ã€ŠSoul Knight - Stub Notice - Removing Chapters 1/26ã€‹


 Prologue

    Nick wiped the sweat off his body, finishing his exercises for the day. Drinking his thick protein shake, he had to force it down. He wasn¡¯t all that hungry, thanks to his low appetite.

    He was unlikely to gain any muscle thanks to his condition, but being physically active was important for maintaining his body¡¯s health through chemotherapy. This being his third round of it, he was on the last dregs of any kind of strength left in his body.

    Nick had just barely recovered his strength the previous time before he had to start up again when the cancer came back. But Nick was a fighter. He was going to beat it again.

    Making sure his body¡¯s needs were covered with a visit to the bathroom, Nick arrived at his couch. His VR helmet awaited him, where he was excited to play the newest MMO game.

    He hadn¡¯t learned overly much about it because knowledge was restricted for its launch, but also because Nick had already played dozens of them. It was his favorite pastime, since his body had been weak for years now.

    As he was about to put on the helmet, his heart quickened. A heaviness pressed down on his chest, and Nick¡¯s breaths were short and filled with anxiety.

    However, the moment eventually passed, the numbness leaving him after less than a minute. Nick sighed, and put on the helmet¨Cthat was far from the first time he had experienced such an episode. His body was failing him, as one might expect after filling it full of poison.

    The VR helmet activated, making the special synaptic connection which replaced the senses. Nick could hardly tell he was playing a game at all, only the menus being present with a thought.

    He started the game, skipping through many of the prompts and the tutorial. Nick¡¯s time on this world was numbered, so he really did not have time for that kind of stuff. He would push through the boring stuff, and get right to the fun.

    He selected his class of Fighter, which would likely upgrade to something else later, and picked an arming sword for his starter equipment.

    Nick selected hardcore mode. After playing a dozen MMO¡¯s, the only thing exciting about fighting was when he felt like something was on the line.

    He was about to load into the game, when the heaviness in his chest returned. Nick would groan in pain, but he was just a bodyless entity as he worked through the character selection.

    The heaviness wouldn¡¯t go away, and the screen went dark as it glitched, static filling Nick¡¯s senses. Nick felt himself drifting off to sleep, a cold filling him.

    ***

    [Reintegration into the Orion System in progress. Soul detected: Archaen. Race selection to be skipped.]

    [Welcome back, Nicholas Noblefrost! The World of Orion is an endless world, ever expanding and integrating worlds and souls.]

    [Vessel found. Restoring Nicholas Noblefrost to original Vessel, appearance selection to be skipped.]

    Nick awoke, floating in a black void, with no presence and just messages in the air. He closed the prompts with a yawn after skimming them. Did he fall asleep while playing a VRMMO again? His thoughts were muddled, feeling like he was startled awake in the middle of the night.

    His race and appearance had been selected, stating something about using his current appearance. Nick sighed that he would be stuck being bald within the game, but the rest of himself certainly didn''t bother him.

    Why would it do that, I thought I already did the character creation? He wondered, but he wasn¡¯t given long to think about this because his consciousness then shifted.

    The game moved him to the next stage, causing him to awaken¨Cin absolute darkness. Only his need to breathe clued him into the fact that he wasn¡¯t in some sort of loading screen or anything any longer.

    He felt around himself, finding him enclosed in an upright¨Cbox like construction.

    Nick pushed on the walls, strange glyphs lighting up within, until he found a tiny bit of give in front of him. Shoving harshly, the stone box opened, the lid falling to the ground with a loud clatter.

    The room was lit, strange sconces giving off a dim, ethereal light. His new Archaen eyes could see perfectly with this alone, it seemed.

    The room he was in was small and made of stone, and only had a single large, heavy door as an exit. Beside the stone box¨Che now realized it was some sort of sarcophagus, was a small wooden chest.

    This was really strange, to Nick. Rather than an MMO he was playing, this was like an intro for a single player adventure, like Final Scrolls, or maybe Elder Fantasy. Did he pick the wrong game? Even the menus seemed different now, now that he thought about it.

    Opening it, he found a small belted scabbard that didn''t appear to match the size of the pommel. The pommel looked as if it were meant for an arming sword at least a meter long, but the scabbard was only a third of that at most.

    He drew the blade to inspect it, and found it had some kind of magnetic clamp that helped hold it in place. It had a sort of crystal coming out of the end, in the place where a blade would normally be. The crystal had a prismatic shimmer that looked like magic, and Nick was amazed by the effect.

    The strange gem called out to him, something stirring within him. He frowned as he ran his fingers along it.

    [Race requirements met. Class requirements not met to wield Soul Blade. Must be: Soul Warden, Soul Knight, Soul Mage]

    ¡°What classes can I be, then? Damn, maybe I shouldn¡¯t have skipped that tutorial.¡±

    [Proficiencies detected. Racial, Magic, and Soul affinities detected.]

    [Classes available: Warrior, Mage, Rogue, Hunter, Enchanter, Blacksmith, Knight, Paladin, Ranger,  ¡­ Soul Warden, Soul Knight, Soul Mage]

    He saw dozens of classes he could choose from, finding that he had the required classes available at the end.

    Nick read the information on the Soul Warden, quickly determining it sounded a lot like a tank class. He was definitely for being in the thick of a fight, but taking a beating was not his thing.

    Soul Mage appeared to be a caster class, but would make the blade mostly irrelevant. Nick did like to play caster classes from time to time, but when he read the Soul Knight description, he knew right away that it would be his choice.

    [Archaen Soul Knight, Epic Class. +1 Body, +1 Soul per level.]

    [The Archaen Soul Knight focuses on weaving soul into their Soul Blade attacks, in addition to powerful magics of the soul. Later levels unlock powerful Auras based on specialization. Starts with Soul Mend, Judgment, and Soul Blade Swordsmanship Abilities. Archaens are true masters of the soul among sentient races, and magics later include the ability to summon Soul Servants and create powerful Soul Pacts.]

    The Soul Mage class choice didn''t appear to include swordsmanship, the ability to heal, or the auras. It instead appeared to focus on a ranged Judgment ability, along with magic bolts that could be aspected into different elements. It could also raise the soul servants.

    Nick thought the Soul Knight felt like an odd combination of a paladin and a necromancer, and it sounded like a lot of fun.

    Thanks to the many VRMMO''s he played, Nick was extremely proficient as a swordsman. In the real world, his body was riddled with fatigue and weakness from chemotherapy, so earning skills in the game had felt quite rewarding to him.

    Something about being a swordsman had called out to him in games, even though it was a useless ability for him to have in real life.

    Nick had placed in the top five in what was the equivalent of a national tournament with his skill in the sword alone, within the most popular game at that time. He wasn''t the best, but he was confident in his capabilities.

    As he picked the Soul Knight class, an ethereal light filled his body. Something stirred in him, and it was like he knew how to cast magics of the soul.

    Nick now knew how to activate his Soul Blade, and cast the Soul Mend and Judgment.

    For Soul Mend, he only needed to will it. His blade was mostly the same. He looked over the description of his new item.

    [Archaen Soul Blade. Rarity: Legendary.]

    [No level requirement, scales with user. Lethality based on Soul Power.]

    [Powered by the user¡¯s soul and mana, the Archaen Soul Blade draws mana from the air and draws Essence from enemies when struck. It can hold a charge, and Intermediate users of Archaen Swordsmanship can release a burst of stored Essence once full. New features unlock as skill and soul power increases.]

    Nick frowned. Getting a legendary, scaling weapon out of the gate was strange. It felt like a pre-order bonus of some kind, but he certainly didn¡¯t remember doing anything like that.

    Shrugging, he did his best to feel the mana in the room, the action somewhat familiar to him from various games. Something about it felt a bit different this time, though.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    He drew it into his new weapon as he shoved the power of his soul into it. He hardly knew what he was doing, but like a spark starting a fire, the crystal ignited as he held the pommel upright in front of him.

    A blade of blue-green light grew out of the crystal, starting from the pommel. It wasn¡¯t exactly like a certain space wizard franchise, but it was close. The blade was definitely shaped more like the blade of a long sword, sharper somehow on the edges, but still blurry and indistinct.

    But Nick somehow knew that if he hit something with the flat of the blade like a baseball bat, it could still cut through things if his soul power was stronger than the material¡¯s toughness. He was weaving both mana and his soul into the blade, and while he wasn¡¯t sure if almost 5 soul power was a lot, his sword of light felt powerful to his senses.

    It was well-balanced, the pommel having a proper cross guard. The crystal and guard was heavier than it looked, the blade feeling a lot like a decent long sword, but still lighter overall.

    He took some practice swings, getting a feel for the weapon and his new body within the game. Nick was amazed at how lean and flexible his body was, as well as his agility. In other games, this kind of speed was reserved for higher level characters.

    Even his wrist was flexible and strong, and this was a bigger deal than most people knew. Blade alignment was paramount for powerful, effective cuts on moving targets, and he could flow through several swings in quick succession.

    He strode forward, finding his legs sprung through his movements rapidly and surely. Nick found his balance and grace abnormal, reminding him of an elven swordsman. Something strange happened, though¨Che noticed his hair dancing in his peripheral.

    Running his hand through his long, white hair, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder what was going on, as the message he read said something about taking his appearance. The hair was long enough that it would actually annoy him¨Cgetting in his vision as he moved.

    He cut some cloth from his shirt in a strip, his soul blade being more than sharp enough, and tied it up behind him. Nick didn¡¯t like it, but he¡¯d go with a ponytail until he could figure out where to get a haircut.

    A long sword on a back or shoulder scabbard would be a poor choice, but he found the belt holding the scabbard was, in fact, designed to be worn over his shoulder. Deactivating the soul blade, he went through the steps to strap himself up.

    Testing a few draws, he found it was effective thanks to the idea that it was bladeless until he filled it with the power of his soul.

    He pushed on the door to leave the chamber, but found it didn¡¯t budge. Feeling around the door, some scripts eventually lit up. To his surprise, it looked like he left a magical handprint on the door before sliding open. Walking out, the door quickly slid closed behind him.

    Looking around, he found himself in dimly lit corridors made of stone. It definitely felt like a strange crypt. He began to wander around the hallways, expecting an enemy to pop out at any moment. Aside from some strange, red-furred rats, there was nothing of interest.

    The rats took no interest in Nick, so he took no interest in them. He did want to try out his blade, but fighting a simple, oversized rat was not overly exciting for him.

    It was a winding labyrinth of corridors, filled with dead ends. He ended up doubling back more than once, finding the same door he exited. Wandering around for a time, he eventually got irritated.

    ¡°Ah, hell nah. Why¡¯s there no map in this game? This is terrible.¡±

    He drew his soul blade, its light illuminating the corridor further. He lashed out at the nearest rat, severing it in two. It screeched as its life ended, and dozens of eyes turned toward him all at once.

    ¡°Oh, shit.¡±

    After wandering around for more than ten minutes, Nick almost welcomed the challenge. However, he knew that fighting swarms of enemies as a swordsman was difficult. Non-humanoid opponents required an entirely different fighting style in comparison to fighting armed humans with weapons, and swarms of enemies were different still.

    He could tell by how fast they ran at him that running was not a great option. It might even attract new enemies as they chased him down the maze. Thus, he took his stance low to the ground and dashed at the nearest rat.

    He gave a thrust straight through one before it could even leap at him, then easily swung his blade to the side, cutting another in half. The first one nearly disintegrated around his blade, something being absorbed like an odd smoke as it was pierced by his blade of light.

    One leaped at him from his right, but thanks to his strong, flexible wrist, his blade made its return swing and sliced that one in half with a powerful arc as well.

    Somehow, he could feel the other rats approaching him, from all sides. Perhaps it was his ability to sense mana, but something appeared to allow him to detect them within around ten meters or so, it appeared.

    Thanks to that, he leaped to the right as one tried to jump on his back, spinning and slicing it and the next.

    Many were almost upon him now, and Nick became a whirling dervish of blades¨Cand elbows and knees. The best way Nick would describe how he fought beasts with a blade was simple: he became a beast.

    His upper body swayed back and forth as his feet danced, and his blade lashed out with speed and ferocity. Blood splattered on his tattered, washed-out clothing as each swing of his blade ended one, sometimes two, rat¡¯s lives.

    Elbows and knees knocked rats aside and into each other, as his blade flowed from one enemy to the next, until eventually, few rats were left.

    ¡°Ah, fuck!¡±

    A rat managed to bite his ankle, its claws tearing into his flesh as well. Pain radiated from that spot, shocking him until he lashed out with his blade and killed it. Feeling one was still alive with his soul sense, he finished off the last one with a stab, its pained squeaks a result of a powerful elbow earlier.

    ¡°Damn, that really hurt. What the fuck? Where¡¯s that pain slider.¡±

    Of course, pain was common in VRMMO¡¯s. But the pain was mostly reduced or numbed to where it hardly took away from the enjoyment of the game. The rat¡¯s bite certainly was far above that.

    Nick was no wuss, but he still found it hard to believe that there was no way to reduce that pain.

    Just who would play a game like that? He was really glad he didn¡¯t take that warden class now.

    Before he could think more on it, he noticed something strange. From the enemies he killed, some odd light was released from their corpses. Some were floating around and into his blade, but other lights began gathering around him.

    They gave him a warm, fuzzy feeling inside, as they sort of floated around him.

    He tried to will the lights to go into him, but that didn¡¯t appear to work at all. Some actually sloughed off him as he moved, almost dissipating into the air.

    ¡°What is this, experience? C¡¯mon already. Go in.¡±

    He tried gathering them up in both his hands and fanning them into himself as he stood in the lights, like some kind of sweaty tourist in the Florida heat.

    It almost appeared to help, but he just shrugged. He couldn¡¯t even find an experience indicator. It felt like he was getting something out of them, but he knew he was only absorbing a tiny percentage of them with each passing moment.

    Nick decided to move on. Like a walking light-show, he continued down the tunnel, in a new direction this time.

    However, it turned out that the rats now had a personal vendetta against him. He supposed he had tons of their brethren¡¯s blood on him, but their aggro radius was ridiculous.

    Nick had tons of lights gathering around him, but they would start charging him from over a hundred meters away, their squeaks and screeches of hatred echoing off the crypt walls.

    He fought through corridor after corridor of the rats, and while each one individually didn¡¯t pose a challenge, there were swarms of them larger than the first. Several bite wounds eventually joined the first, and Nick was getting more than a little pissed off.

    He tried using [Soul Mend], but found it was meant for healing wounds of the soul. Still, it appeared to have some sort of effect on his body, and he wasn¡¯t sure why. He looked at the spell description.

    [Spell: Soul Mend]

    [Mana Cost: Moderate]

    [Range: Touch]

    [School: Soul]

    [Heal damage to the soul, by infusing the spirit with a combination of soul power and mana. Because Body, Mind, and Soul are intrinsically linked, provides minor benefit to healing the body and mind.]

    Then, he tried to use [Judgment], but found that the rats weren¡¯t considered sentient or evil, and couldn¡¯t be used.

    ¡°What! How are these things not evil? What did I ever do to them? Well, besides killing one unprovoked.¡±

    Something within his Soul Blade was building up, and he realized it must be the [Essence Burst] ability. He wasn¡¯t sure how long he could charge it, but his blade was even brighter now, having killed well over a hundred of the rats by this point.

    He rounded the corner, and he nearly fell over himself at the sight. A swarm of possibly hundreds of the rats was heading his way, some even scrabbling along the walls to even fit in their murderous charge.

    Nick immediately turned the other way, running down another fork. He arrived in a larger chamber, with an ominous gate. As he got closer, he was filled with a strange feeling of dread. Somehow, he felt like going inside could actually be worse than his current predicament, so he went down another path.

    The rats were gaining on him at this point, but he thought he saw water in the next tunnel. Several rats barreled into him from an adjacent wall, causing him to slice and cut furiously, and he felt with dread the tide had caught up with him.

    Left with no other option, he willed the Soul Blade to activate its ability, as he pointed his blade at the center of the incoming swarm.

    All the mana and Essence in the stored blade, and a lot of the¡­ whatever was floating around his body, converged into it. Like a cannon of light, a large beam was fired down the center of the narrow hallway.

    The rats in the center were almost instantly disintegrated, while those near the walls were cut in a shower of blood. Those hugging the walls were left unscathed, and angrily charging toward Nick still. A wave of the lights began converging on him, along with the rats.

    He wasn¡¯t sure how many rats remained at this point, but he felt like this amount wasn¡¯t that much larger than some other groups that he had taken on, so he began his dance once more.

    He growled almost like the beast he became, as he sliced, stabbed, spun, and jumped as he fought the swarm. Running up a wall, he somersaulted over several rats, kicking and elbowing rats away as his blade never stopped moving.

    Nick¡¯s blood sang as he purged the creatures with his blade of light, the thrill of the battle hitting him like never before. He had always enjoyed a difficult challenge, but something was different this time¨Clike his life depended on it.

    Wounds added onto him, as he couldn¡¯t protect his body perfectly in the narrow corridor. Rats scrabbled onto his back and bit him, but he was able to crush them against the wall. That, or using his blade of light combined with his flexibility and a flick of his wrist, he was capable of slicing through rats even on his back.

    The swarm came to an end, him cutting through nearly two hundred rats, he guessed. He now had at least a dozen wounds on his back, the little bastards often jumping down from the walls or ceiling to target that specific location, despite him never stopping spinning, jumping, or leaping.

    Once again, the light converging on him was nearly blinding. He cast [Soul Mend] more than once, but he just felt weak and exhausted now. The angry wounds on his back seemed to close, the blood no longer seeping down his back. He was covered in rat blood, his hair somehow only having a few splatters on it.

    Nick did his best to wipe some off with the inside of his shirt, finding his ponytail at some point had gotten torn off.

    ¡°Fucking gross. This game better be fucking good!¡±

    He supposed that something about the game was in fact special. He truly felt like he was alive, with his blood pumping and the mysterious lights empowering him¨Cand the feeling was kind of addictive. They seemed to heal him somewhat, besides.

    Finding what appeared to be an exit, he began climbing what appeared to be a well. It was dark with what appeared to be moonlight, but he was his own light show as he climbed up the grimy walls. He would play this game just a little longer.

 Chapter 1 - Kaya

    Kaya used her skill, [Dash], as she ran down the alley, the bandit thug hot on her tail. Her body was empowered by her essence and mana, as she moved with supernatural quickness.

    She lamented crossing this part of town at night, but she just had to get to the apothecary for her sister in a hurry. Unfortunately for her, the Bandit¡¯s class included a similar ability or passive, as he easily kept pace with her.

    She nearly tripped over some rubble from the ruins as she rounded the corner. Her eyes widened as she saw another thug coming around the next corner, causing her to dash through the open path between two buildings instead of her planned path.

    The two snickered, as she looked at the dead end with despair. They had worked together, and corralled her where they wanted her to go. The two approached, with a vicious glint in their eyes.

    The two were both large, and she didn¡¯t like her chances with the many knives on their vests and belts. Even if she could get out of this, it would be with more than a few wounds.

    She had run when it was clear they were up to no good, but it had been too late once they had their eyes set on her.

    Still, she continued toward the dead end. She had one more means of escape, but she didn¡¯t like her chances when the bandits were likely just as dexterous as her.

    ¡°Judgment!¡±

    From behind the two men, a hand covered in ethereal white light reached and grasped onto the back of one of the men¡¯s head. Three horrible images appeared, which seemed to depict the bandit doing horrible things.

    There was a bloodied woman writhing on the ground with him on top in one image, and him stabbing another man in the back in the other. In the final image, he was selling someone chained to someone who looked to be a slaver.

    The other bandit looked at the images with more than a little confusion. ¡°You killed Richard?¡±

    That same light came out of the bandit¡¯s eyes and even mouth and ears, as he screamed in pain, his face twisting into a horrifying visage of terror.

    His body began to crumple as if aging within an instant, the scream, and sight enough to haunt Kaya¡¯s dreams.

    If she lived long enough to have them.

    Despite the other bandit not being grabbed by the newcomer¡¯s hand, some ethereal light began leaking from his mouth and eyes too, a hazy depiction of similar images appearing near him. He stumbled as he reached for his blade, just barely drawing it as he backed away from the pristine white hand.

    The husk of a man who once was a bandit fell to the ground, his eyes wide open and his face a cacophony of horror. His body in his now too-big clothes was frozen stiff, and Kaya didn¡¯t need to check him to know that he was dead.

    Now that the man wasn¡¯t in the way, she now could see the man who killed the bandit. Standing as tall as the large men, his green-blue eyes shimmered in the dim light.

    He wore a simple shirt, his body bulky and taut with muscle and pale white skin. He had no weapon in his hands, but something was strapped to his shoulder, and his white hair was long.

    The man had an almost childlike smile on his face, enjoying all too much the ethereal white light entering his mouth. His features were both sharp and strong, and his ears were somewhat tapered like those of an elf. His body was so pale that Kaya thought he was some form of undead.

    If this wasn¡¯t bad enough, the man was covered in blood. Essence was nearly billowing off the pale man¡¯s body in waves, causing Kaya to think he was high level at first, but she realized he simply hadn¡¯t absorbed it for some reason¨Cjust how many people had he killed already?

    The essence had started to converge inside him, seemingly as a result of him using the spell.

    The disoriented bandit stumbled toward the undead horror, but Kaya could tell he was already significantly weakened. The bandit stabbed at the pale man with his knife, but the undead easily grabbed his wrist and twisted it with one hand with alarming quickness, as he reached out with the other.

    ¡°Judgment!¡±

    Once again, terrible images of similar depictions of evil appeared, one of which was a woman she recognized being stabbed. Kaya watched in horror as the light left the man¡¯s face and was almost drank by the pale man, him laughing with excitement all the while. She realized now would be the best time to get climbing and escape, but it was like her legs couldn¡¯t move.

    She was weak in the knees, and her eyes were locked onto the strange man¡¯s as he absorbed the bandit¡¯s light, along with all the essence surrounding him. It was as if she felt the need to watch the man be judged, those images feeling all too real.

    The pale man laughed as the bandit screamed and was drained once more, a look of glee on his face. Like a child gifted a toy, he looked on as all the light was drained from the man.

    The husk fell to the floor, and the pale man froze, as his eyes seemed to glaze over¨Ca common sight, as someone interacted with the Orion System¡¯s Menu.

    ¡°Finally level two! Oh, that guy was level four. This game is insane!¡±

    The man now seemed to notice Kaya, and all her instincts were screaming at her to move, until he smiled at her. It was a genuine smile, and he looked at her with what she thought was casual interest.

    ¡°Oh! Did you have the quest too? I didn¡¯t see you there. Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to steal your kills. You¡¯re a player too, right?¡±

    ¡°W-What? Player?¡±

    ¡°The bandit quest. I gotta kill some bandits and their leader within the blue district of Havendale, it says. You don¡¯t have it?¡±

    Kaya shook her head no. The idea that he had received a quest to kill a random number of bandits and their leader was in fact a good sign.

    There was no way the Orion System would give out such a quest to an undead or a lawless person, as their quests would involve probably hiding and killing unsuspecting victims to empower themselves, she imagined.

    He scratched his head, her now noticing his fingernails were quite long, like they hadn¡¯t been trimmed in forever.

    ¡°Aw, I had been hoping to team up, I got no idea where these bandits are.¡± He turned around, looking at the dead bandits. ¡°Oh, neat. I got a new spell already!¡±

    Kaya¡¯s heart thumped in her chest, as she remembered the first terrifying spell.

    He pointed at the first killed bandit. ¡°Create Soul Servant!¡±

    White light surrounded the pale man, and shot out from his hand, washing into the bandit¡¯s body. The almost husk of a body filled out once more, the life returning to its flesh.

    That was wrong, Kaya reasoned. It was not life returning to the flesh, but evil magics, as this was clearly a necromancer. Despite her instincts telling her he wouldn¡¯t hurt her, she decided she would need to escape. She used this distraction to approach the awning, trying to keep her movements slow so he wouldn¡¯t notice.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    The man chuckled. ¡°Damn, that¡¯s cool as hell! I can really control you. Slap yourself.¡±

    The undead bandit slapped itself across the face, and the man laughed, as he made his new undead servant stand on one foot and jump up and down, as Kaya began to climb. She¡¯d already grabbed onto the ease of the second story, and lifted her leg, then¨C

    ¡°Oh! I forgot to ask. Do you have a quest for me?¡±

    Kaya frowned as she froze. Why would he want a quest from her? He was clearly a combat class. Her fear made her mind race as fast as her heart, looking for a possibility.

    What if he didn¡¯t like her answer? Her bestial instincts said he didn¡¯t seem like a bad person, but the guy was clearly weird¡­

    She remembered his interest in her¨Cthat she was talking to a man. She replied, not turning around, ¡°Uh, my grandma is sick, could you help me reach the apothecary and back safely? If you help me with that, I¡¯ll show you where the bandits are.¡±

    The man turned to her, as she watched him over her shoulder, and he gave her a beaming smile. ¡°That¡¯d be great! Your quest sounds boring, but this place is confusing. I thought this game kinda sucked, it didn¡¯t even have a map! I woke up in a crypt, and was fighting tons of rats for like hours, and I was about to log out when I stumbled out of the well and into the city. There was nobody around and all the doors were all locked when I found the bandits. One ran right in front of me. That judgment spell felt amazing!¡±

    There was way too much for Kaya to unpack there as she set her feet both back to the ground, watching him attentively. She asked, ¡°Log out?¡±

    The man frowned. ¡°Y-Yeah, log out. What, you don¡¯t know what that is? Were you an NPC the whole time?¡±

    What was he on about? The man froze, as he looked over his menus of the Orion System.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the log-out button? What¡¯s going on here?¡±

    She then saw the man grab onto his head as if he were wearing a helmet, and lift the invisible helmet above his head. Of course, this did absolutely nothing, the man¡¯s face switching to that of horror.

    Actually, his face looked eerily similar to that of the two bandits as their life was drained from them. He fell to his knees as he breathed heavily, his chest heaving, and he looked at the drained husk of a corpse next to him.

    ¡°Am I stuck here? Trapped in a game forever?¡±

    She frowned. ¡°What game? How are you trapped?¡±

    The man scoffed. ¡°Yeah, a game, why else would there be this weird menu. I just went to sleep, when¨C¡± He froze once again, as it appeared he came to some sort of realization. ¡°Okay, maybe not a game, and not a dream, but¡­¡±

    Kaya frowned, and now felt concerned for the man. He may be covered in blood, but something led her to think he wasn¡¯t a danger now. ¡°You¡¯re really in Havendale. You¡¯re not from here?¡±

    He seemed to ignore her words. ¡°I thought¡­ this was just an unusual introduction for a game. I¡­ killed those guys?¡±

    She nodded, and the man looked sickened for a moment, but his eyes quickly hardened, before he closed his eyes. Then he took several deep breaths through his nose, and smiled as he opened them.

    ¡°Oh well.¡±

    Kaya was taken aback. He seemed to be having an existential crisis, that resolved itself as quickly as it came on. ¡°Oh well?¡±

    He laughed as he stood up. ¡°Yeah, oh well. This place is kinda cool, at least. My name¡¯s Nick, what¡¯s yours?¡±

    ¡°Kaya.¡±

    He gave her an obvious look, as if he was evaluating her¨Ca typical man¡¯s gaze, as he gave her a smile like he was now up to no good. ¡°That¡¯s a pretty name. Where that quest be at? We gotta heal your sick mother, or something? Is she cute?¡±

    Kaya frowned. ¡°I said my Grandma! Weren¡¯t you listening?¡± She hurriedly generated the quest within her menu, since the reward was her action or promise, it was all too easy to send him one generated by the Orion System.

    He shrugged as he accepted. ¡°I thought this was a game before, lady! I didn¡¯t even read any of my quests before, neither. I just saw the word bandit in the quest and one ran in front of me. It¡¯s a good thing, too, because these guys had enough knives on them that I don¡¯t think you¡¯d have made it up that building before they put more holes in you than a sieve. That reminds me.¡±

    Kaya froze, as she realized Nick noticed a lot more than he let on. He hunched over the husk of a corpse. He put his hand on the body, and said, ¡°Loot.¡±

    He frowned. ¡°Ah crap, the old-fashioned way? Gross.¡± He thought for a moment before he smirked, looking at his undead servant. ¡°Loot this guy,¡± he ordered.

    The undead just stood impassively. ¡°Ah for real? Can¡¯t even do that? Ah, maybe¡­ Collect the valuables from this corpse,¡± he vaguely gestured with his hands at it, and a small amount of blue-green energy left him, the combination of soul and mana magics.

    The undead then moved, and began collecting the dead bandit¡¯s belongings. Nick nodded with a boyish smile, all too satisfied with himself.

    The undead handed him the belt with knives on it, which he strapped to himself with a smile. Then, he was handed some hard-tack.

    ¡°Oh snap, he had lunch?¡± He sniffed it as he frowned. ¡°Damn, forgot about that. Y''all ain¡¯t know how to cook, huh. You hungry, Kaya?¡±

    He took a step toward her with the offered ¡®lunch,¡¯ and she couldn¡¯t help it, she flinched and took a step back. His frown deepened.

    ¡°What, you scared of me? Why?¡±

    Kaya looked at the deceased husk, then looked back at him like he was the dumbest man in the world.

    ¡°Oh, shit. Forgot about that part. You don¡¯t need to be afraid of that spell, I think. Look. How do I share that?¡±

    He must have realized or just tried to will the screen to be shared with her because she saw it.

    [Spell: Judgment]

    [School: Soul]

    [Mana Cost: Moderate]

    [Judge a sentient entity. Punish evil by draining their soul and body essence, increasing your own soul cultivation. Causes scaling soul damage based on magnitude of sins, as deemed by Archaen Law.]

    She just stared at the prompt. She knew sharing that kind of thing could be faked, but the idea that the horrible spell was meant to punish evil did make her feel a little better. It matched both what she saw and felt, so it seemed to be legitimate.

    It appeared to be an extremely powerful spell, and she wondered where she could get and learn it. There were many men and women in Havendale in need of judgement.

    He pocketed the hard-tack. ¡°What are we waiting for? Let¡¯s get going. Your dog needed help, right?¡±

    She decided not to correct him, as she realized he might be doing it on purpose. She once again gave him the look, and looked over to the undead servant.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Jerome here? He¡¯s my best buddy now!¡±

    ¡°J-Jerome? You named him? He¡¯s undead! The city guard will kill him, and you, on sight!¡±

    He frowned in doubt. ¡°No he¡¯s not, he¡¯s a Soul Servant. Jerome ain¡¯t ever hurt anyone. He¡¯s my bandit butler!¡±

    She growled. ¡°Necromancers are an evil class, and they are not allowed in Havendale, or just about anywhere!¡±

    He smirked. ¡°Damn, that growl is cute. What¡¯s that got to do with me? I¡¯m a Soul Knight! I¡¯m kinda like a paladin and a necromancer at the same time.¡±

    She had never heard of such a class. Still, she didn¡¯t think the city guard would take him at his word. He even looked like undead himself, though, he looked handsome and human or elf enough that he could probably pass as just a citizen, despite his glowing blue eyes.

    She shook her head. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, only evil magics from terrible classes can raise undead,¡± she saw him stir and try to say something, she assumed that his class or race was not evil, but she continued, ¡°normally, so they won¡¯t take you at your word on that and just see you as a threat. You say he¡¯s not undead, but something¡¯s clearly weird about him.¡±

    He shrugged. ¡°Fine, Jerome, put that cloak on. There, happy?¡± Jerome put a cloak on, and now a hood covered the¡­ servant¡¯s head.

    She gestured at his face, his eyes glowing blue just like the man¡¯s. ¡°His eyes glow! There¡¯s no way the guard isn¡¯t going to notice that! Come to think of it, yours kinda do too! ¡­ And, you reek and are covered in blood, besides.¡±

    Nick looked at her incredulously. ¡°So what?¡± He gestured at the servant. ¡°Jerome here like walked straight out of a wanted poster for a bandit, and he did just fine in this town before. You¡¯re telling me the guard would see glowy eyes and kill me, but they didn¡¯t arrest this guy? My pockets itch just lookin¡¯ at ¡®em.¡±

    Kaya scowled. ¡°It¡¯s complicated, okay! The guards don¡¯t patrol the blue quarter at night, and bandits would hide during the day and do most of their operations then. The mayor is in the bandit leader¡¯s back pocket, so they turn a blind eye to his and his people¡¯s activities, as long as they stick to some rules. The apothecary is in the green quarter.¡±

    ¡°Damn, they got some organized crime shit going on? Fine. Let¡¯s take Jerome and this¡­ husk to the well right quick and hide ¡®em, then we¡¯ll save your dog or whatever. It¡¯s right over here.¡±

    The infuriating man started to walk away, and despite having the perfect chance to run away, she followed. He was weird, but seemed strangely dependable.

    Nick smiled at her over his shoulder as they walked. ¡°By the way, why you got furry ears on your head and a tail. You into cosplay? I knew a girl into that once. What is that, a raccoon¡¯s? One of my favorite animals. I used to give them dog food every once in a while, they¡¯d call like all their buddies and share. Raccoons are awesome.¡±

 Chapter 2

    They stashed Jerome with the bandit¡¯s corpse in the well which had a path to the crypt he escaped, Nick taking the cloak for himself. Jerome had a short sword and various knives on his person, and Nick thought he would do quite well against the rats.

    He had only given Jerome the order of ¡°Go kill anything you can find within the crypt¡± and some mana and soul energy left him, so Nick thought his command took.

    Nick had misjudged just how much the servant creature would be fighting. Less than every minute, he would receive what he learned was Essence, thanks to Kaya. He could feel it enter into his body, as he walked through the city with her.

    Thankfully, he didn¡¯t seem to become a walking light show from this Essence, and it just simply entered him.

    He reviewed the spell, to see if he could learn what was going on.

    [Spell: Create Soul Servant]

    [School: Soul]

    [Mana Cost: Heavy]

    [Range: Near]

    [Summon a soul to inhabit and heal a recently defeated entity, permanently creating a Soul Servant. Requires and reserves soul power. Soul power requirements and reservations increase based on entity inhabited and soul being summoned. Soul servants are loyal to the Soul Knight, and drain Essence to heal and enhance themselves. Can dispel Soul Servant to release reserved soul power back for usage.]

    Nick wasn¡¯t sure what all that meant, but it sounded like he could summon a soul into damn near anything that was recently killed, for the new soul to inhabit it. This would permanently create an ally, but would weaken his Soul Blade.

    That was a decent trade for Nick, as his weapon was sharper than it had any right to be.

    He followed the red panda beastfolk woman, Kaya, through Havendale as she rushed. She had a traveler¡¯s cloak covering most of her features. However, her face had Asian-like features, with long red hair hidden by her cloak. Her body was slim and fit, with what appeared to be a red raccoon¡¯s tail that was longer and wider.

    Nick was marveling at the differences of the city with any Earth city he¡¯d been in.

    The place was a combination of a medieval city and stone ruins. Havendale was large enough to house tens of thousands of people, but only had hundreds, most houses in the ruins vacant. Windows and doors were boarded up, in some sort of effort to keep kids from playing inside them.

    He reviewed some screens now that he had a little more time to look over them. He had barely been inspecting the bandit quest when he spotted Kaya and the bandits.

    [Name: Nicholas Noblefrost]

    [Race: Archaen]

    [Level: 2 Class: Soul Knight, Epic Class]

    [Attributes: 5.12 Body, 6.25 Soul]

    [Skills: Intermediate Archaen Swordsmanship, Novice Soul Magic]

    [Spells: Soul Mending, Judgment, Raise Soul Servant]

    [Race: Archaen]

    [A forgotten race, the Archaen were made extinct centuries ago. Through their powerful soul pacts, they would build loyalty and strength in their followers and themselves. When the towers appeared, they delved deep into them, garnering massive amounts of power. The other races feared them, killing them off before they could become too powerful¡­]

    The prompt went on and on about the history of his race, but it was long and mostly irrelevant for Nick currently, so he mostly skimmed it. However, he found the list of traits:

    [Archaen Traits: Soul Bound, Advanced Soul Sense, Mana Resistant]

    Soul Bound appeared to make him stuck with Soul cultivation, unable to cultivate the Mind. This trait granted some advantages of Mind cultivation, having the Soul influence them indirectly, albeit a little less, instead. This seemed like a decent trade to Nick.

    Advanced Soul Sense was what Nick had thought was magic at first. He could both feel and see people¡¯s souls at the core of their beings, and now that he had met three people on this world, he thought he had a decent enough understanding.

    Both his and Kaya¡¯s souls were a bright white, untarnished and pure like untouched snow. Her soul even felt like it looked as he neared her, and he thought she would do the right thing even when it was tough.

    However, he hadn¡¯t understood the feeling quite at first, but he understood it now. Kaya had lied about it being her grandmother they were getting medicine for. He tested her by feigning to have misunderstood her, and the feeling returned each time she iterated it was her grandmother.

    It appeared his soul sense had all sorts of uses.

    The bandit¡¯s souls were as black as night, and nearly made Nick sick to his stomach as he neared them. When he used Judgment on them, it was as if he felt their evil deeds being washed away.

    He felt vindication and righteousness, as their souls were purified and drained into his core. There was an oddly satisfying pleasure, like what was felt after cleaning something with years of grime with a pressure washer.

    Only, times a hundred. He had a hard time feeling bad about killing them after feeling their sins washed away.

    The wounds on his back ached with angry pain as he walked. Telling the truth, Nick freaked out more than a little, when he realized this was not a game. He had almost died to rats. He put on a tough show¨Cafter all, a girl was watching¨Cbut he was having a hard time remaining focused.

    Teasing the pretty red panda beastfolk was about all he could do to take his mind off of dwelling too long on his mortality, though the angry wounds on his body were a constant reminder.

    Soul Mend had helped a little bit by at least closing his wounds and stopping the bleeding. He thought they were healing faster than they should, but repeatedly casting it did very little.

    From the description, it appeared it focused on wounds of the soul. The only reason it helped heal the body at all was because Body and Soul were somehow linked.

    He reviewed his quest journal, trying to once again change his focus.

    [Quest: Rebuild House Noblefrost]

    [As the last of your race, and your House, it is your duty to rebuild it. Collect Followers, Wives, and create Heirs. Milestone rewards commensurate with achievement.]

    [Subquest: Rebuild House Noblefrost - Conquer an Ordeal.]

    [Nobility is granted to those able to clear unowned Ordeals. Delve into the Towers of Orion and complete an Ordeal to restore the house¡¯s former glory. The Havendale Ordeal tower is partially in your family¡¯s ownership. By completing a Trial or reaching the top within, you can meet the requirements.]

    [Subquest: Rebuild House Noblefrost - Obtain a Disguise.]

    [The Archaen are known as extinct, but you are the last. There is a viable disguise to be found upon completion of the 10th floor of Havendale¡¯s tower. Obtain it to protect your heritage, until you are powerful enough to defend it.]

    Nick just shook his head. His quests were just too weird. There was only one that was easy to understand and complete.

    [Subquest: Rebuild House Noblefrost - Kill the Bandits!]

    [Davon and his bandit allies are operating near the hidden crypt of your heritage. Among it lie secrets of your race and house. Kill them and their leader, as is both just, and convenient. Progress: 2/18 Leader Killed: 0/1]

    [Update: Kaya offered help identifying the bandits. Help her with her task, and she will aid you in yours.]

    Kaya said, ¡°Here we are, the apothecary. I need to speak with them, it might be better if you¡­stay out of sight. Can you wait here?¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Nick had wanted to meet more people in this fantasy world, but he just shrugged. He¡¯d get a chance to see more things later. It sounded like he would need his disguise to really have much freedom. For now, he had his cloak covering most of his features.

    She went around the corner, and knocked on the door out in front of what appeared to be a much nicer place than the ones he had seen. She had an argument with the man who answered, as it seemed she didn¡¯t quite have enough money.

    The man sneered at her, then said something that appeared to make Kaya want to claw his eyeballs out. Seeing her long nails, or claws, Nick realized this might be a real possibility.

    Nick decided he¡¯d help her out. He had money thanks to the bandits, and he could really use a guide. Plus, she was cute, so his motives weren¡¯t a hundred percent altruistic.

    He walked around the corner, and he called out to Kaya, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just say you needed money? Here. Take what you need.¡±

    She seemed pleased for a moment, but then she scowled. The man got somewhat angry for an instant, before a greedy glint showed in his older eyes.

    As Nick¡¯s Soul Sense brushed over the man, he felt as though the man was an opportunist, that he would do bad, perhaps even terrible things if he could get away with them. Unlike Kaya¡¯s white soul or the bandit¡¯s soul tinged black with their sins, the man¡¯s was gray. Tarnished by dozens of small, evil deeds, but nothing that would kill him outright if Nick Judged him.

    Kaya was pissed, gesturing her arms between them. ¡°I don¡¯t need your money, I need him to accept the agreed upon price!¡±

    The older apothecary replied, ¡°I told you, Kaya. The price of the materials have gone up! I can¡¯t sell it for only twenty silvers, your grandma¡¯s medicine would eat me out of house and home!¡±

    She growled. ¡°If that was the problem, why are you okay with alternative payment. Fine!¡± She snatched the coin purse out of Nick¡¯s hand, and she grabbed a measured handful of coins and handed them to the apothecary.

    The older man looked over Kaya once more with a bit of regret, making it even more obvious what made her want to claw his eyes out. He then turned to look at Nick with a scowl, before taking the coins and going inside.

    The old man quickly returned with a small sack and all but threw it at her, before going back inside and slamming the door.

    Kaya checked the contents of the sack, then shoved the coin purse in Nick¡¯s direction, him taking it.

    She said, ¡°Thanks for the help. I¡¯ll pay you back.¡± She pointed a clawed finger at his chest, ¡°But don¡¯t you dare think you¡¯ll have me pay you back with anything but coin!¡±

    She bounded away from the door, and started walking away, to which Nick followed and walked by her side matching her pace.

    Nick rubbed the back of his head, messing up his now long hair. ¡°Aw, I was hoping you¡¯d help me find a place to stay for the night.¡±

    She kept walking, and eventually replied, ¡°You have enough money in that purse to stay at the inn for weeks. There aren¡¯t many travelers to Havendale, but you should be able to get a room.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but my eyes, and all this blood, remember? I think it¡¯d be better if I hid out for a few days or whatever, while I tried to find a job or something. I have a quest for fighting in that tower.¡±

    She froze. ¡°You have a quest to fight in the tower?¡±

    Nick nodded. ¡°Yeah. Says I need to get to the fifth floor, and eventually the tenth.¡±

    She scoffed, as she continued walking. ¡°That¡¯s the top of the Havendale tower! Nobody¡¯s been there in centuries. That¡¯s why this place is just ruins. Where are you from, anyway?¡±

    ¡°Oh snap, that¡¯s two quests in one go! Huh. I¡¯m from Florida.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s that? I never heard of it.¡±

    Nick shrugged. ¡°Now who¡¯s the one who wasn¡¯t listening? I told you I woke up in the crypt.¡± He distracted her by changing the topic, ¡±How far to your boyfriend or whatever?¡±

    She scowled. ¡°I don¡¯t have a¨C You! My place is outside of town here, we got another mile to go.¡±

    ¡°Damn, outside of town? That boyfriend better not come out of the bushes and smack me over the head with a rock or something, or Jerome¡¯ll come after you.¡±

    Kaya smirked at him. ¡°How? We left him at the bottom of that well.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯d be able to make it. I was able to climb out. He is strangely capable.¡±

    More Essence surged into him, the amount surprising him. Just what was his bandit butler fighting, more rats? Nick couldn¡¯t believe how many were down there. As the energy entered his body, something within his very soul stirred.

    He tried to follow the feeling with what he thought was his soul, trying to match what happened when he used Judgment. Still, not all the Essence, or flickering lights, entered his body.

    He followed Kaya¡¯s cute behind. She had a fluffy looking tail much like a raccoon¡¯s, coming out of her cloak that swayed back and forth high, mesmerizing him. Kaya was definitely pretty, and her growl was like the sexiest thing he¡¯d ever heard, for some reason.

    They got near a section of the town that he realized was more of a ruin, and she hushed him, and talked in a whisper.

    ¡°We need to sneak by here. We wouldn¡¯t want to fight Davon and the rest of his men.¡±

    ¡°Oh, for real, Davon¡¯s here? Ah, but it didn¡¯t say we finished your quest yet.¡±

    She rolled her eyes. ¡°I just gave you that quest because I thought you were going to kill me. You were¡ªare way too weird. Still, I don¡¯t recommend fighting them, even if you have the quest. Davon himself is close to the second stratum: level ten. You¡¯re only level two, and there is a qualitative difference in levels. You¡¯ll die in but a moment, disgusting spell or no.¡±

    Nick shrugged. ¡°Okay. So we just have to level up in that tower over there,¡± he pointed at the tower, which was an impressive building, especially among all the ruins. It was almost futuristic looking, a stone monolith lit with white glyphs and an immense gate in front of it.

    They were far away, so he couldn¡¯t pick out many details. The gate certainly looked like the one seen in the crypt, however.

    She scoffed. ¡°You won¡¯t be able to. They control the entrance, and there¡¯s only one.¡±

    ¡°What, that archway looking thing? Shows what you know, there¡¯s one down in the crypt with Jerome.¡±

    Her eyes widened. ¡°No way! That would solve¡­ so many problems in Havendale. Only while Davon doesn¡¯t know about it, though.¡±

    They snuck through the area, then used an area to jump down the wall under the cover of night to arrive outside the town. Despite being ruins, the wall was pretty well-kept.

    Nick did his best to follow her through the woods without making a sound. While he never visited the forest in real life, in VRMMO¡¯s that he used to play, he learned various forestry skills.

    He took to playing them frequently after his health took a sudden turn for the worse, just after High School. Despite never smoking cigarettes anyway, he had gotten lung cancer.

    The chemotherapy took away all his energy, and escaping to virtual worlds had become his favorite pastime. Originally, he thought he had fallen asleep playing the new game, and woke up inside the crypt.

    His body was re-energized like it hadn¡¯t been in years, and he felt the magic in the air. He was so excited to explore, he hardly skimmed over the messages from the system until he struggled to climb out of the well.

    When he realized he wasn¡¯t in a game, Nick was relieved. He now wasn¡¯t struggling with chemotherapy, or how his personal relationships had been stretched to the point of breaking.

    You didn¡¯t know who your friends really were, until you became little more than a burden to them. Of course, Nick¡¯s abrasive personality likely didn¡¯t help.

    It left Nick with a cynical view of the world, but this new lease on life gave him renewed hope. That he could instantly tell whether someone was a good person or not, or was telling the truth, by looking at their soul helped significantly.

    Perhaps, he had died in his sleep, and he had somehow been moved into this body as some sort of afterlife. Perhaps, some god had moved him into this body. He didn¡¯t care, he thought. He had been given a new lease on life, and he intended to grasp it and enjoy it to its fullest.

    Following Kaya for some time, Nick eventually saw what appeared to be a tree house in the distance, though it was well concealed. He guessed the only reason they could see what looked like a window at all was because of Kaya¡¯s angle of approach.

    She reached out with a halting motion, her ears flicking and her tail swishing. The leaves rustled in a bush nearby, and what looked like a massive raccoon, or a small bear, came out.

    He said, ¡°I knew it! See, I totally called it. I knew your boyfriend would bust out of the bushes and come after me!¡±

    ¡°Not now with your weirdness, Nick! Your Judgment won¡¯t work on it. We need to run!¡±

    ¡°Why? It¡¯s just a big raccoon, isn¡¯t it?¡± Nick drew his blade of his heritage. It glimmered electric blue in the darkness, brightening the whole forest as he withdrew it from the scabbard on his shoulder, and it was filled with the power of his soul.

    His soul hummed along with it as it nearly vibrated in his hands. The blade of light still had a fair amount of Essence stored, though it did seem to be less than before.

    Killing the rats with the beam of light cost all the Essence in the blade, but it had re-absorbed a substantial amount from their deaths.

    He didn¡¯t know for sure, but he thought there was a sort of cooldown on the burst ability.

    Kaya had been about to say something else, but she was shocked at the appearance of the blade of light, and looked at it with awe. ¡°What the fuck is that?!¡±

    ¡°The Archaens pay to win, it looks like. It¡¯s too bad Jerome isn¡¯t here, but I¡¯m sure I got this.¡±

    The raccoon the size of a large St. Bernard growled, and began its charge at him.

 Chapter 3 - Kaya

    Kaya drew her boot knife as Nick squared away with a practiced stance against the bearcoon. The guards didn¡¯t allow her to bring larger weapons into the city, so it was all she had on her at the moment. Fortunately, it was much easier to sneak out of the city at night thanks to the walls than it was to sneak in during the day.

    Nick held the¡­blade of light in a lowered stance with one leg forward, in a way that surprised her. Kaya had trained fighting both monsters and armed opponents, but she hadn¡¯t seen anyone fight like him.

    The creature charged, to which Nick dashed to the side and sliced along its body¡¯s length, drawing a thin line of blood. He clicked his tongue, as he likely realized that despite the power of his strange blade, it was clearly not sharp enough to cut deep into the creature easily.

    The creature was at least level four. While Nick had already killed a level four human, beasts were vastly different from them. Humans and Demi-Humans both naturally and by choice spread their essence between Body and Mind with some in Soul, but beasts would naturally have most of theirs in Body. In addition, they frequently had a significant advantage in their Body levels to start.

    Because of that, it was difficult to beat beasts of a higher level without spells. It took significant amounts of skill, equipment, and usually numbers to overcome the gap of several levels.

    She shouted, ¡°Give me your biggest knife! I¡¯ll help.¡±

    She was a level 3 rogue. While she was weak without her beast transformation, she thought their chances would be a lot better if she helped.

    He danced away from the rabid bearcoon with his sword angled toward it, a fluid movement of his steps on the uneven forest ground. His body flowed through cuts and swings, and she even saw him elbow the bearcoon in the temple, disorienting it.

    She was impressed with his skill, likely much better than the bandits. Truthfully, she hadn¡¯t seen anyone so skilled since her own mother. She supposed he was a knight of sorts, but his behavior and words made it difficult to respect his capability.

    Just how had he never seen a beastfolk before? Here on the frontier, or the lost world, her people were all-too-common. Here, humans and elves owned most of the land, but beastfolk and monsterfolk were plentiful.

    He tossed her a dagger from his belt still within a small scabbard, Nick dancing around the creature as he held his sword with one hand. He kept the creature at bay by keeping his sharp blade pointed at it, the creature not confident enough to skewer itself and go fully on the attack yet.

    His style of fighting was vicious, going after the creature¡¯s stance with powerful cuts, punches, and kicks.

    That would change soon, but he had bought enough time for her to become better armed.

    She held her boot knife in one hand and the dagger in the other, positioning herself behind the beast.

    She said, ¡°We need to hurry and kill this. There is a reason I said we should run, and this creature isn¡¯t it, you know. This is the female.¡±

    Nick frowned, then his eyes hardened. It seemed he understood her meaning; there was likely a larger male somewhere nearby. He dashed forward and swung with a powerful overhead slice, which the creature dodged backward. But it was a feint, him switching the attack to a stab as he rushed forward with fluid movements.

    This caused the creature to leap back further: right in her direction. She stabbed both blades low into the creature¡¯s back, aiming for its spine with one and what should be its kidney with the other.

    The creature¡¯s weight combined with her own lunge allowed them to reach much deeper than they should have otherwise, but the wounds were far too shallow.

    Nick dashed in while it was wailing in pain, and his blade pierced deep into the beast¡¯s stomach, causing it to freeze and growl.

    They both retreated as its claws swiped back at them, and a red aura covered the angry raccoon.

    ¡°What the¨C? It¡¯s powering up?¡±

    ¡°Almost all beasts beyond the second level have a special ability. It¡¯s enraged, so it¡¯s stronger now!¡±

    Nick still kept the creature¡¯s ire, as it clawed and bit its teeth in his direction. He blocked and cut with his sword as he moved out of its way, and Kaya once again moved in position. Again, he set up a perfect path for her, by causing the creature to dodge to its right, allowing her to land two cuts on its right shoulder. Kaya was impressed with Nick¡¯s ability to work in tandem with herself.

    She dashed away as it retaliated, and Nick rushed in to land a powerful cut on its left shoulder. His cut landed deep, enough that the left arm of the beast was now limp. He now kept himself to this same side, cutting and dodging the ineffectual one-armed swipes of the creature.

    She leaped forward to land a deep cut into the wound near the creature¡¯s spine, and it collapsed to the ground. He quickly stabbed into the creature¡¯s chest, the light leaving its eyes.

    Kaya said, ¡°We still need to get out of here. I don¡¯t want her boyfriend to find my home, and my sister in hiding.¡±

    Nick sighed. ¡°Too late, I¡¯m afraid.¡±

    She looked where he was staring, finding a much larger, and more angry version of the same creature exited the bushes. The size of a small bear, this bearcoon was likely level five.

    ¡°I hit level three off that one. Thanks, Jerome¨Cbut now I¡¯m gonna have to let you go.¡±

    His blade of light brightened, confusing Kaya. He said, ¡°I had to dispel Jerome, it makes my blade stronger. I think we¡¯re still good.¡±

    Level three? Impossible! Even for a combat class, there was simply no way that he could level up that quickly. It would take time to accommodate the essence within his body and absorb it properly¨Cthough, she remembered a ton of essence floating around him when they met.

    Even if he was close to level two when they met, killing the level four bandit would not get him close to level three. Still, he mentioned Jerome? The undead was somehow gaining him essence?

    He pointed at the dead bearcoon. ¡°Create Soul Servant.¡±

    The ethereal light left his hand, and entered into the bearcoon. Wounds were healed as bones creaked, the creature becoming¡­ something else. Its eyes glowed blue like Nick¡¯s in the dim light, as it growled and charged at its former mate.

    She said, ¡°That¡¯s fucked up.¡±

    He shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m pragmatic. He should have kept his girl from starting fights she couldn¡¯t finish.¡±

    He charged in too, the male bearcoon roaring at its mate¡¯s death or its betrayal, she didn¡¯t know which. Kaya ran along with him on the other side of the servant bearcoon, moving to try to take advantage of exposed flanks.

    The servant bearcoon leaped at the larger living one, but was met with a large swipe of the almost-bear¡¯s claws. It sent the other flying, and Nick sliced deep into the bearcoon¡¯s right leg. The wound looked thin, to Kaya.

    She leaped into its side as it spun after him with a swing, stabbing into its other leg. She could feel how much harder the creature¡¯s skin and fur was, her blades only reaching fractions of an inch deep.

    Nick easily ducked under the bearcoon¡¯s swipe, cutting into the beast¡¯s wrist as he danced away.

    She trailed the bearcoon as it followed after him, its body now covered with a red aura. It moved with speed which belied its mass, and Nick was quickly cornered against a large tree. Just as the bearcoon was about to swipe its large claws at him, the servant bearcoon barreled into it, a storm of angry claws and teeth.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Nick¡¯s sword glowed brightly, and he swung powerfully at the creature¡¯s leg. An ethereal flame leaped from where the bearcoon was cut, and Kaya could tell some essence leaked from the creature as she pierced into its neck from the other side.

    The male bearcoon slammed the smaller one onto the ground, and its tail lashed out and grabbed Kaya¡¯s foot. ¡°Shit!¡±

    Nick was already in motion as she was flung at a tree, her body slamming into his and knocking them both over as they spun and twisted over the ground. Slamming into a tree, they both groaned in pain.

    He said, ¡°I don¡¯t mind you on top, but I imagined a lot less blood and broken bones when this happened.¡±

    She scowled at him as she got up from on top of him, him getting up as well. ¡°Could you just be serious for once?!¡±

    The flying servant bearcoon caused them to scatter, as its body slammed into the tree. They had each dashed or dove in opposite directions, Nick approaching the enraged bearcoon from the front.

    The bearcoon had dozens of bleeding wounds, but Kaya could see them closing up. The creature was expending essence to heal them, the level five beast capable of using it in different ways.

    Nick feinted an overhead slash with a shout, the creature attempting to block with its claws. He stopped short and dashed forward, swinging his sword into the already wounded leg. She dashed in from behind, cutting into the backside of the same leg.

    The tail grasped out at her again, but she countered with her smaller knife, ready for it as she dodged out of the way. She could see its leg was weaker now, the beast switching to a four-legged stance to relieve some weight off it.

    That made the creature¡¯s charge a lot more predictable. They both dashed around it, leaving scores of cuts on the beast¡¯s flank. It eventually scored a cut on Nick¡¯s chest, but he traded the blow with a powerful, glowing stab of his own into the creature¡¯s chest.

    Once again, the essence within the creature leaked out, seemingly aging years in mere moments¨Cits fur whitening. The servant bearcoon then slammed into the larger one, once again biting and clawing into it. It was at that moment, the larger creature released an ear-piercing roar.

    Her mind was disoriented, her ears ringing. Her heart stopped beating, and she found she couldn¡¯t move. She tried to stir her essence, but found she could do little more than whimper as her body shook. The servant bearcoon fell to the ground, having the same thing happen to it.

    The bearcoon stalked over to her, and it raised its claw. Her life flashed before her eyes, as the claw went for her throat. She had suffered so hard, fought through many injustices just to provide for her sister. And yet, it was all coming crashing down at this moment.

    A blue light entered her peripheral, as Nick shoved her aside with a hip check, her body tumbling to the ground as he blocked the claw with blade¨Chis strength and leverage somehow mostly managing it.

    ¡°Whatchu just standin¡¯ around for?¡±

    Kaya wanted to growl at his taunt, but still found she still couldn¡¯t move. Just how could he?

    ¡°You asked if I could just be serious for once,¡± he said, as he ducked and weaved around the bear while swinging his blade and dodging its swipes. He fought like a beast himself, giving it vicious elbows and kicks, aiming for its wounds as he parried and countered the bear¡¯s attacks.

    He backed away from the bearcoon, drawing it away as she finally recovered her faculties.

    ¡°I¡¯m always serious, when it matters.¡± He once again lured the bear to the tree, his back slamming into it. His body and blade glowed with a blinding blue light as the bear lunged, and he ducked under its scissoring claws as the bearcoon struck the tree instead of him.

    He thrust forward, his blade digging deep into its chest, a thrust that included the beast¡¯s weight and his own strength. A blue-green-flame shot through and engulfed the creature, its essence draining into the blade.

    Kaya charged and stabbed repeatedly into the creature¡¯s back as it roared in pain, seemingly too weak to fight back. It slumped over as the two of them kept digging their blades into it, until eventually, it breathed its last.

    She breathed heavily as she cycled her essence, drawing in the dead beast¡¯s energy. It improved and somewhat healed her body, as she made the creature¡¯s massive amount of essence her own.

    Kaya noticed Nick was doing the same thing, perhaps instinctually¨Cwhat he was doing was a little sloppy, from what she could feel. Actually, it appeared he was only absorbing the Soul Essence, for some reason. Kaya was drawing in the body, mind, and soul essences as she was supposed to.

    She gave Nick another deep look, the two of them breathing heavily. He was covered in wounds, a fair amount of them from coming to her aid.

    She hadn¡¯t wanted to fight the two bearcoons, but their mere presence in the area meant that she¡¯d have had to move her sister, if she was able to sneak inside once they moved on. The bearcoons being dead saved her from the struggle and difficulty of spending weeks moving Eirwen and preparing a new place.

    Nick¡¯s skill and strength were worthy of respect. Her bestial instincts were at war with her mind, her body able to tell he was a capable mate. Whatever race he was, along with his strange class, demonstrated limitless power and talent.

    Her mind was infuriated with the strange man¡¯s needling, and his rudeness. She was not a damned raccoon, and nor would she mate with one!

    But she could tell he did have a good heart. He hadn¡¯t needed to catch her body with his own, his action saving her from many broken bones and pain. While she helped him wound the beast, her attacks hardly were worth protecting her.

    A few of her ribs were bruised, but she had some high-essence poultices they could wrap around her chest to handle that quickly. Likely, he could use some healing himself, though his strange body may not benefit in the same way as hers.

    He had a handsome smile, and his feigned foolish confidence was strangely attractive. He had saved her life against the bandits, and then sort-of again with the bearcoons. She could tell he was attracted to her, as he tried to decipher her body underneath her cloak. Still, she could use such a dependable¨C

    He chuckled. ¡°Damn, your ex was out of control! I can see why you broke up with ¡®em.¡±

    She growled. ¡°Damn it, Nick! Just when¨C¡±

    ¡°Kaya? Are you okay? I was worried when you didn¡¯t come home.¡±

    She froze, as she looked up at their treehouse. Her sister, Eirwen looked down at them. A sheep beastfolk, her curled black horns were prominent atop her head of curly white hair.

    Nick looked tired, like he was gonna collapse on his feet, holding his strange sword pointing at the ground with one hand. ¡°I was so close!¡±

    She looked at him confused. ¡°What?¡±

    He gave a tired smile. ¡°The pet dog.¡±

    She groaned. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t have the energy to be mad at you anymore. I¡¯ve only known you an hour or two at most, and it¡¯s been the most exhausting time of my life.¡±

    He looked indignant. ¡°You¡¯re exhausted? I¡¯m the one who had to fight through a crypt filled to the brim with rats, climb a disgusting well, kill two bandits and save an ornery raccoon when they should be the best creatures of all, pay for some medicine when I don¡¯t even have a place to sleep, then fight an angry ex-boyfriend!¡±

    She growled, then she shouted, ¡°I¡¯m not a damn raccoon! And, the rest is hardly worth a response. This whole time I¡¯ve known you, you¡¯ve been infuriating. Just what the hell is wrong with you, anyway?!¡±

    He looked hurt, and almost like he aged years in just a few seconds. His face went slack, and his eyes stared a thousand yards into the distance; deep into the forest. Eventually, he met her eyes, a remorseful look in them.

    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry. I think I just died? My world had been filled with safety and comfort. I¡¯ve been trying to come to terms with coming here, and while I thought I was ready to die, actually facing it is a lot scarier than I thought. I can¡¯t believe I almost died to rats. Deflecting with humor was all I could think of, rather than stressing out. You¡¯re cute when you¡¯re angry¨Cand that growl is sexy as hell, for some reason. So, I kinda just went with it. I never intended to make you actually mad. I¡¯ll¡­try not to annoy you so much.¡±

    He dropped his strange blade of light, and it lost its strange ethereal light, then Nick collapsed to the ground. She hardly understood what he was talking about. His world? Did that mean he was from another? It sounded absurd, but his behavior and race was unlike anything she had ever seen.

    She frowned as she walked toward him, her bones creaking in protest as she approached. She lifted his shirt, and found dozens of small claw and bite wounds all over his back and the rest of his body. Some even looked infected, clearly more powerful rats having bit and clawed into him.

    She realized that the entire time they talked and traveled, she had never once seen his back, his long hair covering it. Just how many low-level rats did he fight?

    Eirwen had climbed down their rope ladder, the sheep beastfolk girl a lot more energetic than she expected. Kaya had rushed to get her medicine, after all, because Eirwen had been coughing and throwing up.

    She walked close with her hoofed feet, Kaya too tired to even move. Eirwen put her hands on her hips, and she had a stormy expression that Kaya had never seen.

    ¡°Why¡¯d you have to be so mean to the nice, handsome hero! Whatever you said to him made him so sad!¡±

    Kaya grimaced at the mention of the word: hero. For all he did for her, perhaps she should have seen him as such. Yet, she had yelled at him, like she wasn¡¯t grateful for what he had done for her at all.

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later. I got your medicine. Are you feeling up to help? Let¡¯s get us all inside and get our wounds treated. We got a lot to talk about.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m okay now. I was so worried sick when you took so long, I got all worked up! When you came back and fought those bearcoons with the hero, I wanted to help something fierce. But you better apologize to the man, momma didn¡¯t raise you like that, and I know it!¡±

    The two girls pulled on the man¡¯s hands, lifting him up off the ground. They each got under his shoulder, the man was a lot heavier than he looked.

    She groaned as she brought him to the rope ladder. Even knocked out with his mouth closed, he managed to be difficult.

 Soul Knight Book 1 Preorder Available on Amazon!

    Hey, everyone! Book 1 is now available for preorder on Amazon Kindle Unlimited! Release is set for March 13th, only a few days from now! So wishlist/order/tell your friends!

    I made two covers, one for each of our awesome beastfolk girls. Please preorder, wishlist/download when it comes out, and give it another read!

    Click Here for Amazon!</a>

    I think you''ll find it''s a bit different the second time around. I have had it professionally proofread, plus applied all the helpful fixes of Aalan and the many helpful others that provided suggestions and so on. I do appreciate all your help in identifying when something is unclear / incorrect! That said, there are a few extended scenes in the Amazon version, with somewhere like 5-10k additional words in total. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    If nothing else, a rating can go a long way to helping me out on Amazon. Five star ratings and reviews from a fan can make a significant difference in making the book look appealing to new readers!

    There will be a paperback version, but I have not yet submitted it. Those that want to collect each of the books in that format should be happy with the result, I''m sure.

    Book 2 will begin airing here on RR/Scribblehub in about 2 weeks or so, so look foreward to it! If you missed the Book 1 chapters before stubbing and you are unable to buy the book on amazon / don''t have kindle unlimited, reach out to me on the discord: https://discord.gg/NbNuqxfffF</a>

    Thanks for all your support, Patreon</a> already has several chapters available for reading for those wanting to support me even further. I go full time soon, and I can use all the help that I can get to keep writing!

 Book 2 is now available on Amazon!

    Hey guys, it''s finally here! Book 2 is now available on Kindle Unlimited.

    It has over 25k new words as I went through edits, for a total of 189k words. It also has, as usual, an "our story so far" section, which has a good reminder of book 1s contents.

    https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B0DFTRWM5X</a>If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Paperback edition is also available, and audiobook should be recorded started next month by Alyssa Poon and Evan Jordan.

    Once again, if you guys missed out on reading the book here on rr/scribble, just message me on my discord and I''ll be happy to send you the unedited version.

    https://discord.gg/NbNuqxfffF</a>

 Book 3 - Prologue

    Nick dodged away from Lothar¡¯s axe, and ducked under his fist as he backed off. Filling his new inscription with essence and mana, Nick swung his blade, his attack meeting nothing but air.

    A wave of frost essence echoed out from his swing at nearly the same speed, and Lothar met it with a cross-armed block. Ice crystals formed on top of his arm guards, but he wasn¡¯t even slowed down in his approach. He swung his axe at Nick again, but he kept on the move, backing off from Lothar¡¯s advance.

    The orc was big and strong, but Nick was much faster on his feet. Three more swings and waves followed the first, before he was forced to dodge away from Lothar¡¯s own wave of essence. Nick¡¯s blade waves struck Lothar, ice spreading over his body, despite blocking one with his axe and the rest with his essence attack.

    They were sparring at the orc¡¯s Training Grounds, his girls all honing their skills in different areas. It was a large walled in area, with numerous waist-high fences forming makeshift arenas. A mostly dirt and gravel ground with little obstructions, it was easy for warriors to watch other bouts or queue up to face opponents.

    The essence was denser than the rest of the city, and it provoked a more rapid recovery of mana as well, allowing warriors to fight more frequently. When following the right protocol for duels where warriors properly challenged themselves earnestly in their bouts, Orion would even reward victories with small amounts of essence.

    There were also sections with training dummies and work out machines that resembled a more primitive gym, but looked effective all the same. More experienced warriors gave pointers, guiding the younger ones as they practiced.

    Kaya was showing off her talent with her Concept, and Fang and Sable were training the wolflings from both their old tribe and Ironclaw¡¯s. The orcs welcomed their new brethren, happy to meet the large additions to their tribes.

    The Ironclaw wolflings had been spending much more time in the city lately, and the kobolds and snakefolk as well. The beetlefolk were still a rare visit, but a handful still made it to the tower each week.

    Luna and Eirwen both sat with Agatha, working on their shamanic magic. Fang and Sable didn¡¯t need her help as much, since their magic was more monstrous and instinctual.

    Nick continued on the move, sending more waves at Lothar, but he eventually called for a stop.

    Lothar noted, ¡°It¡¯s not bad, but a little weak. I don¡¯t feel much cutting power. Why¡¯s this better than making your essence carry?¡±

    Nick knew that while the trait Kaya was blessed with helped, he could still focus on improving his ability to make his body essence carry a bit further with his attacks. He would do that in the future, but that was enough for now.

    This new Soul Blade enchantment was an infusion of the Blade Wave glyph awarded from his recent trip to the mall and conquering of the bizarre obstacle corpse. It seemed useful, but it looked like it would take a lot of practice once again¨Cjust like what he had experienced with Double Jump.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know that it is better other than that it can use a higher mixture of mana, but I don¡¯t have a trait for it like you and Kaya do. I think you might understand if I use the white blade of light. Just to be safe, use your new Concept?¡±

    Lothar nodded, held out his arm confidently, and stirred his essence. The air shifted around Lothar, and it was like Nick could feel it. The man in front of him was a temple, built through relentless hard work, from tearing down his body and building it back up again. He held a sturdiness that was tough like stone.

    Nick gauged his swing as best he could, and mixing his essence and mana into the attack, he sent out a white blade wave with a downward chop.

    It formed a hazy, indistinct blade swing, which struck Lothar¡¯s arm guard. It knocked his arm back, but didn¡¯t even cut. Instead, it looked like his armor was scraped. Nick¡¯s attack was slightly off target, perhaps only a few inches from what he practiced.

    There was a small slice, but it wasn¡¯t even enough to draw blood if it struck his arm, most likely.

    Lothar frowned as he looked at it. ¡°How odd. It felt like several cuts landing.¡±

    Nick sighed. ¡°That¡¯s about as good as I can get it right now. It¡¯s really tough to aim the wave. The closest thing I can compare it to, is attacking with a whip.¡±

    ¡°Like a whip? How?¡±

    ¡°A whip has a specific effective range, where the tip of the implement can reach its maximum speed. If it bumps into something or the target moves, it can drastically influence the cutting power and the force of the attack. The blade wave is like that. When I swing, I have to be specific about where I want the cutting light to arrive¨Cto be focused on. A few inches in either direction when the wave arrives, and it¡¯s like those several cuts don¡¯t line up.¡±

    ¡°Ah, I think I see now. Difficult to use on a moving target. So the first step is probably memorizing attack distances, along with swing and essence strength as you gain experience compensating. Why¡¯s it not as much of a problem with the frost?¡±

    Nick thought that was a good idea, and so far, he had just been playing with it a bit. He had been doing his Blade Soulforging daily, but finished the enchantment just yesterday, and had practiced cutting things in his room.

    ¡°Since the frost doesn¡¯t need to cut, the freezing light can arrive at different times and still chill and freeze as the wave arrives. It can still cut a little, but it would need to be a perfectly aimed attack, much like the white light.¡±

    ¡°So you really need to master the blade wave to make it truly useful, though it was interesting how you were using the frost blade¨Cattacking me while on the move. Something new for you to practice. What about your ice magic?¡±

    Agatha spoke up from where she was meditating with Luna and Eirwen. ¡°He¡¯s doing well, but it¡¯s difficult to guide him. He¡¯s not a shaman, so his control over the elements is just different from what I can teach him. The young lord can learn shamanic magic like his Frost Shock, but I think it would be a waste of his talents.¡±

    Lothar frowned, but nodded at Nick. ¡°It¡¯s true that most of our shamans cannot natively manipulate ice like you. That is usually the realm of monsters or mages. Instead, they call upon the spirits, the essence itself, to do it. An in-between step.¡±The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    He thought for a moment, before he smiled at Nick. ¡°Good, you have come a long way while I was gone, and you didn¡¯t grow lax in your training. Your Concept Fragment of the Frost King is almost further along than mine and personal to you, so I can¡¯t give much guidance there, other to use mine as a whetstone to your blade. But the next stage for reaching Body Essence Mastery, and thus advancing your swordsmanship, is to integrate your Concept into your fighting style.¡±

    Nick frowned in thought. ¡°I¡¯ll need to come up with an Ideal that will work for me. What if I have two concepts, and I don¡¯t want to integrate both of them into my fighting style?¡±

    ¡°You can use one only with your swordsmanship, and that is fine. But you¡¯ll be giving a lot up. Anyway, that¡¯s the difference between an Expert and a Master. You need to focus on your Concepts for now.¡±

    Nick grimaced. ¡°I don¡¯t see how I can do that with the heroic concept, at least not yet.¡±

    He then explained the trouble he was having with using his heroic concept fragment. How the darkness of his Ideal drew out the malevolent energy from those he judged, and practice of it was difficult, as it seemed to only be drawn out properly when he was being Tested, or doing something properly heroic.

    ¡°You say your father called it redemption and salvation? I can understand salvation, a hero certainly brings it. But how would your concept redeem? I think if you can answer this question, you will be able to move forward.¡±

    Nick tried to come up with an answer. ¡°But why does it matter? Why has my concept ended up this way?¡± He didn¡¯t really understand where this was coming from. Nick had been mildly interested in redemption, from when Rebecca brought it up in his discussion about judgement. He had probed her on whether it was okay for him to punish evil as he did back when he was in Zura trying to rescue the children. But for that to become a part of him and his overall path felt¡­odd.

    ¡°You had explained how this might have come about. Divine Usurpation was the Bishop¡¯s concept, and somehow¨Cyou purified it. It has a light and dark component in it, perhaps, you¡¯ve skewed it in a heroic fashion. Rather than stealing the light and dark energy, you are instead earning it, or being given it willingly through salvation and redemption. The Divine Concord will give you the light energy, but you must find a way to obtain the dark.¡±

    Nick frowned. It was certainly true that the bishop both had, and was harvesting, tainted energy in addition to the faith energy. But just how could Nick harvest it? Nick couldn¡¯t even make a Soul Pact with someone like the bishop, as far as he knew. But for some reason, his Ideal drew it out from the depths of his soul¨Cthe people he had judged.

    He would have to think about how to make this happen. He had an idea, but it worried him a bit.

    Nick spent some more time with his mentor, practicing his Frost King Concept. Thanks to the expansions they had done to the Genesis Chamber, many of the orcs and wolflings that had died had already been restored. But a few were still queued, and he was able to use their chains for the moment.

    He also used his Create Soul Servant to restore the corpse¡¯s bodies over the last few days in secret, the warriors returning to their families gradually. Many had died in the two battles against the bandits, and it took Nick many hours to restore their bodies back into fighting form.

    Not everyone within the city was a Follower of his, so they would have to keep this a relative secret. The warrior¡¯s sendoff was for the warriors and their families in Lothar¡¯s personal courtyard, and they burned the corpses of those Nick was unable to restore.

    Some nosy Havendale and Zura people might be suspicious over time that there seemingly isn¡¯t any families missing their men or women, but by then Nick should have a solution.

    He would purchase a building that protected the people of his city through death, and just keep it inactive and use it as an explanation for their resurrections. His method brought his people to the level they were when they died, whereas other methods that existed would force them to start over nearly from scratch.

    Jasmine arrived near him, and wiped down his sweat with a towel. Then she handed him a canteen of water. ¡°All done for now, Master? I think you¡¯re doing well!¡±

    But Nick noticed something a little odd¨Che could see the bottom of her spider legs. The dress had previously almost touched the floor, making it look as if she were floating when she walked.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on with you? You¡¯re getting bigger?¡±

    ¡°H-Huh? Um, maybe? I didn¡¯t notice.¡± She looked down, and it appeared to dawn on her.

    Jasmine was busy exploring the mountains most evenings and mornings while Nick was asleep, and was a little cagey about what she was doing. He knew she was hunting, much like Jasper, and doing a bit of exploration. She had a certain goal in mind, and wanted to surprise him.

    Over the last few weeks, Jasper had defeated numerous enemies in the wilderness. His Soul Servant liked to hunt to the north, looking for creatures to consume. Each time he was successful, a rush of essence the creature shared would join Nick in his core, bringing him closer to the next level.

    Unfortunately, they only had a few more days left before they would head to Silverbrook, and it appeared her plan was to stick around here for a time.

    Nick looked over to his sheep wife. Periodically, her eyes would glow, and she would gaze into the distance from where she was sitting. He knew she was working with spirits in some way, her shamanic abilities making her able to commune with them. ¡°How are you doing over there Winny, Luna? Any progress?¡±

    Winny beamed. ¡°Yup! Agatha taught me a bunch of things for us to practice on our trip, and while we¡¯re in Silverbrook. I¡¯m eager to unlock my new class!¡±

    Agatha smiled proudly. ¡°An Ancestral Guide is a unique class. An Epic-Support truly blends the differences between a full combat class and a support, and I¡¯m amazed that you are so close to unlocking it at such a young age. Most don¡¯t have enough attributes until they are in the third stratum.¡±

    Nick smiled at his wife in pride. She had gained several traits from their trips through the Ordeals, and now she was really starting to excel.

    Luna watched Eirwen fondly as she waited patiently for her turn to speak. ¡°And I¡¯m finding a new path to strength as well. I¡¯m excited to try the totemic magic.¡±

    Nick arched his brow at her. ¡°Totemic magic? You¡¯re able to do this now?¡±

    Luna nodded. ¡°Not quite yet, it will take some investment of my time first. It¡¯s thanks to us being in the second stratum, and having such a high strength of soul. Which is thanks to us being your mate, of course.¡±

    Fang bounded into Nick, her tail wagging as she rubbed her face against Nick¡¯s chest. ¡°Yes! It¡¯s all thanks to Boss. I have to work hard and master more magics too!¡±

    Sable chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s the same for me. Unfortunately, it is a little tough for us to learn, as we don¡¯t have anyone to learn from. We¡¯ll have to master our unique magic and essence abilities on our own.¡±

    Kaya was the last to return and rejoin everyone, leaving several trounced orcs in her wake. Many of them were proud they had hit the second stratum and had become blooded, but she was quick to show them they still weren¡¯t her match.

    She joined the group as they were resting, recovering from their training. ¡°What¡¯s everyone talking about, over here? What¡¯re we doing for food?¡±

    Nick arched his brow at her. ¡°Is that why you stopped fighting? You were hungry?¡±

    ¡°N¨CYes.¡± Kaya blushed, as she was forced to tell the truth of the matter.

    Nick teased, ¡°Damn, we better not run into some guy with a Hunger Concept. Kaya would be finished, defeated by her stomach of all things.¡±

    Kaya shivered. ¡°T-That can¡¯t be real, right?¡±

    Eirwen chuckled. ¡°Why not? But let¡¯s hang out in the mall for a bit, and have some fun. Nick is going to meet Rebecca soon for his second date, so we¡¯ll have to keep ourselves busy for a while.¡±

    Fang¡¯s tail was wagging. ¡°Yes! The mall! Where we can have more of the bubbly drink, and eat all the pizza.¡±

    Sable and Luna looked equally excited, their tails wagging at the idea. Kaya had a little bit of drool on her lip, and Jasmine smiled at all the girl¡¯s excitement.

    Nick dragged each of his wives into a hug and a kiss, and bid them farewell. It was time to meet with his prospective wife for dinner.

 Book 3 - Chapter 1 - The Mall Date

    Nick walked hand in hand with Rebecca through the underground mall. He had dressed in jeans with a blue, open button-up short-sleeved collared shirt, with a white undershirt. It was an outfit that he figured would likely match his date quite well.

    The beautiful priestess dressed in a conservative outfit, that reminded him a little bit of a poodle skirt¨Ca thick skirt that went almost all the way down to her ankles.

    Her top still covered most of her skin, the white blouse fitting loosely over her entire upper body, but it still accentuated her excellent form.

    Her bright blond hair cascaded in ringlets beyond her shoulders, and her blue eyes matched the color of the giant skirt. Rebecca¡¯s wings had not grown too much in the past few weeks, but Nick did think they looked a little larger than before. They fluttered as he smiled and looked her over.

    ¡°Thanks for coming on such short notice, Becca. I wanted to see you again before we left on our trip.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s no problem at all, I was eager to join you for a much-needed break. The preparations have been¡­ taxing.¡±

    ¡°I know all you nuns work hard. Oh, here¡¯s one now.¡±

    A nun rode by on a bicycle, a smile on her face as she moved quickly through the mall. The ground was flat and there was tons of space for people to ride by as they practiced, reminding Nick of how there used to be many mall walkers back on Earth.

    They were practicing in the underground area for now, as they would be unveiled to the general public just before they left. Likely, it would be a valuable commodity among all those that lived in Frosthaven, as it made it easy to get around the city and neighboring areas.

    Nick and Rebecca stopped to look, and another rode by, this one struggling to keep upright, but still stopped to wave and wish them happiness and Seraphara¡¯s gaze on their date.

    ¡°It seems they¡¯re having a good time. I¡¯m glad Lumos and all the smiths were able to make enough of them.¡±

    Rebecca blushed a little at their antics. ¡°Y-Yes. The bikes are an interesting and exciting invention. Several of the priestesses and priests have examined and taken them apart with a real sense of wonder. We had built a water wheel for a mill, but these are on a whole different level of complexity. I am curious to see how your vehicle came out, as that should be all the more impressive.¡±

    Next, Nick saw Andross and his wives pedaling through.

    ¡°Hey, Boss! Check out my new mount. This thing is amazing.¡±

    The bike for the orc was definitely bulkier than the one the nuns were riding, but ultimately similar. Lumos¡¯s capabilities were quite remarkable because she had made some fully functional mountain bikes, complete with gears.

    The gears and the tires were what Nick was most impressed with. The tires were actually made using¡­the wollywompus hides, from the first floor in the Ordeal. The processed hides with the fur removed were somehow both spongy and firm. Then, they had a fascinating mixed size diamond scaled pattern underneath the layer of spongy flesh, that, combined with what Lumos did to it, made the result have decent traction.

    Using some assistance from the elemental shamans, they were able to fill the tires with air. Stretched out over an inner tube and rim, the hide of that godforsaken creature was actually useful, and felt a lot like a rubber tire on Nick¡¯s inspection.

    But based on the density of the essence after enhancing them with skills, the tires would actually be stronger than rubber and less prone to damage.

    Then, the gears and chains were made using a mixture of the ores Nick brought back from the centipede cavern, and the Frostspire mines. Nick was somewhat shocked at the level of techniques that would reliably make nearly perfect gears from molds, thinking that was a complicated endeavor.

    It appeared that many blacksmiths, using the essence pearls, could nearly mold them like clay with mental hands to shave off a hair¡¯s worth of material or compact it and make it fit perfectly.

    It was a technique Lumos had learned from watching the machines at the mall, and it allowed the smiths to effectively mass produce the somewhat simple machines with a high level of accuracy.

    ¡°Looking good, Andross. You prefer it over a horse?¡±

    Andross snorted. ¡°The wives and I love horses, but we get frustrated at their capabilities. The idea that I can chase down my enemies using my own strength is welcome. I feel like these will be much more reliable on different terrain.¡±

    Nick chuckled internally at the mental image of a bunch of angry orcs with weapons on bikes chasing down bad guys or fat merchants, but he arched his brow. ¡°I¡¯m not so sure about that. A bike is about as useful in a jungle as a horse. In a forest, it depends on how deeply wooded, but I¡¯d rate it rather poorly.¡±

    Andross smirked, and got off his bike. He nodded at Sharon and Indrid, they both withdrew some wrench tools and took the tires off, and then the chain. With a twist, the frame split in two, and then they stowed the bike with the wheels separately into their pack. The whole process only took a little over fifteen seconds.

    He spread his arms wide. ¡°See how easy that was? Then we¡¯re off through the jungle or difficult terrain on foot. Our shamans and support staff will have the tools to repair any problems, and restock the air in the tires. If we were on horseback, we¡¯d have to find another route, or go back to retrieve our horses after giving chase¨Cnot to mention the requirements to protect them. This option is much more flexible.¡±

    Rebecca was just as amazed as Nick, her eyes wide. ¡°They¡¯re a wonderful invention! I can¡¯t believe nobody had come up with them before on this shard. I suppose, thanks in part to Orion¡¯s Will, we may have missed this low-hanging fruit.¡±

    Nick was just as surprised and pleased that this worked out as it did. ¡°Glad we got such an option. Lumos said she was sure you guys would take about three days to get to Silverbrook like that, if you guys were fit enough to ride at a decent pace all day. Don¡¯t you worry about getting in a fight after you are exhausted?¡±

    Andross snorted. ¡°Our bodies are our temple. We should be able to ride nonstop, and fit for battle at any time, so long as we properly rest at set intervals¨Cnot much different from traveling on horseback.¡± An orc behind them fell over as he tried to stop, nearly colliding with Andross¡¯s wives. ¡°Well, once we get the hang of it. Enjoy your date, may you gain more maidens and strength, Chief.¡±

    Rebecca blushed as the trio went back to their riding practice with a wave goodbye, and with a chuckle and squeezing her hand, he and Rebecca continued their walk through the mall. They walked by the fountain, marveling at the statues and lights.

    ¡°It¡¯s a beautiful work of art.¡± Rebecca commented, ¡°The detail on the marbling is very impressive. I have never seen such beautiful craftsmanship, and the sounds it makes are soothing.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, my people were pretty impressive, it seems like. I¡¯m glad they were able to leave this behind for me to claim for my people.¡±

    Rebecca smiled. ¡°The other clergy do enjoy it down here. I understand the reason why, but it would be lovely to share this with the rest of the people of Frosthaven.¡±

    ¡°Once Blackthorne¡¯s dealt with, I¡¯m all for it. At that point, I should be able to stand up to most of the threats on this shard. At least, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll think twice first before starting something with us.¡±

    ¡°I believe that is correct. Nobody has reached the fourth stratum on this shard, or they¡¯d have opened the relay. We¡¯re far to the North besides, a great distance from the central kingdoms.¡±

    They continued their walk, and they passed by a location to have their pictures taken¨Ca photo booth. Nick joined her inside after paying the fee, and they happily posed at the prompts, though Rebecca was a bit confused. It was clearly designed for couples, as the machine encouraged a kiss for one of the images.

    Rebecca blushed, but complied with the machine¡¯s request with a kiss on Nick¡¯s cheek like usual.

    She blushed even harder as they got the two sets of images with her wings fluttering, and frowned. ¡°Wait, I know two priestesses tried this machine. It didn¡¯t ask them to kiss! And why¡¯d you make a V with your fingers behind my head?¡±

    Nick chuckled. ¡°I guess it somehow knew we are a couple? Those are called bunny ears, and it¡¯s just something folks do in images without the other person knowing. That was the wacky image, but it seems you didn¡¯t understand what it wanted, huh¨Cyou looked scared if anything.¡±

    Rebecca frowned in thought. ¡°What was that dreadful thing it showed?¡±

    Nick laughed. ¡°That was a clown. They are meant to be silly, to make children laugh. So you were supposed to make a silly face.¡±

    ¡°C-Children?! T-That¡­would scare most¡­anyone.¡± She smiled looking over the pictures. ¡°Still, I¡¯m glad it was able to record this memory for us.¡± She looked around them at the other stalls, the stores and restaurants nearby. ¡°It is interesting how many¡­date spots there are here. I¡¯m eager to see what you have in mind for today.¡±

    ¡°I think that¡¯s a big part of the fun with a mall¨Cplenty of places to check out. You don¡¯t really need a plan to have fun. But I did have a place in mind, and that only doubled when I saw the outfit you chose.¡±

    ¡°D-Do you like it? Winny and Jasmine helped me¡­¡±

    ¡°You look fantastic¨Cthe outfit really suits you, and I love seeing your beautiful golden hair. I really wish your habits didn¡¯t cover that so much.¡±

    Rebecca¡¯s wings fluttered, and she smiled at his compliments. ¡°I like your outfit as well. Your¡­kingly robes make you look strong and dignified, but I do like how you look much more approachable, and how these clothes fit you.¡±

    Nick smiled. ¡°Are you going to be able to wear these kind of outfits, even outside of dates? The clothing of the people following Seraphara seems restrictive.¡±

    ¡°When clergy do get married, we do get a little more leeway with our¡­dress. Of course, Seraphara understands attraction is important for partners, so this is why I was able to dress up for our date. But a wife of a Lord of Orion, especially an Ordained Lord¡­ I should have much more freedom outside of the church, as lords have different expectations of them and their spouses.¡±

    Lothar¡¯s orcs were back in town, so the mall felt busy with many of Nick¡¯s Followers checking things out. Much of their gains from raiding the bandit dens were ultimately brought home when not everything was sold in Silverbrook, and they were turning them into resources for crafters or customizing them.

    A few adherents of Seraphara had joined as Nick¡¯s Followers, and some monsterfolk from outside of Frosthaven were visiting and could be seen checking out the civilized areas.

    There were a few repeatable challenges that people could take on every few days as individuals in the first stratum, and these were a hot commodity to earn additional essence. Between climbs of the Ordeals, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and the orc Training Grounds, there were several viable ways to rise in level.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    They arrived at their destination: a burger and shake place. There was music playing from a jukebox, and Nick almost felt like he could place the song. The place was white and clean looking with neon lights running along the walls, and there were numerous booths for sitting.

    There were a few other couples in the booths, enjoying their meals. A sign was placed at the entrance detailing the usage of the ordering and payment system.

    Rebecca slid into one of the booths, and Nick slid in after her.

    She turned to him, suddenly startled. ¡°Oh! You¡¯re sitting¡­¡±

    ¡°Do you mind? I wanted to be closer to you.¡±

    With a blush, she shook her head no, so he pulled her close to him with a hand on her waist from around her back.

    Her wings fluttered, and they looked over the menu together. She had a frown and a disappointed look on her face, but didn¡¯t voice her complaint. He had noticed she hadn¡¯t liked much of the bar food from before, but he still chose this place.

    Nick chuckled at how she didn¡¯t seem to complain about their choices. ¡°Not seeing much you¡¯re interested in, huh? I mainly chose to come here for the special dessert, but I knew you might like the chef¡¯s salad, or the soup. Just get them both and we¡¯ll take the rest with us. I¡¯ll order the dessert for us, too.¡±

    ¡°O-Oh. I didn¡¯t notice those. I¡¯m sorry, Nicholas.¡±

    ¡°For what?¡±

    ¡°I doubted you. It seems you had given this place a lot more thought before we came in, and did pay attention to what I liked.¡±

    Nick gave her a smile. ¡°I did pay attention to what you liked, and I¡¯m going to do what it takes to win you over. I want this courting period to be a happy memory when we both look back at it. Also¡­Winny might have helped by giving me a rundown about these places, so I¡¯m a dirty cheater.¡±

    Rebecca chuckled. ¡°Seraphara values wisdom, and so do I. Using your wives and subordinates to gather it does not subtract from you having it.¡±

    Pressing some buttons on the Menu next to the wall, Nick and Rebecca made their selections. It was a little odd to pay like some kind of vending machine with his silver coins, but it was convenient.

    Nick pulled her a little tighter to him while they waited. ¡°Comfy, Becca? I like the atmosphere of this place.¡±

    Rebecca¡¯s blush increased, and her small wings fluttered. ¡°The seats are nice, and the music is unique. And I¡­ do like how your arm feels around me.¡±

    Nick enjoyed her warmth, smiling as he felt her body up against his. For Nick, being next to a pretty girl always felt special. But with Rebecca, it was a little different. Much like how being near tainted, or evil souls, his stomach would twist, and he would feel disgusted, Rebecca¡¯s pure, beautiful soul had a reverse, positive effect instead.

    ¡°Being next to you soothes me. I like your warmth, but your beautiful soul calms mine.¡±

    ¡°It does? How?¡±

    ¡°Sure does, I think it¡¯s because my Soul Sense is so sensitive. Being so close to your purity makes it easier for me to relax.¡±

    She blushed and smiled, and rested her head on his shoulder, and then held his free hand. It seemed knowing that she had that effect on him pleased her greatly.

    The food eventually came out, and they separated as the usual robot rolled out and set the food down in front of them.

    Rebecca mostly enjoyed her food, but was shocked at how much meat was in the salad. The clam chowder was a hit for her, and Nick shared some of his fries from his burger.

    He made sure they both didn¡¯t eat too much because the desert was going to be the main draw.

    She enjoyed her creamy soup, and the salad had a ranch dressing that was unique for her. He placed the order during their meal for the dessert, and it was brought out just as he was finished with his burger.

    ¡°W-Wow. It¡¯s so much.¡± Rebecca was in awe of the large dessert.

    It was a decadently large banana split with scoops of vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate ice cream, with various toppings placed throughout. Fudge was drizzled nearly all over the dessert, and two spoons were included. Sprinkles, candies, cherries, and even a few bits of brownies were placed throughout, allowing them both to try various types of sweets from Earth.

    Nick was happy to give it a try, taking a bite with the long-handled spoon.

    ¡°Not bad. It¡¯s been a while since I had anything like this. Your fruits here on Orion are pretty sweet, but this is a step above that. Even has some essence in it.¡±

    Seeing Nick¡¯s smile, Rebecca hesitantly took some of the banana in her spoon with some ice cream and fudge. She chewed for a moment and moved it around on her tongue, before moaning. ¡°Mmm¡­that is so¡ª¡±

    She froze, realizing the sound she made, blushing heavily as her wings fluttered.

    Nick chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t hold back on my account, that was cute. But that orc suddenly became that much more interested in our meal,¡± He nodded to his side.

    Rebecca¡¯s eyes grew wide, and she shrunk in on herself, furtively looking over to the table with the orc.

    Nick laughed at how cute she looked. ¡°I was just messing with you. It is good ice cream for sure though. Try the brownie next.¡±

    He put his other hand around her once again, reassuring her. She smiled, and giggled a little at the situation. Continuing to eat the large dessert, the two smiled and enjoyed their special meal.

    ¡°It¡¯s so good, but I don¡¯t think I can eat another bite. So much wasted¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s alright, we can take it all with us. Even the ice cream.¡±

    Creating some ice was trivial for Nick, and he brought the temperatures far below what was required to form it. To go boxes were provided by the robot, and he placed some in the lining of the bag.

    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s go walk off some of that ice cream.¡±

    He took her hand again, and she gave him a wide smile. Walking around the mall a little more and looking at the various stalls, he eventually spotted and took her to a jeweler.

    ¡°W-What¡¯s this? We people of Zura¨C¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t much like flashy jewelry, right? That¡¯s alright. You can wear the necklace under your habit, and it¡¯ll be our little secret. And we¡¯ll use the silver, since gold is a little too lavish. I think you¡¯ll like it, just wait and see.¡±

    Rebecca blushed. ¡°A necklace? I¡­okay.¡±

    Nick made some picks at the vending machine, inserting the desired coins. He picked a locket, which he thought would work well. Lights ran through the machine as it whirred, melting down the coins and twisting the silver into wire as it sparkled. The machine reminded him a bit of those novelty coins, where it stamped the coin and represented the landmark as a souvenir.

    ¡°There. Now check it out, you can put the photo from before in there. It even has one that fits perfectly.¡± He twisted the inside, allowing the photo to be slotted in.

    Rebecca beamed. ¡°Oh! I like that!¡± She brought out the photo from earlier from her purse, and cut out the small portrait with body essence from her nail. Nick arched his brow at this because her precision was quite good.

    She smiled at the result. ¡°I love it¡­ thank you, Nicholas. Now I¡¯ll always have it with me. But now¡­you¡¯ll have to get the other girls things too, you know. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen them wearing any gifts from you.¡±

    Nick chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s a good point. I had intended to get something at Silverbrook since the selection would be much better than here, but perhaps now¡¯s as good a time as any. You don¡¯t mind if I do this now? It¡¯s your date.¡±

    ¡°No, becoming your partner means I must become a part of their family as well. I¡¯ll be happy to know I didn¡¯t cause any jealousy.¡±

    Nick shrugged. ¡°I dunno how much of that they got, and most of the beastfolk girls of Orion aren¡¯t that big on jewelry. Kaya transforms, so she needs special items, and I know she doesn¡¯t want earrings because her ears are far too sensitive.¡±

    ¡°I hadn¡¯t thought about that. What will you get her, then?¡±

    Nick smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll just have to make it a special item then. I can do it, I just need to know the glyph.¡±

    ¡°Oh that¡¯s right! I will see if I can get the glyph for you, we do have books on enchanting.¡± Rebecca looked at him with a wide smile, and he thought she looked impressed. ¡°Which of these styles do you think they would like?¡±

    Nick looked over the options. He knew the Wolfen girls would love the collars, and Kaya would love to hate it. But for Winny¡­

    ¡°Hm. I think I¡¯ll go with the locket for Winny and Kaya, but it¡¯ll take some preparation to give it to them. You know any artists? I might need them to make a locket sized image for them.¡±

    ¡°I do! The arts are less sought after by adherents of Seraphara, but they are still respected. What about for the Wolfen girls?¡±

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Nick smiled.

    She looked over the options, and she blushed. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, the collars? Those girls¡­¡±

    Nick chuckled. ¡°You bet. That¡¯s fine, isn¡¯t it? And Jasmine is the same, though she¡¯d rather have a choker.¡±

    ¡°It is¡­ a little different, but they are very focused on you. On doing what they think will make you happy. I think that¡¯s normal to want to do that for their lover, but they have taken it to the extreme. I guess¡­ it¡¯s wonderful that they have someone like you for a partner, that will make sure they can be so proud of both themselves, but also their boss.¡±

    ¡°Aw, you think so, Becca? And what about you? If I have my way, you and I will be partners for a long time. Do you think I can help make sure you are happy and fulfilled, like them? I mean, I¡¯m making seven necklaces here today. This is probably not going to be all, either. I¡¯ve only been here on Orion for a few months. You¡¯re not worried I won¡¯t have time for you, to make you feel special?¡±

    Her wings fluttered, and she looked at the locket in her hands with a small smile. ¡°Have your way, is it? Since you desire me so, I believe even if there are more girls in the future, I can count on you to do your best to make me feel special and loved. Just like tonight.¡±

    She gave him a caring smile as her wings fluttered, and Nick grinned. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best, and that¡¯s a promise. I¡¯ll count on you to support me with your wisdom, to heal me when I¡¯m wounded, and to keep me feeling calm and find respite, even if I¡¯m always fighting.¡±

    Rebecca smiled. ¡°And you¡¯ll always be fighting evil and protecting the weak. Saving us from villains, and making our shard a better place. If a hero wants a priestess by his side, then why should I say no?¡±

    Nick chuckled. ¡°So it sounds like you¡¯re convinced, we just have to make Seraphara see it our way, then?¡± He looked up, as if looking to the sky. ¡°How do we do that?¡±

    She gave him a coy smile. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later, but I promise you¡¯re off to a good start.¡±

    Shrugging, he fed in a lot of silver coins into the machine, and had all the necklaces made. It took some time, but the way the machine twisted and wove the silver wire into jewelry was mesmerizing to watch.

    Nick held up one of the locket necklaces. ¡°I¡¯ll have to get the pictures from home to have the locket sized images made of their moms.¡±

    The two had artist renditions of their moms back in their treehouse when he met them, and they had since retrieved those when they found time after the Trial Closure. Their treehouse was actually found by an orc scout because it had shifted several miles away when that happened.

    ¡°That¡¯s wonderful, I bet they¡¯ll love it. I know¡­ I cherished the few images I had of my mother, when I thought she was gone for good.¡±

    ¡°Just a month left now, and we¡¯ll be meeting her. I can¡¯t wait.¡±

    She smiled and nodded. Placing the necklaces in his pocket, he took her hand and they continued on their walk. After checking out a few shops and saying hello to a few more orc followers, and adherents and clergy that wished them well on their date, they headed back topside.

    He took her back home, Seraphara¡¯s Ordeal standing proudly above it. They separated next to the door, Rebecca blushing and smiling at him.

    Nick said, ¡°I¡¯m glad I got to see you one last time before our trip. It¡¯s going to be busy there, and I figured this would feel safer and more familiar.¡±

    ¡°It was lovely. You asked me before if there was a way to help make Seraphara see that we are meant for each other. Just close your eyes, and wish fervently and imagine a future together where we are both happy and fulfilled, reaching immortality together¨Cand desire it from the bottom of your heart.¡±

    Something felt not quite right about what she said, his Soul Sense tingling ever so slightly. A partial truth of some kind, but he decided to play along with a small smile on his face.

    Nick did his best to imagine a time in the future, where he and Rebecca, along with his other wives, had defeated Blackthorne. He ruled much of the shard, and Rebecca happily used the Archives and grew her knowledge and wisdom along with her mother, and Eirwen.

    They grew their good will among the shard with their compassion, and took on evils as a powerful family with their numerous allies. Seeing Rebecca¡¯s smiling, fulfilled face as she lectured those who would listen in their Cathedral filled him with joy, and¨C

    Warm lips met his, along with a surge of pure essence. Rebecca¡¯s soft body collided with his, and he caught her with his hands around her waist. The kiss deepened as she explored his lips with her own plump, soft lips, and the girl sighed in contentment.

    Nick thought he could feel, on some level, her own wish for him to be both happy and fulfilled. Her desire that he would reach immortality, but also find happiness as a hero and king of Frosthaven. The pure faith essence that went into him calmed him further, warming him down to his very soul.

    She pulled back, and gave him a wide smile. ¡°I¡¯m sure you felt something was off there. I mostly told the truth¨Cthe difference was that we just needed to do that inside her Cathedral! But that was wonderful practice. I felt it.¡±

    ¡°What did you feel?¡±

    ¡°Your desire for my happiness. I know Seraphara will bless us when it¡¯s time. Next date, we¡¯ll be able to kiss all we like. I look forward to you kissing me next time.¡±

    Nick chuckled. ¡°I think I felt your desire too, and I¡¯m excited to spend more time with my beautiful¨Cinside and out¨Cpriestess. Until next time, Becca.¡±

    Seeing her bright smile warmed him further, as she went into her home.

    It was a welcome break, but now he had to fight a new type of battle. It was time for him to conquer the darkness within him.

 Book 3 - Chapter 2 - The Redemption Pact

    ¡°You¡¯re sure you want to do this, Hubby? It seems¡­dangerous.¡± Winny looked down at Nick with a frown, as he laid across her lap as a pillow on their bed. The Wolfen girls laid across him like usual, and Kaya laid on the other side of Eirwen, running her claws through his hair and scratching his scalp.

    Jasmine was out and about, like she often was when it was time for bed¨Cafter either fun in the shower or otherwise taking care of her master. It seemed she was doing her best to earn essence, much like Jasper.

    ¡°I think it¡¯ll be alright. This thing, the Archaen Law, represents a monument of good. It somehow punishes evil, and that means it should be my ally. If you can¡¯t bring it into the space, then I will just have to find some other means, like the demon cores.¡±

    Nick had previously attempted to meet with the souls he had judged in a dream, and found that he couldn¡¯t. This was why they were wanting to try something different.

    Winny frowned. ¡°The demon cores¡­doesn¡¯t sound much better. That darkness would become a part of your body, and it could be just like your dance eventually.¡±

    Kaya asked, ¡°In a pinch, can¡¯t you send one of us in to help him in the dream?¡±

    Winny sighed. ¡°That might be possible, but not when hubby and I are stretched so thin as it is. I¡¯m not even so sure we can do it, last night when I probed it, it was too much for just me. It means hubby and I will need to work together to even have a chance. Unless¡­he waits until we are both stronger.¡±

    Nick thought on it for a moment, and shook his head. ¡°I need to get this mastered, and the sooner the better. Just like what Kaya had said: if I¡¯m not strong enough when it¡¯s needed and I lose, then it will be too late to say I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m going to have to take this risk to become more.¡±

    Winny gave him a smile, and a look of determination. ¡°Alright. You know I will always have your back on this. Follow me as I weave the dream magic, and do your best to target the Archaen Law within you.¡±

    Nick nodded, and stirred his soul essence. Weaving in his mana, he followed Eirwen¡¯s dream magic and sent it into his mind as he made the connection through his soul. A weight fell over his mind as his eyes became heavy, the dream magic taking hold.

    He felt incredibly exhausted by the effort, and it wasn¡¯t long with his wives caressing him and reassuring him that he fell asleep.

    ***

    Nick flew through the created dreamscape, his soul covered in a projection of his body. It looked like a desolate landscape, the ground an inhospitable craggy desert, and the sky was filled with ominous clouds. Thunder rumbled in the distance as lightning struck frequently throughout, the bleak environment offering no comfort, no opportunity for survival.

    But much of his view was dominated by a giant stele, its height and width difficult for him to fathom in his current form. It was like a giant slab of black metal larger than the biggest skyscraper he¡¯d ever seen, and the glyphs and scripts covering it glowed white.

    Much of the Archaen structures followed this theme, and seeing it this close filled him with awe. Because he knew just what it was.

    Archaen Law.

    The writing on it was miniscule, but despite its immense size, it was completely covered in them.  There were numerous enchantments, glyphs so complex that they actually hurt Nick¡¯s head to examine them. Some felt like they were rules, and from what Nick understood, much of the text was related to the laws.

    Throughout the area, it was like a dark haze was present, a weight bearing down on the temporary world he and Eirwen had created. He wasn¡¯t precisely sure what it was, but it almost felt like the spirits or souls comprised of feeding into the Archaen Law stele. Hazy shapes could be made out in the distance, but Nick couldn¡¯t determine what or who they were, even when he tried to control the dream.

    Nick could feel a strain in the back of his mind to help hold up the dreamscape, and he knew Eirwen was working hard to make this happen. It was only thanks to both of their growth that they could even manage this at all. He decided to hurry, and called out three of the tainted priests he had planned on targeting.

    Their shadowy forms appeared in front of him. They were a lot like the silhouetted figures they faced on the second floor of the Path of Kings Ordeal, and he could just vaguely see their original appearance underneath the shadows. Nick felt like he was looking at some ghosts, but he could see that they were in anguish.

    There was a haze drifting from them, and into the giant stele. Somehow, they were powering it.

    When Nick used Judgement, a large portion of their essence¨Ctheir everything, was drank in by him.

    Some of that was absorbed using his special cultivation technique with the chains, increasing his level and restoring himself, and finally, empowering his soul. However, a majority of their energy went towards powering the stele itself, and its power over Orion.

    Nick probed the souls, and stirred the magic of his Soul Pact. He was trying to find if he could offer them redemption.

    When he did, Archaen Law¨Cthe stele, lit up further in a few areas¨Cbut in a dark red light. It would not allow him to make a pact with them normally, as he already knew.

    Nick now tried stirring his Concept instead. He had already made an Oath to walk the hero¡¯s path for Winny, and he had started to walk it in earnest with more than one quest completed. Bringing salvation to the weak or vulnerable people of Orion, he had rescued hundreds from the hands of evil.

    Each action of good had a weight on his soul, a purity and righteousness that built up inside of him. But in doing so, he had slain and judged dozens of evil people, their taint affecting him in different ways.

    And he would judge hundreds more, for them to suffer inside this odd prison. How long they would suffer in this hellish environment varied, but it wasn¡¯t all that long in the first and second stratum¨Cjust a few months at most.

    Perhaps it would be more for those that were stronger, but Nick could tell the first bandit he drained when he saved Kaya did not have that much time left.

    They would be reborn with whatever remained of their taint, and they would likely be bad people or creatures such as demons in the next life¨Cjust less so because they had been judged and purified to an extent.

    But Nick could do more. He could offer them Redemption. An opportunity to purify their sins, for Nick to eliminate evil even going into their next lives. Using this, Nick would become a hero that eliminated evil from the world, making it a better place¨Cforever.

    His Concept stirred at this, his representation of his body being covered with a near-golden haze as the light and darkness mixed. Knowing he didn¡¯t have a lot of time, he attempted the magic of the Soul Pact.

    Areas that were red on the stele went away, though some still remained. However, Nick felt his Soul Magic connect to the three targets this time, rather than be outright rejected.

    His eyes grew white, as he allowed the wisdom of the pact to help him make his offer. ¡°You three have sinned, and you have paid some for your wrongdoing. You left your family and community behind due to your hatred and selfishness. Your friends and family lament your passing, but I, Lord Noblefrost, now protect them in your stead.¡±

    The ghosts wailed at him in anger, their souls trembling in anguish. They attempted to swipe and claw at him, but his soul covered in his heroic Concept was nearly a dozen times stronger than theirs. It was like children slapping at him, and he ignored their efforts.

    Nick got a feel for what he could offer them, as he thought about how to phrase it. He could not offer to end their suffering entirely as they remained here.

    ¡°I come here today to offer you Redemption. If you remain here, you will suffer for a time, but eventually be released into the essence to be reborn. But if you accept my offer for a Soul Pact: You can protect your family, your community. You can protect the weak and defeat evil, undoing your wrongs. Through me, you will find penitence for your sins.¡±Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    The spirits wavered, their anger subsiding. But they hesitated, the pain from their suffering too immense. The idea that their suffering would continue for longer was difficult to overcome.

    Nick drew up his Soul Magic like he was casting Judgement again. Their wrongdoings were brought to the fore just like during the spell. Specifically, where their actions had hurt a friend or family member. The Bishop may have ordered them to, but they carried them out with hateful, twisted justifications.

    One had convinced a woman to take a perilous pilgrimage¨Ca cousin of his. She had been against the brothel in Zura, and the Bishop wanted her voice silenced. Another had led an unsuspecting beastfolk to a tavern, where they would subsequently be drugged and shackled.

    ¡°Do you not have remorse for what you¡¯ve done? The people you¡¯ve hurt, your friends and family you let down? Now is your chance to make things right. With your help, I will protect them all from even more terrible evils, and uplift them. Frosthaven will become a beacon of hope, a land that stands against the darkness. And you three will become the pillar of that beacon.¡±

    The ghosts froze in place, their spiritual bodies shaking as their sins were laid bare. A wail of lament left them, and more lights on the stele shifted away from the angry red.

    As one found acceptance, Nick¡¯s Concept stirred. A chain of gold formed between Nick and the soul, connecting to his heroic concept, and his soul pact¨Ca piece of their soul stored with Nick willingly.

    The darkness began draining away from the male ghost and into the shackles, and his features became more distinct. The pain from the stele subsided somewhat, but it still remained.

    A somewhat satisfied expression arrived on the priest¡¯s features, but there was still a feeling of enduring pain, the man¡¯s face scrunched up in a pained smile. The other two ghosts saw this, and accepted it too. New sets of chains latched onto them.

    It seemed they would instinctually understand what was being offered, just like his other Soul Pacts. When he activates his heroic concept in the future, the pain from the drain on their dark essence will increase¨Cperhaps to levels even greater than what they were experiencing before.

    What they didn¡¯t know, was that once they had fully redeemed themselves and had been cleansed of the tainted essence, was that they could be reborn¨CNick only needed to use the Genesis Chamber.

    However, that couldn¡¯t be a part of his offer. These souls had to desire redemption, and accept his painful pact to redeem themselves on their own. Because most likely, these souls would have been reborn in just under a month or so without their memories somewhere on Orion, their taint less significant than many others.

    The stele lit up, and Nick got a feel for what else he could offer. These souls had been accepting of the Redemption Pact, but not all those he killed would be filled with remorse, or be so willing to earn their redemption. In this case, he had used the priest¡¯s love of Zura, but would all the bandits from Havendale really care about helping Nick be a hero, protecting the weak? Likely not.

    Nick had other offers he could give, and methods he thought he could entice those he had judged to accept. The priests of Zura wanting redemption from the bottom of their hearts was ideal, but the other options were more¡­forceful.

    But Nick didn¡¯t care. To protect his people, he¡¯d be a demon disguised as a hero if he must.

    For now, Nick got what he was hoping for¨Ca pact with the priests. He knew that he would now be able to call upon the darkness, just like when he used his Ideal of the Archaen Monstrous Swordsman.

    The dreamscape started to deteriorate, so Nick used his ability to control the dream, and pushed himself to exit it, and enter a dreamless sleep. His hazy golden figure disappeared from the bleak landscape.

    A single, powerful shadow peered through the darkness at his disappearing form, its gaze burning with hatred and resentment.

    ***

    Nick woke up full of sweat, his mind overworked from keeping the dream active. Winny was exhausted too, having slumped to the side with him on her lap pillow. Judging from the light in the room, he must have slept to recover for several hours.

    The Wolfen girls and Kaya must have left already for their training, likely after making sure they were okay.

    Eirwen stirred as he did. ¡°That was tough, Hubby, I actually passed out in the end. What a strange dreamscape you had me make. It seems it worked?¡±

    ¡°It did. Like what happened with the demon, it appears I have additional options for pacts. I may be able to be a little more¡­forceful if the situation calls for it.¡±

    ¡°Forceful? But I thought Soul Pacts were supposed to be a¡­somewhat equivalent exchange?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s different now that I am a Lord of Orion, that walks the Path of Kings and the Hero¡¯s Path. I have the weight and responsibility of all those I protect, both against the evils here on Orion, but also its Trials and Tribulations. Those I have judged are evil, and even if they aren¡¯t desiring of redemption, I can force them to aid me in bringing salvation.¡±

    Eirwen frowned in thought. ¡°That sounds like that can¡¯t have the same effect, can it?¡±

    Nick shook his head. ¡°The effect will be more difficult for them and harder on me. But I will drag them kicking and screaming if I must. Facing the lava elemental proved that to fight a Concept, you really need to have one too. For the enemies we are going to face, I need to be as strong as possible.¡±

    Jasmine entered the room rapidly, holding two mugs of liquid. ¡°You¡¯re up! I got just the thing for you, but breakfast is ready.¡± She handed one each to Nick and Eirwen, and it was the odd whiskey energy drink.

    He took a large pull of the drink, the energy shooting through his body quickly, and soothing his mind.

    Winny sighed, and shivered as the odd liquid helped restore her. ¡°That¡¯s got a big kick, thanks, Jasmine. That sounds dangerous, you really think this Concept is worth it, Hubby? The books say there are ways to remove it¨Cand find another. It shouldn¡¯t be too late when you are only at the fragment stage.¡±

    Nick was sure. ¡°Didn¡¯t you see how strong the Bishop¡¯s attacks were? And you saw how easily I stomped that obstacle course, and that¡¯s just as I begin to make this thing my own. I¡¯d have crushed that Demon Overseer in seconds, and the Lava Elemental wouldn¡¯t have stood a chance. I need to be able to punch above my weight, and this will do that.¡±

    Jasmine beamed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Winny! Master will be fine. I think the Divine Concord will help, besides!¡±

    Eirwen arched her brow at Jasmine. ¡°How can you be so sure?¡±

    ¡°Just a feeling! When Master absorbed that faith energy from the throne, it purified some of the tainted essence, restored his soul, and strengthened it. Making these special pacts might increase the burden for a time, but it probably also increases the benefits. This feels like a powerful path to strength!¡±

    Nick nodded. ¡°I also have the demon cores as an option for absorbing darkness, but I think this is the right path, as that might transform me in a negative way. This makes me a hero for all, even those I defeat. Let me try it out after I recover a bit more, then we¡¯ll have breakfast.¡±

    He drank the rest of the mug, and stretched out a bit. Eirwen did the same, and some of her stretches made him raise his brow. She was a lot more flexible than he remembered.

    Standing with her hoofed leg above her head against the ring of the post of his bed, she waggled her brows at him when she caught his eye. How her fit, peach shaped butt cheeks peeked out of her nightwear, her panties, was extra inviting.

    ¡°Damn, Winny. Didn¡¯t know you could do that.¡±

    ¡°You like?¡± She shifted to her other leg, her tail swishing back and forth as she leaned forward. ¡°For you, I can do a lot more than this.¡±

    He couldn¡¯t help but stand behind her and get a solid grip on her firm behind, before kissing her lips from the side, with her head turned as it was. ¡°Definitely. You did this for me?¡±

    ¡°Mmm¡­you know it. Even Kaya is working on this, too.¡±

    Nick kissed her again, but eventually pulled back. As much as he wanted his hot sheep wife, he didn¡¯t have a whole lot in him. ¡°Later. We¡¯re definitely going to try out some of that flexibility you¡¯ve been working on.¡±

    Ready to try out his Concept, he stood in the matted area in the corner of his room. He drew upon his desire to be a hero, and stirred his essence. Normally, he had difficulty when he wasn¡¯t in a Trial or Test, or fighting evil, and this moment was no different.

    Until he tried instilling the importance of training and understanding his Concept. After a brief moment, the white and dark light filled him, his muscles being filled with heroic power and strength.

    Gauging just how much energy he thought could flow, he thought these three souls alone would be able to power him to about halfway through the third stanza of his Archaen Monstrous Swordsman Ideal, the phrase, bleed with haste. It was where darkness would start being released into his body.

    Thanks to this Redemption Pact, he could now draw darkness and light out at will, and he knew those he just made those pacts with were suffering even as a result of his test. As he fought his battles against evil or Tested himself to become more, the maximum amount would get drawn out, and they would suffer immense pain as he was empowered.

    There was a vast difference between the amount of darkness released in the third, fourth, and fifth stanza. He would have to gather many more pacts, and among the stronger evils among those he judged, to even come close to the final stages of the dance.

    And this would match up with however much faith and light energy he could bring to match it. He was eager to try it, as he could feel just how strong it made him. Even with just this, he would have easily crushed that Demonic Overseer in the mines.

    Nick felt vindication for his choice, and Eirwen and Jasmine both beamed at his success.

    Finally, Nick had found his true path to power.

 Book 3 - Chapter 3 - The Departure

    Fang whimpered as Nick brushed her tail¡¯s fur, giving the girl sitting askew on his lap the after care she needed. He just had some sexy time first thing with Fang and Luna so they were just in their cute silk nightwear¨Cpanties and camisoles¨Cbut now it was nearly time for him to leave.

    A few more days had passed since he found his Concept, and it was the day of their departure to Silverbrook.

    She sighed, her eyes giving Nick wide, puppy-dog eyes. ¡°I wanted to go too¡­¡±

    Nick chuckled. ¡°Nobody¡¯s stopping you from going, except for you. I know I¡¯m going to miss having my little buff fluff in Silverbrook.¡±

    ¡°I-I know. But Luna and the wolflings all need my help. Since you¡¯ll be gone for up to a month, it¡¯s important we train up all the monsterfolk. So they can become more, like us!¡±

    Luna nodded, hugging the girl from the side and scratching her ears. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Fang. It¡¯s me that wanted to take care of the tribes. At least Jasmine will be with us for a while, too.¡±

    Nick¡¯s ladies planned on running various groups through the Path of Kings while Nick was gone. Lothar and Agatha would also lead groups, their levels limited for entry, and then Fang and Luna would do the same. Four groups in the first stratum could enter each week, and the further they could get inside, the faster they would grow.

    The Ordeal¡¯s difficulty had been decreased by them making tweaks, but that didn¡¯t mean that it would be easy. There was also the Samurai Ordeal, which allowed a similar number of maximum climbers. The Samurai Ordeal was a lot more flexible, in that its total of forty climbers could enter as small groups or as a solo warrior with one supporter.

    The Path of Kings would only allow four groups, for a maximum of forty climbers. This meant it was best to utilize the maximum party size whenever possible. It was also important to climb all the stratums as much as possible, in order to appease Orion.

    If people weren¡¯t consistently Testing themselves to become more, a Tribulation would come, and those would be a lot riskier and deadly.

