benefit of finally cracking his first tier two spell.


    Grinning, Vin finally opened up the barrage of messages he had waiting for him, knowing full well what he¡¯d find.


    Runecraft lvl 3! 600 exp gained.


    Runecraft lvl 4! 800 exp gained.


    New spell learned! Tier 2 Earth Spell (Stone Shot). 10,000 exp gained.


    Level up! Magical Explorer Lvl 21.


    +3 Attribute points to spend.


    ¡°Hell yeah!¡± He cheered, pumping his fist at his first level up since prestiging. He still didn¡¯t know exactly what would and wouldn¡¯t give his new class experience, but based on the fact he was now a Magical Explorer, it made sense that he still got experience for learning spells.


    Seeing as his magic attribute was beginning to outpace his focus, Vin dropped his three free points into focus, bringing the two closer together once more. As nice as the boost to his mana was from his magic attribute, it didn¡¯t mean very much if his focus wasn¡¯t high enough to learn the new spells he was interested in.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to work on your accuracy a bit, but that¡¯s to be expected.¡± Eithan walked back over to him now that there wasn¡¯t a chance of catching a face full of loose shrapnel, a distinctly proud look on his face. ¡°I have to say Vin, you may have ruined teaching for me after this. I¡¯ve never had a student who managed to learn their first tier two spell in only a day and a half.¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯m a bit higher level than the regular apprentices you take on,¡± Vin chuckled, appreciating the kind words nonetheless. ¡°Though you¡¯re right about the accuracy. I¡¯ll have to put in some serious target practice before this spell is actually combat viable.¡±


    ¡°Not to worry, I can personally guarantee you that every Stone Mage within our village has spent countless hours getting to where they are today.¡± Glancing up at the setting Sun, Eithan frowned, his mind clearly elsewhere. ¡°You haven¡¯t heard any word from your tiny friend, have you? I would understand if he wanted to stay away from the village after how we treated him, but I just finished his requested runic object earlier today and was hoping to personally give it to him if at all possible.¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t heard from him, but I¡¯m sure he¡¯s fine,¡± Vin reassured him, memories of Reginald¡¯s speed and acrobatic ability flicking through his head. ¡°Scule is one thing, but the two of them together make for a pretty tough force to pin down. I have no idea what¡¯s taking him so long, but I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll show up sooner or later.¡±


    ¡°Well if he does show up, just send him my way. I did my best to size the runic object correctly, but I¡¯ll most likely have to make some minor adjustments to ensure it sits comfortably and won¡¯t risk falling off. Can¡¯t say I¡¯ve ever made anything for such a small creature before,¡± Eithan mused, clearly still entertained by the idea.


    ¡°I will! More importantly however¡­¡± Vin paused, taking a deep breath. It had been a real struggle coming to this decision, but in the end, it really came down to functionality. Despite how cool it would be to be able to summon up furniture whenever he wished, his party got into enough dangerous situations that they really needed another form of defense.


    Ideally in the form of a giant stone wall.


    ¡°...Could you show me the runic formation for Stone Wall?¡± Vin asked, his dreams of always having the perfect chair to sit on dashed for the moment. He could always come back and learn the spell after he¡¯d gotten his magic up to 40, assuming he didn¡¯t run across any other earth aligned spells that were even cooler.


    ¡°Of course,¡± Eithan chuckled, using a glowing finger to carefully etch the formation into the air between them. ¡°Be careful with this one. A common runic backlash while working on this formation is accidentally encasing your feet in stone. If you¡¯re planning on working on this one without an experienced Stone Mage by your side, freeing yourself may prove to be a problem.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be careful,¡± Vin said, not really listening as his eyes hungrily scanned over his next project. His Iron Mind passive worked quickly to cement the formation in his mind until he could replicate it correctly within his own mana. As soon as he had the entire thing memorized he grinned, knowing it was now only a matter of time before he had yet another tier two spell under his command.


    ¡°I understand your reasoning, but I¡¯d be remiss not to admit I think it¡¯s a shame you¡¯re not willing to adopt an earth affinity,¡± Eithan said, a slight frown on his face. ¡°You throw yourself at new magic like a starving man at a loaf of bread. You could become quite the Stone Mage if you were willing to fully devote yourself.¡±


    ¡°Thanks Eithan, that means a lot¡­ But there¡¯s just so many different types of magic out there,¡± Vin said, smiling wistfully at the thought of all that there was to discover scattered across this crazy new world. He¡¯d barely scratched the surface, and already he¡¯d found so much. Who knew what else was hiding right around the next corner? ¡°Earth magic is definitely impressive, but I¡¯m not willing to make it harder on myself to learn and use other types of magic just yet.¡±


    ¡°As I said, I understand. It¡¯s just such a shame,¡± Eithan sighed, shaking his head. ¡°While my stronger spells are still lost to me for the time being, I have so many simpler ones I would love to teach you.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    Vin was about to thank the Stone Mage again when he realized he was an idiot. He¡¯d been so focused on the spells he was actually planning to learn, that he didn¡¯t even realize the amazing opportunity standing right in front of him thanks to the way his new class worked.


    ¡°Actually¡­ even if I¡¯m not planning on learning any more earth spells in the near future¡­¡±


    ¡°Would you mind showing me the other spells you know?¡±


    -----


    ¡°Ah crap, he¡¯s got that stupid grin on his face. Quick, nobody ask him what he did, he¡¯s clearly far too proud of himself.¡±


    Not even Alka¡¯s observation could wipe the grin off Vin¡¯s face as he walked into their temporary house, still riding the high of his latest discovery. Before dismissing them, he glanced at his literal page of notifications one final time.


    New spell witnessed! Tier 1 Earth Spell (Stone Shape). 1,000 exp gained.


    New spell witnessed! Tier 1 Earth Spell (Call Stone). 1,000 exp gained.


    New spell witnessed! Tier 2 Earth Spell (Stone Spike). 2,000 exp gained.


    New spell witnessed! Tier 2 Earth Spell (Stone Gauntlet). 2,000 exp gained.


    New spell witnessed! Tier 2 Earth Spell (Shatter). 2,000 exp gained.


    New magical affinity discovered! Life affinity. 2,000 exp gained.


    New magical affinity discovered! Nature affinity. 3,000 exp gained.


    New magical affinity discovered! Light affinity. 4,000 exp gained.


    Level up! Magical Explorer Lvl 22.


    +3 Attribute points to spend.


    +1 Skill point to spend.


    After realizing he gained experience just for witnessing new magic, Vin had sat through a quick demonstration of some of Eithan¡¯s other low tier spells, gaining a nice boost of experience for his troubles. And if that wasn¡¯t lucky enough, he¡¯d had the bright idea to check and see if the System would award him for the magical affinities attached to spells he¡¯d already learned, and it had! Together, those two sources pushed him up to level 22.


    The only downside to all the free experience was that Eithan hadn¡¯t even shown him everything he knew.


    After seeing Vin¡¯s growing excitement at all the spells potentially waiting for him, the Stone Mage had told Vin he¡¯d only show him the other spells he knew if he¡¯d come back once he¡¯d hit 40 in his magic attribute to learn his next spell from him.


    Still riding the high from what had been two rather obvious ideas in hindsight, Vin didn¡¯t even realize Scule was back at first. It wasn¡¯t until he sat down that he finally spotted the petian standing atop the table, attempting to brush what looked like chunks of disgusting muck out of Reginald¡¯s fur with little success.


    ¡°Scule!¡± Vin gasped, glad to see his friend unharmed. ¡°How long have you been back?¡±


    ¡°Less than an hour,¡± Scule grumbled, clearly annoyed at how the foul smelling muck refused to leave the rat¡¯s once pristine coat. ¡°And I¡¯ve spent nearly that entire time trying to get this demon smited junk off of Reginald. If I¡¯d known how much of a pain getting swamp muck out of fur was, I would never have gone into that fragment!¡±


    As though in agreement, Reginald let out an annoyed squeak, before turning to somehow glare at Vin and squeaking a second time.


    ¡°Sorry Reginald, I¡¯m glad to see you too,¡± Vin grinned, earning himself a lower pitched squeak of satisfaction. ¡°You actually went into the swamp fragment? I thought you were just doing some scouting to see if there were any more threats coming.¡±


    ¡°Well, that was the original idea,¡± Scule nodded, clicking his tongue at a particularly stuck piece of dried muck. ¡°But when I didn¡¯t find any more of those creatures in this fragment, my curiosity got the better of me. Why had one of them come through to this fragment in the first place? How many others of their kind were there? What did their swamp based society look like?¡±


    ¡°What sorts of valuables did they keep in their homes,¡± Shia added, rolling her eyes.


    ¡°Exactly!¡± Scule grinned, earning a frown from the elf. ¡°Hey, that thing killed a guy over some dried food. Don¡¯t go acting like this is some society of saints or anything.¡±


    ¡°It could have been someone in exile for all you knew at the time,¡± Alka pointed out, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Or are we to believe all petians are Rogues with sticky fingers and loose morals based on the only one we¡¯ve met?¡±


    ¡°Point taken. Anyway, that¡¯s why I thought it best to take a look at what we were dealing with. See just what kind of people these freaky looking swamp things really are.¡±


    Scule paused, his tiny brush hovering unmoving over Reginald¡¯s fur. A strange look Vin had never seen before overtook the Rogue as he frowned, letting out a sigh that seemed to come from somewhere deep within him.


    ¡°Finding their village¡­ their tribe, more like, was easy. But when we got there¡­¡±


    Scule paused again, and this time it was Shia who stepped in, laying a comforting finger gently on Scule¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°They¡¯d been massacred,¡± Shia said solemnly. ¡°Apparently something, or someone, had gone through and killed every single one of those swamp creatures they could find. Scule said they weren¡¯t a very advanced people, living in little more than hollowed out trees and subsisting primarily off mushroom farming and some nasty looking swamp fish. But they definitely had some form of functioning society for themselves. Based on the bodies¡­ Scule thinks a good number of them were trying to run away when they were killed.¡±


    ¡°As soon as I realized what happened, Reginald and I slowed way down, focusing on stealth just in case whatever had killed everyone was still around,¡± Scule explained, seeming to get some color back thanks to Shia¡¯s touch. ¡°Those swamp things didn¡¯t seem all that powerful on their own, but whatever had swept through that fragment still managed to kill nearly two or three hundred of them with little issue, and I didn¡¯t want to risk picking a fight with it.¡±


    ¡°Numbers are nature¡¯s equalizer,¡± Alka said, floating with her arms crossed beside the table, a serious look on her face. ¡°Unless you have a remarkably high vigor or some serious defenses, taking out hundreds of enemies at once without sustaining any injuries is a pretty remarkable feat. Especially against a race of people that seem to have innate poison tipped claws.¡±


    ¡°So what, the creature that came here was actually just fleeing from whatever attacked their own fragment, and we¡¯re dealing with some sort of super-serial killer?¡± Vin asked, glancing around the room. All the excitement he¡¯d felt mere moments ago at leveling up again so easily was gone, replaced with a sinking feeling in his gut as his three friends traded hesitant looks.


    ¡°It gets worse,¡± Alka growled, nodding at Scule to continue.


    ¡°As you know, I don¡¯t have a magic bone in my body,¡± Scule explained, patting Reginald atop the head. ¡°Reginald here however, due to being an animal or some other reason, seems to have the ability to recognize magic. So long as the traces are thick enough.¡±


    ¡°So whatever, or whoever did this, is a mage?¡± Vin asked, not understanding why that fact would make his friends look so uncertain.


    ¡°Not exactly,¡± Scule said, hesitating. ¡°You see, while Reginald can¡¯t tell what type of affinity a spell uses when it comes to magic, there is one type of magic he can pick out rather easily. Sort of because of the fact that it lacks any sort of affinity. Thanks to the fact that we¡¯ve spent our entire lives around it.¡±


    The Rogue paused yet again, glancing at Alka as if he wasn¡¯t sure he should say what came next. Letting out an exasperated sigh, Alka turned toward Vin, her face equal parts troubled and annoyed.


    ¡°Whoever slaughtered those people used divine magic to do it.¡±

 (65) 2.18. The Hunt Begins

    ¡°Are you sure you wish to head out already? Now that we know the danger has passed, I¡¯d love getting the chance to thank you and your friends for all your help these past few days.¡±


    Vin gave the elder a weak grin as he ensured the rations Peter had given them were firmly tucked away within his pack, glancing over at his party waiting for him just outside the village border.


    ¡°We appreciate it, but it¡¯s a little early to say the danger has passed,¡± Vin said, slinging his pack over his shoulder. It was tempting to let Scule carry everything in his dimensional bag, but the additional space within the artifact wasn¡¯t actually limitless, and if something happened to Scule, they¡¯d be out all of their belongings. ¡°There¡¯s no telling what this person¡¯s goal is unfortunately. Until we catch up with them and figure that out, I¡¯d keep up with the extra guards. For all we know they worship the God of Death and are just going around killing everyone, or some crazy crap like that.¡±


    ¡°Probably for the best,¡± the elder nodded, a grim look on her face. ¡°Be careful out there Vin. I much prefer conducting foreign business with someone I know and trust, and I¡¯d be at a loss if something were to happen to you. Eithan seems to have taken a liking to you as well, and I think Peter might very well be planning to ask Shia to marry him next time you visit. Apparently your Druid friend worked some miracles with her magic while he showed her around the farm.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure Shia will be thrilled,¡± Vin chuckled, cracking his first genuine smile since hearing the news about the divine serial killer last night. Promising he¡¯d be back when he could, Vin thanked the elder one last time before jogging over to his party.


    ¡°Good to go?¡± Alka asked, all but tapping her foot as she waited impatiently for him. Ever since hearing Scule¡¯s report yesterday, the ghost had seemed to flip flop between anger and impatience, and there was no telling which emotion was stronger at any given moment.


    It didn¡¯t help that Alka couldn¡¯t sleep like the rest of them, meaning it had been hours for her since she¡¯d first heard the news.


    ¡°Yep,¡± Vin said, just happy Alka wasn¡¯t snapping at him again. Bending down to let Scule jump onto his shoulder and Reginald leap into his front pocket, he nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s head out!¡±


    Her staff already in travel form, the strange wooden cat she¡¯d dubbed Blossom, Shia galloped along beside him as he took off, doing her best not to glance at Alka¡¯s conflicted face as they headed toward the next fragment.


    Scule hadn¡¯t noticed any sort of tracks in the swamp fragment indicating where the killer had come from or where they might have gone, so they¡¯d decided as a team their best bet would just be to check out the closest adjacent fragment to the swamp and start from there.


    Not wanting to risk losing the killer¡¯s trail, Vin was running at the top speed his Distance Runner passive would allow, and the miles seemed to fly by as they worked together to pick out the occasional scorpion monster and divert their course. The mood was strangely tense between them as they travelled, and nobody spoke up other than to point out nearby monsters.


    It was actually Vin that broke the strange atmosphere hovering over their heads after they¡¯d been running for a few miles, realizing something with a start.


    ¡°I¡¯m not getting any experience!¡± He gasped, nearly tripping over an errant rock in his surprise and almost sending a lounging Scule flying.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Shia asked a little too quickly, clearly happy for any sort of distraction from the tense mood.


    ¡°It¡¯s the first time I left Sakis since I prestiged, and despite the fact that I¡¯m exploring new ground, I¡¯m not earning experience for every mile anymore,¡± Vin explained, frowning at the lack of notifications popping up. ¡°I used to get a little bit with every new mile.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not surprising,¡± Scule huffed, glaring at him as he retook his seat on his shoulder. ¡°Starter classes usually have a pretty wide net of actions that grant the user experience, but as you prestige, those actions narrow a good bit. As a Rogue, I used to get trickles of experience for successfully sneaking around people, but that¡¯s not the case anymore.¡±


    ¡°Same here,¡± Shia nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t get experience for just practicing nature magic any more since my own prestige. But I¡¯ve already discovered new, better ways of earning experience. Surely you have as well?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Vin nodded, still sad to see his old methods dwindling away. Quickly explaining how he¡¯d gotten all that free experience from just watching Eithan¡¯s spells, Scule snorted.


    ¡°I swear, some classes have all the luck,¡± the Rogue complained, kicking Vin¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°It¡¯s not as powerful as it sounds,¡± Shia said, tapping her chin thoughtfully as Blossom¡¯s powerful limbs matched pace with Vin seemingly without any input from her. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine all that many mages would just willingly show off their spells to you like that, and you¡¯ll have to continue finding mages with new affinities. While it¡¯s a nice perk indeed, I think most of your experience is probably still going to come from learning new spells and finding new objects of power.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s hope artifacts still give me experience,¡± Vin grumbled, shifting their trajectory slightly to avoid one of the three-stinger scorpions off in the distance. ¡°I¡¯m gonna have some serious complaints next time I talk to the Gods otherwise.¡±


    ¡°At least you still can earn experience,¡± Alka snapped, glaring at him as she floated along beside him. She wasn¡¯t bothering to pretend to run anymore, just drifting through the air with her arms crossed. ¡°You¡¯ve had so many lucky breaks ever since you got here, maybe just be happy with what you have for once.¡±


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    ¡°Alka, I know you¡¯re upset,¡± Shia said, shooting the ghost a concerned glance. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t-¡±


    ¡°Upset? Why would I be upset?¡± Alka asked, cutting her off. ¡°We finally found a divine magic user that can put me to rest. So what if it¡¯s some sort of mass murderer, why should I care? I¡¯m just a tag along in this world anyways, I shouldn¡¯t even be here anymore.¡±


    ¡°Hey for all we know, whoever killed all those creatures had a good reason for doing it,¡± Scule offered, wincing under the heat of Alka¡¯s glare.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about it, let¡¯s just find the bastard,¡± Alka grunted.


    The group ran in silence after that, nobody wanting to risk angering Alka any more than she already was. The ghost was clearly upset about being put to rest by some sort of horrific killer, and was fighting her own inner war right now.


    It wasn¡¯t long before they finally reached the end of the stone villagers¡¯ fragment, and the group paused in front of the border.


    Just a few feet ahead of them, the world abruptly transitioned from a dusty, scattering of rocks and hills to a single, unnatural flat plane of stone. The slightly reddish stone ground stretched off into the distance, completely unmarred by any sort of plant, animal, or hill.


    ¡°So¡­¡± Vin finally said, deciding their safety was worth risking Alka¡¯s wrath. ¡°That definitely doesn¡¯t look natural.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll say. You don¡¯t get that level of flat unless you¡¯re building a foundation or something,¡± Scule said, squinting out across the strange landscape.


    ¡°I¡¯m not detecting so much as a single blade of grass,¡± Shia added, frowning. ¡°I won¡¯t be completely useless thanks to my new passive, The Forest Within, but I¡¯m going to be severely handicapped in there.¡±


    ¡°The elder mentioned their warrior with Dangersense refused to take more than a few steps past the border,¡± Vin muttered, remembering her words. ¡°But I don¡¯t see anything... Maybe some sort of invisible gas or something?¡±


    ¡°Let me try something.¡± Sticking her head through the invisible border, Shia¡¯s tongue flicked out, tasting the air like a snake. Immediately her face scrunched up and she yanked her head back, turning and spitting onto the ground.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± She spat again, wiping her mouth with a disgusted grimace. ¡°It absolutely reeks of death mana in there, but I have no idea why. Ancient One¡¯s sap, I thought you tasted bad.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what?¡± Vin asked, blinking at the elf. ¡°What do you mean, I taste bad?¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, you¡¯re basically always covered in death mana due to being Alka¡¯s anchor,¡± Shia said offhandedly, her focus already turned back to the strange fragment. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry too much about it.¡±


    Looking down at himself with a self conscious frown, Vin briefly wondered if this world had the magical equivalent of deodorant before the other half of Shia¡¯s statement registered.


    ¡°Hold up, death mana? Does that mean we can¡¯t go into that fragment?¡±


    ¡°Not necessarily. Ambient mana on its own isn¡¯t really going to do anything to you other than interfere with your own casting to a degree, unless you¡¯re casting spells that have the same alignment,¡± Shia explained. ¡°It might make you feel sick though. The bigger issue is the fact that this concentration of death mana has to be coming from something. And whatever that something is, that is going to be insanely dangerous based on how much death mana there is.¡±


    ¡°Well then, I for one would like to cast my vote toward not going into the strange, creepy fragment where something is waiting to kill us,¡± Scule said, raising his hand and looking around. ¡°Anyone else?¡±


    ¡°We already know the divine warrior seems to want to kill things,¡± Vin sighed. ¡°Can¡¯t say I want to take the risk all that much either, but there¡¯s a chance it¡¯s something they did that caused all this, right Shia?¡±


    ¡°Maybe? But if that were the case, it would have to be an astronomical amount of death to shift the natural affinity of this fragment¡¯s ambient mana to this degree,¡± the elf frowned. ¡°Either way, we should be fine so long as we stay on our toes. Our life based spells are going to have a pretty rough time in there, yours especially, but they¡¯ll still function.¡±


    Their eyes turned to Alka, who had been floating silently while they mulled over what to do. Realizing they were looking at her, Alka frowned.


    ¡°Obviously I don¡¯t want to put you guys in danger¡­ But if there¡¯s any chance of the divine user being in there, I¡¯d appreciate it if we could at least take a look.¡±


    ¡°Well, that just about settles it,¡± Vin nodded, looking down at his front pocket. ¡°Reginald, you cool with checking out the creepy fragment?¡±


    Hearing a loud squeak, Vin glanced at the Rogue on his shoulder.


    ¡°Reginald says he¡¯s sorry, but he¡¯d prefer not going into the scary fragment that doesn¡¯t look like it has anything worth stealing,¡± Scule translated.


    A series of angry sounding squeaks erupted from Vin¡¯s pocket, before Reginald¡¯s tiny head poked out, his eyes glaring at the petian. The tip of his tail poked out as well, thrusting violently toward his companion.


    ¡°Alright, sheesh, don¡¯t get your tail in a knot!¡± Scule grunted, rolling his eyes. ¡°My apologies, I must have made a slight error there. Reginald actually says he¡¯s down to do whatever it takes to help Alka out. Easy mistake to make.¡±


    ¡°Thanks Reginald,¡± Alka said, giving the rat a weak grin.


    Saluting the ghost with the tip of his tail, Reginald squeaked one final time before dipping back into Vin¡¯s pocket, curling right back up and letting out a tiny, content sigh.


    ¡°Traitorous rat,¡± Scule grumbled as Vin mentally prepared himself for what was about to happen.


    ¡°Alright everyone, the plan is simple. Keep your eyes peeled for anything that looks remotely dangerous, and let Shia or myself know the moment you think you need any healing. With Renewal stunted from all the death mana, better to be safe than sorry.¡±


    Seeing everyone was on board, he sucked in a deep breath, staring out over the unnervingly flat fragment. He almost felt like he¡¯d feel more comfortable if he could make out skeletons dotting the landscape. The fact that there was simply nothing was creepy in a way he couldn¡¯t even comprehend. If it wasn¡¯t to try and find a way to put Alka to rest, he¡¯d never willingly set foot in such a fragment.


    Steeling his resolve, Vin stepped forward, crossing the invisible border and entering the strange fragment.


    Silently praying that all of them made it back out in one piece.

 (66) 2.19. I Don’t Feel So Good…

    Second Ring Fragment Discovered! 1,000 exp gained.


    Pleased to find that he not only still gained experience for discovering new fragments, but seemed to earn more for fragments the farther he went from his starting one, Vin couldn¡¯t help but grin.


    Despite the unnerving flat plane of death he found himself standing on.


    The moment they¡¯d crossed the fragment border, the very air itself had seemed to die. There was no breeze to be felt, no smell to the air, and nothing moving anywhere he could see. The temperature was neither hot nor cold, despite the comically enormous sun beaming down on them from overhead, so large it was taking up nearly a quarter of the entire sky. It was as if they¡¯d stepped into an empty painting of a flat, reddish-grey line.


    ¡°Well, this feels creepy as hell,¡± Scule muttered, his grip tightening on Vin¡¯s collar as he stood up and readied himself for something to happen. ¡°Is anyone else getting the feeling that we really shouldn¡¯t be here?¡±


    ¡°Actually, I feel better than ever,¡± Alka said, looking surprised as she opened and closed a hand that looked more solid than ethereal for once. ¡°I don¡¯t normally feel anything at all anymore, so this is a strange experience. I knew from training that undead are strongest in certain environments affiliated with death, but it¡¯s another thing to experience it firsthand.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, I¡¯m going to try and keep my mouth shut while we¡¯re in here,¡± Shia grimaced, a shudder running through her body at the foul taste of the ambient death mana. ¡°Otherwise I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll have to stop every few minutes for me to throw up.¡±


    ¡°No worries, we¡¯ll let you know if we need any sort of healing,¡± Vin said, squinting up at the only notable thing in this entire fragment.


    The sun belonging to this world was significantly larger than any he¡¯d seen so far during his exploration of Edregon, dwarfing even the one that had bore down on them back in the desert fragment. The fact that it wasn¡¯t raising the ambient temperature seemed strange to him, but he didn¡¯t exactly have time to stop and worry about it.


    They were on a mission after all.


    ¡°Right, as creepy as this place is, don¡¯t forget we¡¯re chasing after someone right now,¡± Vin reminded everyone, looking around and making sure he had everyone''s attention. ¡°If the divine warrior came through here, there¡¯s no telling how long any trace of theirs might remain, so we¡¯re going to have to keep moving fast. Rather than go through the center, we¡¯ll stick relatively close to the border between this fragment and the swamp. Both in the hopes we can find where the divine user crossed over and in the event we need to get the heck out of this fragment as fast as possible.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a plan,¡± Scule said, giving him a thumbs up. Seeing Shia and Alka nod their agreement, and hearing a small squeak from his pocket, Vin took off running.


    Unlike every other world fragment he¡¯d explored, each one filled with alien creatures and strange looking plant life, this fragment quickly proved to be completely barren. The sounds of his footsteps and Blossom¡¯s wooden paws clicking on the flat stone as they ran deeper into the fragment were the only noise to be heard, the very sounds seeming to stretch out into the empty landscape and fade away faster than they were supposed to.


    Despite the clock they were racing against, Vin had already planned to run a bit slower than usual just to make sure they didn¡¯t sprint headfirst into any sort of trap. But after a few minutes of eerie, silent travel, it became obvious they would have to go even slower than he¡¯d planned for.


    ¡°Broken bark¡­¡± Shia grumbled, calling for them to halt. Swinging her legs off of Blossom, Shia returned the wooden construct back into staff form, shaking her head as she carefully examined the gift from her master. ¡°Blossom is powered by ambient life and nature mana, and the insane amount of death mana is interfering with her travel form. I¡¯m not sure to what extent, but I think there¡¯s a chance she might literally fall apart if I use her for too long in here.¡±


    ¡°Crap, okay.¡± Vin frowned, glancing around and confirming they were still utterly alone in this strange fragment. Logically, they should be able to see any potential threats coming from miles away due to the flat terrain, but he couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that something was going to pop out at them any minute. The emptiness was so unnatural that at this point he was honestly hoping to spot a monster running at them with fangs bared.


    Seeing as that wasn¡¯t the case, he sighed, turning back to Shia.


    ¡°Nothing we can do about it then. You set the pace, and I¡¯ll follow.¡±


    Nodding, Shia took a brief moment to stretch before taking off at a light jog. Falling in step beside her, Vin immediately had to stop himself from asking her if that was really the fastest she could go. It was easy to forget just how much his attributes and passives had changed him from when he¡¯d first stepped foot on Edregon. Shia was actually maintaining a pretty impressive speed for a regular person back on Earth, but to Vin¡¯s improved attributes, it felt like they were now just shambling along.


    Evidently he wasn¡¯t the only one.


    ¡°You know, I¡¯m pretty certain my grandmother can run faster than this,¡± Scule whispered in Vin¡¯s ear, careful to keep his voice low. While Shia might not have very much dexterity or endurance, the Rogue was no doubt well aware of just how high her focus was, and he probably didn¡¯t fancy ticking off their main healer while they traversed through the death fragment.


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    Thankfully, Shia showed no signs of hearing Scule¡¯s comment, and the two of them continued running in silence.


    Not too long after slowing down, Vin received a surprising notification that sent a chill down his spine.


    Resistance increased to lvl 8! 800 exp gained.


    What? Vin looked around as they trudged ever onward, but he still couldn¡¯t make out anything other than flat rock all around them. He briefly brought up the concerning notification, but his friends merely shrugged, just as confused as he was.


    After nearly half an hour of plodding along, and two more levels gained in Resistance, Shia suddenly stopped running, the elf¡¯s face unnaturally pale. Giving her a concerned look, Vin stopped as well.


    ¡°Shia? Are you-¡±


    Turning to the side, the elf vomited her breakfast all over the flat ground, her hands on her knees as she bent over and began coughing.


    ¡°Ugh,¡± she weakly uttered, spitting onto the ground and accepting the cloth rag Scule offered her, wiping her mouth with it. ¡°Sorry about that¡­ I think the constant taste of death mana finally got to me. I¡¯ve been feeling more and more nauseous since we started running.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, keeping up a pace like that would be challenging for someone not currently gagging on death mana,¡± Vin chuckled, glad Shia was doing okay. ¡°Let me know if you need to stop again. We can slow our pace down a bit as well if you¡¯d like. Despite how weird this place is, nothing¡¯s tried to kill us yet after all.¡±


    ¡°Weird is an understatement,¡± Scule muttered, motioning for Shia to just toss the rag once she was done with it. ¡°Something is going to jump out at us any minute now, I just know it. Hells, I¡¯ve been watching our surroundings so hard I¡¯ve given myself a headache! The sooner we get out of here, the better.¡±


    ¡°Sorry guys, I¡¯ll move as fast as I can,¡± Shia said, offering them an apologetic grin. Alka hovered protectively next to the elf, looking concerned, but she didn¡¯t say anything after seeing the determined look on the Druid¡¯s face.


    Semi-recovered, they took off once more, this time running even slower than they already had been. Shia still looked paler than usual, but Vin was hopeful her weird taste buds worked the same with magic as with regular food, and that she¡¯d eventually grow accustomed to the bad taste of death mana.


    As they jogged along, Vin began getting an uneasy feeling in his own stomach. More than just worry, it felt as though he¡¯d eaten something rotten, and it was only just now hitting him.


    Not wanting to believe Peter gave them tainted food, Vin was just about to ask if anyone had thought their breakfast had tasted funny or anything before Shia stopped again, vomiting what little was left in her stomach all over the flat ground.


    ¡°Shia!¡± Alka exclaimed, reaching out and growling as her hand passed straight through the doubled over elf¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You should take a break! Let Vin carry you or something!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Shia said weakly, coughing and waving off the ghost¡¯s concern. ¡°I¡¯m surprised the taste of death mana is making me this sick, but it¡¯s nothing to be concerned about. I told you, death mana on its own isn''t actually harmful. Not even in these amounts.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s not concerning, maybe don¡¯t make us stop every five seconds!¡± Scule snapped, the petian clutching his temple with his free hand.


    ¡°Scule!¡± Vin frowned, looking at the squinting Rogue. Vin was about to admonish him for his comment, when he realized the petian didn¡¯t look much better than Shia did. Scule¡¯s face was contorted in pain, his legs seemed to be shaking, and his skin looked far paler than usual as well.


    ¡°Sorry, my head is absolutely killing me,¡± Scule moaned, closing his eyes as he continued to rub his temple. ¡°And after seeing her throw up twice, now I¡¯m starting to feel sick.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m feeling it a bit too,¡± Vin admitted, rubbing his stomach at the nausea that was slowly building. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s more than just the death mana¡­ Maybe there was something wrong with the food the stone villagers gave us? I don¡¯t know if their world has their own version of E. coli or whatever, but it has to be something other than just the ambient mana if we¡¯re all feeling this unwell. Just to be safe we should get out of this fragment as fast as possible. At least until we know what''s wrong with us.¡±


    ¡°Glad it¡¯s not just me,¡± Shia grinned, sweat running down her face as she struggled to stand up straight. ¡°I suppose this is what I get for neglecting to put any points in vigor.¡±


    ¡°You and me both, sister,¡± Scule groaned, looking more and more like he was going to be sick with every passing minute. ¡°It always seems like such a useless attribute¡­ Right up until you actually need it for something.¡±


    ¡°No kidding,¡± Shia laughed, leaning heavily on her staff. ¡°I think I might just drop a point or two into it after all this. How¡¯s Reginald doing?¡±


    ¡°The bastard¡¯s fine,¡± Scule grumbled, his statement confirmed by a happy sounding squeak from Vin¡¯s pocket. ¡°I have him spread his attributes evenly between dexterity, focus, and vigor, so he¡¯s probably got the highest vigor out of all of us.¡±


    ¡°You can worry about your future level ups once we¡¯re out of here,¡± Alka frowned, glancing back and forth between the three of them. ¡°Vin''s right, if you¡¯re all feeling this bad, we should hurry up and get out of this fragment. We don¡¯t want whatever is giving off all this death mana to find us like this, and you all are probably gonna have a wicked sunburn to boot if we stay any longer.¡±


    As though Alka¡¯s words had flipped a switch, Vin started at Alka''s mention of getting sunburnt. Glancing between his sickened friends and the monstrous sun hanging overhead, his face paled even further at his sudden realization.


    Resistance increased to lvl 11! 1,100 exp gained.


    ¡°It¡¯s not gas¡­ It¡¯s radiation!¡± He cried out, his blood freezing in horror.


    ¡°Radi-what-now?¡± Scule mumbled, squinting at him in confusion.


    ¡°Oh God, why didn¡¯t I realize it earlier?!¡± Vin said, wondering just how much radiation they¡¯d been bombarded with over the last hour. The three day long survival prep course Project Ark had put them through had covered radiation exposure, but only briefly, as little more than a footnote during their first aid lessons. ¡°Nausea¡­ Headaches¡­ Vomiting¡­ They¡¯re all signs of radiation sickness! We have to get out of here, now!¡±


    ¡°Vin, calm down,¡± Shia said, giving him a reassuring smile that was somewhat countered by her pale face and trembling frame. ¡°Whatever this is might be a serious issue on your world, but you¡¯re forgetting we have magic here. It won¡¯t be very effective until we leave the fragment, but I can probably just cast Neutralize Poison and fix whatever¡¯s wrong with us. All we need-¡±


    It was at that moment that the ground violently exploded out from under them, sending the entire party hurtling through the air in different directions. Vin had just enough time to make out the hulkish form of some sort of rock encrusted monster standing where they had been moments earlier before he slammed into the ground hard and everything went black.

 (67) 2.20. Between a Rock and a Harder Rock

    New magical beast discovered! 1,000 exp gained.


    The buzzing notification roused him from his ill timed nap, and Vin¡¯s eyes snapped open as he hurried to take in his surroundings. Thankfully it looked like he¡¯d only lost consciousness for a few seconds, as small shards of stone were still falling from the eruption that had sent them flying.


    Scule stood only a few feet to his left with his daggers at the ready, the Rogue¡¯s high dexterity no doubt having played a large part in how he was able to land nimbly on his feet looking unharmed from the surprise attack.


    A quick check of his pocket confirmed that while clearly rattled, Reginald at least seemed unharmed. Vin had been lucky to land on his back, cushioning the rat¡¯s fall instead of landing on top of him. As Reginald left the safety of his pocket and ran over to Scule, Vin looked for their remaining companions, finding them a good distance away.


    Alka was hovering over Shia¡¯s crumpled form, looking worried as she checked on the downed elf. Based on the lack of movement and Alka¡¯s expression, Vin could only assume she¡¯d been knocked unconscious. Shia had already been doing the worst of all of them from the radiation poisoning before the attack, and he could only imagine how much worse condition her body was in now.


    Vin wanted nothing more than to run over and start healing his fallen comrade, ambient death mana be damned. But there was one, rather large problem with that.


    Standing almost directly between him and Shia was what Vin clearly recognized as a massive golem. Easily twice his height and wide as a car, the magical beast¡¯s body looked to be made from giant hunks of crumbling stone. Small boulders somehow stuck together made up its torso, and various shards and chunks of slate formed thick sets of arms and limbs. Strangely enough, the beast didn¡¯t seem to have any sort of head, but that clearly didn¡¯t hinder it any as it slowly turned its torso toward Vin, letting out a growl from somewhere that sounded like crunching gravel.


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose your poisons are going to be very useful here, huh?¡± Vin asked, trying to spot some sort of weakness or something on the golem.


    Before he ran away from home, whenever his parents had locked him in his room to stop him from running off, he used to play all sorts of old video games to pass the time. Point being, he¡¯d been forced to fight a virtual golem or two back in the day. Usually they had some sort of glowing weak point, like an exposed gemstone, or a large crack running through their body you were supposed to target.


    Evidently this one hadn¡¯t gotten the memo.


    ¡°My head hurts too much for witty banter, Vin,¡± Scule complained, his face scrunched in pain as he tried his best to focus on the threat looming over them. ¡°We¡¯re in no condition to fight this thing. We need to get Shia and get out of this fragment as fast as possible.¡±


    ¡°No arguments here,¡± Vin said, carefully watching the golem. So far the beast hadn¡¯t actually taken a single step from where it had erupted out of the ground, and Vin felt a flicker of hope that maybe the golem wasn¡¯t actually able to move all that easily.


    That hope was quickly dashed as the golem went from zero to sixty in an instant, all of a sudden barreling toward them like an out of control freight train.


    ¡°Holy-!¡± Scule shouted as he and Reginald dove to the side. Vin was only a fraction of a second slower as he dove in the other direction, and he felt the air whoosh past him as the multi-ton pile of rocks missed him by barely a few inches.


    ¡°Alka, I could really use you right now!¡± Vin called out behind him, not willing to take his eyes off the dangerous beast. Apparently he¡¯d made the right call, because while it seemed the golem couldn¡¯t slow itself down quite as quickly as it could start, it had a few other tricks up its sleeve.


    Before it had even come to a full stop, the golem raised its arms up behind it and fired two of the larger rocks making up the ends of its arms at them like they¡¯d been launched from a cannon.


    Vin¡¯s Threat Detection blared in his mind, as though he couldn¡¯t see the giant rock hurtling toward him. Realizing he wasn¡¯t fast enough to dodge the unexpected attack, Vin had just enough time to regret choosing to learn Stone Shot first instead of Stone Wall before the small boulder smashed into his chest, shattering every bone in his torso and killing him instantly.


    Or at least, that¡¯s what he was pretty sure the damage would have been.


    The moment the boulder touched his chest, the projectile was repelled by a burst of brilliant golden light that erupted from his core as his divine boon saved his life yet again. While the rock bounced off him harmlessly, the boon didn¡¯t seem to nullify all the force of the blow, and Vin was sent flying backwards even further from his comrades, landing in an awkward roll.


    I think that¡¯s the third time I¡¯ve cheated death. Groaning, Vin pushed himself to his feet as he watched Reginald and Scule keep the golem distracted. The magical beast seemed to regenerate its missing rocks somehow, meaning there was no end to its cannon-like projectiles. Thankfully, unlike Vin, the two of them were fast enough to dodge the screaming missiles larger than their own bodies, if only just.


    Pushing down the growing nausea in his stomach and trying to ignore the knowledge that every second they spent on this fragment was another second spent being bombarded with heavy radiation, Vin looked over toward Alka, throwing an angry glare at his ace in the hole.


    ¡°Alka, what the hell-¡±


    His blood froze as Vin finally realized why Alka had yet to zoom over and take control of his body.


    She was a little busy saving Shia¡¯s life.


    Standing barely a few feet from the crumpled elf was a second golem, this one far smaller than the first. But despite being only four or five feet tall, that didn¡¯t mean its attacks were harmless if the small craters each of its missing blows formed were any indication. The golem didn¡¯t seem all that intelligent at least, as Alka was zipping around its body, keeping its focus on her and distracting it from crushing Shia¡¯s head like a melon.


    Vin didn¡¯t know how he hadn¡¯t noticed the second golem, but thankfully it hadn¡¯t evaded the Slayer¡¯s keen eyes. Cursing, he tried to ignore the headache he could feel coming on as he ran toward them, taking aim as he did so.


    ¡°Stone Shot!¡± He screamed, firing a shard of stone that looked positively laughable when compared to the rocks the golems were firing.


    Sure enough, while he miraculously landed the shot on his first try, he might as well have lightly tossed a pebble at the golem for all the good it did. His rock impacted the side of the golem and promptly shattered, not leaving so much as a scratch on the magical beast.


    Gritting his teeth, Vin thought back to Eithan¡¯s lessons and the hours he¡¯d been forced to spend handling different rocks. Thanks to the Stone Mage he now understood the basics of runic formations a bit better than he used to, and he knew exactly how to best utilize that knowledge.


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    Focusing on his spell, he changed his mental image of a rock from just a regular old stone to a hefty hunk of granite. He was sure there were harder rocks out there, but at the moment, that was the only one he could think of.


    ¡°Stone Shot!¡± This time, his projectile hit with a lot more force. And while the golem still didn¡¯t seem to react to his attack as it continued swinging wildly at Alka, he clearly saw a few small cracks spreading out slightly on the side of the magical beast.


    Still not enough¡­


    Realizing he had one last trick up his sleeve, Vin tapped into Runic Recalibration, finding the small cluster of runes he wanted within the spell¡¯s formation and tweaking them just so. Picturing the granite projectile in his mind, he fired off his spell a third time.


    ¡°Stone Shot!¡±


    Vin stumbled and nearly fell over as a huge chunk of his mana was ripped away in an instant.


    Apparently the spell took a little more mana than normal when you increased the velocity as much as magically possible.


    Vin blinked as his rock screamed across the empty landscape, smashing into the smaller golem and hitting the magical beast with enough force to knock it completely off its feet and send it crashing to the ground. Despite the deep cracks spreading throughout the golem¡¯s torso, his empowered spell still hadn¡¯t been powerful enough to actually do any meaningful damage.


    More importantly however, it bought Alka the breathing room she needed.


    Seeing the golem would take a few seconds to recover, Alka immediately turned and zipped toward him, meeting him part way and shooting straight into his body. Vin would have breathed a sigh of relief when he suddenly found himself watching events unfold as though he were watching a movie, but he no longer had control of his lungs.


    Using his body, Alka dashed back to the recovering golem, unsheathing their sword and slicing clean through the monster¡¯s torso in a single swipe as it stood up.


    ¡®Hell yeah!¡¯ Vin mentally cheered as the golem¡¯s upper body fell away, leaving the legs standing there unmoving. To his surprise however, Alka didn¡¯t share in his celebration.


    ¡°Magical beasts aren¡¯t creatures of flesh and blood,¡± she muttered for his benefit, her eyes watching the golem¡¯s two unmoving halves like a hawk, unblinking. ¡°You have to find the source of their magic and destroy it. Otherwise they¡¯ll keep coming back.¡±


    Sure enough, to Vin¡¯s horror the golem¡¯s leg suddenly shot out at them as the beast¡¯s lower half tried to kick them with enough force to shatter bone. Thankfully he wasn''t the one currently in charge of dodging, as Alka seemed completely unfazed by the surprise attack.


    Twisting around the limb of stone like a living current, Alka slashed down, separating the leg from the lower body. Not giving the golem any more chances, she unleashed a flurry of attacks, separating each of the limbs from the main body before cutting them up a second time, and then a third. By the time she stopped, the golem wasn¡¯t even recognizable anymore, now looking like just a random pile of rocks they¡¯d stumbled upon in this strange, flat fragment.


    ¡°I can¡¯t waste time fully dicing this thing to ensure it¡¯s dead, and we can¡¯t risk it reforming and killing Shia while we take out the big one,¡± Alka said, clicking her tongue in annoyance. ¡°It has to have some sort of core somewhere, something it draws its magic from. I¡¯m giving you back control, use your spell to find it, and then I¡¯ll take over again to help Scule.¡±


    ¡®Wait, you want me to-¡± Vin paused, realizing he was talking with his own mouth again. Hearing the sound of smashing boulders behind him, Vin didn¡¯t waste time thinking, instead doing exactly what Alka asked of him.


    ¡°Sense Magic.¡± Ignoring the faint magic radiating off of all of the rocks in the pile, Vin immediately honed in on the fist sized rock deep within the pile that was lit up to his senses like a blazing torch.


    ¡°Found it!¡± Pushing the other rocks aside, Vin grabbed the rock chunk containing the golem¡¯s core and tossed it into his pack.


    ¡®What are you doing? Destroy it and start running to the big one!¡¯


    ¡°These are the first magical beasts we¡¯ve found since leaving the Sacred Forest!¡± Vin argued, making sure his pack was secured before he began running toward the remaining golem. ¡°We don¡¯t know if Erik needs these cores undamaged or not, and Shia¡¯s in no condition to tell us. Until she wakes up, we need to keep them intact!¡±


    ¡®Sorry, I was too focused on the fight. I completely forgot about Erik for a second there.¡¯ Alka sounded a bit ashamed of herself, no doubt remembering all the dryad had done for her. ¡®So long as you keep the core away from other sources of stone, the golem should be as good as nullified.¡¯


    ¡°Works for me,¡± Vin said, wincing as he watched Reginald barely dart out of the way of a flying rock at the last second, the rat still close enough that some of the shrapnel hit him and cut a few red gashes down his side. Unlike Reginald, who was clearly starting to run out of steam and slow down, the golem seemed happy to stand there and fire rocks at the two of them all day. Vin didn¡¯t think the rat would last much longer.


    Thankfully, he wouldn¡¯t have to.


    ¡®Alright, that¡¯s close enough. Swap!¡¯


    Vin was happy the two of them had practiced this, as his body didn¡¯t even break stride when Alka took over. An even more impressive feat when you take into account the fact that his strength and dexterity shot up whenever Alka took control of his body.


    Blade in hand, Alka darted in toward the golem, rushing past the panting Reginald and drawing the golem¡¯s full attention on herself.


    For its part, the golem didn¡¯t even hesitate, adjusting its aim slightly before sending two small boulders screaming their way.


    Vin watched in awe as Alka flowed around the first boulder before cutting the second projectile in half, turning to allow the two pieces to shoot by either side of her. She¡¯d barely even slowed down from the attack, and before the golem could fire a second salvo she was upon it.


    She was able to get off two quick slashes, slicing deeply into each of the two legs. But despite her incredible skill, Vin realized with a start that Alka wasn¡¯t able to cut all the way through, even with their enchanted sword. Unlike monsters, which were magic and flesh, the golems were beings of magic and rock. A material not usually known for ease of cutting, even if they were wielding petrified elder wood.


    Rather than toppling over without its legs to balance on, the golem instead smashed down with its arms, intent on crushing them under a literal ton of rock. Alka barely managed to dodge out of the way, somehow slipping between the golem¡¯s legs at the last second and scoring two more slashes against the legs in doing so. Before it could right itself, Alka slashed at the legs one last time, her three combined attacks finally enough to carve cleanly through the beast¡¯s thick limbs.


