《Skill Eater | LitRPG Progression Fantasy - [SLOWBURN ISEKAI LITRPG EXPERIENCE]》 Chapter 0: Collision Tara Perez leaned against the window, watching the colors of the Japanese countryside speed by as the sun reflected off of the snow. The light dappled her coffee colored skin through the double paned window of the train. Her skin, nearly completely covered, itched. Despite the cold outside, the itch that flared across her burns had nothing to do with the temperature. It had been almost three years since the fire. Three years of surgeries and agonizing physical therapy. This trip was supposed to mark the end of it all, a celebratory trip to visit the calm Japanese countryside, a trip to see her husband¡¯s family. It was supposed to be a way to finally close this chapter of their lives. To finally let go of the trauma of her burns and scars. As much as she wanted to feel excited, the cold air caused her skin grafts to tighten, and each movement seemed to pull and stretch in little uncomfortable places like a patchwork blanket of scars. Kenshiro Perez, her husband, sat beside her, scrolling on his phone. His eyes, occasionally glancing up with the kind, soft, attentive gaze she had fallen in love with years ago. He smiled at her, a small but encouraging smile, before flitting back to his phone, annoyed at something on it. Ken¡¯s hair was longer now, framing his face in gentle waves, and he had a habit of absentmindedly pushing it back when he was lost in thought. He was always thinking, always planning¡ªwhether it was a project at work, some coding problem, or some side hustle he was trying to make work. Since her accident Ken never sat still. Between medical bills, cooking, cleaning, making the house more comfortable, doctors visits, and working out, he was always on the move. Tara reached out and softly touched his hand, interrupting his scrolling. ¡°You okay?¡± she asked, her voice soft, but laced with concern. Kenshiro looked up, his thumb pausing mid-scroll. ¡°I should be asking you that,¡± he said with a smile that didn¡¯t quite reach his tired eyes. ¡°We didn¡¯t have to come in January, I just¡­ I want you to be able to relax.¡± he said, putting his hand sweetly on top of her wrist, avoiding the scars on her hand that were obviously irritating her. She chuckled, but it felt hollow. ¡°Stop. I¡¯m fine. The cold is just causing things to feel a bit tight. I¡¯ll be okay.¡±Stolen story; please report. He squeezed her wrist, his grip warm and steady. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re okay? I don¡¯t think either of us are over the jet lag and I know you need sleep.¡± The train rattled as it sped through another stretch between small neighborhood train stations. Tara shifted in her seat, trying to ignore that persistent itch crawling up her left leg. Her body was ¡®healed,¡¯ but it wasn¡¯t the same. The skin grafts across her body coated her leg and ankle, crawled their way up across her torso and covered her left arm. The web of tight skin was a constant reminder that her old self was long gone. She adjusted the miniature Gameboy keychain on her bag, an old relic from her time working as a graphic designer and a reminder of a life before everything changed. She tugged on her gloves, fidgeting. Ken leaned forward, popping a Mintia mint, his eyes scanning his phone as he translated the messages from his sister Aiko. Ken murmured, half to himself. ¡°Aiko says don¡¯t forget to text her before we hit Abiko, so she can be there to pick us up. The stations should have English above the kanji so even Tara should be able to read them.¡± ¡°Why does she say stuff like this?¡± He grumbled. ¡°She¡¯s making it sound like I can¡¯t even read. I¡¯ve been to the house, what? A hundred times? Just ¡®cause I didn¡¯t go to school here doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t navigate Osaka.¡± Ken muttered. Tara listened, letting the sound of the train and Ken¡¯s chatting distract her from the little pains and aches. She put her head on his shoulder as the train rumbled across the tracks. Trying to relax and rest. As the train clacked along she began to hear a small whistling or whirring sound. The sound was something between the metal on metal of the train tracks and something else that didn¡¯t quite fit, like a faint whistle or odd bottle rocket. She tried to push the thought away but something just didn¡¯t feel right. The train lurched slightly, just enough to make Tara sit up straight. She glanced around the car. A few older passengers exchanged nervous looks, their faces drawn tight with concern. The lights flickered again, this time dimming for several seconds before returning to their usual brightness. ¡°Ken¡­¡± she started, but he was already looking up, noticing the shift in atmosphere. The familiar hum of the train had changed. It was subtle, but there was a new tremor beneath the noise¡ªa vibration that rattled through her seat, the whole train, and into her bones. As the vibrations grew, the train jerked violently to the left, throwing passengers against their seats. Tara gripped the edge of her chair, her heart hammering in her chest. The world outside blurred as the train picked up speed and the flickering lights above them blinked erratically. ¡°Ken!¡± Tara shouted, her voice drowned out by the screech of metal grinding against metal. The train shuddered again, and this time it felt like the entire world tilted. Passengers screamed. Bags tumbled from overhead compartments. Kenshiro threw himself over her, his eyes locked on hers. ¡°Tara!¡± Then everything went white. Chapter 1: Ascension A flood of blinding light tore Tara¡¯s soul from her body. As the light enveloped her she sped upwards at impossible speeds. She flew up, through the roof of the old train, and into the sky. She was a shooting star of orange, green, and ultraviolet, ascending along the conduit of light that continued to hurtle her through the sky. As she shot from the surface of the earth she continued to pick up speed, ripping through the atmosphere, leaving all life behind. The longer she moved, the faster she seemed to go until she saw the earth behind her. She was in a tunnel of light now. Moving at impossible speeds, ever faster ever further. The scene around her began to look like the warp-speed effect from old sci-fi movies, with stars streaking by in endless streams. Silence enveloped her, yet the sheer intensity of the light overwhelmed her senses. If she focused hard enough, she could faintly make out the void that lay just beyond the radiance. ¡°Wha¡­¡± she attempted to say, only to be met with silence. In fact, She couldn¡¯t hear anything. There was no sound in the tunnel of light. Tara didn¡¯t know if it was the silence that shook her or the fact that she realized she could not speak, but she came to herself all at once. ¡°Where am I?¡± she thought to herself. Her vision moved across the tunnel of light speeding by her, to other strange colors. Floating orbs of fire and energy. Individual twinkling lights. These orbs were of a variety of different colors, unlike the pure white tunnel against the empty expanse. These orbs were what she imagined Will-o-wisps looked like as a little girl. Floating balls of faerie fire and magic. The lights seemed to float in place, each a different hue than the last. Each one softly bobbing up and down. Tara wished she could gasp, ¡°What are all these things? What is going on? Where am I?¡± Questions raced through her mind as she peered around the silent tunnel. ¡°What happened?¡± she thought, looking down at her¡­ She had no hands. She has no feet. Frantically, she looked down, around, and all about her. She hummed in frustration and confusion, her light pulsing. Wait. She hummed? She pulsed? Tara was a ball of light. She was floating. She was light and life itself. She didn¡¯t know if she wanted to cry from the fact that she was now a ball of light or simply shine in shock. All of this was so confusing. Was she dead? No, she was life. She was light. She was thinking. She was seeing things. She tried to steady her mind. It was beginning to spin. She was NOT dead though. She was alive and something she didn¡¯t understand was going on. She just had to figure it out. Around her, the other will-o-wisps floated¡ªthose who had also been on the train? If she was here and she was pulled from Earth, then maybe the other lights were like her. Or she was like them. Yes. Tara hovered closer to the other lights. She could feel them. Their warmth and their color. They were like her. Humans once. Lives. Though they lacked faces, she sensed their confusion, just as she felt her own. She tried to keep calm as the tunnel¡¯s speed seemed to increase, tilting on an axis she couldn¡¯t comprehend. If she still had a heart, it would have been lodged in her throat. She flitted around the two orbs next to her, trying to calm herself down. Her light shifted slightly purple and then green as she tried to soothe her worry and also communicate with the other wisps. She could tell they were afraid. She could feel it¡ªtheir emotions, like drops of color in a clear glass of water. Before she saw him, she felt him. Ken¡¯s wisp appeared beside her, his calm essence flickering softly as he drifted closer. She couldn¡¯t speak, everything remained silent, but his presence grounded her. It was him. She knew it. Ken. Her husband. Her best friend. Her lover, and confidant, and somehow, he was still here with her. They were together. He made her feel less alone, and her fear ebbed slightly. If they were about to face whatever lay beyond, she found comfort in knowing she would face it with the one person she knew better than anyone. The one she could trust. ¡°Ken.¡± She wished she could say. She wished she could touch him just a little bit, even if it hurt. She tried, but she had no real form to touch him with. Yet, she stayed close to him, searching for any way to connect with him. It was him. Those reds, yellows, and silvers in his light somehow felt right. He was this light. The tunnel seemed to pick up speed around them as they huddled close. Their lights flickering bright and soft, speeding through the tunnel of light toward an unknown destination, if there even was a destination. Maybe this tunnel was all that existed after life, but something in her gut told her otherwise. She felt them moving toward something, though she couldn¡¯t tell what it was. Then, the tunnel jolted, like hitting a bump on a road, sending a shock through her. Unease gripped her as a wisp farther back was destroyed, no, consumed, by a neon blackish-blue force.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. That¡¯s when she learned she could indeed panic. Terror gripped her as she clung to Ken¡¯s flickering form, desperately tying herself to him, binding them together. He flashed back, holding on to her, as the dark force consumed another soul, its light snuffed out in an instant. As the entity crept closer, Tara spared a glance beyond the light. They were descending now, toward a world rippling with colors and patterns, just beyond the void. Turning back to the encroaching darkness, she tried to flee, but before she could fully commit to the movement, she was yanked backward. The bluish energy gripped Ken. She watched in horror as he struggled against the force, pulling and tugging, but it was no use. The bluish energy was stronger. The force grew and began to cover Ken¡¯s light. An emptiness threatened to ruin Ken as he flashed red and silver, fighting for his light not to fade against the oppressive force. But no matter how he struggled, the bluish energy grew, devouring him. He was going to die. He was going to die and all she could do was watch as this wicked energy devoured Ken before it consumed her too. She felt her connection to him weakening, his light flickering more frantically with every second. ¡°No.¡± ¡°No!¡± ¡°NO!¡± This disgusting energy wasn¡¯t going to take Ken. Not now. Not again. She had lost everything too many times without having a say. This time, if she was going to die, it would be on her terms. Tara hurled her light¡ªher life¡ªher soul at the dark energy, her light blazing with a ferocity fueled by determination. She was not going to let it take the one person who mattered most. Her feverish rage roared as she crashed into the blue and black energy. She sparked in her anger. Her distaste and frustration for her situation boiled over. Her desire to keep her husband from being consumed caused her to rage against the bluish light. She attacked, throwing herself at the energy, buffering against her own as she shone like a thousand lighthouses. The bluish energy recoiled as it came in contact with her brilliance, as if shocked by her attack. She didn¡¯t relent for a moment, bombarding the darkness with her rays until Ken finally tore free. His light was weakened but still intact. He flickered softly, his wisp a little less bright than before. ¡°KEN!¡± She cried silently. The blue light began to envelop them again, hungry. There had to be something that she could do. She stared into the void beyond and the new world below. They had to escape. ¡°Anywhere was safer than here,¡± She thought, hoping that she was right. Without wasting a second, she reached out to him, straining her illuminated form. Grasping him with all the power she had, she pushed him toward the world below, hopefully saving him. He disappeared from sight as she careened through the tunnel, into its walls as the momentum broke through and flung her into the void. --- Kenshiro Perez awoke with cold dirt pressed against his face. He coughed, pain shooting through his head and reverberating behind his eyes. As he pushed himself up, the rough stone floor grated against his face. He put his hands to his face, trying to clear his vision in the dim light. His nose filled with something acrid and rich, like soil and ammonia. His thoughts swirled, coming to him in fragmented pieces¡ªlights, a tunnel of light, and darkness. Bluish danger. Tara. ¡°Tara!