    ¡°I appreciate you girls putting in the efforts to help my subordinates and hold down the fort here, and I¡¯m proud of you for making this choice on your own. I need Sable for moving around in secret, or I bet she¡¯d stay with you too.¡±

    Fang beamed at his praise, and Sable stretched on the bed, her body covered by blankets now that Nick had left their cuddle pile. ¡°I¡¯ll help keep the Boss safe, along with Kaya. If Winny didn¡¯t want to help shop and make deals for Frosthaven, she might have stayed, too.¡±

    Eirwen was packing more clothes into her satchel, neatly folding items into it from the closet. ¡°You¡¯re right, I could benefit from spending some more time with Agatha, but I have plenty of things to practice while we¡¯re away.¡±

    She gave a pleased sigh as she placed another stack of clothes inside. ¡°My new trait expands the spatial items I¡¯m using, and it sure is nifty! In Silverbrook, I¡¯ll make sure Hubby gets the best prices for things, and help organize the settlers¨Cthough I¡¯m sure Becca and Marissa will help a lot in that.¡±

    The two nuns were actually quite the merchants and organizers, Nick had learned. When the Bishop put a priority on earning more funds, justifying it as commerce being important for civilization, the two had actually been involved with much of the financial decisions for the city itself. It was in conjunction with the councillor¨Ctheir Ordained Mayor¨Cbut he couldn¡¯t do all the work himself, and for the trip, he would stay back in Frosthaven.

    Nick planned to bring much of his treasury¡¯s funds with him, minus what was necessary to pay the blood price of the bandits killed between Silverbrook and Shadowvale¨Cjust in case the merchant showed up.

    He would procure¨Cwith the intent to later free¨Cslaves, materials for crafting, and even more carriages and the like for transportation.

    Frosthaven needed plenty of laborers to be transformed in a short period, and so he would entice settlers with no taxes for a period, and favorable pay.

    He would go so far as making sure his offers were just short of sounding too good to be true. The rumors about Blackthorne owning his city would likely accomplish this to an extent, but even Shadowvale had numerous takers.

    It turned out that despite the bandit lord indirectly owning it, the man had intentionally made it difficult for settlers to arrive there.

    It was as if he were deliberately making things worse for Silverbrook. Nick wouldn¡¯t be surprised if after he learned about Nick bringing so many people to Frosthaven, he would somehow discourage Nick¨Che was surprised he hadn¡¯t already.

    Perhaps if Nick only had the single Ordeal, increasing his number of residents by a number high enough to matter wouldn¡¯t be a normal goal. After all, Zura and Nagduros both were much smaller communities, and the reason was in part due to essence density. Blackthorne would probably flip his lid when he learned Nick¡¯s goal was to increase his residents by more than a thousand.

    Among Nick¡¯s goals in Silverbrook, meeting with merchants to get regular caravans heading his way was perhaps the most important of all. Silverbrook had roads leading to it from the Core Kingdoms, which Blackthorne¡¯s bandits raided, making it less attractive for trade. But Nick had Lothar¡¯s Raiders, which could heavily discourage bandits on the path, and also escort merchants that paid the price¨Ceither in duels or funds.

    The biggest aspect that made Silverbrook the trading hub of the north was that it had an outlet to the ocean.

    Boats could travel through a river, and eventually along the coasts, to arrive at cities to the East and South with relative safety.

    Nick continued pampering Fang, the girl depressed with her ears flat on her head. She now sniffed all over his body and rubbed up against him, as if to bury herself in his scent.

    He chuckled at her antics. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to meet you two in a dream when I can, I promise. Then I¡¯ll reward you for all the hard work you¡¯ve been doing for me.¡±

    Fang¡¯s ears picked up, and her tail started to wag out of his grasp. ¡°Oh yeah! That means you can visit nearly every night, right?¡±

    Nick shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best. We¡¯re going to be active at night sometimes, and I have other things I need to do in my dreams¨Ctraining and pacts.¡± He had gotten a few more pacts created the previous nights, but he was still going for the low-hanging fruit for now.

    The priests and bandits that had remorse for their actions were easier much easier to convince, and he was running out of them.

    People like Brutus and Davon absolutely wouldn¡¯t have much remorse for what they did, and Nick had the most to gain from them. They not only had the most darkness in their souls, but they also were much stronger. He had a plan for them too, but he wanted to be at his best when he confronted them.

    Luna cleared her throat, and then pushed into Fang with her body, shoving her nearly out of his lap. ¡°Aren¡¯t you being a bit greedy? I¡¯d like a bit of time with our mate too¨Cthey all need to get ready to go shortly.¡±

    ¡°O-Oh. I¡¯m sorry, pack sister! Y-You¡¯re right.¡± She stood up, her tail wagging as she psyched herself up. ¡°Alright! I¡¯m going to work hard, and train up our tribe!¡± Fang kissed Nick quickly before she bounded away, getting dressed and ready for the day.

    Nick started brushing Luna¡¯s tail, her sitting askew in his lap. She too made sure to engulf herself in his scent as he did so, sniffing and kissing his chest.

    He knew this girl loved the rewards and tail brushing just as much as Fang, but was simply more patient and giving. Both Luna and Sable were happy to see Fang receive his affection, the hyperactive girl always eager for attention.

    Nick made sure she got his loving attention, before Jasmine helped him get ready in his equipment, which included the finished robes¨Clovingly crafted by her. They were still his dark blue color with black trims, formal martial robes that were fit for a king. But now, the essence flowed through them better than ever.

    She had made him the pants before, but now she completed the outfit, and they were styled and dyed.

    The majority of the nuns and orcs on bikes had already left early yesterday, and Nick and his family would be riding on his special vehicle today.

    Their plan was to actually go in three waves, both there and back. Nick¡¯s people with their motorized carriages would arrive first, followed by those involved in the pilgrimage on bikes.

    Nick¡¯s group should pass those on bikes before arriving, and they¡¯d both start the recruitment and compassion drive after setting up shop. Last would be the transport group. Each would have armed escorts, though they were pretty confident the forests were clear of the larger bands of roaming bandits for the moment.

    They had their breakfast, and Nick couldn¡¯t hold back his own excitement as they walked out the doors of their sanctum.

    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s go see what Lumos whipped up for us.¡±

    ***

    Nick¡¯s family and Rebecca arrived at the meetup point, which was near the Eastern gate. The three vehicles sat in a row, and the girls looked at them with excitement, and Lumos waved at them as they approached.

    The vehicle was not at all what he had expected, and neither were the other two motorized carriages. They looked a lot like one of the larger, expensive golf carts or utility vehicles people might own.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Nick¡¯s had three rows of seats with a fourth facing backwards, allowing him to pretty much bring all his wives along if he needed to.

    Jasmine would take some special consideration, but that was a difficult problem to worry about.

    The other two vehicles had trailers hooked up to them and were a little thicker, which would allow them to tow a significant number of goods. There was even a short seat on the roof of them, which would allow for a scout to have a better view with their Overwatch skill, and an ability to respond to threats with their bow.

    For now, it appeared that the trailers were filled with just a few items, what looked like tents and some wood for a few small constructions where they set up their pilgrimage.

    Nick arrived near Lumos, a little awed by what she had created. ¡°What¡¯s this, Lumos? It looks cool, but I thought we were going with the motorcycle or tricycle.¡±

    ¡°I know, Master, but then you brought me such good materials! I figured it was better to make three vehicles and make sure you had enough space for all your wives. This should make for a much more comfortable ride!¡±

    ¡°You made three of the special motors? How?¡±

    ¡°There were a few cores from the drakes slain for being able to generate heat. Then, you provided the cores perfect for coolant. It runs on a similar concept to the steam engine, just without coal. I used the Alpha Drake¡¯s Core for Jasmine¡¯s Nexus Core.¡±

    Nick was impressed as he looked them over. He even noticed seat belts and several normal features he¡¯d expect from cars on earth. ¡°How fast can these things go?¡±

    Lumos beamed. ¡°Almost as fast as you can power the motor! But I think with the roads being what they are, and the draw on your mana, averaging around forty miles per hour is about the best you can expect even if you take turns driving. But in a pinch, as fast as a hundred should work. I would¡­advise against going that fast, though. Not every component can handle that sort of stress, and the roads are not good enough for that.¡±

    They spent some time going over the maintenance and fuel, and how to handle problems when they came up. Overall, driving the vehicle would be little different from driving a car, or even a golf cart on Earth.

    There was no gas pedal, speed was managed by merely supplying his mana through his hand into the steering wheel, and there was a foot pedal for the brake. It also had levers for most of the toggles such as the headlights and windshield wiper, much like he¡¯d expect.

    The transmission was automatic, only having a park, reverse, and drive functions on a lever on the steering wheel. In all, it would be an easy transition for him to learn to drive it.

    Eirwen was handed various spare parts in the case of a problem, but Lumos assured them that the vehicle was reliable.

    ¡°This design is common on other shards, and you provided excellent materials. I¡¯m confident in this.¡±

    Nick narrowed his eyes on Lumos, suddenly, he felt way too weird about how useful this automaton was. ¡°You are amazing, Lumos. How is it that nobody else on this shard has cars? Are there no XG-21¡¯s besides you on this shard?¡±

    ¡°Nope! I am a one of a kind here. Why, bringing me to a frontier shard is prohibitively expensive!¡±

    Nick arched his brow. ¡°More than a forever five thousand gold a year fee? Why¡¯s that?¡±

    Lumos put a hand on her hip, and wagged her finger at him. ¡°Bringing stuff here doesn¡¯t cost merely gold. When a Frontier Shard is formed, Orion wants a level playing field to earn ownership over it¨Cit¡¯s part of how we can Test ourselves and become more. People can choose to be reborn and start over from scratch, in order to compete¨Cin addition to paying a price. Every person, item and piece of knowledge has a cost in both essence and coin, as they give an unfair advantage. The cost even increases as a faction brings more and more people here.¡±

    Rebecca frowned. ¡°I know some of this, as many of these details are outlined in the different Path books. But why is that? Why would they choose rebirth over climbing higher in an Ordeal?¡±

    Lumos answered, ¡°When it comes down to it, the essence on every shard is limited. There can only be so many Ordeals. So many slots to Test one¡¯s self in them. As the population grows and dominant families like Nick¡¯s get entrenched, essence thins and, more often than not, favoritism and nepotism completely takes over. Eventually, there is no opportunity for most people to become more, and become an immortal, unless you are favored by one of these families. A shard can only grow so much.¡±

    Nick thought this touched on a lot of what Lothar was feeling when he had left his family and started his raiders, conquering Nagduros. This shard had stagnated since the Path of Kings hadn¡¯t been claimed, and because nobody could defeat his father and establish the Open Relay.

    Things would be even worse with immortals ruling and handing down slots to their children, the rest just fighting over scraps of essence outside of the Ordeals in comparison. If those families didn¡¯t progress higher in the Ordeals as the population increased, it meant the essence would thin or stagnate.

    ¡°I see. So becoming an immortal is some kind of special milestone that levels the playing field somehow? And allows others to come to this shard and compete for the established Ordeals in some way.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Because immortals¨C¡± Lumos froze mid-sentence, and tilted her head. ¡°Huh, that¡¯s weird. It¡¯s like I don¡¯t know why, but I should.¡±

    When Lumos didn¡¯t continue, Eirwen said, ¡°You mentioned the cost to come to a shard was based on a number of factors, and your knowledge seems quite extensive, and valuable. With your knowledge, you could easily get a major foothold on the economy of the entire shard here.¡±

    ¡°Yup! Why, someone could almost send an entire army instead of me, and attempt to claim this shard that way instead!¡±

    ¡°And Orion would let that happen?¡±

    ¡°It would if they paid the price! After all, it costs essence to form a new shard! It¡¯s kind of Orion¡¯s way of having Ordeal Owners pay for its own expansion.¡±

    Nick frowned as he thought of the implications. Just how did the Bishop get something as special as Lumos, and at such a cheap price? Worried about the possible¡­collection agents, Nick had already paid the 5,000 Gold fee for the year. With what he just learned, he¡¯d have paid more than double with a smile. Lumos was so powerful that Nick could more or less print gold.

    Still, Nick wanted to know more about what brought Lumos here. ¡°And the Bishop had special ordered you?¡±

    ¡°Mmm¡­ I¡¯m not privy to how I was obtained, but I do know that the bottled Concept and the artifact from Seraphara were special ordered by Brutus and Samuel, after I outlined what was required. How they got them into this shard is unknown. As powerful as Darkrock is, I don¡¯t know if they really deal with things stolen from a goddess! As cold-hearted as they might seem, they are just merchants who want to make money. Angering a goddess is not good for the bottom line!¡±

    Nick¡¯s blood ran cold. That more or less meant that they had powerful backers outside the shard, people who invested heavily in the Bishop¡¯s success, even risking the ire of a powerful goddess. Someone wanted to claim this Frontier Shard, and they paid heavily for these plots.

    Looking at Eirwen and Rebecca who had grown quiet, it seemed they had put these details together as well.

    That topic finished, Nick looked back at the cars again. He asked, ¡°So these kinds of cars are common on other shards, huh?¡±

    Lumos nodded. ¡°They are, but flight is often the most common choice for travel. That or teleportation among those in the higher stratum.¡±

    Nick was shocked. ¡°Flight? Why didn¡¯t you just build planes then? Seems like you ought to be able to do it.¡±

    Lumos chuckled. ¡°It¡¯ll take me a bit of time, and I could use some additional resources. What you might not know, is that Orion has turbulent winds laced with dangerous essence higher in the sky. It takes sturdy materials and a decently powerful aura to protect the aircraft. I suppose your Frost Aura would help, but the people of Orion favor large airships over fragile winged aircraft, and for good reason.¡±

    ¡°It sounds like that¡¯s a ways off then. Alright, thanks for your help, Lumos. If you ever need anything, please let me know¨Cand I¡¯ll make sure to make it happen.¡±

    ¡°As long as you keep developing your technology and focusing on allowing the professions to thrive, I am happy, Master! I am excited to see your special crafting rooms in your Heritage, so please get those as soon as you can! And Winny, there¡¯s a catalog of marked important goods for me and the crafters in there.¡± Lumos pointed over to the spatial sack, where she had provided the spare parts and tools for emergencies, and went over to help the others.

    Some orc warriors and scouts loaded up on the vehicles, and got used to the controls. Overall, driving the vehicle was not all that complicated. With their cars being the only ones on the roads, there was little to be worried about as long as they went slow.

    Jasmine had helped them get loaded up, and now she looked at Nick with a smile. ¡°I guess this is goodbye for now, Master. I intend to catch up to you in a week or two, once I¡¯m ready, and consumed this.¡± She retrieved a small wooden box from the pouch in her chest, revealing the bottled Concept.

    It was certainly a Concept related to light, as the energy was bright even with the sun high in the sky. But Nick could tell it was different from Jasmine. Most likely, she would merely use the light energy to fuel building up the essence of her own Concept, rather than skewing herself toward whatever was contained within.

    Since she had already established her Concept, it was a part of her very own soul. However, she needed to build up the essence within her cores to spark it into existence once more, and that was a problem in her current body.

    Jasmine beamed down at it. ¡°This is a wonderful shortcut! Lumos is going to help prepare the Nexus Core in the Enlightenment Chamber, and I am going to¡­prepare myself, for it. We got really lucky with those dumb bandits!¡±

    They really did, but on some level he understood. Wherever it came from, whether an Ordeal, Trial, or some merchant they robbed¡­they would not have many people compatible with such a Concept.

    Among the people in Shadowvale, and likely many of Blackthorne¡¯s allies, it was a polar opposite of their power, and it made sense to Nick that they would not have consumed it, and held it as a bargaining chip.

    Not only that, but now that he knew she was using a Nexus Core like Brutus had, it made even more sense. It was a significant financial investment to even accomplish it¨Csomething like the Alpha Drake¡¯s Core did not grow on trees.

    He motioned for Jasmine to come down for a hug and a kiss, sharing his warmth and love with her before they left as he was engulfed in her large chest.

    Jasmine gave a happy sigh. ¡°I know Winny will take good care of you, but just think really hard that you want me with you, and I¡¯ll come running!¡±

    Nick knew that when she tried real hard, she could probably catch up rather quickly through the forest. He looked up at her, ¡°You know I would like you by my side, but I¡¯m glad you have some goals of your own. You¡¯ll be helping with the monsterfolk too, right?¡±

    ¡°You bet! I¡¯ll help run some more beetlefolk. They have a lot of trouble with the first floor in particular, and they don¡¯t communicate as well with the orcs as the kobolds, snakefolk, and wolflings. I can handle helping them a bit better than Fang and Luna can.¡±

    Luna and Fang bounded into him, and said their goodbyes. With promises that if they did a great job training their brethren, he would give them all the head pats and belly rubs they wanted, they dashed off to the Training Grounds with fierce determination.

    The party loaded up and entered the vehicle. Nick sat in the driver¡¯s seat, but would probably be taking turns with the girls. Winny sat in the passenger seat, with Kaya, Rebecca, and Sable in the middle row.

    They took off out of the city at a decent pace, only a few people noticing the odd vehicles. The motor let out a quiet hum, and only bounced lightly as it drove down the dirt and gravel path. The orcs placed themselves a distance in front of and behind Nick¡¯s party, the scouting women using their skills as they sat on top in a watch position.

    Overall, Nick was impressed with how the odd vehicles were designed. Even if not very aerodynamic, they worked well as a troop transport in a dangerous environment.

    Rebecca noted, ¡°The ride is not as bumpy, and much more comfortable than I imagined. These wheels and that suspension you talked about work much better than the carriages we¡¯re used to.¡±

    ¡°Who wants to drive next? I don¡¯t need to take a break for quite a while at the orc¡¯s pace, but you might enjoy it.¡±

    Kaya gasped. ¡°Oh, me! I wanna try it! Ever since that motorcycle ride, I¡¯ve wanted to.¡±

    ¡°Alright. When the orcs switch in an hour or so, we¡¯ll switch out. Make sure you watch what I¡¯m doing.¡±

    Kaya nodded with a smile, the girl¡¯s hair whipping through the air as they drove down the trail as Nick started describing the different controls. It would be a day and a half or so, but their first family road trip was underway.

 Book 3 - Chapter 4 - The City of Silverbrook

    Silverbrook came into view just a few hours into the second day. What had taken an entire week, even with the faster and stronger horses of Orion, took about 15 hours of actual driving. They had caught up to the bike riders and camped with them the previous night, and it was now just past noon as they drove over the hill and the city became visible in the distance.

    Overall, Nick was impressed with the bike riders. They had averaged well over twenty miles per hour, even with a few hours of breaks per day. It was in large part due to how strong the essence users of Orion actually are in comparison to humans from Earth.

    Knowing the priests and priestesses mixed in physical training as a part of their development as clergy certainly helped Nick wrap his head around this. The orcs were stronger and faster, so even while they were armored heavily, they still kept pace with their scouts and the humans of Zura.

    However, only a few of the priests had been allowed to join the pilgrimage. Frederick once again made an apperance, but the rest were to continue with their atonement and purification back at Frosthaven.

    Each of the girls had taken their turns driving, though Kaya was nearly a lost cause. Her animal-like tendency to watch everything she spotted in the forest as they drove by caused her to drift off course constantly, nearly sending them into a ditch if Nick wasn¡¯t watching.

    He shuddered to imagine what would happen if Fang drove, though perhaps Nick¡¯s warnings and orders to keep an eye on the road would keep her focused.

    Nick had an easy time focusing on the sights as Eirwen drove the vehicle in its final stretch, Nick sitting at her side in the front. Silverbrook was a massive city compared to Frosthaven, though Havendale might have been comparable¨Cif it wasn¡¯t all ruins. There were several layers of walls, a sprawl of urban development and farms protected at different distances.

    Watchtowers could be seen on the outskirts, meant for protecting against bandit attacks as well as potential difficulties with monsters. But Nick could tell they had kept the farms short, as Frosthaven had nearly half the number of farms already.

    While Nick and his party came from the West, there were also roads heading South and Southeast out of the city. Nick noted that the road heading Southeast was paved with cobblestone, the road heading South ending up near Shadowvale and having a few other branches Blackthorne¡¯s bandits would frequently raid.

    Despite Lothar¡¯s success, they likely hadn¡¯t cleared the forest of all the bandits. But taking down three major bandit camps and a minor one was significant enough of a blow that they would definitely have to be selective with their targets.

    As Nick¡¯s three vehicle caravan neared the first tower, they were waved down by a guard. Thankfully, it seemed they were already expecting Nick¨Cthe Lord of Silverbrook and his mayor had already received a prompt of the other lord¡¯s arrival within the city¡¯s Control Radius, probably sometime yesterday.

    They got the okay to continue, after letting them know about the around a hundred orcs and humans on bikes on their way. It would be a week or so before the horses and carriages arrived because the crafters of his city were still working on them. None would be motorized like his, but they would move people and resources just the same.

    Eirwen noted, ¡°It¡¯s nice of them to put us up at an Inn. I was excited to pick something out for us, but it looks like we¡¯ll get to stay in one of the nicer places.¡±

    Sable smirked at Rebecca. ¡°We¡¯ll have to make sure we can accommodate for this priestess to have her own room, though. At least for now.¡±

    Rebecca blushed. ¡°For now?¡±

    Sable¡¯s smile grew wider. ¡°Yes, for now. We all know how this story ends.¡±

    Nick looked back at Rebecca over his shoulder. As always, she looked flawless in her immaculate habit. ¡°Even so, I¡¯m enjoying our courtship. I¡¯m content to win over both you and your goddess. You¡¯re worth the effort, Becca.¡±

    She smiled at him. ¡°Thank you, Nicholas. I¡¯m excited to see you help those in need here in Silverbrook, but I am also eager to spread Seraphara¡¯s Wisdom. It¡¯s been a while since we¡¯ve had such a great opportunity.¡±

    Kaya frowned. ¡°Didn¡¯t you send people on pilgrimages and similar? Or try to¡­convert people that came to Zura?¡±

    ¡°We¡­did, but the reality was that the area was not¡­that conducive to pilgrimages. One of the nearby cities banned it as they had their own religion, and several of the paths were either pricey due to tolls and protection fees, dangerous, or quite long and arduous.¡±

    Nick arched his brow, though that tracked with what he saw from one of the priest¡¯s Judgements he had done. ¡°I thought near the core, things were a lot closer together than out here. Didn¡¯t you have a lot of places to choose from?¡±

    ¡°That is¡­true, but not entirely correct. Ordeals were likely closer together at some point, but they are often destroyed or merged through Conflicts. There are also some Ordeals that heavily alter the nearby terrain. The arduous path I mentioned was a large mountain with the tower at its peak, and the cultivators at the top only rarely see the value in Seraphara¡¯s Wisdom.¡±

    Winny drove the vehicle through the main city gates, the third set of walls they passed through. These were stronger and sturdier than the previous ones, clearly built by essence from the Ordeal itself.

    Other than a few people turning to look at their odd vehicles, Nick¡¯s caravan passed through without much fanfare, though it took some time.

    The place was crowded, with dozens of people and carts lining the streets. Nick¡¯s utility vehicle just barely passed through the main boulevard, with some maneuvering and waiting for people to move. The inn in question was nearly a mile into the city, putting them not that far from the Ordeal.

    There was over ten thousand people here in Silverbrook, and it was a melting pot of the North. Nick saw orcs, humans, elves, dwarves, and numerous races of beastfolk. What Nick didn¡¯t see a lot of though, was monsterfolk.

    Nick was shocked at a particular detail as he stepped out of the vehicle with the girls striding to stand next to him as they all took in the surrounding area.

    ¡°The air here feels so stilted. And it¡¯s not just the bad smell.¡±

    It seemed there was not much access to a decent sewer system within the city for all the residents. On their way in, they had seen a shanty town area, and most of the buildings had been built high up, many around four stories.

    He¡¯d be impressed if it didn¡¯t look dangerous. He supposed that the wood on Orion was simply stronger, but the cobbled together mess was worrisome looking.

    Rebecca took a deep breath. ¡°It¡¯s the essence. Too many people in the area is making it thin.¡±

    Kaya was looking at the city with wide eyes, her ears and tail flicking around. ¡°It¡¯s even worse than Havendale was. I¡¯m really surprised.¡±

    Eirwen was about to add to that, but a man stepped out of the inn in front of them, and began walking toward them with what looked like a young employee of the inn.

    The man was wearing a black top hat, with a well-tailored black suit with a silver trim. The man was a brown-haired elf that looked in his early thirties, but that didn¡¯t mean a whole lot for elves on this world.

    When they reached the second stratum like the man in front of him, they could live several hundred years easily. The man¡¯s soul gave Nick a good impression, seeming like the average law-abiding person.

    But what Nick was most surprised about, was that Nick felt something a little different from the man which he was not expecting. The only thing he could think of was that it was a form of kinship.

    Like meeting a fellow countryman abroad, it was like he instantly felt a sort of connection with this man. The only thing he could equate it to was that the man was an elf, and Frostalfs were a descendant race of them.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    The man¡¯s voice was cheerful, and he looked pleased to see Nick by the smile on his face. ¡°Lord Noblefrost, I presume! Welcome to Silverbrook!¡± He walked up to Nick, and reached out his hand for a shake. As Nick met his and matched his firm handshake, the man continued, ¡°I¡¯m Mayor Allen, as you might have guessed. It¡¯s good to meet you all!¡±

    ¡°Likewise, Mayor Allen. Thanks for your hospitality, I didn¡¯t expect to meet with you upon arrival.¡±

    Mayor Allen pulled back, standing a respectable distance away. ¡°It¡¯s certainly not every day we welcome another lord! Lord Silver is excited about our new neighbors, and what you have already accomplished. Mighty fine work, your Honorable Raiders crushing those bandits! No doubt more shall return, but our people will all breathe a little easier for a while. Now who are all these lovely ladies?¡±

    Nick introduced his wives first, each nodding at the mayor in turn. The girls had left their weapons in the vehicle when they had dismounted, but otherwise were wearing much of their combat gear.

    ¡°A fighting family! How exciting. To conquer that Path of Kings means you all must be quite the elites.¡±

    Eirwen¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You know about it?¡±

    The elf laughed. ¡°Of course, you must have no idea how many people have gone through over the years, how many expeditions have ended in failure. There are records of a man who tried almost his entire lifetime, bringing numerous parties with different makeups, all in hopes of defeating the final boss and claiming it before he gave up and moved on. But you and your people managed it! Congratulations.¡±

    Nick smiled and thanked him, before he gestured to Rebecca. ¡°And this is Rebecca, the Arch Priestess and acting Bishop of Seraphara in Frosthaven.¡±

    ¡°Ah, a pleasure to meet you as well. There are many in Silverbrook that could use your compassion, it¡¯s a very fortunate thing indeed that you and your clergy have decided to come here.¡±

    Rebecca asked, ¡°Are there no other healers here?¡±

    Mayor Allen sighed. ¡°There are¡­but there are not many who are proficient and willing to give their services free of charge. The poor have difficulty scrounging up enough funds to receive skilled treatment, and many are in dire straights due to the¡­crowded nature of the city, among other problems. There are many with old wounds that are suffering.¡±

    When it came to healing, it was much easier to deal with a wound that hadn¡¯t healed over yet. What Mayor Allen was likely talking about was missing limbs or similar injuries, which would take several times the effort, even for a low-level target.

    The orc shamans could handle these types of injuries, but it would take a significant investment of time and effort even from them. A healer of a lower level, even more so. The priestesses of Seraphara were on a whole other level, and made healing wounds on low-level targets look easy.

    ¡°Now, these vehicles of yours are quite eye-catching! The inn has a place for parking your carriages, if you just follow the stable boy here. Let¡¯s get you settled in here at the Silver Chalice, then I¡¯ll show you the place reserved for the Pilgrimage of Seraphara.¡±

    They parked their cars in the stables, which had some areas for carriages. The orcs detached their trailers and locked the parking brakes. Without the keys to the vehicle, it would be extremely difficult to move them.

    The orc soldiers and scouts secured the goods and materials brought, and started to make their preparations for their own stays. Most of the more expensive items would remain on their persons within their spatial items.

    While theft might be something to be concerned about, they would have to trust their patrons to prevent it on some level. Several town guards patrolled the street, this being the nicer area of town¨Cnear where the climbers lived.

    Mayor Allen looked impressed as they finished parking everything. ¡°Excellent. Those things are quite maneuverable, aren¡¯t they? Are you able to make more of them? I can see many of the merchants interested in owning these vehicles.¡±

    ¡°Not for sale at the moment, but we do have something else that will be¨Cwe¡¯ll be taking orders for them soon. You¡¯ll see them arriving tomorrow.¡±

    The mayor had them follow him through the city, and he pointed out a few good places to eat and shop. There was a merchant¡¯s guild, which was several stories and massive. Multiple warehouses and shops sat across from it, thought there were also what looked like apartments built on top of them.

    Mayor Allen noticed his gaze above. ¡°The crowding is a major problem. Lord Silver has stretched his coffers and his Ordeal to the brink of collapse to support all of these people. It has been¡­a downward spiral, thanks to the bandits.¡±

    Nick arched his brow. ¡°Is it that difficult to deal with bandits? My orcs are skilled, true. But it seems like a city of your size should have access to plenty of resources to counteract the threat. There were only a few hundred enemies in those woods.¡±

    The gentleman elf sighed. ¡°They were always one step ahead of us. We hired many mercenaries and even came after them with the town guard and some of our climbers. But we only won minor victories, unable to find their true hideouts. The bandits would come back, more numerous and even more devious and damaging to our people.¡±

    Eirwen shared a look with Nick, and he thought he could tell she was thinking the same as him.

    Blackthorne likely had a mole here in Silverbrook.

    ¡°Ah, here we are.¡± Mayor Allen spread his hands wide, ¡°The Central Plaza.¡± He gave a proud smile, and there was much to be proud of. Numerous levels of shops lined the plaza, almost like Nick¡¯s mall but outdoors. There was a bazaar and various other special structures, including a small amphitheater and what looked to be an auction area with seating and a raised platform.

    Mayor Allen pointed off near the center, where it was devoid of tents, a few signs laid out that indicated the area was reserved.

    ¡°It¡¯s not much, but you may set up your clinic and pilgrimage here for the time being. If you would like to proselytize anywhere in this plaza, you may, and anywhere in the city is fine as long as it¡¯s with small groups. You can even reserve the stands over there for a fee, if you so choose¨Cit¡¯s where we hold auctions and other special sales. Lord Silver¡¯s only requirement is that you do not approach anyone wearing a silver or bronze mask. Those are our esteemed climbers, and are an important resource for our kingdom.¡±

    Rebecca asked, ¡°That is not a problem. You said we cannot approach. What if they start speaking with us?¡±

    Mayor Allen replied, ¡°Of course, Lord Silver¡¯s climbers have their own free will. If they approach you, you are welcome to speak with them and let them know what your Goddess is about. He merely asks that you are not¡­aggressive about it.¡±

    Rebecca smiled. ¡°That¡¯s no problem at all, Mayor Allen. While we are here to hopefully gain some adherents and clergy, we are only interested in a gentle approach. We will let our actions speak for themselves, and if people are eager to join us, we will be happy to give them the opportunity to see the value in Seraphara¡¯s strength through wisdom and compassion.¡±

    ¡°Wonderful, and of course, that matches with what we¡¯ve all heard about Seraphara and her adherents, we just wanted to be clear. That aside, while Lord Noblefrost and his wives are welcome to stay at the Silver Chalice, I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s a little much to board so many of your clergy and your soldiers¡­¡±

    Nick smiled. ¡°Not to worry, Mayor Allen. Those on pilgrimage will be happy to sleep under the stars in a camp outside the walls, and our soldiers may do the same, but alternate renting rooms at their personal desire. We even have decent transportation to come and go as we please. We may like to rent a small warehouse for a few weeks, however.¡±

    Eirwen and Rebecca both squared away several details about their visit with the Mayor, and it appeared the merchant¡¯s guild would be a prime target for much that they needed to take care of.

    Nick eventually said to the mayor, ¡°Thank you for taking the time to ensure we had everything we needed, Mayor Allen. I know taking some people off your hands is a favor to Lord Silver, but if there¡¯s anything you or Lord Silver needs help with, I¡¯d be happy to aid you to repay your hospitality as Lord Noblefrost.¡±

    ¡°There is¡­something, but I will leave it for another time. Let¡¯s get you and your people settled for a few days, and then we¡¯ll talk. If you require anything, either see the owner of the Silver Chalice or come visit me at the City Hall.¡±

    They said their farewells, leaving them in the plaza. The bustle of the people was evident, the place extremely busy.

    Eirwen said, ¡°So, we got until tomorrow before the soldiers and clergy arrive on their bikes. What should we do for now?¡±

    ¡°Well, I think it¡¯s high time I took my girls shopping. There¡¯s stuff from all over the shard here, and I know this one here is going to go berserk if she doesn¡¯t get something in that stomach soon.¡± Nick thumbed over to Kaya standing behind him, and she whipped his face with her tail as she coughed¨Cher appendage actually stretching to more easily connect.

    She didn¡¯t take her eyes off the meat skewer vendor as she did it though, more or less proving Nick¡¯s point.

    Winny giggled, her ears wiggling. ¡°I¡¯m starved as well, I could definitely go for some food before we shop!¡± She whispered to Nick, ¡°But what should we do about¡­¡±

    Nick smirked as he looked around. There were several evil souls about, more than one watching them. ¡°Nothing yet. Sable and I might try to have some fun in the evenings, once we¡¯ve settled in.¡±

    ¡°Then after that, we can go after some bad guys, right Boss?¡±

    Nick chuckled. ¡°Right. We¡¯ll just make sure we get the lay of the land first, and find the best way to make an impact. We wouldn¡¯t want to get thrown in jail for killing bad guys, or letting the bad guys know it¡¯s us.¡±

    Rebecca frowned. ¡°You are seeing evil people here? Will¡­our people be in danger?¡±

    Kaya snorted. ¡°It¡¯s a good idea to be guarded, but these people are the kind that would only act in the dark¨Copportunists. You should definitely not allow any adherents or clergy to travel alone, though.¡±

    Rebecca arched her brow. ¡°That is¡­normal, in a big city like this. But I take it the problem is worse than just that?¡±

    Nick nodded, thinking about how bad a few of the souls were. They were definitely as bad as the souls of the rogues he fought in Zura. ¡°That¡¯s right. Ultimately, Blackthorne likely has his men in this city. We¡¯ll see what we can do to send them packing, since we have the law on our side here. You just look out for your people, and I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    Rebecca gave him a look of determination. ¡°We have learned from our previous struggles with the wicked. All of my priestesses and I have been training since we established our Faith cores. Those that come at us with ill intentions will harm us no longer.¡±

    Sable chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s lovely to hear. I can¡¯t wait to see these girl¡¯s strong backbones.¡±

    They would do their best to enjoy their extra time, seeing the sights of the city. Because tomorrow, things were likely going to be busy.

 Book 3 - Chapter 5 - Nick and Jasmine - The Pilgrimage

    The girls had fun with their shopping, picking out various outfits for wearing around town or at home. Luna and Fang wouldn¡¯t miss out, as they made sure to grab them special items as well. Exploring and shopping, they spent a few hours before it got dark.

    They stayed at the Silver Chalice for the night, and Nick¡¯s family was pleased with the accommodations. Nick and Kaya went back and forth teasing about his lordly lifestyle, and they had a good time before heading to bed for the night.

    There was definitely plenty of room in his large suite, which had several separate rooms for servants and more, but Rebecca headed back to her own room for propriety¡¯s sake. There was also a small dojo which Nick had practiced his Blade Wave with Kaya before heading out, a routine he planned to repeat daily.

    Nick¡¯s morning was spent at the merchant¡¯s guild, meeting with a few business owners. It appeared that the guild was one of Lord Silver¡¯s special buildings, the inside of it expansive with plenty of room for various businesses.

    Many traded all over the shard, and could get specialty items so long as Nick had the coin¨Cwhich he did. However, it appeared a round trip on the ship was several months. That left him needing to be very selective about what he ordered to arrive at a later date.

    He had a lot of funds, but those would only last him so long. Lumos¡¯s fee, unless they drastically improved their income by delving deeper into the Ordeal, would leave him with very little income from the Ordeal each year. He would have to make money selling bikes and other products, and grow his city further.

    Overall, Nick was impressed with how the inside of the Merchant¡¯s Guild was larger than the outside, and the building¡¯s size was already substantial. The special Ordeal building likely benefited the merchant classes in numerous ways, granting them quests in which to receive Orion¡¯s essence upon completion.

    They marked a few shops for supplies for their kingdom, but their intention was to wait and see just how many people they would convince to come back with them to Frosthaven. They gathered contacts for the can¡¯t live without types of purchases, and also gathered details on meeting with mercenaries under the guise of gaining escorts for their many caravans.

    The bikers arrived in the early afternoon, and Nick was once again more than a little impressed with their pacing. Nick¡¯s party along with the early arriving orcs built up four small pavilion style tents, taking all the space provided, just before they did.

    Signs were placed out in front of each of the tents, detailing in Orion Common just what would be provided. Free healing was to be provided at one of the tents, with food at another. One was for Nick¡¯s orcs and his people, meant to coordinate anyone wanting to settle in Frosthaven, promising homes and jobs.

    Lastly, a free talent check tent, which would determine if they had the affinity to join Seraphara¡¯s Clergy, and could become a Climber of her Ordeal. They would likely spread details about Seraphara at all the tents, but it was there that they would go much further into detail about Seraphara and trying to convert people into adherents and join them in Frosthaven to visit her awe-inspiring Cathedral.

    Nick looked over the tents and the people bustling around with surprise. People were already starting to line up and ask questions about what was going on, and the priestesses were quick to spread the word.

    Rebecca looked on with a bit of pride. ¡°It¡¯s already looking like our trip was worthwhile. It¡¯s been far too long since we¡¯ve had so many new people interested at once.¡±

    ¡°You did get some people from Havendale interested, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    Kaya snorted. ¡°Yeah, right. Probably had a few wondering how much they could sell off the stolen books at the first merchant they met.¡±

    Rebecca blushed. ¡°W-Well, I wouldn¡¯t go that far. But few were interested in the lifestyle, even if they desired the¡­benefits. There was also¡­a single family of orcs that joined!¡±

    Nick chuckled. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t think most orcs are interested in strength of wisdom¨Cthey are about the strength of the axe. Though, I suppose shamans are all about wisdom. Maybe in time, they will join you.¡±

    Rebecca smiled. ¡°They are welcome to join us in our libraries, we invite all to seek enlightenment.¡±

    He looked over everything again, smiling with pride at how well it was already going. ¡°Well, it¡¯s about time for me to start on this aspect of my Quest.¡±

    Sable hummed, as she looked over his quest entry. ¡°Heal five souls, free ten slaves, and convince ten to become adherents of Seraphara while on the pilgrimage, right?¡±

    Kaya looked at the people lining up, many needing healing. ¡°That last one seems like the toughest one. How¡¯s Nick of all people going to convince people to follow Seraphara¡¯s teachings?¡±

    Nick snorted. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean¨Care you doubting me again?¡±¡± He grinned as he thought of something fun. ¡°You want to make a bet on it, Kaya?¡±

    Kaya blushed at his look, and her ears went flat on her head. ¡°N¨CNo, never mind.¡± She cleared her throat, and pumped her fist. ¡°Boss is the best, of course he can do it!¡±

    Nick arched his brow. ¡°What the hell is that? You okay there, Kaya?¡±

    Sable laughed. ¡°Fang¡¯s not here, so she took her place.¡±

    Nick smirked, and stepped toward her to scratch her ears at the base. ¡°That¡¯s a good girl, Kaya. That¡¯s right, you can count on me. Leave it all to your boss.¡±

    Kaya blushed, and looked a bit disturbed at how much she probably enjoyed his little reward.

    Eirwen giggled, her tail swishing back and forth behind her. ¡°That was cute! But I don¡¯t think I¡¯d bet against Hubby on this one.¡±

    Rebecca smiled, her wings fluttering behind her. ¡°I¡¯d love to see how he does. Completing the Divine Concord is a respectable goal.¡±

    ¡°Alright, lemme get one of those monk outfits. I¡¯m gonna knock that goddess¡¯s socks off.¡±

    Rebecca¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°W-What? Why would¡­¡±

    Kaya laughed. ¡°That one of your weird expressions again? At least it¡¯s not something related to butts this time.¡±

    Nick scratched his head, trying to think of the meaning of his phrase. ¡°I guess it means¡­ I¡¯m going to surprise her so much, it¡¯s like she got knocked down, her socks falling off? I don¡¯t¡­ Anyway, that¡¯s what I meant¡­kinda.¡±

    Despite the communication issue, Nick changed into one of the priest¡¯s outfits¨Cacting on behalf of Seraphara¡¯s clergy for his Quest made him, at least temporarily, part of the church.

    While Eirwen and Kaya spent much of the day in the tent with the settlers, Nick spent it working among the tents of Seraphara. His special brand of healing was rare to be required, but his Soul Sense had become even more sensitive as his Soul Rating and Power had increased.

    He felt when something wasn¡¯t right, and found a young child with a condition much like Winny¡¯s.

    A mother entreated the priestess, ¡°I have taken her to see all the alchemists and doctors in the city. None can help her, only treat her symptoms. She is sick much of the time¡­¡±

    The priestess ran her faith energy through her, and she shook her head. ¡°I cannot seem to find anything wrong with the patient, though I can feel the damage within her. I don¡¯t¡­see a cause.¡±

    She seemed to catch Nick¡¯s approach, and she recognized that he might be able to help. ¡°Oh! Maybe Lord Noblefrost might be able to help. Can you check?¡±

    Nick nodded with a smile. ¡°I¡¯d be happy to. Please, allow me to check your daughter.¡±

    Placing his hand on the young girl¡¯s back, he felt the small orb of her soul with his magic. While he could see that her soul was damaged much like Eirwen¡¯s was, feeling it was a bit different. It wasn¡¯t nearly as bad, perhaps, the essence absorbed wasn¡¯t as much, or something else had caused a fracture.

    ¡°I should be able to help. It seems she might have absorbed some foreign essence into her core.¡±

    The woman was shocked. ¡°That¡­ You know that, but you can help? I heard¡­ nobody could help with that. P-Please, I¡¯ll do anything!¡±

    Nick shook his head, but gave her a reassuring smile. ¡°You don¡¯t need to do anything. Seraphara teaches us that as Folk, compassion is a necessity of civilization, not a luxury. I only ask that you and your daughter seek wisdom in your lives, and spread the word of this pilgrimage to those who might hear it.¡±

    Calling upon his spell, he cast Soul Mend without the words. His magic wrapped around and cradled the child¡¯s core, filling in the cracks and restoring it with a soothing light. Nick could tell the effect was even greater than before, as he saw some of Rebecca¡¯s provided faith energy rushing inside through his spell.

    This appeared to help feed the core of what it needed better, and the child only looked a tiny bit drowsy, a small smile on her face from the soothing energy from his spell.

    It brought a smile to Nick¡¯s own face, seeing the child¡¯s smile. ¡°There. Get some food in her, as she will be tired from the healing. Bring her to me tomorrow, so I may check on her.¡±

    ¡°Thank you so much! I will. I¡¯ll come back, and I¡¯ll learn more about this¡­Seraphara.¡±

    The mother took her young child, and Nick noticed Rebecca smiling at him. It was then he noticed a bunch of the priestesses doing so.

    ¡°What is it, Becca? I found one I could help finally.¡±

    ¡°Nothing, you just seemed so¡­different. You did well, you were just like one of us!¡± Her smile was wide, and her blue eyes were shimmering in delight.

    Nick smiled at her. ¡°It¡¯s the robes. I feel like if I¡¯m wearing this, I gotta be at least half as nice as you gals. I¡¯ve never been much fore role play for myself, but I can see why people do it now. It¡¯s kinda fun.¡±

    Rebecca blushed, her wings fluttering. ¡°I¡­do like how they look on you, and I felt how you gently shared Seraphara¡¯s wisdom to the mother and child was¡­ quite attractive.¡±

    Several of the other priestesses in the tent looked over with blushes and furtive glances. It seemed Nick¡¯s priest role play session was winning him a bunch of points with them.

    Spending much of the day healing others, Nick had found two others that needed his brand of soul healing, moving him forward in his quest. Later, he recruited an adherent by helping convince them to join them in Frosthaven when they were on the fence. Sensing their souls, he was able to vaguely tell what was wrong or why they were reluctant¨Ca strong guess.

    He had felt one of their sins, and guessed that they were ashamed of their past. Offering for them to earn their forgiveness by paying it forward and helping others and focusing on the impact an adherent or clergy of Seraphara could make, the person eventually accepted.

    The other, they feared about their safety.

    Nick wasn¡¯t even sure how he guessed it, but it was like when the person lied about joining them with the caravan later, he could feel the reason somewhat. It wasn¡¯t that Nick had a truly empathic ability, it was just that their soul wavered as they said the words, and it was like he could feel it was somewhat related to fear.

    So Nick came up with an idea on how to address that. He addressed a few of the priestesses in the tent set aside for affinity tests and recruitment. Rebecca and Marissa were both there, among others.

    ¡°Ladies, why don¡¯t you demonstrate to others the strength of wisdom and purity? It seems that the safety of those that follow Seraphara is a concern.¡±

    They went outside the tent, and they called over a few of the orcs with their weapons. They lined up across from several of the priestesses, and a crowd began to form as they watched what was happening.

    Nick and everyone got to see how Rebecca and the other priestesses could defend against attacks.

    The orcs marched forward, brandishing their weapons and ready to strike. An aura spread from the priestesses, containing faith energy from their cores.

    Rebecca led their prayer. ¡°By the grace of Seraphara, let your heart find peace, and your violence find no outlet. Pacification!¡±

    The pure white energy started to cover the orcs, and weighed down on them. Their steps slowed. The ability and its effect was almost like Nick¡¯s Frost Aura, with the priestesses layering them on top of each other. Several of the orcs frowned and dropped their weapons outright as they got close, confused looks on their faces.

    One of the orcs roared as he activated his blood rage, allowing him to somewhat overcome the effect as he marched the final few paces forward.

    The orc swung his sword at Rebecca, causing the crowd to gasp¨Cbut the sword was covered in white light, and Rebecca caught it with an open hand. With a pull and twist of the blade, she brought the shocked orc forward unbalanced, and then she stepped in and threw them over her shoulder, his body slamming onto the ground with a thud.

    While the orcs somewhat struggled, the priestesses quickly tied up the orcs, who could barely fight back against them. One managed to punch out, but it was like the slap of a child, the woman brushing it aside as she continued her efforts.

    Nick could see that a number of the men in the crowd were skeptical. ¡°I see some of you have doubts. Would any of you like to try? See if you can attack through their aura of peace, but just keep in mind¨Ctheir power is even greater within Seraphara¡¯s Cathedral. All those who bring violence to her peaceful temple will be turned away.¡±

    He happily handed out a few maces and blades to a few men that looked like mercenaries, and none of them fared any better than the orcs. Many had their violence removed entirely, especially since they did not actually wish the nuns harm.

    All but one, but even he could not manage to harm one of the other nuns. His blade struck the woman¡¯s shoulder, but it was much like the punch from before. The crowd clapped and started to line up to join as adherents or clergy, and Nick found his quest had shifted by several members all at once.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    When the crowd had dispersed somewhat, Rebecca came over to him. ¡°That was a brilliant idea! It seems they did not understand the strength of Seraphara¡¯s Wisdom. Thank you, Nicholas.¡±

    Nick smiled. ¡°That was even better than I imagined. Why didn¡¯t you use that ability on the overseer, or the demons we fought? It seems useful.¡±

    Rebecca shook her head. ¡°This aura really only works when their violence is not being met with violence. It might work for a brief moment, but the pain from attacks will bring them out of the trance. So would a party coming after them with weapons, as they¡¯d feel danger and fear¨Cand so they¡¯d shrug off the effect.¡±

    Nick thought he understood it. A lot of their ability to pacify people might be due to their knowledge that on some level, they would not come to harm by Seraphara¡¯s faithful if they relented. ¡°Hm, so this is why the paladins paired with you would use their clubs to knock enemies out and disarm them. They have their own peaceful aura, thanks in part to their desire to do no permanent harm but protect others, is that right?¡±

    Rebecca beamed, smiling with pride. ¡°That¡¯s right! You can see the strength of Seraphara¡¯s wisdom. Part of why it worked against even that blood raged orc was because we overwhelmed him. A stronger foe or numerous coming at us with violence would have been much more difficult, but you can see how peaceful resolution can be found more often than not.¡±

    Nick agreed with her, and let her know about his quest, and how it had five people had been convinced already.

    ¡°That¡¯s wonderful, Nicholas. We are seeing a lot of people interested, and it¡¯s thanks in large part to the prospects of Frosthaven. The bikes, the orc raiders, and even rumors about you, are getting people to come here in droves.¡±

    ¡°About me? What¡¯s this now?¡±

    ¡°What that mayor said, about you defeating the Path of King¡¯s tenth floor. It seems many understand you must be a prodigy. Your race is even being mentioned. They think you are a Rebirthed genius from a powerful faction of Frostalfs.¡±

    Nick stroked his chin. ¡°I wonder how I can use that. I suppose I can¡¯t just scare away bad guys with threats from my faction, since this is a Frontier Shard. But I guess it helps explain why I might have so much money and a few other things.¡±

    A sultry chuckle came from the shadow nearby. ¡°I see you¡¯ve been doing well, Boss. I¡¯ve been exploring the city, and probing some of the sketchy areas. This ability of ours is such a cheat, it¡¯s too easy.¡±

    Nick smirked. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. We Frostalfs are amazing at seeking evil. Tell me about what you¡¯ve found.¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s surprising. I¡¯ve found some underground tunnels they use to steal people and goods out to the river, and thus the ocean. It leads to several warehouses as well.¡±

    ¡°How did you find the underground areas?¡±

    She grinned. ¡°My control over shadows is getting even better. I can feel them from further away, and make them flow like water and shift them to ice, and it goes into the cracks with ease. Besides, when a scent is heavy and you¡¯re following it, then it disappears, you know something is near.¡±

    That she found it in a single day showed that there was a huge problem here in Silverbrook, and it was quite worrisome.

    ¡°Good work. Let¡¯s just keep gathering information for now. We¡¯re going to be here for up to a month, and I want to get the lay of the land here. We¡¯ll be meeting with mercenaries, the slave traders, and anyone else that matters in the city soon. It¡¯d be bad if we cut a bunch of people down and have to run early.¡±

    ¡°You got it, Boss. I¡¯ll try to find those involved for now and get you some names.¡±

    ***

    ¡°Are you sure this is going to work, Lumos?¡±

    Jasmine stood within her enlightenment chamber. It was an odd, spherical room with channels for essence, much like the Blade Soulforge¨Cjust significantly smaller, and the colors more¡­prismatic.

    Lumos shifted a tile on the floor in the center, placing the odd replacement. It was like a special gridded mat, but was covered in glyphs.

    A sort of pole held a prism up above, and the pedestal nearby the mat held a Nexus Core. It looked like a small, dark, spherical honeycomb¨Cthe size of a marble. It was devoid of nearly all the original essence, ready to absorb its new essence and be bound.

    ¡°Yup yup! Well, I¡¯ve done what I could, anyway. The enlightenment chamber is configured to send in pure light essence, and I¡¯ve refined the Alpha Drake Core into a proper Nexus Core. For the bottled Concept, it¡¯ll somewhat be up to you, of course. I think you should definitely wait to absorb it, until you¡¯ve built up the core a few levels.¡±

    Jasmine sighed. ¡°I know you¡¯re right. It¡¯s just frustrating because I got a lot of stuff I wanna do!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a good idea to rush something like this. I know you¡¯re talented with essence though. Masters of Essence are the peak of anyone on this shard, most likely. Who knows what you can accomplish.¡±

    ¡°Hm. I¡¯ll go by how I feel, then. Thanks for your help, Lumos. You¡¯re awesome!¡±

    ¡°Hehe, you¡¯re welcome, Jasmine. I¡¯m off to look over what the crafters are working on. We need to build tons of equipment, even for our loggers and stone carvers, and equip a ton of monsterfolk for the Ordeals!¡±

    Lumos left, leaving Jasmine alone in the odd room.

    Nexus Cores were a means for people who lacked compatibility in their bodies to absorb essence that would otherwise be painful or impossible for them to absorb, though some used it as a means of passively cultivating.

    By filling the Nexus Core with environmental essence, her body, mind, and soul cores would slowly and safely be suffused with the energies, harmonizing her with them. The eventual goal was to ingest the core and merge with it, allowing it to remain within her body.

    Usually, cultivators could only form a core that was highly compatible with their bodies, related to their bloodlines or other capabilities within them.

    One could establish a Concept Core, but that was often through a similar means of harmonization. Ideal, Class, Path, all actions leading to harmonize a person until they form a Concept, and then eventually creating a core from that very same energy.

    A petrasilk had nearly no compatibility with light, which was a pure element. If she attempted to establish the core the normal way, it would end up weak¨Cdefective.

    Jasmine walked up to the Nexus Core. Activating the pedestal, the essence was pulled into the channels of the odd, spherical room. The prism up above lit up, and beams of light scattered all over the room.

    All to be reflected back, and focused on the Nexus Core. It glowed white, much like her original body had¨Cif they could see her soul.

    She rested her spider torso on the tile, and essence from the Ordeal was suffused into her. One might think that this was a little backwards. If the owner of the Ordeal can just use the essence from within it, then why bother delving within it, endangering themselves?

    It was because the density would be limited to the maximum floor they reached. They could still benefit and level up beyond their current completed floor, but eventually, they would become stuck, or it would become a detriment to continue.

    It also heavily consumed the essence from the Ordeal which could be used for other things. Because Jasmine was using this room, this meant that she was drawing it from resources like the Frostspire mines, utilities like the Genesis Chamber, or from constructions of other buildings.

    Jasmine would do the best not to waste it. She drew the essence in from beneath her, and began her visualization. Nick was using chains and ropes, a fitting choice for him. She had decided on a special lattice¨Ca web. Before she was a folk, she merely ate everything. So much easier. Now she had to do this¡­cultivation thing.

    Forming the lattice around her body, of the mind, body, and soul essence, she projected it with her aura¨Cand into the Nexus Core.

    The lattice overlaid the light energy, binding her mana and essence, along with the pure light essence, to the core.

    But it wasn¡¯t instantly. It took hours and hours, Jasmine¡¯s attention nearly waning as she covered it with her aura, and the light of the chamber. It took forever, until the core finally was suffused with both her energy and the pure light, and it made a connection to her¨Cdown to her very soul core.

    A pathway was created between her and it, and the ball of pure light energy became like an extra, magical limb to her.

    [Nexus Core Created: Light Core. Purity: Grade A.]

    [+.25 Body, +1.5 Mind, +1.25 Soul, 0.3 Mind, .25 Soul Per Core Level past Level 10]

    [New Class choices now available.]

    It was a method common among casters. As she cultivated in this room, she could build the cup that was the Nexus Core into a larger one. She could use it to fight, and spend the contents of the cup, without affecting its level. If she had to, she could sacrifice the core for a singular, powerful attack and start over.

    Like a gentle rain, the essence from the core cascaded over her. She drew the essence into her cores, mixing it with the essence from the mat beneath her. The process went rapidly at first, only a few hours more of sitting there. After the core was brought to level 12, however, the process came to a near stop.

    The essence just wasn¡¯t dense enough to continue. The Samurai Ordeal had reached Level 12, and Seraphara¡¯s Ordeal Level 19, but the Path of Kings still only had level 10 completed. It would take many hours to fill the Nexus Core now, and she could leave it within this location to build up.

    But what was this, new classes available?

    [New Classes Available: Luminous Weaver¨CEpic, Shining Attendant¨CRare Support, Stonelight Guardian¨CRare]

    [Luminous Weaver¨C2nd Stratum Epic Class. +.75 Body, +1.25 Mind, +.75 Soul Per level.]

    [The Luminous Weaver is a sorceress class that merges the arcane powers of light with the intricate weaving abilities of a petrasilk, able to craft dazzling stonelight constructs and launch searing beams of energy. At later levels, unlocks powerful offensive or defensive traits. Starts with Stonelight Loom, Ray of Lumina, and Shimmerbind traits and skills. Note: Spells Require Light Nexus Core presence.]

    That sounded like just what she wanted! It embodied a lot of what she was capable of before in her old body!

    But she couldn¡¯t help it. What about the Shining Attendant? That sounded a lot like a maid!

    Looking it over, it had a neat aura that actually energized and improved the speed of allies, and light constructs that would keep things clean¨Clike magic brooms. A shimmering curtain that blocked projectiles, and buffs that did similar to the aura¨Cenergized her allies. It sounded fun, but clearly inferior to the Luminous Weaver.

    She made note of the names of the skills, as maybe she could find copies of them later. As much as she loved the idea of devoting her class to Master in that way, she knew it was an inferior choice.

    Selecting the Luminous Weaver Class, her body shifted as it was altered by Orion. She actually lost several levels, bringing her all the way back down to level ten, when she had been almost level fourteen with her common class from all the hunting of demons she had been doing at night.

    The Stonelight Loom trait altered her webbing, slowly creating a minor reservoir of the mixed energy webbing inside her¡­spider body.

    Using her normal webbing would still be possible, but her body would slowly infuse small amounts of it with light energy, which she could infuse into spells such as Shimmerbind, or weave into interesting constructs.

    The Ray of Lumina was merely a beam of searing light, and it was not anything all that special compared to what she could accomplish in the past. She would have to go somewhere else to try it out, though.

    Probing the Light Essence within the Nexus Core, it responded immediately. It lifted off the pedestal and floated to her. Placing it in a simple rope pendant around her neck with the loop Lumos had left on the core, she would keep it close by unless it was on this pedestal, gathering the environmental essence.

    The chamber could store up energy, but only to a certain limit. As she retrieved the core, the prism at the top of the room began building up essence, the beams of light being reflected toward it instead.

    The choker Nick got for her might be even better for it, but she would have to wait until he gave it to her¨Cof course, she always used her connection to snoop on him and everything he was doing!

    Before she left the chamber, she took out the box containing the bottled Concept.

    Jasmine could feel the light inside, like a warmth or heat, just waiting for her to consume it. But the Concept inside was like a blinding light, the pure nature of illumination. Hers were nearly all based on the energy of light. By empowering light photons, they could enter a solid state, making hard objects and surfaces, or energize them into devastating beams of light.

    Of course, that was her understanding now, that she had learned some science and seen dozens of sci-fi movies with Nick on Earth. Before, her body was light, and could transform from solid to intangible, and even outside the visible spectrum at her desire! This was just how she could rationalize it now.

    But with a sigh, she closed the box and put it away. She was not quite ready to shift the Concept, and she could feel it. Earning a few more levels was necessary first, as she harmonized with her new class and Nexus Core.

    She left the enlightenment chamber in a hurry, heading to where she could do some proper tests.

    Heading down the streets of Frosthaven, many scurried out of the way of her towering form, but many waved hello. Because most of her activities were done late at night, few had even seen her except the followers within the mall.

    The city was becoming more and more impressive by the day, as people continued to work and improve upon it. While Mayor Steinweld may have foolishly used the slaves¡¯ labor as a ruse to get access to them, the work to rebuild various buildings was very real and still underway.

    Some ex-Havendale people along with numerous orcs and people from Zura chopped trees, collected stone from a quarry by the lake, while others used them to reconstruct the ruined buildings in the city.

    Jasmine arrived at the Training Grounds, finding Lothar and Agatha training the orcs and new monsterfolk. Kobolds, snakefolk, and wolflings would constantly stream into the city, spending time in the wilderness but also integrating with the people of Frosthaven.

    Luna and Fang would spend some time teaching them Orion Common, but it was a very time-consuming process to learn a language and be unable to speak it. Teaching their old tribe and the Ironpaw wolflings tribe was far easier than the new kobolds and snakefolk, and the beetlefolk¡­ were a special kind of challenge.

    A small group of beetlefolk were trying to follow the instruction of an orc along with some kobolds, but they bumped into each other clumsily, their bodies somewhat bulbous and unsteady on their feet.

    She had seen them acting much more coordinated before, when she watched the beetlefolk by themselves. It seemed they did not work together too well with the other races, perhaps their need for the sound of clicks and the stomping of their feet to orient themselves in the din of combat was a necessity.

    It was a problem that they would need to overcome on their own, for the most part. But she would do her best to help them.

    She strode near them, her spider feet stomping in their direction. Their antennas quivered as they felt her approach, and she looked down on them with an unimpressed gaze. The orc had the sense to stop what they were doing, everyone watching her.

    Jasmine looked at each of the beetlefolk, meeting their many compound eyes. ¡°Beetlefolk¨CIf you want to become more within Lord Noblefrost¡¯s Kingdom, you must learn to fight alongside others. Do you want to become stronger?¡±

    The beetlefolk hesitated. It seemed very little of what she said was really understood. They clicked their mandibles and stomped their feet, wanting to know more. They did want to become stronger, at least.

    ¡°Soon, I will take you all into the Path of Kings Ordeal. See your flaws, and hold in your hearts the desire to fight alongside others, and you shall change. It¡¯ll be a speed run through, so prepare to bring lots of food and essence pearls!¡±

    The beetles tilted their heads, and clicked and stomped. It seemed they didn¡¯t quite get it. She motioned to the kobolds and snakefolk around them, ¡°Try hard to better fight with friends, fight in tower, become more. I will help.¡± During her speech, she had pointed at the tower, and then made a ring with her arms around her belly and made it expand, as if she was becoming bigger.

    Their antennae vibrated, and they clicked and stomped happily. It seemed they got it now. This was going to be a¡­very troubling Tower Climb with probably many pantomimes, but it needed to be done. For Master¡¯s Kingdom.

    Heading over to the archery training area, various targets were set up across a proper range. They looked like little straw men with targets and bulls-eyes drawn on them, and were kind of cute.

    It was time to test out her Nexus Core. Filling and mixing the essence inside it with her mana, it behaved mostly how she hoped it would.

    She tried the Ray of Lumina spell as it was granted to her. A condensed beam of light energy blasted from her Nexus Core, and shot at the straw target. It burst into flames, a hole pierced into it with a mild woosh sound.

    ¡°Not bad, but nothing special.¡±

    Raising her finger above her head, she formed an orb of light. It glimmered in the sun, a brilliant white light pulsing as she infused it with mana and essence.

    She then pointed at the target, forming a gun with her hand. ¡°Pew¡­pew!¡±

    The effect was much more substantial. Numerous beams of light struck out in rapid succession, miniature lasers being fired repeatedly. Like a chain gun, she fired hundreds of little beams and riddled the targets full of holes in just a few seconds as she fed her orb construct continuously.

    For good measure, she gathered her body essence and her webbing, mixed with the light energy, and like throwing a ball, she shot out an orb which wrapped around three of the straw men.

    Jasmine grinned at the result. The gestures were merely for fun, and she could do this while wielding her shield and weapon. Unfortunately, refilling the light essence took some time out in the sun or in the chamber, for now. Until she synchronized with it a lot better, and her body could supply some of it.

    It was time to go hunting. Jasper the frostwarg was heading up North a lot, and perhaps she will go with him. But only for a bit¨Cshe needed to drag some beetlefolk through the Ordeal. She had to work on her transformation and this light core. With enough effort, maybe she could spark her Concept without the bottled Concept, and gain a lot more from it once she did.

    It would be a busy week or two, but she didn¡¯t want to take too much longer than that. She wanted to accomplish her goals and join Nick in Silverbrook as soon as possible, after all.

 Book 3 - Chapter 6 - The Secret Hero

    A week quickly passed by, with Nick completing his quest several times over, minus freeing the slaves. The pilgrimage was already a resounding success, with gathering hundreds of settlers for Frosthaven, and adherents of Seraphara. Even a few handfuls of clergy, including several potential paladins that would begin training.

    Nick had even met with the more neutral mercenary captain. He wasn¡¯t really what Nick wanted, as it didn¡¯t appear that he would be willing to join as a Follower, in the end. When the going got tough against Blackthorne, Nick knew the guy would buckle and flee¨Cor turn on Nick for the money.

    Still, Nick was doing his best to muddy the waters by meeting with him¨Che didn¡¯t want there to be a rumor that he went to meet the anti-Blackthorne mercenary leader first when he arrived. This one was available in the Merchant¡¯s Guild, as many would often use him for caravans heading East.

    Nick would wait a little longer before meeting the person who had a bone to pick with Blackthorne, likely after he had the full lay of the land. Sable had been working hard in mapping everything out at night, and following the negative elements around Silverbrook in the evenings. During the day, she often slept, so she wasn¡¯t much present for their pilgrimage activities.

    And of course, Nick did his best to reward her every chance he got¨Cusually in the mornings just before she headed to bed, after a full night of reconnaissance. Her capabilities in the night appeared to be nearly unmatched, thanks to her nose and ears, small stature, and her slightly-monstrous instinctual control over magical shadows.

    The orcish scouts, even from their enhanced watch towers, were unable to detect her when she pushed her sneaking capability to the limits. She now had the Sneak skill, but often didn¡¯t use it thanks to the effectiveness of her Camouflage ability when combined with her control over magical shadows.

    He was still deciding on what to do to handle the threats that she¡¯d outlined, and he thought he was close to making his first moves.

    Gathering food supplies for their trip to Frosthaven and once they arrived became a challenge, so Nick sent the orc scouts into the wilderness to begin hunting and gathering it. The cost of food in the crowded city was high for such a large expedition, so he would use them where he could.

    Some wolflings would be arriving with the first set of wagons soon, so he would gladly assign most of them to this task continuously. Silverbrook did have hunters, but thanks to the threat of bandit attacks, they did not travel that deep into the forest.

    Much of the food for the city came from the Ordeal, caravans from the East, or the many ships that arrived. Feeding over ten thousand people was difficult, but Lord Silver had numerous climbing slots and the loot focus set to food.

    Nick and his current bodyguard, Kaya, were now heading to the city hall to meet with the mayor¨Cbecause a message from Lothar had arrived, from Crown Sanctum to Crown Sanctum.

    Kaya was dutiful in her job, keeping her eyes wary.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you been bored this past week, Kaya? Nobody wants to start something with me yet. This place has been pretty safe.¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s when it¡¯s all the more important to protect you. That¡¯s the time people attack¨Cwhen you least expect it. As for protecting you, I like it. It¡¯s an important, honorable duty, and it keeps me focused.¡±

    ¡°Careful there, Kaya. You¡¯re saying protecting me is honorable, but you¡¯re always teasing me for being a lazy lord, or full of myself. That sounds contradictory.¡±

    Kaya sighed. ¡°Such is the tragedy of being an honorable warrior¨Cnever finding a lord truly worthy of serving. Pitiful as some lords might be, serving them is still a sacred responsibility I must suffer through.¡±

    She brushed her tail against his cheek and grabbed his hand for a moment, letting him know she was just teasing. He knew she did have profound respect for him and what he¡¯d already achieved, and she admired him both from the perspective of a warrior and as a woman.

    Walking through the city hall, it was a well-constructed building with marble floors and arched ceilings. Knowing it was a special building of the Ordeal helped feed into what Lothar had said about Lord Silver¡¯s Path. That it was related to governance and administration.

    A receptionist sent them down a long corridor, down to Mayor Allen¡¯s office. A secretary sitting outside his room let them in, announcing them before leaving and closing the door.

    Mayor Allen was dressed much as the gentleman elf like the first time they met him. He stood up, and walked over to meet with them near the door. ¡°Ah, Lord Noblefrost and Lady Kaya, I¡¯m glad to see you both! While I called you due to the message, I did think it was high time we met again.¡± He shook Nick¡¯s hand again.

    ¡°Likewise. The people of Silverbrook have been treating us quite well.¡±

    ¡°Ah yes, and thank your wife Lady Eirwen for me regarding her reports. It¡¯s been wonderful to know what we could expect from your caravans. With how many things are going to improve as a result, Lord Silver already feels he¡¯s in your debt.¡±

    Nick smiled. ¡°No problem, we have gained a lot, and we thank you for the opportunity. You had a message from Lothar?¡±

    ¡°I did. Please, sit.¡± He walked back to sit behind his desk, and Nick sat with Kaya at his side on their own comfy chairs across from the mayor.

    ¡°When Lothar originally came here, he said you were some species of half-elf, but I can¡­feel this is not the case¨Cto the point I wonder how he made this mistake. You are a¡­ Frostalf?¡±

    Nick nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. My family sent me to this shard recently, in hopes I could claim an Ordeal. I arrived close to Havendale, and formed a team to claim it.¡±

    Everything Nick just said was technically true, so he didn¡¯t even need to lie¨Che just allowed the mayor to form his own conclusions about what he meant. Even if he had to lie, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem¨Clies about his race and origins were necessary to protect himself and his people.

    Mayor Allen gasped in surprise. ¡°Close to Havendale? How odd. But being that you were by yourself¡­who can understand Orion¡¯s Will? I¡¯d like to hear more when we have time. I¡¯m sure your triumph was exciting! Here is the message.¡±

    Mayor Allen placed an envelope on the desk, and Nick opened it.

    It was a simple message, that a merchant from Shadowvale had arrived. It was a slightly coded message, where it described what was paid, though not exactly. Nick understood it was outlining the blood price that Turon from Shadowvale had outlined: twenty gold per bandit slain and a hundred per slave recovered. It didn¡¯t say this, but listed out a few other items or purchases and sales.

    All told, the butcher¡¯s bill was nearly ten thousand gold, an infuriating amount.

    But it also had a short message from Jasmine, to not worry¨Cshe¡¯d go on a trip south and see if she can get more seed¨Cthe coded item for dead bandits from the sale.

    Which made him very worried. It sounded like she was going to kill the merchant and get their blood price back, probably after they left Shadowvale and reported payment to the Mayor there. His maid was more than smart enough to understand the implications, so perhaps she would make it appear like a monster assault, or something.

    Closing his eyes for a moment, he did briefly check in on what she was doing. It was a little vague, but he definitely felt her trudging through the wilderness¨Cand Jasper was nearby. And¡­a large number of wolves. That would¡­probably work.

    The letter also described details about the caravan of wagons and horses soon to arrive at Silverbrook, and requested numbers so they could properly prepare for the return trips. Nick already knew it, but Lothar also mentioned that Fang and Luna had not yet emerged from the Ordeal with their parties.

    On the other hand, Jasmine had already done a speed run with the beetlefolk. They had all evolved, and he was seriously curious about how and what she had accomplished.

    His Wolfen Wives¡¯ Ordeal run had prevented Nick from meeting them in the dreams this past week, and he knew that most likely, they had pushed for the ninth floor¨Cat a minimum. Nick asked for paper and he penned in his reply to Lothar, handing Mayor Allen the Return message. He also included a request for the wolflings to hunt on the path during the trip.

    ¡°Thanks for passing the message on, Mayor Allen. Hopefully, it¡¯s not too much of a bother for Lord Silver.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s no problem at all, and he was fine with passing along the message through the Crown Sanctum. I¡¯m sorry, but I must ask. These¡­ settlers, they will be safe living in Frosthaven, right?¡±

    Kaya bristled at this, but Nick held out his hand to calm her. ¡°Of course. We¡¯ll make sure they arrive safely, and after that, they will be under my protection. What concerns you?¡±

    Mayor Allen hesitated, looking at Kaya, ¡°It¡¯s just¡­we know about Shadowvale, and that Blackthorne has likely reached out to you. We do wonder how you can bring so many people, when they prevent people from moving there instead. We know you are a lawful kingdom, but we still worry. Your city is new to this Shard, after all.¡±

    Nick understood Lord Silver¡¯s concerns. Even if he was willing to part with these people as his place was overcrowded, he wasn¡¯t so callous as to not care for them at all. This concern for the people put Lord Silver in a higher place within Nick¡¯s mind, as he was loyal to his duty, to his people.

    The man did not just want to hand these people over to be slain, and his fight for their safety was proof of that.

    Nick¡¯s voice was laced with his Soul Magic, a spoken promise of his future actions. ¡°These people will be protected like my own. When Blackthorne makes his rounds, I will pay whatever price necessary to shield my people from his greed.¡±

    ¡°That¡­was interesting. It felt like an Oath, but I know it¡¯s different. Yet, I can tell that was a promise¨Cthat you mean your words.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Soul Magic. My people are masters of it. I just gave a promise where if the spirit of it is not kept, it will impact me and my cultivation. It feels like the truth because it is.¡±

    ¡°Frostalfs¨Cno, your family, I guess. Interesting. Thank you for alleviating our worries. With that out of the way, we have heard rumors of your talents. You and the Clergy of Seraphara are impressive, having healed most of those that entered the tent, far more rapidly than any specialists we have ever seen. Even many who were rumored to be¡­unhealable.¡±

    Nick nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, those that follow Seraphara¡¯s Wisdom are exceptional, and I have a unique skill set too with my mastery of Soul Magic. Is someone you know in need of healing?¡±

    ¡°Lord Silver and a few of his Climbers¡­have a difficult condition. They are not sure what has caused it, but their progression has slowed. They have tried hard to push deeper into their Ordeal, but now floors that were easy before have become challenging for them.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯d be happy to help. Between Rebecca and I, we should be able to heal most ailments. I take it I should ask¡­ the Climbers, to know more about their problem?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, they will be more knowledgeable about the situation. We would be in your debt if you can help, and if not, we are still thankful for you trying. We will allow you to meet with the climbers first, but we understand that you might need access to Lord Silver himself to fully impact them.¡±Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    Nick frowned, surprised. ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Those who wear the silver masks are connected to him. It¡¯s a part of his power. We keep it mostly private from others, and it¡¯s a part of the reason for Lord Silver¡¯s seclusion. But he does appear occasionally, and a few have been able to detect this¨Cit¡¯s a somewhat open secret, that I¡¯m sure you¡¯d learn when you met them, anyway.¡±

    Kaya asked, ¡°What about the bronze masks? We have seen a few of these in town.¡±

    ¡°Those are the first stratum climbers, they are a bit less connected. Lord Silver¡¯s Second Stratum team are full-up, until he can progress further.¡±

    Nick knew that meant the man had not even conquered the fifteenth floor, though his limitations could be different. It was a little odd, but Eirwen had told him that Lord Silver had taken over at a time after Blackthorne had caused so many problems for the city already, before he had truly come to power. This whole difficult situation had been going on for a long time.

    They worked out the details for the meeting of the climbers, and they would be visiting one of them as early as tomorrow, and several more throughout the week.

    Mayor Allen looked satisfied with their plans. ¡°Was there anything else we could help with? Have you been getting the contacts you¡¯ve needed at the Merchant¡¯s Guild?¡±

    ¡°No problem with the Merchant¡¯s Guild, things have gone smoothly in there. But I was wondering if we could get some help with¡­issues with the law.¡±

    ¡°The law? I was not aware of any troubles¡­ though I did hear a few rumors from just today¡­¡±

    Kaya said, ¡°We have found some evidence of some¡­criminal elements in the city. We want to talk to or meet with those involved with upholding the law, to see if we can get help with dealing with these.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re sure of this?¡± Mayor Allen looked back and forth between the two of them.

    Nick nodded. ¡°We¡¯re sure, we¡¯ve found evidence of various underground tunnels. We worry about what the criminal elements can accomplish here with those.¡±

    Mayor Allen frowned. ¡°That is not good. But, you already have a meeting lined up with someone that can help. The Captain of the Town Guard is in fact one of the Climbers. You will be meeting with him first thing tomorrow, if that works for you.¡±

    ¡°That sounds great. We would like to work together with him, if at all possible. As you might understand, it¡¯s really best that my people and I are not seen as the ones standing against Blackthorne¡¯s men, or anyone that might be affiliated with him.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure he hopes to clear out the criminal element just as much as you, but we will keep this in mind in case you end up in conflict with them. I understand your reluctance to face off against the criminals yourself. It¡¯s not really your duty to maintain the order of Silverbrook¨Cit is ours. Still, if you discovered proof of criminal behavior, it seems you must be quite capable to succeed where we have failed. I appreciate your willingness to help us with your many talents.¡±

    Nick eventually said his goodbye, and headed back to the Pilgrimage in the town square. It was sunset now, and much of the crowds had died down. But as he stepped inside the skill testing and recruitment tent, he could immediately tell something was wrong by the mood inside.

    The priestesses had worry marring their faces, a pained look on their expressions. Several were gripping their habits tightly, and Rebecca was clearly frustrated, her wings fluttering.

    ¡°What happened, Becca?¡±

    ¡°Just¡­a series of unfortunate events, it appears. A bunch of nasty rumors have started, and it has all the ladies and new adherents worried. The guard showed up, as well.¡±

    Kaya growled. ¡°What rumors? And the guard? Where¡¯s Winny?¡±

    Eirwen entered the tent from behind them. ¡°Right here. I was just speaking with the guard for a bit. It seems they are taking our side on this, but want us to be careful and be on the lookout.¡±

    ¡°On the lookout for what?¡± Nick asked.

    Rebecca sighed, gripping her staff tightly. ¡°Thanks to your advice, we started going door to door. It was a wonderful idea, and it was working quite well.¡±

    Nick chuckled internally. He told them about how the Mormons on Earth operated, and with their bikes, they were going to go around door to door to spread their word with their pamphlets and polite smiles. The main difference is they included actual healing, but also offerings of food and more.

    Not everyone had time to come to the central plaza each day, and this way their people would be seen by the people around town more frequently.

    She continued, ¡°But today we received some threats that if we continued, they would hurt our girls. Then, it appears some people dressed up like our male adherents, and robbed someone. They were¡­unsuspecting because of our peaceful demeanor and appearance. But once again¡­¡±

    Marissa¡¯s eyes were watering up, and she continued somewhat distraught, ¡°Once again, people are using us to commit evil. Then, a note was left¨Ca threat. It says if we continue our work here, they will hurt us, and will make things even worse for the people of Silverbrook. The rumors are starting to spread, and some people are even blaming us for the person being attacked!¡±

    Rebecca looked like she had swallowed a bug, and the rest of the priestess¡¯s faces were filled with worry.

    Nick gave them a reassuring smile. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry much about those threats¨Cthere¡¯s no way they can get away with hurting your girls¨Cthey¡¯re not defenseless. Then, I don¡¯t think anyone believes you would commit these evils, and these guys would be robbing people with or without their disguises. They don¡¯t like what we¡¯re accomplishing in helping the poor, so they are lashing out, Becca.¡±

    Rebecca hesitated, ¡°I know, but¡­ I feel so helpless. We came here to help people, to do no harm. Are we truly powerless once again? Is evil just¡­going to walk all over us, and use us to harm even more innocent people?¡±

    Nick could see how distraught she was, with how she gripped her staff tightly, and how her face was scrunched up in pain. The Bishop had used the people of Zura for his evil goals for years, and the news of it brought their entire clergy into a pit of despair. It was only thanks to Nick and his family¡¯s heroism that they had brought the people of Zura out of it.

    But now, it was just like that all over again, even if the stakes were a lot lower. Her feelings were matched by the other priestesses.

    In truth, Nick had been worried about dealing with too many threats in the city, as it could easily come back to haunt him if Blackthorne or his subordinates ever found out.

    Sable could lead him through all the bad guy¡¯s dens, and Nick could safely clean house with any number of bandits. Their abilities were completely overpowered for finding and spotting evil, and with his new Concept, he could crush any scrub in just mere moments, with or without Judgement.

    But if he did that, the rumor would be that Nick showed up in town, then all the bad guys died before he left. Nobody would believe he wasn¡¯t related. He needed to have a shield, and at first, he was just going to try to work with the guard and hand over all the victories to them.

    Then Nick had what he thought was a much better idea.

    The Bishop had used the peaceful people of Zura as a shield to commit evil, and so did Blackthorne¡¯s bandits here in Silverbrook. Thus, Nick thought it was more than appropriate to use them as a shield to destroy it.

    He could not just do nothing. Not only would his heroic spirit he was cultivating reject this notion, but his Archaen blood boiled with rage at the idea that he would take these bandit¡¯s threats lying down, and let them commit evil near him.

    When Nick made his Oath to walk the Hero¡¯s Path, that didn¡¯t just mean when it was convenient. He would have to try to help, even if it was hard and dangerous. Even with this method, it could still get back to Blackthorne. But he thought he had a lot to gain from trying, and that Rebecca and her priestesses would gain the most.

    And Orion agreed. Nick nearly groaned as Orion descended as a result of his thoughts, and granted him a new quest from his Hero¡¯s Ordeal.

    [Heroic Quest received: Secret Hero of Silverbrook]

    [A bandit warlord rules from the shadows, his power far beyond you and your kingdom¡¯s. But a Hero cannot just back down and give up while the weak and innocent suffer. A hero may retreat and regroup, but he should take his pound of flesh before fighting another day.

    From the shadows, secretly aid the city of Silverbrook in weakening Blackthorne¡¯s Bandits and other evil throughout the city.

    Objectives:

    <ul>

    <li>Disturb Blackthorne¡¯s operations in the city, weakening his resources and increasing yours.</li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li>Hide your involvement from the populace, and keep any of Blackthorne¡¯s witnesses from reporting your people¡¯s direct involvement to Blackthorne before the end of three months.</li>

    </ul>

    Reward: Based on levels of completion of the objectives. To be granted on Pilgrimage¡¯s return to Frosthaven.]

    Nick frowned at the prompt. Why three months? And his plan was to return in under a month. He supposed Orion was all-knowing, was it going to look into the future? The whole thing was confusing, to him.

    However, there was already a timeline in his mind¨Cthat he wanted to be ready to make his assault on Shadowvale in under three months, just in case. Did it somehow know that?

    Eirwen was looking over the prompt, a small, proud smile on her face. Kaya looked just as confused as Nick felt.

    Rebecca, Marissa, and the other priestesses were looking at him, hoping that he could help, or provide some kind of reassurance.

    Nick smiled, as he strode to the center of the room at Rebecca¡¯s side, and addressed the priestesses around the room. ¡°I can see your frustration. But me? I¡¯m not worried at all. Because I believe in Seraphara¡¯s Wisdom. You girls are smart, and your path to peace and power is truly worthy of respect. It is far more powerful than some scrub bandits can ever comprehend, and I believe that from the bottom of my heart. How would you ladies like to be used for good, for once?¡±

    Ultimately, Nick¡¯s plan could backfire, and maybe it was pointless for him to try this path. After all, the moment Blackthorne¡¯s men suffered a setback from the priestesses of Seraphara, they could decide, no matter what happened or how, it was Nick¡¯s fault and they would send word to Blackthorne.

    But Nick thought it was important to try¨Cfor Rebecca and her clergy to truly redeem themselves. If Nick just swooped in and killed all the bandits from the dark, they would never feel like they could accomplish anything on their own. That the next threat would come, and all they could do was just pray that Seraphara or Nick would save them.

    And that was bullshit. These girls are strong, and he believed every word he just said.

    Rebecca frowned. ¡°Used? What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°You ladies have all grown. You have seen the many evils of the world. You are no longer the weak, naive priestesses that the Bishop exploited¨Cyou have survived the tribulations, formed your cores, and have become more. I believe you are all capable of being the heroes Silverbrook needs. Seraphara provided you the strength through her wisdom, and I protect your lives as Lord Noblefrost. Is there any reason for you to fear evil at all?¡±

    Rebecca¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°What are you¡­proposing we do?¡±

    ¡°I say we double down. Sable will give you a few areas for you to be¡­extra aggressive with, and we knock on even more doors. We lure them to attack you, and then we let nature take its course. They won¡¯t be able to touch you, and if they do, they will still be the ones to pay the price, not us.¡±

    Recognition started to fill the several priestess¡¯s features, as they started to understand Nick¡¯s plan. Rebecca said, ¡°I don¡¯t know, I like the spirit of your plan. But that sounds like you want us to deceive people? We are¡­not used to this.¡±

    Nick smiled. ¡°It¡¯s a light deception, that will do a lot of good. I want you ladies to take the lead on this. To come up with a system to accomplish your goals to spread Seraphara¡¯s Wisdom, prevent crime, and capture criminals up to no good. I believe you can do it, and I need your help.¡±

    Rebecca said, ¡°You do? You need our help?¡±

    Nick nodded. ¡°I might be able to defeat all these bandits myself, but I can¡¯t let it get back to Blackthorne that I stand against him. With the help of you ladies, I might have some plausible deniability. It will be Blackthorne¡¯s subordinate¡¯s failures for outing themselves and getting caught by the guard, and if you do it right, everyone in Silverbrook will think so too. Just who would believe a Clergy of Seraphara on Pilgrimage was chasing down criminal elements?¡±

    Rebecca began to tremble. ¡°You really¡­believe in us so? In Seraphara¡¯s Wisdom?¡±

    ¡°You know I do. I said it, and I say what I mean.¡±

    Rebecca dropped her staff, and embraced Nick in a hug tightly. Kaya caught the staff quickly before it hit the ground with a chuckle as Rebecca kissed him fiercely. A large amount of the faith essence flooded into him, its warmth in his chest surprising him.

    The priestesses all blushed and made surprised gasps, murmuring about the kiss.

    Rebecca backed off after a moment, her own blush covering her face as she looked embarrassed at all the witnesses, her wings fluttering in distress. ¡°S-Sorry. I just couldn¡¯t help it. I know¨C¡±

    Marissa interrupted, ¡°That was wonderful. We all wanted to kiss Lord Noblefrost, too. Just, on the cheek instead, since we¡¯re not courting. His words have given us all the strength we need!¡±

    The other priestesses nodded, fidgeting with their habits with a blush. Rebecca cleared her throat. ¡°Now, do you have a map of the city, with those known locations? We would like to begin¨Cto start our plan.¡±

    Eirwen smiled, as she retrieved a map from the pouch at her waist. ¡°Sure do. Sable is out and might be gathering more info, but here¡¯s the map from last night.¡±

    The other priestesses fervently nodded, and they started gathering their clipboards and arranging the desks in the room. They all had determined looks, and it seemed they were ready to work hard for their new goal.

    Rebecca quickly began organizing them on different tasks, assigning individual priestesses to certain goals. Nick only reminded them that it was important that for each thief or bad guy captured, they really need to sell it¨Cthat they were just as surprised at the attack and their successful defense as the bad guy would be.

    Nick rejoined his wives at the entrance to the tent, where they watched the nuns in action.

    Kaya noted, ¡°These nuns are kinda scary when they get like this.¡±

    Eirwen giggled. ¡°You said it! That was a great idea, Hubby. You¡¯re really going to let them handle this?¡±

    Nick nodded. ¡°As much as they can. There¡¯s a few areas that I think might be best to leave to Sable, Kaya, and I, but otherwise I want them to handle the bulk of this. I know they can do it.¡±

 Book 3 - Chapter 7 - Fang and Nick - The Plans

    Fang and Luna stepped inside the Path of Kings 9th Floor Safe Zone, the Oasis, with their party of monsterfolk. Dragging the sleds, Fang gave a happy sigh as the oppressive heat and essence gave way to a gentle breeze.

    ¡°Finally we made it. This trip was shorter thanks to the reduced difficulty, but it still took a lot longer than I wanted!¡±

    The three wolflings shook themselves off, their fur flinging sand everywhere. A snakefolk hissed in response as more sand was flung into their face, and a kobold glared at them.

    Luna chuckled at their methods of shaking out the fur¨Cit was something that didn¡¯t work too well for her any longer¨Cbut soon she wouldn¡¯t even need it, thanks to learning Clean from Eirwen. ¡°It was still almost four days. But our new friends have come a long way.¡±

    Fang looked over them with a proud smile. ¡°You have done great! The Boss, your Alpha, will be pleased at your success, I just know it!¡±

    As per usual, they celebrated with clapping and woo¡¯ing. The snakefolk had trouble with the latter, but they did their best.

    Fang had her hands on her hips, Luna having stowed away her shield already. ¡°Hm, but you still haven¡¯t evolved. The ninth floor had so much essence¡­¡±

    Luna shook her head. ¡°They are awarded some on kills, but this is limited. They are not yet cultivators. Most of their essence will come from food, or Boss Essence.¡±

    Fang suddenly smiled. ¡°Oh! I know¨Cwe just need to stuff them full of all these bugs!¡± She pointed at the sleds, which were stacked high with the corpses of creatures from their last fight. ¡°We¡¯re going to need you to eat all of this!¡±

    The snakefolk¡¯s eyes bulged, and they shook their heads fervently, and the kobolds whimpered. The wolflings titled their heads, and their tongus started to lull out¨Cthe Ironclaw wolflings were already used to eating centipedes and their chitin whole.

    Luna chuckled. ¡°Not to worry-we shall cook it together. We have up to twenty-four hours to rest. Let us use the most of it.¡±

    They dug a large pit, and set up a large fire to begin cooking the copious quantity of bug meat. The wurms were smaller and more manageable to bring this time, so they had a few cuts of the larger creature as well.

    It took some time to cook them up, but when it was time to eat, even the snakefolk were excited to try it thanks to the delicious smells drifting from their meal. They ate the monster meat happily, and the Ironclaw wolflings appeared to have a special essence technique which allowed them to consume more.

    The kobolds and snakefolk did their best to copy them, and were moderately successful with their body essence. That meant they managed to eat a lot of cooked bug meat¨Cwhich Nick said taste a lot like crab, whatever that was. The essence of the ninth floor meats was especially dense, only a bit beneath the drake meat they had eaten so much of.

    And eventually, the special moment arrived. The three Ironclaw wolflings began their evolution, and so did the one of the kobolds and one of the snakefolk. Fang cheered and helped bring them over to sleep in their hammocks, provided by Jasmine.

    Luna hummed. ¡°Hmm, maybe they must succeed on that Optional Test on the first floor. It¡¯s the downside of not having the tribulation for additional traits. Maybe we need to pass around that ore and demon cores from the Frostspire Mines¡­¡±

    Fang narrowed her eyes on the remaining three that failed to obtain a trait on the first floor and put her hand on her hip, and wagged her finger at them angrily. ¡°You need to work harder next time. We moved on so that you could get some more training before you tried again, but you failed the Boss, and yourselves!¡±

    The kobolds and snakefolk looked sadly at the ground, unable to meet Fang¡¯s eyes. They didn¡¯t fully understand what she just said, but they could feel her displeasure¨Cand it certainly had to do with them not evolving when their brethren did.

    Luna smiled, and tried to reassure them. ¡°Don¡¯t be so harsh on them, Fang. We both know you all have worked very hard for your Alpha. You are cold-blooded, it makes sense that you would have difficulties with the cold. You will have to work hard to overcome your limits and become more, so prepare yourselves for the next attempt.¡±

    The kobolds nodded, and the snakefolk flickered their tongues and swayed their bodies in response.

    Luna looked over to the ones covered in essence. ¡°They evolved, but I don¡¯t think we should go on to the next floor, Fang. You pushed them hard, but there¡¯s no way they are ready for the boss, weakened or not.¡±

    Fang sighed. ¡°I know. I wanna take it on, but we should be safe and head back. Next trip though¡­¡±

    ¡°Those who evolved will now be able to lead others through. They still need a lot of training to stand up to that final boss. We carried them through the fifth floor boss, and much of this floor, as it was. It would be best if we took another group next time.¡±

    ¡°Awww¡­¡± Fang sighed, her ears laying flat on her head. ¡°But I wanted to impress Boss¡­¡±

    Luna smiled, and hugged Fang from the side. ¡°Not to worry. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be happy with what we¡¯ve accomplished¨Cit¡¯s just the first week, after all. Even if Jasmine is scarily efficient¨Cbut she didn¡¯t take on the boss.¡±

    Fang¡¯s ears were still drooping. ¡°Just what did she do to those poor beetles? They all evolved, and in just a couple of days she made it here¡­ but¡­ just what is power leveling? They seem so scared of her now.¡±

    Luna checked the Menu for the clock. ¡°I don¡¯t know, all she said was pew pew pew when I asked. But let¡¯s put this all away and rest up for now. When they wake up, we¡¯ll help them get used to their bodies, and cultivate in the sandstorm before we leave.¡±

    They set up their own hammocks and all napped off their meal. When Fang and Luna woke up, the monsterfolk had finished their evolutions. The Ironpaw Wolflings had become Noblefrost Wolfen, the two girls and one male smiling and barking with pride¨Cthey hadn¡¯t been around long enough to fully learn Orion Common it appeared, and so they would need to spend some time with that.

    The Wolfen were learning it quickly though, picking it up rapidly as they talked.

    Only one of the three kobolds had succeeded in obtaining a frost related trait on the first floor, and only one of the two snakefolk as well. Both had blue-colored scales, and had become more humanlike.

    The evolved kobold became a slightly smaller human with a scaled tail, and blue scales tracing up their spine and around the back of their neck and to the front, near the clavicle. Some scales went down their sides and covered their feet and hands, along with wicked looking claws.

    Luna smiled. ¡°The kobold became a Noblefrost Scalefolk instead of a drakan.¡±

    The evolved snakefolk looked a fair amount like a human or elf, but with a snake lower body. They were still relatively small in comparison to humans or beastfolk, but their torso seemed a little larger than Luna and Fang¡¯s. They were much like the scalefolk in their upper body, in that there were scales interspersed around their neck and sides of their face.

    ¡°Oh! A Noblefrost Naga, huh. That¡¯s neat. This guy looks pretty tough! We¡¯ll need to get them some new equipment.¡±

    Fang looked over her new Wolfen tribe members. The girls both had blue hair and fur just like herself, and the male was covered in blue fur. He was also a fair amount larger, likely just short of Nick¡¯s height.

    Two handfuls of their thirty original wolflings had already evolved, so seeing that they could get the rest evolved so long as they received a trait on the first floor was a significant advantage.

    The three who failed to evolve looked on with envy, but their eyes eventually took on a determined look. They eagerly joined the sandstorm aura training, and did their best to copy what their evolved brethren were doing¨Ceven if their usage of aura as monsterfolk was simply different. They were preparing for when they could become more.

    Fang beamed with pride as she trained her new tribe members. There were many more to prepare, and they would do even better next time.

    ***

    Just like Nick had hoped, the priestesses had created a smart schedule where they would patrol around and visit homes within the many parts of town. The dozens of priestesses would in small groups and keep each other and the people of Silverbrook safe with their presence, but a lot of it hinged on one thing¨Cthat the Captain of the Guard approved of the plan.

    Nick, Kaya, Rebecca, and Eirwen were all heading to meet with this captain now, walking through the city early in the morning. Many of the people they helped over the course of the week waved hello, a majority of them being pleasant.

    Only a few scowled and made them feel unwelcome, and Nick easily smoothed this over with Rebecca. She had a wide smile as they walked through the busy city and saw all the happy people.

    Not everyone in the city needed healing, but many had a family member or friend that the clergy had helped in one way or another. The clergy and adherents also provided food in one of the tents, feeding the less fortunate¨Cthose in need of a free meal, much like the orphanage back at home.

    They arrived at the barracks, yet another special building supplied by the Ordeal. It was much like the training grounds but was perfect for soldiers to condition themselves and slowly level up. It would allow the town guard to reach a level above most of the people within the city.

    The presence of yet another special building once again showed how Lord Silver¡¯s investments had definitely been in his people. They had learned that there was even a fourth special construction: a seaport, complete with an essence-powered lighthouse and administrative buildings.

    It extended the essence control radius further into the ocean, and even protected ships moored there through minor weather and sea monster control.

    Since they arrived early in the morning, a majority of the town guard were in the middle of their drills. The barracks was shaped much like a small keep with a gate and a courtyard, the gate already open and allowing them entry.

    The captain of the guard was leading them through their drills, the men and women practicing with their weapons. Some were fighting off to the side with training weapons, and the masked elven man was watching over them and shouting out orders, his dagger-like ears peeking out of the sides of the silver mask.

    He wore a silver tabard and ornate chainmail armor with a rapier at his waist. The man noticed their approach through the courtyard, and called out to them. ¡°Ah! Lord Noblefrost¨Cright on time. One moment, please.¡±

    He shouted some more orders to his men, and walked over to meet Nick and his family. Nick had originally been concerned about meeting this man if he was complicit with Blackthorne¡¯s bandits, but seeing his bright soul, he knew it wasn¡¯t the case immediately.

    Getting a better look at the mask, it was a lot like one used in a theater, which covered the area around the eyes, but left most of the mouth and lower half of the face visible. It was a silver mask, with black filigrees with images of swords and shields drawn throughout.

    ¡°Thank you for coming to see me, Lord and Ladies Noblefrost and Arch Priestess. I am Captain Aronde¨CLet¡¯s head over to my office, and we¡¯ll be able to speak in private.¡±

    His party followed him into the stone keep, heading to a second level office. As they went in, Nick didn¡¯t really detect anything amiss within with his Soul Sense, so he was satisfied to know that the majority of the town guard likely wasn¡¯t a part of the criminal element in the city.

    The office was mostly spartan with little decorations, but the chairs and desk were ornately carved wood, and there was a secondary desk off to the side. A tanned elf woman was working on paperwork at it, and she stood at their entry.

    Aronde gestured to the elven woman, ¡°This is my assistant, Eleanor. She¡¯ll be monitoring the health check and likely helping with your request.¡±

    Nice to meet you¡¯s were quickly exchanged, Nick and the girls nodding at the assistant.

    Captain Aronde asked, ¡°Shall we get the health check out of the way, or discuss your request first? I¡¯m eager for you to take a look and see if you can help, if you don¡¯t mind.¡±

    Nick took a look now that he was standing closer to him, and found an odd haze wrapped around his soul. It made it difficult to see if there were any problems.

    ¡°Might as well. Rebecca, go ahead and go first.¡±

    Rebecca nodded and walked over. ¡°Excuse me.¡± She took his palm in her hand with her eyes closed, and Nick knew she was examining him.

    ¡°Nothing odd with the body, though you seem fatigued or stressed.¡±

    Aronde grimaced. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s been a challenge to maintain order, and climb monthly in the tower. Our runs have been taking longer, and we¡¯ve been accomplishing less and less. It¡¯s been a challenge to proceed safely with us being so fatigued.¡±Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    Rebecca smiled, and sent a wave of healing energy into him. The aches and pains within his muscles were removed, and Nick could sense that Eleanor had her own magical senses and aura, probing what Rebecca was doing.

    Meanwhile, Nick was watching the man¡¯s Soul Core with his Advanced Soul Sense.

    Aronde gave a pleased sigh. ¡°Ah, that is much better. Thank you for that.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome. I¡¯ll now check the health of your brain and mind core.¡± She spent a moment probing him with her magical senses. ¡°I notice that¡­there¡¯s a film, or aura, preventing me¨Cand it feels a bit different than you rejecting me. Is this¡­your connection?¡±

    Aronde sighed. ¡°It is. I figured this was going to be difficult. Normally, the mask is a strength, but¡­ it does appear to prevent other healers from properly diagnosing the issue.¡±

    It sounded a lot like the mask might provide an ability much like Nick¡¯s Soul Fortress¨Cbut probably directly for the mind.

    Nick asked, ¡°Is it possible to remove the mask temporarily?¡±

    Aronde shook his head. ¡°We cannot. It is not infallible, however. Can you try¡­sending healing energy, without properly gauging the problem?¡±

    Rebecca frowned. ¡°It is¡­risky. The Mind Core and the brain are both delicate, sending too much energy could harm you¨Ceven as pure as faith essence is. I could try sending a miniscule amount, but I doubt it¡¯d have much effect.¡±

    Nick decided to ask, ¡°When did the symptoms start?¡±

    ¡°Hm, I¡¯d have to say around a year or two ago. It¡¯s just slowly been getting worse and worse.¡±

    Eirwen and Kaya had stood off to the side, and Eirwen noted, ¡°That¡¯s a pretty vague timeframe.¡±

    Aronde sighed. ¡°Whatever¡¯s been happening among us that wear the silver masks, it has been slow and insidious¨Cwe hadn¡¯t noticed something was really wrong until about a year and a half ago, and it was then we¡¯d realized it had likely started before then. We have tried numerous methods, and some have helped¨Cmuch like Rebecca¡¯s healing. But none have had lasting effects. They only slow the decline.¡±

    Rebecca frowned. ¡°Yes, I see that. I already see the fatigue returning, and we¡¯re early in the morning besides. Do you want to try now, Nicholas? I¡¯d rather you try first, over the aimless healing.¡±

    ¡°Might as well give it a try. Let me take a look.¡±

    Nick approached from his back instead, causing Eleanor to arch her brow at him.

    He smiled. ¡°Just less awkward to reach the soul from back here, though less so for men. Excuse me.¡±

    When he was this close, Nick could see the small soul core much better. There were certainly some hairline cracks, and it wasn¡¯t just a haze on the soul¨Cit was a greenish hue that almost both felt and looked like a poison.

    ¡°I do feel something odd. I will try to heal it with my soul healing spell.¡±

    Aronde nodded, though Eleanor looked concerned. She frowned as she watched intently, and Nick had a feeling of danger as he was about to cast his spell. He arched his brow at her. ¡°Worried about what I¡¯m going to do?¡±

    Eleanor glared at him. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I be? The priestess has an aura of purity. As for you, your eyes glow in a strange way, and while I feel kinship with you as an elf, you seem¡­different, somehow. You also have a¡­dangerous air about you.¡±

    Rebecca folded her arms, blushing. ¡°I knew I wasn¡¯t the only one.¡±

    Kaya chuckled. ¡°I bet you like that part of him now, though.¡±

    Eirwen teased, ¡°You¡¯re one to talk, Kaya. But Nicholas is only dangerous to bad people. He¡¯s healed women and children with a warm smile on his face, and it¡¯ll be no different this time. You can reassure them, right, Hubby?¡±

    Nick nodded. ¡°Of course. I understand people will be reluctant to bear their soul to someone else, even a healer. However, I swear that I mean no harm, and I will attempt to heal Captian Aronde to the best of my ability, as an Expert of Soul Magic.¡±

    He only added the last bit to help reassure them, and the Soul Magic washed over them, his pledge to not harm the captain. Eleanor relaxed somewhat, and Aronde gasped in surprise.

    ¡°An expert of Soul Magic? Even long-lived High elves have difficulty obtaining such a level of proficiency. Please, continue.¡±

    Nick cast his spell¨CSoul Mend. It wrapped around the man¡¯s soul core, and it purged away the infiltrating essence, restoring the hairline cracks that appeared on it.

    The man sighed with relief as the weight was lifted off his soul, and a small smile touched his lips.

    ¡°That helped. I can feel it.¡±

    Rebecca and the girls beamed at his success, but Nick was watching and feeling closely. Whatever it was, it began seeping into his soul core again. ¡°I can tell. But I can tell the issue will return. The problem must be coming from your link.¡±

    Aronde nodded. ¡°It¡¯s what we thought, but we¡¯re not sure what¡¯s causing it. That you can help at this level is a huge boon. Perhaps if you heal us all within a short period, it will bring us back to fighting strength and we can expel it on our own. I¡¯ll let the others know to all come meet you.¡±

    Eirwen asked, ¡°How many others are there?¡±

    ¡°There are seven of us, including Lord Silver. Each with our own role of leadership and governance within the Ordeal and the city.¡±

    Nick arched his brow. ¡°Why¡¯s the Mayor not one of you?¡±

    Aronde chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s strange, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s because of two reasons. A Mayor¡¯s role of governance is too similar to our Governor¡¯s, Lord Silver. The second is to maintain the city and chain of command, in case the worse happens while we climb. If Lord Silver were to fall inside, Mayor Allen would become the new Ordeal Owner. You might find this somewhat common among certain Paths¨Cthat their Mayor is like the second in command.¡±

    Aronde clapped his hands. ¡°Now, let¡¯s hear your request. Please, sit.¡±

    The group sat, though Eleanor stood at Captain Aronde¡¯s side as he sat at his desk.

    Rebecca detailed their request. The plan was the town guard to alter their patrols, and to, in a non-overt way, monitor her people, and listen for any spiritual shouts. While the rogues might be aware of their pacification aura and may work against this, thanks to the demonstration, they should not be prepared for the effectiveness of the priestesses¡¯ spiritual shouts¨Cand their proficiency with their staffs.

    Because of what happened at Zura, Rebecca was far from the only one who had begun training with the staff among the priestesses. None of them were outright amazing with them, but even without their magic, they were far from defenseless. It was getting to the point that many of them could nearly act as paladins, and some had actually been given the option for the class.

    And some might ultimately take it. However, many were in a wait and see sort of mindset because they intended to recruit more paladins for Seraphara from this pilgrimage. So far, they had made quite a bit of progress and were successful in increasing the number of prospective paladins, and that number would increase among the settlers and ex-slaves once they arrived in Frosthaven and had more opportunities to see Seraphara¡¯s Wisdom in action.

    Captain Aronde was skeptical at first about the underground tunnels, but he was willing to play along until they uncovered the first one. Thankfully, the man understood the nuance required, and that they shouldn¡¯t just barge into the locations outlined on the map, as their enemies might just flee.

    Eleanor looked concerned. ¡°I¡¯m really impressed you have obtained this amount of information in such a short time. Of course, we¡¯re aware our city is not free of criminals. However, they hide their tracks well, and they are well-organized. Any busts we¡¯ve attempted have resulted in only a handful arrested¨Csee this location, here.¡±

    She pointed at a place underneath a tavern. ¡°This is the bar many of the mercs hang out in, and it¡¯s in a bad area of town. We frequently tear the place down and arrest the scoundrels, but new ones always come to take their place. But this looks like an underground passage¡­which we haven¡¯t found.¡±

    Rebecca frowned. ¡°That was one where my girls and I aren¡¯t well-equipped to handle.¡±

    Nick chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re right. I think the right person for this job is Andross.¡±

    Kaya laughed. ¡°Oh, you want him to start a fight! He¡¯ll love that.¡±

    They ironed out the last parts of the plan, and they¡¯d be executing against several, disconnected locations, almost simultaneously. They would have their own investigators working, their more trusted guard members capable of espionage.

    Aronde was surprised at one of the details of Nick¡¯s plan. ¡°Are you sure you want us to take all the credit for this?¡±

    Nick nodded. ¡°If you can, I want you to play it up a little. Make a big deal out of each of the squads that catch the bad guys. If you can make it look plausible¨Call the better. Like have a beastfolk squad member say he smelled something odd, or one of the dwarfs feel something different in the earth. If possible.¡±

    Eleanor nodded. ¡°We do have some with these skills, but they have failed to find anything before. We¡¯ve even commissioned special artifacts to aid in our search. Maybe we could use that.¡±

    Nick was happy that they had some ideas of their own, but that brought him to a new concern. ¡°It¡¯s questionable that you haven¡¯t landed a significant blow in those types of operations in the past, despite your efforts. My source is good, but you should have those skilled in investigation among you, no? I think it¡¯s important that you keep this operation on a need to know basis, to prevent our enemy from potentially hearing.¡±

    Eleanor frowned. ¡°You¡­think we have a¡­betrayer, among us? That¡­we¡¯ll be careful. It¡¯s true when we purchased the artifacts, there were too many aware of their arrival. They could have made countermeasures.¡±

    Eirwen asked, ¡°So normally, you capture the criminals and what¨Cthey get sent to jail?¡±

    Eleanor replied, ¡°Many become criminal slaves, and then sold off to the slave merchant. It depends on what their crimes were. We obtain as much evidence as possible when we arrest them, and then bring their crimes before the magistrate. They decide on sentencing after a questioning.¡±

    Aronde added, ¡°The magistrate is one of our esteemed climbers. We¡¯ll make sure all of them can meet you before Lord Silver within the next week.¡±

    Nick nodded. ¡°That makes sense. I hope I can help the others as much as I¡¯ve helped you, but do let me know if anything changes. If it¡¯s a plot by an enemy, they are not going to allow me to heal everyone quietly. Do all the linked people know already?¡±

    Aronde shook his head. ¡°The link is primarily used in combat, with Lord Silver¡¯s ability. Aside from me, most of those who wear the masks are not that capable of fighting. But pooling our resources together, we can create powerful constructs that can fight much above our usual level. It does allow for communication among us, but it takes a conscious effort.¡±

    He continued, ¡°We¡¯ll do our best to keep the healing operation and our focus on the search a secret as best as we can, for now. Eleanor and I will see to this personally. Thank you for your aid both in healing us and with trying to uphold the law in Silverbrook, Lord Noblefrost. If we can close down just a few of these underground tunnels and catch a similar number of these criminals, it will do a lot to keeping the people of Silverbrook safe.¡±

    They left the meeting with the guard captain in good spirits, walking down the street together. Rebecca was quite pleased, and Nick was certain they¡¯d have a decent outcome with their plans.

    Nick grabbed Eirwen and Rebecca¡¯s hands, Kaya¡¯s needing hers to be free for her bodyguard duties. ¡°Let¡¯s head to the docks. It¡¯s been busy this past week, and it¡¯s about to get a lot busier. I¡¯d like to take my girls out for lunch.¡±

    Eirwen smiled, her ears wiggling as they changed course. ¡°Oh, how nice. We¡¯ve always met up at the inn at night, but it¡¯s nice for us to have a break during the day.¡±

    Rebecca nodded, and Nick could see she was in a good mood. ¡°Excited about the plan, Becca? Your girls are going to be a little at risk, but I think they can do some major good for the city.¡±

    Rebecca beamed at Nick, slowing in her steps. ¡°No, you summarized it perfectly. Thanks to you, we have nothing to fear. With our wisdom, we can accomplish a lot of good, and the lesser evils of this city will be unable to stop us.¡±

    Eirwen chuckled. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see you girls in action. If the orcs have difficulty overcoming you, these rogues will be even more pathetic.¡±

    Kaya asked from behind them, ¡°All the priestesses are not quite at the level of those that demonstrated, are they?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re not. But even adherents can contribute to the pacification aura, or use the spiritual shouts. We¡¯ll make sure our small groups are led by one or two senior priestesses. The adherents can wander nearby, and help call the guard or reinforce if something happens.¡±

    There were only about two dozen priestesses that arrived for the Pilgrimage, and about double that in adherents, men and women both. Not all would be viable at patrols, but the smart priestesses would come up with a pattern to catch the villains unaware and protect the people of Silverbrook at the same time.

    They arrived at the seaside restaurant he heard about, which specialized in seafood. They sat in a table on a balcony, that overlooked the ocean. The large port could be seen in the distance, the sparkling water and clear skies a breathtaking view.

    Nick ordered a large paella-like dish for two or three and shared it with Eirwen, and Rebecca enjoyed a fish that smelled a lot like salmon.

    Kaya was happy with her surf and turf skewers, which had steak and shrimp¨Cand allowed her to focus on her task of watching over them all.

    ¡°You been busy just like I have been, Winny. Everything going well?¡±

    Eirwen nodded. ¡°We got a big shipment of difficult to source tools and supplies ready to head to Frosthaven, including books and even cultivation resources we¡¯re sorely lacking. I¡¯ve sold much of our local goods to the merchants here, though the price wasn¡¯t as good if we had our own Merchant¡¯s Guild. Still, Marissa, Rebecca and I have done our best to get the most we could.¡±

    Rebecca nodded. ¡°At the very least, we haven¡¯t dipped too far into the treasury for this. This trip we¡¯re still in the red, but we¡¯ve tried to invest in the city¡¯s future as you¡¯ve wanted.¡±

    Nick saw the value in trying to get their own merchant¡¯s guild, but he was much more interested in a crafting guild, first. Since Silverbrook specialized in trade and had a port, there wasn¡¯t much value in competing with this at this time¨Cat least until Blackthorne was defeated.

    He was already starting to build relationships with the merchants here, and had secured a regular caravan to head his way¨Cand not run by the bandit warlord. It would need to be protected, but the pathway was direct, and soon they would be working to improve the roads.

    ¡°Thanks a lot for your efforts, Winny, Becca. Thanks to you, we¡¯re getting a lot done.¡±

    Winny smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve enjoyed this trip a lot. Meeting a lot of people, staying in a nice inn¡­and now eating some good food, it¡¯s been fun!¡±

    Rebecca smiled and nodded, and played with her necklace for a moment. They had already been over how thankful she was for the pilgrimage many times at this point.

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. I guess now is as good a time as any.¡±

    Nick reached into his new spatial device¨Ca simple pouch stored in a breast pocket of his kingly martial robes. Retrieving the necklaces, he held them in his hand.

    ¡°Rebecca already got hers, as you girls have noticed. But yours and Kaya¡¯s took a little more work. I had to find someone with the right tools to make it for Kaya.¡±

    He opened the necklaces, showing an image of Mira. Kaya was definitely the spitting image of her mother, the only visible difference was that she was slightly older than Kaya was currently, and had a light discoloration¨Ca scar on her cheek from a claw or blade.

    ¡°I got you both these, and in truth, they are but trinkets. But I know how much Mira meant to you both, so I wanted you to be able to carry her close to your heart when you feel like it.¡±

    Eirwen beamed, as she took it in her hand. ¡°Oh, I love that picture! But that¡¯s smaller¡­oh, you must have had someone copy it!¡±

    ¡°I did¡­you like it?¡± He teased, ¡°I realized you might like it while I was out with another woman.¡±

    Rebecca laughed and Eirwen giggled, her ears wiggling. ¡°Hehe, that¡¯s okay, Hubby! I¡¯m happy¨Cyou still thought of me and got me a gift.¡±  She kissed him on the cheek and hugged him tightly from his side at the table.

    Nick handed the necklace over to Kaya, who had to put down her skewer. ¡°I had to specially enchant this. It should grow when you do, the ambient feral essence helping it stretch.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Nick¨CI love it.¡± Kaya looked over the picture with a smile, before putting on the necklace, and kissing him on the cheek as well.

    Rebecca noted, ¡°This has been a fun trip. But things are about to become even busier.¡±

    Kaya was done admiring her new necklace, as was back on the lookout¨Cand eating another skewer. ¡°Nick¡¯s nearly done with the goals of the Ordained Lord Quest. You plan on seeing the slave merchants soon, right?¡±

    Nick nodded. ¡°The first caravan has arrived, which should carry most of the settlers on its way back. The second load will be near the end, and will have the slaves and any stragglers before we head back on the bikes and our vehicles. We just have to clear out all the bad guys, and everything should be smooth after that.¡±

    Eirwen said, ¡°That¡¯ll be easier said than done, but you¡¯ve been training hard, and Sable has really gone above and beyond. I don¡¯t know that your plan would have worked at all if not for her, Hubby.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. That girl is definitely punching above her weight on this. And I¡¯ll make sure to reward her for her efforts. All the belly rubs she wants.¡±

    Kaya snorted, and Winny laughed as they wrapped up their meal. A little over a week¡¯s work was done, but they had a long ways to go.

 Book 3 - Chapter 8 - The Slaves

    Nick, Eirwen and Kaya, along with Rebecca, were now heading to meet someone Nick wasn¡¯t looking forward to: the slave merchant.

    On Orion, slaves were a normal part of the world, a necessary evil as seen by the people of it. Those who were branded are someone¡¯s valuable property, and those that are upholders of the law are meant to protect that property just the same as any business or home.

    The collars with the control rod were actually rarely used on this shard, with the exception of difficult or high-value slaves, such as the criminal slaves. Because each city was like an island, with the wilderness so perilous, few would try to run away¨Cif some semblance of proper care and lifestyle was given to them.

    It was for these reasons that, outside of unlawful bandits and slave merchants, sex slaves were not a common or normal thing, thankfully¨Cand Nick shouldn¡¯t be seeing any of those for sale today.

    Nick had learned that the brands did have a minor mental compulsion. A deterrent to attacking their master or running away, and to obey them on some level. Usually, these brands could only be applied to those weaker than the one doing the branding, and it was used in tandem with treating them well enough that they did not fight the weak, yet persistent, compulsion.

    Owning slaves was seen as a lawful act, as there were numerous lawful ways of attaining them. Debt and criminal slaves were common, though Conflicts could cause the conquered kingdom to become them as well. The latter was uncommon, but there were Paths, even lawful ones, that could cause this to occur.

    Nick could choose this as a potential side effect of his Conflict with Shadowvale if he wanted, and Orion would allow it.

    Of course, the slave merchant they were visiting was one such lawful type, and he was among one of a few within Silverbrook. Businesses could own slaves as a lesser form of employee, and Nick and the girls had seen a few during their shopping trips.

    Within the Merchant¡¯s Guild, they were ushered into a nice office, with the merchant at his desk. He was a dwarf with a thick brown beard, with a few gemstone beads in it. Dressed in a button up dark gray jacket and slacks, he looked the part of a dwarven merchant.

    ¡°Thank you for choosing us for your needs, Lord Noblefrost¨CI am Dale Brassbeard of Ironbond Traders. What can I help you find?¡±

    ¡°Nice to meet you¨CI¡¯m in need of a large number of laborers.¡±

    ¡°Some laborers, is it? I¡¯m surprised the priestess of Seraphara is your companion in this. Seraphara is against slavery, is she not?¡±

    Rebecca nodded. ¡°She is. But her compassion is not limited to those who are free.¡±

    The dwarf pondered this for a moment, before giving a small smile. ¡°I see. Very well. Just how many laborers were you hoping for, Lord Noblefrost?¡±

    ¡°That all depends. How many do you have available?¡±

    Dale chuckled. ¡°This branch only holds a maximum of one to two hundred slaves at any given time, the rest placed on a ship and sent to the core kingdoms.¡±

    ¡°I see. So how much is the going rate for most laborers? I¡¯m likely in need of as many as you can supply.¡±

    The dwarf pulled out an ornate notebook from a drawer in his desk, and opened it up. He began leafing through it, ¡°As one might imagine, not every laborer is equal. A large lion or bear beastfolk can accomplish that much more work than a halfling, for example¨Cjust a simple fact. We have a few slaves that can be laborers, but it would be a waste of their¡­talents.¡±

    He arrived on a page, and began fingering through the list. ¡°Ah, let¡¯s see. I hadn¡¯t expected to come up with a going rate for such a large batch. One moment.¡±

    Dale seemed to do some calculations for a minute, the party waiting for him. Nick felt a wave of nausea from a man in the next room, a terrible aura from the person¡¯s tainted soul. By how close they were to the door, Nick felt like they were definitely listening in to the conversation.

    Of course, Kaya and Eirwen noticed this, and after a quick side eye from them, they realized he was intentionally avoiding giving away he knew about the potential interloper.

    Nick noticed Rebecca actually looked a little queasy as well. Perhaps, her faith core had made her a lot more sensitive to it¨Cand that explained why the Bishop, at least before, had limited the strength of the priestesses until he was able to manage this issue.

    Nick spoke in a low voice, ¡°Something the matter, Becca?¡±

    She looked over to the door, then back at Nick. She said quietly, ¡°I don¡¯t know, I feel something¡­odd, over there.¡±

    Dale cleared his throat, and circled some figures¨Cthe man not noticing their back and forth. ¡°I have these separated by grade. The low grade, common slaves total a hundred and eight. These are people with low levels and common classes, low skills and prospects. These are only fifteen gold each normally, but for the large batch, I¡¯ll allow eleven gold each¨Ca discount if you take them all.¡±

    He continued, ¡°The medium grade are those with uncommon or up to rare races and skill sets, that just don¡¯t reach the high grade. Think of the lion beasftolk example before, or someone that might have a proficiency with a rare, but lightly valuable skill set. A gnome that can manipulate the earth, a mermaid that can create or control water. This kind of thing. There are forty-seven of these types currently, and they are a hundred gold each¨Cbut again, take them all off my hands, and I¡¯ll be glad to give you a discount at eighty each.¡±

    Nick nearly groaned at these numbers. That asshole, Blackthorne, made him pay the medium grade fee for a hundred percent of the slaves they recovered, when only a handful were probably at that level. Not only that, but his shitty bandit¡¯s blood price were more costly than the common slaves. If anything, Nick probably did the man a favor.