    Leaping back, Alka let the golem crash to the ground before she got to work. The magical beast flailed about a bit at first, but it was only the work of a few more seconds for Alka to cut off its arms. With no arms or legs to speak of, it was then simply grunt work to slowly dismantle the giant creature. By the time Alka¡¯s minute was up, the golem had been reduced to a massive pile of rocks, most still the size of Vin¡¯s head.


    ¡®Phew, what a workout!¡¯ Alka chuckled in his head. ¡®Well, I did my part. Better find that core before it starts regenerating.¡¯


    ¡°Don¡¯t have to tell me twice.¡± After a quick cast of Sense Magic and a short rock scramble, Vin found himself holding a rock chunk far too large to comfortably carry. Careful not to cut into the actual core, he quickly used their sword to carve it down to a more reasonable size before dropping it in his pack.


    The immediate danger finally taken care of, Vin made sure Scule and Reginald were okay before rushing toward their unconscious party member.


    ¡°Shia!¡±

 (68) 2.21. A Ray of Hope

    ¡°I¡¯m no healer, but that doesn¡¯t look good.¡±


    Scule stood beside Shia¡¯s unmoving form, peering down at her pale face as Reginald let out a sad squeak and nudged the unconscious elf with his head. On top of whatever damage the radiation had already done to her body, it looked like Shia had landed hard on her head when the golems had launched them, and there was a small pool of blood already forming under her skull.


    ¡°Come on Shia, stay with us,¡± Vin said, moving to place a hand on either side of her head and flinching as he remembered his stump once more. Shaking it off, he placed his remaining hand close to the wound, focusing on his magic. ¡°Renewal.¡±


    For the first time since he¡¯d begun practicing magic, Vin was surprised to feel an uncomfortable pressure on the outside of his mana pool, as if the world were trying to keep his spell from functioning. Rather than flowing through the completed runic formation and activating all on its own, he found he actually had to focus and push his mana through the structure. The result was his spell coming out severely weakened, and he wasn¡¯t able to use Runic Recalibration to adjust anything without risking the entire formation collapsing.


    Doing his best to fight through the ambient death mana, Vin managed to fire off his weakened Renewal after a few seconds of intense concentration. The life magic seemed particularly thin and fragile, but what he was able to emit still seeped into Shia¡¯s head and got to work. It didn¡¯t do anything to fix her complexion, but it at least healed the crack in her skull and stopped the bleeding.


    ¡°We need to get her out of here now,¡± Vin panted, wiping the sweat from his brow as he scooped the unconscious elf over his shoulder and stood up. The world swayed for a moment as his head began throbbing in pain, and he fought to keep the ever growing nausea down. ¡°Shia has the lowest vigor of all of us. If the radiation is affecting us this badly, there¡¯s no telling how much time she has left until it kills her.¡±


    As if proving his point, Scule turned and finally lost his own breakfast, violently throwing up off to the side. Slowly, wiping his mouth, the petian groaned.


    ¡°I gotta say, this fragment kinda sucks,¡± he chuckled weakly, giving Vin a shaky grin that did little to hide his growing fear.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re going to be fine,¡± Vin said, hoping he sounded more sure than he felt. ¡°Reginald, are you able to scout ahead and make sure there aren¡¯t any more golems waiting for us? I hate asking you to put yourself in danger for us, but you¡¯re the healthiest one here and most likely to survive another surprise attack like that.¡±


    Saluting with his tail, Reginald gently nuzzled against Scule before taking off. Scule shook his head as he watched the rat run off. ¡°Damn rat¡­ Always trying to play the hero¡­¡±


    ¡°Come on,¡± Vin said, leaning down and offering the shaky Rogue a hand. Not even able to muster the energy to complain about being humiliated, Scule accepted the help, allowing himself to be deposited into Vin¡¯s front pocket Reginald normally travelled in.


    ¡°So what¡¯s the plan?¡± Scule asked, his head poking out of the pocket as Vin snatched up Shia¡¯s fallen staff and began running.


    ¡°We need to get out of this fragment, but I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be safe in the swamp like this,¡± Vin admitted, running as fast as he was able while carrying Shia over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. ¡°Even if all those creatures are dead and there are no monsters, based on what the elder told us from when her people tried venturing into the swamp I¡¯d probably get sucked right into the wet ground carrying Shia like this."


    Getting trapped and drowning in swamp gunk was definitely pretty high up on his list of ''worst ways to die,'' and even the thought of that nasty gunk Reginald had been covered in when they''d finally returned from the swamp sent a fresh wave of nausea through him that he had to fight down.


    "I¡¯m planning to try and make a beeline for the next fragment and hope it¡¯s relatively safe,¡± he decided, knowing at least that plan didn¡¯t lead to certain, swampy death. ¡°It means more radiation exposure, but that won''t kill us nearly as fast as drowning will.¡±


    ¡°Why not head back to Sakis?¡± Alka asked, drifting along beside him as he ran. Alka had been unnaturally quiet since taking down the golems, and Vin couldn¡¯t help but notice the worry and shame written all over her ethereal face.


    ¡°At this point, we¡¯re actually closer to the next fragment,¡± Vin explained, doing his best to shield part of Shia¡¯s body from the sun with his own as he ran. He didn¡¯t think that would actually do much when it came to radiation, but he couldn¡¯t help but try. ¡°Besides, you¡¯re forgetting I studied with their head mage. The stone villagers don¡¯t have any forms of healing magic.¡±


    ¡°Shia¡¯s the only one that knows how to neutralize poison,¡± Scule said, his face pale as he focused on not vomiting a second time with every step Vin took. ¡°My general antidotes aren¡¯t going to do anything against something like this. If she doesn¡¯t wake up¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s worry about that once we¡¯re safe,¡± Vin said, not willing to entertain the idea that they were all going to die a slow and excruciating death from radiation poisoning.


    As he ran, his Resistance skill leveled up for a fourth time, and Vin wracked his brain for anything he could possibly remember regarding Project Ark¡¯s warnings about radiation. Other than the general symptoms, all he could recall was that if the symptoms were manifesting this quickly, they didn¡¯t have long before total body shut down.


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    His own steadily growing headache certainly wasn¡¯t reassuring.


    Pushing his endurance to the limit, Vin chased Reginald in a straight line across the deadly fragment as they ran toward what he could only pray was safety.


    It was a good thing Reginald was running out ahead of them, because just as they were beginning to close in on the fragment border, the ground exploded a second time. This time directly underneath the rat.


    ¡°Reginald!" Scule cried out as they lost sight of him in the cloud of dust and rocks. Vin paused, staring in shock at the height some of the rocks reached from the golem¡¯s surprise attack. If they¡¯d been knocked up that high it was no wonder Shia and him had lost consciousness when they landed.


    Thankfully, Reginald proved his superiority over them once again. Before the dust had even settled, the rat emerged from the cloud of rocks, shooting out the side and giving them a reassuring squeak as he kept running toward the fragment border.


    ¡°That¡¯s my boy! Take that you piles of rubble!¡± Scule shouted, wincing as he shook his fist at the three medium sized golems while Vin curved around them. Luckily for them, the golems seemed content taking pot shots at the fleeing rat rather than chasing them down, as Vin doubted his ability to outrun them with Shia slung over his shoulder.


    Once they were past the golems, Vin realized they were finally close enough for the next fragment to become visible, and he nearly wept as he spotted what looked like a regular old forest instead of a sea of lava or some sort of spike filled wasteland.


    Putting on a burst of speed at the sight of salvation, Vin actually caught up to Reginald just as they crossed the border together, finally putting the flat plane of death behind them. A quick glance back was all the confirmation Vin needed that the rock golems seemed uninterested in following them out of their strange flat biome, and he watched the golems slowly merge once more into the stone ground, reforming the destroyed landscape and returning it to its unnaturally flat state.


    Breathing heavily, Vin made sure Shia was still secure on his shoulder as he leaned against the gnarled wood of an old tree, glancing at the notification that popped up.


    Third ring fragment discovered! 1,500 exp gained.


    ¡°Thank the gods,¡± Scule said, scrambling out of Vin¡¯s pocket and jumping down to wrap the panting Reginald in a big hug. ¡°Don¡¯t scare me like that, you overgrown mouse!¡±


    Letting out an exhausted squeak, Reginald wrapped his tail around the petian, returning the hug. Vin smiled, watched the two of them for a moment before a shooting pain in his head reminded him of their impending demise.


    Carefully laying Shia down on the forest floor, Vin took a deep breath and held his hand over her head once more.


    ¡°Renewal.¡±


    This time the magic flowed from his core as easily as always, and he let out a sigh of relief as the dense life magic swept through Shia¡¯s head. The elf''s eyes flickered briefly, and Shia let out a pained groan before turning her head and throwing up what little was left in her stomach.


    ¡°Shia!¡± Vin said, keeping up the dense flow of life magic even as he felt his mana quickly draining. ¡°Can you cast Neutralize Poison on yourself? We don¡¯t have a lot of time!¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t¡­ work¡­¡± The elf coughed, her head slowly shaking from side to side as she scrunched her eyes closed. ¡°Not¡­ strong enough.¡±


    ¡°Not strong enough?¡± Alka repeated as if she couldn¡¯t believe what she was hearing. ¡°Then what the hell do we do?¡± She stared at Vin, almost like she was expecting him to have some sort of back up plan.


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know,¡± he admitted, dread slowly creeping up within him as his one and only plan quickly fell apart. If Neutralize Poison wasn¡¯t enough to save them¡­


    Was this the end?


    Shia¡¯s sudden coughing fit snapped him out of his downward spiral before it could even begin, and he stopped shooting life magic into her long enough to give her a swig from his waterskin. Nodding her thanks, Shia raised a shaky hand, pointing off into the woods.


    ¡°Four miles¡­ That way¡­ Settlement¡­ Help us¡­¡±


    ¡°What settlement? How can you know that? Shia!¡±


    Vin tried to get answers from the wavering elf, but before she could tell him anything more, she lost consciousness once again. Vin stared at the unmoving elf, his heart stopping for a moment before he saw her chest rise once more. At the very least, she was still breathing.


    ¡°Well, that was ominous as all hell,¡± Scule said, one hand on Reginald¡¯s side and the other pressed against his temple as he squinted up at him. ¡°Unless you have any better ideas, I guess we¡¯re listening to the delirious elf then, eh?¡±


    ¡°She is a Druid, and this is a forest,¡± Alka pointed out, already back to scanning the forest for dangers now that they had some semblance of a plan once more. ¡°It¡¯s not like you have any better ideas, right?¡±


    ¡°Other than dumping the rest of my mana into Renewal and praying for the best, no, I don¡¯t.¡±


    Vin wracked his brain, trying to come up with some sort of solution. In the end, nothing he could think of could save them. The only idea he could come up with was returning to Erik. And while he was pretty certain the dryad would have the magic needed to save them, they¡¯d probably all be dead long before they managed to make it all the way back to the Sacred Forest.


    Running back through four different fragments was a little harder than driving yourself to a hospital.


    ¡°Right, we pray Shia isn¡¯t just having a fever dream and that she somehow knows where we can find people,¡± Vin decided, scooping the elf up once more and hefting her onto his shoulder. ¡°Alka, keep your eyes peeled for monsters. We¡¯ve already burned through both uses of Human Vessel today, and I don¡¯t fancy our chances of surviving any more surprise attacks in our current condition.¡±


    ¡°No kidding, I¡¯m pretty sure a toddler with a spoon could take you out right now,¡± Alka said, forcing a laugh that did little to hide how worried she looked.


    ¡°Scule-¡± Vin paused, focusing on keeping his breakfast down as a powerful surge of nausea swept through him. Grimacing, he forced his body to relax, and managed to keep himself from vomiting, if only just. ¡°...this goes without saying, but stick with Reginald. Shout if you see anything.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t have to tell me twice,¡± Scule said, slowly getting into Reginald¡¯s saddle and rubbing the rat¡¯s head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry buddy, we¡¯re all going to be okay.¡±


    Trying not to focus on the concerned squeak, Vin took in another deep breath, angling himself toward Shia¡¯s indicated direction and staring into the unknown forest as he began jogging.


    With hours at most before the radiation killed them, he could only pray they were making the right choice.

 (69) 2.22. A Hidden Village

    Vin spat the latest insect out of his mouth as they made their way quickly yet carefully through the vast forest. The most noticeable thing about this fragment was the shockingly high concentration of bugs flying around, and it made moving fast rather unpleasant. In the short time they¡¯d been running Vin had already encountered everything from giant swarms of gnats to large, bee-like insects the size of his fist, each with a nasty looking stinger that he wanted absolutely no part of.


    The fact that he could see venom literally dripping from their giant stingers made that a rather easy decision.


    Despite the crisis they were currently facing, Vin couldn¡¯t help but feel another pang of disappointment when he realized he was no longer receiving experience notifications for discovering new animals and insects. It seemed his advancement to Magical Explorer really had removed anything that didn¡¯t involve magic from his experience gains. Though seeing as the tradeoffs were more than worth it, he couldn¡¯t really complain.


    At this point, he was just happy that discovering new fragments still counted for whatever reason.


    ¡°Dear Gods, this place freaks me out,¡± Scule called out from the forest ground, grimacing with a hand on his stomach as he shied away from a beetle nearly as large as Reginald. ¡°If this is what all forests are like, count me out for the next one.¡±


    ¡°This is nothing, you should have seen Shia¡¯s Sacred Forest,¡± Vin said, trying to fill the silence as they trekked and keep their morale up. ¡°I saw a centipede the size of my arm crawl up a tree, and I still have nightmares about it.¡±


    ¡°That forest might have been vast, but it had nothing on a single one of the elder trees from my world,¡± Alka called over her shoulder, busy paving the way for them. ¡°Slayers aren¡¯t even allowed to enter the canopies until their second prestige at a minimum, and even then they¡¯re only allowed access to the smaller ones. I¡¯ve heard that some of the trees closer to the capital have canopies nearly a mile wide.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like it shouldn¡¯t be physically possible,¡± Vin said, trying to imagine just how strong the branches would have to be to support the ecosystem Alka claimed existed within the tree tops. ¡°So I guess magic must be involved?¡±


    ¡°I would assume,¡± Alka shrugged, trying to swat at a few glowing bugs hovering around her face and scowling when her hand phased straight through them.


    The group continued on quietly, their occasional attempts at pushing back against the chilling silence with a comment about the bugs or a joke at one of their expense doing little to distract them from the invisible scythe dangling over all of their heads.


    After a while, Alka finally got serious. Clearing her throat, the ghost hovered over next to him, falling in line beside him as he ran. The strange solidity of her form the ambient death mana had given her was gone, but Vin didn¡¯t have any problems making out the troubled look on the ghost¡¯s flickering face.


    ¡°Vin¡­ I-¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re gonna be fine, Alka,¡± Vin said, cutting her off with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. ¡°How many times have you seen me cheat certain death in the last two weeks? This is just an ordinary, vagabond Vin adventure!¡± He tried forcing a chuckle, and immediately regretted it when an unexpected spike of nausea made his stomach heave. Watching him clutch his hand over his mouth, Alka¡¯s expression only darkened.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen you scrape your way out of a lot of nasty situations, but nothing like this¡­¡± Alka reached out a tentative hand and placed her ethereal fingers on his shoulder as best she could. Vin couldn¡¯t feel anything other than a general sense of cold, but he still appreciated the sentiment.


    ¡°I¡¯m no stranger to death¡­ Hell, it was seeing my dad killed right in front of me as a kid that drove me to become a Slayer¡­ But if the four of you die because of me¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not dead yet Alka, no need to get all mushy on me,¡± Vin said. ¡°And even if the worst comes to pass, none of our deaths would be your fault, you know that.¡±


    ¡°You only risked going through that fragment to try and find the divine user before their trail went cold,¡± Alka snapped, glaring at him. ¡°Say what you want to try and make me feel better, but don¡¯t lie to me.¡±


    ¡°Be that as it may, we all knew what we were getting into,¡± Vin continued. ¡°It¡¯s not like you knew about the golems or the insane radiation. Hell, if anyone¡¯s to blame, it should be me. I¡¯m the only one who even knows about radiation, I should have put two and two together when Shia mentioned the death mana and I saw the enormous sun in the sky.¡±


    ¡°As long as we can all agree it¡¯s not my fault, I can die happy,¡± Scule called out weakly, waving a hand at them. Vin¡¯s breath caught as he realized the petian was somehow both white as a sheet, while also looking like he was covered in a nasty sunburn. Glancing at Shia, he confirmed the elf looked even worse, her skin already turning a nasty shade of reddish-purple. A quick glance at his arm showed he was beginning to turn red as well.


    ¡°We¡¯re running out of time,¡± he muttered, throwing caution to the wind as he picked up the pace. Avoiding monsters and dangerous animals didn¡¯t matter if it resulted in Shia dying before they got to the mysterious settlement.


    Strangely enough, the faster Vin travelled, the more he realized he was beginning to veer away from the direction Shia had originally pointed them in. He didn¡¯t know if the radiation poisoning was affecting his sense of direction or what was going on, but if it weren¡¯t for his Mental Map, he was pretty certain he wouldn¡¯t have even been able to travel in a straight line.


    As they rushed through the forest, Alka went back to flying just ahead of them and acted as a lookout. To his relief, it wasn¡¯t long before she zipped back, a glimmer of hope in her eyes as she gave them the good news.


    ¡°It¡¯s a village!¡± She said, pointing eagerly forward. ¡°I don¡¯t know how she knew, but it¡¯s there!¡±


    ¡°Come on Scule, we¡¯re not dead yet,¡± Vin grunted, fixing Shia¡¯s position over his shoulder and redoubling his efforts. At this point, it looked like the only thing keeping Scule in Reginald¡¯s saddle were the straps for his feet, but the petian still managed to muster a pathetic cheer, his face pressed hard against Reginald¡¯s fur as he struggled to stay conscious.


    ¡°Alka-¡±


    ¡°Way ahead of you,¡± she said, shooting into his body and echoing him. ¡®Last thing we need is to freak out the village¡¯s medicine man or whatever they have.¡¯


    Swatting aside one last giant grasshopper looking thing that tried jumping into his face, Vin broke out of the treeline, his heart racing as he took in the village standing before them.


    Completely surrounded on all sides by thick forest, the village was located within a massive clearing. Not much larger than Sakis, Vin guessed there couldn¡¯t be more than a few hundred people living here based on the small number of buildings. Most of them looked rather similar, styled like simple wood cabins and clearly using the trees from the surrounding forest in their construction. There was only a single building significantly larger than the rest, far more elaborately designed and situated off on the edge of the village.


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    Vin could only pray that someone within the small settlement was a healer capable of helping them as he made his way across the clearing toward the nearest house.


    Next to the house was a small garden, inside which he spotted a woman on her hands and knees, yanking out weeds. Her back was to them and she seemed rather engrossed in her task, so she didn¡¯t even notice Vin approach until he reached the edge of the garden and called out.


    ¡°Excuse me, we need help!¡±


    Startled, the woman leapt to her feet, spinning around and staring at them with wide eyes. Vin could only imagine how they must have looked to the woman. A battered man missing part of his arm, a badly burned elf slung over his shoulder, and a miniature man feebly clinging to a rat down by his feet.


    Granted, the villager was a bit interesting to look at as well.


    Vin hadn¡¯t noticed with her back to them, but now that he got a good look at her, it was very clear the middle aged woman wasn¡¯t human.


    Her skin was dark, almost like charcoal, with what looked like jagged red lines running all along the exposed parts of her body. Her eyes were black instead of white, with bands of soft, shimmering silver. There were four small horns jutting out of her forehead, more nubs than anything, and she had long claws that she¡¯d clearly been using in place of a trowel based on the dirt caked under them.


    Vin and the woman stared at one another for a few seconds, both in similar states of shock. But hearing a quiet moan of pain from Shia snapped him out of his stupor, and he nodded toward the woman.


    ¡°Please, my friends and I are really sick. It¡¯s not contagious, but I don¡¯t know how much longer we have. Does your village have a healer?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ Yes, we do,¡± the woman said, not taking her eyes off them as she wiped her dirty hands on her tunic. Unlike the rest of her, her outfit appeared rather normal, looking like something any gardener back on Earth would wear, if a bit more rustic. ¡°She¡¯s out in the forest at the moment, but I can bring you to her residence.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Vin said, his legs nearly giving out as a wave of relief washed over him. Despite everything he¡¯d said to try and reassure Alka, the truth was he¡¯d been absolutely terrified at their impending deaths. Hearing the village did indeed have some form of healer, he let himself feel hopeful for the first time since realizing what it was making them sick. ¡°Do you know when she¡¯ll be back? I really don¡¯t think my friend has very long.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll let her apprentices know, one of them will go out and fetch her.¡± Finally picking up on his urgency, the woman motioned for them to follow her as she began quickly walking. It didn¡¯t take long for Vin to realize they were heading away from the village proper toward the one unique building closer to the treeline. Before he could say anything, the woman glanced back at him. Her eyes locked onto Shia, and Vin swore her silver eyes seemed to shine.


    ¡°What is she?¡±


    ¡°Your world doesn¡¯t have elves?¡± Vin asked, checking to make sure Scule was still with them. It looked like the petian had finally passed out, but Reginald was right on his tail, carrying the unconscious Rogue without issue.


    ¡°No, I¡¯ve never seen her kind before,¡± the woman confirmed, her eyes continuing to scan over Shia as if taking in every inch of the unconscious elf. ¡°Granted, with our village hidden away as it is, we don¡¯t really see much of any of the other races, so that¡¯s not too surprising I suppose.¡±


    ¡°You, uh¡­ You¡¯re aware of what Edregon is and everything right? How you¡¯re not on your own world anymore?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we realized that rather quickly when the relocation occurred,¡± the woman nodded, much to Vin¡¯s relief. It never got any easier telling people their old world was probably dead and gone. ¡°It¡¯s almost funny. Our hidden village hadn¡¯t seen any new faces in years, and yet after the relocation, we¡¯ve actually received quite a handful of visitors these past few months. Even after all these weeks I suppose I¡¯m still not used to strangers surprising me in my garden like you did.¡±


    ¡°Sorry about that¡­ And for staring. Like your world and elves, my world doesn¡¯t have¡­¡±


    ¡°Infernals,¡± the woman chuckled, her laugh sounding harsh, like the crackling of embers. ¡°And before you work yourself into a tizzy, yes we are distantly related to demons. That¡¯s not going to be a problem, is it?¡±


    ¡°No, no problem at all!¡± Vin hurriedly said, glad that Scule was unconscious for this bit. The petian hadn¡¯t actually talked about demons all that much, but Vin had heard him use variations of ¡®demon¡¯ as curses more than once.


    ¡°Glad to hear. The last traveler that came through here a few days back was some sort of divine crusader,¡± the woman snorted, shaking her head. ¡°Idiot had the bright idea of trying to smite us down just because of our race I suppose. Just wanted to make sure you weren¡¯t going to act the same.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what?¡± Vin asked, completely forgetting about their current condition for a second as he honed in on what she¡¯d just said. Based on the shifting cold within his core, Alka was focused as well. ¡°Someone with divinity came through here recently?¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, big tough guy, looking to start all sorts of trouble. You can ask Madam Trebella all about him if you want, she was the one that sent that troublemaker packing with his sword between his legs if you catch my meaning.¡±


    Vin¡¯s mind swirled as they stepped up to the large building that looked like a miniaturized mansion. He¡¯d been so focused on survival, he¡¯d completely forgotten about the divine warrior they were chasing in the first place.


    Before he could ask more about it, the infernal knocked on the large doors. After a brief pause, one of the doors swung open, revealing a much younger looking infernal. A teenage boy in a light grey robe with similar small horns and black eyes opened the door, staring at their group with curiosity. Vin started as he realized unlike their impromptu guide, the boy¡¯s eyes were brilliant rings of gold rather than silver.


    ¡°Hello Aunt Agne, how can I help you?¡± Despite his young appearance, the boy¡¯s voice was far deeper than Vin would have expected, almost like each word had an underlying echo to it.


    ¡°Greetings, Young Master Malzer,¡± Agne said, briefly touching the tip of one of her horns before gesturing to Vin and his friends. ¡°These folks just stumbled out of the forest and surprised me in my garden. Nearly gave me a heart attack they did. They appear to be in dire straits. Any chance you could go fetch your master and ask her to take a look at them?¡±


    ¡°Are they able to pay Madam Trebella¡¯s fee?¡± Malzer asked, squinting at the three of them. Vin was about to promise to pay whatever the mysterious Madam Trebella wanted when Agne suddenly stepped forward, grabbing the largest of the boy¡¯s horns and yanking him close.


    ¡°Malzer. Pesylvo. Arizes,¡± Agne said, yanking on the boy¡¯s horn and making him wince with every word. ¡°These folks have been nothing but polite since they appeared, and in case those golden eyes of yours aren¡¯t working right, let me tell you that they seem to be in a lot of pain. You go fetch your master right this minute young man, or I¡¯m going to have some choice words for your mother later.¡±


    Before she¡¯d even finished with her demands, the poor teenage infernal was holding up his hands and cowering under the older woman¡¯s might.


    ¡°Of course Auntie, I¡¯m sorry!¡± Malzer begged, cringing as he realized Vin was staring at him. ¡°Not in front of Madam Trebella¡¯s guests!¡±


    ¡°Hmph!¡± Agne grunted, finally releasing the boy¡¯s horn and turning to smile warmly at Vin. ¡°You folk make yourself comfortable while Young Master Malzer here fetches Madam Trebella. He won¡¯t be very long. Will you?¡± She turned, directing the question at the boy. Jumping under her sudden stare, he hurriedly shook his head. At this point he looked willing to agree to anything she said, lest she start grabbing his horns again.


    ¡°Good. Come see me once you¡¯re all better. I¡¯ll make you folk a dinner that will blow your socks off!¡± Patting Vin on the back, Agne turned and began walking back the way she¡¯d come, humming to herself.


    Staring at the woman¡¯s back for a few seconds, Vin slowly turned back to the boy who was busy rubbing his horn and grumbling to himself. Sighing, Malzer held the door open wider, motioning for them to come in.


    ¡°Well don¡¯t just stand there,¡± he said, rolling his eyes. ¡°Hurry up and get in here before Aunt Agne comes back and tries to rip my other horns out.¡±

 (70) 2.23. The Ritual of Stillness

    The inside of the small mansion was truly remarkable, but Vin didn¡¯t get the chance to admire the many portraits and carved statues of powerful infernals lining the hallway. As soon as Agne was gone and Malzer realized just what condition Vin and his party were in, the young infernal had gotten serious, his attitude vanishing as he quickly rushed them over to some form of sick bay.


    ¡°Malzer? What¡¯s going on?¡± An infernal reading beside the cluster of beds asked, getting to his feet and looking curiously at Vin¡¯s party as they entered. This infernal had the same golden eyes as Malzer, but looked to be closer to Vin¡¯s age. And unlike Malzer and Agne, the jagged lines running all along his dark skin were closer to purple than red. Based on the thin spectacles and hefty book in his hands, Vin immediately pegged him as some form of scholar.


    ¡°No time to explain Xaril, I need to go find Madam Trebella,¡± Malzer said, grabbing a cloak hanging on the wall and throwing it over his shoulders. While his clawed fingers struggled with the clasp in his haste, he glanced up at the older infernal. ¡°Do you know where she went?¡±


    "Why would I?" Xaril said unhelpfully, peering at Vin and his friends as he marked his place in his book with a pressed flower. He seemed entirely unfazed by the younger infernal''s nervous haste.


    ¡°Gah, I think she mentioned something about algae... Maybe she''s down by the pond! I¡¯ll be right back!¡± The moment the thought struck him, Malzer rushed out the door, slamming it shut behind him. Sighing, the older infernal clicked his tongue, turning to look at Vin¡¯s group. Like Agnes, his eyes lingered on Shia for a few seconds before he focused on Vin. Unlike Agnes however, rather than her warm curiosity, his eyes felt cold and clinical.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s start with the obvious. Can you understand me?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Vin nodded, wondering what the heck was going on. ¡°Are you a healer?¡±


    ¡°No. The sick bay is just the quietest place in the house to read. People rarely ever barge in here.¡±


    Vin stared at the unmoving infernal, unable to believe what he was hearing. As the seconds slowly ticked by, and Xaril merely looked at him impassively, he came to the startling realization that the older infernal was waiting for an apology from him of all things.


    ¡°Look, my friends and I are literally dying,¡± he said, glaring at the unconcerned infernal. ¡°If you¡¯re not going to help or anything, maybe you should, I don¡¯t know, get out of the sick bay.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say I wouldn¡¯t help,¡± Xaril shrugged, not seeming the slightest bit annoyed with Vin¡¯s tone. ¡°Just that I wasn¡¯t a healer. You can put your friends on the beds there while I start preparing the ritual for Madam Trebella.¡±


    ¡®Ritual?¡¯ Vin heard Alka ask as he carefully placed Shia on an open bed. The elf felt feverish to the touch, and she continued letting out quiet moans every time she was jostled. Vin helped Reginald deposit Scule on the next available bed, and not even the comical sight of the tiny man lying in a regular person sized bed made him feel any better.


    Unsure what else to do for his friends at the moment, Vin turned to ask the annoying infernal if he thought his Renewal spell would be of any use when he froze.


    In the few seconds it had taken Vin to get his friends on the bed, Xaril had been busy. A good chunk of the sick bay floor was absolutely covered in glowing red runes, and the infernal wasn¡¯t showing any signs of slowing down. Despite the current situation, Vin stared in awe of the hunched over infernal as his finger wove through the air so fast he could barely make it out, leaving behind a glowing purple line everywhere it passed.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Xaril asked bluntly, shocking Vin from his stupor as the infernal spoke without even looking at him.


    ¡°Severe radiation poisoning,¡± Vin said, before realizing that probably meant nothing to the man. ¡°Our bodies are breaking down and dying on an extremely small level. Shia¡­ The elf over there, said Neutralize Poison wasn¡¯t enough to fix us.¡±


    ¡°Radiation?¡± Xaril repeated, actually pausing for a moment as he tried out the word like someone discovering a new food. ¡°Interesting. I¡¯ve never come across that affliction before in any of our books.¡±


    ¡°So this ritual¡­ Will it cure us?¡± Vin asked, realizing he could barely make heads or tails of what the infernal was drawing out. All he could see was that it was slowly forming a complex looking square. While some of the runes looked a bit familiar, he didn¡¯t recognize any of them outright. It was clear Xaril was in an entirely different league when it came to runic formations.


    ¡°No,¡± Xaril said simply, going back to his runes.


    If only he wasn¡¯t such a pain.


    ¡°Then why are you making it?¡± Vin hissed, trying to keep his anger from bubbling over.


    ¡®Keep it together Vin. It¡¯s taking everything I have not to brain this guy with the pommel of my sword. If you snap, I¡¯m going to be right behind you.¡¯


    ¡°While I¡¯m not familiar with this radiation you speak of, I don¡¯t need to be in order to know the proper ritual for dealing with it,¡± Xaril said, his tone suggesting he was explaining something simple to a small child. ¡°Madam Trebella will most likely need to enact a purification ritual in order to save your lives. However, she currently lacks the materials needed for casting such a powerful ritual. Logically, she¡¯ll then decide to perform a ritual of stillness, temporarily stopping the decay sweeping through your bodies and buying her time to get the needed materials for the more powerful ritual.¡±


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Vin could only stare daggers at the uncaring infernal as he talked about their crisis situation like it was a textbook math problem. It was probably a good thing the guy didn¡¯t see himself as a healer, because his bedside manner was absolutely terrible.


    ¡°Done,¡± Xaril finally said, standing up and giving his runic array one last look. Reaching into the sleeve of his cloak, the infernal pulled out four gleaming red stones, placing each one carefully at a specific point within the array.


    ¡°Now we just need to wait for Madam Trebella to arrive, and she can enact the ritual,¡± he said, turning to look at Shia. ¡°Do you mind if I examine your pointy eared friend¡¯s body in the meantime? Or the small cursed one? I¡¯ve never read about such a curse before.¡±


    ¡°What? No!¡± Vin exclaimed, barely able to believe the guy was serious. ¡°And what do you mean cursed one? Is Scule cursed as well?¡±


    ¡°...yes?¡± Xaril said, looking at him like he was an idiot. ¡°The man¡¯s six inches tall. Did you hit your head along with getting yourself poisoned?¡±


    ¡®Oh buddy. Vin, you better get that guy out of here fast unless he wants to lose one of those horns.¡¯


    Vin was just about to spare Alka the trouble and grab the infernal¡¯s horn himself when the door suddenly flew open, revealing a panting Malzer.


    ¡°She was already on her way back!¡± He gasped, quickly stepping to the side and hanging up his cloak. ¡°She¡¯s right behind me!¡±


    Sure enough, before he¡¯d even finished speaking, a new infernal Vin could only assume was Madam Trebella strode into the room as if she owned the place. Unlike the simple clothing of Malzer and Xaril, Madam Trebella wore a dark grey robe adorned with gold and red thread, and her horns had small golden caps on the ends. The infernal carried her head high, and she didn¡¯t even pause to let Malzer finish moving out of the doorway, nearly barreling straight through him as she approached Vin.


    ¡°You!¡± She said, barely sparing his friends a look before glaring at Vin and thrusting a wicked looking claw at his chest. ¡°I¡¯ve got some questions for you. Come with me.¡±


    ¡°What is wrong with you people?!¡± Vin demanded, almost wishing Alka could take over and start swinging her sword around. ¡°My friends are dying. Them! Right there!¡± He said, gesturing to Scule and Shia¡¯s sweating forms. ¡°I¡¯m not going any-¡±


    Vin¡¯s tirade was cut short as he finally lost the battle raging inside himself. Before he could give Madam Trebella a piece of his mind, he doubled over, throwing up his own breakfast onto the sick bay floor as his building nausea overtook him. Vin at least had the sense of mind to aim away from the complicated ritual, but it was a small consolation prize as he groaned, trying to ignore the pain and sense of wrongness radiating throughout his body as he stood back up.


    ¡°You don¡¯t look like you¡¯re in much better shape,¡± Madam Trebella said bluntly, frowning at him as he leaned heavily against one of the beds.


    ¡°Xaril,¡± she snapped, turning to the annoying infernal. ¡°Why is there a ritual of stillness prepared on my sick bay floor?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have the materials needed for a purification ritual,¡± Xaril said, unfazed by the older infernal¡¯s harsh tone. ¡°Logically, this would be your next step.¡±


    Madam Trebella muttered something unintelligible under her breath, waving the two younger infernals away. ¡°Both of you two, get out! I need to have a private conversation with our dying visitors here.¡±


    Malzer acted like he¡¯d been waiting his whole life for this rude dismissal, turning and practically launching himself out the door the moment she issued the order. In stark contrast, Xaril merely shrugged. Grabbing his book from one of the beds, he casually strolled out of the room, not even bothering to shut the door behind him.


    Sighing, Madam Trebella walked over and closed the door before turning to look Vin up and down. ¡°Like I said, I have questions for you. But seeing as you can¡¯t answer them if you¡¯re dead¡­¡±


    Walking into the center of Xaril¡¯s ritual, the infernal gestured toward his unconscious friends. ¡°Place each of them in one of the corners and take the last one for yourself. Oh, and tell your ghost pal there to move off to the side. Her death mana will screw up the ritual otherwise.¡±


    Vin stared at the infernal in shock, his mouth seemingly not working correctly. While he was struggling to regain full motor functions, Alka drifted out of him, looking curiously at her.


    ¡°How did you know I was here?¡± She asked, looking just as surprised as Vin felt.


    ¡°Do you want me to answer that, or do you want me to save your friends?¡± The infernal drawled, not even looking at the ghost. ¡°Four creatures, four corners, chop chop!¡±


    Jumping into motion, Vin carefully placed Scule and Shia¡¯s bodies in two of the corners as Madam Trebella silently watched him, not making any move to help. Realizing Reginald wouldn¡¯t be able to understand the infernal, Vin explained what he needed the rat to do, and Reginald quickly took up one of the empty corners. Stepping into the last one himself, he turned to look at the waiting infernal.


    ¡°Now what?¡±


    ¡°Now you shut up and let me work.¡±


    As soon as the four corners were filled, Madam Trebella began walking around the ritual, staring at the four of them in turn and muttering quietly to herself as she pulled different ingredients out of her cloak. Vin watched on in confusion as she dropped a few white twigs here and sprinkled a vial of something there. She chucked a handful of powder that seemed to vaporize the moment it left her hand, before rolling a few strange looking rocks across the ground.


    Vin caught Alka¡¯s eyes from across the room, and the two of them shared a similar concerned look. They¡¯d spent enough time listening to each other to know what the other was thinking by this point, and Vin didn¡¯t have a doubt in his mind Alka was currently questioning the sanity of the infernal, just as he was.


    Even so, Vin didn¡¯t dare say anything and mess up whatever it was the infernal was doing. She was literally their last option. All he could do was pray Madam Trebella wasn¡¯t some crazy quack and actually knew how to help them.


    After tossing around a few more ingredients seemingly at random, the infernal finally paused, standing in the middle of the field of runes and giving everything a quick check, seeming pleased with her work.


    ¡°That should do it,¡± she nodded. Pulling a small, white gemstone from within her cloak, she gave Vin a look that was almost apologetic.


    ¡°Fair warning to you, this will be¡­ unpleasant.¡±


    Before Vin could ask what she meant by that, the infernal let the gemstone fall from her hands. The moment it hit the ground, the gem shattered into four pieces, and Vin screamed as he felt something tear its way free from his very soul.

 (71) 2.24. Borrowed Time

    Vin woke with a start, his heart racing as he sat up and took in his surroundings. He was surprised to find himself lying in one of the many beds dotting the sick bay within Madam Trebella¡¯s manor. Looking around, he quickly spotted Shia and Scule¡¯s unconscious forms, and he let out a sigh of relief as he noticed the subtle movements in their chests that indicated they were still breathing.


    ¡°Ah. You¡¯re awake.¡±


    Following the voice, Vin frowned as he spotted the familiar Xaril sitting in one of the far chairs, open book in hand. With a sigh, the infernal marked his spot and shut his book, getting up and brushing off his robe.


    ¡°Madam Trebella asked me to inform her once you¡¯d regained consciousness,¡± Xaril explained, sounding bored out of his skull. ¡°Don¡¯t leave the sickbay. She¡¯ll be with you shortly.¡±


    Not waiting for so much as a nod of acknowledgement, the infernal strode out of the room, again not bothering to close the door behind him. Vin could only stare at the open doorway, trying to wrap his head around what the heck was going on.


    ¡°If we can¡¯t find any way to put me to rest, I think I¡¯m gonna haunt that guy for a few years,¡± Alka said, appearing beside him and giving him a tentative smile. ¡°How do you feel?¡±


    ¡°Strangely enough, I feel¡­ fine?¡± Vin felt at his chest with his hands, trying to figure out the strange sensation he was currently experiencing. He didn¡¯t really feel good or bad, which was of course a distinct improvement over feeling like he was rapidly dying.


    ¡°Fine isn¡¯t the right word¡­ I¡¯d say it¡¯s more like I feel¡­¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡±


    Vin and Alka turned to see Madam Trebella standing in the doorway, watching them carefully. Closing the door behind her and doing something he couldn¡¯t quite make out, the infernal walked over to his bed, standing at the foot of it and peering down at him.


    ¡°The sensation you¡¯re trying to find a word for is the feeling of nothing,¡± she repeated, her eyes scanning over every trace of his body. ¡°Which means the ritual was a success. Naturally, seeing as I¡¯m the one that cast it.¡±


    ¡°What did you do?¡± Alka asked, frowning at the impassive infernal. The Slayer clearly wasn¡¯t pleased with her friends being the focal point of an unknown ritual, but seeing as they appeared to be doing better, she couldn¡¯t exactly be angry.


    ¡°I stole your future,¡± Madam Trebella said, as calmly as though stating she¡¯d given him a cough drop. ¡°...temporarily that is.¡±


    ¡°You what?!¡± Vin yelled, his eyes bulging. If Alka hadn¡¯t looked just as shocked and confused as he felt, he would have thought he¡¯d misheard the infernal.


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t get your undergarments in a twist,¡± Madam Trebella snapped, holding up a simple looking necklace. Hanging from a basic twine cord was one of the four gemstone shards from the recent ritual. However the once white gemstone was now a dark, cloudy black mass of crackling energy. Vin couldn¡¯t help but stare at the living black storm within the gem, the dark energies seeming to swirl and thrum in ever increasing chaos the longer he watched.


    ¡°This is the future I stole from you,¡± Madam Trebella explained, shaking the necklace and causing the energies within to swirl about even faster. ¡°Don¡¯t act like I took anything important. As you were so inclined on shouting earlier when you stormed into my manor, you were quite literally hours away from death. A rather bleak future if I do say so myself.¡±


    ¡°How can you just¡­ take someone¡¯s future?¡± Vin asked, still barely believing what he was hearing. If it wasn¡¯t for the foreign sensation of absolute nothingness inside him, he probably wouldn¡¯t have believed her. ¡°I didn¡¯t know magic was even capable of such a thing!¡±


    ¡°Maybe not your paltry magic, but I¡¯m a bit more experienced than you, kid,¡± Madam Trebella said, rolling her eyes and tossing him the necklace. ¡°There¡¯s a reason Witches and Warlocks practice ritual magic. It may not be as convenient as regular magic, but it allows us to do things far beyond our level.¡±


    ¡°Of course you¡¯re a Witch.¡± Vin could only shake his head, not even surprised by the revelation at this point. He¡¯d seen far crazier things than Witches in his travels after all, so why not?


    ¡°Well, now that the pleasantries are out of the way and you¡¯re no longer dying, it¡¯s about time we had that chat I wanted earlier,¡± Madam Trebella said, staring at him like he was some strange pest she was trying to figure out. ¡°You. Ghost. Leave us.¡±


    ¡°Like hell I¡¯m leaving him alone with you,¡± Alka snorted, crossing her arms and floating a few feet higher off the ground until she was looking down at the infernal. ¡°Whatever you want to ask him you¡¯ll have to do with me here as well.¡±


    ¡°Do you honestly think I¡¯m afraid of a ghost of all things?¡± Madam Trebella drawled, staring at Alka like she was stupid. ¡°Even if I can¡¯t destroy that strange anchor you¡¯re bound to, I could bind your spirit inside a doll and chuck you in a closet for the next few decades. How does that sound?¡±


    Alka¡¯s bravado faltered, and Vin witnessed the rare sight of fear flickering across the Slayer¡¯s face as she realized her bluff had been called.


    ¡°Alka, I¡¯m fine,¡± Vin said, not wanting the ghost to make an enemy of any powerful Witches that could actually harm her. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go check out the manor for a bit? Make sure we¡¯re not in any danger?¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Alka frowned, turning and drifting through the closed door. Slipping her head back through, she glared at the infernal one last time. ¡°If anything happens to Vin or the others, I¡¯ll find a way to kill you if it¡¯s the last thing I do. Witch or no Witch.¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah, go annoy Xaril or something,¡± Madam Trebella said, not even bothering to look at her. The infernal waited to ensure Alka was truly gone before turning her full attention to Vin.


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    ¡°First thing''s first.¡± Reaching into her robe sleeve, she pulled out a small bell that looked to be made out of glass of all things. As she placed it at the foot of the bed, Vin realized he could faintly detect some strange sort of magic he¡¯d never felt before radiating from the bell.


    ¡°This is a Bell of Truths. A charm I created that I like to use whenever I think my apprentices are trying to sneak something past me. You and I will take turns asking the other questions, and if either of us lies, the bell will chime. I want you to understand that while the bell won¡¯t do anything other than detect the truth, every time you lie, I¡¯ll shatter one of these three gems.¡± The infernal held up three more simple corded necklaces, and Vin immediately recognized the three gem shards hanging from each one as the gems that had to be tied to his friends¡¯ futures. ¡°I doubt I need to inform you how quickly they¡¯ll perish after their futures are returned to them.¡±


    ¡°No, you don¡¯t,¡± Vin growled, not the biggest fan of having his friends¡¯ lives dangling over his head as collateral. ¡°Why are we taking turns asking questions? Wouldn¡¯t it be easier just to ask me whatever you want to know?¡±


    ¡°Ritual magic works better when there is give and take,¡± Madam Trebella explained, pulling up a chair and taking a seat at the foot of his bed. ¡°While I probably could have made a charm that was one sided as you say, it wouldn¡¯t have been nearly as effective. We¡¯ll call that your first question by the way.¡±


    ¡°Why not,¡± Vin said, rolling his eyes. Goddamn Witches.


    ¡°Now, my first question is rather simple¡­¡± She paused, leaning forward and piercing him with her golden eyed stare. ¡°How were you able to find this place?¡±


    Vin blinked, not expecting such a straightforward question. ¡°Uh¡­ My friend Shia, that elf over there, told us to head in this direction before she passed out. I don¡¯t actually know how she knew we¡¯d find you here. We kind of just assumed it was because she¡¯s a Druid and you live in a giant forest.¡±


    ¡°Her being a Druid wouldn¡¯t bypass the ritual I have set up,¡± Madam Trebella frowned, squinting at him. ¡°How-¡±


    A soft but powerful chime erupted from the bell, and the infernal grit her teeth, clearly displeased. ¡°Your turn,¡± she said, waving for him to ask something.


    ¡°This ritual of stillness you cast on us¡­ how long is it going to last?¡±


    ¡°Assuming you don¡¯t do anything to damage your physical form, about twenty four hours,¡± she explained, shrugging a bit. ¡°If you go get yourself stabbed or anything like that? Far less.¡±


    Damn¡­ That¡¯s not a lot of time. Vin wanted to ask about the other ritual Xaril had mentioned, but he understood he had to wait until it was his turn again.


    ¡°Regardless of how your friend knew we were here, how were you able to follow her directions in the first place?¡± Madam Trebella asked, wording her question carefully. ¡°After dealing with that raving divine warrior, I set up a large-scale ritual around the entire town that should have prevented anyone from being able to simply walk in. In attempting to find us, you should have naturally found yourself wandering in a different direction, and the effect only would have grown stronger the closer you got. So my question is, how did you bypass my ritual?¡±


    ¡°Oh, is that what that was?¡± Vin couldn¡¯t help but chuckle, happy to hear at the very least his brain hadn¡¯t been melting after all. ¡°I¡¯m an Explorer. I have the Mental Map passive, so I always know exactly what direction I¡¯m heading in. I noticed I kept veering off course on the way here like a drunk trying to find his way home, but I thought it was the radiation poisoning.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I suppose that would work¡­¡± She muttered, tilting her head and rubbing one of her horns absentmindedly.


    ¡°The divine warrior you dealt with earlier. Did he have any sort of offensive divine magic?¡± Vin asked, doing his best to keep the excitement out of his voice. Now that they weren¡¯t facing immediate death anymore, his focus had once again returned to trying to find a way to put Alka to rest.