¡± ¡°Where is Tara?¡± Kenshiro staggered to his feet, blood rushing to his head, making his vision swim. He steadied himself against a nearby shelf and groaned, ¡°Tara?¡± Concern coated his voice as he strained to right himself and get his bearings. He took a moment to gather himself. He had been on a train. Something happened¡ªlights. Already, the memories of what occurred between the crash and wherever he was now were slipping away like a dream fading after waking. Looking around, he tried to anchor himself in the present. He stood in a crowded room filled with barrels stacked two high along three of the walls, like an old distillery. Dim lanterns with bluish-green flames flickered in the corners, casting a sickly glow over the space. The air reeked of vinegar and alcohol, and the mustiness clung to his skin. The stone walls and floor seemed to be made of the same dark material. Tools and implements¡ªbrooms, rakes, even a fire poker¡ªlittered the room. Yet, it wasn¡¯t the smell of old whiskey or the damp air that jarred him. It was the sound of high-pitched muttering and flapping wings that snapped him from his daze. Ken¡¯s eyes darted to the door, where three strange bats hovered in the air. They weren¡¯t like any bats he¡¯d seen before. Their reddish, bulbous heads looked like demented dolls from a horror movie, and their lips smacked as if savoring something. They had small, extra sets of¡­ hands? Claws? As his eyes met theirs, the creatures screeched, a shrill cry filled with a bloodlust that chilled him to his core. ¡°HEEheheheHAH! Meat!¡± the creatures shrilled. Those weren¡¯t bats. --- Tara floated in darkness, no longer just a floating orb of light. She had arms and legs, though she still seemed to radiate some sort of glow. She alone was the only light in the inky blackness that stretched in every direction making her question whether her eyes were open or shut as she stared into the void. She drifted there, suspended in nothingness. Whether a minute passed or a hundred years, she couldn¡¯t tell. Time didn¡¯t seem to exist in the void. Every second stretched into eternity, yet it didn¡¯t frighten her. After the fire, She had been in a coma for four months. She didn¡¯t remember much from that time. To her, it had been a painful blur, a haze of anesthesia and medications meant to keep the pain at bay. She recalled only snippets¡ªfaces, sensations of agony¡ªall intertwined by a feeling of floating. An empty floating. A floating not unlike this. But unlike the coma, she remembered everything now. The tunnel, the light, the train. Pushing Ken to safety. ¡°Ken¡­¡± She searched the void for him, but found nothing. Just emptiness. Reaching out with her senses, she probed deeper¡ªinto her soul. That¡¯s when she felt it. Her connection to Ken. It was instictive. She pressed on it with her mind, as if gazing through a window. Her mind pulled the vision from her soul into her senses. With her power, she saw Ken. Covered in blood¡ªsome his, some tinged with sulfur¡ªas he fought for his life against three Lesser Infernal Imps. Chapter 2: Sparks As Tara watched Kenshiro and the three imps he was battling she was amazed at the sheer amount of information she suddenly, just, knew. The power of the imps, how much Vitality they had. What kind of element infused their mana, and in this particular case, the density of infernal mana coating the very air. It was dense, like a thick sulfuric humidity that floated on the oxygen in the small room. It was odd to have information about their level of Insight, Vitality, Karma, or Grace. Each of the aspects seemed to tint the world in a unique hue, the literal building blocks of everything. It was as if she was seeing everything with new eyes, everything in Kenshiro¡¯s general vicinity seemed to radiate information, bubbling into her mind. The imps weren¡¯t the only thing that seemed to radiate information though. Ken did as well. ¡°Ken¡± she spoke into the void, still wishing her voice could reach him. ¡°What is going on?¡± She whispered, confused as she pulled in information from him. Ken¡¯s Vitality, Insight, Grace, and even his Karma had manifested into quantifiable amounts. Each coloring him like a palette of unique watercolors. He was a mash of magics, aspects, and unique colors of mana. ¡°You aren¡¯t even human anymore¡­¡± which didn¡¯t surprise her, per se, but it was a bit of a revelation. ¡°That push must have messed with your spirit or something.¡± As she drank in the information, she looked at his soul and gasped. ¡°Oh Ken¡­¡± She said, her hand covering her mouth as she floated in the inky void. His soul was ravaged. Dim and fading. Like it had gone through the meat grinder and was barely holding itself together. Even looking at it made her wince. Unlike a physical wound a wound on the soul was like seeing a tragedy unfold in slow motion. It wasn¡¯t all bad though, she told herself, forcing optimism. ¡°He is alive. He¡¯s safe from that blue energy.¡± She stared into the mess of claws and teeth as Kenshiro fought, worry sinking into her heart. Her head swimming in this information, almost intoxicated by the sheer amount bombarding her mind. Her now expanded consciousness absorbed each little tidbit with perfect retention. She feasted on the information like she would have a wonderful meal; it empowered her, fueled her. She felt like a pool of water catching every falling leaf. She was calm. Yet, something was incomplete, wrong. Something in her now expansive mind had a hole in it. A tiny hole. Like a needle point in a vast lake of power and knowledge. Curious, she followed the leak. Calm beyond calm, Tara followed the small irritating drain on her mind¡¯s limits. It was odd though, her husband was under attack and yet she had the capacity to not only investigate this strange drain, but she could handle focusing on both her husband and this mysterious leak. ¡°What is this?¡± She studied the link in the void. It was an odd little link made of her soul, her Karmic and Graceful energy, which were slowly draining power from somewhere near the core of her being, sitting at the bottom of her pool of power. It seemed to be a link of sorts. She didn¡¯t know exactly what it was despite the steady current of information she was taking from Ken¡¯s situation, she seemed to know a lot of random information. She had no idea what that information could be used for. She did know, however, that the only thing that really mattered was that it was tied to Ken. ¡°This must be from when we were in the tunnel. The connection we made¡­¡± she thought. ¡°He must be using this to stay alive, otherwise his spirit would just corrode or something.¡± Well, that is just fine. A pinprick drain in a pool this vast didn''t really matter. Not to mention, it was Ken. For him she would drain her pool dry if it meant keeping him alive. ¡°That¡¯s just what you do for those that matter.¡± They had been through so much together. From the fire to his mental health. From his father passing away to all the physical therapy and trauma that came from being a burn victim. They had gone through fire and death and come out the other side. ¡°We¡¯ll make it through this too.¡± She reassured herself. Turning her attention back to Ken¡¯s fight against the imps, feeling helpless. All she could do was watch Ken fight worlds away. ¡ªUnauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Kenshiro swatted at the bat-like creatures as they swarmed his head, biting and scratching his forearms. He tried to move and get away, but in the crowded room he couldn¡¯t navigate very well. He scrambled around the barrels and shelves to escape their beating wings and muttering voices. Head still pounding, Ken flailed his arms until he finally connected with one of the weird bat-like creatures. It fell to the ground hard. Ken stepped on its head, half on accident, and with a screech and a crack, it died. The sound of the cracking bones and the acrid smell of sulfur assaulting his nose like smelling salts pushed the headache away and the pain started to bring him into focus. As if on cue, his instincts took over from years in the boxing gym with his father. He even heard the familiar voice of his old man in his head, ¡°C¨²brete mijo! Cover up.¡± Covering his head, with both arms took his head ¡®offline¡¯ and became a moving target. A hard-to-hit to hit target. Kenshiro took a step back as the remaining two things rounded on him. The first one latched onto his side, and as he tried to rip it off of his torso, a flash of reddish light followed by a smokey smell hit his senses. He knew that smell. It was the smell of fire. The flying creature had shot off a little ball of fire, singing his hoodie. Again, the voice of his father rang clear. ¡°Ahora! Counter, counter punch!¡± Obediently, Ken whipped his right arm out, still defending with his left. He felt his knuckles rake against the skin of the creatures. ¡°One, two, mijo! Come on Chispas. Ahora, go now!¡± Ken followed up the first punch with a combination he¡¯d practiced a thousand times: 1, 2, cross, cross, left hook. It was the left hook that caught the second creature in the small gut. Connecting, Kenshiro felt its little ribs give way under the leathery skin, snapping like broken pencils. ¡°Die!¡± The remaining imp giggled with profane laughter and a snort as it tore into his side, ¡°hehehehaaHAHA¡± Kenshiro¡¯s eyes went wide as he felt the burn and tasted the singed cotton in the air. His eyes narrowed as his father¡¯s voice seemed to drift into his mind, ¡°Make him pay for that Chispas.¡± Kenshiro nodded to himself and tried to slow his breathing which was already coming in ragged bursts. ¡°Come here.¡± He said before gripping the nasty creature with both hands, tearing it off of his side before ramming its head into a cabinet, breaking its little neck. As the last of whatever those bat things were, went limp in his hands, he stopped to catch his breath. Forcing himself to breathe through his nose, he regulated his heartbeat though adrenaline still pumped through his veins and brought everything into focus. Kenshiro used to hate this feeling. The sensation when all the suffering settles in his stomach. It was like his mind was offering him a choice: Keep going or embrace the suck. Yet as he had gotten older, he just started living in the suck. Embracing it. Letting it consume all the extra. All the anxiety. All the ¡®voices¡¯ that bugged him. Not that he heard voices, no, he just felt that there was so much to do and so many things that needed him that the quiet simple suffering made all of that go away. Maybe that was why he had gotten so into his health these past five years. From biking and hiking to weightlifting, boxing, and looking after Tara he had been running for a hot minute. Every day since she had gotten hurt he had run headlong into embracing the suck. Not to mention extra shifts at work and it was a miracle he had time for anything else. Just before he¡¯d left, he had turned their garage into a small home gym and literally moved his desk from their office into the garage so he could get in some kettlebell swings between stupid meetings with UX designers and caring for her¡­ He snorted, not allowing the suck to fade out. He stopped, forcing himself to focus on the task at hand. He couldn''t just bury himself in something to avoid what was actually going on here. A slippery slope if ever there was one. ¡°What happened?¡± He thought, leaning against the cabinet. ¡°There was a crash and then¡­ something¡­ then I was here on the floor with a headache. Then those nasty things attacked me. Shooting fire and whatever else. God.¡± ¡°First things first. I need to figure out where I am and where Tara is.¡± He stated to himself frankly. Kenshiro approached the first creature he punched. Looking at it on the ground, he was taken aback at its actual frame. It was a murky reddish and black thing with bat-like wings and a small body like a doll. Except the doll was ugly as sin and had two little horns on its head, which reminded him of a cheesy cartoon devil. Its leathery skin was covered in little scars, and its body oozed greenish-blue blood. Ken poked it with his foot, happy it was dead. ¡°The actual Hell¡­¡± ¡ª Tara pumped her fist and yelled. ¡°Let¡¯s go Chispas!¡± Cheering him on even though he could not hear her. The praise just fell into the empty void. Despite this, she relished the little victory even though she felt a little goofy using the nickname Ken¡¯s dad, Jose, had used for him. She usually stuck to calling him Ken. Tara felt a small sense of relief. Ken was safe, at least for now. A little cut up, but those Lesser Infernal Imps were basically the strength of feral cats¡­that could shoot fire. They had no real Vitality and barely any Insight either. Which was why their Embolts were so weak. Then the exhilaration passed, and her excitement died, the moment of relief faded, as a new worry imposed itself on her expansive mind. The defuse Infernal Mana had not faded after the fight. There was something more dangerous there. Something stronger and deadlier than those imps. The mana in the air, the infernal energy that infused the atmosphere should have faded with the death of the creatures. Yet the thick grease that was the infernal mana hung heavily on the air. Whatever was producing this pressure, this infernal mana, had enough to permeate the area with infernal power from a distance. She had initially thought it was the ambient mana from the imps, but looking closer, those things were nothing but specks. As she watched the mana floating about the chamber she became more sure of it. There was something close, and it was powerful and dangerous. She had to find a way to help Ken.