    He had suspected this, but it was still irritating. Thankfully, Jasmine was already about to recover the gold, the merchant¡¯s report to the mayor of Shadowvale completed. She just needed to hit the caravan with Jasper and the wolves and somehow explain the theft of the goods and gold.

    Nick asked, ¡°For the medium grade slaves, are there any that have special requirements for their care? You mentioned a mermaid, I¡¯m worried about having a place for all of them.¡±

    ¡°All the slaves will come with what you need to manage them as part of their price, and we only transported ones that would live in this climate and environment in the first place. Many of the criminal slaves do have collars and control rods¨Cyou will likely need up to three different rod-bearers to control all of them. Frosthaven is about a week away, yes? Regarding the mermaids, few Ordeals don¡¯t have a lake or river near, and they should be able to make this trip and find a place to live nearby without issue. If you were more than a month away, we¡¯d have to make additional considerations.¡±

    ¡°Alright, but I¡¯d at least like to have a look at these criminal slaves first. But just so we¡¯re clear¡­where is it that you source your company¡¯s slaves?¡±

    ¡°The slaves you¡¯ll be purchasing have mixed backgrounds. Only a small percentage are criminal slaves, sourced here in Silverbrook or the surrounding kingdoms. Many of our slaves arrive on our resupplies from the core kingdom ships, primarily debt slaves that took loans for their families and otherwise. Each will have a minimum of ten years of service for the price you paid.¡±

    Kaya asked, ¡°You don¡¯t obtain them from anywhere else? Blackthorne¡¯s known to have made numerous people slaves¨C¡±

    Dale scowled. ¡°Sometimes, we will take back slaves ransomed by that scum, but only those known and recorded to have been lost to his raids. We source most of our criminal slaves in the area from the warden of Silverbrook, lawfully. We would never take a bandit¡¯s word that they obtained lawful slaves, and have never purchased them.¡±

    That was good enough for Nick, the man¡¯s words ringing true. However, that was something Nick would need to look further into¨Cthe warden of Silverbrook, as it was now a common thread.

    Eirwen said apologetically, ¡°Sorry for the somewhat rude¡­inquiry. It¡¯s an important topic to us.¡±

    Dale let out a breath. ¡°No, of course I understand. There are certainly seedy establishments on this shard, that might use unscrupulous means to obtain more slaves, but I assure you our means are all above board, and Lord Silver would not allow such unlawful establishments to operate in his¡­ fine city.¡±

    Nick chuckled internally at the mild embellishment of his feelings about the crowded city. ¡°Alright, sounds good. Let¡¯s go take a look at the criminal slaves?¡±

    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s do that now. Right this way.¡±

    They were escorted deeper inside the merchant¡¯s building with two guards following along, and they saw many of the slaves in simple dorms with bunk beds. It felt a lot like a barracks, the slaves looking well-fed and in decent spirits, chatting with one another. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    He spotted a kitchen that several of the slaves were working at, and overall, Nick was impressed with their care.

    Until they entered another section and arrived at a place that looked much more like a dungeon. Metal cages held the criminal prisoners. Many of them had gags in addition to their manacles. Almost all were men, but there were a handful of women as well.

    Dale noted, ¡°It looks bad, but in a way, the prisoner¡¯s poor treatment is a part of their total sentence which we carry out.¡±

    Eirwen and Kaya shared a look, and Nick noticed what they were aware of. Only a handful of the thirty prisoners or so actually had what Nick considered major sins. Rebecca looked queasy, and she absolutely did not like seeing anyone treated in this way.

    He had already been told by Aronde, but he asked once again, ¡°What crimes would cause someone to become a criminal slave? In other kingdoms, they have different laws, don¡¯t they?¡±

    Dale shook his head, a hand running through his beard. ¡°Not overly much among lawful kingdoms, at least not on this shard. It is almost exclusively harming another, murder, or rape. Theft and similar are all simply sent to a jail or a labor camp for their sentence, depending on the severity¨Cthough this varies from kingdom to kingdom, of course. A majority of these have come from Silverbrook itself here.¡±

    Eirwen clarified, ¡°From the warden of Silverbrook¡¯s jail?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Unless someone has a major request for them, they are not popular in Silverbrook due to the level of effort necessary to watch over and control them. Because unlike those with the brand, they have wild desires and often overwhelm them given enough time. Only so much essence can be invested in the brand, they get worn down.¡±

    Nick knew this was often the case, as the essence of Orion responded to desire, but it was a little deeper than that. Their tainted essence would grind down the brand rapidly, regardless of their personal efforts.

    Most didn¡¯t want these types of slaves as laborers, unless they had their place of work designed to utilize these kinds of people, or had people dedicated to directing them.

    These slaves in the jail also had the brand, so it was several layers of control when purchased from this slave merchant.

    ¡°This is all of them? I do think I¡¯ll take them.¡±

    ¡°Excellent! That¡¯s all of them. We do have another slave, that we consider high grade. But they are definitely not meant for labor. Are you interested in a strong combat slave? It might be worth you meeting this one¨CI feel like you might be a good fit.¡±

    Nick was interested. ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°This one has a special circumstance, like many ex-climbers. He¡¯s not at a hundred percent of his capability, but with your priestess there, perhaps this won¡¯t be an issue for you, and he¡¯ll be a bargain instead.¡±

    An ex-climber would likely be useful in a number of ways. ¡°Sure. I¡¯d like to see them.¡±

    Dale motioned for them to follow down another corridor, then rang a sort of doorbell at a final door, and they waited. Nick asked, ¡°What is the situation with this one?¡±

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s like I said before¨Cthis is a special case. Decades ago, a kingdom in the south was conquered, and many of the former officers of their lord were captured and turned into debt slaves. Most unfortunate, but it¡¯s how their Conflict was decided. The blood feud actually continued and caused problems with his next master, and this one was sold to us and requested to be moved away to the North, where they wouldn¡¯t be recognized and find a safer home for their family.¡±

    The chime returned, and they continued through the door. It no longer looked like a jail¨Cbut a simple apartment, instead. In it, a man was standing near the entrance with his family far behind him, watching from a couch.

    He was a large man of a type of bear beastfolk, and Nick could see one of his arms was missing. The man had a neatly trimmed goatee, and lightly tanned skin. He and his family each wore kimono-like clothing. With his short white hair and small black ears atop his head and slight Asiatic look, Nick thought he might be a panda beastfolk.

    The man in question gasped in shock as Nick¡¯s party came walking through. ¡°Mira? Is that¡­no, it can¡¯t be.¡±

    Kaya tilted her head, her tail flicking as she took in the large man. ¡°You knew Mira?¡±

    ¡°Of course I knew Mira, Thorne was my battle brother! I knew he fell in battle, but¨Cdid she get away? You must be¡­her child. There are not many red panda beastfolk on this shard¡­¡±

    Kaya nodded sadly. ¡°I¡¯m Kaya, her daughter. She did get away, but¡­ she¡¯s no longer with us. She died fighting a scalemaw when I just came of age.¡±

    The bear beastfolk man sighed, a look of regret falling on his face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that, child of Mira¨Cbut that is a more merciful death than if she had been caught. After her Lord and husband fell, I understood why she fled. While many of us refuse to give up our honor, many of us had family to live for. You must have been but a babe back then, and she did what she had to in order to protect you. She was not an officer like me, and¡­it wouldn¡¯t have gone well for her. The blood feud ran deep.¡±

    Dale was running his hands through his beard, intrigued. ¡°How interesting, for you to know each other somehow.¡± He gestured to the panda man, ¡°This is Renzou Swiftblade, and his family.¡±

    Nick said, ¡°It¡¯s good to meet you. I¡¯m Lord Noblefrost of Frosthaven¨Ca budding kingdom about a week west of here. You¡¯ve been a debt slave all this time? That seems like too long of a time.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s good to meet you.¡± Renzou sighed. ¡°It¡¯s been trying times, for us. Several requirements from me and concessions by my owners has extended the overall service period, since I¡¯ve been in limbo. But it¡¯s just a drop in the bucket. I have protected my wife and managed to have children, then gave them a modicum of safety, happiness and comfort. I¡¯m still a proud warrior, and I have not let my blade be filled with rust.¡± He motioned to a small dojo area, much like Nick¡¯s chambers.

    Nick noticed the children were likely born while he was a slave due to their age, and was likely why his service was extended or put on hold.

    Dale cleared his throat. ¡°Renzou is a Beast Warrior of the 18th level, and has his own Concept Fragment. He and his eleven years remaining of his twenty-year service debt is worth three thousand gold¨Cbut he must accept you as his master. If he does this, he will not require the rod, as he serves his master willingly.¡±

    Nick¡¯s eyebrows rose in surprise. ¡°Has he turned down others already?¡±

    Renzou sneered. ¡°Several mercenary companies have wanted me to work for them. They¡¯re all about the gold, they have no morals or principles. The one with morals and principles I heard of¡­doesn¡¯t have the money.¡±

    Rebecca asked, ¡°What about Lord Silver? It seems he should have been interested.¡±

    The merchant replied, ¡°It was¡­one of my hopes when I had him moved here, but Lord Silver¡¯s coffers just couldn¡¯t manage it, even if we were willing to split the payments. There are many caravans here that might prefer their own protection, but none of them have had the funds and passed his requirements.¡±

    Nick asked Renzou, ¡°Aside from fighting, do you have any talents? What did you do for your other lords and masters?¡±

    ¡°I was an officer in Lord Washino¡¯s army, training soldiers and fighting against the other kingdoms and beastfolk tribes. My next master was a lord nearby, and things had gone well there as I became the captain of the guard, and had children. But when he was found having so many of Lord Washino¡¯s ex-officers and refugees, our enemy threatened to attack there next.¡±

    Damn, what was going on over there, Nick wondered? Despite being a debt slave, this guy seemed to have an okay setup, and wasn¡¯t in poor living conditions at all. He wanted to make sure he was a decent match for his people.

    ¡°That does sound like we could use your expertise. I need to have a guard trained up soon, I can¡¯t rely fully on Lothar¡¯s Honorable Raiders. Are you willing to work with monsterfolk?¡±

    Renzou looked confused. ¡°Monsterfolk that can speak and rationalize, while remaining lawful, are rare. I don¡¯t see a problem with most¡­but I also am a little confused by you putting importance on this. You have a lot of them, or something? You are a Lawful Kingdom, right?¡±

    Nick chuckled. ¡°We are. We¡¯ve got quite a few, as I attract them. They will all follow the law, I just wanted to make sure there won¡¯t be any issues.¡±

    Dale asked, ¡°Are you interested in purchasing monsterfolk? We didn¡¯t bring any to this location, but there are areas where they are raised as laborers. For many, there are simply too many problems with them. If it pleases you, I can obtain them and bring more of them here for purchase.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m interested if you have tribes of them. Now, what kind of criteria are you looking for, Renzou? I have begun a lawful kingdom and I walk the Path of Kings and the Hero¡¯s Path.¡±

    Renzou¡¯s eyebrows went to the top of his head. ¡°The Path of Kings? You claimed that Ordeal to the West?¡±

    Nick nodded. ¡°I did. The four of us here are among those that completed it.¡±

    Renzou focused on Kaya. ¡°And you serve this one, daughter of Mira and Thorne?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m his wife, and I do. I¡¯ve taken on the Beast Warrior class, just as my mother did.¡±

    Renzou grinned. ¡°That¡¯s more than good enough for me! A heroic noble lord who¡¯s strong is far better than I could have hoped. I can feel your strength, and I can tell you are not far behind me, despite your young age. You¡¯ve got yourself a captain of your guard.¡±

    Dale looked very pleased. ¡°Wonderful! Lord Noblefrost and I will get things sorted, but pack your things. Once payment is received, you may give your fealty, and join Lord Noblefrost.¡±

    Nick shook Renzou¡¯s hand. ¡°I look forward to you joining us, Renzou. See you soon.¡±

    Nick and Dale talked on the way back toward the exit, discussing when the slaves would be ready for transport. They would prepare monsterfolk for the next shipment, and it seemed the kobolds, feral goblins, wolflings, and so on, were quite cheap.

    Rebecca and Eirwen did negotiate the price down somewhat, but Dale hardly budged. Since the bulk rate was already decent in the first place in comparison to the other merchants in the city, the two were forced to relent.

    When they arrived back to the main office, the presence in the room nearby was gone.

    Knowing the person was no longer listening in to their conversation, Nick asked, ¡°Say, what¡¯s in this room, anyway? We already viewed all the slaves.¡±

    Dale looked a little confused at his interest, but he replied, ¡°Ah, that is just the apartments of the staff here, and even where I stay with my family. Easier for Ironbond Traders to ensure lodging for us, as the manager sometimes moves. I¡¯ve been here a few years, but it¡¯s not uncommon for them to reassign us.¡±

    Nick wasn¡¯t sure what to make of that¨Ccould it be his spouse on the other side? It would be weird to ask. ¡°Huh. If you¡¯re not around, who can I speak with?¡±

    Dale chuckled. ¡°I should be more or less always be around during business hours, but I do have an assistant¨CJameson. He¡¯s been instrumental in handling a lot of the deals we have with the local merchants.¡±

    Jameson just reached the top of Nick¡¯s list for who he was planning on giving a¡­secret visit. He also needed to meet with this warden of the main jail, as he likely had something to do with why there were criminal slaves in the slave merchant¡¯s pen without sins to match.

    In the end, Nick had purchased all the criminals, and obtained a strong combat slave. He would question the criminals anyway, but he felt as though he knew most of their stories already. Nick would need to line up those that would use the control rods until he freed them, and it would be a week before the slaves were ready to transition over to Nick¡¯s custody¨Cthe return caravan should arrive shortly after.

    Rebecca and her people would also meet with several of the smaller slave merchants¨Cthis was simply the largest. They had made their own efforts to gather funds, and would spend them on recovering people in need of compassion.

 Book 3 - Chapter 9 - The Bust

    Renzou blocked Nick¡¯s Soul Blade, the two trading attacks in the small dojo within Nick¡¯s suite. Despite only having one arm, the man swung his curved, single-edged sword with amazing skill.

    Nick had already received the man¡¯s fealty, and convinced him to become his Follower¨CNick providing his promise to protect his family and his life as Lord Noblefrost.

    Renzou became Nick¡¯s 7th Rare-Classed Warrior in his kingdom, putting him close to finishing Kaya¡¯s Soul-Pact Quest. The slaves he purchased from Dale at Ironbond Traders counted toward his Ordained Lord Quest, giving him over a hundred and fifty slaves rescued.

    As for restoring Renzou¡¯s arm, it was going to be a lengthy process for the priestesses, even with Rebecca herself investing her efforts because of his high level. It was better achieved when they arrived home in Frosthaven where the essence was denser.

    Nick sent several Blade Waves at Renzou, and he blocked them with three furious swings and sending his own essence in counter. Despite being large, the panda beastfolk focused on speed and ferocity of attacks. It was a stark contrast to Lothar¡¯s strength and powerful axe swings, combined with a strong defense.

    Since he arrived at Silverbrook, Nick had spent each morning practicing his Blade Wave with Kaya, in between obtaining more Redemption Pacts. Nick was continuously growing stronger through training, and thought he was mostly ready for taking on the most difficult Pacts, or the toughest potential enemies here in Silverbrook thanks to Sable¡¯s sleuthing.

    Kaya was doing an odd dance with her axes close to the corner. She had practice with Renzou and Nick earlier, and likely would join Eirwen in the Samurai Ordeal once they got back to Frosthaven, and might join with Renzou once his arm was healed.

    Nick would be joining Rebecca in Seraphara¡¯s Faithful, instead.

    Nick traded more attacks with Renzou, the man smiling with contentment. They had been sparring the last few days already, and they were both impressed with each other¡¯s skills.

    Renzou laughed. ¡°You have fantastic skills, my lord. To think I¡¯d find a lord so young and with such foundations! I¡¯m truly blessed.¡± He grinned, and gave Nick a sly look. ¡°But don¡¯t think there¡¯s no room for improvement, or that you are unbeatable. Watch.¡±

    Essence in the room shifted, and it was drawn into Renzou. Nick could tell he expended a fair amount of his essence all at once, much like Nick¡¯s Essence Burst. Suddenly, Renzou rocketed forward at Nick, like he had used a much more improved version of Dash. Nick countered with his Frost Aura, slowing the man down.

    Even still, the panda beastfolk¡¯s attacks came faster and more ferociously, and his Beast Strikes shifted to include a sword. Despite Nick handling the one-armed man relatively easily before, Nick found himself pushing his essence to the maximum to block and dodge, staying on the back foot.

    But the attacks eventually slowed, after Nick had received a few bruises. The attacks were lacking much power, despite the speed being respectable. The lack of a second hand on his blade significantly reduced his power and the angles in which he could strike, making his attacks more predictable.

    Renzou let out a breath. ¡°Not bad at all! That¡¯s my Beast Warrior¡¯s level 15 ability, my Convergence Skill. Many classes will give you something special, depending on your Path or Concept. So you need to be careful¨Cenemies will get harder to predict having more unique abilities, if they are strong enough.¡±

    Nick filed that detail away, looking forward to his own level 15 ability. He smiled at Renzou. ¡°Not bad, old man¨Cand thanks for the warning. Next month we¡¯ll start the healing for you, then we¡¯ll have to see.¡±

    Renzou looked moved, staring at his blade. ¡°Thank you so much. If I knew that, that alone was enough reason to follow you. You¡¯re sure about sending me back first?¡±

    ¡°I need you to get started on training up the guard. The first caravan is heading back today, and I¡¯d like you on it. We¡¯ll be sending quite the escort with it, so you can help with that.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m eager to get working, and my wife and kids are excited to have more freedom. They got to visit the city occasionally under watch, but to be able to be around other beastfolk will be wonderful.¡± He looked at Nick with narrowed eyes. ¡°You¡¯re really going to take on Blackthorne and his bandits? You¡¯re not hoping I¡¯m going to be strong enough to take him on, are you? That guy is too far above us, he¡¯ll crush us like ants.¡±

    Nick snorted. ¡°Someone has to stand up to him. I¡¯m doing my best to give myself time to build myself up and blindside him. My goal is to be in the third stratum before he knows I¡¯m even his enemy. You are just a small piece of the puzzle in me building up my kingdom, so don¡¯t think I¡¯m relying on your old ass to be the one to take him down.¡±

    ¡°Old ass? Ha! I¡¯ll make sure you eat those words. You said you had the Ordeal of the Samurai back at home? Give me my arm back and let me in there, and I¡¯ll show you how it¡¯s done.¡±

    He sighed, but gave Nick an approving smile. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯ve been doing your best to balance the danger, and do what¡¯s right. I know our Pact means you¡¯re going to protect us with everything you¡¯ve got, and I appreciate that.¡±

    Nick continued practicing his blade wave on the moving Renzou, and he felt like he was finally getting the hang of it. Both Renzou and Kaya moved fast and fluidly, but he was hitting them hard with the waves more often than not, by utilizing the practiced attack distances Lothar had recommended.

    Soon, he¡¯d be able to alter the distances on the fly, and then his attacks would be devastating at any distance.

    Renzou was getting covered in frost and slowing as a result. ¡°Damn, that¡¯s cold¨Ceven for me. It feels like you can do that move forever. I can only make so many of my swings carry with Essence Carry before I run out of essence.¡±

    Nick chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s about right, and that¡¯s the advantage. The aim is much harder, but I¡¯m getting better at it.¡±

    Eirwen entered the training area, Renzou¡¯s panda beastfolk wife next to her. ¡°It¡¯s time, Renzou.¡±

    ¡°Ah. Alright. Well young lord, do be careful. I¡¯m not much for fighting with stealth, or I¡¯d want to stay and help. Don¡¯t get yourself done in.¡±

    Kaya walked over, and her tail curled around Nick. ¡°Not to worry. I¡¯ll make sure he lives no matter what. Take care, Renzou.¡±

    ***

    Four days had passed by in total since they met with the Captain Aronde, with the door-to-door nuns becoming a major success. Three attacks occurred across the whole city on the first day, a dozen bandits in total captured¨Cand numerous contraband goods confiscated.

    The underground areas held stolen goods from the warehouses in the area, though it was primarily from the buildings outside of the Merchant¡¯s Guild. That building had special protections, and was difficult for the bandits to crack.

    Instead, the bandits preyed upon the merchants unable to afford the premium space within the guild, and Nick thought there was probably more to this deadly cycle. The warden of the jail was a person that seemed the most suspicious, and this Jameson was another culprit that he had trusted people watching.

    Nick wanted to meet the warden, but hadn¡¯t found a normal reason to do so just yet. He was earning his good will, already having healed a majority of the silver masked people. There wasn¡¯t a cause discovered yet, but in the end it might not matter. All that was left was Lord Silver himself, the Treasurer, and the Harbormaster.

    With each person healed, the silver mask seemed to do more and more work to restoring them, the poison, or whatever was causing their ailment, slowing its effect further. Nick guessed that the poison had a larger impact due to how they had already been harmed or effected.

    Because of his suspicions about the warden, he already had Sable monitoring the jail at night, and orcs and wolflings during the day. He had a theory that they were letting these bad guys go in secret, and that was a piece of the puzzle on how this vicious cycle would always continue. At this time, however, the people they¡¯d sent to jail were still inside.

    As much as he wanted Sable to sneak inside the jail, it was a bit too difficult and risky. The guardsman class provided a substantial bonus to detecting her, the place only had one point of entry, was well lit, and the thick brick and enclosed spaces were simply not conducive to her sneaking around.

    In contrast, the bandit dens often had multiple exits, and the entries were typically in the shanty areas or defunct warehouses. Easy for her senses to pierce, and her shadow magic had plenty to work with as she snuck around and found their hidden passages.

    Nick wanted to gather evidence first, and take the man down with the help of the guard.

    The events of the last few days didn¡¯t hold all good news. A few people around the city did actually get robbed and harmed, the bandits somewhat carrying out their threats. But the nuns were persistent, and actually came to their rescue.

    The patrolling pattern they had chosen combined with the mobility of their bikes meant they were frequently checking alleys and dangerous areas, and they quickly discovered and healed the distressed people.

    The second and third days of door-to-door worked well enough, but now Nick was ready to make his first moves. It was clear the bandits were on the back foot, as over twenty bandits had been captured, with numerous hideouts destroyed, their goods confiscated.

    The shanty town had already been abandoned by the bandits, and much of the city had been quiet on the fourth day, with only one attack.

    That left a large holdout at the docks, and beneath one of the larger bars. Tonight, Andross was going to start a fight at the bar, and Nick and Kaya were going to follow Sable to the docks.

    The three of them were now on top of a three-story building, overlooking a large warehouse near the docks. The smell of salt touched Nick¡¯s nose, the bay visible in the distance. Dozens of large ships were anchored at the port, the small waves causing them to rock and bob.

    Nick didn¡¯t want to leave such a major bust to the guard. They still hadn¡¯t learned how the bandits got their intelligence. There was some form of mole or informant, and to have so many guards involved meant they would surely learn of the bust. Not only that, but Nick did think he would learn a lot with his dream interrogations.

    Sable asked suddenly, ¡°What¡¯s the point of the mask and the hood, Boss?¡±

    Nick was wearing dark clothing, including a hooded robe that went over his plastic-like armor. He was thankful that Jasmine had taken the time to make such clothing, to allow for clandestine activity. ¡°So nobody recognizes me. It gives me deniability if they see me. It¡¯s the same for Kaya.¡±

    Kaya too was covered in a black cloak and black robes which went over her leather armor, which would hide her features¨Csomewhat. She even removed almost all of her fur, turning her into¡­mostly human, minus her tails which were hidden. It was a little freaky, for her to just be a red-headed woman¨Cher red-panda ears had shrunk to be completely covered by her hair.

    Sable looked at him doubtfully, chuckling. ¡°You don¡¯t believe that, do you? White hair, knife-like ears, and your eyes are like two blue-green lamps that shine in the darkness. People who¡¯ve met you will know who you are instantly¨Cand this is not even talking about beastfolk, and their sense of smell. Maybe¡­squint your eyes all the time, or something?¡±

    Nick groaned. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­do my best, if we¡¯re running in the open. But you scoped this place out, it¡¯s all bad guys, right?¡±

    Sable¡¯s grin grew wide. ¡°Oh yes, we¡¯ll be having some fun tonight. Kaya will even be able to go wild in there.¡±

    Kaya¡¯s tails flicked, her expression turning wicked as she gripped the axe handles at her waist. ¡°Nice. Been hoping for a good fight while we¡¯ve been here.¡±

    Sable arched her brow at Kaya. ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. They are a bunch of weaklings, but who knows what they got underneath. I suppose they may keep some of their best fighters in reserve though.¡±The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Nick chuckled. ¡°Just keep a few alive, but don¡¯t let any escape. I need to do some dream interrogations. I need to get to the bottom of what¡¯s going on here.¡±

    Sable replied, ¡°I¡¯m about¡­ eighty-percent sure it¡¯s the warden of the jail, or his assistant. Combined with the slave merchant¡¯s assistant, they likely swap out law-abiding people for criminals and let the bandits go.¡±

    That was in line with what Nick was thinking, as he had updated her on everything he had learned. ¡°What makes you so sure?¡±

    ¡°Just how secretive the man himself is, and the rumors are that he¡¯s a weird one. I¡¯d tried to look through the back offices of the jail with Soul Sense, and it¡¯s got special protections¨Ceven beyond the rest of the walls, and even the special Ordeal buildings. He doesn¡¯t ever leave there, unless it¡¯s through a secret tunnel¨Cwhich I¡¯ve been unable to find. We may find the exit here.¡±

    Nick was doubtful, as that was all the way across town. If anything, it was much more likely for Andross¡¯s target path to find such a major hidden tunnel¨Cwhich was a part of Nick¡¯s plan. Captain Aronde himself would be there for the other bust with a few trusted individuals, and the warden wouldn¡¯t be able to deny him.

    Eirwen and Rebecca were on standby, ready to rush in to heal at either location.

    Looking over the target warehouse, there were numerous tainted, evil souls inside. Nick could judge any one of them, and would if he got the chance. His people¡¯s safety was first and foremost, and making sure none could escape was important.

    Sable suddenly gasped. ¡°Oh! Here it is. One of those invisible wagons is going in. Let¡¯s move¨CI¡¯ll sneak in and help you slip in. Move to the windows up there.¡± She pointed.

    The Wolfen girl then slid down the side of the building with her feet, before leaping off and disappearing into the shadows. He could see her soul as she sort of skated in that direction, but he could not visibly see her.

    Nick and Kaya leapt down, but had to parkour down the side of the building instead, dropping and hanging on windowsills. Once on the ground, Kaya was using her Camouflage skill, and Nick was doing his best to stay hidden with his black cloak and staying in the shadows as they approached from a blind side of the building.

    He used Double Jump to reach up to the windowsill that Sable had pointed out, and Kaya just climbed up the wall with her clawed hands and feet like it was nothing, arriving next to him with a smirk.

    Nick could hear the voices inside the warehouse.

    ¡°Hurry up and get these crates loaded! We need to get it all over to the ship, before they find this place too.¡±

    ¡°How can they keep finding our hideouts? There¡¯s no way the guard got more competent overnight.¡±

    ¡°Somebody captured must have snitched, or we have a mole.¡±

    ¡°I bet it¡¯s those crazy nuns¨Cthey¡¯re stronger than we thought, and working with the town guard. I saw them scream at Alexander, and his whole body just shut down. The guard was right around the corner, ready to arrest ¡®em.¡±

    ¡°The nuns?¡± The man snorted. ¡°No way. I saw the whole lot of them start to cry when they heard our threats. Alexander is just a pussy.¡±

    The window was cut open with a blade of shadow, allowing Nick and Kaya to stand overlooking the people moving inside. All told, there were nearly twenty people inside loading the wagons.

    Nick nodded over to Kaya as he prepared his duelist rapier. It was the captain of the guard¡¯s favored weapon, as his plan was to make it look like he was the one involved. Of course, the real guard would eventually arrive. They would normally patrol the dock area, and had a guard station nearby.

    Sable spread out her icy shadows at the far end of the warehouse, the Wolfen girl already preparing their surprise pincer attack.

    One of the bandits shivered, his breath coming out in a fog. ¡°Fuck, it¡¯s cold tonight. Is winter early this year?¡±

    Nick spread out his Aura of Frost as Kaya leapt down, her axe cleaving into one of the bandit¡¯s shoulder.

    A bandit shouted, ¡°Shit¨Cit¡¯s an enemy attack!¡±

    They drew their weapons, and some dashed toward the hidden entrance, rather than at Nick and Kaya.

    Nick called upon his chains, but it took him an extra moment to get movement within him, as souls moved to his Crown of the Frost King. All of his dead Followers had already been restored back in Frosthaven, so none had been left to pilot them.

    However, those with his Redemption Pacts quickly began to steer the chains to his will, and they rose up from around Nick.

    The chains of frost rushed toward the fleeing enemies, and wrapped around their ankles as a horrible cold filled them¨Cpreventing their easy escape to warn the others.

    Kaya dashed into the room, her axes swinging as men were cut down left and right. The shadows themselves shifted, ice spreading and grappling along people¡¯s bodies as arrows pierced into other men¨CSable firing her bow rapidly.

    Nick danced as he cut into the bandits, the men having difficulty choosing between fighting and fleeing. His people outclassed the opponents greatly, however, and so Nick and the girls quickly disabled all the bandits present.

    However, a burst of essence showed this fight was far from over, as three strong entities exited the underground tunnel. They were covered in shadows themselves, their powers similar to most of the bandits they¡¯ve faced.

    Kaya¡¯s axe filled with essence was swung, sending a wave of it into one enemy, and Nick matched her attack by sending a Frost Shock at one of the men. Sable sent a volley of arrows at the untouched target, and all three of their attacks were met with essence countering their blows.

    Sensing their strength, Nick went for the strongest target. A dark elf man with a rapier, with dark essence coating his blade. Kaya¡¯s target quickly became a beastfolk man of some feline descent, perhaps a lynx with a long curved sword, and Sable¡¯s enemy was a man with two wicked-looking daggers.

    Nick pushed his Frost Aura further, wanting to break through their auras and inhibit the newcomers. While they protected themselves from his magical frost, they were still slowed by his aura weighing down on them.

    Using his Expert Swordsmanship, Nick¡¯s blade full of essence met the dark elf¡¯s thrust. However, Nick had to twist his body and head away at the last moment, as the blade of shadowy essence continued forward and curved toward his throat like a living snake.

    Nick blocked it with chains of Frost, before sending it after the dark elf. The man retreated, sending probing cuts toward Nick¡¯s chains¨Cand found that they were a lot sturdier than they had any right to be, thanks to it being powered by his fledgling Concept.

    Wrapping essence chains around his muscles, Nick bulked up and dashed in pursuit of the dark elf, who was now dodging and attacking his chains of ice. A quick Frost Shock caused the man to stumble with a grunt as ice covered his chest, but he activated Dash to move faster in retreat from the chains.

    Thrusting his rapier repeatedly in rapid succession, the dark elf sent several shadow essence attacks to slow Nick and the chains down.

    Nick leapt and Double Jumped to dodge the attacks on the approach, and blocked an attack with a chain¨Cbefore grabbing it and whipping it around using the momentum. The chain wrapped around the surprised man¡¯s foot, causing it to begin to freeze and the dark elf to fall almost flat on his face.

    The other chains of ice driven by his redeemed spirits had surprisingly grabbed Kaya and Sable¡¯s targets from behind, and Kaya¡¯s Concept cut clear through her opponent¡¯s arm.

    Sensing times were desperate as his allies were not far from falling, the dark elf drew in a tremendous amount of essence, even from the surrounding area, as he got up onto one knee. Feeling the danger rise, Nick understood what was likely happening. He was using an ability much like what Renzou had used.

    So Nick drew on his Heroic Concept, gathering his light and dark essence. With a powerful stab, the dark elf sent a large snake of darkness at Nick. As he prepared to swing his saber to block, his essence throughout his entire body suddenly went into turmoil.

    Black essence fought the faith energy within him, and wounds broke out all over his body as tiny explosions erupted. The effect on him was shocking, Nick having no idea this was going to happen. The snake¡¯s head loomed closer, heading toward his throat.

    Nick¡¯s eyes blazed with determination, as he stirred his Will of the Frost King to shove the majority of the light and dark essence into his blade at the last moment.

    His swing met the snake¡¯s head, and the power of his attack was just barely enough to deflect it. Nick retreated as it chased after him, dashing backwards and gathering his chains of ice as he tried to pull in the rampaging dark essence inside of his body.

    Noticing something was wrong, Kaya roared and leaped with her axe over her head, bringing the attack downward and her sharpness concept cutting through it. The head began to reform from where it was cut in the middle, and she then swung her Charged Strike combined with her Essence Carry, sending a powerful wave of essence rippling toward the chained dark elf.

    The snake absorbed much of the attack, and finally disbursed. The remains of the wave of essence cut into the dark elf, but only gave him a surface wound. Then, an arrow suddenly struck the dark elf in the chest from Sable and frostshadow essence sought his heart. The man began to freeze over rapidly, the light slowly leaving his eyes.

    Nick dispelled his light and dark essence, drawing it in with his essence chains. Meanwhile, perhaps sensing his distress, Eirwen used her enhanced connection to send shamanic healing over to him. It spread out from his chest, slowly covering much of his body and healing the small wounds that had opened up all along his body. She was only able to channel it for about ten seconds, but it did a lot to get him in decent shape.

    But Nick had a thought¨Cthere was a large source of healing, right next to him. He approached one of the two remaining stronger bandits, which had been completely disabled by Kaya and Sable and his chains of ice.

    As Nick reached his hand out and was about to Judge the man and heal himself, his body was covered in goosebumps, and it was like death was looming¨Ca powerful feeling of danger. It felt like if he tried it, he would definitely come to regret it.

    And then he frowned, as he realized how badly his thoughts had derailed. Just why would he, after he just had issues with the darkness within him, want to heal himself using the essence he was having trouble with? He spent a few more moments, calming his nerves and reducing the darkness within him by drawing it in.

    Regarding the warning, it reminded him of that time where Jasmine cautioned him about entering the Ordeal when he first arrived on Orion, but it was a little different. He knew it wasn¡¯t coming from her.

    Probing his soul, he understood what it was that was giving him the warning¨Cit was Irene. He sent his thanks, and now that he had a moment to think, he thought he knew what might be going on.

    Kaya was breathing heavily, watching over him and the enemies around them. ¡°Seems they¡¯re either all locked up with your frost or dead¨Cnone escaped. What happened with your essence? I was shocked I had to defend you.¡±

    Sable looked worried as well. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Boss? Something happened to your essence, and then it looked like you were going to¡­¡± She looked at the bandit, who was close to dying from his wounds and the cold.

    ¡°I¡¯ll explain later. For now, I¡¯m fine. I need to learn a bit about the situation here, before these two guys die.¡±

    Ice had grown up the bandit¡¯s legs and sides, and soon they would pass out. Nick then had Sable to go down and check the hidden passage, the girl slipping inside the hidden entry in the floor.

    Inside the barrels and crates were actually huddled people, and the people below had been working to load more of them inside.

    Several of the bandits expired from their wounds and the frost, but a few had passed out into a dreamless sleep. He would do his best to learn more about what was going on.

    ¡°Watch over me, Kaya.¡±

    ¡°Always.¡±

    Nick kneeled next to one of the sleeping bandits, and closed his eyes. Using his magic, he sent his consciousness into the bandit¡¯s dream, and formed the framework of his interrogation.

    Because of the scenario, Nick played it a little different from usual. He made it feel like a weird instance of d¨¦j¨¤ vu, where the bandit was back in the warehouse before the attack. The scene played out much like originally¨Cexcept that Nick, Kaya, and Sable were defeated, after a few of the bandits got taken down.

    The boss then told the bandit to bring the wagon to the ship since several of the bandits had died, and Nick learned about where they were supposed to meet up. He played a dumb young bandit, asking questions that would normally be known.

    It was in fact the warden that was a part of their plots, and a few of the bandits worked as his guards. The man was an ex climber, who somehow met Blackthorne before he came to Silverbrook and took on the role.

    But there was nothing about inhibiting those with the silver masks. Making sure Sable was okay between each, Nick entered a few more men¡¯s dreams and questioned them, and couldn¡¯t find anything related to them doing anything related to the odd poison he witnessed.

    Nick did learn how they remained apprised of the guard¡¯s movements. It seemed they had used their tunnels to plant listening devices, and would monitor conversations in many of the buildings. While they couldn¡¯t easily penetrate most of the Ordeal-powered buildings, they often didn¡¯t need to.

    One of the main listening points was in that field within the barracks, as the guards would often be loose-lipped about their plans to catch the bandits. It seemed there was a huge issue with information security within the guard, as the gatehouse and a few of the small guard stations throughout the city were also listened to as well.

    None of them had anything specific about the warden. In fact, one of them who had been caught in th past was blindfolded as he arrived inside the prison until one day he woke up outside of it. He wasn¡¯t even sure what happened in between. It seemed the bandits actually had good information security in regards to this, just in case the men were interrogated by the guard.

    Then, it seemed there were several blind drop locations where they left people to be enslaved, and they were retrieved by someone. The locations were all throughout the city, and many of them were among the places Sable already uncovered.

    Frustrating, but at least Kaya¡¯s target was certain it was the warden involved with breaking people out of jail. The rest had only heard rumors.

    Finishing the final dream interrogation, Nick¡¯s eyes snapped open, nothing having changed in the last ten minutes, other than Sable returning. ¡°All good downstairs?¡±

    Sable nodded. ¡°There was¡­quite a few more slaves downstairs, and the tunnels went back quite far. The place is clear of all bandits for now. I looted some things not bolted down, while I was at it. Check this out, what do you think this is?¡±

    She pulled out a small device from her pouch, that looked a lot like an old-timey record player. It had a large cone, but also a large spike that was meant to pierce into the ground.

    ¡°That must be the listening device. It¡¯s how they monitored the guard¡¯s movements and plans.¡±

    Kaya looked back at the crates. ¡°We should get the guard and have them rescue all of these people.¡±

    Nick nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll do that, but we need to hurry and secure the ship before they escape.¡±

    Kaya frowned as she looked him over with her purple eyes and magical senses. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re going to be alright?¡±

    Nick stretched, and flowed through a few swings, and moved his essence around without issue. He was still sore all over his body from the wounds, but he wouldn¡¯t re-open them. ¡°I¡­think I¡¯ll be okay if I focus on using my Frost King Concept for any fighting instead. Let¡¯s just get this done for now.¡±

    Sable landed next to him. ¡°I¡¯ll watch over what¡¯s left of these guys, then catch up to you once the guard takes them in. You go ahead, Boss.¡±

 Book 3 - Chapter 10 - The Unraveling

    Nick and Kaya rushed to the ship, and clearing it out of bandits was a somewhat quick affair. The bulk of them had been at the warehouse, and only the captain of the ship himself was a challenge at all. They were able to capture the whole lot of them with ease.

    It seemed Sable hadn¡¯t discovered all the enemy caches, and some safe-houses or warehouses likely had hidden stocks. But flushing them out of the city had caused much of the resources to be recovered, a lot of which were in spatial pouches and similar.

    After some dream interrogations at the ship, Nick learned their plan. Many of the bandits all over town had moved to clear them out of all valuables, and many were likely planning on fleeing with their riches to the forest originally, thanks to the guard finding so many of their locations.

    However, their retreat from Silverbrook wasn¡¯t so easy, thanks to the Pilgrimage. Nick had wolflings throughout the forest hunting, and the orc scouts were watching the camp near the main exits¨Cand this was on top of all the work the town guard actually did.

    If someone snuck out in the dead of night, they definitely wouldn¡¯t be allowed to pass. It was abnormal for anyone to travel out of the city without a caravan on the world of Orion, after all.

    So Nick had truly created a difficult scenario for them, where they were planning to flee on a ship out the docks instead. Nick even knew a majority of the bandits working for Blackthorne were now accounted for.

    Once again, Nick had attempted to learn more about how the people they captured would become slaves, or how specifically the bandits would escape the jail. However, they had no specific knowledge once again.

    He was beginning to wonder if the only people who knew were already dead or captured.

    The docks eventually wrapped up, Nick, Kaya, and Sable made their way over to the bar, the area a multi-leveled shanty town. Mixed stone and wood buildings with misshapen cuts of wood for roofs were stacked high, with haphazard planks connecting at different levels above. It was a dizzying array of poorly constructed homes, with many less fortunate people living inside.

    Thankfully, many of those looking to settle in Frosthaven had already left, making many of the homes empty already.

    Rebecca and Eirwen had been waiting in an alley nearby, the latter of which began fussing over him right away when his party joined them to watch the occurrence.

    Eirwen sent healing energy into him, her eyes filled with worry. ¡°Just what happened to you, Hubby? There¡¯s wounds all over you!¡±

    ¡°I think something¡¯s going on with those I haven¡¯t made Pacts with yet. I thought something was weird, but¡­ I guess I had hoped the souls had just passed on.¡±

    Eirwen frowned. ¡°Passed on?¡±

    Nick sighed. ¡°Some of the souls I tried to make Pacts to by meeting in the dream, it was like my attempt was rejected¨Clike they had disappeared as a target. I thought they returned to the essence, but it looks like something else might be wrong.¡±

    Kaya asked, ¡°How do you know it¡¯s not with those you made Pacts with already that gave you trouble?¡±

    ¡°My chains still worked¨Cthey were driving them. I was kind of surprised it worked, to be honest. Before, it was only our fallen brethren that drove them.¡±

    Rebecca looked worried at him. ¡°So it¡¯s¡­people like my father and Brutus, that might still struggle within you?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I think¡­ I could use your help, Becca¨Cto confront them.¡±

    Rebecca nodded, giving him a determined look as her small wings fluttered behind her. ¡°If you need my help, then I will always do my best to be there for you.¡±

    Sable called out from above them, ¡°The fight has begun.¡±

    Andross started his brawl on schedule, a strong group of guardsman eventually getting called as Nick¡¯s party moved to watch from a nearby building in the shadows provided by Sable.

    From there, the guard which included Captain Aronde and Eleanor pushed on to find the hidden entryway, and the five of them monitored the progress, with Rebecca just watching over them. Thanks to how much Nick¡¯s Soul Power had grown, he could see a soul from several hundred feet away.

    Kaya frowned as she watched and pointed at the souls heading underground. ¡°It looks like they are heading away from the jail here too. Just how is the warden connected?¡±

    Nick groaned. He had hoped that this would reveal the connection¨C

    Just as he had that thought, another soul in retreat changed direction, and started heading off to the side. A hidden path within a hidden path.

    ¡°You see that, Sable?¡±

    ¡°On it, Boss. I¡¯ll make sure our guardsman friends find it.¡± Like before, she leapt into the shadows as she slid down the side of the balcony, and disappeared into the night.

    Of course, the guardsman would be on the lookout for anyone sneaking around¨Cbut she would be heading up the rear. In addition, the captain was aware of her existence¨Cshe would merely call for him and show Nick¡¯s insignia.

    The party watched as Sable was joined by a group of guardsmen, and they began their chase into the tunnels.

    Kaya grinned. ¡°Those guys aren¡¯t going to be able to get away. She¡¯s got their scent now.¡±

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s follow along and make sure this is the last of it.¡±

    ***

    Nick, Kaya, Eirwen and Rebecca had followed the souls from above ground, and it seemed they had arrived near the prison.

    And that was when all hell broke loose.

    The ground beneath them shook, and an explosion of stone and rubble erupted across the street from them. A man leapt out, followed by the Captain and Eleanor. He looked like a pale man wearing a guardsman¡¯s outfit, his body long and lanky. His dark aura was billowing, making it clear just who was responsible for much of the evil here in Silverbrook for Nick and his family.

    At Nick¡¯s nod and glance upward, Eirwen began to climb up the building to the side, getting ready to support in case they engaged.

    There were shouts from the guard, as their patrols honed in on the occurrence.

    Captain Aronde had his sword drawn, his silver mask lighting up. ¡°To think you were working with Blackthorne¡¯s men. But give it up, Redmond. There¡¯s no escaping for you today. Your allies are beaten, both inside and outside of the city.¡±

    The warden Redmond¡¯s grin was wide, revealing shark-like teeth. ¡°I think you should let me go, or I¡¯ll take many of you down with me. You¡¯ve won today, but if you face me, you¡¯ll suffer losses. None of you are my match.¡±Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Not even us, Redmond?¡±

    Nick spotted the magistrate whom he had healed, as well as the other masked elves. All seven were now present, even the two Nick hadn¡¯t yet met.

    What Nick had learned was that all of those that wore the mask were male elves, most of which had been a part of Lord Silver¡¯s past¨Cgroomed by his Father¡¯s people to take on the role.

    With how strong and steady the man¡¯s aura was, Nick was immediately sure which one of the men was Lord Silver himself. However, aside from the mask¡¯s symbols, nothing seemed all that different from the other elves.

    ¡°Oh good, you¡¯re all here.¡± Redmond laughed, before withdrawing something from his pouch. ¡°That¡¯ll make this work even better.¡±

    A terrible noise erupted from what looked like a strange music box, a haunting music playing in the background. Eleanor and several of the silver masked-elves were brought to their knees.

    Even Nick and the girls were affected, but Nick¡¯s Trait: Soul Fortress protected them from it influencing their mind. An arrow from Sable shot across from the opposite alley, followed by Eirwen¡¯s from atop the building. Both were deflected by the man¡¯s one-handed gesture, sending ripples of an unseen energy through the air.

    Captain Aronde and those Nick healed, along with Lord Silver seemed to fight better against the effect, and two of the elves seemed to almost expire as their eyes and ears bled, and they fell face first onto the ground. The rest could hardly move as they shielded themselves with their essence, but they weren¡¯t fairing well.

    From hiding next to the side of the building, Nick drew his Soul Blade, and channeled his Blade Wave with white light and swung with a quick flick of his wrist. The man felt the attack coming and tried to influence the oncoming blade-shaped attack with his vibrations, but it cut right through and cleaved into the odd music-box, destroying it.

    Redmond scoffed, before he opened his mouth and sent out a discordant wail that shook the surrounding buildings and stunned everyone, before fleeing toward the docks.

    The silver masks lit up, and an energy flowed over to one of the elves¨CLord Silver. He took a look at the alley where Nick had sent the helpful attack, drew his rapier as he stood, and dashed after the fleeing Redmond. Eleanor was quick to join him, along with much of the guard¨Conly a few being left behind, including those with the masks.

    Instead, those appeared to be channelling their energy into their masks, empowering Lord Silver in some way as they all knelt¨Cthe guardsman protecting their vulnerable forms.

    ¡°Becca and I will help out the injured. Kaya, Sable, and Winny¨Cfollow Lord Silver and aid him from the shadows.¡±

    Nick saw Sable¡¯s soul off in the distance complying with his request, continuing her chase through the shadows. All three of his wives had Camouflage, so he knew they could press the attack without giving away their contributions easily.

    At Nick¡¯s exit onto the main street, the guard shouted and formed a defensive wall around the kneeling mask holders. He held up his symbol, and Captain Aronde opened his eyes and glanced at Nick. ¡°Let him through. He will help the Master of Trade and Guild Master. Lord Silver needs them.¡±

    Nick leaned down near the collapsed Master of Trade and Guild Master, while Kaya watched over him. Rebecca grabbed each  and flooded them with faith energy, and Nick cast Soul Mend on each one, healing much of the damage done to the mens¡¯ souls.

    The two men groaned as they woke up.  One asked, ¡°Who are you? Ah, the Arch Priestess. Thank you.¡±

    Nick asked the man, ¡°We¡¯re friends. Any idea what happened? That music box¡­¡±

    The Master of Trade, who Nick knew acted as the port master sighed. ¡°I recognized the sound¨Cthe song. A few years ago, I received a music box much like that one, but clearly not the same. I would often listen to it in my office, and its melody was quite enchanting. I would listen to it while I did my work or relaxed...¡±

    Nick frowned. It sounded like it was some kind of slow tainting of the mind, that over time influenced the others. It was likely powered by the environmental essence, crafted by the banshee-like enemy. Whatever Redmond was, it appeared he had powers over sound.

    Captain Aronde was still focusing on his energy, but he opened his eyes and turned to the port master, ¡°Quick, join us if you can. We could use your help.¡±

    Noticing they could all use Nick¡¯s flavor of healing, he went over and used Soul Mend on the others. Once done, he felt exhausted himself.

    ¡°Let¡¯s move, Kaya, Becca.¡±

    They ran after Lord Silver and Redmond, but they didn¡¯t have to go too far before they saw them fighting in the distance. Several silver soldiers were facing off against the enemy, holding spears as they encircled him. Eleanor was wounded, but was fighting at Lord Silver¡¯s side with her rapier, along with several guardsman harrying the man from all sides.

    The silver soldiers looked like they were made of mercury¨Ca flowing silver substance, apart from their spears. They were thin and short, almost like goblins¨Cand not that strong looking, but Redmond was surrounded. As Nick watched, additional mercury flowed out of Lord Silver and joined the soldiers, bolstering them and increasing their size.

    Lord Silver smiled, his powers brightening. ¡°Looks like my people are okay. Your attack was insidious, but it wasn¡¯t enough.¡±

    ¡°You look down on me. I can still take you down with me.¡±

    The odd man started another discordant wail, but the energy seemed to build within him rather than the essence being released outwardly. Essence rushed in from the surrounding area, the man activating a special ability.

    Lord Silver¡¯s mask lit up, the icons on it shifting to a sword and shield¨Cit reminded Nick of the sword and shield on Captain Aronde¡¯s mask. The silver warriors¡¯ equipment shifted to holding swords and shields, and they actually merged into a stronger one in front of him. Even the town guard used their shields and got in front of Lord Silver, waves of essence coalescing in front of them.

    Redmond punched out, sending a wave of violent energy at the protecting warrior. The barrier was struck, while Eleanor and Lord Silver used the opportunity to rush around the sides and slice into him with their swords from each side, and Sable and Eirwen¡¯s arrows took him in the shoulders.

    The man fell to the ground in a pool of blood, and Nick could feel how badly he wanted to judge him. Darkness started to be unleashed into his body, and he had to tamper down on the desire as he drew the darkness in.

    Lord Silver sagged, and Eleanor and the guardsman all gathered around him protectively. A new elf appeared, and cast some heals to restore their bodies.

    Nick looked off to the side, and noticed something else. A dark soul was running through the alley nearby.

    ¡°Look who it is, Kaya.¡±

    ¡°Oh, is it that Jameson guy? Trying to get away, huh. Can¡¯t let that happen.¡±

    Nick and Kaya gave chase, and caught up to the man quickly. The dwarf merchant had a few slaves protecting him while he held a rod as he tried to sneak away to a small boat, but Nick and Kaya defeated the slaves and tied him up with ease.

    Handing the man over to the magistrate who had fully recovered, Nick¡¯s explanation was easily accepted. They would interrogate him, and use his escape attempt against him. The circumstantial evidence against him was high, as Nick doubted the slaves he took to escort him away were approved by Dale¨Cwhich meant the man himself would be against him.

    Lord Silver walked down the alley Nick and Kaya were waiting in, with Eleanor and Captain Aronde at his sides.

    ¡°It seems like I owe you a lot, Lord Noblefrost. If you hadn¡¯t intervened¡­¡±

    Nick couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°Sable and the followers of Seraphara did all the work, really. But I¡¯ll use every opportunity to take Blackthorne down a peg.¡±

    Lord Silver chuckled. ¡°I¡¯d say you did more than that. Thanks to you, my city will have recovered far beyond what it has been in a hundred years. I¡¯ll finally be able to enter the third stratum soon. Since I know you will be a valuable ally against him in the coming months and years, I will put forth much effort so that I can support you against him soon.¡±

    Captain Aronde added, ¡°We¡¯ll make sure to play up the guard and Lord Silver¡¯s victory. We know we couldn¡¯t have found all these criminals without your people¡¯s help, so we¡¯ll send as much assistance your way as we can in the coming months.¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯re limited in how you can fight Blackthorne, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    Lord Silver nodded. ¡°He made an Oath to my father, that as long as I only fight him within my Control Radius and do not grow it in his direction, he and his third stratum men would stay out¨Cif my father did the same. As much as Father wanted to send one of his climbers to straighten this out, he felt like this was a good challenge for me. Unfortunately, I was not quite up to the task.¡±

    ¡°How can I expect your help?¡±

    Lord Silver smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve seen your interest in settlers and slaves, but strangely you didn¡¯t go after any mercenaries. I take it you wanted to wait until Blackthorne¡¯s men were gone? I will gather many more, and pay to increase our patrols within my control radius, as well as pave the roads within it toward you. We¡¯ll go all-in on our partnership, so do your best to keep the place from becoming yet another den of thieves. I¡¯m counting on you¨Cif you fall, that man just might destroy my people and my city before long.¡±

    ¡°Hm. I appreciate that, and I did plan on meeting with The Ashen Blades soon.¡±

    Lord Silver grimaced. ¡°Those men¡¯s grudges are deep, but unfortunately, they¡¯ve lacked the strength and funds. If you help them find some climbing slots in an Ordeal, that could change.¡±

    It was one of the final things for Nick to accomplish throughout his time here in Silverbrook. But first, Nick had some other evils to purge¨Cwithin him.

 Book 3 - Chapter 11 - The Dream Battle

    ¡°Thanks for coming, ladies. We appreciate your assistance.¡± With a smile, Eirwen ushered the nuns into Nick¡¯s suite at the Golden Chalice. Marissa, Rebecca, and five of the top climbers of Seraphara¡¯s Ordeal joined Nick and his family in the room.

    Nick had recovered after the major battle at the warehouse and the docks, but did his best to reach out to Irene inside him¨Cto decide on the proper course of action with dealing with his¡­evil prisoner issue. The first surprise was that she didn¡¯t want to meet in a dream, and that it was related to Nick¡¯s problem. But also that she urged him to resolve this sooner rather than later.

    He had considered driving back to Frosthaven early, to hand in his completed Ordained Lord Quest for help with resolving this issue. However, through some simple yes or no type questions and her responses, it seemed Irene thought it was best to confront his enemies and to do it as soon as possible.

    Nick smiled at all the nuns, who took on the decadent room with wide eyes. Currently, they were in the receiving area, which had multiple couches and recliners facing each other¨Cwith a large cushion much like a mattress laid out in the center, rather than a table.

    The kitchenette was in the back of the room, a shared area for the several rooms Nick had access to, meant for servants. ¡°Yes, thank you very much for coming¨Cand I appreciate your discretion and assistance on this matter.¡±

    Sable had helped them sneak in to prevent any odd rumors from forming. While they would just be rumors, Nick and the many faithfuls would not enjoy gossip about any kind of debauchery, as it would tarnish Seraphara¡¯s name.

    Marissa smiled, and nudged Rebecca from the side. ¡°Of course, this one made a beautiful appeal for her beloved. But you are our Lord and our Hero, and we¡¯d never forget that. Then, we all saw how giving and compassionate you are, and it would be our failure to not return it with our own efforts.¡±

    Rebecca blushed at Marissa¡¯s needling, but she nodded. ¡°All the faithful here understand that you have gone above and beyond in your Quest, and we deeply respect all the lengths you¡¯ve gone to empower us.¡±

    Nick couldn¡¯t help but give them a proud smile. ¡°You ladies have done amazingly, and you should all be proud. The evil of Silverbrook looked down on your power, and you¡¯ve proven the strength of Seraphara¡¯s Wisdom to many by defeating them at every turn. While the guard will be rumored to have taken down the bandits here, none will forget that you girls stood up to the villain¡¯s threats.¡±

    The girls all blushed, happy to hear Nick¡¯s praise. Eirwen and Sable served some refreshments, and then they ushered them to sit in an array around the center. Nick then described what would be happening¨CNick would lay in the center on Eirwen¡¯s lap, and Nick would face enemies in the dream world.

    At a key moment, which Eirwen would direct, they would help out with their energy.

    His wives all wished him luck in the other room, before Nick returned to the cushion in the center. His wives were prepared to help with their Devotion Energy, though Kaya wished she could join him in the dream¨Cwhere she could cut these assholes down for Nick.

    Unfortunately, despite Eirwen and Nick¡¯s gains in controlling the dream and improving in dream magic, connecting additional people¡¯s minds into the dream would simply stress them too much.

    Laying in Eirwen¡¯s lap, Nick connected to the first target he had been avoiding, and to his surprise, he was successful and Eirwen dragged him into the dreamscape as he fell asleep.

    ***

    Nick¡¯s projection of his body was now back in the bleak dreamscape, the giant stele¨CArchaen Law, ominously looming over him. Shadows drifted about beneath the black monolith in an oily haze, the dreamscape loosely representing the truth of the unique place. Thunder crashed repeatedly and he saw the person he had drawn in.

    Brutus.

    The bald merchant with a scar on his face was in the second stratum, and had utilized the horrifying Nexus Core by powering it primarily with children¡¯s fear. Nick knew this man likely didn¡¯t have any remorse¨Cbeyond being caught and forced to suffer and pay for his many sins.

    Nick had managed to convince nearly a dozen souls in total to find redemption. The dozen or so others had to be forced, especially those from Havendale, including Steven¨Cthe man who tried to reclaim Havendale for himself from Davon.

    The way this was done, was Nick would challenge them to a battle for their freedom. In that challenge, Nick and his enemies would have their bodies much like they did before they died.

    As one could expect, Nick had no problems crushing the bandits and tainted priests, even taking on several at a time. However, after a few wins and usages of his Concept in training and tests, he wasn¡¯t able to connect with most of his targets when he felt them out within his Soul.

    He wasn¡¯t sure what to make of it at the time. It was true he had used his Concept a few times for practice and may have burned them up, or perhaps the amount of faith energy he kept absorbing from Rebecca had something to do with it. But he hadn¡¯t felt anything off to worry him¨Cuntil the energy went haywire and harmed him during his recent battle.

    Despite the forceful acquisitions, his soul had been feeling stronger than ever. He thought he was about ready to take on this merchant, and then the other few shadows from Havendale and Zura that were at the top of the scale of strength, but now he knew something more nefarious was at play.

    Thus, Nick¡¯s preparations. Taking a look at Brutus, the darkness billowing off him was substantial. The hateful spirit of him wailed in pain, and his eyes were listless as Nick got started. Nick figured the man would reject his request, but he had to try anyway.

    He stirred his Concept, and made his offer for the Redemption Pact. ¡°Brutus, your sins are many, your hatred and greed ruining the lives of countless innocents. You are deserving of horrible punishment, but I offer you a chance at Redemption.¡±

    The eyes of Brutus snapped to him, recognition of Nick suddenly filling his expression. With a sneer, Brutus laughed. ¡°An offer for Redemption? What use would I have for that? I¡¯m sorry, but I have received a much better offer.¡± The darkness gathered around him as he spread his arms wide, and the insubstantial shadows beneath him in the surrounding landscape swirled.

    New figures leaped out next to Brutus as they joined him in the dream, and Nick recognized several of them right away¨Cit was the missing priests and bandits, who he could not reach. A few appeared at Nick¡¯s sides and one to the rear, the men surrounding him.

    Davon stepped out next, and Samuel¨Cthe Bishop, arrived next to Brutus. They were the three most difficult people Nick had faced and Judged, and they were all here.

    The many bandits and rogues snickered.

    Davon, the bandit lord of Havendale said, ¡°Are you ready for some payback, boys? I know I am ready to make this man suffer for what he¡¯s done to me.¡±

    Samuel, the evil Bishop added, ¡°And we¡¯ll all come back stronger than ever. Once I claim his body, I can revive the rest of you. Whatever this freak is, he¡¯s truly something. For us to take.¡±

    Nick was unbothered. He had an inkling that this was what was happening, and he was glad that the mystery was already solved, and it wasn¡¯t some crazy problem with Archaen Law¨Cwhich he¡¯d have no idea how to fix. While he was a little concerned about how prepared his enemy actually was, he was not ill-equipped to handle a bunch of shadows.

    Nick couldn¡¯t help but smirk a little bit, as he saw Davon¡¯s pathetic brother in the back. Just as Nick had promised, he was going to kill him again.

    He gave his offer. ¡°You have rejected the Redemption Pact. You all have been judged, guilty of numerous sins. You are not worthy of redemption, but I shall shoulder the darkness in your hearts and purify your evil, so you can find penitence and redemption for your sins¨Cby force. Now is your last chance. If you face me and I am the victor, you will be enslaved to bring justice to other evils. If you defeat me, you may find freedom, your suffering coming to an end. But if you back down now, I will leave you in peace, to find release in Orion¡¯s Embrace.¡±

    Previously, Nick had made his offers in similar scenarios¨Cwhere the bandits outnumbered him, and thought they had a chance to defeat him for their freedom. All of them got greedy and or were just filled with anger or hatred at how Nick had killed them, letting their reason get in the way of their freedom.

    Brutus laughed. ¡°You seem calm, half-breed. You think we¡¯re going to back down? We¡¯ll find more than just freedom¨Cwe will take your body as our own! You have done nothing but give us the perfect weapon. Where is yours, by the way?¡±

    He then spread his hands wide, and darkness gathered within each of their hands. Swords and daggers filled each of their grips, their sharp blades ready to fight.

    Nick did not have his Soul Blade¡¯s focus, his hilt was not present in the dream, as he only had himself. He didn¡¯t have armor either, only wearing threadbare robes, and his enemies were no different. Kaya would be that much more useful here, thanks to that.

    But that didn¡¯t mean he was unarmed.

    He drew upon the blade of his soul, a result from all his efforts at the Blade Soulforge. A white light grew out of his right hand, and formed¨C

    A small dagger.

    The rogues laughed, along with Brutus, Davon, and Samuel.

    Davon asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter, young lord? Can you even satisfy your girl with that little prick?¡±

    Nick used a burst of essence, and blurred toward the nearest rogue at his side. He stabbed into the man¡¯s chest faster than he could react, right into his soul core. The darkness was drained into the blade, Nick¡¯s Concept blazing brightly as ephemeral chains formed, and linked from him and into the man between their Soul Cores.

    The man screamed as he burst into righteous flames, Nick¡¯s Redemption Pact washing over him. The bandits had been laughing, but now they were shocked at the volume and amount of terror of the flames engulfing the man.

    Nick had been watching Samuel during this, and the man grit his teeth at this result. Due to being in the dreamscape, he was no longer inside of Nick¡¯s Soul, exactly. This meant his ability to influence Nick¡¯s energies would be reliant upon his normal abilities with his projected body. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    The dream had rules, which was what allowed them to manifest Archaen Law here in the first place. Nick had an advantage here, being the anchor and creator of the dream, but it wasn¡¯t a whole lot.

    He looked over his¡­ soul knife in his hand with a smile, inspecting both sides¨Cit had become just a tiny bit larger, perhaps a quarter of an inch, as a result of his kill. ¡°It¡¯s not the length or the size. It¡¯s all in how you use it.¡±

    The bandits hesitated, their expressions mixed between shocked and concerned at what happened to their ally. The man had stopped screaming after the chains had finished forming, but now the man was enslaved to Nick.

    Brutus yelled, ¡°Get him! Don¡¯t just stand there!¡±

    The rogues descended upon Nick, knives and swords swinging as they attacked from all sides. But Nick was faster, dancing away and swaying around the attacks. He kept on the move, weaving between his opponents as he blocked with his blade and stabbed out, bagging several more captures in quick succession.

    With each shade he defeated, the chains weighed further down on him. The amount from one wasn¡¯t much, but having added three more, he was beginning to feel the burden.

    Using Harden Skin, he took a blow to trade and stab another right in the chest, then with Double Jump, leaped over the group and stabbed another, eliminating them. With this, Nick showed them just how much he outclassed his opponents.

    Davon¡¯s blades formed at Brutus¡¯s gesture, and the bandit dashed toward Nick. Samuel¡¯s essence stirred, the white and black essence forming an orb above him. This surprised Nick¨Cjust where would he get the holy light?

    The Bishop laughed. ¡°You look surprised, half-breed. Divine Usurpation allows me to steal faith energy from someone as powerful as a goddess. Just how would you imagine yourself immune? I¡¯ve been preparing some time for this.¡±

    The orb attack clearly built up slower, likely the result of the man not having access to his special staff. Nick stirred his Concept, the white light and dark energy filling him. Dark essence was drawn from the world around them, including the new chains.

    The new enslaved bandits shouted and screamed in agony, as a fiery white light covered them once more. Nick could feel the burden of his soul increase as a result of these added bandits, and was a bit concerned about what the end of this fight might look like.

    Covering his soul blade in the essence with his expert swordsmanship, he empowered his small knife with black and white light¨Cand his Soul Blade extended. The Bishop fired his deadly attack, and Nick sliced it in two¨Cjust as Davon arrived, his two blades swinging at Nick.

    Nick shouted, and two chains of frost met Davon¡¯s attacks, Nick¡¯s Frost Aura expanding and covering the bandits in the process. Nick feinted his counter at Davon, but instead dashed and stabbed through two additional bandit¡¯s cores. The weight once again increased, but the light surrounding Nick increased even further.

    ¡°What¡¯s this? A second Concept?¡± Samuel looked between the chains from the bandits, and the new chains of ice.

    Nick blocked and dodged Davon¡¯s furious assault as he swung his twin curved blades, and shadow armor grew over the remaining bandits Nick was facing. This appeared to counter his Frost Aura, except for the more powerful chains of frost, which grew around the battlefield and began attacking and slowing the enemies.

    Wrapping the chains around the targets after him and dragging his enemies around, he crashed one bandit into Davon, and went for the kill.

    Only for the Bishop to send a smaller beam of white and black light, cutting Nick off. He was forced to block the beam attack instead, and Davon and the bandits recovered as he was blown back slightly.

    But Nick had plenty of strength to spare. His heroic Concept built him to a whole new level, and he leapt across the battlefield and arrived in front of Brutus. Nick stabbed toward Brutus¡¯s chest, and the man had been far too focused on creating the shadow weapons and protection for the other rogues.

    The Bishop swung a staff of shadows at Nick to intercept his attack, but chains of ice wrapped around the edge and dragged it away¨Callowing Nick to pierce through Brutus¡¯s shadows and his chest unimpeded.

    The shadows were drained out of Brutus into chains as the bald merchant screamed, white flames engulfing him. Shadow weapons among the rogues disappeared, while Nick had an even larger sword.

    To Nick¡¯s surprise, the Bishop¡¯s staff and Davon¡¯s swords were still in their hands¨Cit seemed Samuel was able to continue controlling this aspect for the both of them. A new light and dark attack began building¨Cand Nick¡¯s own white and dark essence was being drained toward it, the Usurpation Concept offering the Bishop a special level of control now that Nick had come near.

    Nick whipped his arm and sword toward cleaving the orb of white and black essence, but the Bishop was prepared for the attack, ready to block it with his staff.

    But he wasn¡¯t prepared for the elbow to the face, Nick easily stepping forward and flowing into the brutal attack. The orb of essence sputtered out as the man¡¯s head whipped back, and Nick was about to continue his assault when the remaining rogues and Davon arrived, having fought off Nick¡¯s chains.

    Nick cut them down in quick succession, the unarmed assailants offering little to no challenge to him as he sped up, and had superior reach. Chains surrounded them as they began to burn with white light, and Nick parried Davon¡¯s two blades in quick succession, before swaying backward under a wide swing and whipping his arm to cleave off Davon¡¯s. He then kicked out Davon¡¯s leg which held his weight, and caught him in the chest¨Ccausing him to burst into flames and the chains to form between them.

    The amount of darkness within Davon was immense, and Nick staggered as the burden on his Soul increased. If not for the Blade Soulforge and his recently earned levels, he just might not have enough gas in the tank to continue the battle.

    His mind was already muddled, and he could hear the whispers of darkness like he was in the fourth stanza of his dance.

    Which only left Samuel and two more rogues, standing in front of him. The rogues hesitated, and Samuel scowled at them.

    ¡°Utterly useless. But I can still make use of you.¡±

    He began pulling darkness from them as they screamed, their forms kneeling on the ground. His odd ability grasped at Nick as well, drawing light energy from him and freezing him up.

    Nick wasn¡¯t idle, despite being frozen. He started attacking with his numerous chains of frost¨Cwrapping them around the Bishop. The man shielded against this with his shadows, and Nick¡¯s ice crystals began truly beginning to encompass him.

    ¡°Enough!¡±

    Samuel shouted, and a blast of darkness blew the chains away. A new orb of black and white light gathered in the air above him.

    ¡°Looks like you had just enough of Seraphara¡¯s Light in you. I¡¯ll have to thank you¨Cthis environment has improved my understanding of both the darkness and the light. When I claim your strange body, I¡¯ll be stronger than ever, ready to enter the third stratum.¡±

    The man had been difficult to deal with the first time, but now he had somehow become stronger. Nick could feel the weight of the terrible man¡¯s Concept, the light and dark within the Bishop far beyond his understanding.

    But Nick wasn¡¯t alone.

    A beam of white light blasted into Samuel¡¯s chest, sending him flying and his orb sputtering out. Irene flapped her wings as she descended from above, arriving and landing behind Nick. She was wearing the beautiful scholarly robes much like Seraphara herself did, which showed her flowing golden hair. The belt at her waist showed her hourglass form,

    The Bishop stood, his face a mask of fury. ¡°You!¡±

    Irene¡¯s lips were pursed with a sad, pitying look in her expression, her hands clasped in front of her. ¡°To think you still have so much anger for me. I had hoped you would find happiness, and had done all I could to grant that for you. But everything I had done for you to find wisdom was never enough.¡±

    Samuel snorted. ¡°From the beginning, you looked down on me. Despite you accepting me as your partner, you refused to share your affection until I found my Concept!¡±

    ¡°You had talent, and you were a proper Lord of Orion. I had no problem sharing my affection with you, at least at first¨CI was merely pushing you to seek purity and wisdom, to cleanse your tainted heart first. As it should be¨Cas is Seraphara¡¯s way. You should know this.¡±

    The Bishop¡¯s face twisted in rage. ¡°Fuck you! You were supposed to be mine¨CI will claim you properly when I capture his body. I will make you suffer!¡± The surrounding shadows twisted, and the drain of dark essence from the two bandits increased. Samuel¡¯s power rose as he was covered in dense shadows. With a small amount of Seraphara¡¯s light, the Bishop began to ready another large orb.

    Nick wasn¡¯t sure what to make of their byplay¨Cwasn¡¯t Rebecca their child? But now was really not the time. He raised his Soul Blade, and reached through his connection to Eirwen.

    ¡°I need your help, Irene.¡±

    She smiled at him, her hands still clasped together. ¡°With pleasure, Hero.¡± She closed her eyes, and stirred her faith energy.

    Seraphara¡¯s light flooded into Nick¡¯s body from outside the dream, and it arrived in his Soul Core. Normally, the energy would run rampant in him, his body unable to hold on to too much of the powerful faith energy¨Clike what had occurred on the throne.

    But now, Irene drew the energy into herself before pushing it back toward him into his Concept, Nick¡¯s body lighting up¨Cand she even drew in some energy from Rebecca and the priestesses for herself.

    Nick had been limited in how much faith energy he could have by what he received from Rebecca or judging and redeeming the tainted priests, and this amount dwarfed all he had received up to now.

    Not only that, but the prismatic light from his wives joined him from their Devotion Cores. Even Fang and Luna joined in on it from back at Frosthaven, as they were not within the Ordeal. This made the energy even denser, and it appeared to give him even greater control over it.

    Irene had a proud smile on her face as she opened her eyes. ¡°How wonderful. My daughter and our faithful have truly grown.¡±

    Nick¡¯s Heroic Concept blazed, his entire body and blade covered with dense white and black, prismatic light. He dashed toward the Bishop, his strength sending him leaping through the air in a blur. The Bishop was shocked at Nick¡¯s speed, and seemed to rush, trying to launch his attack in a hurry.

    But Nick was just too fast. Pushing his Heroic Concept to the maximum as the light empowered his body, he triggered Power Strike. His muscles bulged as they moved with perfect synchronicity, the white and black essence empowering him far beyond his normal strength.

    With a sideways swipe, he cut through the forming orb of shadows and light, dispersing them and cleaving through the two rogues. They burst into righteous flames, and their drain of darkness into the Bishop reversed and went into Nick instead.

    The Bishop¡¯s pull over Nick¡¯s energy returned now that he was this close, the man pushing his Divine Usurpation Concept against Nick¡¯s. His staff then lashed out at Nick¡¯s face.

    Nick only barely managed to twist his head in time for him to get struck in the shoulder instead, knocking him back slightly.

    Then, shadows rose up from the ground and gripped around Nick¡¯s body, and Nick¡¯s essence began to drain into the Bishop as his Concept stole his light and dark energy. The pull was powerful, but the amount drained was like a weak leak from a large pool, thanks to Irene¡¯s efforts and his prismatic light. Irene¡¯s body lit up brightly as she covered him in her Aura, alleviating the pressure the Bishop exerted over him.

    Nick¡¯s chains of ice wrapped around the Bishop again, and Nick stomped toward the Bishop despite the man¡¯s effort to control him, his sword ready to cut the man down.

    Samuel growled in rage. ¡±Just how is your pull on the light so strong? My Divine Usurpation¨C¡±

    Nick laughed. ¡°It¡¯s trash. Rather than keep my people weak and steal from them like you did, I support my people and empower them, and they strengthen me in return. Of course energy given willingly is more powerful than theft.¡± Nick raised his blade above his head once more, and it grew even larger. The Bishop shouted in rage as he tried to work his resources into an attack, but Nick swung down, cleaving into him.

    Samuel screamed, and his body lit aflame as black chains wrapped around him, connecting to Nick. The burden on Nick¡¯s soul was substantial, and it reminded him of the time he Judged the jerk in the first place. The dream began to distort, his soul nearly cracking at the strain.

    Soft arms and a warm body wrapped around him from behind, and a soothing white light filled him. He could feel a stirring of some kind of Concept, a feeling of a boundless love and compassion filling him.

    Irene¡¯s soothing embrace helped purify much of the strain, and he held on with his Will of the Frost King. He did his best to use Soul Mend on himself, to keep it from collapsing from the strain. Irene helped him draw in the faith essence, burning away much of the excess darkness.

    It took a moment, but eventually, the strain from the darkness ceased. Nick let out a sigh of relief, but Nick¡¯s time in the dream was truly coming to an end, as the sky warbled. He twisted his body, turning to look at Irene¨Cwho had still been hugging him from behind.

    ¡°Thanks, Irene. Looking forward to meeting you again soon.¡±

    ¡°And I you, Hero.¡± She gave a pleased sigh. ¡°Finally, I can relax¡­and maybe enjoy myself.¡± Her voice trailed off in the end, as Nick fell into a dreamless sleep to recover.

 Book 3 - Chapter 12 - The Return Home

    When Nick had awoken from his dream battle, he felt rather heavy. The burden of all the chains he accumulated the previous evening was excessive, and it would take him some time to fully purify his soul and grow once again.

    A parade had been called for, where Lord Silver and the guard showed off their victory. It ended with the magistrate giving public trials¨Cand enslaving of the criminals, by Dale and a few of the other slave merchants.

    Nick would ultimately get them at a reduced price and secretly Judge them, as soon as he could handle the strain.

    With Blackthorne¡¯s bandits mostly dealt with, their time remaining in Silverbrook fell into a steady rhythm. The largest change in Nick¡¯s day to day was Nick¡¯s focus and preparation for Seraphara¡¯s Ordeal.

    For hours, he would sit among the priestesses in their tent, practicing his control over his Mana Aura, along with Eirwen, Kaya, and Sable. They used an artifact that looked a lot like a tome to produce an invasive aura, that constantly shifted its attack.

    Then, there was a much more ominous tome, which produced a dark aura. It was the Bishop¡¯s special item he used for training to control darkness energy, and now the girls used it to practice protecting themselves against it, and purifying their bodies from any invading essence.

    It was near the end of their stay in Silverbrook, and Nick was doing his last meditation with the girls¨CEirwen, Kaya, Sable, and Marissa were in the pavilion tent with him. Sitting on cushions around a small table which held the tome artifacts, the party meditated and defended against the two odd tomes¡¯ attacks.

    The light tome bombarded his mana aura with small beams of light, and Nick¡¯s thin ropes were cut and regrew, as they protected against the onslaught.

    Through his practice the past few weeks, he had made the aura and image much more complex. The ropes themselves were now a more elaborate weave of individual strands, and now, a layer of thicker chains was surrounded by yet another layer of rope. The layers shifted around his body in different directions like living snakes, leaving no holes for foreign essence to invade him.

    This practice had numerous effects. It made his mana aura stronger, but it also improved his overall control of essence. It was now to the point where someone early in the first stratum would have difficulty even piercing his aura and skin with a blade¨Ceven without Harden Skin. Then, magical attacks like the goblin shaman¡¯s lightning would be severely reduced.

    The evil tome now focused on him, sending a terrifying wave of essence over him. If he hadn¡¯t been protecting himself, it would make him feel unease and eventually fear as it corrupted his body and mind. It began tainting the outer layer of aura ropes like an insidious poison, but the shifting rope and chains transferred and purified the oncoming essence before it could reach his body.

    All this was accomplished with only using the barest increase in mana usage, the mana and essence moving more efficiently than ever. After the invading essence moved on to the next person, Nick opened his eyes.

    To find that Marissa had inched close to him and was now smiling at him. ¡°How wonderful, Lord Nicholas. You have come so far, and so fast. I¡¯m truly amazed that you can purify the darkness so well. Your soul¡¯s purity is surprising for a non-adherent, and worthy of respect.¡±

    ¡°Not sure why that is. You and Rebecca always mention this, but I feel like I have plenty of negative thoughts and emotions, as other people may judge. I have my pride, and I have my other vices and desires. I am far from a perfect person as judged by Seraphara.¡±

    Marissa shook her head. ¡°For your soul to be free of dark essence, it is not as though you must be a perfect person¨Cit is both what you desire and do that the essence of Orion responds to. If you want to be a virtuous person, and your actions match, then this is what you will ultimately build within you. If your worldly desires are tempered with virtue, that can keep you from falling toward the darkness, and your good deeds will make your soul shine brightly.¡±

    Nick thought that matched him decently well. While he did hate and want to destroy evil people like the Bishop, it was only to protect others from his terror. While he felt lust and desired women, it was tempered by a desire for mutual companionship and happiness.

    This carried over to several other aspects of himself, such as his desire to dominate and rule¨Cbut only to protect and empower his people and their futures. Then, his actions were completely driven by his positive thoughts and desires, his Pacts and his promises to be a hero to those he protected.

    For the priestesses, many of them had difficulty removing the dark energy unless the purity of their cores was high¨Cor they formed their faith core. Their compassion and desire for peace and wisdom would help them take virtuous actions, while remaining strong on Orion.

    Supposedly, the priests who were tainted would have significant difficulty with this, needing to expend a considerable amount of effort to keep the invading essence out. They were focused on tempering their desires with discipline, and accomplishing these same acts of compassion to cleanse themselves.

    But Nick and his wives¡¯ purity was already far above most, thanks to their Soul Pact. Their righteous efforts to do the right thing and help others had prevented any darkness from taking root in their souls from the very beginning, their conviction driving their actions and influencing the essence within them.

    ¡°Thank you for explaining that, Marissa. You¡¯ve been a big help these last few weeks, and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom.¡±

    What Nick said was true. While working on his aura, Rebecca had often been busy with wrapping up much of the healing and preparations for the priestesses to head home, and hadn¡¯t joined them for much of the training. Many of the clergy had already left on their bikes the day before today, and Marissa was going to ride in Nick¡¯s personal vehicle on the way back.

    Marissa blushed. ¡°It¡¯s no problem at all, Milord. You have helped us and everyone here in Silverbrook so much. While the people of Silverbrook don¡¯t know it, we are aware of your generosity and compassion, and so is Seraphara. We and the other girls¡­we respect you so much. You¡¯re like our guardian angel.¡±

    Kaya opened one eye and snorted. ¡°Nick, an angel? I don¡¯t know about that. He likes tying up girls a little too much to be one.¡±

    Marissa blushed bright red, shyly looking between Nick and Kaya. ¡°T-Tying?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not quite the taunt you think it is, Kaya. Not when it¡¯s coming from the person who likes being tied up.¡±

    Kaya blushed. ¡°I do nnn¡­do.¡± Her body shook, as if she was straining in an attempt to deny it.

    Sable chuckled and opened her eyes as well, her shadows protecting her and hiding her. ¡°You should be more honest, pack-sister. Then you¡¯d get that which you desire more often.¡±

    Eirwen laughed as she stood up, then turned off the tome artifacts by pressing her hands on them and sending mana into them. ¡°You sure like putting your foot in your mouth, don¡¯t ya Kaya? But Nick was right.¡± She turned to Marissa with a smile, ¡°Thank you for all your help, Marissa. I didn¡¯t think hubby or Kaya were cut out for meditation, but your instruction and the mantras helped us all out a lot. It was interesting to contrast your methods and the shamans¡¯.¡±

    The improvement to his imagery, his mana control and aura had a lot to do with directed meditation. Seraphara called them the building blocks of understanding essence, which were driven by Marissa sharing her magical words of wisdom while channeling her faith energy.

    It was shocking how large of an impact this had on him and his thoughts. Despite the statements being short and almost nonsensical, they quickly relaxed his mind, influenced his images to take shape, and his essence to respond closer to his wishes.

    Before Marissa could respond, Jasmine entered the tent, her towering form startling the girl.

    ¡°Master! I see that you¡¯re done now. Lord Silver and the Guild Master had some parting gifts for you, and they wished you safe travels.¡±

    She had arrived about a week ago, having finally finished up with recovering their funds and helping the beetlefolk. However, her plot meant that they did not currently hold the recovered money.

    The gold was currently hidden underneath Shadowvale.

    Turon, the ambassador sent from Shadowvale, had mentioned that Blackthorne would know how much gold Nick held or earned in his city. And Jasmine had realized that this would play in perfectly for her plot.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    The scouts from Shadowvale would likely encounter the destruction of the caravan eventually, and report that wolves had destroyed it, and that all the contents were gone.

    But Blackthorne would believe that this was a lie. It was a smart obfuscation, that just might muddy the waters enough to help out with Nick¡¯s situation. It would do that while making sure the bandit lord didn¡¯t get more resources, and it might lead to making Shadowvale even easier for Nick to claim.

    ¡°What¡¯d they give?¡±

    ¡°Lord Silver¡¯s gift was some rare cores, which Lumos will refine for your usage¨Cit seems he was aware of some of the other things we bought or sought. The Guild Master then provided some pills and other rare cultivation resources, that may work well for supplementing our efforts.¡±

    For Climbers like themselves, most of the items like pills were often meant as stopgap measures. For example, if he exited the tower, and he was really close to the next level¨Cconsuming a pill would get him the rest of the way there. Then, there were some items meant to improve his understanding of his Concepts and essence. With how many wives he had and needed to have, he would obtain all the resources he could get.

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s really time for us to go home, huh? Let me look at my Quest.¡±

    [Divine Concord Progress ¨C Charity and Pilgrimage:

    <ul>

    <li>Soul Healing: 18/5</li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li>Rescue Slaves: 257/10</li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li>Recruitment: 78/10</li>

    </ul>

    Quest Complete. Return to Cathedral of Seraphara for Turn-in.]

    Nick was a bit surprised at the count for the slaves line item in the Quest. He hadn¡¯t freed any yet, and he had only rescued in the ballpark of a hundred with the warehouse they raided and the ship. He bought a lot of them too, but if he combined them all it was more than his total, and so he wasn¡¯t sure how this number worked exactly.

    The only conclusion he could come to was that some of the slaves were tricked into their service in some way, and it was also counting the criminal slaves who were wrongfully accused. With a quick talk with the magistrate, Nick had already freed a number of them, knowing that many of them could return home to their families immediately.

    ¡°Looks like I got it in the bag. Finding people that need my Soul Mend spell was the hardest  part.¡±

    Kaya blushed. ¡°I¡¯m glad I didn¡¯t take that bet. You were¡­surprisingly convincing.¡±

    Nick shrugged. ¡°I dunno, I thought it was easy. I just sold the vision of becoming an adherent to those that it fit. I respect Seraphara, but I don¡¯t think becoming her follower and sharing that lifestyle is for everyone.¡±

    He wasn¡¯t sure how Seraphara or Orion decided on his credit. He didn¡¯t think he had convinced that many directly, and it was almost like he was given partial credit for some of the usage of his ideas.

    The nuns had continued their door-to-door efforts, even after they had captured all the bandits. And Sable had patrolled in the evening to out any remaining evil within the city, exploring their underground areas and ensuring they had found everyone and everything.

    Together with the wolflings, she even patrolled the surrounding area up to a hundred miles out, tracking and sniffing for any stragglers that might have escaped the city. She had caught a couple of odd loners, but their involvement with Blackthorne was unclear¨CSable was mostly forced to put them down, as they couldn¡¯t easily prove their crimes to a magistrate.

    Nick hoped he had his Secret Hero Quest in the bag, but couldn¡¯t be completely sure until he handed it in. He had done all he could.

    The guard was now sealing off the passageways with earth mages, and soon the city would be all buttoned up against any new Blackthorne incursions.

    Rebecca entered the tent. ¡°Did I hear talk about your Quest? I¡¯ve secured the approval for future pilgrimages, and even have support from the Master of Trade to aid us in finding slots by ship.¡±

    Nick updated her on his progress, sharing his quest.

    Rebecca¡¯s smile was wide, and she gave a pleased sigh. ¡°Truly wonderful. We have nearly doubled both our adherents and prospective clergy, and it¡¯s largely thanks to you providing us this opportunity, Nicholas.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m happy to have helped you in this way. I¡¯m going to have to ask you gals for a bit of help¨CI¡¯m a bit worried about how successful we were in getting laborers and settlers. We¡¯re going to have a busy few months here helping get everything sorted.¡±

    Rebecca gave him a small smile. ¡°Of course, we¡¯ll do our best to aid those that have joined us in Frosthaven¨Cadherent of Seraphara or not.¡±

    Sable chuckled, stretching as she got up. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that soon, we¡¯ll likely be having a different sort of busy time, no? Becoming an Ordained Lord and witnessing Seraphara¡¯s matrimonial approval is bound to be a major community activity for everyone in Frosthaven.¡±

    Rebecca blushed as Nick pulled her into his lap with a happy chuckle. She melted into his hug, and happily offered her lips to him for a kiss. They had spent a lot of time together during the trip, including some of the time Nick was preparing for Seraphara¡¯s Ordeal.

    While Marissa helped them, Rebecca spent plenty of time with them too, as well as several lunch dates.

    Marissa blushed at their affection, but given that it was in private and among family and after they had had the right amount of propriety, this was okay in her book.¡°The Chancellor is¡­extra capable when it comes to organizing people. Rebecca and I help him in his duties, but I think you¡¯ll find him to be a blessing.¡±

    Nick did have a large job to throw a ton of people at¨Cupgrading the roads between Frosthaven and Silverbrook. Likely, he would have them beginning that as soon as they handled the housing shortage issue he just created.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s get going, shall we? It¡¯s about time for us to head home.¡±

    ***

    The trip to Frosthaven was mostly uneventful, other than some heavy rain which made the roads have poor, muddy conditions. They took it slow and took two full days and nights rather than a day and a half, and they had now arrived in the middle of the third day. There would be one last caravan of willing settlers, the total number of people to join Frosthaven over a thousand.

    As Nick stepped off his utility vehicle near his Crown Sanctum, it was like the city itself welcomed him. A sense of familiarity and warmth filled his entire being, the essence of Frosthaven gathering around him.

    But it was more than just a warmth. It was as though he could feel the gratitude and respect of his people, a pressure building among them. There was already a significant number of people in his city that trusted and admired him.

    Some still had worries and doubts about his ability to handle Blackthorne, but it was almost as if he could feel their consensus. In time, that trust and admiration would build into loyalty and devotion.

    Sable stepped down off the car, her tail wagging as she sniffed the air with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s great to be home. What is it, Boss? The essence is¡­¡±

    Eirwen joined him at his side, a thoughtful smile on her face. ¡°It is reacting to him, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    It was then that the Hero¡¯s Path tower lit up, and a bright light cascaded upon Nick. It was a large quantity of essence, and he received a prompt.

    [Heroic Quest Completed: Secret Hero of Silverbrook]

    [You accomplished the goals of dismantling all of Blackthorne¡¯s operations in Silverbrook, all while giving you and your people plausible deniability. You inspired the clergy of Seraphara to stand up for themselves and face the danger, defeating crime and rescuing slaves. You recovered thousands of gold, reducing the villain¡¯s power in the North and saving many. Some elements in the North still remain, but their ability to report to the Bandit Lord is limited.]

    [Reward: Bonus Essence]

    Essence gathered further within Nick, and he cultivated the gained essence with his chains swirling. While he had hit level fourteen thanks to Jasper¡¯s efforts these past few weeks, leveling had been slow-going.

    The amount of essence earned was substantial, and he guessed he would near level fifteen. Combined with what he would earn in the Seraphara Ordeal, he was sure he would surpass that.

    Jasmine leaped down from the top of the vehicle. She had mostly flattened her larger spider body for much of the trip as she wove some more of her petrasilk fabric. When the heavy rains hit, she simply kept it from affecting her with her aura.

    ¡°Yay! That¡¯s wonderful, Master! Looks like we kept under the radar for the next few months. Still, even before the quest reward, the feeling of the essence was great.¡±

    Kaya¡¯s tail swished. ¡°I¡¯m a bit envious you can feel what he does, but I can tell the essence was swirling around him strangely.¡±

    The city was bustling, as Nick could see it from the top of the hill. Many of the stone ruins in the lower parts of the city were being reclaimed rapidly by a horde of laborers, and new homes were being constructed in various areas.

    Seraphara¡¯s Cathedral glimmered in the afternoon light, and carts pulled by horses or bikes with trailers moved resources all over the city. The Orc Training Grounds were busier than ever, Nick spotting dozens of additional beastfolk practicing with the many orcs¨Cand the people that would become his new Town Guard.

    ¡°Boss! You¡¯re back!¡±

    A blue blur bolted across the large square, and slammed into Nick¡¯s chest. Fang¡¯s tail was wagging, and her smile was beaming as Nick did his best to balance and hug the girl. Luna jogged at a more sedate pace, a lovely smile as she came up from behind her. Her tail betrayed her excitement as she joined Nick¡¯s hug.

    Kissing both his wives, Nick felt great to be back.

    ¡°I¡¯m back. We saw each other just last night, though.¡± It was true. Nick had seen her at least every week in a dream, where they had fun both in and out of the bedroom¨Crewarding Fang and Luna for their hard work.

    Fang¡¯s eyes grew big, and she looked a little sad as her eyes glistened. It was like a physical blow to Nick¡¯s heart. ¡°It¡¯s just not the same thing. The dreams are great, but when we wake up, your smell is all gone. And, I can¡¯t feel that my¨C¡±

    Luna cleared her throat. ¡°Now Fang, we have guests here. We¡¯ll talk more about that later, in private.¡±

    Marissa blushed, and cleared her throat. ¡°I¡¯ll head back to the Cathedral. I understand there¡¯s a certain person you¡¯re looking forward to seeing¡­when she¡¯s ready for visitors, I can¡¯t wait to see her again. For now, I¡¯ll go see Chancellor Robins, and make preparations. You still wanted to climb the Ordeal starting soon, right, Nicholas?¡±

    Irene¡¯s revival in the Genesis Chamber had actually completed while they were gone, but she had chosen to wait for their return to reawaken.

    Nick grinned as he remembered. ¡°Oh yes, I do want to complete all my Quests, after all. But I¡¯d like to give Becca some time to get reacquainted, first. Let¡¯s plan within the next few days, for now. Are you going to come with me and her?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like to! We¡¯ll make sure those that go with can gain the most from your run. Give Irene my greetings please, Rebecca.¡±

    ¡°Thanks Marissa, I will. Of course, you¡¯ll be able to tell her yourself, soon.¡±

    Nick held her hand. ¡°Well, shall we? Let¡¯s go meet my future mother-in-law.¡±

 Book 3 - Chapter 13 - Rebecca - The Awakening

    The water drained from the genesis chamber, and once again, Nick was blindfolded as Rebecca¡¯s naked mother was revealed. Only Eirwen and Nick joined, so as to not¡­overwhelm her with too many new people. The rest were preparing a small welcoming party in the living room.

    The woman was level fifteen, and Rebecca was a bit too young to understand why she had stopped her progress. It was only later that she learned her mother stopped climbing for only one reason¨Cshe was waiting for her party and husband to catch up, and form his Faith Core and Concept.

    Unfortunately, the horrible man had other plans.

    Her mother gave a sharp intake of breath as her large wings fluttered, and Eirwen sent her Clean spell over her, to dry her body.

    Rebecca¡¯s heart fluttered, so pleased to see her mother living once again. She said with more than a little emotion, ¡°Welcome back, Mother. I¡¯m so glad you¡¯ve returned to us.¡±

    Irene turned her gaze to Rebecca, and her voice held a lot of energy, different than what she expected.

    ¡°Ah, Becca!¡± She then rushed forward while floating, and hugged Rebecca with a warm smile. As always, her large wings wrapped around her as well as her arms, and Rebecca enjoyed the warmth of her mother for the first time in many years.

    ¡°I love you, my Becca. I¡¯m so sorry¡­¡±

    Rebecca¡¯s breath caught in her throat, as tears began to fill her eyes. ¡°Y-You have no need to apologize to me, but¡­let¡¯s get some clothes on you, and we¡¯ll talk more.¡±

    ¡°Oh! Haha, I guess we have a small audience¨Ceven our hero is here. Sure, we have so much to talk about, after all.¡±

    Eirwen handed Irene her scholarly robes, and Rebecca helped her get them on. With holes for her large wings at the back and a cinch belt at her waist, it was quick to bring her back to her usual, beautiful and dignified scholarly appearance.

    Her mother and Seraphara both had sharp, elf-like features on their face and ears, her mother truly beautiful. While Rebecca¡¯s hair was blonde and naturally curly near the ends, her mother¡¯s was straight and shimmered like gold.

    Irene looked at Eirwen. ¡°Thank you for being here to welcome me. Just who might you be?¡±

    Eirwen smiled. ¡°I¡¯m Eirwen, one of Nick¡¯s wives. It¡¯s a pleasure to finally meet you, Irene.¡±

    A light of recognition flashed in Irene¡¯s eyes as she nodded with a small smile. ¡°Ohhh¡­ You¡¯re the soft, loving one. While I couldn¡¯t quite sense what was going on outside of where I rested in Nick¡¯s Soul Core, I still could get a general feel for those that my hero interacted with.¡± She looked over at Nick. ¡°All clear now, Hero. Thank you for granting me that small bit of privacy. But I wouldn¡¯t have minded if you took a peek. I owe you my everything, after all.¡±

    ¡°M-Mom!¡± Rebecca protested. Her mom was awfully energetic, and it was a bit surprising for Rebecca. Normally, she had a lazy smile and spoke slowly.

    Irene gave a brilliant smile. ¡°Ahh... So I can still be Mom again, after all these years. Such a blessing.¡±

    Rebecca blushed, and Nick chuckled as he took off his blindfold, and hugged Rebecca to him from the side.

    ¡°I¡¯m really glad things worked out. How I see it is, you helped me as much as I helped you. I don¡¯t know if I would have made it without your help, both times I faced that Bishop.¡±

    Irene sighed, and looked a little¡­guilty. ¡°Maybe so. But it¡¯s thanks to you that I could rectify the biggest mistake of my life. I foolishly believed¡­that Samuel wasn¡¯t that bad, and with enough kindness and compassion, he could be saved from the dark. To have wasted more than a decade on him, and one more in horrible service within him¡­only you could have saved me. I¡¯m afraid if he won the Conflict against the orcs, he would have reached his goal of corrupting my spirit.¡±

    Rebecca nodded sadly, still enjoying Nick¡¯s side hug and comforting squeeze of her hand. Her mother had died when she was around ten years old, and she was now just twenty. From what she knew, she was born only a year or so after their matrimony ceremony.

    Eirwen gasped. ¡°Ten whole years of enduring that, and twenty with that jerk? I can¡¯t imagine what that would be like. Now, we do have a bit of a welcoming party in our living room. Rebecca did say you liked to eat, so Jasmine and Luna are cooking.¡±

    ¡°Oh! I can¡¯t wait to meet the others. I sensed that my hero was close to many other women, including my Becca. It was a little¡­¡± Her eyes took on a strange look that Rebecca couldn¡¯t identify, as she paused. ¡°Surprising, but I could feel how happy she was with him.¡±

    ¡°Mom¡­¡± Rebecca blushed as she hesitated, ¡°I love Nicholas, even though he has many lovers. And I know that¡­many more will be seeking him in the future. It is normal for a hero and Lord of Orion to attract many.¡±

    Eirwen laughed, her ears wiggling. ¡°Ah yes, our hero and prince has many after his affection. Why, there are even a few newly evolved Wolfen girls¨C¡±

    Nick cleared his throat. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about that later. I¡¯m sure Irene would like to get some food in her, and to relax a bit?¡±

    Irene smiled, and hugged Nick¡¯s other arm. ¡°Thank you for worrying about me. I¡¯m content to hear more about my hero¡¯s future family here, but I would like to meet his and my Becca¡¯s current one! Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Rebecca and Nick were surprised by her action, but Eirwen just giggled as she walked out of the room. Was¡­her mother being a little flirty with Nicholas? Well, she had always been extra¡­friendly, to anyone, she thought. When she wasn¡¯t sleeping.

    They exited the Genesis Chamber, and began to head down the hall. Irene looked all around them with interest, the markings and design of the home completely foreign. The sheer black, almost marble-like surface with white lighting was striking.

    She stopped the group, and ran her spare hand¡¯s along the walls. ¡°Such interesting materials and design. Just what is your background, Hero?¡±

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s complicated. It¡¯s a bit of a family secret, but I¡¯m the last of the Archaens. My family left me this place when they entered the Tower of Eternity.¡±

    ¡°But this is a Frontier Shard.¡± She gasped. ¡°So this is a Heritage! You must have earned it in a Trial? I suppose that¡¯s¡­where you rescued us.¡±

    Nick nodded, and they continued on to the living room. ¡°I¡¯m still earning full access to it.¡±

    A soft music was playing in the background as they arrived in the living room. There was already a wide assortment of snacks and drinks laid out in their relaxing area, and Jasmine and Luna were working in the kitchen.

    Kaya, Sable, and Fang were playing a game of cards as they waited, but all waved and smiled at their entry.

    Irene gasped. ¡°My, my. Such a diverse family. Monsterfolk and beastfolk together.¡± Irene floated and found an open seat, and Rebecca sat together with her, wanting to be close to her mother she missed dearly.

    Irene wrapped her wings around her, leaving only their faces showing to the rest as Rebecca enjoyed the warmth of her mother.

    Nick sat down next to Fang, and began scratching her ears as Eirwen joined him on the other side. Seeing Fang¡¯s beaming smile and tail wagging warmed Rebecca¡¯s heart.

    He cleared his throat. ¡°Technically, I¡¯m a monsterfolk too. I don¡¯t know much about the Archaen¡¯s origins, but my birth mother was a demonfolk, besides. An Archaen Heir is somehow still nearly a hundred percent Archaen because their wives become half-blood Archaen when they make the Pact.¡±

    ¡°Wow! That is unique. So that means my little Becca will be that too? A third human, angel, and Archaen? How do you feel about this, daughter?¡±

    Rebecca blushed at her focusing on this, the family all listening to her answer. ¡°I don¡¯t mind it. Part of me¡­ is excited about it.¡± She didn¡¯t say it, but in a way, it would be lessening a part of her father, in her.

    Sable chuckled. ¡°And won¡¯t that be soon? The lovely nun sure has been spending a lot of time with our mate.¡±

    ¡°I have long since decided I would like to join Nicholas¡¯s family as his partner. We are¡­just waiting for the full-clear.¡±

    Irene beamed, folding her hands in front of her, and her wings fluttering around them.  ¡°Oh, that is so wonderful, dear daughter¨CI can¡¯t wait to see your marriage ceremony! I take it our dear hero feels the same way. What¡¯s a full-clear?¡±

    Rebecca blushed. ¡°Nick was just being a little silly, but for the Divine Concord, he was given three Quests, and that only one was required to earn it¨Cbut he wanted to accomplish them all. C-Can you share the quest, Nicholas?¡± Rebecca blushed, as she realized it was going to detail about the marriage thing.

    He shrugged, and likely shared it with her because Irene¡¯s eyes roved over what was probably the Quest details, before she laughed. ¡°So you¡¯re planning on completing them all? How cute, and respectable! But I think that waiting to turn in your Pilgrimage and Charity completion before your Ordeal delve would be a mistake, and Mother likely knows that. Becoming an Ordained Lord will mean that you should be able to begin collecting your Tithe immediately for your climb.¡±

    Nick chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m not super attached to waiting until they are all complete to turn them in, I just didn¡¯t want Rebecca to feel like I was marrying her for the benefits. I¡¯ll accept them, but I¡¯d love for her to be mine with or without them.¡±

    ¡°Oh how sweet!¡± She frowned. ¡°What is it about your words that seem to ring true in my mind? That you believe them to be true.¡±

    Eirwen said, ¡°You can feel that? Archaens and their wives are unable to speak lies, unless meant to protect others.¡±

    Jasmine and Luna brought the last of the food into the room on platters, setting them down on the table. There were plenty of meat and vegetables to enjoy, Rebecca spotting at least one or two dishes that were likely meant to appease her own palette.

    Irene looked at everything with wide eyes. ¡°Oh my, this is quite the bounty. This looks wonderful.¡±

    Luna smiled as Eirwen scooted over for Luna to sit next to Nick¨Cthe girl having spent less time in person. ¡°We are also celebrating Boss and everyone¡¯s return, so we went all out. We just didn¡¯t know what time they would arrive.¡±

    They enjoyed their meal, with Irene snuggled next to Rebecca as they talked about their adventures. Rebecca was overjoyed to see her mother so happy, and feel her loving embrace once again. Now that she had her own Faith Core, she could feel just how bright and special her mother¡¯s spirit truly was. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    Nick had Luna and Fang at his sides, the two enjoying some ear scratches and head pats. The two preened at his praise for their efforts these past few weeks. They had ran through the Path of Kings every week, adding numerous evolved Monsterfolk and aiding them in learning language for better coordination.

    The rest of his wives were arrayed around the center table, sitting on couches and chairs as they faced each other.

    Irene said, ¡°Thank you so much for the warm welcome! I¡¯m excited to hear that our hero is going to become an Ordained Lord, but after hearing all that you have accomplished, I understand Mother¡¯s choice.¡±

    Of course, her mother was none other than Seraphara herself, so this was big news to the rest of them. Rebecca twisted to look at her mother. ¡°Just what do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I was sent here for a reason about twenty-five years ago, and Nicholas and his Heritage is probably a large part of why. Mother felt a deep connection to this shard, despite the fact that it had not established the Open Relay.¡±

    Nick frowned. ¡°That¡¯s a bit concerning. It was my understanding that divination against most of the things here in my Heritage should be¡­impossible.¡±

    Irene shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s not divination, but a connection to the root of all things that resonate deeply with her. Mother is a goddess of Wisdom, and so there must be vast amounts of lost knowledge here in this Heritage.¡±

    Nick arched his brow. ¡°It¡¯s true. Once I unlock the Ancestral Archives, there should be a lot of knowledge available to us. But it does require an Archivist.¡±

    Irene clapped in applause, her smile giddy, and she began lifting out of her seat as she was filled with joy. ¡°How wonderful! I can manage that role. Just what do you need to make it available?¡±

    ¡°It needs ten thousand DP. We may be able to pool up that much if we head back into the Path of Kings and pass the 15th floor. How much do we have now, Vi?¡±

    The house AI responded to them, ¡°We now have four thousand two hundred and thirty-five DP earned within the Path of Kings.¡±

    Nick whistled. ¡°That¡¯s a lot more than I thought.¡±

    Fang beamed. ¡°We worked very hard! Four parties reaching the eighth or ninth floor per week ends up being quite a bit! Even with their high-level guides.¡±

    Eirwen said, ¡°But back to the reason you were sent, and Seraphara.¡±

    ¡°Ah! Right. As the daughter of a Goddess, the cost for me to enter a Frontier Shard is both prohibitive and dangerous. Many of the strongest entities and kingdoms would like to claim a shard for their own, and they compete for ownership. With the Zura family already claiming an Ordeal in her name, Mother sent me here to support and aid them. I was to marry the Lord of Zura, and ascend until we activated the Open Relay, all while searching for the missing knowledge. However, Samuel had stifled my search, it appears.¡±

    Nick arched his brow. ¡°What if it was a woman?¡±

    Irene frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t see why that would have mattered? Then I¡¯d have simply aided them, until we accomplished the same. Of course, Samuel could have rejected me, as was his right. But he was quite happy about the situation.¡±

    Eirwen asked, ¡°We¡¯d like to know a little more, if it isn¡¯t too painful for you. We¡¯ve had a hard time understanding why you would partner with¡­such a horrible person.¡±

    Irene shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t mind it because my nightmare is over, and ultimately, it wasn¡¯t that bad. As I mentioned, I came to this shard about twenty-five years ago with my level at zero. I traveled to Zura, and was quick to join the community and clergy, and obtain a climbing slot. As Rebecca knows, most everything related to faith energy came easily for me. After I formed my faith core less than a year later, I let Samuel know my goals. It appears this was a mistake because this might have been when he started making his.¡±

    She continued, ¡°Because you see, Samuel wasn¡¯t always bad. He was talented in some aspects, but it seemed that he was stuck. He had been climbing for many years, and hadn¡¯t been able to surpass his father and reach the fifteenth floor. Seeing me climb so fast must have built up resentment in him, and by then, I had just hoped that by becoming his partner, this jealousy would fall away.¡±

    She shook her head. ¡°Instead, after our courtship and Seraphara accepting us as partners, it only built within him as I excelled and got ahead of him¨Cand I could feel it. Normally, increasing our affection for one another would be totally normal, but I noticed that he was only becoming worse. I denied him until he found purity, and cited Seraphara¡¯s Tenets for partnership, along with the vows and oath he gave. However, this only caused his hatred to build further.¡±

    Nick frowned. ¡°It feels like he never believed in what Seraphara stood for.¡±

    Irene nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. So then he tried to force me by using the community against me. Can you believe it? After a short time, he let everyone know that I was denying him a child, that we were not consummating our partnership! As a Lord of Orion without an Heir, it was my duty to provide him one. And this is true, though it wasn¡¯t nearly as urgent as he made it appear. So he schemed to get me into bed that way¨Cand by this point, loving him was the furthest thing from my mind.¡±

    Kaya¡¯s ears were flat on her head. ¡°That¡¯s terrible. I can understand if you don¡¯t want to tell the next part¡­¡±

    Irene laughed. ¡°No! I am quite proud of this next part. I guess he must have forgotten about this, but we Angels can reproduce with essence alone¨Cwe are beings of light energy. So that is exactly what I did¨CI used some of his essence. I gave birth to Rebecca, and she¡¯s been my pride and joy of my existence. I love her very much, and I would not trade her for anything.¡±

    ¡°M-Mom¡­ I love you too. I missed you so much.¡±

    ¡°And I¡¯m so sorry I failed you so, and that I failed the people of Zura.¡±

    Eirwen asked, ¡°So what happened after that?¡±

    ¡°So he had to give up on that scheme. Throughout it all, I had always hoped that he would find wisdom, and find peace with his anger. While his actions were always positive in public, it seems he was doing horrible things in secret.¡±

    Irene talked about the day she died¨Cthe book she saw when Nicholas Judged her father, that allowed him to somehow trap her soul. She continued, ¡°They were just far beyond our knowledge and understanding. He must have found help, and someone with a grudge with my mother. I never could have imagined that they could pull off their horrible plot with such efficiency here on a Frontier Shard.¡±

    Nick said, ¡°Lumos told us she is a unique automaton from the Darkrock Confederacy, along with the Throne he procured. There was even an artifact from Seraphara used to calibrate everything and a special Bottled Concept, so he could steal Seraphara¡¯s faith energy without her being aware.¡±

    Irene gasped. ¡°That is¡­ to think they put so many resources into enslaving me and stealing from Mother. To bring all that in here, it¡¯s almost enough to build their own shard.¡± She smiled at Nick. ¡°And they never could have imagined our hero would defeat their plans so completely.¡± Her mother took on a dreamy expression. ¡°Why, it must have been fate! Only you could have saved me from that nightmare.¡±

    Nick cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable about Mother¡¯s proclamation, and Eirwen smiled. ¡°That¡¯s our hubby! He walks the Hero¡¯s Path and the Path of Kings. We now have Four Ordeals in our city of Frosthaven.¡±

    Rebecca¡¯s eyes were narrowed on her mother, twisting in her seat, but Irene couldn¡¯t meet her eyes as she accepted the topic change. ¡°The Path of Kings and the Hero¡¯s Path? This will be quite the challenge, but not impossible. Forming the basis for your inner world will be the most difficult threshold for you to pass.¡±

    Nick frowned. ¡°The what now?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know? But you must have heard that it is best to establish your Concept before then, at least. The reason for this is that when you cross into the third stratum, it sets your foundations for what will become your inner world. Without a Concept, the foundations will be far too brittle, and the ability to attach any future concepts to this foundation will be nearly impossible. On top of that, Orion will not allow it.¡±

    She continued, ¡°Thus, when you attempt to enter the fourth stratum, this will be impossible too. You will be unable to become an immortal.¡±

    ¡°How does walking two paths play into that being a problem?¡±

    ¡°If you make two fitting Concepts and keep them in balance, this will probably work as you enter the third stratum. But within it, things start to get more difficult to commit actions that are appropriate for both Paths, without taking away from one. I suppose it is good that you have two Paths that aren¡¯t completely incompatible, but it will still be challenging. You will have to walk the razor¡¯s edge.¡±

    Rebecca stared at her mother with awe. While she was always smart and knowledgeable, she was often¡­lethargic and disinterested in most things such as sharing it, aside from reading. Rebecca had become the Arch Priestess, but her mother was never interested in a clergy position beyond Priestess, taking the job of the librarian. She just wanted to read and sleep.

    ¡°What is it, daughter? You are looking at me a bit funny.¡±

    ¡°N-Nothing. I was just thinking that¡­you were energetic, and I haven¡¯t much seen you in this¡­lecturing mode, before. You¡¯re¡­different now, somehow.¡±

    Irene laughed. ¡°You¡¯re right! I was content to sleep and read through life¨Cand while I still desire to gather more knowledge and wisdom, I don¡¯t want life to pass me by. I feel like¡­ I gave my first life to the pursuit of it, and even married that horrible man. Now, I want to live my best life, you know? That, and the essence here is so different! I wonder what it is.¡±

    Rebecca smiled as she thought of how much she loved her boyfriend¡¯s home. The warmth of Nick and his family, the essence within, and the study, were all wonderful. So much nicer than¡­her current home.

    Eirwen nodded. ¡°It¡¯s a wonderful home, we have not changed the Crown Sanctum much since we claimed it. It even has a study.¡±

    Irene floated up, and Rebecca found herself standing as a result, like a giant balloon lifting her into the air. ¡°A study, you say? Why didn¡¯t you say anything!¡±

    Eirwen smiled. ¡°Did you want to see it? I Iove the study here so much. Rebecca and I spend a lot of time there.¡±

    Rebecca suddenly realized this was a bad idea. Her mother might not want to leave once she saw it! ¡°Maybe that¡¯s¨C¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d love to! Please, can we see it now?¡±

    Eirwen giggled at Irene¡¯s excitement, her ears wiggling. ¡°Sure! We can take a look and show you it.¡±

    Kaya, Fang, and Sable went back to playing their game of cards, and Luna and Jasmine moved to begin cleaning up after the meal. Nick, Eirwen, Irene, and Rebecca went to Nick¡¯s study.

    As they entered the room, Irene gasped at all the books. ¡°Oh my, there¡¯s so many! And the essence here¡­ Do you mind if I take a look?¡±

    Nick chuckled. ¡°Go for it. Books are meant to be read.¡±

    As she looked at the spines on the shelves closely, Irene¡¯s face went slack, and it was like she transformed into her old self. Her eyes were barely open as a relaxed smile appeared on her expression, and she started browsing and grabbing several books in her arms in quick succession, before floating to sit down on top of a bookshelf.

    She looked between the book¡¯s covers, and then at the rest of the room. Irene gave a pleased sigh, her voice taking on her usual lazy cadence. ¡°So many amazing books to read here. This would take me¡­a few months at least. I¡¯ll just¡­stay here for a while, and finish these.¡±

    It was like the whole world didn¡¯t exist, other than the books. She started leafing through the pages, her eyes shimmering.

    Now that was the mother she remembered. Rebecca groaned. ¡°Mother, get down from there! You can¡¯t just stay here!¡±

    Irene looked like she was slapped. ¡°Ehhh, why not? I won¡¯t be a bother at all, I don¡¯t even need to eat. Just look at how many books they have here!¡±

    ¡°Because the prince¡¯s room is right next door! It¡¯s not proper!¡±

    ¡°Huh? Why¡¯s that a problem? The essence here is wonderful. What do I need to do to stay here?¡±

    Rebecca blushed, realizing there was an answer¨Cthis would be corrected when Rebecca was Nick¡¯s wife in truth, and she was his mother-in-law, and then she could be here all she wanted¨Cthough it would still be a bit strange.

    ¡°You know your mother¡¯s tenets better than anyone. Why are you pretending otherwise?¡±

    Her mother pouted. ¡°Fine. Can I borrow these, Hero? I¡¯ll do anything you want!¡±

    Nicholas arched his brow at her wording and was about to say something, but Rebecca interrupted, ¡°Much of these books have already been transcribed at the Cathedral¨Cexcept for those with the crown emblem. They cannot leave the Heritage.¡±

    Irene shuffled through her collected books, finding the symbol in question on the spine. ¡°Oh! Well, why didn¡¯t you say so, daughter? It sounds like we have quite the bounty to be shared. I suppose¡­it wouldn¡¯t be the worst if I¡­only read here during the day.¡±

    Rebecca sighed in relief. ¡°Yes, mother. It¡¯s getting a little late in the day, and we should really give our greetings to the clergy. Many of them missed you, including Marissa.¡±

    ¡°Oh, little Marissa is still around? I suppose¡­ I can wait.¡± She visibly struggled to put the book down, then floated down to the ground, barely flapping her large wings as she descended slowly. Despite looking and feeling like a normal human or elf minus the wings, her energy body was low in mass. This allowed her to float or fly with little effort.

    Irene sighed. ¡°I guess this is goodbye, then. Thank you so much for your hospitality, Eirwen. You¡¯re so lovely.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, thank you, Irene! It was so nice meeting you! I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be seeing a lot more of each other.¡±

    The two began making plans as they walked out of the room, and Rebecca turned to Nick.

    ¡°Sorry about my mother, Nicholas. She¡­really loves books. More than I do, even.¡±

    Nick chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s no problem at all. I¡¯m relieved to see that she¡¯s doing so well, after what she¡¯s been through. And even if she gave you some mild anxiety, you are still smiling. I¡¯m glad it was such a happy reunion.¡±

    It really was. Rebecca leaned up and kissed his cheek, and he hugged her tightly with his strong arms. It was truly like her mother said. Only he could have saved them so perfectly, restoring their happiness. She had so many reasons to be grateful to him, and they just kept piling up.

 Book 3 - Chapter 14 - The Family Fun

    Kaya rolled the ball down the lane powerfully, the sphere crashing into the center of the pins at the end. The pins exploded into chaos, but two pins were left despite the amount of force in which it struck, leaving her stomping at her failure to land a strike.

    ¡°Oh come on! The pins can get knocked over with so little, how are they still standing!¡±

    She managed to catch the spare, but Kaya looked at the pins with a bit of confusion.

    Now that everyone was together, it was time for a bit of fun. The entire Noblefrost Family was present, along with Rebecca and Irene. The strange gaming area had expanded, and now bowling, and a few other areas, were included in the fun they could have.

    Nick had taught the girls the basics of bowling, and now all were enjoying the lightly competitive sport¨Cthe majority of them wearing more sporty clothes, given that they¡¯d be playing.

    ¡°Watch how it¡¯s done, Kaya.¡± He took confident steps down the lane, and in a single, flowing motion, he sent the ball down the lane.

    But Nick had put more than a bit of spin on the ball, and while it looked like it might go into the gutter at first, it curved back and landed just slightly off-center. The pins exploded outward, and knocked them all down for a strike.

    The Wolfen girls cheered and clapped, along with Winny and Jasmine, and Nick pumped his fist.

    ¡°Hell yeah!¡±

    Kaya groaned. ¡°That makes no sense. The ball didn¡¯t even hit the pins that hard!¡±

    Nick chuckled as he walked back to the seats, getting his high-fives for his strike. ¡°Told you I was good at this. This sport is not all strength or aim. It takes a bit of finesse.¡±

    Kaya snorted. ¡°Oh yes, everyone knows how the great lord Noblefrost is full of¡­ finesse.¡± Her words were dripping with sarcasm.

    Fang nodded enthusiastically from Nick¡¯s side, her tail wagging. ¡°Yes, Boss is the best! Why¡¯d you say it weird like that?¡± She tilted her head, with her eyes narrowed on Kaya.

    ¡°Just¡­never mind.¡± Kaya wasn¡¯t about to explain sarcasm to her¨Cthe girl did understand it, but it was like a strange blind spot when it came to Nick. She looked up to the scoreboard, where Nick was winning by quite a bit, with three strikes in a row. ¡°It¡¯s Winny¡¯s turn now.¡±

    Winny stood up with confident steps, and despite not wearing shoes, had no trouble on the slippery surface with her hoofed feet. She lined up her shot slowly, and sent it accurately down the lane. Despite its slow speed, it crashed into the pins off-center, and still scored the strike.

    Her tail swished, and her ears wiggled, and she sauntered back to the seats. ¡°See sis, it¡¯s not all strength or speed, but finesse, like Nick said.¡± The three Wolfen girls were quick to high-five her, clap and add their ¡®woo¡¯s¡¯ of victory.

    Kaya was bewildered at the result. ¡°It doesn¡¯t make any sense!¡±¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s my turn now.¡± Rebecca stood up wearing her cute poodle skirt outfit once more. Picking up the ball and taking on the form to roll the ball, Nick thought she looked cute¨Cbut Irene voiced the same thought.

    ¡°Becca! That skirt is so cute on you!¡± She floated nearby above them in her scholarly robes, leafing through one of the books from Nick¡¯s study. Turning to Jasmine who was at her eye level, she asked, ¡°Do you think you could make me one of those as well? It¡¯s such a cute style that Seraphara¡¯s Faithful won¡¯t frown upon much.¡±

    Rebecca blushed at the comment before she rolled the ball down the lane. Nick laughed at how her right wing started flapping, as if to aid the ball to move further to the right, and her whole body tilted the same way.

    ¡°W-What is it, Nicholas?¡±

    ¡°Just you being cute, is all.¡±

    She was unable to claim the spare in the end with a gutter ball. Luna and Sable then helped point out how she needed to flow a little better with her form, as she lost a lot of accuracy when she twisted before she let go.