    ¡°He had a sword that blazed like a setting sun, and I couldn¡¯t detect any magic emanating from the blade, so I¡¯d bet my favorite horn it was in fact divine magic,¡± Madam Trebella nodded, scowling at the memory. ¡°Idiot barely said two words before declaring us evil abominations and trying to cut off my head. A good reminder of why we chose to live in the wilderness in the first place.¡±


    ¡°Which leads me to my final question,¡± she said, watching him carefully. ¡°Do you or your friends harbor any ill intentions toward my people?¡±


    ¡°Definitely not!¡± Vin said quickly, his blood going cold as the bell let out a quiet, almost questioning chime. Seeing the frown on Madam Trebella¡¯s face, he tried to explain. ¡°I absolutely don¡¯t have any ill intentions toward you, and I can say with confidence I don¡¯t think Shia, Alka, or Reginald do either. Scule, however¡­¡± Vin paused, wondering how to word this in a way that wouldn¡¯t get them all killed.


    ¡°Scule¡­ The small man over there¡­ He grew up in a holy citadel crawling with divine classes. I¡¯d like to say he wouldn¡¯t have any ill intentions toward your people either, but to be honest, I just don¡¯t know. I can say however that in the little time I¡¯ve known him, he¡¯s proven himself to be a good man and risked his life to save ours on more than one occasion. Maybe just¡­ Lock away anything particularly valuable when he wakes up.¡±


    To his surprise, rather than pull out the necklaces and shatter them right in front of him, Madam Trebella actually chuckled at his explanation. Picking up the bell, she returned it to her robe, giving him a small smile.


    ¡°Your friend¡¯s a Rogue, is he?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Vin nodded, wondering where she was going with this. ¡°Is that good?¡±


    ¡°Not good per se, but in my experience, Rogues don¡¯t often have the guts to do anything as extreme as attack a more powerful opponent. Meaning regardless of his feelings toward my people, your friend is harmless.¡±


    ¡°Well then, now that we''ve gotten all that unpleasant business out of the way, why don¡¯t we talk about something a little bit more interesting,¡± Madam Trebella said, giving Vin a predatory grin that sent shivers down his spine.


    Shia could learn a thing or two from the infernal about giving spooky smiles.


    ¡°The ritual of stillness was only a stopgap to buy you a little bit of time,¡± she continued. ¡°None of you will get any worse, but neither will you get any better either. In order to actually heal you and your friends, I¡¯ll need to cast a purification ritual, and I don¡¯t currently have the materials on hand for such a casting. However, I know where you can get them.¡±


    ¡°Hold up, you want me to go gather the materials?¡± Vin asked, not sure he was hearing her correctly. ¡°Aren¡¯t I in something of a bad way right now?¡±


    ¡°Witches and Warlocks are powerful on their home turf with their prepared rituals, but significantly weaker on the move,¡± the infernal explained. ¡°Normally we¡¯d send our Gatherers to collect these reagents for us, however, nearly all of our high levelled Gatherers were away when the relocation happened, and the few we still have here are inexperienced enough that I¡¯m not willing to risk them just yet. Not for the lives of a few strangers I¡¯ve only just met. If I send you however, either you survive and bring back the materials I need, or you die and aren¡¯t my problem any more. It¡¯s a win-win in my book.¡±


    ¡°Lucky you,¡± Vin muttered. As annoying as the Witch was, he had to admit the infernal had a point. They had just come barging onto her doorstep demanding that she use her powers to heal them. He supposed it was only fair that he shoulder the risk of gathering the materials needed to fuel the ritual. ¡°Fine.¡±


    ¡°Tell me what you need.¡±

 (72) 2.25. Down We Go

    ¡°This has got to be one of the stranger things I¡¯ve ever done,¡± Vin muttered, glancing at the two creatures flanking him as he made his way deeper into the forest. Other than Alka, most of his party was currently indisposed, but at least two of them had been in good enough condition to join him.


    An indignant squeak reminded him that Reginald had excellent hearing, and Vin winced, quickly apologizing to the annoyed rat. He shot a glance at the final member of their small party to make sure they weren¡¯t offended as well, but it seemed as though Blossom truly was just a magical construct following orders.


    A while back Shia had taught him how to activate Blossom¡¯s cat mode, and informed him that she¡¯d instructed the cat to listen to his commands should she ever be out of commission. At the time, Vin had thought the elf was being a bit paranoid, but now he was thankful she¡¯d had the foresight to prepare for something like this happening.


    Madam Trebella had given him specific instructions on where to find the materials and how to collect them, and Vin had been less than pleased to learn that he would almost certainly have to fight his way through a good handful of monsters in order to retrieve them. Naturally, the specific materials she needed for her ritual were found deep within a cave that was a known spawning point for many of the insect monsters roaming the forest.


    Having a magical wooden cat watching his back made him feel just a little bit better at the very least.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, watching you stumble your way back to camp that second day, staring at a rock and mumbling to yourself about magic was pretty strange,¡± Alka said, using her sword to slice through some undergrowth blocking their path. The ghost had been rather angry ever since her conversation with Madam Trebella, and Vin was more than happy to let her get her anger out on the trees and bushes rather than any of the infernals.


    ¡°Fair enough.¡± Vin realized he was once again toying with the dark gemstone secured around his neck and he scowled, forcing his hand back down to his side. ¡°Hey, are you excited about getting the chance to slice up some monsters at least? Madam Trebella made it sound like the place was going to be chock full of them.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d rather slice that stupid grin off her face,¡± Alka muttered, cutting her way through a small tree rather than just going around it. ¡°Who does she think she is anyway? Threatening to trap me in a doll and chuck me in a closet? I¡¯m a Slayer, Vin. A trained, killing machine. I can accept myself being bound to something dangerous like a sword, but a doll?¡± Alka grunted, shaking her head vigorously. ¡°No way. Not in this life or the next.¡±


    ¡°Wait seriously? It was the doll part that bothered you? Not the threat of being shoved in a dark closet for years?¡±


    ¡°Are you kidding? One of those dumb apprentices would have me out of there within minutes,¡± Alka snorted. ¡°No, it¡¯s definitely the doll bit I can¡¯t stand.¡±


    Vin couldn¡¯t help but laugh at his friend¡¯s ridiculousness, shaking his head as he double checked their directions and adjusted their course slightly. Since Madam Trebella had warned them that Alka''s natural death mana could still interfere with the ritual if she got too close to him, the Slayer had busied herself by floating out ahead, killing whatever enemies dared to cross their path rather than risk echoing him. So far that consisted of two small monsters, each one some sort of giant butterfly thing that spat acid when it got close. Thankfully, the acid was entirely useless against the ghost as the burning globs just sailed straight through her, and Alka had killed both monsters with ease.


    On a more positive note, Vin was happy to learn he still gained experience for discovering new monsters at least! The realization that he hadn¡¯t gotten anything for finding the town or the race of infernals had been disheartening. He¡¯d grown quite used to the giant boosts from meeting new sentient creatures, so he was rather sad to see that one go.


    Thanks to Vin¡¯s Mental Map and Alka leading the way, their small party managed to follow Madam Trebella¡¯s directions without issue, finding themselves standing before a dark hole in the ground before they knew it.


    ¡°This must be the place,¡± Vin said, staring into the mouth of the cave. Due to a quick bend only a few feet into the cave, he couldn¡¯t really see what he was getting himself into. ¡°She said it was entirely underground, so it has to be this.¡±


    ¡°Creepy Witch sending you into a creepy cave,¡± Alka frowned, peering into the dark hole. ¡°I don¡¯t like this one bit.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like we have much of a choice. Don¡¯t forget, she could have just let us die,¡± Vin pointed out, approaching the cave entrance. Carefully lowering himself into the ground, he was startled when a notification popped up.


    New dungeon discovered! 5,000 exp gained.


    ¡°What the hell? Alka, it¡¯s a dungeon!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± The ghost said, her brow shooting up as she shot over to him. ¡°The Witch didn¡¯t say anything about a dungeon. What do you-¡±


    Her question was cut short as Alka slammed into some sort of invisible wall, the startled ghost stunned as she reeled backwards, windmilling her arms in the air as if she¡¯d suddenly forgotten how to float.


    ¡°What the hell?!¡± Reaching carefully forward, Alka did what Vin could only describe as the greatest impression of a mime he¡¯d ever seen. Pressing her hands against a wall that clearly wasn¡¯t there, the ghost struggled to push forward, grimacing as she failed to make any progress.


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    ¡°Some sort of¡­ barrier¡­¡± She muttered, finally giving up and drifting a few feet back. Raising her sword, she slashed forward at a few different angles, her frown only deepening as the blade failed to connect with anything.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a magical barrier or anything as far as I can tell¡­ Which can only mean one thing.¡±


    ¡°Dungeons are divine magic?¡± Vin asked, doing his best to stretch out his own magic senses. When he also failed to detect anything, he cast a quick Sense Magic, and was surprised when he actually got back a faint signal. ¡°Strike that, not divine magic. Just super, super faint for some reason. But why?¡±


    ¡°Your guess is as good as mine¡­ A better question though, is why can¡¯t I go through this one? It seems pretty similar to the barrier around the divine sanctum back at the citadel, and I didn¡¯t have any issues entering that. So what makes dungeons so special?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll add it to the list of things to ask the Gods next time I see them,¡± Vin sighed, realizing he was going to need to start writing these things down before he forgot them. ¡°Regardless, this doesn¡¯t change what I have to do. It just makes it a whole hell of a lot more dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Vin, you can¡¯t honestly be planning to head into a dungeon of all things without me, right?¡± Alka laughed, waiting for him to crack a smile. Realizing he was serious, her mirth vanished, and gave him a concerned look. ¡°We have absolutely no idea what a dungeon actually is. For all you know it contains nothing but swarms of epic monsters. It¡¯s too risky.¡±


    ¡°Actually¡­¡± Vin paused, closing his eyes and focusing on his inert skill. He¡¯d purchased Dungeoneering ages ago on a whim, but unlike his other skills, he hadn¡¯t received any information about dungeons in the slightest. Hell, it was still sitting completely untouched at level 1. But now that he was actually standing in one¡­


    For the first time, he got a faint sense that the skill could actually be used for something, and he concentrated on that fleeting feeling. Mentally locking onto the odd sensation, he focused his will, and grinned when two new notifications popped up. First was a small window with some bare bones information about the dungeon, and the second was a typical level up message.


    Dungeon Type: Cave


    Primary Monster Type: Insect


    Dungeoneering increased to lvl 2! 200 exp gained.


    ¡°Well, so far I¡¯m not all that impressed with Dungeoneering,¡± he laughed, telling Alka what he¡¯d discovered. ¡°I could have guessed it would be a cave full of insects without the skill.¡±


    But despite what he said, Vin actually felt hopeful for his strange skill. He could somehow sense that there was more to this skill than just giving him some pretty basic information, and he had high hopes for what it might end up doing in the future.


    ¡°If it¡¯s more of those acid spitting butterflies or nasty stinger looking things, you may be in for a rough time,¡± Alka warned him, tossing him the sword through the barrier. ¡°Though I¡¯ll admit, I feel slightly better knowing it¡¯s mainly insects you¡¯ll be going up against and not anything too large. If you run into anything too dangerous, you¡¯d better book it out of there. I¡¯ll be able to help if you lead the monsters out of the barrier.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t even know if dungeon monsters can leave the dungeon, but I¡¯ll keep it in mind,¡± Vin promised, giving Alka a quick wave before beginning his descent into the cave. The cave floor near the entrance was sloped down just enough to make walking difficult, and he knew it would be a pain to fight on.


    ¡°Light,¡± he muttered, focusing on keeping the spell in the shape of a tiny ball over his head. Thankfully the spell drew barely any mana so long as he kept it at the level of a common light bulb, so he had no worries about leaving the spell running. The only downside was that he wasn¡¯t good enough to cast two spells at the same time just yet. Shia had informed him it was something he¡¯d be able to do in time once his focus grew higher, but it was a feat he was still far from achieving. And seeing as he didn¡¯t exactly want to be thrust into darkness the moment he had to attack something, he quickly changed his mind, dismissing the spell and going with his backup plan.


    Taking a knee, Vin sifted through his pack and pulled out the gemstone he¡¯d actually learned Light from in the first place. The runic object had proven to be an excellent source of light when needed, so much so that he¡¯d dropped off the lantern he¡¯d snagged from Alka¡¯s fragment the last time he was in camp without ever having even used it. The gemstone still had plenty of mana left in it after all, so with only a slight struggle, Vin managed to secure it to his severed arm with a bit of rope.


    ¡°Not the greatest flashlight, but it¡¯ll do,¡± he muttered to Reginald, earning a squeak of confirmation as he moved the gem around, testing it to make sure it wouldn¡¯t come undone in the event he needed to run. It wasn¡¯t pretty, but it kept his hand free to direct a spell or wield his sword if needed, and that was far more important than looking cool.


    ¡°Well, no sense wasting time.¡± Taking a deep breath, Vin took the lead and ventured deeper into the cave.


    The first few minutes were tense but silent as they ventured lower and lower underground. Water dripped off stalactites, occasionally hitting him on the head as they walked, and only the sound of his and Blossom¡¯s footsteps could be heard, echoing as they walked along the stone floor. But the further they trekked, the more the cave began to change.


    First was the moss. Small stretches of blue and green moss began creeping out over the stone walls of the cave, adding some much needed color to the damp dungeon. Not long after the moss started, bioluminescent fungi lit up the cave interior, growing upside down along the ceiling and bathing the stone walls in an eerie pink.


    Once they had a source of light, Vin happily returned his makeshift torch to his pack, not wanting to risk losing the enchanted gemstone if he didn¡¯t have to.


    Sealing up his pack and tossing it back over his shoulder, Vin paused.


    ¡°Do you hear that?¡± He asked, turning to look at Reginald. The rat stood there, his head cocked to the side before turning and giving him a concerned nod. The two of them continued listening as what Vin could only describe as the sound of distant humming steadily grew louder and louder.


    Before he could even come up with a plan, the insects were upon them.

 (73) 2.26. Deep Within the Dungeon

    ¡°Stone Shot!¡± Vin yelled, blasting another one of the acid spitting butterflies out of the air before it could get closer to him. Grimacing at the stone floor melting beneath the fallen butterfly, Vin couldn¡¯t help but imagine what that acid would do to his own flesh if it was capable of melting solid rock.


    ¡°Reginald, you good?!¡± He called, lining up another shot and blasting down an acid filled butterfly that had been heading straight for the rat. Reginald and Blossom both had their paws full down here on the ground and he was the only one with a ranged attack, which meant he¡¯d taken over anti-acid duty.


    An angry squeak was all the rat had time for, his focus entirely on the deadly dance he was weaving around his own enemies. The poor rat was fighting against a swarm of beetles nearly as large as he was, and only his quick movements and bladed tail attachment were enough to keep the seemingly endless beetles at bay. But for every one he cut down, it seemed as though three more took its place.


    Even as Vin watched, one of the large beetles managed to get a lucky hit on the rat, its bladed mandible slicing directly down into the rat¡¯s side. But before Vin could even shout, the insect¡¯s blade bounced off the rat, revealing a thin sheet of stone that had suddenly formed to protect the rat¡¯s flank.


    Hell yeah Eithan! Vin grinned, shooting a silent thank you to the Stone Mage for giving Reginald his defensive runic object as the rat continued fighting unharmed. He¡¯d originally wondered if the tiny band attached to Reginald¡¯s saddle would function similar to his own ring of barkskin, but it seemed like Eithan¡¯s creation was stronger and more reactive than Vin¡¯s own constant durability buff.


    Seeing as Reginald was holding his own, Vin turned to check on his other companion. Blossom was busy swatting down leaping mantis monsters and ripping apart some monstrous bees that looked similar to the ones he¡¯d seen out in the forest, if someone had injected them with steroids. Thankfully, neither of the two insects were really able to do any noticeable damage to the cat made entirely out of wood. Even so, they threatened to overwhelm the cat with their sheer numbers, and Vin knew the moment Blossom went down he and Reginald would quickly follow.


    ¡°We can¡¯t keep this up, we need to retreat back to Alka!¡± Vin finally called out, cursing as he missed a Stone Shot and barely managed to take out the next butterfly before it reached Blossom. ¡°On three, turn and run! One¡­ Two¡­¡±


    But before he could finish, the thrum of humming filled the air behind them, echoing powerfully in the large cave. Shooting a glance over his shoulder, Vin paled at the sight of dozens of dragonfly-like monsters zipping toward them from behind, their razor sharp wings gleaming in the pink light.


    ¡°Crap, we¡¯re cut off! Run!¡±


    With their exit strategy gone, Vin took off in the only direction they still had available to them. Grabbing Reginald as he ran by and shoving him in his pocket, Vin leaned into Threat Detection like never before, doing his best to block the butterflies'' acid shots with his sword as he barreled straight through them and ran deeper into the dungeon. Luckily, not even acid seemed to be able to leave a mark on the petrified elder wood blade, meaning Vin managed to sprint past them in one piece.


    That wasn¡¯t to say he got through unharmed of course.


    Resistance increased to lvl 13! 1,300 exp gained.


    Vin roared in pain as flecks of acid ate away at his exposed skin, melting straight through his grey fatigues and severely burning him wherever they landed. If it weren¡¯t for his ring of barkskin, he was pretty sure he¡¯d be dealing with melted muscle and bone instead of just skin, so there was that at the very least. Even so, the pain was excruciating, and Vin wanted nothing more than to stop and roll around on the ground in the hopes of getting the acid off him. But he knew if he stopped with the swarm right behind him it would mean certain death.


    Almost more concerning was the pained whine that seemed to be coming from the crystal around his neck as his body was punished. He could practically feel the ritual struggling to hold on, and he feared even if he survived, he might cause the ritual to fail and his friends wouldn¡¯t live long enough for him to return.


    Unable to worry about that right now, he did his best to keep running. Some part of him remembered he¡¯d yet to spend his attribute points from hitting level 22, and he blindly summoned his interface as he ran, dumping the three available points into vigor in the hopes it would help him survive all this.


    Hearing Blossom right on his heels, Vin didn¡¯t even look back as he closed his interface and focused solely on putting some distance between the insects and himself. Pushing his dexterity to the limit, Vin sprinted deeper into the cave, leaping over small puddles and dashing around stalagmites, all the while silently praying for a miracle as he pumped his arms.


    To his shock, his prayers seemed to be answered, as without warning a sudden opening in the cave wall to his left revealed what looked like a man-made corridor of all things. Nearly tripping over his own feet as he tried to stop on a dime, Vin stared at the sudden change in scenery, trying to figure out what he was even looking at.


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    The natural cave wall ended abruptly, turning into a corridor made of rough hewn stone that stretched off into the distance, further than he could actually make out. But it didn¡¯t just look like someone had built a random corridor down deep within the cave. The sudden and jagged change in environment reminded Vin deeply of the fragment borders up above.


    Vin was snapped out of his confused staring as he realized the humming was getting louder and the swarm was closing in on them. Not about to turn away this strange chance, he went to flee down the oddly placed corridor.


    And immediately stopped himself just shy of the strange entrance.


    Gasping, Vin nearly dropped his sword as he fought the urge to clutch his chest. It was as if he had a rubber band wrapped tight around his core, and he could feel the band pulling taut as he approached the odd corridor. He had no idea what the band signified, but he somehow knew without a shadow of a doubt that if he left the cave and took one step into that unknown corridor, whatever this strange band was would snap instantly.


    Vin hesitated, the swarming insects approaching quickly behind him and this strange, empty corridor stretching directly in front of him. He¡¯d yet to run out of cave to run through so he could just ignore this entirely and continue heading deeper into the cave, but he somehow instinctively knew that his best bet for survival would be to flee into the corridor. Even so¡­


    Try as he might, Vin just couldn¡¯t shake the sense of foreboding that snapping the mysterious band wrapped around his core would result in something utterly horrible happening. Cursing, Vin gave the strange corridor one final look before turning away and continuing to sprint through the rest of the cave making up the dungeon.


    ¡°This might be it, Reginald,¡± Vin panted, doing his best to ignore the steadily increasing roar of insects behind them as he ran. His minor pause at the unexpected corridor had cost him, and it sounded as if the insects had made up a lot of the ground between them. He was definitely faster than the bugs, but the further in he went, the more insects it seemed he picked up on his tail, and he had no doubt there had to be an entire army after him now. ¡°I kinda knew this was a bad idea from the start, but we were dead either way, so I figured it was at least worth a shot.¡±


    Reginald poked his head out of Vin¡¯s pocket, giving him an understanding squeak and patting him on the chest with his tail. The rat¡¯s compassionate eyes nearly melted Vin¡¯s heart, and he had to stifle a sob that he wouldn¡¯t even be able to save the poor guy.


    ¡°Thanks buddy,¡± Vin sniffed, beaming at the rat. ¡°As much as I appreciate you being here, there¡¯s no sense in you dying as well. Even if I can¡¯t go into that weird corridor for some reason, you could probably still make it if you left now.¡±


    Reginald gave him a defiant squeak, lifting his tail and shaking it at the heavens as if challenging the Gods themselves. Vin¡¯s heart leapt out at the determined rat, and he decided despite everything that was happening to them, at the very least he was happy he wasn¡¯t facing it alone.


    The thrumming of beating wings and scraping of insect legs suddenly grew louder, and Vin stopped running, realizing the sounds were coming from both in front and behind them now.


    ¡°End of the line, huh?¡± He said, looking in each direction and realizing he¡¯d finally hit the end of his adventure. Even if he somehow fought his way through the insects and escaped the cave, without the proper materials for the ritual that were still further down the tunnel, the radiation poisoning would kill him regardless.


    ¡°At the very least, this world beat Earth by a mile. If that cop was right, I probably would have spent most of my life behind bars anyways.¡±


    Reginald squeaked again, sounding to Vin as though the rat was agreeing that prison sucked and definitely wasn¡¯t worth it.


    ¡°I wish I could have seen and done more, but hey, who doesn¡¯t!¡± Vin said, pulling Reginald out of his pocket and wrapping the rat in a tight hug. As the impending buzzing and scraping grew to a crescendo, Vin squeezed his eyes shut and crouched down, praying that his death at the hands of the literal mountain of insect monsters would be quick.


    With his eyes scrunched shut, Vin waited for the burning of acid landing on his skin, or the sharp slice of a weaponized limb as the swarm of monsters smashed into them and drowned them in a living sea of bugs. He even contemplated removing his ring of barkskin in order to make it all hopefully end quicker and not draw out his suffering. But as the two of them sat there, huddled with only each other for company, Vin realized something odd.


    They weren¡¯t dead.


    Tilting his head and focusing on the sounds echoing throughout the cave, Vin realized that the inevitable swarm of insects had grown quiet, almost as though they were suddenly much farther away than they had been mere seconds ago.


    Cracking open an eye, Vin looked in confusion at the thick, wooden wall completely barring the tunnel behind them. The wall seemed to be growing out of the stone floor, as though it was some sort of wide tree and the solid stone of the cave wasn¡¯t a problem for it in the slightest and it had always been there. Turning around, he spotted an identical wall blocking the other side of the tunnel as well, trapping them in a small, makeshift cavern within the cave and preventing the insects from getting any closer.


    ¡°What the¡­¡±


    It was only then Vin spotted the glowing man standing off to the side, staring at him curiously. Slowly getting to his feet, Vin stared right back at the stranger, trying to figure out what exactly he was looking at.


    For one, the man looked quite sharp. He wore a dark green suit decorated with hundreds of small leaf motifs that looked as though it had been professionally fitted. He looked to be somewhere in his fifties, with lengthy, snow white hair that was tied back in a braid so long that he had it wrapped around his waist like a belt.


    Similar to Alka, the man was completely see through, as though he wasn¡¯t actually there at all. But unlike Alka¡¯s flickering green form, the man¡¯s body had a solid golden outline, and Vin wouldn¡¯t have been surprised in the least to learn that he was capable of interacting with the world around him.


    It wasn¡¯t until the man spoke, revealing his pointed teeth, that Vin realized it wasn¡¯t actually a man at all that had saved them, but an elf.


    Taking a few slow steps toward them, the strange elf¡¯s eyebrow raised as his eyes flicked between Vin and Blossom, and the glowing elf finally spoke.


    ¡°Who are you, and why do you have my pupil¡¯s staff?¡±

 (74) 2.27. The Druid of the Divine

    Vin could only stare at the golden elf, his mind still busy trying to process the fact that he wasn¡¯t currently being eaten alive by a few tons of ravenous insect monsters. Apparently he wasn¡¯t processing his survival quite fast enough for his savior, because the elf rolled his eyes, letting out a deep sigh.


    ¡°Please, do take your time. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m burning through more mana than you have in your entire body every minute I¡¯m here or anything.¡±


    ¡°Are you Shia¡¯s master?¡± Vin asked, ignoring the elf''s taunt as he finally regained control of his mouth. ¡°The Druid of the Divine?¡±


    ¡°Last time I checked. Though I can¡¯t help but notice how neither of your questions answered either of my questions.¡±


    ¡°Sorry! It¡¯s just¡­ Shia¡¯s been looking for you for so long¡­ I never expected to run into you the first time we had to split up.¡± Vin paused, looking the glowing elf up and down, still trying to figure out what exactly he was looking at. ¡°How are you even here? We thought the Gods put you somewhere else when they grabbed the Sacred Forest from your world.¡±


    ¡°Kid, you really suck at answering questions, you know that?¡± Shia¡¯s master said, pinching the bridge of his nose. ¡°As to how I¡¯m here, I hypothesized that by travelling to a portion of our world where the fabric of reality had thoroughly weakened I¡¯d be far enough removed from the regular worldly boundaries set in place by the Gods to allow me to speak with Shia, wherever they took her. Through a clever use of astral projection and reflecting my internal mana structure to slip past the-¡± He paused, shaking his head when he saw Vin¡¯s glassy-eyed stare.


    ¡°None of that is important! The point is, I went through a lot of trouble to check in with my pupil and make sure she¡¯s okay after I figured out what the Gods had done. Imagine my surprise when instead of finding a promising, inquisitive elf that is far too entertaining to tease, I find a random human with the staff I painstakingly created for her, preparing himself to be eaten alive by insects, all while hugging a rat.¡± The Druid paused, nodding toward Reginald. ¡°Good evening, by the way.¡±


    Reginald returned the nod, offering a gentlerat¡¯s squeak.


    ¡°So I ask again, if you¡¯d be so kind, would you please tell me who you are and what you¡¯re doing with Shia¡¯s staff?¡± He finished, gesturing for Vin to start talking.


    ¡°Yes, of course! I¡¯m Vin, an Explorer. I met Shia a few weeks ago when I stumbled into the Sacred Forest, and she¡¯s been travelling with me ever since, looking for ways to help the Ancient Ones and to figure out what happened to you. Right now our party is in pretty rough shape, and she¡¯s currently unconscious. I need to bring back some materials for a Witch in order for her to cast the ritual needed to save us, and Shia had previously told me to use her staff if she was ever out of commission.¡±


    Vin rambled out his explanation as quickly as possible, not sure what the Druid did and didn¡¯t know at this point. He¡¯d said he¡¯d figured out what the Gods had done, so Vin was assuming he was aware of Edregon at the very least.


    The Druid nodded along, tapping his chin in a way that reminded him a lot of Shia. ¡°Well, at the very least that would explain why you¡¯re still alive.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Vin asked, confused. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Oh, I added a secret feature to the staff when I made it,¡± the Druid said, waving his hand dismissively. ¡°If anyone tries to take it from Shia without permission and use it¡­ Well, let¡¯s just say the result will be a little bit messy.¡±


    Messy? Vin stared at Blossom¡¯s frozen form, imagining the wooden cat tearing out his throat the moment she formed. He shuddered at the realization that the elf he was currently speaking with was far more deadly than Shia had ever let slip.


    ¡°Anyways, the spell I whipped up for this conversation is burning through my mana like an elf through bacon, so I don¡¯t have a ton of time left here,¡± the elf said, snapping to get Vin¡¯s attention. ¡°I have some theories I want to confirm, and then some instructions for you, so quick lightning round, let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°I know all the divine classes were left behind, did the Gods remove all the divine artifacts as well?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, they were used to fuel the creation of Edregon.¡±


    ¡°Okay, makes se-wait, how do you know that?¡± The elf paused, giving him a confused look.


    ¡°Shia and I each chatted with one of the Gods a few days back,¡± Vin explained. ¡°The Goddess gave me a few answers about Edregon, and offered me a divine boon. Something new they created now that they can¡¯t just offer people divine classes anymore.¡±


    ¡°Truly? Well, that¡¯s interesting¡­¡± The Druid paused for a moment, seemingly lost in thought before snapping back to the present, shaking his head and continuing.


    ¡°How different is the new System versus the old one, and did everyone maintain their level or did they have to start over?¡±


    ¡°Everyone started over, and I actually come from a world that didn¡¯t have a System at all¡­ But from what I¡¯ve heard, the only difference we¡¯ve discovered so far is needing to accomplish something worthy of your class in order to prestige now.¡±


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    ¡°No System at all?¡± The Druid asked, looking like he wanted to forget everything else and dive deeper into Vin¡¯s old world. Hesitating for a long moment, he clicked his tongue, restraining the urge.


    ¡°If everyone lost their levels, have the Ancient Ones died off yet, or are they still hanging in there?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ve put themselves into some sort of hibernation-like state to buy time, but things are looking grim. Shia and I are working on finding a way to help them out.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my girl, always putting those old trees before herself,¡± the elf grinned, beaming at the thought of his pupil. ¡°Shame the Gods snatched up all the divine artifacts. I¡¯d hidden a particularly powerful one under my house for emergencies. It would have been strong enough to bring back the Ancient Ones and then some. Assuming nobody accidentally set it off and blew up half the Sacred Forest of course.¡±


    Vin stared at the elf that had just admitted he¡¯d functionally built and hid a divine nuke in his basement for emergencies. For the first time since the Druid had saved his life, Vin began to wonder if he was actually going to make it out of the dungeon alive after all this.


    The elf went to ask his next question when his golden form suddenly flickered. Glancing down at himself, he frowned.


    ¡°Spell destabilization..? I shouldn¡¯t be out of mana just yet¡­¡± Snapping his fingers, he barked out a laugh, shaking his fist up at the ceiling. ¡°Oh, you crafty bastards! You got me this time!¡±


    ¡°Listen kid, I don¡¯t have much time left here,¡± he said quickly, his form flickering a second time. ¡°I¡¯m not actually sure why my spell only worked now, but if I had to guess it¡¯s because wherever you are on that strange new world of theirs, you seem to have found your own area where the fabric of reality is weaker. That would explain why my spell finally managed to connect after all this time. I don¡¯t think the Gods are doing it actively, but it seems the longer you and I talk, the thicker the fabric of reality around you grows. They can¡¯t keep me from coming in originally, but it looks like it functions like an immune system. Now that it¡¯s tasted me once, I won¡¯t be able to come back to this particular area in the future.¡±


    ¡°Wait, I can¡¯t get out of here without your help!¡± Vin said, his panic rising as the Druid¡¯s form began flickering every few seconds. ¡°Once those walls of yours come down, those insects are going to literally eat me alive! And if we don¡¯t get the materials back to the Witch, we¡¯re all going to die anyway!¡±


    ¡°Yes, Shia will never let me hear the end of it if I let her die¡­¡± the elf muttered, his face scrunched in thought. Struck by inspiration, his face lit up and he gave Vin a large grin. ¡°Okay, I have an idea. And seeing as you know Concealment, this might actually work.¡±


    Vin blinked, about to ask the elf how he knew he had that spell, but was cut off as the elf snapped his fingers and an entire runic formation appeared in the air before him, glowing bright gold.


    ¡°My gift to you! A spell that is almost entirely worthless in just about every other situation besides this exact one!¡± The Druid grinned, his flickering growing much faster as he took a bow. ¡°Provided you can learn this spell before the insects finish tearing through my walls or that strange ritual wears off and you die from whatever seems to be ravaging your body, you should be able to use it in conjunction with Concealment to get out of here alive.¡±


    Vin stared at the runic formation, trying to figure out what the spell did. It wasn¡¯t any more complicated than any of his other tier one spells, but its purpose was a mystery to him at first glance.


    ¡°What does this even-¡±


    ¡°Sorry kid, out of time!¡± The elf said, his form flickering so rapidly now that Vin couldn¡¯t even make out his face anymore. ¡°Find another area where the fabric of reality is weaker and tell Shia to go in with her staff, that¡¯s how I found you! I¡¯ve got my own stuff here I¡¯m dealing with, but I¡¯ll be checking in every other day or so, so tell her to wait for me! And one last piece of advice!¡±


    ¡°...Ancient One¡¯s sap kid, don¡¯t ever try to fight a swarm of insects when your only offensive spell is Stone Shot of all things.¡±


    As soon as the words left his mouth, the Druid winked out of existence as though he¡¯d never been real, leaving Vin standing there with his mouth open.


    Blinking slowly, Vin looked around the makeshift room, almost expecting to see the Druid hiding behind him and playing some sort of weird practical joke on him. But sure enough, Shia¡¯s master seemed to actually be gone for good, leaving Vin with nothing but two large wooden walls and a glowing runic formation floating in front of his face.


    Vin glanced down at Reginald, meeting the rat¡¯s gaze and sharing the same bewildered look. After a few seconds, the rat seemed to shrug, as if to say ¡®well, that was weird.¡¯


    ¡°My thoughts exactly¡­¡± Vin muttered, realizing he had some new notifications.


    Dungeoneering increased to lvl 3! 300 exp gained.


    Dungeoneering increased to lvl 4! 400 exp gained.


    New spell witnessed! Tier 2 Nature Spell (Wood Wall). 2,000 exp gained.


    Level up! Magical Explorer lvl 23!


    +3 Attribute points to spend.


    Grinning at the unexpected parting gift, Vin quickly dumped all three available points into focus. It sounded like his one shot at survival hinged entirely on if he could learn this unknown spell fast enough, which made the choice an easy one.


    As soon as he confirmed his selection, his blood froze as he realized his improved senses allowed him to just barely make out the sound of thousands of insects scratching their way through the thick wooden walls the Druid had left behind. He had no idea how the acid spitting butterflies hadn¡¯t melted their way through by now, but he wasn¡¯t about to stop and worry about it after being gifted an actual shot at survival.


    ¡°Reginald, I¡¯m going to do my best to get this figured out. Watch the walls and warn me if any of them start breaking through.¡± Seeing the rat nod, Vin turned toward Blossom, still unsure just how much the staff understood. ¡°Blossom, I don¡¯t know if you understand this, but try and block off any cracks or holes that might appear, alright?¡±


    The wooden cat remained motionless, showing no indication of having heard him.


    Not willing to waste any more time, Vin turned to the runic formation, committing the spell to memory with his Iron Mind before crossing his legs and taking a seat on the stone floor of the cavern.


    Doing his best to ignore the buzzing and scratching of their impending demise, Vin took a deep breath and let himself slip into Meditation, launching straight into the runes and doing his best to figure them out.


    He could only pray that he¡¯d make it in time.

 (75) 2.28. Head Witch

    Madam Trebella frowned as she scanned over the completed inventory sheet, ignoring the apprentice fidgeting silently by the door as the girl waited to be dismissed. Despite the fact that she had so few apprentices left at this point, she still couldn¡¯t be bothered to learn all their names.


    ¡°This is everything?¡± She asked, a slight tinge of annoyance left purposefully in her tone to strike fear into the fledgling Witch¡¯s heart. ¡°How have we already run out of oawl wood again? Or night weed? I¡¯ve ordered restocking missions to be sent out three times just this week alone!¡±


    Not even the sight of the apprentice jumping slightly was enough to cheer her up, and her scowl darkened as the young infernal tried to stammer out a response.


    ¡°Apologies, Madam Trebella! I¡­ I¡¯m not sure where all the materials have gone. Maybe we just aren¡¯t able to collect as much as we used to¡­ Before the loss of levels I mean.¡± The infernal¡¯s hand drifted up toward her head as she stammered, but she quickly caught herself and jerked her arms back down to her sides. This apprentice had a bad habit of still wanting to hold her horns whenever she got nervous, but she was well aware by now that such infantile behavior in front of Madam Trebella would result in nothing but more punishment.


    Madam Trebella stared at the twitching infernal, careful to keep her face a mask of annoyance and contemplation as the apprentice started to sweat. Yet on the inside, she swore, cursing the Gods for putting her in this blasted situation.


    Before the relocation Madam Trebella would have thrown this girl straight into a trial, either toughening the weak infernal up or ridding herself of such a feeble apprentice altogether. But now, after having lost so much of their former power¡­


    ¡°I don¡¯t recall asking for your opinion,¡± she snapped, eliciting a small squeak from the girl. Months ago, that would have given her no small semblance of pride. But now, it just made her feel all the more empty.


    ¡°Just go,¡± she sighed, waving the girl away with the shockingly sparse inventory sheet. The apprentice¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, but the girl wasn¡¯t about to miss this opportunity, and she practically flew out the door before Madam Trebella could change her mind.


    Madam Trebella double checked to make sure the girl had closed her door before she let herself lean back in her chair, letting out a quiet groan. With Master Gunon gone and that idiot Master Morvas dead, she had become the new de facto leader of their people practically overnight. Which meant she had to keep up a strong front at all times.


    Even when it felt like everything was crumbling down all around her.


    Glancing at the inventory sheet a third time, Madam Trebella resisted the urge to crumple it into a ball and throw it away. Every time she finally felt like they were building up a respectable stockpile of ritual materials, something happened that dropped them back to square one.


    ¡°That blasted divine warrior,¡± she cursed, picturing the man¡¯s face in her mind. She would have preferred to try and get him to walk away peacefully, preferred to reason with him like sensible adults. But the moron had forced her hand, stating in no uncertain terms that he planned on killing all of them. Even now his words burned in her memory like eversmoke powder, refusing to go out.


    ¡®By the decree of the Gods, you have been chosen! Rejoice, for in your sacrifice you shall contribute to something greater than you could possibly imagine! I ask that you lower your arms and willingly accept the blade of my God, to ensure that your passing is as quick and painless as possible!¡¯


    Madam Trebella could only thank whatever twisted God had given that man power that it seemed to prevent him from launching any sort of surprise attack. If he¡¯d come into their town and started cutting people down without declaring his intentions, there was a good chance he would have killed dozens of people before she¡¯d been able to intervene.


    Giving a Witch time to prepare her rituals was a rather bold strategy.


    One that had not ended well for him.


    Granted, things hadn¡¯t quite gone as she¡¯d planned either. If she¡¯d had access to her old power, she would have utterly eviscerated the man for daring to harm her people. Perhaps after she¡¯d destroyed his mortal form she would have chained his soul to a piece of charcoal and used it to warm her study for the next few decades.


    As she was now, it had taken everything she had to simply drive the man off. Sure, she¡¯d done a bit of damage and hit him with a curse or two as he fled, but she doubted anything as weak as what she currently wielded would stick for very long against someone with access to divinity.


    The bigger problem was that she¡¯d had to delve deep into their already low stockpile of materials in order to cast all the rituals needed to best the warrior. Without Master Gunon and his elite Gatherers, her stockpiles were stagnant at their best, and floundering at their worst.


    Madam Trebella glanced over at the portrait of Master Gunon hanging up above her desk, the familiar pain of loss not having diminished in the slightest these past few months.


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    Master Gunon had been out delivering much needed supplies to one of the neighboring villages a good forty miles away when the relocation happened. Master Morvas had argued against him leaving during such a dangerous time with more monster attacks occurring with each passing month, but Master Gunon had maintained a firm stance that the only way they were all going to survive was to continue relying on one another.


    Madam Trebella had been split, but in the end, she¡¯d voted to allow Master Gunon to leave, allowing the motion to pass two to one.


    She never saw him again.


    With Master Gunon gone along with their levels, the village had understandably been terrified. It had taken everything Madam Trebella had to rein in everyone¡¯s fears and convince them everything would be okay.


    Unsurprisingly, Master Morvas had been no help at all. She¡¯d thought being forced to share leadership of the village with Master Morvas of all people was some sort of personal hell designed just for her, but it turned out she wouldn¡¯t have to worry about it for very long.


    The blasted Warlock had refused to accept his power being stolen from him, and after rushing his way through the early levels to his first prestige, he''d attempted a complex ritual behind her back with some of their most promising apprentices to try and fix whatever had been done to everyone.


    She had personally cleaned up what was left of Master Morvas and the apprentices after his ritual failed.


    Shuddering at the memory, Madam Trebella stood up and began making her way down to the sick bay to check on their guests. As an experienced Witch, she was no stranger to blood and carnage, but even she hadn¡¯t seen a ritual fail that catastrophically in all her years.


    It was one thing to end up killing himself, but Master Morvas had dragged three apprentices brimming with potential down with him. The man¡¯s hubris had been costly and left her with little more than¡­


    Opening the sick bay door, Madam Trebella stifled a sigh as she found Xaril sitting on one of the open cots, his face buried in one of his books like usual. The infernal didn¡¯t seem perturbed in the slightest by the near comatose patients lying right beside him. The fact that he was now her top apprentice¡­


    ¡°How are they faring, Xaril?¡± She asked, closing the door behind her and approaching the one with the pointy ears. The human had called her an elf, and she¡¯d clearly been the one in the worst shape when they¡¯d arrived.


    ¡°No idea,¡± Xaril said without looking up, turning to the next page.


    Madam Trebella bit back the urge to lash out and slap the boy across the back of the head. She¡¯d tried that in the past, along with every other method of punishment known to her, and she knew first hand that none of it would do her any good. The boy was like an empty shell filled solely with words from his books, devoid of any feelings or cares of his own. He seemed interested in studying and little else, and she would have gotten rid of him years ago if he wasn¡¯t so damn good at ritual magic.


    ¡°I thought I tasked you with monitoring them and coming to me if there were any changes,¡± she said, checking the elf¡¯s temperature and the color of the burns on her skin. Everything seemed the same at the very least, which meant the ritual was holding. Because the ritual had encompassed the four of them, if either the human or the rat perished, the remaining crystals would shatter as well, releasing everyone at the same time. The fact that these two were still stable meant that miraculously the boy hadn¡¯t lost his life in that monster infested cave just yet.


    ¡°You did,¡± Xaril nodded, continuing to read. ¡°Seeing as I didn¡¯t come to you, you should be able to deduce that there weren¡¯t any changes.¡±


    Madam Trebella closed her eyes for a moment, silently counting to five. She had to remind herself that as much as Xaril grated on her, she couldn¡¯t afford to dispose of any of the few tools at her disposal right now. Not when they were struggling so.


    Half the time she wondered if the boy was actually some sort of political genius, knowing exactly what position she was in and enjoying the act of taunting her.


    The other half the time he¡¯d get so invested in his books he¡¯d forget to eat for two days straight, and she¡¯d remember he was just an uncaring idiot.


    ¡°If by some miracle the human actually manages to survive and bring back the materials needed for the purification ritual, I¡¯ll need your help to successfully prepare it,¡± she reminded him, taking a look at the small looking human. He was in mildly better shape than the elf, but not by much. ¡°Do you recall how the ritual works?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Shaking her head, she muttered a few choice words under her breath as she checked on the crystals themselves. If only she could force Xaril away from his books for a bit, force some actual emotions and life experience down the infuriating infernal¡¯s throat. It would be worth the risk of losing her best apprentice for a bit, as she honestly didn¡¯t think he would ever become a full fledged Master as he was now, and she desperately needed someone to help her shoulder the burden of leading the village.


    While examining the crystals, there was a sudden knock on the sick bay door, and Malzer shoved his head in, the boy as energetic and breathless as ever.


    ¡°The human¡¯s back!¡± He said, his voice as excited as his expression.


    ¡°Back already? He better not be coming to plead for some sort of alternative solution,¡± Madam Trebella frowned. The purification ritual was the only method she had of saving him and his friends, and she couldn¡¯t cast it without the materials from within that cave. He hadn¡¯t struck her as a quitter, but there was no way he¡¯d managed to fight his way past all those monsters that quickly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s why he¡¯s back¡­¡± Malzar said, glancing over his shoulder and opening the door wider.


    Madam Trebella stared in shock at the human as he walked into the room, fixing her with his piercing blue eyes. He looked as though he¡¯d fought off an army all on his own on the way here, and he was trailed by some strange magical cat construct and that rat familiar that had been here earlier.


    His skin was covered in red welts and horrific burns, and he was bleeding from what looked like hundreds of small cuts all over his person. His strange grey clothing covered in far too many pockets than was reasonable was barely in one piece, the threads severed and shredded and the fabric dyed red with his blood. His dark hair was a mess, matted down and missing chunks, either from splashes of acid or errant insect slashes, she couldn¡¯t tell.


    But despite it all, he stood there, staring defiantly at her as he tossed a sack at her feet. Madam Trebella didn¡¯t even have to open it to know what it contained, sensing the familiar magical aura of the materials she needed for the ritual.


    ¡°I got what you needed,¡± he said, his voice firm despite the hint of exhaustion she could hear beneath his words.


    ¡°Now heal my friends.¡±

 (76) 2.29. A Sense of Kinship

    The purification ritual was far more complicated than the ritual of stillness. Evidently the sick bay wasn¡¯t actually large enough to carry out the ritual Madam Trebella had in mind, so with the help of Malzar, Vin moved his friends over to the dedicated ritual room, laying them on some prepared bedrolls. By the time they got there, Madam Trebella and Xaril were already hard at work drawing out the runes for the ritual, and Vin could only look on in awe at the sheer scale of their magical working.


    The ritual room was more like an underground bunker located deep beneath the manor, and it was large enough that Vin was pretty certain he would have gotten winded trying to sprint from one side to the next before he¡¯d gained access to the System. It was so big in fact, that from what he could tell it looked as though the ritual of purification was only going to take up a fraction of the allotted space.


    Madam Trebella had forbidden Alka from entering the ritual room, so Vin found himself sitting on a bench lining one of the far walls, watching the infernals at work.


    ¡°What was it like?¡±


    Vin snapped out of his rune induced daze, blinking and looking over at an eager Malzar. The young infernal was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet, looking up at him with excitement.


    ¡°What was what like?¡±


    ¡°The cave,¡± Malzar said, rolling his eyes. ¡°Come on, Madam Trebella doesn¡¯t let us apprentices go anywhere near it. Only our top warriors and Gatherers were allowed in there, and since the relocation, not a single person¡¯s dared venture inside.¡±


    After his near death experience with a swarm of monstrous insects and the current mana headache he was suffering through, Vin was in no mood to deal with the infernal¡¯s questions. He was just about to brush the kid off and go back to watching the ritual get set up when he caught a flash of something that stopped him dead in his tracks.


    It was his eyes.


    Vin stared at the infernal¡¯s strange black eyes, the golden rings within shimmering with wonder as he waited with bated breath to hear all about the monster-filled cave that only their strongest were allowed to travel within. Malzar¡¯s eyes were foreign and about as different as physically possible from his own human ones, but Vin could never have missed that look of hunger and desire he saw deep within them.


    How could he when it used to stare back at him in the mirror every day back on Earth.