Chapter 3: Blessings ¡°Why can¡¯t you hear me, you freckled goof!¡± Tara yelled at her husband, wishing Ken could hear. Tara hovered in the void, searching desperately for a way to communicate with Ken and warn him of the impending danger. She tugged on their connection, but nothing happened. Pulling harder might sever the bond, leaving his wounded soul to recover on its own¡ªa risk she couldn¡¯t take. She tried sending pulses of energy, like Morse code, even surging power through the link to jolt him to the knowledge of her existence. No response. She had even resorted to shouting in vain when¡­a door opened. In the infinite blackness, a doorway appeared. A portal, slicing through the void like a blade of light. A perfect rectangle, carved into the emptiness. But it wasn¡¯t the doorway that made Tara shrink back¡ªit was the figure standing within it that commanded her fear and awe. The being that entered defied easy definition. Their form was human-like but impossibly perfect. Their marble skin seemed to glow with an inner light, and their eyes were deep, endless black voids, absorbing everything around them. Hair cascaded down to their waist, each strand alive with every color imaginable¡ªshifting from the deepest ocean blues to neon browns and everything in between. There was an androgynous beauty to them, which is maybe why Tara couldn¡¯t tell if it was a female or male god. For that¡¯s what it was: a god. The deity moved with an elegance that radiated an unparalleled grace. Each step heavy with unspoken power, and Tara could only stare in reverence as their presence settled on her like a hurricane. ¡°So, this is what¡¯s tethered to the little outworlder,¡± the being said, their voice simultaneously powerful enough to shatter mountains yet gentle enough to soothe a child. It reminded Tara of a concerned mother. ¡°A venerated spirit, hmm? Hello, dear. What are you doing out here, lingering in the Blind Nothing?¡± Tara struggled to speak, stunned by the god¡¯s presence. ¡°I was about to bless the baby traveler when I noticed your curious little link,¡± the being continued, their tone as smooth as silk. ¡°I just had to see what caused such a strange connection.¡± They pressed a hand to their head and smiled¡ªa radiant smile that felt like the warmth of the sun. The being examined her with a sense of wonder. ¡°Turns out, it¡¯s love. A venerated spirit tethered by love. Who would have guessed?¡± Tara, still in awe, managed to mumble: ¡°My husband¡­he¡­¡± ¡°Ah, yes. That explains it. You interfered with that little lichling¡¯s summoning ritual, didn¡¯t you? Poor thing didn¡¯t stand a chance. But that¡¯s what you get when you try to use sacrifices that don¡¯t belong to you. Well, it can''t be helped now.¡± The god mused. As the god spoke to her, Tara began to tremble. ¡°So dear, are you planning to bless him, or are you planning on becoming a wraith?¡± ¡°Wraith?¡± she managed to say, but it came out as more of a squeak than a question. She was barely able to voice her question under the god¡¯s immense power. The being¡¯s presence felt like the pressure at the bottom of the ocean. ¡°Yes, a wraith.¡± the being explained, their black pupilless eyes studying her closely. ¡°That¡¯s what happens to venerated spirits, like yourself, who don¡¯t gather enough life energy, that is energy of all four aspects, the combination of all eight sacred attributes. They become forces of disruption, the cause of many temporal and natural disasters.¡± Concern and curiosity now overwhelmed her awe. ¡°Then¡­how do I gather life energy?¡± Tara asked, almost desperately. The god smiled again, their androgynous beauty softening for a moment. ¡°Simple, my dear. You must ascend. Stagnation leads to death¡ªor worse, for you. To gather life energy, you must gain believers who will channel their energy to you through sacrifice or piety. You can collect temples or edifices that sit on leylines of natural energy. Or, if you¡¯re feeling adventurous, you could make a pact, though most gods frown on that practice.¡± They paused, grinning. ¡°My personal favorite, however, is gambling on mortals.¡± The god¡¯s warmth enveloped Tara as they stepped closer. ¡°Take your husband, for example. He¡¯s the only one in Nowhere who believes in you. He has a zealot¡¯s faith though, a rare find.¡± The god gestured toward the connection between Tara and Ken. ¡°I¡¯m going to bless him, imbuing him with a fraction of my power. Every time he uses my gift, I¡¯ll receive a small return¡ªan investment that should pay off over time, assuming he doesn¡¯t die soon. Devils nearby, you know. Excitable creatures, those,¡± the god giggled. Tara watched in awe as the god made her investment. The god pulled on all eight of the sacred attributes, but mostly the aspect Karma. No, she pulled Luck, one of Karma¡¯s attributes, and then altered it. Allowing just a touch of their power to seep into Ken¡¯s makeup. It was like watching fireflies weave through the connection, embedding themselves in Ken¡¯s being. His very essence shifted as the god¡¯s power took root in his DNA. ¡°There are four types of blessings.¡± the god explained as they invested in Ken ¡°Classes, that determine how they grow in power. Skills, that grant unique abilities, but must be attached to a sacred attribute. And titles, which passively influence their fate. And lastly, traits, minor helps that are simply part of their being. I am imbuing him with two traits. An ability to navigate Nowhere and another to understand his surroundings.¡±Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. The god regarded Tara with a matronly smile. ¡°If you wish to survive, dear, you¡¯ll need to gamble wisely. But be careful¡ªbig blessings come with big sacrifices. And if you give too much, you could run dry, or worse, the other godlings could come after you.¡± Their gaze lingered on her. ¡°Remember, if Ken dies while still linked to you, you¡¯ll most likely perish as well.¡± The god laughed again, like the jingling of the universe¡¯s most perfect bells. With that, the god turned and began to walk toward the doorway, their departure as sudden as their arrival. ¡°Wait,¡± Tara called out, summoning all her strength. ¡°Who¡­who are you? Why are you helping me?¡± The god paused at the threshold, glancing back over their shoulder. ¡°Yoki, Mother of Chaos, Grand Goddess of Luck, Matriarch of the Shyft,¡± she said, her voice filled with mischief. ¡°As for why I¡¯m helping you? I help because I wish to. Besides, I find your chaos quite amusing.¡± With a wink that spelled trouble for all of creation, Yoki vanished, the door closing behind her. Tara stood there, reeling from the encounter. She had met a god¡ªa being of unimaginable power¡ªand not only that, Yoki had blessed Ken and answered her questions. The whole experience left her dumbfounded. But Yoki¡­Goddess of Chaos? Grand Goddess of Luck? Deep in her core sirens were going off. Big red flags. Who and what did this Yoki being want? Though she was grateful, something didn¡¯t sit right, but she couldn¡¯t put her finger on it. Tara floated in the void for a while, trying to gather her thoughts. After what felt like hours, Tara decided that her and Ken¡¯s survival depended on her figuring out how to bless him. She knew little about this world, but Ken needed her to help him survive¡ªand she needed him to gather life energy for both of them. She had to give him a blessing, something that could guide them through the challenges ahead, so they would both be okay. ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s see,¡± Tara said, rolling up her metaphorical sleeves. ¡°Where to start? Hmmm¡­ Maybe Yoki¡¯s blessing can give me an idea.¡± Tara peered into Kenshiro¡¯s make up. She spied the first attribute in his Karma aspect, intricately woven like a clean seam into his soul. ¡®Fellowship,¡¯ a simple power that worked basically like a translator. More simply, it was Google Translate for his eyes and ears. The other was Identify. A simple, yet elegant skill that allows the user to gather information about a target, for up to five seconds. Ken could study a person, beast, or object and learn useful details¡ªenough to make smarter decisions in battle or exploration. It was a way for him to navigate the world in the simplest of terms. ¡°It¡¯s not like my sight, though¡­¡± Tara thought. Unlike Ken, she could instantly discern the makeup of affinities, aspects, and mana flows, but it was perfect for Ken. It required no mana and offered just enough insight to help him survive. Yoki¡¯s brilliance was in the balance¡ªKen could keep himself alive, and in doing so, Yoki would reap the benefits. ¡°Brilliant.¡± Tara admired how clever that was. It sparked an idea. She needed something equally ingenious¡ªsomething that would let her guide Ken while giving him an edge. Like ¡®Identify,¡¯ it had to be flexible enough to allow Ken to adapt to the situations he found himself in. Something that could help both of them navigate the world¡¯s dangers and complexities while gaming the system. The solution had to be simple yet powerful. It had to tap into what Ken knew best. ¡°Boxing?¡± She mused. She considered giving him a boxing skill¡ªsomething physical he could easily master. ¡°No.¡± that wouldn¡¯t be enough. Ken didn¡¯t love boxing; it was just another workout for him, a way to connect with his late father. ¡°If I could make something where he could use his knowledge of beer or Magic The Gathering, we would be set. That isn¡¯t going to help either¡­¡± She almost laughed at the thought of creating some convoluted magic deck for him to wield in battle. No, she needed something more intuitive, not a silly trading card game proxy. Something that fit Ken perfectly. Something that would let him game the system. Then it hit her. A literal game system. Ken worked in programming, he understood systems, mechanics, and how to optimize them. If she could turn his career into something tangible, something he could use in this world¡­ ¡°That could work. I could hijack Yoki¡¯s blessing by creating an overlay of sorts¡ªsomething that would give Ken control over his fate. Use the very method to teach him about his surroundings to communicate with him via a system of some sort. A system that would also allow me to interact with what he sees and comes in contact with.¡± Tara paced back and forth, conjuring ideas of what this could actually do. Through this system, she could issue Ken quests, each task a small investment of her life energy. If she was smart, she could direct him to do things that would return knowledge and life energy to her. It would be a continuous loop of growth, survival, and replenishment. The best part? It was scalable. The first quest might be small, but over time, they could build a cycle of investment and return that would strengthen them both. ¡°So what am I going to build? Super-Identify?