    Irene smiled as she watched their back and forth discussion. ¡°This is quite the fun family. It is wonderful to see Rebecca be treated so well¨Cto be a part of such love and joy.¡±

    Eirwen smiled. ¡°She¡¯s a sweet girl, full of love for all. We know all these years she¡¯s worked so hard for many. You should definitely be proud.¡±

    Nick added, ¡°Your daughter is amazing, and I can see where she got her loving personality.¡±

    Irene was crying happy tears, but then her smile became a little melancholic. ¡°I know she is, her compassion is wonderful. I wish I¡­could have been there to see her grow. I missed so much, lost so much when I failed her.¡±

    Rebecca returned to their seating, just hearing the tail end of their discussion as she sat next to Nick. ¡°Mother, we talked about this. I do not blame you, and while I missed you, I was well taken care of¨Cthere are children in this world that suffer far more than I did. The community pitched in, and while it was a little lonely, the rest of my childhood was¡­comfortable.¡±

    Irene floated down and hugged her daughter, her wings flapping. ¡°I know, dear, and I¡¯m so thankful you are well. It was only my thoughts of you that I managed to hold on, all these years.¡±

    Nick noted, ¡°Ten years being forced to aid that man in absorbing that faith energy, and while fending off his corruption. You fought hard.¡±

    ¡°He¡­tried so much to taint my spirit, making me witness horrible acts. But I held on for my Becca. I knew that if I gave up, my dear daughter and many other priestesses would be a target soon after.¡±

    Eirwen gasped. ¡°Witness? You mean you knew what he was doing? That¡­sounds even more terrible than I imagined.¡±

    Nick remembered what kind of things Lumos was forced to say, and what nasty things he may have done with that, all to beat down her spirit. And then how he likely caused the murders of dozens of priestesses and adherents, the dissidents within his church.

    She nodded. ¡°I could somewhat feel his nasty thoughts, even if unable to put exact words to them, and I had a small awareness of his actions. But suffering all that was worth it, for I lasted until a hero came.¡±

    Irene gave him a teasing smile. ¡°And it was the same for you, hero. Feeling your love for your wives and your family¡¯s love for you made it all the more worth my struggle. I could enjoy that for decades more.¡±

    Nick¡¯s eyes widened, and couldn¡¯t help but feel a little embarrassed that they had a sort of¡­voyeur during their private moments. ¡°I had no idea.¡±

    Irene saw his embarrassed look, and teased with a sly look as she continued to hold on to Rebecca firmly, ¡°Oh, you¡¯re embarrassed, hero? You showed me a beautiful world, one with a startling mix of love and lust! I couldn¡¯t be more pleased that my daughter will soon taste your strong, yet tender affections!¡±

    Rebecca blushed heavily, her wings fluttering as she looked between Irene and Nick. ¡°Mooom, please! T-Taste?¡± Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    Kaya seemed to realized something else, a disgusted look on her face.  ¡°Ew, could the other souls Nick deals with, the ones he judges, do the same? What about Followers that recently died?¡±

    Irene laughed. ¡°No, for the way Nick tugged and brought me in with that Concept was different, I think¡­ and that¡­strange monolith is a true prison. They can have no awareness of what happens on the outside. That Samuel rallied the prisoners shows he only had true talent for the darkness. It seemed those other people you faced were quite the same.¡±

    Jasmine was next, and she scuttled forward and came to a stop at the edge of the lane, before she rolled the ball down the center. The ball struck and knocked most of the pins down, but one remained standing on the left¨Cuntil she made a finger gun, and with a quiet pew, the final pin fell over.

    But no light was visible, she must have used a beam of light outside the visible spectrum somehow.

    ¡°Hey, I saw that! That¡¯s cheating!¡± Kaya growled.

    Jasmine acted confused. ¡°Whatever do you mean, Kaya? What did you see?¡±

    Kaya¡¯s jaw dropped at her shamelessness. ¡°I saw you¡­you must have used some¡­light beam, or something?¡±

    Jasmine hummed, feigning ignorance. ¡°Hmm¡­ Must have? My, my, Kaya. Even if that¡¯s true, to think you¡¯d get so mad, though¨Cit¡¯s just a game, isn¡¯t it? You must really want Master¡¯s reward. Fine. Let¡¯s mark that frame as a nine, since it bothers you so.¡±

    Kaya blushed, folding her arms and looking away as her tail swished in irritation. Of course, she couldn¡¯t deny this. ¡°Hmph.¡±

    Sable chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re trying too hard, Kaya. You should just relax, this is just for fun, isn¡¯t it? At this rate, you¡¯ll get white hairs and the penalty game instead. But maybe that¡¯s what you really want?¡±

    Luna hummed. ¡°I think you¡¯re right, Sable. Boss will definitely get the first place, but maybe he can combine reward and penalty? I think that would excite her¨Cperhaps a little too much.¡± She sniffed, giving Kaya a teasing look.

    Kaya blushed even further, and Nick hugged her around the hip and scratched her between the ears. She sighed into his embrace, and Nick looked at his mischievous wolf girls.

    ¡°Don¡¯t bully her, we got other games to play today. I don¡¯t want a repeat of the last gaming day, so I¡¯m rescinding the reward and penalty game. We¡¯ll just play for fun, and I¡¯ll just give all you girls the same rewards.¡±

    Sable pouted. ¡°Aww, but Boss, I thought you much enjoyed that in the end? This time, we could all be a part of it, too.¡±

    Nick was interested in that, but¡­ he looked at Irene and Rebecca, who were talking to each other about the game. They were around polite company. ¡°Maybe another time.¡±

    Sable chuckled. ¡°Got it, Boss. After the wedding then.¡±

    The three Wolfen girls were up next, and Nick couldn¡¯t help but laugh that their wagging tails somehow sent the ball veering just a little bit off their aim. Luna was the first to catch on that this was happening, and managed to still her tail before she released the ball.

    Everyone had fun as they had snacks and drinks as they took their turns for a time, and Jasmine and Luna took turns feeding and pampering Nick. He then pampered each of the girls one by one with his scratches and head pats, and sneaking small kisses as well.

    Rebecca joined Nick on his lap, where they held hands and kissed while they waited for their turns to bowl as well. After a couple of games and some screwing around with their various spells and abilities, they moved on to the next game.

    There was a caged off arena-like area, with various vehicles inside.

    Fang gasped. ¡°They¡¯re like that car thing! We can drive these?¡±

    Luna titled her head. ¡°There¡¯s more than enough for all of us. What is this?¡±

    Nick replied, ¡°They¡¯re called bumper cars. Everyone get in one, and I¡¯ll show you.¡±

    Everyone started to get inside them, but Jasmine stood at the edge of the arena and pouted. ¡°These¡­seem a bit small for me.¡±

    Irene was floating above, and pointed to the back. ¡°There¡¯s one over there that looks like it might fit you! Though, you may need to drive with your webbing¡­¡±

    There was indeed a larger vehicle, that was likely meant for larger humanoids.

    Jasmine hummed and scurried over to the large vehicle, and her spider body¡­ mostly fit inside where people¡¯s feet would go. But Sable was right¨Cher hands from her hovering torso couldn¡¯t reach the steering wheel. But she shot out her webbing from her fingers, and was able to drive the vehicles.

    Nick looked over it. ¡°Should work. So everyone¡­¡±

    They each got into their own vehicles, including Irene. Nick described how to use the pedals, and they started moving the carts around, each moving forward and turning sporadically. Fang was quick to crash into Luna, knocking her back.

    ¡°Oh! Whoops, I¨C¡±

    Sable then slammed into her cart, sending her careening to the side.

    Nick then crashed into her, laughing at their shock. ¡°That¡¯s the idea! Just go crazy.¡±

    And then everyone started crashing into one another, except for Jasmine.

    ¡°Why is mine so slow?¡± Jasmine was moving ponderously, but once Fang rammed into her and was instead knocked back quite a bit, it became a little clear why.

    She was just so heavy. Also, it seemed to be counter to how easily she could bully others into a corner.

    It really became pandemonium, as everyone began crashing into everyone.

    Rebecca smacked into Eirwen, and then bounced back into Kaya and was shoved in another direction. She gasped and laughed at each of the sudden accelerations, ¡°Ahh! This is fun.¡±

    Irene was laughing as well, bouncing all over the arena. She looked a little crazed as she bounced around, which Nick thought was a little odd, but then Eirwen crashed into him with a giggle.

    The wolf girls teamed up and started crashing into Kaya, driving her into the wall lined with bumpers of their own.

    ¡°Hey, no fair!¡± Kaya groaned. ¡°I can¡¯t even move now!¡±

    The girls kept jolting into her one by one, laughing as the wolf pack teamed up on Kaya.

    Nick and Eirwen came to her rescue and knocked each of them back and away, allowing Kaya to sneak out.

    Fang pouted. ¡°This is wrong! Boss should be on our team!¡±

    Jasmine crashed into Luna, sending her much smaller cart spinning away. Fang and Sable both tried to crash into her repeatedly, but it was like they just bounced back instead.

    The spider maid laughed. ¡°This is kinda fun! I¡¯m like the big bad boss. None can stop me!¡±

    Sable snorted as she started driving circles around her. ¡°Yes, but we hardly need to. You¡¯ll never catch us.¡±

    Irene and Rebecca both crashed into her, but it was like they just bounced off ineffectually as well.

    They all played for a time, but it didn¡¯t take that long for the novelty to wear off. They exited the vehicles once they had their fill, and looked back at the gaming area.

    ¡°That was fun!¡± Irene looked back at the vehicles. ¡°It¡¯s a simple thing, but driving the cars is fun and the way you jolt when you crash into another is exhilarating.¡±

    Rebecca was all smiles. ¡°I quite liked it, and it was fun to play with mother, and everyone else. What is next?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s plenty of games for us all to play here.¡± He looked over to the gambling section. ¡°You girls must be close to the Faith Conduit by now?¡±

    Rebecca nodded. ¡°We¡¯re getting close, but we are managing the risk. The chips your family has been giving has been a big help.¡±

    Nick hugged her closely to his side. ¡°My family? You mean our family. You¡¯re definitely a part of it, even if not in name yet.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Eirwen hugged Rebecca from the other side of her, ¡°We all consider you a true friend, and we can¡¯t wait for you to join us.¡±

    The other girls nodded and shared their sentiments, and Rebecca and Irene both looked so happy they were nearly brought to tears.

    ¡°Oh, thank you so much, girls. You have truly made me feel so welcome and loved.¡±

    Irene was all smiles at seeing Rebecca happy. ¡°You lovebirds are planning to be wed soon, right? Of course, the hero has my blessing, and I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll have my mother¡¯s as well.¡± She hugged herself with her arms and her wings. ¡°When I was with him, I could feel how much he loved my dear daughter, and the rest of you. I was so happy to feel how he loved you so! ¡±

    The girls all looked at him with loving expressions filled with fervor, and he suddenly realized it was going to be a busy night.

    Nick cleared his throat, changing the topic for now. ¡°The plan is for us to enter Seraphara¡¯s Ordeal tomorrow. Once we complete it, I think we¡¯ll both be ready for the ceremony. Isn¡¯t that right, my future wife?¡±

    Rebecca blushed, her wings fluttering. ¡°Y-Yes. I am ready to be yours, and for you to be mine.¡±

    Irene clapped, her body lifting higher into the air. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m so excited for you, my Becca! For you to marry the one you love so, it brings me great joy. I can¡¯t wait to see you in your wedding dress!¡±

    Jasmine said, ¡°They¡¯ll be gone for a while in the Ordeals, but we have her measurements. I¡¯ll make certain the dress is perfect.¡±

    The gaming was nearly forgotten as the talks shifted into wedding plans, but Nick was happy to see his girls so animated as they planned out Rebecca¡¯s special day.

    Soon, Nick would be facing several different types of new challenges in the Ordeal, but he was excited for what would come once he was successful.

 Book 3 - Chapter 15 - The Ordeal of Serapharaâ€™s Faithful

    Nick wore white and gold martial robes, ready to enter Seraphara¡¯s Cathedral. Once again, Jasmine had provided him with the special, yet durable clothing. It seemed she had upgraded her loom ability further over this past month, as he felt like the quality kept on improving.

    His hardened plastic-like armor was worn underneath it, and his Soul Blade was over his shoulder. A spatial pouch was hidden inside the breast pocket of his robes, allowing him to have a much more dignified method of storing his various items that matched his¡­manliness.

    He was to turn in Seraphara¡¯s Quest, and then they were to enter the Ordeal right after. His wives were already inside, only Jasmine following him into the cathedral.

    Entering the cathedral, Nick immediately saw dozens of people were inside. He walked past the reception, and saw the numerous people in prayer and teaching activities.

    Upon spotting Nick, Marissa called out to the congregation, and they started moving their wheeled chalkboards and pews to arrange for a path for Nick. He walked inside, and it appeared the many people were ready to see something special happen, with many pews pushed to the sides of the room filled.

    Rebecca walked over to the dais, and called out to everyone. ¡°The Pilgrimage was an overwhelming success, and we all have Lord Noblefrost to thank. He has completed the Divine Concord Quest, so all shall bear witness to Seraphara¡¯s Grace and Reward.¡±

    On cue, he submitted his Pilgrimage and Charity Quest completion. Golden light descended upon Nick, Seraphara¡¯s stained-glass mural lighting up and casting the light upon him. Ephemeral feathers landed on his shoulders and head, a special dense faith energy descending upon him.

    It seeped into his body, and it was similar to when his body was tempered in the Ordeal, but on a bit of a smaller scale, he could tell. He earned a Trait.

    [Trait Earned: Divine Concord: Seraphara. +1 Soul.]

    [You have been granted special allowance by the Divine Being Seraphara, a Goddess. Your body is now attuned to receive Tithed Faith Essence, allowing you a slight compatibility to her Faithful¡¯s essence as well, to absorb and utilize this to carry out her will and your own. But know that this gift carries responsibility, and it can be rescinded. Respect her values and virtues, and protect her people as your own.]

    As he received this trait, it was as if the entire Cathedral of Seraphara was even more welcoming to him. The essence danced and mingled with his own, and gave him a peaceful feeling.

    He knew that Tithed Faith Essence wasn¡¯t exactly the same thing as the essence of her clergy and adherents. He did not walk Seraphara¡¯s Path as his own, and while he respected her tenets, they weren¡¯t exactly his creed or way of life.

    [Congratulations! You have completed the requirements to become an Ordained Lord of Seraphara.

    Your performance in the Pilgrimage went above and beyond your Quest. Your diligence and earnest efforts will be rewarded. Reward: Pendant of Seraphara (Epic).]

    [Pendant of Seraphara: This necklace will store the faith essence of yourself or followers of Seraphara, allowing for personal usage.]

    It was a faith essence battery, and as it fell around his neck like Seraphara herself was placing it on him, he could feel a special connection to it, like it was bound to him.

    This type of item was excessively rare, when it came to those that could accept the essence of others. It was possible to create similar batteries using the same materials that went into a Nexus Core, but it required a connection or binding much like it.

    That meant others could not normally charge it.

    From his understanding, Nick would really only be able to gather Tithed Faith Essence in his throne room, or perhaps in this very cathedral.

    Those with a Faith Core would generate it as they took in any essence, but prior to that, their faith essence was difficult to gather, requiring their mantras and cultivation techniques, their praise and faith within them building.

    Since Nick was not technically one of Seraphara¡¯s Faithful and was not walking her Path, he wouldn¡¯t be able to use the mantras at the same level of efficiency. He may be able to draw some from his core with the mantras once faith essence was woven in, but cultivating to level up with this essence would be different for him than one of Seraphara¡¯s clergy.

    The necklace was a small, simple statue of Seraphara with her hands clasped in prayer, hanging by a simple silver-colored thread¨Cand it was already around his neck, visible over his robes.

    Nick¡¯s wives and the entire room of clergy and adherents clapped and prayed as they thanked Seraphara for her grace, but he heard Fang¡¯s voice in the crowd, off on the pews to his right. ¡°Oh! It¡¯s like he has an Irene necklace!¡±

    Sable was quick to shush the rambunctious girl, and Nick couldn¡¯t help but laugh. It¡¯s true Irene was like a carbon copy of her mother¨Cthe goddess.

    Rebecca spoke to the congregation of adherents and clergy alike, ¡°And so you all have witnessed, Lord Noblefrost is now the first Ordained Lord of a Divine Being on this shard. He now has access to our libraries, and can learn Seraphara¡¯s mantras just like adherents and clergy alike¨Cdespite not taking her vows. He needs only respect Seraphara¡¯s Tenets, and continue to act as a lawful Lord of Orion.¡±

    The wording around respect was merely that he would not publicly go against them, or prove through his actions that he did not care at all for them, or his privileges would be rescinded. In all, this was easy for him to do regarding Seraphara as a Lord of a Lawful Kingdom. He was not about to burn any books or take advantage of any priestesses, robbing them of their chastity.

    Well, he was, but not without following the proper steps.

    Nick spent some time meeting the many clergy and adherents, many of them new, and their prayers and warm wishes quickly filled the pendant. When comparing it to his personal essence, he was sure it was less than ten percent, but it was at an amount that was difficult to gauge.

    However, it was precious faith essence that he¡¯d have difficulty restoring once used on his own. He knew it would aid him in using his Concept for just a little longer when he needed it.

    Nick approached Rebecca. ¡°Who¡¯s all coming with us?¡±

    ¡°Marissa, Veronica, and Chastity.¡± She motioned to her side, and the girls in question looked eager. They all held their staves, and under their habits, they were wearing a drake scale armor made by Lumos.

    He had worked together with each of them during the pilgrimage, and known them pretty well. Seeing them prepared and with similar eager expressions on their faces, Nick felt a little weird.

    It was truly like Rebecca had three sisters or cousins she was bringing with them. The evil Bishop clearly had a type¡­just where did he find all these girls? Nick knew that a majority of priestesses had blond hair and blue eyes, just like Irene and Rebecca. But it wasn¡¯t even all that common among the people of Zura¨Cas humans of Orion, they were quite the healthy mix of what appeared to be varied European descent.

    Rebecca arched her brow at him. ¡°What is it, Nicholas? You¡¯re looking at us a bit funny.¡±

    ¡°I was just thinking¡­ You girls look a lot alike. Clearly, you¡¯re all talented, but it¡¯s a little strange¡­¡±

    All of them grimaced at once, but it was Chastity that spoke, ¡°Many of us now understand the depths of Samuel¡¯s depravity. To think he had several of his horrible priests searching for pure maidens following his strange values¡­he could have run so many more viable pilgrimages, and helped many! But we thank Seraphara that her light of wisdom found us, as many of us were not living safely and happily.¡±

    Veronica nodded. ¡°I lived a life of squalor and hunger, until a man with a crystal tested my affinity. Then, I traveled until I joined this wonderful community where as long as I worked hard and learned much, I had no want. For that, I am grateful, but so many more who suffer that were likely ignored.¡±

    Marissa smiled. ¡°So we have Seraphara to thank for finding us, and you to thank for saving us from the Bishop¡¯s horrible designs. In all, we can be proud to be here as her faithful, to serve her and our savior. For anything our Lord needs, we shall be forever willing.¡±

    The priestesses looked at him with both fervor and gratitude, wide smiles on their faces.

    Nick cleared his throat, embarrassed at their¡­hungry attention. ¡°So, we¡¯re ready to go, right? I take it I will act as your paladin?¡±

    Rebecca nodded. ¡°We will focus on the wisdom and compassion aspects of the challenges, while you aid us with the dangers of the Tests.¡±

    ¡°Sounds good. Let me say goodbye to my wives real quick, and then we¡¯ll enter.¡±

    Nick walked over and said goodbye to his wives, who would use his time away to continue their training and run one more time through the Path of Kings.

    Kaya said, ¡°I wish I could come with you, but the danger of their Ordeals are very different. I think only Winny and Jasmine are skilled in that way. Better to let them handle it.¡±

    Jasmine narrowed her eyes on the other girls. ¡°They better work hard and not hold you back, or I will be pissed.¡±

    Eirwen chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Jasmine. I¡¯m sure they will hold their own and not be nothing but burdens¨CRebecca is there, after all.¡±

    Jasmine sniffed, before turning to Nick. ¡°You¡¯re right, Rebecca is great, but the others¡­well, they¡¯re getting better, lately. I am planning on taking the beetlefolk through, in hopes of beating the boss.¡±

    Nick was a bit shocked at this. ¡°Can the beetlefolk really fight that well?¡±

    Jasmine beamed. ¡°They¡¯re excellent tanks and healers with my stonelight garments, and I am amazing damage. I have confidence in beating that nasty elemental that you told me about, now that I have taken my Bottled Concept. Honestly, it was a little strange that I benefited so much from my previous runs, but I have actually gained a lot.¡±

    Eirwen nodded. ¡°I think normally, being carried through an Ordeal by someone in the second stratum would be extremely detrimental to their progress, and Orion would not much reward those involved. But since the Path of Kings is so challenging, it almost requires it. As long as those that fight through it are Tested, many benefits can still be earned.¡±

    Luna nodded, and she took out what looked like a belt, with a bunch of odd wooden statues¨Ctotems, tied to it. ¡°I got a lot of practice with these, and have even grown the spirits within them. Orion is still rewarding us for helping others through, and I can¡¯t help but wonder if this is an intended part of the Path of Kings.¡±

    Fang said, ¡°I¡¯ve gotten a lot of practice at leading a pack! I can¡¯t wait to show off my skills to Boss!¡±

    Nick chuckled. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see you both in action. What about you, Winny, Kaya?¡±

    Eirwen replied, ¡°We¡¯re taking another run through the Samurai Ordeal. Kaya wants to be at her best for when we go after the 15th Floor in the Path of Kings, and that will definitely help.¡±

    Nick was debating between doing that or going after the next Frostspire Mine, which should have opened for their potential attack. ¡°Alright, have someone scout out that next mine entrance, so we can decide whether we¡¯re ready for that challenge yet or not. I¡¯ll see you girls in a week or two.¡±

    The girls all said their goodbyes, and Nick joined the four Priestesses. With their habits, not much looked different about them, but they all held quarterstaves.

    He was given a blackjack, which was a steel rod wrapped in leather. While a concussive blow to the head could easily kill someone, the priestesses were available to heal someone and prevent death. This meant that he could fight and be non-lethal when he needed to be, just like a paladin of Seraphara would.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ***

    Entering the Ordeal through the archway in front of Rebecca¡¯s home, Nick was able to select the eleventh floor as up to the nineteenth floor was conquered. It appeared there was a limitation where if a descendant took over or the Ordeal changed hands, progress would be lost, so Nick could only choose up to the fourteenth floor at the moment.

    Appearing on the eleventh floor, Nick stood at the front of the group. It was difficult for him to see anything at all because it was filled with a near blinding yellow and orange light, much like the sun. They were standing within a bubble, with a countdown timer on his Menu to exit the entry area. The path they stood on was like a floating white platform.

    [Test of Purity: The Path of Light.]

    [This environment Tests your Purity by bombarding your spirit with foreign essence, which makes you more susceptible to illusions and temptations. Straying from the path can be deadly. Periodically, beings of light may attack. Defend yourself and make your way to the next floor safely.]

    Nick noted, ¡°I can hardly see the floor we¡¯re walking on.¡±

    Rebecca nodded. ¡°This floor is meant to stress your magical sensory and aura capabilities. As long as your essence is pure, it is not all that challenging or dangerous.¡±

    They began their march with Nick at the center of their formation, and Nick felt it a little weird with the four nuns walking with their staves. It was like he was a part of a holy procession, which he wasn¡¯t used to at all.

    His work on his Mana Aura the past month showed its worth immediately. The light bombardment fell away before it could penetrate deeply and reach his body, much like the attacks from the dark tome.

    The hard light path was winding, his party snaking around while being attacked by the odd invasive sunlight. Nick¡¯s mind wandered to when he cheated on the obstacle course, thinking about how quickly he could skip a large percentage of the course by speeding up and using Double Jump, but he squashed the thought.

    After a time, a burst of light suddenly occurred, the blast of essence piercing their auras. Nick¡¯s Soul Fortress trembled lightly, but outright rejected the odd temptations for the party¨Cas they were all his Followers. A new path appeared, but it did not feel appealing at all. He could feel that if he didn¡¯t have the ability, it would have been a constant siren¡¯s call to walk off the ledge.

    Continuing their march, Nick eventually asked, ¡°How would we handle this if¡­ I wasn¡¯t pure?¡±

    Chastity and Veronica giggled at this, but Marissa replied, ¡°If we were with a paladin that had difficulty or someone that was lacking talent, we would have to protect them with our auras. Probably, we would take turns doing it.¡±

    Rebecca added, ¡°The paladins would have more difficulty with the illusions. They have not built up their minds as much as those that spend most of their time in the library.¡±

    It took nearly twenty minutes at their ponderous walk before the first enemy appeared. It was actually easy to spot, despite the light of the path being a nearly blinding yellow and orange light, as it was a blue color, and Nick could feel it in his magic senses as it approached at the speed of a slow underhanded pitch.

    Nick rushed forward, and his Soul Blade cut through it in a single swing, dispelling it. He hardly got a good look at what the creature looked like, but it was almost like a slow-moving bird.

    ¡°Huh, that¡¯s it?¡± He was disappointed at the weak challenge.

    Rebecca chuckled. ¡°Such as it is. The Path of Light is long, the main danger being the long duration, illusions, and temptations to not take the more difficult choice. Only by having purity, faith in your efforts, or by overwhelming the Test with your talent, can you pass this challenge.¡±

    Nick scratched his cheek, everything else covered by either his robes or armor. ¡°Uh, how long is this particular Test usually?¡±

    Veronica cleared her throat. ¡°This Test usually takes a whole day, a short Safe Zone break at the very end of the floor. Many of the floors and the entire climb are all about perseverance.¡±

    They had previously discussed not to use his Frost Aura, as once again, it¡¯d have trivialized the Tests. He would only use it for combat, not to protect them from having to fight off the invading essence.

    They continued their slow journey, and Nick couldn¡¯t help but increase his respect for the hard-working priestesses. Over the course of twelve hours, they did not falter once, and when they got swarmed by the bird creatures, they were ready.

    Their spiritual shouts locked up the light monsters, and they actually finished several of them with their staves, while Nick burst forth and cut through the rest rapidly. He activated his Frost Aura, making it easier to take them down. Once the fighting was completed, he turned it off.

    When they got to the Safe Zone, a bubble at the end of the floor, Nick let out a sigh of relief. He was happy with his super-human eyes, as he didn¡¯t have a risk of going blind from the environment. Even still, he supposed Rebecca would have been capable of healing him.

    The safe zone only allowed for an hour of rest, just barely enough to recover their mana and essence.

    They ate snacks and drank, not having much time for much else as they focused on their meditation. Eventually, they stepped to the end arch.

    [Floor Complete. Reward: Bonus Essence]

    ¡°Bonus essence?¡±

    Rebecca nodded. ¡°Seraphara¡¯s Ordeal is set to grant us Bonus Essence. The reason is that building Faith Essence is the number one priority for clergy. Even the enemies we face don¡¯t have drops.¡±

    Nick had noticed that, and it was even clear the shadows he faced in Zura before also only granted cores and essence. So this would be a common theme.

    Marissa added, ¡°It¡¯s also because our communities are set up to be self-sufficient. Wealth and power from the Ordeal is not what climbers are supposed to pursuit.¡±

    Rebecca nodded. ¡°The only exception will be the Boss. It will drop equipment appropriate for our paladins and ourselves.¡±

    Entering the 12th floor, they were dumped into a dilapidated library.

    [Test of Wisdom: Ancient Library of Revelation]

    [Seek the knowledge of the past that will reveal safe passage. Know that tomes and scrolls harbor dangerous spirits or fruitless knowledge. Solve the riddles and battle through the ancient library.]

    While the walls were filled with bookshelves and scroll holders hanging from them, many of the books and scrolls looked in poor condition¨Cimpossible to read. There was a thick layer of dust everywhere, and many of the book¡¯s covers looked rotten.

    Nick groaned. ¡°This place is like right out of my nightmares. We gotta read to win? You got this, girls. I¡¯ll watch your backs.¡±

    Rebecca laughed. ¡°Oh, come on, Nicholas. I¡¯ve seen you read plenty of books in your study.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s different¨CI only do that begrudgingly. I¡¯m much better at beating the enemies back with my blade. That¡¯s the fight I seek.¡± Nick looked to the decrepit shelves. ¡°How does this work, anyway?¡±

    Marissa answered, ¡°We need to search the library for any viable tomes and scrolls, while defending against potential ambushes, which will become hints for the question ahead. If we answer the question wrong, the battle will be even more challenging.¡±

    ¡°You mean we gotta fight either way?¡±

    Rebecca smiled. ¡°That¡¯s right. But we all have confidence in your ability to protect us.¡±

    Chastity and Veronica both nodded with a blush, but Marissa had a more confident smile. ¡°Let us get working. Our hero will watch us while we focus on our task.¡±

    The girls scoured the library, and Nick protected them as planned as they collected any viable books or scrolls. While most were in horrible condition, there were some in much better shape.

    The passages between sections of the library were narrow, and often small demons leaped out and assaulted them. One girl kept their aura of pacification going at all times, limiting the effects of the surprise attacks.

    It was slow-going, each scroll or book having clues as to what kind of question they would have. The girls read through the books rapidly, using some kind of skill that allowed them to skim it much faster than Nick could possibly comprehend anything.

    ¡°What are the books and scrolls about so far?¡± Nick was genuinely curious. Was this some kind of fake knowledge, or was it real?

    Veronica replied, ¡°Most of the scrolls are on general sorcery, and they are a wonderful find. But the main topic appears to be historical references of Erilas the Sage. A court-magician, he fought against a horde of inter planar demons.¡±

    Nick arched his brow. ¡°Did this guy actually exist though, and is the information on sorcery here actually real?¡±

    Rebecca said, ¡°We believe knowledge contained in these types of challenges is real, but not all knowledge is applicable here on Orion. It gives us insight into the essence of all things. This is likely from a world before it was integrated into Orion.¡±

    ¡°Integrated?¡±

    ¡°Orion creates shards, but it also seeks and brings worlds into it. Nobody on our shard is sure how this happens exactly, but we know about Outlanders¨Cpeople who live outside of Orion¡¯s Territory, as well.¡±

    Eventually, they reached the first gate¨Can ornately carved door, that barred the way into the next area of the library. It had a face of a treant, its eyes watching them as they neared.

    The girls made sure they had all the documents and scrolls before the door¡¯s mouth animated and asked a question with a deep, reverberating voice.

    ¡°When Erilas the Sage failed to defeat the demons and died, it was due to treachery. Identify the traitor and motive correctly, and you may pass.¡±

    ¡°Treachery? But this said he fell to demons.¡± Chastity frowned, looking through the small pile of books in her hands.

    Rebecca looked thoughtful. ¡°His final ritual had failed, and the kingdom slowly crumbled after his failure. We don¡¯t know what happened next, as this was the accounting of his kingdom. I think we must examine who had the most to gain from this, and who had the capability to influence the ritual.¡±

    The girls spent some time cross-referencing the tomes and scrolls, discussing among themselves. They laid out all the information, and Nick was quite impressed at how many details they had collected. They even made notes on the research, detailing information about the sorcery of that world that they would keep for their records, even when the books disappeared.

    ¡°You think that knowledge about sorcery will really be useful? Can you girls really learn something like sorcery, even if it worked?¡±

    Chastity fidgeted with her habit, embarrassed. ¡°Even if we cannot use it, to learn more about the essence of everything is wisdom. If it¡¯s possible elsewhere, it¡¯s likely possible on Orion somehow. Seraphara and Orion provided us the opportunity to learn this knowledge, and we have faith that it isn¡¯t a waste.¡±

    ¡°So you have more knowledge like this stored somewhere in your Cathedral? I take it this library has different things each time?¡±

    Rebecca nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. We have much knowledge about many Paths and focuses for essence control. This is why it is wonderful that you are expanding your Kingdom, to give us others to share this knowledge with. If you need research done, our clergy will be happy to help.¡±

    Nick would have to keep that in mind. Perhaps some knowledge on Soul Magic or Spirit Magic could be found, as well as some things for his Wolfen girls.

    After a bit more time and some debate among the girls, they reached a consensus and Rebecca approached the gate and recited their answer.

    ¡°The betrayer was Serenas, his research aid. He had history with and was working with the Kingdom of Nox, which supplied defective wind crystals, bringing Erilas¡¯s sorcery out of balance. Serenas was close enough to Erilas to reproduce the ritual, and confident he could defeat the demons after Erilas failed.¡±

    ¡°Correct. Clear the next room and proceed with the next challenge.¡±

    The door opened, and Nick rushed a bit ahead of the girls with his Soul Blade drawn. A medium-sized red demon a bit larger than Nick was holding a large mace. It wore a few black armor pieces scattered across its body, such as manacles and a chest piece with shoulder guards, and some armored greaves.

    It only wore a loincloth as its only clothes outside of its armor, and it had a tail, much like the other demons he¡¯d faced.

    Having plenty of rest between battles, Nick went ahead and made use of his Heroic Concept to get used to it.

    The white and black light filled him, and he blazed forward in a near blur. The demon¡¯s mace swung down at him, but it was like the demon was moving in slow motion. Even without the Concept, he was sure that this enemy was on the level he could manage.

    He dodged out of the way of its attack, and his slash targeted the demon¡¯s arms just past the bracer-like manacles. Its hands and weapon went careening away as it screamed in pain, and Nick took its head off its shoulders with his next swing. The monster puffed into smoke, a demon¡¯s core falling to the ground.

    The girls beamed at him, but Veronica spoke with awe. ¡°Wow! I knew our Lord was strong, but to think that such an enemy wasn¡¯t even a challenge for him!¡±

    Nick gave a small smile to the girls, but he was crestfallen. ¡°That was¡­too easy. Can we get them wrong on purpose? It¡¯s probably much faster.¡±

    Rebecca laughed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Nicholas. Even if the enemy challenge is harder, the reward would be even less. This is a chance for us to increase our knowledge and wisdom¨Cto Test ourselves and become more. The fourteenth and fifteenth floor will be more your speed. Just bear with us, please?¡±

    All four gave him a pleading look, the girls still having books and scrolls in their hands like prized treasures.

    Nick felt a little sheepish. ¡°Aw, if you ask me all nice and cute like that, how can I say no? Take your time, I¡¯m just getting a bit restless waiting around and all that. I don¡¯t have a magic reading skill to help me.¡±

    The girls all brightened and blushed, but Chastity spoke excitedly, ¡°I can teach it to you when we get back if you like?¡±

    Rebecca side-eyed Chastity, her eyes narrowing.

    ¡°W-What? I just want to help our lord.¡± Chastity blushed and cleared her throat, and began fidgeting with her habit.

    Nick¡¯s Soul Sense tingled. It was a half-truth. She did want to help him, but she had an ulterior motive as well. He supposed he didn¡¯t need his soul sense to understand that she was interested in him and just wanted to spend more time with him.

    Rebecca must have noticed too because she took her aside and whispered something to her, and Nick didn¡¯t catch any of it.

    They whispered back or forth for nearly a minute. When they came back, they were both blushing, but Chastity had a happy smile on her pale lips.

    ¡°Anything you girls wanna share?¡±

    Rebecca hid her blushing face with her sleeve. ¡°N-No, but you would benefit from learning the Light of Wisdom technique. Chastity was¡­kind enough to want to spend the time teaching it to you.¡±

    Nick realized something, and asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t I see you using it in our study?¡±

    Rebecca smiled. ¡°Because, while the Light of Wisdom spell works well for situations like this, it is not meant to help you understand everything. It¡¯s better than a normal person skimming, but important details can still be missed, and it takes time to digest the knowledge you¡¯ve gained from it. Besides, reading the normal way is much more enjoyable. Even Mother, with amazing mastery over the spell, often reads the normal way. She only uses the spell when trying to research a topic rapidly, finding details to focus on more in-depth.¡±

    ¡°Makes sense. Let¡¯s move? I guess I¡¯ll have to keep relying on your girls to solve these challenges, and I¡¯ll keep protecting you.¡±

    Veronica blushed. ¡°Thank you, Lord Noblefrost. You have our gratitude for helping us Test ourselves properly.¡±

    Stepping into the next section of the library, which was even larger, Nick groaned internally. Still, he supposed it wasn¡¯t that bad. It was worth suffering through the boredom for his cute priestesses.

 Book 3 - Chapter 16 - The Test of Peace and Compassion

    The second Test went without a hitch, except for how long it took. They spent over an entire day and night in the dilapidated library, and actually holed up and took turns watching to sleep.

    Nick defeated the simple demons during the raiding of the library, as well as the much larger ones after each riddle, with ease. The demon challenge difficulty did increase as they got further into the floor, the number of demons increasing with each section completed.

    He went back and forth in practice between his Heroic Concept and his Frost King Concept, trying to get as much training as he could out of them.

    The Heroic Concept was worth the effort it took to obtain. He moved even faster than his usual Body Essence could enhance him, and his blade of white and black light was even sharper and deadlier. His Soul Blade Connection even allowed him to extend his blade further with this energy, which was a pleasant surprise.

    He also learned the limitations. He could not merely run it forever, torturing the souls inside of him to draw essence from them limitlessly. There was a small pool of it within the seed of the Concept, and it would gradually restore.

    Trying his Archaen Monstrous Swordsman kata, he learned he could draw out a little more darkness gradually. However, he would still run out of light energy to balance the darkness, requiring him to end the ability. He reasoned that the darkness wasn¡¯t only drawn up from those he Judged, but perhaps from near the stele.

    The girls helped with their Holy Blow attacks and spiritual shouts on the third and fourth chamber, making the challenge an overall breeze, but he was still impressed by their fighting capabilities.

    The thirteenth floor Test was a reversal of the first Test, the Test of Purity: Path of Darkness. Fundamentally, there was not much difference between the first and third challenge. Only by being pure of spirit or having a powerful aura, could someone hope to withstand the constant fear and terror bombarding them.

    Shadow spirits attacked them, much like those created by Brutus and others. What was especially challenging was that it took them over thirty-six hours, though they managed to take turns resting while others protected with their auras and kept watch.

    Near the end, the swarms of attacking spirits had actually become challenging, and Nick wondered how a standard Paladin would have managed to protect them all. Thankfully, his super-human body was able to withstand such sleep deprivation combined with the stress, but it was difficult to believe others would find it easy.

    One wrong move and one of the girls could have been flung off the edge to their deaths. It was clear that those who attempted to push through the level needed to be fully prepared, and know when to flee if they couldn¡¯t successfully complete the level. Being overconfident would lead to their deaths.

    They beat off the difficult wave of shadows which required the girls to fight hard, but showed that Nick could rely on them well to protect themselves against the average foes. While they didn¡¯t defeat many enemies, they were trained in the art of defense.

    When they arrived at the end with the portal in view, he brought the difficulty up. ¡°That was a long trek, longer than you girls predicted. Tougher too.¡±

    Rebecca nodded as they continued to walk. ¡°I believe your Epic-Lord class is making this more challenging than usual. The difficulty increase was present before, but didn¡¯t really have that much influence on them. It was definitely clear on this one, as my last attempt only took us less than a day.¡±

    The girls all nodded, and gave their experiences on how they felt the floors were different. In all, they had managed on their own, even if they took the challenge slower to be safe.

    ¡°How far have you girls gotten on previous runs? I saw up to the Fourteenth Floor was unlocked.¡±

    Rebecca said, ¡°We stop at the fourteenth floor Safe Zone, which sits at the beginning of the floor. There are details about it within our library. It¡¯s a special challenge that flows directly into the Boss. Despite being in the same environment, it¡¯s considered the fifteenth floor¡¯s Test. We knew we¡¯d need a competent paladin to be successful.¡±

    Nick had a suspicion that his Path of Kings keeper was just a jerk, that upped the challenge even further than it normally should be thanks to his presence. Perhaps, that was all a part of his parent¡¯s plans in the first place.

    When they arrived at the beginning of the Fourteenth floor Safe Zone, it gave them 8 hours. Outside of the dome-like bubble, they could not see anything. Inside, it was a grass-covered campsite, with the standard stumps around a campfire, and plenty of room for them to place their sleeping bags.

    Nick groaned as he sat down on one of the stumps. ¡°Finally, a decent break. After we got through that library, the two-hour break was like a slap in the face.¡±

    Veronica said, ¡°But we did manage to get some rest in the library, at least. Compared to other Ordeals, the difficulty of Seraphara¡¯s Ordeal is largely about perseverance. Those that seek peace must have patience and determination, or they will falter during difficult times.¡±

    Marissa nodded, ¡°That¡¯s right, Sister Veronica. It is when the spirit is weary that our faith in Seraphara¡¯s Wisdom is Tested the most.¡±

    The girls settled in, quick to bring out a pot and start a fire, and heat up some stew. It didn¡¯t take long for them to hand Nick a bowl and sit down, Rebecca taking the seat next to him with a smile.

    Chastity sat down on the other side of Nick with her own bowl. ¡°I¡¯m excited to Test myself once more, and reach the fifteenth level.¡±

    Nick blew on his hot stew for a bit, until he took a bite. It was chock-full of essence, and soft meat. ¡°That¡¯s pretty good. So, I¡¯m getting close to Level 15 now. It has that powerful ability, right? You girls are all the same class, so you must already know what you¡¯re going to get, right? What is it?¡±

    Rebecca nodded. ¡°It¡¯s called a Convergence skill, which merges Class, Path, and Concept if you have one: to create a skill that¡¯s nearly unique to each individual. Because we carry the Class and Path of our Goddess, when we unlock our Convergence Skill, we will all gain the same, but it¡¯s special. Much like you have a Pseudo-Concept in your Frost Aura, we can convert our Faith Essence to interchangeably use several of Seraphara¡¯s Concepts in a similar way. It trains us, and helps us build towards a fragment of the one that resonates the most with us.¡±

    Nick whistled. ¡°That sounds amazing, so once you kind of make the Concept of hers that resonates with you, that ability will be empowered when you use that particular one, huh? What are the options?¡±

    Marissa nodded, looking up from her stew. ¡°That¡¯s right. Compassion¨CBlessing. Wisdom and Purity¨CLight. Peace¨CSanctuary.¡±

    Nick could guess what they did, based on what he already knew. Blessing was some kind of buff, which was perfect for working with the paladins of Seraphara.

    Sanctuary was a lot like their pacification aura, but it established an area that was stronger, but also protected against ranged attacks and spells to those in it¨Cbut with limitations. If someone attacked from inside it, it would be dispelled.

    ¡°Nice, so you¡¯ll be able to buff me up like Winny and Luna, huh? That¡¯ll help a lot.

    Rebecca grimaced. ¡°T-That¡­ Unfortunately, it might not work that great on you. You might have some affinity for it now thanks to the Divine Concord Trait you have, but it¡¯ll probably wash away quickly since you¡¯re not one of our Paladins. We¡¯ll still be able to, but we¡¯ll have to wait for a key moment.¡±

    ¡°Damn, that sucks. What¡¯s the Light ability?¡±

    Rebecca gave him a wry smile. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s the only one you¡¯ve actually seen, Nicholas. It¡¯s what my father used. It forms an orb of light, which can be used to shoot beams of light that attacks enemies. However, normally, it would not have that much offensive power¨Cexcept against demons and other beings of darkness. But Samuel twisted that¡­¡±

    Nick decided to move on away from that topic quickly. ¡°What about me, what kind of thing do you think I¡¯ll get?¡±

    Rebecca smiled. ¡°Since you are a Lord Class, nearly all of your abilities will be somewhat empowered when you¡¯re near your subjects, when essence is drawn in from the surrounding area. But since you¡¯re working on more than one Path and Concept, you just might get two. Your class is really complicated, and I have no idea what you might receive. However, to get one personalized to your Concept, you must reach the minimum mastery first. For you, it might actually be required to even receive one.¡±

    Nick sighed. ¡°Since I¡¯m an Epic Class? What¡¯s this Minimum Mastery?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. As you know, I made a new Concept Fragment of some form of sacrificial Concept, and I¡¯m sure you¡¯re in the same place with your other two Concepts. We are still at the fragment stages, but eventually, we¡¯ll reach a level where Orion will acknowledge our mastery. It¡¯s once you¡¯ve truly made it a part of you and solidified your understanding of it to the first true stage.¡±

    ¡°Become one with the essence, until the essence becomes you¡­¡±

    Chastity looked a bit surprised, looking up from her meal. ¡°That¡¯s interesting. Where¡¯d you hear that?¡±

    ¡°Something my father said. Sounded relevant at this time.¡±

    Nick was already past level fourteen when he entered the Ordeal, thanks to Jasper¡¯s constant hunting the past month, and his Secret Hero¡¯s Quest. After cultivating floor thirteen¡¯s reward, he was now getting very close to level fifteen thanks to the Bonus Essence. He just might reach it during the fighting, or after the fourteenth floor.

    They talked for a short time, but they were already exhausted, and they didn¡¯t have that much time to sleep, so they settled in to rest shortly after they finished their meal.

    Setting out their sleeping bags, the three girls laid down next to each other. Nick¡¯s was originally going to be across from them, but he brought his sleeping bag closer to them, looking at Rebecca on the edge of their group.

    Rebecca looked a little dumbfounded. ¡°What¡­?¡±

    ¡°I wanna do lewd things with you¨CI want to hold your hand as we sleep. Can we do that?¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    She blushed. ¡°T-That¡¯s not lewd¡­ You promise that¡¯s all?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be a gentleman, I promise. With that warm soul of yours closer, I feel like I¡¯ll be able to relax and sleep all the better. Nobody needs to keep watch this time.¡± Nick turned to the blushing priestesses. ¡°You girls don¡¯t mind, do you?¡±

    They blushed as they shook their heads, and actually shifted their sleeping bags a little further away for them, which he thanked them for. Nick laid his sleeping bag down next to Rebecca¡¯s and got inside. Facing her, he reached his hand out to her. She smiled as she laid on her side and held his hand.

    ¡°You¡­do want to do more, don¡¯t you?¡± She whispered.

    ¡°Are you kidding? You¡¯re beautiful, Becca. I do want you. But I have a special¡­drive, from my race. I only play for keeps. I¡¯m content to wait until you¡¯re mine forever.¡± He waggled his eyebrows. ¡°Then I can never have enough.¡±

    Rebecca laughed. ¡°For keeps, and never enough, is it? How reassuring. After our marriage ceremony¡­ I want to do it too, I want to be all yours. I want to give you my everything.¡±

    ¡°Damn, don¡¯t be saying stuff like that. I might wanna do a lot more than just hold hands.¡±

    She darted forward and kissed him on the lips, and giggled. ¡°I love it that you want me, but I know you wouldn¡¯t break your promise. Let us rest well and then find victory when we wake. I¡¯ll be all yours not long after.¡±

    As Nick had predicted, he fell asleep quickly, so close to his future wife¡¯s bright soul. The warmth transmitted through his hand was plenty calming.

    When they awoke, they had a light meal and packed everything up, preparing their equipment. With determined looks, they exited the bubble, revealing a large grassy plain, with few hills. However, they were also at the edge of a battlefield, only a dozen yards away from an army fighting.

    When the bubble faded away, a strange sensation had washed over the party. A shift occurred within Nick¡¯s mind, and it was like he had foreign memories implanted, getting an understanding of the history of the battle in front of them.

    He had heard about this. For more advanced Tests, it was like they would live out a character¡¯s role in a story. Often, this was a retelling of a Trial, Tribulation or Conflict that had occurred in the distant past, that was scaled to the difficulty of the Ordeal.

    Their actions would not change what had actually happened, but it was meant to be a scenario that had already been completed. Perhaps some day, Orion would have someone replay Nick¡¯s Heritage Trial on the fifth floor.

    He¡¯d like to see them try, anyway.

    [Test of Peace and Compassion: Battlefield Trial of Seraphara¡¯s Faithful]

    [Two Kingdoms are at war, but their battle is a third kingdom¡¯s terrible plot. In a bid for peace, Seraphara¡¯s Faithful march on the battlefield, to stop the battle and end the needless bloodshed. Objective: disrupt the battle, and heal the wounded. Prevent as many deaths as possible, and stop the fighting. Have faith in Seraphara¡¯s peaceful path, and grant compassion to the warriors on both sides of the battlefield. Prepare for the next stage of the battle, where the Kingdom of Roknar arrives, and Defeat their leader, the Boss, when he appears, fighting alongside your rescued allies.]

    With a glance, Nick knew about the two kingdoms in question here, and that each person¡¯s death on this battlefield was a tragedy. The number of soldiers was not all that many, at about a hundred and fifty on each side.

    Rebecca gasped. ¡°So many people! This is not normal.¡±

    Nick arched his brow. ¡°How many are there supposed to be?¡±

    Veronica said, ¡°Of course, the Ordeal has variance based on who has entered. But normally, there are less than a hundred on each side! This likely reflects the difficulty.¡±

    Most were not even in the second stratum, but they were still numerous and well-equipped. The dwarves on one side of the battlefield wore thick plate mail armor with shields, hammers and axes.

    The other stout creatures, which looked like some kind of satyrs called wildfolk, also wore thick bark-like armors and a wide variety of weapons. Their fight was fought and won inch by inch, the sides evenly matched.

    Nick thought a little bit about how they could go about stopping the fighting. He asked, ¡°That¡¯s concerning, but what¡¯s the plan? We don¡¯t want to help one side too much, in case we can¡¯t actually stop them from fighting¨Cit might just cause a massacre, one side beating the other.¡±

    Rebecca said, ¡°I think, thanks to you protecting us, we should march down the center. Stop the men fighting at the line, and heal those hit by the archers. We¡¯ll knock out as many as we can, to prevent more from dying. We¡¯ll do our best to convince them to stop fighting from there, and gather those who don¡¯t want to fight in a third group.¡±

    ¡°Thanks to me?¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes. If we just had one of our usual paladin allies here, we would have to take a¡­much slower, and safer route to win people over.¡±

    Veronica added, ¡°I think it¡¯s a good plan, since we can count on Nick to protect us. Otherwise, I think we should convince their leaders first.¡±

    Chastity nodded. ¡°I agree. The longer we wait, the more people needlessly suffer. Let us make haste.¡±

    Nick shrugged, and pulled out his blackjack from his belt, meant precisely for this purpose. ¡°I¡¯m down. Anyone that comes after you girls or doesn¡¯t listen to reason will just get a few lumps on their head. You¡¯ll heal ¡®em up later.¡±

    In a sense, Seraphara¡¯s Faithful were treated a lot like how people were supposed to treat medics during war on Earth, as per the Geneva Convention. So when people saw them wearing their instantly recognizable habits, they should understand Nick¡¯s party were healers, and that they were not here to fight.

    The girls began their shouts and pleas as they reached the edge of the battle, trying to convince the armies to stop fighting.

    Rebecca said, ¡°This war is all an enemy plot! We testify that Brickholm is not to blame for the attacks on The Wild Grove¡¯s land!¡±

    Marissa said, ¡°Please see reason and cease your fighting for now. Seraphara wishes that you shall know peace.¡±

    The soldiers were a bit confused at what was happening, Nick and the four girls approaching from the side of their battle lines. They shoved each other away as they approached, and were quick to refute the priestesses¡¯ claims, pointing at each other in blame.

    ¡°They burned our crops!¡±

    ¡°They took our cattle, and killed our farmers!¡±

    Chastity shouted, ¡°Your fighting only serves the Roknar Kingdom! Neither of your kingdoms are to blame!¡±

    The girls each argued with the warriors, until their Pacification Auras quelled their anger and they dropped their weapons, their party walking between the two armies fighting.

    The party followed Rebecca¡¯s plan, and Nick did his best to keep them safe, combined with their pacification aura. The other girls continued their spiritual shouts, disarming as many as they could. They placed the weapons in their sacks, and dragged any wounded to rest among their other downed allies.

    Having pushed forward enough and now that some had heard what was going on, Rebecca¡¯s voice was now able to reach over a few dozen warriors from both sides now, many of which were already disarmed.

    ¡°For now, please cease fighting. We shall speak with your leaders, and heal those wounded from both sides. Let us end this tragedy.¡±

    The warriors held complicated looks, but their will to fight was sapped.

    When some on the outskirts of their aura fought the effect and tried to resume fighting, Rebecca shouted.

    ¡°Cease this fighting at once!¡± Her shout was like a rippling white wave, almost like the odd banshee man they had faced in Silverbrook. The shout was so strong, that several people actually fell to the ground unconscious¨Cthe rest frozen in place.

    Nick was amazed. ¡°Damn, Becca. Remind me not to make you mad.¡±

    She blushed, taking deep breaths after her shout.

    They continued their push, and Nick was forced to knock out a few warriors with his blackjack. Each downed warrior was placed among their own people, to help prevent any issues.

    Many warriors continued to fight as they neared the center of the battle line, but the four priestesses pushed their pacification auras to the limit, and Nick eventually added his Frost Aura. All attacks were slowed, and he began slowly freezing those who continued fighting.

    There were a few men who had already been downed before they arrived, which the girls rushed to grab and drag them away from the fighting. They kept them from dying by performing some magical first aid, and carried them to safety.

    Rebecca shouted, ¡°All those that stop fighting now will be healed! Throw down your weapons. Hear our pleas, and no doubt you¡¯ll soon face the true enemy: the Roknar Kingdom.¡±

    Eventually, they arrived in the center of the battlefield, where the two leaders of the kingdoms fought. These men were actually above Nick and the girl¡¯s level slightly from what he could tell, but they were more focused on the battle with one another.

    The leaders had wounds on their bodies, and some men were clearly dead near them.

    The four girls stacked their pacification auras, much like what Nick experienced back in Silverbrook. The two fought the effect, but their rage was somewhat quelled as the light surrounded their weapons and bodies.

    At some point, they must have heard their shouts about the enemy plot, and Nick could see doubt between the two leaders.

    Rebecca entreated, ¡°Please, see reason. If you two continue to fight, you will only weaken yourselves against the true enemy. Stay your hand, and we will heal those that are injured. Send your scouts out, and see if we are telling the truth. You have little to lose.¡±

    The wildfolk leader narrowed his eyes at them suspiciously. ¡°Unless this is yet another plot! Many of my kin have died on this day. I will avenge them!¡±

    The dwarf leader scoffed. ¡°I have lost men too, just the same.¡± He looked over at the pool of people their party had rescued, and talked down from continuing their fight. ¡°I see¡­thanks to them, not many have died. If they are right, the Roknar Kingdom will kill us both, they are the shifty sort, and have coveted our mines.¡±

    ¡°You believe them? I won¡¯t be fooled! I bet you¡¯re working with them!¡± The wildfolk roared, and bulked up as he became large and wide. He charged despite Rebecca and Marissa both adding their spiritual shouts, but they were a bit exhausted by this point.

    Nick sent his chains of frost to interfere with his attack, and dashed in with his shield, filling his leather club with essence. The wildfolk¡¯s two-handed sword skittered off his turtle-shell-like shield, and he countered with a blow to the man¡¯s chin.

    But that only made the man stumble, before he was on the attack again with crazed eyes, his swings wild and fierce. Nick evaded the wildfolk¡¯s blows by twisting and swaying his body, deflecting the attacks with his shield, until he saw an opening and pulled the man off balance by grabbing his arm and pulling him forward.

    Nick then struck hard with a blow to the back of his knee which sent him stumbling onto one knee, followed by a Shield Bash, which sent in invading essence and sent him tumbling to the ground onto his back.

    Wrapping chains of ice around the man¡¯s legs and arms, Nick disarmed the wildfolk, sending his weapon clattering effortlessly to the ground.

    The dwarf leader stepped forward with his sword menacingly, and it looked like he was going to bring it down on the downed wildfolk leader.

    ¡°Look out, Nick!¡± Chastity shouted.

    Nick was quick to step forward with his shield, ready to protect the downed wildfolk leader. Seeing this, the dwarf stopped his attack.

    The downed wildfolk leader shook his head out of his wild rage, his body shrinking. ¡°You¡¯d protect me? So¡­you¡¯re really not on his side? I suppose¡­you are of Seraphara¡­¡±

    Rebecca shook her head. ¡°We found coded letters that the Roknar kingdom hired mercenaries to weaken you both while stoking the flames of your feud, and defeat you in one fell swoop.¡±

    The dwarf leader looked at Nick with approval, and a sly smile. Nick got the feeling he pretended to attack to see what he¡¯d do. The dwarf laughed, and stroked his beard. ¡°Haha! Good on you, lad. It does make sense, those brutes are strong, but they are not so great in a siege. Makes sense for them to lure us out here.¡±

    Nick removed the wildfolk¡¯s chains, and helped him stand up by grasping his wrist. The man was a lot heavier than Nick expected.

    The wildfolk man narrowed his eyes on the dwarf leader. ¡°I still don¡¯t trust you scheming dwarves, but I¡¯m willing to send out our scouts, and prepare for battle against them.¡±

    The dwarf snorted. ¡°We¡¯re no more scheming than you fellows, but Roknar just might have us both beat!¡± He turned to Nick¡¯s party. ¡°You¡¯ll return the weapons of our soldiers?¡±

    Rebecca nodded. ¡°We shall return your weapons, but please seek peace among you. We must face the mastermind behind this conflict.¡±

    The two leaders called off the battle, and the girls worked to heal as many people as they could, including the two leaders.

    Nick watched and enjoyed how Rebecca and the girls healed all those in need with a smile. The dwarves and wildfolk did not have many healers, but they helped to get people restored.

    Eventually, they received word that the Roknar Kingdom was coming by their scouts¨Cthey were proven right. As soon as the announcement occurred, Nick¡¯s received a prompt.

    [Fourteenth Floor Complete! Reward: Bonus Essence.]

    However, something within Orion stirred, a weight descending on Nick. A wave of white light went out, and Nick once again couldn¡¯t help but groan at reading the prompt.

    [Heroic Test: Hero of the Battlefield. Objective: Defeat Boss while keeping all Lords and party members alive. Difficulty of Boss increased. Rewards for Test Completion Increased.]

 Book 3 - Chapter 17 - The Centaur Lord

    Nick shared the prompt with the girls, and while they looked worried, he could also feel the trust they had in him.

    Luckily, a large amount of Bonus Essence was provided to them. Resting and recovering after the healing, the party did their best to cultivate it and recover as they sat near the army on the grass. Nick reached the 15th level, his Frost Core growing, along with his Soul and Body Cores.

    Some growth did go toward his Heroic Concept as well, from Nick could tell, as he focused on his desire to crush this challenge, Test himself and become more. To find the strength he required to defeat Blackthorne he would have to draw deep and face various Trials, risking his life again and again.

    [Lord Convergence Skills locked until the minimal mastery requirements are met.]

    When Nick received the message, he couldn¡¯t help but groan once again.

    Chastity asked, ¡°What is it, Lord Nicholas?¡±

    ¡°Ah, is it Lord Nicholas again? I recall you just called me something else, acting awfully impudent.¡± Nick teased.

    She blushed. ¡°I had to make haste to warn you, I do apologize! Please forgive me¡­¡±

    Nick chuckled. ¡°I was just teasin¡¯ you, and you did a great job. I don¡¯t mind however you choose to address me. But I just can¡¯t help but feel this world is out to get me¨CI received a message that my Lord Convergence skills were locked until I reached the minimal mastery requirements. I suppose Rebecca had sort of warned this could be necessary, but I had hoped I¡¯d at least get one of them.¡±

    Rebecca pondered this for a moment, before she answered, ¡°It must be your Epic-Lord Class which has this requirement, or because your fragments are compatible. This is a big boon, but you will have to live without, for now. But worry not, for we have all reached the threshold of our classes, which are lower¨Cwe only require our Faith Cores to obtain ours. We can aid you much in this battle.¡±

    That was good news, though it did sound like their Light and Blessing abilities would be limited in their effectiveness. He knew Sanctuary was useful for a battlefield such as this one, offering protection for the wounded and those who healed them.

    Those inside would be unable to take offensive actions, except against any that managed to enter seeking to do harm. It was especially an effective countermeasure against assassins, exposing and weakening them with a debilitating hex of light.

    Marissa puffed out her covered chest proudly, ¡°And we kept both leaders and so many of their soldiers alive and ready for battle. While you are being challenged by the Hero¡¯s Path, we are at our best to assist you.¡±

    The enemy army was Centuars¨Chorse men, so Nick¡¯s party didn¡¯t have that much time to rest and recover beyond their cultivating their earned essence. They spent the remaining time healing to get more people battle-ready, and were actually provided pills to restore their essence so they could continue healing.

    Before the enemy arrived, the plan was to pretend the two armies were still fighting. They left the dead on the battlefield to be visible, to play into their own plot. On one edge of the battlefield was the bottom of a hill.

    They knew the enemies were coming from their west, so this allowed them to plan. The Centaurs were going to storm over the hill, their visibility limited until the last moments.

    Several dwarves and wildfolk laid low in the thick grass at the bottom of the hill, waiting for the horse people to arrive.

    Nick realized something about them helping in this battle was a little odd. ¡°So¡­the people of Seraphara would heal and help these people in war? Doesn¡¯t this go against her desire for peace?¡±

    Veronica shook her head. ¡°These two kingdoms are not the aggressors, the Roknar Kingdom is. They fought under false pretenses, and now they seek peace, so we are willing to fight to protect it. In all, our goal is to defeat their leader, minimizing the deaths as much as possible.¡±

    Chastity added, ¡°And of course, we wish to help Lord Nicholas succeed in his Heroic Test. We will follow your lead, and aid you in defeating this difficult challenge.¡±

    He and the girls gathered near the edge, near to the two leaders. During the strategy discussion earlier, Nick had confirmed with the two leaders that he would do his best to draw the Boss¡¯s attacks, so they could destroy the enemy¡¯s formation and eventually focus on aiding him. If nothing else, Nick would weaken the powered-up leader significantly before they joined the battle.

    When the centaurs came thundering through, the soldiers with polearms were ready, springing from hiding. They formed a wall of spearheads, and the two armies ceased their mock fighting. Like a river being split into two, the centaurs were forced around the outskirts of the battlefield as several were pierced by the ready polearms. Arrows and druidic entangling vines, along with earthen spikes from the dwarves quickly brought the centaur¡¯s charge to a halt.

    But the numbers coming were significant. Even with keeping nearly both armies alive, the number of Centaurs was a difficult match.

    Nick¡¯s Frost Aura then covered the split river where the centaurs met the polearms, and the two armies spun and started their march to face the centaur army.

    Of course, many of the centaurs died as they were pierced, but the allied army pushed in an arrowhead formation toward the enemy leader in their own ambush, looking to break the enemy¡¯s charge.

    Nick and the priestesses followed the leaders of the dwarves and wildfolk, cutting down the slowed army of centaurs.

    The centaurs did not wear much armor, mostly leather and bone, and their horse bodies were lacking barding. With their charges halted, Nick thought the armies had a strong chance against them, and started striking out at centaurs near him.

    The girls also used their staves, knocking into the centaurs from the sides and bringing them to the ground. Nick cut into enemies with his Soul Blade, wanting to charge it and be ready for the Boss.

    It wasn¡¯t long before the leader of the Centaurs came thundering over the hill and through from the middle of the horde, and he was huge, towering over the already large Centaurs. Covered in white bone armor and his skin and fur a dark obsidian, the Centaur Lord bowled right past the spearheads, sending several dwarves and wildfolk careening away.

    He knocked away the men with polearms and pierced through their formation, several dwarves and wildfolk getting cut down by his allies which came behind him. Nick was a bit separated and moved to join the two leaders, but the large centaur would arrive first.

    The two leaders attempted to halt the large Centaur¡¯s charge, the wildfolk entering his berserker rage, bulking up and charging at him with his sword. The dwarf covered himself in a layer of stone from the earth beneath him, his steps becoming heavy.

    Nick and the priestesses were not far behind them, just barely out of range for his Frost Aura to affect them. But he was shocked when both leaders were knocked aside with ease. The large Centaur was carrying a giant glaive, and it swung down in a vicious arc downward arc, sending the wildfolk man flying, despite his block with his sword.

    It was only a casual blow, but it quickly became clear that Nick would need to carry the fight.

    The hoof of his horse-body lashed out as well, kicking the dwarf with his raised sword away, and then laughing.

    ¡°You fools, you dare ambush me? You figured out our trap, but it¡¯s too late. We only wanted to face you on the field of battle, outside your precious defenses. We¡¯ve already won!¡±

    Arrows started to fall from the sky, some Centaurs shooting their bows from a distance. Nick¡¯s Frost Aura slowed several, allowing him to block them against the girls with his chains and his drawn shield.

    More Centaurs thundered in the distance, a new charge likely to break through with the Lord at the front.

    Nick looked over to the girls and at the oncoming enemy, and worried about his ability to protect them if he took on the boss.

    The priestesses had their staves and were stronger than the average soldier here, but despite the two armies working together, it didn¡¯t look like it would be easy. Looking back at the gate at the edge of the battlefield, escape was possible, even for him. But as a Hero, running away and leaving this many people to their fates, real or not, was not an option.

    Rebecca saw the concern on his face, ¡°This¡­looks like a deadly challenge, Nicholas. But we believe in you. Our trust, our faith in you, is no less than that of our goddess. Her virtuous wisdom and her tenets give us purpose and strength, but you¡¯re the hero that empowers and protects us from greater evils.¡±

    The other girls nodded, and the look on their faces showed their level of trust in him. Nick¡¯s Soul Core thrummed in his chest, their faith in him and the weight of the Pacts with his many Followers stirring something within him.

    He drew his Soul Blade, the blue light growing from the hilt. ¡°I¡¯ll always be the hero you need. Now, how about you set up that Sanctuary somewhere near, so I can focus on the big bad?¡±

    Marissa nodded. ¡°Right away, milord. We shall not be a burden to you in this battle, no matter what.¡±

    Rebecca and the girls looked at one another, and without speaking, Veronica and Chastity began gathering their faith essence, essence being drawn from the surrounding area and converted.

    Veronica said, ¡°Let Seraphara¡¯s holy light protect those who seek peace and require her compassion. Sanctuary!¡±

    With a flash of light, a small white temple with pillars grew from the ground in front of them, near the fighting. It had a domed roof and was made of faith essence, not much larger than the pavilion tents they used at Silverbrook¨Cable to hold a dozen or more people within.

    Seeing his girls would be kept safe, Nick rushed toward the enemy, the large Centaur easily knocking other warriors back as the two leaders recovered from the Boss¡¯s attack.

    Nick¡¯s Frost Aura washed over the enemy centaurs who had surrounded the wildfolk and dwarf leaders, and Nick rushed toward them. With his sword flashing out, he slayed several Centaurs as he crossed the distance. As he neared, the dark Lord of the Centaurs snarled at him as their eyes met.

    ¡°Just who are you? Seraphara¡¯s Faithful? Your meddling was not enough. You will only join them in death. Though, those priestesses¡­¡± He grinned. ¡°My men and I will be glad you¡¯ve come. We¡¯ll enjoy the spoils of war.¡±

    Nick sighed. He could feel that the man was evil, but ultimately, it didn¡¯t make a difference since he was being Tested within the Ordeal. The soul was gray like he originally felt on the fifth floor Trial when he first ran into the adherents of Seraphara, and he had no right to Judge the Centaurs. Sadly, Nick wouldn¡¯t be able to use his finisher.

    ¡°Only trash needs to take women by force.¡± Nick called out to the two leaders, more to taunt his enemy than anything else, as they had already agreed on this strategy. ¡°I¡¯ll kill this shitty gelding, you two focus on keeping his men out of the fight.¡±

    ¡°You dare? I will crush you, vermin!¡± The Centaur Lord roared, as he began stomping toward Nick.

    Nick gave his martial arts kiai in response, sending out a wave of essence to his surrounding allies, and pushed his Frost Aura to its limit. Several chains rose from around him, dancing like snakes in the air.

    The Centaur Lord snorted at Nick¡¯s display. ¡°All shall know death. Wither and Decay.¡±

    The centaur¡¯s own blackened aura was sent out in a wave, meeting Nick¡¯s Frost Aura. The weight of the enemy Lord¡¯s Aura was heavier, Nick¡¯s bubble of control being pushed back.

    But Nick¡¯s still protected him and a few allies from the effect, and he rushed toward the Boss. Wrapping himself in chains of essence, Nick leaped over a centaur and dwarf fighting on the outskirts, cleaving the enemy man¡¯s head off and letting the Soul Blade drink the man¡¯s essence.

    The dark centaur arrived near Nick just like he wanted, and so he dashed to the side, sending several Blade Waves of cold at the enemy as he strafed him. The waves struck with a muted hiss of cold as each landed on the centaur¡¯s large body.

    Despite Nick¡¯s improved aim of the ability allowing them to land like true cuts of his blade or close to it against the armored horse body, the large centaur hardly slowed his galloping approach.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    As Nick¡¯s chains entered the enemy¡¯s Aura, flecks of ice began drifting from them, and they slowed. The chains were then easily batted aside by the larger centaur. However, swinging the glaive to send them flying away caused him to slow, allowing Nick to keep his distance and continue sending his strafing attacks. Nick was leading the enemy away, just as he had planned.

    The ice began to spread along the centaur¡¯s chest and horse body, but the man¡¯s body essence was pushing back the effect. Without the Frost Aura or chains, Nick wasn¡¯t going to freeze this big bastard.

    Nick even mixed a Frost Shock into his several swings of his sword sending Blade Waves out, and he was a bit surprised at the efficacy when the blow hit with an explosion of ice on the man¡¯s chest.

    The centaur growled, and Nick could feel the man¡¯s essence stirring, before suddenly the centaur moved with increased speed suddenly, arriving near him quickly.

    Nick leaped high into the air with a Double Jump with a flip, and sent a strong Blade Wave of frost at an uncovered part of his arm near the shoulders. The wave cut into his flesh and froze over, and Nick¡¯s half-dozen sections of chain finally wrapped around the large centaur¡¯s body and began to freeze it.

    He then slashed twice at the centaur¡¯s hindquarters, cutting deep furrows into its flesh and freezing it, before having to sway back to dodge a powerful kick and a swing of the large centaur¡¯s glaive.

    Nick then backed off and sent several more Blade Waves, driving the enemy away from his allies. The Boss howled with rage as he expanded his Aura over many dwarves and wildfolk, and pushed against the chains of frost, which were now harrying him. The kicks of his hooves and swings of his glaive knocked them back, and shattered and destroyed the chains.

    Each chain took frost energy for Nick to conjure from his Core, and with his aura not producing much cold, it was a struggle to get them going.

    The effect of the decaying, withering aura was surprising. The warriors it reached became lethargic and weak, and their armor began flecking away, much like Nick¡¯s chains. Nick¡¯s Frost Aura was pushed back to a narrow sphere, which limited the distance they could travel besides.

    Nick¡¯s talent with his personal mana aura shone here, as he kept the enemy aura out without issue and with little investment, minus the loss in effectiveness. While the decaying aura was powerful, it did appear that Nick¡¯s approach of kiting the enemy was working.

    The Centaur looked at the wound on his arm, and the frost was removed before blood spurted from the cut¨Cthe same happening to his horse-body, where Nick had struck him twice. The Centaur then sneered at Nick. ¡°You will pay for this. Armor of Death.¡±

    Essence swirled in from the surrounding area, giving Nick a sickly feeling. It rose up from many of the downed warriors, being drawn into the dark centaur like a vortex. The armor of bone darkened and grew as it was covered with a deathly, black energy.

    Even the horse-body was now covered by a blanket of darkness.

    Nick snorted, and sent more Blade Waves as he strafed his foe. The waves now had even less of an effect as they struck the bone, making it difficult for Nick to wound his enemy. His goal had been to feel the enemy out safely and weaken the Boss, and he thought he had a good feel for his strength now.

    And it was high. The decaying aura was boosted lightly by some Concept, but as of now, the Centaur wasn¡¯t giving his all. If people didn¡¯t defend properly against it, they would quickly die. Then, the Centaur¡¯s strength and weight behind each of his blows was immense.

    He cast a look at the girls, noticing Rebecca and the three priestesses were offering their protection at the temple. Arrows were being rejected, and several healers revitalized warriors who fell in battle.

    Two would venture out to retrieve fallen allies, protecting one another and defeating centaurs with their staves. The girls were fighting in their own way, relying on Nick to lead the fight against the terrible enemy.

    But Nick had been drawing the Boss away from the fighting, and the two leaders of their factions had pushed deep into the enemy formation. Nick was now askew from the girl¡¯s temple, and it was now time to push this fight to its conclusion.

    Sending a few more Blade Waves, Nick saw that this Armor of Death was losing its luster with each attack¨Cbut its charge was substantial. He squared his feet, giving his ready stance as the Centaur arrived.

    To Nick¡¯s surprise, the Centaur Lord stopped. ¡°Ready to fight finally? You keep running from me, drawing me away from my kin and hitting me weakly as if your actions matter. But you and your attacks are worse than ants. When I slay you, this army will fall shortly after. Death will come to all that stand against me.¡±

    Nick snorted. ¡°You know, ants are pretty strong. Being big doesn¡¯t matter, as long as you are strong like one.¡± His next words were spoken in Archaen, ¡°Fight with skill.¡±

    Essence surged into his body, his chains within powering up as he dashed toward his enemy. The glaive swung down to halt Nick¡¯s assault, and Nick barely countered his vicious swing with an overhead block.

    The centaur then lashed out with a hoof, but Nick twisted his whole body following the glaive¡¯s shove as he ducked and spun, driving the glaive to the ground and dodging the hoof alike.

    Continuing the spin, Nick slashed into the shadow armor with his blade of white light, reducing its volume. The Centaur backed up and swung his glaive, Nick dodging and countering as he kept himself at a middle distance. Hoofed kicks were mixed in with swings of the glaive, but Nick¡¯s odd body managed to twist and sway out of their way each time.

    However, the odd Armor of Death didn¡¯t allow Nick to cause any damage to the centaur, as he was quite the tank. Nick¡¯s chains attempted to wrap around his enemy, but being this close, Nick¡¯s Aura didn¡¯t give much room for them to move. He was being oppressed by the stronger enemy¡¯s aura, and Nick would have to draw out his Concept soon. Unfortunately, the centaur hadn¡¯t even bothered to bring his out yet, but Nick could feel the enemy had one.

    ¡°Strike with power.¡±

    His strength improving, his ability to match the centaur¡¯s strength allowed him to parry the blows, and counter properly. Seeing an opening, Nick almost laughed as he rolled under the centaur¡¯s body, cutting several times into his underside. After being called an ant, allowing his size to be an advantage filled him with vindication.

    As the centaur turned, Nick had no problem staying underneath the larger centaur and continuing to attack at his underbelly, landing several slashes. Or so he thought, until a spike grew from the black cloak of death surrounding the Boss¡¯s horse-body, nearly piercing his skull. Nick only barely managed to sway and twist out of the way in time, countering against the underside before rolling out from underneath and blocking the pissed centaur¡¯s glaive.

    ¡°I tire of your struggle. Death is inevitable, inexorable. Behold, for I am the bringer of death.¡±

    The withering and decaying aura spread out even further, the grass and earth beneath them crumbling into dust. Nick pushed his Frost King Concept in response, struggling with his chains of essence and his aura. His crafted robes lit up brightly, protecting him from the withering aura.

    ¡°Bleed with Haste.¡±

    Essence surged, and Nick¡¯s speed increased as his limbs whipped and darkness within his monstrous body was drawn out. The Centaur¡¯s attacks became much easier to counter, and his blade of frost kept whipping and cutting into the blackened armor.

    The Centaur Lord seemed affronted at Nick¡¯s ability to protect himself from his Concept, but Nick could see the truth. Even with his own aura and Jasmine¡¯s expertly crafted robes, they were beginning to decay slowly.

    With enough time, it would be his under-armor, and then himself, and if he let up his defense, he would go down quickly.

    ¡°Maim with superiority.¡±

    Reaching the fourth stanza, his darkness energy empowered him further, he was ready to go all out. He likely only had about thirty seconds or so of his Heroic Concept, but it would be all he needed.

    Drawing out his Concept, Nick¡¯s body and Soul Blade was covered in white and smoky black light, giving a vibrating buzz.

    Dodging another slash of the man¡¯s glaive, Nick¡¯s thrusting blade pierced through the armor, cutting into the Centaur¡¯s gut¨Cbut didn¡¯t reach deeply. The withering aura reduced the impact, the cutting light losing some of its sharpness. Another bone spike shot out at Nick, forcing him to retreat.

    Still, Nick had wounded him. His Heroic Concept and blade of white light overwhelmed the armor, and Nick could kill his enemy.

    The Centaur Lord snarled. ¡°You are stronger than I thought, but death forever looms. Blade of Desolation.¡± The withering aura receded, and covered the man¡¯s glaive instead. Nick felt imminent danger coming from the blade, and that wasn¡¯t all. The Centaur Lord congealed his Body essence greatly in his muscles, enhancing his speed and strength as he grew even larger.

    The man was clearly an Expert, and he was pulling out all the stops with some form of berserker skill, like the wildfolk. If it were before, Nick would be more than a little concerned because he could not deny physics.

    Until now. A Hero must be strong, and so Nick¡¯s light and darkness replaced reality with Nick¡¯s will.

    With a roar, the Centaur Lord swung his glaive and moved with supernatural haste, causing powerful blows to come in quick succession, ready to cleave Nick¡¯s head off his shoulders.

    Nick couldn¡¯t find time to counter, but he drew his shield from his back, to allow him to deflect a blow over his head, and three stabs in quick succession cut into the large monster¡¯s leg and thigh.

    ¡°Slay all who stand in your Path.¡±

    The darkness within him rose, his muscles imbued with power. His blade whipped out covered in white and dark light, slamming the glaive to the side, and cutting several times along his arm. Blood spurted from the wounds, and the centaur grunted in pain.

    Roaring again, spikes from the Centaur¡¯s chest drove Nick back. The Centaur rose his glaive over his head as his upper body lifted from the ground, and drew an immense amount of essence. Nick activated Power Strike, his muscles moving in synchronicity, and swinging to match the overwhelming blow. He even launched his chains, to slow down the oncoming attack.

    ¡°You are more worthy to face me than I thought, but you are flagging. All power is brought to nothing before death.¡±

    More energy was being drawn from the corpses nearby, refilling his Armor of Death.

    ¡°Well, I think you¡¯re forgetting something important. I¡¯m not alone.¡±

    Three beams of white light slammed into the Boss, heavily expending his Armor of Death and revealing much of his skin along his chest. Rebecca¡¯s Blessing landed on Nick, his body thrumming with power.

    The light and darkness within him blazed, his body filled with essence, and his desire to be a hero. If this terrible enemy showed up at his doorstep, he would stand against him and defeat him, bringing salvation and redemption alike to all his people.

    He could feel himself becoming one with the essence, his will being manifest into the world. His Concept grew as his Soul thrummed, his body and soul bathed in the light and the darkness.

    Knowing he only had a short moment, he pushed his Concept to the maximum, drawing all the essence to ready an empowered dash and strike. Pushing his essence into his Soul Blade, he prepared his Essence Burst.

    But he felt a change in his Soul Blade, so he shifted it into his Blade Wave glyph. Swinging, his wave of white light cut a wide arc as it flew toward the Centaur, and his enemy countered with a powerful downward swing of his glaive filled with death essence.

    Nick¡¯s Blade Wave was largely blocked down the middle, but some of the Blade Wave cut the centaur on the sides, cutting into his arms and slashing deeply into his chest horizontally, his glaive cutting into the ground.

    The centaur gave a pained wail as he was knocked back from the cutting blow.

    Running toward his enemy, Nick¡¯s body blurred with preternatural speed. Nick¡¯s Concept empowered him, and he didn¡¯t know how much Rebecca¡¯s blessing improved this, but his sped was now faster than ever.

    The weight of the souls and his pacts empowered his movements, his chains now leaping out of his aura and latching onto his enemy¡¯s downed weapon. The centaur tried to raise it up to defend against Nick, but it was far too late.

    Using Double Jump, the Heroic Concept allowed it to become more of a Double Air Dash, Nick¡¯s body spiraling as he swung his blade and cut through the Centaur as he passed through the air beside him. He finished the job of cutting the Centaur in half, where his Blade Wave had landed.

    The torso was separated from the horse body as both fell to the ground in a spurt of blood, his arms cut into stumps below the elbows. Nick¡¯s essence ran out as he landed behind the Centaur, his body exhausted, Rebecca¡¯s Blessing cutting out.

    The Centaur Lord roared in outrage, his essence and aura going haywire as he died. He twisted his body and glared at Nick with hatred, his face twisting in a snarl. ¡°No! Death is inevitable. I will take you with me¨CCurse of Death.¡±

    All the remaining essence in the man¡¯s body and his vitality was squeezed from his torso, his body draining much like Nick had Judged him, a horrible darkness being drawn up.

    A skull of darkness rose from the Centaur Lord¡¯s body, about the size of a beach ball, and Nick could feel the taint within it. It was a powerful attack of the soul, and Nick wasn¡¯t so sure he could defend against it. Drawing the last bit of faith energy from his necklace, he drew up his Concept once more.

    Feeling death coming for him, Eirwen made their Soul Pact Connection, and sent through an Omni-Barrier. To his surprise, rather than being a hazy aura around him, it was sparkling with prismatic flecks, reminding him of a shooting star.

    In addition, two more beams of light came from the priestesses, halting the skull as it screamed a sickly laugh. His blade of white light then struck the curse, but like a smoky haze, his blade only erased a portion of it¨Cabout a third, and it proceeded toward his body.

    Eirwen¡¯s Omni-Barrier seemed to harm the hazy skull further, and gave him a whole second to withdraw his Concept from his blade and run it through his armor. The remains of the skull was burned by the white light as it sought its target¨CNick¡¯s Soul Core.

    His flesh burned as it went toward his core, and he fought with his everything to slow it down. Chains of Soul Essence, his Aura, and his Will slowed it, but he could feel his flesh around his chest going necrotic and decaying as it went toward his core.

    Rebecca¡¯s arms wrapped around Nick, as he began to fall to his knees in pain. She had rushed toward him, and Nick could feel her healing light and Sacrificial Concept stir as she touched him, erasing the remainder of the curse with her efforts rapidly. The two Concepts of Sacrifice and Death clashed, but she pushed with dogged determination.

    It took her a moment, but she reversed much of the damage rapidly with her healing.

    Rebecca looked at him with both exhaustion and worry, her wings fluttering as she began to fall herself. They collapsed into each other¡¯s arms, the two propped against each other kneeling.

    ¡°Are you okay, Nicholas?¡±

    Nick groaned. ¡°Why do all the Bosses I fight have some sort of die move? Why can¡¯t they just die?¡±

    Rebecca laughed. ¡°Die move? I suppose if you¡¯re joking¡­ you¡¯re probably fine.¡±

    ¡°Thanks to you. I might have made it without that Concept of yours, but it wouldn¡¯t have been pretty, that¡¯s for sure. You girls definitely pulled your weight.¡±

    The remaining Centaurs began to flee with their leader defeated. The two leaders of the dwarves and wildfolk were battered and bloody, but alive. At some point, Marissa had run off to send them healing light, the range that she could heal requiring her to be close.

    With that, they had won. And Orion agreed. A weight descended, and the party was suddenly teleported to the original Safe Zone, the temporary world disappearing around them, except for the Centaur Lord¡¯s corpse and weapon.

    Nick received a prompt, as an arc with a portal inside rose from the ground, along with a decent-sized reward chest. He supposed, since they were kicked out of the scenario, it wasn¡¯t like they could loot anything.

    [Heroic Test Complete. Reward: Minor Enlightenment, 15th Floor Equivalent Cleared in Ordeal, 2429 DP]

    [Seraphara¡¯s Faithful Floor Complete. Personal Reward: Time with Seraphara¡¯s Mirror of Truth and Wisdom, Bonus Tithed Faith Essence available in Enlightenment Chamber. Party Reward: 6235 DP]

    [12 hours in Safe Zone granted for Recovery. Loot Boss Corpse for Boss Essence. Minor Enlightenment and time with mirror to be granted on Exit.]

    The entire party was exhausted, breathing heavily as they fell to the ground.

    They did it. And now, it was time to enjoy their rewards.

 Book 3 â€“ Chapter 18 â€“ The Mirror of Wisdom

    After a very cute celebration of platonic hugs and ecstatic squeals from four priestesses as they cheered and raved about their rewards, they had only spent thirty minutes recovering before they desired to enter the portal. Recovering at home would be much more comfortable than at a campsite with a corpse in it, so they only spent enough time ensuring they were ready for their Enlightenment.

    The Loot Chest contained some interesting items, which were largely for Clergy of Seraphara. Marissa obtained a staff much like what Rebecca had, and Chastity and Veronica both received trinkets that aided them in protecting their minds or souls against foreign influence, and dark energies such as death.

    Nick received a glaive that would be perfect for Andross, and there were several suits of chainmail perfect for budding paladins of Seraphara.

    He was shocked at just how many odds and ends they received, but Rebecca claimed that the Ordeal had simply awarded them appropriately. The difficulty was immense, and Orion was generous when people were truly Tested like they were.

    Each of the girls had also been rewarded for helping Nick with his Heroic Test, receiving both Minor Enlightenment and a small tempering when including Seraphara¡¯s Ordeal Reward.

    As for Seraphara¡¯s Mirror reward for Nick, it appeared to be almost at the level of a Minor Enlightenment as well. It would improve whatever enlightenment he was receiving, enabling him to see and understand the essence better.

    It turned out, when you weren¡¯t forming a Core, it was normal to cultivate the essence on or after Exit. So, after they Looted the Boss and the Boss Essence congealed around the parties¡¯ cores to be cultivated, they chose Ordeal Exit.

    Being teleported, Nick suddenly found himself in a room that wouldn¡¯t look out of place within Seraphara¡¯s Cathedral, standing in front of an ornate mirror. Seraphara¡¯s stained-glass window brought holy light into the white room with a gold trim, and he felt that his mind was full of clarity, clear and without distractions despite his previous exhaustion.

    As he looked at himself in the mirror, he could see essence and mana as it moved throughout his body.

    He marveled at how it looked as he created his Aura, and wrapped his body with his essence chains to enhance his body. Since he was used to it, he even began cultivating the essence, and watching how it shifted within him.

    Understanding this was supposed to provide him Enlightenment to master his Concepts, he didn¡¯t dally. He decided that among his two Concepts, he understood the least, and had the most to gain, from his Heroic Salvation and Redemption Concept.

    Pushing his Concept with his will, the light and dark was drawn out¨Cfrom a tiny kernel within his Soul Core.

    He moved it around, willing it to empower himself. Protect. Strengthen. Forming a blade, he even made the energy cut. Trying to create his mana aura and merging it, he struggled, finding it difficult.

    The light moved to his will with ease, while the darkness was like a wind or smoke that could not be tamed, roiling around his body as if it had its own will. It was as if the light within him was order, and the darkness was chaos.

    Holding on to his will to be a hero, thinking of his lovers and more, he continued cultivating the Boss Essence, watching as it joined his three cores and how his desires and will influenced it.

    He had a lot of essence to work with, and he watched how this cultivation saturated himself. The living essence of Orion was truly different, in how by altering his desire, different colors of light would break off and join his Core, or stick to the light or dark essence within his Concept.

    As he played with the energy some more, and gained some insights on how just how he might be able to fight or use the special energy, the image suddenly shifted. Now he was shown several images of people and creatures fighting, all while showing this special view of the essence within them.

    While he was happy with his Advanced Soul Sense, seeing this, he was interested in a similar ocular power for essence. Within the image he could also see the souls of those present, and it was like he understood the context of their fighting.

    Conflict was a common thread between the many creatures and peoples, but their balance of light and darkness within them showed no commonality that Nick could see, especially among the creatures. Even demons fighting angels was shown, but what drew Nick¡¯s focus the most was a hawk of light and a raven of darkness clashing.

    The two sent out powerful attacks of colored light, and where the two lights touched, bolts of golden lightning flashed in small explosions, destroying much of the mountainous landscape around them.

    It was an energy far above what Nick had ever seen. The power from the two energies combining or clashing was immense, and he knew he needed it to ascend far above his enemies, granting him the power to protect the weak and destroy evil alike.

    While the Bishop¡¯s orb of light and darkness, and Nick¡¯s Soul Blade filled with black and white light, seemed to contain far more power than one might expect¨Cthis clearly went even above that.

    Seeing all the conflicts, he knew that it wasn¡¯t as simple that the light was good, and darkness was evil. They were two sides of the same coin, somewhat like what Nick heard about Yin and Yang. Both existed in both harmony and conflict, parts of the greater whole that encompassed everything.

    When Nick provided Redemption to the evil he had Judged, he gathered this pure essence of darkness from the weight of their sins, a tainted dark essence, but also the very essence of Orion that clung to it. Something about the sins and taint contained a certain drive to it, attracting the darkness of Orion to it as well.

    Nick knew that all the essence of Orion was alive, and so something was drawn to both good and evil, the light and the darkness. The same would happen with the pure light essence, the virtuous good. As Nick granted people salvation through his heroism, his good deeds would attract this living light essence, building up within his cores, and his body.

    He still didn¡¯t fully understand this, as while it felt a lot like good and evil karma, it felt a little different from that, since essence had a will of its own. Still, as he came to a sort of comprehension of this virtue and taint, the good light and evil darkness, he felt a resonance with his Heroic Concept.

    The essence within him grew from his cultivation of drawing in the Boss Essence reward, the light and the dark essence was being drawn into his core, swirling around the kernel¨Cthe fragment within him. This caused the kernel to give off both light and darkness, bathing him in it.

    As he watched the essence in his body shift within the odd mirror, he could see that his monstrous body was mostly soaked with the darkness, while his Archaen soul was bathed in the light. Both saturated his body and soul from his Concept, these higher energies becoming one with him over time.

    His Soul Core thrummed in his chest, vibrating as his will was made real, Nick and the essence of his Concept becoming one. The kernel was crystallized in his chest, a small sphere that lazily orbited within his Soul Core. In one fell-swoop, he felt like the total duration or strength he could use his Concept had more than doubled.

    [Congratulations. You have reached Early Mastery of your Path Concept: Heroic Salvation and Redemption. At this time, it has become a deep part of you down to your very soul. Effect: +2.5 Body, +5 Soul]

    It was a tremendous effect, his body and soul having a larger weight on reality than ever before. Just the impact from reaching this level of Concept was the same as several levels of his Epic Class, making him simply better than before, or those without Concepts.

    After discussing with Rebecca and the girls, Nick knew that with Early Mastery, combining his Concept with spells or abilities aside from his Convergence Skill would be challenging. By the time he reached Middle Mastery, he would likely find it easier to weave into more of his abilities, though some would likely be more compatible than others.

    The more he built up his Concept, the stronger the influence of his will on the world would be. His beliefs in what a hero was would be empowered by both the light and the dark, gathered through his salvation and redemption.

    Finally reaching the requirement, his Class¡¯s Level 15 Skill unlocked, the information downloading into his mind.

    [Convergence Skill Unlocked: Heroic Cloak of Twilight]

    [Gather essence from the surrounding area, and enshroud yourself or an ally with a two-sided cloak of light and darkness. The active side will determine the additional effects beyond the influence of your Concept, and can be changed at will for a small cost.

    Light: Protection, Healing

    Darkness: Stealth, Lightness]

    Nick nearly groaned as he read it, just imagining how useful it would have been in his last fight. If he had it for facing that stupid Centaur¡­well, he supposed it didn¡¯t matter. He and his party were Tested far beyond what any normal people of Orion would ever experience, and he and the lovely priestesses of Seraphara had become more, their potentials increased forever, to match.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    Exiting the Ordeal the entire party appeared in the Cathedral instead, and his party arrived at the same time this time. The Ordeal Tower let out a luminous light, brightening the stained-glass mural of Seraphara. A holy light was released, the many adherents and clergy bowing down in prayer, their hands clasped together as they murmured.

    The fifteenth level was conquered, and they had received their rewards. Nick was a bit surprised they were brought inside the Cathedral. He had read that when a new floor was conquered, special events could happen depending on the Path, but it was still surprising to be dropped in a room completely packed with people.

    He asked Rebecca, who was dropped near him. ¡°What¡¯s going on? I thought the fifteenth floor was already beaten before.¡±

    Rebecca beamed. ¡°This was the first time under your ownership! How wonderful. Seraphara¡¯s Light, her favor, falls upon us.¡±

    Nick could feel the essence of the Cathedral itself stirring, his small affinity with it feeling great. His necklace quickly filled as he looked over the happy faces in the Cathedral, both old and new.

    Irene had been waiting, and hugged her daughter nearly immediately with a bright smile. ¡°Congratulations, daughter! I¡¯m so proud of your success.¡±

    Rebecca hugged her mother with a warm smile, beaming at her praise. ¡°Thanks, Mom. I did well, but Nick and the girls all performed excellently too.¡±

    Marissa nodded, and Veronica and Chastity beamed with excitement. All of them had reached the fifteenth level, and now they were among some of the top of their age group, for sure. They needed only complete the 20th floor, and they¡¯d be among the level of elites on the entire shard.

    He was exhausted. The final battle took hours, and he was pushed to the brink protecting the girls and random allies against the various challenges, and the horrible Boss enemy.

    But it was worth it.

    The many clergy and adherents present all clapped and praised them and Seraphara for their efforts, thanking them for Testing themselves. No doubt, thanks to their efforts, Orion would be appeased for some time, and all the faithful of Seraphara would enjoy the many benefits of the Ordeal being increased.

    With nearly the entire clergy here already from the bright light, and many new and old adherents, Nick knew it was a good time to hand in the Quest.

    [Divine Concord: Reward: Rings of Sacred Bonding]

    [Powered by Seraphara¡¯s Faith Energy, this allows the user to channel faith energy to heal the owner of the opposite paired ring at great distances.]

    Seeing this, Nick couldn¡¯t help but smile. He loved the idea of having a ring he could protect his future wife with. It was almost as if Seraphara was granting the perfect item for their matrimony ceremony.

    He placed the rings in his breast pocket, having even more proof that Seraphara approved of their joining.

    ¡°You just about ready for the big day, Becca? It¡¯s nearly time now, isn¡¯t it? The full-clear.¡±

    Rebecca blushed, her wings fluttering. ¡°I¡¯m ready. We¡¯ve been through so much together, and I don¡¯t want to wait any longer.¡±

    Irene eyed Rebecca¡¯s wings with a smile, her own fluttering a little. ¡°Daughter, you might be all grown up and soon to be wed, but you are still so cute!¡±

    Nick hugged Rebecca to his side. ¡°Let¡¯s go check on the other girls.¡± He looked at Irene, ¡°They¡¯re back already, right?¡±

    Irene nodded. ¡°The last of them arrived just last night. They all seem to be doing well, but they¡¯re preparing. They knew you two lovebirds would want to be wed soon, so they¡¯ve been working on it a bit. I helped out!¡±

    Nick chuckled. ¡°Thanks, Irene. I need to go check on my girls, and let them know I¡¯m back. Do you need some rest, Becca, or did you want to come see them?¡±

    ¡°I¡­will join you later. There is some planning on this side to finish, no doubt. You¡­want to be wed soon like me, yes?¡±

    Smiling, Nick grabbed her hips, and pulled her into a hug which caused her to gasp in surprise. ¡°Oh!¡±

    Looking her in the eyes, he said, ¡°Of course. I¡¯ve wanted you to be mine since we came back from the Trial and claimed Havendale. I was content to wait for this courtship, and I¡¯m glad your mother will be here to see you wed. But I¡¯m ready when you are and your Goddess is, or I¡¯d have spoken my Oath and Pact long ago.¡±

    Irene¡¯s eyes sparkled, and she floated with her hands clasped in front of her. ¡°Oh my, our hero is so dreamy, isn¡¯t he? We¡¯ll take care of the preparations, and we shall see you soon!¡±

    Rebecca blushed, as Nick let go of her. ¡°M-Mother¡­¡±

    Waving goodbye for now to Rebecca and the many faithfuls, he exited the Cathedral. Standing outside and overlooking his city, Nick was once again surprised at the changes. It had only been a week, but his numerous laborers had already made a significant dent in clearing out much of the rubble, and were constructing numerous new buildings.

    The streets were packed and busy, with dozens of people riding bikes or pulling carts filled with building resources. The population had nearly quintupled in the last month, and the impact was easy to see. Walking through the streets, he saw tons of activity, and the essence was thick even still.

    Arriving at his home, his wives were busy in the living room. Eirwen was first to greet him, having been in the kitchen with Luna.

    Eirwen kissed Nick on the lips, and then hugged him. A surprising amount of warmth filled him, her soft curls from her hair and her body pressed up against him.  ¡°Welcome home, hubby!¡±

    ¡°Glad to be back, Winny. What¡­happened to you, Jasmine?¡±

    Jasmine was fitting a dress on Kaya, and she had changed. She stood a bit shorter than her nearly ten foot height, at around eight feet tall, still wearing her maid outfit but without the odd shape behind her.

    She now had human legs, and four arms. Four spider legs had grown out of her back, two curving upwards, and two curving downwards. Her furry spider legs no longer matched her stone-gray skin-color, but instead had a yellowish tint to them, and claws at the end of them.

    On Nick¡¯s question, Jasmine paused for a moment, before making some finishing touches on Kaya¡¯s dress, four normal hands tightening a bow in the back, and smoothing the dress in several places at once.

    Kaya preened as she looked in the stand-up mirror, looking over her blue dress. It did remind Nick a little bit of a summer dress, that looked fantastic on her fit yet sensuous form.

    Jasmine walked over to him, and gestured to her body with her four hands. ¡°I¡¯ve mastered my Monstrous Transformation! Now I can truly serve you perfectly, Master. It takes a bit more effort and essence than Kaya¡¯s, so I¡¯m not quite where I can change forms entirely at will, but I can switch between this form, my old form, and a full spider form. I just¡­get ravenous whenever I do it.¡±

    Nick arched his brow. ¡°Serve me perfectly?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes.¡± Arriving near him, she then showed off her legs by lifting her maid dress a bit. They reminded him of an amazoness, with long legs with thick thighs. ¡°Now I have my old body shape, just with¡­extra features. You like, Master?¡±

    As usual, Nick had to crane his head up to meet her eyes. While having extra arms was a little weird, he reasoned it was less weird than having a whole spider body beneath her, even if she hid it with her strange dress.

    ¡°You¡¯re always stunning, Jas. So this is what you wanted when you first arrived?¡±

    ¡°Yup! But I couldn¡¯t do it. When I hit level 15, I finally managed it!¡±

    Nick arched his brow. ¡°You hit level 15 from the Boss?¡±

    ¡°Nope! From my Nexus Core chamber, and lots and lots of food! Thanks to all the essence you¡¯ve drawn into the Ordeals, it gathered plenty these past few weeks. Anyway, back to work! We have a lot of prep to do!¡±

    Eirwen nodded. ¡°Of course, we¡¯re all preparing for Rebecca¡¯s big day. We want to make sure her day is special, the best it can be!¡±

    Nick noted, ¡°Kaya¡¯s dress definitely doesn¡¯t look like a bride¡¯s dress. You don¡¯t want to have your ceremony with Rebecca? You girls didn¡¯t have one.¡±

    Eirwen shook her head. ¡°While Rebecca and Seraphara¡¯s Faithful, their community, were willing to share this wedding for us since you¡¯re a Lord of Orion, we declined for now. We beastfolk and monsterfolk girls don¡¯t really see it as a big thing for us¨Cwe¡¯re not much interested in a wedding, we instead decide on our mates.¡±

    Jasmine walked back over to Kaya, who was brushing her hair, and added, ¡°And I knew you weren¡¯t all that interested if we weren¡¯t. You don¡¯t need a ceremony to feel like we¡¯re yours.¡±

    Nick knew and agreed with that, his Soul Pact brought them closer and was already quite intimate, beyond what a ceremony provided. But he was still a little surprised they weren¡¯t interested.

    Eirwen continued, ¡°Instead, we¡¯re excited about you becoming a true King of Orion once you complete the 20th floor of one of the Ordeals. We¡¯ll enjoy being crowned Queens then, at your side. For now, we just want Rebecca to enjoy her special day, that she grew up dreaming of!¡±

    A blue missile slammed into him from his side, Fang, also wearing a blue dress. She immediately began sniffing him heavily, enjoying his scent.

    ¡°Mmm, Boss, you¡¯re back! I did it!¡±

    ¡°What did you do? Beat the lava elemental?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yeah, we did that. But I made my Concept Fragment!¡±

    Sable chuckled as she entered the room at a much more sedate pace. ¡°Me too, and even Luna. Welcome back, Boss.¡±

    Nick looked over the girls with his senses, and he could feel it. Even Eirwen had hers. ¡°Damn, good work, girls. You¡¯re all looking good.¡±

    Fang pumped her fist. ¡°We¡¯re just about ready!¡±

    Nick snorted, chuckling at her enthusiasm. ¡°Thought we were just talking about a wedding.¡±

    Luna came in from the kitchen, dropping off some food onto the table. Kaya drooled a little at the large platter, and Jasmine sniffed and pushed her away, muttering about her ruining her dress. Luna hugged Nick, and he was quick to give her a kiss, before she said, ¡°Welcome home, Boss! We¡¯re ready for that, too. But we¡¯re ready for a bunch of things now.¡±

    Eirwen chuckled. ¡°There¡¯s the Path of Kings we need to climb, the Frostspire Mines second branch, and then your Heritage had those special Trials. Each had something for us at level 15 or higher. The stronger each of us is, the better.¡±

    Nick agreed, ¡°True. I suppose we still have a lot to do on the horizon. I was hoping for a bit of a break after that Ordeal run¡­¡±

    Jasmine smiled. ¡°Ah, worry not, Master. We¡¯ll make sure you have the proper honeymoon. Allow us to take care of things for a bit. While we have all moved forward on our last runs, we still have some consolidation to do. Besides, you definitely will want to spend time in your Concept Chamber before we do anything, to clear out the essence in it.¡±

    Nick nodded, then started looking through their status sheets and their notifications in the Orion Menu. ¡°Damn, looks like all you girls have done well.¡±

    ¡°Yes! Praise us! We did good!¡± Fang¡¯s tail took off wagging, her smile beaming.

    Sable chuckled. ¡°This one couldn¡¯t wait. But let¡¯s get you fitted for your tux, Boss. We don¡¯t want to keep Becca waiting, do we?¡±

    Nick was a bit shocked at the pace of things, but he was excited. Soon, Rebecca and him would stand before Seraphara¡¯s Gaze.

 Book 3 - Chapter 19 - The Wedding

    Nick stood on the dais and watched as Rebecca was brought up the aisle by Irene. His future wife wore a beautiful white dress with gold trim. Her smile was radiant as she walked up the steps, her bountiful cleavage covered by a thin veil, her wedding gown trailing behind her.

    She looked like a goddess with her perfect skin and the long golden hair cascading past her shoulders in ringlets. Her hourglass shape was easy to see, her body as beautiful as it was fit.

    His current wives stood at his side, dressed in their pretty blue dresses. On the bride¡¯s side stood the priestesses closest to Rebecca, Chastity and Veronica, as well as a few others Nick had seen in blue dresses.

    In Seraphara¡¯s marriage ceremonies, it was the closest friends and family that would stand up on the dais, but there was no Maid of Honor or Best Man.

    All of the rest of the priests and priestesses could be seen lining the outskirts of the ceremony, with hundreds of Seraphara¡¯s Faithful present in the stands. Nearly all the former people of Zura were here, with the numerous new adherents and training clergy from the pilgrimage were also in attendance.

    A small section held monsterfolk, Nick¡¯s many Followers here to watch the spectacle. Seeing his many original wolflings present becoming Wolfen and numerous others within the other races having evolved, Nick was filled with pride in how far they¡¯d come in such a short time.

    Lothar and Agatha, Renzou and his family, Andross, Sharon, and Indrid, and many of those he saved from slavery were also present, having quickly become his devout Followers, and sat in a section near the front.

    Rebecca arriving, she stood next to Nick under the ornate arch. The construction was a lot like the Ordeal portals and gateways, but decorated with Seraphara¡¯s imagery. Books, clasped hands and sparks of light like stars glittered on the white and gold stone, with small statues of angels wearing habits and scholarly robes.

    Marissa stood behind the altar, and she smiled at Nick and Rebecca, before looking to the large audience behind them. ¡°We are gathered here today, for the first time in many years, to witness one of our vaunted clergy to be wed. Lord Noblefrost and Rebecca Zura are here to be joined in Holy Matrimony, under Seraphara¡¯s Gaze. A tremendous occasion, one of love and joy.¡±

    She continued, ¡°The two have followed Seraphara¡¯s Tenets, seeking wisdom and harmony among each other and their respective families, pursuing a wonderful period of courtship where many among us witnessed their tender meetings and moments of joy together. Today they have their first Trial of their Marriage together: finding Seraphara¡¯s Acceptance. When they kiss under the arch, they must envision each other¡¯s happiness and success, earnestly wishing it from the bottom of their hearts. If it is clouded by selfishness and greed, Seraphara will reject their pairing.¡±

    ¡°But those that seek Seraphara¡¯s Acceptance must have the intent to be together forever as loving partners, before they seek it. Let us bear witness to your vows, and should Seraphara accept, your kiss will seal the Oath. The groom will begin.¡±

    Nick smiled at Rebecca. ¡°Since I met you, I¡¯ve been in awe of your pure spirit and your strength. As we faced Orion¡¯s Tests and Trials, you showed me your determination and your character. In addition to your strength, you are an amazing, desirable woman with much wisdom, compassion and love, exemplifying the values and tenets of Seraphara as her Faithful. As a Lord of Orion, I¡¯d be honored for a woman as special as you to be my wife and partner, to strive toward Eternity together as one.¡±

    Nick¡¯s eyes went white, and he scanned Rebecca¡¯s soul for a wish or dream he could carry out. However, he understood that her biggest wish was not really something that was easily quantified.

    The seeking of wisdom was never ending, and the biggest thing he could do to aid her in that, he was already going to do¨Cthe Ancestral Archives would be purchased soon enough.

    ¡°My beloved Rebecca, I offer you a Soul Pact to become my Wife. Should we earn Seraphara¡¯s Acceptance, I will love and cherish you as my wife, help your dreams come true, and protect you and all Seraphara¡¯s Faithful as my own Followers and subjects.¡±

    Rebecca smiled, the magic of his Soul Pact washing over her. Even though not every word was spoken, she understood the unspoken words, the requirements of an Archaen Wife.

    ¡°When we met, you felt dangerous and perhaps a little brash, but I quickly learned your strength and kindness were in equal measure. You protected even my feelings, and while you deceived me, it was only to protect others, an honorable task.¡±

    She continued,  ¡°It is thanks to you that I learned many terrible lessons, but still breathe untarnished and strengthened. You have shown me the heroism, strength, and determination worthy of a Lord of Orion, but tender love and compassion to match. I cannot imagine my life without you and your loving family any longer. I vow to love and cherish you as my husband, compromising and sacrificing to aid and honor my lord and husband, remaining faithful to you and those you call your wives. Should we find Seraphara¡¯s Acceptance, I accept your Soul Pact.¡±

    Marissa said, ¡°You have spoken your vows. Now, you may kiss the bride, and it is her faithful¡¯s wish that should your hearts be true to each other, that you find Seraphara¡¯s Acceptance.¡±

    Nick lifted her veil. Seeing her smile and her loving, yet determined smile, made him have to give a smile of his own. ¡°You¡¯re beautiful, Becca.¡±

    Her smile grew wider. ¡°You look mighty and handsome as well, Nicholas. But we must face our Trial as partners.¡±

    ¡°Yes. But I¡¯m confident we¡¯ll crush it, and all the Trials and Tribulations that come next.¡±

    Nick leaned forward, and Rebecca did as well. With her eyes closed and her lips bowed, she was as eager for the kiss as he was.

    Inching forward, his thoughts the same as when Rebecca had practiced with him. Seeing her smiling, beautiful face while her wings fluttered behind her made his heart soar. He did his best to do as he had done before, imagining their bright future together as he leaned in.

    He pressed his lips into her bowed lips, and warmth and light filled him. As he enjoyed the kiss with his bride, a weight descended upon him, and it was like all those times where Orion evaluated something in the area around him¨Cbut he knew it was Seraphara instead.

    Nick¡¯s own imagination shifted, and it was as if it were giving him other scenarios within his imagination. Dozens appeared, but they drifted by quickly.

    There was one where Rebecca decided to stop adventuring¨Cclimbing the Ordeal¨Cto follow her passion, the pursuit of knowledge and teaching at Seraphara¡¯s Cathedral.

    Another where Rebecca was found to be unable to carry Heirs.

    Rebecca wanting to go on more pilgrimages, taking her far away from Frosthaven.

    Nick diving deep in the Ordeals, and Rebecca not having the talent to continue, holding him back.

    Rebecca coming to great danger, one where Nick had to risk his life to save her.

    There were countless more, but in each, it was as if Nick¡¯s mind and heart ran on autopilot, and the outcome was generated. In all, Nick did all he could to support her, as a loving partner should, making the appropriate compromises and concessions, or displaying great bravery, taking on powerful foes.

    These choices were important to her enough for her to make her choice. Or, they were not her fault at all, and he would love her just the same, fight for her as he would any of his wives, whether for her happiness or for her safety. Even when her wishes somewhat conflicted with his desires for her or himself. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    Rebecca was to be his partner and wife, and was not just a prize to be won, a puppet to do as he directed. She had desires and dreams of her own, and sometimes people changed. He was far from a perfect, selfless partner¨Cafter all, he couldn¡¯t be devoted to any singular woman.

    As a Lord of Orion with many wives, he had countless responsibilities and burdens to them and his subjects and Followers. But just as he had many burdens, he had countless resources as a Lord of Frosthaven that he didn¡¯t hesitate to use to help make her and his wives or future wives¡¯ dreams come true.

    His Pact was a part of this, but in each case Seraphara presented, Nick always went above and beyond the mere requirement.

    Then, Nick was shown Rebecca¡¯s scenarios. She was faced with Nick¡¯s number of wives growing to ridiculous heights, where they really only had time together once a month at most, outside of Kingdom related activities.

    She was also provided the same scenario where Nick had to leave her behind, and one where his Soul Core was damaged, and he became too weak to continue as Lord.

    In each, Rebecca made the sacrifices necessary to support her eternal partner, loving him and being there for him no matter what.

    Despite these scenarios clearly being unreal as details didn¡¯t match up with his current situation much, Nick could feel that they were grounded in his own and Rebecca¡¯s spirit. It truly felt like this was a preview of what it was like to have Rebecca as his wife. That her actions and motivations matched her as a person.

    When the scenarios completed, it was like they just faced a series of hardships, and their lover¡¯s actions when the going got tough had only made them love each other more.

    Nick was moved by the love, respect, and devotion Rebecca had for him, her willingness to work hard and make sacrifices for his happiness and his success. And he could feel the same for her was true as well, her eyes glimmering with love and affection, her chest heaving as he stood there breathless.

    Having passed Seraphara¡¯s Trial, the arch glowed gold, and released silk strips of cloth that wrapped around their joined hands, and Nick¡¯s Soul Pact completed at the same time. Golden light cascaded over them, bathing them in Seraphara¡¯s Essence, much like when Nick had become an Ordained Lord.

    Rebecca¡¯s wings grew out just a little more, and her blue eyes took on an otherworldly shimmer as they opened in surprise. Her Soul Core and Mind Core became one, her Faith Core maintaining its connection to the others.

    He smiled as Irene handed them the rings, and they placed them on each other¡¯s fingers and kissed again, their souls thrumming as they completed their ceremony. Rebecca had happy tears in her eyes, and Irene did too. It was a pleasant sight, seeing them both so filled with joy.

    He then turned to the side and moved closer to Rebecca, facing the audience, then held up his and Rebecca¡¯s silk-bound hands.

    Marissa clapped along with much of the audience. ¡°With that, the two have become husband and wife, eternal partners under Seraphara¡¯s Gaze. May their lives be filled with Seraphara¡¯s holy light of wisdom, and eternal joy.¡±

    The crowd cheered, the many clergy and adherents praying to Seraphara, thanking her for her grace. Many stood as they clapped, the crowd moved with emotion.

    Irene beamed. ¡°My, your futures were so beautiful! Such a heroic husband! You are so lucky, my Becca.¡±

    Rebecca smiled back at her. ¡°Thanks, Mom.¡±

    Nick arched his brow. ¡°What do you mean? Everyone saw that?¡±

    Irene nodded. ¡°Yes! We could see it in the arch. Your love for Rebecca was so pure and lovely. I like the one where she wanted many children. Our hero is so virile!¡±

    Nick was about to chuckle at that, but his stomach sank, as he realized some of the implications about the ceremony, and who he knew must have gone through it¨CIrene.

    ¡°That means¡­ Samuel¡­¡± The horrible man likely even had a method to cheat the ceremony. With that, he understood just why Irene tried so hard to cast aside the darkness within him, and really couldn¡¯t blame her for making her choice in the first place. Her faith was in Seraphara, and that blind trust had truly hurt her.

    Rebecca gasped, and Irene shook her head as she hugged her daughter. ¡°Let¡¯s not think about that! This is a happy day! The happiest!¡±

    It was at this moment that he received a prompt, and with how many of the audience¡¯s eyes glazed over, they received one as well.

    [Quest Complete: Seraphara¡¯s Divine Concord: Form tight bonds with clergy. Reward: Seraphara¡¯s Approval]

    [Seraphara¡¯s Approval - Lord Noblefrost has a unique power, to make a Pact to cherish his wives, respecting Seraphara¡¯s tenets for matrimony. He is also empowered by his wives and empowers them in turn. For the sake of peace and power of the Noblefrost Kingdom and Seraphara¡¯s Faithful within it, Seraphara strongly encourages any number of her Clergy to join him in marriage and love, needing only for him to give his Pact to those that mutually agree. She trusts that in return for their aid and love, he will continue his efforts to protect her faithful in earnest.]

    Oh boy.

    The many priestesses in the front of the procession and sides blushed as they looked at him, some having shy and demure smiles. While others, especially those he had spent a fair amount of time with, like Marissa, Veronica, and Chastity, looked outright eager, blushing with large smiles.

    Even Irene, who was hugging Rebecca from behind, had¡­an odd expression, but he wasn¡¯t sure what to make of it. It was a smile of triumph, and heavy breathing, and¡­was she drooling? Surely not.

    But he was distracted as Nick received another prompt. It was the full clear.

    [Divine Concord Quests Complete]

    [You completed all three Quests, influencing Seraphara¡¯s Faithful and empowering them more in one month than previous Lords on this shard had accomplished in decades. Their future is bright should you overcome all challenges and conflict heading your way, and you shall be rewarded for your successful efforts.]

    More golden light and feathers cascaded over him. The energy stirred his Heroic Salvation and Redemption Concept, Nick feeling something within him, and in the essence of the Cathedral itself, shifting.

    [Reward: Trait Upgraded to: Divine Concord - Seraphara +2 Body, +2 Soul]

    [Additional Effect: Increased affinity with Seraphara¡¯s Faith energy, increased effect from Clergy¡¯s Blessing and Faith Channeling abilities.]

    Nick knew that Priestesses received several Blessing or Faith Channeling spells that were meant to empower paladins of Seraphara, or other Clergy. It wasn¡¯t that they couldn¡¯t use them on others, as Rebecca had already shown and mentioned.

    It was that the impact was far lower, their affinity and attunement increasing the efficiency and impact. Now, Nick was as good or better than other potential paladins of Seraphara, and without the associated Class, or restrictions on his Class.

    He just gained an important tool for being able to face someone much stronger than him, such as Blackthorne. Many priestesses channeling their Faith Essence into Nick would allow him to punch way above his level in defense of his city. He would be especially powerful in the Cathedral of Seraphara, where even adherents could send their essence to empower him. With hundreds, it was easy to imagine how powerful that could be.

    But that was for later. Nick smiled and waved at his wives, Rebecca smiling beautifully at them as well, as they all came and greeted her as Nick¡¯s new wife.

    Eirwen hugged and welcomed her first. ¡°Welcome to the family! That was beautiful.¡±

    Kaya hugged her next. ¡°Yes, welcome Rebecca. I can see why your people enjoy it. The ceremony was a little stuffy, but it was still magical.¡±

    The Wolfen girls were on her next, crowding and hugging her with happy smiles.

    Jasmine towered over the smaller Rebecca, and gave her a hug as well. ¡°Welcome to the family, Rebecca. I did enjoy the many futures. So many little Nicks! It was wonderful.¡±

    Luna¡¯s tail was wagging, a dreamy smile on her face as she sighed. ¡°Yes, I can¡¯t wait to see it. For our Alpha to grow our pack¡­¡±

    Sable chuckled. ¡°We only got to see Rebecca¡¯s children there, except in the one image. I do ache to see some Wolfen Heirs soon. I know you need us to journey into the Ordeal, but maybe those unattached could bear your children soon? I know they are eager.¡±

    Fang nodded excessively. ¡°Yes, very eager! Super eager! Like those nuns over there. I can smell¨C¡± She began to point in Chastity and Veronica¡¯s direction, but Eirwen pushed her finger down and interrupted by clearing her throat.

    ¡°Enough of that for now. Today is Rebecca¡¯s special day, after all.¡±

    Rebecca blushed. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Winny. I don¡¯t mind¡­ but thank you. I am¡­excited to become one with our Lord Husband.¡±

    Jasmine clapped her hands together gently. ¡°The room is ready! Please do let me know if you need anything, and I will be there. The other girls will handle the reception until you arrive.¡±

    They said their goodbyes for now, and the two walked down the steps from the altar, and began to walk down the center toward the entrance. The many priestesses and adherents clapped and began to follow them as they headed out the exit.

    Outside, countless people awaited, throwing grains and seeds, cheering for their union, and their utility vehicle was waiting for them. The reception would be later, a large party to take place in the large square in front of, and also within the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    Nick and Rebecca got into the vehicle, the orc scout happily driving them to their home, as more people spilled out onto the steps of the Cathedral. Holding hands, they kissed in the backseat, but it wasn¡¯t as though the trip was very far. In just two minutes, they arrived at home, Nick carrying her out of the car to a happy laugh.

    He marveled at how light she was. Strange. Nick was strong now, but he still had a good feel for how heavy his girls were. As they cultivated, their bodies definitely got denser, even Fang was heavier than most girls on Earth despite her short stature. But Rebecca was lighter than her.

    It wasn¡¯t important. He carried her across the threshold, the two having bright smiles. They would consummate their union, Rebecca blushing as her breathing picked up.

 Book 3 â€“ Chapter 20 & 21 â€“ The Concept Chamber

    Nick awoke with Rebecca in his arms, feeling truly at peace. It had been a long but fun night, and as per tradition, definitely not all of it was lovemaking.

    They had gone to the reception after their first union, and enjoyed some time with their community and growing family. Many drinks and a fun party was had, and Nick was grateful to meet and learn more about many of his subjects.

    He had also taken a number of new Followers. It hadn¡¯t been time during the ceremony, but at the reception many of the new clergy of Seraphara took on his Soul Pacts, and even many of the adherents.

    The reception was not all that dissimilar to those he had seen on Earth, in part due to Nick being a Lord of Orion. The people of Seraphara would largely abstain from having much alcohol to drink during even celebrations, but would still enjoy dancing, music, and telling family stories.

    Nick was happy to hear stories about the so-called helping hands the community and clergy often provided, hearing tales of aiding in difficult times of people¡¯s lives. Rebecca herself had helped with repairing a barn, running a shop, and even helping a cow give birth.