    In that moment, Vin felt a strange sense of kinship to the young infernal, realizing something that only a fellow person plagued with wanderlust would ever have picked up on. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that Malzar would one day risk the ire of everyone around him to go out and explore the object of his fascination regardless of what anyone told him. It might not be today, or tomorrow, but sooner than later the infernal would head out to explore the dungeon he didn¡¯t even know was a dungeon.


    And almost certainly die doing so.


    Vin said nothing as he continued to watch the apprentice, trying to formulate his thoughts. Despite his excitement, Malzar seemed content to give him all the time he needed to gather himself, no doubt just happy to finally hear more about the source of his fascination he¡¯d been starved of the past few months.


    The problem, Vin found, was that he was struggling to merge together his new thoughts on exploration with his old. Ever since he¡¯d been little, Vin had felt the burning desire, the desperate need, to see and experience what was just beyond the next hill. If someone had asked him a month ago back on Earth if they should go check out some new landmark they were interested in, or a cool spot they¡¯d heard about, he would have told them to go for it without hesitation. So long as they avoided any overeager property owners that shot first and asked questions later, what was the worst that could happen? Getting chucked in the drunk tank for a few hours?


    On Edregon though¡­


    The thunderous hum of thousands of insect monsters bearing down on him echoed in the back of his mind, and Vin shuddered at the thought of the infernal¡¯s bright eyes dimming as the boy died to a thousand small cuts, or had his face melted off by globs of acid. Yes, people had access to magic and insane powers on Edregon that people on Earth would have killed for, but things were far more dangerous as well.


    Sighing, Vin scratched the back of his head, wincing as he felt what remained of his already poorly done hairdo.


    ¡°Look, Malzar¡­ I¡¯m not going to tell you to stay away from the cave or anything. God knows that wouldn¡¯t have stopped me from going anywhere when I was younger.¡± He paused, chuckling at his many memories of his parents, his teachers, and even his friends trying to stop him from any of his many early ventures. ¡°All I will say is you need to make sure you¡¯re ready when you finally head into that cave. I¡¯m a prestiged Explorer with some pretty decent magical defenses in my opinion, and look what happened to me.¡±


    Biting back a hiss of pain, Vin spread his arms wide, showing off the acid burns and countless small lacerations covering his body. He didn¡¯t even have the mana to use Renewal on himself, meaning he was stuck with the constant, searing pain, at least for a while.


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    ¡°The monsters in that cave will quite literally eat you alive if you go in unprepared. Honestly I have no idea what a Witch or Warlock is capable of, but make sure you either have some method of killing a lot of monstrous insects at once, or some way to hide from them. Otherwise you wont be leaving that cave alive.¡±


    He briefly considered mentioning that the cave was also a dungeon, but the fact of the matter was he still didn¡¯t really know what that meant, and he had a feeling saying that would only make Malzar more determined to go check it out before he was ready.


    ¡°Is that what you did?¡± Malzar asked, his eyes scanning over Vin¡¯s body as though the secret were somewhere on him. ¡°How were you able to hide from them? Could you teach me?¡±


    ¡°As to the how, I got rather lucky that someone I didn¡¯t even know was watching was both waiting and willing to yank my ass out of the fire,¡± Vin chuckled, reminding himself he needed to tell Shia to thank her master once she was finally healed. He¡¯d cut it a bit close on learning his newest spell before the insects had finished getting through the wooden walls, but he had pulled it off. ¡°If I can teach you¡­ I don¡¯t actually know,¡± he admitted, glancing once more at the monstrous ritual currently being constructed. ¡°Can Warlocks learn regular, non-ritual spells?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but we¡¯re only supposed to learn very specific ones,¡± Malzar frowned, glancing at Madam Trebella and seeming to hesitate for just a moment. Leaning in slightly closer, he lowered his voice. ¡°I didn¡¯t even want to be a blasted Warlock you know... But I have the stupid golden eyes, so I didn¡¯t have a choice.¡±


    ¡°What do your eyes have to do with it?¡± Vin asked, lowering his voice to match the infernal''s.


    ¡°Infernals born with golden eyes always go to the manor and study to become a Witch or Warlock,¡± Malzar explained, his tone sour. ¡°Technically anyone could study ritual magic, but our eyes allow us to better see what materials have innate magical properties that make them useful for rituals, even if they are so small they¡¯re practically nonexistent.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you just flunk out or something? What happens if you suck at being a Warlock?¡±


    ¡°Then you become a Gatherer. Which honestly does interest me a bit more, except for the fact that Gatherers almost always gather at the whims of the actual Witches and Warlocks. Rarely are they allowed to go wherever they want,¡± Malzar admitted, sighing at the thought. ¡°I wish I could be an Explorer like you. Getting to wander around and not have to listen to anyone sounds amazing.¡±


    ¡°It definitely has its benefits,¡± Vin said, smiling at the thought of all the crazy things he¡¯d seen. Not just here on Edregon, but back on Earth too. The insane depths of the Grand Canyon¡­ The awe inspiring size of the giant redwoods¡­ Sadly he¡¯d never been able to scrounge up enough money to actually leave the states, but while he¡¯d regretted not being able to explore all the amazing places around the world, at least he¡¯d never had any issues finding jaw dropping sights right where he was. He¡¯d been fortunate enough to have been born in a country large enough to have so many different types of environments to choose between.


    ¡°Still though, the farther you go, the less you¡¯ll be able to keep in touch with your family and friends around here. For some people that¡¯s a huge plus, but for others, it can be rough.¡± Vin had witnessed far more than one person suffering from homesickness during his travels. Just because it wasn¡¯t something he¡¯d had to deal with himself didn¡¯t mean he wasn¡¯t well aware of how much it had to hurt.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind putting some distance between myself and Aunt Agne,¡± Malzar muttered, absentmindedly rubbing one of his horns. ¡°Though I suppose I would miss my family. I promised my little sister I¡¯d figure out a ritual that would make her entire body glow whatever color she wanted once I became a powerful Warlock.¡±


    ¡°Seriously? That sounds awesome! If you figure that out, I want to be next in line!¡±


    The two of them looked at each other for a moment, before they both cracked up laughing.


    ¡°Malzar!¡± Madam Trebella barked, causing the boy to cough and snap to attention. ¡°If you¡¯re not doing anything over there, go fetch me two dozen mana stones! We¡¯re going to need a lot of power for this.¡±


    ¡°Yes Madam Trebella!¡± Giving Vin one last grin, Malzar ran off back upstairs to the manor proper.


    ¡°And you! Catch!¡± Vin looked up just in time to see four strange doll looking things flying his way, and he let out a curse as he tried to catch them with only one hand. Barely managing it, he frowned at the Witch, but she was already back to working on her ritual.


    ¡°Go fetch a drop of blood from each of your friends and put it on a doll. Make sure not to mix them up.¡±


    Vin scowled at the Witch before examining the strange dolls. Each one was about the size of his hand, and made of a strange clay that seemed both wet and dry at the same time. None of them had any specific features besides small arms and legs, so Vin was very careful not to confuse which doll was which as he went about collecting blood.


    Realizing his magic sword may be slightly overkill for collecting a drop of blood, Vin used his knife to prick each of them in turn, angling the blood to fall upon the dolls and watching the strange reaction. Each drop of blood seemed to get sucked into the dolls like they were made of sponge, and the brown clay immediately took on a reddish tinge.


    Reginald gave him a small squeak of thanks as Vin finished up with a drop of the rat¡¯s blood, and Vin brought the dolls over to Madam Trebella as she checked over the completed ritual. The complex array of runes looked like two large diamonds inlaid within one another, creating an eight pointed star.


    ¡°Is it going to be a problem that Reginald¡¯s a rat? Or that Scule is smaller than his own creepy blood doll thing?¡±


    ¡°No, neither of those facts matter. The humanoid shape of the dolls merely represents intelligence, so as long as your unconscious friends and the rat are capable of basic thought, they should be fine. The binding of the blood is what¡¯s important.¡±


    ¡°Now then, no sense wasting time,¡± Madam Trebella said, nodding at her own handiwork and pointing at the four outer points on the array. ¡°All the preparations are complete.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s time to enact the ritual.¡±

 (77) 2.30. The Ritual of Purification

    ¡°Each of you will take one of the outer points. Your dolls will be placed on the inner point to your right. If the ritual is a success, your impurities will be transferred to the dolls, and you¡¯ll be as healthy as the day you were born,¡± Madam Trebella explained, pointing toward where they and the dolls would be placed during the ritual. ¡°You¡¯ll feel unnaturally weak for a few days as your body recovers from the ritual, but you¡¯re welcome to stay here in the village until you recover.¡±


    Following Madam Trebella¡¯s instructions, Vin carefully transferred Shia and Scule to two of the outer points and relayed the instructions to Reginald. Triple checking he was putting the correct doll in the correct spot, he did as ordered, before taking his own spot on the edge of the ritual.


    All this time, Xaril had been distributing seemingly random materials at specific points throughout the array. Other than the various mushrooms Vin had collected that apparently only grew on the back of a rare species of monster beetle deep within the cave-dungeon, he didn¡¯t recognize any of them.


    Remembering what Malzar said about his eyes, Vin tried to focus on the nearest ritual reagent; some sort of puddle of liquid Xaril had poured out only a few feet from him. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn¡¯t pick up any trace of magic from the liquid.


    Those golden eyes must be special indeed, he thought, glancing over at Shia. I suppose if Shia can taste magic, it¡¯s not that surprising that these people can see it.


    After a few more minutes, preparations were done. Madam Trebella took one last look across the array of runes before ordering Xaril and Malzar to the edge of the room. Carefully placing the two dozen mana stones in a ring-like pattern, she returned to the center of the ritual.


    ¡°Whatever you do, don¡¯t leave your spot,¡± she ordered Vin. As soon as he relayed the instructions to Reginald, she took a deep breath, and rubbed some sort of liquid on her hands. Muttering something Vin couldn¡¯t make out, she slammed her hands together, her wet clap echoing out across the massive chamber.


    As though someone had thrown a giant switch, the ritual roared to life. The already glowing red runes blazed with power as each of the mana stones rose up into the air; mana literally crackling out of them in small bolts and impacting the different materials placed all throughout the ritual. Vin watched in wonder as magic roared all around him, threatening to tear his very flesh from his bones if he took so much as a single step out of his designated spot.


    As the swirling mana grew even thicker, he realized each of the four dolls had slowly begun to hover as well, turning to face their linked member head on. Vin stared at his doll hovering directly at face level barely a dozen feet away, somehow knowing it was staring back at him despite the lack of eyes or any semblance of a face.


    Without warning, the gemstone around his neck shattered, and Vin gasped as all the nausea and pain that had been stolen from him slammed back into him all at once. Stumbling, he caught himself right before he fell out of the circle, sweating at how close to death he¡¯d just come as the crackling red lightning continued shooting out across the ritual.


    To his surprise, he also received two strange notifications.


    New ritual witnessed! Tier 3 Time Ritual (Ritual of Stillness). 3,000 exp gained.


    New magical affinity discovered! Time affinity. 5,000 exp gained.


    Vin didn¡¯t have time to think about why he was only just now receiving these notifications however, as something more than a little concerning was currently happening to his body.


    Staring down at his chest, he was shocked to find a thin line of darkness connecting him to his hovering doll. As he watched, what looked like a black and green sludge of all things began seeping out of his chest, running along the thread and getting absorbed into the doll just like the blood had been. The smell from the sludge was enough to make Vin gag, and a quick glance around the room confirmed that the same nasty gunk was flowing out of all four of them.


    The trickle of sludge increased first to a consistent drip, and then to a steady stream, and Vin shuddered as he felt the mana pull the radiation from his body. Somehow he intuitively knew it wasn¡¯t just pulling the leftover radiation away, but even curing him of the damage it had caused. Purifying him in every sense of the word.


    The ritual continued on for one very long minute, before it gradually began to slow down. Vin was the first person to have his body fully purified, and Reginald was not far behind. A few seconds later Scule was released from his doll as well. After the thread connecting Shia to her doll finally snapped, the crazy light show finally ended. The four dolls, each one now black as tar, dropped from the air, hitting the ground with sickening splats.


    New ritual witnessed! Tier 5 Life Ritual (Ritual of Purification). 5,000 exp gained.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    As quickly as it had been returned to him, the nausea, pain, and general sense of being unwell had been stripped from him once more, this time for good. Despite how shaky his legs were, Vin wanted nothing more than to rush over to his friends, but he dared not leave his spot without Madam Trebella¡¯s go ahead.


    Finally, the older infernal dropped her hands, wiping the sweat from her brow as she nodded at him.


    ¡°The ritual was a success. You can leave your spot.¡±


    Before the words had even left her mouth Vin was already moving. Reginald beat him to Scule, so Vin stumbled over to Shia, dropping to his knees and grabbing the elf¡¯s hand. Her eyes were still closed, but the elf was groaning, turning her head this way and that.


    ¡°Shia¡­ how are you feeling?¡±


    ¡°Vin..?¡± Shia asked, cracking an eye open and looking at him in confusion. She blinked at the tears welling up in his eyes, taking in the massive room she suddenly found herself in. Her eyes widened as she finally spotted the three infernals watching over them from afar, and she turned to give him a concerned look.


    ¡°Please tell me you didn¡¯t sell our souls to the first demon cabal you found as soon as I lost consciousness.¡±


    -----


    Just as Madam Trebella warned, Vin felt as shaky as a newborn lamb after the ritual had run its course, and his friends didn¡¯t seem to be faring much better. Malzar helped lead them toward one of the surprisingly many empty rooms making up the manor, promising to come check on them in a bit.


    Vin was a bit grateful that they were all so weak, because based on the look of fear and terror on Scule¡¯s face, he was afraid the petian otherwise would have done his best to flee from the infernals the moment he laid eyes on them.


    As soon as Malzar left them alone, Vin quickly dove into an explanation of everything that had happened after Shia and Scule had lost consciousness, trying to reassure Scule that they weren¡¯t in any immediate danger. As he¡¯d expected, once he got to the part in his story about Shia¡¯s master saving his life, the elf had tried to leap to her feet and literally fell off her bed.


    ¡°He was here?! In this fragment?!¡± She exclaimed, clawing her way back onto the bed and staring at him, her eyes wide. ¡°Did he say how?¡±


    ¡°He used a lot of big words, but I definitely remember him saying something about astral projection and reflecting his internal mana structure, or something like that,¡± Vin said, wracking his brain. ¡°Other than that, it sounded like he was only able to find me because of your staff, and because I took it into a dungeon. He never actually used the term ¡®dungeon¡¯ itself, but he mentioned communication between worlds was only possible in areas that were on the edge of reality or something¡­ Something about such places having weaker boundaries.¡±


    ¡°That would explain why I wasn¡¯t able to follow you inside,¡± Alka pointed out, still brooding over the fact that she hadn¡¯t been allowed to watch the ritual. ¡°If it¡¯s some strangeness in the System that¡¯s keeping me here despite my remains not even being on Edregon, I guess the System¡¯s not willing to let me go too far away.¡±


    Vin wasn¡¯t sure why, but he couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that something big was bothering the ghost. Even after they¡¯d all been cured of the radiation poisoning she still seemed upset about something.


    ¡°Ancient One¡¯s sap, I knew he was a genius, but I still can¡¯t believe he figured out a way to find me in only a couple of months,¡± Shia laughed, a massive grin on her face. ¡°As soon as we¡¯re recovered, we have to go back into the dungeon. With all of us together, we¡¯ll be able to hold our own against the bugs.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, about that¡­¡± Vin cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his head and wincing at the fresh reminder he desperately needed a haircut. ¡°After we chatted for a few minutes, your master¡¯s spell started failing. It sounded like he could only spend so long within the dungeon before it gave out completely, and then he wouldn¡¯t be able to access that specific dungeon again. The last thing he said to me was to tell you to find a new area on the fringes of reality and go in with your staff.¡± Vin paused, his face heating up slightly at his final memory of the strange elf. ¡°Well, actually, it was telling me I was an idiot for trying to fight a swarm of insects with only Stone Shot under my belt, but you get the point. Then he gave me a spell to save my life and basically told me I better learn it before the bugs got to me and ate me alive.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s definitely my master all right,¡± Shia giggled. ¡°He¡¯s a bit of a ¡®climb or crash¡¯ kind of teacher. I remember one time a fellow Druid came to him for some advice when she had a student struggling to learn Entangle. My master ended up tying the student to a tree with the runic formation floating in front of them and put a wild boar only a dozen feet away, secured with some flimsy grass ropes. Then he released some shredder ants all over the rope and told the student he better learn the spell before the boar got free!¡±


    Shia and Alka cracked up laughing like this was the funniest thing in the world, while Vin and Scule shared a look of horror. Though now Shia¡¯s master¡¯s method of saving his life made a bit more sense.


    ¡°What spell did he end up giving you anyway?¡± Shia asked, wiping a tear from her eye at the memory of her master. ¡°Something to do with insects I¡¯d guess?¡±


    ¡°Yep. Just like he promised, a tier one spell that¡¯s pretty much useless in just about any other situation other than the one I was in earlier,¡± Vin snorted, shaking his head. ¡°The worst part of it is I can¡¯t exactly unlearn a spell, so I was basically forced to waste one of my very limited nature spell slots.¡±


    ¡°Is it really a waste if it got you out of there alive?¡± Shia asked, raising an eyebrow. ¡°My master always said that all spells had their uses and that no magic was ever truly worthless.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, enough drawing it out! What did the weird old elf teach you?¡± Scule asked, ignoring the glare from Shia as he looked at him curiously.


    ¡°Behold, the latest and easily most powerful spell in my entire magical arsenal! Those of you with weak constitutions may want to look away, as this will no doubt blow your very minds!¡± Trying and failing to keep a serious look on his face. Vin raised his hand and waved it lazily over his head as he cast his newest spell.


    ¡°Familiar Pheromones!¡±

 (78) 2.31. A Divine Discussion

    As Vin cast the spell he¡¯d been gifted by Shia¡¯s master, Shia, Scule, and Alka all gave him a confused look. Reginald on the other hand perked up immediately, squeaking in confirmation and scratching at his nose.


    ¡°What does it do?¡± Shia asked, her tongue flicking out to taste the magic. ¡°...I can tell it¡¯s a nature spell, but I don¡¯t see anything happening.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t do much,¡± Vin admitted, ending the spell. ¡°But seeing as it let me walk through a giant swarm of insects without getting ripped to shreds, I think it releases a smell that makes insects see me as their friend.¡±


    ¡°But those were monsters,¡± Alka pointed out, looking confused. ¡°Monsters attack people on sight. Even blind monsters or monsters that can¡¯t see you can still detect your mana.¡±


    ¡°I think insect monsters might not be able to see very well,¡± Vin shrugged. ¡°It was your master that gave me the idea, but by casting both Concealment and Familiar Pheromones I was able to walk relatively safely through the insects, get the materials I needed, and get out. Though I cut it pretty close. Nearly ran out of mana before I could get back out of there.¡±


    ¡°So Concealment stopped them from sensing your mana, and my master¡¯s spell made you smell like one of them¡­¡± Shia summed up, tapping her chin. Vin stared at the elf as she thought, now understanding exactly where she picked up her different mannerisms. ¡°...Seeing as you did in fact make it out alive, I guess that confirms that insect monsters really do have terrible eyesight.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad I could do my part and contribute toward our understanding of monster biology,¡± Vin said, rolling his eyes. ¡°It wasn¡¯t easy either. I had to keep reapplying Familiar Pheromones, and every time I did some of my mana leaked out of Concealment. The insects would all turn aggressive for the split second it took me to cast. More than one of those injuries I had was from the trip back out of the dungeon.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, enough about me. How are you guys feeling? I was afraid neither of you were going to wake up again.¡± As he finally admitted to his fears out loud, Vin realized his hand was shaking. Taking a deep breath, he willed his body to relax. The past twenty four hours had been a tad stressful to say the least, but it was over now.


    ¡°Like I accidentally nicked myself with one of my muscle relaxants,¡± Scule snorted, shaking his hand like it was asleep and he was trying to regain feeling in it. ¡°Other than that¡­ I no longer feel like the God of Death is breathing down my neck, so that¡¯s a plus. Those infernals though¡­¡±


    Scule shook his head, clicking his tongue as he searched for the right words. ¡°I¡¯m not one to judge a person based on what they look like¡­ Petians have gotten the short end of the stick for as long as I can remember, so I totally get it. But looking like that¡­¡± He sighed, slowly petting Reginald, who was curled up around him protectively. ¡°...It¡¯s just hard to look at them and not think of them as demons is all.¡±


    ¡°Have you actually seen a demon before?¡± Vin asked. After seeing the infernals, he was curious what an actual demon looked like.


    ¡°Only twice,¡± Scule admitted, shuddering at the memories. ¡°Once when some heretics tried to assault the citadel with an army of demons they¡¯d summoned, and once when some kid got angry none of the Gods would give him a divine class and he gave up his own life to bring forth a demon within the citadel¡¯s walls. Demons can take many different forms, but they all share some similar characteristics. Skin darker than black, pure red eyes filled with blood and hate, jagged horns used to disembowel their foes, and claws sharp enough to cut through steel.¡±


    ¡°That would back up the infernals¡¯ claims that they¡¯re only half demon,¡± Shia pointed out. ¡°Their horns are a bit nubby for disemboweling, and their claws didn¡¯t look quite that sharp. Not to mention the lack of blood red eyes.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s also the whole, not murdering all of you the moment you stepped into the village,¡± Alka added. ¡°...and you know. The village.¡±


    ¡°Yes, even I can tell these people aren¡¯t actual demons,¡± Scule said, rolling his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m just speaking honestly.¡±


    ¡°Well as long as you don¡¯t go around stabbing or stealing from them, I think you¡¯re going to be fine,¡± Vin said. ¡°I did sorta promise Madam Trebella none of us would cause them any trouble.¡±


    ¡°Vin, I may be a Rogue, but these people saved our lives. Even I have some morals,¡± Scule said, looking aghast.


    ¡°Really? Who did you steal those from?¡± Alka asked, snickering as the Rogue flicked her a strange gesture that Vin could only assume was his world¡¯s version of the middle finger.


    Vin laughed as they began bickering, but at the sound of Shia clearing her throat, they stopped. As everyone turned to face the elf, she sighed.


    ¡°I appreciate the fact that none of you have demanded answers or anything from me just yet¡­ But I¡¯d rather get this off my chest now than wait for one of you to work up the courage to ask.¡±


    ¡°Is this about how you knew where the infernals¡¯ village was?¡± Vin asked, getting a nod from the elf.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Taking a deep breath, Shia looked at them, grimacing. ¡°...Vin wasn¡¯t the only one granted a divine boon back in the citadel. The Gods gave me one as well!¡±


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    The room went silent as everyone digested Shia''s sudden exclamation. After a few seconds, Scule began chuckling wearily, raising an eyebrow in confusion. ¡°Okay? I mean, good for you, Shia. But why keep something like that a secret? I was afraid you were gonna tell us you¡¯d already made some sort of blood pact with the infernals or something!¡±


    Seeing how Shia couldn¡¯t quite meet Alka¡¯s confused and hurt expression, Vin realized immediately why she¡¯d kept the boon to herself.


    ¡°Alka was already disheartened that we finally got our hands on some divine power and couldn¡¯t help her¡­ You didn¡¯t want to admit we actually got two boons, and neither of which were of any use to her. Is that it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s half the reason,¡± Shia nodded, finally turning toward Alka, giving the ghost a partial bow. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Alka. It seems dumb in hindsight, but I really didn¡¯t want to make you feel even worse.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± the Slayer snapped, looking more hurt than anything that Shia would keep such a secret from them. ¡°What¡¯s the other half?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Shia asked, seeming surprised the ghost had forgiven her so quickly.


    ¡°The other half. You said I was half the reason, so I want to know the other half.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Before, Shia had looked pained. But now, she just looked ashamed.


    ¡°My vow¡­ is a Vow of Devotion. And the boon it grants me is called Gods¡¯ Guidance. Once a week, I can ask the Gods to point me in the direction of something I need.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like an amazing boon!¡± Scule said, perking up immediately. ¡°Can you find anything with that?¡±


    ¡°It has to be something I think I need, not just want,¡± Shia said, rolling her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not about to become your glorified treasure seeker.¡±


    ¡°Something like a way to cure the radiation poison that was killing us,¡± Vin said slowly, finally understanding how she¡¯d saved them.


    ¡°Exactly. It doesn¡¯t have to be a physical object. Though we got insanely lucky that this village was so close to us. The boon only tells me where to go, it doesn¡¯t make the journey any easier than it already is. However, my boon has a caveat just like Vin''s. Once I use it to find something, I have to go to where it indicates, or I''ll lose the boon entirely.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t answer my question,¡± Alka said, ignoring Shia''s description of the boon and crossing her arms. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t you want to admit to having the boon?¡±


    ¡°Because I got it due to my devotion to my master instead of the Ancient Ones!¡± Shia cried out, withdrawing into herself even as she spoke the truth. The elf pulled her knees up, hugging them against her chest as she took a shaky breath. ¡°The elves in the Sacred Forest are supposed to look up to and believe in the Ancient Ones above all else! How do you think I felt when the Gods themselves branded me with a boon that reveals how I truly feel?!¡±


    As Shia began sniffling, Vin shot Alka a look, and the ghost held up her hands in her defense, giving him her own look that said I didn¡¯t mean to make her cry! Vin rolled his eyes, nodding toward the elf. Alka seemed to take the hint, because the ghost sighed, floating over to her.


    ¡°Sorry Shia,¡± she said gruffly, clearly not used to having any sort of heart to heart conversation. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to make you feel bad. If it makes you feel any better, Erik is a pretty cool guy. I don¡¯t think he would mind in the slightest if you revealed your boon to him.¡±


    ¡°He already knows,¡± Shia hiccupped, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. ¡°Don¡¯t you remember? He basically came right out and said it when we left the Sacred Forest by mentioning the yearning in my heart. I¡¯d thought I¡¯d done a good job hiding it, but clearly Erik saw right through me.¡±


    ¡°Wait, hold up,¡± Scule said, raising a hand. ¡°I wasn¡¯t there for that, so I¡¯m a little confused here. Is this some sort of weird taboo situation where you¡¯re in love with your master?¡±


    The moment the question left his mouth, a few things happened simultaneously. Vin slapped a hand to his face, letting out a sigh. Alka turned to glare at the petian, running a finger along her throat in a universal gesture. Reginald let out an indignant squeak, smacking the Rogue on the head with his tail.


    And Shia burst out laughing.


    ¡°Am I in love with him?¡± Shia repeated, her tears forgotten as she all but started rolling around on the bed laughing. ¡°Oh, broken bark that¡¯s too good¡­¡± After nearly a full minute of laughter, during which everyone else glared at the sheepish Rogue, she finally managed to get a hold of herself, wiping away the last of her tears.


    ¡°In a way, I guess you¡¯re not entirely wrong. I definitely love him,¡± she nodded, giggling at Scule¡¯s confused look. ¡°...He¡¯s basically my father. Both my parents lost their lives defending the Sacred Forest from the increasing monster attacks when I was still young, and my master took me in, practically treating me as his own daughter.¡±


    ¡°No wonder you think so highly of him,¡± Vin nodded. ¡°Did the Ancient Ones not have any sort of orphanage set up or anything?¡±


    ¡°They did¡­ But my master took note of my interesting ability to taste magic,¡± Shia admitted. ¡°And when the most famous elf in the village, the one even the Ancient Ones would confer with as equals, comes up to you and asks if you want to study under him? Well, there¡¯s really only one answer you can give.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ Our opinion might not matter as much to you as that of the Ancient Ones or your fellow elves. But I personally don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything wrong with wanting to put your father above all else,¡± Vin said, getting nods from the rest of the party.


    ¡°Nothing wrong with supporting your family,¡± Alka agreed.


    ¡°Can¡¯t say I liked my old man all that much, but hey, if yours is all right, more power to you,¡± Scule said.


    Reginald squeaked out his agreement, and Scule nodded, translating for him.


    ¡°Reginald says he¡¯d feel honored if any of his children revealed they were devoted enough to receive a divine boon for it.¡±


    ¡°Thanks everyone,¡± Shia sniffed, grinning at all of them. ¡°It means a lot to get that off my chest. And thank you Reginald, that¡¯s very sweet of you to say. I have to admit, I keep forgetting you have kids.¡±


    ¡°Eh, I wouldn¡¯t be all that impressed with him,¡± Scule said, covering the rat¡¯s ears and mouthing the words ¡®Deadbeat Father,¡¯ before getting another smack on the head from the rat¡¯s tail.


    While everyone laughed as Scule and Reginald began poorly wrestling with one another, both of their bodies still sluggish and weak from the after effects of the purification ritual, there was a knock on the door. Malzar poked his head in, smiling at Vin and nodding toward the others.


    ¡°Glad to see you guys are doing better!¡± He said, chipper and excited as always.


    ¡°Madam Trebella said she¡¯s ready to talk about her payment.¡±

 (79) 2.32. A Desperate Plea

    Vin looked around Madam Trebella¡¯s study, taking in the Witch¡¯s choice of decoration. Perhaps he was being a bit prejudiced, but he''d been expecting a lot more fire and brimstone.


    Instead, the head infernal¡¯s study reminded him of his old principal¡¯s office. There was a large desk covered with organized clutter, a handful of paintings and maps dotting the walls, and a few small knickknacks displayed proudly around the room that he could only guess the purpose of. In fact, it was while he was peering at one of these strange objects, something that looked like a gemstone carved to look like some sort of turtle, that Madam Trebella finally arrived.


    ¡°Apologies for the wait. I know I sent Malzar to fetch you, but I had to deal with an unexpected altercation between two of my apprentices,¡± the Witch said, situating herself behind her desk and gesturing for him to take a seat. ¡°We didn¡¯t use to have this many issues, but ever since the relocation, things have been¡­ different, to say the least.¡±


    Vin was about to crack a joke and try to get on the infernal¡¯s good side before delving into why she thought they owed her anything after he''d completed his end of the deal, but his emotional support ghost seemed to have other plans.


    ¡°Are those horns poking into your brain, or are you just pretending to be stupid for fun?¡± Alka asked, drifting out of him and standing beside him, her arms crossed. ¡°What¡¯s this about thinking we owe you anything?¡±


    Vin could only pinch the bridge of his nose and sigh as Madam Trebella blinked, clearly not used to being insulted to her face, and inside her own study no less. The entire reason why Vin came up here on his own was because Shia and Scule could barely even stand, let alone walk. None of them were in any condition to leave the village, but he was beginning to fear that was exactly what was coming.


    ¡°One more comment like that, and I¡¯ll bind you to a stone and toss you in the latrines,¡± Madam Trebella said, not even giving Alka the courtesy of looking at her. ¡°I¡¯m not in the best mood right now, so don¡¯t test me, girl.¡±


    ¡°What was the fight about between your apprentices?¡± Vin hurriedly asked, cutting Alka off before she could dig herself a deeper hole. ¡°Would it be safe to assume Xaril was involved?¡±


    ¡°Of course Xaril was involved. You met the boy, you know what he¡¯s like.¡± Madam Trebella looked like she wanted nothing more than to rub her temples and crack open a bottle of wine, but she clearly cared about appearances, as instead she merely straightened in her chair and frowned. ¡°Credit where credit¡¯s due, the boy is an absolute prodigy when it comes to rituals, and that¡¯s not a phrase I throw around lightly. The only problem is he cares about nothing else besides rituals. Not people, not his surroundings, not even himself. The only reason he even eats is because I threatened to take his books away if I ever found him passed out on the floor from hunger again.¡±


    As the infernal let out a world-weary sigh, Vin couldn¡¯t help but wonder why she was unloading on him like this. But a quick glance up at the portrait of a smiling older infernal hanging behind her desk gave him a pretty solid idea.


    ¡°Seems like a lot to handle on your own¡­ Other than you, I¡¯ve only seen apprentices since we got here. Where are the other Witches and Warlocks that lead the place?¡±


    ¡°Dead and gone,¡± Madam Trebella said bluntly, scowling for some reason. ¡°Master Gunon and our top Gatherers were left behind during the relocation, and Master Morvas was an impatient fool that got himself killed. Along with a handful of our most promising apprentices. I¡¯m the only one left, so I get to handle everything whether I want to or not.¡±


    ¡°Guess that explains the supply issues,¡± Alka said, a frown still plastered on her face. She clearly didn¡¯t like the infernal, so Vin was just happy she¡¯d managed to stop herself from spitting out any more insults.


    ¡°Precisely. Which leads us back to why I called you here in the first place.¡± Madam Trebella paused, pulling out a sheet of paper and reading from it. ¡°Four twigs of winter wood, half a vial of night dew, three pinches of stun powder, and a handful of tundra rock. Do any of these materials ring any bells?¡±


    ¡°They sound like some of the things you used during the ritual of stillness,¡± Vin said, thinking back to the seemingly random assortments of materials the Witch had tossed around the sick bay.


    ¡°That¡¯s because they are some of the materials I used in that ritual,¡± she nodded. ¡°The other bits I used aren¡¯t worth mentioning, but these four aren¡¯t exactly easy to come by.¡±


    ¡°I thought we had an agreement,¡± Vin frowned, beginning to feel like he¡¯d made a deal with the devil after all. ¡°I get you the materials you needed to perform the ritual and cure us, and the excess that wasn¡¯t used in the purification ritual would cover the cost of the ritual itself.¡±


    ¡°Correct¡­ However, that doesn¡¯t cover the cost of performing the ritual of stillness to initially save your lives,¡± the infernal said matter of factly, tapping the paper with a well-maintained claw. ¡°We have yet to discuss what your payment will be for that.¡±


    Realizing Alka was about to get herself into trouble again, Vin stopped her with a raised hand, staring at the ghost until she huffed and closed her mouth. Taking a half step in front of her, Vin nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯m all for making a fair exchange, but my party isn¡¯t exactly in any sort of condition to go out and get any more materials for you right now, and we need to leave as soon as we¡¯re able. We¡¯re on something of a time sensitive mission.¡±


    Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°Well you¡¯ll have to make time,¡± Madam Trebella snapped, clearly displeased with his answer. ¡°Because it¡¯s not materials I¡¯m after anyways. I need you to take care of a small problem for me. One that will almost certainly become a rather big problem if something isn¡¯t done about it.¡±


    Vin hesitated, his eyes flickering to the already irritated Alka. The more time they spent here, the greater chance they completely lost the trail of the divine warrior they were chasing. Alka was the one who should be making the decision, but he also knew at the moment she¡¯d probably tell the infernal to pound sand even if the Witch offered to grant the ghost her eternal rest right here and now.


    Madam Trebella must have sensed his uncertainty, because the infernal let out an uncharacteristic sigh, sinking down in her chair slightly. Drumming her claws on her desk for a moment, she finally leaned forward, her golden-black eyes staring deep into his own.


    ¡°Look. I¡¯m not normally one to be so straightforward, but the fact of the matter is that my people come before my own desires. This problem I need your help with. If you don¡¯t help us, there¡¯s a good chance everyone in our village is going to die.¡±


    She paused, allowing her words to hang in the air, nodding at the effect it had on them. ¡°I might find the two of you annoying, but I¡¯m pretty good at reading people. These eyes see more than just faint traces of magic after all. The main one being that your entire group practically screams ¡®goody-two-shoes¡¯. Well, maybe not the tiny one, but the rest of you do. Even the rat, strangely enough.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, I really didn¡¯t want to play this card, but here it is.¡± Taking a deep breath, the infernal lowered her head until her horns were pointed directly at them. But despite the threatening gesture, her words made it quite clear it was anything but.


    ¡°We need your help.¡±


    As much as he wanted to tell her to lift her head and agree to her request, Vin glanced once more at Alka. The ghost hesitated, clearly enjoying the display of subservience maybe a little more than was necessary. After a few long seconds, she grunted, throwing up her arms in a huff.


    ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll help you! Just because I don¡¯t like you doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m about to let a village filled with innocent people be slaughtered.¡±


    Vin thought he saw the smallest glint of a smile as Madam Trebella raised her head, but there was no trace of it as she nodded to them, her face a mask of seriousness.


    ¡°I appreciate that. Naturally, in exchange for helping us, I will forget about the materials I used in the ritual of stillness as well.¡±


    ¡°So what even is it you need us to do?¡± Vin asked, growing more and more wary the longer this conversation dragged on. He couldn¡¯t say he liked dealing with Madam Trebella very much. The infernal was crafty and cunning, in a way that reminded him far too much of Patty. Only the Witch was good enough that she didn¡¯t need to rely on literal magic to control people, which made her even scarier.


    ¡°You recall the divine warrior I spoke of earlier? The one that I said attacked our village and tried to kill all of us?¡± Seeing their nods, she took a deep breath, preparing herself for the big ask. ¡°¡­I need you to find him. And make sure he can¡¯t come back and try again a second time.¡±


    It was Vin and Alka¡¯s turn to blink, the two of them sharing a bewildered look for a moment before Alka burst out laughing. Seeing the confusion on Madam Trebella¡¯s face, Vin tried to stifle his own chuckling long enough to explain.


    ¡°That¡¯s our time sensitive mission I just mentioned,¡± he explained, doing his best not to laugh alongside Alka. ¡°We¡¯re hunting down the divine warrior in the hopes he can give Alka her eternal rest.¡±


    ¡°...Of course it was,¡± the infernal said blankly, looking between the two of them. ¡°I suppose that explains why you seemed so interested in the divine warrior when you first showed up. I thought you were just hopeful that the man would be able to heal you with his divinity.¡±


    ¡°Nope, kind of the opposite in fact!¡±


    Madam Trebella could only shake her head as Vin finally gave up trying to hold it in and began laughing with his friend. She even gave them a few seconds to enjoy their merriment before her next words doused it like a bucket of cold water.


    ¡°You do realize I want you to kill the divine warrior, yes?¡±


    That got them to stop laughing quickly enough. Vin cleared his throat, giving the infernal a more serious look.


    ¡°We¡¯re not assassins for hire¡­ We¡¯re not just going to go kill somebody for you.¡±


    ¡°Not even to prevent hundreds of lives from being snuffed out?¡± She demanded, slamming her fists into her desk as she stood up and leaned over it. ¡°That man already tried his hand at eradicating us once, and I had to burn through most of my stockpiled materials to defeat him. If he comes back again, I won¡¯t be able to stop him a second time. He¡¯ll kill every last one of us.¡±


    Vin paused, taken aback by the sudden display of emotion from the infernal. Despite being wary of her cunning, he couldn¡¯t help but feel as though she was speaking honestly with them for the very first time.


    ¡°Scule did already see the aftermath of his work once Vin,¡± Alka said, frowning as she no doubt thought back to how shaken Scule had seemed when he¡¯d returned from the swamp fragment. ¡°I don¡¯t like taking lives any more than you do, but if some maniac wielding divine powers is roaming around killing people, I¡¯m all for putting him down before he can hurt anyone else.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Vin sighed, clenching his fist at the thought of seeking someone out with the intention of killing them. It was one thing if they stumbled upon him actively doing something horrific and worth ending his life for, but plotting the man¡¯s death from possibly fragments away just felt wrong.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like it, but I agree,¡± he finally said, firming his resolve. ¡°Obviously we have him take care of you first seeing as there¡¯s no telling if or when we¡¯ll ever find another person capable of putting you to rest, but after that, if he won¡¯t agree to stop killing people, we¡¯ll¡­ take care of him ourselves.¡±


    ¡°Look at you, all grown up and willing to kill people!¡± Alka said, trying and failing to ruffle his hair as her hand went straight through his head. ¡°It feels like it was only yesterday you were a fresh Explorer terrified of ghosts!¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Alka,¡± Vin said, rolling his eyes and doing his best to ignore the ghost''s continued attempts at needling him. ¡°I feel like I need to reiterate that this is just because the man is a mass murderer.¡± Turning to Madam Trebella, Vin nodded. ¡°We¡¯re willing to help you, but we could use some help ourselves. Do you have anything that will help us find the divine warrior? As we are, we¡¯re kinda just running around and hoping we get lucky.¡±


    ¡°Why am I not surprised,¡± Madam Trebella drawled, shaking her head. ¡°But lucky for you¡­¡±


    ¡°I have just the thing.¡±

 (80) 2.33. A Relaxing Recovery

    It took three entire days for Vin and his party to fully recover from the after effects of the purification ritual. When asked, Madam Trebella had explained that the more the ritual was forced to purify, the longer the recovery period would be. And according to her, Vin¡¯s party had pretty much set a record for sheer amount of gunk the ritual had pulled from them.


    Seeing as their entire bodies had been dying on a cellular level, Vin couldn¡¯t say he¡¯d been all that surprised.


    Thankfully, a bit of a breather was exactly what he needed after so many near death experiences in a row. And now that they had Madam Trebella¡¯s gift, they didn¡¯t have to worry so much about being unable to track down the wandering divine warrior.


    So it was that his party agreed to take it easy and rest up in the infernal village for a few days.


    Shia was clearly eager to find a way to talk to her master again, but now that she knew that was reliant on finding another dungeon, she was doing an excellent job of restraining herself from running off into the wilderness. Once she was able to walk again, she first took care of sending the golem cores from the previous fragment over to Erik via two of her seeds that seemed to sprout into a pair of birds made from leaves of all things. That done, she quickly made friends within the village, her jagged teeth seeming to win over the horn and claw filled species surprisingly quickly.


    Scule was actually on his best behavior for once, too nervous to risk stealing anything from any of the demon-like infernals and instead spending his time investigating some of the more toxic materials the Witches and Warlocks used in a few of their curses. Malzar was more than happy to entertain the tiny man¡¯s requests to show him different materials, and Vin occasionally spotted the two of them running off into the woods together doing who knows what.


    He''d briefly wondered just how the two of them were communicating in the first place, but seeing as Malzar was a Warlock himself, he figured the boy must have some sort of translation charm or something.


    For her part, Alka was rather quiet. The fact that trying to help her had nearly gotten them all killed seemed to have hit the ghost particularly hard, and she spent most of the three days alone. The few times Vin tried to check up on her, she¡¯d reassured him that she was okay, and that she just wanted some time to herself to think.


    Reginald¡­


    Well, Vin was pretty certain Reginald had made a few lady friends with a couple other rats he occasionally saw scampering around the village. The rats in this fragment had green tinted fur and stubbier tails, but based on how often he saw Reginald running around with a new companion, he didn¡¯t seem to mind.


    With everyone else doing their own thing, Vin was thankfully able to spend his own recovery doing what he did best.


    Magic.


    Runecraft increased to lvl 5! 1,000 exp gained.


    New spell learned! Tier 2 Earth Spell (Stone Wall). 10,000 exp gained.


    Level up! Magical Explorer lvl 24!


    +3 Attribute points to spend.


    +1 Skill point to spend


    Finally given a moment to breathe, he¡¯d been able to actually sit down and focus on the runic formation still locked away within his Iron Mind passive. True to Eithan¡¯s warning, Vin did end up needing to enlist the help of a few friendly infernals and their chisels more than once when his runic backlashes encased his feet in a thick stone.


    Due to the fact that his runic backlashes were starting to get actually concerning and mildly dangerous, and seeing as he actually had time to kill for once, Vin hadn¡¯t rushed this one. He¡¯d spent a long, relaxing day in Meditation mastering the nuances of the spell, and the System had finally rewarded him for his hard efforts with a level up he¡¯d been eagerly awaiting.


    Meditation increased to lvl 20! 2,000 exp gained.


    Level 20 Meditation is capable of skill evolution. Spend a skill point to evolve skill?


    Vin had happily spent his freshly acquired skill point before it could get comfortable, earning himself his second evolved skill.


    Meditation lvl 20 has evolved into Introspection lvl 1! 200 exp gained.


    Naturally, the first thing he¡¯d done had been to experiment with the skill.


    Unlike Meditation, which allowed him to shut out outside distractions to better focus on his internal mana pool, Introspection was a bit more... intense. The first time he¡¯d activated the skill, he¡¯d broken right back out of it screaming at the sensation of falling face first inside himself.


    Introspection allowed him to actually go within his own mana pool. After toughing out the sensation of falling, Vin had found himself standing in a dark void not unlike the one he¡¯d first ended up in during his class selection when he first came to Edregon.


    This one, however, also had his mana drifting by like a transparent cloud all around him.


    Through some trial and error, Vin discovered the skill allowed him to far more easily shape his mana into the runes and formations he wanted. It was like he¡¯d been forced to wear gloves all this time while working with clay, and he¡¯d finally been given permission to take those gloves off.


    Vin had been ecstatic at the discovery of how his newest skill worked, happily experimenting and getting used to his more nimble mental fingers.


    Right up until he finally cancelled the skill with the intention of grabbing some lunch, only to find the sun had already set and he¡¯d spent his entire second day of recovery within it.


    He did end up leveling the skill twice, but losing an entire day had been a jarring discovery, and Vin decided he wouldn¡¯t experiment with the skill anymore until he had someone by his side ready to pull him out in case of emergencies. Thankfully, his evolved skill did still seem to allow him to access basic Meditation. And while that still messed with his sense of time a bit, it wasn¡¯t nearly to such a strong degree.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Vin¡¯s final day of recovery had been spent doing exactly what he¡¯d been specifically instructed not to do.


    After locking himself in the room they¡¯d been given, Vin had closed the curtains and pulled out Madam Trebella¡¯s gift. The Witch had provided him with a charm of her own making; one that supposedly would allow them to track down the divine warrior regardless of how far he¡¯d travelled.


    While he was fleeing her village, Madam Trebella had apparently struck the divine warrior with one or two curses to try and dissuade him from ever coming back. At first she¡¯d been afraid he had some method of purifying himself, but a quick ritual was all she¡¯d needed to confirm that at least one of her curses was still going strong, prompting her to this idea.


    After asking Vin and his friends to take care of the divine warrior, she¡¯d offered Vin what was essentially a magical metal detector, but for curses rather than metal. It was a small triangular stone with what he could only hope was red paint sprinkled over one of the tips. When held, the stone would spin around for a moment before the reddish tip would unerringly point off in a specific direction, toward the nearest curse.


    According to Madam Trebella, the charm was nothing more than a simple cantrip magnified to allow it to function with a much greater range. Due to the fact that nobody else in the nearby fragments should be suffering from any sort of curse, it should lead them directly to the divine warrior.


    Before handing it to him, she¡¯d informed him in no uncertain terms that if she found out he¡¯d reverse engineered her spell from the charm, there would be serious consequences.


    Hence closing the curtains.


    At first, Vin had assumed that ¡®charms¡¯ were just this fragment¡¯s terminology for artifacts, similar to how the elves in the Sacred Forest called them objects of power. But after feeling around within the charm, he¡¯d been surprised to realize they were in fact a little bit different. For one, there was the fact that they seemed to give less experience.


    New minor charm discovered! 500 exp gained.


    Besides that, they did function pretty much the exact same as artifacts on nearly all accounts, except for one major one. Charms, or at least the one they¡¯d been given, weren¡¯t constructed to last forever. Even as he¡¯d sifted his way through the runic formation, Vin had been able to feel the formation ever so slowly eroding away with every passing minute. It felt like it would probably last at least a few weeks, but unlike an artifact, it would one day turn back into a simple, painted stone.