¡± She stopped in her tracks, pausing in the nothingness that was the void. ¡°Ken is going to need more than just quests. Something beyond the traditional paths mortals followed in this world,¡± she thought. The forces at work were such that people living in this world would undoubtedly be inundated with the aspects. Instead, she decided to design a system that allowed him to take the skills of creatures he defeated, like the imps. By absorbing the abilities of his enemies, Ken wouldn¡¯t be locked into one class or a set of abilities. He could mix and match, becoming more flexible and adaptable than anyone else. Dealing with imps? Defeat them, take their skills like that nasty little intelligence attuned Embolt, and attach them to his Intelligence attribute. Fight in the dark? take the imp¡¯s Diresight, and assign it to Will. He could adapt to any situation, assuming he survived it first. However, this approach would have some big risks. By giving Ken this freedom, she would have to untether him from the natural impact of mana and aspects. Where others could grow by doing things, training, or getting in touch with the aspects, Ken¡¯s power would be sporadic, based on what he could take from his enemies, and maybe willing creatures, just in case. Another worry was that he could become incredibly strong in some areas while leaving others vulnerable, making his growth uneven. That could be dangerous. Then again, this was all dangerous. Moreover, if she gave Ken both the quest system and the ability to absorb skills, she would be risking a lot. It was a dangerous gamble. Not only did Yoki say that too much power too quickly could attract unwanted attention from godlings or other powerful beings, Tara also had no idea how much of her own energy she needed to invest to do this. The more she invested in Ken, the more vulnerable she would become. If something went wrong, if Ken failed, if their connection broke, they would both inevitably die. ¡°Doing nothing is just as fatal. Without a way to help Ken grow, we both die,¡± she said resolutely. This was the only way forward. Tara focused her energy, envisioning the system she would create for Ken. It wouldn¡¯t be perfect, but it would be enough to give him a fighting chance. She prepared the framework, weaving her power into it, making the necessary investments. She replicated what she saw Yoki do; seeing something once was all she needed. She pulled on her power, organized the sacred aspects, and made her first investment. Chapter 4: Tutorial Leaning against large barrels of alcohol in the middle of a stone room filled with random refuse and the dead bodies of creepy bat-like monsters, Kenshiro ran his fingers through his hair as he reread the notification screen before him. It was a soft green screen with white lettering. The screen glowed lightly and was semi-transparent. Welcome to Nowhere! You have been chosen by Venerated Spirit, Tara Begin tutorial? Y/N Kenshiro read the message over and over again. He even rubbed his eyes once to make sure they weren¡¯t betraying him. ¡°Huh?¡± was all he could manage to say before turning slightly away from the screen, only to have it stay locked in the center of his vision as he turned. Kenshiro blanched, ¡°What is going on?¡± He whispered. This strange interface confused him. ¡°What was this? Some sort of odd VR game? Am I having a seizure? What exactly is going on, and why is my wife¡¯s name floating in front of me like some bad isekai anime message? Why is she being called a Venerated Spirit?!¡± Questions flew through his mind like he was riding by them on a bullet train. Kenshiro felt like his heart was stuck in his throat as he tried to touch the floating screen. His hand went right through it. Confused, Ken tried to hover over the ¡®Y¡¯ but nothing happened. ¡°Yes!¡¯ He thought. Just let me hit the ¡®Y¡¯ so I can find my¡­¡± Kenshiro paused as the notification disappeared, only to be replaced with another one. Quest: Tutorial Description: Complete the following task and learn how to save your wife. Success: +1 Attribute PointFailure: Game Over Kenshiro stared at the screen for a long moment, ¡°...learn how to save your wife¡­¡± a shiver ran down his spine. ¡°Save¡­ Tara,¡± he muttered under his breath in a mix of confusion, fear, and unbridled aggression. Kenshiro wasn¡¯t an aggressive guy. He knew that about himself. His father had spent his whole childhood pushing him to be a man¡¯s man. To fight, drink beer, and do man stuff. Yet he never really had it in him. However, the idea of having to save his wife, that she was in danger, caused his blood to boil. Not an uncontrolled fury¡ªhe wasn¡¯t about to start banging on walls and breaking things, but ¡°If something or someone is trying to play a silly game with my wife¡­¡± Kenshiro knew he would do whatever it took to help Tara. He had decided that a long time ago. While he was lost in thought, another screen appeared before the previous screen vanished. *Unique* Class Available: Skill Eater Requirements: Title - Conduit of Souls Description: Adapt to any situation. Consume the abilities of defeated and willing creatures. Abilities are limited to available aspect slots, Vital, Grace, Insight, and Karma. Warning: Requirements not met. Accept Class? Y/N As soon as he finished reading, another notification, of the same color and shape, appeared beside the first. It hovered next to it in the center of his vision. New Title Available: Conduit of Souls Description: Convert Skills, Abilities, and defeated enemies into EXP. Gain access to Character Sheet, Game System, Quest System, and guidance from Tara. Cost: 10% EXP offered as tribute to Tara. Warning: Accepting this Title will Untether you. Accept Title? Y/N Kenshiro slowly read each of the descriptions aloud, muttering to himself. He found that reading some things aloud helped him process the information better. ¡°Alright, so to use Skill Eater, I must first accept the Conduit of Souls,¡± he started, not rushing, even though everything in his mind made him want to mash the button and search for Tara. ¡°It seems that I can somehow¡­ consume¡­ abilities. Interesting word choice... It also seems like there is a limit to what I can consume that corresponds with ¡®aspects.¡¯ Not sure what that means, but it seems simple enough.¡± ¡°Conduit of Souls on the other hand.... In order to gain that ¡®Class¡¯ as well as a bunch of different systems, I pay a 10% tax on EXP gains to¡­ Tara,¡± Ken¡¯s heart sank. 10% was not a small amount. Not to mention he didn¡¯t know what it meant to tribute EXP. He ran his hand through his hair.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. The next part was just as confusing. ¡°What does it mean to become Untethered?¡± he said aloud, before scuffing the ground with his feet, fidgeting. ¡°Untethered doesn¡¯t exactly sound good¡­ Some kind of debuff?¡± Kenshiro weighed the pros and cons. He had two options. ¡°If I accept these powers and systems, I get a 10% EXP tax that supposedly goes to Tara. I also become ¡®Untethered,¡¯ which I do not understand. Also, this is a Unique class¡­¡± Kenshiro got the distinct impression, if video games had taught him anything, that something unique would not be easily available down the road. ¡°There¡¯s just too much I don¡¯t know. Then again, adaptability does sound ideal. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on. Which means, if I turn this tool down, I just don¡¯t have it.¡± Kenshiro hesitated, concerned with his lack of options and the ramifications of accepting¡­ whatever this was. He had to make a choice. If this was indeed real, if Tara was in danger and this provided a way for him to help, he would. That or he would have access to something that claimed to have knowledge of her, which also meant knowledge of him. He could start pulling threads as long as he was careful. Kenshiro mentally accepted the title and the class in quick succession. As he accepted, he was filled with a warm rush that grew from his chest to his head before flowing through his whole body, wrapping him in its warmth. It covered him, comforted him, and caressed him. An amber glow trickled through his being until it lit up his vision. The room grew bright as he embraced the feeling before it released him. ¡°What was that?¡± Kenshiro said, feeling amazing. He still had the little cuts on his arm and side, but he felt wonderful. Like waking from a full night¡¯s sleep after the best workout of his life on top of a mountain with a beer in hand, despite being in a cold stone room that smelled like alcohol and sulfur. ¡°Wow. Let¡¯s do that again,¡± Kenshiro said aloud as the room¡¯s ambiance sunk back into his skin, reminding him of the situation he found himself in. Quest: Tutorial Description: Complete the following task and learn how to save your wife. Success: +1 Attribute PointFailure: Game Over ¡°Alright. Two down. Now, if only I knew how to use the things I just accepted, where I was, how to find a Beast Core, and where I could find my wife, I¡¯d be in great shape,¡± Kenshiro said, his voice slowly escalating as he went on. The notification automatically closed itself at the thought. Yet, having a list, a simple order of operations, Kenshiro somehow felt much less disconnected and scared. Sure, when he had first woken up here he had felt worried, but the introduction of a list, a simple sequence of actions that he could pursue grounded him. It grounded him in the same way work grounded him back home, or working out grounded him when he wasn¡¯t working. Something to do beat having to sit in worry and frustration. ¡°One thing at a time,¡± he reassured himself. ¡°The next item on the list is to find a Beast Core.¡± Kenshiro¡¯s mind immediately went to the nasty bat-like creatures with horns. Walking over, Ken poked the closest one to him, the one he had bashed into the cabinet, with his foot. As he did, another two icons popped up. These icons were more discrete. So discrete he almost missed them. The first was a list of four basic numbers: HP: 16/20 MP: 17/17 SP: 13/17 EXP: 0/1000 The four numbers were fairly straightforward, reminiscent of video games and any classic tabletop rpg. Health, Mana, and Stamina were a safe assumption. The notifications were small, sitting in his peripheral vision until Kenshiro focused on them. The second was a simple question mark symbol that read ¡®Identify¡¯ in the same font as the previous notification screens. Kenshiro glanced over this icon and then simply allowed it to activate. His intuition made the process seem oddly natural. He knew the icon had popped up to help him Identify the small creature in front of him. Creature: Lesser Infernal ImpRank: 0Description: Diminutive beasts of the Hells. Scavengers by nature, these demons occupy the lowest ranks of the Infernal Lowerarchy. Loot: Tiny Infernal Core: Imp Use Skill Eater? Y/N The information floated above the creature, a static bubble above its corpse. As Ken turned, the other two imp bodies also popped up with the same information. Each detailing the Creature, Rank, and a basic Description, while only two of the three imps had loot. ¡°Imp huh? Like a little devil?¡± Kenshiro had never been particularly religious, but he had an impulse to cross himself, curious what it meant for the situation he had found himself in. ¡°Am I in hell?¡° Ken pushed away the useless thought. He didn¡¯t have time to be upset and wonder if Satan had indeed taken his soul. Shaking his head, Ken refocused. Putting all his attention on the task in front of him. He reread the magical floating windows above the heads of the ¡®imp¡¯ creatures. ¡°Interesting. Seems like I can only loot the ones that have Skill Eater, or maybe it¡¯s the other way around.¡± Kenshiro pushed the creature around with his foot for a moment trying to see if he could indeed find the listed core. He didn¡¯t find anything. Frowning, He stooped down to pick up the creature. He didn¡¯t like the idea of handling the dead, ugly creature. Yet, if this thing had loot he was going to find it. Then he would get out of this room and find his wife. The imp was light, similar to the weight of a heavy bird, with a distended little paunch. Small horns on its head, clawed hands that reminded him of a cross between a raccoon and a small child. If that child was red, had vascular arms, and bat-like wings. What Kenshiro did not see however, was whatever a ¡®core¡¯ was. ¡°Tsk. Okay. Well¡­ The fact that this is a video game just dropped by quite a bit. I¡¯ve either lost my mind or I¡¯m in a coma, hallucinating in a dream after a train crash.¡± Kenshiro¡¯s concerns surfaced again as he rolled the small dead creature over in his hands. The dead imp¡¯s body was warm to the touch ¡°Wow. Am I really hoping that I¡¯m in a coma right now?¡± Kenshiro said as he shook his head and put the creature down. Something had happened. He didn¡¯t know what and he didn¡¯t know exactly how. He did know that he had access to all of his senses and his mind. He had indeed seen these imps, smelled them, and touched them to find whatever a core was. Kenshiro looked at the small notification window and acknowledged Skill Eater, mentally accepting it. ¡°Is the system reading my mind?¡± He thought, as the notification vanished and the imp on the ground burst into a small orb of light that popped like a bubble.