    When Rebecca threw the bouquet, the nuns and adherents were quite competitive to grab it, as the same belief was true¨Cthat the one who caught it would be married next. However, Irene had a leg up on the competition thanks to her flight, and grabbed it to all the other girls¡¯ consternation.

    It wasn¡¯t just the competition for the bouquet, but Nick was shocked how many of the nuns had shown their interest in him, but they kept their flirting rather muted, directly. Instead, it was like a line had formed to meet with Eirwen, after each had congratulated Nick and Rebecca on their union.

    The recently evolved monsterfolk were present, led by Jasmine and Luna. Most of them were still learning Orion Common, but many of them congratulated him and Rebecca well enough that Nick was impressed with their progress. He knew it¡¯d only be a month or two before they became fluent, thanks to their time being spent with the orcs and Seraphara¡¯s Faithful.

    His girls had made themselves scarce after the reception, wanting Rebecca to enjoy her first night as his wife alone with Nick. They stayed up partying a little, but rejoined after Nick and Rebecca had gone to sleep.

    It was a bit of a surprise that even more of Seraphara¡¯s Faith Essence would be transmitted during their love making, much like the kisses he had received from her.

    It was at the level that he could cultivate it and empower himself, but it was certainly too sparse for it to add up to anything significant. Still, he wondered if he could somehow use that¡­

    Perhaps sensing Nick was stirring, Rebecca blinked as she woke up, and met Nick¡¯s eyes. ¡°Mmm¡­¡± She stretched and rolled over, grabbing hold of Nick, her lips reaching for his lazily.

    Nick chuckled, returning her embrace and making it easy for her lips to find his. Once again, her pure essence leaked and entered him, warming him.

    ¡°Good morning, my Becca. Still tired? It¡¯s nearly noon.¡±

    Rebecca yawned. ¡°Maybe¡­ I can understand my mom better now. I just want to laze about now, enjoy, and...¡±

    ¡°Some kind of angel thing? You¡¯re not quite an angel yet, are you?¡±

    Her eyes moved to check her Menu. ¡°Orion says so. I¡¯m an Archaen Angel now.¡±

    ¡°Huh, maybe a part of Seraphara¡¯s rewards or gifts? We were both bathed in the golden light, when I got that trait enhanced.¡±

    ¡°Knowing how¡­ I was created, maybe¡­ I hope it doesn¡¯t bother you¡­.¡±

    Nick snorted. ¡°Of course not. You¡¯re awesome, Becca. I did notice how light you were, though.¡±

    ¡°L¨CLight? My weight? Or¨C¡±

    ¡°Both your mass and your purity, or the light within you.¡± Thinking he wanted to give her a surprise, he had a thought. ¡°Vi, how many CP do we have now?¡±

    ¡°The Path of Kings has 8,348 CP available. The Path of the Samurai has 4,823, and the Path of Heroes has 3452. Seraphara¡¯s has 11,438, and should have enough to make a specialty building.¡±

    ¡°Damn, not quite enough for the Ancestral Archives in the Path of Kings. I guess if the girls beat the Boss with new groups, they will get it soon.¡±

    It seemed that for beating the Boss, normal groups of ten being helped by the second stratum escorts would get well over a thousand. They had gotten much more when Nick cleared it, but the Boss was over 30% harder or more. The earnings in DP were not linear based on difficulty, and instead seemed to be exponential, based on how much people were Tested.

    He turned to her, seeing her naked body underneath the blankets. He teased, ¡°So what do you want to do now, my angel wife? I thought I¡¯d get those archives, but it looks like you¡¯ll have to wait for now. I could steal the DP from other Ordeals, but at 3:1 it¡¯s hardly worth it for now.¡±

    Rebecca pouted. ¡°I want to stay in for a while longer? Maybe¡­¡± She looked down at his crotch, and blushed.

    ¡°Oh, you want to¡­ stay in, is it? Did I corrupt a poor angel in just one night?¡±

    Rebecca blushed even further. ¡°My light is pure, and so is my heart. It is only natural to be passionate with one¡¯s husband.¡±

    ¡°So it is. And, after that?¡±

    ¡°I think¡­ I shall try that Concept Chamber you allotted for me. Lumos said she had gotten all of them ready for us now. Even for¡­my special item.¡±

    Nick recalled seeing her receive a similar mixture to all his wives, when they defeated the fire elemental that first time. So she would begin the efforts to form her Devotion Core.

    ¡°I suppose I ought to try that too, next. After I ravish and corrupt you.¡± Nick moved atop his wife, kissing her, to which she tangled her tongue with his eagerly.

    Rebecca giggled as he moved down to kiss her neck, giving him a look of love and contentment as they continued.

    ***

    It was with more than a bit of trepidation that Nick looked at the Throne, with Jasmine standing next to him in her new form. It looked a bit different now that Lumos had tweaked it for his Path, but that didn¡¯t mean he didn¡¯t remember almost dying after claiming it.

    The Throne now looked like an odd leather recliner, comfortable, but then it had all sorts of odd lines or light carved through it. At the back, it had an odd gear with spokes like a wheel, the lines of essence going into the back of the chair.

    Sensing his worry, his much taller and larger Soul Bonded hugged him lovingly from the side. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Master¨Cit¡¯ll be fine. Lumos knows what she¡¯s doing! My chamber works perfectly, and so does Winny and Kaya¡¯s.¡±

    Nick shook his head at the number of buttons on the armrest. Lumos had given him a small guide, but he couldn¡¯t help but feel a little weird about his throne. ¡°Creepiest massage chair I¡¯ve ever seen. What do theirs look like?¡±

    ¡°They don¡¯t have thrones, but more like prayer mats they sit cross-legged in. Mine is the same, but I also have a pedestal for my Nexus Core.¡±

    The room would gather essence from both the Path of Kings and Path of Heroes, as well as the tithed faith essence from Seraphara. He learned the reason why the room had so much when he almost died wasn¡¯t just because the Bishop was dead for a while.

    It was because there was an excessive amount from the Tribulation Victory that the Bishop had not finished absorbing, on top of all his usurped essence. The amount the entire community generated for Seraphara was substantial, and he was stealing much of it¨Cbut not all.

    Just like Nick could probably wait around two whole months between each climb of the Ordeal, he could wait a similar amount between sitting on the throne to absorb the essence into his Concepts, and slowly improve his level. Nick hardly needed the latter, but the former was important, and would become even more important for when he reached the third stratum.

    When each level would normally take months to a year, even a few percent faster would shave off weeks.

    He sat down, putting his hands on the armrests. It was pretty comfy, if he ignored the weird room.

    Looking over his options on the armrest, he looked back to Jasmine who now stood next to his Throne. ¡°You just gonna stay here while I¡¯m doing this? Doesn¡¯t this take hours? I¡¯m not going to be a great conversation partner while I do this.¡±

    ¡°Of course, Master! I need to be here just in case you require anything. Worry not, for I shall be no burden to you. I¡¯ll busy myself with weaving some more cloth.¡±

    Knowing it was pointless to argue that he didn¡¯t want to waste her time, Nick decided to choose his Frost King Concept first to work on, since he had already reached Early Mastery on his Salvation and Redemption one.

    Pressing the odd button, he selected the Ice Crown icon on his throne. The gear behind him shifted, but he looked up as he felt the essence in the room stirring.

    The essence entered into the spherical chamber at the ceiling, reminiscent of his Blade Soulforge. It flowed into a line in the floor, which connected to the throne and drew the energy into him.

    Nick began swirling his essence chains as the special essence of the chamber flowed into him, and he gasped in shock at the density and purity of it. This felt a lot like the level of Boss Essence or what was used to temper his body itself, but noted that it was oddly different.

    It was more like the energy that swirled around him when he arrived back in Frosthaven, but it was denser and the impressions it gave him stronger. He was filled with warmth and trust, a feeling of duty and responsibility within him rising in return.

    His Followers had a profound loyalty to him, and it wasn¡¯t just because of their Pact. It was because they saw, with every action of his, that he proved he stood by his promises with heroic deeds.

    That when the going got tough, he would be there to protect them. Just as he did when he faced the Bishop and rescued the slaves and orc children, defeated the Alpha Drake, and Davon the bandit lord. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    And he would do it again and again, winning against insurmountable odds. After the battle, he would empower his people, ensuring they had everything they required to excel and become more. The pilgrimage and subsequent acquisitions of people and materials proved that Nick was investing in his people, that he was a true Lord of Orion.

    The loyalty was a palpable energy as Nick absorbed it into himself, and Nick¡¯s mind wandered to the vision he had, about the Frost King and his chains of frost. His men¡¯s loyalty rose their bodies from the grave, to deal a powerful blow against their terrifying foe.

    He also faced the Centaur Lord, whose Armor of Death was empowered by his subject¡¯s deaths.

    Nick didn¡¯t want either of those things, at least not exactly. He was happy his fallen Followers could somehow help with driving the chains, but that was just a bonus. They didn¡¯t need to give anything up because they would be back in time thanks to the Genesis Chamber, so long as he lived.

    What Nick wanted was control¨Cthis was why he chose the Frost Aura in the first place. He wanted an indomitable will combined with an unending frost that would impose control over the battlefield, which would protect his allies and defeat his enemies.

    The essence within him built within his Crown of Ice, and the seed within, his Concept, was fed by the essence and allowing it to grow. His Will of the Frost King blazed, his icy determination meant to protect his will against powerful foes. With his ice-clad will, he would return his Followers¡¯ loyalty with duty and loyalty of his own.

    More and more he felt like his Concept was becoming one with him, and the kernel began crystallizing into something more.

    Time continued to pass as he worked through the essence, but eventually, the frost energy the chamber pooled for this usage ran out.

    He came to his senses, as Jasmine dabbed some of his sweat with a cloth with one hand, while her other hands kept with their weaving, her spider legs moving about behind her as well.

    ¡°You did it, Master! I can feel it, the cold, and the loyalty of your people is yours to command.¡± She looked up, observing the essence. ¡°Still plenty left, though. Seraphara¡¯s Faith Essence does have a lot of light in it¨Cthe light of wisdom.¡± She licked her lips. ¡°Too bad it can¡¯t be mine. It¡¯s too different from light energy.¡±

    Despite being a bit exhausted, Nick felt a warmth from seeing his maid was still there. ¡°Thanks for being here with me Jas, and you never know. I can still share essence with you.¡±

    Jasmine beamed. ¡°Of course, Master! I¡¯m so happy to please you¨CI live to serve.¡± She then shook her head. ¡°Perhaps, some day, you shall share this faith essence with us. But it would be wrong for now, not until you¡¯ve claimed your due. Until you¡¯ve reached the third stratum, we cannot afford to invest all but everything in you. After all, then I can have my real form back¨Cin a reasonable amount of time.¡±

    Nick checked his cores, then the Menu for the time of day. He was surprised to learn that despite having spent several hours, his Soul and Body cores had only gained a quarter of a level. Instead, his cores were refined, changing their makeup ever so slightly to match his desires, his will.

    He had also received the prompt, but he could already feel it. His will and the frost were one, and it would be empowered by his kingdom¡¯s loyalty.

    [Congratulations. You have reached Early Mastery of your Path Concept: Dominion of Frost and Fealty. At this time, it has become a deep part of you down to your very soul. Effect: +3 Body, +3 Soul]

    Finally, he had reached the first major threshold with this Concept, and he was vindicated to see that his Concept based on the light and dark allowed him to receive more stats. The Path of Kings was one of the strongest Paths, an Ordained Path of Orion itself. If his other Concept was stronger, that meant it was definitely above most others.

    His fragment of a Concept had now upgraded, becoming a part of him. Nick knew this meant that now, there was almost no return. He could scrub it away from his soul, but it would require significant cost and effort.

    [Level 15 Convergence Skill Unlocked: Inexorable Grasp of Winter]

    [Draw essence from the surrounding area and briefly empower your Frost Aura and your chains, strengthened by the essence of your loyal subjects and Followers. This versatile ability can be used to control enemies or defend allies, and even greatly damage a single target.]

    It was an excellent ability, which embodied and enhanced his choices for why he had selected the Frost Aura in the first place.

    While he now had two of these special abilities, it wasn¡¯t as though he could use them both easily. Using just one of them would take a lot out of him, and the surrounding area besides. The main reason Rebecca and the girls could use so many in quick succession, was that they leaned on each other.

    Jasmine walked in front of the throne, and kneeled at the base of it. Because she was so large, her body and head were only barely lower than his. Her massive chest pressed against his knees, and she gave him a lovely smile while she held several items in her four hands.

    ¡°Here, Master. While your cores have been stimulated, and you are brimming with power, your body itself could use some sustenance. Please, enjoy some refreshments before you continue.¡±

    She held a tankard of the odd energy whiskey in one hand, then held a plate out with another, which had essence fruit and charcuterie on it, the crackers already dusted with jellies or mustard. Another hand was ready to feed him, and she grinned at his surprised look, her smile a little impish.

    ¡°See, Master? This is what I wanted when I chose this body. Anything you require, you only need will it, and it will be yours in but a moment. I was¡­a little disappointed I could not take this form sooner, but now I can be the super maid that almost competes with my original self.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wonderful in all your forms, Jas.¡± Nick glanced at the food he wanted to try first, and Jasmine, sensing exactly which one he wanted, was happy to bring it to his lips. Enjoying the mixture of flavors and textures of salty meat, sweet jam, and crunchy crackers, Nick recovered the essence and vigor within his body, which was wrung out by the cultivation.

    Being fed by her was a novel, and nostalgic feeling. It felt silly when it was easy enough for him to feed himself, but feeling the pleasure it gave Jasmine to serve him so, made it an enjoyable experience.

    Willing her lips to his own for a kiss, Jasmine vibrated in happiness and leaned forward allowing her large, plump lips to meet his own. Her furry legs behind her shuddered, and the arms holding the plate and tankard trembled. Her free arm reached to touch his cheek lovingly.

    ¡°Master¡­¡± Jasmine said with need, her eyes flashing, and her clawed legs arcing toward him. He could feel how much she wanted to wrap him up. He would let her, perhaps, but later.

    ¡°Later, I promise. It¡¯s as you said, isn¡¯t it? I have much essence to work through, this having accumulated for a while, plus the bonus reward.¡±

    Jasmine took a shuddering breath, before standing, and giving him a loving smile. ¡°Yes¡­ of course, Master. I am ever-eager to show you everything about this new body of mine, but I am patient. Your will and desire is all that matters.¡±

    That stirred his desire to make use of her, but he held off. He felt he could enjoy much more later when it was time to relax.

    Next was his Heroic Concept, combined with the Tithed Faith Essence. Pressing the button on his throne, an image of a sword bathed in light and darkness, the gear behind him shifted once more. Essence began to cascade through the lines on the sphere, a prismatic light that was much more white than the previous.

    As the essence entered him, he felt much like he did within Seraphara¡¯s Cathedral when it welcomed him, but it was even more than that. He could feel the immense gratitude of those he saved, and the building faith, loyalty, and devotion to him and his city itself. Whether they were loyal to Nick or Frosthaven, their community, those feelings and the essence that carried it, would be gathered here.

    Within Frosthaven, there were countless people that Nick had saved, and that he had made their lives better. Whether it was the Orcs of Nagduros or the Humans of Zura, the many slaves he had freed, or even the¡­kinda crummy people from Havendale, Nick was undoubtedly their savior.

    Their gratitude built and influenced the essence of Orion around the city, and the Ordeal and Chamber channeled it into Nick¡¯s Throne. The essence permeated his being as he focused on the hero he wanted to become. How he wanted to fight and protect the weak, to be the light of justice that the people of Orion would gather behind.

    He would raise his banner and stand up to the injustices of the world, inspiring the next generation of heroes. By redeeming the evil of all their sins, he would defeat all the evil he encountered, all that stood in his way in this life, and following into the next.

    And that was not all. The faith of the many adherents of Seraphara mixed in, the filtered faith essence joining. Unfortunately, Nick wasn¡¯t standing in front of her Mirror of Wisdom and Truth to see how all these essences intermingled, but he could feel the faith essence of Seraphara was unique and powerful.

    It somewhat acted like a filler similar to mana, in how it made the mixture more homogenous and easy to weave.

    And heavier. The Tithed Faith Essence was simply of a higher quality, and it was beyond his understanding. That it went to him at all was a major boon. Because it was filtered or cleansed of Seraphara¡¯s Light of Wisdom, the faith essence should undoubtedly become a sort of faith in Nick¡¯s heroism, but it was difficult to know what the exact result should be.

    On this shard, there was very little info on it. There was a little bit of it within his study, but nothing Nick could act on. He simply knew it responded to desires and actions just like all the essence of Orion, and so he would just hold on to what he wanted to accomplish and become and hope for the best.

    The heroic essence combined with Seraphara¡¯s faith essence, permeating his entire being and filling his Body and Soul Cores, and some drifted off to influence his body more directly. The seed which was his Heroic Concept sat in his Soul Core, and it grew as he swirled his chains of essence and drew them in.

    As he did, he pondered his Ideal. The words for each stanza of his kata were spoken in Archaen, manipulating the flows of energies through his body with his will, enhanced by what Rebecca had taught him.

    The Archaen Monstrous Swordsman was a powerful Ideal, but it didn¡¯t truly fit with either of his Concepts, only assisting him by granting him strength, and drawing out the darkness. In a way, his father taught him another one of his own, a sort of Honorable King of Orion Ideal.

    Nick would need to play with this, and reference a few other Ideals he had books for within his study in order to work towards his true Ideal. Utility-wise, he really needed something to draw out and build more darkness, to match the light drawn out from his Concept and his Throne.

    At the same time, the important Ideal would likely need to have both his Paths in mind, to build up his body further to be even more compatible with his Concepts, slowly attuning it.

    Finishing the essence, Jasmine once again was cleaning his sweat, dabbing him with a wet cloth and drying him with another. ¡°I can feel it, Master. Once again, you have grown.¡±

    Looking inward, he could see she was right. The amount of essence was substantial, and he had now hit the 16th Level.

    [Status Screen + Review Placeholder- Author Note¨Csorry guys, didn¡¯t have time to work through this. later!]

    He had grown a lot since he last looked, and now a new section was shown with his Concepts. Aside from the major milestones, not much in them would change, but it was welcome to see on his Menu.

    ¡°Thanks, Jas.¡± Nick stood from the throne, and stretched as he checked his Menu. ¡°Aw, it¡¯s already late afternoon.¡±

    Jasmine nodded. ¡°Most of the day is gone. But spending most of the day every few weeks isn¡¯t so bad¨Cit¡¯s likely due to your talent and strength of Soul that you could even get so much done in one go. In the end, I have to do the same with my Nexus Core, but I¡¯m thankful for the Concept chamber, since it can pool the resources for me. Otherwise, I would lose out quite a bit when I took it to fight.¡±

    Nick knew that wasn¡¯t exactly the full story. For example, that mist-filled cavern the monster of the lake was using. The mist would still gather while her Nexus Core was gone, making the essence in the room denser as time went by, waiting for it to be consumed by the Nexus Core.

    However, it was certainly true that much of it would spill out of the cavern and into the surrounding environment, much of it wasted and unable to be collected. It would take an expensive construction to counteract this, and doing so would potentially destroy the natural benefits the cavern provided.

    The Concept Chamber allowed for her to pool a substantial amount of essence, not wasting any of it unless she was gone for a prolonged period. That was why his Concept Chambers were such a significant boon, to aid their progression in the most efficient and convenient manner.

    They left the room, and Fang got up from the couch with her tail wagging¨Cit seemed she was waiting for them to come out. ¡°Boss, come look! You¡¯re changing the city!¡±

    The three of them went out the front, and when he got outside, he was shocked. The air had chilled several degrees in a single day. And that was not all.

    The air itself seemed cleaner, the stone pavement brighter. The walls on the outskirts of the city seemed to glow, an odd energy present as if bolstering their protection. Then, above the Path of Kings Ordeal, it was like clouds of cold were leaking out.

    The effects were interesting, but he couldn¡¯t help but be a little worried.

    ¡°Damn, does this mean I¡¯m going to freeze our damn city eventually?¡±

    Jasmine shook her head. ¡°In time, it just might if you wished it. Instead, this is just going to shift the climate closer to your Concepts and Paths. Most likely for Shadowvale, they go out of their way to make the surroundings match his Path.¡±

    That made a bit of sense to Nick. So it seemed the winters in Frosthaven would be a little harsh. That would work fine for Nick and his people, as that meant many months out of the year it would be all the more challenging to assault his homeland.

    Nick looked to the South. While he couldn¡¯t actually see Shadowvale, knowing it was just beyond some hills and clashing Control Radius focused his will.

    ¡°Alright. Fang, go grab Lothar and Agatha, Lumos, Rebecca and Renzou for tomorrow. We need to plan out the next two months. We have most of our assets and resources now, and it¡¯s time to prepare for our Conquest.¡±

 Book 3 - Chapter 22 - The Second Wing

    Fang¡¯s shield blocked the ape-like demon of frost, her small body resisting the power of the blow thanks to her ice-cleated greaves. She countered with her spear, piercing the demon in its chest.

    Jasper leaped onto the same demon, its fierce jaws latching onto its throat. Despite the demon being resistant to cold, ice began covering the monster from its bite¨Cbut the larger Frost Warg Alpha quickly scattered the demon into a burst of essence, the monster dead.

    Earthen strength filled their bodies from a pulsing totem, a small carved figure floating near Luna, the party fighting through a large cohort of demons. Kaya¡¯s axes flashed as she spun and danced, weaving through the enemies and overwhelming them with sudden barrages of attacks.

    Two tails held axes, plus the large axe she carried in her hands, and the Bestial Strike, were odd for enemies to deal with as they came one after the other in a dangerous flurry of attacks. One tail was even used to spring her forward like a third leg, or balance her upper body in odd ways, making her movements difficult for enemies to predict.

    They were now fighting through the Frostspire Mines, the second event to claim another section of the winding caverns of resources. And it wasn¡¯t just Nick¡¯s party this time¨Ca number of orcs led by Lothar and Agatha and assisted by Priests and Priestesses of Seraphara now fought through another cavern as well. Then, Ironclaw was leading the monsterfolk through another, with the same assistance from Seraphara¡¯s Clergy.

    The reason was simple.

    [Kingdom Quest Granted: Claim the second wing of the Frostspire Mines]

    [Second Stratum Challenge: Defeat the Demonic Overseer deep in the second wing. During your assault, demons will rapidly respawn throughout the three paths. It is recommended to have a minimum of three parties of ten, able to defeat numerous level 15 enemies while handling the harsh environment. Final encounter to be balanced against one elite party of ten, the Lord¡¯s Party. Additional enemies will join elite¡¯s battle, if not handled by secondary parties.]

    The demons were a bit stronger than last time, but Nick¡¯s party plowed down the center lane with ease. This was the largest grouping they faced of the demons, and Nick thought he saw in the distance where the cavern got larger.

    Surprisingly, Irene had wanted to come, and traveled with Nick¡¯s party. All his wives were now present, but another new addition had decided to come with them: Renzou.

    The panda beastfolk fought near Nick, his one-armed fighting style working well enough to handle these demons. His katana flashed and sheared through an imp-sized demon, and there were dozens of them flying through the cavern. His arm had been regrown nearly to the elbow now, and would only need a few more days of healing with Rebecca and Irene¡¯s focus.

    Supposedly, gathering essence through combat would help what was already regrown become more substantial, and he wanted to be of aid here and shake off the cobwebs, he had said. His swift strikes and movement allowed him to move around the battlefield rapidly, thinning the large herd of weaker enemies. Combined with the archery support from Sable and Eirwen, Nick¡¯s chains and Blade Waves, the imps were managed easily.

    ¡°I¡¯ll get the one in the back!¡± Eirwen shouted, her arrowhead brimming with essence as she pulled back the string of her compound bow. Releasing, the arrow flew like a shooting star, shimmering multicolored light cascading over the party before it slammed into the demon holding a staff. The explosion of light shredded the demon, killing it.

    Eirwen had started getting the hang of her Concept Fragment, the shimmering light from the shooting star vision she had finally coalescing into something. She had obtained a minor enlightenment from the Samurai Ordeal again, and that had pushed her over the edge.

    The starlight had a special effect on allies in that it boosted their passive traits and triggered effects, making them that much more likely to occur, and more effective. Then, when she used the starlight on her buffs and spells like her Omni-Barrier, they became even more effective.

    The new caster demons were both annoying and powerful, and it was Sable and Eirwen¡¯s job to eliminate them quickly. They looked almost like ice satyrs, their goat-like hoofed legs and horns on their head, and held a staff. Their bodies were thin and their limbs long, making them a little strange.

    Nick felt himself emboldened by the rainbow light, his Monstrous Blow triggering. His muscles bulged, and his arm whipped, his Soul Blade extending suddenly to slice the large demon¡¯s head off from where he stood, before dashing to his next larger target. The yeti-like demons were even larger here, and their fists were devastatingly strong.

    Nick, Fang, and Jasmine had to work hard to keep them away from their more vulnerable party members, grabbing their attention and getting in their way.

    Sable¡¯s arrows of darkness continued shooting into several of the imps and casters, and Jasmine¡¯s beams of light targeted the casters as well, while she faced down some of the larger demons with her armor-covered body.

    The caster demons annoyingly protected themselves and allies with walls of ice, and sent large jagged shards of ice in a rain over his party. These were even stronger than the imps, the shards easily piercing through their armor and freezing their bodies when they landed.

    Rebecca and Irene both used Seraphara¡¯s Light, a large orb of light building above them. A beam of light would shoot out periodically, and blast down demons. Because the light was so antithetical to them, the attacks were devastating.

    It didn¡¯t take long for the party to clean up what was likely one of the last few squads of demons. Kaya¡¯s axe cleaved through an ape demon¡¯s chest, and an imp swooped in with its spear at her. She blocked with one of her tail axes, then Kaya¡¯s Bestial Strike¨Ca claw made of red essence¨Creached out from her chest and slashed through the imp, destroying its core. The final demon died, the room becoming quiet except for the party¡¯s steps through the room.

    Irene was looking over at Nick, fanning her face and chest with her wing. ¡°My my, Becca. You didn¡¯t tell me how dashing our hero is when he¡¯s in action. Facing these demons, he¡¯s like an unstoppable force of nature. Why, if he wasn¡¯t on our side, I would be powerless against him. I wouldn¡¯t have a choice but to let him claim me¨CI mean, my life.¡± She shivered with a sigh as she wrapped herself in her wings, and Nick could tell it wasn¡¯t from the cold.

    Rebecca¡¯s eyes were narrowed on Irene. ¡°That¡¯s¡­a strange choice of words, Mother. But¨C¡±

    Irene interrupted, ¡°Oh look¨Csparkly!¡± She flew over to where one of the demons had been mining at the wall, and found a bright gem. ¡°I bet Jasmine will like this one!¡±

    It wasn¡¯t only gems related to frost found in the mines, or ore that was filled with it. A wide variety was found, though at a much lower quantity. Perhaps, it was the merging of the mine¡¯s resources that Zura and Nagurdoros fought over.

    Jasmine scurried over quickly, taking it from her and looking over it with a smile. ¡°That¡¯s pretty! Good eye, Irene. Lumos will have her work cut out for her, it seems. Light essence is rare here.¡±

    Fang bounded over to Nick, her tail wagging. ¡°Boss! How did I do? Did I do good?¡±

    Nick chuckled, as he scratched her ears. ¡°You¡¯re great, Fang. You are an amazing guardian, despite your size.¡± He looked over to Eirwen, ¡°Is that the final cavern there? And check on the other groups while you¡¯re at it.¡±

    Eirwen closed her eyes, and she whispered as she asked her question to the nearby spirits. The essence in the frozen cavern stirred, and when she opened them, her eyes shimmered in the dim light. She looked left and right at what would be the other lanes, and into the distance, casting a few more spells as she did.

    ¡°It looks like it is. The other groups are finishing up their battle still, but they won¡¯t be long. We should rest up while we can.¡±

    Asking the spirits or the essence was an interesting and powerful ability, and one that Nick didn¡¯t fully understand. But he knew that she didn¡¯t just ask where the other parties were¨Cshe merely extended her senses by using a sort of proxy¨Cthe spirits of the cavern in the distance.

    Of which, there were numerous here. This Frostspire Mines had an ancient history, that had Agatha both excited and worried about what they might eventually unearth. The frost essence was mixed or tainted by a dark essence, thinning the barrier between planes¨Cand allowing the demons to encroach upon the caverns.

    But it had been this way for centuries, or perhaps thousands of years. And there were not just simple demon spirits or lost souls, but ones that had faced tragedy and despair¨Cemotions that normal demons do not usually hold.

    Thankfully, Orion had blocked off the future sections to an extent with its barriers, and Nick hadn¡¯t forgotten that there was a shaft for materials to be sent further down the mines in the Boss room. However, once they had taken over that wing, the shaft going downward had been closed off during the wave of white light Orion had sent out, so it couldn¡¯t be investigated.

    Nick thought it likely that once the third wing was completed, a path further down the spire would open, both increasing the danger but also the reward¨Cand likely, giving them more answers about the history. The note that the second stratum challenges were opening the wings led him to believe what came after was tuned for the third stratum.

    They were already receiving cartloads of ore and special gems weekly, more than enough to build numerous suits of special armor and weapons, and also received gems suitable to be refined into cultivation resources or for other trade skills. It was already a huge boon, and according to his Kingdom Menu, helped raise the density and purity of the Frost Essence in his Concept Chamber.

    Capturing the other wings was important for his personal and kingdom¡¯s strength. Nick wanted to start the timer for the third wing as soon as possible¨Chence why he decided to raid this before he attempted his next run through the Path of Kings Ordeal. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    The demons only leaving cores behind and no need for the Loot skill, Jasmine, Luna, and Eirwen were quick to hand out essence fruits and jerky along with a warm cider-like drink. It was a simple meal, but it was a meal packed with easily absorbed essence as they gathered around in a circle, Nick in his recliner as many sat on large rocks and stools from Eirwen¡¯s pack.

    Overall, the battles had been simple like last time, but they were about to enter the final cavern.

    The earthen totem from Luna began to pulse out a different energy, and Nick thought he heard an odd drumbeat as it vibrated. His body felt reinvigorated, though the effect was minor.

    ¡°Those totems seem nifty, Luna. So this is what you¡¯ve been working on?¡±

    Luna nodded with a smile, swallowing her warm cider drink. ¡°Yes. It seems I have some affinity for it now that I¡¯m your mate. I place willing spirits in the totem, along with an elemental core that gathers essence.¡±

    She had a few hung on her belt, and it looked like she had one for each of the main shamanic elements, fire, earth, water, and wind. ¡°Maybe the best comparison, in how I use it, might be the focus for your Soul Blade. I send essence and mana in, and the spirit anchored to the totem converts it and uses it to produce a few effects.¡±

    Kaya was tearing through the jerky rapidly, but she added, ¡°You¡¯ve been mostly using the Earth totem in here, I noticed.¡±

    Luna nodded. ¡°The fire essence here is being oppressed by the cavern, and the demons are strong against the water and ice my totem can produce. The wind totem for lightning is likely my best bet to kill anything, but we have plenty of offense here.¡± She glanced at Rebecca and Irene. ¡°Even our healers are taking on a damage role.¡±

    Nick could see the connection Luna had to the totems with his Advanced Soul Sense. It was similar to the connection Nick had with his Followers, and also what he could see for Jasmine¡¯s Nexus Core. A metaphysical line connected them, allowing them to treat their objects like another limb.

    After a few minutes of rest, Eirwen¡¯s eyes glowed again. ¡°It looks like Agatha and Ironclaw¡¯s groups have reached the final cavern. They are setting a defensive line, but it¡¯s probably better to move sooner rather than later. Let me see if I have any luck with finding a good spirit at this location, then we should go.¡±

    Eirwen was still working on unlocking her Ancestral Guide class. Over this past month, she had pushed her shamanic magic, archery, and scouting capabilities to the limit. It seemed that her affinity for working with spirits was high, but she was still working on mastering the most difficult of the magics: manifestation.

    In a way, it was similar to what Luna was doing with the totems, but it was with spirits that were more complete, with their own wills. She needed to find one appropriate, and then connect with it. It was almost like what Nick did with his Create Soul Servant, but it was more deliberate, and the spirit wouldn¡¯t gain a physical body, merely anchor it to be manifested¨Ccalled upon.

    Nick was especially interested in this because it was definitely adjacent to his Soul Magic. Also, if she manifested a spirit, couldn¡¯t he form a pact with it, and give it a body with his Genesis Chamber? He suspected it was one of the bigger reasons why Eirwen originally pursued it.

    ¡°It¡¯s no good. The spirits here are too¡­full of negative emotions, and will not come to my call for my aid. But maybe you can make Soul Servants out of the demon¡¯s cores, Hubby? I think those caster ones would be useful, especially when we fight outside the caverns in the future.¡± She handed him one of the demon cores, and he looked at it with a frown.

    He supposed that when he claimed the first wing of the mines, he had managed to form a Soul Pact with the Overseer at the last moment, intuiting that it could be done. However, he had tried to make a Soul Servant out of one, and failed, before that.

    This was yet another reason why they needed that Ancestral Archives. His personal study only had books on what was considered first stratum Soul Magic, which he had already mastered as a child. There might be numerous spells and pacts he was not even aware of, but he was limited because he didn¡¯t even know what was possible.

    Reaching out with his Soul Magic, he tried casting Create Soul Servant. However, he felt some resistance. Both from the spirit, and how much mana it would cost him to make a functional body.

    ¡°Strange. It feels like¡­ the usual spirits won¡¯t work in the core, to drive the body. Plus, it¡¯ll be costly. It¡¯s like I need to recreate the whole body from nothing. The essence and mana cost will be significant.¡±

    Irene hummed. ¡°Demons are fundamentally different from monsters and beasts, and folk. Like angels, they are more similar to elementals of light and darkness than any of those. You may need a more specialized spirit to function with it, as compatibility with bodies is an issue.¡±

    Sable chuckled, smirking at the angel woman. ¡°My, you seem to know much about Boss¡¯s ability already.¡± Her tone was teasing, ¡°You seem to have a lot of interest in him.¡±

    Irene smiled, and she nodded, oblivious to her teasing. ¡°Yes! I have asked Rebecca many many questions about our dear hero and his powers! It¡¯s really fascinating, and I can¡¯t wait to read more about his people soon.¡±

    Sable looked satisfied and Eirwen giggled at that, while Rebecca blushed, but changed the topic back to the original, ¡°But there should be numerous demon spirits here to drive this servant. Perhaps you need to reach deeper, be more¡­forceful, like you were with the Overseer?¡±

    Eirwen smiled. ¡°Maybe I can help? You were lucky when you called out the spirit like Jasper, perhaps your will was enough then. But this is what my magic specializes in!¡± She stood up, and strode over to Nick. She turned, her tail whipping in front of him as she looked over her shoulder.

    Sensing what she wanted, he positioned his legs and set aside his plate, allowing her to sit on his lap¨Cwhich she did happily.

    ¡°Aw, me next!¡± Fang whined.

    Following her Enhanced Connection, she made a call out to the spirits in the area with her spirit magic.

    ¡°There¡¯s a slight resistance, but I¡¯m trying to draw deep, even beneath us. Oh¨Clooks like I found something. Make your call, Hubby!¡±

    Drawing on his will once more, he sent his imposing soul as he began to cast the spell. However, he felt resistance, like he could go a step further. He offered it a Soul Pact. Sensing what it wanted, he promised as his eyes lit white, ¡°Demon spirit, I offer you a Soul Pact. Should you serve me as my Soul Servant, I offer to try to obtain your original body, and plenty of food, and help you with a goal of yours, so long as it doesn¡¯t go against my morals or my kingdom¡¯s needs.¡±

    The creature, whatever it was, accepted, and an immense amount of mana and essence left him, causing him to groan as the core lifted into the air. The caster demon¡¯s body was recreated a few feet in front of him in the center of the group, though a bit smaller than it was originally.

    Its head was on a swivel as it looked around, its eyes gleaming with¡­some kind of intelligence. It tilted its head in an odd way as it looked at Nick, and he could feel it was somewhat upset.

    Renzou had his legs crossed on the ground, recovering. He looked at the demon with a frown. ¡°Your magic is beyond my imagination, young master. Your people¡­¡±

    Nick tried to feel out the soul he called a little more. He thought he understood it couldn¡¯t already, but he asked anyway. ¡°Can you speak?¡±

    It squawked at him in response, and began hopping around, before tripping and falling on its face¨Cnot even trying to stop its fall with its hands and arms.

    Fang and Sable laughed, and Jasmine began helping it up.

    Irene hummed as the demon squawked angrily, scrabbling as Jasmine helped it up. ¡°Hmm¡­it looks like this creature, whatever it was, was birdlike. A demon bird, perhaps? Maybe you should have put it in one of the imps, instead.¡±

    Nick sighed, as he ran fingers through Eirwen¡¯s soft hair. ¡°I think you¡¯re right, but imps are kinda weak, though. I just wasted a boat-load of essence on that, too. Were there any other spirits, Winny?¡±

    She shook her head, smiling at their closeness. ¡°Spirits linger when they have high emotional attachments to the area, or you catch them at the right time. Jasper was a very lucky find, likely having died in the last year in that location. This place is old, and all the demons reject service, I feel. This demon bird must have some reason for sticking around, an attachment to the mines.¡±

    Kaya snorted. ¡°A bird in some mines? That doesn¡¯t make a lot of sense.¡±

    When the demon¡¯s eyes met Jasmine¡¯s Nexus Core, it began screeching even louder, and backing away.

    Nick sighed. ¡°Not sure this is a plus.¡± He imposed his will on the creature, ordering it to freeze. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Birdy. You¡¯re on our team. Feel the connections, none of my Followers will hurt you. I made promises to you, and I will keep them. For now, we are about to fight a demon. Do your best and I¡¯ll make sure you are rewarded with good things to eat. Get used to your body for now.¡±

    Jasmine started weaving some thread. ¡°I¡¯ll help! I¡¯ll make you some wings.¡±

    Birdy made a small chirp sound, but began hopping around, and moving the cold essence of the cavern around.

    Kaya snorted. ¡°Birdy? There¡¯s your weird naming sense again.¡±

    Nick shook his head. ¡°She has a real name, I can feel it. Birdy is just temporary until I figure out what it is.¡± He sighed. ¡°That took a lot out of me. We¡¯ll need to recover more before we go in.¡±

    They rested for half an hour to let Nick recover, before it was time for the ritual. His wives started lining up, Eirwen kissing him on the cheek first, sending their odd devotion essence and moving on before Kaya gave hers, and Renzou and Irene looked on with confusion.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± The panda beastfolk man frowned.

    Fang giggled. ¡°Giving him our luck! We¡¯re about to fight!¡±

    Renzou looked even more confused, and Irene pressed her palms together in front of her. ¡°My, how cute! You always do this too, daughter?¡±

    Rebecca blushed. ¡°Yes. I enjoy it, and¡­¡± She cleared her throat. ¡°It has benefits. Since we¡¯ve created our Devotion Cores, it seems to grant him something. It makes him just a little bit stronger when he needs it.¡±

    Since Rebecca had become his wife, she had taken the core formation material in the vial within her Concept Chamber, forming her Devotion Core. As of now, the cores were still quite mysterious, and only provided a small benefit¨Cthis granting of a small amount, that seemed to enhance him when he needed it.

    Perhaps it was that they were still learning to use it, or they needed more time, but as of now just about any core would have been just a little bit more useful.

    Renzou looked between the demon, who was waving its staff around and practicing its magic, and back to the girls that were now giving him his luck. ¡°Young master, your powers are truly bizarre.¡± He grinned, pausing. ¡°But if you want a reason to kiss your girls in front of other people, you don¡¯t have to make things up. Just tell us to give you five or ten minutes alone like everyone else.¡±

    Nick chuckled. ¡°Screw off, old man. You¡¯re just jealous you don¡¯t have a line forming of your own.¡±

    Renzou toyed with his goatee. ¡°Hmm¡­that¡¯s right. Once I get my arm back, that¡¯s another thing that should change¡­¡±

    Their ritual completed, they continued their march. Arriving at the final cavern, the party spread out as they prepared for the battle to claim the cavern. It was much reminiscent of the previous wing, only even larger than before. Several of the annoying caster demons were present near the Overseer, and several of the groupings of them.

    The Overseer looked similar to the other one, looking like an odd combination of a praying mantis and a reptilian demon.

    Nick could see the other paths arriving on the left and right sides, Ironclaw and Lothar¡¯s larger parties waiting there. They were a bit too far away to shout at, but Eirwen had sent a few messages with spirit to Agatha, keeping them apprised of the situation.

    ¡°Alright, girls, this looks like a¡­medium challenge. Let¡¯s see how far you¡¯ve come, and claim this mine for your Lord.¡±

    His Wolfen girls looked eager, ready with their weapons and their spells. Birdy squawked in an affirmative, and Jasper howled as they all dashed into the large cavern.

 Book 3 - Chapter 23 - The Display of Growth

    Dozens of enemies were arrayed in front of them, numerous yetis, imps, casters, and then the large Overseer towering over them. Nick pushed his Frost Aura outward, his dominion spreading into the cavern and protecting his allies. The cold here was significant, and his Aura limited how much his allies needed theirs to withstand it, while also slowing his enemies.

    Jasmine fired a few laser beams into some of the yetis¡¯ faces like a strange gatling gun, scorching them and causing them to roar angrily at her. Her large spider body ran rapidly, allowing her to crash into another with her spear and shield.

    Fang howled, drawing the attention of many of the demons, and Nick sent Blade Waves at the Overseer. At this distance, the waves could do little more than scratch it at the rear of th large cavern, but he was attempting to draw its attention to him.

    Birdy now had fake wings attached to its long arms, like blankets draped over them as sleeves. It still held the odd demon staff that seemed to be a part of the creature itself somehow, and had a pleased expression when Jasmine gave the blankets to it.

    It waved its staff, and several icicles that looked a lot like feathers rose up around it, before rocketing off toward the imps. But then it did something Nick was surprised about¨Cit squawked at Jasper, and he came over and allowed Birdy to leap onto its back, before running off toward a yeti.

    Nick was impressed with the new servant¡¯s capability. It truly had control over the essence in the cavern, using less of its own to accomplish the spell. It had true ice element manipulation like himself, but was clearly much more skilled in using it.

    There were two larger yetis in the back, who Jasmine and Fang were working toward, the latter of which already covered in her thick ice armor with cleated greaves. The plan was for Nick to take on the mantis-like Overseer like before, only this time he was now truly prepared.

    Kaya and Renzou rushed to the nearest Yeti, the two sending their own ranged cutting attacks using Essence Carry, slashing into the enemies and drawing attention to them. Eirwen and Sable¡¯s bows shot toward the flock of imps that took to the air, and Luna¡¯s earth totem pulsed out its strength of the earth, empowering the whole party as she dashed next to Fang to support her with her spear.

    The enemy casters started working up some shields of frost, which made Nick a little wary that they were being so defensive. But Sable was already skating as she fired her bow, trying to maneuver herself closer to them and get a clear shot.

    The cavern entrances which lead to Lothar and Ironclaw¡¯s parties now had a transparent barrier covering them, and Nick could see that they were now fighting against demons of their own.

    As Nick charged at the Overseer, the creature roared. Giving his own challenging shout, he stirred his Heroic Concept, knowing what was likely next. His power normally would only last about thirty seconds at most, but he wagered his Cloak of Twilight was meant to last much longer than that.

    Concentrating on the Convergence Skill, essence from the surrounding cavern was drawn toward Nick like a vortex, and he could feel something else from it. Some of it was pulled from his party members, and not that of which was for their personal usage.

    It was as if their very belief in him empowered him. He could even see some prismatic light drawn into him, like a pollen or tiny motes scattering toward him. Perhaps, that was from his wives¡¯ devotion cores, but he couldn¡¯t be certain.

    His Concept mixed with what was being drawn in, a large cloak of white light growing from his shoulders. It fluttered in the air like a wind was blowing in the cavern, a long cape that was weightless.

    The white light empowered his body more uniformly, and the monster leapt at him with its large, sickle-like pincer, just like the last time he faced the similar demon. With a shout, he met its pincer with a powerful slash, his Soul Blade having finally reached his desired size and length of a bastard sword.

    He had spent a few sessions over the past week in his Blade Soulforge, utilizing the materials Lumos provided. Nick was still shoved back by the larger creature and its inertia, but his Cloak spread out around him, and like an extra set of limbs, latched onto the ground near him, providing a cushion for the blow.

    The large demon swung its next pincer, and the cape sprung into action at his will, whipping around and deflecting the attack as Nick dodged to the side. His counter cut into the monster¡¯s extended arm, Nick conserving his conceptual energy for now. The pool had grown significantly since he used the chamber and it reached the first threshold, but it was still limited.

    But he had another energy available. He pushed out his Frost Aura with the mana from his frost core and his will, his chains of ice rising up around him. Even this had changed, his Concept able to shove into the monster¡¯s protections. In the previous battle, the monster had been too difficult to influence at all, but now, his Concept had a special weight on reality that couldn¡¯t be shrugged off easily.

    The Overseer roared in anger as it slowed, its swings coming after Nick in quick succession. Nick swatted the blows aside and Double Jumped out of the way of another with a flip, slicing into its bladed arms with each dodge.

    Unlike the previous fight, the monster was unable to condense or counteract his Aura. Nick¡¯s will was stronger, his chains beginning to wrap around the boss of the demons. The surrounding enemies were slowed, several of Nick¡¯s chains autonomously chasing after yetis and imps, and a handful of them encroaching the Overseer¡¯s defenses.

    But then several rays of frost from the casters blasted toward Nick. He dodged one and blocked another with his Cloak, but he was forced on the back foot, as several of the casting demons began sending shards at him.

    Sable now hunted them with her spear and Jasmine shot another with a deadly beam of light even while she fought off a large yeti with her shield and spear with another wrapped in light, but there were still numerous able to focus on him. The defenses the demon casters had created made it difficult for their ranged attackers to focus on them, but Nick¡¯s party was moving toward handling them even as they slayed the imps and yetis.

    Shifting his cloak to darkness, Nick sped up as he dodged the giant Overseer and numerous shards of ice. His cloak deflected the smaller attacks, and he found his lightness allowed him to use Double Jump far more rapidly and easily. It became a near air-walk thanks to his lightness, and he was impressed with the effect.

    He swooped down on one of the mages, and it gestured upward as ice spikes shot from the ground, and its prepared barrier getting in the way. But Nick just dashed while midair yet again before backflipping, sending a blade of white light at the monster with Blade Wave. Its head was cleaved off its body, the monster puffing into its smoky essence.

    Off to the side, he saw Jasper¡¯s claw slice into one of the casters, dispersing it into smoke. Meanwhile, Birdy pointed its staff, and in the distance a wall of ice shattered like it exploded, shards of ice stabbing into the unsuspecting demon mage.

    As Nick continued his focus on the Overseer and dealing with some of the mages, he pushed the limits of his new ability. Feeling the roiling darkness rolling over him from the cloak, shifting like a glittering smoke, helped him understand the nature of these Convergence abilities.

    His Cloak of Twilight was meant to help him understand the nature of light and darkness. Like a pair of training wheels, it made it easier for him to control the two aspects, to feel their influence on the world around him and the ability itself.

    Most skills did this at a lower level, providing a crutch that allowed the user to accomplish more than they would normally be able to. But with these complicated elements, they provided the necessary glimpse into understanding them better.

    Taking a quick look at the battlefield as the pissed off Overseer stomped toward him and ice chains slowed and froze it, Nick was surprised at how quickly it was being cleaned up. Renzou had activated his own Convergence ability, and was cutting down imps left and right as he moved even faster than Nick.

    Kaya leaped through the air with a roar, with an angry aura surrounding her. She had gained a new berserking skill that took even stronger mental strength to contain, and made her exhausted to grant her even more power. She swung down her large axe with her cutting concept added, and cleaved deeply into the larger yeti, completely cutting through its arm as if it weren¡¯t there.

    Jasper swiped through the imps with its claws and chased after the mages, Birdy having a swarm of feathers orbiting them and cutting into the enemies, and blocking other ice attacks. The other demons could not outdo the special demon¡¯s control, and Nick was curious to see just what Birdy could accomplish when facing enemies actually weak to ice rather than strong to it, or with its proper body.

    Rebecca and Irene were both sending out beams of Seraphara¡¯s Light of Wisdom, cutting down enemies and protecting their allies with each blast. The demons appeared to especially hate them and swarmed toward them, so Fang and Luna were fighting closely while they flew up into the air, evading the yetis on the ground.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    The Overseer reared back, and Nick knew what was coming. Leaping into the air, he rapidly ascended using his essence footholds from Double Jump in quick succession, dodging out of the way of the breath attack. The frost billowed into the distance and actually froze a handful of imps and a yeti nearby, but Nick¡¯s party was unharmed.

    Using a foothold above him from Double Jump, as Nick was upside-down and high in the air, he drew on his heroic concept, and flipped his cloak to the light. Nick burst downward in a blur, and cleaved off the Overseer¡¯s arm with his white blade of light. Rolling as he touched the ground, he deflected an angry swipe of the remaining pincer with his cloak, and sliced savagely through the monster¡¯s foot, sending it tumbling to the ground.

    The monster hadn¡¯t even had a chance to call upon its odd berserking skill.

    Drawing upon his second Convergence skill, the chains rapidly gathered around him, and his Dominion of Frost and Fealty was brought to the fore. The essence of his allies in the cavern, and even some from the adjacent caverns separated by the barriers, was drawn and was added to his will. The chains were connected and grew ice rapidly, becoming a giant gauntlet of ice, and wrapped around the already partially frozen Overseer.

    His eyes grew white as he rose his blade above his head, ready to cleave the demon in two.

    ¡°Demon, you know nothing but hatred and consumption. You have been defeated, but you have a chance to become more. Accept my Soul Pact or you will be destroyed, your soul returning to essence.¡±

    The demon struggled against the bindings, but frost was spreading rapidly. Nick¡¯s weight on reality was simply too much for the demon to fight against, the creature unable to defeat his stronger will. Its eyes were filled with hate as it looked around and saw its allies almost all defeated, but slowly shifted from anger to fear.

    Speaking the words of his standard soul pact that it must follow Archaen Law and serve his kingdom, and in return, Nick would protect its soul and provide it with essence and the opportunity to become more.

    A flash of white light went out, the cavern shifting. The shafts which led downward for resources down the spire were closed, the Overseer accepting the Soul Pact. Essence entered Nick and the party¡¯s bodies for cultivation, a reward for completing the Quest, and received a prompt.

    [Kingdom Quest Complete: Claim the Frostspire Mines second wing.]

    [You have claimed the Overseer as your Follower, granting you control over demons that spawn within the mines. A limit of seventy-five demons will spawn and continue to mine this larger area, and additional essence will go towards creating resources for your Kingdom.

    Resources will be gathered into a depot outside the cave entrance, where they can be obtained safely by those within the Noblefrost Faction. A small percentage of resources will be withheld to feed and develop the demons and overseer, as promised by Nicholas Noblefrost¡¯s Pact. For now, only Nicholas Noblefrost and his Wives can enter the mines safely.]

    [The final wing can still be claimed, the next quest will be available in three months. Difficulty will be increased over previous. Note: When the final wing of the mine is claimed, Orion will remove its protections deeper in the spire within three months. If nothing is done to claim the final mine, protections will be removed in nine months. Warning: The demons are not all mindless, and some demons contained within are within the third stratum.]

    Protections? He supposed that the stronger demons were somehow being held back from escaping and coming into conflict with his people. This progressive difficulty the mine was showing was both a need for him to earn the valuable resource, but also prepare him to handle the threat contained within. It was like its own Trial, which he had earned from a Trial¡­

    Ultimately, this was only a medium challenge, as he had predicted before the fight. His girls were not pressed, but they had gotten to show off and hone their skills. Nick knew the Wolfen girls especially were having difficulty forming their Concept Fragments, and because of this, had held off on hitting the fifteenth level.

    It was well-known that their Convergence skill was often heavily influenced by any Concept Fragments, and they were still looking for what resonated with them the most. If they earned the skill before earning the fragments, it was possible that the skill would otherwise be incompatible, even if unlikely. Still, his girls were playing it safe.

    It was especially difficult because they were very pack-minded. Lacking desires of their own, the essence of Orion would be less sticky to their cores. Perhaps it might be better if he gave the girls a little more time before they entered¡­

    Fang bounded over to him, her tail wagging. ¡°Wow, Boss, that was awesome! You were all pshaaw, woosh.¡± She did a front flip, then waved her spear like she was swinging a sword, replicating the moments where he cleaved off the arm. ¡°Your cape was so cool! And then that big claw, it was¨C¡±

    Nick laughed at Fang¡¯s enthusiasm. ¡°You did great yourself. Everyone did.¡± He took a look at the rest of the girls and Renzou, and was genuinely impressed at how far they¡¯d come, even Jasper. Its larger size really allowed it to become an important force on the battlefield, and Birdy joining it on its back had some surprising synergy.

    There were a few demons still alive on the battlefield, but once the Overseer was claimed, they were now under Nick¡¯s control, like the other mine. Rebecca and Irene moved to help heal the Overseer¡¯s arm again, Nick removing the ice from the demon¡¯s body as it worked hard on doing the same for itself.

    Nick looked over his party, and thought about how well this fight had gone. ¡°You girls have all come a long way in the last month, working hard. I¡¯d like to be able to take another month to train, but we know the dangers coming to us. We need to keep Testing ourselves, until we can stand against Blackthorne. So we¡¯ll soon be entering the Path of Kings.¡±

    Ironclaw and Lothar¡¯s parties came into the cave, the barriers removed. Lothar and Agatha came close to Nick, Lothar giving a hearty chuckle as he looked over him with his senses.

    ¡°Not bad at all, young lord. That was a difficult challenge that my honorable raiders enjoyed! Your Concepts have come far already, and were most impressive. Your kingdom and your family are becoming powerful so quickly that it worries me.¡±

    ¡°Our growth worries you?¡±

    Agatha was the one to nod. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m sure you know that Orion has its own goals, and it brings rewards and challenges to help those with talent rise. However, this has been quite abnormal, how quickly and fiercely it challenges you¨Csix months to prepare to face a faction of powerful demons? It clearly sees you as one to nurture. But it¡¯s likely that it does this because it knows other dangers are coming.¡±

    Lothar added, ¡°Orion is meant to be dangerous, to give rise to powerful people, venerable Lords of Orion. But it does not create death traps, there should usually be a path to victory. Having an expectation of you being in the third stratum in six months¡­that would go against normal logic. Any elite of Orion would expect you to spend years perfecting your foundations to prepare for entering the third stratum. At this accelerated pace, you put a hundred through it, I¡¯d expect nearly all one hundred would break and fail, or have their foundations ruined, their futures destroyed.¡±

    Irene spoke up here, ¡°Yes, I would agree. But our Hero is certainly a special one, and has shown tremendous progress in such a short period. Being an Ordained Lord of Seraphara, with four Ordeals in Frosthaven, his unique race and his immense talent, he should find the means to grow and meet the challenges he faces.¡±

    Nick thought about it. ¡°We talked about stepping up our goals to prepare for Shadowvale already when we met yesterday. I suppose our plan should be to push for taking it when we get out of the Path of Kings.¡±

    Lothar nodded. ¡°It¡¯s entirely possible that up to the fifteenth floor might take you a whole month. You can count on us to prepare your people, but a lot can happen during that time. But I think you should be more aggressive. If you¡¯re in fighting form after the fifteenth, you go for more.¡±

    Nick was surprised. ¡°You think we should go for more?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s important for you to at least check out the next floor or floors, to make for a more rapid climb in the future. It reduces the potential for rewards on a monthly basis, but continuing from the sixteenth or seventeenth floor could reduce the duration of your next month¡¯s climb.¡±

    ¡°Gotcha. But there¡¯s a small issue.¡±

    Eirwen nodded. ¡°Who shall be our ten, right, Hubby? We used Renzou and Irene here, but Renzou needs to stick behind to establish his town guard and receive healing.¡± She turned to Irene. ¡°Do you even want to come with us in the Path of Kings, Irene?¡±

    Irene gasped. ¡°Of course I would like to! Why do you ask?¡±

    Nick frowned. ¡°Rebecca had said you weren¡¯t all that inclined to focus on climbing the Ordeals and fighting in them, only doing the bare¨C¡±

    Irene pouted. ¡°That was then, and this is now. You¡¯re my Hero, and I did say I would do anything for those Ancestral Archives, did I not? It¡¯s¡­one of the reasons why I came to help today. I want to help you, my hero!¡±

    Rebecca blushed, her wings fluttering behind her. ¡°M-Mother, your phrasing¡­well, I can understand¡­¡± She trailed off, a little conflicted.

    Eirwen giggled. ¡°So you like heroes as much as I do!¡± She looked at Irene then Nick with a soft smile, before looking back at Lothar. ¡°So that¡¯s settled then. Do you want to come with us, Lothar? We have one more slot, and with Renzou holding the fort¡­¡±

    In their previous run to the Path of Kings, they had brought Andross, Sharon, and Indrid to reach ten members. With Jasmine and Irene now a part of their party, they now had one more slot remaining.

    Lothar shook his head. ¡°Agatha and I were hoping to take on the Samurai Ordeal with Renzou or Andross and his wives, and go as deep as we¡¯re able. Kaya had reached the fifteenth floor, and we wanted to try to push a bit further if we can. It¡¯s time for us to grow as well.¡± He grinned, but looked thoughtful. ¡°I¡¯ll come if you truly need me and can find no other, but I¡¯m curious who you end up bringing.¡±

    Nick wasn¡¯t sure that he wanted a third Priestess of Seraphara in his party in the Path of Kings. Healing was primarily an after combat sort of thing in this world, and his party was not lacking it, besides.

    Looking at Ironclaw, he realized that the strong ex-Alpha of the wolflings was a viable option, and an opportunity to help him evolve to become a cultivator. However, Ironclaw and the other monsterfolk might benefit more from him doing more first stratum runs first, with him carrying them slightly.

    Nick supposed that the core party members were already handled, and they might truly only need someone designated or acting as support. Nick had already been shown that while the Support designation was important for a class, what Orion cared more when it came to how it challenged or rewarded people, was about whether people were being Tested or not. And that could be accomplished with anyone if they stayed out of the battles.

    The Ordeal recommended ten members and two of those being supporters, but with how difficult the Path of Kings was, it felt like his people would be appropriately Tested whether all 10 were full combatants or not.

    ¡°We¡¯ll think on it. For now, we¡¯ll recover and prepare ourselves for the Path of Kings. I think my plan is on leaving within the next few days or a week at most, so everyone must strive to be at their top form.¡±

    He looked over to his Wolfen girls, who looked plenty eager. The next stop was definitely the Path of Kings.

 Book 3 - Chapter 24 - The Test of Nobility

    Nick spun Eirwen around as the two danced to the slow song, a hand on her hip and the other holding her extended hand. The ballroom was filled with people of fantastical races, and Kaya waved at them as he met her eyes, the girl sitting at a distant table.

    Eirwen wore an electric blue dress that matched her eyes, the strapless ball gown hugging her perfect curves. It was a lot like a wedding dress, and she wore a tiara that finished her radiant look.

    When Nick first arrived on the 11th Floor, his eyes had widened in shock as he had read the prompt, and minor memories were inserted as he appeared in a throne room with various people surrounding him. He quickly realized it was like the battlefield level of the Seraphara Ordeal, and he was inserted as the Lord of a kingdom facing difficulties.

    [Test of Nobility ¨C A Lord of Orion must have many skills, for the Responsibility to Rule is hereditary. Nobility is a common thread among Lords, and they must have skills in diplomacy and decorum. Attend your duties as a Noble Heir, earning and demonstrating your mastery of noble skills. Complete the scenario by setting up your kingdom for success and surviving the Marshall¡¯s Grand Ball.]

    It was the weirdest Test he¡¯d ever been a part of, or read about. First, he attended a strange briefing where he had to make tactical choices for the special event, and then there was even a class by a decorum trainer.

    The trainer prepared him for the ball they now danced in¨Cmaking sure he and his partners knew the dances they¡¯d be expected to know. And that Nick knew the right ways to address the various people and the right fork to use and when at the meal.

    It was bizarre, when considering he was being Tested in a life or death struggle within the Ordeal. The taciturn human woman grilled and berated him on his posture, which he had unfortunately allowed bad habits to form throughout his life on Earth.

    He was filled with anxiety not only because the woman was vicious, but because Nick half expected someone to jump through the window and attack them, given where they were supposed to be.

    And that was just the beginning of the oddities. His wives were also granted individual instruction by specialists, giving them training and advice. It appeared that the trainers were actually tailored to them in some way because it was very on-the-nose to what they needed to progress.

    They only stayed at the castle for a little over a day before they took a portal to the Marshall¡¯s Grand Ball, but in the short time his girls had gained a lot. Nick was a bit envious because he did not, though he supposed the lame nobility training was what he might have lacked the most.

    Then, that his entire party was wives seemed to grant him a very odd advantage, as the scenario seemed to recognize this detail.

    Normally, his allies minus one bodyguard and attendant such as a maid would need to wait outside the ballroom or have some method to sneak around and support him without being caught. But because they were his wives, they were not only allowed inside¨Cthey were expected.

    Only Irene, Jasmine, Jasper, Birdy, and their beetlefolk supporter, Jeffrey, waited outside, and there were likely to be challenges they needed to face as well. It was for this reason that Nick didn¡¯t try to add the bodyguard, as his party was already a bit stacked.

    It was known from the briefing they received that if diplomacy broke down, Nick would potentially be forced to fight his way out to escape to his nearby stationed men. And at that time, having his wives in the same room would significantly reduce the risk and difficulty.

    The other positive was that this Test was only to take a little over a day. What had him worried was that this might be a preview of a fresh new hell that was this climb of the Path of Kings Ordeal. Hearing that nearly every floor of the Samurai Ordeal was a quick fight or an epic battle had him burning with jealousy. Was it too late? Could he just become a samurai instead?

    Eirwen giggled at his expression. ¡°Come on, don¡¯t look so down, Hubby. Isn¡¯t this exciting? This ball is like what I always read about in fantasy books!¡±

    Her smile was beaming, the sheep girl enjoying their dance, and the attention. At seeing that, he couldn¡¯t help but smile back as they twirled, and she leaned back as he cradled her in his arms, following the dance reminiscent of the waltz on Earth.

    ¡°You do look amazing in that dress. Like the Queen you are.¡±

    Eirwen¡¯s smile grew even wider, her ears wiggling up and down. ¡°You like? I¡¯ve always dreamed of being in an event like this. I wonder if we can do this for real in Frosthaven?¡±

    ¡°Definitely. After I reach the third stratum, it¡¯ll be normal for us to host something. Preferably after I¡¯ve dealt with Blackthorne¡­¡±

    Nick looked over at the table in the distance, seeing his other wives enjoying food and speaking with others. Seeing this, Eirwen said, ¡°I think Fang and Luna¡¯s dresses look really cute on them too, but Kaya¡­¡± She smirked, as Kaya continued eating only the finger food choices. ¡°Well, it just feels wrong on her, somehow. She¡¯s more comfortable in armor.¡±

    He had to agree, but Eirwen continued, ¡°We all look great, but do try to keep your eyes out for that dignitary. We were supposed to meet him shortly¨Cafter this dance, if we can find them.¡±

    It was a sea of people, and Nick was only briefed on a handful of them. Many of the nobles here represented various city-states from the nearby area, but some resembled much more of a true kingdom, and so diplomats were sent to the event instead.

    Over decades, the control radius of an Ordeal would grow significantly. Having small cities not directly at a tower was common, often paired up with harvestable, replenishing resources. For example: the mine with the centipedes Nick and the Ironclaw tribe had cleared. A mining village would normally be built, protected and managed by Nick¡¯s Ordeal, despite being several hundred miles away.

    In addition, several Ordeals could be claimed or won over by a single lord. Having multiple sit in one city like Nick was a rarity, but claiming several was not all that uncommon, thanks to Orion allowing and encouraging Conflict. But on shards with an Open Relay, there were other reasons. There were such things as Monster Kingdoms, which Orion would simply introduce on the edges of the shard, to cause more Conflict.

    This Grand Ball event was run by a Marshall, who¡¯s entire Path was around rallying people to face against the common threat of Monster Kingdoms. Nick had already met the Marshall, and provided his required support in soldiers and funds, a preset number given for the scenario. However, the man was distant, and Nick got the idea that his enemy kingdom was the reason why.

    As Nick and Eirwen continued their dance, eventually Nick heard a whisper from the shadows¨CSable.

    ¡°Back by the South window, the rat beastfolk man with the mustache. But you should hurry, before the enemy finds him.¡±

    The man was from a nearby kingdom, who Nick had to win over his support in counter to their real enemy. The larger Tagron kingdom was bullying its neighbors with Conflicts, and to stand a chance against its might, they would need to team up.

    Or, in the case of this smaller kingdom, bend the knee. The end result was not nearly as bad as being under Blackthorne, but it would certainly restrict their freedom and potential. Nick needed to convince them to join up with him, and stand together for themselves instead.

    Because his kingdom had already slighted the larger one, it would be nearly impossible to talk themselves out of their destruction.

    Nick couldn¡¯t help but feel some parallels to his own kingdom¡¯s situation. His only wrongdoing ¨Cfrom Blackthorne''s perspective¨Cwas existing, and talking him down wasn¡¯t possible. So allying with others or becoming strong enough to stand against him were the only options he had.

    The song finished, and Nick and Eirwen walked slowly toward the South window, arm in arm. Kaya and Luna were now talking to some beastfolk dignitary, while Fang did her best to look polite while chowing down on all the food. Rebecca looked at her worriedly, while a priest from another faith spoke to her.

    ¡°Guess it¡¯s best we don¡¯t crowd this guy, huh. We¡¯ll leave them to it for now.¡±

    Eirwen nodded, and they continued toward their target. As they approached the man, a prince with several people in tow got up from their table, and moved to intercept.

    It was the likely enemy, Prince Tagron. This Test¡¯s success could be earned in numerous ways, from gaining allies or somehow making the man¡¯s kingdom unable to attack Nick¡¯s fictional kingdom. Had Nick been more administratively focused, perhaps he would have spent more time learning potential trade deals and others that might have lead to other options.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Then, just killing the prince wouldn¡¯t be enough, as his father would definitely be vindictive if his son died here. Killing him and making it look like another nation did it could potentially work, though¡­

    Prince Tagron stopped in front of them. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s the young and talented Lord Noblefrost, I¡¯ve heard much about you. And you must be¡­one of several of his ladies. I¡¯m surprised you brought your wives here to the Marshall¡¯s Grand Ball, the battlefield of nobles. Here on the edge of the shard, you never know when disaster can strike.¡±

    Eirwen chuckled. ¡°If there¡¯s danger, then that¡¯s all the more reason he should bring us. We are prepared to aid our Lord on any type of battlefield.¡± She looked at his procession, which appeared to be made up of his bodyguard and attendant, and a minister of some kind, before flaring her aura. While her control was not at the level of Rebecca, she was able to demonstrate a dense and powerful aura surrounding her in protection, a reflection of her capability. ¡°I think you¡¯ll find we¡¯re as prepared as one can be. More prepared than most others.¡±

    The man scowled at her. ¡°I see.¡± Narrowing his eyes, he turned to Nick. ¡°Father is most displeased with the events in the South, the Diregator spawning pools should belong to him.¡±

    Nick arched his brow. ¡°The spawning pools were provided by a Trial sanctioned by Orion itself. Surely, your father is not so entitled to believe his desires supersedes Orion¡¯s Will? If Orion wanted him to have it, it would have granted him the opportunity.¡±

    ¡°It was placed within his dominion, and as the strongest, all should bow down to his protection. If you know what¡¯s good for you, you would give it up. It will belong to him, and it¡¯s up to you if you want that to be over your dead body, or peacefully.¡±

    Nick chuckled. ¡°So it¡¯s a threat then? Conflict is one of Orion¡¯s many truths. Perhaps, it desired Conflict when it granted the pools to us. But if your father wishes to claim it, he will have to earn it¨Clike we¡¯ve already done. We will not merely give away that which was hard-earned. Our men bled and died to claim it, and they¡¯re willing to do it again to defend it.¡±

    ¡°So be it. Your tiny kingdom will be crushed under our might.¡± He and his party walked away, and it looked like he was moving to speak with the Marshall.

    Nick and Eirwen continued, knowing that Sable was likely going to check out what was going on if she could. The Marshall himself was in the third stratum though, so she would need to be careful. This Test had risks far beyond the floor¡¯s normal level.

    The mustached man was filled with anxiety, and Nick could guess why. The man walked a more administrative path, like the Lord of Silverbrook, and he was a rat beastfolk with white fur on his head besides. His guard didn¡¯t seem very competent either, the man must have just taken ownership of his Ordeal.

    ¡°Lord Noblefrost. To what do I owe the pleasure of¡­¡± His eyes shifted right and left, narrowing on Nick. His white-clawed hands curled at his sides, and his tail lashed behind him.

    Eirwen gave him a disarming smile, and spoke in her usual soothing voice. ¡°Do relax, Lord Brightclaw. My husband just wanted to meet you, since he respected your hard work and devotion to your people.¡±

    ¡°Me, respect?¡±

    Nick nodded. ¡°Of course. We¡¯re in a situation similar to your own, and we think we should work together¨Cthe enemy of my enemy is my friend, isn¡¯t that true?¡±

    Brightclaw frowned. ¡°I¡­but not if the enemy kills me here today!¡±

    ¡°I understand you¡¯re worried about what Prince Tagron will do if you don¡¯t side with him today¨Cbut just know our people are ready to assist you. We¡¯ll make sure you make it out of here today, and back you up once we¡¯re outside.¡±

    ¡°That¡­ helps. But what do you plan on doing? Your kingdom isn¡¯t strong enough to oppose him.¡±

    ¡°By ourselves, you might be right. But you¡¯ve fought hard to claim your kingdom, and your location is perfect for us to rally around¨CI¡¯m sure you¡¯ve realized this? It¡¯s why Tagron is after you so. If you join us, we can convince others to stand against him. We¡¯ll take their Oaths and the Tagron kingdom shouldn¡¯t be able to bully any of them any longer.¡±

    He added, ¡°Even without them, I¡¯m confident that we can make ourselves too much work for Tagron to want to make such sacrifices¨Cyour defensive location in the mountains is just that significant. Still, we need you in order to convince the others.¡±

    The man looked out the window, and seemed to sigh in relief. Nick looked as well, and realized what he was looking for. One of Nick¡¯s choices for the evening was on where to station a number of ¡®his¡¯ men with their kingdom¡¯s banner, Irene and Jasmine waiting along with them. He could see them waiting in the distance, just in range to rush for aid if there was trouble.

    He wasn¡¯t sure what would have happened if he had made another choice. But it was likely, as he was prompted, that this man might have become more nervous of either betrayal or that Nick wasn¡¯t able to provide what he wanted.

    ¡°I¡¯ll¡­trust you. You seem capable, and dignified. You can really get us out of here? He¡¯s not going to let us leave unless we bend the knee, I just know it. He has the Marshall¡¯s ear. And I can¡¯t retreat. I can¡¯t leave the city until I¡¯ve provided my aid, and the Marshall refused to see me yet.¡±

    ¡°Let us worry about that, and we¡¯ll fight our way out of here. Just stay close to my people for now, with my other wives you see over there. We¡¯ll make sure you get out safely.¡± He nodded to the table, and the main made to leave but paused.

    ¡°A priestess of Seraphara? How¡­fortuitous. Escaping seems all the more plausible.¡±

    Nick nearly snorted at that, but barely stopped himself¨Chalf expecting the nobility trainer woman¡¯s stick to smack him upside the head for merely thinking it. He got whipped one too many times with that thing in just one day.

    ¡°You¡¯ll see that you¡¯ve made a good decision to team up with us. My other wives are more than capable.¡±

    After getting his Oath and giving his own, Nick and Eirwen continued meeting other nobles, and made a few smaller deals for support. None of the other kingdoms present were truly in danger like Lord Brightclaw¡¯s and his, as they were positioned outside Tagron¡¯s control radius or had supplied enough to the Marshall that he would not turn against them.

    Many guests had already left, but Brightclaw was nearly last. When he was finally called, it was already dark outside, and some soldiers had closed one of the exits. Nick nearly rolled his eyes at how obvious the plot was, but as they left the manor deep in the city, Nick¡¯s party and Brightclaw were quickly surrounded by soldiers with no banner.

    There was a large squad of soldiers, the nearly hundred or so in view taking up the entire back alley and blocking all the other paths. Without a word, they drew their weapons and began marching toward Nick and his party.

    Brightclaw was full of anxiety, his bodyguard drawing a small arming sword, while his claws shimmered. ¡°I knew it! They¡¯re already here for us, and your wives aren¡¯t even armed!¡±

    Nick almost snorted, but cleared his throat instead. ¡°My wives hardly need weapons to be dangerous.¡±

    With a howl from Fang, their reinforcements were called as planned. She then covered herself in her armor of ice, before leaping toward and beating down several of the oncoming soldiers. Kaya roared as she partially transformed at the same time, her claws ready for battle, and met several of the oncoming soldiers with her claws.

    Meanwhile, Sable formed a spear made of frost and shadow much like Brutus and the Bishop did, surprising Nick. She met the soldier¡¯s charge alongside Kaya and Fang, stemming the tide of the soldiers, who wanted Nick and Brightclaw dead.

    Luna¡¯s totems pulsed as she cast ice shards with Eirwen to shoot into the oncoming soldiers, only Rebecca holding back for the time being. Nick¡¯s party was not killing indiscriminately, but they weren¡¯t holding back much as they opened a path through the enemies, pushing into the neighboring alley toward what should be their freedom.

    Nick¡¯s Frost Aura pushed out, slowing all the enemies and his chains even cordoned off an alley, preventing reinforcements from coming at all.

    Lord Brightclaw looked shocked. ¡°That¡­ huh. I feel even better about my choice now.¡±

    Nick chuckled. ¡°This is the easiest part of the night for me. If it¡¯s fighting, you¡¯ve teamed up with the right guy.¡± He drew his Soul Blade, and Brightclaw gawked at him even further. They easily broke through the rest of the encirclement, fighting through the alley and toward Nick¡¯s allies.

    Jasmine¡¯s beams of light eventually blasted into the soldiers, sending the men scattering in a daze. Suddenly, a smaller beetlefolk came from above and landed next to Nick, his carapace reflective and shimmering like mercury or chrome, reminding Nick of the weird dogs from the second floor.

    It was Jeffrey¨CJasmine¡¯s chosen beetlefolk to join them during their run. He had wings which allowed him to fly long distances with his smaller stature. He was actually smaller than Nick¡¯s Wolfen girls, and was still learning to communicate properly.

    Jeffrey tossed a spatial pouch at Eirwen, and she thanked the odd beetle with a giggle as she dug out her and Sable¡¯s bow, Nick¡¯s shield, and Rebecca¡¯s staff.

    From there, Nick¡¯s soldiers clashed with the others, and escaping to Brightclaw¡¯s men and a carriage was simple with the added support. Nick¡¯s choices for stationing his men in a public place had paid off. They were able to both evade the Marshall and the prince¡¯s men, but also prevent them from quietly interfering with his people coming to rescue.

    Had they not waited where Nick decided, they might have been surrounded by the Marshall¡¯s men and unable to assist, much like Brightclaw¡¯s people were. Unfortunately, his people were provided¡­special accomodations the moment they entered the city.

    Upon Lord Brightclaw reaching the carriage safely, the portal¡¯s stone archway rose from the ground, the scenario completed. A larger contingent of Lord Tagron¡¯s people were coming in the distance, so Nick¡¯s party would be forced to enter the portal shortly.

    Nick sighed as he addressed his party. ¡°One floor down. I was not a fan of that, but you girls got good instruction, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    Irene smiled. ¡°Rebecca and I got to check out their library! There were a lot of books to read there, and we learned a lot.¡±

    Kaya said, ¡°I wonder how your subordinates will experience this floor, when we have some more climber slots.¡±

    Eirwen hummed. ¡°Based on what I¡¯ve read, it¡¯s likely the party would be treated much like we were. The leader of the party might have some ability to sway the Lord, Nick¡¯s position to take certain actions, but otherwise the scenario might just be focused on storming in to interfere with the enemy¡¯s plans, to save their temporary Lord.¡±

    Sable looked over her spear made of shadow and ice, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind doing that floor again, it was kinda fun¨Cit even had princely chambers for a fun evening.¡± She waggled her brows, ¡°The trainer helped me with my shadow and ice magic. We didn¡¯t have anyone able to back at Frosthaven.¡±

    The other girls shared her sentiments, all receiving useful advice from the trainers. Not just how to improve in the short term, but in the long term, much like Eirwen had received from Agatha.

    Nick looked back at the portal. ¡°Alright. It seems like this floor will be helpful for my kingdom, so that¡¯s a bonus. It¡¯s not as though a single day of instruction per month is that significant, but it¡¯s something that not all kingdoms have access to. Let¡¯s get equipped and head out.¡±

    His wives were still wearing their ball gowns, so they took a moment to change within a hastily erected tent by Jasmine, getting ready for battle. They never knew what would be on the next level, after all.

 Book 3 - Chapter 25 - Luna - The Pack Mother

    ¡°Ah, hell nah! This is some bullshit right here. A damned water level! ¡±

    Nick¡¯s party arrived on the floor through the portal on a small ship, the sky covered in clouds from a storm.

    Rebecca and Irene both latched onto Nick with their arms, the winds influencing their light bodies much more than the rest of the party. They had to ramp up their mana aura to protect themselves or get blown away, but Rebecca narrowed her eyes on her mother.

    Irene shrunk away a little bit from her daughter¡¯s gaze as she let go of Nick. ¡°Ah, haha¡­ sorry, I just did what was instinctual! I knew Hero was sturdy, and wouldn¡¯t let me fly away.¡±

    Luna chuckled as Rebecca looked conflicted. What Irene said was true.

    Kaya snickered at Nick, the small boat bobbing in the water as the turbulent winds and waves tossed their boat. ¡°It¡¯s not that bad. It sounds like there¡¯s going to be a fun fight this time at least.¡±

    Luna marveled at the small ship they were given. It was a single-masted ship that barely housed the ten people and two soul servants of Boss¡¯s party. Somehow, they were supposed to face an entire fleet, only having a single harpoon gun on the small deck. Birdy riding Jasper took up much of the space, and Fang now happily scrubbed the deck flooring with the mop, proud to take on this task for now.

    Jasmine was looking up at the sky, which was full of clouds. ¡°This blows. If there was a bit more sun, I¡¯d be able to recharge a little more.¡±

    The party spent a few minutes attempting to find their bearings quickly, the prompt providing little detail as there was nothing in view but the turbulent water around them. No land or vessels nearby.

    [Test of Tactics ¨C Those that walk the Path of Kings must be prepared to face a variety of challenges, on all types of battlefields. With your elite party, help the Mistwalkers defeat the Windswept Wraiths. Defeat the enemy flagship before the Mistwalker¡¯s flagship is destroyed.]

    Eirwen then checked with the spirits, finding their heading was already the correct one. With Luna sending wind into the sails with her elemental totem, they were moving rather quickly¡­ for a small boat, that Nick called a sloop, anyway.

    Irene and Rebecca did separate from Nick, Jasmine creating little webbing tethers for them around their waists that could prevent their light bodies from being blown away.

    ¡°I can see them in the distance now.¡± Sable called out from above in the crow¡¯s nest. ¡°There¡¯s uh¡­mist partially covering six ships which should be our allies, and they¡¯re facing nine of the enemy¡¯s. We¡¯re coming up from behind the enemy¡¯s larger flagship, but one of them is breaking formation to deal with us.¡±

    Sable added, ¡°I do see the Mistwalkers creating more mists, but the Wraiths are blowing much of it away with fierce wind magic. A bad matchup for them.¡±

    Nick snorted. ¡°With them peeling off to deal with us, we¡¯re forced to face them, right? I suppose it would be too easy if we could just¡­beat the leader in one go.¡± He turned to Jasmine, and noticed she was weaving something, and it was much larger than clothing. She was currently in her four-armed form. ¡°What are you making now, Jas?¡±

    Jasmine smiled, her four hands weaving at a rapid pace, the cloth growing fast as it pooled onto the deck in front of her. She even pulled a few bolts of cloth out of her spatial sack, and was combining them. ¡°A surprise! Just wanted to try something, Master. If it works, I think you¡¯ll like it.¡±

    Eirwen took a deep breath through her nose. ¡°Mmm¡­ the smell reminds me of our beach date! You have to admit, this still beats the desert, hubby.¡±

    Nick side-eyed his sheep wife. ¡°You say that now, but what lies in wait, just underneath the surface? Let¡¯s see if you still say that when a giant kraken starts eating our pathetic ship the keeper gave us, and you get your beautiful, wooly mane doused in salt-water. On top of that, this doesn¡¯t seem like fair odds at all.¡±

    Irene hummed. ¡°A kraken? Hm, I suppose since we¡¯re Angels of light, they would very much like to eat Becca and me.¡±

    Rebecca¡¯s eyes went wide as she perhaps imagined such a thing happening, and suddenly looked a little worried.

    Irene matched her daughter¡¯s expression, though Luna could tell it was a little fake as she entreated to Nick, ¡°You¡¯ll protect us, won¡¯t you, Hero? Krakens are scary and dangerous. A horrible way to die, drowned and with our limbs and bones crushed and broken, just before being eaten by its dreadful beak.¡±

    Nick grinned at Rebecca and Irene. ¡° Any krakens that try to touch any of my girls or my mother-in-law are going to be turned into frozen calamari, and that¡¯s a promise.¡±

    ¡°W-Wait, mother. We can just fly away if the kraken attacks.¡± Rebecca narrowed her eyes on Irene. ¡°I¡¯m new to the flying thing, but you shouldn¡¯t forget that so easily.¡±

    ¡°Ah, haha¡­you¡¯re right. How¡­¡± Irene hesitated, then spoke rapidly, ¡°silly it would be to forget that. But you know, we can¡¯t really fly for long at this stage. Glide with the wind for a hundred miles? Sure. Fly against it for more than a quarter hour? Hardly. We¡¯ll be stronger once we get our halos.¡±

    Nick¡¯s eyes widened in recognition. ¡°Oh, so you do get those later, huh? I was wondering about that¡­¡±

    Irene nodded. ¡°In the third stratum. It grants us further control over the essence that makes up ourselves.¡±

    Luna¡¯s air totem continued pulsing, sending wind into their sails and pushing them in the right direction. As they moved closer, Luna saw that there were quite a few archers on crenelations, set up around the higher deck of what should be a galleon-sized ship. The ships oddly looked a lot like castles floating on the water.

    Nick was squinting his eyes, trying to get a better look. ¡°They kinda look like ghost pirates, really.¡±

    Sable added, ¡°Some are wearing armor more like typical soldiers, and there¡¯s robed casters too.¡±

    Arrows started arching toward them, falling like a rain. Nick pushed out his Frost Aura, which slowed and weighed down the arrows with cold, making them fall short.

    Nick gave a satisfied expression at how his special aura protected the little ship, but his face quickly morphed into a scowl. ¡°This is bullshit. They didn¡¯t even give us any defenses.¡±

    Kaya laughed. ¡°You get annoyed so easily with this keeper, maybe they¡¯re not really out to get you, but just want to challenge you? We¡¯re over-leveled for this challenge. Isn¡¯t this just fair? Let¡¯s just take their ship. It¡¯s bigger and better, right? Then we¡¯ll just crash it into the flagship.¡±

    Nick looked at the harpoon gun, before sighing. ¡°I suppose that¡¯s the path we¡¯ve been¡­ poorly prepared for. I just wish I had a little more¡­control. They like pitting us against things we have nearly zero control over.¡±

    Luna hated to see her Alpha worried this way, stressed and frustrated for some reason. In any battle they¡¯d faced, he was always so confident. He mentioned control¡­ ¡°Even if this keeper seems to give you a hard time, they have been giving us all appropriate challenges that help us grow. It is not just a death trap. What makes you so frustrated about the Ordeals, Boss?¡±

    Nick frowned. ¡°I think¡­ I really just don¡¯t like the idea that someone is looking down on us, like some kind of god. That we can live and die at their whims. It kinda¡­ pisses me off, you know?¡±

    Some arrows started raining much closer, despite the Frost Aura protecting them. They were nearing the ship, which had dozens of archers and what was probably near a hundred of these¡­ Windswept Wraiths on it.

    They looked like humans for the most part, but it was almost like they were ghosts or spirits, a little like the specters on the second floor they faced. Their bodies were nearly transparent where their clothes didn¡¯t cover, a greenish hue that their form drifted into a haze rather than looking solid and substantial. But their clothing looked solid, and they still held physical weapons and wore armor.

    Kaya brandished her axe. ¡°We should be in range of that spear-gun thing soon, no? Who¡¯s going to shoot it?¡±

    Eirwen added, ¡°It looks like they are turning to run parallel with us. I¡¯m not sure if we¡¯ll be able to close on them unless we move faster. Luna¡¯s doing a good job, but their people are using the wind too. But maybe that thing can help?¡±

    Luna did her best to pick up her pace with her totem, sending more mana into it. The odd statue she carved with numerous levels of faces and winged figures shimmered, sending more wind into their sail.

    Sable went down from the crow¡¯s nest, and bounded over to the spear gun at the front of the ship. There was a coil of rope next to it, but Luna thought the whole premise was dubious. Climbing or crawling across a rope while being shot at by dozens of archers seemed a poor choice.

    Irene frowned at Nick. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you hate the Keepers so. They merely carry out Orion¡¯s Will, choosing the best way to Test you and help you grow. To nurture you. They are meant to create risk and challenge you, and people do die as a result when they fail. But they are not to create death traps, like Luna said. Where did you even hear of them?¡±

    Kaya chuckled. ¡°Nick had a special moment back on the second floor with a do or die sort of Optional Test that appeared. The Keeper had a strange, angry message for him that berated him for all his flaws, then his dad confirmed their existence in the Heritage. I¡¯m sure if the first thing never happened, the Keepers wouldn¡¯t even be in his thoughts.¡±

    Irene tilted her head. ¡°Really, a special test appeared, along with a message to him? I¡¯ve never heard of anything like that happening!¡±

    Sable said, ¡°Firing! Get ready!¡±

    She shot the harpoon, and it stuck into the side of the ship. They were now a little over a hundred feet away, but they were closing fast thanks to Luna¡¯s efforts. There was a crank on the harpoon to reel in the rope, and Sable began turning it as they closed.

    Fang kicked the harpoon gun at its base. ¡°That was lame. Why¡¯d they even give this thing to us?¡±

    The party gathered at the rope, and Luna and Sable gathered under Fang¡¯s shield held above them, while the rest gathered behind Jasmine¡¯s larger body. Nick¡¯s chains swirled around them and deflected some arrows, and even Birdy¡¯s swirling feathers was helping.

    But then Jeffrey, the odd beetlefolk supporter, started vibrating its wings next to them, the odd effect helping deflect the arrows. The creature had mostly been quiet aside from carrying out his role, but it seems it had an interesting ability.

    Nick looked the creature over. ¡°Huh, good job Jeffrey. You¡¯re welcome to stay back here if you like, or stay near Fang or Jasmine. They¡¯ll watch over you.¡±

    The creature buzzed and nodded, and pulled out two shields from its pack.

    Jasmine had given the harpoon a quizzical look as she put away¡­whatever it was she was making and pulled out her shield, allowing her to shield the party.  ¡°Jeffrey is sturdy even though he¡¯s smaller now, and he¡¯ll fight with me. As for the harpoon, I think it¡¯s meant to just help keep the boat near while we raid this other one.¡±

    Sable and Eirwen started returning fire with their bows, but it was difficult to hit the archers. The windswept wraiths used magical wind to their advantage, deflecting their attacks along with the castle crenelations. Luna would cast spells to help, but her focus was on maintaining the speed of their vessel.

    Dozens of these wraiths stood protectively next to the archers looking over the crenelations, watching their boat near. A whirlwind of feathers started swirling around Jasper and Birdy, deflecting blows meant for the larger wolf.

    Nick whistled as he looked at the enemies arrayed in front of them, his chains starting to bat arrows aside.  ¡°Man, there sure are a lot of those guys up there. Nine big ships like this? That¡¯d be way too much work for us.¡±

    Fang¡¯s tail was wagging, and Luna could see she was eager for the fight as she held her spear and shield at the ready. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter how many there are if they aren¡¯t strong like us. Let¡¯s do this!¡±

    Jasmine fired a spray of webbing from two of her hands, creating what looked like a net. The net-like strands then latched onto the enemy ship. They shimmered as she connected them to the deck of their smaller ship, and it was a lot like their clothing, having a stone-colored gray hue to them.

    Luna could tell they were sturdy, and was proven right as several arrows bounced off of the glowing fabric as the archers tried to cut down the webbing. It went up over three stories, taking them to the main deck of the massive ship.

    Nick snorted at their attempts. ¡°Good job, Jas. Much better than that crummy harpoon. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Jasper howled and Birdy squawked, the wolf larger than a wagon leaping up the webbing toward the top. Shards of ice started cutting into the enemies, the rest climbing up the web as easily as stairs. Some soldiers were ready for them at the edge, but the larger wolf had easily given them a foothold onto the decking thanks to its larger size crashing into them and sending them flying.

    Nick and the rest arrived next to them, giving his martial arts shout and empowering the party as his Soul Blade flashed, killing one of the soldiers as his Frost Aura spread and slowed those near.

    As her pack began facing off against these Windswept Wraiths, Luna let herself be swept away into the flow of the battle. Her totems pulsed as she entered the fray, her spear stabbing into openings created by Fang¡¯s shield work, or simply defending her flanks.

    For Luna, fighting as a pack meant fighting for each other to defeat the enemy. There was no room for selfishness in battle, there was only a drive for victory. Fighting together for the good of the pack instead required selflessness. If the battle was difficult enough, it meant that one must bear their throat to the enemy to give their kin an opening.

    Eirwen had shot her bow, taking one of the low-armored enemies in the shoulder. Her arrow had passed right through, the wraith¡¯s body surrounded in a windy haze. Sable¡¯s arrow then struck another enemy, the arrow covered in shadows, piercing into their body with the wraith moaning in pain.

    Sable shouted, ¡°They are resistant to physical attacks, use magic or target Boss¡¯s ice!¡±

    Luna remembered how the ice which climbed over enemies created weak points in her enemies, but she quickly cast Elemental Weapons: Ice on Kaya, herself, and Rebecca¡¯s weapons, coating them with a layer of frost. Everyone else prepared their own elemental attacks, their weapons making contact and widening their opening on the deck.

    As the party continued fighting the enemy, Luna tried to work on becoming one with the essence and establish her Concept fragment. Luna had received a minor enlightenment after facing the lava elemental, their last trip to the Path of Kings.

    In it, she had a short vision of a strange pack of creatures. With the large, branching horns on their heads, they resembled white stags in the cold of winter, with blue gems lining their white fur.

    They had six legs with clawed paws, making it a mixture of a horned deer and a cat. The vision was focused on what she knew was the majestic pack mother at the rear, her coat of fur a beautiful silver and its gems more magnificent than the rest.

    The pack of the horned deer-cats faced off against a massive bear creature, but the pack fought together fiercely. The pack mother watched with tranquility, an energy pulsing from her like a heartbeat as she watched over her children. The other pack creatures began to resonate with the mother, their monstrous cores pulsing to the same tune.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

    An energy of frost wrapped around the other deer cats, the mother somehow coordinating their efforts. The deer were empowered to move faster or strike fiercer, spreading the cold around the massive bear, the mother watching over her pack warmly as they fought with both determination and coordination.

    As the bear was brought down and the vision came to an end, she had originally felt little, aside from being impressed that the immense bear could be taken down, and with so few losses of the pack.

    But she kept thinking about it. Between the pack mother and her pack was a connection. A bond. The vision somewhat resonated with Luna, and she understood that it was to help her form what was her Concept Fragment. But she had difficulty making this her own, something not quite relatable to her. Something was missing, a piece that didn¡¯t quite match.

    She knew Sable and Fang were having similar difficulties with creating their fragments. Their visions were also not straightforward, much like Eirwen¡¯s vision. With some time spent, Eirwen had ultimately gained control of the odd stardust, but no such luck for Luna and her other pack mates as of yet.

    Rebecca had said that Enlightenment was often like that, that there would rarely be visions that were entirely perfect for them. It was up to them to find what matched them and their desires and actions, and make it a part of them. As the fight continued, Luna watched over her pack mates, sending out spells or supporting them with her pulsing totem.

    Fang howled proudly as she smashed these wraiths aside with her ice-covered shield, or stabbed her spear, sending frost into their odd bodies.

    In a surprise move, Jasmine fired a beam of light¨Cat Jeffrey. His odd, mirror-like body reflected a beam of light, and it blasted into a soldier, burning its face.

    Nick had dashed deeper into the enemy formation, so Luna only occasionally saw a flash of his blade of light or waves of frost being sent out. The ship was large, and their number of enemies was significant.

    Luna smiled as she sent her frost totem ahead of her, blasting a cone of frost over a grouping of soldier enemies. Combined with her Alpha¡¯s Frost Aura, the enemies slowed to a near crawl as they groaned in pain. She then exploited an opening caused by their slow movements with her spear piercing through a man¡¯s chest, and then deflected an oncoming arrow with a pulse from her air totem, creating a small wall of air.

    Jasmine appeared to be shooting her beams of light and targeting the archers, dashing toward the crenelations as she stabbed or slashed with her large spear, and batted enemies away with her shield. Two of her hands held a single large turtle shield that resembled Nick¡¯s on Jasmine¡¯s left, allowing her to bash and barrel through enemies, and two hands held the spear on her right, stabbing rapidly from different angles.

    Her large body was both sturdy and nimble somehow, and Jeffrey followed alongside her like an odd duckling, strangely anxious about Jasmine rather than the enemies, it appeared. His two shields easily deflected any attack, and his wings buzzed, enhancing his movement on foot.

    Rebecca and Irene supported the party with their spiritual shouts and swinging their staves, disrupting the enemy¡¯s flows and preventing them from surrounding the party so easily. Birdy squawked from on top of Jasper as it directed its magical frost, the two sending shards of ice as they waded through the enemy ranks. The large wolf¡¯s claws tore through the much smaller enemies, the Soul Servant showing its prowess.

    Meanwhile, Kaya and Eirwen tore through enemies quickly. Kaya was like a whirlwind of axes and claws with her three tails grasping axes, while Eirwen rapidly fired her bow, stardust glittering off of her arrows.

    Luna watched over her pack as they fought with a smile, pride filling her. Her pack was strong, and what Fang had said earlier was right. It didn¡¯t matter how many enemies there were, if they weren¡¯t strong like them.

    As her totems pulsed, she couldn¡¯t help but feel like she wanted to make her pack even stronger. Thinking about the vision, what the matriarch deer-cat accomplished definitely resonated with her in some way.

    She wanted to empower them, to protect and watch over her pack. She tried to hold on to this as she fell into a steady rhythm of battle, her totems pulsing to boost her allies or protect them, and her spear striking out and cutting down enemies. A few of them sent blades of wind out with their attacks, but her pack¡¯s auras were simply too strong.

    Throughout the original Trial where they met their Alpha, the Optional Test on the first floor, and the lava elemental, she had earned three Traits from Orion. Two of them were what enabled her to become Noblefrost Wolfen, the same Icy Tranquility trait that Eirwen received along with a Frost-tempered Body.

    But the trait she received upon defeating the Lava Elemental was Packbound Resonance. In moments of stillness, she could feel her pack mates¡¯ presence as if they were part of her own being. A soft pulse would echo through her, giving her insights into their needs and actions, their emotions and their flow of essence within them.

    She loved how it made her closer to her pack sisters¨Chow she could feel their happiness and their desires, and most of all, her Alpha¡¯s. When they were relaxing, sensing his joy and calmness as he lavished her pack with attention made her feel truly satisfied.

    It wasn¡¯t lost on her that there was some connection to the vision she felt¨Cminus the leadership aspect of the matriarch.

    However, the resonance was a bit too difficult to use in combat. Finding this stillness was far too challenging while running around the battlefield casting spells and protecting her ally¡¯s flank. Still, she continued to try, as her pack fought through the ranks of soldiers on the ship.

    The lower deck was eventually cleared of the large number of foes, and then they pushed to clear the remainder of the ship, Nick and Jasper¡¯s efforts having already cut a large swath into them.

    Only light wounds from bruises and small cuts were inflicted on her pack, their strength and skill far superior to their enemy. Rather than heal them, she used her water healing totem, which pulsed healing energy into her nearby allies. The heals were weak, but in just a few pulses had the scratches closed and bruises down to nothing less than small angry red spots on their skin.

    For a moment near the end, Luna thought she almost made the connection with her Packbound Resonance, but the fight quickly came to its conclusion shortly after.

    Still, with everyone safe, she reveled for a moment as she found her stillness. Connecting with her pack, she could feel their thrill of battle, which was especially high with Fang and Kaya, and her Alpha.

    She looked over to Nick¡¯s new wife, who she now shared this connection with. Even Rebecca, despite her worry, Luna could feel some pride at how far she¡¯d come in combat. Rebecca didn¡¯t like fighting all these people, but she fought with purpose, knowing that she must overcome Orion¡¯s Tests.

    Nick looked over his pack with a smile, proud of how the battle had gone. ¡°Good work, everyone¨Cthe ship is ours now. That was not bad, really. I guess we can start our counterattack from here. Sable, try to get a look from above, and Winny, can you try to find their leader? We¡¯ll head toward the bulk of the enemy ships for now.¡±

    Sable rushed to the crow¡¯s nest, and Eirwen and Kaya moved toward the helm¨Cthe large steering wheel on the upper decking.

    Jasmine stowed away her weaponry in her pouch, and brought out the cloth once more. She began weaving once again, the boat altering its course over the next several minutes. It had gone away from the fleet battle as they had fought, so it took some time to steer the ship in the right direction and return to the battle. The other ships were still in view, the fight having only taken under ten minutes.

    Thankfully, it seemed the Mistwalkers had fought defensively. While the wraiths seemed to have a ranged advantage thanks to their control of the winds and superior numbers, the mist walkers had snuck through the mists with smaller ships, reinforcing their ships and allowing more to reinforce their decks and flank their enemies.

    Eirwen had been casting her spirit magic, using the elements as her own eyes. ¡°I think I¡¯ve found their flagship, it¡¯ll be a few minutes to head there. It¡¯d be nice if we could use the mists too, but the wraiths are still keeping the mists away from them.¡±

    Nick asked, ¡°What about them krakens? Anything dangerous underwater?¡±

    Eirwen giggled, and then her eyes lit up a few times. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so. Perhaps the Keeper had mercy on Nick, but it seems this odd fleet battle hasn¡¯t attracted anything underwater. They fight like moving castle battles, really, and few go overboard to draw in any large sea monsters.¡±

    The party rested, recovering their essence as they changed their course to approach the enemy ships. Only Jasmine continued her work after handing Nick his food and drink. Jeffrey the beetlefolk handed out the rest from its spatial pouch. After a while, it appeared that another enemy ship was approaching them, barring their path.

    Nick groaned. ¡°I suppose we¡¯re just going to have to fight through all of these damn ships. I wish there was a way to take on their Boss and just end this.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, your wish is my command, Master!¡± Jasmine smiled as she unfurled the large cloth she had been working on. It was like a giant sheet that caught the wind, like the sails above them.

    Jasmine started dragging across the ship¡¯s deck as the large sail pulled her, until she anchored herself down with webbing. She waved one hand, the other three holding the four threads. ¡°Ta-da! Parasail!¡±

    Nick looked over the parasail, and whistled. ¡°Damn, that¡¯s a good job, Jas. We can just fly over to the ship? That might work, but we¡¯d probably have to split the party, right? How many can we take?¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Jasmine looked over everyone. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can take everyone, nor should I. I think we need Luna for the wind to help control or speed up our flight a bit, and since Sable and Fang are so small and portable¡­and Rebecca or Irene are so light¡­ and Jeffrey can fly on his own, besides¡­ I think that¡¯s about the maximum I could take along with Master.¡±

    Nick looked more than a little surprised. ¡°You¡¯re sure? In that case¡­¡± He turned to the party, ¡°Alright, then we¡¯ll do it like this. You hold down the fort here for now, Jasper, Birdy, Eirwen, Irene, Sable, and Kaya. The enemy ship will be here shortly, so just take them out. The rest will take on their flagship, and we¡¯ll retreat if it¡¯s too difficult, but I have confidence.¡±

    Jasmine nodded. ¡°With a bit of essence, I can even make us a boat with just a few bolts of cloth, which I have. We can escape to the water if we need to.¡±

    Luna and Fang climbed onto Jasmine¡¯s large back, and Nick was held in an odd two-handed side-hug, easily being held aloft.

    Once again, Luna prepared her totem. Webbing attached to Rebecca and Jeffrey, and Luna had her totem send the wind into the giant parasail.

    Jasmine smiled and nodded at the parasail, as it began lifting her off the ground, despite her anchors. ¡°Alright, looks ready. Everyone hold on, and awayyy we go!¡±

    The anchors disconnected at Jasmine¡¯s action, and the party lifted off the ground, flying toward the large flagship in the distance at a jolting start. The speed was significant and Luna felt her stomach lurch at the sudden acceleration, and before long they were moving far faster than the ship had been going, the wind whipping through Luna¡¯s hair.

    ¡°Woohoo! This is fun! We gotta do this again sometime.¡± Fang¡¯s tail was wagging, and her smile was wide as they flew through the air, her tongue lulling out as the powerful winds hit her face.

    It only took a few minutes before the flagship was in view. As they neared, Luna was once again surprised at the number of enemies. This ship was even larger, and the number of troops on it was significant.

    They were coming up on the ship from behind, its focus on the other ships facing them. They had gained a decent altitude, and they were looking down on the ship as their parasail flew in front of them.

    Sable said, ¡°The leader seems to have spotted us. Oh, the archers now too.¡±

    The leader stood a whole head taller than the rest, his green robes intricately detailed with gold filagrees. He held a large saber in his hands, the man shouting out orders to his allies as he pointed with it. He was near the back of the ship on a higher deck, surrounded by what seemed to be caster wraiths.

    Jasmine asked, ¡°Where do you want to land, Master?¡±

    Nick pointed, ¡°Let¡¯s go straight for the Boss. Not many will be able to surround us on the upper deck anyway. Let¡¯s push through.¡±

    Arrows began to be shot and hit the parasail, but the odd stone property of Jasmine¡¯s petrasilk deflected them without an issue. Jeffrey was flying alongside them, surprisingly able to mostly keep up, the tether mainly meant as a backup, it appeared. He dodged the arrows heading for him or blocked with his shield, moving out of the way with unexpected maneuverability.

    The leader started building some kind of wind-based attack along with the other casters with their staves. Several wind blades were shot toward their flying pack in quick succession, looking like green wedges of swirling magic¨Cthey actually looked a lot like Nick¡¯s Blade Waves. While the parasails were sturdy, Luna wasn¡¯t so sure they¡¯d take that level of magical attack.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it!¡± Jasmine¡¯s Nexus Core necklace lit up, a yellow light gathering in a small orb in front of her. The amount of light it produced was blinding, like a second sun had appeared in the sky, and several of the wraiths actually turned their heads to look away, blinded by the orb.

    Beams of light quickly shot out from Jasmine¡¯s orb, piercing through the blades and into the powerful wraith and the other casters. The captain wraith was sent flying through the air toward the middle deck of the ship, and the wind blades stopped being shot toward the party.

    They were now over the boat, so Jasmine did something to the parasail and it became more rock-like, and they began to lose altitude as it rose above them and slowed their descent.

    When close enough to the deck, Luna and her pack mates leaped off first from Jasmine¡¯s back, and Nick dropped down next to Jasmine. Luna landed on the deck beside Fang, her totems coming to life and beginning to pulse.

    The strength of the earth was weaker at sea, but still filled her pack¡¯s bodies with strength. The wind totem created a small wall which deflected the many arrows being shot toward them. Her water totem filled their bodies with soothing waters, enhancing their vigor, and soon she¡¯d switch it to pulse out healing energy. Her fire totem was almost completely useless, the spirit unable to draw any essence from the surrounding area to fuel her spells. She could still use it for more mana and essence of her own, but it would be a poor choice.

    Nick¡¯s Frost Aura and chains spread from the ground, immediately attacking the wraiths and freezing them, and Jasmine shot laser beams in one direction as she stabbed her spear in another. Fang charged and pierced through the enemy in front of her with her spear, her frozen weapon covering her target in ice.

    Luna dashed out with her spear, staying near Fang, and Rebecca joined them with her staff. Her blows knocked enemies off-balance, allowing Luna or Fang to capitalize on the opportunities.

    The captain recovered and rushed up to face Nick, his face a mask of fury. Wind was billowing around him, allowing him to fly through the air rapidly. His saber was pointing forward, the captain targeting Nick.

    Nick gave his shout as he met his blade, deflecting the large saber. Chains rushed to meet the new foe, but the winds surrounding the captain batted them back. More soldiers rushed to reinforce the Captain on the deck, and Nick looked at them with excitement. Two of them were larger and stronger, nearly at the captain¡¯s level.

    ¡°Finally, looks like a good fight.¡±

    He waved his offhand toward his back as essence gathered, and a billowing cloak of light and darkness unfurled behind him. His body showed a dim glow of light, enhancing his heroic presence.

    Nick shouted, ¡°I¡¯ll take on the Captain. Do your best to thin their numbers.¡±

    Jasmine surrounded one of the large sub-captain level enemies with webs of light, and more beams of light shot out to pierce into the soldiers. Fang howled, and Rebecca¡¯s own orb of light rose above them. Luna sent out her cone of cold from her totem, blasting the large group of soldiers that had reached the top of the stairs. Combined with Nick¡¯s Frost Aura, the enemies had difficulty surrounding them, allowing their pack to easily pick the enemies off.

    Luna tried once again to slip into her resonance, filled with pride at fighting alongside her mighty pack. As Luna watched Nick fighting and thought about how he led their party, she felt she understood what in specific didn¡¯t match up with the Enlightenment vision she had received. The deer cat packmother was a leader who guided all of her pack¡¯s actions, but Luna was not¨Cher Alpha was.

    She only wished to watch over her pack mates, and to aid and empower them along with her Alpha. She wanted to be closer to him. To sooth him when he hurts. To bear the child of her mate, or to show her throat to make an opening for him to achieve victory. Luna would gladly give her everything to her pack, and her Alpha.

    Something within her stirred, and she realized that it was the devotion core next to her heart. The mysterious prismatic energy flowed within her, and a small fragment formed within her Soul Core. Her Packbound Resonance seemed to increase, and she could feel her connection to her pack was stronger than ever. She could even feel Eirwen, Sable, and Kaya slightly, despite them being so far away.

    They were doing well, she realized. Their fight had actually started earlier than theirs, and they had already cleared out much of the enemies on their ship. She could feel how Kaya roared with success, the challenge of facing so many enemies filling her with enough excitement that Luna could feel it.

    Aside from the connection becoming stronger and seemingly not requiring stillness anymore, she didn¡¯t feel anything else different, which felt like a little bit of a letdown. Luna then realized she had to actually do something, which made sense.

    She willed her pack to become stronger¨Ca desire, a fervent wish resonating with the world. The essence within her party began to blaze, the energy from the surrounding area being drawn into them. Nick¡¯s Monstrous Blow triggered, his arm bulging and cutting right through the Captain¡¯s arm.

    The Captain launched himself back and tried to flee, but Nick¡¯s Cloak of Twilight switched to darkness as he chased after him, leaping into the air.

    Fang howled, causing the ice around her to shatter, and sent shards of ice into all the nearby enemies. Jasmine shot several webs filled with light into her enemies like a net, her spear flashing at the now disabled enemies as she stabbed them with impunity.

    Luna could feel it well up in her chest as well, making her simply¡­better. An odd haze filled and surrounded her, reminiscent of Winny¡¯s Omni-Barrier, and it felt like her traits like her Icy Tranquility and Frost-tempered body, and those associated with her class were improved. On top of that, her essence and mana flowed more smoothly as she sent it to her ice totem, sending spears of ice at her foes instead of a mere blast of cold.

    Her pride soared as her pack was empowered, and that her Concept Fragment had been formed. It was only a fledgling Concept, but it was already useful. She would need to direct it further to accomplish what she wanted, now that it resonated with her. The improvements to each of these traits and the essence flow was small on an individual level, but since it influenced her whole pack, it was significant.

    Nick caught up to the Captain despite his wind magic taking him into the air, as he was able to pursuit using several jumps. Having lost an arm, the Captain could scarcely defend against Nick¡¯s attack in the sky, his white blade of light cleaving him in two.

    Once the Captain was killed, cleaning up the remaining enemies went smoothly, and the twelfth floor was almost completed.

    A stone arch eventually rose up from the deck, and essence was awarded as the rest of the party was teleported to them. The prompt stated they only had a few minutes of recovery before they were forced to move on to the next stage.

    Nick smiled over at Luna, and she could still sense his attention on her. It was like her Packbound Resonance was permanently improved, which filled her with joy, as she¡¯d be able to feel her pack more often now.

    ¡°What was that, Luna? You made your fragment?¡±

    Luna smiled, and she knew her tail was wagging. ¡°Yes, I finally did. I¡¯m glad. Now I¡¯ll be able to try out that Concept Chamber!¡±

    Fang¡¯s tail was wagging with her smile wide, like always. ¡°I liked it! I even think I touched on mine a little there!¡±

    Eirwen smiled at Luna. ¡°I felt it too. It really felt like you were watching over us, like you always do.¡±

    Kaya pumped her fist, and her tail swished behind her. ¡°Way to go, Luna! That¡¯s another floor down, and in less than a day, this time. Let¡¯s head off to the next!¡±

 Book 3 - Chapter 26 - Sable - The Hunt

    [Test of Strength: Hunt and defeat the four elite elemental beasts. These apex predators are hidden throughout the deadly jungle, masters of their regions.]

    Nick gave a happy sigh, after cleaving through a fiery boar¡¯s throat, taking the head off its shoulders. ¡°Much better. It¡¯s like the seventh floor with the plant elemental things, but different. This seems valuable for future runs, too.¡±

    Eirwen nodded as she walked over and triggered Loot on the beast by pressing her hand to its chest. ¡°Yes, we get some delicious meat, sturdy hides, and some gems with every beast slain. Lumos is sure to make something great out of them.¡±

    The jungle Sable now stood in was vast and colorful. Despite it being a jungle, there were a lot of rocks and gems mixed in within their view, the twinkling stones embedded in the earth, beasts, or plants matching elemental colors and energies.

    Trees stood high with wide canopies, letting in varying amounts of light. Vines and smaller plants grew into dense vegetation, covering almost all that she could see. It seemed that the plants drew up the gems from the stone with their roots somehow, and even the plants and trees carried the elemental essence.

    The beasts within the jungle must have been eating the gems as well, their bodies having control of various elements. Some blue gems of frost called to Sable, and there were even some black gems of darkness. However, if they spent a lot of time extracting all of these gems from their surroundings, they¡¯d be here forever. The ones in the beasts seemed much larger and denser anyway, so collecting them with the Loot skill seemed more worth their time.

    The moment they appeared in the jungle, beasts began attacking their party. It appeared there were so many that fighting them was inevitable.

    Eirwen fired her bow at a distant bird creature, her arrow coated in flame. The bird¡¯s wing exploded, and then she nodded as Luna dashed over and struck the downed bird with her spear. ¡°You might want to make a Soul Servant out of one of these elite enemies too, hubby.¡±

    Nick shook his head. ¡°Nah, it¡¯d be too much a one and done thing, if it died too many times reviving it becomes too challenging. Then, Birdy took more Soul Power than I had thought. If I take another it will weaken my blade by too much. A lot is reserved with Frost Aura.¡±

    Birdy squawked in complaint from atop Jasper¡¯s back, its angry demon face sneering at Nick. It then continued to make whiny bird sounds, its head cocking back and forth.

    Nick groaned. ¡°I told you, I can¡¯t make your body just yet. I¡¯m sorry. Like Jasmine, it requires the third stratum. The fastest way to get you your body is for you to aid us in this Ordeal.¡±

    Birdy then huffed, then busied itself with playing with the blue elemental gems they took from an ice snake. Nick had been feeding it a few demon cores to keep up with his promise for food, but the demon creature also took special interest in these gems.

    Somehow, it did appear that the strange demon was becoming more bird-like, but it was subtle. It was in the eyes, and some of the hair on its goat-like head was looking a little¡­feathery.

    Eirwen hummed. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll need to find any good Soul Servants outside of the Ordeal, or perhaps in a Trial instead, then.¡±

    Nick shrugged. ¡°Unless I get some kind of trait or bonus, I¡¯m kind of at my limit for now. I¡¯m pretty happy with how strong Jasper and Birdy are anyway. How about you, do you think you¡¯re closer to unlocking that Ancestral Guide class?¡±

    Eirwen sighed. ¡°I think I¡¯m closer, but an Epic class is no joke. I¡¯m still focusing on enhancing my Concept Fragment and my spirit magic for now, but I might need to connect to a strong enough spirit first for the class to unlock. I wanted to switch classes before 15, as the skill will likely be better, and it will only become more challenging to reach the requirements as my level increases.¡±

    Nick sighed. ¡°That¡¯s a downside of living in the middle of nowhere, huh. You couldn¡¯t find a viable spirit in Silverbrook?¡±

    Eirwen shook her head. ¡°Maybe the class isn¡¯t quite right for me. I don¡¯t really have an ancestor that was strong, it appears. I can¡¯t connect to just any spirit. It requires an anchor, and blood or ancestry is the strongest.¡±

    Kaya frowned. ¡°You couldn¡¯t use¡­my mother, could we?¡±

    Eirwen gave her a sad smile. ¡°That¡¯d be lovely, wouldn¡¯t it? But I¡¯m afraid not. Only those with stronger spirits or those that anchored themselves to the land without rejoining the essence of Orion can be called upon. As you rise in stratum, your weight on the world increases, and thus the longer your spirit lingers.¡±

    Nick said, ¡°Damn, that sucks, but it makes sense. Maybe like how you can help me connect to someone, I can help you?¡±

    ¡°Maybe, but either way, not all is lost. As my soul power increases and I get better at the magic, I can reach further. We¡¯ll give it a try again when we get home, and we¡¯ve pushed our skills higher. Working with the spirits here is giving me good experience. I¡¯ll keep trying at it, despite these elemental domains. Maybe if I¡¯m good enough with it, a third stratum person from the central kingdoms might respond.¡±

    Sable listened to their talking while she watched their surroundings. The entire party had their own paths to power, the only two with the same class even were Rebecca and Irene. Though with those two, the former was much more interested in fighting with her staff than the latter was.

    Now that Luna had formed her fragment, that only left Fang and herself. Sable was working hard, but her minor enlightenment was just not overly helpful. The odd, formless beast of darkness, cold, and hunger she saw in the vision just didn¡¯t feel right to her at all. Its power was¡­scary, if anything, its maw of endless teeth crunching their bones¡­.

    Kaya was cleaning her axe, having killed another beast that charged into their clearing. ¡°There a Safe Zone here, Winny? And how far off are we from these elites?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to check. I can feel a lot of elemental essence in this place, far more than the standard jungle.¡±

    Her eyes shifted through several colors as she cast her spells, murmuring to herself. ¡°The good news is that there¡¯s a Safe Zone in what appears to be the center of the jungle. The bad news is the elementals will not aid me with finding these beasts, beyond giving me a vague area. Each of these creatures is connected to the jungle, and they control a domain of sorts. They¡¯re roughly in the four cardinal regions of the jungle, and we¡¯d have found the domain of wind here soon if we continued this way.¡± She pointed off into the distance. ¡°We¡¯re actually not that far off from the Safe Zone. We appeared near the center of the jungle.¡±

    Kaya twirled her axe. ¡°Domain of wind, huh? What other ones are there, and how far away are these places?¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯ll take a few days to circle this jungle, at a minimum. There appears to be fire, water, wind, and earth.¡±

    Nick thought for a moment. ¡°Alright. We¡¯ll head to the wind domain as a party and take it on. Depending on how things go, we¡¯ll either split up to take on the others to cover more ground, or continue as we are. Sable, scout ahead for us, but just focus on tracking anything dangerous. We¡¯ll be fighting constantly in this jungle, no matter what we do, it appears.¡±

    Sable flashed him a smile. ¡°Got it, Boss.¡±

    Covering herself in shadows, she moved on ahead. With her ears and sense of smell, she could tell that numerous beasts lied in wait or blundered through the forest, picking fights with whatever enemy they ran into. But she ignored many of these as the party moved through the jungle, only rooting out those that waited in ambush.

    Sable could hear the party fighting as she skated through the shadows, wearing them like a cloak. She used Camouflage, which was a lot like using your aura to lightly alter the light around oneself to be a little more difficult to see.

    Since she was covered in shadows and moved through them and her skin was already dark, this was very efficient, her aura hiding her from the numerous beasts of all different types.

    She had learned Sneak at one point thanks to a skill crystal gained in the Ordeal, but it was an essence ability. It blocked and replaced the light and essence surrounding her to make her appear invisible and difficult to sense, and was far pricier in essence to use as a result.

    It was also for very little gain, so she had only used it in conjunction with her Soul Sense to sneak around the more vigilant enemies. In all, it was not all that great of an ability. Those that gained a high proficiency with their magical senses would be able to detect someone using Sneak, and it was only using careful manipulation of aura that one like her could avoid being detected¨Csomething that could be accomplished with Camouflage, anyway.

    The elemental beasts could not detect Sable with just Camouflage as she moved from shadow to shadow, so she continued ahead of the party until they reached the domain of wind.

    It was easy to spot. The jungle shifted from having more colors than a rainbow, to having far more green gems of the winds. The creatures matched this, but it was more than just having a lot more green gems around.

    There was a sort of oppression occurring, where her shadow and frost suddenly felt weaker. She had difficulty controlling her frost shadows, and was forced to compensate by expending additional mana for her aura and essence to control the shadows. Using her Heartseeker or other abilities with different elements would be a challenge.

    There was also a tenseness in the air, and it almost felt like she was being watched. The constant battling of the beasts faded away as she got deeper into the domain. She stalked carefully before picking up several beasts with their soul sense, and her findings were surprising.

    These beasts appeared to be more in harmony with one another, though she did eventually spot some fighting. It was definitely a jungle of predators.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    Returning to her party, she shared her findings.

    Nick looked over to Eirwen, ¡°So you really can¡¯t pinpoint the elite, Winny? What about sensing some kind of den, like a high density area?¡±

    Eirwen shook her head. ¡°The elemental essence is under its control. Most likely, it already knows we are here, besides.¡±

    Nick sighed. ¡°So it might be hunting us instead, huh. Let¡¯s continue through with Sable leading ahead, but we¡¯ll have Kaya not far behind you, between us.¡±

    ¡°Worried about me, Boss? And here I thought you trusted my skills by now.¡± Sable pouted, teasing Nick.

    Nick chuckled. ¡°Of course I trust in your hunting capability, but they have the home field advantage. I value my huntress highly.¡±

    Smiling, Sable stalked through the forest, Kaya following close behind. She was only able to follow thanks to their Soul Sense, and Sable wondered if she could defeat the skill with enough work. Nick had run into the wendigos which blended with the earth and death magic, but their state of unlife may have had a larger role to play in this than any sort of talent with essence or aura.