    Which only helped fuel Vin¡¯s decision to ignore Madam Trebella¡¯s threats and learn what he could from the charm while it still functioned.


    The first half of that third day had been spent in Meditation, carefully studying the charm in secret. While he couldn''t make heads or tails of how Madam Trebella had enhanced the effect of the base spell to such a powerful degree, Vin thankfully realized almost immediately the base spell contained within truly was a simple one. The fact that the spell was deteriorating also made it easier to understand somehow, and only a few hours later, he¡¯d added his first new tier 0 spell to his arsenal since his time back in the Sacred Forest.


    New spell learned! Tier 0 Curse Spell (Sense Curse). 2,500 exp gained.


    New magical affinity discovered! Curse affinity. 6,000 exp gained.


    Afraid the Witch would grow suspicious if he spent all day in his room away from people, Vin had spent the rest of the third day helping out Agne in her garden and enjoying her home cooking. Despite being a Seamstress, he''d learned that Agne had one of the highest levels of Farming in the village solely because of her garden, and she made damn sure Vin understood just how important well cared for vegetables were when it came to making the perfect veggie pot pie.


    One mouthful of her crisp, flaky crust was all Vin needed to decide right then and there he needed to pick up some form of preservation magic one of these days.


    Pleasantly stuffed to the point that he needed to lie down, Vin finally returned to their shared room, finding Shia sitting cross legged on one of the beds, pruning her staff of all things.


    ¡°You know it feels like I walked in on you doing something I shouldn¡¯t have seen,¡± Vin said, watching her curiously.


    Snorting, Shia ignored him, staring intently at a particularly crooked leaf before clipping it off and tucking into a pouch at her side. ¡°How was hanging out with Agne? Word on the grapevine is she¡¯s hoping you¡¯ll stick around so she can hire you full time.¡±


    ¡°Seriously? With her Farming skill and my missing hand, I¡¯m pretty certain she did about ten times the work I did.¡± Vin flopped down on his own bed, groaning as he landed on his full stomach. ¡°...I think I ate too much¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a much better problem to have leaving the village than the ones we had coming in,¡± Shia chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m assuming you¡¯re ready to head out tomorrow? I was in the worst shape, so I figured if I¡¯m feeling back to normal, you guys must be raring to go.¡±


    ¡°Yep, ready to leave when you are. Though I am going to miss the food.¡±


    ¡°I had no idea you were such a glutton,¡± Shia laughed.


    Just then, a gentle squeak signaled the arrival of their remaining party members, as Scule and Reginald came wandering in side by side.


    ¡°...your heart¡¯s in the right place, and we can always come visit,¡± Scule said, patting a depressed looking Reginald as they entered the room.


    ¡°Is Reginald okay?¡± Shia asked, looking worriedly at the quiet rat.


    ¡°The furball¡¯s fine,¡± Scule snorted. ¡°Mr. Heartbreaker here is sad that he¡¯s not going to be able to see a few girls he¡¯s been hanging out with the last few days for a while. I swear, I don¡¯t know how he does it. The kid¡¯s left behind more broken hearts than I¡¯ve stolen coins.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s just because he¡¯s fluffy and adorable!¡± Shia frowned, scooping up a sulking Reginald and carefully petting him. It seemed having that one spot scratched behind his ear was all Reginald needed to turn his frown upside down, as the rat quickly relaxed into Shia¡¯s hand.


    ¡°He also doesn¡¯t spend all day playing with poisons,¡± Vin pointed out, earning a huff from the petian.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t about to give up on the opportunity to learn from a bunch of experts!¡± Scule argued. ¡°Unfortunately, it seems Witches and Warlocks dabble in curses more than poisons. But I was still able to learn a thing or two! That Malzar kid sure does love to talk. Provided you can get him away from the manor. Kid is terrified of Madam Trebella.¡±


    ¡°To be fair, I can see why.¡± Vin shuddered, remembering the sensation of all that gunk being torn from his body. According to the System, Madam Trebella had cast a tier 5 ritual. Assuming rituals and spells functioned at least similar to one another, that was leaps and bounds more advanced than anything he¡¯d witnessed so far. ¡°Speaking of, has anyone actually seen her these past few days? I¡¯ve been focusing on magic primarily, so I wasn¡¯t really looking out for her.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t see her down with the villagers,¡± Shia shrugged. ¡°I¡¯d figured she was just hanging out in the manor.¡±


    ¡°No, Malzar mentioned she¡¯d gone out a couple of times,¡± Scule said. ¡°I didn¡¯t even ask, kid just seemed to be allergic to silence once you got him alone.¡±


    ¡°Strange¡­¡± Obviously as the leader of the village Madam Trebella probably had all sorts of things to take care of, but Vin had expected her to swing by and speak with them one last time before they left.


    The three of them chatted some more about what they¡¯d been up to, and Vin got some congratulations on his new spells. Eventually, while they were in the middle of a heated discussion over whether Sense Magic or Sense Curse was the more useless spell, Alka finally drifted into the room.


    ¡°Finally, someone with some actual brains on their shoulder!¡± Scule shouted, jumping up and turning toward the ghost. ¡°Alka, please tell these idiots the importance of checking magical treasure for curses before you pick it up. Nobody wants their hands rotting off, or their skin covered in boils!¡±


    ¡°But you won¡¯t even get to the treasure if you trip all the magical traps!¡± Vin argued yet again, not understanding how the petian didn¡¯t see his point.


    ¡°I think you¡¯re both idiots,¡± Shia grinned, laughing at their offended expressions.


    As the argument went to start anew, Alka merely floated there, watching the three of them without saying anything. Before Vin and Scule could start tearing into one another again, she cleared her throat, putting their argument on pause and getting everyone¡¯s attention.


    Alka drifted there, a strange look of pain and uncertainty on her face as she seemed to struggle with what to say. Finally, after a few seconds of confused silence, she took a deep breath, which was more for show than anything seeing as she didn¡¯t need to breathe. Looking between the three of them, she slowly let it out, nodding to herself.


    ¡°I¡¯ve made a decision.¡±

 (81) 2.34. New Nightmare Fuel

    ¡°You sure you don¡¯t want to take any more with you? I¡¯ve got some veggie pockets ready to go in the oven right now. Just give me fifteen minutes and they¡¯ll be hot and crisp!¡±


    Vin could only hold his stomach as Agne tried to force another full course meal onto him before they left. He was afraid if he said yes, he¡¯d be so stuffed he¡¯d have to wait an entire extra day just to digest.


    ¡°I appreciate it Agne, but we do have a job to take care of,¡± he smiled, turning to see if his friends were done with their own goodbyes.


    Malzar was crouched down, whispering back and forth with Scule as the two of them glanced around furtively, making sure nobody was eavesdropping. Shia was finishing up her round of hugs and friendly nods with what looked like half the village. Alka was already echoing him, not in the mood to talk to anyone right now. And Reginald¡­


    Reginald looked like he was trying to break up a fight between a half dozen other rats.


    Eventually, the poor rat seemed to give up, choosing instead to let all the other rats hash it out as he ran back to Vin and clamored into his pocket of safety. The rat let out a warning squeak, indicating that it was time to go. Rolling his eyes, Vin finished his goodbyes with Agne, promising he¡¯d bring her some unique vegetables from a different fragment next time he stopped by.


    As Shia and Scule finally joined him, the group took off, leaving the village behind them as they ventured into the surrounding forest. As much as Vin did enjoy chatting with Agne and catching his breath in the village, entering the forest once more and putting the invisible constraints of civilization behind him was like a breath of fresh air.


    ¡°Man, nothing like the great outdoors,¡± he grinned, finally able to take the time to enjoy the sights of the fragment now that they weren¡¯t at risk of sudden death. While he wasn¡¯t a huge insect guy, the forest still contained its own fair share of small critters.


    Vin¡¯s personal favorite so far was a small rabbit-looking animal with tiny wing-like protrusions on its back that seemed to be the natural predator for many of the flying insects. Its powerful hind legs allowed it to launch itself up at the insects like a missile, and the tiny wanna-be wings on its back were perfect for reorienting itself in midair, ensuring it would land on its feet with its lunch secured.


    Without hesitation he dubbed it a rabbird, and jotted down a small description of the creature in his journal as they walked. It was a testament to just how much he¡¯d practiced that he only struggled a little bit to balance the journal on what remained of his left arm as he wrote.


    At this point, his journal was actually starting to fill up a little. Vin had done his best to go back and add to it details and descriptions from all the previous fragments he¡¯d explored before picking it up in the hopes that it would be useful information one day, and he was pleased to see he now had dozens of pages of notes and poorly drawn pictures.


    You know what¡­ To hell with it.


    Seeing as he still had two skill points just sitting around collecting dust, and he didn¡¯t currently have any skills even remotely close to level 20 at the moment, Vin summoned his interface. Navigating to the general skill list, Vin purchased his first ever general skill since arriving on Edregon.


    Picking up Drawing at level 1, Vin grinned as he immediately gained the knowledge of how to properly hold his pencil and all the tiny things he¡¯d been doing wrong suddenly became obvious to him.


    Putting his new skills to the test, Vin updated a few of his more pathetic pictures, instantly pleased with his decision and already raising the skill to level 2. Jotting down his observations about the infernals and their interesting Witch/Warlock led society, he closed the journal and carefully put it away, taking in another deep breath of the fresh forest air.


    ¡®You keep huffing the air like that and one of those bees is going to fly right up your nose.¡¯


    Glancing behind him, Vin spotted Scule riding on Shia¡¯s shoulder, the two of them seemingly engrossed in some conversation about wild herbs. Lowering his voice, he whispered back.


    ¡°Glad to hear your voice,¡± he muttered, carefully making his way around a giant cobweb strung between a few trees. He didn¡¯t see any sort of spider on it, but that just made him even more nervous about touching the web. ¡°We were all a bit worried after your unexpected declaration yesterday before you went into hiding. Still don¡¯t want to talk about it?¡±


    ¡®Not particularly.¡¯


    The two of them walked in silence, broken only by the occasional gentle whistle of Reginald¡¯s snores.


    Last night, after informing them of her surprise decision, Alka had shot into Vin¡¯s form and refused to come out. It hadn¡¯t taken them long to realize the ghost didn¡¯t want to talk to anyone, and they¡¯d all headed off to bed, trying to respect Alka¡¯s wishes.


    Vin thought on what he should do as they walked, briefly taking note of a frog looking critter with a pointed head attempting to break its way into one of the large hives of the big bees.


    On the one hand, he felt like Alka might be making a huge mistake. But on the other hand, she didn¡¯t really have much autonomy in her current situation as a ghostly ride along. Respecting her decisions was one of the few ways he could still help her feel like a living person, and as her first friend, he wasn¡¯t about to stop doing that now.


    ¡°So¡­ Think you can actually take that divine warrior guy in a fight?¡± Vin asked, returning his voice to a normal level. ¡°I know you¡¯re good, but it sounds like the guy¡¯s got some skills.¡±


    ¡°Are you kidding?¡± Alka asked, finally drifting out of his body and falling into step beside him. ¡°That poser needs divine might in order to win his battles. I bet he¡¯s a terrible swordsman.¡±


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡°Or, he¡¯s a really good swordsman, and he has a divine boon backing him up to boot,¡± Vin pointed out, earning a scoff from the Slayer.


    ¡°Or he¡¯s a master swordsman, and has multiple divine boons backing him up!¡± Scule added unhelpfully from behind. Rolling her eyes, Shia flicked him from her shoulder, and the petian fell to the ground with a curse.


    ¡°Regardless, I¡¯m confident we can take him down if we work together,¡± Shia said, giving Alka an encouraging smile. ¡°He¡¯s only one man, and let¡¯s not forget the fact that he¡¯s currently suffering at least one curse as well.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you some curses,¡± Scule muttered angrily, running ahead of the elf and scampering up a nearby tree before jumping over to Vin¡¯s shoulder. ¡°But speaking of fighting the guy, shouldn¡¯t we come up with a plan or something? So far we¡¯ve all kinda just done our thing whenever we¡¯ve been attacked. If we¡¯re going to be working together as a party, we should probably be a bit more organized.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s actually a good point,¡± Vin admitted, wondering where to even start. Lost in thought as he imagined holding a clipboard and yelling out orders to the team as though he were some kind of sports coach, he was entirely unprepared for Shia¡¯s shout.


    ¡°Monsters!¡±


    Snapping back to reality, Vin turned around just in time to see the latest addition to his collection of nightmares.


    Rushing toward them from three different directions in almost total silence was a swarm of giant spiders. Nearly coming up to his knees, each one was as large as a medium sized dog and just about as furry. And while he couldn¡¯t see any sort of venom dripping from their jagged fangs, that didn¡¯t mean he wanted to be anywhere near the business end of them.


    New monster discovered! 200 exp gained.


    Naturally, the first to react was the trained monster killer. Before anyone could even move, Alka already had her sword in hand and was sprinting straight into the closest group of spiders that was attacking from their left. She might as well have been a farmer scything through wheat for all the effort it was taking her to shred her way through the swarm.


    The closest group taken care of, Shia angled her staff to the right, not wanting to get boxed in between the two groups. ¡°Tangle Thorns!¡±


    The barbed wire-like plants she¡¯d prepared all around the Earther¡¯s camp during the last battle suddenly sprung out of the ground like they¡¯d always been there, forming a natural barricade between them and the monsters. The spiders were forced to slow down their charge or tear themselves to shreds against the jagged thorns of Shia¡¯s spell. And while a few did just that, most began making their way carefully over or around the thorns.


    Which made them easy pickings for Vin.


    ¡°Stone Shot! Stone Shot!¡± He shouted, firing off one bullet of rock after another. The spiders were close enough now that every spell hit its mark, popping the bulbous monsters like they were overripe tomatoes and spilling foul smelling monster guts all over the place. As Shia shifted Blossom back to cat form and unleashed her on the swarm behind them, Vin felt Scule doing something on his shoulder.


    ¡°Perfect time to test this bad boy out!¡± Before Vin could turn and see what Scule was up to, he heard a soft puff of air, and one of the closer spiders suddenly crumpled in place, its legs twitching erratically as it failed to move.


    ¡°Hells yeah, just like I practiced!¡±


    Vin wanted nothing more than to turn and see what the hell Scule was doing, but the fight was far from over.


    Thankfully, after surviving the initial surprise attack, finishing the rest of the monsters up was only a matter of time. Alka of course was completely untouchable and made short work of her section of the swarm. Blossom proved to be rather effective as well; the spiders'' fangs not being able to pierce the hard wooden form of the cat, and their bodies weak enough that a single swipe of her paw was normally enough to kill any one monster. And with Shia¡¯s Tangle Thorns slowing down the rest, Scule and Vin had been able to pick off the slow moving spiders one by one. As soon as the final spider fell to a well placed Stone Shot, Vin lowered his hand, breathing heavily.


    ¡°That¡­ Was a lot of spiders¡­¡±


    ¡°No kidding¡­ Much worse when they¡¯re¡­ five times your size¡­¡± Scule replied, sounding even more winded than Vin was. Finally looking over at the petian on his shoulder, Vin¡¯s eyebrows raised as he took in Scule¡¯s newest weapon.


    The petian held in his hands what looked like a blowgun crafted from a bright white twig. Of course, while the weapon was only a few inches long, it looked enormous in the petian¡¯s hands.


    ¡°Woah, where¡¯d that come from?¡± Vin asked.


    ¡°You like it?¡± Scule grinned, turning the blowgun this way and that to show it off. ¡°I realized after Reginald and I nearly got pulped saving you from that giant snake that I needed some method of poisoning targets from range. I may or may not have helped myself to just a tiny bit of Madam Trebella¡¯s supply of winter twigs. I doubt she was planning on using all of them anyway.¡±


    Vin distinctly remembered winter twigs being on the list of materials the Witch had in fact mentioned as valuable, but decided against saying anything. Not like they could return the twig now anyway, seeing as Scule had already hollowed it out.


    ¡°What are you even firing?¡± He asked, glancing back at all the spiders still twitching on the ground. It seemed whatever Scule was currently using wasn¡¯t actually lethal.


    ¡°Check it out!¡± Vin looked back at him, blinking at the large stinger now in Scule¡¯s hand as the petian continued excitedly. ¡°I had Malzar help me collect a literal ton of these bad boys. The big bees were already venomous, so all I had to do was clean out the stingers, let them dry, and replace the bee toxin with any of my own selection. Three quick steps, and now I have my own homemade poison darts I can grab from my cape on the fly!¡±


    ¡°Honestly that¡¯s ingenious,¡± Vin admitted, watching as Reginald ran around, finishing off the twitching spiders with his tail blade and collecting the stinger-darts. ¡°Glad you don¡¯t have to get into the thick of things when fighting now.¡±


    ¡°Eh, I¡¯m not sure how effective the blowgun will be against anything with a thicker hide, but we¡¯ll have to wait to find out I suppose,¡± Scule shrugged, jumping down to help Reginald.


    Vin turned to Shia, who was currently petting Blossom like an actual cat. Seeing the wooden-cat lean slightly into her hand, he narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°Is that thing sentient or not? When I took it with me into the dungeon, I swore it acted like an unthinking construct.¡±


    ¡°Maybe she just doesn¡¯t like you,¡± Shia grinned, scratching the cat behind its wooden ears.


    Rolling his eyes, Vin walked over to Alka who was looking around at all the dead spiders with a frown. The ghost had to have killed at least a couple dozen all on her own, and if she weren¡¯t ethereal, Vin had no doubt she would have been absolutely covered in spider guts from head to toe.


    ¡°Nice reaction time,¡± he offered, nudging aside one of the monster corpses with his foot. ¡°I suppose-¡±


    ¡°Scule was right,¡± she said, cutting him off. Turning, she planted her sword in the ground, her frown deepening as she took in the aftermath of the battle. ¡°You guys aren¡¯t ready to take on even a swarm of monsters on your own, let alone a divine swordsman that we know is capable of far worse than this.¡±


    ¡°I thought we did-¡±


    Alka cut him off with a raised hand, her face serious. Vin could practically see the gears turning in her head as she looked between the three of them, deep in thought. After a few seconds, she nodded, ripping her sword back out of the ground and using it to point at them.


    ¡°You all better be ready,¡± she said, looking at Vin with fire in her eyes.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s time I whipped you lot into shape.¡±

 (82) 2.35. The Grueling Ghost

    Panting, Vin staggered over to a nearby tree as he was finally allowed to rest, leaning against it while his entire body shook from exertion. He¡¯d never really been one for physical conditioning before, and he had a hunch Alka¡¯s methods would make most drill sergeants back on Earth shudder and ask if they needed them to call someone.


    While contemplating how to best run away from someone that was physically bound to him, he was startled by an unexpected voice beneath him.


    ¡°I guess we won¡¯t have to worry about the divine warrior killing us if she manages it first.¡±


    Glancing down, Vin spotted Scule reclining back on a particularly spongy mushroom like it was a beanbag chair. The petian looked just as winded and haggard as he felt, and he was nursing a fancy wine bottle twice the size he was. Seeing Vin¡¯s surprised look, Scule nodded toward the bottle leaning next to him.


    ¡°Want one? Figured if I¡¯m going to die sooner than later from all this training, no sense letting these drinks go to waste.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m good¡­¡± Vin said, shaking his head. He was so tired that even the thought of alcohol made him want to hurl. Doing a double take, he looked more closely at the bottle, squinting at the image on the label. If he didn¡¯t know better, he¡¯d say that was a pretty spot on image of Italy stamped on the bottle there.


    ¡°Where¡¯d you get that wine?¡±


    ¡°Found it. What are you, the guards?¡±


    Rolling his eyes, Vin turned to watch the current torture session being conducted only a few dozen feet away. It was Shia¡¯s turn in the rotation again, and despite her holding up far better than him or Scule, the elf was still being put through the wringer just like they had been.


    Alka came at her like a warrior possessed, swinging and slashing her sword as though she had every intention of beheading the elf the moment she let down her guard. If Vin hadn¡¯t witnessed Alka¡¯s incredible skill in person so many times before, he would have honestly thought the Slayer was trying to kill her.


    For her part, Shia was actually holding rather strong. Despite being forced entirely on the defensive, Shia had managed to use Blossom¡¯s staff form to block or deflect most of the attacks, and had twisted just barely out of the way of the ones she couldn¡¯t. Naturally, seeing as she didn¡¯t actually want to hurt them, Alka was using the blunt side of her sword during their spars. But based on the number of painful welts and bruises covering his body, Vin knew getting hit by the ghost was still a less than pleasant experience.


    Nodding her approval, Alka finally kicked it up a notch, suddenly going from a warrior possessed to her far more terrifying graceful style of killing. Within seconds she slipped past Shia¡¯s guard, smacking the elf on the head with her sword and eliciting a pained curse from the Druid.


    ¡°Rotate!¡± Alka shouted, signaling for her next victim to approach. Scule gave Vin one last longing glance before begrudgingly shoving his entire wine bottle back into his cape and jumping down. As he made his way over, Alka looked over at a nearby bush.


    ¡°This one¡¯s a duo practice,¡± she ordered.


    After a few seconds, Vin heard a sad, defeated squeak as Reginald emerged from his hiding place, trudging over and waiting for Scule to jump on. As soon as they were ready, Alka nodded toward Shia.


    ¡°Go!¡±


    Directing her mana with her staff, the Druid began casting. ¡°Entangle!¡±


    Vin watched as the grass came to life under Reginald¡¯s feet, shooting up and doing its best to ensnare the rat. But before it could get the chance, Reginald took off, leaping and twisting his body around the seeking grass blades, barely managing to keep his little limbs from getting grabbed.


    At the same time, while being jostled and jerked around by a desperate Reginald, Scule was busy with his own challenge. Using her sword, Alka flicked nut after nut up into the air in different arcs, and Scule had to shoot each one mid flight with his new blowgun before they hit the ground. For every one he missed, he¡¯d be forced to scamper up and down the largest tree Alka had found as punishment.


    And if that wasn¡¯t bad enough, amongst all the soaring nuts, Alka occasionally flicked a small rock that was almost the same size and color of the nuts that was supposed to represent a friendly target. If Scule did hit the soaring rock, Alka added ten more climbs to his punishment.


    Vin could only wince in sympathy as Scule did just that, one of his poison free stingers knocking a hidden rock out of the air and eliciting a string of curses from the petian. By the time Reginald finally got snagged by the magic grass, Scule owed Alka fourteen trips up and down the tree.


    ¡°Rotate!¡± Alka shouted, ignoring a grumbling Scule as he made his way over to the dreaded tree and began scrambling up its side. Vin shared an understanding look of pain with Reginald as the two traded places. He never would have thought he¡¯d be able to recognize a look of pity on a rat¡¯s face, but here he was.


    ¡°You planning on defending without a weapon?¡± Alka asked, raising her sword. Knowing she would absolutely come at him regardless, Vin could only sigh and snatch up his new quarterstaff Shia had crafted him. Thanks to a combination of Rapid Growth and the Whittling skill, Shia had made him a surprisingly nice staff that could function both as a walking stick and weapon when needed.


    Like now.


    Vin¡¯s Threat Detection flared, and he barely managed to bring his staff up in time to block a sudden lunge from Alka. Relying on a combination of his reflexes and his passive, he stumbled backwards, doing everything he could to keep the hard sword from smacking into him and leaving any more bruises.


    ¡°You¡¯re relying too much on your passive,¡± Alka said calmly, as though she wasn¡¯t currently in the middle of trying to bash his brains in. ¡°Threat Detection only triggers on attacks you already suspect are coming, and it doesn¡¯t do you any good if the attack is too fast for you to handle.¡±


    Driving home her point, Alka¡¯s movement suddenly increased in speed, and her sword shot out too fast for him to block, smacking him painfully in the ribs despite the warning that flashed in his head. Vin cursed as he rubbed his newest bruise, wishing not for the first time since they¡¯d started training that the ghost had lost her dexterity along with her strength.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Alka watched him carefully, as though waiting for something. She¡¯d been doing that ever since she¡¯d started training them earlier that morning. The only problem was, Vin had absolutely no idea what it was she seemed to be waiting for, and any attempt at asking resulted in her launching into another attack.


    ¡°If I can¡¯t rely on my passive¡­ What should I be focusing on then?¡±


    ¡°You need to watch your opponent. Regardless of if they¡¯re a person or a monster, almost every opponent will have tells. A change in stance. An adjustment in how they angle their weapon. Unless your attributes eclipse theirs, you need to be reacting before they launch their attack. That¡¯s how you survive.¡±


    Alka paused, seeming to debate just how much she wanted to say. After a few seconds, she relented, gesturing toward him with her sword.


    ¡°Also¡­ You need to stop trying to fight like someone you¡¯re not.¡±


    ¡°What do y-¡± Vin¡¯s question was cut off as his passive flared and he deflected a wide swing from the ghost. Scowling, Vin quickly found himself on the back foot once again, struggling just to react to the Slayer¡¯s purposefully projected attacks. It wasn¡¯t even thirty seconds before she slipped under his guard again, smacking him in the leg with her sword and sending him limping back to his tree.


    Wishing once again that Alka would let them heal their bruises, Vin could only rub his tender leg and watch as Shia stepped back up to the plate. At the very least, Alka¡¯s training didn¡¯t consist entirely of getting beaten black and blue by her magic sword. While he struggled to figure out what she meant about his fighting style, Vin watched as Shia went on the offence with her magic.


    The Druid¡¯s staff erupted in spiky branches, each one firing out and slamming into the ground where the ghost had been moments before. Vin watched in awe as Alka gracefully evaded every attack, turning and slipping in between each branch strike as though she were, well, a ghost.


    Vin thought Shia was done, but the Druid surprised him. As soon as their small battlefield was littered with enough growth from her staff, Shia cast again.


    ¡°Entangling Thorns!¡±


    New spell witnessed! Tier two Nature spell (Entangling Thorns). 2,000 exp gained.


    Immediately, the branches came to life, converging toward Alka in an attempt to physically bind her. However, unlike a regular Entangle spell, at the same time barbed vines erupted from the branches, shooting out like feelers and making the mess of nature trying to snatch Alka many times thicker.


    Vin looked on in awe, impressed that Shia had actually managed to pull one over on their monster of an instructor.


    At least¡­ he did right up until Alka got serious.


    Alka didn¡¯t even flinch at the hundreds of thorny vines suddenly grasping at her from every direction. Instead, she got to work. Her sword became a blur as the Slayer became a human blender, and Vin struggled to even keep up with what was happening as bits and pieces of wood and vine were thrown around the clearing. As everything enveloped her all at once, he even lost sight of the ghost for a moment, only the sound of wood and vine still getting hacked apart indicating she was still fighting.


    Just when Vin started to suspect she¡¯d come cutting her way out of there any moment, he heard her call out from within the mass of nature.


    ¡°I yield!¡±


    Panting, Shia pulled back on her magic, the numerous branches decaying back into her staff and the vines slowly withering away to reveal a grinning ghost surrounded by enough salad to feed a small army.


    ¡°Impressive spell!¡± Alka said, flicking at a piece of barbed vine with her sword. ¡°How long have you had that one?¡±


    ¡°A few minutes now,¡± Shia chuckled, wiping her brow. ¡°After watching you and Reginald dodge Entangle all morning, I realized I needed something with a bit more sticking power. Thankfully, I was able to merge the two spells together fairly easily, as they have remarkably similar runic formations.¡±


    ¡°Well I¡¯d consider it a success,¡± Alka nodded. ¡°In an actual fight I would have run back and come at you from a different angle, but seeing as I was just playing defense, the sheer mass of vines and branches managed to overwhelm even me. Good work!¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Shia grinned, clearly pleased with herself.


    ¡°Scule! How many you got left?!¡± Alka called out as Shia went to go sit down.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask your mother?!¡± Vin heard Scule¡¯s voice call back from somewhere far up the tree¡¯s canopy.


    Snorting, Alka turned toward him. ¡°Guess that means you¡¯re up again!¡±


    Groaning, Vin left his new staff leaning against the tree and trudged back over to the clearing, happy that at least it was magic time again instead of ¡®getting hit repeatedly with a blunt object¡¯ time.


    Similar to Scule¡¯s training, Alka began flicking progressively smaller objects into the air for him with her sword, and Vin shot them out of the sky one at a time with well-placed Stone Shots. Unlike Scule¡¯s training however, Alka would occasionally flick something directly at him, and Vin had to use Stone Wall to block the projectile.


    Vin couldn¡¯t help but grin as he cast spell after spell, the sensation of mana flowing through his runic structures and transforming the world in impossible ways never growing old to him. Magic just came to him far easier than physical combat, and he quickly found himself getting into the groove of things, alternating between spells and even practicing the occasional silent, manual cast of his magic.


    He got so distracted in fact, that he was startled when he suddenly spotted his newfound staff flying through the air at him. It seemed Alka had slowly made her way over to his resting tree without him realizing it, and Vin snatched the staff out of the air, confused.


    Right up until he spotted Alka flying toward him right behind it.


    Still partially in his magic groove, Vin yelped and cast by reflex as her sword came at him from the side.


    ¡°Stone Wall!¡±


    A stone barrier erupted from the ground, blocking the strike and saving Vin¡¯s ribs from yet another unpleasant bruise. But before he could even celebrate, Alka pivoted, using the momentum of her sword bouncing off the stone to spin and attack from the other side.


    Instinctively, Vin raised his staff and deflected the sword, breathing heavily as the ghost continued her relentless attack. Just like before, it wasn¡¯t long before Vin made a mistake with his staff and Alka went to capitalize on it. But this time, rather than slipping under his guard and smacking him, the sword clanged off a small pillar of solid stone that hadn¡¯t been there moments before.


    The two of them continued their dance around the clearing, Alka continuing to try and find an opening and Vin desperately shoring up his weak combat skills with his far more impressive magic. As they fought, and Vin realized it had been over a minute without Alka actually landing an attack on him, his desperation slowly began to fade as he realized what he was doing.


    The longer the two of them fought, the less frantic his blocking became, and the more confident he began to feel in his movements. After another minute of keeping the ghost at bay, he made his move.


    Letting Alka think he was going to block with Stone Wall, Vin twisted the bottom of his staff at the very last second, barely deflecting her strike and practically feeling the wind from the blow brush past his side. At the same time, he focused his magic, aiming his spell with what remained of his left arm as he manually cast.


    The two of them froze as a chunk of solid rock manifested in front of him and blasted through Alka¡¯s ghostly form, shattering a branch off in the distance from all the mana he¡¯d supercharged into it. Watching the splintered branch fall to the ground, Alka turned to him, finally giving him a proud grin.


    ¡°That¡¯s how you should be fighting.¡±

 (83) 2.36. A Passive Problem

    The combination of having just witnessed all four of her friends come close to dying gruesome deaths on her behalf, plus the fact that they now had a concrete method of tracking down the divine warrior, seemed to calm Alka down a bit regarding her haste to find their target. Sure, none of them were big fans of letting the deranged warrior slaughter innocent people, but if they faced him before they were ready and lost their lives, who knew how many more thousands of people would die before someone finally stopped him?


    Thus, rather than rushing off right into their next near-death experience, Alka had them camp in the woods for a few days. The party continued their tiresome training, but the complaining slowly began to dwindle as the fruits of their labor eventually became visible.


    By the end of their third day, Scule was a crack shot with his blowgun, never missing a target and rarely poisoning anything he wasn¡¯t supposed to. Reginald had become nearly as slippery as an eel, able to evade Shia¡¯s active attempts at magically snaring him for minutes on end. Shia had practiced using her assortment of nature spells, learning how to take control of a battlefield in an instant, and even hinting that she had something else big she was working on. And Vin¡­


    Vin fought with magic.


    Thanks to Alka¡¯s guidance, he practiced weaving his spells into his combat style. Because of the fact that he¡¯d painstakingly learned every single one of his spells on his own instead of gaining them from the System, a feat that Shia had mentioned was rarely done, he was actually able to cast every spell he knew manually. Not needing to loudly announce when he was about to cast a spell made his new method of fighting all the more viable.


    He still wasn¡¯t a big fan of fighting in general however, and he wasn''t able to utilize his new staff to the fullest with only one hand, so he spent his time with Alka focusing mainly on defense. That wasn¡¯t to say he wasn¡¯t trying his hardest to improve, however. He eventually got to the point that even Alka attacking at almost full speed could rarely land a hit on him through his constant sprouting of stone pillars, though he was pretty certain she was still holding back a little. Thanks to Vin¡¯s incredible endurance he never ran out of stamina, and they often dueled until his mana ran dry.


    At this point, other than the missing hand, the number one thing limiting Vin¡¯s combat effectiveness had become quite clear to him.


    He still just didn¡¯t have all that many spells at his disposal.


    Stone Shot, Stone Wall, Entangle, and a carefully timed Light if his battle with the giant snake was anything to go by, were pretty much the only things he had to rely on in combat. It was while thinking about how to best add to his arsenal that he came up with a devious idea.


    A few hours later and with the help of their resident Druid, Vin had two new spells in his back pocket he¡¯d been meaning to learn for a while now, ever since seeing Shia show one of them off back in camp.


    New spell learned! Tier 0 Air spell (Sense Air). 2,500 exp gained.


    New magical affinity discovered! Air affinity. 7,000 exp gained.


    New spell learned! Tier 1 Air spell (Whispering Wind). 5,000 exp gained.


    Level up! Magical Explorer lvl 25!


    +3 attribute points


    +1 passive point


    Vin already had a few solid ideas for how to utilize the spell, so he tucked it away and focused instead on his latest level up. It pretty much went without saying that he dumped his three new points into magic, bringing it up to 38, but his new passive point was another matter entirely.


    By the end of their three days of training, he still hadn¡¯t decided what to spend it on.


    Though he had narrowed it down to four options.


    Resistant Runes


    Mana Well


    Resilience


    Far Strider.


    Vin leaned back against his tree, tuning out the sounds of Shia and Alka going at it as he ran through his options for what felt like the tenth time. The main problem, as per usual, was the complete lack of information from the System. With nothing but the names of each passive to go off of, and the knowledge that he wouldn¡¯t get to pick another passive for himself until level 35, he was struggling to make his decision.


    First on the list was Resistant Runes. If it did what he was hoping it did, this option was his number one choice. His hope was that it would minimize runic backlashes, lessening the innate danger and allowing him to start working on higher tier spells without so much worry.


    The problem was that he had no idea if that¡¯s what it actually did. For all he knew, the passive might make any runes he physically carved last longer for example, which was completely worthless to him at the moment. Despite knowing that a passive which would reduce runic backlashes existed, Shia didn¡¯t actually know what it was called, as she¡¯d never picked it up before the Great Reset. According to her master, it was a waste of a passive, because if you took your time and were exceptionally careful, you wouldn¡¯t need it in the first place.


    Naturally, Vin wasn¡¯t really big on the slow and steady approach.


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    His next pick was Mana Well. According to Shia, this was a pretty standard pick for just about any mage, as it did exactly what it sounded like. Increasing a person¡¯s mana by roughly fifty percent, the passive only became more and more valuable as you continued to level.


    Even with his dislike of passives that weren¡¯t all that flashy, Vin easily saw the benefit to having more mana at his disposal.


    His third pick was largely due to the most recent of their near death experiences. Nearly dying to radiation poisoning had opened Vin¡¯s eyes to just how dangerous some of these world fragments could truly be. If it hadn¡¯t been for his Resistance skill, he most likely wouldn¡¯t have managed to make it all the way to Madam Trebella and her village. And seeing as Reginald wasn¡¯t capable of carrying anyone larger than Scule, that would have been it for them.


    He was assuming the Resilience passive was similar to his own skill; ideally an even more powerful version of it. The passive hadn¡¯t been on his list before their recent experience, so it was safe to assume he¡¯d only unlocked it by surviving that whole nasty ordeal in the first place. While it wouldn¡¯t help his magic, it would no doubt help keep him alive, which was arguably just as important.


    The last one¡­ Well, Vin had absolutely no idea what to make of Far Strider. Another example of a passive that hadn¡¯t been on the list the last time he checked, he could only assume he¡¯d unlocked it rather recently. Now, if that was due to the sheer amount of distance he¡¯d covered since arriving on Edregon, or the fact that he now had both the Running skill and Distance Runner passive, he had no idea.


    To be honest, if he were travelling alone, he probably would have gone with this option immediately and saved himself the headache of trying to decide. As much as he had fallen in love with magic, his newest flame was still just barely second to his passion for exploration. The thought of being able to run around Edregon even faster, returning to places he¡¯d already been and exploring more fragments at breakneck speeds was more than a little enticing.


    But he may very well have to give up some friends to do so.


    Vin snapped himself out of his inner turmoil, glancing at his party. Shia was in the middle of working on her command of Blossom, giving the cat specific instructions while Alka did her best to dodge and evade, occasionally retaliating with a blunt strike from her sword. On the other side of the clearing, Scule was playing an increasingly heated game of tag with Reginald, trying and failing to tag the rat while Reginald continued squeaking taunts at him.


    As they were now, Blossom was actually still able to maintain a faster long distance pace than he could with Distance Runner active, but not by much. If Vin picked up a passive that gave him a significant boost to his speed, would he be able to hold himself back from sprinting on ahead to the next fragment? Or the one after? And if he ended up parting ways with Shia, there was no guarantee that Scule and Reginald would decide to stick with him rather than her.


    Vin still didn''t really understand why Scule had decided to come along with them in the first place. Sure, he made jokes and talked about wanting to rob the world, but the petian always seemed to steer the conversation away from himself when Vin tried to ask about his time within the citadel. All he knew was that for whatever reason, Scule was along for the ride, and the last thing Vin wanted to do was to force Scule and Reginald to have to choose between Shia or him and Alka.


    Vin tried to imagine going it alone at this point in his journey, and he didn¡¯t like what came to mind. He knew one day they¡¯d each go their separate ways of course. He was enough of a realist that he didn¡¯t imagine they¡¯d all travel together forever or anything like that. But until they did split up, he was more than happy going it a little bit slower, so long as that meant he had his companions by his side.


    As he finally tossed Far Strider and Resilience from his list, a large smack of wooden sword on flesh indicated that Shia had lost their bout. Vin glanced up at the cursing elf as she walked over, nursing a fresh welt on her head.


    ¡°I still don¡¯t understand why Alka doesn¡¯t want us to heal our injuries,¡± Shia grumbled. Taking a seat next to him against the tree, she gave Reginald a wave for good luck as he and Scule swapped in to train with Alka.


    ¡°I¡¯m betting it¡¯s got something to do with building character,¡± Vin drawled, still nursing his own fair share of welts and bruises. ¡°That or some attempt to make practice feel more real or something.¡±


    ¡°Hmm..¡± Shia said noncommittally, her focus clearly on Scule as the petian was made to dodge jabs from Alka¡¯s sword of all things. ¡°You pick your new passive yet?¡±


    ¡°Nearly there. Deciding between Resistant Runes and Mana Well at this point.¡±


    ¡°Honestly, if you want my opinion, I think you should take the risk and just go with Resistant Runes,¡± Shia admitted, gasping slightly as Scule barely managed to leap over a sword jab. Unlike when she¡¯d been fighting them, the tip of Alka¡¯s sword didn¡¯t exactly have a blunt part.


    ¡°Why do you say that? Last time I asked you said to pick whatever!¡±


    ¡°I gave it some more thought,¡± Shia shrugged. ¡°Mana Well is extremely useful of course, but mainly in that it helps your mana keep up with the growing cost of higher tier spells. You¡¯re still planning on keeping your mana free of any affinities, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Vin nodded. There was far too much magic in the world for him to lock himself down any one path like the Druid had.


    ¡°Then that¡¯s not something you¡¯ll really have to worry about,¡± Shia said, finally turning to look at him. ¡°You do realize you¡¯ll probably never master any high tier magic with the way you¡¯re progressing, don¡¯t you? If you can only learn a few spells of any one affinity, I¡¯d be surprised if you ever surpass tier three magic, let alone tier four.¡±


    Vin stared at the elf, realizing the truth behind her words. He hadn¡¯t really given it too much thought just yet, but as soon as she pointed it out, he understood.


    Most spells built on top of simpler spells, meaning in order to learn higher tier magic, you had to learn the lower tier building blocks first. For example, in order to learn Stone Shot, he¡¯d first had to learn Summon Stone. And in order to prepare himself for other earth spells, he¡¯d had to learn Sense Stone as well. That right there were three of his current four available slots for earth affinity spells already taken up unless he wanted to risk tainting his personal mana with an earth affinity, all just to learn a single tier two spell.


    Vin leaned back against the tree, gazing up at the sunlight filtering down through the branches. He watched one of the big bees buzz around the treetops, no doubt looking for some unsuspecting victim to jab with its stinger. After a few minutes of soul searching, he made up his mind.


    ¡°I think I¡¯m fine with that,¡± he admitted, more to himself than Shia if he were being honest. ¡°I don¡¯t need to learn some eighth tier grand fireball of destruction or whatever. Honestly, I just love learning magic as a whole. If that means I¡¯ll just be running around learning every first and second tier spell known to man, then so be it.¡±


    ¡°Probably for the best anyway,¡± Shia grinned, nudging him with her shoulder. ¡°I told you it took me weeks of dedicated study to learn my first tier four spell. That time only gets longer as the tiers increase, and try as I might, I just can¡¯t picture you calmly sitting down to study a new spell for weeks on end.¡±


    ¡°Oh God, you should have started with that!¡± Vin said, shivering as Shia laughed at him.


    Feeling more confident in his choice, Vin pulled up his interface and officially purchased Resistant Runes as his newest passive. Seeing as he wouldn¡¯t be able to test it out until he had a new spell to learn, he dismissed his interface, looking up just in time to see a shaking Scule walking toward them, a deep gash in his side soaking his clothes in blood.


    ¡°In case either of you were wondering...¡± He said, his voice wavering.


    ¡°The pointy end of the sword hurts.¡±

 (84) 2.37. Fellow Explorers!

    Once each of them were at least able to hold their own against Alka for a few minutes, Alka awarded them with her highest honor of, ¡®good enough,¡¯ and declared them ready to take on the divine swordsman.


    While the training had been particularly hellish, and the insects unnecessarily large, Vin had actually enjoyed camping in the woods for the past few days. After spending so much time in the infernals¡¯ village, he¡¯d already begun feeling a little bit cramped. Getting the chance to sleep out under the treetops was a welcome change of pace.


    After they¡¯d packed up their bedrolls and Scule made sure he¡¯d snatched up all of his new stinger-ammunition he¡¯d been practicing with, Vin pulled out their charm Madam Trebella had given them to track down the divine warrior. He¡¯d checked it a few times over the past few days just to ensure the warrior wasn¡¯t running off somewhere, and sure enough, the red-tipped rock was still pointing in the same direction as it had been when they first left the infernals¡¯ village.


    ¡°Hard to tell for sure, but it looks like he¡¯s currently in the fragment bordering this one and the swamp,¡± Vin surmised, carefully peering at the charm. ¡°Or you know, an even further one. For all we know he could be ten fragments away or something.¡±


    ¡°Definitely not the most helpful way of tracking someone,¡± Shia agreed, peering over his shoulder at the charm.


    ¡°Not much we can do about it now,¡± Scule shrugged, scampering onto Vin¡¯s shoulder and pointing toward the next fragment. ¡°Mush!¡± He shouted, kicking his heel into Vin¡¯s flesh.


    Rolling his eyes, Vin briefly debated picking up the petian and throwing him in the direction they were heading before deciding against it. One of these days he was going to figure out how to build a hamster ball and shove Scule inside it as payback. The thought of the rogue cursing him out while rolling around uncontrollably put a large grin on his face as they began walking.


    Maybe Myers knew how to make one?


    Vin was so busy daydreaming about what other things he could do as a practical joke to his small companion, such as building a tiny maze for the petian and placing a single gold coin at the end, that he didn¡¯t even see Shia¡¯s staff until he walked straight into it.


    Startled out of his thoughts, Vin glanced at Shia, surprised to find the elf¡¯s face unusually serious as she stared at something up ahead. Following her gaze, Vin¡¯s eyes widened as he took in the bodies.


    Barely a few dozen feet ahead of them were three bodies lying close to one another, all very much dead by the looks of things. Vin couldn¡¯t tell exactly what had befallen them from here, but based on the sheer amount of blood and monster corpses everywhere, it wasn¡¯t hard to make a guess.


    Making sure the coast was clear, Vin raced over to the bodies, looking at them more carefully in the small chance that maybe one of them still lived.


    The first two were both men that looked similar enough to one another that either they were closely related, or all the members of their race just happened to share extremely similar features. They weren¡¯t a sentient race he had met so far, which meant either option was entirely plausible. Both had a short, stocky body that looked thick and powerful, but neither were much taller than around four feet in height. More curious was the fact that they each had somewhat hardened skin. Vin had met plenty of folks during his travels back on Earth that spent too much time in the sun and had skin like leather, but these two had skin like concrete.


    The men he''d begun thinking of as brothers each had large, bulging packs strapped to their backs, and terrifying weapons in hand that looked like a cross between a pickaxe and a hammer. And based on the sheer number of spiders and other no longer recognizable monsters surrounding them that now had their bodies crushed in, it seemed safe to assume the two had known how to use them.


    The final member of the party was much stranger looking. They had a long, thin body that looked more fragile than anything, and four spindly arms. The creature didn¡¯t have any hair that Vin could make out, though they did have two small antennae jutting out of their forehead, each with hundreds of tiny little feelers that reminded Vin of some sort of insect.


    Unlike the two stocky brothers this third member didn¡¯t have anything on them besides some very basic brown clothing that appeared to be splattered randomly with some sort of paint, and their form was androgynous enough that Vin couldn¡¯t tell if they were male or female.


    Despite Vin¡¯s hopes, all three of the strangers clearly weren''t breathing, and no amount of Renewal was going to change that. Most surprising however was the fact that it appeared as though they¡¯d died rather recently; within the past few days at most if Vin had to guess based on the state of their bodies. The naturally hardened bodies of the brothers seemed to have made for a tough meal for the local insects, and oddly enough the body of the long, thin one looked as though it had been completely untouched after the monsters had finished them off.


    While Vin was trying to figure out why the insects hadn¡¯t even tried eating the thin one, Scule¡¯s voice interrupted him.


    ¡°Hey, check this thing out!¡±


    Vin looked over to see Scule rifling through the brothers¡¯ packs, having already tossed a few sets of clothes and wrapped food all over the forest floor. Instead, he held up some sort of metal instrument just as large as he was, giving it a curious look.