Chapter 5: Identify As the imp vanished in a small bubble of light a new notification screen appeared in front of Kenshiro. The light illuminated the room for a short moment, like turning on a lamp before quickly turning it off, shadows scurrying in every direction. Kenshiro winced as the flash of light stole what little night vision he had gained since waking up in the damp room. Then before his face, in the same glowing green with white lettering appeared a new screen. +10 EXP - 1 EXP (Conduit of Souls) Select a skill to consume: Skill: Flameproof Attribute: CON Type: Infernal/Ability - Passive Requirements: None Description: Gain the resistance of Hel¡¯s fire. 50% resistance to Fire infused mana and Fire in general Skill: Diresight Attribute: WIL Type: Infernal/Ability - Passive Requirements: none Description: See in magical or normal darkness as in normal light. Fire light gives additional range of vision. ¡°So this Skill Eater allows me to take the abilities of the imps that had cores. Interesting.¡± Kenshiro said aloud as he looked at the choices in front of him. ¡°So the real question comes down to, which of these two skills is going to help me the most, the ability to see in the dark, or be resistant to fire?¡± While the obvious choice seemed to be the Fire Resistance, or Flameproof. The idea that these creatures used a sight ability made him wonder. If this was the only room with light, he didn¡¯t know how long he would be in darkness. Not only that, but to Kenshiro the descriptions left a lot of unknowns. He knew nothing about the nature of Infernal Magic, or what Aspects meant. Given these skills were in front of his face, he had to make a choice. In the end, Kenshiro decided to go with the simplest of the two abilities, the one he felt he could understand the best. Kenshiro selected Flameproof, touching the small burn on his side. ¡°At the end of the day, I need to stay alive,¡± he thought. Plus, Kenshiro knew first hand what it meant to get burned, like really burned, it was his natural inclination to resist fire. As he accepted the skill, a silver light briefly swirled around him. Like a short gust of gray wind. The moment it passed he felt different. Not a bad different, but not a good different either. It was like drinking a glass of water not knowing you¡¯re dehydrated. It felt good, but the sensation was more surprising than the first glowing change. Kenshiro liked the feeling. He felt more¡­ solid? Incombustible? Like, his skin was tougher or something. Looking at his hands, he didn¡¯t see any indication the skill worked. Yet, he felt it. Something had changed. Hell, many things had changed. An hour ago he had a headache and woke up in a room filled with imps. Kenshiro moved to the other imp with the beast core and selected the imp. +10 EXP - 1 EXP (Conduit of Souls) Select a skill to consume: Skill: Flameproof* Attribute: CON Type: Infernal/Ability - Passive Requirements: None Description: Gain the resistance of Hel¡¯s fire. 50% resistance to Fire infused mana and Fire in general Skill: DiresightIf you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Attribute: WIL Type: Infernal/Ability - Passive Requirements: none Description: See in magical or normal darkness as in normal light. Fire light gives additional range of vision. *You already have the ability ¡®Flameproof¡¯ selecting it will result in conversion to EXP. ¡°Seems like this one is chosen for me.¡± Kenshiro selected the Diresight before the same silver swirling light moved around him. As the swirling dissipated, his eyes adjusted to the darkness, then continued to adjust. The corners no longer held any secrets as the room brightened. Kenshiro looked around the room. It was no longer just an ill-lit storage room of barrels and bad smells. Instead it had transformed to an ill-lit storage room of barrels, bad smells, garden hoes, rakes, and fire pokers. It was a room of tools. Kenshiro picked through the tools in the corners of the room. The tools consisted of mostly gardening tools along with a couple other basic rudimentary tools to maintain a property. There were dusters and brooms, as well as small hammers and saws. Kenshiro picked up a fire poker, grasping the sturdy handle and swinging it a couple of times to test its weight. It was a solid piece of iron, it felt much like he imagined a cheap sword would feel if he had every held one. Swinging it again, this time up and down, he felt the air part a little bit making a ¡®woosh¡¯ sound before cracking into the stone floor, causing the mints in his pockets to shake. Kenshiro nearly froze. He had been here for how long and hadn¡¯t checked his pockets?! Kenshiro dug his hands into the pockets of his hoodie and jeans and was instantly disappointed. He had with him a completely fried and broken phone, his wallet, and a nearly full pack of pickled plum Mintia Mints¡­ (pickled plum flavored) Kenshiro shoved everything back in his pocket after trying to make the phone work for much longer than necessary. More annoyed than he was five minutes ago, Kenshiro rooted around a little more. ~~~ Tara floated in the void feeling empty. Her lake of life energy now a small pool, the hole in her lake draining steadily. The class was too much. It took almost everything that she had and pulled it away. Stripping her of power. Tearing it away from her. Now she was left with nothing. It wouldn¡¯t be long now. Soon her small pool of energy would drain and she would fade away. She had failed. The investment had been done correctly, but Tara didn¡¯t know just how much it would require of her. In her panic, seeing her energy, her life-force, being eroded she tried to limit what was happening. She grasped and reached out to save what little she could, but it was too late. She had indeed made something amazing. A skill that would help him adapt, teach him all about the world, and even turned Yoki¡¯s Identify into something truly amazing. Her panic had done nothing for her. The only thing it had done was limit the amount she could interact with the system she had created. She could offer a single quest, update a single quest, and each was limited to 300 characters. ¡°Oh Ken, I¡¯m sorry. I overdid it.¡± She said into the void. A single tear rolled down her cheek. If she hadn¡¯t invested so much maybe she could point something out during an Identify, but not now. Now she was on a timeline. A very short, very limited timeline. She was so tired. Her eyes were heavy. The void threatened to swallow her whole. The system would work for Ken for the next little while. But if he didn¡¯t complete the quest, and the quest didn¡¯t deliver her enough life energy she would fade away. No. She would become a wraith. A force of pure destruction. A natural disaster. All that was left was to wait. Tara felt a trickle of life energy return to her. Two drops. Two drops would not staunch the bleeding. It wouldn¡¯t be too long now. A day, maybe 12 hours? She watched as the level of her power fell. She watched, despondent as the full make up of the Lesser Infernal Imps entered her knowledge. As they did so, their two drops of essence She learned everything about them. While Ken had absorbed their skills, she gained the knowledge of their aspects and their makeup. She turned her head back to Ken. To her one believer. Her single bet. He was rooting around a room looking at brooms. His face was determined. He had figured out the ability so quickly. I bet he is scared though. Waking up in an unknown place with nobody around. She felt bad how she had worded the initial quest. The tutorial. ¡°Save your wife¡­¡± she said to the nothing all around her. She had manipulated him. Knew he would do anything to save her. Despite her failure she smiled to herself. She loved him. He was going to do everything he could. But he didn¡¯t know that he was on an unbeatable timeline. She felt so weak. While she had been here before she still felt terrible. She floated, idling between eternal life and death. Her energy fading... She wanted to rest. Everything was just so much. Too much. She just wanted to sleep. Let go of everything and just sleep. She pushed the tiredness away. It was interesting. The powers that Kenshiro had picked up, the Flameproof in particular, had made her smile. She watched him, His eyes glowing with energy, piercing the darkness, his skin now interwoven with infernal fire. ¡°At least one of us overcame fire in the end.¡±
Chapter 6: Filth Kenshiro and the gray-skinned creature stared at each other, the door clattering behind him. His eyes grew wide and the grip on his fire poker tightened. The creature was about four and a half feet tall, with a prominent forehead and short pointed ears that stuck out to the side. It had bright, intelligent, yellow eyes and a gnarled mouth with no nose. The most astounding feature of the creature, however, was its gray skin, which was similar to that of an elephant in texture and color. Unlike the imps, the creature wore a tattered brown and black robe, stained with blood on its left side. Its arms dangling, mangled, broken, and bent in an unnatural position. Kenshiro stood in the doorway, maybe five feet from the creature in the robe, mouth agape. Silence sat between them like rain waiting to fall from the clouds. The silence between them did not last long, Kenshiro being the first to break the stalemate. He dropped his head and charged at the elephant-skinned creature, chucking the fire poker as he hit the creature in its left side, crashing into its mangled arm. ¡°Whaahahharagh!¡± the creature cried out as Kenshiro and the monster fell to the ground, Kenshiro punching and swinging into the creature¡¯s stomach. Left uppercut, right uppercut, left hook. Both uppercuts smashed into the creature¡¯s stomach as the left hook caught air and the creature doubled over in pain, only to come up with a small dagger that had been hidden in its belt. The knife caught Kenshiro in the cheek and upper lip, splitting his mouth from lip to nose and catching his teeth. His freckled face now speckled with his own blood. -2 HP popped into the left corner of his vision but he barely noticed. HP: 16/20 MP: 17/17SP: 14/17 Kenshiro¡¯s face contorted as the pain reached his brain. ¡°Ahhhhhhhh!¡± Kenshiro screamed letting rage enter his voice and fists. He rammed himself into the creature¡¯s bad arm again, delivering two more left hooks into its side. The creature screamed as its mangled arm got pulverized by Kenshiro. Kenshiro leaned into the punches before catching another slash to his own shoulder, splitting his hoodie. Kenshiro took another swing, less wild but full of adrenaline and anger. His fist caught air as the gray creature attempted to create space by leaping backward. As the space between them opened, its hands began to exude a darkness. Kenshiro didn¡¯t wait to see what would happen. He leaped at the creature, tackling it to the ground, interrupting the incantation as they began to wrestle in the mud, blood, and sweat. They fought and shoved on the ground, kicking away bones and dust on the stone floor. The gray-skinned creature fought for position, trying to stop Kenshiro and subdue him. Kenshiro, on the other hand was fighting for the knife. -1 HP HP: 15/20 MP: 17/17SP 11/17 The creature shoved him down, elbow on neck, gaining the top position, its strength surprising Kenshiro in the mess. As he gasped for air, Kenshiro wrestled away the dagger. As the gray-skinned creature looked down at him, suddenly coming to the realization of their own folly as Kenshiro wrenched away the weapon before planting the dagger in its chest. Kenshiro¡¯s chest heaved as the creature looked at the dagger in its chest, to Kenshiro¡¯s face, and back to the dagger. Its eyes wide, gurgling blood, it slumped onto Kenshiro, twitching as it died on top of him. +500 EXP -50 EXP (Conduit of Souls) Heaving, Kenshiro rolled the body off of him. He lay on the ground trying to catch his breath and collect himself. His mouth tasted like iron, his split lip bleeding profusely. He covered it with his hand and sat up, chest rising and falling rapidly. He felt like he couldn¡¯t get enough oxygen as he lay on the stone floor. ¡°What¡­ In the actual¡­¡± Ken started before deciding to save his breath. For a while he just stared at the ceiling. It was dark and steepled, lit with more blue and green flames in sconces adorning each of the four sides, lighting the room from above. The stonework was simple, but imposing, the four walls held up by thick beams made of the same dark stone. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Kenshiro sat up as his breathing calmed. He breathed through his nose, his lip still bleeding and took in the new room. The room was plain but messy. There was no art or distinguishing features aside from its austere plainness. A couple of couches and cots littered the room. Bones of what he hoped were animals were spread around the space, making the room feel like a morbid lounge area. Kenshiro stood and walked over to the creature. He kicked it over revealing the dagger embedded in its chest, the hilt of the blade now covered in ichor. The creature¡¯s face seemed frozen in pain. Then again the creature was so ugly maybe it always looked like that. Grimacing, Kenshiro pulled the dagger from its chest as more sanguine lifeforce gushed out of the creature. The Identify icon hovered in the corner of his vision and Kenshiro Identified the dagger. Item: Ritual Dagger of the Kindred Few Rarity: RareEffects - Astral Killer: Sacrificial Rituals performed with this dagger harvest Life Energy. Additional damage to Outworlders based off of Insight. Use Skill Eater on Astral Killer? Y/N The information on the dagger¡¯s screen disturbed him. ¡°This is a sacrificial dagger? Used in what? What the hell is this place?!