    Still, Sable tried playing with her aura for a while as she creeped through the jungle. She passed dozens of beasts, and their party a ways back were forced to face several of them. These were stronger than the beasts in the other section of the jungle, but they were not difficult for their full party.

    They continued on for hours. Eventually, it became too quiet, no beasts seen for far too long in this dense jungle. She had reached the edge of a small clearing just next to a large tree, and realized why this was as she looked up.

    Large birds had gathered in the boughs of the trees above, a wide assortment of flying beasts. It appeared they were waiting in ambush, dozens of powerful birds watching the direction of her party, ready to attack. She began backtracking, and did her best to try to signal Kaya.

    But it was too late. Several elemental birds¨Chawks and owls, must have spotted Kaya somehow, and they swooped down at her. Sable spotted that Kaya had seen this, however, so Sable waited in the shadows, climbing a tree instead, leaping over to come closer to Kaya, and where their party should emerge once the fighting began.

    Something Sable had been doing must have improved her stealth, as despite being closer to the clearing, Kaya was detected first.

    Kaya was ready for her foes, her axes held firmly with her claws and tails, so Sable did her best to try to spot this elite monster. The ambush was not yet complete, as only a few of the flying beasts had moved¨Cand she had little doubt Kaya would have difficulty at this level. Sable could feel and see many of the flying creatures just lying in wait, the wind essence swirling into a storm.

    The birds swooped down with speed, the wind enhancing their dive. When they neared, Kaya roared, dropping her Camouflage as she leaped toward her assailants with a spin, and activated her Convergance Skill. Blades of essence flew out and cut into several birds as she spun, and Axe met a large talon from a green hawk covered in winds much like the windswept wraiths they faced, and Kaya¡¯s tail then lashed out to strike the hawk¡¯s wing.

    With a screech, the bird began falling to the ground, but the other injured birds kept in the air. They flapped their wings as they slowed, sending blades of wind at Kaya instead. They prepared their talons, managing their inertia as they positioned themselves to continue their attack despite their injuries.

    Kaya had this in hand, her feral essence ready to match their attacks. Continuing to monitor the trees, Sable waited for the elite to show. She knew this creature was some kind of hunter, lying in wait to deal a devastating blow. These birds were all predators, and each of the elites was supposed to be at the apex.

    Hearing the fighting, Nick¡¯s party rushed into the clearing. And that was when all hell broke loose. Half or more of the birds leaped from the boughs, swooping down with angered screeches.

    Beams of light, spears and feathers of frost, icy blade waves and arrows with glimmering stardust were shot into the air to meet the swarm of giant birds, but there was still no hint of Sable¡¯s quarry.

    Nick¡¯s Frost Aura was present around him, but the oppressive domain of the elite beast of wind had weakened it, shrinking it to the original ten yard area around him. It wouldn¡¯t slow down the ambush of the birds at all.

    Moving from tree to tree, Sable watched and waited. Her senses were pushed to the maximum, sniffing with her nose for any change in smell and her ears twitching at every sound. She ignored the birds screeching, blades meeting flesh and talon, the flapping of wings, and waited patiently for her moment.

    Just like the beast from her vision. Despite its immense hunger, it waited until the perfect moment. The moment when two other equally terrifying beasts fought, their shadows overlapping as they tore at each other¡¯s flesh and broke bone. It then slayed and feasted on the two weakened creatures, freezing the bodies so that it could consume them at its leisure.

    Throughout the vision, she could feel the monster¡¯s desire. Its patience despite its great hunger, its ruthlessness as it went for the kill.

    Sable and this formless creature didn¡¯t have a lot in common, the only real value she noticed was how she felt and witnessed the beast using the iceshadow essence. Unlike this solitary creature, Sable was a part of a pack.

    She couldn¡¯t simply wait until both parties were wounded, and deal the finishing blow. It was important to her to aid her Alpha, or her other pack mates. Countering an ambush fit what the monster could do, so she would try to match it, to feel the essence and make it hers.

    Nick joined the fighting, his blade covered in white light as he leaped high into the air with Double Jump. His Aura pushed out further, slowing the numerous bird creatures. A reptilian bird snapped at him with its long beak, but he whipped his arm and lengthened his blade, slashing deeply into its flesh, cleaving off its wing and sending it tumbling to the ground.

    It was in that instant that Sable sensed the change in the air. A stream of wind was built, a vortex of air drawing all the elemental essence in the area. And she knew the predator¡¯s target.

    Her Alpha.

    She could feel it, and she knew she needed to be fast. Skating through the shadows with a thin blade of iceshadow on her feet, she moved through under the branches with haste. With Jasmine, Rebecca and Irene¡¯s beams of light striking the birds, plenty of shadows were being cast in the area for her to travel fast.

    The downed reptilian bird was larger than their utility vehicle. It lashed out with its large claw at Nick, its body billowing with wind essence. Nick¡¯s body became white as he donned his Cloak of Twilight, meeting its blow and casting more shadows into the surroundings.

    It was then she spotted the elite beast. It was a large bird of prey like a hawk, with green feathers and gems throughout its body. The monster was huge, nearly the size of the lava elemental they had faced.

    Despite its size, it was diving down so fast that she was sure the blow would be devastating, even if Nick managed to prepare his shield and brace. Having no time, she used her shadows to tap him on the shoulder and point with a knife of shadow from it, warning him of the incoming threat.

    With new urgency, she stirred her essence, willing herself to become one with the shadows, desiring to move faster and stop this attack on Nick. Her devotion core thrummed in her chest, her heart beating with fervor.

    Sable arrived within her Alpha¡¯s Aura quickly. Hunting this elite, covered with the shadows of a nearby enemy cast by his brilliant white light of heroism and within his Frost Aura, something within her stirred¨Ca strong feeling of purpose, mixed with the thrill of the hunt.

    With the speed the enemy was approaching in its aerial ambush, the timing of her attack would need to be perfect. Taking a breath, her body melded with the shadows and frost surrounding her as she crouched and held her spear at the ready.

    She found herself merging with the shadows and frost, the three of them melding more and more as one, which was shocking. While she could easily hide within a shadow, her body would not really sink inside like it was now. This was at the level of the strange mist creature they faced.

    There was no time to delve into the feeling, but it was like something within her had clicked. Willing the iceshadow into her spear and merging it with essence and mana of her own, she prepared her attack¨Cshe could feel something, a weight of her will entering it. It felt like this was what she needed to do.

    The giant bird¡¯s own shadow overlapped the one she now stood in, and she launched her spear into its path, aiming for its throat.

    Like a beam of shadow, her spear blasted toward the elite faster than she could track, the spearhead looking a lot like the formless beast from her vision¨Ca terrifying maw with countless teeth opening, ready to chomp down on the enemy.

    At the last moment, the strange hawk noticed the attack and shifted its head and thus its throat, the iceshadow bite grasping its shoulder instead. The weight of her attack still shoved the bird to the side as it screeched in agony, the bird crashing to the ground beside and far behind Nick, missing its ambush.

    Frost began to spread from the wound as the formless beast wrapped around the green hawk in hunger, and Nick¡¯s chains quickly wrapped around the enemy as it screeched. It struggled at its bindings, its bones already bruised and broken from its terrible tumble into the ground at such high speeds.

    Nick had drawn his shield at her warning and was ready to try to deal with the ambush, but was still shocked by the result as he dashed over to the creature to finish it off. With it frozen and bound, it only took a few swings of his Soul Blade.

    With the elemental elite defeated, the oppressive domain relented. Some of the birds then began to flee, but many stayed around to fight to the death. Kaya roared in triumph, her axes shredding the remaining birds.

    The party spent some time cleaning up the large number of birds. Sable, Jeffrey, Luna, Jasmine and Eirwen all used their Loot skill on the much larger creatures, netting them tons of resources to bring back to Frosthaven.

    Nick looked over the giant bird and whistled. ¡°Damn, that¡¯s a big ole bird. Good job taking it down, Sable. That was all you.¡±

    Fang beamed. ¡°Yeah, that was awesome! It tried to attack Boss, but you were ready with that¡­whatever. It¡¯s fat bird ass just broke when it just slammed into the ground!¡±

    Sable chuckled, her tail wagging. ¡°It really did. But I only managed it because I¡¯ve made my fragment.¡±

    Fang bounced in place, clapping. ¡°Wooo! Way to go, Sable! Er¡­¡± Her ears went flat on her head. ¡°I¡¯m happy for you, but it seems I¡¯m last. I really need to get my special skill too!¡±

    Eirwen hugged Fang from the side, and patted her ears. ¡°Do not worry, Fang. As long as you keep holding your Alpha highly in your heart, your devotion core will help make it happen. For many, it takes months or years to find their fragment, even with things like Enlightenment granted by the Ordeal.¡±

    Sable laughed. ¡°There¡¯s not much else in that heart or head of hers. But I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll figure it out eventually.¡±

    Luna said, ¡°Yes, I do think you¡¯ll have it soon, Fang. Didn¡¯t you also have something special happen when I used mine for the first time, with the howl? In the next battles, let¡¯s try to focus on this. We¡¯ll both work hard on our fragments.¡±

    ¡°Okay! Thanks, Luna!¡± She perked up, her smile returning and her tail wagging rapidly.

    Nick chuckled, and he kicked the large corpse. ¡°What the hell was this thing, anyway? Just a hawk that ate a lot of these gems?¡±

    Irene shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s a Roc, a rare race of hawk with a powerful bloodline. That was a juvenile.¡±

    ¡°A juvenile? Damn. That really was an elite.¡±

    Nick looked over their party, evaluating. ¡°That went well, but it¡¯s clear these predators are dangerous¨Ceven with our huntress watching over us. Since they have control over their brethren, I think we should take our time heading to each elite, and rest at the Safe Zone before the final one. We¡¯ve made great time in the Ordeal so far, and well ahead of our schedule. Taking an extra day or so shouldn¡¯t be a big issue.¡±

    Rebecca nodded. ¡°It seems these floors have been quicker than you expected. Perhaps it will be the second half of the floors on this stratum that are more time-consuming.¡±

    They rested and ate for a bit to recover from the battle and their trek in the hostile jungle. Eventually, Nick called them to resume their travel.

    Nick smiled at Sable. ¡°Alright, my huntress. Go ahead and lead us out of here and into the next section.¡±

    Sable leaped into action, leading the party through the wild jungle. One elemental elite was down and there was three more to go, but she was confident their party would be ready for the next ones.

 Book 3 - Chapter 27 - The Test of Weakness

    It took over two days, but eventually the four elemental beast elites were defeated, and they moved onto the next floor. The cores obtained from the four elemental elites were special, and would definitely be useful thanks to Lumos being capable of refining the materials.

    Nick was even sure the many ice elemental gems he obtained could be refined and perhaps combined or enriched to be used in tempering his Soul Blade, later. Unfortunately, Birdy had started begging for them.

    It would have taken them longer to complete the floor, if it weren¡¯t for them getting lucky on several of the domains. First, the fire elemental elite was very aggressive. When they arrived in its domain, the fiery lion immediately gathered a herd of beasts and attacked within the hour.

    In the battle, Fang finally formed her fragment, and it had a lot to do with her howl. What ended up being the tipping point for her was the party all adding to the howl, especially Nick. He was reluctant at first, but at her willful yet cute request he had to comply.

    Combined with Luna¡¯s Concept Fragment and Nick¡¯s inspiring voice, it made the difference and helped solidify it for herself. When she howled, she could control the ice around her and shatter it, like some form of frost telekinesis. She could even shatter her own thick frost armor, creating a devastating yet self-weakening attack.

    The attack she accomplished was devastating against the fire lion, as the party had already focused many of their ice attacks on it, and the surrounding area. There was plenty of ice shot into the beast when she triggered the shattering, despite its hot aura.

    When the battle was over, Birdy had squawked at Fang with what sounded like respect, patting her on the head with Jasmine¡¯s crafted wings. The rest of the party celebrated, everyone finally having a Concept Fragment.

    The rest of the party hit level 15, grabbing their Convergence Skills. It may have been best to wait until they had fully established their Concepts, but just the fragment was enough to accomplish what they desired. Only Eirwen postponed it, still wanting to unlock her Ancestral Guide class first.

    Sable received a sort of wraith form, which turned her into iceshadows for a time. She could then move freely through objects as if teleporting through the shadows, and physical attacks passed right through her¨Can interesting ability with many uses.

    Fang received a surprising ability. With a low growl, her muscles were empowered with essence. Then, she leaped into the air in a near blur, as her ice armor and shield would bulk further with jagged shards protruding from it. She would then crash into an enemy like a meteor, shedding much of her gained coat of ice.

    Thanks to her new Concept Fragment, she could then use the shards to attack her enemy, and spread the frost.

    And Luna had earned a special spell for her totems. A new buff that allowed her to cast an elemental shield through her connection to the whole nearby party, based on the totem she used. The ice and earth totems actually produced a shield that was useful against most physical attacks, but were not quite as strong as Eirwen¡¯s Omnibarrier.

    They continued through the dangerous jungle to the next elite beast, and the ice elemental domain was easy enough thanks to their party actually being strengthened by the location. Then, Eirwen was able to get a proper reading on where their enemy was thanks to her own affinity being enough.

    To Nick¡¯s indignation, it was actually an elite wollywompus, and he received endless teasing once again. Part of him wanted to make it into a Soul Servant again just to shut them up, but he stuck to his guns that having more would be a detriment. Besides, the fire lion would have been more useful for his party.

    They rested at the Safe Zone before they headed to the final battle as planned, only given 6 hours to rest in the simple hut. It was a bit of a let-down, as they were exhausted from so much travel¨Cthey had even worked through the jungle through the night, Jasmine, Irene and Rebecca easily providing light for the party.

    Finally, they fought an earthen mammoth creature, which tried to crush them with a rock slide in the canyon it drew them into. But seeing the trap early, Jasmine was prepared and easily helped them escape upwards on her large spider back, the rest hopping on Jasper¡¯s back or flying away. The party then rained attacks on the giant creature, slowly whittling away at it until it died, frozen.

    With the four elemental beast elites dead, the archway portal rose from the ground. The prompt allowed them an hour to recover their essence stores, before they were forced to enter it.

    Eirwen was looking through her pack, after handing out plenty of the high essence jerky and fruits she often packed for restorative snacks. ¡°That wasn¡¯t too bad! We got tons of loot.¡±

    Rebecca nodded. ¡°This floor is definitely going to be good for our Kingdom to get unique resources. There were tons of unique hides and gems of various types in those in-between areas.¡±

    Fang grinned. ¡°And we got some of that super deer! Kaya¡¯s been drooling for a while now!¡±

    Kaya¡¯s eyes had a dreamy look, clearly imagining the meat in question. ¡°It looked so good. Why couldn¡¯t we have found it before the Safe Zone? It¡¯d already be in my belly, then.¡±

    Nick snorted. ¡°Might not have been fast enough to get away from that rock slide, then. We¡¯d have had to roll you out of the way.¡±

    The party finished recovering and entered the portal. They arrived in a large arena, with many sections of iron. Nick could somewhat see through the fenced gates surrounding him, and saw his other party members much like himself: alone in their large fenced off sections.

    [Tests of Weakness: You and each of your party members must face tailored challenges: Tests of Weakness. Once all have completed their challenges, should they succeed, they will be allowed to recover and join for the Boss Battle for the 15th Floor Test of Strength.]

    It was named after the challenges in his Heritage. It made Nick a little worried about his wives and mother-in-law, but his people were relatively used to facing their shortcomings. ¡°I wonder what it thinks my weakness is.¡±

    Birdy squawked, looking around at the arena. Jasper growled and grew crystals of ice on its fur, preparing itself for battle.

    When a humanoid golem appeared, Nick¡¯s eyebrows rose in surprise. It almost looked like the ones within his Heritage¨Cthe underground mall. It was a bit taller than Nick, and held a mace and shield, and its body was a purple color. The golem was radiating an odd energy, and Nick¡¯s magical senses hadn¡¯t felt anything like it before.

    ¡°Get ¡®em, Birdy. Stay away from it if you can until we see what it can do, Jasper.¡±

    Birdy squawked and formed a dozen feathers of ice, and Jasper created a large spear of ice. Nick called upon three sets of chains from his Frost Aura, and sent them to wrap around the golem.

    All of this was launched at the golem as it dashed forward, and Nick and Jasper split up, strafing to the side. Its speed was surprising, its movement as it jogged toward them with its shield raised fluid and swift.

    As the chains, feathers, and spear of ice collided with the golem, there was a distortion before it barreled through the ice unbothered. The chains bounced off the barrier and failed to wrap around the golem, and the oncoming projectiles shattered as they struck the shield, the golem hardly slowing in its approach.

    Birdy once again squawked, this time in anger. Nick¡¯s Frost Aura now encompassed the golem thanks to its approach, but the surrounding distortion was like a powerful aura of its own of some kind, rejecting the effect. Watching it with his senses, he thought the power was quite unique.

    Since a recovery period was mentioned, he figured he could go all out without worry. He donned his Heroic Cloak of Twilight, his body flooding with strength as he stacked his heroic essence with chains of body essence, bulking up slightly.

    Nick raised his Soul Blade in a two-handed grip, dashed forward and brought it down at an angle as the golem arrived. As his blade neared the shield, he felt it¨Ca barrier of some kind slowed his blade. When his sword struck the shield, it was like most of its inertia was removed. His sword merely skittered off the shield¡¯s angular surface, nearly all of the power behind his attack gone.

    The golem had set its stance properly as Nick had attacked, so it was ready to bring its mace to bear. With a distortion like a droplet of water causing ripples on a lake, the mace swung at Nick¡¯s exposed shoulder with surprising speed.

    Nick¡¯s cloak wrapped around him to the front and was brought up, hardening like a shield, and he retreated quickly. Despite that, his cloak was struck heavily, his intention to test the power behind the blow.

    And it was significant. The power was transferred to the cloak, and Nick could feel if he had taken it head on without Harden Skin powering his armor, he¡¯d have broken bones. The energy transfer caused Nick¡¯s body to twist and be brought low, but he continued his retreat as he countered low, aiming for the golem¡¯s legs.

    Angry, Birdy blasted a cone of frost at the golem, and Jasper swiped with its claw from the side. The cold washed over the soldier-like golem, and it caused the transparent barrier to be visible as Nick watched. The golem twisted and took the meaty paw on its shield, Nick¡¯s blow landing nearly simultaneously.

    Nick¡¯s blade of white light and blue flecks from the frost struck the dense metal, sending a small amount of freezing energy inside. His attack left nothing more than a tiny scratch, and the paw from Jasper had a larger effect than Nick¡¯s previous blow, but only knocked the golem back slightly thanks to the distortion. Nick¡¯s chains once again skittered off the golem¡¯s barrier, causing Nick to grunt in annoyance.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    It was some kind of barrier made of force.

    ¡°This will be a tough nut to crack.¡± Nick noticed, thinking about the best way to go about it.

    Birdy didn¡¯t give up. Its cone of cold continued shooting out of its staff, blasting flakes of ice at the golem as it continued to squawk angrily. The golem was starting to freeze over, but didn¡¯t seem to impact the enemy¡¯s movements yet. It turned to Jasper and Birdy with its mace, ready to lash out.

    But Jasper took the creature¡¯s attention and backed away, trying to expose the creature¡¯s back to Nick as Birdy continued its assault. Nick dashed in with a series of slashes with his blade, doing his best to combine both speed and power.

    The golem swiveled, blocking with its shield and parrying with its mace with surprising agility. But Nick and Jasper coordinated their assault, and each eventually landed blows, Jasper¡¯s claws raking across the golem¡¯s back, and Nick¡¯s blade cleaving into the back of the golem¡¯s leg.

    The fighting and positioning continued and more blows were landed against the golem, and it didn¡¯t take much longer for the golem to slow, both from Birdy¡¯s blasts of cold and the damage they had dealt. Despite the barrier of force, Jasper was large enough to destabilize the enemy¡¯s footing and grant Nick free attacks on the enemy¡¯s body. The golem just wasn¡¯t fast enough to deal with the two of them.

    Nick saw a path to victory unless something drastically changed, but he narrowed his eyes.

    ¡°Back off, Jasper, Birdy. I need to beat this thing on my own.¡±

    The two backed off, the angry demon squawking indignantly, but complying. Nick had begun to think that his weakness was merely not having experience with this energy, but maybe it was more than that.

    Just what was it this Test was trying to teach him? Either way, fighting to go beyond his limits was what climbing the Ordeal was all about¨Cand what walking the Hero¡¯s Path was all about.

    Nick led the golem around the arena to allow the cold from Birdy to slowly recede. It wasn¡¯t long before it was back at its full speed, and so he once again began his duel. His chains clacked against the ground and each other as he tried to gather them up, getting ready to use more to surround the golem.

    With the creature back to fighting form, Nick began round two. Nick was faster than the soldier golem, but thanks to its skill using mace and shield, Nick had a hard time adding anything significant to its previous scratches and gouges on its surface. Even with him dodging by twisting his torso and whipping his arm and sword out, the surface scratches did nothing to wound the golem.

    He tried linking the chains of his brethren to wrap around the golem, but struggled to direct them in a complicated manner. He could use Winter¡¯s Grasp, but realized this was good practice.

    Thankfully, his Heroic Cloak of Twilight had a long duration, efficient with its usage of his Concept energy. He barely had to feed any in to keep it going when used lightly like this battle, but he would be at his limits in a few minutes if nothing changed.

    So Nick increased the ferocity of his assault.

    ¡°Fight with skill.¡±

    Following his kata, he built up more light and darkness within his body. As he continued through each stanza, he began wearing away at the golem¡¯s defenses. Eventually, he combined feints with his Blade Wave, aiming high and forcing the block, to switch and swipe low with a well-positioned wave that pierced through the protective barrier and cut deep into its leg.

    As Nick¡¯s speed and strength increased, he began to overwhelm the golem¡¯s defenses further. The black essence billowed off of him like smoke as he entered the fourth stanza, and he started trying numerous things.

    This was not the first enemy that his Aura couldn¡¯t even influence, and he knew there must be some way to overwhelm it. He pushed his mana aura further, trying to weaponize it against the golem.

    With powerful blows that matched what Jasper could accomplish, he kept the golem on the back foot, adding wounds and cutting deeper with every strike. Then things came to a rapid close, when he finally managed to direct his spiritual helpers driving the chains to twist and link together like a rope of chains.

    Thanks to this, he managed to get the bound chains to wrap around the golem, overwhelming its barrier finally. Tugging on the golem¡¯s arm holding its shield, Nick triggered Power Strike at the same time.

    His body moved in perfect sync, bringing a strong overhead blow down on its shield arm, cleaving it off from its body. From there, defeating the creature was simple, binding it up and piercing its central core.

    ¡°That took a lot out of me.¡±

    It was challenging, but Nick learned a lot about this mysterious energy, and how to deal with it. If he faced it again, he would have a much easier time overwhelming it. Piercing attacks worked better, but he was stubborn and wanted to push himself. Then, towards the end, he had even managed to get his Frost Aura to start influencing it.

    The key to both successes was his mana aura. Driving the chains of mana and essence around his body, he used it to direct the chains created by his Frost Aura. Of course, he had been able to guide the chains previously, but a complicated maneuver like twining them together was far beyond his vague directions or will could accomplish.

    Then, to try to weaponize his aura, he had spun the mana chains around him rapidly, picturing more of a chainsaw than chains alone. When this pierced through the barrier of force, the Frost Aura managed to seep through.

    Nick had utilized his mana aura for defense at Rebecca¡¯s instruction, but it appeared that attacking was an important aspect of control. He would need to work on this further, as his method of attacking was far too crude.

    Having won his battle, he was transported to a waiting area, where most of the girls were waiting. It looked like a simple living room, a number of sofas and chairs facing a central table. Jasmine was pouring tea into cups, and handing them out to the others. Fang looked awfully proud of herself, regaling her victory over a flying creature, and Luna was looking on with a warm smile, while Sable gave Fang head pats and ear scratches in Nick¡¯s absence.

    Eirwen spotted him. ¡°Hubby! That was an interesting battle, near the end.¡±

    Nick realized she must have been watching him at the end, through her Enhanced Soul Pact Connection. He chuckled. ¡°Took me a bit, but I learned some things. What about you?¡±

    Eirwen grimaced. ¡°It made me fight a lot of little creatures, that were quite fast and deadly. I pretty much had to use everything I had to win. My Omnibarrier, my kick and Retreat, firing my bow, and even catching a lot of them with a blast of cold¡­ Thanks to our strong party, I haven¡¯t had to use them so rapidly before, the enemies overwhelming me. It was¡­ a good Test for me, but I still took a few nasty cuts.¡±

    Her armor had a few gashes, her flesh exposed around her belly and her legs. But Rebecca had been sitting next to her, so it appeared she likely helped heal her. Eirwen was already holding an essence pearl, working her skill to repair the damage done to it even while she wore it.

    He joined her, taking a seat. Grabbing some tea, he listened to Fang¡¯s story. She had used her new movement ability to crash into the flying enemies, and send the shards swirling around her, much like Birdy had done.

    Nick was nearly the last one to arrive, but it only took a minute before Irene appeared in a flash of light before he could learn much about how the other girl¡¯s battles had gone. Clearly fine, with them present in the room.

    [Test of Weakness Complete ¨C All party members successful. Recovery will be enhanced, you have two hours to begin Boss Battle. Enter the portal when ready.]

    The essence in the air became denser, reminding Nick of his Princely Chambers.

    Irene was breathing heavily, and her scholarly robes and skin underneath were covered in cuts and torn away at the sides and legs. From that, Nick could see her figure was just as impressive as Rebecca¡¯s, but she was covered in blood splatters as well.

    She let out a breath. ¡°Wow, that was rough. I haven¡¯t had to fly so much since¨C¡±

    ¡°Mother! Are you okay?¡± Rebecca stood abruptly, and rushed over to heal her mother.

    As white faith healing covered her, closing her wounds, Irene replied, ¡°I¡¯m fine, dear¨Cjust exhausted. I wish I had the diligence you do with your staff, or¨C¡±

    Eirwen wrapped a blanket around her, and handed her some essence fruit. ¡°Let me fix those robes, Irene. I have a skill for it.¡±

    Irene looked down at herself, underneath the blanket. ¡°Oh! I suppose so. In the Ordeals, this kind of thing is to be expected. The little goblins with their sickles chased me all over the arena. I flew, but I couldn¡¯t do it forever, nor thin their numbers much with my Light of Wisdom. It took me way longer than I should admit before I realized it might be best to take one of their sickles and¡­get my hands dirty.¡±

    Rebecca now looked tired. ¡°Does that mean you¡¯ll finally train with me when we get back? I¡¯ve been trying to get you¨C¡±

    Irene smiled teasingly, ¡°Aw, I¡¯d be happy to spend some more time with you, daughter¨Cbut shouldn¡¯t you be spending every moment you can with your dear husband?¡± She chuckled. ¡°In all seriousness, I¡¯ll place a little more importance on training my body after that¨CI don¡¯t ever want to be so frustrated again. But I think it¡¯ll be a while before I am joining you again on any Ordeal runs, anyway. I¡¯ll be the archivist, so I¡¯ll be holed up in the library for some time.¡±

    Kaya had been telling her story after Fang, and it was an awful lot like hers. She had faced off against many flying enemies, and was forced to use her Essence Carry, throwing axes, and at one point climbed up the walls of the arena and leaped to catch some of the aerial combatants. She spoke up from their group, ¡°We should definitely have enough for the archives after this run, right, Nick? I know there are a lot of excited priestesses waiting for it!¡±

    Nick nodded. ¡°You bet. We probably have enough already¨Cthanks to us being in here a week already.¡±

    Irene looked giddy, her wings fluttering and her smile wide. ¡°I can¡¯t wait. Makes me want to leave right now.¡±

    Rebecca groaned. ¡°I know, Mother. But please be patient. The second half of the Ordeal is likely to be far longer.¡±

    Eirwen finished working on Irene¡¯s robes and the leather underneath, and returned to sitting down. ¡°That¡¯s the way the first stratum was, too. I¡¯m a bit worried about running out of bag space though, as I¡¯m well over half, despite my skills, already.¡±

    ¡°Damn, that¡¯d suck if we had to leave because we don¡¯t have enough room for our loot! I¡¯d hate to leave any of it behind.¡±

    The party rested up, chatting about their Tests. Jeffrey¡¯s Test was a mystery as nobody could understand him well yet, but it seemed it was somehow simple for him¨Cat least compared to what he usually dealt with. For a full-blown supporter, perhaps the Ordeal¡¯s expectations for him were low. It had Tested Eirwen a lot harder, perhaps due to how much she participated in combat in comparison.

    Luna had been forced to use her whole repertoire of totems, flowing through her elemental attacks quickly. She faced elementals that spawned, requiring her to be much more aggressive than she normally would be. Being forced to fight without her pack was a different experience for her.

    Jasmine faced a special golem that was a lot like his, but with some form of gravity control instead of force. But she was one of the first to actually arrive, as she overwhelmed it with her Concept. It seemed the Ordeal wasn¡¯t really able to Test her, her mastery over her Concept well beyond what someone of their level should be able to accomplish at their level.

    Looking over at her, he noticed she had taken out a few light gems from the elemental jungle, and was absorbing them into her Nexus Core to recharge it.

    Rebecca was forced to fight an earthen golem, where she took a while beating it to death with her staff. She tore it apart bit by bit, and ended up having to use what Nick had worked on¨Cusing aura offensively, to fully break through its defenses.

    The party had gained quite a bit to think about and work on, to try and shore up their weaknesses. Several had made gains throughout the fight, finding new ways to use their powers.

    Next was the Boss, and Nick hadn¡¯t fought one on Orion yet, that went down easily.

 Book 3 - Chapter 28 - The Arena Battle

    They knew they¡¯d be fighting the Boss in an arena, but they didn¡¯t know what they would fight. Having fully recovered in the waiting area, the party eventually stepped through the portal, arriving in the center of a circular one.

    Stone tiles covered the ground with a thin layer of dirt and caked on blood, and pillars were interspersed around the outside of the circular arena, providing cover and obstructions. A giant iron gate stood ahead of them, Nick¡¯s party standing in a line side by side facing it.

    The gate opened almost immediately, and Jasmine whined. ¡°Aw, I was hoping I¡¯d have some time to set up some webbing.¡±

    She was in her larger half-spider form, ready to use her bulk to aid in tanking and dealing with larger enemies.

    What came out of the gate was an assortment of beasts and people. To Nick¡¯s surprise, there was six enemies. Three large beasts looked at about the level of the elite elemental beasts, strange reptiles giving off an energy of strength and power.

    They looked a bit like dinosaurs, or as if a lion or wolf were covered in sturdy-looking scales.

    An orc covered in armor led the enemy party, his bulk even more substantial than Lothar¡¯s. There was a hobgoblin archer in the back, along with some form of robed caster.

    All of the enemies radiated danger, having some form of Concept, a special weight on reality that couldn¡¯t be ignored.

    Nick called out the targets. ¡°Jasmine, Fang, and Jasper each take on a reptile. I¡¯ll take on the orc. Ranged, harass the archer and mage and take them down.¡±

    As Nick charged in to meet the orc in battle, Nick stirred his Path of Kings Concept, his Dominion of Frost and Fealty. His Frost Aura washed over the orc and the three large beasts, the mage and archer just out of his range at the rear of the formation.

    Ice began to cover the stone tiles, his enemies slowed by the imposing of his will on the battlefield.

    While Nick had two Concepts that he could use, he could really only use one at a time, for now. Each took a sort of mental energy to impose his will on the world, a single pool for his usage of Concepts. Using two at the same time was just too challenging for him at the moment, and it was why in most fights he simply used his Heroic Concept. With practice, he just might be able to accomplish using them both, but the Convergence skill was somewhat like a shortcut. He could manage that, he just couldn¡¯t use the two skills in quick succession.

    Thankfully, his Frost Aura had special effects, since the Concept was closely tied to it. The chains still appeared whether he used his mental energy or not. However, when he focused on imposing his will, the freezing effect and the capabilities of the chains improved substantially.

    The chains grew sturdier and heavier, the ice they were composed of giving off a bone-chilling cold.

    The orc tried to resist the effect with his own Concept, roaring as his body bulked up. But Nick¡¯s will was empowered by his allies present. Their loyalty and devotion enhanced his domain, and all who enter it without greatly overpowering Nick and his party would be slowed by his will.

    The orc sped up as a result of filling his body with essence and his Concept, but Nick¡¯s domain left him slower and weaker as a result, frost already spreading up from his feet and hands.

    And it was the same for the three reptiles, the cold leaving a thin layer of frost across their green scales. They roared with rage as Nick¡¯s allies crashed into them, his more tanky allies meeting them in combat.

    The orc wielded a large maul, and with a leap, he brought it down near Nick¡¯s head was. But the orc might as well have been moving in slow motion, as Nick easily stepped out of the way, and slashed with his Soul Blade at the orc¡¯s armored leg. He scored the cut as he rounded, his blade barely piercing the skin beneath the armor.

    The maul crashed into the ground hitting nothing, but with a feat of strength, the orc spun and swung the maul at his waist level, trying to cave in Nick¡¯s chest. Getting a feel for the energy the orc was giving off, he thought the Concept was related to some form of physical strength.

    Nick leaped over the maul¡¯s swing, and his chains rose up and wrapped around the orc¡¯s body like serpents, coiling around his limbs and linking. The orc¡¯s body began freezing over rapidly as it tried to break its bindings, and Nick was shocked at how effective the chains became as he imposed his will.

    One had also gone to each of the reptiles, and he was pulling his weight in his ally¡¯s fights even as he focused on the orc as chains wrapped around a single limb and restricted them.

    But the orc drew in essence from the surrounding area, his body covered in a ragelike essence. With a roar, the chains shattered as he spread his arms, and then the orc once again continued his assault against Nick with his maul.

    Fang howled as she triggered her own Concept Fragment, and suddenly, Nick was empowered with Luna¡¯s connection. Eirwen¡¯s arrow glittering stardust shot over the party and into the enemy archer, and Nick could feel his body being enhanced by one effect after another.

    The orc struggled against Nick¡¯s domain, and while he had removed those chains by shattering them, he was still slowed by the frost¨Cit wasn¡¯t removed by the ability, the enemy still chilled to nearly the bone. Nick had no problems parrying and striking the orc back, cutting through the warrior¡¯s armor and into his flesh, sending more freezing energy inside.

    The mage had sent out a blast of flames from his staff, but Luna used her new skill and covered everyone with a flaming shield spell. A beam of light suddenly blasted at Jeffrey, but his body reflected the attack around the reptile she was fighting and into the mage, sending him flying.

    As the wounds piled up on the orc and Nick¡¯s allies were proving their superiority, he felt vindication in the choices of his Path. Facing against enemies with Concepts of your own and winning was like proving yourself to the world of Orion itself.

    Nick¡¯s domain of Frost and Fealty was inexorable, capable of bringing a cold death to any that stood in his way. Meanwhile, it had controlled the battlefield just as he had hoped, his allies getting advantages against their respective enemies thanks to his Aura. As Nick continued his fight against the orc, he tried to push this feeling into his fighting style.

    His father had also utilized a form of control with his style of fighting. Using his will and talent, he guided the enemy¡¯s blade just where he wanted it, a special pull on reality from his Concept.

    Nick would accomplish the same, just differently. Through the chains of his loyal brethren and the blistering cold, he would control their actions. Then with his large blade and Archaen superiority, he would dismantle them.

    The power of control. In his dominion of frost, none would find an advantage against his family, unless he fell. And as master of the battlefield, enhanced by his loyal subjects and lovers, none could be his match.

    Nick and the orc traded blows, Nick coming out on top of each exchange with ease. His body twisted impossibly to dodge, and his counters struck hard and hastened the freezing of the orc¡¯s body. While there was some form of healing effect within the orc from his essence, it wasn¡¯t able to work against the immense cold.

    The end was near. The orc roared again, his body bulking further, his essence pushed to his limits. Nick pushed his own essence further, his body bulking up as he met the orc warrior¡¯s attack with his Monstrous Blow. Despite the orc¡¯s Concept of Strength, Nick¡¯s blade met the powerful blow and only got pushed back slightly.

    Essence converged around Nick, as he triggered the Grasp of Winter. Chains rose up and twisted into a mighty gauntlet larger than a person, and wrapped around the orc. His body started to freeze over rapidly, but Nick dashed and thrust his blade at the orc, his Soul Blade of white light piercing the restricted orc¡¯s skull.

    The orc wasn¡¯t the first to die. Fang and Kaya had worked down one of the reptiles rapidly, and had joined Jasper and Birdy on theirs. It turned out the reptiles had some sort of sharpness Concept, which when added to their claws, made their attacks even more deadly.

    But Fang¡¯s ice-covered armor and shield managed to withstand the blows, regrowing any ice lost. And Kaya¡¯s axes, powered by her own sharpness Concept, cut through the slowed creature¡¯s frozen limb, debilitating it.

    Sable had hunted the archer, eventually using her wraith form and bursting out of the shadows and wounding him significantly with her shadow-covered spear. Irene and Rebecca had each blasted him and the mage with their light of wisdom, Luna and Eirwen harassing them with ranged spells.

    All had used their Concepts or Convergence skills, pitting them against the enemy¡¯s Concepts. His girls were all Tested, taking down their challenging enemies.

    [Challenge Complete. Reward: Boss Essence, Personalized rewards for each party member.]

    [Personal Reward: Blade Soulforge: Spirit Forge Unlocked.]

    [Majority of Boss Essence to be sent to Concept Chamber for all members with one assigned. Rest period of 4 hours granted for recovery.]

    A new gate had opened up on one of the walls, which at a glance, Nick could see brought them back to the same rest area as before. As for the Boss Essence, only Jeffrey and Irene hadn¡¯t been allocated a Concept Chamber as of yet, and so they were cultivating their essence presently. Nick and the girls all received some, but it wasn¡¯t all that substantial, and wouldn¡¯t take them long to consume it.

    The Spirit Forge was a welcome addition. In a way, it was like being granted 5,000 DP as a reward, as that was the cost of the addon for his Blade Soulforge. After witnessing his father¡¯s spirit in their duel, he had of course looked into it.

    Using the spirit forge, he could slowly coax a spirit to live within the focus, and shape its existence with his will and efforts. Then, once the spirit was ready, it would need to be awakened using the Awakening Array.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    In a way, this was akin to creating a life. But it was like the life of a golem or automaton, a spirit that embodied whatever he hammered into his focus. Eventually, that spirit could become sapient and sentient, but at first, the spirit¡¯s perception of the world of Orion would be quite limited.

    This would allow him to focus his essence and mana within his Soul Blade to embody his Path nearly at the level of a Concept. His Essence Burst was like raw power focused into a beam of light. This would allow him to focus his essence directly into a being that embodied his Dominion of Frost and Fealty, and aid him in battle in more unique ways.

    Looking over his party, Nick was happy to see everyone looking over their gains in their hands, with more than a little pride and excitement. His beast and monsterfolk wives¡¯ tails were all wagging or swaying, and Rebecca and Irene¡¯s wings were fluttering.

    Jeffrey stared mutely at a shield with reflective properties, and Nick thought it was strange. His impression from his Monsterfolk Empathy seemed to gather that it was crying tears of joy. Just why? His body already did that.

    Most received upgraded weapons, and Nick was satisfied with the result. He had previously changed the loot focus of the Ordeal to skills, but realized that this was a waste before they entered for this run.

    A majority of the skills earned outside Classes were not that valuable for the elites of Orion, such as his party. They would be better served by creating their own skills by mastering their essence and auras instead.

    As an example, Nick had nearly mastered jumping on air, removing the need to use the skill, Double Jump. He currently needed the effect from his cloak to aid him. But soon, he¡¯d be able to accomplish it all on his own, without finding and using the skill called [Air Walk].

    When he managed the feat, he would be so much better off¨Cas he¡¯d be easier able to tune the skill and use it in different ways, including scaling it well beyond its original usage easier. In addition, the efficiencies of cost versus performance would be significant.

    It was because of that, that he removed the individual floor rewards to enhance personalized rewards from the Boss floors or on Exit. It was like pooling all the rewards into a single, more powerful reward, rather than one for each floor. Of course, it was abnormal to do much more than five floors on a single run, especially in the second stratum. In the third stratum, it would be more common to do a single floor, two if the Ordeal balanced or tuned the challenge based around endurance or similar.

    Eirwen received a ring, which the Orion system identified as a [Talisman of the Spirits].

    She looked at it with wonder on her finger, her eyes lighting up as she tried to reach out to the elements. ¡°I like this. It seems it helps me connect with spirits of all types. I can even feel Luna¡¯s totems better now.¡±

    Luna received a block of rare wood, which she could carve into a new, special totem. Nick didn¡¯t know a lot about it, but the more magical the wood, the more powerful of a spirit that could live inside, and thus the more spells or effects she might be able to call upon.

    Fang received a new spear, its jagged tip giving off frost energy. Because of her short stature, it more looked like a pike, but ultimately, the spear was only a little longer than average for someone of Nick¡¯s height.

    Irene received an odd tome. At first glance, it seemed a lot like the tomes they had used to train their auras. But instead, with mana infused inside, it created a defensive aura. A small bubble would shimmer around them that reduced incoming damage for party members slightly¨Clike a weak version of Eirwen¡¯s Omnibarrier, that refreshed rapidly.

    She flipped through the pages. ¡°I love it. It¡¯s even got useful knowledge on auras inside!¡± Irene beamed, hugging the tome to her chest.

    Jasmine hummed, looking at her new spear. ¡°Hmm, it takes my petrasilk and light essence well.¡± She shifted it to be covered in stone, and it began emitting light. ¡°Not bad. It¡¯s not a big deal, but it¡¯ll allow me to be more frugal with my Nexus Core¡¯s essence.¡±

    Sable too received a spear compatible with her iceshadow, and Kaya obtained a wicked axe. Rebecca, oddly, received a replacement gem for her staff.

    At the tip of the Bishop¡¯s old staff, was a gem of light and darkness, a strange pearl with a smoky haze.

    When she tried to channel her faith energy into it, since she was lacking darkness, it seemed there was a detriment to her skills and spells, making it harder or take longer for her to finish her attacks¨Ceven the Holy Blow she¡¯d been using. Despite that, such a unique and rare staff, made of superior materials, was still worthwhile to use, so she had continued using it.

    With the replacement gem, it was likely to have a significant effect. Now, she could properly use it to speed up her buildup of certain spells, like the Light of Wisdom.

    She was holding the gem in her hand, looking over it. ¡°What should I do with the old gem? It seems special.¡± Rebecca asked.

    Nick could feel how special the gem was, and it called to him. ¡°Let¡¯s see if Lumos can do anything with it, but we could just hang onto it. You never know, it might become useful later for you.¡±

    Rebecca looked doubtful. ¡°But¡­it¡¯s darkness. I¡¯ll never have any of that.¡±

    ¡°Maybe you won¡¯t, but I have it, and you¡¯re connected to me now¨Cforever. You never know.¡± Nick teased.

    Rebecca blushed, her wings fluttering. ¡°F-Forever¡­¡± She seemed to enjoy the reminder of their Pact.

    He kissed her on the cheek, and that started a cascade of Nick needing to give out head pats and kisses to the rest of his girls, a line forming, the girls all celebrating their victory with Nick.

    ¡°You girls all did great. All of you are able to stand strong on your own. You too, Jeffrey. I saw you get in the face of that archer with your shields. Good work.¡±

    Jeffrey buzzed in response, but Nick could tell he was very proud, somehow.

    Jasmine towered over him, and he flinched in response. ¡°Yeah, good job, Jeffrey. You¡¯ve been doing very well in your duties. I¡¯m proud of you.¡±

    Jeffrey buzzed a response, but now, it seemed worried somehow.

    Kaya looked between the two of them. ¡°What¡¯s the deal with him? Why is he scared of you?¡±

    Rebecca frowned. ¡°I know he¡¯s not the only one, too. Supposedly, others have noticed that all the beetlefolk try to avoid her now.¡±

    Jasmine snorted. ¡°I may have gone a little¡­tough love on the beetlefolk in the Path of Kings Ordeal. The Ordeal also seemed to get a little mad at me since I was carrying them so hard, so I was forced to¡­ improvise with a little friendly fire. My beams of light attacks may have struck them a bit, in order to kill all the enemies sometimes. These guys were sturdy, and I helped heal them up afterward¡­ anyway, I wasn¡¯t all that mean, it¡¯s just, these beetlefolk were a little cowardly and do not do well with stress, I guess. So when I dragged some of them through the last few stages of the Ordeal¡­ literally, a few of them got a little¡­traumatized.¡±

    Nick was more than a little shocked, hearing this. ¡°A little traumatized? You didn¡¯t know what was happening to them?¡±

    Jasmine shook her head. ¡°I really didn¡¯t mean to! They are your precious subjects, how could I wish them harm? I mostly have a watered-down version of your Monsterfolk Empathy. I could tell they weren¡¯t happy with how hard I was pushing them, but I had believed it was for their own good. It wasn¡¯t until we got out that I realized how bad it was, for some of them. Jeffrey here was one of the worst, but it actually made him stronger. He wanted to be safe from my beams of light so bad, his body changed in response! That¡¯s amazing.¡±

    Jeffrey had a thousand eye, thousand yard stare into the distance as his body shook. He clutched his new shield with reverence, as if it would somehow protect him from Jasmine.

    In all, what Jasmine said was all true. In truth, it wouldn¡¯t be possible for her to intentionally be so hateful and torturous to another Pacter that it would traumatize them, as that would be a form of betrayal. It seemed she really stretched the limits of the Soul Pact, however.

    Jasmine sighed, addressing Jeffrey, who was shivering at her gaze. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Jeffrey. I¡¯ll make it up to you and your people, I promise.¡± She turned to Nick. ¡°I felt bad, so I¡¯ve given them tons of essence pearls and delivered them plenty of food, all from my personal efforts¨Cit¡¯s why I took so long to arrive at Silverbrook! All that hunting I do hasn¡¯t been just for me, but for them too. And it has had some positive effects. Some of them have become very motivated, even if it¡¯s just to overcome my tyranny.¡± She chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ve tried to be nice to all of them, but it feels like they are just waiting for the other shoe to drop, perhaps imagining what would happen if I got them alone in the Ordeal again. But the truth is, I can¡¯t even drag them like I did before anymore, now that I know.¡±

    ¡°Damn. Well, it¡¯s good that you¡¯re trying to make things right¡­ Maybe when they can communicate better, you can give them a real apology and sort this out.¡±

    The party finished absorbing the Boss Essence, and Nick reached the 16th level. As Lord, a  large portion of the essence from their overall run would be waiting for him back in his Concept Chamber. That would allow him to refine his Frost Core further and improve his two Concepts alike.

    While the essence he received was enough to move forward, it was not quite perfect for his now diverse needs¨Ca core and two complicated Concepts. If he rushed through the levels too fast without spending some time on his Throne, his foundations would be harmed for when he attempted to ascend to the next stratum.

    And it was the same for Jasmine. Because her progression was focused on the Nexus Core, she would need to wait to return to her Concept Chamber to level up at all. Even refilling it with pure light energy for her Concept¡¯s usage was difficult here in the Ordeal, taking special resources. Only the Boss Essence could really be used to recharge it, hence why she had been frugal about using her beams of light.

    But she was also holding back for another reason. As it stood now, Jasmine was stronger than the rest of their party, even Nick. And it wasn¡¯t just because her petrasilk body was large and strong, or her webbing was overpowered. As soon as she had properly synchronized with her Nexus Core, she was able to manifest her will, demonstrating her mastery over her light Concepts that was far above their current stratum.

    She held back because if she just blasted everything dead with light rays of death, then Nick and everyone would not be Tested. Not only that, but if she carried them in this way, just who knows what the Keeper might do to try to scale the challenge? There was no such thing as a free lunch when it came to the Ordeal, to be rewarded for the opportunities it provided required people to take appropriate risks.

    This was likely why the Ordeal got mad at Jasmine, for carrying the beetlefolk through. It scaled up the Tests so that while she was carrying everyone, they were appropriately put in danger. From the sound of it, Jasmine was swarmed with so many enemies that she had to ignore line of sight in order to kill them all, injuring those she was protecting¨Cbecoming the danger.

    It was for that reason that Jasmine would only use her full power if Nick was at risk of dying. Apparently, up to now, she had only used the beams of light without even infusing her Concept into it, with few exceptions. With how strong her beams already were, the thought was rather chilling.

    This made him feel even better about dealing with Blackthorne in the future, but she was not at her full strength even still. In the second stratum, it was only possible to reach the middle mastery, at least with a singular concept. With her talent, she could probably blend more than one, however.

    She could actually exceed this middle mastery limitation for a singular attack thanks to her true mastery, but it would shatter her Nexus Core. Whatever power she was able to accomplish, it would only be for a brief instant, unless they reached the third stratum themselves.

    Thankfully, Eirwen who was stuck for now would have much of her earned essence stored in her chamber as well, as she elected to do so before they entered. There was a limit to how much could be stored within her chamber, but once she was ready to proceed with her Class, she should catch up rapidly. Especially with Nick¡¯s Essence Sharing that he provided his wives, which helped keep their progress relatively even as he desired it.

    After resting up for a time in the lounging area, they were eventually ready to continue.

    Nick stood up and addressed the party. ¡°So now it¡¯s time for the second stretch of the Ordeal. We¡¯ve made excellent time, but who knows what¡¯s going to come up next. Each level will make a big difference in Frosthaven¡¯s potential and make our future run simpler, so let¡¯s do the best we can.¡±

 Book 3 - Chapter 29 - The Heroic Test of Might

    Once again, Nick found himself alone with his Soul Servants on the other side of the portal. He was now in a dark cavern, with Birdy and Jasper observing the surroundings.

    ¡°Just us three again, huh. Strange. I wonder if everyone else is by themselves.¡±

    [Test of Teamwork. Your party has been separated, being placed in a challenging position. Fight and navigate the maze to rejoin your party, using your cunning and skills to escape from the chimera trying to devour you, specifically. Test will be considered complete when you reunite with your party successfully, without the chimera in range. Optional Heroic Test of Might: Defeat the Chimera for Substantial Reward.]

    ¡°Chimera? Shit.¡± Nick then groaned as he finished reading the prompt. ¡°And, another Heroic Test.¡± He was getting a bit tired of how the Ordeal truly loved finding ways to send him curveballs, so he tried to look at the bright side. This Test would greatly reward him, and the rest of his party, making it quite the opportunity. A deadly one, but it was what he needed.  ¡°You know what? Bring it.¡±

    Nick studied the cavern he was in. There were three branching paths around him, and he was surprised to see that one of the paths became rather narrow. He doubted that the chimera could possibly fit through.

    So Nick would potentially have other avenues of escape besides just running¨Che could possibly hide, for a time. Still, he was unclear what the best route to take would be.

    He sighed. ¡°Would have been nice if they at least gave me my maid or butler. Oh, that¡¯s right.¡± He closed his eyes, and did his best to sense Jasmine. ¡°Looks like I have a cheat. Can feel where they are, and they¡¯re all together.¡±

    His party was already fighting off enemies, working their way through the caverns toward him¨CJasmine and Eirwen each capable of locating him through their special connections.

    Currently, the enemies they were facing had the reflective skins like the dogs on the fourth floor, so Kaya was needing to be careful with her new axe¡¯s devastating attacks, or she might lose a limb.

    This floor reminded him of the sixth floor a bit, where the party was split up. This time it wasn¡¯t expected that he¡¯d be able to lead, however, and instead, it was up to his party to have the skills needed to find and rescue him in time.

    He would try to take on the chimera on his own, but he already knew they were bad news, thanks to Eirwen and Irene¡¯s discussion. They were in the third stratum at a minimum, and would certainly be a challenge even for his elite party.

    That was a Test of Might. It was a difficult challenge that only the best of the best could accomplish. The rewards for those were substantial, and in a way, it was often even harder than facing a boss. A rare opportunity, but also dangerous.

    Jasper was sniffing the ground, and Nick wasn¡¯t really sure which path to take. From watching his wives through his connection, he could tell the paths were winding and both rose and lowered in elevation. The one that headed closest to their direction wasn¡¯t for sure going to take him to them. Now he kind of wished he had Winny¡¯s Map skill.

    ¡°Well, Birdy, Jasper¨Cwhere do you think the chimera is? Should we just wait here for them to get closer, first?¡±

    It was as if the chimera itself wanted to answer the question because he both heard and felt a reverberating roar. It was coming from the opposite direction of his party, and it did feel like quite the distance away.

    ¡°Hope none of these take me to a dead end. Let¡¯s move.¡±

    Nick leaped on top of Jasper¡¯s back, holding on to his fur behind Birdy. His Frost Warg began its trek through the caves, moving quickly despite the darkness.

    Bats swarmed them suddenly from an adjacent cavern, but Birdy filled them with shards of ice with a mere wave of its staff and an angry chirp. Jasper hardly slowed his movement, and eventually some type of cat leaped down from above, Nick cleaving it with a Blade Wave before it had a chance to do so much as scratch them.

    Other ambush predators and numerous creatures attempted to slow them down as they continued down the cavernous path. But Nick¡¯s Blade Wave combined with Birdy had no trouble slaying any creatures that appeared or would attempt to trail them. He ignored the lost loot, knowing it was important to make the best time he could.

    From watching the remainder of his party, they had it a lot more difficult. Perhaps because there was more of them, the number of enemies that barred their path were larger and more significant in number, or maybe it was because their section of the maze was just more challenging.

    Kaya was a whirling dervish of axes, but some enemies were sturdy and managed to push even her back, given she was trying to save her Concept¡¯s usage. Jasmine used her new spear combined with her weight to pierce thick shells, and then it wasn¡¯t long before Kaya had elemental weapons granted to help her defeat their defenses.

    Nick reached another branching path, only this time with more possible exits, and Nick sighed as he checked his connection once more. He was closer now, but they had a long ways to go.

    Another roar echoed through the cavern, and it sounded closer. It was gaining on them, despite their speed.

    ¡°Damn, just how would someone else manage this? We gotta step up our game. Let¡¯s see if we can watch for a narrow part of the passage, and block it off if we can.¡±

    Jasper continued his run, picking the path heading in the direction of Nick¡¯s party. Eventually, Nick saw a spot where a rock was near the entrance of a tunnel, so he directed Jasper to push it into the path. Then, Birdy froze it with ice, melding the rock with the path before continuing. This only took them a few seconds, and clawing out the boulder would take far longer, Nick imagined.

    They continued on, fighting through various creatures that got in their way, but they were hardly a challenge. He only found one more location where sealing another path made sense to do. As they closed in on their allies, Nick didn¡¯t really want to risk potentially closing off his path to freedom.

    But a roar from the chimera, closer than ever, made him doubt his strategy. ¡°Shit, it¡¯s like we didn¡¯t slow it down at all. Maybe it took better, alternate paths? Hurry it up, Jasper. Burn some essence and pick up the pace.¡±

    Jasper howled, the monstrous essence within him building. He then launched himself, his speed much greater than before. The wolf certainly couldn¡¯t keep this up forever, but it might buy them some more time.

    Nick wondered just how hiding would even work for this damn thing. It felt like it knew right where he was, choosing the perfect path to catch him. Perhaps it was really tuned in order to Test him. Nick had many advantages, and in order to Test him, the challenge would need to be difficult to nearly impossible.

    Watching his party through the connection, he saw they now split into two groups, to increase the likelihood that they found the right path. They were getting closer, and the number of enemies they faced were thinning, it appeared. It was likely they were arriving at his side of the maze of caves.

    As Nick reached the next branching paths, the roar from the monster felt extremely near, the cavern shaking. Before Nick could even decide which path to take, the chimera bolted in from another corridor.

    It looked as Nick knew of chimeras. It was a large lion or cat creature, the size of a smaller city bus. With a snake for a tail and a goat¡¯s torso and head on its back, it matched the Greek mythological creature.

    But his party was still a ways away. Jasmine had broken off and ran alone for speed now, but it¡¯d take her some time. If this was meant to be a major challenge for his entire party, he probably wouldn¡¯t last long on his own, even with Jasper and Birdy¡¯s help.

    So he¡¯d just have to keep running.

    He gave his orders. ¡°Do your best to harass it and slow it down without getting taken out. It¡¯s after me.¡±

    Nick leaped up into the air off of Jasper¡¯s back, and used Double Jump to arrive at the narrow path above.

    With a roar, the chimera ran into the cavern toward him, before shooting a large ball of flame from the lion¡¯s head. Nick tumbled and dashed into the small cave with a roll, the ball missing and striking the top of the cavern.

    The ground shook from the explosion, and seeing that made it clear why their little blockage hadn¡¯t worked very well¨Cperhaps it simply blasted the ice away and pushed the rock in a mere moment.

    With the smoke and dust clearing from the explosion, Nick walked and looked back to see what the creature might do, now that it couldn¡¯t really fit and come after him. Was this how he was supposed to run from it? Just hide in these smaller pathways?

    The chimera was much more interested in chasing Nick than his Soul Servants, even as they pelted it with ice. Jasper was sending lances of ice, while Birdy squawked in anger and sent countless blades of ice into the back of the creature as it began to approach the wall to climb.

    It had some kind of special aura, and its effect was somewhat different from the strange force barrier from the golem he faced. The monster was in the third stratum, which meant that its power over its Concept would toughen it in ways that were difficult to predict.

    In the third stratum, the body would start to become one with one¡¯s concept, no matter what it was.

    Ice seemed to be accumulating, but the creature was largely shrugging it off. With another roar as it spotted Nick at the top, the snake extended from its tail, elongating an impossible amount in pursuit of him.

    ¡°Shit!¡±

    Drawing his shield from his back and using Harden Skin to be safe, he smacked it aside before slicing into the snake with his Soul Blade of white light. To his surprise, the snake¡¯s head was cut off entirely, and it retracted its tail. The decapitated head tried to twist and bite him, but Nick pierced its skull, causing it to disperse into a smoky haze.

    With how easy that was, perhaps it could regenerate rapidly.

    The chimera began to climb up the wall of the cavern in an effort to get closer, but Birdy coated the wall with a thin layer of ice, sending it tumbling to the ground. Birdy laughed with a cawing sound, taunting the creature as it pumped its staff up and down triumphantly.

    Rather than play or watch this game any longer, Nick retreated down the narrow tunnel. He could hear the chimera stomping through the tunnel, and Birdy and Jasper with their squawks and howls as they chased.

    When he reached the other side, Nick groaned. It was like a shortcut to the next section, and it was how he could have gotten much further ahead, if he had ditched Jasper and Birdy. But how could he have known? Perhaps he should have sent them to harass it from the beginning.

    He could still hear Jasper and Birdy harassing the chimera as it chased him, so he continued down the path most likely to reach his party. He felt that Jasmine was getting very close, having barreled through the cavern, ignoring all the enemies in her way.

    And Nick was not slower than Jasper the Frostwarg in a sprint. With his essence chains, his body bulked up as he dashed through the corridors toward her.

    Continuing down the paths, Nick slayed enemies effortlessly as he moved through rapidly. He used his essence while only holding back on his Concept, wanting to make sure he had enough in the tank for when they turned around and fought.

    Reaching the next series of branching paths, Nick was happy to see Jasmine ready for him.

    She smiled in triumph, as a webbing shot out from her wrist and landed on his chest. ¡°Master! There you are. Yoink!¡±

    The chimera had stormed into the room, spotting Nick¨Cjust as he got tugged away by Jasmine¡¯s webbing, and into the next cavern. She blurred through the passage with him stuck to her back, even as creatures attempted to nip at her rock-covered legs.

    She ignored them and rushed to the next cave, and he could tell she was even faster than Jasper was, her spider body traversing the diverse terrain effortlessly. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    When they arrived in the next branching cavern, his wives were all waiting, and arches rose from the ground.

    [Test Complete. Continue to the next floor? Enter the portal and arrive in the Safe Zone, rejecting Heroic Test of Might.]

    Fang banged her new spear against her shield. ¡°We¡¯re doing this, right? Let¡¯s beat this jerky cat for trying to kill Boss!¡±

    Kaya brandished her new axe. ¡°It¡¯ll be a tough battle, but if we win, the rewards will be significant.¡±

    Nick said,  ¡°You girls really surprised me in that last Boss battle, beating the challenge effortlessly. We came here to be Tested, and the usual challenge is just not enough for us. Let¡¯s do this.¡±

    When the chimera stormed into the room, his party was spread out and ready.

    Rebecca and Irene¡¯s Light of Wisdom orbs were floating above them, along with Jasmine¡¯s own orb of light. The three orbs shot out their blasts of light, and Sable and Eirwen shot their bows. Nick had donned his Cloak of Twilight, standing next to Fang and Jasmine at the front, with Kaya to his right and Luna to his left.

    Luna¡¯s totems pulsed, granting him the strength of the earth and a flaming barrier, ready to protect them from the chimera¡¯s fiery breath.

    The chimera roared in response, but rather than breathe flames, it slashed its paw out.

    There was a blur around the creature¡¯s paw, and it looked like there were a thousand cutting knives floating around it¨Clike a river of knives. A wave of gray was released from the paw, and it slashed through the oncoming attacks before continuing toward Nick.

    The wave had been reduced by the attacks, and Nick, Jasmine, and Fang held their shields together, each covered in essence. The river of blades struck and parted around, as Nick and the girls got knocked back slightly. A few blades managed to sneak by and strike their armors, but their essence protection was enough beyond a few minor cuts.

    Their shields had all been cut with deep scratches¨Cthe sharpness of the creature¡¯s Concept was powerful.

    The goat on its back then bleated, its gaze turning to Nick, and the snake did the same move as before, stretching as it came for him as the chimera burst toward him.

    ¡°Looks like this thing still wants me.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t have Boss!¡± Fang said, then she howled and rushed toward the chimera along with Jasmine.

    Nick and Kaya were not far behind, and he could feel that Kaya was already building up toward her Charged Strike. Her new Convergence Skill which was like a whirlwind of her cutting essence likely wouldn¡¯t be useful in this battle, but her Concept was deadly and direct.

    He sent a few Blade Waves at the monster, but it dashed left and right in its approach, avoiding them as Jasmine and Fang reached it. Despite the monster¡¯s large size, it was swift and nimble.

    Jasmine¡¯s polearm struck the monster first, drawing a small amount of blood. As the blade struck, however, Nick saw the stone which she grew around the tip had chipped off. It wasn¡¯t the monster¡¯s hardness, but this odd barrier that was surrounding the creature. Like it was protected by an invisible cutting edge.

    The same thing happened to Fang¡¯s spear a moment later, which sent shards of ice scattering around it. In retaliation, the chimera swiped at Jasmine, but she met its blow with her shield covered in stonelight, which somewhat blinded the creature. She got knocked back slightly from the chimera¡¯s blow, but continued her attacks with her weapon.

    When Nick reached the chimera, he could feel the oppressive weight of the monster¡¯s Concepts. While it had a strange cutting one, there was more. A vile curse of some kind lied in wait, and its flames would burn with intense heat.

    He slashed with his sword at the monster¡¯s chest, its head above where he could reach from the ground. As his blade connected, he felt the resistance of the Concept. His blade still dug in, sending cold into its flesh, but the attack didn¡¯t reach anything important¨Ceven without the cutting edge, the monster¡¯s hide and muscle beneath it was thick and sturdy. Monsters often had stronger bodies, and ones with powerful bloodlines like this one were even more substantially so.

    Nick¡¯s Frost Aura was completely ignored, and he knew that even if he had chosen to use his will to enhance it, the effect would be minimal. The enemy was just that much stronger, each of its three Concepts above theirs.

    The goat¡¯s gaze landed on Nick, its eyes billowing with darkness and hate from above and behind the lion¡¯s head. Eirwen was ready for this, it seemed, as an Omnibarrier glittering stardust surrounded him.

    He covered himself with his white cloak with a flourish of his hand, before black light wrapped around him nearly instantly. This curse targeted his core being, at some level attacking the essence of him and his very soul.

    Despite their efforts, Nick felt the effects of the curse as it burrowed its way through his defenses. He was drastically weakened, his body filled with lethargy, his vitality draining from him.

    The snake then whipped wildly from the back of the lion, zigzagging around and between his nearby allies, and he could see the snake was covered by the same darkness. At this moment, he understood that these two attacks were linked. Those hit by the curse then bitten by the snake would surely die.

    But Nick wasn¡¯t weakened as much as he should have been, thanks to Eirwen and his Cloak¡¯s efforts. Drawing out his Heroic Concept, his body was infused with power. His blade bisected the snake¡¯s head with a strong swing.

    The chimera howled in pain as it lost this creature¡¯s head, and Nick could see the smoky haze returning to the back of the monster, to reform the snake¡¯s head.

    Sable and Eirwen¡¯s arrows each struck the goat¡¯s head, and a similar scene played out¨Cthe goat torso and head dispersing into a smoky haze. It looked like by keeping the creature¡¯s heads destroyed, they could keep it from using its deadly combination. Alone, however, the snake or the goat weren¡¯t difficult to manage.

    He voiced his thoughts, ¡°Keep the goat head dead if you can. If I¡¯m hit by the curse and the snake, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll live.¡±

    The chimera then breathed a burst of flame at Nick, but Fang¡¯s shield of frost appeared in front of him, taking the brunt of the blast as she stabbed into its nearby leg. Luna¡¯s fiery barrier covered him through their connection, her Concept Fragment helping.

    The barrier absorbed the remaining fiery energies after Fang¡¯s ice barrier shattered, even as the Concept enhanced the flame, causing it to burn exceptionally hot.

    The air in the cavern heated up, the air becoming too hot to even breathe, and it was definitely at or above the levels of the Lava Elemental they faced. Those forced to stay near in the melee protected themselves with their auras, able to stay in the fight.

    Kaya¡¯s axes each cut into the monster¡¯s rear, cutting deeply into its hind leg with her Concept, as she swung and spun, her three tails adding onto her number of cuts to the monster. Jasper, with a very angry, squawking Birdy, barreled into its other leg, knocking it off balance. The pair finally caught up to the much faster chimera, ice spreading into its body.

    ¡°This thing¡¯s hide is crazy strong, and it¡¯s healing fast!¡± Kaya shouted from the other side, and Nick could see that she was right. The cuts Nick had managed were already healing over, the frost being repelled as well.

    He tried to wrap his chains around the chimera, but found without his Concept, it was even worse than the force golem he faced¨Clike sending them into a wood-chipper. The chains shattered into shards of ice nearly on contact. He would try to twist them together like he had learned, but he would save them for a critical moment.

    Jasmine had fired some webbing around the large beast, but it didn¡¯t seem her more physical webbing could latch on thanks to its aura.

    The curse of weakness seemed to wear off not long after the goat had died, so Nick tried to do as much damage as he could in a short time, pushing his Concept, and continuing through the stanzas of his Ideal. His blade cut the flesh of the enemy, sending chilling energy through its body as he spun and twisted, slashing into it several times.

    The party had the chimera surrounded, but its odd healing capabilities nearly kept up with the damage they were doing. It swung its claws wide as Nick dodged or parried using his sword and cloak, and the sea of knives aura was sent out in wide arcs, striking all but him.

    Each of those near protected themselves with their essence as best they could, but cuts were scored along their armor. Rebecca and Irene kept to the outskirts of the battle, the two swooping near enough to reach them with their healing.

    The chimera moved deftly, dashing between his allies and sending out bursts of flame toward Nick or trying to bite and claw him. Jasmine and Fang each met claw strikes with their shields as they continued to try to wound the sturdy beast, and Nick reached the fourth stanza of his Ideal, and the goat and snake finished materializing.

    The chimera roared, and it felt like it wanted to take Nick down quickly. Surging forth, the chimera brought its claw down on Nick, once again covered in its dangerous sharpness. Nick¡¯s Monstrous Blow triggered as he was covered in stardust from Eirwen¡¯s arrow striking the goat, and Luna¡¯s connection pulsed, his arms bulking to a near comical level¨Cit appeared somehow, their abilities improving the effectiveness of his traits stacked.

    With a shout, Nick¡¯s swing backed by his Heroic Concept met the incoming paw, and sliced off several fingers at once and biting into its front paw, deflecting it to the side. It groaned in pain, before Jasmine crashed into it from the side, using all her weight and strength, her spear piercing deeply into its shoulder.

    The light on the end of her spear brightened, sending piercing light into its body and Sable finished off the goat, before it could complete building up its unavoidable curse with a well-aimed shot of her bow, and Kaya cut off the snake¡¯s tail.

    The chimera roared and battered Jasmine away with its other paw, and leaped with its hind legs forward, clawing toward Nick. Fang had built up and then used her Convergence Skill, becoming a giant ball of ice and crashed into the monster, sending it to the side away from Nick. She then howled, shattering and sending as much ice from the surrounding area into the monster as she could, stabbing out with her long spear repeatedly into its flesh.

    Birdy and Jasper added more ice in their attacks, the shards stabbing into the chimera¡¯s back. Eirwen and Luna¡¯s lances of ice pierced into the creature as well, and Sable had entered Nick¡¯s shadow, getting ready for her deadly hunt. Wounds were now truly building up, frost spreading across its body from the party¡¯s efforts.

    And now, Rebecca and Irene¡¯s Blessing arrived at Nick, filling him with Seraphara¡¯s Faith. It joined the muscles in his body, already enhanced by his Cloak of Twilight and bursting with light and dark essence from his Concept and Ideal.

    Everyone was doing all they could to wound this thing, so Nick channeled what he needed into his Soul Blade to trigger Essence Burst. He pushed some of his Heroic Concept inside, and found that some of it took, along with much of the faith energy and his wives¡¯ devotion energy billowing inside him.

    He raised his Soul Blade above his head, readying himself to use Blade Wave. Nick also added everything that was in his necklace, pushing his mental energy to the maximum.

    Sensing the power behind Nick¡¯s attack, the chimera roared as its weight on the world became heavier, its body billowing with essence and laced with its will. It then breathed out its powerful flames, which gathered into a sphere in front of it. It then slashed into the flames with its good paw, just as Nick swung down, releasing his Essence-Burst-Enhanced Blade Wave.

    Flaming knives exploded out in an arc sending them at Nick¡¯s party, and Jasmine sent out a glimmering curtain of stonelight, laced with something he hadn¡¯t felt before.

    His body was covered with goosebumps, and he felt like if he touched that curtain, he would be consumed, body and soul. A light that annihilated anything, reducing it to nothing but a soul, dust, or plasma¨Cfood for a monster, cooked and ready to be devoured.

    Given that her Nexus Core didn¡¯t shatter, he realized, while it was probably several Concepts of Light¨Cperhaps Monstrous Light¨Call at once, she had still restricted things to their stratum in magnitude. That she had done it to protect his wives, rather than just eliminate the Boss, showed she was merely tipping the scales lightly with her action.

    Like a mirror of Nick¡¯s original downward swing, his attack met the chimera¡¯s explosive fan of blades, Nick¡¯s Essence Burst cutting through the core of the attack and striking the chimera¡¯s chest. The area around its head had dense shards of knives and flames, so his blade of light did little more than scratch its face. The blade striking its chest down the center pierced deeply, however, the monster giving a pained wail as it was pushed back.

    Meanwhile, Jasmine¡¯s curtain caught a large portion of the flaming blades in a spread close to the creature. However, it didn¡¯t catch them all. Many of these knives skirted the edge of the curtain, going wide. Flaming knives pierced into Nick¡¯s allies that were on the outskirts of the battlefield, the girls giving off pained shouts, even as Irene¡¯s bubbles from her new tome and Luna¡¯s fiery shields protected them.

    It seemed Irene had nearly got the worst of it, but Jeffrey was ready with his shields, protecting her from several knives stabbing into her. Birdy and Jasper had defended themselves, but continued blasting the chimera with freezing cold from behind.

    Roaring as her body enlarged further from behind the chimera, Kaya released her Charged Strike, swinging her axe down powerfully from above the now prone lion. The feral essence infused with pure sharpness on her axe blasted through the creature¡¯s shoulder, shearing off its arm and cutting deeply into its chest.

    The monster¡¯s Concepts were diminished now that it had expended them, and so now Nick¡¯s twined chains could finally wrap around its heavily wounded body. His chains pinned the chimera¡¯s hind legs together and to the ground, keeping the monster¡¯s body prone to the ground as it was about to give an angry roar, flames gathering in its throat, and darkness was rising around where the goat and snake¡¯s body were coalescing.

    But then Sable used her skill, rising from the shadows behind the chimera, caused by Nick¡¯s bright white light. Her spear coated in an immense amount of darkness and cold pierced through the monster¡¯s wounded chest, destroying the monster¡¯s Core. The light left its eyes, the monster defeated.

    Nick looked warily at where the goat¡¯s haze would gather, ready to blast it with a Frost Shock. But the shadows dispersed, and the body remained unmoving.

    ¡°Fuck. The one time I was ready, it didn¡¯t have a die move, huh.¡±

    The chimera truly defeated, Nick let out a pleased sigh as he put away his Soul Blade. Irene and Rebecca rushed over to those wounded by the chimera¡¯s last attack, healing and removing the flames from their pierced bodies. The Concept from the chimera made the wounds difficult to heal, but thankfully the knife-like blades were relatively small and thin.

    Still, Rebecca got some work with her Sacrificial Concept, erasing the blades and enabling her to heal them with ease. The Concept might have been born by her being willing to give her all to help Nick, but it was able to be used for other¡¯s sake as well.

    [Heroic Test of Might Completed. Party Reward: Enhanced DP Reward, Personal Reward: Minor Tempering and Trait Enhancement, Boss Essence. Bonus Safe Zone provided on the next floor on entry.]

    While the reward for the climb of the Path of Kings was to pool the rewards for Exit, he had found that he was not allowed to tweak the Hero¡¯s Path Ordeal at all. It gave the rewards when it felt like it, and the challenge was at the level that Orion decided.

    Nick and his whole party were bathed in mysterious energies, a trait improved for each person. When that happened, several things seemed to occur at once. He felt a connection to his Soul Blade improved, but also his connection to Eirwen, and his Wolfen girls.

    [Enhanced Soul Blade Connection Trait Improved to: Soul Blade Resonance, +2 Body, +5 Soul]

    [Your connection to your Soul Blade has improved, to allow for even more malleability within the blade. It also allows you to perform light telekinesis and keep the blade powered away from your body, enabling you to throw it and return it to you. In addition, this trait allows a greater connection to your Soul Blade during Soulforging, extending this connection to the spirit inside the Focus.]

    Nick fell to his knees, exhausted. They had won, and they had all become more as a result.

 Book 3 - Chapter 30 - The Test of Supremacy

    Eirwen Looted the chimera, and then they dragged themselves through the portal. Once again, only Jeffrey and Irene would gain much from the Boss Essence at the moment, and they were provided plenty to work through.

    Arriving in the next floor¡¯s Safe Zone, Nick let out a happy sigh as his party walked in and he looked over where it put them for six hours of rest. It was as if the Ordeal were rewarding them by giving them a taste of their home.

    There was no place he¡¯d rather rest than in their own house, though he knew it wasn¡¯t quite the same.

    Vi wasn¡¯t available, after all, and the fridge was empty. The hallway was cut off, and they only had access to his room and shower, along with a guest room for Irene and Jeffrey, but it was still a home-shaped-place.

    Everyone shrugged off their equipment, switching to their at-home clothing. For Rebecca and Irene this just meant removing the inner layer of leather armor, but for the rest either wore sun dresses or workout attire.

    Looking over what his girls had gained from the Heroic Test of Might, the idea that his Wolfen girl¡¯s Mated trait was the one that was improved felt a bit silly. Still, it was a good trait, and being enhanced had boosted what was already there.

    The trait reinforced their actions with ambient essence when they were near Nick, their mate. Then, it had also improved their proficiency with soul and ice magic, so that was also improved by the enhancement.

    But there was a little more¨Cit seemed the slight connection Luna or Eirwen had was now one that Fang and Sable would now enjoy, and Luna¡¯s had been improved further.

    Eirwen¡¯s Soul Pact Connection upgraded as well, and now it was like he could always feel her and Luna just like Jasmine. For Winny, the special single spell per day that could even be cast from outside the Ordeal would now be boosted, so her ability to aid him had improved yet again.

    Rebecca looked over how happy the Wolfen girls were, bouncing as Nick laughed and rewarded them with ear scratches, the girls beaming about their improved pack connection. She touched her ice lotus necklace. ¡°I feel a little left out. I too would like this¡­special connection to you.¡±

    ¡°Aww, Becca.¡± Nick hugged her from behind, and held her hand in his, which he knew would remind her of their many dates and their night together. It scrunched her wings a little, but he knew it didn¡¯t make her uncomfortable. ¡°You and I got our own special things, we had our moments together. You don¡¯t need to compare, do you? They are different, but no less special.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. I did just get this Devotion Core¡­ perhaps some day.¡±

    Jasmine started removing her armor, getting changed into her Maid outfit. ¡°Do not worry, Becca. I do believe once Master learns what¡¯s possible with his Soul Magic, he may be able to improve your connections at will. I know there is an assortment of spells that he is currently unable to use. Soon, he should have a lot of utility, once he learns what¡¯s possible in the Ancestral Archives.¡±

    Irene perked up at the mention of the Ancestral Archives. ¡°Oh, goody. I can¡¯t wait! Do we really have to do another floor? Getting 11 to 16 done in a single run is good enough, isn¡¯t it?¡± Irene laid down on her side with her head propped up by her hand, floating a few inches into the air above the couch, already relaxing as she flipped through her aura book again.

    Nick chuckled¨Cto think the daughter was the more diligent one. ¡°The 17th was the low-end of my goal. If the next stage takes more than a week, I think heading back after its completion will be the plan, though. We¡¯ll simply train more outside of the Ordeal prior to our assault on Shadowvale.¡±

    Irene pouted. ¡°Aww. I guess that¡¯s why you¡¯re the hero¨Cso hard-working! It¡¯s no wonder you¡¯ve progressed so quickly. You¡¯re Tested on a higher level, thanks to your personal efforts, the Path of Kings, and the three other Ordeals in Frosthaven. I¡¯m a bit worried about Tribulations, but I can tell you are working hard to prepare for those as well.¡±

    Kaya replied, ¡°Orion¡¯s Tribulations matter little if Blackthorne and a large army of bandits shows up. Everything Nick has done has been in preparation for that. If a Tribulation comes before then, it¡¯ll be risky for us, but it¡¯ll only help us prepare for Blackthorne even more.¡±

    Rebecca seemed a little worried, her wings fluttering. ¡°I worry about innocents being harmed in Frosthaven if a Tribulation happened, but you¡¯re right. The one that hit Zura had many casualties, but those who survived had gained a lot. We¡¯ll just have to do our best to protect those who cannot defend themselves.¡±

    Kaya shrugged. ¡°The people of Frosthaven are used to hardship at this point. But Renzou will help with that, and so will the orcs and the wolfen. We have quite the wide variety of people in Frosthaven now, and many of them are quite capable.¡±

    Rebecca nodded with a smile. ¡°It is reassuring, the allies we¡¯ve gained. Zura used to be a singular people, but now they¡¯ve joined a much more diverse community.¡±

    Eirwen brought out snacks, and Jasmine, Eirwen, and Luna worked to heat up some food. They recovered their essence, and Nick was a bit surprised to see that Jeffrey grew larger as a result of the Boss Essence, and perhaps his trait being improved.

    Jasmine and Eirwen had spent time repairing their equipment, so after eating, Nick and his wives used their time relaxing and enjoying one another¡¯s proximity until they headed to bed to rest. They didn¡¯t have that much time for much else.

    They needed to be at their best in the Ordeal, and that meant maximizing their rest.

    As they prepared by the exit portal, putting back on their equipment, Nick couldn¡¯t help but sigh. ¡°The Ordeal has gone quickly, but they sure haven¡¯t given us that much time to rest.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s probably a large part of the challenge, but you¡¯re not usually meant to persist past the 15th Floor. Normally, it¡¯d be expected you do it all in one go from there. In some cases, it might prevent you from entering earlier or later than an intended floor. Other times, it will compensate for the difficulty, keeping in mind that you should be fully rested.¡±

    The party entered the portal, coming out on the other side.

    A wave of memories and details washed over the party, as they were deposited at the top of a canyon, overlooking a stunning landscape covered by a transparent domed barrier.

    Suddenly, a small pouch appeared on each of their belts.

    [Test of Supremacy. Four warring kingdoms historically came into Conflict over the Valley of Resplendence. Your party has replaced one of the four kingdoms. Your goal is to win the Conflict by scoring the most points in the challenge before the end of a single month. Gain points by defeating monsters, competitors, collecting special resources, and most importantly, the final prize released near the end of the challenge in one month¡¯s time at the center of the valley. Collecting this treasure does not guarantee victory, but the competition for it often will. Treasures will be collected within a limitless spatial pouch, and when competitors are eliminated, their points and contents will be gathered within your pouch.

    A weekly leaderboard will display the current positions, and Conflict is recommended and encouraged¨Cyou will be unable to communicate with the other kingdoms in any way, and defeating members of the enemy kingdoms will provide substantial bonuses. Should you become the victor, you may keep the treasures collected, to be withdrawn from your special pouches. If you are forced to flee and leave the valley or lose, your treasures will be significantly reduced. Becoming the last kingdom standing will release the final treasure early.]

    [Competition begins in 5 minutes.]

    Nick looked over the prompt with interest, even as he scanned the diverse landscape, the valley beneath them. There were lakes and rivers, mountains and caves on the cliff faces, and even a swamp.

    It was massive, and his new memories told him that the valley was hundreds of miles long and wide. It was an odd pocket realm, which was meant to only open once every few decades, gathering abundant essence from the surrounding areas.

    Orion had created the treasure-filled valley for the neighboring kingdoms to fight over it, a unique event where the kingdom¡¯s people would be Tested and rewarded with access to unique resources.

    While the valley was chock-full of unique treasures and opportunities, it was also teeming with monsters. Like the dinosaur of the mists they faced previously, natural treasures and special environments would attract monsters that benefitted from it. Often, they would form symbiotic relationships with the natural treasure, until they reached a point where they could consume it and ascend.

    ¡°The 17th Floor sure is something else. Will our other climbers that reach here get a level like this?¡± Nick was a bit stunned by the scale and scope of the level, along with what it might mean for his kingdom once he won, and returned home with many unique objects.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

    Irene replied, ¡°Since you¡¯re the Lord of the Ordeal, you get the special treatment in terms of a challenge¡¯s risk versus reward. Others will get a watered-down version, likely a different conflict altogether. But it will still be a Test of Supremacy, so they will be forced to face other mirrors of ancient cultivators for rewards and victory.¡±

    Kaya hefted her axe onto her shoulder. ¡°This sounds valuable. A whole month, huh? That¡¯s a long time to be keeping one eye open when we sleep. It¡¯s a good thing we need less now.¡±

    Sable noted, ¡°The essence is dense here, too. In a whole month, we may be able to gain two whole levels if we focused on it. But there¡¯s also a way to win early.¡±

    Rebecca crinkled her face. ¡°It helps that they aren¡¯t truly real, but I would enjoy it a whle lot more if a more peaceful path was possible.¡±

    While they had been given light details in their minds, they were not given enough knowledge about how they might convince another kingdom to work together. The only options for this Test were likely avoidance through stealth or inaction, or facing the enemy parties.

    Jasmine chuckled, as she began taking out chairs from her pouch. ¡°Sorry, Becca. But this Test is definitely set up to be a PvP match¨Cwhich means player versus player, though it would be Kingdom versus Kingdom in this case. It¡¯s clear that those that focus on hunting other competitors are going to come out ahead in this one.¡±

    Irene said, ¡°Orion¡¯s many Tests and Trials don¡¯t always provide a path to peace. I¡¯m interested to see how our hero finds it when given the chance. Seraphara would prefer you seek victory through non-aggression if our competitors were alive and not just echoes of the past.¡±

    Nick thought about it for a moment. ¡°I think it would depend on the cost or risk of those participating. In general, I would rather rob the robbers and kill the killers. Those that don¡¯t contend for the limited competition resources directly, I¡¯d be fine with leaving alone¨Cso long as a loss of the competition does not mean death for me and my people. Otherwise, I¡¯d have to go hard and defeat and rob innocents if I must. I¡¯d be quite angry at Orion for pitting me against them like that in a zero-sum game, though.¡±

    Rebecca shook her head. ¡°In a competition between cultivators, Orion always leaves a path to retreat. Even in this one, you can see what it provided. In Frosthaven, once our Control Radius grows, we will be pitted against different kingdoms, even Silverbrook.¡±

    Nick didn¡¯t think much would change quickly on that front. ¡°We¡¯re a bit away from everyone on the frontier. After we¡¯ve dealt with Blackthorne, our borders can spread far and wide. I suppose with him gone, we may see other kingdoms pushing their borders toward us, or new kingdoms appear altogether. At that time, I¡¯d be happy to work with others rather than become a conqueror¨Cprovided they can be worked with, like with Silverbrook.¡±

    Fang¡¯s tail had been wagging, looking over the valley through the bubble. ¡°This thing goes down soon. So, what¡¯s the plan, Boss? We going to fight everybody?¡±

    Nick chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s as Jasmine said. The focus is definitely going to be on hunting others. But hunting others in the first week is likely a waste. If we take them out early, then that means more work for us¨Cwe¡¯ll have to collect what they didn¡¯t, or we¡¯d never collect it at all and run out of time.¡±

    He continued, ¡°It seems we¡¯re being released on the South end of the valley, and each Kingdom will enter from the other ends. Let¡¯s explore as we head toward the center, and get the lay of the land first. After about a week and a half, we¡¯ll go on the hunt instead. Searching such a vast wilderness will take time, but with Winny and Sable¡¯s scouting, and Jasper and Jasmine¡¯s mobility, we should end up on top quickly.¡±

    Jasmine finished constructing her carriage at the top of her spider body for Nick, Kaya, Eirwen, and Rebecca. Irene had actually joined Rebecca without issue, the two cozying up beside each other in the back. Jeffrey would be able to fly on his own and keep up.

    The barrier disappeared, and Eirwen immediately began casting her spells, speaking with the elemental essence of the area.

    ¡°My, there sure is a lot going on down there. Not as busy as that elemental jungle, but there¡¯s quite a bit of special areas, and a lot of monsters. Let¡¯s head over to that small mountain over there first? There¡¯s something there.¡± She pointed into the distance, a craggy rock that overlooked the jungle, and birds could be seen flying to roosts high up on the rock.

    Nick nodded, then hopped up on his spot on Jasmine¡¯s back. ¡°Let¡¯s do it. First treasure, coming right up!¡±

    Jasper and Jasmine made their way down the canyon with their riders on their backs.

    Sable didn¡¯t join Birdy, Luna, and Fang on Jasper¡¯s back. She skated on the shadows, leaping through the air and continued on tree branches just the same, effortlessly. They followed Eirwen¡¯s guidance, heading down to the mountain.

    It took time to travel several miles to reach the base of it, and they were forced to stop and fight multiple times as territorial beasts came out of the woodwork to stop their trespass.

    When Winny looted them, Fang noticed something.

    Fang pointed, ¡°There¡¯s a number on your pouch now, Winny.¡±

    Nick saw the number, a green 12. His own read 2, but it was a different color, red, he assumed his split from the killing of the monsters. ¡°Ah, this must be that score. So we¡¯ll be able to know at a glance who has loot to be stolen, I guess. Either way, we get a person¡¯s points when we kill ¡®em, plus a bonus, it sounded like.¡±

    But the beasts were just added to the loot bags as they provided no difficulty, and they eventually arrived at the location of the treasure Eirwen had detected.

    Irene said, ¡°I can feel something special here. It¡¯s not within a cave underground, but up the mountain instead.¡±

    Sable appeared from the shadows beside them. ¡°Yes. It smells like life¡­ I see numerous special flowers growing on this mountain.¡±

    They ascended the mountain, Jasmine and Jasper climbing the cliff faces with their passengers with relative ease. As they climbed, the birds began to flock together, circling the mountain at its peak. It made Birdy mad for some reason, to the point where Nick wanted to tell it to shut up. It was squawking angrily, and looking over at its face, he was a bit shocked.

    Birdy was jealous of their flight. Having the body it wanted.

    As they neared the summit, the birds began their attack. But Jasmine blinded much of them with her light, before Birdy sent a powerful ray of frost. Even those not struck by the beam began to freeze over, and went tumbling to the ground.

    Nick was a bit surprised at the efficacy, but it was only natural that the demon continued to get stronger. Jasper had gotten even larger as their delve through the Path of Kings continued, and he was getting a bit excited about what would happen once it reached the third stratum.

    When they reached the summit, Nick was surprised to find an angry hippogryph waiting there. The horse-eagle creature stormed forward covered with wind just s they did, ready to blast them off the cliff.

    But Nick¡¯s party was not easy to get rid of. Fang had leaped in front of them with her ice armor, anchoring herself to the mountain with her cleats, and creating her ice shield in front of them. The hippogryph crashed into the shield, and the vortex of wind around it was like that of a hurricane, sending blasting winds around them.

    Jasper had locked itself down with its claws and ice, and Birdy squawked angrily once more.

    Jasmine had anchored herself with webbing and dug in with her eight legs, while everyone had no issues holding on to their seats until the wind passed. Sable similarly anchored herself in the shadows, and started building up iceshadow, preparing her spear to wound and take down the large monster.

    The dangerous winds relented, Nick leaped off his seat and pushed out his Frost Aura with his will, including his Dominion of Frost and Fealty, followed up by sending several Blade Waves at the creature.

    The hippogryph cawed in anger, and sent wind like bullets in counter as his party split up, preparing to take on the monster. As Nick¡¯s Blade Waves were destroyed by the wind bullets, Luna¡¯s totems pulsed, granting them protection from the winds and the strength of the earth. Kaya sent a powerful swipe of her axe, her Essence Carry sending it through its barrier of winds and cutting into its wing.

    It screeched in anger as it was wounded, and the wind on the summit changed once again.

    ¡°So many birds incoming!¡± Sable shouted.

    Luna, Eirwen, Birdy and Jasper all began to build up a wall of ice to hide behind, using Nick¡¯s created ice and plenty of their own.

    The birds began swooping down the vortex created by the powerful wind, the birds becoming like bullets fired from a gun¡­and crashing into the hastily formed barrier, while some managed to veer away in time. Some chunks of ice were removed by their talons, but the four ice users replenished the barrier.

    Sable appeared in the monster¡¯s shadow, erupting as she pierced into the monster¡¯s chest. It then released an immense amount of life energy, healing the damage and barely surviving as it kicked out at Sable in retaliation.

    Fang¡¯s shield met its blow, followed by Jasmine stabbing into it with her spear, arriving. She wrapped it with her stonelight webbing, and from there, the monster was taken out in short order. The remaining birds were shot down by arrows or fled, leaving dozens of the bird¡¯s corpses littering the summit.

    Despite the monster and the efforts of the birds to defend their home, Nick¡¯s party took them all down effortlessly.

    Rebecca looked at the corpse of the hippogryph. ¡°It¡¯s a real shame we had to kill it. Hippogryphs are such noble creatures.¡±

    Nick couldn¡¯t help but feel a little bad about all the destruction. He felt like quite the bully, busting into the creatures¡¯ homes. The fight wasn¡¯t challenging for them at all, either.

    Irene looked a little down as well, looking at all the destruction. ¡°Such is the nature of a Trial, but it is also simply the law of the jungle at play. It chose to fight rather than flee, after all.¡±

    Eirwen Looted the hippogryph, and took out the resulting monster¡¯s cores. ¡°Wind and life. These are definitely valuable.¡±

    Throughout the summit, there were a ton of bell-like flowers of various colors, drawing up energy from the earth beneath them. Nick could feel the immense amount of life energy trapped inside each one.

    They collected the special life flowers, and gained several hundred more in points. There was an especially powerful plant that appeared to be the oldest, which was placed next to a small cave¨Cthe hippogryph¡¯s den.

    When Eirwen placed it in her spatial pouch, her points jumped up by several hundred all at once.

    Nick couldn¡¯t help but voice that the challenge was low. ¡°Hm, that wasn¡¯t too tough. Will the rest be like that, I wonder?¡±

    Eirwen noted, ¡°It was easy for us, but many others might have had trouble fighting that monster in its den, with a bunch of its friends. A big part of the battle is discovery of these special resources. Maybe there are some hidden things even my elemental spirits can¡¯t find¨Cyou never know.¡±

    Nick hopped back up on Jasmine¡¯s back. ¡°Alright then. Let¡¯s move out, lead us to the next one for now, but be on the lookout for anything special!¡±

    The girls joined him, and they moved on. They had up to a month to find vast amounts of treasure, and they were going to make use of it and win the challenge.

 Book 3 - Chapter 31 - The Hunt for Treasure

    Nick leaped over the scything blade of a mantis, then covered himself with his cloak of darkness, becoming invisible to the monster. As the creature turned, looking for him, he rolled underneath and behind it and pierced it from behind, lifting its entire body off the ground as his Soul Blade froze it.

    As he often did, Nick was practicing utilizing his abilities as they faced off against some monsters¨Ca horde of earthen bugs filled with immense vitality, in this case. He was starting to get the hang of his Cloak of Twilight: Darkness edition, and his new Soul Blade Resonance.

    What originally felt like a small bonus, being able to shift his Soul Blade further, became interesting for his fighting style.

    He could alter his blade to become nearly formless, becoming like a blast of ice from the end of a hose from the edge of his hilt. While this wasn¡¯t powerful, exactly, it was unblockable, and, kinda fun.

    Feeling a mental nudge from Luna, he spun and hosed down some hornets that had swooped in behind him, while he was distracted. Their wings froze, and then they careened to the forest floor with little more than a swipe of his hilt as he dodged out of the way. Then, thinning his blade to that of a rapier and with a few rapid flicks of his wrist, he sent several extremely sharp Blade Waves to slay them on the ground.

    There was a new¡­closeness, to the Soul Blade as well. It was starting to feel like a partner somehow, despite being an object. Or, like a brother or sister, that always had his back. He had always loved his Soul Blade since he originally used it, as it was an amazing sword in all the ways that a sword could be measured.

    It was difficult for him to explain, but it almost felt like he went from the favorite tool level straight to wanting to sleep with it next to his bed¨Cthough he more or less did that anyway. It was weird, how his connection to it shifted.

    Nick knew that the formless blade wasn¡¯t going to be all that useful against Boss-level enemies, but it gave his sword intriguing versatility. And, new combination attacks.

    A giant beetle stormed through a tree behind him, shattering it at its base and sending it tumbling to the side. Dancing on the air, leaping side to side, Nick dodged with his Air Walk, his cloak of darkness billowing around him as he moved out of the way of its reaching mandibles. He did all this while he blasted it with his formless frost from his hilt. Its body was quickly covered in a thick layer of ice, slowing it down and bringing it to a stop.

    Fang howled, her voice echoing through the woods. The ice near Nick starting to vibrate before shattering, shards of ice exploding in different directions. The beetle¡¯s hardened shell was reduced to a green gore, as its chitin was ripped to shreds. With another flick of his wrist with his sharp, thin, sword, his blade sliced into its brain, killing it.

    The bugs in this section of the woods were filled with earthen energy and life, making them difficult to kill. They were sturdy, and they would regenerate quickly if they weren¡¯t completely put down.

    Which also made them great for training. Kaya was pushing her sharpness Concept to the next level, and Luna was watching over their party like the great Pack Mother from her visions, cycling through her totems and supporting them with her spear. Eirwen was working on focusing her arrows into singular, more powerful blows of starlight, and becoming somewhat successful.

    Jasmine was mainly on crowd-control duty, wrapping much of the bugs in her stonelight threads and heading off charges with her shield and spear. Rebecca was practicing more with her Light of Wisdom and Holy Blow abilities, utilizing her new staff to its fullest as she fought near Fang and Luna. Apparently, she had reached Early Mastery in Seraphara¡¯s Compassion, the same as her mother. And now, she was working on reaching Early with her Wisdom.

    Seraphara¡¯s Concepts had a different effect on her person because it was more like they were borrowed¨Cthe gained stats were actually nearly half of what Nick had gained. The Faith Essence gathered in her core attuned her far beyond normal essence ever could, but it also relied on this higher power, Seraphara, to function. The bonus granted for reaching this mastery was far lower, as the impact on her body and soul was simply different.

    Like a well-oiled machine, Nick¡¯s party defeated the numerous insects, working their way to the natural treasure that powered the diverse army of insect¡¯s growth. It was strange that such a wide assortment of bugs worked together, but when they arrived at the artifact, his party understood.

    A strange, pulsing crystal cast its amber, calming light over the section of the forest, embedded in a petrified tree. From what he could tell and what Eirwen had learned, the artifact was wedged into some form of earth and life leyline where they intersected, giving off an odd feeling of harmony and life as light and sound. Of unity and the stone.

    Jasmine climbed up, and wrenched it off of its perch, shattering the tree beneath it. She looked at it with a bit of wonder as it pulsed into her hands, creating a small coat of stone on her spider body beneath her. But then she shrugged. ¡°Neat. I kinda like it, but the¡­weird harmony thing isn¡¯t quite right for me. Into the bag it goes.¡±

    The number on her bag jumped up significantly, causing Nick¡¯s eyebrows to raise as he saw it. He was interested to see how he might use the item in his kingdom somewhere, but he knew the efficacy of the item was also at least in part thanks to its placement.

    Unless he could find a similar leyline within his lands, the treasure likely couldn¡¯t have the same effect just by being near it. Instead, Lumos would refine it into a single-use item that boosted someone¡¯s vitality or affinity with stone, though monsterfolk may be able to benefit from it in a more direct way.

    That had been worth the most of any other item they had found, and they still had a lot of bugs to loot.

    Sable hadn¡¯t joined them in this fight. She was busy tracking down their potential enemies, now that they were near the center of the valley. It had already been over a week, and they had received the first leaderboard¨Cand they were ahead by a fair margin, surprisingly. Now, it was likely even more.

    The girls continued to loot the bugs, finding useful alchemical components. The strong vitality contained within their bodies was useful, though their stone carapaces was likely going to be difficult to work with and potentially useless.

    Or so Nick thought, until he looked over and saw Jeffrey. He was spitting on the stone carapace of the mantis he had slain, and then biting chunks from it and chewing it.

    ¡°Huh. I guess this will be¡­a ton of food for you guys.¡±

    Jeffrey actually nodded in response to this and gave a buzz of his wings, continuing to snack on the monster¡¯s chitinous flesh.

    Fang laughed, her tail wagging. ¡°I think Ironclaw and the other males might like to eat this too! It¡¯ll make their bodies and fur sturdier.¡±

    Nick narrowed his eyes. ¡°What about you girls? Can¡¯t you eat this stuff?¡±

    Luna nodded. ¡°We can, but we decided not to split our progression in this way. While we could try to gain more numerous traits by eating a wide variety of unique monsters, we¡¯d rather focus on our magic rather than our bodies¨Cthis is what makes us special and useful to our Alpha.¡±

    Nick thought back to the Noblefrost Wolfen, and the Mated Trait. Most likely, the males would be inclined to focus on their Body attribute and to gain unique monster traits, and the females would focus more on magic. However, if their mate was more physically inclined, they would still lean that way more than his girls, probably.

    ¡°I¡¯m interested to see how all the monsterfolk develop. Jeffrey here has unique capabilities, but it kinda sucks he can¡¯t talk yet.¡±

    Jasmine shrugged. ¡°Might just take them a bit longer. When they reach the third stratum, they will likely shift more once again.¡±

    Eirwen finished Looting the last corpse, dusting her hands off. ¡°Alright! That¡¯s the last of the bugs. Help me scout and find the next spot, Luna?¡±

    Luna smiled and nodded, before closing her eyes and pushing out her Concept Fragment¡¯s effects. The feeling of their connection increased, linking Eirwen to her, her traits and soul power slightly enhanced.

    Once again, Eirwen ran through her spells, calling to the elemental spirits, the essence in the surrounding areas. With Luna¡¯s help, she was both faster and able to reach further.

    After a moment, Eirwen smiled with a bit of pride. ¡°Looks like Sable is checking out the East still. Then¡­ alright, I think if we head Northwest, we¡¯ll near the central barrier, and come up on some kind of fire elemental treasure.¡±

    Jasmine once again got out her chairs, placing them on her back, and they set to move once again. Birdy crunched on more ice elemental gems, becoming more and more birdlike by the day. Nick was actually running low on them, with the exception of the large one obtained from the elite beast, which he was saving for himself.

    He hoped he could get some new climbers running through the Path of Kings soon, where they could collect them frequently. Nick likely wouldn¡¯t be heading through the lower floors again. Thankfully, each floor they completed after the fifteenth floor would increase the total number of climbers allowed per week. At the same time, Orion¡¯s expectations for how many people should be Tested would increase as well.

    This floor was allowing his party to get experience in facing a wide variety of enemies with unique energies and skills, and giving them opportunity for training. Nothing was overly difficult for them, but everyone was making gains that would stick with them for some time. Many of the monsters even had Concept Fragments, some with full Concepts, which allowed Nick¡¯s party to temper and draw out their own.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    In those cases, Nick did allow the Wolfen girls and Eirwen to push theirs the most, as they were a bit behind. A lot of this floor had them pushing themselves as individuals, and Nick was happy to see them flourish.

    They would continue the hunt, but soon, the hunt¨Cthe PvP battle would begin.

    ***

    Nick climbed up the forested summit of a hill, arriving where Sable had requested he meet her. Reaching the peak, he looked down at the numerous rat people miles away in the valley below. Turning to Sable who was up in the tree, smirking back at him, he groaned. ¡°Really? I mean, I know the prompt said we were up against other Kingdoms¡­but I didn¡¯t think that meant literally. This is like us versus the boats thing all over again.¡±

    Sable chuckled. ¡°Yeah, but I¡¯m sure the result will be the same. Also, these rat people are quite good at finding stuff. Just means they will have collected plenty for you to take from them.¡±

    ¡°Hm. This is true.¡±

    ¡°So? What do you wanna do? We gonna fight some rats?¡±

    ¡°Nah. Let¡¯s find the other Kingdoms and see what¡¯s going on with them first. The last Leaderboard had the others in the lead.¡±

    It was now past the second week since they had arrived. They had found dozens of unique treasures, and even pushed Eirwen¡¯s abilities to the limits to try to find the best ones faster. Originally, she honed in on those with the highest elemental presence, but eventually, they stumbled on some treasure that she hadn¡¯t detected.

    They learned they were missing out on different types of treasures thanks to this. Her connections to the shamanic elements were simply better, and that allowed some to slip away from her detection. She changed up her methods, and they found numerous more that they almost missed completely, though they were certainly lesser.

    Even still, they were not the top of the leaderboard in the second week, to their surprise¨Cthough they were not that far behind.

    Sable nodded. ¡°Yes, I do believe the tribal kingdom has already taken the lead due to hunting the others, as the second place, the knight order became last. The ratfolk on the other hand, they seem to be much more defensive with their third place position. Look.¡±

    She handed him a spyglass, and he looked through where she pointed. ¡°Damn, they¡¯re building traps and defenses? That¡¯s¡­annoying.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not all. This is near the center, where the final treasure will spawn. While that barrier over the glade keeps them from going in, and going too crazy with defenses, they¡¯ll still have the clear advantage here when it opens if they keep at it¨Cand I think they will. I think they¡¯ll keep building all the way around.¡±

    ¡°Hm. Maybe we do need to give them some setbacks, at the least. Jasper, Jasmine, and Birdy are well-equipped to handle this without much risk. Have you spotted the tribes, or the knight order?¡±

    Sable grinned as she shook her spatial pouch. ¡°I might have been a little¡­naughty.¡±

    Nick¡¯s eyes widened¨Cher score had tripled since they last met, though it wasn¡¯t nearly as high as Eirwen¡¯s, who still held much of the loot thanks to her receiving more loot when using the skill. ¡°A little?¡±

    She twirled the rope around her finger, sending the bag in circles. ¡°Well¡­ you know. A few of them were sneaking up on the ratfolk too, so¡­ I just made them¡­ disappear. I should have reported back first, but¡­¡±

    Nick arched his brow at that. ¡°I did say not to take unnecessary risks¡­but I do trust you. I wouldn¡¯t call that naughty, so long as you were careful.¡±

    Sable pouted. ¡°Aww¡­ you didn¡¯t play along. I do hope we can have some¡­fun, sooner rather than later.¡±

    Nick chuckled. The watch rotation and fighting through the jungle with his mother-in-law around wasn¡¯t that conducive for sexy times outside of using his portable villa. With enemies lurking, hunting them, he wasn¡¯t about to risk getting into a compromised position. Instead, he¡¯d been focusing on helping the girls relax with tail brushing and cuddle piles, and they did the same for him.

    Knowing that at any moment, an enemy can bust in with a bunch of spears is a major mood killer.

    ¡°Find the rest of that tribe and call us over, and you¡¯ll have earned all the rewards you want once more, I promise. Just like in Silverbrook. But for now, we need to win this.¡±

    Sable sighed. ¡°You got it, Boss. You know, you¡¯ve been avoiding awkward moments with Irene, but that girl wants it almost as bad as we do, you know.¡±

    Nick coughed. ¡°I know. Thankfully, she is being respectful to Becca¨Ceasing her into the idea. I¡¯m good with it if she is.¡±

    ¡°Easing?¡± Sable arched her eyebrow. ¡°If she was any more obvious about what she wanted, she might just trip and land on your dick. But yes, I suspect she¡¯s waiting for the priestesses back at home to make her move, and they were also giving Rebecca, out of respect, a small honeymoon period before they made their own desires known. After Shadowvale, it won¡¯t be long before those nuns are bustin¡¯ down your door.¡±

    Nick snorted. ¡°I¡¯ll worry about, or perhaps just enjoy, that when the time comes. You be careful out there, my huntress.¡±

    ¡°Aw, worried about sweet little ole¡¯ me? You know I always am.¡±

    The shadows flickered, and then she was in her arms with her lips on his, her momentum causing him to stumble. But before he could wrap his arms around her, her body became cold and she drifted away like smoke, floating back into the branches with a laugh, before she jumped and disappeared into the night.

    In the end, she did manage to tease him once again.

    Despite his efforts to watch her with his Soul Sense, he lost track of her after just a brief moment.

    ***

    Sending Jasmine in her spider form and the two Soul Servants to harass the ratfolk had worked out well. They defeated a number of the ratfolk and destroyed their constructions, forcing them back. When they killed several of the ratfolk, they saw why the other kingdoms had gotten ahead. They didn¡¯t just get the points from their spatial pouch, but a small bonus besides. With more than a dozen ratfolk dead, they had likely taken first place again.

    Nick had hoped to draw out the other two kingdoms, but they hid and presumably watched from afar, or were busy elsewhere.

    While he also thought about finishing off the ratfolk, their collection was still going well. Their leaders held the large portion of their earnings, so it was truly like he would either need to assassinate their leader or go all out and wipe them out to get what they¡¯d collected.

    He may end up doing those things, but he wanted to be sure about the other two factions before he went all-in on it.

    It took Sable and Eirwen a few days of hunting to eventually close in on the tribe. The enemy had their own shamans, and had a form of elemental defense to eliminate spying on them using them. When Nick¡¯s party finally caught up with them a few days later, they were already in combat.

    It was an army of armored knights versus a tribe of beastfolk which hid in the jungle, and a third party¨Ca creature with what looked like a large nest on its back. Nick thought it looked somewhat like a rhino, but it had merged with some sort of crystalline plant on its back. Tendrils of vinelike crystals branched off around the creature, and it was using it for both offense and defense.

    The rhino was massive, but it was definitely wounded. Still, it looked like quite the sturdy creature. Nick had a feeling that this thing was worth a lot, as it had found a true symbiotic relationship with some sort of treasure.

    The tribe attacked with arrows and ambushes, and by corralling the rhino to face the company of knights. Meanwhile, the knights pushed in formation through the dense foliage in hopes to capture and take them, or the rhino, down. Their thick plate armor rejected much of the arrows and blows, but they were too slow to defeat any of the hunters in the tribe outright.

    The leader of the knights was present in the formation, and Nick thought the guy wasn¡¯t too bad. Probably around the level of the Centaur Lord that he faced.

    Nick and his party were overlooking the valley, deciding on a course of action. It looked like a stalemate, more or less, and it might take some time to resolve, at this pace. From what they could tell, this had been going on for more than a day now. The numbers were difficult to gauge as the tribal people were hiding, but the leader of the armored people seemed unbothered.

    The leader of the armored knights seemed to exude a special pressure, his every movement causing the tribal people to retreat from his path, and the rhino to get wary, moving defensively up a hill.

    Nick noted, ¡°This looks tough. If we join the battle, the tribe might just run. I suppose we can just chase them down, but¡­any ideas?¡±

    Jasmine hummed. ¡°Maybe, we can do it a little like the ratfolk. I can weave some webs to trap some of the runners, then Jasper, Birdy and I can ambush the tribes, trying to draw out their leader. In the chaos, you can hit the knight order if the tribal leader doesn¡¯t show.¡±

    Sable was looking through her spyglass on a branch above. ¡°And I can watch for and hunt down the tribal leader. I¡¯m sure they¡¯re watching this battle somehow. If they see us fighting the knight order¡¯s leader, they may swoop in and try to finish the fight.¡±

    Rebecca noted, ¡°Another option is to be patient, and watch and wait¨Cseek the advantage. The tribe¡¯s goal appears to be to weaken the knight order with this rhino, and probably swoop in and deal a significant blow. Stealing a pouch is a viable strategy for them, too.¡±

    All of his party¡¯s pouches were already secured with an extra set of webbing from Jasmine. If the person was able to cut through that and steal the pouch, they could remove their heads from their shoulders instead.

    Irene added, ¡°Or we could leave and hunt elsewhere since they¡¯re busy, waiting until the final treasure opens up. They¡¯ll be forced to face us then, or we¡¯ll be marked the victors.¡±

    Nick thought about his options. ¡°If these guys are here, they¡¯re not farming for us either. They do have some folks collecting things, and scouting, as Sable ran into them. But I think I¡¯d rather end this now. Let¡¯s go with Jasmine¡¯s plan and play it by ear.¡±

    Jasmine clapped. ¡°Oh, goody! I¡¯ll use my spider form, then.¡±

    Nick watched her with interest. He hadn¡¯t actually seen her spider form yet. While she had fought against the ratfolk people using it, to great effect, Nick had been busy working with the party to collect something nearby and hadn¡¯t seen it.

    Suddenly, Jasmine started to blush, her stone-gray skin taking on a pink hue. ¡°M-Master¡­ Please¡­¡±

    Nick frowned. ¡°Please what?¡±

    ¡°Please¡­ look away. I¡­ don¡¯t want you to see me transform. It¡¯s¡­ugly.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Nick shrugged, and turned around. ¡°Alright, go for it.¡±

    Jasmine morphed behind him, the sound of bones creaking a little unsettling¨Cand suddenly, he was happy he didn¡¯t see his maid morph. Nick chuckled as he was reminded of seeing Kaya transforming for the first time¨Chow she also wanted him to look away to change her clothes.

    [Okay, ready. What do you think, Master?]

    Nick heard her speak in his mind, somewhat surprising him, as she did not often use this form of communication. He turned, and when he saw her, Nick couldn¡¯t help but be shocked. She was not larger than her original form, in fact, she seemed a bit smaller and more compact. Jasmine looked like she could leap hundreds of feet in a single bound, like a jumping spider.

    Short, stone-like bristles grew everywhere on her body, giving her a furry, fuzzy look. Then, there was a weave of her Nexus Core¡¯s light throughout her stone flesh like tattoos, especially in her abdomen. Her eyes glistened, the odd pupils large. For some reason, perhaps their large size respective of her head, they reminded him of a puppy dog¡¯s eyes.

    Her humanoid body was completely gone, and now she was just a spider.

    ¡°Damn, you¡¯re actually kinda cute like this.¡±

    Embarrassed, she seemed to scuttle off and out of the clearing in a blur. Jasper and Birdy made to move. Birdy chirped with laughter, and Eirwen joined in with her own chuckle.

    ¡°I know she gets hungry when she does her transformation. She¡¯ll probably eat something from her pouch before she begins setting her trap webs.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s settle in and wait, then.¡±

    It was going to be a chaotic battle, but Nick¡¯s party should be positioned for success. It was time to go for the win.

 Book 3 - Chapter 32 - The Shadows Move

    Mayor Nelson signed his name, and stamped the requisition form. Yet another list of goods that would have to wait until Blackthorne¡¯s Merchant returned. With the many bandits that died in the woods, Shadowvale¡¯s resources and future earnings had dwindled.

    Only some low-stratum climbers remained in the city, and their acquisitions were hardly enough to feed those left behind. Without new blood to line the forests, nothing would change. They needed more thieves to replace the ones lost, or the city just might go bankrupt.

    He tried encouraging more to hunt outside the walls, but thanks to the domain of shadow, they had to range out much further than Mayor Nelson liked.

    Panther and other predator meat was just not appetizing. Deer and boar both stayed far away from their region of the forest, and the round trip was leaving them with mediocre benefits. Then, most of their crops were mushrooms. He was sick of them.

    His paperwork was interrupted with a knock at the door. ¡°Mayor! You must hear this.¡±

    ¡°Come in.¡±

    Turon walked into the room, the bear beastfolk man¡¯s breaths coming in like he ran to deliver the news.

    ¡°What is it, Turon?¡±

    ¡°Our hunters found something alarming. The caravan¨Cit was destroyed.¡±

    Mayor Nelson gasped. ¡°Destroyed? How?¡±

    ¡°It appears¡­it was wolves and spiders. There was evidence of both, the corpses mangled and eaten. However, it was strange. The goods and gold are all gone.¡±

    Mayor Nelson frowned. ¡°Gone? No monsters would steal those goods. Even if someone discovered the trashed caravan and took it, just who would go against Blackthorne like that? They should recognize the markings.¡±

    Turon hesitated, before clearing his throat. ¡°I don¡¯t know. We haven¡¯t heard from the nearby men of the forest in a while. It¡¯s possible that, instead of being slain by the orcs, they had abandoned the force to strike at the caravan? They did have druids with them, we¡¯ve just been unable to reach them. Then, there¡¯s Frosthaven¨Cthey are our neighbors, after all.¡± He shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s not impossible for them to have targeted the caravan, they may have been mad about such a large Blood Price. Just how could they afford it, anyway?¡±

    Mayor Nelson snorted. ¡°How foolish if it were them. Send some hunters to spy on them to get to the bottom of it, then. Either way, it sounds like we need to request some reinforcements. As it stands now, we may face a Tribulation. I will contact Blackthorne.¡±

    Turon nodded and left, his news delivered. After stewing for hours and waffling on his message for a while, he finally came to a decision. Opening his drawer, Mayor Nelson picked up the communication token.

    The Ordeal would charge it over time, and allow him to make a report about once per quarter¨Cor allow him to receive a communication, through the Alter of Subordination. If he needed to make one outside that window, he would be forced to use expensive essence crystals to power it.

    It would cost nearly a thousand golds to make a communication if not fully charged by the Ordeal, and thus why they avoided using it unless absolutely necessary.

    But before he could trigger it, the Sanctum¡¯s communication token lit up, and Mayor Nelson almost leaped out of his seat in surprise. He wasn¡¯t expecting to hear from Blackthorne anytime soon.

    He was only a few weeks away from needing to report in, and he had just decided to make it early in hopes he could get news on Elrash¡¯s whereabouts. Thanks to the orc¡¯s victory in the forest of Silverbrook, they were in bad shape¨Cespecially thanks to how Blackthorne would penalize them for their failure.

    Nelson suspected the next merchant caravan would collect far more people than Elrash wanted to give up¨Cit would ruin all of his personal goals. Not that either of those were Mayor Nelson¡¯s problem, anyway.

    Mayor Nelson scrambled to grab the prerequisite crystals, and shattered them to power the token. The token pulled the essence in, filling its glyphs on the surface with a sanguine light.

    ¡°Mayor.¡± Blackthorne¡¯s gruff voice echoed into the room.

    ¡°It is me. What can I do for your grace?¡±

    ¡°The merchant convoy still hasn¡¯t arrived at Bronzehold. What can you tell me?¡±

    Mayor Nelson was shocked, and had a sharp intake of breath. Blackthorne already knew? How? This was a tremendous failure, and his message he had carefully crafted in his mind was now forgotten, as he was now put on the back foot in this line of questioning.  ¡°I only learned of what happened just now. A hunter of ours found the wreckage, having ranged out to find food. I was just about to contact you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m aware of what happened. Is there something you want to tell me, Mayor Nelson?¡± Blackthorne¡¯s tone was threatening, alarming him.

    ¡°What do you mean, Milord? I was hoping to contact you soon, as we could use some reinforcements. I had sent a message with the caravan, but clearly that didn¡¯t work out¡­ Just how long before Lord Elrash returns? We could use¨C¡±

    ¡°Reinforcements? Why do you need any of those? Elrash is helping Thresh track and corral the Outlanders, it won¡¯t be much longer now. They¡¯ll be ours soon enough, but as it stands, it may be a few months before he can arrive back in Shadowvale.¡±

    Mayor Nelson gasped in surprise. Thresh joined him in chasing the Outlanders? The man was in the third stratum, Blackthorne¡¯s most valuable climber. He owned the Ordeal at Bronzehold, a dark kingdom hidden deep in the mountains to the Southwest. That Thresh had now joined them showed just how badly Blackthorne wanted these Outlanders. Why?

    He shook off the detail, remembering that Shadowvale really could use some help¨Cthat he needed to convince him. With all of their second stratum climbers dead, and Elrash gone, things were not looking good. ¡°Yes, we could use some reinforcements¨Call of our second stratum climbers are dead, and with Elrash gone, we may face a Tribulation before long. You see, we believe the orcs had killed all our assets in the woods between Silverbrook. When we sent our men after them, as per your orders, we expected that we would be victorious. But it seems they failed, and all our hideouts were cleared, besides¨Cthis was included in Frosthaven¡¯s Blood Price, which they paid. On top of that, we haven¡¯t heard back from our people in Silverbrook. They were supposed to report in just last week, but we haven¡¯t heard from the usual runner.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s your game.¡±

    Mayor Nelson frowned in confusion. ¡°Sir?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no way a small unit of orcs killed all our assets, and now you¡¯re telling me something happened to the Warden, of all people? That all our plots have come crumbling down in the area, all due to some orcs that wandered in? On top of all of that, you had met this orc¨Cand you had gauged him to not be a threat.¡±

    ¡°W-Well, I¡­¡± Mayor Nelson did not like where this was going. No matter what, Blackthorne was blaming this issue on him. ¡°The man was only almost level 15 at best!¡±

    Blackthorne continued before he could scramble his thoughts together into a better defense, ¡°So what is it? You plan on sharing the gold with the Warden, is that your plan? Where is he now? If you tell me, I just might spare you.¡±

    ¡°What gold? Y-You mean the gold from the caravan? No way! I just learned about what happened, surely it was Frosthaven, or some other¨C¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me, Nelson.¡± Blackthorne said his name hatefully, ¡°I know you have the gold, the Altar of Subordination shows it¡¯s there in Shadowvale¨Call of it. I wasn¡¯t asking. There are already reinforcements in Shadowvale, just not for you.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Mayor Nelson stood in alarm, the news shocking. The building which taxed their essence was showing they had the gold?  ¡°This is a misunderstanding, milord. I don¡¯t have the caravan¡¯s gold, I swear it! We¡¯re being set up!¡±

    ¡°Useless lies. Either way, I¡¯m sick of your incompetence. Do it, Rorik.¡±

    The shadows twisted, and Mayor Nelson yelped as a blade came out of them, and cleaved his head off of his shoulders. His head rolled and stared up at his assailant, a dark elf man with red eyes meeting his.