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Is this some sort of artifact?¡±


    ¡°No, not an artifact,¡± Vin said, recognizing it almost immediately. While it looked more squarish and a bit different than the pictures he¡¯d been shown back in school, it had to be the same thing. ¡°It looks like a sextant. I remember learning about them way back in like middle school. Can¡¯t say I paid all that much attention in school, but whenever my teachers talked about all the different ways explorers used to navigate the world, you better believe I was invested.¡±


    ¡°So they were Explorers too?¡± Shia asked, picking up one of the discarded bundles of food and sniffing it. ¡°That would explain what they were doing in the infernals¡¯ fragment at least.¡±


    ¡°Not very good ones seeing as all they discovered was a big swarm of monster spiders,¡± Scule chuckled, peering through the sextant. ¡°How does this even work anyway? Whenever anyone needed to tell where they were in my world they just asked the nearest divine classer or took one with them in the first place. Much faster than whatever this is.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know the specifics, but you use it to measure the stars somehow,¡± Vin explained, glancing up at the sky. ¡°...though I don¡¯t think it would have been all that useful here on Edregon. I¡¯m not much of an astronomer, but seeing as each fragment looks like it has a different sun, I have a feeling each one has a different night sky as well. Navigating via the stars probably isn¡¯t possible anymore.¡±


    ¡°Then I suppose it¡¯s a good thing you picked up Cartography after all," Scule said, tossing the sextant aside and digging deeper into the packs. ¡°If maps are pretty much the only way to get around these days, you can probably start selling them for some serious coin.¡±


    ¡°I guess¡­ Not like currency is really worth anything anymore,¡± Vin muttered, peering more closely at the strange, untouched body. The third member of the group had been covered in monster blood and bits just as much as the other two so he hadn¡¯t noticed it at first, but upon closer inspection, it didn¡¯t look like they had any wounds at all. As far as he could tell, the weird, thin person looked to be in perfect health.


    Other than the fact that they weren¡¯t breathing.


    ¡°Hey Alka¡­ What do you make of this?¡± He asked, gesturing toward the three possible Explorers. ¡°Obviously spider monsters did them in based on the monster corpses everywhere, but why weren¡¯t they eaten? And why doesn¡¯t this one have any injuries?¡±


    Alka had been echoing him since they¡¯d finished training, but in response to his question she drifted out of him, manifesting in a crouched position over the dead bodies as she examined them.


    ¡°Hard to say¡­¡± she admitted, squinting more closely at the thin corpse. ¡°If I had to guess, I think this swarm of spiders may be the very same one that attacked us a few days back. Maybe the spider swarms in this fragment are roamers and when you guys walked past that giant web you alerted them to your presence.¡±


    ¡°Hold up, what do you mean ¡®roamers¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± She said, busy investigating the strange body. ¡°Oh, roamers. One of the three monster classifications.¡±


    ¡°Alka, are you serious?¡± Vin asked, staring at the ghost that had been sharing his body for the past few weeks. ¡°What the hell are the three monster classifications and why haven¡¯t you told me about them until now?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t seem important,¡± she shrugged. ¡°Doesn''t really change anything. Monsters are monsters regardless of their classification.¡±


    ¡°This is news to me as well,¡± Shia frowned, tucking the still good food away in her bag. ¡°We didn¡¯t have any sort of distinction in the Sacred Forest beside ¡®regular¡¯ monsters and ¡®epic¡¯ monsters.¡±


    ¡°Not all that surprising seeing as you¡¯d never left your forest before,¡± Alka said, finally standing up and facing them. ¡°The Slayer Guild had a few classifications it used to help better inform its members of what they were being sent to hunt down. Epic monsters are a whole ¡®nother thing entirely, but regular monsters are still broken down into three types. Stable, hidden, and roamer.¡±


    ¡°Stable monsters are pretty much what you imagine when you think of a monster. They manifest into the world, attack people on sight regardless of what they were doing beforehand, and don¡¯t generally venture out much farther than where they first manifested. Often their hunting ground is only about a few miles around where they first appear.¡±


    ¡°Hidden monsters are similar, but a bit trickier and far more dangerous. They still don¡¯t really venture out all that far from where they first manifest, but rather than attack people on sight, hidden monsters wait for you to fall into some sort of trap they¡¯ve laid before they attack. These guys are a lot scarier seeing as you could be mere inches from one without even knowing.¡±


    ¡°And lastly, you have roaming monsters.¡± Alka said, gesturing to all the dead spiders surrounding them. ¡°They¡¯re pretty much the same as stable monsters in that they attack on sight. If it wasn¡¯t obvious from the name, the only difference is that these monsters don¡¯t stick around wherever they first manifest. They¡¯ll pick a direction and roam, sometimes in a straight line for hundreds of miles, sometimes in a particularly large area. If the latter, they often have some sort of method of determining when new prey has wandered into their zone, such as the spiders and their web.¡±


    ¡°So you think the spiders killed off these guys, and then before they could get the chance to eat them, they detected us wandering into their turf and rushed off to kill us?¡± Vin summed up.


    ¡°That¡¯d be my guess,¡± Alka nodded. ¡°Monsters seem driven to kill over all else for whatever reason. It¡¯s why they won''t stop to feast on any of their victims until an entire party has been slaughtered.¡±


    ¡°So where do epic monsters fall into your classification, like the Trunkback?¡± Shia asked, fully invested at this point.


    ¡°Epic monsters are their own classification entirely,¡± Alka shook her head. ¡°It goes without saying they¡¯re big and strong, but that¡¯s not what makes them so scary. Unlike regular monsters, epic monsters aren¡¯t driven by a mindless need to kill. They actually have some semblance of thought and reasoning, which makes them terrifying predators.¡±


    ¡°I know what you mean,¡± Vin said, shuddering as he thought back to his battle with the giant snake. He swore he¡¯d seen intelligence in those slitted eyes, as if the snake was enjoying the chaos it was causing, so he was glad to hear he was right.


    ¡°This is all very well and interesting¡­¡± Scule said, poking his head out from one of the packs. ¡°...but I may have something even more interesting for us to look at.¡±


    Based on the wide assortment of clothes, tools, and what looked like random handfuls of iron chips scattered everywhere, the petian had finally managed to go through the entirety of the packs. Walking out of the pack like it was a small cave, he dragged his find out behind him.


    Revealing a rather worn looking journal.

 (85) 2.38. Tales from the Crater

    Soldun, 3-248


    Today started like any other. While I was busy smithing a brand new skygazer in celebration of Vaghel hitting his first prestige, Vaghel himself interrupted me, pleading with me to help him decide which prestige class he should pick. Despite my repeated insistence that I know nothing about the Explorer vein of classes and that he should go talk with the Pillars, he refused, stating that the Pillars were so old and slow it took them nearly an entire hour to utter a single sentence.


    He¡¯s not wrong of course. But providing us with their wisdom is the entire reason we have the Pillars in the first place.


    The two of us were in the middle of arguing as always, when it happened.


    When everything changed.


    It¡¯s been hours and I still can¡¯t wrap my head around what happened. One minute I was standing in my forge like always, my favorite hammer in hand, arguing with my brother¡­ And the next¡­


    I nearly lost my damn foot when my hammer smashed into the ground.


    My grip was suddenly that of a newborns, fresh from their mother¡¯s womb. All my strength I was so proud of, all my endurance I¡¯d worked so hard to muster, gone in an instant.


    At first I thought something was only wrong with me. That some horrible curse had claimed me for whatever reason.


    At least until I heard the screams.


    Nongrok. Hethad. Narrarrim. Gistreck¡­ Just about every master smith we had. Every dwarf that had been smithing within the lava flows of the Crater itself when it happened¡­


    At least we didn¡¯t have to worry about burying them.


    The only one that survived was Deorer, who had been in the middle of testing one of his relics of protection. The relic managed to hold out just long enough for him to escape the lava, but even he didn¡¯t get out unscathed.


    I¡¯ll never admit it to Vaghel, but I¡¯m scared. No. I¡¯m terrified. Unlike my energetic brother, I¡¯ve enjoyed my chats with the Pillars, learning all about our people and our history. Perhaps that is why I became a Smith like our father and his father before him, while Vaghel decided to become an Explorer and leave the crater entirely. Regardless, thanks to all the time I spent conversing with the Pillars, I am well aware that nothing like this has ever happened before.


    While I¡¯d never admit my fears to my little brother and did my best to keep up a brave face, I suspect Vaghel was able to sense my worries somehow. The damn boy has always been so aware of his surroundings. He was the one who handed me this old journal, telling me I should jot down my thoughts. That it would be wise to keep a running record of these strange new times.


    Even if my interface doesn¡¯t say it anymore, I¡¯m a twice prestiged Smith of Lava, and a damn good one. I¡¯m not some Writer. These fingers were meant to wield a hammer, not some fragile writing instrument.


    ¡­


    Though I suppose it couldn¡¯t hurt to try.


    <hr>


    Soldun, 5-248


    It¡¯s been two days since every dwarf in the crater lost their levels.


    The Pillars are dead.


    While the exact steps one needs to follow to become a Pillar are a well kept secret, it is known that the process involves the use of a few specific passives and evolved skills in order to prevent the body from turning fully to stone. With those abilities stripped away¡­


    It seems they died quickly at least.


    Strangely, not all the Pillars are accounted for. I¡¯ve spoken to each and every one of the Pillars scattered about the Crater more times than I can count. Because of that, I noticed immediately that eight of the oldest Pillars, most of the ones that have been around since before the time of my great-grandfather, are simply gone.


    Where did they go? They hadn¡¯t moved in centuries, it¡¯s not as if they chose now to finally get up and stretch their legs.


    Questions for another day. More importantly, Vaghel himself made a startling discovery.


    While everyone else has banded together within the crater, desperately clinging to one another and trying to figure out what is going on, my brother slipped away.


    As he tends to do.


    Though this time, rather than vanish for days or weeks on end, he returned after only a single day, telling tales of magical borders and entirely new worlds. His words drove fresh fear into the panicked hearts of the citizens of Valdora, and I¡¯ll admit I may have lost my temper with him just a bit. Our people are afraid, are terrified, and here he comes, running down the Crater rim like a forgling shouting about giant insects and a sea of green.


    Perhaps it is due to the years I¡¯ve spent in the forges, tempering myself just as much as my metal, but sometimes I forget just how sensitive my brother is. He ran off before I could apologize, and I¡¯ve had my hands full trying to help keep everyone calm with the master Smiths gone.


    I¡¯m sure he will be back soon.


    <hr>


    Soldun, 13-248


    It¡¯s been a quarter cycle since what our people have dubbed The Shattering. Vaghel has yet to return, and with half the Smiths dead and the other half returned to level 1, I¡¯ve been too busy trying to keep the Crater from falling apart to go out and look for him.


    I¡¯d pray the Pillars watch over him, but there aren¡¯t any left.


    <hr>


    Soldun, 23-248


    Half a cycle has passed, still no sign of Vaghel. Damn the needs of the Crater, tomorrow I shall go look for him.


    <hr>


    Soldun, 24-248


    Vaghel returned just before sunrise this morning, absolutely covered in injuries. Rather than walk, it would be more appropriate to say he rolled down the Crater rim, and frankly, based on these wounds, I have no idea how he is even still alive. After collapsing into my arms he lost consciousness, so I suppose my questions will have to wait.


    <hr>


    Soldun, 25-248


    Vaghel is still sleeping, but the Healer tells me he should be okay. I hope that is true.


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    <hr>


    Soldun, 26-248


    Vaghel is still sleeping. If he does not wake by tomorrow, I think I will place his hand in a cup of spring water as he did to me when we were children. Let¡¯s see if that wakes him.


    <hr>


    Soldun, 27-248


    The spring water worked. Of course, the Healer says it was the smelling herbs that roused him from his sleep, but I like to think I helped.


    The strange thing is, Vaghel can¡¯t remember what happened to him. He has bits and pieces, but he says the last thing he truly remembers is fleeing the Crater after I yelled at him half a cycle ago.


    At first I thought he was simply lying to me, not wanting to go on about his adventures after I¡¯d yelled at him the last time. But he seems truly distraught. He says there was something important he was supposed to remember, something he promised to do. Whatever this missing memory is, it was powerful enough to bring him to tears as he struggled to remember, so I can only hope his memory returns with time.


    <hr>


    Soldun, 30-248


    Vaghel is still recovering from his wounds, and still trying to remember what happened to him. Our Healers lost their levels in The Shattering just like everyone else, so recovery has been slow. If there is one good thing to come from this, it''s that taking care of Vaghel is helping our Healers regain their levels faster. In that same vein, I am quickly closing in on my first prestige once more. I probably could have hit it sooner, but I have been helping outside the forge just as much as inside since this all began.


    I wonder what prestige classes I will be offered this time.


    <hr>


    Soldun, 34-248


    Not worthy of prestiging? What is this ashflow? The Gods better hope they never run into me in the shadows of the forge or they¡¯ll find a greeting from my favorite hammer.


    <hr>


    Rumdol, 1-248


    Vaghel is able to get up and move a bit now, but he is far from recovered. Last I spoke with him he said he feels his memories are beginning to return, but he is still missing the one about a promise that fills him with such emotion.


    He spoke of a forest filled with trees as far as the eye could see, and insects as big as his fist. I myself have never seen a forest before, but Vaghel has. He¡¯s explored the nearby lands surrounding the Crater, and even he said this forest is like nothing he has ever seen.


    He says he ventured into another world as well, but cannot remember anything other than dark tunnels and jagged cliffs.


    The Healer assures him his memory will return in due time, but I can tell that isn¡¯t good enough for my brother.


    I pray he doesn¡¯t do anything too reckless.


    <hr>


    Rumdol, 3-248


    It has been a full cycle since The Shattering. I¡¯m still working on a project worthy of prestiging, and Vaghel has been quiet lately.


    That¡¯s never good.


    <hr>


    Rumdol, 5-248


    Smashed Pillars, my brother is an idiot.


    Finally capable of walking again, Vaghel left his bed when the Healer wasn¡¯t looking and attempted to jump out the window. I don¡¯t know what his plan was and I can¡¯t find out seeing as he¡¯s unconscious again, but you better believe when he finally wakes, the first thing he¡¯s going to see is the business end of my hammer.


    <hr>


    Rumdol, 6-248


    So¡­


    My brother


    Vaghel


    Damn I wish the Pillars were still around.


    Vaghel finally woke once more, but before I could give him a piece of my mind, he explained everything to me.


    The people he¡¯d met in that other world filled with cliffs and darkened tunnels.


    The war they¡¯ve been waging since The Shattering occurred.


    The promise he made to their Rebel Queen.


    Honestly, it¡¯s a lot to take in. I¡¯m just a Smith. I hit things with my hammer. And if the Gods are to be believed, not even all that well apparently. Vaghel¡¯s tale sounds like something out of the etchings he used to read as a child all those years ago. If it weren¡¯t my own brother telling me this, I would have assumed the dwarf a liar and not wasted a second listening to them.


    But it¡¯s Vaghel.


    I can see the same fire in his eye that he had when he told our parents his plans to become an Explorer. I remember it like it was yesterday. Mother cried and father didn¡¯t speak to him for six cycles, but Vaghel refused to change his mind. When he decides he¡¯s going to do something, there¡¯s no talking that idiot out of it.


    As soon as he¡¯s healed, he¡¯s going to go back to that strange world.


    He¡¯s going to get himself killed.


    Unless someone goes with him.


    <hr>


    Rumdol, 7-248


    Thankfully, Vaghel has chosen to listen to reason. In exchange for my promise to accompany him, he¡¯s agreed to wait until his injuries are fully healed.


    I think offering him this compromise with enough chain to restrain a lavaskip in my arms may have helped.


    Pillars protect me, I need to prestige before that day comes.


    <hr>


    Rumdol, 10-248


    The Gods can chew ash.


    <hr>


    Rumdol, 14-248


    Finally, I did it. In preparation for our journey, I decided to try my hand at making two fresh warpicks. The weapons are perfect for helping one climb, and just as effective for killing anything you don¡¯t want breathing. Vaghel has always disliked the use of weapons, but I¡¯m not letting him leave the Crater without something he can defend himself with.


    I don¡¯t know if my reasoning had anything to do with why the Gods finally allowed me to prestige, but I don¡¯t have time to question it. The Healer finally gave Vaghel a clean bill of health two days ago, but I managed to convince him to cover for me until I could finish the warpicks.


    Now that they¡¯re complete¡­


    We leave tomorrow.


    <hr>


    Plynk, 2-248¡­ I think.


    I¡¯d completely forgotten about this journal. But seeing as Vaghel and his new friend are about to get us all killed, I might as well make one more entry.


    While the Crater is technically underground, the passage of day and night is as simple as looking up at the sky. Not so much in this strange land.


    We found the ¡®Rebel Queen¡¯ that had been missing from Vaghel¡¯s memories. These people are the strangest sort I¡¯ve ever seen. Some of the Pillars told tales of other races. People of all sorts and sizes, living far from the Crater, down from the mountain ranges entirely. Though I don¡¯t recall any of them mentioning a race of people quite like these.


    Thin as a drawn out rod, these people tower over us. With their four arms, you¡¯d think they¡¯d make excellent Smiths. Except for the fact that none of them look strong enough to lift even a beginner¡¯s hammer.


    But that¡¯s not what concerns me¡­


    I can hear them in my head. These people¡­ their thoughts¡­ I find their methods of speaking unsettling, but Vaghel loves it. Says he wishes we could speak to everyone in the Crater like this. He loves how quickly they can convey information, and how the more... put together members of the community seem to know exactly what everyone else needs.


    Like how they know they need to remain hidden.


    I don¡¯t understand entirely why, but I get pictures. Something about hiding from the ¡®True Queen,¡¯ as these people call her. In fact, that¡¯s exactly what Vaghel¡¯s promise had been about.


    Apparently my little brother promised the Rebel Queen he¡¯d help escort any of their members that wished to leave for a better life. From what we gathered, he tried escorting a small group of them out of the fragment.


    And the True Queen found them.


    I don¡¯t know how my brother managed to escape, but that must have been how he gathered so many injuries and had his memory damaged. If these people can speak directly into my head, I don¡¯t doubt they could do far worse things if they so choose.


    Anyway, for Gods¡¯ knows what reason he feels he owes the Rebel Queen even more now after the small group he was leading was slaughtered. Despite this strange new threat we keep hearing about, some warrior that recently began working with the True Queen that these people refer to as ¡®The One With The Golden Blade,¡¯ he¡¯s determined to try again. Only this time he¡¯s starting with only a single one of these strange people, and rather than take them straight to the Crater, he¡¯s going to lead them through the strange forest of green. That way if the True Queen is still watching the border, we¡¯ll be able to slip past her.


    I told him it¡¯s too dangerous. I asked, then argued for him to reconsider. But there¡¯s no dimming that fire in his eyes. The best I can do is go with him and do everything I can to keep him safe.


    Because as much as he gets on my nerves¡­


    He¡¯s still my little brother.

 (86) 2.39. A Tough Decision

    Vin stared at the final entry into the journal, struggling to comprehend for a moment that there was no more. Slowly closing the rough pages, he looked at the two stocky brothers he now knew were dwarves in a new light, feeling a strange tightness in his chest.


    Only now did he notice how the larger of the two dwarves, the owner of the journal, had finally fallen. If Vin was reading the remains of the battlefield correctly, it looked as though the older of the two brothers had died doing his very best to keep the monsters off of Vaghel, obviously going so far as to give his own life in his desperate attempt to keep his little brother safe.


    Both war picks were covered in blood and monster bits, so both brothers had clearly fought with everything they¡¯d had to survive.


    But it hadn¡¯t been enough.


    ¡°Wow,¡± Shia said, her eyes wide as she too looked at the fallen dwarves in a new light. ¡°I¡¯ve never read another person¡¯s inner thoughts in such a way. It feels a bit too¡­¡±


    ¡°Personal,¡± Vin finished, nodding. He¡¯d honestly contemplated closing the journal and putting it right back where they¡¯d found it after reading the first few pages, but Edregon was far too dangerous for that. This new world didn¡¯t care about his own sensitivities, and if he was able to get some advanced knowledge about what lay in store for them in the next fragment, he was going to take it.


    ¡°You sure there¡¯s nothing else written in the back of that journal or anything? No safe codes, locations of buried treasure, nothing?¡± Scule asked. It seemed as though the petian was busy investigating the strange iron chips both brothers had been carrying, but he¡¯d clearly been listening along as Vin read from the journal.


    ¡°Definitely no buried treasure,¡± Vin said, rolling his eyes as he opened the journal once more and flipped through all the blank pages still remaining to humor Scule. To Vin¡¯s surprise, something new actually did catch his eye.


    On the inside of the back cover was a name. It was rough and hastily written, as though the writer hadn¡¯t even been sure if they really wanted to commit to putting their name in the journal in the first place, but it was still legible. Clearing his throat, Vin read it aloud.


    ¡°Turmal Stoneshaker,¡± he said, closing the journal for good this time. ¡°Guess that was the older brother¡¯s name.


    ¡°Turmal and Vaghel¡­¡± Shia said, still staring at the dwarfs. ¡°¡­after reading all that, I feel like I met the men myself.¡±


    ¡°Same here,¡± Scule said, finally finished going through the entirety of the two men¡¯s belongings. ¡°Anyway, a Crater filled with other dwarves like these guys? Sounds like an interesting place to check out once we finish our business with the divine warrior.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you want to go there after not finding a single gold coin on either of these two,¡± Vin admitted. If there was one thing he understood about Scule by now, it was that the petian wasn¡¯t often motivated by compassion.


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m allowed to be curious!¡± Scule frowned, gesturing to the two brothers. ¡°Think of the unique culture we¡¯d be missing out on if we didn¡¯t go! The mysterious Pillars, the forges deep within lava-¡±


    ¡°All the gold you think might just be lying around if they use those strange iron chips instead as currency,¡± Alka snorted, still busy investigating the strange tall being.


    ¡°I mean, that certainly is one of the many reasons we should go,¡± Scule argued weakly, glancing up at Vin in hope.


    ¡°Trust me, I want to go check out the dwarves¡¯ Crater just as much as you,¡± Vin admitted, noting the gleam in the petian¡¯s eyes. ¡°¡­although I doubt for the same reasons. And as interested as I am in their society, honestly, I feel like after reading Turmal¡¯s inner thoughts like that we owe it to his people to at least return his journal to them. It sounds like the older dwarf really became an important pillar of their society after the Great Reset.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but not a Pillar,¡± Shia said, crouching down and running a finger along the remarkably rough skin of the older dwarf. ¡°¡­what a fascinating method of passing information down from one generation to the next. My people never had any need for anything like that thanks to the Ancient Ones.¡±


    ¡°We used this highly advanced method called books,¡± Scule snorted. ¡°Strangely enough despite how many divine classes we had within the citadel, very few people were ever granted any sort of protection from aging. Seemed like the Gods weren¡¯t the biggest fans of people living forever.¡±


    ¡°That is interesting¡­¡± Vin muttered, his mind whirling as to why that might be the case. After a few seconds he shook his head, trying to stop himself from getting distracted. ¡°But we have our own mission to worry about right now. And based on that one line about ¡®The One With The Golden Blade,¡¯ I have a feeling we¡¯re about to walk straight into these weird tall guys¡¯ fragment. What about all that stuff Turmal mentioned about the ¡®True Queen¡¯ and the ¡®Rebel Queen?¡¯ It sounded like Vaghel had gotten in way over his head in his attempts at helping these people.¡±


    ¡°I mean, I don¡¯t know what he meant about being able to hear them in his head, but the stuff about the queens makes enough sense,¡± Shia shrugged. ¡°Sounds like whoever was in charge of these people must have ruled through an iron fist and not really been all that well liked. I¡¯m betting when the Great Reset happened and they lost their power, it sparked some sort of revolution, and Vaghel just happened to run into the so-called rebels during his exploration.¡±


    ¡°But seeing as they all need to remain hidden and what happened to Vaghel in the first place, it sounds like this True Queen regained her strength rather quickly,¡± Vin pointed out. ¡°I don¡¯t know, this fragment seems like a bit much. Trying to rush through a fragment literally in the middle of a civil war is one thing, but a civil war where both sides may be capable of temporarily, or even permanently, damaging our memories might be too dangerous. I know it¡¯s horrible to even say, but should we just wait for the divine warrior to move to the next fragment?¡±


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    Vin felt awful even suggesting such a thing, and the thought of waiting as the divine warrior slaughtered who knew how many more innocent people just to keep his own friends safe made him feel physically ill. But even so, after their most recent dance with death, he wasn¡¯t willing to go through that a second time just yet.


    ¡°You at least have your Resistance skill,¡± Shia pointed out, tapping her head with her staff. ¡°And I¡¯m willing to bet our high focus attributes will offer us some defense as well. If Vaghel was a regular old Explorer, it¡¯s safe to assume he probably didn¡¯t bother putting many points into focus. However¡­¡±


    ¡°Sounds like Reginald and I may have to sit this one out, huh?¡± Scule summed up, laying a protective hand on his companion. Reginald gave them a sad but understanding squeak, wrapping his tail around Scule in turn.


    ¡°Unless you want to risk losing your memories,¡± Shia nodded, frowning at the idea. The elf clearly wasn¡¯t a fan of the idea of splitting their party, but her concern over their friends¡¯ wellbeing outweighed her personal desires.


    ¡°Definitely got a few I wouldn¡¯t mind losing, but yeah, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m willing to risk going in there,¡± Scule said, giving Reginald a few reassuring pats. ¡°I suppose we could go stay with the infernals for a few more days. Malzar certainly seemed upset to see me go. And Reginald could get a few more days alone with his lady friends¡­¡±


    At the mention of his lady friends, the rat actually blushed; his ears turning a distinct shade of pink as he squeaked and hid his face behind his paws.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like the idea of confronting the divine warrior without you two, but I like the idea of you guys forgetting everything that¡¯s happened to you these past few months even less,¡± Vin admitted.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got Alka and Shia, you guys will be fine,¡± Scule reassured him. ¡°Gods knows I wouldn¡¯t want to find myself on the other end of Alka¡¯s sword.¡±


    Chuckling, Vin glanced over at the one they¡¯d originally been doing all this for. For whatever reason, Alka still seemed strangely invested in the odd corpse of the weird looking being. All this time, she¡¯d been slowly floating around the body, her ethereal face practically pushed through the lengthy corpse as she conducted some sort of investigation.


    While the being was definitely one of the stranger ones they¡¯d encountered so far on their travels, he wasn¡¯t sure just what about it had drawn her attention to this degree. Alka had certainly been acting a bit strange recently, what with her unexpected declaration back in the infernals¡¯ village followed by her sudden insistence on training them, but literally shoving her head into a dead body seemed a bit much.


    Vin watched the ghost drift around, wondering if now was finally the time to pry into what was going on with her. He wanted to respect her autonomy of course, but if they were about to risk their lives, or their memories, on their continued hunt for the divine warrior¡­


    It was about time they had a chat.


    ¡°Alka¡­¡± He began, the ghost¡¯s attention snapping to him in an instant. No doubt Alka recognized that uncertain tone of his and realized immediately where he was going. ¡°¡­we should talk about what you said back in the village.¡±


    The moment the words left his mouth, everyone froze. As if Alka were a wild animal and they were trying to avoid scaring her off, the rest of the party turned ever so slowly toward the ghost, giving her their full attention.


    Alka didn¡¯t give anyone else a second thought, her eyes firmly locked onto Vin¡¯s own as though daring him to continue this line of questioning.


    ¡°Why do we have to talk about it?¡± She argued, crossing her arms defensively. ¡°It¡¯s my decision isn¡¯t it? I don¡¯t see why what you guys want has any say in the matter.¡±


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s your decision, Alka¡­ We just want to make sure you¡¯re making it for the right reasons,¡± Vin said, already wincing as he struggled to get his feelings across. He could crack a joke alright, but as someone who used to wander alone, he still struggled with this kind of honest and open discussion between friends. ¡°If you changed your mind because you¡¯re worried about the rest of us-¡±


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m worried about the rest of you!¡± Alka cried, throwing her hands up in exasperation. ¡°I nearly watched the four of you die because I pushed you all to enter the fragment we already knew was dangerous. Me! If you hadn¡¯t been rushing after the divine warrior, you could have taken your time and found a different way around the fragment!¡±


    ¡°Alka, none of us had any way of knowing what we were getting into there,¡± Shia said, smiling softly at the ghost. ¡°What happened wasn¡¯t your fault, and seeing as everyone¡¯s fine, you could even argue it was a good thing. We even managed to finally find some magical beast remains to send to Erik, so honestly we came out on top in my opinion.¡±


    ¡°If we hadn¡¯t needed to find the infernals¡¯ village in order to save our hides, Shia¡¯s divine boon wouldn¡¯t have brought us there either,¡± Scule pointed out, grinning as he ruffled Reginald¡¯s fur. ¡°We met a lot of nice people there, and it was the entire reason ol¡¯ pointy ears here actually has a lead on how to find her master again.¡±


    Reginald let out an indignant squeak, slapping Scule¡¯s hand away with his tail.


    ¡°¡­and rats,¡± Scule hissed, rubbing his stinging hand and glaring at his companion. ¡°We met a lot of nice people, and rats.¡±


    Alka floated there a few inches off the ground, her green, ethereal body flickering as she looked at the four of them. For once, the usually snarky ghost seemed at a loss for words as she struggled to convey what she was feeling to them. Finally, after a few seconds of inner turmoil, she sighed, sagging a little in the air.


    ¡°¡­that¡¯s not the only reason¡­¡± she finally muttered, her voice so quiet Vin barely managed to catch what she¡¯d said.


    ¡°What?¡± He asked, flinching as she glared at him again.


    ¡°Obviously I don¡¯t want to put you guys in any more unnecessary danger. But that¡¯s not the only reason¡­¡± She paused, taking an unneeded deep breath as she finally repeated her surprise declaration from back in the infernals¡¯ village. ¡°¡­not the only reason I¡¯ve decided I don¡¯t want to truly die¡­ not just yet.¡±


    ¡°There¡­ There might be a way I can become myself again.¡±

 (87) 2.40. Alka’s Second Chance

    Other than the sound of large insects chirping and bees buzzing around overhead, the forest was silent as four sets of eyes stared at the uncertain ghost. Vin could only blink, wondering if he¡¯d heard what he thought he did. It was actually Shia who snapped out of her stupor first, coughing delicately into her fist.


    ¡°Alka¡­ I¡¯m not sure what you¡¯ve heard, and I¡¯m so sorry to tell you this¡­ But true resurrection magic? Such a thing doesn¡¯t actually exist. I¡¯ve spoken about it with my master before. There are powerful spells and rituals that can revive a body that¡¯s only been dead a short time, but nothing that would work in your case.¡±


    Vin¡¯s heart sank, and he held his breath as he waited for the ghost to explode as whatever lies she¡¯d been fed were finally exposed. But to his surprise, Alka merely shook her head.


    ¡°I¡¯m well aware that kind of spell isn¡¯t real,¡± she said, earning a relieved sigh from Shia. ¡°After all, if true resurrection magic did exist, none of the nobles on my world would have ever died. No, it wouldn¡¯t be anything as miraculous as getting my old body back. It would be¡­ Well, it would be a new body.¡±


    ¡°Care to explain for those of us peons who have no idea how magic works?¡± Scule asked, earning a light slap from Reginald¡¯s tail. But even as he did so, the rat nodded along with Scule¡¯s request, offering an encouraging squeak.


    ¡°It all started back in the infernals¡¯ village actually,¡± Alka admitted, seeing that she had everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Funny enough, it wasn¡¯t like I was searching for some method of getting a new body for myself. As you can probably imagine, my sole concern at the time was ensuring you all recovered. But then we ran into Madam Trebella. And she threatened me when I tried to protect Vin.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s a real piece of work,¡± Vin nodded, remembering how uncaring and rough the Witch truly was.


    ¡°You¡¯re not wrong, but that¡¯s not what I meant,¡± Alka said, biting her lip. Seeing this strange, uncertain side of the ghostly Slayer felt almost wrong to Vin, but he couldn¡¯t bring himself to look away as Alka continued. ¡°At first, I was terrified. She threatened to bind my spirit to a doll and lock it in a closet for a few decades. For the first time since I died, I¡­ I was afraid. The only thing worse than being stuck like this, would be being alone in a dark room for who knows how long. Hell, I almost went crazy being trapped in my home town for a few months before those stone villagers and Vin showed up.¡±


    ¡°But later on, while Vin was forced to go into that dungeon alone and I could do nothing but wait outside and think, I realized something. Assuming Madam Trebella wasn¡¯t just full of hot air¡­ If she actually could adjust my connection and bind me to a doll like she threatened¡­¡±


    ¡°Could she bind me to something else instead?¡±


    Vin blinked at Alka¡¯s question, realizing he hadn¡¯t actually thought that himself. He¡¯d just assumed the Witch was making empty threats. But if she truly could do what she said...


    ¡°How do you know she wasn¡¯t just threatening you because she¡¯s a jerk?¡± Scule asked, voicing Vin¡¯s question for him.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­ Not at first,¡± Alka admitted. ¡°After that, I decided to continue needling the infernal to see if I could get her to accidently offer up any more information. It wasn¡¯t exactly hard, seeing as I honestly don¡¯t like her. After annoying her enough, she finally made a similar threat, telling me she¡¯d bind me to a stone and chuck me in a latrine. By that point, despite the fact she wouldn¡¯t let me in the room while they were occurring, I¡¯d also witnessed the after effects of her casting two powerful rituals. If she could command magic as miraculous as that¡­ I figured maybe she actually could alter my connection like she was threatening.¡±


    Vin watched the ghost bare her truth to them, his heart aching for her. He¡¯d been so focused on saving his friends¡¯ lives, he hadn¡¯t noticed the turmoil boiling just below the surface in the first friend he¡¯d ever made in this world. Hell, he hadn¡¯t even realized the truth behind her constant needling of the infernal. At the time, he¡¯d just been worried that she¡¯d push the Witch too far and the infernal would actually carry out one of her many threats.


    ¡°Alka, I know this sounds amazing. And of course, we¡¯d support you getting a new body for yourself¡­¡± Shia paused, gripping her staff as she sought out the right words. ¡°¡­but so far all you have is a lot of conjecture. There¡¯s no guarantee Madam Trebella can in fact do what she¡¯d threatened. I just don¡¯t want you to get your hopes up when something like that might not actually be possible after all.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I wouldn¡¯t just pin my hopes on a cloud and hope it drifts into my arms,¡± Alka chuckled, giving the elf a wide grin. ¡°That¡¯s why I asked Madam Trebella myself.¡±


    ¡°You what? When?¡± Vin asked, trying to figure out when the ghost would have even had the time.


    ¡°While you were locked in your room trying to reverse engineer Sense Curse from the charm like Madam Trebella distinctly told you not to,¡± Alka snorted, shaking her head. ¡°¡­You do realize you kind of stop paying attention to the world around you when you¡¯re learning magic, right?¡±


    Vin could feel his face heating up at the accusation, and he nodded sheepishly.


    ¡°Anyway, while Vin was working on that, I finally mustered up the courage to talk to her. I¡¯d wanted to go earlier, but like I said, I hadn¡¯t felt actual fear in some time. I¡¯m not ashamed it took me a bit to finally force myself to see her.¡±


    ¡°And she said she could do it?¡± Shia asked excitedly, leaning forward.


    ¡°I won¡¯t bore you guys with the details or pointless posturing that went on between us,¡± Alka said, waving a hand dismissively. ¡°Long story short, yes, she could actually adjust my connection. If she so chose.¡±


    ¡°Oh Alka, that¡¯s amazing!¡± Shia cried, clapping her hands together and all but jumping up and down. ¡°We¡¯ll have to do something big to celebrate when you actually have your own body again!¡±


    Vin noticed that despite Alka¡¯s smile, the ghost wasn¡¯t sharing in the same jubilance as Shia. He must not have been the only one that noticed, either.


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    ¡°Why do I feel like there¡¯s a catch?¡± Scule asked, frowning at the good news. ¡°I didn¡¯t really interact with the Witch myself, but Malzar had plenty of stories about her. From what I heard, she didn¡¯t exactly strike me as the pinnacle of charity.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s one of the two problems,¡± Alka nodded. ¡°First is the cost. Madam Trebella made it quite clear that she wouldn¡¯t be conducting the ritual for me for free. I tried to get her to give me a figure or something as to what she¡¯d want for payment, but she refused to answer. She said there was no sense worrying about details like that until we¡¯d solved the bigger problem.¡±


    ¡°You actually need something to be bound to in the first place,¡± Vin guessed, earning a nod from the ghost.


    ¡°Exactly. Being bound to something is far from the same as being able to control it. If Madam Trebella did go through with her original threat for example and bound me to a random doll she found lying around, I wouldn¡¯t actually be able to control the doll¡¯s limbs like I was a person. It¡¯s the same reason why despite the fact that I¡¯m bound to my sword, I can¡¯t just possess it and make it fly around. The object needs to be designed to move.¡±


    ¡°Like Vin¡¯s body,¡± Shia pointed out, understanding dawning on her. ¡°You¡¯re able to move around with Vin¡¯s body because it was designed to be moved around and capable of doing so. It¡¯s kinda gross, but does that mean we could just bind you to any old corpse we found?¡±


    ¡°Funny enough, my mind went there first as well,¡± Alka chuckled. ¡°Strange that the first thing I¡¯d think about when offered the chance for a new body is to transform myself from a ghost to a zombie. I blame all the undead we were always hearing about growing up.¡±


    ¡°The way you¡¯re talking, sounds like that wouldn¡¯t work then?¡± Vin asked. ¡°Assuming you¡¯d even want to go that route in the first place.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Madam Trebella said that plan''s a no go,¡± Alka admitted. ¡°Apparently, there are lots of problems with binding a soul to a body that doesn¡¯t actually belong to them. Things like ¡®raving insanity,¡¯ and ¡®deterioration of the soul,¡¯ to name a few.¡±


    ¡°Okay, dead body is off the table. What other options are there then?¡± Scule asked, scratching his chin. ¡°Some sort of puppet or something?¡±


    Vin briefly had the mental image of Alka fighting off monsters with her sword while possessing one of the Muppets, but quickly shoved the thought away. He had a feeling now was not a good time to start laughing.


    ¡°Actually, a puppet is pretty close,¡± Alka said. ¡°Though it would have to be sturdy enough to survive me putting it through the wringer, because you can be damn sure if I get a new body for myself I¡¯m not giving up on killing monsters.¡±


    ¡°Okay, so a tougher version of a puppet,¡± Shia muttered. The elf scrunched up her face in thought for a moment before snapping her fingers, looking like she had the answer. ¡°Oh duh, I don¡¯t know why it didn¡¯t occur to me sooner other than the fact I¡¯ve never actually seen one. You need a golem!¡±


    ¡°A golem? Like the big stone things that tried to kill us back in the death fragment?¡± Vin asked, shuddering at the memory. Yet another time he would have been crushed to a pulp if not for his divine boon.


    ¡°Similar, but not necessarily the same,¡± Shia said, slipping into mentor mode. ¡°Golems actually come in all shapes and sizes. They¡¯re constructs designed by mages in order to fulfil specific tasks, most often things like ¡®guard my magic lair,¡¯ or ¡®carry this message to my apprentice.¡¯ Basically they¡¯re glorified magical servants that can¡¯t actually think for themselves. Or at least, that¡¯s what my master told me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s about what Madam Trebella said as well,¡± Alka nodded. ¡°She was also aware of the concept, though she said she¡¯d never seen one before either. She said they can be made of just about any material, and technically can be made in just about any shape. It¡¯s only because mages tend to prefer having servants that look like them that they usually take the shape of a person.¡±


    ¡°Wow, okay, so we actually have an idea of what we¡¯re looking for then,¡± Vin said, his heart pounding as he realized they might actually be able to get Alka a new body. ¡°This is incredible! Alka, why didn¡¯t you share all this sooner? When you told us you didn¡¯t want to have the divine warrior put you to rest anymore, I¡¯d thought you¡¯d just completely given up or something!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to explain, but after you guys worked so hard and sacrificed so much to track down the divine warrior for me, I couldn¡¯t just come right out and say ¡®thanks, but I¡¯m not interested anymore,¡¯ you know?¡± Alka finally admitted, unable to meet their eyes. ¡°You guys have already done so much for me, and I couldn¡¯t figure out how to explain that I suddenly had hope I¡¯d be able to live again. Or at least, have an actual body again. I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t just come out with it.¡±


    ¡°Apology accepted!¡± Scule grinned, giving the ghost a thumbs up. ¡°I for one am ecstatic to hear that we no longer need to risk anyone¡¯s life heading after the divine warrior any longer, and this means you guys don¡¯t need to go into the creepy memory eating fragment! Talk about some exciting news!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still planning on going after the divine warrior,¡± Vin said, earning a sigh from the petian as though he¡¯d been expecting this. ¡°Even if we were willing to go back on the agreement we made with Madam Trebella, that man is killing thousands of innocent people. Who¡¯s to say he won''t eventually make his way over to the Earthers'' fragment after he¡¯s gained enough levels to become truly unstoppable? Or the Sacred Forest? Or even the citadel?¡±


    ¡°Vin¡¯s right, Scule,¡± Shia nodded, her face hardening at the thought of her people being massacred like the strange beings that had been living within the swamp fragment. ¡°If he¡¯s a combat class, he¡¯s gaining experience with every life he snuffs out. And with his divine boon on top of that, he¡¯s too dangerous to be left alone.¡±


    ¡°I hate it when you guys make good points,¡± Scule grumbled. ¡°Life sure was easier when the only person I had to talk to was a rat that never argued with me.¡±


    Reginald let loose a barrage of annoyed squeaks, and Scule merely sighed again, nodding along wearily.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, I know you had some excellent points back then, but I rarely bothered to listen, so it was pretty much the same.¡±


    Chuckling, Vin turned to Alka. ¡°So, what do you say? Now that you actually have a life to lose like the rest of us, are you still willing to risk taking on the divine warrior with us?¡±


    ¡°You think you¡¯d stand a rat¡¯s chance in the green sea without me?¡± Alka grinned, shooting Reginald an apologetic look. ¡°No offense Reginald.¡±


    Reginald somehow managed to convey something along the lines of ¡®no offense taken¡¯ with a slight wave of his tail.


    ¡°Well in that case, I think the only thing to do now is follow the charm and hope we don¡¯t accidentally run into the True Queen before we figure out exactly what we¡¯re dealing with,¡± Vin chuckled, trying to make light of them potentially going up against some horrifying, memory destroying monster.


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right,¡± Alka said, reaching over and snatching her sword from Vin¡¯s scabbard. ¡°This would probably work best if we had some sort of guide, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Well, obviously. What do you-¡±


    Before Vin could finish his question, Alka shot over to the corpse of the strange being. Carefully lining up her sword, she brought her pommel down on the being¡¯s forehead directly between its antennae, hard enough that Vin could clearly hear the thunk of sword on bone.


    Causing the being to sit bolt upright and start screaming.

 (88) 2.41. Bug Buddies

    As the dead body recoiled from Alka¡¯s strike and began screaming, Vin wasn¡¯t the slightest bit ashamed to admit he found himself screaming right alongside it.


    It certainly helped his pride when he realized Shia, Scule, and Reginald were all screaming just as loudly.


    ¡°Undead! Kill it!¡± Scule shouted, diving into Vaghel¡¯s still open pack as he waited for one of them to handle it. Vin hadn¡¯t really thought about it until now, and he probably should have realized this during their battle with the stone golems, but he supposed the Rogue¡¯s reaction made sense. Scule¡¯s entire fighting style relied on poisons, meaning he was effectively worthless when it came to fighting anything without a functioning biology.


    Thankfully, Shia had no such limitations. Whipping her staff up to aim at the screaming corpse, she no doubt was about to grow a giant tree branch right through the undead¡¯s chest when Alka shot in front of her, waving her arms.


    ¡°For the love of the Gods, calm down!¡± She ordered, giving them an exasperated look. ¡°It¡¯s not an undead! It was never dead in the first place! Look!¡±


    Hesitating, Shia slowly lowered her staff, looking more carefully at the screaming being. Vin stared right alongside her, trying to figure out what was going on.


    Still sitting on the ground and still very much screaming, was the odd looking being. Upon waking up, the small antennae on its head had begun waving around erratically, like little satellite dishes searching for some sort of signal that they couldn¡¯t find. As he looked closer, Vin realized with a start the being didn¡¯t actually have teeth. Instead, two large chunks of what looked like solid bone filled its mouth, one on the top half of its jaw and one on the bottom.


    He had a particularly easy time of examining these seeing as the being had yet to shut its mouth.


    ¡°If that thing¡¯s not an undead, would someone please shut it up!¡± Scule shouted, poking his head out from inside the bag with his hands clamped over his ears.


    While Vin struggled to come up with some way of calming the creature down, he realized the scream was starting to sound weaker and weaker the longer it went on. After a few more seconds, it gradually fizzled out to nothing, and the being was finally silent.


    After sitting there for a moment with its mouth still hanging wide open, it twitched once. Then twice.


    And collapsed right back to the ground.


    Everyone stared at the unconscious being once more, completely at a loss for words. Alka was the first to speak, clearing her throat awkwardly.


    ¡°Okay I¡¯ll admit¡­ That is not how I expected that to go.¡±


    ¡°What the hell, Alka!¡± Vin demanded, gesturing to the strange being. ¡°I thought that thing was dead! It definitely wasn¡¯t breathing!¡±


    ¡°I thought that first as well, but there weren¡¯t any visible injuries on it,¡± Alka explained with a shrug. ¡°I gave it a closer look, and it turns out it was breathing, just really, really slowly. I think it entered some sort of hibernation-like state when the group got attacked.¡±


    ¡°That would explain why it doesn¡¯t have any injuries at all,¡± Shia said, prodding the being with the end of her staff. ¡°If it entered this weird state the moment the fighting started, the monsters would have prioritized taking down the dwarves before bothering to eat it. And if we triggered the spider swarm at just the right time¡­


    ¡°The roaming swarm shifted gears to come after us, leaving this guy completely untouched,¡± Vin finished, staring at the being in awe. If this world had some sort of lottery set up, that guy definitely had to buy a ticket or something. ¡°Hold up, that would mean he¡¯s been like this for days!¡±


    ¡°Some creatures can hibernate for months, or even years at a time,¡± Shia shrugged, continuing to poke it with her staff. ¡°That¡¯s not the weirdest part of all this.¡±


    ¡°Why the hell did it go back to sleep?¡± Scule asked, still poking his head out of the bag. Reginald was now poking his head out right under him, also watching the unknown being in case it moved again.


    ¡°I think¡­ I think it screamed for so long it ran out of air,¡± Shia frowned, finally stopping with the prodding.


    The four of them stood silently for a moment, each of them staring at the unmoving creature. After a long, tense moment, Alka raised her sword once more.


    ¡°Should I hit it again?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Vin cried, stepping between the ghost and the poor creature, raising his arms defensively. ¡°Nobody¡¯s hitting the thing again! Clearly, it¡¯s freaked out, and for good reason! Last it knew it was being attacked by a giant swarm of monster spiders, and the next thing it sees is the two corpses of the dwarves it was travelling with and a grinning ghost leering over its head with a glowing sword. I¡¯m not surprised it passed out again!¡±


    ¡°Still, the whole ¡®being unconscious¡¯ does make talking to the thing rather difficult,¡± Scule pointed out unhelpfully.