¡± Kenshiro asked the screen. Wishing for some kind of answer. Kenshiro ignored the Skill Eater on the dagger. Worried that it would destroy the dagger if he accepted it, remembering what happened to the two imp¡¯s bodies once he used the skill. Even if he hated the idea of whatever this dagger was, it was better than his fire poker. Turning his attention to the creature he Identified it as well: Ing¡¯tur Kendra (M) Race: Dru¡¯Ven Rank: 1 Class: Cultist Use Skill Eater?Y/N¡°Dru¡¯ven huh? And it has a name?¡± Something in Kenshiro¡¯s stomach turned as he stared at the creature. Unlike the imps. This ¡®creature¡¯ had a name, a class, a rank, and a race. While it didn¡¯t seem intelligent, if it had a ritual dagger and wore clothing, that meant it most likely wasn¡¯t unintelligent. While it didn¡¯t exactly speak, who was to say that it couldn''t speak. The idea made Kenshiro¡¯s heart sink. He took a step back and turned away from both the corpse and the ugly, cold, stone room. Before him were four doors. Two doors that stood side-by-side, a door further where he entered from, and another wider door near the corpse of the Dru¡¯ven. Kenshiro pushed down the concern growing in his chest and moved toward the two doors, muttering as he walked, dagger in his hand. ¡°That thing tried to kill me. I was defending myself. There¡¯s no reason why I shouldn¡¯t protect myself and try to save my wife.¡± He rationalized aloud. ¡°Plus, I don¡¯t even know if it¡¯s fully sentient or intelligent. I just knew it had a knife, it was hurt, and I didn¡¯t want to die. I still don¡¯t want to die. I just want to find Tara and leave.¡± Kenshiro increased his speed and marched across the room, the stress rushing him away from the body behind him. Still muttering, he opened the small reed-thatched door, almost like one would find on a small hut on the Discovery Channel or something. With a wide and loud swing, the reeds clattered against the stone as Kenshiro swung it open, only to reveal a toilet. The smell of feces and ammonia hit him like a wall of filth. The toilet was Japanese-style, more of a hole in the floor with a handle and a place to put your feet on either side. A pile of what appeared to be toilet paper was in the corner. Kenshiro closed the door and closed his eyes, pressing his head against the wall in exasperation. ¡°If I rush, I die faster. Chill out, lock in, and move on.¡± Kenshiro told himself, eyes closed as he rested his head against the cool stone. Opening his eyes, he gripped his dagger and brought it up close to his face, preparing himself for another gray-skinned creature behind this door. He opened the door and was met with a narrow staircase that curved down and slightly to the left before disappearing from sight. Kenshiro glanced back at the body of the Dru¡¯ven and walked down the stairs. The stairway was short and led him quickly to another door made of stone, with a long handle on the left side. Kenshiro pulled the door open a crack, listening beyond for any noise. He wasn¡¯t about to make the same mistake he¡¯d just made. After waiting about twenty seconds and hearing nothing Kenshiro yanked the door open and jumped into an empty square room. Unlike the other rooms this room had no lights, just a faint glow from above in the center of the small room. Kenshiro took another step forward, his footfalls eerily loud in the stillness of the room. Ken¡¯s heart sank as he heard the door click behind him. He rushed back to the door, it was held tightly shut by some unknown mechanism. Something dripped from above. A wet, slapping sound echoed through the small chamber, making Kenshiro freeze in his tracks. His heart skipped a beat. Slowly, he looked up, just as a thick, gelatinous blob began to detach itself from the ceiling, near the glow. ¡°No...¡± he whispered, dread pooling in his stomach. The blob fell with a soft *plop* onto the stone floor. It quivered for a moment, then began to shift and undulate, pulling itself into a loose, amorphous shape. Kenshiro took a shaky step back, gripping his knife tighter. The thing¡ªwhatever it was¡ªpulsated rhythmically, almost like it was alive, but there were no eyes, no limbs, nothing human or even animal about it. Just a blob of translucent quivering goo with a key inside of it. The key, which looked very much like a classic skeleton key, seemed to be stuck inside of the blob. ¡°What the hell is that?¡± Kenshiro whispered, his voice barely audible. As Identify appeared in his vision with Kenshiro accepting it without much thought. Creature: Lesser Ooze Rank: 0 Description: A scavenging ooze that survives off of the fecal matter and trash of the cultists. Loot: Small Key, Small Beast Core: Ooze
Chapter 7: Fresh ¡°Come on!¡± Kenshiro¡¯s voice cracked as he stumbled backward, both weapons now gone, dissolved into nothing. In two strikes Ken had lost both the dagger and the fire poker. The slime quivered, growing slightly larger, and Kenshiro¡¯s stomach churned at the sight. He was completely defenseless. The creature continued its slow advance, its movements deceptively calm and methodical, almost as if it had all the time in the world. Kenshiro¡¯s back hit the wall. His breathing grew more frantic. ¡°No, no, no! Think, Kenshiro, think!¡± He ran around the edge of the room, his Diresight coming in clutch as he circumnavigated the slow-moving monster. It seemed every time he hit it with anything it would snatch it out of the air, pull it into its body, pause, glow a little, and devour whatever it had taken. During that time Kenshiro would have a small moment to move¡ªas the ooze seemingly couldn¡¯t multitask. Frantically, he reached into his pockets. His phone, his wallet¡ªneither would help. But not caring to be the ooze¡¯s next meal, he tossed his broken phone at the squelching poop monster. Just like before, it snatched the phone out of the air as Kenshiro ran back toward the door and did his best to open it again. He clawed at the door until his fingernails broke and small red fingerprints started forming around the door¡¯s seam. Kenshiro whirled around as the slight glow emitted by the monster stopped. He tossed his wallet at the ooze, trying to buy more time. It seemed, however, that the wallet wasn¡¯t going to buy him much at all. Unlike the cell phone which bought him about a minute, the wallet dissolved in the creature¡¯s body in a matter of seconds. Kenshiro closed his eyes and the light dimmed behind him. If he couldn¡¯t get this stupid door open the only other choice he had was to hope he could yank the key from the center of the ooze before his arms turned to mush. He didn¡¯t have much faith in that plan. His fingers closed around the last object in his pocket: a small, battered tin of Mintia mints. For a moment, Kenshiro just stared at it, his mind blank. The slime was less than a few feet away, its wet, squelching body inching closer. Desperate, Kenshiro flung the tin of mints at the creature, the small container spinning through the air. It landed with a soft *plop* on the creature¡¯s surface, sinking into the goo like everything else. Kenshiro¡¯s chest heaved as he waited for the inevitable as he clawed at the door, his head turning back and forth between the ooze and the seam of the doorway. The creature shuddered. Its movements grew more erratic as it absorbed the mints. And then... it let out a high-pitched hiss. A strange bubbling sound rose from its core, and the slime¡¯s body began to convulse, shrinking and hardening. Kenshiro blinked, barely believing what he was seeing. ¡°No way...¡± The slime convulsed violently, its once-unstoppable advance now halted by something as absurd as mints. Its body, once gelatinous and smooth, bubbled and hissed as if it were being seared from the inside out. A faint pickled plum and minty smell filled the room, and Kenshiro, frozen in disbelief, watched as the slime began to stiffen and shed like a dried onion in front of his eyes. The creature''s movements became frantic, its form cracking and collapsing inward. The minty residue from the tin seemed to be drawing out all the moisture from its body, leaving it brittle and fragile. It looked like the creature was shriveling up before his eyes. Suddenly, a sharp crack echoed through the chamber as part of the slime¡¯s surface broke away, pieces falling to the ground in a dry, crumbled heap. Kenshiro stayed glued to the doorway, wide-eyed and breathless, as more of the creature broke apart, its translucent mass now hardening into more like dried mud than living ooze. Still, he didn¡¯t dare move. He barely even dared to breathe, watching the thing die slowly. It continued to sputter, each contraction of its body sending a shudder through the now shrunken form, like a deflating balloon. Finally, with one last shuddering convulsion, the slime crumbled completely. What was left of its once menacing form was nothing more than a pile of cracked, dry goo. Numbers appeared in his vision as the ooze stopped moving. +200 EXP -20 EXP (Conduit of Souls) A laugh bubbled up in his chest, soft at first, but quickly growing louder. A genuine laugh filled with the pain, frustration, and anguish he had dealt with since the train crash. ¡°I killed it... with mints?!¡± The laugh was breathless and manic, the tension of the battle spilling over in waves of disbelief. He sank down to the floor, laughing as he leaned his back against the cold stone wall. His legs wobbled beneath him, barely able to support his weight. After a long moment, the laughter subsided, leaving him panting in the aftermath of adrenaline and exhaustion. Kenshiro rubbed his face with his hands, trying to calm his nerves. He had survived. Somehow, he had survived, and his brain was struggling to process how. As the reality of his victory set in, Kenshiro forced himself to stand again, his legs still shaking but now more from fatigue than fear. He stepped cautiously toward the pile of dried slime remains, half-expecting it to suddenly come back to life. In the remains were two small items. Kenshiro used the ability, Identify, right away, an action which continued to become more natural as he used it. Item: Small Beast Core: OozeDescription: A tiny beast core from a creature with acid and devouring capabilities. Useful in crafting, rituals, or as an energy source. 25% drop rate. Use Skill Eater:Y/N Item: Defecation Chamber KeyEffects - Opens the door to the Defecation Chamber in the Forsaken Temple of the Kindred Few. Kenshiro took the key and the Beast Core, which was more like a small gem the size of his fingernail. The core was clear, much like a diamond, and was surprisingly heavy for its diminutive size. He activated Skill Eater, the two skills popping up in his vision. Select a skill to consume: Skill: Devour* Attribute: CON Type: Active Skill Requirements: None Description: Absorb non-living material to restore HP and SP. Amount restored is proportional to the object consumed. Cooldown: 1 minute. Skill: Acidproof* Attribute: CON Type: Ability - Passive Requirements: None Description: Reduces acid or corrosive damage by 50%. *You currently have 1 CON Attribute Slot. You already have a skill assigned to your Vitality Aspect. If you do not select a new ability core will be converted into EXP. Kenshiro glowered. ¡°So there is a limit. I have to have slots? If only there was a way to conveniently see what slots and abilities I had. That would make this significantly easier.¡± Kenshiro dismissed the messages and looked at the other small icons in his vision. The first one was less of an icon and more of a small list of numbers that remained small until he focused on them. HP: 14/20 MP: 17/17 SP 10/17 Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.EXP: 648/1000 ¡°I have stats huh?¡± Ken touched his cut lip that was still lightly bleeding as well as his torched side. ¡°Guess that¡¯s what six points of HP looks like according to this system. I wonder what it¡¯s based on?¡± ¡°Wait, I¡¯m curious,¡± Ken said, a funny idea popping into his head. He had identified the imps, that dagger, and even the dru¡¯ven monster. Each time it taught him just a little bit more about each thing. Maybe it could teach him about the changes he¡¯d experienced. Kenshiro used Identify on himself.
Character Name Kenshiro Perez
Race Otherworlder Rank 1
Class Skill Eater
Profession None
Title Conduit of Souls - Tara''s Chosen
Level 1 Recovery Rate
HP 14 20 1.4 Day
MP 17 17 1 MIN
SP 14 17 1 HR
Experience Points 648 1000
Free Aspect Points 0
Aspects Attributes Level Modifier SLOTS
Vital STR 12 1 2
CON 14 1
Grace SPR 5 1 1
DEX 13 1
Insight INT 13 1 1
WIL 11 1
Karma LUC 10 1 2
FAT 20 2
Class Skills Description
Skill Eater Absorb the skills of defeated/willing creatures. Discarded skills converted to EXP.
Blessings Rank Description
Identify (Uncommon) (Outworlder) 1 Assess creatures, objects, and situations; grants basic info based on target¡¯s complexity.
Fellowship (Uncommon) (Outworlder) 1 Allows the user to Speak, Understand, and Read the languages of Nowhere.
Conduit of Souls (Unique) 1 Allows Basic blessings of a divine being to assist you, costs 10% of all EXP gained.