    Rorik kicked Mayor Nelson¡¯s corpse, and took his place in his chair. He picked up the communication token. ¡°It¡¯s me¨Che¡¯s dead now. I have to wonder what his full plan was. I couldn¡¯t find any sign of this rebellion as I came in, and the ruins of the caravan did look like wolves and¡­spiders, strangely. You¡¯re sure it wasn¡¯t someone else? What about this Frosthaven he mentioned?¡±

    Blackthorne snorted. ¡°Orcs are no good at subterfuge, and didn¡¯t he say they fully paid their Blood Price? They are afraid of me, as they should be. Nelson was probably hiding his involvement. He¡¯s the only one with the resources and contacts to make it happen. With Elrash not there, this was the perfect moment for him to take such an immense amount of gold and run for his life. We had druids in the forests capable of controlling those types of creatures. Then, he was just biding his time until just after the next check-in time before he ran as fast as he could. In the end, it¡¯s not that important¨Che was a trash Mayor anyway, his incompetence leading to vast losses. Failure only breeds more failure, Rorik.¡±

    He continued, ¡°See if you can find where the gold is located, but report to me once you¡¯ve squashed their shitty rebellion and reclaimed the goods. You and your men are welcome to plunder what you find in the city, but do not allow a Tribulation¨Cit¡¯ll ruin everything. Elrash will take care of the Ordeal further when he returns from his task. Send some of your men inside, I must begin my own climb shortly.¡±

    ¡°How will I send men inside? Elrash isn¡¯t here to give us the rights to enter, and uh¡­the Mayor¡¯s dead now.¡±

    ¡°Take the other token in Nelson¡¯s drawer, and give it to someone you trust to become Mayor. It will allow him to override, now that the previous mayor is dead.¡±

    His voice became threatening, some rage seeping into his voice. ¡°I expect good news for when I come out. I will not accept any excuses, you and your men cost me a fortune. Death will be a lot less quick for you than it came to Nelson if you disappoint me.¡±

    ¡°By your will. My men and I are worth every gold, that I promise you. We will get to the bottom of this.¡±

    ***

    ¡°Something¡¯s changed.¡±

    Myron voiced his thoughts, after his divining tool suddenly cracked. Once he had settled on his Way, he had attuned a rare crystal that would be sensitive to the alterations of fate. And something must have shifted. Being blindsided by Elrash and losing two of his people previously had led him to take extra precautions, even if it meant using treasures that could no longer be replaced.

    He would need to do another divination, but his heart throbbed in agony each time he used his tools. His body was becoming worse by the day, from all his efforts. Looking at the stars, he could see nothing useful.

    Maybe he was getting used to these strange stars, or maybe his wife was helping him somehow, or his gut was telling him something. They needed to hurry, and he could feel it in his bones.

    A sound of an angry woman¡¯s voice filled Myron¡¯s ears, her voice taking on a cadence and tone of a thug. ¡°Where are your allies, huh? Tell me where the other raids are heading, or you¡¯ll get a whole lot more of this.¡± A smash was heard, wood from a tree shattering, and the man whimpered before spilling everything he knew about his people.

    Myron grinned. These bandits had no loyalty. Perhaps if they were soldiers of a nation, his people would have had difficulty keeping ahead of them. Thankfully, one of their elders had managed to learn the language of Orion Common, and crystallized their knowledge to disseminate it to their people to understand their enemies.

    Even if it was just so they could interrogate them, it was a valuable thing to know if they were going to stay on this world for any length of time.

    They didn¡¯t really learn anything all that useful from interrogating this man in particular, but it seemed this small unit was corralling his people, like many of the others, as he predicted. Wanting to spend a little bit more time with his daughter, he journeyed with her to take on this smaller unit.

    And he couldn¡¯t be prouder. She crushed them with her tetsubo, the large studded and spiked bat weapon breaking their bodies with every swing. If only she could cultivate, she¡¯d defeat even their strongest enemies with ease.

    Having answered his daughter¡¯s questions, she left the man alone as promised.

    The man¡¯s bones were broken, and he was weak and disabled. No doubt he was fated to die to the creatures in the savage wilderness soon. And if not, it wouldn¡¯t matter. The bandits didn¡¯t bother to heal their brethren, and it would take far too long for him to heal enough for him to matter in the upcoming conflicts.

    Shara arrived with a satisfied smile, dusting off her robes, cleaning them with bursts of Qi. However, she caught the look on his face, the smile replaced with a look of concern. ¡°What is it, father? You look worried.¡±

    He gave his daughter a sad smile, and showed the remains of Crystallized Fate, which had shattered. ¡°Danger lurks. We were making good time, and nearing our goal of reaching the mountain. Just around a month to go, the giant peaks already beginning to tower over us. However, it seems we need to speed things up. I want to arrive in two weeks, three at the latest.¡±

    ¡°Speed things up? But this forest is already too dangerous, Father. Half the reason we¡¯re able to proceed here is because we keep baiting the monsters into the bandits, and they cannot move in large numbers easily because it attracts the worst monsters. If we push any faster, we¡¯ll have to defeat most of the monsters ourselves.¡±

    ¡°I know this, but something has changed. Perhaps, the enemy has received some more reinforcements once again. Dangerous reinforcements, like this Elrash.¡±

    Shara¡¯s face twisted, lifting up her club as she turned back to the broken man. ¡°That guy was holding out on me. I¡¯ll break his fucking legs!¡±

    The man whimpered in the distance, and Myron couldn¡¯t help but chuckle¨Chis daughter was cute when she was angry, just like his wife. ¡°Again, you mean? You already broke his legs.¡±

    Shara blushed, and Myron continued, ¡°I don¡¯t think this is anything the underlings knew about, the left hand doesn¡¯t know what the right hand is doing, with them. This just happened. It¡¯ll be tough, but we¡¯ll need to speed things up if we want to reach the destination. Even if we lose a few people, it¡¯s a price we¡¯ll have to pay.¡±

    ¡°F-Father. I¡­¡± She embraced him, hugging him tightly with her bat braced behind him. Myron was engulfed in his daughter¡¯s larger body, and he couldn¡¯t help but chuckle once again at her duality. She was a lion to their enemies, but a soft kitten to her family.

    ¡°I know, my little treasure. The day we must part is nearing. It is sad, but such is the will of the heavens. Turmoil and conflict have always been present in our lives, our clan losing many brethren in countless battles. This is no different.¡±

    Shara¡¯s face twisted once again, only this time, it was like she ate a bitter bug. ¡°I know. But¡­ these¡­ thugs. They¡­ are so weak and pathetic, they haven¡¯t even created their cores, just barely at Foundation Establishment at best. Are they really going to destroy our clan? You¡¯re a powerful Nascent Soul elder! If this was back in Starhold¡­¡±

    Myron grinned at the thought. ¡°I¡¯d crush this entire scrub army in mere minutes, even without your mother¡¯s help. Together, she¡¯d only need a single swing of her tetsubo to destroy them, body and soul.¡±

    Shara took on a look of utter delight, imagining their enemies being destroyed. Myron continued, ¡°But we fight these bandits not to defeat them, but to flee so that our clan can live on. We might be in dire straights now, but we believe in you, daughter. That you will find your Fated and flourish in our new home. To bring a new chance at prosperity to our people.¡±

    ¡°I know. But without you¡­¡±

    Myron did his best to motivate her, even if he was just speaking platitudes. He knew his days were numbered, even if they got out of this. ¡°All is not yet lost. When I chose our Way, I had to resolve myself to die to get the outcome I desired. That does not mean that I will die for sure. I will fight until the bitter end so that I may see my grandchildren if I can. This is my order as your father and Patriarch. If I tell you to go on ahead, leaving your brethren behind, you must. I know you can fight, but this world has taken away our true strength. You must find a new Way for our people.¡±

    ¡°I will, Father. I will do as you require of me. It¡¯s just so¡­pitiful. Death in battle when we can¡¯t properly fight for our lives¡­ It¡¯s like we¡¯re fighting with both hands tied behind our backs!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s painful, but I know you will. You¡¯ve always been a filial daughter, and seeing you crush these scrubs today only cemented my trust in you. You didn¡¯t even leave any enemies for me, and many of them were at Foundation Establishment, or what they call the second stratum.¡±

    Shara once again blushed with her cheeks becoming a darker purple, but gave him a proud smile as she hugged her tetsubo lovingly.

    Myron said, ¡°Let¡¯s return to the others. We¡¯ll get them ready to march and I will do a new set of divinations.¡±

    Shara nodded, and leaped up into the trees to head back to their clan. Myron looked to the stars with a grimace. It felt like he was blind, like this world took away his ability to see. Now, he could only stumble in the dark.

    Just as he was about to follow her, he saw a light blaze above the mountains, just where they were headed. It was like a shooting star, a beam of light that blazed across the heavens. A good omen.

    Seeing the light, he couldn¡¯t help but wish for a miracle.

 Book 3 - Chapter 33 - The Showdown

    After Jasmine, Jasper, and Birdy entered the forest, it was actually a while before they saw anything on the battlefield change. Suddenly, A tribal warrior¡¯s life was just snuffed out, their body torn to shreds by Jasmine¡¯s powerful clawed legs. Then another, and another¨Cthe third one managing to scream out in alarm.

    A whistle echoed out through the tribe, as Jasper and Birdy struck them from the opposite end. A swarm of ice feathers swirled around Jasper as he leaped from cover, biting and lifting a man into the air, the man screaming.

    With a deadly shake with Jasper¡¯s huge maw, the man died, and the person next to him struck out with their tribal spear. But they were met with a large, meaty paw, shattering the spear and shredding the man¡¯s body. More whistles and animal calls went out, and Nick saw that many of the tribal warriors started to back off from the knights and the rhino.

    The knights and the rhino became restless, noticing the change in the battlefield. A knight dashed forward, cutting down one of the retreating tribal warriors. The rhino began to stomp off, knocking a knight away and into the air, as they attempted to press their attack.

    Now that the knights weren¡¯t being harassed, they dashed forward, their greatswords and polearms giving off an orange light. The leader of the knights moved as well, positioning himself to deal a powerful blow against the rhino. Several of their implements stabbed into the monster and wounded it, keeping it from escaping.

    In total, there was about three dozen knights on the battlefield, and Nick was noticing the tribal warriors likely had even more than that, considering a large number of them were hiding.

    ¡°Go ahead and hit the knights¨CKaya, Fang, and Luna. We don¡¯t want the tribes thinking they shouldn¡¯t stick around.¡±

    Kaya roared as she transformed, dashing down the hill as Fang howled. Luna¡¯s totems pulsed as she followed, granting the party strength of the earth and some form of vigor from her water totem. Nick donned his Cloak of Twilight: Darkness, before following under cover within the dense foliage.

    Eirwen, Rebecca, Jeffrey and Irene followed slowly, keeping out of view of the enemy, knowing they could become targets of the more stealthy members of the tribes. Nick stuck close between them, watching with his Soul Sense.

    A few of the knights broke off from fighting the rhino to meet Kaya. When Kaya met them in combat, she cut one of them down rather quickly, her Concept shearing right through the armor and removing an arm before cutting off his head with a spin and a flick of her tail. But when she did this, the knights nearby¨Ctheir orange essence within them brightened, the men shouting with courage.

    She used her Roar ability an met them with her axes, but none of them were stunned¨Conly slowed as they approached, and the leader of the knights moved to meet her in battle.

    Fang sidled up to defend her with her shield, but this was when all hell broke loose. Arrows rained from above, and the tribal warriors flanked the rhino and the knights from the side¨Cpreventing it from fleeing, two dozen warriors appearing from the foliage.

    The small wolfen girl then hopped onto Kaya¡¯s shoulders, lifting her shield above them both horizontally to block the rain of arrows.

    Jasmine crashed into the incoming tribe, her claws and mandibles shredding the warriors with fervor. Her body was now covered in luminous stone, looking like a stone elemental shaped as a spider. Their counterattacks skittered off her stone body, even as they used essence to power their attacks.

    Birdy squawked as it sent dozens of ice shards at the archers, and Jasper leaped up into the trees to hunt them down.

    Seeing that Kaya had taken down two more knights, the leader of the knights met Kaya in battle, and his strength was surprising. With every swing, he knocked Kaya back, and his thick armor filled with essence took her Bestial Strike with little more than a scratch.

    Fang even lashed out with her longer spear from Kaya¡¯s shoulders, opting to stay up there for now as arrows continued to rain down upon them, but the frost from her spear wouldn¡¯t take hold either.

    The knights moved to surround Kaya, while some cut into the rhino. However, despite all of this, the tribal leader still hadn¡¯t appeared. But Nick knew he had to make his move soon. Eirwen, Rebecca, and Irene were still holding off on joining the battle for now, as they would be especially vulnerable to the tribal members.

    Nick was watching over them, and he knew Sable had to be looking out for this leader as well. With him not facing off against the knight leader, it made Nick think he was more stealth or ambush-focused of a fighter, just like his tribe members.

    It was then that Nick felt a general wrongness, a stilling of the area near Nick. His hand was already on the hilt on his shoulder, but he lowered his body further into a crouch as he looked around him. It took him a moment, but he eventually realized it was his Soul Sense that he was feeling, and he narrowed in on where it was coming from.

    Whatever it was, it was moving in on Eirwen, and while he couldn¡¯t see Sable, he could feel her through her Mated trait, lurking above in the boughs of the trees.

    Nick did his best to signal that he was going to make his move, nudging her with his mind. In a single movement, he drew his blade and swung, activating his Blade Wave. Then, he pushed out his Frost Aura, making sure to thread his mana aura chains around the area where he knew the interloper was.

    A wave of frost struck something, revealing the stealther¡¯s broad back. Grunting, the man spun with his spear, essence gathering around the tip and his legs as he crouched, getting ready to pounce at Nick in response. Nick¡¯s Frost Aura was latching onto the man, ice beginning to spread along his skin to reveal the rest of him.

    Just as the man was about to leap, Sable¡¯s spear covered in frost and shadows rose from the ground and bit a chunk out of a man¡¯s shoulder, disturbing what remained of his Aura and Sneak abilities. He was some kind of panther man, that exhuded the power of death and darkness.

    With the panther man exposed, the tribe started fighting more aggressively, and a small group came to flank Nick and Sable. Their shaman¡¯s magic was called upon, sending out gouts of flame and lightning bolts at Nick¡¯s party.

    Luna prepared a lightning barrier which appeared on Nick¡¯s party through her Concept Fragment, leaving the flame to be covered by his party¡¯s frost magic instead.

    Eirwen¡¯s arrows and Rebecca and Irene¡¯s Light of Wisdom shot into the fray, sending tribal members flying. The panther man stabbed with his spear at Sable as she backed off, giving off an energy that reeked of death, but she dodged with her nimble, smaller frame, parrying the blow and keeping away from his attack.

    The tribal leader definitely felt like a match for any one of his girls, but they were not alone. Now that Nick had measure of the two leaders and the battlefield, he decided how his party could gain the most.

    He shouted, ¡°Fang, Luna¨Chelp Sable. I¡¯ll join Kaya.¡±

    Nick blasted the panther man with a Frost Shock, the basketball-sized fist of ice striking and spreading on his chest, and sent two Blade Waves with his rapier-shaped sword, cutting small wounds into the man¡¯s legs.

    The frost also began to crawl up the panther man¡¯s extremeties, and combined with Nick¡¯s shock, Sable tripped him with her icy shadows. Her spear flickered out to pierce his wounded shoulder, sending icy shadows into his flesh as he roared in anger and covered himself with deathly energy.

    One of Eirwen¡¯s arrows now flew at the panther beastfolk as well, and he attempted to defend with his arm filled with deathly energy. But her arrow was glimmering stardust, and it pierced his protection and deeply embedded itself in his arm, and two of Nick¡¯s chains wrapped around the man¡¯s legs, causing his frost to spread more rapidly.

    The counter-ambush was effective, though he knew this wasn¡¯t the full measure of the man¡¯s strength. Because they ruined his ambush, a lot of his capability was thwarted, the man weakened through his wounds. However, the man hadn¡¯t yet brought out his Concept. Nick could tell the man was not weak, but wounding him as they did reduced his potential significantly.

    Knowing Sable would be able to hold out a bit longer, Nick took off, focused on his speed.

    Seeing Kaya getting overwhelmed in the distance, his Heroic Concept stirred. A hero must be fast¨Cso that he can arrive on time. The world seemed to shift with his will, this desire to move just a bit faster as the essence within him stirred.

    Dashing toward the knights, Nick passed Fang and Luna who were making good on Nick¡¯s orders in a blur, before he leaped down the hill, traveling more than a dozen meters in a single jump. The lightness and speed improvement from the Cloak of Twilight carried him far through the air, the cloth filled with darkness and stars trailing behind him.

    Landing, Nick then dashed toward a nearby knight, and swung his blade of light and darkness. While the dark smoke around him from his Heroic Concept was mercurial, his will while using the cloak seemed to better solidify the darkness into the blade.

    With just a little bit of the special essence inserted into the blade, the light and the dark vibrated, and the wicked edge that formed cut easily through a knight¡¯s armored leg as Nick passed him by.

    Nick met swords with the leader of the knights, relieving Kaya from his onslaught. She had been unable to do little more than defend, and now that he was close, he understood why.

    Threads went between the knights, connecting them to their leader. In some way, he was empowered by his allies. It was a little like how Nick was connected to his wives, yet different. These people followed a homogenous path, which somehow enabled them to empower one another.

    Nick¡¯s Frost Aura washed over the knights, but they shouted and covered themselves with the orange essence, and the leader¡¯s weight on reality rose to match. This reduced the impact of Nick¡¯s Frost Aura, but it still slowed the group somewhat. Now that the leader pushed his will, Nick thought the Concept he held was related to courage and bravery somehow. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do this, Kaya.¡± Nick then shouted his martial arts kiai, which granted those that could hear it essence drawn in from the surrounding area, and Kaya roared to match as she met a second knight¡¯s polearm with her axe.

    Nick and Kaya worked in concert, the two fighting off the knights surrounding them. While the knights were coordinated, they did not appear used to fighting someone like Kaya that danced and spun with so many weapons. Nor were they used to someone like Nick, whose body and limbs twisted and flicked out, or disappeared from view entirely as the cloak of darkness roiled around him.

    While defending against the knight leader, Nick and Kaya positioned his allies between them, to prevent him from striking them easily, while they wounded his allies and eventually took them down completely.

    With each knight defeated, an odd effect occurred. The knight leader weakened, but his subordinate knights got just a little stronger. It seemed the loss of their brethren drew out their courage and strength, allowing them to hit just a little harder and move faster.

    Odds were, the leader had some form of duty and responsibility to protect his knights¨Cto make sure their lives were not lost in vain. Because it was strange to Nick¨Cthe leader should be powering up just as much as the men were, with his Path being the same.

    Nick and Kaya weren¡¯t the only ones facing the knights. The tribal warriors had also attacked them from the side, and the wounded rhino had gone on a bit of a rampage. Not only that, but Jasmine had covered a few of them with webbing and finished off a few others, evening the numbers as she killed the tribal members.

    After half of the knights were dead, the knight leader shouted and essence converged on him from the surrounding area. In response, Kaya did the same, preparing her Convergence Skill, her axe and body building a charge of her purple, bestial essence as she wound her axe back to swing.

    Nick shifted his cloak to light, costing him just a bit of mental energy, and began preparing his Essence Burst. The remaining nine knights leaped next to the knight leader and stood next to him in a line, raising their blades above their heads.

    An image of a much larger knight stood behind them, mirroring their action. Kaya leaped into the air and spun, sending out waves of feral essence with her cutting Concept. To Nick¡¯s surprise, it seemed she was able to only send out the essence in a forward arc, as she spun back and forth with swings of her battleaxe in rapid succession.

    The knights swung down, and Nick fired his Essence Burst down the center¨Cdirectly at the knight leader. His prismatic beam of light, which drew on both his Heroic Concept and something from his wives¡¯ devotion cores, slammed into the oncoming blade, sending it back.

    Kaya¡¯s blades of feral essence slammed into the line of knights, cutting deeply into all of them at near the chest level. The giant knight dematerialized as several knights were knocked off their feet, only the leader of the knights dashing forward to meet Nick and Kaya in combat. Drawing just a little faith energy from his necklace, he rushed forward to meet the knight captain.

    The knight captain was moving rapidly, his Concept being pushed to its limits as he gave his battle shout. Nick¡¯s blade met his, his strength able to keep up with his enemy¡¯s without issue, before Kaya¡¯s battleaxe cleaved into his shoulder from the side.

    The loss of strength enabled Nick to shove the sword to the side, before his vibrating Soul Blade returned to cleave the head off the knight captain¡¯s shoulders. The men left behind him seemed to roar in defiance, but they were so heavily wounded, they had very little fight left in them. Nick¡¯s Frost Aura overtook them because the leader of the knights was gone, and so Nick and Kaya were able to finish off the rest of the knights.

    Nick had sensed a bit of difficulty with the leader of the beastfolk tribes, but the Wolfen girls managed to handle him. They pushed themselves and their pack fighting to its limits when the man used his bestial transformation, becoming the bringer of death¨Cthe predator that a panther embodied.

    Each had used their Convergence Skills, and Rebecca, Irene, and Eirwen supported them until they brought him down. Some tribe members had snuck up on Eirwen and the rest, but Jeffrey protected them with his shields long enough for them to counter them. From there, the tribe started to scatter and flee, but they got caught in Jasmine¡¯s webs.

    As the members of the enemy tribe were defeated, their spatial sack¡¯s numbers climbed significantly.

    The rhino had been wounded, and now that the enemies were taken out, putting it down was easy for Nick¡¯s party. Birdy showed off its sharp ice Concept, piercing deeply into the rhino. Then, with some coaxing from the angry bird, Jasper finished it off with its heavy claws, trying to bring out its own Concept. The rhino had roared in defiance, bringing out some form of beastial strength and regeneration, but it wasn¡¯t enough in the end.

    The jungle cleared of enemies, Nick and his party gathered around the clearing where the rhino died. ¡°Man, that was a pretty rough battle. Stealth bastards are a pain in the ass, and so were those walking tin cans.¡±

    Kaya chuckled. ¡°You say that, but you have the easiest time with stealth bastards. Imagine everyone else who doesn¡¯t have Soul Sense? Still, that was some fight with the tin cans. We kicked ass that time.¡±

    ¡°Hell yeah, you were my badass bitch again there. We make a good team, like always.¡±

    ¡°Boss¡­Boss! What about me?¡±

    Nick chuckled, and then he was forced to once again reward each of his girls for a job well done. The girls once again lined up, with Rebecca in the back of the line, and this time, Jeffrey and Irene had joined the line.

    Rebecca noticed this, and gasped. ¡°Mother! What are you doing?¡±

    Irene was waiting behind Jeffrey at the back of the line, looking perhaps a little proud of herself. ¡°What? Jeffrey and I felt left out¨Cyou girls look so happy, being rewarded by your Boss. Isn¡¯t that right, Jeffrey?¡±

    Jeffrey buzzed a yes in response, nodding. Rebecca narrowed her eyes at her, but turned to watch as Nick gave out his scratches and kisses to each of his girls. This strange ritual was enjoyable to his girls and himself, and somehow appeared to gather this devotion within them, so Nick wasn¡¯t about to complain about it.

    Each of his girls were shameless in collecting their rewards, and he noted that he really was often doing a pre and post battle thing now.

    Nick had to laugh when he eventually reached Jeffrey, and the mirror-like beetle suddenly looked a little bashful. He gave him a fist bump, and handed him a few essence pearls for his job well done, thanking him for protecting his girls.

    That left Irene.

    [Author Note: This is where the updated section begins. I wish I had gotten this out for you all to read the first time, but I''m mostly happy where this ended up now.]

    He smiled at her. ¡°Good job facing our enemies out there. I¡¯m relieved knowing you¡¯re watching over everyone, and giving your input. You¡¯re a big help to the team.¡±

    She covered her mouth with her hand, blushing. ¡°Oh, it was nothing much at all, there is no need to thank me. Not only are you helping me with my own goals with the archives, but my daughter has already grown so much thanks to your focus on being Tested, and now I¡¯m even learning a little from her instead. I¡¯m so happy to see her doing so well.¡±

    Nick spread his arms wide, offering her a hug. She giggled, before wrapping her hands behind his neck and leaning in, her curvy body pressed up tightly against him. He returned the hug, despite it not being the usual mother-in-law type of hug, which made Nick a bit concerned about Rebecca, but Eirwen had distracted her by bringing out a few items they gained in her bags.

    Irene smiled broadly, and sighed. ¡°It¡¯s so wonderful to be hugged by someone so full of strength and love. Did you know? When you rescued me, it was almost like this while cradled in your Soul Core, just all the time. Except¡­¡±

    Nick arched his brow as he let go, and she backed off slightly. ¡°Except?¡±

    She leaned forward once again, and whispered in his ear, ¡°Except when you were with your many wives, the love and lust you had for them was something I had never felt before. The perversions of that horrible man as he threatened to defile me and all those priestesses¡­ I may have protected my soul, but my mind is a bit tainted.¡± She licked her lips, and her eyes took on a fervent gleam, ¡°I can¡¯t help but want you to be the one to def¨C¡±

    Before Nick could respond, Rebecca frowned as she leaned in. ¡°What did you just say, Mother?¡±

    Irene cleared her throat and backed away from Nick, and gave her a smile. ¡°I was just reminding our dear hero what it felt like after he saved me from such a horrible fate. Samuel really tormented me, and I had nearly given up on living, only managing to hold on in hopes that I may protect you for just another day. But now, our hero has given me a shot at not only life again, but happiness. I was just thanking him for that, and telling him what it meant to me and how I wanted to repay him. There¡¯s nothing wrong with that, is there, daughter?¡±

    Rebecca looked a little confused, as her words ringed mostly true in her mind. ¡°No, of course not, Mother. Just¡­you¡¯re acting a little strange, looking so¡­ happy hugging Nicholas.¡± Her words were tinged with a little bit of suspicion.

    Fang tilted her head with a sniff. ¡°Happy? That¨C¡± Sable covered Fang¡¯s mouth, shaking her head.

    Irene looked a little melancholic, her eyes taking on a distant gaze. ¡°Yes, well¡­ I¡¯m afraid that as much of a smile I¡¯ve put on for everyone, including you, there is a price to be paid for everything. My time under Samuel¡¯s torment was horrible, but I think I¡¯ll be okay thanks to our dear hero, as his warmth has protected and healed my soul. Sadly, I¡¯m going to be a little weird from now on.¡±

    Rebecca softened her gaze, looking remorseful. ¡°I¡­yes, of course, Mother. I¡¯m sorry for that. I guess¡­ seeing you so happy has made it easy to forget what you¡¯ve been through. Your happiness is important to me, so if¡­ hugging Nicholas makes you happy and whole once again, I don¡¯t mind it. I just¡­¡±

    Irene interrupted, ¡°It¡¯s okay, my Becca. I know it is strange for you, my interest in your husband, just why wouldn¡¯t it be? But I thank you for your understanding. You know that I would never want to hurt you.¡±

    Rebecca looked conflicted, her eyes darting left and right as she thought or searched her feelings. ¡°N¨CNo, mother, I know that, and it¡¯s surprising, but¡­ I suppose, it really shouldn¡¯t be. All the other Priestesses are in the same position at this time, all wanting a piece of our Nicholas¡¯ heart. I guess¡­ I just need some time to¡­ think about all¡­ this.¡±

    Sable and Luna were dragging Fang away, before she said something tactless about how it shouldn¡¯t be weird at all for Boss to take anyone as his mate. Kaya was dutifully ignoring the conversation, checking her equipment, now that the fighting had been completed.

    Irene nodded, deciding to leave it at that, and Nick scratched his neck. This was one of those situations where he wasn¡¯t sure if saying something was the best thing or not. Irene¡¯s interest in him was obvious, and he hadn¡¯t outright rejected her. But if he knew Rebecca wouldn¡¯t or couldn¡¯t be happy with that situation, he would have. In that case, he would try some other way to help Irene find happiness, even if he liked Irene a lot and wanted her.

    It was shaping up to resolve on its own, it seemed. However, seeing Rebecca seem so uneasy, confused, and worried, he took her hand in his and gave her a reassuring smile as he played with the ring on her hand.

    He definitely didn¡¯t want to say that he wanted to date and or plow her mother, as he didn¡¯t want to trample over her feelings with his desires. And Nick couldn¡¯t lie if he was asked. But he did want to tell her that whatever happened, or she decided, he had her back.

    Looking down at her hand and back to his face, Rebecca then let out a relaxed breath and a smile as she met his eyes. It seemed his message was received. Just as they had been through many trials from the arches at the wedding, this was just another, yet a strange one¨Cand Nick would give his all to make her happy as they overcame it together.

    No doubt, Rebecca would take some time to get used to this idea, that maybe Nick would be with her mother. He thought it was likely she would eventually embrace it happily. In the end, he was not going to pressure her about this because that¡¯d be a dick move.

    Irene turned to Eirwen, who had a speculative, yet happy look on her face¨Cit seemed she also understood this was a complicated situation.

    ¡°Winny, what do you make of that crystalline plant, from the rhino? Can you bring it out so I can have a look? It looked fascinating.¡±

    Eirwen nodded, and pulled it out of her pouch. It had shrunk as a part of Orion¡¯s odd Loot process, but it was connected to a strange, crystalline heart. The whole thing gave off feelings of nature, beasts, and stone. It was beyond unique, and Nick was interested to know what it could be used for.

    Rebecca was also excited by the unique treasure, looking at it with interest, inspecting it with her eyes and magical senses. The three scholarly girls got into talking about the heart for a few minutes, before Nick cleared his throat.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, everyone. We need to head after the ratfolk now, so we can finish this and get back to our real home. I bet Lumos will have some details on it if you grill her too.¡±

 Book 3 - Chapter 34 - The Final Treasure

    After defeating the knight order and the tribal kingdom, they actually had to rush in order to chase the ratfolk all the way to their border and exit. It seemed they somehow knew the change to the situation, and they had attempted to flee.

    If it weren¡¯t for Jasmine and Sable working together, rushing through the forest and tracking them, they would have gotten away with the goods¨Cnearly thirty percent of everything. But the two were successful in taking down the rat people¡¯s leader, recovering the large amount of wealth contained within his spatial pouch.

    With the three kingdom¡¯s leaders defeated, they received a prompt. [Noblefrost Kingdom is Victorious¨Cthe Test of Supremacy is now completed. Treasure contained in the central glade to mature in 72 hours. Arrive at the entry within this time.]

    Irene exclaimed, ¡°Oh! It¡¯s one of those. What a blessing.¡±

    Nick frowned, reading the prompt. ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°There is a class of treasures that are not meant for transport. The kind that must be consumed immediately upon maturation. Orion often creates a Trial over these types of treasures, unless specifically nourished by the kingdom. For example, if you finished the Quests for your mines, if a special treasure such as this matured there, it should be yours without any kind of contest.¡±

    She added, ¡°Orion doesn¡¯t much like waste, so it would help you become aware of something so significant in your territory, but make you earn it¨CTesting you and your right for the reward.¡±

    Nick was getting a bit excited. ¡°Nice, I wonder who it¡¯ll be best for. There¡¯s still some time left for us to earn some unique treasures. It might be slim pickings now, but every little bit we bring back will be put to use.¡±

    Birdy suddenly squawked at him, and Nick noticed that its face had finally formed into a beak. It continued to squawk for a while, gesturing at the forest and to itself.

    Nick arched his brow, as he thought he understood its desires¨Csomewhat through their connection. ¡°If you find a treasure on your own, you may consume or keep it for yourself. Just meet us at the glade in three days, or you might miss out.¡±

    Birdy laughed, several short caws like a laughing crow. It then put its staff near its beak, and began to take bites of it. The odd demonic wood crunched ominously as, over just a few bites, it shoved the rest of it into its throat. Nick watched with horrid fascination, as splinters of wood were scattered everywhere.

    The demonic goat, which was now mostly covered in feathers, then glowed for a moment, then began to flap its wings, laughing all the while. Birdy took off, and flew off to the West. Jasper and the Wolfen girls all tilted their heads in confusion, watching as it flew away.

    Nick couldn¡¯t help but feel weird about his odd bird Soul Servant, after that display. ¡°So¡­ that happened. Should I be worried?¡±

    Fang laughed. ¡°No, Birdy is a good bird, mostly. I know it! It¡¯ll find something special for sure.¡±

    They spent two days circling the area near the glade, making sure they missed no treasure, left no beast alive or any rock unturned. Jasmine and Sable met up with them on the first day, and they continued and rested until eventually, it was time and they found themselves in front of the glade.

    Birdy eventually showed up, looking even more like a bird than before. The goat legs were now shaped like a bird¡¯s entirely, its talons looking particularly vicious, and the creature giving off a Concept of some kind. While it was definitely related to ice, Nick couldn¡¯t actually get a good feel for what it was.

    Most likely, much like Jasmine, a lot of Birdy¡¯s capabilities were linked to their previous body. Without its true demonic bird body, it likely couldn¡¯t bring about its full power.

    Nick couldn¡¯t help but voice his thoughts, ¡°Man, demons sure are weird, huh.¡±

    Kaya chuckled. ¡°Well, I think you just attract weird stuff, Nick. It¡¯s strong, thankfully.¡±

    ¡°Wow, Birdy¡¯s much stronger now! Good job, Birdy.¡± Fang smiled at Birdy, her tail wagging.

    It lifted its beak up with what felt like pride as it gave a cawing laugh. Then, it turned to Jasper, who was sitting there waiting patiently, guarding the party like always.

    Birdy narrowed its eyes on Jasper, and began cawing once again, before creating its feathers of ice. These had an immense amount of cold, and felt sharper somehow, on top of that. It was powered by some form of Concept, and then Birdy started to squawk and chirp.

    This time, it felt like Birdy was taunting Jasper. Jasper¡¯s ears went flat on his head, and its tail went between its legs as Birdy began to strut side to side, with its wings held out wide, showing them off.

    Jasper whimpered as he put his head on the ground, and Birdy looked down at him imperiously. It then cawed several times, then Jasper¡¯s ears perked up, and he barked and stood up, and then nodded. Giving off his cawing laugh, Birdy leaped onto Jasper¡¯s back, once again making itself comfortable.

    ¡°What¡­just happened?¡± Kaya asked, and then looked to Nick.

    ¡°Whatchu¡¯ looking at me for? You think I got any of that?¡±

    He kind of did, but to him, it felt a little too silly to be right. Even if he had a good idea, he would keep it to himself.

    ¡°I think I get it!¡± Jasmine smiled, placing a closed fist in her open palm.

    Everyone turned to her. Nick said, ¡°Really? You got that?¡±

    ¡°Maybe! I think Birdy¡¯s trying to motivate Jasper. It showed off its Concept, and said like,¡± She cleared her throat, and took on a more forceful, and perhaps¡­ birdlike voice. ¡°You are pathetic, not even having a Concept yet. But for giving me a ride for all that time, I¡¯ll throw you a bone and help you out¨Cbut only if you let me ride you again when I want. Because I¡¯m lazy.¡±

    Nick was a little skeptical, looking over at the bird who was preening and chirping to Jasper. That¡­did mostly match with what he felt. ¡°Huh, that kind of fits, doesn¡¯t it. Maybe? It¡¯s good that Birdy can fly if it needs to, and that it has gotten stronger. If something good comes to Jasper too, that¡¯s a big bonus.¡±

    Eirwen noted, ¡°If he¡¯s anything like Monsterfolk, I think Jasper has suffered a little by us needing so many frost-related treasures. He needs them to grow, but it¡¯s been difficult to spare enough for his growth. We¡¯ve used many for your Soulforging and the other Monsterfolk, besides.¡±

    Rebecca nodded. ¡°It¡¯s true, but we should have plenty of ore and gems from the second mine when we return. The income from the mines should be quite substantial now.¡±

    It was something Nick needed to keep in mind. Their growth as his Soul Servants was important to his personal power, and he needed to put a little more effort into them. Perhaps it would be better if he went for a Soul Servant that had different powers. He would think more on this in the future.

    The timer eventually ran out, and the dome began to recede from the glade.

    As it was revealed from the dome protecting it, they understood just why it was protected with a dome from the beginning¨Cthere were no enemies there, and the location alone was special.

    A lone tree sat in the water, looking a lot like a giant weeping willow made up of a kaleidoscope of colors. The water it sat in was so clear, its roots were large and visible. They attached to the stone beneath it, drawing up the dense essence of the water.

    Fruits hung from numerous dangling leaves, their skins giving off bright lights, like rainbow lamps. The fruits looked somewhat like a cluster of grapes, a series of spheres combined, almost as if mushed together to make up a singular rainbow fruit.

    It was certainly enough for everyone in the kingdom to receive one, a special opportunity.

    Irene gasped. ¡°Wow, numerous leylines, perhaps all of them in this valley, intersect here. So many energies, and yet this tree can somehow live and contain them all.¡±

    [For the maximum benefit, enter the cleansing waters of the Spring of Revitalization and Purity, then consume a single Omnibloom Fruit from the Tree of Resplendence. You have been granted 8 hours within.]

    A new dome appeared after they had entered, establishing a Safe Zone. The moment that happened, everyone¡¯s shoulders sagged in relief, their guards no longer required to remain up.

    Nick looked around as he wondered, ¡°If this was contested, how would it have worked?¡±

    Irene answered, ¡°Sometimes, it would create a secondary dome where only those that entered would be able to compete, usually to the death. The people of Orion call them Domes of Conflict, or sometimes Trial Barriers. Many parties or individuals would enter, but only one would be allowed to win and leave. It¡¯d have incentivized the kingdoms to come out of hiding for a final battle over it, or flee and give it up.¡±

    As the party neared the waters, Birdy started squawking angrily, flapping its wings and digging into Jasper¡¯s flesh with its talons. Still, its eyes were honed in on the fruit, like it wanted to eat them all.

    Rebecca said, ¡°I think the waters might actually be harmful to it. But it looks like the fruit might be okay. Have you heard of them, Mother?¡±

    Irene was looking at everything in interest. ¡°I have. They are a fruit that somehow contains everything. They say that consuming one will align with your fate, and improve the aspect of you that most needs improvement, or might aid you the most. It can grant tempering or enlightenment, or even just improve your Core. The Myriad people of Orion can benefit from it in differing ways.¡±

    She continued, looking at the water. ¡°But using the Spring of Revitalization and Purity is a tremendous benefit as well. It will cleanse our bodies and spirits, and even our Cores, improving the density and purity of the essence within them, and heal us. Even by itself, this would be a major benefit.¡±

    Rebecca added, ¡°It sounds like it¡¯ll help us get the most out of the fruit as well. After tempering or enlightenment, our bodies and cores are often full of foreign energies, in addition to us being exhausted. The spring will aid us in getting us back to normal quicker.¡±

    They waded into the shallow pool, until they reached the center, where most of the fruits were hanging.

    Nick found that the water caused him to become extremely buoyant, despite his body seemingly drinking the water straight through his pores. He was floating on the water with no effort, and found himself laying down, facing up at the beautiful colors twinkling above him.

    It was the same for everyone else. There was complete silence in the glade, other than his party¡¯s breathing and moving around in the water, finding their positions.

    ¡°This is kinda nice. Relaxing.¡± Nick noted.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Eirwen replied, ¡°it feels like a soothing bath. I can feel the warmth spreading.¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    ¡°Oh!¡± Rebecca gasped. ¡°My lotus¡­¡±

    Nick looked over, to see that Rebecca¡¯s frozen lotus from his gift¨Cthe necklace¨Cwas vibrating in the water. It was drawing in the energy from the spring, and growing ever so slightly from the process.

    Seeing her just smile at the result, he just went back to relaxing.

    He felt the fatigue wash away, feeling better than he had just before he entered the Ordeal. Observing the essence as it was drawn into his cores, he noticed the essence condensing in the spheres.

    Kaya said, ¡°You weren¡¯t kidding, Irene. This is amazing. Despite gaining levels near the peak of the stratum so rapidly, I¡¯ll be ready to absorb everything in my Concept Chamber right away.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t as simple as absorbing essence until you leveled up, even the pure essence from the Ordeals. A battle maniac that fought constantly and defeated every Test would have to stop eventually, to recuperate and consolidate their gains.

    This would be even more true in the third stratum.

    Birdy was the first to eat her fruit, gulping it down in a single bite. The bird¡¯s whole body then vibrated, the essence within it echoing in waves. She then nearly fell into the water, but Jasper grew some ice on his back and froze the bird to its fur, keeping her from moving.

    It¡¯d be fine, probably.

    Fang was next, and then everyone joined in with eating their fruit. Nick took a single bite, and it tasted so amazing that he couldn¡¯t even remember taking the other bites and finishing it. Liquid euphoria traveled through his body, from the bottom of his feet to the top of his head, and even his eyeballs. Everything within him vibrated and buzzed, including his Soul and Body Cores.

    He wasn¡¯t sure how long he spent in this state, but eventually, he noticed the vibration was building. This continued for a time, until he felt something pop¨Clike a joint cracking, relieving a bunch of pressure.

    His entire view went white for a minute, and when he could see again, he saw a tremendous amount of light surrounding him¨Cbeyond just what the tree already gave off. Then, golden glyphs on his body lit up, and it took him a moment to understand just what he was seeing¨Cit was his disguise array. It was shifting to accommodate the change, whatever it was.

    But there was more than that. His girls, the essence in the spring beneath him and the tree above, everything had lights traveling through them. The girl¡¯s Soul Cores were especially bright, and the colors definitely seemed to be related to them. The impressions that he got from their Souls had improved, and he thought he had a better perception of their location without even turning to look at them.

    The vibration, light show, and surprises calmed down, he now had the wherewithal to check on his prompt.

    [Bloodline Upgraded. Your racial Traits have been improved to the second stratum. The Advanced Soul Sense, Advanced Body, and Mana Resistant traits have been enhanced.]

    The entries for each showed the improvements. The short of it was, the things that made him special were enhanced, the most significant being his Advanced Soul Sense. He could now better sense, and see, blends of Soul Essence outside of his body.

    This meant that discovering the Panther man would have been trivial, as even the tiniest bit of soul essence leakage would have been detected. People were walking beacons of essence, and even if they sealed off their bodies with their mana auras, small traces would ultimately end up in the surrounding area. It was difficult to not leak anything at all, requiring a level of perfection few could achieve.

    Rebecca was far ahead of the rest of his party in this, and Sable was catching up¨Cat least in regards to shielding herself from detection. It was an ongoing issue, as the more essence¨Cthe higher the level, the more difficult hiding the essence became.

    Nick was happy about the result. Finding a bloodline improvement treasure for his extinct race was likely highly difficult, but this had granted him one piece of the puzzle he needed. Perhaps one of the rewards in his Heritage would be for a similar treasure, and that would push him even further¨Che had several other traits that were untouched by the treasure.

    Looking at each of his girls, they all had pleasant smiles on their faces. Nick waited for a time, the water from the magical spring renewing him.

    He felt several of them moved forward in their Concepts, even those that had reached Early Mastery. However, watching with his new eyes, he could see their Devotion Cores each had been the ones to gain, the fragments swirling within them. The ones he felt the most clearly were his Wolfen girls, as he felt the same exact thing from all three of them.

    It was related to the pack, which made him wonder a bit about what this would mean for Luna, who already had something like that.

    The others were hard to make out, but Nick did confirm that Rebecca reached Early Mastery with her Sacrificial Concept. This made him feel much better, as now the situation with the lava elemental would never be repeated.

    Irene was¡­getting something, but Nick couldn¡¯t tell what. With the amount of light, he wagered it was related to her angel race. Jeffrey had grown, to the point where Nick wondered if he would even still be able to fly.

    Jasmine got some form of trait, that increased the light within her spider limbs even further. She was also the first to wake up, her eyes blinking before she turned to him.

    ¡°You¡¯re awake already, Master?¡± She jolted, and then moved to cradle him in her four arms, immediately fussing over his wet clothing.

    Nick chuckled. ¡°Not for long. Let¡¯s move to the shore? So we don¡¯t disturb everyone.¡±

    The two moved to the shore, and Jasmine helped dry him off quickly with some flares of her aura. There was a small campsite of stones for him to sit on, and so she sat him down, and knelt beside him.

    It was then he realized she might be just a bit taller¨Ceven kneeling, she was as tall as him sitting.

    ¡°Did you get bigger again? What did you get, Jasmine?¡±

    ¡°I think so. It seems that it helped prepare my body, making it more compatible with my Nexus Core. I¡¯m pretty much ready to enter the third stratum. It¡¯s surprising.¡±

    Nick was shocked. ¡°Already?¡±

    Jasmine hesitated. ¡°I just need the levels in my Nexus Core, then I can merge it with my body and ascend to the third stratum.¡± She looked a little reluctant.

    ¡°You don¡¯t seem happy about that?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because¡­ I worked hard on this body, and then I¡¯ll be throwing it away before long. I¡¯ll be happy to have my old body back, but¡­ I liked making the webbing, the clothes and armor for you and your wives. My last body could not make anything useful. I could serve, but aside from that, I could only consume and destroy.¡±

    Nick scratched his chin as he hummed. ¡°Hm. I¡¯m sure we can find a way to use them both. That way, you can have the best of both worlds.¡±

    Jasmine gasped, her eyes lighting up with excitement. ¡°Oh! You¡¯re right. I can keep this one in storage, and change bodies, just like changing a wig or a dress!¡±

    Nick chuckled, and got a far away look at the thought. ¡°Yeah¡­ just like it¡­¡±

    She didn¡¯t seem to notice, and continued, ¡°You know, there were a lot of other cool bodies that I had passed on, but maybe there are some other neat races I can be!¡± Jasmine hugged him tightly, then sighed dreamily. ¡°And so many ways I can serve you, Master.¡± She purred.

    The others started waking up, the silence of the spring eventually ruined by Birdy¡¯s angry squawking. Jasper sighed as he carried Birdy out of the spring, walking to the shore.

    Eirwen, Irene and Rebecca each helped everyone dry off, using a simple trick with aura and mana to remove the moisture from their clothing and hair as they joined Nick and Jasmine at the campsight.

    Fang bounced from one foot to the other, and so did Sable and Luna. They moved in a strange, perfect sync, that felt a little odd to him. Like it was calling him.

    ¡°What¡¯s with you girls?¡±

    Fang stopped, the other two girls continuing. ¡°We can move as one now! It makes us stronger. C¡¯mon!¡± She tugged his hand, pulling him forward.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    Luna and Sable said at the same time, ¡°Join us! Try it.¡±

    He felt silly, but he joined them in their odd movements. Within moments, he found he moved with them in perfect sync, just like they were doing.

    But there was more to it. There was a strange weight to the movement, like the essence of Orion was aiding him, like it had the weight of the world behind it.

    When they took out their spears, he drew his blade instinctively, and began swinging it to flow with their stabbing and dashing motions. Each began to move to a different timing, a coordinated attack that would be difficult for any foe to counter.

    Sable and Luna also mixed blasts of iceshadow and frost, and they had the special weight of their will added. They could even mix their own Concepts with it, which surprised him. He couldn¡¯t even use both at once, let alone mix his Concepts together yet, and they hadn¡¯t even reached Early Mastery yet. To his shock, even his Heroic Concept was enhanced.

    It was as if every movement or action done as a pack was enhanced in some way.

    Rebecca noticed what was happening. ¡°Truly amazing. It must be a combination of their Trait. Trait-enhanced Concepts are often powerful, but to have one behave this way is so interesting. I haven¡¯t heard of anything like it.¡±

    Eirwen smiled. ¡°I think this is the power of the Devotion Core. Through Nick, they linked to each other and him. It must be their Mated Trait.¡±

    While the effect wasn¡¯t that big now, he knew it likely would be once each of his girls reached Early Mastery. It was an interesting effect. While it was way less than the amount of strength he might gain with a strength Concept of his own, it was in the ballpark of ten to twenty percent, based on the orc he had faced.

    That it worked on anything, and his girls seemed to get a slightly bigger effect, was something substantial. With it increasing later as they reached Early Mastery, he was sure that the bonus would be significant.

    Fang¡¯s tail was wagging furiously. ¡°Yesss! We did it! We made a power that¡¯s useful for Boss too!¡±

    Nick chuckled. ¡°You girls are always awesome.¡±

    ¡°I know, but if we do even better, it means even more belly rubs, right?¡±

    He couldn¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°I can¡¯t argue with that. At this rate, I¡¯m not gonna have much time left for things other than belly rubs.¡± Nick frowned, as he realized something. ¡°You three had some kind of Enlightenment, right? What was your vision?¡±

    Sable chuckled. ¡°There was no vision. I think this just¡­awakened something in our hearts, our cores. The fruit must have done something special. I just¡­felt closer to these two and Boss when I woke up.¡±

    ¡°Was it the same for the rest of you?¡± Nick asked, turning to the other girls.

    Kaya and Eirwen nodded, but Rebecca shook her head. ¡°Maybe because I already had a fragment, mine was different? But it was interesting.¡± She smiled at Nick. ¡°It showed me all those times I sacrificed in the arch scenarios, but also all the times I saw you and our family was in danger. That helped me make it a part of me, and now I¡¯m certain I can remove nasty things from you, Nicholas. Even powerful things.¡±

    Luna smiled proudly at her. ¡°That¡¯s wonderful. What about your new fragment, Winny?¡±

    Eirwen¡¯s tail flicked. ¡°It¡¯s a strange thing. First I got that weird power of shooting stars, and now¡­ I¡¯m not so sure. It¡¯s hard for me to explain, my feeling. Let me try it.¡±

    She closed her eyes, and then began casting a spell Nick was familiar with¨Ca spear of ice. During her casting, Nick felt her flare her will, her Concept manifesting¨Cwhatever it was. The ice then shifted, much of it bursting into flame, and the rest melting. It was odd though, as he knew she had a terrible affinity for casting a fire spell, outside of buffs like Elemental Weapons.

    Jasmine narrowed her eyes on the result, the water droplets on the ground. ¡°That was¡­ neat, but¡­ I still don¡¯t get what happened.¡±

    ¡°That was just a test, I think I get it now. The best way for me to explain it might be the power of wishes.¡±

    Nick arched his brow. ¡°Wishes? That sounds crazy. Like snap your fingers and bam, bad guy¡¯s dead?¡±

    Jasmine pouted. ¡°This is no fair. I¡¯m supposed to be Master¡¯s genie!¡±

    Eirwen chuckled. ¡°No, probably not how you¡¯re thinking. With my will, I can boost or twist my spell or action in a way that might make what I desire to have happen, happen. Changing reality, but only by a little¨Cless than most spells or Concepts already do. But if it¡¯s for hubby, I can do a little better than that. At least, that¡¯s my feelin¡¯¡±

    Irene said, ¡°I¡¯ve heard of powers like this. They are, on their own, weaker than specialized powers. There is a price to pay for such versatility. However, for a Class like hers that does it all, perhaps this can be quite powerful. Opportunity and timing can be everything.¡±

    Eirwen nodded. ¡°It¡¯s a strange power, but I don¡¯t think there are many limitations outside of¡­ how much I gain or how useful the twist or boost might be. For now, it¡¯s easy for me to just picture boosting spells, wishing for them to be better, stronger.¡±

    Nick was a little impressed, but her starlight power and dream magic was already kind of mysterious. Adding this onto that had him a little concerned, considering her combat worries. She had become stronger and well-rounded, but still wasn¡¯t at the level of Kaya that could turn the tide of battle for him.

    Fang looked over at Kaya, smiling. ¡°That just leaves you, Kaya! I bet your move is amazing!¡±

    Kaya blushed. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ I¡¯m not sure yet, other than I¡¯m probably stronger and faster when fighting with my mate, while transformed. That¡¯s¡­the feeling that I get.¡±

    Nick put his hand on her hip, and he held back a chuckle as her tail wrapped around his arm. ¡°Well, that¡¯s no different from usual, is it? But it sounds like this was a power-up for us all. It took a while, but the Devotion Cores have finally matured.¡±

    Jasmine pouted. ¡°I want mine! This kinda sucks, waiting.¡±

    Irene added, ¡°You girls are really something, devoting yourselves to your husband in this way! All of your paths are truly focused on our Hero. It¡¯s wonderful.¡±

    Eirwen giggled. ¡°I¡¯m glad you see it that way. I¡¯m happy with our choices so far.¡±

    Kaya stretched. ¡°The fruit and spring was really something else. I feel great, but isn¡¯t it time to get going?¡±

    Irene¡¯s eyes lit up, and she began to float. ¡°Oh, can we? It¡¯s time, isn¡¯t it? The Ancestral Archives!¡±

    Nick chuckled. ¡°Guess so. Let¡¯s get moving.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s almost time for belly rubs!¡± Fang bolted off, heading toward the edge of the dome, as everyone started their march.

    The arches rose from the ground as they exited the dome, and everyone was filled with excitement¨Ceven Jeffrey was buzzing.

    It had been a month, and it was finally time to go home.

 Book 3 - Chapter 20 - ??? - Night with an Angel Bride

    Nick and Rebecca¡¯s eyes were on each other¡¯s, as Nick carried her over to his large bed. He had to stop for to continue their kisses a few times, and Rebecca¡¯s wings fluttered in anticipation. The warmth and love they had for each other was nearly a physical thing, each kiss causing the soul core in his chest to vibrate in happiness.

    It seemed her becoming his Archaen Angel Wife had greatly pleased his monstrous instincts, the desire for such a pure woman to be his. He had felt this with Eirwen as well, but this was on a whole new level.

    Placing her on the bed, he took a moment to admire her. The nun habit had truly hidden her features, and it was only a handful of times that he had gotten to see her curves. The white wedding dress was painted-on tight at the top, her large, firm breasts nearly spilling out of the top. Her shoulderless dress showed off her clear skin, with not a single blemish on her.

    Rebecca¡¯s hair had elaborate braids at the top with golden pins and styled combs in it, but otherwise was the same as usual. It was straight at the top, but became ringlets around the shoulder as her long hair draped down toward her lower back. Her hair spilled out in a fan behind her, along with her white dove-like wings, as she watched him with her deep blue eyes filled with need.

    The wings had grown larger now, and were nearly at the level of her mother¡¯s. The gown was long, and had covered her well below the waist.

    He said, ¡°Let¡¯s get this gown off of you.¡±

    She twisted to her side, revealing a zipper at the back. It traveled horizontally, however, and when he followed it and removed the gown, it left the corset-like dress at the top above her waist only.

    White crotchless panties and garter belts at the top of the leggings were revealed. Her thick thighs had just the right amount of muscle on them for him, her hips flaring out wide beneath her thin waist.

    ¡°Jasmine definitely made you a great wedding dress ready for our special night. You look delicious.¡±

    Rebecca blushed a little, and smiled. ¡°And you look handsome in that tux. I¡¯d liked your gambler¡¯s outfit, but this is even nicer.¡±

    Nick started undoing his bow tie as he took off his shoes with his toes to the heels, and took off the outer coat for now to get more comfortable. He¡¯d let her undress the rest of him later.

    He crawled over her onto the bed, his body hovering over her. Kissing her once again, his hands started to roam her sexy body. Her lips were soft, and his soul core had a pleasant hum as more of her essence entered him, warming him.

    To his surprise, the essence felt stronger now than before, and her bright faith core soothed and appeased his instincts. She was his now, and it was like satisfaction from it pervaded his whole being.

    Her hands wrapped around his back, and clutched him tightly as their tongues met. Feeling the essence from her kiss was like feeling the love she had for him, and it was a heady feeling. She gave pleasant moans as his hand groped her breasts, and moved down her stomach and to her thick ass as they continued their kiss.

    Eventually, he pulled back to give her another look. Her large chest was heaving for breath, and the pleasant blush on her cheeks with her lips parted made her want to dive in for more.

    ¡°You¡¯re beautiful, Becca.¡±

    Rebecca blushed a little more, shyly looking away before forcing herself to meet his eyes. ¡°I love you so much, Nicholas. You make me feel so special.¡±

    His core thrummed in his chest, vibrating as his desire for her grew. ¡°I love you too, and the feeling is mutual.¡±

    Kissing her again, he could feel her desire build as well. Their kisses became more fervent, and eventually, he could tell she was worked up¨Cand he was too. ¡°I want you now.¡±

    With a small smile, she moved and revealed the zipper at the top of the corset, and he unzipped it and tossed it, revealing her lovely firm breasts and nipples. The nipples were delightfully pink, the areolas small on her large breasts.

    The nipples stood tall and hard already, and seeing them looking so inviting, he couldn¡¯t help but finger one as he wrapped his mouth and tongue around the other and sucked.

    ¡°Mmn!¡± Rebecca moaned, surprised at the sudden sensation. Her breathing picked up, but it caught in her throat as his hand trailed down her flat stomach to tease her outer folds. He continued to lavish her breasts with attention, kissing and licking her nipples as he palmed and thumbed her pussy, warming her up and getting her ready for him.

    She gave pleased moans, her body incredibly responsive to his attentions as her hands cradled Nick¡¯s head.

    ¡°Oh, goddess¡­¡± She breathed.

    Nick continued his ministrations, Rebecca¡¯s breathing picking up. He trailed kisses down her chest and stomach, as he brought himself to her lower lips. With just a small triangle of hair above it, her pussy was bare. With a pink that matched her nipples, her lower lips were inviting.

    Spreading her legs, he kissed and licked her labia, before fingering her entrance. Kissing and licking her exposed clit, he took his time to draw out her pleasure. Even now, he could feel an odd connection building, between him and her. Her pleasure was rising, and it wouldn¡¯t be long before she came.

    ¡°Ohh yes,¡± she moaned, ¡°so good¡­¡± Her moans increased in frequency, as he continued lavishing her pussy with attention. As she got close, he curled his finger inside her, and she finally froze as she moaned.

    Her pussy and hips shook and convulsed, her hands clutching the blankets beneath her tightly. ¡°Ohhh yes! I¡¯m¡­.¡± Her hips went wilder as Nick sucked on her clit, her hands clutching his hair instead. It took a moment for her to come down from her high, but Nick didn¡¯t stop until she did.

    Rebecca was breathing heavily. ¡°That was¡­ amazing. I want¡­ to return the favor.¡±

    Nick smiled, stood on the floor and wiped his mouth on his sleeve as she crawled across the bed to him. He now stood over her slightly, and her eyes looked up and met his with a loving smile.

    First, she unbuttoned his shirt, taking it off as she kissed his chest. Undoing his buckle on his belt, her eyes were lit with anticipation. His pants fell to the ground first, and then she took his boxers down, revealing his hard cock. It snapped upward as it was released from its confines, standing at attention at her head level.

    Rebecca¡¯s eyes nearly crossed, trying to look at it. She blushed. ¡°There it is¡­ it¡¯s still surprising.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Rebecca blushed. ¡°The girls talked about this¡­a lot. To prepare me¡­¡±

    Of course, Nick knew his girls had probably gotten her excited about this moment.

    Rebecca was now on all fours again facing him, and with a smile, her soft lips met his cock, and she began trailing kisses and licks all along his length. Now that it was wet, she made a firm grip on the base, and started jacking him off. The mixture of soft kisses and a tight stroke caused him to groan in pleasure, and he couldn¡¯t help but frame her face with his hand, and begin guiding her attentions.

    ¡°Even if you didn¡¯t tell me, I¡¯d already know Winny taught you a bit about what to do here.¡±

    Rebecca blushed, still stroking him with one hand. ¡°We clergy¡­ our books about this are more¡­ clinical. We do have a few romances we¡¯ve snuck between each other.¡±

    ¡°You naughty nuns.¡±

    Rebecca pouted. ¡°Hardly. Those books didn¡¯t have anything on what Winny and Kaya told me about. Like this.¡±

    Continuing the movements with her hand, stoking him, she positioned herself until she was sitting on the edge of the bed, instead. Angling him with her hand as she stroked, her lips met the tip of his cock, and her tongue swirled around it. She began to take it into her mouth, and struggled to take it in past the tip, to fit her lips around his wide girth. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Not giving up, she continued to work her jaw, and alternate the motions with her tongue and stroking his length as she kept trying to fit it deeper. She eventually managed, but then gagged just past the head.

    She coughed. ¡°It¡¯s hard¡­ Just how did Winny do it? Kaya¡­¡±

    Nick snorted. ¡°Practice, and probably some essence bullshit. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll have plenty of time for that later. We can move on to the main event.¡±

    Rebecca shook her head. She didn¡¯t want to give up. ¡°Just¡­one more try. I want to make you feel good.¡± Her eyes were watery, and her large chest heaved as she took more breaths to ready herself.

    Running his hand through her styled, pinned hair, he motioned for her to continue. Taking on a look of determination, which, he thought was a bit much for the task in question, but he wasn¡¯t about to dissuade her.

    She took him in her mouth again, her lips spreading tightly around his girth. He groaned at the tight suction, her tongue being dragged against the bottom of his length. She started to try to bob a little, taking him deeper into her throat as she met his eyes.

    Rebecca still tried to stroke him as she bobbed, but as she went deeper, she started to choke, her eyes watering as she pulled herself off. She coughed.

    He smiled at her. ¡°You did good, that felt great. We¡¯ll try that again next time¨CI want you now.¡±

    Rebecca puffed out her chest in pride, but then blushed as she realized what would happen next. He eased her further onto the bed, placing her onto her back once more, and she spread her legs.

    Once again, he felt a draw, a connection building. Intertwining his fingers with hers, he lined his cock up with the other hand, easing the head of it into her folds. Once he was aligned, he took her other hand in his, and kissed her lips.

    He felt a deeper connection to her now, the love they had for each other had now become a palpable thing. The excitement and joy welling up in her chest was significant, and he could feel it.

    She pulled back from kissing for a moment. ¡°You feel that too, right?¡± Rebecca asked.

    Nick smiled. ¡°Sure do. It seems we¡¯re building some kind of special connection. I¡¯m all for it.¡±

    He lips met hers once more, and letting his weight fall down on his hips, his cock entered her. There was some sort of obstruction inside, but it was strange, like it was made of essence, and it didn¡¯t seem to bother her one bit as he passed it. He continued to press in, his thick girth entering deep into her wet pussy easily as she gave a pleased hum.

    While her walls were tight, it was almost like the Wolfen girls after receiving their Mated trait. It was more like she was perfect-sized for him, already. Pushing into her velvet folds, he groaned at the warm and wet sensations, her pussy tight along his length. He had to ease himself in, pumping in and out as he went.

    ¡°Mmm!¡± Rebecca moaned, his wife enjoying their connection as it grew. It seemed she was filled her with happiness that they now shared this special thing.

    As he reached the base, her pussy convulsed, gripping him tightly. In the corner of his eyes, he saw that the light in the room had shifted. He hardly had the wherewithal to think about that as Rebecca moaned, her legs wrapping around him tightly suddenly. Her faith essence seemed to rush inside him, but he had difficulty following this process as she moaned and her tongue danced with his.

    He grunted from the pleasure as her pussy began vibrating in place, her insides clamping down all along his length. Her hips shook as she rolled them upward, her body moving on its own volition, her eyes closed from the pleasure.

    ¡°Mmm¡­¡± She pulled back from their kiss for air. ¡°Ohhh wow¡­¡± Rebecca said absentmindedly, before his hips started to move in match to her motions, his body driven to seek out his Archaen Wife.

    Her moans and their connection led him to believe she was riding out an intense orgasm, and his hips continued to speed up even as kissed her again, their tongues dancing with desire.

    For a moment, it was like he felt her pleasure and need, and he wanted nothing more but to fill her with his seed, his hips moving with hers. But her orgasm eventually ended, and she pulled back from his lips.

    ¡°Ohh Goddess¡­¡± She moaned, opening her eyes. ¡°That¡­ What was¡­we¡¯re glowing?¡±

    Still holding her hands, he lifted himself up. They were glowing from where their bodies met, and now, the connection was complete. He was sure there might be some kind of prompt from Orion, but he didn¡¯t care about that at the moment.

    ¡°We are.¡± Nick felt a little distant now. This was far from the first time something weird happened during sex with him. His race was truly weird.

    Essence was entering him in waves from where they were connected, and her wings were shimmering with light. Nick pulled back a little further, his cock¡¯s length leaving her tight folds. As he pulled out a little, he looked down at it.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s glowing.¡± Rebecca noted.

    ¡°So it is.¡±

    The light was even rippling across his pelvic region, sending pleasant sensations and covering the skin of his entire body, and even wrapping around his soul core in his chest. The darkness inside his body stirred, but felt like it was being contained, if anything, by the light. His core was drawing in the light on its own.

    Confirming it was not a problem at all, he didn¡¯t want to think any further about it right now. Resuming kissing his new wife, he plunged back inside, his cock entering her depths. The connection to her had only grown, and now, to the point where he was feeling her emotions at a stronger level.

    The love and affection she had for him warmed him, and his love for this compassionate woman rose. He fucked her slowly at first, their connected hands and tongue transmitting their love for one another. He couldn¡¯t help but want to be connected deeper and deeper, and if he had more hands, he would want all of them on her flesh as well.

    Pumping in and out, her pussy shook and gripped his length. Her hips rolled to meet his, the two working in perfect sync as they sought each other. Feeling how much she loved him drove him to make her feel good, his cock filling her all the way to the base with every thrust.

    Feeling her lust and love rise, he increased his pace to match. The two now moaned as their tongues danced, their eyes meeting each other as he now pounded her.

    He started to feel a little drunk on the love, the euphoria of being connected to his lover now became immense. Her legs around his back were pulling him in, her body shaking in pleasure.

    Reaching his peak, Rebecca joined him as they came at the same time. His cum filled her, pleasure traveling up his spine as his whole body shook. He had felt the desire to create an Heir, and had only barely kept himself from doing it.

    His angelic wife was more than willing, and his body¡¯s need had risen, for some reason¨Cperhaps the darkness that was being drawn out. Having finished, he could feel she didn¡¯t want him to pull out to disturb their connection, and he couldn¡¯t help but feel the same way. The connection was addictive, it seemed.

    Checking his essence, the darkness was still mostly contained inside his body, and body core. The light had built in his skin and chest further, and he had to wonder if this was some form of cultivation.

    Nick actually felt a little drained, after that. He could run for dozens of miles faster than most cars through the woods, his cultivator body capable of incredible feats. Yet somehow, he was winded, and really, he had barely been moving his hips.

    She seemed to notice this, giving him a loving smile. ¡°How about me on top, this time? I¡¯ll take care of you and make you feel good instead.¡±

    Nodding, he rolled her over and laid down on the bed, his cock still at attention inside her. They kept their hands intertwined, maintaining their connection as she spread her legs out, placing her feet on the bed on each side of him.

    Smiling at him lovingly, she started to move once more. Her pussy once again tightening and convulsing all along his length as she squatted up and down on his cock. Once again, he couldn¡¯t help but move his hips in sync with her, the desire to give her mutual love and pleasure great.

    Her wings flapped as she bounced on his cock, now that they were free. What he quickly noticed was that she didn¡¯t seem winded at all. If anything, her strength was building.

    ¡°Ohhh ¡­. I love you, Nicholas! You feel so good¡­¡± She sped up, and Nick groaned as her pussy shook and convulsed, even as she pounded herself onto his cock. Nick found her tightness quickly bringing him to the peak, even though he had just cum not that long ago thanks to her increased pace.

    Rebecca moaned, ¡°Mmm¡­ So close¡­I¡¯m going to cum again!¡± She sped up even further, her hips a near blur. Her strong and thick thighs were working overtime, and now Nick had trouble even moving his own hips.

    Even as she orgasmed, she didn¡¯t even slow. ¡°Yes! Yes! Yes! Fuck! Yes!¡±

    Feeling the lust and love build, once again, his balls boiled as he reached his peak. He flooded her with his cum, the pulses quickly filling her pussy. His and her body shook as the vibrations occurred again, their connection causing a powerful orgasm between the two.

    When the euphoria ended, her eyes met his full of love, and she looked down to where it filled him. ¡°I love this. I feel so close to you, so connected. I had been a bit jealous that Winny and Jasmine could feel you so well, but now I have something too.¡±

    Nick didn¡¯t know that much about their connection, but he could feel it. His instincts said the connection was made only when his cock was inserted into her. ¡°But it¡¯s only when¡­¡±

    Rebecca¡¯s smile was beaming. ¡°That just means I need to make the most of it while we can! Can we do it again?¡± Rebecca bit her lip, looking at him with more than a little lust and love, her large breasts starting to heave once more.

    Nick was a little surprised. ¡°Again? I¡¯m surprised, you¡¯re not tired at all?¡±

    ¡°I¡­also feel invigorated! And it feels so good¡­ doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    Nick hesitated, then coughed. ¡°Of course it does, you¡¯re amazing. But it¡¯s like you¡¯re draining it from me. I thought you were an angel, not a succubus.¡±

    Rebecca pouted. ¡°I may be¡­drawing some darkness out of you, and it¡¯s doing something good for me, I know it. Then, I think I¡¯m giving you some of my light, my faith and love in you.¡° She looked at him with love, her eyes watering as she gave him a pleading look. ¡°Please? Just one more, then we can go to the reception?¡±

    Nick couldn¡¯t help but side-eye her a little. ¡°I thought Fang had the best puppy-dog eyes, but I don¡¯t think I can say no to you, either.¡±

    She smiled, and despite it being full of love and tenderness, Nick got the feeling that the look was a little wicked. ¡°Mmm¡­don¡¯t worry, I want to make you feel so good, too. Again and again.¡±

    As she started to bounce on him again, he realized it was going to be a long night, but he was sure he would still enjoy it.

 Book 3 - Chapter 12.5 -???- The Huntress and Bodyguardâ€™s Rewards

    Arriving in the bedroom, Kaya and Sable quickly took off their clothes they wore at the bar, and Nick did the same, tossing his clothes. Jasmine kept her maid outfit on as usual, and arrived next to the bed, ready for his orders. Nodding at her, he sent his intentions in his thoughts, and she began to prepare the bed.

    Nick lifted Kaya into his arms, and kissed her fervently. Her tongue was wild in his mouth, and she was already breathing heavily. Her body was getting excited, she could sense her mate¡¯s smell shifting as his lust increased.

    Sable was no different, her nostrils flaring. Putting Kaya down, he then picked up Sable, and she wrapped her legs around his torso as they kissed. Her mouth was warm and inviting, her tongue following his lead. Groping her breasts, he played with her curvy, sexy ass and got her turned on.

    He put her down, and the two naked girls looked up at him, breathy with need. Seeing Sable¡¯s dark skin next to Kaya¡¯s paler skin was a delicious contrast, and so was their size. They both had beautiful curves, their breasts and hips large for their respective sizes.

    Sable¡¯s almost black, dark blue hair and deep blue eyes were striking against her skin, and Kaya¡¯s appearance was no less shocking.

    Her red wild mane of hair was fiery red, and her purple eyes shined with desire. Her tail and red panda ears atop her head twitched in anticipation, ready for her mate¡¯s command.

    And Jasmine¡¯s body towered over them, her body flittering as she prepared the bed, wheeling out the platform from the side room. Her white hair against her stone-gray skin was odd, and her red pupils that were always filled with a zealous gleam always drew his attention. Her chest always showed an envious amount of cleavage in her frilly maid dress, and her waist was waspishly thin.

    Nick knew he was a lucky man, his girls ready for him.

    Jasmine waved from the bed. ¡°Ta-da! All ready, Master!¡±

    At the edge of the bed was now a small platform made of wood, measuring two feet deep and roughly five feet wide, that anchored to the bed, and the top was level with it. There were a few rings for cuffs and bindings, but they wouldn¡¯t need that now that Jasmine was here.

    They had used it a couple of times during their stay, and it had performed perfectly. The platform brought out, Kaya started breathing heavily, her pussy becoming slick in anticipation.

    A few pillows were placed on top of it, but the bed was already at the perfect height for Nick to use his girls for his pleasure.

    ¡°On all fours, Kaya.¡± Nick ordered. Blushing, she got onto the platform, backing up into her spot. Her feet and ankles touched the edge of the platform, and Jasmine quickly covered them in webbing. She then did the same for her hands, keeping them anchored to the bed and stuck in that position.

    Finally, Jasmine pushed Kaya back a little, testing her range of motion. She then attached one more webbing to her necklace, spreading the webbing out to where it wasn¡¯t truly using it and forming a large choker, which filled Kaya with delight.

    The other end attached to an anchor on the ceiling, and now her ass was floating at the edge of the bed, but could go no further. She¡¯d no longer be able to lower her front at all, which would normally allow her to lean back just a few more inches.

    Nick nodded in a approval. ¡°Good job, Jas. That¡¯s perfect.¡±

    He admired her firm globes, which were thick and had just the right amount of fat, despite being muscular. Like two peaches, he grabbed them both possessively.

    ¡°Mmm¡­¡± Kaya sighed, as Nick played with her flesh. Seeing Sable¡¯s smile and her tail wagging, Nick decided to tease his mate further.

    He kissed Sable heavily, and lifted her into his arms. He then placed Sable laying on top of Kaya¡¯s back and facing up at him, her small naked body having plenty of room. Jasmine moved Kaya¡¯s tail out of the way, and captured it with webbing for now.

    Sable¡¯s pussy was just above Kaya¡¯s tail, the red panda beastfolk¡¯s pussy only a few inches beneath. Her black-blue tail went down and to the side of Kaya, the appendage slightly confined by her position.

    Kaya groaned. ¡°Nooo¡­.not again¡­¡±

    Sable smiled as her tail twitched beneath him, the amusement on her face obvious. She spread her legs wide, and held on to Kaya¡¯s sides with her hands.

    ¡°Master, you and Sable both might enjoy this.¡± Jasmine handed him a small bottle, and he understood what it was. Some kind of oil-like lube or oil.

    Nick smiled. ¡°Nice, Jas. This¡¯ll be great.¡±

    Rubbing it into his hands, Nick started by running his hands over Sable¡¯s dark skin, her taut stomach flexing in response to his touch. He groped her thick breasts, and played with her dark nipples, causing her skin to glisten. When he ran out, Jasmine was happy to provide him with more oil, and he continued to lather his wolf girl up.

    Sable was getting worked up, her breathing picking up. ¡°Mmm¡­ I love it baby. You sure know how to make a girl feel good, don¡¯t you, Boss?¡±

    Nick chuckled. ¡°Good girls like you, definitely. Bad girls though¡­¡±

    Jasmine lined up Nick¡¯s cock to Kaya¡¯s pussy, teasing her entrance with his tip. She squirmed against her bindings, trying to push back to get him deeper into her folds. She couldn¡¯t, however, as Nick was standing right at her limits.

    A smack rung out in the room, as Jasmine swatted Kaya¡¯s ass.  ¡°Cut it out. Master will use your needy pussy when he feels like it. If he wants to tease you, then that is all you will get. Besides, didn¡¯t you hear what he said? Good girls get to feel good. Maybe if you beg¡­¡±

    ¡°P¨Cplease¡­¡±

    Nick continued to lather Sable¡¯s chest, and now her dark skin had an oily sheen to it. He continued to grope and play with one breast, while he continued his ministrations lower. Her pussy shook, her clit already revealed from its hood. The Wolfen¡¯s body was getting ready for its mate, ready to receive his cock.

    ¡°Ohh yes, so good. Just like that! Mmm¡­¡±

    His hands roamed up and down her skin, like a sensual massage. Watching her skin flexing as she moaned filled him with desire, and Jasmine started kissing and licking his cock from below, even as she helped him tease Kaya¡¯s hole.

    ¡°Such a good little huntress, Sable. This is your reward for your hard work. Do you like it?¡± Nick rubbed her tits and tweaked her nipples for a time, until Sable¡¯s moans reached their peak. Her pussy began to twitch, her body shaking from Nick¡¯s ministrations.

    ¡°Ohhh fuck, yess¡­ I love it.¡±

    The dark skinned Wolfen girl came, from Nick massaging her chest and nipples. Her tongue lolled out as her hips humped at Nick¡¯s chest, and Kaya whined beneath him as she stabilized her rider¡¯s motions.

    Nick picked up Sable off of Kaya, and kissed her lips. Her tongue met his fervently, and he set her down next to Kaya. ¡°Face down and ass up, Sable.¡±

    Sable looked over at Kaya as she did as directed. She gave a sultry chuckle. ¡°Yes, Boss.¡±

    Her knees were on the prepared pillows, fixing the height difference between the two girls.

    He played with Sable¡¯s thick ass, her skin shining from the oil still. Her tail wagged at his attentions, and she moaned as he played with her pussy.

    Kaya whined again, her body struggling against the bindings. Jasmine frowned. ¡°You are really hopeless, aren¡¯t you Kaya? Bound and helpless, all you can think about is your mate¡¯s cock. He¡¯s barely touched you, and yet your nipples are erect, and your pussy is leaking all over the bed. Just look.¡±

    The maid wiped some wetness from Kaya¡¯s leg with her finger, and put it in front of her face, her finger dripping. Kaya whimpered as she was embarrassed, her body shaking as she tried her hardest to stimulate herself.

    He noted, ¡°But you have been a good girl, working so hard for me. You stayed focused and took the bodyguard job seriously for the entire month. So maybe you do deserve a bit of a reward.¡± He asked Sable, ¡°You can wait a minute, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course, Boss. I¡¯m not as needy as this one. I do see she could use some relief.¡±

    Nick dribbled some oil on Kaya¡¯s ass, and began rubbing it into her backside and pussy. The firm orbs that were her bubbled ass looked fantastic while glistening, and he rubbed her muscles and groped her pliant flesh.

    ¡°Mmm¡­ ¡° She moaned. ¡°P¨CPlease. I need your cock¡­¡±

    Jasmine sighed, scoffing at Kaya. ¡°You are so lucky that Master loves you so. It¡¯s all about you, you, you! You bratty little thing.¡±The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Kaya moaned from Nick spreading the oil onto her pussy further, his fingers teasing her pussy lips and clit. She pouted. ¡°T-That¡¯s not fair. You share his pleasure, so you can¡¯t talk.¡±

    Jasmine grabbed her by the chin and forced Kaya to face her and meet her eyes, her eyes narrowing. ¡°I would serve master a thousand times¨Cno, ten thousand times, even if it meant I never felt a single thing, never granting me an iota of pleasure.¡± Jasmine smiled as Kaya¡¯s eyes widened, the truth of her words ringing true in her mind.

    She let go of Kaya, and looked at Nick with a fervent gleam in her eyes. ¡°But I am very much blessed that master gives me his affection and pleasure, just as you. Which is why when he uses you, you should be grateful.¡±

    Lining himself up, Nick grabbed Kaya¡¯s tail, causing Kaya¡¯s whole body to go taut. His hard cock slowly parted her pussy¡¯s folds, causing her to groan at Nicks gradual, patient entry.

    ¡°Ohh god¡­yesss¡­¡± Kaya moaned.

    But only about a quarter of the way in, Nick stopped his glacial entry, and pulled back. She whined, and he pushed back in again, just a little bit deeper. She tried to move forward then back to stimulate himself, but he just followed her, keeping her from accomplishing anything.

    Continuing this game, he began to saw in and out more quickly, and her moans started to pick up.

    Jasmine struck her ass again. ¡°Didn¡¯t I say you should thank him?¡±

    Nick paused, waiting for her words. When Kaya finally spoke, he pushed in just a little deeper.

    ¡°Thank you! Oh Oh¡­ohh¡­. Thank you! Oh fuck.¡± She moaned, her pleasure rising as his cock stretched and filled her pussy.

    Despite his slow, teasing pace, he could feel how she was near, her pleasure nearing its peak, the way her pussy tightened all along his length. ¡°Yesss¡­ohhh yes¡­ Please don¡¯t stop¡­ so close.¡±

    Nick turned his head and willed his maid¡¯s lips to his own. She gave a sultry chuckle as her soft bowed lips met his, their tongue¡¯s dancing. He then willed her to reveal her breasts and pussy, so she took off her maid¡¯s smock and pulled down her dress, placing them under her breasts.

    The cutout in the front of the frilly maid dress only revealed her taut stomach, waist and pussy beneath, her lower body still hidden by the long skirt. The dress was tight up top, likely clinging to her skin thanks to her control over her own garments.

    When Nick had sex with his girls, Jasmine could enjoy Nick¡¯s senses, just as if she were experiencing them herself. However, she would only do so if he gave her permission. He could do this from near or afar, and more than once while she was away, she had hidden in a tree or found some other private place while he did.

    ¡°Masturbate in front of me and Kaya here.¡± He ordered.

    ¡°Yes, Master!¡±

    With his free hand, the other still grabbing Kaya¡¯s tail at the base, he grabbed Jasmine¡¯s breast, and she leaned into his attention like an affectionate cat, offering herself for his usage. He toyed with her massive breast and nipple, as he continued his slow fucking of his beastfolk wife, and Jasmine played with the skin over her clit with the tips of her fingers.

    Hearing Jasmine¡¯s moans added to the mix sent Kaya over the edge. ¡°Ohhh fuck, yes! I¡¯m cumming!¡±

    Nick pumped his cock just a little deeper, Kaya then shouted, her pussy going wild on it. It gripped the front half of his length, her pussy¡¯s walls convulsing as she pushed backward against him as best she could.

    Nick slowed his pace, now that his girl reached orgasm. With her other hand, Jasmine grabbed Nick¡¯s cock at the base with a frown, noting the length. ¡°That wasn¡¯t even half-way in yet, and you still came so easily. You¡¯re such a slut, Kaya.¡±

    Kaya whined in embarrassment, and she tried ineffectually to get just a little more of him into her. But he pulled out, causing her to whimper, and moved over to the waiting Sable. She was still waiting patiently, with her face down and ass up, just as before.

    He moved over to the side, and grabbed her glistening ass with one hand, groping her before he lined his cock up to her dripping pussy.

    ¡°Mmm, is it my turn again now?¡± Sable waved her ass side to side invitingly, her tail wagging all the while.

    ¡°It is. Good things come to good girls with patience.¡± Nick placed both hands on her plump ass, ready to ease himself inside. He looked over to Jasmine, as he began to part Sable¡¯s folds and enter her.

    ¡°I give you permission. I want you to enjoy me fucking Sable. You can cum as much as you like.¡± As soon as he felt her begin sharing his senses, he pushed into Sable¡¯s tight, lubed pussy all the way to the base.

    Sable groaned. ¡°Ohhh fuck. So big.¡±

    Jasmine¡¯s eyes widened, her mouth parting and her breath catching in her throat as the sensations reached her. She began to play with her clit faster, and she moaned. ¡°Ohhh yesss¡­ Thank you, Master.¡±

    Unrestricted, Sable was able to buck and move as she took his cock. With each thrust, as Nick¡¯s hips moved pushing deep into Sable¡¯s pussy, Jasmine¡¯s hips bucked, and it looked like he was somehow entering her instead. He started to speed up, and Sable¡¯s moans grew in volume along with Jasmine.

    ¡°Oh baby, your cock is so good¡­fuck!¡±

    ¡°Ohhh yes, Master! Thank you! Thank you! Ohhh fuck!¡±

    Kaya whimpered, and Nick decided to let her use her hands. Signalling Jasmine with his thoughts, she then waved her hand, and only the webbing that tied Kaya¡¯s hands and wrapped around her neck was undone, leaving her ankles still tied to the platform.

    Her face fell to bed, and she immediately snaked her hands between her legs, and started playing with her clit, her eyes burning with desire as she watched him fuck Sable, her hips bucking as she did.

    Sable was moaning to her Alpha¡¯s entry, her body experiencing true bliss as she bucked wildly on his cock. ¡°Yes! Fuck! So good¡­.¡±

    He lifted her into the air, continuing to fuck her small and tight body. With a hand on her ass and another under her stomach, He used her smaller body like a toy, pushing into her as he held her aloft.

    Finding a steady pace, he pounded her from behind, watching her delicious glistening ass cheeks meet his stomach. The flesh of her cheeks rippled with every thrust, her pussy clamping down on his cock as he bottomed out in her again and again.

    His two girls came hard and often, as he fucked them without reserve. Watching the euphoria on Jasmine¡¯s face as he fucked Sable¡¯s tight pussy and Kaya whined against her bindings and tried to pleasure herself appeased his desire to dominate, his soul core vibrating in his chest.

    Sable seemed to sense he was close, her pussy convulsing and rippling all along his length.

    ¡°Oh yes! You fill me so good! Please give me your seed! Breed me!¡±

    Kaya whined, fingering her pussy faster, her wide mouth open and eyes distant.

    Speeding up his using of Sable¡¯s pussy, he reached his peak, and began to fill her pussy with his cum. Jasmine came at the same time, her eyes rolling up into her head as her hips bucked. Her senses were overloaded, feeling the pleasure from both of them occurring at the same time.

    Nick came down from his high, and placed Sable down on the bed. Her face had a slack, satisfied smile on her expression.

    Jasmine was the first to stir, but her torso and hips were clearly experiencing aftershocks, twitching in place. ¡°That was so good¡­you fucked this one so hard, and her little pussy gripped you so tightly.¡± She smiled as she scratched Sable¡¯s ears, and she woke up and responded by giving a sultry chuckle as she rubbed her full stomach, his cum leaking from her hole.

    ¡°Mmm¡­ yes. Baby sure went wild, didn¡¯t he?¡±

    ¡°Oh! Where¡¯s my manners.¡± Jasmine¡¯s face lowered in front of him, and she went down to his cock, and started to lick and clean it. ¡°Mmm¡­¡± She kissed and licked it lovingly, getting it clean and ready for whatever he wanted to do next.

    Her red eyes looked up at him worshipfully as she continued, and she took the tip and much of his length into her mouth, swirling her tongue around the tip and sucking it. She continued to play with her pussy, giving soft moans as she began to bob on it.

    Sensing what he wanted next, she gave it another suck, and her lips came off of his cock with a pop. She flittered over to Kaya¡¯s behind, and began to grope her shining flesh. Jasmine moved Kaya¡¯s hands out of the way and bound them to her back with webbing, causing her to whine  and squirm against them.

    Then Jasmine inserted and tested Kaya¡¯s pussy with her fingers, aiming to embarrass the girl and turn her on further.

    She spread her fingers wide, the dripping pre-cum and women¡¯s fluids clearly present. ¡°Oh yes, Master. This one is more than ready for you. Dripping and in heat.¡± She licked her fingers. ¡°Mmm¡­so delicious.¡±

    ¡°Nnn¡­¡± She whined. Jasmine raised her torso higher, making her pussy at nearly the same level, and just a little closer to him on his left. She spread Kaya¡¯s ass cheeks wide, her pussy¡¯s lips spreading for his entry.

    As Nick strode forward, Kaya¡¯s tail started to stand up straight, her breathing picking up as her hips started to buck. Her body¡¯s instincts wanted to back up toward him, but she was firmly locked in place. Grabbing her tail with his right near the base, he lined up his cock and placed it at her entry, and then took his index and middle finger and pressed them into Jasmine¡¯s pussy.

    As Nick eased forward and parted her folds once more, Kaya groaned. ¡°Ohhh god!¡±

    ¡°Yess!¡± Jasmine breathed, Nick¡¯s fingers entering her pussy at the same time. Both of their hips bucked as he pushed forward, but Kaya quickly reached her climax, her pussy convulsing all along his cock. He fucked his beastfolk girl hard, his pace picking up despite her keening wail.

    The girl was in heat, prepared for his seed, just like Sable was. She was already so worked up, that one climax ran into another and another. Now she could move a bit more, thanks to much of her bindings removed, and she bucked against his entry.

    ¡°Oh god, oh god, fuck!¡± Kaya moaned, her pussy going wild and tightening all along his length. Fluids spilled all over the bed and platform, her tight heat making Nick wild with lust and pleasure.

    Jasmine¡¯s hips bucked onto his finger, fucking herself hard as she enjoyed his sensations. Her mouth was slack open, her breathing heavy as she watched him dreamily. He began thumbing her clit, and she began smashing her tits together and groping them. ¡°Master! Fuck, so good! Yes! Yes!¡±

    Sable chuckled. ¡°Damn, Boss. This is hot as fuck.¡± She motioned to her pussy to ask him permission, and he gave her a nod to allow her to pleasure herself.

    The three girls continued moaning, and Nick¡¯s hips became a blur as he pounded Kaya¡¯s pussy. Her moans eventually became whining whimpers, Kaya begging for his seed.

    ¡°Please, give it to me! Cum inside!¡±

    ¡°Yes! Cum inside that delicious hole! Mmm!¡± Jasmine¡¯s hips were bucking on his finger, her pussy gripping his digit tightly.

    Nick shivered in pleasure, as his balls boiled with heat. Vibrations went up his spine as he came, his three girls climaxing in pleasure. He pumped his seed into his willing beastfolk, her body trembling as she wailed.

    Her body fell to the bed, and Jasmine took a moment to release Kaya¡¯s bindings. Jasmine and Sable moved to clean his cock, the two kissing and licking along his length, sending pleasant sensations of wetness and softness, the two girls preparing him for another round.

    Jasmine moaned as Sable continued to suck and lick. ¡°Mmm¡­ I love that this body of yours never has to stop. The night is still young, isn¡¯t it, Master? Which hole of ours would you like to use next? Or would you like a break for a snack, or for a drink? I brought a few bottles from the bar.¡±

    Kaya whimpered from the bed, and Sable chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re going to have to give Kaya¡¯s holes a break for a while, if you want her to be more responsive.¡±

    Nick was already feeling content, but he wanted to continue to reward his hardworking wives a little more. Next, they¡¯d be returning home.

    Where he had even more lovely wives to reward.

 Book 3 - Chapter 35 - The Spending Spree

    Nick and his party arrived near the portal, and he willed the choice to end their run rather than enter the next floor.

    [You have chosen Ordeal Exit. You completed the 15th Floor Boss, passing a major threshold. You also defeated the Optional Heroic Test of Might, and finished numerous floors while properly Testing yourself and your party. In the Test of Supremacy, your party utilized a wide array of skills to defeat the enemy kingdoms. Your party and kingdom¡¯s potential has been changed forever, the highest floor completed now the 17th within the Path of Kings. You may continue from the 18th Floor in the future, if you so choose.]

    [The Noblefrost Kingdom¡¯s Primary Path 15th Floor has now been completed. Because your Class carries the Lord Archetype, your Convergence Skill has now been enhanced. New features have also been unlocked in your Crown Sanctum.]

    [Final Reward: 18,738 Path of Kings DP. Personal Reward: Refined Demon Core.]

    [10,235 Hero¡¯s Path DP Awarded.]

    Seeing the message about his Convergence Skill, he was a little shocked, but he understood the other parts of the message. Defeating the 10th floor on an unclaimed Ordeal is enough to own it.

    But that was basically the bare minimum. The fifteenth floor was a far more major milestone¨Cit wasn¡¯t until you reached that before you were considered a true lord of Orion. To never reach the fifteenth floor would be seen as a major failure for any Lord, and Samuel could not even reach it until his major betrayal of Irene.

    It was a massive gain in DP, which would allow Nick to upgrade his kingdom with special buildings. He was excited about looking into the extra options, especially for any Kingdom-related buildings for his Hero¡¯s Path¨Che now should have more than enough for something special from it.

    The demon core was surprising, in a sense it was the pooled reward for the 16th and 17th floor¨Chaving already received their reward for up to the 15th. The Ordeal deemed this object worthwhile for him. It seemed he would really need to consider using them to cultivate in some way.

    Nick¡¯s party members received their personalized rewards with a similar focus¨Cpersonal cultivation materials, and then they walked into the portal.

    They were all deposited in the plaza in front of his Crown Sanctum. A crowd had formed, the glyphs up and down the monolithic Path of Kings tower pulsing with a brilliant white light. Even the Hero¡¯s Path Ordeal was giving off a light of its own because the Heroic Test of Might had pushed the top floor of that higher as well. His understanding was there was probably a bright pulse of light or similar the moment they had completed it, but it would happen again now.

    The people clapped and cheered, the essence stirring around Nick. It was as if he could feel their gratitude as a physical thing. He had promised the varying groups that joined his city, and became his Followers, prosperity in differing words. And now, he had already delivered.

    The potential of each person in Frosthaven had just increased through their efforts, a change that would persist even into the next generation. Their children, and perhaps their children¡¯s children, would benefit¨Cso long as Nick survived or did his duty to create a proper Heir.

    Lothar and Agatha were waiting near where his party appeared, along with Renzou, his arm now fully restored. The many people on the outskirts of the plaza clapped in celebration, and the orc warriors, scouts and shamans beat their weapons on the ground, the earth shaking from their efforts.

    The orc chieftain had a proud smile. ¡°So much progress! Amazing work, young lord. Now, you should be more than a match for Elrash, or whatever trash they actually have over there now.¡±

    Nick nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll need to spend some time on my Throne, but I¡¯m feeling confident. It¡¯s nearly time for us to take on Shadowvale.¡±

    ¡°The men are ready when you are. There¡¯s been a development, and it might be best we move out sooner rather than later.¡±

    Nick had hoped to have quite a bit more time before they moved out, to rest and finish consolidating their gains. ¡°What happened?¡±

    Agatha answered, ¡°Jasmine¡¯s plot worked, but it seems¡­the result might not all be good. Shadowvale received reinforcements some time ago, hundreds of bandits and mercenaries from the Southwest. We learned their Mayor was killed and replaced. The beetlefolk also captured a few people planning on snooping around here.¡± She grinned, ¡°Their numbers have swelled quite a bit, thanks to our food and essence pearl offerings, and letting a few join various groups in the Ordeals.¡±

    Nick chuckled as Jeffrey seemed to buzz with pride. It wasn¡¯t great news, but most likely, some level of reinforcements were expected as soon as the merchant reported his findings, as soon as he arrived at the next city¨Chad he been left alone.

    They had paid the Blood Price, but that meant tons of mercenaries and bandits would have been sent to replace those lost, the money more than enough to replenish them.

    ¡°What kind of forces are we talking?¡±

    Lothar replied with a grin, ¡°Our scouts have learned that this was a stronger mercenary band, many of which are actually far deeper in the second stratum. Nearly three hundred of these higher¨Cquality mercenaries and bandits arrived, but they¡¯ve already split their efforts. It seems a few dozen of them headed toward Silverbrook, likely to learn the situation there and to hunt down the fictional uprising Jasmine created.¡±

    Agatha added, ¡°If we assault it before they return, we may leave Blackthorne the furthest in the dark. In the end, it probably won¡¯t make much of a difference, and he will come with his army either way. But who knows? Our recommendation is to assault Shadowvale within a week. That will prevent them from learning anything about here or Silverbrook beforehand.¡±

    Lothar chuckled. ¡°Word is he¡¯s after these people called Outlanders, and even Elrash is a part of this chase. Most of his forces have been chasing them for months.¡±

    Sable chuckled. ¡°You got men close enough to hear rumors? Their security must have been poor.¡±

    ¡°It was.¡± Agatha replied,  ¡°In that fight near Silverbrook, we took out their first string climbers. Their people with talent before they were reinforced was minimal. If we had attacked a few weeks ago, they would have only been capable of a token defense. The best time was a few weeks ago, and the next best time is now. If we wait too long, Elrash might return because his distraction came to an end.¡±

    Lothar added, ¡°The Conflict will be seen as a Trial equivalent, and will provide a commensurate reward¨Cone that will increase the strength of our whole kingdom, including rewards for individual contribution and development points. Then, the sooner we conquer Shadowvale, the sooner you¡¯ll own another Ordeal. It¡¯ll increase the number of climbing slots available to us and the essence within our Kingdom, allowing us to train up more warriors. Before long, it won¡¯t matter what army he shows up with. Ours will more than be its match.¡±

    Nick was a bit surprised that they wanted to be so aggressive against the bandit warlord, taking the city so soon. They had talked before, but they were still under the assumption that they had a few more months before they would be forced to show themselves as enemies to Blackthorne. The Altar of Subordination¨Cthe essence draining building¨Cwas not due for a few more months, and that was the deadline for Nick to become an exposed nail that must be hammered.

    He knew that Blackthorne would likely take a minimum of a month or two to arrive, as he would need to gather his army and travel the thousand¨Cplus miles, perhaps even more than that. Even if he had some kind of mount that could make the trip much quicker, his army certainly didn¡¯t.

    Thinking about it further, Nick realized he was less worried about Blackthorne now than ever. He knew enough about the world now to understand that no matter how strong this man was in the third stratum, it was only that. There was a big difference in strength, but one man or party could not win a battle against an entire army. With Shadowvale taken, the entire North would be Nick¡¯s.

    He understood why Lothar was excited about taking Shadowvale. This was going to be a true test of his people, everything he¡¯d ever worked for. The honorable fights his raiders would experience would establish them on this shard, and all he had to do was beat a bandit warlord later. They would be able to patrol the entire North once he was dead.

    Nick said, ¡°I do believe I have some purchases to make, but I¡¯ll agree and move the plan we discussed forward. We¡¯ll finish our preparations and begin our assault in the next week. I might even have new options for the Conflict, thanks to completing the 15th Floor and becoming an Ordained Lord of Seraphara.¡±

    As Nick talked to Lothar, Lumos was standing off to the side, and those with spatial pouches in Nick¡¯s party worked to hand over much of the resources gained into waiting vehicles. But a special pouch containing the numerous, much more rare treasures was handed over separately from Eirwen to Lumos.

    It turned out that the special pouches, now that they were out of the Test, would only allow them to take items out but not put them back in until empty. They had a week to empty them before they emptied themselves, and became simple spatial pouches like the one he kept in the breast pocket of his robes.

    They still had to hand over the objects from the other floors to empty out their bags, however, as only what was earned within was inside them.

    The automaton looked inside the pouch. ¡°Wow! This is quite the take. Our crafters will have much to work on for weeks, thanks to your many successes. Anything you¡¯d like me to work on first?¡±

    Eirwen replied, ¡°Anything that can be cultivation resources for each of us. The Ordeal granted most of us weapons, and our armor is generally holding up still, thanks to Jasmine¡¯s petrasilk supplementing it. That¡¯d be the second priority.¡±

    Lumos nodded. ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll work on these personally. It looks like we have a ton of high essence meats and hides, as well as unique alchemical components. Looking at some of these, I think I am really going to need that special alchemy room. It¡¯ll be a valuable investment.¡±

    Eirwen replied, ¡°I¡¯ll make it a priority. These resources are of the upmost importance, both for us but also for our diverse people. If we have enough, I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll make the purchase.¡±

    ¡°Thanks! We won¡¯t let you down!¡±

    What followed after was some promising reports from Renzou and Lothar about the training and success inside and outside of the Ordeals, for the orcs, monsterfolk, and the many people that arrived from Silverbrook. Many of Lothar¡¯s men had pushed through the Samurai ordeal, even himself and Renzou.

    Renzou grinned. ¡°We got to the 17th Floor ourselves. Then, the gains among the men and women that have been climbing has been substantial. Whether the orcs or the guard of Frosthaven, the training provided has been perfect.¡±

    Nick was a bit surprised. ¡°17th Floor? Damn, nice job.¡±

    Lothar chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m sure Kaya would have managed the same if she had the time. This man and I make a great team.¡± He clapped Renzou on the shoulder, and Renzou nodded in response, his grin becoming more proud.

    Agatha added, ¡°Don¡¯t forget our son Zarog, and Andross. With more slots opened up, they managed to reach the fourteenth themselves, along with many others. Many of the Monsterfolk have taken to it, some heading through the Samurai Ordeal and others through the Path of Kings. We¡¯ve filled every slot every week, and each has made personal progress.¡±

    Marissa cleared her throat. ¡°We have good news as well, Lord Noblefrost. We managed to obtain the Faith Conduit. With your permission given previously, we¡¯ve already installed it.¡±

    Irene gasped. ¡°Already? How? You were under half way when we left!¡± She floated to and hugged Marissa, stunning the taciturn woman.

    Marissa smiled. ¡°We all improved on the weekly challenges, and we also increased our numbers within the Ordeal. Thanks to the vast recruitment, we now have several new paladins and priestesses that completed their initial training, and have subsequently completed their first runs through the Ordeal. We even had a few priestesses become paladins, joining and training the new ones.¡±

    Rebecca smiled at her. ¡°That¡¯s amazing news! How far did the recruits manage?¡±

    ¡°None of the recruits were ready to take on the first Boss, all were instructed to leave after the fourth floor. But we¡¯ve more than doubled our numbers, returning us to where we were before Samuel¡¯s¡­¡±

    Seeing Irene¡¯s stilted expression, Nick changed the subject, not wanting to talk about the man for now. ¡°That¡¯s good news, but we¡¯ve got some good news of our own for you. We should be buying the Ancestral Archives right now.¡±

    Marissa gasped. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s wonderful! I can¡¯t wait to see it!¡±

    After meeting with the various leaders and receiving updates, they headed inside their Crown Sanctum minus Jeffrey, Jasper, and Birdy¨Cthe latter two heading out to hunt in the north. Jeffrey was heading home, to meet with his beetlefolk brethren, hand over the special food, and show off his gains. Thanks to the last run, Nick imagined he was now stronger than their king and queen.

    Nick¡¯s Wolfen girls were quick to gather around the couch, happy to be home at last. They settled in for a couple of minutes and relaxed, turning on the music and just enjoying finally being back. But eventually, Nick spotted how restless Rebecca and Irene were¨Cthey wanted to see the archives badly.

    Nick asked, ¡°Vi, how much DP do we have currently?¡±

    ¡°You now have 32,238 Path of Kings DP, 21,227 Path of the Samurai, and 19,142 Hero¡¯s Path. Installing the Faith Conduit had wiped out much of the Seraphara Ordeal, leaving only 8,248.¡±

    Kaya was shocked. ¡°Our climbers earned nearly as much as us. They must really be getting Tested.¡±

    The more risk and difficulty experienced, the more DP the kingdom would earn. There was a level and party size sort of multiplier, and all the other influences such as essence that increased this. But the first two were the largest factors.

    Vi responded, ¡°When you completed the Fifteenth Floor Boss, the number of climbing slots immediately increased. For the last three weeks you were inside, mixtures of parties of five and ten, a total of forty climbers attempted the first stratum. There was even a party that attempted the second stratum, making it to the 13th Floor on their first run.¡±

    ¡°Okay Vi. Go ahead and purchase the Ancestral Archives. I¡¯d like to place an underground path between the church and it, allowing Seraphara¡¯s Faithful to come and go as they please. Just restrict the entry into our home, please.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Milord. Processing.¡±

    A wave of golden light went out, and the hallway shifted. The entry was added near the secondary entrance of Nick¡¯s personal study. The party eagerly moved to see the new room from Nick¡¯s Heritage.

    They entered the room, and the view was not like any library he¡¯d ever seen. Like most of his Crown Sanctum¡¯s rooms, the room was mostly white on black. There were numerous white cubes stacked vertically on one another, with a black tablet in the front of them. Almost like filing cabinets, Nick realized.

    Irene floated over, and began to tap the tablets. ¡°They don¡¯t do anything, and there are no books. What gives?¡±

    Vi replied, ¡°The Ancestral Archives requires an Archivist in order to function. Assign one, and they can interface with the tablets and the records stored.¡±

    ¡°Oh, hehe. That¡¯s me!¡±

    Eirwen asked, ¡°What does the Archivist role entail?¡±

    Vi answered, ¡°The Archives will be bound to the archivist, allowing them to interface with the knowledge and resources contained within the archives. With effort, they can then produce knowledge crystals, transcribing the information in a way that is easier to consume, among other options that can be made available once unlocked.¡±

    Rebecca asked, ¡°Bound? What does that mean?¡±

    ¡°Nothing other than creating a special connection between the archivist and the archives¨Cit has no real detriments to the individual. However, the Ancestral Archives cannot be used without a bound Archivist, and the stronger their capabilities, the better and faster they can interface. Binding a new archivist will take time and essence to establish the connection, so do make sure this person is willing to spend much of their time managing this role, and that they have sufficient mental capacity. New slots for archivists will take some time and resources to unlock.¡±

    Irene gasped. ¡°That sounds remarkable! I¡¯m¡­a little down that there are no books, but I guess I¡¯m ready. How long would it take?¡±

    ¡°It can take up to three days, depending on the archivist¡¯s compatibility and level. Irene is detected to be highly compatible and capable, so it should not take more than a few hours.¡±

    Irene beamed with pride, and Nick chuckled at how happy and excited she looked. He realized that she was possibly the most qualified on this Shard, minus some Third Stratum administrators from the Core Kingdoms. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s pretty good news. Assign Irene to the role.¡±

    Lights gathered, and then a tether formed between Irene and the wall. Her eyes turned white, and she seemed to just stare into the distance as she began to float into the air, a few inches from the ground.

    Nick waved his hand in front of her face, and she was just floating there, her eyes blank. ¡°Huh. Well, alright then. Let¡¯s head out, and then come back later? We¡¯ll check the Crown Sanctum for our new options.¡±

    They walked out the hallway, and headed to the modern conference room.

    Eirwen tapped the tablets as everyone sat down in the swivel office chairs, navigating the menu. ¡°Okay, wow. Lots more options now.¡±

    [Path Building Options: Path of Kings]

    [City Guard Garrison - 10,000 DP]

    [Adventurer¡¯s Guild: Owned - Enhancements Available]

    [Royal Guard Pavilion - 7,500 DP]

    [Establish Knight Order - 20,000 DP - Discounted - Inter-Path Options Available]

    [Establish Crafting Quarter -  20,000 DP]

    [Defensive Barrier - 3rd Stratum - 50,000 DP]

    There were a number of different options that had been filtered from view, that were related to his Heritage having superior options.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    ¡°The Crafting Quarter sounds useful, what does that entail?¡±

    [Crafting Quarter - This allows you to designate an area of the city to receive bonuses. Increases the essence in this area, grants a small bonus to essence gain from craft completion, and provides Weekly Quests to crafters to push their trade and increase their level. These Quests will be slightly more lucrative in essence, and can be used in conjunction with the Quests that Mayors or other administrative classes can provide, even when specialized.]

    Nick was interested in this Crafting Quarter, and he had enough to get it at the moment. However, he definitely wanted to wait to see what options were available for the Ancestral Archives before spending anything else of his Path of Kings DP.

    Eirwen went back to the Heritage Menu, and pointed at what she saw. ¡°It looks like if you buy some of the Heritage Crafting stuff, this cost will decrease.¡±

    It was something to keep in mind. ¡°Okay, and how about that Knight Order, and the barrier?

    [Establish Knight Order - This creates a special building with an armory, garrison, training grounds, and Charter. Those that can join must follow the Charter¡¯s Path. Knights receive bonuses and rewards for fighting and working together, along with maintaining order and protecting the lands. Helps build loyalty among those that join the Knight Order. Charters that follow the Path of Kings, Samurai, and Heroes, and combinations thereof, are available. Depending on their Charter, they may experience alterations within their respective Ordeal runs.]

    [Defensive Barrier - 3rd Stratum - This barrier is meant to protect the city and its populace against an invasion. Drastically increases security, as only those who enter the gates under the watch of your Guard may enter. Essence from Ordeal is supplied to protect the city from a siege, enabling the Ordeal Owner time to prepare, return, and defend.]

    ¡°Damn, that barrier sure would be nice. No bad guys getting in, and even if Blackthorne showed up while we were in the Ordeal or away, we could feel confident that it could protect our people until we returned. But 50,000 DP is just too rich for our blood.¡±

    The discount on the Knight Order appeared to be due to the fact that they already had a training grounds, and it could instead be merged with it.

    Eirwen agreed, but it was clear everyone was excited about this particular building.

    She brought up the Hero¡¯s Path special buildings next.

    [Path Building Options: Hero¡¯s Path]

    [Adventurer¡¯s Guild: Owned - Enhancement Available]

    [Beacon of Heroism - 10,000 DP]

    [Orphanage - Owned - Enhancement Available]

    [Soup Kitchen - Owned - Enhancement Available]

    [Hero¡¯s Tavern - 3,500 DP]

    Nick spotted the one that stood out the most. ¡°A beacon, huh. What¡¯s that do?¡±

    Eirwen brought up the entry, the party reading it on their own.

    [Beacon of Heroism - This establishes a monument that influences the essence of Frosthaven in subtle ways, even other Path buildings. Through the monument and the essence, virtue is venerated, inspiring people to be better¨Cto want to change the world for the betterment of it. As long as the leader is virtuous and stands firmly on the Hero¡¯s Path, people will be influenced to see them in a better light. Increases the likelihood that a True Hero will be born in, attracted to, and take up home in Frosthaven and walk the Hero¡¯s Path.]

    That sounded a little strange to Nick, having no direct benefits like the other buildings.

    Nick arched his brow at that. ¡°That¡¯s¡­odd. But I don¡¯t really have that much else to spend my Hero DP on. I suppose I could just spend it on Heritage stuff, but it¡¯s also harder to obtain until¡­ we have more heroes¡­¡±

    Kaya frowned. ¡°I can kinda see the orphanage and soup kitchen as being heroic, maybe. But why a tavern? That¡¯s a little strange.¡±

    Eirwen cleared her throat. ¡°It appears it¡¯s more about the bard telling tales of heroes, to inspire people to commit virtuous acts. It also grants bonuses to recovery and relaxation, and attracts people from afar.¡±

    ¡°How the hell can it do that?¡± Nick thought the last part was crazy.

    Rebecca chuckled. ¡°Orion can move in subtle ways at times, but more overt ways in others. It could be as simple as adding a listing about this tavern at buildings like your Adventurer¡¯s Guild or Silverbrook¡¯s Merchant Guild throughout the shard, enticing travel. However, it¡¯s easy for me to see that the feature of magical rest and relaxation will spread far and wide over time, and draw people in who want to visit and stay there. Climbers might have access to these kinds of amenities, but the average person on this shard does not.¡±

    Nick could see that now. ¡°That¡¯s true. Some of these options feel a little¡­strange. I understand how the essence of Orion can feel, but it almost sounds or feels like mind control. The word influence is worrying to me, and I can¡¯t help but question my previous moments where I felt the essence strongly. I don¡¯t like being influenced.¡±

    Rebecca nodded. ¡°I can understand how one might think that, but it¡¯s probably better to think of it as an emotion enhancer. It won¡¯t make someone venerate heroes¨Cit will only heighten the feelings and motivations they might already have, drawing them to feel more strongly about them. It won¡¯t make an evil person good, nor will it make a good person a hero. In a subtle way, it will help someone who already values heroism to value it more.¡±

    Nick could see that, and he knew that the mind could work in strange ways. Smells could incite lost memories, and errant thoughts could trigger a connection, causing one to remember something as well. Perhaps the essence was a little like that, the feelings it gave him had been moving more than once. It helped make those obscure references in one¡¯s mind come to the fore.

    ¡°I¡¯m not so sure that sounds much better, but I kind of see what you mean.¡± He looked back to the tablet. ¡°I notice the enhancements to the buildings we gained from Seraphara¡¯s Ordeal merely improve the effect of the beacon¨Cthe orphanage and soup kitchen of Seraphara, and the Adventurer¡¯s Guild benefits to the Quests, besides. So we need the beacon before anything else. Might as well get it.¡±

    Eirwen smiled and made the selection, and then a white light roamed over Nick before disappearing.

    Nick frowned, looking over himself. ¡°What the hell was that?¡±

    Vi replied, ¡°That was Orion scanning your appearance for the beacon. It¡¯s now placed at the top of the Hero¡¯s Path tower.¡±

    Nick got a bad feeling, and quickly moved the map around by tapping and dragging, zooming in on the tablet on the table. It had a three-dimensional representation, and he spotted it near the center of the city almost right away.

    At the very top of the Hero¡¯s Path Ordeal, was a statue of him holding a white blade of light, at the apex of his downward swing. He was wearing his martial robes with his Cloak of Twilight spread out wide, billowing behind him.

    Kaya immediately burst into laughter, and Fang, Luna, and Sable immediately began clapping and woo¡¯ing.

    Fang pointed at his statue. ¡°Yay, it¡¯s the Boss! Now everyone can see how awesome he is, all the time!¡±

    Luna nodded, looking at the statue and him dreamily. ¡°It¡¯s a great pose, showing our Alpha at his strongest.¡±

    He groaned, sinking back into his chair. He might be a little full of himself, but a statue was a little much.

    Sable smirked. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Boss? You know, there are a few statues of you already in the forest. Some of the monsterfolk have been making some carvings as they learn to make their totems. Only a few of them actually have Luna¡¯s talent, but that hasn¡¯t stopped many of them from trying and leaving them scattered about.¡±

    Jasmine was also amused, he could feel it over their connection. ¡°I love it. And I know your mother would love it too¨Cshe had many statues of your father placed throughout their Kingdom. Don¡¯t forget, it¡¯s not all a vanity thing. This will be a focal point for people to direct their loyalty and devotion to you.¡±

    Eirwen giggled, her ears wiggling. ¡°That¡¯s funny. But it looks cool! I can¡¯t wait to see what it looks like in person. It looks like the Adventurer¡¯s Guild addon, soup kitchen and orphanage are all affordable, leaving only the tavern that we¡¯d need to save up for. Should we get those?¡±

    Nick was still staring at the statue, annoyed. ¡°Yeah¡­ sure.¡±

    Eirwen made the selections, spending the last of the Path of Heroes DP. ¡°Oh, there are also some nice options for the Path of the Samurai.¡±

    She brought up the next Menu.

    [Path Building Options: Path of the Samurai]

    [Training Grounds: Owned - Enhancements Available]

    [Officer¡¯s Academy - 20,000 DP]

    [Defensive Castle - 30,000 DP]

    [Training Ground Enhancement Options:]

    [Bushido Dojo - 5000 DP]

    [Pagoda of Martial Wisdom - Discounted - 5000 DP]

    [Cherry Blossom Garden of Reflection - 5000 DP]

    [Archery Sanctum - 5000 DP]

    The officer¡¯s academy was something that would only see much value as Nick¡¯s kingdom began to sprawl, and he became more like an emperor. Confined to a singular city and one major army, he didn¡¯t see the need for this building. Perhaps one day, however¡­

    The training ground enhancements all looked useful, as they would enhance the essence within to be fitting for their purposes. With a trainer like Renzou, people could build their capabilities far more rapidly.

    Kaya noticed that one item was different. ¡°Why¡¯s the pagoda discounted?¡±

    Eirwen clicked on it, looking. ¡°It looks like the pagoda actually includes knowledge on the Samurai-related disciplines, and it¡¯s discounted thanks to our Ancestral Archives. It has Ideals, skills, and even scrolls for knowledge that helps one form related Concepts.¡±

    Rebeca looked over the details with Eirwen. ¡°It really looks like a complete package for establishing elites of the Path, much like our Cathedral. The Bushido Dojo is not much different from the current Training Grounds, granting awarded essence for training and duels. But there¡¯s also a benefit of aiding people establishing their Concepts related to the Path, and it¡¯s the same for the garden and the sanctum.¡±

    Nick had been shocked at the amount of DP that the Samurai Ordeal had stored. They had truly gained a lot in the past month or so, the orcs and monsterfolk taking advantage of all the climbing slots each week.

    ¡°I guess we¡¯ll get the pagoda, dojo, garden, and sanctum for now. The garden sounds interesting, but I gotta say, I¡¯m not so sure I can see Kaya, Fang, the monsterfolk or the orcs sitting cross-legged in some garden pondering Concepts for hours on end, when the dojo is right there.¡±

    ¡°T¨CThat¡­might be true.¡± Kaya tried, and failed, to refute the truth, her Archaen nature making her unable to. ¡°But I think in the long run, it could be helpful. Perhaps the pagoda might contain wisdom on an Ideal, that might help with meditation, like what Marissa taught us.¡±

    Fang added, ¡°I think I can do it if it¡¯s for Boss! O-Or, at least¡­ for one of his rewards.¡±

    Luna patted her head. ¡°Of course you could. You¡¯re such a hard worker. Boss knows you¡¯re a good girl.¡±

    Fang looked at him with big eyes, and then he had to affirm that she was, in fact, a good girl before they could continue.

    He looked over the DP earnings. ¡°At the rate we¡¯re going, we¡¯ll actually be able to build things like that castle within a month or two. Lothar and Renzou getting to the 17th now has enough slots that progress is rapid. Actually, our earnings feel almost exponential. Won¡¯t we have everything in under a year at this rate?¡±

    Eirwen chuckled, and shook her head. ¡°Don¡¯t forget things like the road construction. There¡¯s a lot of buildings that aren¡¯t Path related, and then each of these Path related buildings have their own potential upgrades. But also, each costs a percentage of the kingdom¡¯s incoming essence, so we can¡¯t just build everything or we¡¯ll have to shut other buildings off. Here, take a look a this.¡±

    She brought up more options in the Menu, showing that things were filtered. In addition to these special buildings, there were also numerous general buildings that he could purchase not aligned to any Path, such as the guard towers Lothar had made.

    Things like armories and warehouses existed as well, but his artisans could just build these on their own. With the right materials and enchantments, they could even surpass the generalized buildings. Aside from the battle or combat related buildings, the things provided by Orion were basic.

    Then, there were also lesser versions of buildings associated with other Paths available to Nick, such as the Merchant¡¯s Guild they saw in Silverbrook. These were largely known to be a waste of DP, however, as their bonuses were too minor in comparison to the specialized Path buildings.

    Rebecca added, ¡°In the third stratum, there will be more options for spending DP. You can pay for an event¨Ceven a Tribulation if you want. You can spend to have something like your Frostspire Mines created, within a few points of the map. You can convert DP into Gold, or other valuable resources. It¡¯s a waste, but I doubt we¡¯ll ever have too much DP. The reason we¡¯re gaining a lot right now is because we are constantly being Tested, all climbers progressing routinely. But eventually, people will reach their peak potential, and their earnings will drastically decrease.¡±

    Eirwen nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that when people are truly challenged, there is a chance for death. You protect their lives, but this limits their earnings both in DP, and also their gains in potential. If they choose that you can resurrect them on death when they enter, then the potential they earn in the Test of Supremacy, for example, would be less. For example, if it were us on the last run, we¡¯d have arrived in the center to find the spring, but not the fruit, possibly.¡±

    It was something Nick would need to eventually keep in mind. That his strong performers today may ultimately end up stagnating in the future, hurting his kingdom if he allowed them to continue climbing over others.

    Progress was fast right now, but there was actually going to be a bottleneck, too. People moved through the first stratum fast, but the second stratum would take quite some time, take several runs to do it safely, and for fewer slots that refreshed slower. Eventually, the waiting list in the second stratum would be a huge bottleneck, despite how many slots were added.

    In their recent Path of the Samurai run, Nick knew that Andross and Zarog probably only barely backed down without taking on the Boss, and the reason was because of safety. Despite the two men seeking good fights and dangers, they still managed their risk. Their wives were with them, after all, and they weren¡¯t about to orphan their children because they wanted to gain more.

    For now, his people were driven. They had faced hardships until they were rescued by Nick and his family. They endured and finally found their slice of heaven, their opportunity for a bright future. His people had now gotten a taste of it, and many of them would fight tooth and nail to get another bite.