    Vin rolled his eyes, not bothering to dignify that with a response.


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    ¡°I have an idea¡­ I don¡¯t know if it will work, but it¡¯s better than smacking it on the head again and hoping for a different reaction. For starters, this thing looks weird, but it does still have a nose. Shia, do you have any of those weird smelling herbs you guys used back in the Sacred Forest? The ones that elf used to wake you up after the Trunkback knocked you unconscious?¡±


    ¡°Rancidweed?¡± The elf blinked, slowly nodding. ¡°Yeah, it''s pretty standard issue. That¡¯ll definitely wake the being up again, but I don¡¯t think that will help calm it down.¡±


    ¡°Let me handle that,¡± Vin said, taking the small wooden vial filled with the foul-smelling herb from the Druid. ¡°Now, if you guys wouldn¡¯t mind dragging the two dead dwarves somewhere else and hiding for a few minutes, I have an idea I want to try.¡±


    Thankfully, nobody argued with him, and it wasn¡¯t long before he found himself alone with the unconscious being. Cross his fingers for good luck, Vin cast the most useless spell he knew.


    ¡°Familiar Pheromones,¡± he muttered, feeling the magic gently layer itself over him.


    He knew it was a little bit racist, but he couldn¡¯t help but notice how much the being resembled an insect. Worst case scenario his spell wouldn¡¯t do a damn thing, but on the off chance it would in fact calm him down a bit and stop him from screaming again, it couldn¡¯t hurt to try.


    Taking a deep breath half in preparation and half to make sure he didn¡¯t inhale any of the herb, Vin uncorked the vial and waved it in front of the being¡¯s nose. He may as well have jabbed it with a tazer based on how it reacted.


    Letting out a sound that was half choke and half retch, the being jerked awake once more, coughing as it tried to get in fresh air. Immediately, Vin corked the vial and squatted in front of the gagging creature, doing his best to look friendly and unthreatening.


    ¡°Hi there,¡± he said softly, offering a small smile. Seeing as the being didn¡¯t have teeth of its own, he had no idea if it would interpret a smile as some sort of threat. Making a mental note to check before introducing it to Shia, Vin continued. ¡°My name is Vin. I found you on the ground. Are you okay?¡±


    The strange being coughed for a few more seconds, its weird antennae still twitching and searching around relentlessly, but it didn¡¯t scream. After a few seconds it finally seemed to get the rancidweed out of its system, turning to stare at Vin.


    Neither of them said anything for a few seconds as they locked eyes. Just as Vin was going to try asking it another question, the being¡¯s antennae finally stopped twitching around, swiveling until they pointed directly at him. The hundreds of tiny little feelers running all along the antennae waved in some strange pattern, and Vin heard an unmistakable voice inside his head as the creature pointed a shaky finger at him.


    ¡°The One That Smells...¡±


    Vin could only blink, returning the being¡¯s wide-eyed stare as he tried to make sense of what that meant. Its eyes were exceptionally large, nearly twice that of a regular human and taking up a significant portion of its face.


    ¡°The one that smells?¡± Vin repeated, suddenly realizing the meaning behind the words. ¡°Oh, you mean me? I smell good?¡±


    ¡°Yes. That one is The One That Smells,¡± it repeated, still pointing at him. Then it shifted its finger, pointing at itself instead. ¡°This one is The One That Paints In Red.¡±


    ¡°Okay...¡± Vin nodded slowly, realizing he may be in over his head here. ¡°It¡¯s good to meet you¡­ Red.¡±


    Before Vin could say anything else, the being suddenly began freaking out, flinging its arms about and rolling around on the ground like a toddler.


    ¡°No!¡± Vin heard far more powerfully in his head, the shout sending a light throb of pain through his skull as the being continued its tantrum. ¡°This one is not ¡®Red.¡¯ This one is The One That Paints In Red!¡±


    Resistance increased to Lvl 14! 1,400 exp gained.


    ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯m sorry! You¡¯re The One That Paints In Red!¡± Vin repeated, rubbing the side of his head. It wasn¡¯t much, barely a headache at all if he were being honest, but the fact that this random being could still do that much with just its mind was more than a little scary. He briefly thought back to some of the old school horror movies he¡¯d watched when he was little where people with powers could make someone¡¯s head explode just by staring at them, and he gulped.


    Hopefully this was the extent of the strange being¡¯s abilities.


    Once he¡¯d repeated the being¡¯s name, it stopped freaking out just as quickly as it had started. Slowly getting to its feet, it looked around, taking in its surroundings.


    ¡°Where are The One That Laughs and The One That Follows Angrily?¡± It finally asked, as if only just then realizing it was alone.


    Oh boy, this is going to get old fast, isn¡¯t it? Sighing, Vin shook his head, wondering how much to tell it. Not wanting to start his negotiations with a lie, he answered truthfully.


    ¡°They both died fighting against the swarm of monsters that attacked you... I¡¯m sorry,¡± he added as an afterthought. He had no idea how the seemingly unstable being was going to react to their deaths, but he hoped it wouldn¡¯t last too long.


    To his surprise, the being took it rather well.


    ¡°This one understands,¡± it said, fixing him with its large eyes. Vin couldn¡¯t really pick up any sort of emotion from the mental voice, but the being didn¡¯t seem upset in the slightest at the news of its comrades¡¯ deaths. ¡°If that is the case¡­ will The One That Smells take me to ¡®the flowing red?¡¯¡±


    Vin could only stare at the being, slowly coming to the realization that it seemed to have a rather limited intelligence. Putting the pieces together, he realized what must have happened.


    Vaghel must have offered to bring this guy back to the Crater. It clearly has a thing for red stuff based on its name, so after hearing about the lava, it must have jumped at the opportunity.


    ¡°We can help you get to the flowing red,¡± Vin said slowly, making sure it understood him. ¡°¡­but you will have to wait a little bit somewhere else first. Is that okay?¡±


    ¡°This one will wait for the flowing red,¡± it said, still staring at him. After a moment, Vin realized why the large eyes seemed to freak him out so much.


    The being only seemed to blink once a minute or so.


    ¡°Okay¡­ Here¡¯s what¡¯s going to happen then,¡± Vin said, pulling out his journal to take notes. ¡°I¡¯m going to have a friend take you somewhere to wait while we prepare to bring you to the flowing red.¡±


    ¡°In exchange, I¡¯m going to need some directions.¡±

 (89) 2.42. Not So Handy After All

    ¡°And it just¡­ freaked out when you called it ¡®Red?¡¯¡± Shia asked as they made their way toward the edge of the fragment. The strange being had been handed off to a slightly unhappy Scule to bring back to the infernals'' village for now. Vin had been concerned about them finding the village again now that they knew about the mass concealment ritual Madam Trebella had in place, but Scule reassured him that so long as they went slow Reginald should be able to follow their scent back the way they came.


    ¡°Threw a tantrum like it was a toddler and I¡¯d told it to put back a candy bar at the supermarket,¡± Vin nodded, carefully following the trio¡¯s tracks back to the strange being¡¯s fragment. ¡°Oh, a supermarket is where we bought food on my world. And candy bars are¡­ hard to explain.¡±


    ¡°Markets aren¡¯t exactly a unique thing, Vin,¡± Alka pointed out, walking alongside him and keeping a keen eye for any more monster swarms. ¡°Though I am curious what makes yours so super.¡±


    ¡°You know, so am I. I never really thought about it.¡±


    Tracking increased to lvl 7! 700 exp gained.


    Double checking the charm Madam Trebella had given them, Vin confirmed they were still heading in the right direction. Combined with the description Turmal had written in his journal, that meant the divine warrior most likely was still in the strange being¡¯s fragment like they¡¯d hoped.


    It seemed the dwarf brothers hadn¡¯t managed to get very far into the infernals¡¯ fragment before running into the spider swarm, because only a few minutes after leaving the scene of battle the three of them came upon the edge of the world.


    Peering past the end of the treeline, Vin stared at the strange being¡¯s home world beyond the fragment border. Similar to the stone villagers¡¯ fragment, this one looked rather arid and barren at first glance, without a lot of plant life other than a few withered looking trees here and there and some brownish grass. Though rather than rocks strewn about all over the place, Vin could just make out what looked like large cracks running through the ground all over the place.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s just like Red said it was,¡± Vin said, glancing at the directions he¡¯d been given. ¡°According to it, we need to head over to¡­ that crevice and start making our way down.¡±


    Vin pointed at one of the cracks off in the distance that had a sad looking tree growing right next to it. Just as the being had promised, Vin could just barely see what looked like some sort of marking scratched into the side of the tree.


    ¡°How exciting! The last time I was underground was when I was rooting out a warren of borgals that were terrorizing the farms,¡± Alka grinned, drifting through the invisible barrier between fragments. ¡°It¡¯s a unique experience, fighting underground. You never know what direction your enemies might burrow out from.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t say I¡¯ve ever really gone underground,¡± Shia admitted, following the ghost across worlds. ¡°The Sacred Forest¡¯s root system is far too large and complex for anything other than tiny critters to dig in the soil.¡±


    ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind tight spaces,¡± Vin said, remembering one of the few times he¡¯d ever gone caving back on Earth as he followed them over the border. ¡°No idea how large this guy¡¯s home is, but it may be tricky getting there.¡±


    Third ring fragment discovered! 1,500 exp gained.


    The first thing Vin realized as they stepped through the boundary was the dryness in the air. If the withered plants weren¡¯t indication enough, the fact that the air felt like it had never so much as seen a drop of water was all he needed to feel in order to guess this fragment didn¡¯t see a lot of rain.


    ¡°Ancient One''s sap it hurts to breathe!¡± Shia commented, flicking out her tongue and glaring up at the sky. ¡°...at least this place doesn¡¯t reek of death mana.¡±


    ¡°Small victories,¡± Vin chuckled as he led them over to the marked tree. It wasn¡¯t until they got closer that he realized just how deep the random cracks spreading through the land seemed to go.


    Each crack was only a few feet wide, short enough for them to hop over easily enough. But a quick glance down into one was enough to make Vin flinch backwards, nearly falling on his backside in his haste to get away from the hole.


    The many cracks were actually entrances to a host of ravines running deep into the ground. Vin couldn¡¯t even see the bottom for most of them, which resulted in a concerning feeling of vertigo as he imagined just how long it would take him to hit the bottom if he slipped and fell into one of them.


    ¡°Damn, that¡¯s a big hole,¡± Alka commented, floating directly above one of the cracks and staring down. ¡°Sure am glad I can fly.¡±


    Rolling his eyes, Vin decided to ignore the ghost as he began hunting for the handholds he¡¯d been informed about.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Ah, found them!¡±


    Calling Shia over, Vin glanced over the edge of the ravine, taking a look at the handholds carved into the wall. About twenty feet down he could make out a small platform next to a large hole in the wall, which should lead into a long tunnel based on what he¡¯d been told.


    ¡°Alright, we climb down, try to find Red¡¯s people, and see what information we can get on this divine warrior and the ¡®True Queen¡¯ he¡¯s working with,¡± Vin summed up, turning towards his party in case they had any objections. ¡°Sound good?¡±


    ¡°Sounds fine¡­¡± Shia said, giving him a strange look. ¡°But¡­ how exactly are you planning on climbing down there?¡±


    Vin blinked at the elf, wondering what she could possibly mean before it clicked. Holding up his left arm, he stared at his missing hand, doing his best to ignore Alka¡¯s laughter.


    ¡°...I have no idea,¡± he said after a few seconds. ¡°Maybe I could like, tie my sword to my forearm? Shove it into the earth like some sort of makeshift pickaxe on my way down?¡±


    ¡°If you want to go that route, you might as well just run back and grab one of the dwarves¡¯ actual picks,¡± Alka said, still chuckling to herself. ¡°Granted, I¡¯d bet my sword Scule¡¯s already shoved them in his bag, so that might not be the best idea.¡±


    ¡°You could just jump down,¡± Shia shrugged, peering over the side. ¡°It¡¯s only about twenty feet down. Twenty-five tops.¡±


    ¡°Only twenty feet?!¡± Vin repeated, staring at the elf. ¡°Sure, if you want me to break my legs or something!¡±


    ¡°Vin, your endurance is in what, the forties at this point?¡± Shia asked, rolling her eyes. ¡°And with Alka¡¯s bonuses, your strength and vigor have to be in at least the twenties by now. A twenty-five foot drop shouldn¡¯t faze you in the slightest. Not unless you land on your face.¡±


    Vin blinked yet again as Shia reminded him about his attributes. It was easy to forget he was technically superhuman at this point. Running faster or seeing farther than should be possible were one thing, but dropping a few stories and landing unscathed was much harder for him to imagine for some reason.


    ¡°Huh¡­ You know the thought didn¡¯t occur to me.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, just don¡¯t miss that tiny platform. Seeing as we can¡¯t actually make out the bottom, falling all the way to the bottom most certainly will kill you,¡± Alka added with a grin.


    ¡°Thank you Alka, that makes me feel so much better,¡± Vin said, glaring at the ghost.


    Taking a deep breath, Vin carefully lined himself up with the handholds, double and then triple checking he was in the correct position above the lower platform. Before he could listen to that tiny voice inside his head screaming at him that humans were not meant to fall twenty-five feet like it was nothing he stepped back, plummeting into the ravine.


    The handholds flashed past him in an instant, and before he could even have a chance to second guess himself Vin hit the platform, his knees bending to absorb the shock. Realizing it was already over, Vin stood up, doing a quick check of his body and confirming he hadn¡¯t damaged anything.


    Holy crap, he thought, willing his heart to stop racing as he came to the realization he could fall nearly three stories without so much as a sprained ankle.


    ¡°See, was that so bad?¡± Alka asked, drifting down beside him with a toothy grin. ¡°You looked so freaked out I half expected you to ask me to take over and do the jump for you.¡±


    ¡°Still trying to get over those pesky human fears I guess,¡± Vin grinned, feeling more alive than he had in days. Glancing up at the Druid slowly descending the handholds, he called out. ¡°Come on Shia, what¡¯s taking you so long?!¡±


    Shia began grumbling something under her breath about ants, and Vin could only grin as he looked at the tunnel set in the wall beside him.


    The tunnel stretched deep into the wall of the ravine, and was large enough that for a second, he had a horrifying sensation that he was once again inside the insect dungeon. The spacious tunnel instantly seemed a hell of a lot smaller, and Vin could swear he heard the steady thrum of thousands of insects closing in on him from all sides.


    ¡°Vin!¡± Alka shouted, suddenly looking a lot more panicked. The ghost¡¯s arms were outstretched as if to grab him, and Vin blinked, looking down at his feet. Without even realizing it he had taken a large step backwards, away from the tunnel entrance, putting his foot precariously close to the edge of the small platform.


    Peering into the yawning chasm that was now but a single step behind him, Vin took a shaky breath at the close call, carefully moving closer to the tunnel and away from certain death. Once he was sure he was safe, he glanced up at the concerned ghost.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± She asked, any signs of her earlier mocking smile completely gone. ¡°What happened inside that dungeon that you didn¡¯t tell us about?¡±


    ¡°You know how I said Shia¡¯s master saved us from certain death?¡± He asked, seeing Alka¡¯s nod. ¡°Well¡­ Let¡¯s just say it was a lot closer than I made it sound in my retelling.¡± Even now, Vin swore he could hear the faintest sounds of swarming insects coming from deep within the tunnel, causing him to shudder if he listened for too long.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t be going into any more dungeons on your own,¡± Shia said, letting go of the final handholds and dropping beside him. Placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, she gave him a small smile, clearly making an effort not to flash her teeth at him. ¡°If my master hears I became incapacitated enough to give you my staff again, I¡¯ll never hear the end of it.¡±


    ¡°Thanks guys, I¡¯m good,¡± Vin said, offering them both his best reassuring smile. ¡°Not sure what came over me for a moment there, but I¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°Just warn us next time you¡¯re thinking about leaping to your death, alright?¡± Alka demanded, forcing a shaky laugh. ¡°It¡¯s going to be a pain to retrieve my sword from all the way down there, so at least have the decency to drop it first.¡±


    Frowning, Shia reflexively went to flick Alka like she did to Scule whenever the petian made an inappropriate comment, but her finger went straight through the ghost¡¯s ethereal form. Realizing what she¡¯d done, the three of them all burst out into genuine laughter at the same time as Shia¡¯s face heated up.


    As Vin laughed alongside his friends, he realized the sounds of swarming insects coming from deep within the tunnel seemed to have faded away for the moment, and the tunnel walls didn¡¯t seem quite so constricting as they did a moment ago.


    ¡°Come on,¡± he said, still chuckling as he pulled out his glowing gem and led them into the dark tunnel.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see if we can¡¯t find some locals.¡±

 (90) 2.43. Just Keep Walking…

    In stark contrast to the extremely arid climate up on the surface, Vin was pleased to discover that the underground network of tunnels crisscrossing seemingly throughout this entire fragment were far more pleasant to walk through.


    Moisture lined the earthy walls, dripping off clusters of ivy and a sprawling root system running all over the available surfaces of the various tunnels. Small critters that looked like particularly tiny mice jumped here and there, nibbling on the wet vegetation and darting away whenever they got close. He spotted all sorts of different looking frogs hopping around by the tunnel walls, and many were relaxing in small puddles of water, seeming entirely unfazed as they walked past. Other than the fact that they each had a tiny tail like they¡¯d never fully grown out of being tadpoles, they looked pretty much identical to Earth frogs. Shia even bent down to examine a particularly large one enjoying a good soak as they walked by, running her finger gingerly along its head and earning a deep croak from the odd frog.


    ¡°Pretty laid back creatures,¡± she chuckled, wiping her finger on her cloak.


    While they walked, Vin awkwardly juggled both his glowing gem and his journal with one hand as he checked his directions once more. While the tunnel did seem to have a low ambient light coming from the very walls that was just enough to stop them from running face first into one another, it wasn¡¯t nearly enough to read by.


    According to what he¡¯d been told, after reaching the tunnel, they were supposed to follow it for a good bit before taking the first left, and then the next two rights. After that¡­


    Vin stopped as he went to turn right a third time and nearly ran face first into another one of the strange beings crouching by the edge of the tunnel. Glancing down at it, he realized it was currently holding one of the large frogs with its lower set of hands, while gently petting the top of the frog¡¯s head with its upper two. The being looked at Vin in turn, blinking once as it stared at them.


    Not wanting to freak it out, Vin silently cast Familiar Pheromones again, remembering the effect it seemed to have on the other one.


    ¡°Hi there,¡± Vin said, smiling at the stone-faced being. Despite having a mouth and nose, its face was entirely free of anything that could even remotely resemble emotion.


    Even after seeing them, the being said nothing, instead choosing to continue stroking the frog it was holding. For its part, the frog was sitting calmly in its hands, seemingly content with the current situation.


    ¡°We were told to come down here by¡­ The One That Paints In Red,¡± Vin tried again. ¡°Do you mind if we walk by?¡±


    ¡°This one is The One That Holds Frogs,¡± the being finally said, its ¡®voice¡¯ projecting directly into his mind and its unblinking eyes seeming to stare into his very soul as it completely ignored his question. Glancing to the side, Vin saw Shia and Alka exchange quite a look. As the being continued petting the frog it was holding, Alka held up a hand and made what apparently was a universal ¡®cuckoo¡¯ symbol.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, The One That Holds Frogs,¡± Vin tried, doing his best to keep a smile on his face. Out of all the races he¡¯d met on Edregon so far, these guys were definitely the weirdest by far. ¡°This one is¡­ The One That Smells. We¡¯re just gonna¡­ Keep walking¡­ If that¡¯s alright.¡±


    The being finally blinked a second time, before slowly turning back to continue admiring its frog, dismissing Vin and his friends entirely. Careful not to make any sudden movements, Vin stepped around the odd being, continuing further down the tunnel. As soon as they were out of earshot, Shia turned to him with a strange look on her face.


    ¡°What the hells was that?¡± She hissed, glancing back over her shoulder. ¡°I know you said they were weird, but that was far beyond just ¡®weird!¡¯¡±


    ¡°I used to know a guy that acted kinda similar,¡± Alka nodded, floating backwards in order to keep her eyes trained on the odd frog holder. ¡°He was dared to try climbing one of the elder trees when he was a kid. Fell halfway up and landed on his head. Family couldn¡¯t afford healing from what I can remember.¡±


    ¡°I highly doubt every member of this race is suffering severe brain trauma,¡± Shia huffed, shaking her head. ¡°Something strange is going on here, that¡¯s for sure.¡±


    ¡°When isn¡¯t it?¡± Vin sighed, checking his directions and leading them farther into the maze of tunnels.


    The deeper they went, the more of the strange beings they gradually ran into. As they walked, Vin was introduced to over two dozen of the odd beings randomly scattered throughout the tunnels, including The One That Chases, The One That Touches Walls, The One That Paints In Blue, and even The One That Is Wet.


    That last one was found sitting in one of the small puddles with a steady drip of water landing on its head, and Vin was entirely too curious what would happen if he tried pulling it out of the water.


    It didn¡¯t take him long to realize no two of the odd acting beings shared the same name, and remembering the tantrum The One That Paints In Red threw when Vin shortened its name to Red, clearly their odd sounding names were important to them for some reason.


    ¡°I mean, I understand the importance of picking your name better than anyone¡­¡± Vin muttered as they bade goodbye to The One That Thinks Of Moss, a rather silent being sitting against the tunnel wall that seemed hesitant to speak with them and lose its concentration. ¡°...but this seems to be taking that to a whole other level.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Why do you understand the importance of names so much?¡± Shia asked offhandedly, still watching the moss obsessed being.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°Oh, no reason! Just making conversation!¡± Vin stammered, sweating as Alka narrowed her eyes at him. Desperate to distract the ghost, he nearly shouted when he realized what was up ahead. ¡°Look there! Those two actually look somewhat important!¡±


    Sure enough, after navigating the ever increasing maze-like tunnel system, they¡¯d finally found themselves standing before what looked like two actual guards, based on the crude spears they were holding and rough armor that appeared to be fashioned from some sort of bark. Each of the guards also had four antennae on their head instead of just two, further separating them from all the other beings they''d met up until now.


    Standing on either side of an actual door set in the wall of the tunnel, the two guards stared at Vin and his friends as they approached. Vin noticed how their antennae seemed to jerk and point at one another the moment they spotted them, and he could only assume they were silently talking between themselves. Though it wasn¡¯t until they got closer that the guards planted their spears perfectly in unison, motioning for them to stop.


    ¡°State your names and your business within the Rebel Queen¡¯s territory,¡± the first one demanded, his mental voice actually sounding firm and all there, unlike every other member of its race they¡¯d met so far.


    ¡°I¡¯m Vin¡­ Or, The One That Smells, I suppose,¡± he added, wincing at the snickers he heard from behind him. Realizing the golden opportunity he¡¯d just been given, he did his best to keep a straight face as he gestured to his friends. ¡°...and these are The One That Is Annoying, and The One That Has Pointy Ears.¡±


    He heard two disgruntled cries behind him which only served to make him chuckle, and he waited for them to call out his lies. But before either could say a word, both guards shot into action.


    In a shocking display of speed, the two guards flew forward faster than any of them could react, and Vin suddenly found a crude spear tip hovering inches from his throat. Either these guys were far higher in level than he¡¯d suspected, or they¡¯d dumped the vast majority of their points into dexterity to achieve such speeds.


    Glancing at Shia, he saw the Druid had her hands raised above her head, the second guard¡¯s spear in front of her throat as well.


    ¡°The One That Is Annoying is currently in seclusion,¡± one of the guards spoke into their minds. Due to the fact that their mouths didn¡¯t move when they talked, Vin had no idea which of the two guards was actually speaking. ¡°State your true name or be struck down where you stand.¡±


    Clearing his throat, Vin offered an apologetic smile. ¡°Sorry¡­ Bad joke! Her name is actually The One That Floats.¡±


    As the two guards both glanced at Alka, Vin realized a bit too late that if their odd society actually had someone capable of floating, things might be about to take a turn for the worse. Thankfully, that didn¡¯t seem to be the case, as the two guards finally lowered their spears, stepping back into position on either side of the door once more.


    ¡°What is your business with the Rebel Queen?¡± One of the guards spoke, apparently satisfied with their identification.


    ¡°We¡¯re looking for a divine warrior, and we were hoping the Rebel Queen could help us find them,¡± Vin said, glancing between the two guards for any sign of recognition. ¡°The One With The Golden Blade?¡±


    Both guards seemed to freeze, and despite the fact that their faces remained expressionless, Vin noticed how the little white feelers on their antenna seemed to go crazy for a second in response to the divine warriors¡¯ strange name Turmal had written down. Before he could say anything else, both of the guards¡¯ voices slammed into his head, the overlapping question having a much¡­ heavier sensation to them.


    ¡°What do you want with The One With The Golden Blade?¡± They asked together.


    The dual voices didn¡¯t exactly hurt or anything, and seemed more to Vin like the equivalent of someone staring you down, adding emphasis to their question to ensure he knew they weren¡¯t joking around. Even so, it wasn¡¯t the most pleasant sensation having heavy thoughts beamed into his head, so he was quick to answer.


    ¡°We¡¯re here to stop him from killing anyone else,¡± he said truthfully. ¡°We found a journal belonging to¡­ The One That Follows Angrily, and he¡¯d written about The One With The Golden Blade. He sounded like someone we¡¯ve been chasing, so we came here for more information.¡±


    Halfway through his explanation, Vin had realized he didn¡¯t actually know which of the strange names Red had given them belonged to which dwarf. Based on the descriptions in Turmal¡¯s journal however, he could only assume that Vaghel was the laughing one, and Turmal was the angry follower.


    The guards were silent for a few seconds, but their swiveling antennae and wiggling feelers gave away their heated internal discussion at Vin¡¯s answer. He watched them curiously as the feelers danced about, until one of the guards¡¯ antennae finally swiveled to point behind it, to whatever lay beyond the closed door. After a few seconds, they swiveled back toward Vin, and the guard spoke.


    ¡°Why is The One That Floats silent?¡±


    Vin looked at the guard, not quite understanding the question. Glancing at Alka, he waited to see if Alka would defend herself of anything, before realizing what the problem must be.


    ¡°Alka¡­ Have you not been able to hear these guys all this time?¡±


    ¡°Huh? I figured they were just talking directly to you,¡± the ghost said, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Shia?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯ve been able to hear everything they¡¯ve said since we entered the tunnels,¡± Shia confirmed.


    ¡°Well that would explain why you guys were so weirded out¡­ I thought you were just talking about all the strange things the guys were doing. Didn¡¯t realize they were saying stuff as well.¡±


    Shaking his head, Vin looked at the guards. ¡°The One That Floats is a ghost. A¡­ magical person that can¡¯t touch things. Alka?¡±


    Rolling her eyes, Alka drifted over to the tunnel wall, sticking her hand straight through. ¡°There, see? Can¡¯t touch stuff. Guess your weird mind powers can¡¯t touch me either.¡±


    The two guards¡¯ antennae flicked behind them once more, and Vin realized they must be having an entirely different conversation with someone seated behind the closed door; presumably the Rebel Queen. Whatever they were told must have been good, as without warning the guards suddenly slammed the butts of their spears on the ground a second time, standing at attention. One of them reached over and opened the door for them, revealing a dark chamber.


    ¡°The Rebel Queen is willing to meet with you,¡± they said together, their large eyes unblinking.


    ¡°Thank you¡­¡± Vin replied, nodding slowly. Hoping Shia was following right behind him and that he wasn¡¯t making a huge mistake, he stepped past the two guards and into the Rebel Queen¡¯s chambers.


    And nearly passed out as his mind was suddenly attacked.

 (91) 2.44. No Need To Shout

    Vin stumbled and clutched at his head as a wave of images and emotions suddenly slammed into him. It was like someone had distilled a lifetime of experiences and was trying to pour them into the mold that was his brain.


    Only problem being of course, that the mold was already filled.


    ¡°Stop, stop!¡± He cried, squeezing his eyes shut and doing his best to force the unwanted experiences from clawing their way into his head. For a few seconds the world was in utter turmoil, and he was so focused on remaining him that he completely forgot where he was or what he was doing. And then, after the chaotic, foreign ocean of memories¡­


    Blissful silence.


    Vin let out a ragged, shuttering breath as he realized it was finally over. Cracking his eyes open, he blinked in surprise at the scene he found before him.


    The Rebel Queen¡¯s chambers consisted of little more than a small room filled with crude furniture that looked like it was made of hardened dirt and bits of grass and sticks. Unlike the rest of the tunnels this room didn¡¯t seem to be filled with that same strange, ever present dim light that appeared to come from nowhere. Instead, the once dark room was currently being illuminated from the gentle green glow of Alka¡¯s unsheathed sword.


    Currently pressed against the throat of the largest one of the strange beings they¡¯d yet to come across.


    Vin gasped as he took in the sheer size of the Rebel Queen. She had to be nearly eight feet tall; tall enough that in order to hold her sword against the queen¡¯s throat, Alka was floating a good few feet off the ground. Rather than two antennae filled with white feelers, or four, this one had twelve, each positioned perfectly around the rim of her head as if forming some sort of living crown.


    Other than that, she looked rather similar to the rest of her kind. Dark green eyes far larger than what you¡¯d find on a human and four arms, all of which were currently clasped together as if praying.


    While Vin stared at the giant being, Alka glanced back toward him, nodding once she saw he was alright.


    ¡°Good,¡± she said, pressing her sword ever so slightly into the queen¡¯s throat and drawing a small drop of bright green blood. ¡°Now the elf.¡±


    ¡°If you are referring to the one with the pointed ears, it is too late,¡± the queen said, the weight of her voice nearly making Vin black out all over again. ¡°The one with the pleasant smell resisted my memoric-transfer somehow, but the other did not. They will be fine in a few minutes.¡±


    Despite the intensity of the voice, Vin got the distinct feeling that she didn¡¯t mean them any harm. In fact, if he had to pick an emotion that he was picking up from the powerful voice echoing painfully in his head, he¡¯d say it was fear.


    ¡°Alka, it¡¯s alright!¡± Vin said almost too late as the ghost pressed her blade into the queen¡¯s throat a little harder. His throbbing headache had almost made him forget that Alka wasn¡¯t able to hear the being¡¯s voice, but he managed to stop the Slayer before she killed the queen.


    ¡°I¡¯d hardly say it¡¯s alright,¡± Alka growled, staring down the wide-eyed Rebel Queen. ¡°Welcoming in a group of people who just want to talk and then hitting them with a surprise attack isn¡¯t exactly something good people do.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it was an attack,¡± Vin managed, even going so far as to try a quick cast of Renewal aimed at his head. When that did nothing for the pain, he grit his teeth. ¡°I think¡­ I think she was just trying to communicate with us.¡±


    ¡°Precisely,¡± the queen said, and Vin winced at the fresh icepicks it felt like were being driven directly into his eye sockets. ¡°I learned from the two that came before you that direct language is too much for your primitive brains to handle. They required communication through memoric-transfer.¡±


    ¡°I see what you mean,¡± Vin hissed, rubbing at his temple. Every word the queen spoke was like a toddler kicking him in the side of the head with all its strength. Not enough to actually kill him, but certainly enough to hurt like hell. His brain hurt too much to tell whether he was getting the notifications he suspected he was, but on a hunch, he willed up his interface.


    Resistance increased to lvl 15! 1,500 exp gained.


    Resistance increased to lvl 16! 1,600 exp gained.


    Resistance increased to lvl 17! 1,700 exp gained.


    Wow, this is fantastic for power leveling at the very least.


    And 100% not worth it.


    ¡°Alka, we¡¯re okay,¡± Vin tried again, struggling to think coherently through the pain. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure if she wanted us dead she could have literally killed us with a thought. She¡¯s not like Patty¡­ She¡¯s not trying to influence or control us; her mind is just so powerful compared to the others of her kind that speaking with us is too much.¡±


    The Slayer hesitated for another few seconds, but finally, she pulled back her sword. Drifting down next to him, she planted her sword in the ground and crossed her arms.


    ¡°Fine. But if you end up passing out or going all weird like Shia over there, I¡¯m taking her out.¡±


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Understood,¡± Vin said, glancing over at Shia. Sure enough, weird was an apt description for what the elf was going through. Shia was currently standing there, staring blankly at the far wall and blinking faster than Vin would have thought possible, as if trying to parse through an endless slideshow of information. Resigning himself to what was about to happen, Vin looked back up at the large being.


    ¡°She¡¯ll be okay?¡±


    ¡°In a few minutes they will finish going through the memoric-transfer and return to normal,¡± she confirmed, shooting Alka a hesitant glance. Unlike the rest of the remarkably stone-faced beings they¡¯d run into, the Rebel Queen actually showed some emotion on her face. Vin could easily make out the uncertainty and fear in her eyes, as if she was regretting her decision to allow them entrance into her chambers.


    No doubt she had never experienced an enemy she couldn¡¯t mind blast into next week if it got too close.


    ¡°Look, we don¡¯t want to hurt you,¡± Vin sighed, hoping to somehow salvage this strange meeting. ¡°Like we told your guards, we¡¯re hunting down the man with the glowing sword. He¡¯s done some terrible things, and we¡¯re going to try and stop him.¡±


    At Vin¡¯s confession, the queen blinked, and her fearful look was quickly replaced with one of hope. So much hope in fact, that Vin immediately grew wary.


    ¡°You speak the truth?¡± She asked, Alka all but forgotten as she fixed Vin with an almost hungry stare. ¡°You wish to stop The One With The Glowing Blade?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we do,¡± Vin nodded, unable to contain his curiosity any longer, despite the painful conversation. At the very least it was becoming slightly more bearable with every level he gained in Resistance. ¡°Why do your people have such convoluted names for everyone?¡±


    The Rebel Queen hesitated, clearly wanting to answer his question but deciding to hold back. ¡°I fear answering that question would require enough discussion that you might lose consciousness. You should ask your companion once they finish digesting.¡±


    ¡°Shia?¡± Vin blinked, glancing at the still rapidly blinking elf. ¡°What exactly did you give her?¡±


    ¡°An explanation,¡± the Rebel Queen said, her four hands shaking slightly as they gripped each other all the tighter. ¡°¡­and a request. We¡¯ve been holding our own against the True Queen up until now, but with the emergence of The One With The Glowing Blade, I fear my people don¡¯t have much longer. Unless you are able to help us, we will be forced to choose between fleeing what remains of our home or making a last stand.¡±


    Vin swayed, hanging onto consciousness by but a thread as the queen¡¯s lengthy explanation proved to be almost too much for him. Feeling something warm on his face, he reached up and stared at the blood on his fingers, realizing just listening to her had given him a nosebleed.


    ¡°Vin, you have to stop talking to her! You¡¯re killing yourself!¡± Alka warned, glaring up at the queen and grabbing her sword once more.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, this much I should be able to heal,¡± he said, letting Renewal wash over his head again and fixing whatever physical damage the queen had caused. It still did nothing for the horrific migraine he was suffering through, but at least it stopped his nosebleed. ¡°Where can we find him? The One With The Glowing Blade?¡±


    ¡°Your silent companion is right, we should speak no longer,¡± the Rebel Queen said, even going so far as to take a step back. ¡°Your friend can tell you what you need to know. Let Guardian show you to your room.¡±


    Before Vin could ask who Guardian was, he heard a scuffling behind him, and he turned to find one of the two guards waiting in the doorway.


    ¡°The Rebel Queen wishes for you to follow me,¡± it said, as if the Rebel Queen¡¯s orders were law and there would be no argument. After Vin¡¯s conversation with the queen, it sounded almost as if the guard was whispering, and Vin nearly wept at the words that didn¡¯t make his head feel like it was filled with gravel.


    Giving the silent Rebel Queen one more look, Vin nodded. Taking Shia¡¯s hand, he led the elf after the being known as Guardian as it took them further into the network of tunnels. One small saving grace was that despite the horrific migraine Vin was dealing with, his Mental Map worked as advertised, recording everything automatically and providing him with a clear path back out of the tunnels should they need to leave unexpectedly.


    Vin briefly noted that his Mental Map only seemed to pick up and record the tunnels he directly walked through, despite the fact that there had to be a giant nest of passageways dug all over the place. Still, being able to backtrack flawlessly made it a bit easier to follow Guardian as it led them deeper and deeper underground, to the point that Vin was beginning to wonder if the Rebel Queen was purposefully trying to make it impossible for them to escape.


    This far underground, the number of odd beings grew exponentially, so much so that Vin quickly lost count and could only guess at how many they passed on their walk. While the vast majority acted just as strangely as the few they¡¯d already met, they did end up passing a good number that seemed more put together, like the guards stationed outside the Rebel Queen¡¯s room. From what Vin could tell, it was thanks to this small portion of the Rebel Queen¡¯s forces running around harvesting food and maintaining the tunnels that their society, if you could even call it that, was still functioning at all.


    Eventually, Guardian stopped walking, gesturing for them to head into a small room. A quick glance inside showed it contained little more than two rough spots for sleeping filled with the shredded remains of some sort of plant and little else. It didn¡¯t need any sort of light thanks to that strange ambient glow, but it didn¡¯t even have so much as a door.


    ¡°You are welcome to rest here as long as you¡¯d like,¡± Guardian informed them, gesturing to one of the more put together members of society running past with some sort of squishy looking orb in its hand. ¡°If you require food, stop one of the Growers and they will assist you. When you wish to speak to the Rebel Queen again, ask anyone and they will relay the message.¡±


    Not bothering to wait for a reply, Guardian turned and immediately walked away, vanishing amidst the maze of tunnels in an instant.


    Shaking his head and then immediately regretting it at the fresh stab of pain it caused him, Vin led the still barely conscious elf into the room, carefully laying her down and sighing as she transitioned to rapidly blinking up at the ceiling rather than close her eyes. The Rebel Queen had said she¡¯d be fine in a few minutes, but it seemed that wasn¡¯t quite the case.


    ¡°Alka, do you mind guarding the door? I think I¡¯m going to rest for a few minutes myself,¡± Vin admitted, falling back into the other bed pile. To his surprise, the shredded plant bits were actually comfier than he¡¯d expected, and it was less like lying on itchy straw and more like a large pile of freshly cut grass.


    Vin thought he heard a response from the ghost, but he couldn¡¯t quite be sure. Closing his eyes, he let out an exhausted sigh as the pain in his head finally began to dull slightly, and he welcomed the darkness that rapidly closed in on him.


    Just a few minutes of rest¡­


    What could possibly happen in just a few minutes?

 (92) 2.45. Modular Memory

    ¡°Vin!¡±


    ¡°Gya!¡± He screamed, flailing about in a strange pile of plant refuse as he was ripped from his slumber. It took him a solid few seconds to remember where he was and he groaned, rubbing his aching head as it all came back to him. His minor headache was a huge improvement over the pounding migraine he¡¯d gone to sleep with, but it was still far from pleasant.


    ¡°Shia, do you have to be so loud?¡± He muttered, looking up at the energetic elf. In stark contrast to how he felt, Shia looked like she¡¯d just slept for an entire day and was practically vibrating with excitement. ¡°Glad to see you¡¯re feeling better.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s incredible Vin, they¡¯re a hive mind! My master had theorized how a functioning society of people capable of communicating via thoughts would work, but he¡¯d never managed to find one himself!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s lovely Shia, now if I could just get five more-¡±


    ¡°Somehow they can communicate with one another via their antennae, sending information back and forth nearly instantaneously. But they ¡®speak¡¯ primarily through the sharing of memories and experiences, so in the time it takes you or me to exchange a few sentences, they could have shared a detailed explanation of their entire day! It¡¯s amazing!¡±


    Realizing he wasn¡¯t going to be allowed to sink back into the land of dreams, Vin sighed, sitting up and fixing the excited elf with a pointed look.


    ¡°I¡¯ll admit that is very interesting. And it explains how we hear them in our heads. But what¡¯s with¡­ well, that?¡±


    Vin gestured past Alka still standing guard out into the open tunnel toward one of the beings that was currently using a rock to scratch line after line into the tunnel wall, ever so slowly making its way down the seemingly endless tunnel. Glancing at the being, Shia¡¯s face softened, and she seemed to calm down slightly.


    ¡°Ah¡­ That¡¯s the result of free will being given to a being who was never intended to have it.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Vin asked, slowly getting to his feet and brushing the plant bits off him. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Wow, where to even start,¡± Shia said, scrunching up her eyes like she was trying to remember something that had happened years ago. ¡°The Rebel Queen gave me so many memories¡­ It feels like I¡¯ve lived in these tunnels for months, from even before the Great Reset.¡± Taking a deep breath, she nodded.


    ¡°These beings, which are called trogums by the way, are a rather interesting species. Like your world, they were the only intelligent beings on their own. At least that they were aware of. They never developed any sort of sailing technology, so they were constrained by the borders of their continent.¡±


    ¡°I guess that makes sense that a people who live entirely underground wouldn¡¯t want to risk sailing the oceans,¡± Vin agreed, motioning for her to continue.


    ¡°The trogums live rather unique lives. Each of their settlements, or hives, is led by a single queen. These queens not only make all the decisions and lead without any oversight, they take rulership to an entirely new level. Their people¡­ Well, it may be easier to explain it from a biological standpoint.¡±


    ¡°Trogums are actually hatched from a sort of large egg-sack looking thing. And the longer they are allowed to gestate before birth, the more developed they end up becoming. Their species essentially has three castes. The commons, the elites, and the queens.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to take a wild guess and say the commons are the weirdos we¡¯ve been running into, and the elites are the guards?¡± Vin ventured.


    ¡°Exactly. What makes their society so strange, is that the common caste¡­ Well, they¡¯re purposefully ¡®hatched¡¯ before they¡¯re quite fully developed. From birth, they fall under the control of the current queen, who is only capable of such an incredible feat due to her innate mental strength and high-level class. She then uses them like one massive, living tool to see to all the menial tasks required to keep the rest of the hive functioning.¡±


    As soon as the words ¡®high-level class¡¯ left her mouth, Vin knew exactly where she was going with this. ¡°So when the Great Reset hit¡­¡±


    ¡°That giant, living tool, which actually consisted of tens of thousands of not fully developed trogums, suddenly broke out from under the queen¡¯s control, awaking from what had essentially been a dream their entire lives.¡±


    ¡°Dear God¡­¡± Vin muttered, looking at the trogum currently a few feet further down the tunnel, still carving perfectly identical line after line into the wall with its rock. ¡°I guess that explains the weird actions¡­ But why the names?¡±


    ¡°These people didn¡¯t even have a concept of identity before the Great Reset,¡± Shia explained, looking sadly upon the line carving trogum as though the sight broke her heart. ¡°No concept of ¡®me¡¯ or ¡®you¡¯ or even ¡®self.¡¯ After the initial chaos, of those that survived the first thing many of them did was latch onto something that would give them both a sense of identity and a purpose. They¡¯d never had their own goals before, or even a name, which is why they find such importance in having both now.¡±


    ¡°That explains The One That Paints In Red¡¯s outburst when I shortened their name¡­¡± Vin stood there silently, watching the trogum continue carving away at the tunnel wall as if nothing else in the world mattered. ¡°They don¡¯t care that they¡¯re not really doing anything?¡±


    ¡°As far as they¡¯re concerned, they didn¡¯t even exist before the queen lost control over them,¡± Shia explained. ¡°They lived the same lives, shared the same thoughts... They were one singular entity, until all of a sudden one day, they weren¡¯t. Their seemingly random chosen action is something like a life raft they¡¯ve latched onto, it¡¯s how they make sense of being them, after never having had to worry about it before.¡±


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    They stood in silence for a minute, listening to the sound of dripping water from the ceiling and the rough, scratching of a rock on the tunnel wall.


    ¡°So the elites¡­ Like Guardian and the other one. They¡¯re more like you and I?¡±


    ¡°For the most part, if not quite as intelligent,¡± Shia nodded. ¡°They¡¯re still connected to the queen¡¯s hive mind and would give their lives for hers in a heartbeat, but they are grown enough to have their own sense of identity and their own lives. Most of the elites ended up perishing during the civil war, and of those that remain the majority are with the True Queen.¡±


    ¡°Wait, yeah, what the hell is up with that?¡± Vin asked, turning back to the elf. ¡°How can there even be two queens in the first place if only one rules the hive?¡±


    ¡°The True Queen is growing old¡­¡± Shia frowned, rubbing her head like she was struggling to remember something. ¡°¡­she was training the Rebel Queen to take over for her¡­ Like I said, controlling the castes requires a pretty high level. But the Rebel Queen was still pretty early on in her training when the Great Reset hit.¡±


    ¡°And suddenly, you¡¯ve got two equally powerful queens, neither one of which is strong enough to maintain the hive mind,¡± Vin concluded, the pieces falling into place. ¡°I guess that explains the conflict. So what, each grabbed control of what they could and fought it out, and the Rebel Queen was forced to flee?¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡± Shia groaned, scrunching up her face. ¡°For some reason memories containing the True Queen feel harder for me to access¡­ As if the True Queen damaged them in some way when the Rebel Queen fled. From what I can gather, after losing all her power, the True Queen asked the Rebel Queen to work with her¡­ Despite their low levels, working together, they would have been able to use their natural mental strength to maintain at least a fraction of the hive mind. But the Rebel Queen didn¡¯t want to.¡±


    ¡°For the first time, after witnessing the common caste wake from their joint dream and come alive, the Rebel Queen realized what they¡¯d been doing. She no longer viewed the common caste of trogums as a tool to be used for the betterment of the hive, and she refused to help the True Queen enslave them again.¡±


    ¡°I bet that went over well,¡± Alka snorted, finally chiming in as she continued to watch the scratching trogum in the tunnel outside.


    ¡°It went pretty much as you¡¯d expect,¡± Shia sighed. ¡°Once she realized the Rebel Queen wasn¡¯t willing to help, the True Queen turned on her in an instant. The Rebel Queen was forced to use her diminished power to drive part of the hive into chaos, giving herself a chance to escape. A portion of the elites ended up siding with her, and many of them gave up their lives in the ensuing battle while the rest corralled the panicking common caste to follow. They actually do have an underground city and everything that they were forced to flee, these tunnels are just a refuge to hide out in.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s one hell of a story,¡± Vin said, trying to even wrap his mind around what the Rebel Queen had gone through. ¡°Where does the divine warrior come in?¡±


    ¡°The queens have had something of a shaky truce for the past few months,¡± Shia explained. ¡°The Rebel Queen does not wish to force her people to fight, and the True Queen is not willing to lose any more of her people than she already has. From what I can gather from these memories, I think she''s too old to produce more trogums in any reasonable number. Because neither queen was willing to move on the other, things have been tense, but stable. Until a couple of days ago.¡±


    ¡°It seems like the divine warrior stumbled upon the True Queen¡¯s hive somehow, and ever since he has been working with the True Queen to track down and slaughter as many of the Rebel Queen¡¯s people as he can. Based on what I was shown, this current series of tunnels is the third one they¡¯ve fled to in as many days. He continues to find them, presumably thanks to the True Queen somehow, and all the Rebel Queen can do each time is flee to a different portion of their fragment as he has his hands full killing.¡±


    ¡°So, all we need to do is wait, and he¡¯ll come to us?¡± Alka asked, finally turning toward the elf and flashing her a grin. ¡°Sounds like we caught a break for once!¡±


    ¡°Perhaps¡­¡± Shia frowned. ¡°The memories I have of the warrior are rough at best, as if they were passed from trogum to trogum before reaching the queen. The only thing each memory maintains crystal clarity of is the man¡¯s glowing, golden sword. It seems all who have faced him have fallen to that glowing blade, and none of the elites that have attacked him have ever managed to leave even a scratch on him.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like the sound of that,¡± Vin said, even as Alka¡¯s grin began widening at the challenge. ¡°Those two guards were fast. Even if they sacrificed their strength to obtain such speed, if the other elites are built the same, they should have still been able to inflict some damage on the man.¡±


    ¡°It gets weirder,¡± Shia said, scratching her head. ¡°I can¡¯t make out the exact words from the fragments of memory the queen showed me, but it seems the divine warrior is a bit¡­ eccentric. Apparently, he has a whole speech he gives before every battle, and he refuses to attack anyone until he finishes his speech. Even if they don¡¯t remember the words, the Rebel Queen is certain that the speech he gives is identical every time he shows up.¡±


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t do anything but defend until he¡¯s done talking?¡± Alka asked, raising an eyebrow at the odd behavior.