Slots Modifier Attribute Skill
2 1 STR
1 CON Flameproof
1 1 SPR
1 DEX
1 1 INT
1 WIL Diresight
2 1 LUC
2 FAT
¡°Woah,¡± was all Ken could say, his eyes flitting all over the screens in front of him. Nervously, Kenshiro looked back at the locked door to make sure he wouldn¡¯t be attacked while engrossed in the screens in front of him. Looking at his red stained fingers he felt a bit better as he slumped into the wall and tried to take it all in. He stared at the top of the page, walking himself through the sheer amount of information. ¡°Alright. So I am an Outworlder? Not a human? Does that mean there are no humans here, or does that mean I am no longer human?¡± That information wasn¡¯t going to really help him, but it was the first bit of information that concerned him. Pushing that away he continued on down the sheet. ¡°It also seems like you can have a profession. Does that mean there are no Game Developers here? Or is it more like an RPG where you can gain a utility skillset like alchemy or smithing?¡± Ken mused to himself. He had always loved games that let him add additional effects to things, maybe he could find something that let him do that. ¡°Alright. As for the stats¡­¡± Looking over the list, it seemed the stats were fairly straightforward. ¡°I have two related¡­ attributes, that when combined resulted in an amount of slots I have to store skills¡­¡± What did bother him was the fact that for some reason, he had only five SPR, which he assumed was Spirit, and a whopping 20, the highest of all his stats, in FAT. He didn¡¯t know what it was, Fate maybe?. It also seemed like there was a minimum threshold for skill slots. Though he only had 5 SPR, his DEX wasn¡¯t exactly high, which made him think that might be the case. Last, were the Blessings. Kenshiro had three, although he had only used or experienced two of them so far. The Fellowship Blessing was something he had not yet seen. ¡°So this means I can understand and read things eh? Which I bet is way more useful than whatever this silly Soul Conduit thing is.¡± Chapter 8: Suckerpunch Kenshiro had a simple choice to make. Acidproof or Devour. One that gave him HP and SP back or a small buff. While he didn¡¯t know what else was in this place, he figured recovery was better than prevention, and he was already hurt, might as well try and get back on his feet. Kenshiro accepted the Devour skill with his ability and felt the knowledge and power in his being. It was a strange rush as he felt invigorated as well as more¡­complete? It was odd. A good odd. That was until that good was replaced with a strange emptiness. His skin felt like it cracked and broke. Flameproof has been converted into EXP. +100 EXP -10 EXP (Conduit of Souls) To his chagrin, the notification appeared in his vision. ¡°Well, That sucks. At least I can heal a bit¡­¡± The odd part was that he knew how the ability worked, naturally, just as well as if he had always been able to absorb random objects and break them down into minerals and proteins that could replenish his Vitality. Then again, thirty minutes ago, he had no idea what Attributes even were. A day ago he was arriving on a twelve hour flight from LAX. Standing, he walked over to the flakey fragments of the ooze and extended his hand, touching it. ¡°Devour,¡± he commanded. The materials broke apart at his touch, like baking soda and vinegar in the palm of his hand, dissolving. As the corpse slowly dissolved in his hand, he felt himself grow stronger. The cuts on his arm started to sting less and the cut on his lip stopped bleeding. The taste of pennies no longer dripped into his mouth. As he was greeted with small numbers popping up into the corner of his vision. +1 HP +1 SP +1 HP +1 SP HP: 18/20 MP: 17/17SP 17:17 EXP: 748/1000 Kenshiro felt an unbroken smile spread across his face. He felt much better. Though his skin itched from the change, he pulled up his tattered hoodie sleeve and saw the little claw marks from the imps were healed. He touched his face, the spot where the dagger had caught his lip had closed. ¡°It worked,¡± Kenshiro said aloud. ¡°Now, to find Tara.¡± Kenshiro turned back to the door. He didn¡¯t want to open the door. ¡°I can¡¯t just stay here. I have to keep moving.¡± Kenshiro thought of all the random stuff in the room upstairs and how he could maybe heal up his burned side or at least top off his HP. ¡°One thing at a time. Go upstairs, get something to recover my health.¡± Kenshiro cracked his neck, and opened the door with the key. ~~~ Tara¡¯s eyes fluttered open and a small handful of Life Energy dropped into her small pool. She smiled, tiredly. Ken had gotten something. She had closed her eyes for just a short moment. What happened? She drew into herself and checked on Ken. He was tired, but okay. No, he was a bit better. What happened? Tara peered into his soul and saw the new ability in his make-up. ¡°Devour huh? An ability that converts matter into Constitution? Smart Kenny¡­¡± She never really called him that, but she was so tired¡­ She checked her slowly draining pool. ¡°A couple more hours yet. Not long. Maybe half a day?¡± She tried not to do the math. Yet, the chunk of life energy she recieved had been a considerable amount. A life or two had joined her pool.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Ken bought her another hour or two at least. She smiled. A weak pained smile. ¡°What is this? Another Skill?¡± It seemed that she had the knowledge of another skill as well, Acid Resistance. Seemed like it could have its uses. It seemed that whatever Ken didn¡¯t choose, she gained the knowledge of, ¡°hmmm¡­ That¡¯s funny.¡± She felt oddly light headed. She felt like she was lightly spinning, ever so slightly through the eternal blackness. ¡°Oh Kenny¡­¡± She never really called him that¡­ ~~~ Kenshiro walked back into the room, coming up from the stairs had strained his ears the whole time, worried he would come up and find another Dru¡¯ven. Luckily, he didn¡±t find anything of the sort. Just the corpses from before. Kenshiro started by going back to the Dru¡¯ven and checked the robe for anything else. Though the creature still gave him the heebie-jeebies, he was without a weapon and needed something to defend himself. While checking over the body, the notification bubble hovered above.. Ing¡¯tur Kendra (M) Race: Dru¡¯Ven Rank: 1 Class: Cultist Use Skill Eater?Y/N Kenshiro winced at the idea of using Skill Eater. ¡°Why am I whinging at something like this? I don¡¯t even know if this thing is¡­ was¡­ intelligent. I¡¯m just psyching myself out for no reason.¡± He slammed the ¡®Y¡¯ with his mind. The Dru¡¯ven¡¯s skin went pale, like the fat on its bones had suddenly dried up. Which Skill would you like to acquire? Skill: Summon Shadow Wolf Attribute: INT Type: Conjuration - Summon Requirements: Rank 1 - 15MP Description: Summon a shadow wolf to obey your commands. The Creature¡¯s level is equal to the summoner''s level. Skill: Share Memory Attribute: INT Type: Skill Requirements: 10 MP Description: Touch another willing target and share a memory of up to one hour over the course of 20 seconds. Kenshiro looked over the two abilities and knew exactly what he was choosing the moment he saw his options. He selected his choice, accepting his new Skill as the silver light moved from the gray-skinned Dru¡¯ven into Kenshiro¡¯s mind. It flew into his ears and heart, it saturated his skin and mind. He knew it like he knew Spanish, like he knew how to ride a bike or hold his breath. Standing, he closed the creature¡¯s eyes with his fingers. He needed skills and he wasn¡¯t going to waste anything, but he did feel bad for killing this creature. It was like killing a monkey or a dolphin. A smart creature. Nothing more. ¡°Now.¡± He started, standing up again. ¡°I need to top off my HP.¡± Kenshiro took his time to absorb a couple of bones he found in the corner before finding a small piece of wood that made a fairly good club in his hands. It didn¡¯t feel as comfortable as the fire poker, but it was better than nothing. At least, he hoped it would be, ¡°This time I¡¯m not just going to throw my weapon away and try to tackle the knife wielding monster in cult robes.¡± He said to the club. Taking a few practice swings with the club, he wound it up like a baseball bat and did his best home run impression, trying to convince himself to go through the next door. So far, every time he opened a door he¡¯d either been met with something trying to kill him or a toilet. Taking another swing he muttered to himself, his thoughts returning to his old man. His dad had loved sports. Soccer, baseball, boxing, or American football, you name it he was into it. He had put Kenshiro into pretty much every sport until Kenshiro flat out refused. Boxing had been the main thing. Kenshiro¡¯s abuelito had been a golden gloves recipient, Kenshiro on the other hand had spent most of his life trying to avoid the boxing gym. Failing until he had escaped to college and eventually to another state when he and Tara had gotten married. It wasn¡¯t until he passed away that Kenshiro had gone back to the boxing gym at thirty years old. Kenshiro slung the make-shift club over his shoulder. ¡°I must be more tired than I thought. Thinking about this isn¡¯t going to do anything. I need to move,¡± he thought. Kenshiro approached the door and opened it hesitantly, ready to face a monster rather than get down on himself any more than he already had. Unlike the previous rooms that Kenshiro had entered up to this point, everything had been dark, cluttered, crowded, and full of living things that wanted to kill him. This room only shared one of those things with the rest and it wasn¡¯t the color of the walls or the clutter. The room appeared to be a grand hall. With vaulted ceilings at least three stories high. The walls were a lighter gray, similar to marble or granite. In fact, it reminded him of the cathedral in Salt Lake City he had visited on a ski trip with Tara the year before the accident. Along the long, expansive walls were mosaics of dark blue and black stones that contrasted against the silvery finish of the walls. The hall was wide, maybe the size of half a football field, with pews, candelabras, and two large wooden doors, the kind you might see on a classic Medieval castle. The most stark element of the room however was not the mosaics, or the vaulted ceiling with glowing lights, it was the pile of twisted and contorted bodies strewn about the room¡ªbroken, bloodied, and bent.
Chapter 9: Throne Vahl watched the Outworlder from atop his throne of cultists. He had bent them into a shape that pleased him after being summoned to Nowhere. Unlike a normal summoning however, their stupid summoning had not been meant for him at all. Which was great, until they tried to tell him what to do without offering anything valuable. All they wanted to do was make sure their silly little lich ascended, which made no sense to him as he didn¡¯t even know what a lich was anyway. If they wanted him to do something, all they had to do was kindly sacrifice half of their remaining life-force upon completion. And he would have happily killed whatever or found whatever they wanted. It was as basic a transaction as possible. Yet, they tried to make him bend to their will. Force him. Force. Him. You did not force a Devil. Well that was unless you were a Devil. Then you forced Devils all the time. Then again, you didn¡¯t ignore a Devil either, so this Outworlder was either stupid, ignorant, or both. The Outworlder was a funny little thing. While Vahl had never met an Outworlder before, he thought this one looked very curious. Maybe that was the nature of Outworlders. This one had colorful, odd looking robes and was covered in thousands of small dark polka-dots. Much like the spots on a fellcat. Vahl watched the aura of the Outworlder as it walked over to one dead cultist and stared at it. Compassion? No. Confusion? Oh for sure, but maybe some element of compassion as well. Also some fear. He mused to himself. Vahl watched his prey as he rested his head on his hand, using one of the cultist¡¯s heads built into an armrest. Dislodging some of the dead cultist¡¯s teeth made his elbow sit a little better before watching the little Outworlder move to another cultist. This cultist was still moving, heaving a little bit too, and the Outworlder was very invested in it. Vahl watched as the Outworlder took the cultist¡¯s knife and slit the suffering greyskin¡¯s throat. Vahl smiled a wicked smile that nearly touched his ears as he watched the pain and trepidation roll through the outworlder¡¯s aura. Pain, regret, and a grim determination was interwoven throughout the aura. Speaking of which, it seemed that though this Outworlder was obviously a First Rank being, it had absolutely no aura control. Odd. Vahl wondered where it came from to have absolutely no control. ¡°Maybe it got here the same way I did¡­¡± Vahl watched as the Outworlder moved to another Dru¡¯ven. The Outworlder seemed to stare into space before the Dru¡¯ven¡¯s features went gaunt and thin as the Outworlder tore something from their attribute. ¡°Wait what?!¡± Vahl lifted his head and looked deeply into the unaware outworlder¡¯s aura, pushing his senses to the max. He traced the mesh of magic that had newly interwoven in the little Outworlder¡¯s aura. If he not actively seen it take the Dru¡¯ven¡¯s attribute skill he wouldn¡¯t have believed it. Yet there it was, right in front of his infernal eyes. The Outworlder had taken some skill directly from its Grace, and now it was emulating the same pattern. ¡°Unbelievable.¡± Vahl launched himself across the room of bodies and grabbed the Outworlder by the arm. ¡°What did you just do?!¡± ~~~ Tara watched in horror, now fully awake after the additional Life Energy had dripped into her pool, thirty five EXP points worth. She was still tired, still worn. Yet her nerves were stretched thin as Ken was held, arm locked in place by a Rank Three Devil. She wanted to scream, she did scream, as the Devil held Ken in a vice grip. The Devil¡¯s Mana flowing off of it in waves, coating the room in Infernal Energy. Ever since Tara entered the void and found her connection to Ken, she had been able to gather a lot of information from the things she had seen. From Attributes to Mana concentrations, but she didn¡¯t know what most of the information meant. She had no idea what the difference was between Grace and Insight, however, she knew that they were both integrated aspects of magic that each consisted of two other lesser Attributes. In Insight¡¯s case, it was a combination of Will and Intelligence. But what that meant was lost on her.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. What was not lost on her was the sheer concentration of Insight, Grace, Vitality, and Karma this Devil had. Unlike Ken, who had two Vitality and Karma, a single attribute of Insight and Grace, the Devil had ten Insight alone. Its single Attribute was more than everything Ken had combined. The Devil stood almost seven feet tall, with a strong, lithe, crimson body and two elegant horns carved with intricate runes and designs protruding from its head. The Devil¡¯s eyes burned a low amber, its naked wings powerful, yet delicate in form. ¡°Answer me!¡± It seethed. Ken righted himself, surprised. ¡°How did you not see the seven foot tall devil on the throne of bodies?!¡± She yelled into the void. ¡°Ken!¡± She called, praying he could just hear her. She watched Ken compose himself as he addressed the creature. ~~~ Kenshiro felt like his arm was surely going to break, yet as he stared into the literal eyes of what could only be a Devil, Kenshiro could not help but want to cross himself. ¡°I¡¯ve gone to Hell. I¡¯ve died and gone to hell and now the devil is going to eat my soul.¡± was the first thought that entered his mind. The panic and fear that gripped him showed on his face like that of a frightened child. ¡°I said, what did you just do, Outworlder. Answer me and I might spare your pathetic life.¡± The Devil growled at him, eyes never wavering. ¡°What?!¡± Kenshiro was able to eke out. ¡°I said,¡± Kenshiro¡¯s arm started stinging as the devil twisted, ¡°What did you just do to the greyskin? The Dru¡¯ven. What did you do to it.¡± Kenshiro looked at the Devil wide-eyed, trying to find the words that were just out of reach. Fear keeping them at an arm¡¯s length. The Devil continued to apply pressure until the pain pulled Kenshiro back into the suck. The focused state of decision. Kenshiro glared up at the Devil and tried to rip his arm free but to no avail. He was about to ask the Devil ¡®What do you want?!¡¯ but he already knew what the Devil wanted, he just wanted to know what exactly it was talking about. ¡°I took the Grey skin¡¯s Share Memory Skill thing! Why?!¡± he choked out, not knowing if lying would even help him in this situation. The Devil let go of his hand and took two steps back, as an impish grin traced up its face. The smile was full of malevolence and hunger. The Devil stopped a foot or two away as his eyes shifted, thinking as Kenshiro began to nurse his arm. Kenshiro spared a look at the dagger that had clattered to the floor when the Devil grabbed him, seemingly out of nowhere. ¡°What do you want?¡± Kenshiro spat. His voice tinged with pain and frustration as he flicked his eyes back to the tall, crimson creature before him. ¡°I want you¡­¡± It paused. The words pouring slowly from the creature¡¯s mouth, as if savoring them like a delicious treat. ¡°To take a Skill from me. Can you do that, Outworlder?¡± The Devil''s eyes stared through him as if seeing something Kenshiro could not see. The sense of danger subsided slightly, enough that Kenshiro almost stooped down to grab his dagger. Almost instead, he clenched his fists¡ªeyes darting around for a way out. ¡°Tell me¡­¡± the Devil started again. ¡°Tell me, can you take any Trait or Skill? If so I will happily trade you whatever you desire if you take a single Skill from me.¡± the Devil¡¯s words were filled with honey, amber eyes aglow with greed and hunger. Kenshiro did not know what to say. He knew what he wanted, the thought came to him instantly. He wanted his wife. He wanted to save Tara. He wanted to get the hell out of this sucky dungeon and go home with his wife. ¡°I want my wife.¡± Kenshiro stated resolutely, trying his best to not say anything too stupid. He had heard enough stories of Devils from his grandma and movies to know that you had to be careful with how you worded things with Devils. Or at least he guessed that was the case, seeing as this was the first time he had talked to one. ¡°Your wife..?¡± The devil cocked its head and closed his eyes before opening them again with a knowing expression. ¡°Where is she? Tell me who or what holds her and I will return her to you. Unless she is dead, then there is no bargain.¡± Kenshiro watched the Devil. Mind racing, trying to remember the quest he had been given before it appeared in his vision again. Quest: Tutorial Description: Complete the following task and learn how to save your wife. Success: +1 Attribute PointFailure: Game over ¡°I was told that if I found out where the Defuse Infernal Mana was coming from I would learn how to save my wife. I¡¯m guessing that is¡­you?¡± Kenshiro stated before another notification popped into his vision. Quest: Tutorial - Complete! Reward: +1 Attribute Point New Quest! Quest: Deal with the Devil Description: Claim this temple for Tara, Venerated Spirit. If you have to make a deal, do it. We will figure it out. Just don¡¯t trade your soul. Please.Success: +5 Attribute PointsFailure: Ken, it¡¯s me. Tara Chapter 10: Obsequity Vahl watched the Outworlder¡¯s weak aura for the small twitch of lies. The ripple of desire or want. Yet the thing that confused him the most was that the Outworlder could detect mana, but could not control his own aura. Vahl had detected no lies, no concern outside of self preservation and a desire to save its wife. ¡°Yes, my mana may have spread about the place, but I know nothing of your wife. Unless she was one of the cultists,¡± Vahl stated. ¡°So, if your grey-skinned wife is among the corpses I cannot help you.¡± Vahl stood up, ¡°Looks like we might have to do this by force,¡± he thought. He didn¡¯t mind, mortals gave in to torture fairly easily, and if you did it well, it could be quite effective. ¡°Then give me this temple,¡± The Outworlder stated, now in a more defensive pose. Arms in puny little fists about their head. ¡°Give me this temple for¡­ Tara the V-v- venerated Spirit and I¡¯ll take whatever Skill you need. But you can¡¯t harm either of us,¡± The Outworlder stuttered out. Vahl smiled. ¡°Just relinquish this temple to you? For you and your patron.¡± The Devil said, confirming the desires. ¡°A Warlock then?¡± Vahl¡¯s smile grew wider. Warlocks were not all that common. They are usually mortals who were given a mission from a Godling or Lesser Being for a unique class or access to a small magic. Which was returned, much like a Devil, in Life Energy usually at a fairly high tax or until they expired. A Warlock meant that this little mortal was not only willing to make a deal, but had made deals before. ¡°And no harm! Neither to myself or any¡­ follower of¡­ Tara,¡± the stammering continued, ¡°or no deal!¡± ¡°What is your name? I will need it to make our accord.¡± The Outworlder hesitated a moment before replying. ¡°Ken¡± ¡°No family or tribe name?¡± ¡°Kenshiro Luis Perez¡± Vahl loved when people assumed things. It almost always worked out for his benefit. He in fact did not own this temple. He had simply been pulled from the Infernal Plane with no contract. Since the little cultists were gone, this temple was completely unowned. ¡°Bright lights,¡± he cursed to himself. ¡°If this temple had been claimed by a Godling, I would have been significantly weakened. Godlings are too jealous to allow any of my sort to prance around like I have been, much less build a throne out of their priesthood.¡± Vahl sauntered up to the Outworlder, wings opening in a show of force. He didn¡¯t back down. His Aura wavered in fear but his jaw was set, like he was getting ready for the other shoe to drop. ¡°I will reluctantly relinquish my hold on this temple and promise to not harm you nor any follower of¡­ Tara.¡± A patron Vahl had not even heard of. He knew all of the thirty six deities'' names and domains well, and Tara was not one of them. Must have been some strong spirit or Kami. ¡°In return, you will remove from me a select Skill. Agreed?¡± Vahl¡¯s eyes grew bright, flaring with greed. His Mana almost bubbling under his skin as he prepared Infernal Contract. ¡°If this worked¡­¡± ¡°Yeah. Sure, but I get this temple for Tara. The whole thing.¡± ¡°The whole thing,¡± The Devil said sweetly. ¡°What do you need to remove the Skill, any incantation or material?¡± Vahl inquired, genuinely curious. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Uhhh¡­¡± The Outworlder paused, looking into space for a moment, eyes shifting as if looking at something Vahl could not see. ¡°You have to be willing or I must defeat you¡­ What is the Skill?¡± ¡°It is called Obsequity, and I am willing.¡± Vahl, seeing they had reached an agreement, lifted his hands to the square after pricking his finger, deep black blood dribbling down his long finger. He drew symbols with his blood and Mana in the air before ebony flames appeared around them in a circle. Vahl¡¯s voice became duplicitous as he addressed the Outworlder. ¡°I, Vahl-Shiva, Lieutenant of the Third Ring of Hell and Scion of the Matron of the Infernal Flame, hereby agree to vacate this temple, relinquishing all claims to it in favor of Tara, the Venerated Spirit. Additionally, I pledge not to cause harm, either directly or indirectly, to Tara, the Venerated Spirit, or any of her followers, in perpetuity. In exchange for these terms, I consent to Kenshiro Luis Perez receiving a Skill of my choosing from me, Vahl-Shiva, at my discretion, regardless of his desire or will.¡± As Vahl chanted, the black flames grew higher and higher, the wicked heat tickling the back of Kenshiro¡¯s head as he watched the Devil¡¯s eyes grow dark, filled with some power he didn¡¯t understand. As the contract came to an end, Kenshiro lurched forward, his hand touching the Devil¡¯s skin. As expected it was warm, very warm. The Devil¡¯s chest glowed with a deep rust-colored light. Kenshiro¡¯s Skill activated, without his consent, a notification screen appeared in his vision as the flames grew hotter around him. Skill: Obsequity Attribute: SPRRank: 3 Type: Passive - Law Requirements: Targets of ability but also have the Obsequity Skill. Targets must be of lower rank to take effect. Description: Command the forces of the Infernal Plane. Give any infernal creature of lesser rank a command that must be followed. Creatures under the effects of Obsequity are completely obedient. Accept? Y/N* *Warning: Selecting ¡®N¡¯ will result in a breaking of said contract and Vahl will attack you. The fire around them began to swirl and spin as they were lifted off of the ground, the lights flickered above them and light pulsed from Vahl¡¯s chest. Eventually the light pulsed from his chest and into Kenshiro. His eyes bulged, his skin felt hot and sticky, and his mouth felt dry as part of his soul took on the law of Obsequity. Like the other skills Kenshiro had acquired, his mind was instantly filled with the power of this new Skill. Obsequity was powerful. With it he could simply command any Lesser Devil to obey him, no matter the command, even if it meant death or torture If he¡¯d had this skill when he was attacked by the imps he could have simply bent them to his will. However, he also understood the other side of this hideous Skill. Any Greater Devil, like Vahl, could command him just as easily. The literal definition of a double edged sword. The second he could get another Spirit Power he was going to get rid of this power. He didn¡¯t need a Devil popping up and commanding him to jump off a cliff. Or worse. The moment the skill was taken Kenshiro and Vahl both fell to the ground, the black fire blinking out of existence. Kenshiro tumbled, tripping on his own legs as he dropped a good three feet. Vahl, knowing the ritual was ending, was prepared and landed with the grace of a ballet dancer. The Devil stretched his wings and rolled his head on his shoulders. His fingers wiggled and Kenshiro saw the smile on the Devil¡¯s face creep into a wide mouth smile. A bright, beaming, and wicked smile. Kenshiro got to his feet, his palms were sweaty and his skin still felt like it was mildly burned after standing too close to a fire. ¡°There. It¡¯s done. I have Obsequity.¡± he panted. ¡°Now you must keep your end of the bargain. This Temple belongs to Tara now. You said you¡¯d leave.¡± ¡°And I will, as promised. This temple is all yours Kenshiro Luis Perez.¡± Vahl said without even looking at him, his eyes were fixed elsewhere, his attention bouncing between Kenshiro and something beyond his view. Seemingly distracted or just far away. Vahl¡¯s eyes turned back to Kenshiro as he walked back over to him, towering over him. ¡°Such an interesting creature¡­¡± He said bemused. Staring into Kenshiro¡¯s eyes he ran a soft finger near his face, almost caressing him like a pet cat or a newly found treasure. Kenshiro glared back, his quest said he had to hurry. He was hurrying. He worried he had already taken more time than he had. Was there supposed to be a countdown or something? Vahl snickered and turned away from Kenshiro and walked to the large double doors at the center of the large worship hall. Throwing them open to let in the night air. The door, though well over ten feet tall, clattered against the stone like they were made of plywood or popsicle sticks. Without sparing a glance back at Kenshiro the Devil opened his wings to their full extent, a terrifying display of sheer strength, as Vahl launched himself into the night with no epitaph or parting words. Kenshiro was left amongst the corpses of cultists and the intruding cold night air.