    ¡°Even weirder. He doesn¡¯t draw his sword until he¡¯s done with his speech. Yet somehow, he still managed to evade taking any damage.¡±


    ¡°That has to be part of his vow somehow,¡± Vin concluded, his heart racing at the realization they may have just stumbled upon the divine warrior¡¯s weakness. ¡°It¡¯s weird, but Madam Trebella also mentioned something about him going on about declaring them all evil abominations before he attacked. If he has to give a speech before he can unleash his sword, that¡¯s our chance to strike.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t say I¡¯m a huge fan of striking down a man before he¡¯s even drawn his sword, but this guy¡¯s killed enough people that I won¡¯t object,¡± Alka grunted.


    ¡°So what¡¯s the plan? Just throw everything we have at him while he¡¯s monologuing?¡± Shia asked.


    ¡°Unless we can set up some sort of trap ahead of time,¡± Vin said, suddenly wishing they had Alice there with them. No doubt the Trapper would have had a fantastic idea of how to get the drop on him.


    ¡°Well, what if-¡±


    Before Shia could offer up whatever her plan was, there was a loud clatter from out in the tunnel. The three of them turned to see the trogum that had been etching line after line into the wall standing there, shaking slightly, his rock on the ground. Before Vin could offer to grab it and hand it back to the being, it suddenly began screaming.


    Turning, the trogum sprinted off down the tunnel, looking like it was fleeing for its life from some sort of invisible foe. That might not have been that far off, as Vin quickly realized he could feel the tunnel floor vibrating beneath his feet. Moments later, trogum after trogum sprinted past the entrance to their small room, all of them screaming in unison as they fled down the tunnel. Clearly Shia recognized what was going on from one of her new memories as the elf¡¯s face paled.


    ¡°The Rebel Queen is ordering everyone to flee into the next set of tunnels,¡± she explained, her grip tightening on her staff as she fixed them with a grave look.


    ¡°The divine warrior is coming.¡±

 (93) 2.46. Against The Flow

    Following his Mental Map, Vin and Shia fought against the seemingly endless stream of trogums as they forced their way back to the Rebel Queen¡¯s chambers. Naturally, Alka chose to float overhead, not needing to bother with bumping elbows or shoving her way past anyone like those still bound to their mortal coils. They had no way of knowing if the Rebel Queen had evacuated just yet, but seeing as the tunnel system was a literal maze, they didn¡¯t stand a chance of finding the divine warrior without the Rebel Queen¡¯s help, even with Madam Trebella¡¯s charm.


    The curse finder wasn¡¯t very helpful when it just pointed directly at the tunnel wall after all.


    ¡°Almost there!¡± Vin called out to Shia over the screaming. Having to fight against the tide of panicked people, it was taking them a lot longer to get back to the queen¡¯s chambers than it had for Guardian to lead them to their room. By the time they finally made it, Vin¡¯s heart sank as he finally spotted the door to her chambers.


    Without any guards on either side.


    ¡°Crap, I think she¡¯s already gone!¡± He shouted, nearly getting knocked off his feet by a surge in the crowd. It didn¡¯t help that a few of the trogums were still carrying items he could only assume were associated with their chosen names, such as one trogum that was hefting what looked like a large rock poorly carved to look like a frog over its head.


    ¡°What now?!¡± Shia shouted back, quite literally planting her staff into the ground and holding onto the miniaturized tree for dear life as the tide of people threatened to sweep her away.


    ¡°Inside!¡± Vin shouted, managing to tear his eyes off the magic staff and point toward the queen¡¯s chamber. Even if it was empty, at least they could escape the panicked crowd while they figured out their next move.


    Seeing Shia¡¯s nod, the two of them fought their way over to the room, finally stumbling their way through the open door and all but collapsing once they¡¯d made it inside. Closing the door behind them to block out at least a portion of the screaming, Vin wiped his brow, exhaling.


    ¡°Well that was nuts.¡±


    ¡°No kidding,¡± Shia frowned, breathing heavily. ¡°I suppose even if she won¡¯t take over the common caste completely, she¡¯s willing to send them a blanket command in order to save their lives. I wonder what it even was.¡±


    ¡°Probably a memory of The One With The Golden Sword cutting someone to pieces,¡± Alka said, poking her head briefly through the closed door. ¡°Damn, it¡¯s a literal stampede out there. I¡¯m surprised they don¡¯t lose half their people just from running if this is what they go through every day.¡±


    ¡°No... Nobody would have been attacked just yet,¡± Shia said, closing her eyes as she concentrated on her new memories. ¡°She has elites functioning as scouts at the edges of most of the tunnels¡­ In fact, she saw us before we even made it twenty feet into the tunnel. But with the divine warrior rapidly whittling her people down, she realized she needed to take a risk, and she decided to let us through uncontested in the hopes that we could somehow help,¡± Shia explained, rubbing her head as she sifted through foreign memories. ¡°Wow, seeing myself from another person¡¯s memory is weird. Anyway, the scouts guarding the tunnels have orders not to engage the divine warrior until they absolutely have to. They are supposed to notify the queen and keep watch from a distance until he gets closer to the center, so they shouldn¡¯t have attacked him yet.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good!¡± Vin said, realizing they¡¯d almost missed their chance. ¡°We have to engage the divine warrior before anyone else does. I¡¯m willing to bet once he finishes his strange speech he doesn¡¯t need to repeat it again until the battle is over.¡±


    ¡°Well that brings us back to why we came to the Rebel Queen¡¯s chambers in the first place,¡± Alka said, clearly itching for a fight. After being bound to her for a few weeks, Vin had eventually come to realize that the ghost¡¯s form began flickering just a hair more violently whenever Alka was psyching herself up for a battle. ¡°How do we find him within all these tunnels?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know yet, but give me a minute,¡± Vin said, mentally going through his spells. Despite learning Stone Shot, Stone Wall, and Summon Stone, all courtesy of Eithan, he still had yet to learn anything that would allow him to easily go through any of the tunnel walls such as Stone Shape. He could shoot out his newest spell, Sense Curse, in a pulse with Runic Recalibration to pinpoint exactly where the divine warrior was, but that didn¡¯t really do them any good. Sure, it would be better than the compass that only pointed toward him, but even if they had his precise location, they couldn¡¯t get there through the maze of tunnels. Surely he had to have something¡­


    Realizing he was missing something obvious, he sighed, slapping a palm to his forehead.


    ¡°I¡¯m an idiot,¡± he declared, quickly imagining the runic formation of his very first spell and confirming it should function the way he hoped.


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    ¡°Oh, we know. But do tell us why?¡± Alka asked, grinning.


    ¡°My Sense Stone spell!¡± He said, already whipping the runic formation up inside his mana and adjusting it with his Capstone skill to do what he needed it to. ¡°I can adjust it to fire out a pulse the same way I did with Sense Magic when I found your pouch of seeds back in the citadel! Once I know where all the stone is, I¡¯ll also know where all the stone isn¡¯t, which will give me a map of the tunnel network, and then we can just follow the compass where we need to go!¡±


    ¡°Vin, these tunnels are massive,¡± Shia frowned, laying a protective hand on his arm. ¡°Forget the question of if you even have enough mana for this, are you sure your mind can handle the feedback? From what you told me, it sounds like the Rebel Queen already put your brain through the wringer today.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the point of putting all those points into focus if I never use them,¡± Vin grinned, trying to put on a brave face. In reality, he had no idea how well he¡¯d fare when he was inevitably hit with the feedback from the spell. The last time he¡¯d tried something like this he¡¯d aimed at only covering a few hundred feet to find Shia¡¯s missing seed pouch, and he¡¯d only been searching for signatures of magic items. And even then, the mental strain had been harmful enough to inadvertently level his Resistance skill.


    While his focus and Resistance had both grown quite a lot since then, this time he needed to cover far more than a few hundred feet.


    ¡°Unless you can think of another way to find the divine warrior, we don¡¯t have any other choice.¡± Pausing to see if Shia had any suggestions, he nodded. ¡°Just get that rancidweed of yours ready. I have a feeling one way or another I¡¯m probably not going to remain conscious.¡±


    Taking a deep breath, Vin triggered the adjusted runic formation, dumping three quarters of his entire mana pool into the spell to be safe. He felt the pulse of magic blast out of him as it shot through literal tons of dirt and stone, seeping through the ground around him in every direction. Eventually, the monstrous wave of mana reached its apex, before turning around and picking up speed as it soared back toward him. Vin steeled himself, preparing for the painful sensation of too much information being hammered into his head. His body shook as all the mana he shot out returned to him at the same time.


    And the world exploded in golden light.


    Vin¡¯s head snapped back from whiplash as the golden aura blasted out of his skull, and he stumbled, barely managing to stay on his feet. Immediately, he realized the spell had worked. He knew the exact location of every rock and piece of stone within a few thousand feet, giving him a perfect mental map of the many tunnels.


    ¡°Vin!¡± Shia said, her grip tightening on his arm as she helped him remain upright. ¡°What the hell was that light?! Are you okay?¡± Even Alka was watching him carefully, as if afraid he would collapse at any moment.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m fine,¡± he stammered, discovering his heart was racing. Raising a hand to his head that felt oddly clear, he realized what must have happened. ¡°I¡¯m pretty certain I just¡­ tripped my own divine boon.¡±


    His companions stared at him, struggling to understand what he was saying.


    ¡°You mean you just¡­ killed yourself?!¡± Shia finally asked, staring at him like he was crazy.


    ¡°I think so,¡± he chuckled weakly, earning a frown from Alka as Shia¡¯s grip only tightened further around his arm. ¡°Hey, good to know I¡¯m protected from the backlash of my own spells at least.¡±


    ¡°Vin-¡±


    ¡°Did it work?¡± Alka asked, cutting Shia¡¯s tirade off. The elf turned to frown at her, but the Slayer shook her head. ¡°We don¡¯t have time to yell at him right now for his recklessness, every minute we waste talking is another one the divine warrior grows closer.¡± She looked at him, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Did it work?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Vin said, taking a deep breath and steadying himself. He certainly hadn¡¯t intended to risk his own life like that, but there was nothing to do about it now. ¡°I have a map of the tunnels. Let¡¯s go!¡±


    Shia looked like she wasn¡¯t done talking, but she clearly understood the time limit they were on. Begrudgingly, she let go of his arm, following after him as he took off back into the tunnels.


    Now that he knew what tunnel went where, Vin was actually able to use Madam Trebella¡¯s charm to slowly close the distance between them and the divine warrior. It still wasn¡¯t a perfect science, and they had to backtrack more than once, but it wasn¡¯t long before they left the screaming crowd behind them, and only a few minutes after that until they encountered one of the elites cautiously peering around a bend in the tunnel. As soon as it heard their approach, it spun around.


    ¡°Halt!¡± It ordered, planting the butt of its spear and raising a hand to stop them. ¡°The divine warrior approaches down this tunnel. Turn and flee if you value your life.¡±


    ¡°We know, we¡¯re here to fight him,¡± Vin said, taking a small amount of pleasure in the fact that he wasn¡¯t even winded after sprinting down so many tunnels.


    ¡°You are?¡± The elite said, blinking its large eyes. The trogum¡¯s antennae turned slightly, indicating it was communicating with another of its kind, and Vin felt pretty confident he knew who. A few seconds later, he got confirmation.


    ¡°The Rebel Queen has asked me to assist you,¡± the elite said, falling into step behind Vin and joining the small group. ¡°I will follow whatever instructions you give. Please feel free to sacrifice me if you see an opening to take down the divine warrior.¡±


    ¡°Thank you¡­¡± Vin said, only slightly disturbed by the trogum¡¯s willingness to lay down its life just like that. Shaking his head, he turned to his companions. ¡°I had to burn most my mana on that spell, but I¡¯ll do my best to supply covering fire where I can. Shia, you try and pin him down, and Alka¡­¡±


    ¡°Just because I don¡¯t want to die anymore, doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m about to stop fighting,¡± the ghost grinned, pulling their sword free and giving it a few practice swings. ¡°I¡¯m all about killing monsters, and I can¡¯t think of a man who happily scythes his way through innocent people as anything but a monster.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Vin said, returning her grin. ¡°In that case, the plan is simple. Pin him down and take him out. You guys ready?¡±


    Getting two nods and a minorly unnerving, ¡°I am ready to die,¡± from the elite, Vin sucked in a deep breath, leading his team further into the tunnel.


    Directly into the path of the divine warrior.

 (94) 2.47. The Divine Warrior

    At this point, Vin and his friends had been chasing after the divine warrior for nearly a week. During his recovery in the infernals¡¯ village and his downtime in between bouts of training with Alka, Vin had had plenty of time to wonder about what exactly the divine warrior looked like.


    The one thing everyone agreed on was the glowing blade that the warrior carried, but there had been little mention of anything else. Vin didn¡¯t know if he was tall or short, loud or quiet, hell, he didn¡¯t even know if he was human.


    After hearing about the warrior¡¯s mass killings, Vin had crafted a picture in his head of a large, barrel chested man with a brilliant glowing greatsword slung over his shoulder that the warrior used to cleave dozens of lives with each swing. A muscular, powerful man capable of killing a trained warrior with a single backhand, who refused to speak other than to scream holy gospel about his God as he struck down all that dared to face him. A week was a lot of time for the imagination to wander, so Vin had crafted a pretty detailed image of the divine warrior in his head at this point.


    So he was rather surprised to turn the tunnel corner and find himself face to face with a rather scrawny looking man covered in scales, with nothing but a thin rapier at his hip.


    Vin blinked, actually coming to a stop as he struggled to conflate the man standing before him with the image he¡¯d crafted over the last few days.


    The first thing he noticed was that the divine warrior was actually a full head shorter than he was. He had an elongated face that looked almost like that of a gecko, and his large, bulging eyes put even those of the trogums to shame. He wore a simple green tunic that went with his dark grey scales, and had an old looking chain necklace hanging from his neck, with a tiny dagger dangling on the end of it that looked as if it had been crafted for Scule.


    The divine warrior seemed just as surprised to see them as they were him, as he halted in his tracks, his eyes widening slightly. Rather than blink, his tongue suddenly shot out of his mouth, wiping across his eyes with incredible speed before vanishing back into his long mouth.


    ¡°Well that¡¯s gross,¡± Alka said, squinting at the strange looking lizardman. She already held her sword in hand, but based on the fact that she had yet to fly off down the tunnel and strike at the scaled man, she also didn¡¯t quite believe this was the warrior they¡¯d heard so much about. ¡°Hey you! Are you the divine warrior that¡¯s been killing everyone all over the place?¡±


    Due to his strange facial structure, Vin was having a hard time reading the man¡¯s expressions. But as best he could tell, the man seemed just as confused by Alka¡¯s accusation as he¡¯d been to see them in the tunnel in the first place.


    ¡°Killing?¡± He asked, his voice weirdly gurgly, as though he was attempting to gargle water and talk at the same time. Despite their clear hostility, he continued standing there entirely unconcerned, not having done so much as place a hand on his sword. In fact, he actually reached up and began scratching at the side of his neck, revealing a rather irritated looking patch of scales. ¡°What¡¯s this about killing now?¡±


    The three of them shared a quick look amongst themselves, and Vin could practically hear his companions thinking. The stranger sounded genuinely confused regarding Alka¡¯s accusation. No doubt Alka and Shia¡¯s thoughts were mirroring his own right about now.


    Was this actually the dreaded divine warrior that had slaughtered possibly thousands of people? Or was this just some random lizard-like folk that had wandered into these tunnels somehow from a different fragment?


    ¡°We heard from the trogums that a divine warrior has been working with the True Queen. Going through their tunnels and hunting down innocent people,¡± Vin explained, wondering if this guy just had a phenomenal poker face. Even so, they weren¡¯t about to just lash out and kill what might be an innocent man. If he was somehow the divine warrior, he shouldn¡¯t be able to use his divine boon without going through his strange speech anyway, meaning they weren''t exactly pressed for time here.


    ¡°This¡­ True Queen, you mention. Is she some larger version of these bug-like people?¡± The stranger asked, miming a crown with one hand as his other continued scratching and his tongue wiped across his eyes yet again. ¡°Twelve large antennae like things sticking out of her head? Voice in your head that sounds like a tree sitting on you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that sounds like her,¡± Vin called back, readying himself to fire off a Stone Shot after the perfect description. Either the man had seen the Rebel Queen at some point, or he was the one working with the True Queen.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not working with that maniac,¡± the man snorted, his wet chuckling drawing a sigh from Vin as he relaxed for the briefest of moments.


    ¡°She was the first one I sacrificed in this fragment.¡±


    Vin¡¯s sigh caught in his throat and he nearly choked at the sudden whiplash. Clearly he wasn¡¯t the only confused one.


    ¡°Wait, you got rid of the True Queen?¡± Shia asked, her knuckles white around her staff as she kept it trained on the stranger. ¡°Why? And I thought you just said you hadn¡¯t killed anyone!¡±


    ¡°Why? Because she marred the creation of the Gods!¡± The warrior said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. ¡°This realm the Gods painstakingly created is a piece of art. Countless pieces of worlds now forever lost us, woven together to form one giant relic of times past. None of us are supposed to be here. None of us were meant to dirty this grand creation with our pathetic existences. The fact that everyone from the dirtiest beggar to the most powerful war chief lost their strength is evidence enough of that. It was to make us easier to erase.¡±


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    ¡°To kill is to cause death,¡± he continued, finally stopping his scratching and smiling at them as though it were a teacher lecturing them on his favorite topic. ¡°But a sacrifice¡­ a sacrifice is a gift. None of those that I sacrifice have truly died. Their power lives on with me, and allows me to continue my mission of cleansing this new world.¡±


    As he spoke, the lizardman patted the hilt of his rapier lovingly, as though it were the head of a beloved pet. He looked like he had more to say, but evidently, Alka had heard more than enough.


    Not giving the crazed lizardman another second, Alka shot down the tunnel in a blur of green, her sword trailing behind her as she headed straight for the divine warrior. Before the lizardman could utter another sound, she struck, aiming directly for the lizardman¡¯s throat.


    And missed.


    Vin blinked, not entirely certain what just happened. One moment, Alka¡¯s enchanted blade had been slicing through the air, headed directly for the divine warrior¡¯s neck with all the speed the ghost could muster. And yet, seemingly without him having moved at all, her attack had missed.


    Clearly Vin wasn¡¯t the only one confused, as he heard Shia mutter right beside him.


    ¡°What in the¡­?¡±


    For her part, Alka only hesitated for a brief moment before continuing her offensive. Letting out a barrage of slashes, Vin finally realized how her first one had missed.


    The divine warrior had dodged.


    Vin¡¯s mouth fell open as he watched the impossible scene playing out before him. As a ghost, Alka had lost all her strength and was forced to rely on her impressive sword for offensive power. But she maintained her dexterity that was somewhere in the forties based on the bonus stats Vin received from her. She was easily the fastest person Vin had ever encountered, not including the deranged Relic Guardian from the citadel.


    Even so, the lizardman was faster.


    Much faster.


    Alka¡¯s sword flashed green through the air as she attempted again and again to land a hit on the lizardman, but he was simply too quick on his feet. Still yet to draw his sword, he kept one hand leisurely at his side while the other reached up and continued scratching at his neck as he ducked and weaved his way around the ghost¡¯s rapid strikes, watching her with more curiosity than anything.


    ¡°I¡¯ll admit, I¡¯m not entirely certain if I even can sacrifice you,¡± he said, not even winded as he ducked and slipped out of the way of a few quick thrusts. ¡°But seeing as you are trying to stop me, I suppose I will have to give it a shot.¡±


    ¡°Shia, slow him down!¡± Vin shouted as the man cleared his throat with a wet gurgle and raised his voice. ¡°Trogum guy, you-¡±


    Vin turned to order the elite to run in and help, and found himself staring at a patch of empty tunnel.


    ¡°What¡­?¡± He gasped, realizing the elite was gone. As he tried to figure out what had happened, the divine warrior began speaking.


    ¡°By the decree of the Gods, you have been chosen!¡± He began, continuing to narrowly dodge everything Alka threw at him. ¡°Rejoice, for in your sacrifice-¡±


    ¡°Entangling Thorns!¡± Shia screamed, tapping into her staff for extra juice as the ivy covering the tunnel walls erupted into dozens of thorny tendrils that shot directly at the divine warrior.


    ¡°-you shall contribute to something greater than you could possibly imagine!¡± He continued, suddenly moving even faster as he dipped and wove his way in and out of the grasping tendrils, somehow still continuing to dodge Alka¡¯s attacks. There simply wasn¡¯t enough vegetation within the tunnel walls to draw out the spell¡¯s maximum potential like Shia had done during their training with Alka back in the forest. ¡°I ask that you lower your arms-¡±


    ¡°Stone Shot! Stone Shot! Stone Wall!¡± Vin cried, shoving the missing trogum from his thoughts as he began casting spell after spell as fast as he possibly could, each one with a load of extra mana dumped into it from Runic Recalibration to increase their force. The lizardman seemed to dodge each of his stone missiles at the last second with ease, and the Stone Wall he tried conjuring underneath his foot to make him stumble was simply kicked off of, used to dodge another of Alka¡¯s frantic slashes.


    ¡°-and willingly accept the blade of my God, to ensure that your passing-¡±


    ¡°Rapid Growth!¡± Shia tried, carefully aiming her staff as three giant branches blasted out of it, shooting toward the warrior and through Alka, before slamming into the tunnel floor and wall, having been narrowly dodged by the nimble warrior.


    ¡°-is as quick and painless as possible!"


    As the lizardman spoke those final words, he finally stopped dodging, standing stock still as his hand blurred, going from scratching at the reddish looking scales on his neck to the hilt of his sword.


    Not willing to lose the chance she¡¯d been given, Alka brought down her sword in a powerful, arcing slash at him with all the speed she could muster. The usually calm and collected Slayer actually screaming with rage at her inability to land a single hit.


    But before her sword could connect, the lizardman moved.


    A blinding, golden light that seemed to contain the very power of the sun erupted from the thin rapier as it was finally pulled from its sheath. Vin could do nothing but watch as, having finally drawn his golden blade, the lizardman struck, his sword cleaving forward.


    Through the dozens of barbed vines reaching out to grab him.


    Through a screaming Alka, her eyes widening as she realized at the last second what was about to happen.


    And through her sword, cutting the petrified elder wood in twain as though it were made of cheap copper.


    As the two halves of the indestructible sword clattered to the tunnel floor, Vin collapsed to his knees. A sudden, chilling pain stabbed deep into his core as though he¡¯d been the one to get cut instead of Alka. Vaguely, he felt that strange rubber band sensation tightening around his core again like he had back in the dungeon, except this time there was no stepping back from the corridor entrance.


    The last thing he saw was Alka¡¯s ethereal form flickering like a dying candle as the ghost turned to him, her expression a mix of shock and fear. As she faded away, the very first friend he¡¯d ever made on this crazy world reached out a shaking, sputtering hand, as if trying to grab him from all the way across the tunnel.


    Part of that invisible band pulled tight around his core snapped.


    And then she was gone.

 (95) 2.48. Extinguished

    Gasping, Vin struggled to stay conscious as the world seemed to swim around him, and the cold sensation in his core seeped into his very bones. He was vaguely aware of Shia screaming something, but he couldn¡¯t make out the words. Leaning on his incredibly high focus, Vin forced his spinning surroundings to stabilize as he pushed himself back to his feet and looked toward the lizardman.


    The divine warrior was frowning, turning his glowing sword this way and that as if trying to tell if it had changed in any way. Based on how close he held it to his own face, it seemed as though he was immune to the brightness of his own sword.


    Speaking of swords¡­


    While Alka¡¯s glowing green form was nowhere to be seen, Dancing Leaf, the enchanted blade she¡¯d been gifted for becoming her world¡¯s first common-born Slayer and the entire cause of her murder, now lay in two pieces, their soft green glows flickering as if struggling to stay alive.


    ¡°Vin! We have to go!¡± Shia cried, snapping him out of his stunned trance. Glancing at the elf, Vin saw tears streaming down her face as she sniffed, her hands shaking as they held her staff close to her chest. ¡°We can¡¯t beat him now, and we can¡¯t let Alka die for nothing like this! We have to go!¡±


    ¡°But Alka¡­¡± Vin looked back at the lizardman blankly, half expecting to see Alka¡¯s ethereal form fly out of her blade somehow before grabbing the pointed end and jamming it straight into the lizardman¡¯s bulging eye while he was distracted inspecting his sword.


    But of course, that didn¡¯t happen.


    Alka was gone.


    Killed, for good this time.


    Ignoring Shia¡¯s cries, Vin realized he was stumbling forward, walking toward the divine warrior instead of running away from him. His body seemed to be moving on its own, as if Alka were puppeting him once again, and he had a brief flicker of hope that she¡¯d simply taken over his body again rather than vanish before he realized he was still the one in control.


    ¡°Well damn, looks like I didn¡¯t get any power from sacrificing her after all,¡± the lizardman gurgled, letting out a wet sigh. ¡°Guess I shouldn¡¯t be too surprised. I didn¡¯t get any stronger from killing all those undead a few fragments back after all. Rotting Necromancers¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­Give her back.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± The lizardman finally raised his gaze, eyeing Vin like he was some random person on the street rather than someone that had been trying his damndest to kill him mere moments ago. ¡°What was that?¡±


    ¡°Alka. Give her back!¡± Vin repeated, finally coming to a stop directly in front of the divine warrior. He felt his foot push against something, and his stomach blanched when he looked down to find himself kicking the top half of Alka¡¯s sword.


    ¡°I know grief affects all of us in different ways,¡± the lizardman said, giving him a pitiful look. ¡°¡­normally I would tell you she isn¡¯t truly dead. That her purpose lives on within my sword, and that you¡¯d soon be reunited. But in this case, she really is gone. She¡¯s not coming back.¡±


    Rather than answer, Vin silently wove the runic formation for Stone Wall within his core, casting the spell the moment it was ready without a single word. A small jut of stone erupted out of the tunnel floor by his foot, directly underneath the top half of Alka¡¯s sword and sending it flying upwards. Snatching it out of the air, Vin slammed the pointed piece of petrified elder wood forward, aimed directly for the lizardman¡¯s chest.


    And hit nothing but air.


    ¡°She was never alive to begin with,¡± he heard from behind him, the lizardman somehow having not only dodged his attack, but done so without Vin even seeing him move. ¡°She was a drifting soul, lost in the world of the living. I did her a favor.¡±


    Vin spun around and stabbed the broken sword tip forward, and again, found himself facing nothing but empty tunnel.


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t your choice to make!¡± He screamed, his rage only building as the helplessness finally set in. The divine warrior could somehow move fast enough that even with his impressive focus, Vin couldn¡¯t even track him, let alone hit him. He¡¯d killed Alka directly in front of them.


    And Vin could do nothing about it.


    ¡°Sometimes our betters have to make the hard choices for us,¡± the lizardman said solemnly as Vin turned to stare daggers at him. The warrior¡¯s glowing sword was finally raised above his head, prepared for the killing strike, but Vin couldn¡¯t find it in himself to feel anything but rage. Despite knowing he was moments from death, that he didn¡¯t even have his divine boon to protect him, Vin was desperate to do something, anything to smack that pitiful look off of the lizardman¡¯s face. With the last moments of his life, before the divine warrior brought down his sword, Vin remembered his other recent battle against a superior foe, and more by reflex than anything threw together a desperate runic formation within his core, dumping every last bit of mana he had into the spell.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± the lizardman said, giving him a sad smile. ¡°This will all be over-¡±


    A literal nova of light blasted out of Vin as his modified Light spell was finished, and Vin grinned with his eyes scrunched shut as he heard the warrior¡¯s voice cut off mid sentence.


    To his surprise, rather than having his life snuffed out for his final act of defiance, Vin realized he was still alive.


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    Stranger still, it felt like he was alone.


    Cracking his eyes open, he did his best to rub the spots out of them and look around. His Light spell had been powerful enough that even with them tightly shut he still could barely see anything, which meant the divine warrior had to be practically blind right about now.


    The lizardman was fast, but he wasn¡¯t faster than light.


    Knowing he might finally have his chance at landing a blow against Alka¡¯s true killer, Vin rubbed the tears out of his eyes and frantically searched for the divine warrior. He could hear the sound of something dripping, and he looked down, blinking at the sight of his own blood practically pooling on the tunnel floor.


    ¡°Vin!¡± Shia¡¯s voice finally registered once more as the elf ran over to him, and only then did he realize she¡¯d been calling his name all this time.


    ¡°Where did he go?¡± Vin demanded, disregarding his bleeding fingers as he continued his search. ¡°Why did he run? Even if I blinded him, he was still far stronger than we were!¡±


    ¡°Vin, you¡¯ve nearly severed all five of your fingers!¡± Shia shouted, her hands wrapping around his own shaking one and ever so carefully prying the sword fragment loose. Tossing the bloody hunk of wood to the ground, she immediately began casting Renewal, the concentrated life magic seeping into his ruined fingers and slowly healing them. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for your ring of barkskin, you¡¯d be down two hands at this point!¡±


    ¡°Shia!¡± Vin snapped, causing the elf to flinch and almost drop her spell. He¡¯d never felt this much anger in his life, and his intended outlet for it was suddenly gone. ¡°Where did he go?!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± Shia cried, her own eyes flicking back and forth between his damaged hand and the long, empty tunnel, as if she were terrified of the lizardman returning to finish the job. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but it doesn¡¯t matter! We need to leave before he comes back!¡±


    ¡°He killed Alka!¡± Vin roared, holding his stump against his temple as the pounding mana headache finally set in. He¡¯d dumped literally every ounce of mana he¡¯d had into that final Light spell, and rather than be rewarded with a chance at finally killing that monster, all he got for his troubles was a horrible migraine.


    ¡°You think I don¡¯t know that?!¡± Shia shouted, her own sudden rage snapping Vin out of his fury for a moment as the elf got right up in his face. ¡°I was here, Vin! I watched her die, just like you did!¡±


    ¡°Then how can you say we need to go?¡± Vin demanded, realizing his entire body was shaking at this point as, with the target for his anger nowhere to be found, his burning rage flipped to sorrow in an instant. ¡°He killed Alka, Shia¡­ She¡¯s¡­ She¡¯s gone¡­¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± the elf said, tears still streaming down her face as she finally finished healing his hand. ¡°¡­but do you really think she¡¯d want us to stand here and die trying to avenge her? He¡¯s too strong Vin, we need to leave and regroup. Meet with Scule and Reginald and come up with some sort of plan.¡±


    ¡°Oh God, Scule¡­¡± Vin whispered, his legs nearly giving out as he realized they were going to have to break the news about what happened to Alka to the petian and his companion. ¡°How...?¡±


    ¡°Worry about it later,¡± Shia said, giving his hand one last look. ¡°It¡¯ll need more healing once we¡¯re out of here, but you¡¯re not at risk of bleeding out anymore. We need to leave. Now.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­¡± Vin stood there, seemingly at a loss for what to do. Shia was right of course, Alka wouldn¡¯t want them to give up their lives for nothing. Even so, he felt rooted to the spot, as though he couldn¡¯t bring himself to leave the site of Alka¡¯s true death.


    They didn¡¯t even have a body to bury.


    Realizing they had the next best thing, Vin quickly snatched up the two halves of Dancing Leaf, careful not to cut himself on them this time. He hesitated for a moment, unsure how to transport them like this before Shia grabbed them from him.


    ¡°Here,¡± she said, placing the wooden fragments within the canopy of her staff. Vin watched as the tiny branches seemed to shift and move, growing around each of the pieces and holding them firmly in place amongst the tiny leaves.


    That taken care of, the two of them took off down the tunnel, back toward the trogums and hopefully away from wherever the divine warrior had retreated to. As they ran, Vin realized something with a start.


    ¡°Shia, we can¡¯t go back out the way we came,¡± he said, his blood chilling at the thought of being ambushed by a handful of trogum elites in their current state. ¡°That elite abandoned us for some reason. I don¡¯t know why, but the Rebel Queen clearly isn¡¯t on our side anymore, if she ever was. If we try and backtrack, her elites might be waiting for us.¡±


    ¡°Broken bark,¡± Shia hissed, coming to the same realization. ¡°Okay, do you have somewhere else we can exit? You mapped all these tunnels, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, hold on.¡± They ran for a few more seconds before Vin stopped them at a junction between tunnels. Closing his eyes, he ran through his updated mental map as quickly as he could, before pointing at one of the offshoot tunnels. ¡°This one should take us to the surface!¡±


    Not wasting any time, they adjusted course and kept running. Shia was forced to morph her staff into cat form, and Vin noted how the broken sword pieces seemed to shift to sit within the cat¡¯s rib cage to ensure Shia didn¡¯t end up stabbing herself as she rode upon the cat.


    After a few minutes of running through empty tunnels that gradually sloped upwards, they suddenly found themselves out on the surface once more, gasping at the sudden blinding light from the sun.


    A quick glance around showed that there wasn¡¯t anything dangerous nearby, and Vin quickly angled them back toward the infernals¡¯ fragment. If they could just make it back to the village, they should be safe. Vin doubted the divine warrior was willing to take on Madam Trebella again just yet, even if he could somehow best her obscuration ritual and find the village again.


    The two of them didn¡¯t share a word as they left the trogums¡¯ fragment behind them, slipping into the insect infested woods and making a beeline directly for the powerful Witch.


    Glancing over his shoulder one final time at the fragment that was now home to Alka¡¯s final resting place, Vin made a promise to himself right then and there.


    Somehow, someway, he¡¯d get his revenge for Alka¡¯s true death.


    He was going to take that divine warrior down.

 (96). 2.49. A Chance In Hell

    Vin and Shia travelled in silence all the way back to the village. Vin certainly wasn¡¯t in any sort of mood to talk, and based on the sniffling he could hear still coming from his companion, Shia clearly wasn¡¯t either. They didn¡¯t encounter any more giant spider swarms this time, which was both good and bad. Good because they probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to take them on as they were at the moment.


    Bad because Vin really wanted to scream and punch something.


    Not even the surprise notification that he¡¯d increased his running to level 12 was able to put a dent in the current mood.


    They didn¡¯t stop running until they¡¯d broken out of the treeline, slowly coming to a stop as the familiar village finally came into view. Vin knew so long as they could see the village they were under the protection of Madam Trebella¡¯s ritual, and he finally let himself relax ever so slightly.


    Now that he didn¡¯t have to fear the freakishly fast Divine Warrior suddenly appearing beside him at any moment, he could focus on other things.


    Like how to best kill him.


    He didn¡¯t know if it was coincidence or if Shia was just able to read him by now, but the elf placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, doing her best to give him a calming smile.


    ¡°Take a deep breath, Vin,¡± she said, following her own instructions and letting out a heavy sigh. Doing the motion a second, and then a third time until he finally joined her. Vin had to admit he felt ever so slightly better after breathing alongside her.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to go find Scule and Reginald and¡­ tell them what happened,¡± Shia said, her voice strained. ¡°I think you should go lie down for a bit, but I have a feeling you won¡¯t. If that¡¯s the case, you should talk to Madam Trebella and ask for her help. She¡¯s the only one we¡¯ve encountered so far that actually managed to fight off the divine warrior, so we need to talk to her before we go anywhere near him again.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Yeah, that¡¯s a good idea,¡± Vin nodded, realizing she had a point. His mind had felt muddled ever since Alka had vanished, and not just because he¡¯d lost the extra stats she provided.


    Breaking off from the elf, Vin aimlessly poured what little mana he¡¯d managed to recover during their run into Renewal, healing the remaining damage in his hand and welcoming the fresh headache his spell brought on. He¡¯d been so blinded by rage in his attempts to stab the divine warrior that he hadn¡¯t even realized just how close he¡¯d come to slicing off his own fingers by grabbing the top half of Alka¡¯s sword.


    Walking up to the manor, Vin knocked on the door, waiting for Malzar to open it. To his surprise, it was another familiar face that greeted him instead.


    One that he really didn¡¯t feel like dealing with right now.


    Rather than the young and excitable infernal, Vin found himself staring at an impassive Xaril, book open in hand.


    ¡°What?¡± The infernal asked, not even bothering to look up from his book.


    ¡°I need to talk to Madam Trebella,¡± Vin said through gritted teeth.


    ¡°Mmm¡­¡± the infernal grunted, moving to the side and letting Vin enter as he kept reading.


    Shaking his head, Vin walked into the manor and headed straight for Madam Trebella¡¯s study. He passed a few younger infernals here and there that gave him strange looks and whispered about him, but he couldn¡¯t bring himself to care at the moment.


    Not even bothering to knock, Vin walked into the Witch¡¯s study, finding the head of the village neck deep in paperwork.


    ¡°Do you have any idea-!¡± Madam Trebella stopped her shout, clearly surprised to find him standing before her instead of one of her charges. Giving him a thorough look from top to bottom, she grunted.


    ¡°You look like hell.¡±


    ¡°How did you defeat the divine warrior?¡± Vin demanded, not bothering to answer her unspoken question.


    The Witch paused for a moment, staring at him carefully as if deciding between answering his questions and turning him into a newt, before letting out a heavy sigh. Leaning back in her chair, she motioned for him to take a seat.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t so much as defeat him as I scared him off,¡± she finally said, tapping one of her horns with a smirk. ¡°Divine magic doesn''t play by the same rules as regular magic, meaning you generally can¡¯t best a divine warrior in a battle of strength. You have to be tricky. Win the battle of wits the golden idiots don¡¯t even realize they¡¯re fighting.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± Vin repeated, still not hearing any actual answers.


    ¡°Surely you understand you won¡¯t be able to replicate any of my methods?¡± She asked, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Unless you became a master at rituals since last we spoke?¡±


    Vin just stared at her. After a few seconds, she clicked her tongue.


    ¡°Youth these days,¡± she muttered. ¡°I have countless defensive rituals already prepared all across the village that I can trigger with barely a thought. I already told you, Witches and Warlocks are far more powerful than standard spellcasters, but only if they have time to prepare. If the divine warrior had jumped me beyond the boundaries of this village, he would have made short work of me.¡±


    ¡°What did your rituals do, exactly?¡± Vin pushed.


    ¡°First was an evacuation ritual,¡± she said, ticking them off her fingers. ¡°I had a bad feeling the moment I laid eyes on him, so before the idiot had even finished the first bit of his chant, I¡¯d summoned a handful of bound air elementals to lift up the nearby villagers and float them out of his reach onto a temporary hardened cloud. He didn¡¯t like that one bit,¡± she cackled, grinning at the memory. ¡°Even with the villagers out of harm''s way, my gut feeling hadn¡¯t gone away, so I decided to activate one of my more powerful and expensive personal rituals I always keep prepared in the event of an emergency. It was a costly, stupid decision to make at the time, and it¡¯s the only reason I¡¯m still alive.¡±


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    ¡°What was the ritual?¡± Vin asked, frowning at the mention of how costly it was. Based on Madam Trebella¡¯s tone, he had a feeling she wouldn¡¯t be able to do it a second time.


    ¡°A ritual of haste,¡± she said, sitting up and fixing him with a pointed look. ¡°Time magic that enhances the caster¡¯s speed significantly, making it a particularly vital ritual for Witches and Warlocks seeing as we need longer to enact most of our magics than the average mage if caught off guard. Dexterity and focus are already the two most important attributes for a Witch, so I¡¯m actually much faster than I look. The ritual enhances my speed even further, to the point where I¡¯d probably be able to get up, smack you upside the head, and sit back down before you even know what had hit you.¡±


    ¡°So you were able to match his speed then?¡±


    ¡°It would be more accurate to say I was able to dodge his attacks. Barely,¡± she frowned, clearly not happy admitting her failures. ¡°I don¡¯t know how, but that warrior¡¯s dexterity attribute has to be incredibly high. Based on his expression I¡¯d clearly caught him by surprise when I dodged his first attack, and honestly it didn¡¯t take much more than that to run him off. For some reason once he realized I could almost match his speed he started to panic, and his technique began to grow sloppy. To the point where I even managed to hit him with some minor curses before he fled.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Vin said, wondering what all of that meant. Madam Trebella herself admitted that she hadn¡¯t been able to match the warrior¡¯s incredible speed even with her powerful ritual. If she was still slower than him, why had she frightened him so?


    ¡°Your turn,¡± she said, snapping Vin out of his concentration.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°A tale for a tale,¡± she said, rolling her eyes. ¡°I told you how I managed to survive, now you do the same. Tell me what you did to escape with your life, and why you¡¯re so hell bent on taking him down now. Hells knows it¡¯s not because I asked you to.¡±


    Vin was tempted to tell her to shove it and walk away, not really in the mood to talk about what had happened so soon. But even in his irritated state he knew Madam Trebella was a powerful ally to have. If she couldn¡¯t help him come up with a way to take down the divine warrior, then possibly no one could.


    Sinking down into his chair, Vin forced himself to retell everything that happened as closely as he could remember it. To his surprise, Madam Trebella actually listened to his story very carefully, interjecting with a question here or there when something strange popped up, such as when he talked about his first time meeting the Rebel Queen. The only things he left out were how he¡¯d managed to map the tunnels, and the fact that he had a divine boon of his own.


    After what felt like no time at all, Vin got to the end of the battle, feeling his throat begin to close up as he reached the part that would be etched into his brain forever.


    ¡°After he finished his speech and drew his sword, he¡­ he cut down Alka like it was nothing,¡± Vin managed, the now familiar phantom pain radiating through his missing hand as he tried to clench it. ¡°His golden rapier cut straight through her sword like it was made of paper. We couldn¡¯t do anything. He dodged everything we threw at him with a smile on his face, like he was playing with a bunch of angry toddlers.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Madam Trebella said, giving him a strange look. ¡°So how did you survive then?¡±


    ¡°I managed to catch him off guard with an enhanced cast of Light, right before he could take my head,¡± Vin explained. ¡°By the time I could see again, he was gone, as if he¡¯d never been there in the first place. I still don¡¯t understand why he fled so quickly. A quick twitch of his wrist and I would have been a goner.¡±


    ¡°I think I may know the divine warrior''s weakness,¡± Madam Trebella said slowly, rubbing her horn absentmindedly.


    ¡°You do?! What is it?¡± Vin asked, leaping out of his seat and leaning over her desk.


    ¡°Calm down,¡± she hissed, actually swatting the hand laid on her desk, causing him to recoil in surprise. One thing was certain, she was faster than she looked. ¡°It¡¯s just a theory, but it would explain why I freaked him out so much when I got close to his speed, and why he fled the moment you blinded him.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s fragile as an egg.¡±


    Vin blinked at the infernal, wondering if he¡¯d heard her right. ¡°¡­Explain?¡±


    ¡°Think about it,¡± she frowned, getting up and pacing behind her desk. ¡°Even if he has a combat class, he couldn¡¯t have gotten that much experience since we arrived on this world. There¡¯s no way he¡¯s prestiged more than twice at the very most. If that¡¯s the case, where does his speed come from?¡±


    Vin stared at the infernal, slowly picking up what she was putting down. ¡°You think he¡¯s taken every single one of his attribute points¡­ and put them all into dexterity?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the only thing that explains his incredible speed without using time magic,¡± she nodded. ¡°Normally that¡¯s regarded as a rather stupid thing to do, as what good is speed if you lack the strength to do anything with it. But he¡¯s managed to solve that problem, hasn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°His golden sword,¡± Vin gasped, the pieces falling into place. ¡°If that sword can cut through petrified elder wood, it can cut through anything. He doesn¡¯t need to invest any points into strength.¡± Vin almost jumped for joy at discovering the divine warrior¡¯s weakness, when a sudden thought put a damper on their line of thinking. ¡°Hold on, I thought you can¡¯t just dump points into dexterity without splitting it between that and focus. Doesn¡¯t he need the focus to even comprehend how fast he¡¯s going?¡±


    ¡°Normally yes, but there¡¯s a chance he has passives, Capstones, or even a title that helps him get around that,¡± Madam Trebella said, looking thoughtful. ¡°You said he fought with a rapier, correct? If his base class is something similar to Duelist, then he almost certainly would have been offered abilities to help his mind keep up with his speed. Without having to invest in focus. They might solve the problems he¡¯d have with getting tired quickly as well. Or his divine power might play a role there, there¡¯s just too much we don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°So he¡¯s invested everything into speed,¡± Vin muttered, sitting back down and putting his head in his hands as he thought. If their theory were true, that meant a single blow, not even one that was all that powerful, would be all it would take to finish the lizardman off. No wonder the warrior had fled the moment his speed advantage had been nullified by the Witch, or why he hadn¡¯t wanted to risk fighting blind against Vin.


    Vin was so lost in thought, busy trying to come up with all the different ways they could use this knowledge to their advantage, that he missed what the infernal said next.


    ¡°Sorry, what was that?¡± He asked, glancing up at her.


    ¡°I said he¡¯s still not going to be an easy opponent to take down,¡± Madam Trebella frowned, clearly disliking having to repeat herself. ¡°Especially without your front-line fighter.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Vin muttered, his heart catching at the reminder that Alka was gone.


    Madam Trebella gave him an expectant look, as if she were waiting for something. When he merely looked back at her blankly, she pinched the bridge of her nose, muttering something that sounded like a prayer for strength.


    ¡°I hate trying to make deals with idiots,¡± she sighed, shaking her head.


    ¡°What deal?¡± Vin asked, looking confused. ¡°We already agreed to help you take down the divine warrior.¡±


    ¡°Not the warrior, you idiot,¡± she glared, slamming a hand on her desk and leaning over him, striking a rather imposing visage with her gleaming horns and shining gold eyes. ¡°Your friend! The ghost that wouldn¡¯t stop pestering me the other day!¡±


    ¡°Do you want her back or not?!¡±