    The DP earnings would certainly decrease when people either reached their maximum potential, or stopped pushing themselves and taking risks. Nick was lucky in that he had the orcs with excellent foundations, that each had a lot of upward growth available to them in the second stratum, and then all of these monsterfolk who sought to become more, and would be willing to die for their Alpha.

    ¡°I know we don¡¯t have much, but how about the Seraphara buildings? Anything good for us?¡±

    Winny looked over them, then shook her head. ¡°They already grabbed most of the low-hanging fruit, and there¡¯s nothing available at all other than generic faith buildings. Everything else has already been purchased, though it¡¯s weird because it¡¯s not that much. The Cathedral has some upgrades, but it¡¯s kind of sparse.¡±

    Nick asked, ¡°Why is that, Becca?¡±

    Rebecca sighed. ¡°The truth is, we lack many of the blueprints. It seems the reason you have so many options available in the Path of Kings and Samurai is likely thanks to your Heritage. It must have included many of these options.¡±

    Nick did remember that when he tried to pull up the available paths he could change to, there were countless for him to choose from. And yet, Lothar hadn¡¯t chosen something like Path of the Honorable Raider, or something like that, before he met him.

    The reason was simple. It was because he didn¡¯t have the option.

    Forming an Ordeal based on one¡¯s personal Concept or what they considered was their Path was possible, but it had an associated cost. Orion did not make a customized Ordeal for free.

    ¡°How do we get more? Is it related to those Path books?¡±

    Rebecca nodded. ¡°It¡¯s rare, but those Path books do drop in the Ordeals, and so do blueprints. Not only that, but people can even make them. I¡¯m kind of surprised we didn¡¯t find one yet, but they are often found after the 15th floor. Perhaps as we progress in Seraphara¡¯s Ordeal, they will grant them to us.¡±

    Nick arched his brow at that. Perhaps, they hadn¡¯t found one yet because they already had them all. ¡°Alright, so we got some new buildings now, but let¡¯s look at our Conflict options for Shadowvale. We won¡¯t trigger it today, but it¡¯s good to know what we have for options.

    [Conflict Options Available - Shadowvale:]

    [Case for War - Known Climber attacked your Caravan.]

    [Land Skirmish - Your Control Radius overlaps Shadowvale¡¯s. Cost: 5000 DP]

    [Honorable Raid]

    [Dark Kingdom Judgement]

    [Heroic Justice]

    Eirwen briefly checked the first two options. ¡°It looks like the first option would give us the ability to attack Shadowvale, but it allows them to choose the battle option. Orion decides what they would give up, but for conquering the city, that alone might not be enough. It looks like we¡¯d need to win a series of Conflicts to decide ownership, such as the Land Skirmish, and we can¡¯t just do one after another.¡±

    ¡°Why¡¯s Honorable Raid crossed out?¡± Kaya asked.

    Eirwen tapped on it, reading the details. ¡°It looks like it¡¯s incompatible with your Hero¡¯s Path. It has¡­plunder involved. Raiding their city and looting it is fair game since Lothar confirmed Shadowvale was behind the attack it says, but a hero who walks the path shouldn¡¯t indiscriminately plunder, even if it¡¯s fair or justified.¡±

    It was easy to forget that while honorable, the orcs weren¡¯t all that heroic. They sought good fights and plunder above all else, and sometimes doing good by killing bandits was just a side effect, rather than their goal.

    Lothar would be happy ransacking the town, taking the plunder as payment for killing the bandits.

    ¡°So that¡¯s a wash. But there are two other options.¡±

    Eirwen brought up the first.

    [Seraphara¡¯s Inquisition: Dark Kingdom Judgement]

    [You have gathered enough information and testimony from your interrogations that you can testify to Orion that the Kingdom of Shadowvale is not acting as a Lawful Kingdom, working together with a Bandit Warlord. You even have testimonies from your subordinates that can be used to hide this capability.

    In doing so, you have earned the right to mark this Kingdom for Orion-Sanctioned destruction.

    But the people of Shadowvale are not all complicit, and you know this, as you¡¯ve spoken with Turon. You have several choices for how to decide the fate of Shadowvale and its Owner, but the Battle Option for Siege has been removed due to your nature as a Hero.

    If the Lawful Kingdom loses the Conflict, the Dark Kingdom¡¯s secret will be kept, and a large parcel of land ownership and resources will be forfeited. Often, this will also lead to the hidden Dark Kingdom gaining means to retaliate.

    If the Lawful Kingdom wins the Conflict or the Lord surrenders, Ordeal Ownership will be granted, and imprisonment and enslavement of the criminal members of the kingdom can be decided by the inquisition.

    This will be a Sanctioned Conflict of Orion between two Kingdoms, considered equivalent to a Trial. The rewards for the victorious Kingdom and individuals involved will be commensurate.]

    Nick said, ¡°It¡¯s a lot to take in. Feels a little weird how Orion like knows our¡­ and even my personal situation in such a precise manner, though.¡±

    Rebecca replied, ¡°Orion is all-seeing and all-knowing within its bounds. As a Lord of Orion, it takes special interest in you. There exists worlds outside of it, but within it is capable of anything, within its Rules and Laws. I like this Conflict option, but how about the last one?¡±

    Eirwen brought up the other available one.

    [Heroic Justice: Liberation from Tyrant]

    [You have learned that a Dark Kingdom rules Shadowvale, and that its leader is complicit and supporting the Bandit Warlord¨Ccarrying out his will, and selling their own citizens into slavery and larger crimes. Sneak into Shadowvale alone or with an elite party and find Elrash, harming as few innocents as possible. Once within 30 yards, Orion will sanction his defeat by establishing a Trial Barrier, and allow ownership of Shadowvale to be claimed should he be defeated. This is a Hidden Conflict option, which will allow you as a Lord to sneak in, and only broadcasts the Completion to the Kingdom and its citizens.]

    Kaya said, ¡°But wasn¡¯t Elrash not around? We can¡¯t use that option, even if it sounds great. It won''t announce you when you enter their Control Radius, and let you just bust into the city and kill and Judge him, bringing him to justice.¡±

    Nick had to agree with that, it was a neat option, but not the best for them right now. ¡°Alright, so it sounds like the Dark Kingdom Judgement is our choice. What are our Battle Options? It mentioned Siege was disabled.¡±

    [Inquisition Conflict Battle Options:

    <ul>

    <li>Honorable Duels ¨C One on one battles between leaders and climbers. Best of Five or Nine, Single Elimination, Melee. This option reduces collateral damage to lawful citizens.</li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li>Field of Battle ¨C This option allows you to pick a location on neutral ground, and forces the two kingdoms to meet in combat within a Trial Barrier. The victor is granted ownership of the Ordeal, and any unlawful enemies that escape the field or avoid it can be imprisoned and enslaved. This option would normally risk innocents being used in the field of battle, but the Clergy of Seraphara promise the lawful citizens protection and succor, and their inquisition will determine innocence. Orion will assist those who wish to surrender and flee from their ruler¡¯s tyranny.</li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li>Lord versus Lord. The Lords will be the sole decider of this Conflict, the victor winning the kingdom¡¯s ownership. </li>

    </ul>

    Note: The defender of the Conflict normally chooses the Battle Option, and can even present those available from their respective Path, but Dark Kingdoms parading as a Lawful Kingdom revealed in this way are forced into a distinct disadvantage. Select a Battle Option and enter Shadowvale¡¯s Control Radius to begin the Conflict.]

    Kaya noted, ¡°I like the duels as a means of battle. I get Single Elimination, but what does the Melee thing mean?¡±

    Eirwen tapped it on the Menu. ¡°It looks like it means that someone who wins can choose to fight again, though there won¡¯t be much time for recovery. In theory, they can place their strongest at the final loss and still win against the rest if the person is strong enough.¡±

    Nick nodded at the implications. ¡°A Lord can dig his people out from a complete loss, but it won¡¯t be easy. It means facing the enemy lord fatigued, injured, and drained of essence.¡±

    Reading the details, he knew that this Inquisition Conflict was the right one. Nick certainly liked the Lord versus Lord option, but he realized this was not the best choice.

    His people needed the experience. They were all excited about the big battle, and unless they participated in it, they would not gain anything.

    Nick was all about investing in his people, as he believed that human¡­ he looked at his wives, none of which were human. That is, people resources, were the greatest resource one could have. This was the mantra instilled in him by his father, and he couldn¡¯t help but agree with that sentiment¨Ceven thinking back to his life on Earth, even without some magical essence reinforcing this.

    Thinking over how his people had grown and how they would grow, he knew this would be the right choice. He grinned. ¡°Alright. We¡¯ll meet them on the field of battle.¡±

 Book 3 - Chapter 36 - The Ancestral Archives

    The party spent a little more time planning out their purchases, and took a small break. Eventually, they received a notification from Vi that Irene had finished the binding process and was ready. The party returned to the Ancestral Archives, and Irene was flying around to each of the stacked cubes, fluttering about like some sort of pixie as she interacted with each one.

    ¡°Amazing! Truly amazing! So much knowledge, and it¡¯s all available to me.¡±

    Nick chuckled. ¡°I see you¡¯re having a good time already.¡±

    ¡°Oh, Hero!¡± Irene¡¯s smile had already been beaming, but it became wider at his return. ¡°I already learned some of it¨Cthe Archaen¡¯s history. Your people¡­they were truly special. Their history¡­ I¡¯m still delving into it, but there¡¯s just so many other interesting things available too!¡±

    ¡°So¡­there was a lot included? Feels like half of these Heritage buildings, it¡¯s just unlocking more paywalls.¡±

    ¡°Ah, yes. There was much included¨Cso much! Your people¡¯s history was just one aspect. Then, there are many first stratum Ideals and training methods, magics, compendiums on trade skills, and more available. It¡¯s when things are rated at the second stratum or higher that knowledge must be earned.¡±

    She spread her arms as wide as her wings, motioning to the cubes. ¡°But you have already earned a fair amount! You¡¯ve been doing something called Heritage Quests, and these have accumulated as a side effect of that. You¡¯ve been tasked to find Followers and wives, create Heirs, and unlock aspects of The Barrows. Each of these has granted you strength, but it also grants you wisdom, here in the Archives! I see that you have done very well¡­except in one of these aspects.¡±

    Nick frowned as he thought for a moment, but then he coughed. ¡°There just¡­ hasn¡¯t been any downtime, and my wives all fight by my side.¡±

    Irene floated over to him, and grabbed his palm, her eyes shimmering and her beautiful face laced with concern. ¡°But Hero! It¡¯s so important. So very important! You must make Heirs as soon as possible. You must!¡±

    Kaya arched her eyebrow and smiled, amused. ¡°For the knowledge, you¡¯re saying?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s that, but that¡¯s not the most important thing! Hero is missing out on potential for strength, and it¡¯s of dire importance he secures his bloodline. The Archaens must not fade away, no matter the cost!¡±

    Everyone sucked in their breath at that, especially Rebecca¨CIrene truly believed what she just said. That the knowledge she valued was actually secondary, to her.

    Eirwen asked, ¡°What have you learned?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m still interfacing with the Archives, but their history is a tragedy. They were progenitors during the turning of the ages, when Orion introduced the Ordeals to accomplish its goals. But the forces of Good villainized them, and fought them to extinction! A genocide like this¡­ none have since happened with such fervor in recorded history. Chased across Shards, even known Good, Lawful Kingdoms were destroyed for harboring any of your people.¡±

    Nick nodded. ¡°We¡¯re aware of that¨Cit¡¯s a part of my memories and what we¡¯ve learned. These guys were envious that my people were badass.¡±

    ¡°Yes, but I know what happened after! The many enemies of Good were what caused it! After the Archaens were wiped out, there was even more turmoil, War across the Shards. Eventually, it was revealed that another powerful race of progenitors was pulling the strings of the forces of Good. A true Dark Empire, one that spans a multitude of Shards¨CThe Ravagers. They were the Archaen¡¯s true enemies.¡±

    ¡°Ravagers?¡± Nick looked over at Rebecca and Eirwen, wondering if they knew. They both shook their heads.

    Irene replied, ¡°Yes¨Cthe Ravagers. They have a shared heritage for your people¡­and the reason they are called that is because they use their powers of the mind and soul to conquer and destroy everything. Through the darkness, they have themselves become twisted and vicious, discarding much of what made them Folk¨Cand have become terrifying parasites. Their powers resemble Necromancy, but are often so much worse. For they don¡¯t just enslave, they consume, destroying and devouring their victim¡¯s minds and souls and empowering themselves. And they often hide in plain sight, controlling both the living and the dead to carry out their horrible goals.¡±

    Parasite? When Nick had defeated the Bishop, something was drawn in with his and Irene¡¯s Soul. It was a Concept, but it also contained some sort of parasite. Thinking back, it was a little strange that he had drawn in a Concept with his Judgement at all. Could it be related? Then again, Nick had never judged anyone else who had a Concept at the level of the Bishop. Or, someone that owned an Ordeal, now that he thought of it.

    Irene continued, unaware of Nick¡¯s thoughts, ¡°Only the Archaens have the necessary mastery of the Soul, while being unassailable by the Ravagers. It turned out that their reasons behind creating Archaen Law was to protect, detect, and defeat these insidious things. And that was why they were hunted. They had warned us, but their warnings fell on deaf ears.¡±

    ¡°That¡­sounds like a horrifying enemy. Well, that¡¯s a problem for future us, maybe¨Cuntil we establish the Open Relay, the Ravagers aren¡¯t really a threat.¡±

    Irene nodded. ¡°It¡¯s possible the Ravagers have some means of invading a Frontier Shard, but it¡¯s currently unknown. The truth is that the changes to them as they¡¯ve moved away from being Folk probably limits how they can invade. For now, they are a very active, persistent threat to all good on Orion. War is waged against them, but success has been hard-fought.¡±

    Eirwen said, ¡°So you said there is a lot of included knowledge. What about what isn¡¯t?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! Here are the modules that can be purchased. Some are not exactly knowledge related at all.¡± Irene tapped the tablet, and it displayed a menu.

    [Spirit Vault - 10,000 DP]

    [Extended Cultivation Codex - 50,000 DP]

    [Skill Cache - 20,000 DP]

    [Racial Codex - Genesis Chamber - 5,000 DP]

    Nick groaned. ¡°More DP expenditures. I think most of these are at least somewhat self-explanatory, but what¡¯s the Spirit Vault?¡±

    ¡°I think you¡¯ll still be surprised. All of these repositories come stocked with tons of goodies! But the Spirit Vault is something that I think you, Eirwen, and possibly Luna, will find quite valuable. It¡¯s a storage of souls from your Heritage. Within it, many Followers of your family, elementals, untamed monster spirits, and more, are available! This is like an ark your family created, with thousands of souls, including people in the fourth stratum, just waiting to be claimed!¡±

    Nick¡¯s eyes widened¨Che was absolutely shocked at how amazing that sounded. ¡°What¨CWhy¡¯s it so cheap, then? This sounds too good to be true.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right, it¡¯s not like we just got a huge list of extremely powerful allies. The reason is because, Orion has deemed the Vault cheap due to the restrictions in the spirit¡¯s usage. Sure, there are some fourth stratum people¡¯s souls in here. Those would be insanely powerful and valuable, normally. However, we¡¯re on a Frontier Shard. They have to follow the same rules as everyone else that comes to this shard.¡±

    Rebecca gasped. ¡°They have to start over and be reborn! Like you, Mother!¡±

    Irene nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. And because a payment wasn¡¯t made to enter, like with me, they get additional restrictions. Many of them would have much of their memories sealed to be reborn here at all, even using your Genesis Chamber. The truth is much of my knowledge required sealing as well, but I was allowed to keep my memories and much of my Concept work¨CI was young, and only in the second stratum before I was reborn, anyway. I had formed Mother¡¯s Concepts, and then I was sent off on my journey here.¡±

    Nick looked over to Jasmine. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you have your memories sealed?¡±

    ¡°Because, I am a part of you, and you were reborn. Plus, I don¡¯t have anything useful in here to be sealed! Hehe.¡± She tapped her temple with her finger.

    Irene chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s true. Orion mostly doesn¡¯t like unfair advantages¨Con a Frontier Shard, it wants as close to an even playing field as it can get. Entering the Frontier Shard with deep knowledge of Ideals, and mana, aura, and Concept Mastery from someone of the fourth or fifth stratum would just be unfair, enabling them to easily progress and conquer this shard. And without paying the price to enter, too. You had to build Jasmine a body besides, so everything about her truly had to be earned on your own.¡±

    Nick was still a bit shocked about what was in the Spirit Vault, but understood that it wasn¡¯t as overpowered as it originally sounded. He could envision a high-stratum person being reborn with all the knowledge necessary to create tons of elites, resulting in them just opening up shop and getting a ton of loyal subordinates and conquering the entire Shard with ease.

    Nick was essentially doing the same thing, but with lesser knowledge. His people were already leapfrogging over most of those that existed on this Shard, from what he could tell in terms of capability.

    ¡°Huh. Does it say what kind of Followers and people it left behind? Are there any of my family?¡±

    Irene shook her head. ¡°It says there are some extended family in here, but certainly no Archaens, not even your ancestors or any of your other mothers, or your family¡¯s most loyal Followers¨Cthose all entered with your family into the Tower of Eternity. These are mostly people that had willingly entered the Vault, in hopes to be reborn during a Shard Opening, Tribulation, or for War.¡±

    Nick frowned. ¡°I get the Shard Opening, since I know about the Frontier Shards¨Cbeing on one. But why would someone want to be reborn during a Tribulation, or War? That sounds like a terrible time to be reborn.¡±

    ¡°In a Kingdom that has matured beyond having the Open Relay, a Tribulation or War is an extensive event. People of all levels must be Tested, and the events can last decades. If someone is reborn during this time, there are countless opportunities for Trials, Tests, and other special events¨Csuch as what we saw in that Test of Supremacy, and then, Monster Kingdoms, additional Ordeals, and more will spawn. War and Tribulation are each an opportunity to become a Lord by claiming new Ordeals, or at least become someone¡¯s subordinate and become a climber there.¡±

    That made a bit of sense to Nick. He had learned that due to nepotism and stagnation, a lot of older Shards would have most slots full for generations. People would dream of finding slots, and this was why many hoped to join a Frontier Shard¨Cto have a shot on their own.

    Then, Trials and other events often granted special Traits and tempering and enlightenment, rare rewards that were hard to come by without having an Ordeal like the Path of Kings.

    Thinking on it from a game master¡¯s perspective, simply adding an Ordeal to a mature Shard would likely just result in more nepotism ninety-nine times out of a hundred¨Cthe top Kingdom on the shard would just muscle all the other kingdoms out of the way and snatch it. It would require additional difficulties to prevent someone from ¡®gaming the system¡¯ and just claiming it. Hence, the need for these Tribulations, or other events, to keep them busy and ensure that the special resource was earned.

    ¡°There¡¯s one more reason.¡± Irene added, interrupting his thoughts, ¡°And this will be common for those that are in the third and fourth stratum especially. There are those that failed to obtain immortality, and are hoping to start over in hopes of reaching it on their next attempt.¡±

    Eirwen frowned. ¡°I thought anyone who reached the fourth stratum was immortal. Otherwise, they¡¯d never be able to reach it, anyway.¡±

    Irene nodded. ¡°If they follow Orion¡¯s rules, then they would normally! But some¡­can cheat, or, use methods from outside of Orion! Also, there are a few other exceptions. Like monsters. Monsterfolk that straddle the line between Folk and monster can often reach the fourth stratum, but not have the immortality granted by Orion. One must walk a Path that is Ordained by Orion to accomplish it, as well.¡±

    Rebecca said, ¡°For the methods outside of Orion, are you talking about Outlander methods, Mother?¡±

    ¡°I am! So ultimately, the few that are in the archive here¡­they likely are more monstrous or used some Outlander method, then probably reached the edge of their lifespan. Their only choice is to be reborn, or to die of old age, as Outlanders don¡¯t really achieve immortality utill the true peak. If they¡¯re in the Third Stratum, they might just be walking a Path not Ordained by Orion, or perhaps they didn¡¯t ascend to the Third Stratum properly¨Cdid not have sturdy enough Foundations.¡±   Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    ¡°Well, it sucks that I might have access to loyal people, but that I can¡¯t easily make use of them. But you said Eirwen and Luna might be able to use this?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! You see, Luna and Eirwen can enter the Vault, and call for spirits and elementals that can work with their spells and skills. Part of the Vault¡¯s capabilities is that if the spirit is powerful enough, it might require a Test or Trial to claim ownership and make their bond.¡±

    Eirwen¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°So I can finally find a spirit for my skill! And you can still probably make use of it, too, hubby. With the Racial Codex and the Genesis Chamber, you can find perfect Soul Servants and Followers of all kinds!¡±

    ¡°Damn, that is kinda cool. Expensive for Soul Servants because the Genesis Chamber would have to work hard to make any bodies that would be useful, but getting some additional Followers even if they have to start at level 1 would be great. It looks like I¡¯m going to have to expand the Genesis Chamber, too¡­¡±

    Eirwen asked, ¡°Is there a cost associated with the spirits? You mentioned Tests or Trials for powerful ones.¡±

    Irene nodded. ¡°There is no cost, but for the Tests or Trials, it depends on how they are used. Subordinating powerful spirits, for example in a totem for Luna or for your skill, even with restricted memories, is like granting you a power that you didn¡¯t earn. But also, it¡¯s very dangerous. A fourth stratum person¡¯s soul can contain powerful Concepts, and they could potentially obliterate your Soul Core. So Orion makes you enter a Test or Trial, depending on the spirit¡¯s strength, to earn its protection against said spirit. For weaker ones, you simply must defeat a facsimile of it.¡±

    ¡°Alright. So now¡­what can we access now?¡±

    ¡°What is it that you would like, Hero?¡±

    Nick thought about it for a moment, and realized he kind of wanted a bunch of things. ¡°Well¡­ what, you want like my laundry list?¡±

    Irene chuckled. ¡°Laundry? I wouldn¡¯t mind it, but I¡¯m sure you mean a list of what you need help with? Think of me like a librarian of this fine library¨Cthe Archives. Just let me know what you want, and I¡¯ll see if anything I have can help! I want to find the perfect books for you!¡±

    Rebecca smiled at her mother fondly. ¡°Just like in Seraphara¡¯s Library.¡±

    Irene nodded enthusiastically. ¡°Yup! But only even better! I¡¯m reading so many things at once right now, interfacing with the archives!¡±

    Nick snorted. ¡°Fine. I needed some guidance on Soul Magic, since I¡¯m stuck¨CI need to know what is even possible for me to do. Then I could use some guidance on my Ideal. It involves speaking in Archaen¡­then lastly, I needed some cultivation methods compatible with me utilizing demon cores. It seems I need to supplement the light I¡¯ve been gaining in me from Seraphara¡¯s Tithed Faith Essence with some darkness¨Ceven the Ordeal granted me one, but I don¡¯t know what to do with it.¡±

    Irene¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Wow! You¡¯re right, that is quite the list.¡± She paused for a moment, then hummed. ¡°Hmmm¡­ unfortunately, I¡¯m afraid precise answers to the last two would require the Codex¨Cthe expensive one. But let me see what I can do.¡±

    Her eyes went white for a moment, and several of the cubes behind her lit up. Eventually, she smiled, flew over and held out her hand near the cube, before moving onto the next one. Five crystals were created in her hands, looking a lot like skill-crystals, but they were white.

    ¡°Ta-da! Here you go, Hero. I think these should help.¡± Irene handed Nick the crystals with a beaming smile.

    ¡°Skill crystals?¡± Nick held and moved them around in his hands, looking over them.

    ¡°Nope! Knowledge crystals. Send some of your aura inside, and you can scan the text and diagrams within. It¡¯s like reading a book, but so much better! It¡¯s almost like how us Clergy use our reading Skill, as a matter of fact. This technology is truly spectacular. It must have been inspired by or devised by an Outlander method.¡±

    Nick did as he was told, and sent some aura into one of the crystals. When he did, he was a bit surprised at how quickly the words or thoughts appeared in his mind. It was difficult at first, but it didn¡¯t take him long to scan the crystal and read successfully.

    Because his eyes didn¡¯t need to move to read, there was no lag between the words arriving in his mind as he scanned it with his aura. There was also some additional thoughts transmitted, that helped him understand the information¨Calmost like they were not words at all. When reading a technical manual, a lot of time spent reading was really digesting the information presented.

    In any given paragraph read in a book like that, there might be several technical terms used, that one would potentially have to spend time thinking about the definition of the words, and how they all might interact. Perhaps one would have to spend time looking them up, normally. The need for knowledge and understanding, to even begin to grasp any new information at all.

    But these words popping into his mind as he scanned it gave him additional impressions, and came with more understanding beyond mere words themselves should contain.

    Combined with his Archaen mind, he was able to work through the knowledge quickly. There were even diagrams contained within, giving him a mental image just like the words did. He quickly got the gist of the first crystal¨Cit was a primer on soul magic, based around the second stratum.

    After a minute, he already felt foolish. There were several ways for him to use his Mana Aura combined with his Soul Magic that he could both attack and defend. If he knew this, he¡¯d have defeated the Bishop much sooner with his Judgement. Previously, he needed to bring him low enough by using his Essence Burst, and only just barely reached Irene for the Pact before Judging him.

    With what he knew now, he could have weakened him a small amount with a distraction, then pierced the darkness protecting Samuel¡¯s Soul Core and locking onto Irene¡¯s Soul. He¡¯d have been able to make the Pact with Irene without an issue, and then Judge him. He wouldn¡¯t have needed to bring him an inch from death first like he did before.

    The crystal had so much more, but it would take him many hours to digest all the information contained within and then practice with it. He moved onto the next of the five.

    The second crystal was about the Archaen language and its use in magic, and the third was a much more detailed manual on the Ideal that Nick had been calling the Archaen Monstrous Swordsman Ideal. The last two were about making your own Ideal, and a primer on the effects of absorbing demon cores on an Archaen¡¯s body.

    It wouldn¡¯t give him a cultivation technique, but it could give him a basis for making one that would work for now. It would be less effective than one devised by a true expert, but it was better than nothing. Nick knew that his balance of light and darkness was about to get pushed even further off after his throne session, making his Concept strangely weaker if he didn¡¯t find a way to balance it.

    Irene had been smiling as she watched him inspect the crystals. ¡°So how is it, Hero? Did I get you the perfect books, or what?¡±

    Nick chuckled. ¡°Looks like I got my work cut out for me, but I can tell already you¡¯ve really helped me out. This is plenty to get started. Thanks a lot, Irene.¡±

    Irene spun around, floating in place. ¡°It¡¯s no problem at all! There is no need to thank me. This is the knowledge that your people left behind for you, but also, that you earned, Hero. If you want more, simply find more wives and Followers, raise Heirs, and conquer more of the Barrows.¡±

    Eirwen cleared her throat, her tail flicking behind her. ¡°We could all use some knowledge crystals too.¡±

    Irene smiled, as she floated over to Eirwen and held her hands with a wide smile. ¡°Of course! Give me your laundry lists, as our Hero put it, and I¡¯ll do my best to provide all the perfect books I can!¡±

    The girls lined up, and they each got a few crystals containing things to work on. As it turned out, all of them would value the soul magic primer. They could benefit from learning and understanding Soul Magic, utilizing their gained affinities for this purpose.

    It wasn¡¯t that Nick hadn¡¯t wanted to teach them Soul Magic¨Cit was that nearly all he knew, aside from his Soul Mend, interacted with Archaen Law. That required them to be Full-blood Archaens, or required them to speak Archaen to use.

    In most of the requests, Irene wasn¡¯t able to provide a direct topic for what they wanted¨Cbut she was often able to provide something adjacent, and usually fully fulfil at least one of their requests. He had earned a lot of second stratum value knowledge from his Quests, but it wasn¡¯t everything. The 50,000 DP Codex would actually include some third stratum knowledge, so he knew that was going to be a priority as he neared it.

    So now all the girls held knowledge crystals, ready to improve themselves and fill in the gaps of what they had been missing instruction on. It would take some time for these seeds of knowledge to bear fruit, likely after their conquest of Shadowvale, but it was good that they would soon be planted.

    The knowledge in the Prince¡¯s Study was largely introductory, and had gotten them to the point where they were now¨Cmostly First Stratum methods, building their foundational knowledge. But the knowledge contained in the Archives would bring them up to the Expert, Second Stratum levels, and perhaps a little beyond with some of their own efforts.

    Winny smiled at Irene. ¡°Thanks a lot, Irene. Thanks to you, we¡¯re ready to prepare for this Conflict now.¡±

    Kaya groaned. ¡°More training? But we just got back. I know it¡¯s important, but¡­we¡¯ll get some rest too, right?¡±

    Fang smiled and perked up from her confused look. She had been frowning down at her crystals. Her tail also began wagging. ¡°Yeah! That¡¯s right! We need belly rubs, and we should play a little. We should go back to the mall!¡±

    Luna smiled at her fondly. ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll find some time for those things, but our time is limited. Boss has a lot to do too, you know.¡±

    Fang¡¯s ears went flat on her head. ¡°Oh¡­okay.¡±

    Nick patted her head, and scratched her ears. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Fang. We definitely earned a small break. Let¡¯s work a little harder for a bit, and then with our remaining time, we¡¯ll have a good time together just before we go.¡±

    Fang pumped her fist. ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll do it! I¡¯ll work hard, and get all the belly¨C¡±

    The doorbell suddenly rang, the soft chime echoing in the chamber.

    Vi said, ¡°It¡¯s Lumos in front. Should I allow them entry?¡±

    Nick nodded. ¡°Go ahead, we¡¯ll meet her in the living room.¡±

    Irene said, ¡°I¡¯ll stay here. I got¡­a lot more to read here! I can already feel my Wisdom Concept progressing just from the immense amount of knowledge contained here. It is so vast, and much of it is new for me. Likely for Mother, too! This must be why I was sent here. Thank you so much, Hero.¡±

    Rebecca sighed. ¡°I knew this would happen. But at least, it¡¯s not improper for you to be here anymore¡­¡±

    Most of the girls decided they weren¡¯t all that interested in meeting with Lumos, breaking off and heading into the Princely Chambers. They had a lot to digest with their new knowledge crystals, and the small dojo there combined with the special essence within would help them relax.

    Lumos was waiting in the living room, standing at the entrance when Nick, Jasmine, Eirwen, and Rebecca arrived. She was wearing a spatial backpack and several of the spatial sacks around her waist.

    Rebecca asked, ¡°What is it, Lumos?¡±

    Lumos smiled, then handed over some pouches to Eirwen. ¡°Hey everyone! I¡¯m here to deliver some stuff for you already, and let you know I¡¯m in big need of that alchemy unit, sooner rather than later!¡±

    Eirwen frowned, looking through the pouches. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°Despite my efforts to make suitable tools, some of these special materials you brought are going to need extra attention. According to Vi, the Heritage Alchemy Room with the addons I need should be able to handle everything.¡±

    Nick groaned. ¡°We¡¯re pretty much broke now since we need that Spirit Vault, though.¡±

    Lumos replied, ¡°It¡¯s pricey, but it¡¯ll be worth it, I promise. In fact, with the tools provided, I¡¯ll be able to transform that harmony crystal into something that will help your beetlefolk become Noblefrost Beetlefolk. I just need you to approve the purchase, and then I¡¯ll get right to work!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s enough, Vi?¡±

    ¡°Just enough, Milord, thanks to Lumos¡¯ efforts. In crafting all the special tools, she reduced the costs. And soon the slots in the Ordeals will refresh, allowing additional parties to earn more. The first stratum slots refresh tomorrow. Lothar¡¯s plan is prioritizing those that aren¡¯t joining the assault on Shadowvale, so that all can be rested and ready to go. There should be some minor earnings in The Barrows soon as those refresh, as well.¡±

    Nick sighed. ¡°That¡¯s another thing we need to work on. Those special events in the mall. Go ahead and approve the purchase, Vi, and place the Heritage Alchemy Room at the edge of their hidden crafting area. Then purchase the Spirit Vault as soon as we have enough.¡±

    Vi replied, ¡°As you will it.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Boss! I¡¯ll get things going for you, A.S.A.P!¡± Lumos left through the front door in a hurry.

    Eirwen said. ¡°Should we try to give one of the barrows challenges a go, before the assault? I think our party more or less meets the requirement of one now.¡±

    Nick thought about it, then shook his head. ¡°I¡¯d rather wait until we¡¯re back. For now, we¡¯ll get a lot more out of focusing on what¡¯s in the knowledge crystals and what Lumos here will refine for us. When we get back from the assault, we¡¯ll focus on all that.¡±

    Rebecca added, ¡°And supposedly, that will help how much knowledge will become available as well. Some of our requests might be fulfilled as a result.¡±

    Eirwen smirked. ¡°There was one other thing Nick could do to get even more of this knowledge, too. And maybe a power-up, besides.¡±

    Nick arched his brow. ¡°And just who am I supposed to knock up? They must be wives or bound to me like Jasmine, my race won¡¯t accept anything less. And now is just not a good time for you girls, with this Blackthorne maybe busting down our gates in the next few months.¡±

    Rebecca blushed. ¡°W-Well, I know a few women that are interested and willing¡­ if you¡¯ll accept them. They have waited to make their move, out of¡­respect for me. But I will let them know that¡­it¡¯s fine now.¡± She smiled at Nick.

    ¡°Are you sure, Becca? I would rather not take away from you. We were only just married a month ago, and I know in your community it¡¯d be abnormal for me to seek more women for some time, Goddess-approved or not.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure. There¡¯s a consensus among us, whether it¡¯s the Clergy or her Faithful, the community is behind you courting and marrying more of us. It¡¯s Seraphara¡¯s will, and many of them have fondness in their hearts for you.¡± She cleared her throat, blushing. ¡°If¨Cif you don¡¯t mind, I would like a little more time¡­ alone with you, before that time, though...¡±

    Nick chuckled, and embraced her in a warm hug. ¡°You got it, Becca. I¡¯ll be sure to spend some time with each of my girls over the next few days¨Cwe had to go without for the most part in the Ordeal, after all. We¡¯ll train and get some other time together, I promise.¡±

    He had several goals for the upcoming days, and his wives were the same. When he faced this Trial-equivalent Conflict, the conquest of Shadowvale, he would be ready.

 Book 3 - Chapter 37 - The Spirits

    Nick hammered away at his Soul Blade, his Soul Core thrumming in response to his actions. He was in his Blade Soulforge, the spherical chamber giving off its luminescent glow. The refined elemental elite¨Cthe ice wollywompus¨Ccore sank into his Focus with each blow, and his blade started to give off a feeling of powerful cold.

    After the first tempering and subsequent ones, if he used his Expert Archaen Swordsmanship, he could create a blade of white light that had amazing cutting power. This was pretty much his default, as he could do this endlessly, so long as the blade stole essence from his targets. The mana cost wasn¡¯t significant.

    Since he used his Blade Soulforge to switch his focus to ice, the blade of white light now had blue frost coursing through it too, and it gave off a bit of cold.

    It was not a lot. When he infused his mana and essence to form the white blade of light, it primarily increased his cutting power, which was of course valuable. However, he wanted it to do more. He wanted enemies he struck and sliced through to be slowed and weakened more significantly, to make it a part of his fighting style focused on control.

    The resource half depleted, Nick took a break. The dome around him receded as he twisted his Soul Blade with a click.

    With a smile, Jasmine once again was ready to take care of her master. She handed him a cup and held out a plate of Essence Fruits, the recliner brought out for him to sit down and relax.

    Jasmine was wearing her sexy maid costume, her four-armed form looking mostly human or elven, aside from the stone gray skin. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to try the new function¨Cthe Spirit Forge, Master?¡±

    Sitting down, Nick took a drink of the energy whiskey, and felt his body and soul getting revitalized. He took a bite of the fruit, the refreshing taste of the essence filling him, as he pondered the answer to his question.

    ¡°I¡¯m still thinking about what I want. In a partner. Then, how I want them to fight, and how I want to shift my blade.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, your father and that big elf woman, Artura were really something else! They made a great team. I¡¯m sure your father put a lot of thought into her.¡±

    Nick let out a breath. ¡°That¡¯s another weird part I¡¯m having trouble with, too. I¡¯m going to make someone? I don¡¯t think I like that.¡±

    ¡°Oh! I can see that¡¯s a little weird, for you. Why don¡¯t you just make a monster, then? It doesn¡¯t need to be a person. They don¡¯t need to be a swordsman, besides. Your dad had those, too.¡±

    ¡°Hm. But it should be someone or something that resonates with my Path. What monster resonates with the Path of Kings? Or Heroes, for that matter?¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­that does sound kinda hard. Well, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll figure something out, Master! Here¨Chave another Essence Fruit!¡±

    Nick chuckled as he took a bite of the offered fruit as he pondered. Among his wives, Jasmine and Fang were definitely not the thinking type.

    Ultimately, he only had his Concepts to infuse into the Focus¨Cat least for now, as those had the most influence over his blade.

    Once someone reached the Third or Fourth Stratum, their understanding of numerous Concepts could reach the Early stages without necessarily making it a part of them. This was common for those with crafting classes, to allow them to imbue Concepts that weren¡¯t a part of them, into equipment and other items.

    Prior to then, it was extremely rare for a crafter to have a Concept not related to their crafting profession.

    Thinking back to his spirit for his Soul Blade, it was easiest for him to envision his Dominion of Frost and Fealty in relation to the biting cold. It was certainly true that he didn¡¯t have a Concept relating to swords, so why would the spirit need to be a swordsman?

    But he was considering it¨Cestablishing a third Concept relating to swordsmanship, or the sword itself. It had been present in both of his lives, a drive to be great at it. The blade was how he enacted his will on the world, a tool that carried his power.

    And it was more than just a tool. It was the weapon of nobility, a hallmark of civilization. He was familiar and well-versed with a wide array of weaponry, and all of them had advantages and disadvantages. Nick did not truly believe the sword was the best, or anything like that.

    If there wasn¡¯t the magical bullshit of these Concepts, and Essence, and he was only allowed to use one weapon his entire life, he would pick some kind of polearm weapon¨Csomething with a little more reach. He was fighting behemoth-sized monsters more often than not, after all.

    However, in the world of Orion, the essence of something and all of the beliefs, and even history, surrounding it, might matter just as much as the cold hard facts¨Cthe science about something. The will of the world was as important as the truths, and it was only by combining them that you could make them a part of yourself and change or replace reality. To create a bullshit magic that could make even a needle that could destroy a mountain.

    And the sword was the weapon of kings and heroes. Whether facing another human or a dragon, the weapon one would picture in a hero or king¡¯s hands was definitely a sword.

    On Orion that imagery and connection mattered. Thinking on it further, perhaps, the sword was the perfect thing to tie his Hero and King Paths and Concepts together into a singular fighting style. Most importantly, it was something that fit and was true to Nick and who he was¨Cit resonated with him, both in this life and in his last.

    He would come back to that or consider it later, but for now, Jasmine was right. He didn¡¯t have to focus on a swordsman partner. Nick could concentrate on a monster that could complement him, and even one that matched his Dominion of Frost and Fealty.

    There were a few mythological creatures that came to mind, and he wondered if it would be possible. He knew that the more ambitious it was, the more essence it would cost to trigger the Awakening¨Cboth to establish the spirit and awaken it, but also the cost to manifest it in battle.

    That was just fine for Nick. Right now, aside from only being able to use it once per several hours, he could really fire Essence Burst at will, as he had plenty of essence to power the ability ever since he had reached the Second Stratum.

    He was willing to go back to charging his Soul Blade to accomplish the manifestation, if it meant that it had a greater influence on his chances of victory in any battle.

    After finishing his recovery and taking some hot and heavy kisses from Jasmine first, he returned to the forge. With a twist and a click, the dome covered him once again, retracting the cutting light of the Soul Blade as Jasmine went back to making more stone cloth.

    Activating the Spirit Forge, the light in the room changed. A door opened underneath and next to the pedestal, and a blast of essence that looked like a flame struck the Soul Blade from it. Nick noticed it drew the essence partially from the material he provided, the wollywompus core once again being used.

    The blade ready for special tempering, he began to swing his Spirit Hammer, striking the blade. With every swing, he pictured his future ally, and what it stood for. A creature that could breathe frost as a weapon, able to attack with ice magic at distances far greater than his own. A large, sturdy body, covered in thick and hard scales.

    A being that was well known for its dominion, a veritable king of monsters. Monsters and races of all types would bend the knee to its superiority, providing tribute for its protection¨Cor to avoid its hungering gaze.

    With every blow, the elemental elite beast core suffused his Soul Blade¡¯s Focus, and a silhouette of a creature began to form around it. Small ice crystals like teeth and deadly claws began to form along the hilt and blade, a manifestation of the monster¡¯s nature, the essence of Orion reacting to his desire. The changes were subtle, to the point where he had to squint to even see them.

    He knew this would take dozens of sessions in total, and perhaps require even better, rarer materials, for the spirit to be ready for awakening. Since he had been so ambitious, he had doubts he¡¯d accomplish this before the Third Stratum at all.

    However, as he felt exhaustion and finished using the material and retracted the blade from the forge, he could already feel the shift. The blade was now colder, deadlier. The Spirit Forge was truly something special, having a larger impact than the Soulforge on its own.

    The downside was that it required far more materials¨Cnearly double for the same result. He had been busy working on the blade, and he was forced to add clumps of refined frostiron ore from the mines before it ran out, as he wasn¡¯t yet done. The forge quickly blew through them until he had consumed four of them, but he managed to reach a point he was satisfied with before stopping.

    He could already feel the spirit taking shape within. Even though it was just born in a sense, it already felt domineering and powerful.

    Jasmine had watched everything. ¡°An ice dragon for a partner, Master? How ambitious. I do believe your father had a few dragon allies as well, but those aren¡¯t even considered adults until they reach the third stratum.¡±

    Nick nodded. ¡°I doubt the blade will be ready to awaken before I reach that, anyhow. I¡¯m level 18 as it is.¡±

    ¡°You never know, Master, but you might be right. So what¡¯s next?¡±

    ¡°As expected, I¡¯m a bit beat. I¡¯ll rest a bit and work on my Soul Magic, then it¡¯ll be time to¡­¡± He grimaced. ¡°Eat some demon cores, I guess.¡±

    Jasmine laughed. ¡°Just like Birdy! It¡¯s not that surprising. Monsters consume essence rather than cultivate, making them more like what they eat. And you¡¯re part monster! But to think it was that simple.¡±

    Nick was a little affronted, being compared to the demon bird. ¡°It¡¯s with Lumos¡¯ precautions and cleansers she made for me, and after she refined the cores in the first place.¡± He changed the subject, ¡±Also, Winny will probably call me for help with her spiritual guide in the Spirit Vault, soon.¡±

    Jasmine giggled at his attitude, ¡°Hehe, of course, Master, not like the bird at all.¡± He narrowed his eyes at her, and she quickly returned to his choice of subject, ¡°Binding that spirit should be exciting, I know Winny has been looking forward to it for a long time. But first, how about you let me help you relax a little? I know just the thing.¡±

    Nick quickly found his butt landing into the recliner, and his Soul Blade and its harness stowed away. All while his belt was unfastened and his robes opened, her four hands working in concert to get him ready to relax in a near instant.

    Nick arched his brow. ¡°Well, since you¡¯re offering¡­¡±

    Jasmine gave him a sultry chuckle as she kissed his lips, and started trailing kisses down his chest. ¡°Anytime you like, Master. Your wish is my command.¡±

    ***

    ¡°Alright, Winny. You¡¯ve prepared for days. Let¡¯s do this.¡±

    Winny nodded, sitting in his lap with her armor with her bow strapped to her back, ready for battle. ¡°Luna was already successful with her new totem, which was a surprise. It¡¯s very useful.¡±

    Nick chuckled. ¡°She¡¯d be a beast if she could replace all her elemental spirits with ones of that quality, but it seems there are limits to how many of that strength she can bond and connect with. Still, as useful as they all are, all of them could use some upgrading.¡±

    They were sitting in the Spirit Vault, which¡­reminded Nick more of a prison than anything else. They sat on a prayer mat in a cylindrical room that reached several stories high, and small metallic cubes the size of basketballs lined every level of the room.

    Chains ran around and between each of the cubes, and they floated mysteriously around the large room. The wall was lined with special cages, which Nick imagined being some of the more powerful spirits contained within.

    Eirwen closed her eyes. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do this.¡± She formed the connection to Nick, and made the call to bind a spirit to her. On the mat was a diagram she had created, which contained her requests for a spirit, as per the instructions of the Spirit Vault.

    Numerous cubes lit up, and even some of the cages. Looking over them, Nick got a feel for the spirits inside. Among them, many of them were desperate, but all of them matched what Nick was hoping for: the desire to continue to serve the Noblefrost Kingdom.

    Focusing on the ones with cages, he got an odd, uneasy feeling for several of them, even the one that he felt a light familiarity with¨Clike the feeling he got when meeting the elves in Silverbrook. He wasn¡¯t sure what the uneasy feeling was, but he felt it best to avoid them for the moment.

    However, one stood out as feeling wise and strong. Eirwen opened her eyes and did her best to feel things out, but she accepted his assessment and called upon the spirit.

    A small spirit appeared in front of them, looking like a tiny, green silhouette of someone that had burst into flame. The body was insubstantial, soul essence drifting off of it like a fiery haze. Someone else wouldn¡¯t visibly be able to see this creature, and would instead only be able to sense it with their magical ones.

    The small person looked like they had long limbs, sitting cross-legged and with their hands folded or clasped in front of them. Their hair almost looked like it was styled like a mohawk, and what looked like a bone piercing their nose. They had long ears like an elf, but their facial structure was definitely more square and what Nick would call handsome rather than beautiful. He had only met the teen at the orphanage and seen a handful in Silverbrook, but he was pretty certain this spirit was a troll.

    A woman¡¯s voice came from the spirit. ¡°A sheep beastfolk called me? What a surprise, most I¡¯ve known have been¡­ well, that¡¯s not important. I see you are not so meek, prepared for battle, as you are.¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Eirwen frowned. ¡°If you don¡¯t like it, I can always call another spirit instead¡­¡±

    The spirit gasped, and bowed her head. ¡°My apologies for my poor manners, young Archaen Lady. But you know¡­¡± She raised her head and grinned, ¡°I¡¯m a troll, after all¨Cit¡¯s in my people¡¯s nature to say what¡¯s on our minds. My name is Shak¡¯terra, and I served the Noble¨C¡± The women froze, frowning for a moment.

    ¡°I see. Orion has¡­restricted me, and what I can say here. An Archaen¡¯s Wife needs my assistance, to be your bound spirit? When I willingly entered the ark, I wished to be reborn for War or Tribulation to earn a slot in an Ordeal, not to be someone¡¯s spiritual guide. Since you called me, I take it our Kingdom did not fare too well, in the calamities that befell¨C¡± A weight descended, and she coughed. ¡°Never mind that.¡±

    Nick asked, ¡°You wanted to fight in the war? We saw you came from one of those larger vaults, I take it you were someone special?¡±

    Shak¡¯terra chuckled, and shook her head. ¡°Just the second or third string Follower level, I¡¯m afraid, or I would have been reborn and died fighting before they had to cut and run, no doubt. But make no mistake: for someone like you in the Second Stratum, my guidance will be very useful, and I will complement your shamanic powers well. I can sense your budding Concepts, though they are a little odd. Not very shaman-like, but I can see they likely supplement your role in a Climber¡¯s party well. I wonder what your Class is?¡±

    Nick noticed that she seemed eager, and was definitely trying to sell herself. At the same time, her words were all truth.

    Eirwen shared his thoughts. ¡°My current Class is Ordeal Supporter, but I¡¯ve learned shamanic magic and was hoping to unlock the Ancestral Guide Class by binding a spirit. You can sense the nature of my Concepts?¡±

    Shak¡¯terra grinned, exposing a large fanglike tooth on her tiny lips. ¡°Not bad at all! And, of course I can, young Lady¨Csome kind of Starlight and Wishes, right? I am a powerful Shamaness, after all, but my skills focus on using spirits to gather information, but also curse, and weaken enemies.¡±

    She paused, thinking. ¡°As an Ancestral Guide, you will find value in how I can assist you, as while some might not be my specialty, I am knowledgeable in all the shamanic arts, and even some sorcery and wizardry. I also have vast experience, so few should get an advantage over you under my watch.¡±

    Nick was more than a little impressed. Sorcery on Orion often involved prepared magic through things like formations and using stored energies, as he learned from the Seraphara Ordeal. Wizardry was more like what Jasmine was accomplishing, but more focused on powerful individual spells and, of course, the average wizard was a lot less monstrous than her.

    He himself would be focused on learning some Wizardry, if his Soul Blade and Soul Servants didn¡¯t take up such a substantial reserve of his potential magical might.

    Nick asked, ¡°Can you tell us anything about the options we have? You¡¯re the first we¡¯ve met so far.¡±

    She smirked. ¡°Wanting some free information about my competitors, Young Noblefrost? I don¡¯t mind, but we don¡¯t have a lot of time to make this contract. The power any contracted spirit can bring about is going to be magical or guidance focused, as we have no body to influence the world directly, or cores to store essence and mana. We all must use you as a conduit to accomplish anything.¡±

    ¡°Because of your¡­strange choice of Core, that I have a hard time understanding,¡± Shak¡¯terra continued, ¡°your mana and elemental stores are weaker than most. So, a more elemental focused shaman, a more specialized sorcerer or wizard, or even an elemental spirit on its own is a poor choice for you. Obviously, a Chieftain or Warlord, a melee combatant¡¯s spirit, would be silly for you. I admit when it comes to scouting or even doing direct damage, a more exotic, monstrous spirit might have me beat. But in terms of guidance and magical superiority, few will be my match, I promise you that.¡±

    She raised her index finger, adding, ¡°Outside the first string of the Noblefrost Kingdom, of course. Those would have even deeper foundations, their talents unique and their fates special. I worked hard for myself, and was at the peak of the Third Stratum for over a hundred years, but I could never obtain a slot in an Ordeal to properly walk a Path. I¡¯ve faced Roaming Trials, a smaller Kingdom¡¯s Tribulation, and several Conflicts, so my experience is deep outside of them.¡±

    That made a bit of sense to Nick. A true mage or elemental shaman, like Agatha and her lightning core, would usually have a core focused on creating either aspected mana or storing much more mana overall, to increase their effectiveness at their role. Eirwen had created her Devotion Core instead, which had less individual utility, all in hopes that she could empower her husband.

    She could still form a second specialized core, but it was actually quite challenging to find the right materials, they had learned. Most wouldn¡¯t even imagine trying until the Third Stratum. It was because the material required had to be that much rarer, and often, the cultivation method that much more complicated to be successful.

    Rebecca was lucky that the material provided for the Devotion Core was good enough, and that her Faith Core was so compatible. Perhaps it would just work out if they found the right materials, as this seemed to be a unique trait for Archeans. But Nick wasn¡¯t so sure they could just hope for the best from the 20th Floor Path of Kings¨Cnot unless he cranked the difficulty up again before they entered.

    And while they could hope to land a Fourth Stratum spirit instead of this troll, Nick was actually thinking this woman was exactly what they needed. It might require a full-blown Trial for someone in the fourth, as they would have even more restricted knowledge.

    Worse, they might be a little crazy from whatever odd method they might have used to reach it. He was pretty sure the uneasy feeling he felt was that they were, and Eirwen got the same feeling. They both had a good feeling about this woman from the very beginning when they selected her.

    As for a unique monster¡¯s spirit, that wouldn¡¯t work for the Class she wanted. She could turn it into a Bound Spirit, but she would have to ditch her Ordeal Supporter Class entirely, it appeared. The Ancestral Class guide, being a kind of side-upgrade, she would keep most of her traits, and perhaps even gain upgrades, or enhanced versions of them.

    Nick shared his thoughts, and Eirwen agreed that this person was probably the right choice. Because through their Soul Sense, Nick and Eirwen could both tell she believed what she said. She seemed like a good fit, so Eirwen would get just a little more information first.

    Eirwen asked, ¡°Are spirits like you able to bring about the power of your Concepts?¡±

    The spirit snorted. ¡°Of course. I¡¯d be awfully useless if I couldn¡¯t. Why, if your enemy had a Domain, it¡¯d be like slamming my fists against a castle wall. The mana and essence you must supply to manifest my Concept is expensive, of course, but my many afflictions will render most enemies useless and eventually dead, given enough time. It¡¯ll be worth it.¡±

    Nick could see how that would be very useful. And his party didn¡¯t have anyone that could accomplish anything similar, aside from how his party¡¯s frost would eventually freeze something dead.

    Between her archery, shaman buffing, elemental, and healing spells, her spirit magic and dream magic, Eirwen was able to do so much already. That she could also do what this troll could do would give her even more options, and make her valuable in even more situations.

    Nick asked, ¡°So, what is it that you want, to become Eirwen¡¯s spirit? You said you wanted to be reborn in a War or Tribulation.¡±

    Shak¡¯terra sighed. ¡°I did, but I¡¯ll take becoming a Bound Spirit for an Archaen Wife over the abyss. Quite a bit of time must have passed already, I can tell. I bet the other spirits were quite desperate too, weren¡¯t they? Since you are here, Young Lord, and it¡¯s to be a Bound Spirit for an Archaen Wife, I am already willing to serve the Noblefrost Family once again. Normally, I¡¯d not be good enough to serve directly. As for what I¡¯d like¡­ with enough service, are you willing and capable of granting me a new body, and a slot in an Ordeal?¡±

    Nick nodded. ¡°We can, but if we do, all your memories will be sealed until the Open Relay is opened on this Frontier Shard. I suppose that means you won¡¯t be you, really. I can promise you that once it¡¯s open, we can explore these kinds of options. Eirwen won¡¯t need you as her Bound Spirit so much anymore at that point, right¨Cit means that I would have reached the Fourth Stratum.¡±

    Shak¡¯terra nodded. ¡°I do believe you¡¯ll be able to bind more than just me, later. And that offer is good enough for me. I would like to make the Pact then, based upon our verbal agreement.¡±

    As if her words themselves were the trigger, the room lit up with Orion¡¯s golden light. A dome began to form over Nick and Eirwen, along with Shak¡¯terra, so Eirwen withdrew her bow from her back as she stood.

    Eirwen said, ¡°This...feels different from a Pact.¡±

    The spirit smirked. ¡°That means you are in for a fight, young Lady. It seems Orion wants you to face a Test for the right to have access to much of my knowledge and capability. Good luck!¡±

    Nick found himself teleported out of the forming dome with the spirit, forced to watch Eirwen¡¯s fight.

    His wife was armed and ready. They were made aware of there being a possibility of a Test or Trial, after all. It was good that this only required a Test. Perhaps, if they had reached out to any of the Fourth Stratum spirits, they¡¯d have required a Trial instead.

    What formed out of the light was a tall, lanky humanoid holding a staff of bone and wearing flowing black robes. Its¡­body and hairstyle resembled the spirit they were speaking with, but looked like a male rather than the female they were talking to.

    ¡°A troll?¡±

    The spirit chuckled, as she looked at the troll with narrowed eyes, her magical senses trying to scan inside the dome. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re facing a budget version of me. Do take care not to be cursed and killed, young Lady!¡±

    Eirwen was quick to ready her practiced Charged Shot, infused with her odd shooting star Concept. She loosed her arrow then leaped to the side, pre-emptively getting into motion to evade what the troll sent her way.

    The troll was ready for her shot, and crushed some sort of charm at its waist. A wave of darkness blasted out, in an attempt to reject the arrow. However, the arrow pierced this and lodged into the troll¡¯s shoulder, causing it to growl in anger as it began to prepare some sort of spell.

    Eirwen then drew several more shots as she kept on the move, leaping side-to-side. With a swipe of its hand, the troll absorbed the next arrow¡¯s starlight explosion, destroying its hand.

    After that, the troll erected a sort of barrier made of earth instead, resembling what Luna could accomplish with her totems. Her arrow still took a large chunk out of the earth in an explosion of light that resembled a bottle rocket, but did not reach or damage the troll.

    In response to the earthen barrier, Eirwen began preparing a barrage of frost. However, she had to cancel her casting to erect her sparkling Omni-barrier around herself, as a curse shot out from behind the stone, homing toward her location despite shooting out the back of it.

    Nick did feel a Concept coming from it, but the curse must not have been overly strong, as it completely burned up before it could penetrate her barrier. Likely at the fragment level.

    The spirit was impressed, whistling. ¡°Not bad. We might be better suited for each other than I thought. That her weird star magic counters the curse magic so well means enemies my curses are poor against, she¡¯ll likely be strong against. And the reverse should be true.¡±

    Eirwen finished preparing her frost spell, and Nick noticed she twisted it with her Wish Concept. It looked like the usual spear of ice, just larger, before it was twisted. It spun much like a drill as it launched toward the earthen barrier, and with a burst of essence, she leaped forward at the troll on top of that, getting closer.

    A barrier of darkness surrounded the earthen shield, but both were pierced by the drill, stabbing into the troll¡¯s chest. Chilling cold washed over the troll and the barrier, before with a wave of her hand, Eirwen added even more with a Breath of Cold spell, blasting it chilling air and ice.

    The earthen shield crumbled away, and the troll was reaching slowly for some other charm or talisman with its remaining hand. It was then that Eirwen released another arrow at its head, her shot striking true.

    With that, the troll was defeated.

    A golden light surrounded Shak¡¯terra, the spirit being bound to Eirwen with assistance from Orion.

    The spirit smiled at Winny. ¡°Pretty good, young Lady. It didn¡¯t have all the tools I did, even when I was in the Second Stratum myself, but I had instruction from some powerful ancestors. You have fought well and have earned my aid.¡± She grinned, exposing her lower fang further, ¡°You¡¯re pretty tough for a sheep beastfolk, and I know we¡¯ll make a great team.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve worked hard to keep up with my Hubby, you know. I look forward to how you can help me better help him.¡±

    Shak¡¯terra laughed. ¡°Ah yes, of course. ¡®Tis common amongst us trolls, too. Many of us get stronger to land a man and keep him interested¡­and breathing, for many of them speak their mind and pick fights with the wrong people.¡± She winked.

    The spirit flew inside Eirwen, and then the sheep girl smiled at Nick. ¡°There we go. Now the Ancestral Guide Class is available. I¡¯ll spend the next few days recovering and then cultivate what¡¯s in my chamber, and then I¡¯ll be ready for battle. But having her around is going to be like always having someone more experienced than Agatha with us when we need her.¡±

    Nick ran his hands through her curly hair, and kissed her on the lips. ¡°That was pretty badass, Winny. You practically steamrolled that troll.¡±

    She giggled, her ears wiggling. ¡°I take it that¡¯s a good thing?¡± Eirwen arched her brow.

    Nick snorted. ¡°Right¡­ forgot about that.¡± He imagined the vehicle and what it could do, and sent it through their connection, helping her understand what he meant. ¡°It¡¯s like in one go you suddenly flattened them.¡±

    ¡°Ah,¡± she chuckled, ¡°I suppose that¡¯s right. I figured it was best to be on the offensive, as I really didn¡¯t know what magic the troll could do. That my starlight seemed to pierce the spells it used was a bit of luck, but we¡¯d seen the same already.¡±

    She selected her class, and the main skill she gained was the [Manifest Spirit] spell. She also received a Trait, [Elite Bound Spirit], from making the Pact with Shak¡¯terra. This granted her a few attributes, and reduced the cost of channeling spells cast by the spirit.

    Eirwen kept all her earned spells and Traits from Ordeal Supporter, as it was a lot like she had become a powerful shamanic version of the same class. The spirit was a powerful multipurpose tool, that rivaled things like totems or familiars and similar on its own.

    And it was rare to have such an affinity with spirits. Often, mastering such a magic would skip generations in most orc tribes, Agatha had told them. That Eirwen could accomplish this without ancestral blood carrying the connection was a big boon.

    Nick noted, ¡°When you¡¯re ready, I think we¡¯ll be good to go. It¡¯ll be time to take Shadowvale.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it will take me long. That spring really put me in a great place, body and soul. After that, I do think I¡¯ll be ready for anything Orion can throw at us.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say that. Orion always seems to find a way to make things tough for us.¡±

    Eirwen grinned. ¡°I welcome it. If we were never Tested, then I would still be weak like I was before I entered the Ordeal. A meek sheep, as Shak¡¯terra would say.¡±

    ¡°Yes, but we could live with an easy win for once.¡±

    Eirwen shrugged. ¡°For me, I¡¯d relax much better knowing I¡¯ve been Tested as much as possible, that I¡¯m as strong as I could hope to be for what challenge might come.¡±

    Nick sighed. ¡°Fine, you win. I guess I¡¯ll get back to eating some more of those demon cores.¡±

    ¡°That working well? I admit I was a bit busy getting ready for this, and I haven¡¯t had much time to track what you were doing.¡± She grinned. ¡°Though I did notice you having a bit of fun with the gals without me.¡±

    He coughed. ¡°You were so in the zone, I didn¡¯t want to bother you.¡±

    Eirwen giggled. ¡°I was just playin¡¯, Hubby, I know that. We¡¯ll find some time for ourselves before we go, no doubt. So, show me this new ¡®bod of yours.¡±

    Nick flexed his arm, his muscle bulging with darkness energy. He was now at the level where it was like he was permanently at the second stanza of his Ideal. When he used it now, the levels grew even higher, faster.

    It was all locked inside by his Tithed Faith essence, like a shell that kept it all under control. He had a barrier around his Soul Core, but his Body Core now had some darkness running through it. It had taken him several tries to master this way to grow the darkness within him, without allowing it to take control of his mind and body.

    After bathing himself in the essence for hours and days, it seemed to become a consistent process in his body. That even if he was knocked out, this shell wouldn¡¯t disburse, causing a terrible imbalance. It helped that he was so far ahead with his Tithed Faith energy, and he could even safely draw some of it stored in his skin, and use it in battle.

    Eirwen ran her hands over his muscle. ¡°Mmm¡­so strong, Hubby. All that from eating some demon cores? What about the Ideal, and Concept?¡±

    In response, he activated his Heroic Concept, his body bursting with power. But now, a bit of speed was included, like he had mastered a powerful version of Dash and infused it in him. The darkness roamed his body like a living liquid, a contrast to the light, which had grown even brighter.

    ¡°Wow! You must be nearing Middle Mastery already?¡±

    Nick shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s still a ways away, I think. Probably just a few more heroic deeds, and Judging of some bad guys, and I¡¯ll reach it. As for the Ideal, I¡¯m still working on it. It¡¯s taken some work for me to keep the light balanced with the dark. The Archaen language is complicated.¡±

    He needed to grow the two at the same rate, as best he could, to have a viable Ideal. As he worked on his Ideal, he drew out the darkness and light from the prison that was Archaen Law, and infused a small amount into his body. He grew the shell with the light and the Tithed Faith Energy, and grew the darkness in his body with the demon cores and from the prison.

    After a moment of thought, he realized it had been a while since he Judged anyone, and he suddenly got a little excited about the upcoming fight. There will be plenty of bad guys to Judge in Shadowvale.

    Eirwen responded to his thoughts with a chuckle¨Cshe was a bit excited about that too. ¡°That¡¯s true. That reminds me¡­ The Lord of Silverbrook said he¡¯d have the last of those criminals transported soon. They are done with their own interrogations and binding of them. Then, we got few weeks or a little over a month before those slaves you ordered and the mercenaries we commissioned arrive, but soon we¡¯ll get more allies that way, too.¡±

    That was good news. Everything was truly falling into place. When Blackthorne and his army arrived near Frosthaven in a few months, Nick¡¯s own army would be ready. And so would he.

 Book 3 - Chapter 38 - Myron and Nick - The Battle Begins

    Myron shoved his arm into the giant tiger¡¯s maw and wrapped his other arm around its head in a steely grip, providing his compatriots an opening on the demonic beast. A barrage of attacks with clubs rained down on the monster¡¯s side, its thick hide not enough to stop the full force of the large Oni women¡¯s powerful blows. With it the tiger held in place by its head, the creature was quickly crippled and killed.

    This was just one of many beasts his people were forced to kill, pushing through this dense jungle valley in their pursuit of their destination.

    The beast dead, he took his arm out and inspected it for damage. Despite Orion sealing his Qi, his forged body remained firmly within the Third Stratum in hardness. Still, its powerful jaws and sharp teeth had dug into his skin, forming a bruise. It was a worthwhile price to pay. That angry beast had already wounded three of his men and women.

    They had been fighting the past few weeks, both luring monsters to face their enemy, but also having to face many on their own. Not only that, but they¡¯ve had to fight several skirmishes against their enemy. Their Fatestrider Clan had taken several casualties, their healers unable to keep up with the damage done.

    But they were close. Close to the destination he divined, the Way to their salvation.

    A man¡¯s voice cut through the glade, interrupting Myron¡¯s thoughts.

    ¡°Patriarch! There¡¯s a problem.¡±

    Myron couldn¡¯t help but check the replaced Crystallized Fate pendant again, seeing it was fine. ¡°What is it? Did the enemy cut us off already?¡±

    ¡°No¡­not yet, anyway. It seems there is a large cave¨Cwe found it! Perhaps it¡¯s a path that runs through the mountains and leads to freedom, but¡­it¡¯s full of monsters.¡±

    Myron was somewhat elated. A cave was a sort of proof that his divinations were correct. There was something special in this area, that was not marked on the map.

    However, the man in front of him was concerned instead. Myron narrowed his eyes. ¡°Monsters? What kind?¡±

    ¡°Some type of powerful devil reptile has made it its den, and it has countless spawn. It¡¯s in the Golden Core stages, and most of its young are in Foundation Establishment! I¡¯m afraid¡­we are truly at a dead end. We must defeat the enemy army or die. If we get any closer, these predators will tear us apart, and they are not the kind that can be led around by the nose.¡±

    Devils? Creatures from another plane of existence, their invasion into another was rare on most Realms. But devils were often full of wicked cunning, and wielded deadly magics not usually found in normal demonic beasts.

    The people of Orion would call these demons, his people choosing a different word because they called all beasts that could use Qi: demonic beasts. Orion was both similar, but also different from the Realms. That the Qi density was thick for numerous demonic beasts to be raised, but too wild for cultivation, was a bizarre concept for Myron to wrap his head around.

    Myron took out his divination talisman and table, and performed a quick divination, even including this new knowledge in his augury. The talisman swung from its chain held out by his hand, each time leading to the outcome.

    With each divination, his injury flared in agony, and he felt like months and years were being lost from his lifespan as several hairs went gray at the roots.

    But that was fine. It was nearly time for his final task.

    The result was the same as before. No answer. He performed another, where he turned around and faced the enemy, or even fought further to the North. Depending on whom he checked the fate of, he would always get the same two answers.

    Enslavement. Death.

    The answer was simple.

    ¡°We continue. The Way has been decided. Live or die, our best chance is to continue. Only a few hours left.¡± His scouts couldn¡¯t stay much ahead of their forces, now that the enemy encirclement was so close.

    The man frowned. ¡°Could these Devils not be the reason for the divination results?¡±

    Myron laughed so hard his injury tore, causing him to enter a coughing fit as he tried to stop.

    Eventually, he caught his breath and managed to speak. ¡°Of course not. There is no way a mere Third Stratum beast would not only consume our souls, but also our Fates. Our great enemy¡¯s method was devised by a man that had partially merged with the heavens themselves, creating an array out of materials above Nascent Soul. A mere Golden-Core-Level Devil reptile steal our Fates? Impossible, this strange world or not. No, something is going to happen when we get near, I just know it. We must be ready.¡±

    The man looked relieved, his eyes taking on a look of determination. ¡°Of course, Patriarch. As has always been, your family has guided us, selecting our Way. We will believe, and follow the light of the stars. Even if we cannot see or feel them any longer¡­¡± He dashed away, going to carry out Myron¡¯s orders.

    Moments later, as Myron was putting away his table and talisman, he heard his daughter¡¯s concerned voice. ¡°Is it true, Father? We¡¯re almost there?¡±

    He nodded, looking over to his daughter as she walked over and prodded the giant tiger corpse with her bat.

    Shara had blood all over her robes, though much more was on her tetsubo she carried upward, resting on her shoulder. Clearly, she had been fighting.

    With a wave of his Qi, he cleaned her face and robes. Her hair was now wild from fighting, her purple skin and robes contrasting well with her pink hair and eyes. She was the perfect image of her mother, a beautiful giant warrior with a soft heart.

    She blushed at his inspection, but then wrapped him in a hug. ¡°F-Father! I can clean it myself¡­ don¡¯t fuss over me¡­ I know it hurts you.¡±

    He separated from her, and smiled. ¡°I wanted to get another good look at you. Your mother would be proud of the warrior you have become. But you must be careful, and let those who entered the Second or Third Stratum fight for you. They might be limited in Qi, but their bodies are at least a little sturdier than yours.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m being careful, Father. I¡¯m working together with those you suggest, and not facing any dangers alone. These beasts are easy to predict, but some have strange abilities. Still, they¡¯re not too different from the demonic beasts we used to hunt at home.¡±

    Myron smiled in approval. ¡°Good. As long as you know your limits. The Devil reptiles, if we fight them, will likely be more formidable. And of course, if the bandit armies of this Blackthorne show up¡­¡±

    ¡°Whatever happens, there¡¯s going to be a lot of fighting and chaos, isn¡¯t that right, Father? This feels like the battle will either be full of excitement, or despair¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true. I do not know what will happen, which is a strange feeling for me. I refuse to believe we were drawn to this world for nothing. Your Fated is here, somewhere on this strange world. This was the Way to meet them.¡± He smiled. ¡°You should be excited. You have much to look forward to.¡±

    Shara sighed, but she was fighting a small smile. ¡°I know, but¡­ if you¡¯re not there¡­ and I wish you could divine more about him¡­ he feels so far away. I suppose¡­ we really rely on your ability too much, Father.¡±

    Myron grimaced. ¡°I¡¯m afraid, even before we arrived here, the only trick that worked was divining about them by divining your fate¨Cit¡¯s how we chose this place. We thought maybe once we were closer, we could continue that path, but¡­with how Orion limits me¡­ I¡¯m afraid we¡¯re worse off than before.¡±

    He then smiled at her. ¡°But you know¡­ perhaps your Fated will be involved in this. We couldn¡¯t divine anything about this kingdom of Havendale, after all¨Cmaybe he¡¯s a King? He¡¯ll show up in shining armor, ready to save his future princess and her Clan,¡± Myron teased.

    Shara snorted. ¡°Shining armor? That¡¯s lame. I hope he¡¯s vicious and cunning. Strong, but able to bring about the best in me, and lead his people no matter the challenge.¡± She caught him looking in anticipation, and she looked away to hide her smile. ¡°Like Uncle Davos. So manly.¡±

    Myron grunted, clutching his chest. ¡°Him? That wounds me, daughter. Davos was a muscle-bound idiot that¨C¡±

    Shara laughed, interrupting him. ¡°Just kidding. Like you, Father. But not too much like you, of course¨Cyou are stingy, for one thing. I¡¯d like to be pampered by my beloved, after all. And if he could at least lift my club after I ascend, then I¡¯d truly have no complaints.¡±

    He chuckled¨Conly the strongest males among the Star Oni could accomplish this, so that would be a big feat. ¡°Of course, my little treasure. Now, let us be on our Way. We must reach as close as we can to this cave, before we get surrounded.¡±

    His hundred people continued their march, and Myron held his wound with a grimace.

    Whatever happened, Myron would fight tooth and nail for his people¡¯s future. If he must, he would expend his soul to tear a hole open from these strange heavens, just to give them a fighting chance.

    ***

    It was the oddest army caravan Nick had ever heard of. A hundred orcs wearing armor, fifty nuns and priests, fifty evolved monsterfolk, and another hundred miscellaneous ex-slaves, adventurers, and prospective Town Guard members rode bikes down the dirt path.

    Dozens of lower level monsterfolk ranged ahead, nearly all of the races present in Frosthaven scouting and traveling to join the procession. Nick was shocked at the number of new Noblefrost Scalefolk, Naga, and Wolfen that had evolved while he was in the Ordeal last, and it appeared the Frostspire mines and Lumos¡¯ alchemical concoctions had a lot to do with this.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    The essence surrounding the Frostspire mines had increased, and now there were more monsters and demons starting to show up. Between Ordeal runs and time in The Barrows, the monsterfolk would face the monsters and demons near the mines¨Cand eat them.

    There were not any beetlefolk in the army present, however. After Jasmine had delivered the wide assortment of food, another batch of essence pearls, along with the refined harmony crystal from Lumos, even Jeffrey had mysteriously gone into hibernation.

    Lothar and Renzou¡¯s utility vehicle set the fair and steady pace at the front of the procession, with Nick¡¯s coming up the rear. Nick wanted to avoid bringing the Town Guard so that they left more protection at home, but Renzou offered that it was important to get this kind of battle experience to start building toward some elites. This was a rare opportunity, and a guard that hadn¡¯t cut their teeth in a true battle was useless for the people¡¯s protection.

    In a world like Orion where criminals effectively had superpowers, Nick ultimately agreed. While Silverbrook¡¯s Town Guard had the numbers, they were not that effective against the warden or in conquering the criminal element. He definitely wanted his Town Guard to matter.

    And once Lothar started roaming out further with his raiders, Nick needed to be sure that he had a force capable of a proper defense. To hold the enemy at the gates long enough for Nick to return if he was away.

    Nick¡¯s utility vehicle brought up the rear for a simple reason¨Cas soon as he entered deep enough into Shadowvale¡¯s Control Radius, things would likely kick off shortly after. They took on a medium pace, making sure to keep the endurance of his people ready for when it occurred.

    Jasmine was currently the one driving from the roof of the vehicle, sending essence into the steering wheel and controlling it through her threads.

    Eirwen was sitting next to Nick, utilizing her spirit¡¯s manifestation. Shak¡¯terra was scouting ahead for them, sending information into her mind.

    Eirwen said, ¡°After we go over this hill, we¡¯ll be able to see it¨CShadowvale. It¡¯s a deep valley filled with shadows of the large hills and mountains around it.¡±

    They went over the hill, and the view was surprising. In the distance, like a black fog or mist, the shadows covered the entire valley. Nick couldn¡¯t see it, but he knew the Ordeal, the Tower, should be visible in the center where the shadows were the thickest.

    And the city¡­it was during the day, but Nick imagined most wouldn¡¯t even be able to see far without some form of darkvision or other magical sight. In this area, it was truly like it was nighttime during the day.

    The caravan didn¡¯t have to go much further before, suddenly, a weight descended on their entire army.

    A golden light spread out, from the ground and into the sky. After a time, a large dome had formed¨Cone that encompassed a massive area, the mountains and the valley contained within them. It was like a giant golden mountain looming over them, and Nick had to smirk at its existence.

    He could go all out with his Ideal, here. Whatever danger his father was concerned about, it was not an issue within the dome.

    [Conflict: Seraphara¡¯s Inquisition has begun. Citizens, interlopers, and others are selecting their choices. Battle Option: Field of Battle was selected. Prepare for battle, Orion will move forces to the selected battlefield after selections have been made.]

    Nick¡¯s party stopped the vehicle and dismounted, before watching with interest, the army starting to get off their bikes and stow them away. They withdrew their weapons, and began forming into ranks.

    Suddenly, from behind, a wave of energy passed through Nick¡¯s party, continuing through the army. It seemed a strange pulse was emitted, a wide ring that came from behind their army. Rather than the golden light of Orion, it was a white light that matched both his Path of Kings and Hero¡¯s Path towers.

    Nick looked at the haze left behind, and saw his wives were too. ¡°What¡¯s that? Was that from Frosthaven?¡±

    Eirwen frowned. ¡°You know¡­ that light looks a lot like¡­the light from the Hero¡¯s Beacon.¡±

    ¡°Ah, shit.¡± Nick didn¡¯t like where this was going. The pulse had gone past them, the ring of light continuing toward Shadowvale. The pulse was in a circle, likely heading out for hundreds and hundreds of miles in all directions from Frosthaven.

    Eventually, the wave of light cut out, and Nick realized that it ended around where Frosthaven¡¯s actual Control Radius had ended.

    The battle lines formed, and suddenly, everyone was transported to a large glade, deeper in the valley. It was darker where they were relocated, the mountains, clouds, and the mist-like fog limiting the light that arrived within.

    There were some trees interspersed throughout, but the field was largely wide open. The Clergy of Seraphara were placed near the outskirts of the battlefield, and Nick saw the large number of Shadowvale residents placed nearby, within a barrier¨Cthose must be the Shadowvale residents that accepted Seraphara¡¯s protection.

    Nick¡¯s family and Lothar, Renzou, and Agatha were placed behind the battle lines of orcs and monsterfolk, and the enemy army looked like a ragtag group of mercenaries and bandits. Most wore leather and dark cloaks, with a few having chainmail caps and torso coverings as well.

    All-in-all, their equipment looked like the bare minimum for the second stratum. In fact, Nick wagered his own skin was stronger than most of their armor. They were only a few dozen paces away, but the people behind them, Nick could barely reach with his magical senses.

    Behind the army was a fairly decent-sized party of elites, of ten or more. In the middle of them stood a man who was the leader of the enemy force. He looked like a rogue of some kind, but his men were varied. Some were definitely some form of warrior, holding weapons and shields, while others matched him.

    Agatha¡¯s eyes changed color, as she likely consulted the spirits. She grinned at Lothar, and that appeared to be all he needed to know.

    Lothar noted, ¡°Not bad, his men are all stronger than the man I dueled. And their forces are much stronger than the bandits we faced, at least on an individual level.¡± He grinned, ¡°But we¡¯ve grown, and are better equipped than ever.¡±

    Renzou added, ¡°This will be a good challenge for the men. This is just what we hoped for.¡±

    The setup of the battlefield didn¡¯t end there. As expected, a weight descended on Nick, and a portal opened behind him with a pop of air, startling him and causing him to turn around. But it seemed only he reacted at first.

    Eirwen noticed his response. ¡°What? Oh, you see a portal there, Hubby?¡±

    It was as he feared.

    [Optional Heroic Solo Trial: Nicholas Noblefrost.

    A race of Outlanders is nearing extinction, chased by a great evil on this Shard. If a Hero does not rescue them, they are bound to be slain or enslaved, their bloodline coming to an end.

    As always, the Trial will be challenging. The chances for a total victory are low, the risk to you, and by proxy, your family, great. But a Hero must be selfless when there are those in need. To become a True Hero, you must risk it all to save the those who deserve saving. To become more.

    You have one minute to enter the portal, or decline. Only you and your Soul Servants may enter.]

    His wives were quick to read the prompt, able to see this offer to him.

    He looked at the enemy, and the orcs with their wide array of weapons pounding against the ground. Nick¡¯s army was nearly as large as the enemy¡¯s, and better equipped to boot, just as Lothar had said.

    The enemy leader looked strong. Nick guessed he was not only more than a match for the warden, but may actually be early in the third stratum. Something about his strength felt a little hollow, however, like his Concept was weaker than it should be for someone who reached it. The Chimera they faced was much stronger.

    ¡°You girls will be good here, right?¡±

    Jasmine smirked. ¡°Master, we will take care of everything. Do not burden yourself with worrying over us. Our army will crush theirs, and if they surpass our expectations, you can count on me.¡±

    Eirwen added, ¡°Go, Hubby. We¡¯d like to come with you, but let this be our Trial, a proof that your investing in us and your people was the right path.¡±

    Nick agreed with that. He would never abandon his wives or his people to a battle they couldn¡¯t win. That he was confident in their success, no matter what nonsense got pulled here, meant he could leave without hesitation. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Birdy, Jasper¨Cit¡¯s time for you to earn your keep.¡±

    He entered the portal along with Jasper and Birdy, leaving his wives to face the challenge, with only a few seconds to spare.

    Eirwen, and it seemed everyone present, received a prompt from Orion.

    [Your Lord has entered a new battlefield to face evil on this Shard, and perform Heroic deeds in an Optional Solo Trial. He accepted only because he has every confidence that you will be successful in your battle, wanting you to be Tested so that you could become More.

    The people of Shadowvale have made their selections. Many still believe that they should stand up to your conquest, or they will face Blackthorne¡¯s ire. For your Lord who walks the Hero¡¯s Path, you should capture rather than kill where possible.

    Victory will be determined when either army is considered routed¨Cwhen an army¡¯s elites and a large portion of the army is defeated, leaving the remaining forces willing to surrender or flee.]

    The prompts continued, detailing that surrender would lead to being slain or Ordained Slavery.

    Kaya sighed, shouldering her axe. ¡°Sucks we couldn¡¯t go with him. This is going to be kinda easy, while he¡¯s going to face a life or death battle.¡±

    Luna said, ¡°But Boss will be fine. For now, we can watch over our friends. It¡¯s what Boss would want us to do.¡±

    The man in charge of the enemy army laughed. ¡°What happened to your Lord? He ran away?¡± He laughed again. ¡°This will be easy, boys. Their trash¨C¡±

    A beam of light cut through the battlefield, streaming toward the man¡¯s face. A wall of shadows gathered and blocked the beam, but the shadows parted like water until the light slammed into the man, causing him to scream as his face was burned before he used the shadows to teleport away.

    Jasmine was pissed, the bright light carrying her Concepts and shot from her necklace. Eirwen could feel the intensity from several yards away from her.

    ¡°You shut your stupid fucking mouth, you inbred scum bucket. Speak another bad word about our Lord and your existence will be erased. He doesn¡¯t need to be here to crush you trash, and has entered an Optional Trial by Orion, adhering to his Path. As any good Lord of Orion should.¡±

    Fang added, ¡°Y-Yeah, jerk-face! Boss would never run from a good fight! He just went to a tougher one.¡±

    To add onto her threat, Jasmine¡¯s spider legs behind her lit up, and pointed in the man¡¯s direction. Her weapon then did too, and her four hands lit up like gloves as she pointed as well. Eirwen could feel the intensity once again, the power behind her charging attacks shocking.

    The man must have sensed the power behind Jasmine¡¯s threat, or was otherwise unable to speak from his scorched face because he simply motioned to his men to give the signal to charge. Horns were blown, and the bandits began their charge, which the Noblefrost army matched.

    Before the two armies reached each other, another prompt appeared, followed by an eerie shift in the essence in the glade. In the distance, the shadows of Shadowvale began to move, like a flood cascading toward them from all the surrounding mountains.

    [Circumstantial issues have caused Conflict difficulty to be lessened to below Trial levels for the Noblefrost Kingdom ¨C The Lord of Shadowvale is not present to activate Path buildings.

    Activating Path Building on their behalf: The Shadowpulse Monolith. The shadows will aid the forces of Shadowvale, and those born of the darkness nearby will come to its siren call.]

    Shak¡¯terra appeared in her small spirit form next to Eirwen, chuckling. ¡°Should be a good fight now. And what¡¯s with that arachne? She¡¯s¡­scary powerful.¡±

    Eirwen smirked as she drew her bow. ¡°She was selected by Nick¡¯s mother and father, the King and Queen. So, maybe you would consider her first string? That¡¯s not her original body or race, either.¡±

    The spirit whistled. ¡°I¡¯ve only met a few of them in my lifetime. Each time, I thanked Orion I joined their side. Some are just blessed by Orion.¡±

    The shadows drew near as the two armies collided, and Eirwen could already see the souls approaching within the shadows with her Trait. There were dozens of beasts inside, and she guessed some might actually be decently strong.

    Kaya might have complained it wouldn¡¯t be a challenge, but Orion always liked to keep things interesting, and make sure that benefits were earned. She¡¯d definitely get the fight she wanted.

 Book 3 - Chapter 39 - Myron - The Trial

    ¡°Look out, Patriarch!¡±

    An explosion of stars from his allies erupted next to Myron, blocking several arrows and a dagger of shadows. A vine of some kind whipped out, and Myron grimaced as he stirred his Qi and blocked the blow with his empowered fist and forearm.

    They had been making good time toward the cave, and it was not far in the distance. In just a few minutes, odds were, the demon reptiles would have begun hunting his people.

    Two men walked out of the treeline in front of them, their power placing them far higher than Myron was comfortable with facing. The first man was the hunter that had been giving them so much trouble, a man at the peak of the Second Stratum. But the other man was firmly in the Third Stratum, having a mastery of the Dao that nearly rivaled Myron¡¯s.

    Numerous bandits and mercenaries came out of the woods at their sides, covered in shadows. The man known as Elrash was covering them in it, allowing his men to sneak up on Myron¡¯s people.

    Now that they were stopped, numerous horns were blown, and the armies nearby started to converge. Myron¡¯s people were surrounded, and without a way forward.

    The first man that must be Elrash, the panther beastfolk with dark skin, chuckled. ¡°Not bad, they blocked the ambush. You purple people sure have given us a hard time, but you will go no further. What were you going to do here, anyway? Was your plan to fight all the way here, to feed yourselves to some demon reptiles?¡±

    The other man had to be Thresh, based on their reports. He was a large man, his flesh barklike and green. The man grinned. ¡°Truly tenacious, to force me to come all the way out here. To think so many of you were at the Third or Fourth stratum, but you were brought low to this. You Outlanders sure got unlucky.¡±

    Myron sighed. ¡°Why must you antagonize us? From the beginning, we were never the aggressors. We couldn¡¯t control where we appeared on this world, and have always meant to leave your lands.¡±

    Elrash shrugged. ¡°You Outlanders have something our boss wants. We¡¯re to capture you all and bring you back.¡±

    Myron frowned. ¡°What is it that he wants? If it¡¯s merely our possessions, we are happy to make a deal for passage.¡±

    Thresh shook his head. ¡°Doesn¡¯t work like that. You were in our Boss¡¯s land. That means all is his. Besides, he knows you Outlanders have knowledge far beyond our own, allowing you to hide the importance of what you have. He wants it all¨Cyour knowledge and your treasure.¡± He laughed. ¡°Plus, your people are very exotic, highly desired on this Shard. We are to collect you and then allow him to sort out what he wants from you and your people. Your women are a bit spunky, but I¡¯m sure they can be tamed. Surrender, and we just might go a little easier on them.¡±

    Elrash joined him in laughter, but suddenly, a strange ring of light passed through the mountains, coming from their destination. It passed through so quickly that Myron didn¡¯t have much chance to dodge or even stir his Qi, but he hadn¡¯t sensed any danger. It moved as fast as light itself.

    The light passed through Myron¡¯s people and the enemy army, doing nothing that Myron could note.

    ¡°What the hell was that,¡± Elrash frowned, looking in the direction of the cave.

    Thresh frowned, and shrugged. ¡°Maybe a Path building did something? Some can scan the surroundings for resources, though reaching this far¡­ Well, it doesn¡¯t matter. These purple people are going to be Blackthorne¡¯s, even if someone else gets a show of it.¡± He laughed.

    Myron¡¯s hands tightened, his knuckles going white as he saw these two men laughing over their predicament, along with the greed present on their faces.

    ¡°You will find us no easy marks. You may have us outnumbered, but you have failed to kill us despite your many advantages in this strange land. We will not surrender, and mark my words: you will pay dearly for your greed.¡±

    Suddenly, this Elrash gasped, freezing in place. ¡°No! Impossible!¡±

    Thresh frowned, looking alert and expanding his magical senses, from what Myron could feel. ¡°What? He didn¡¯t do anything.¡±

    ¡°No. It¡¯s Shadowvale. It¡¯s¡­under Conflict!¡±

    Thresh turned to Elrash. ¡°What¨CHow? Mayor Nelson?¡±

    ¡°No, Mayor Nelson should be dead. That means¡­it truly must be Havendale¨CI mean, Frosthaven now. It says¡­it¡¯s an Inquisition of Seraphara?¡±

    Thresh looked at him with doubt. ¡°The nuns? Do you think they¡¯re that dumb? He¡¯s supposed to have the Altar of Subordination completed soon, or face Blackthorne¡¯s wrath.¡±

    Suddenly, a strange light appeared in front of Myron causing him to blanch and stir his Qi. An attack¨Chow? He felt no movement of Qi, until it was just¡­there. Much like the pulse, before.

    But nothing happened. A tablet with small text on it was merely in front of him. Waiting.

    [Offering: Trial between the Star Oni and Blackthorne¡¯s Dark Empire of the North.

    Blackthorne¡¯s Dark Empire has gone far too long without a Trial or Tribulation, gaming the system and never properly Testing themselves.

    You have proven to be a true leader, a man willing to sacrifice his everything for his people. Orion respects your talents and conviction as a leader, and would like to offer you and your people an opportunity: To Test the people of Orion so that they may become more. Should you choose to accept, your people will face a difficult challenge following the rules set out by Orion. As of now, despite your efforts, the chances of your people¡¯s survival are nearly nonexistent. But if you accept, you will be given a viable chance against the enemies arrayed in front of you, relative to your forces. If you succeed, your people will be rewarded. If you fail, your people¡¯s suffering will be Ordained by Orion.

    <ul>

    <li>A third party, an individual whose goal will be to help your people, along with monsters who are very interested in eating you as much as your enemies, will join this battle. The challenge will be balanced in accordance to Test and involve this individual.</li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li>You and your people will have some or most of their strength restored, limited to the duration of the Trial.</li>

    </ul>

    Yes or No? Affirm your selection.]

    Elrash looked over at Myron in confusion, and pointed. ¡°What¡¯s that? Orion is talking to the Outlanders?

    Thresh turned, and shouted in alarm, ¡°No! Don¡¯t let him!¡± and leaped into the air towards Myron, the claws on his hands growing like branches of a tree.

    Myron had read it all, and was going to accept already. But seeing that his enemies didn¡¯t want him to, that made him want to press it a hundred times over¨Cuntil his fingers bled. He kind of hated this Orion, from how it limited his people and obscured the stars, but he¡¯d gladly become its servant for a short time just to make these horrible people suffer and give him a small chance at freedom.

    Perhaps, this was the Way he divined. But why only here, of all places?

    His finger touched Yes on the tablet just before Thresh could reach him, and a golden light spread across the world around them in an instant, like an explosion, as everything came to a stop.

    Then, people, monsters, and even some of the terrain started to rearrange, everything moving nearly instantly as if being rearranged by someone moving them from one place to another sequentially, like moving pieces on a board.

    Myron¡¯s eyes started to widen in shock as he understood the implications of what was happening. This entity had control over space, time, and more within its domain. It was only his Nascent Soul¡¯s strength that allowed him to bear witness to the changes at all, but they happened so quickly he could barely track them all.

    They were now in a clearing, closer to the cave. His people were somewhat scattered around him, many out of shouting distance in different areas of the jungle. Strangely, his daughter had been separated even further from him than she was previously, placed closer to the enemy army off to the side.

    The enemy¡¯s one thousand troops were scattered mostly between them and the cave, with Thresh and Elrash set in front of Myron nearby. It seemed the leaders were separated from the armies, at least for the moment.

    The devilsaurs were also placed throughout the battlefield, but set a distance away from where any of his people would fight. He imagined the idea, if there was one, was that the two groups fighting would be flanked by demons that wanted to kill either group, giving no real advantage to either party.

    Larger groups of those devilsaurs were placed a distance away in various locations, and thankfully, the Devilsaur Matriarch was placed several miles out. It would take her some time to join the battlefield, even if she began to charge at full speed the moment the battle began. If these bandits weren¡¯t getting in the way, Myron¡¯s people could just rush for the cave and they¡¯d never even see it.

    A dome of golden light rose up around the battlefield, and now, all of his people received a prompt in front of them, much like the one he had already received.

    [Your leader accepted the Trial: Fate of the Star Oni, on your behalf. Limits on your powers up to the peak of the second stratum have been removed, and your leader has had his limits removed to face the enemy leader. Fight for your lives against the forces of Blackthorne, and escape from the Devilsaurs by entering the cave in the East.

    A third party, a singular entrant near the peak of the second stratum, has joined to aid you (pictured). Their influence on this battle can be the difference between your people¡¯s victory and defeat. If he wins his duel, he may assist you in your battle, and conversely, if he loses, Elrash may join against you.

    For either party to win, defeat the leader of the enemy faction: Thresh, in your case, and Myron, in theirs, and defeat the Devilsaur Matriarch and its numerous young, or flee into the cave. The Trial will be considered complete when the enemy leader has been defeated, and the remaining forces have entered the cave or the Devilsaur Matriarch has been defeated. When the Trial is completed, a reward will be provided to the victorious individuals based on performance, and the Star Oni will return to being limited as foreigners not following the Rule and Law of Orion.]

    The third party, which was to be on their side, was actually pictured in a separate image.

    He wore dark blue fighting robes, with a sword¡¯s hilt in a holster on his shoulder. Myron was thankful for it, as he would rather his people not doubt who was on their side.

    There were a few more lines about becoming Ordained Slaves to the Dark Kingdom, should they lose, where this¡­Blackthorne would have no trouble selling them, even in Lawful Kingdoms¨Cif he so chose. Or worse.

    Myron grimaced, his face twisting in concern. This was the opposite of what he wanted. His plan had been to sacrifice himself so that his people had time to escape. Now, it was like his people needed to shield him in order to have a chance at victory. Otherwise, if he died before defeating Thresh, this Orion would determine it to be his people¡¯s loss.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    At the same time, he largely understood. In a battle among cultivators, the leaders or the Clan¡¯s peak fighters, ultimately decided victory. With or without Orion¡¯s rules, their leader¡¯s death would lead to a cascade of losses from not being the peak fighter¡¯s match. This was just formalizing that, it¡¯s just that Myron had hoped the path to retreat was an option.

    That he could give his life so that they could escape. They didn¡¯t need to protect these old bones that were going to die soon anyway. He would do his best to make this a one-on-one between him and Thresh, and he imagined the man¡¯s ego would allow this.

    As Qi flooded Myron¡¯s veins, he felt the limits against him largely wash away. He was brought back to the Golden Core stages, where his dantian held the power of the stars. Through his knowledge of the laws of the cosmos, and by reading the stars and one¡¯s fate, he could read probable futures, allowing him to alter it.

    He was in the Nascent Soul realm originally, but wounded like he was, he was much weaker than that in many aspects. This Orion did nothing to restore him, just removed the weight that made it extremely difficult to bring about any of his power.

    Looking to the sky, he trembled with joy. The dome obscured the stars above visibly like a thin curtain, and it was squarely in the middle of the day¨Cthe sun high in the sky. But those things did not matter because his sight as a cultivator had fully returned. The Dao of the Stars was a part of him, and Orion was now allowing his gaze to once again reach the heavens.

    He still had his chest wound and his aura was still in turmoil, but he could fight.

    Regarding this third party, he was more than a little puzzled. If this person was only at the peak of the Second Stratum, how could they matter in this fight at all? Myron¡¯s strength partially restored, he could feel his own strength. He would place himself firmly in the Third Stratum¨Cthough not quite in the middle of it, he¡¯d call it Early. He should be able to defeat someone at the cusp of the third in but a mere instant, and he imagined it should be the same for this Thresh.

    Nevertheless, Myron intended to win on his own. He was not going to rely on this third party for victory.

    Still, as the barrier altered and a portal opened, Myron couldn¡¯t help but look over to the man who flew out of it, landing a distance across from Elrash, in their own section of the barrier. Strangely, a powerful blue demonic beast wolf and bird followed him, the latter¡­riding the other one.

    Bizarre. A bird would never want to ride a mammal. An eccentric creature like that¡­he could more account for this behavior if it was sapient than any normal monster¡¯s behavior. A rarity among demonic beasts, but he had met a few capable of speech in his lifetime.

    The pale elf who matched the image looked around with undisguised excitement, ignoring the enemy in front of him. ¡°Wow. This is¡­well, I didn¡¯t know what to expect, but it wasn¡¯t this. Orion sure made a strange battlefield for me once again.¡±

    Elrash looked pissed, his panther-like tail flickering in irritation. ¡°So it was you, Lord Noblefrost. You dare attack my Shadowvale, spitting in the face of Blackthorne? You¡¯ve brought yourself to your own execution, and sealed the fate of your people, even if they ultimately claim Shadowvale.¡±

    ¡°Aw, no way! Is that you, Elrash? Where the hell am I?¡± He inspected the panther beastfolk man, and chuckled. ¡°Now, why you gotta make it sound like I¡¯m the bad guy here? You¡¯re the one chasing after these¡­ Outlanders? Instead of protecting your home, and doing your duty as Lord. You¡¯re the one who left it all open to attack after committing countless crimes, parading as a Lawful Kingdom when you were not. You and your people will be Judged, and¡­¡± He looked to the sky, and pointed at the dome, ¡°And Blackthorne¡¯s going to be none the wiser about who did it. Have to admit, that sure was nice of Orion, wasn¡¯t it?¡±

    Thresh scoffed. ¡°You are a fool if you believe you will win here, or that Blackthorne will allow Shadowvale to be taken without consequences. As soon as his connection to it is lost, he will send his army.¡±

    The pale elf, this Lord Noblefrost, grinned. ¡°Which army? This one?¡± He laughed, and then grinned. ¡°There won¡¯t be anything left of it after today.¡±

    Thresh growled. ¡°You think this is his army? This is merely those he sent to collect the Outlanders. He raids the West for wealth. When he is forced to bring his real army to reclaim Shadowvale and Frosthaven, he will destroy everything out of anger.¡±

    Lord Noblefrost shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll just meet him with my own army, then. He¡¯s not worthy of being a ruler of Orion.¡± He scoffed, and began what felt like a rant. ¡°He¡¯s a petty, inept tyrant that rules through greed and terror, limiting his own people¡¯s strength out of nothing but his own fear. When his pile of trash meets my loyal warriors, they¡¯ll be crushed by a mountain of talent and skill.¡± He chuckled, ¡°Just as has already happened. The North is already mine. All of it. With Shadowvale claimed in the next hour, there won¡¯t be a single bandit left in my forests.¡±

    Elrash¡¯s eyes narrowed with anger, and his voice made it clear he seethed with rage. ¡°You foolish little upstart. There is a reason Blackthorne rules, why we all bend the knee. Do you think you and your people are talented? I am an elite that has prepared my foundations for decades, ready to enter the Third Stratum. And you only recently claimed Havendale, just mere months ago. You will be crushed like an ant.¡±

    The pale elf snorted. ¡°You¡¯re talking awfully big for a small fry, Elrash. Decades to enter the Third Stratum? I¡¯ll have reached it in just a few months in total, as you just admitted. You are not my match.¡± The man turned to meet Myron¡¯s eyes with a smile. ¡°Just do your best to survive and wait for me, purple man. We¡¯ll beat that other jerk and the dinosaur together, or I¡¯ll help you and your people get away. And I just want to let you know: I¡¯d do it even without this Trial and Orion¡¯s rewards, if I had the chance, and that¡¯s a promise.¡±

    Something about this man stood out to Myron. He looked like an elf, but he thought much more like an Oni. And¡­his words were peculiar. Like every word had a special weight to it. Myron couldn¡¯t help but believe what he said.

    ¡°My name is Myron, and I am Patriarch of the Fatestrider Clan, the last of the Star Oni of Starhold. If you help my people defeat this menace and escape, we will be in your debt¨Cpale blue man.¡±

    The man chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s fair. I¡¯m Nicholas Noblefrost, Lord of Frosthaven, but most call me Nick. I¡¯ll see you soon after I crush this scrub, then we¡¯ll talk.¡±

    The barriers shifted, the battle beginning.

    ¡°Die!¡±

    Elrash rushed forward, and a wave of frost billowed out from the man named Nick. He drew a strange blade of blue light from his shoulder as he swung it down to meet the panther beastfolk. Their swords met, and Myron was forced to turn to Thresh, as he started to grow roots around his body to prepare for battle.

    Roars from the devilsaurs rang out from the distance, and the bandit army began to move forward. The creatures had been moved out of their den, allowing his people to have a path to retreat to their very cave, a strange thing. But now, they were headed toward both armies, flanking the numerous miniature battles.

    The largest one began stomping a great distance away, marching slowly toward the battle.

    Myron couldn¡¯t help but smile as the many Star Oni women were delimited, their bodies and their tetsubos growing as their Qi was restored. The men started gathering starlight, preparing their enhancing and fate-guiding abilities.

    It was a hundred and eighty clan members against a thousand cutthroats and mercenaries. Proud warriors against a mountain of trash, as the elf said. To win, his people would need to slay over five each. Myron liked their chances at that, as they had more than already accomplished this over the last few months. But what of these devilsaurs? He couldn¡¯t help but be worried about their influence on the upcoming battle.

    Orion knew his people¡¯s chances were slim at the start, and it had kept things that way, it sounded like.

    Accessing his spatial pouch covered in stars, Myron gave a pleased sigh as the miniscule amount of Qi usage didn¡¯t harm him. Since it was only a drop in a small pond instead of a large portion of a pathetic cup, his wound wasn¡¯t even disturbed.

    He withdrew his weapon¨Cthe Spear of Starlight, and a pill¨Ca Body Restoration pill. A waste of such a treasure, but he needed it to give his all during this fight. Placing it on his tongue, it melted and entered his body in mere moments, his meridians being restored from much of the damage at a rapid pace.

    The desire to consume this pill the last few agonizing months was significant, but he had held off, knowing he could not bring about most of its efficacy¨Cuntil now that he could use his Qi.

    Their treasury contained a multitude of unique items, many having equally unique purposes and value. But they were no longer items they could restock, limited resources that he must be conservative about their usage. Perhaps, they would never obtain treasures of such levels ever again.

    He would have gladly traded the pouch for his clan¡¯s safety, but the pricks rejected the trade. He would make them pay, he swore.

    Looking inside the pouch, he saw that many of his treasures, the more powerful, Fourth Stratum level ones, were still completely sealed by Orion¡¯s golden light. Nearly everything above the second had previously been sealed, but that has changed.

    There were now a handful of Third Stratum ones unsealed, and he smiled as he realized more than one of them would be perfect for what he needed. He wanted a one-on-one fight with Thresh, and this would grant it to him.

    He withdrew a few more treasures and pills, placing them in a less significant spatial pouch at his waist, and tossed his clan¡¯s special sack, their treasury, to a subordinate. Myron planned on fighting to the death, and he wanted to ensure that when his daughter fled into the cave, that she got the clan¡¯s heritage among other things.

    Myron spoke in his people¡¯s language, ensuring their enemies couldn¡¯t understand. ¡°Make sure this gets to my daughter. Our Clan¡¯s past and very future is within.¡±

    ¡°Right away!¡±

    Thresh noticed the elaborate sack being thrown, and the man running away with it toward the army. ¡°You fool! All treasure will be Blackthorne¡¯s!¡±

    The large tree man rushed forward, now nearly completely covered in mottled roots. He was starting to look like a diseased treant, but he certainly didn¡¯t move like one. The plant-covered man leaped across the battlefield, while Myron waved his free hand, the other holding his spear.

    When Myron waved his hand, it was like his hand was a paintbrush, and the air around them was his canvas. Stars were left behind where he waved, and they began to spread out and scatter into the surrounding area.

    Despite the healing of his body from the pill, Myron couldn¡¯t help the grunt that escaped his mouth as he divined his Way, and stabbed his spear in Thresh¡¯s direction. The pill was unable to restore his body in its entirety, the problem being a wound of the soul from his Fated.

    A beam of light emitted from his spear, carrying the power of stars. It cut through the air and struck Thresh, knocking him off-course and slamming his body into a tree.

    Myron narrowed his eyes at the result. He had grunted because he had spent a fair enough portion of his Qi, which caused the wound in his chest to flare in pain. He expected to wound this man while he was distracted, following the best Way he could divine¨Cthe perfect angle and timing to harm him.

    Yet, as the roots re-covered the area Myron pierced, he could see with his Divine Sense that to harm Thresh at all, he would have to hit much harder than that.

    Thresh grunted, the man he was chasing now out of his view. ¡°Hmm, not bad, purple man.¡±

    He signaled to a man nearby. ¡°Go get the sparkly sack¨Cdo not allow it to get away.¡± Thresh turned back to Myron, ¡°But you¡¯re going to have to try much harder than that. When you face a Lord of Orion, you don¡¯t just face the man in front of you. You face their Path, their Kingdom, the weight of the essence of those that are under them.¡± He grinned. ¡°And I have many underneath me. Willing and unwilling.¡±

    ¡°Their Kingdom, you say?¡± Myron couldn¡¯t help but give another thought to the Lord Noblefrost that was fighting off to the side. Perhaps his fight mattered more than he originally thought. Looking to the stars twinkling around, Myron divined his Way again. Having his powers restored, he had no need for crude tools for a quick divination of which Way was better for him and his fate, of an ongoing battle.

    Going all out against Thresh, trying to get the kill or wound him, no matter the cost: It would surely result in Shara¡¯s Death.

    Fighting defensively, waiting for allies to join the battle: He received no answer.

    Myron grinned. It was just like the divinations before. This man, this Lord Noblefrost¡­just what was he? Could it be his Kingdom causing this? Why not Blackthorne¡¯s?

    It did not matter. Just as Myron¡¯s people were confused about what the people of Orion could do, he was sure that Thresh would also be confused about what he, as an Outlander, could do. Thresh seemed to covet his people¡¯s knowledge and treasures, as they were vastly different from those on Orion. Myron would use this.

    Before he entered the battle, he thought he would have to give up everything, just to land a single blow thanks to Orion limiting him. Of course, now he knew that it would have, at best, landed just as his previous blow¨Caccomplishing nothing.

    Instead, Myron was given a chance for both him and his people to fight to their heart¡¯s content, and he couldn¡¯t help but get a little excited, his blood boiling. His wife loved fights like this, and he felt her soul stirring for the first time at the prospect.

    Myron would show these shitty bandits why he was known as the Devil General of Starhold, and why his people were feared throughout all The Realms. The Star Oni women might be big, but pound for pound, few in The Realms could ever be their match.

    Secretly, he sent out his stars to his squad leaders, his men that led their beautiful berserkers across the battlefield. The Devilsaurs were another story, but he had no doubt that, directed by him, his people would utterly destroy these bandits and mercenaries. This fight with Thresh was the linchpin to his people¡¯s success.

    He enhanced his voice with Qi, making sure it could reach to all the edges of the battlefield and in his people¡¯s language, ¡°Fatestrider Clan, follow the stars and focus on defeating the bandits and opening a path to the cave. Let¡¯s show this scum the true strength of our people and Clan.¡±

 Book 3 - Chapter 40 - The Path against Path

    As Nick met the panther beastfolk¡¯s twin blades, he did his best to check the area around him. The incoming Devilsaur threat was perhaps greater than the one from Blackthorne¡¯s army of cutthroats, and he would need to move quickly.

    That meant defeating this man as fast as possible, while using the least number of resources. He would restore much when he Judged enemies, draining everything from them, but that didn¡¯t include his mental energy for his Concepts, nor did it include a means to refresh his Convergence Skills or Essence Burst.

    And he knew that he would need every bit of those things to have a chance at harming this Thresh, or the terrifying Devilsaur Matriarch. Using them on this scrub would be a tremendous waste.

    Thankfully, his Cloak could last for several minutes. And, he did gain a new ability when he reached the 18th level. In the Second Stratum, most of his skills gained, aside from his Convergence Skill, were mere upgrades of his old ones. But it appeared Soul Fortress was already an ability that was plenty powerful and versatile, and instead of an upgrade, he received an entirely new ability.

    [Spell: Bolster Servant]

    [Target and Range: Servant]

    [Duration: Reserve]

    [Increase the Soul Power investment in your Soul Servant to increase its capabilities. A bolstered Soul Servant has increased strength, can siphon more essence from its kills, and may restore trace amounts of mental energy from targets with Concepts to the Soul Knight.]

    Nick had tested the cost, and found that it worked out perfectly with what he needed. Thanks to increasing his Soul Power from the Blade Soulforge, improving the power of his Soul from Tithed Faith Essence and from Judging evil, he had gained enough to bolster his two Soul Servants. It was just enough less than creating a third Soul Servant of the same level of quality, allowing him to keep his Soul Blade at full strength.

    So now, he just kept them bolstered at all times. And that was why when two panthers leaped out of the shadows, their claws flashing toward Nick¡¯s throat, Birdy and Jasper had no difficulty crashing into them and sending frost into their bodies as they tumbled.

    Nick was more than a little surprised about his Trial prompt when he arrived.

    [Heroic Trial: Fate of the Star Oni.]

    [These Outlanders arrived on this Shard within Blackthorne¡¯s territory, and have been chased across the wilderness for months. Because of Orion¡¯s Rules and Laws, they have ordinarily been limited to the First Stratum. However, the Trial has removed their limitations up to the peak of the Second, aside from their leader, Myron Fatestrider.

    Your goal as a Hero who walks the Path is to aid them in succeeding their Trial, saving as many of them as possible. Myron must not fall before Thresh, the leader of Blackthorne¡¯s forces, and at least enough Star Oni to continue their Clan must arrive safely at the cave, or the Devilsaur Matriarch must be defeated before it slays too many Star Oni. Rewards granted upon Trial Completion based on personal performance.]

    It was a lot to take in, but it seemed the major takeaway was that Thresh needed to die before Myron, then he needed to escape with enough Star Oni. It was a strange goal, but it all required that he dealt with Elrash first¨Csimple enough.

    Nick¡¯s Frost Aura had already been pushed with his Concept enhancing it, his Dominion of Frost and Fealty slowing Elrash. While frost began to climb up the man¡¯s panther arms and legs, the shadows appeared to protect him from the effect.

    Elrash followed up with a hasty assault, the panther man unleashing a flurry of attacks with his twinned swords. Nick could feel a vicious sharpness lining the blades, some mixture of his shadows and a blade Concept covering them. Then, several attacks of shadow-like bladed limbs were added on, making it a dizzying array of attacks.

    Forced to block, twist and dodge, Nick countered as he evaded and pushed out his Concept, slowing the man. Eventually, using a chain to block, he managed to kick the man¡¯s leading leg and whip his sword in a powerful horizontal arc¨CMonstrous Blow triggering.

    With his bulging forearm, his sword struck the panther man¡¯s blocking blades so hard, he flew through the air.

    And then Nick wrapped him up with prepared, waiting chains¨Cguided by his aura. Elrash grunted as the frost began to spread, and he struggled against the bindings. Nick was about to dash forward to finish him, but Elrash was quick to use a special skill.

    Blades of shadows struck out almost like a tornado as he used his Bestial Transformation, fur growing all over his body as he became larger, and more panther-like. The combination of bladed shadows, size growth, strength, and what felt like a Convergence Skill, blew the chains away.

    Elrash then entered the shadows, trying to hide from Nick and disappear behind the trees as he moved through the underbrush of the jungle.

    Birdy and Jasper were still facing off against what appeared to be powerful shadow panthers, but Nick could tell his servants were ultimately winning. The ice took some time to overwhelm the panther¡¯s shadows, but their victory appeared to be inevitable, at least in part thanks to his Dominion.

    Nick looked warily around him, but knew where Elrash was hiding already. He decided to taunt the man. ¡°Why are you running, panther man? When your panthers die, you¡¯ll be all alone. Now is your only chance to win.¡±

    Shadows rolled out like a thick mist, blocking Nick¡¯s vision. This was a surprise to Nick because his Domain should somewhat inhibit the effect that it had¨Cthe area within his Frost Aura was his.

    Perhaps this was the case, but Elrash was investing heavily in essence to accomplish this. Nick was reminded of how the elemental elite¡¯s domains could be overcome, and maybe this was the same.

    Nick had no trouble detecting Elrash sneaking through the underbrush, approaching Nick to make a killing blow, thanks to Nick¡¯s recently enhanced Soul Sense. He could feel the man¡¯s evil like a pulsing, festering wound, and he could also sense a third panther coming out of hiding. It seemed Elrash had kept one in reserve, waiting to deal a surprise finishing blow.

    And Elrash wasn¡¯t being frozen by Nick¡¯s Domain. It took a moment for him to understand why. He could only barely feel it, but it was reminiscent of the Convergence Skill he was using before. Elrash was enhancing his Shadow Concept by using his Path¨Cthe Ordeal he owned in Shadowvale, overwriting Nick¡¯s Domain around himself. He wasn¡¯t sure what his Concept and Path was, but he certainly felt like he was being stalked by a predator at the moment.

    Feigning that he had no idea where the attack was going to come from, he sent his chains around aimlessly. Nick began to swirl the chains around him, as he prepared his Aura. If Elrash was going to use his Path, then Nick would need to do the same.

    Elrash had chosen to approach Nick not from the front or back, but from the side, and the panther from behind. Charging his glyph, like the snap of a mousetrap, Nick quickly surrounded Elrash in the chains, and swung a powerful Blade Wave at Elrash¡¯s chest.

    The chains wrapped around the shadows and the man¡¯s weapons before he could really react¨Cshocked that Nick had known precisely where he was. Then, Nick pushed out his Domain, infusing it with his Path of Kings. His will was merged with and empowered by the essence of his people, even those that were not present.

    Elrash roared in defiance as he pushed against the chains, his Concept and the special weight, his Path attempting to shred them once more¨Cjust like when he escaped.

    It was the weight of Nick¡¯s people against Elrash¡¯s, his heaviness struggling over the panther beastfolk¡¯s. Nick¡¯s chains dragged Elrash¡¯s arms wide open, and then his Blade Wave then cut the man¡¯s chest, accomplishing what Nick had hoped¨Cit had weakened his Soul Core ever so slightly, as the cut reached just deep enough.

    In the end, Nick¡¯s Will of the Frost King combined with Frosthaven had overwhelmed Elrash¡¯s Concept and Path.

    ¡°For you, it¡¯s a shame. You never had a chance at winning.¡± Nick pushed harder with his Domain, his people¡¯s loyalty and faith in him empowering his Concept, the chains tightening and freezing the man through his protective shadows.

    While many of Nick¡¯s people were new, he had changed the lives of hundreds¨Cbrought them true salvation in just a matter of months. While their loyalties hadn¡¯t been truly tested, and some were new and might break when challenged, there were dozens of people in Frosthaven that truly believed they owed Nick everything.

    That believed in their Lord.

    Whereas, while Shadowvale had a much longer history, Elrash was just a lesser evil among many. If he died and was replaced, the citizen¡¯s lives would not change. They would not lament the loss. They had no faith in Elrash, and only gave the bare minimum to avoid his ire. The few climbers that might have believed in him and had true loyalty, if they even had it in the first place, were already dead¨Ckilled by Lothar and his men.

    Elrash struggled against the bindings, pushing his Concept enhanced by his Path further in an attempt to free himself. The weight of his duty attempted to shred the chains, but this time, they didn¡¯t even budge.

    The man was shivering as he froze over, the strength draining from him. ¡°How? How can the weight of your Path be so heavy? You¡¯ve only been a Lord for months!¡±

    Nick wondered why the third panther hadn¡¯t revealed itself yet, but realized Elrash likely had one more attack left in him. Knowing it would come, he signaled to Jasper to break away from his fight, and blasted Elrash a wave with Soul Magic, piercing his essence protection and aura. The core weakened, he had no issues scanning the man¡¯s Soul, and began his Judgement of the enemy Lord.

    ¡°It¡¯s because I truly fight for my people. You were once a man with good intentions¨Ca man forced to bend the knee to protect your friends and family. But eventually, you had a taste of wickedness, and that grew the taint within your heart. Your sins grew and grew, until their number were countless. Now you are simply a tool for evil, a man that taints the world on your Dark Lord¡¯s behalf, discarding your duty to your people just for your own thrills. Through Judgement, I offer you Redemption. To right the wrongs of a life wrongly lived, to aid me in defeating Blackthorne once in for all. You had good intentions to start, and now you can make things right if you accept my Pact.¡±

    Elrash should be able to fully understand what was being offered, even beyond Nick¡¯s words. The power of the Soul, and Redemption Pact carries the meanings, and the contracts stipulations. There should be no confusion.

    Still, Elrash acted confused. ¡°What is this? Fuck you and your Redemption. You will die here today.¡±

    Nick¡¯s eyes glowed white, a barrier surrounding him as he triggered Judgement. Elrash¡¯s sins were laid bare for all to see, the bubbles containing the images of his memories showing the downward spiral. At first, the panther beastfolk had plans much like Nick did¨Cto accept this Altar of Subordination, but to strengthen himself in the Ordeal and eventually surpass Blackthorne, or rise up against him.

    But he quickly learned that it was too hard. That the tax and cost was too much, and pushing himself to the brink to excel and accomplish his plan may just result in him being maimed or killed in the Ordeal. He got a taste of the comforts provided by Blackthorne¨Cnights in the brothel at first. Eventually, his own pleasure slave. Before long, he was selling out his people for the taste of more pleasures, and eventually, his original goal was long forgotten.

    The sins only got worse and worse, as he quickly became Blackthorne¡¯s lapdog. When he had a viable chance to aid Silverbrook and enter its protection, he had rejected it, betraying them instead for his own gain.

    As Nick neared, the expected attack from Elrash came. Blades of darkness rose from the shadows, along with the third panther that he was hiding. The blades pierced through Nick¡¯s barrier created by his Judgement spell, and cut into Nick¡¯s shoulder and chest. His Harden Skin combined with his layers of armor meant the blades only reached an inch or so deep, Nick grunting from the pain caused.

    Jasper surged from the trees, his jaws containing a powerful sharpness as they clamped on the panther¡¯s throat. With a shake, the panther died, and Birdy finally finished off the other two panthers. It seemed Jasper had formed some kind of Concept Fragment which allowed it to pierce the shadows in a single bite, and it howled in success.

    Nick¡¯s hand landed on Elrash¡¯s face. ¡°It¡¯s a shame you rejected it. Your suffering will be unimaginable, but you will aid me nonetheless. Judgement!¡±

    Elrash screamed from his frozen bindings, as everything he ever was or would be was drained from him. His essence was drained into Nick¡¯s mouth, Elrash¡¯s sins drank to power Nick¡¯s potential.

    The amount of essence and darkness within the panther man was tremendous, far more than Nick had consumed in the past. While the Bishop had just as much taint within him, or perhaps more, Elrash was simply higher in level. He was truly just about to enter the Third Stratum, waiting for the perfect run to push himself to defeat the Boss and ascend.

    Nick had performed the next stage in the ritual, knowing that Elrash would likely not accept even after some suffering. Elrash would now be redeemed, even without his agreement.

    As Nick cultivated the essence, swirling his essence chains, to Nick¡¯s surprise, two small fragments of something did arrive within him. It was the power of shadows and blades, which Elrash had used. The Concepts themselves did not appear to be tainted, but Nick did what he could to purify it with his chains and burn any evil away just the same as he drew in the essence to fuel his soul cultivation. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    When he was sure there was nothing left but the original Concepts, Nick understood¨Cone would be extremely valuable for Sable. Her mastery of shadows was superior in numerous ways, but different. Nick had not seen her use the shadows so much as barriers, let alone in such a bestial way as Elrash had used it. In many ways, Nick felt like he used the shadows to boost his ferality, almost like Kaya but with shadow powers added on.

    It was surprising that there were two separate fragments. He thought they were both from the same Concept, and that was likely the case. Possibly, Elrash had combined two independent Concept Fragments into a singular Concept, but as they were torn away from his soul, they separated again.

    Nick encased the Shadow Concept within a Soul Magic bubble, and left it within his Soul Core. The same was done with the blades Concept, not wanting to use it at the moment. He wanted to form his own Concept first, and he would potentially then use this one to enhance it, at most. If not, perhaps Kaya could use it.

    His wounds were healed from the essence drained into him, and all the essence he spent during the fight was restored. The Trial barrier disappeared, and Nick gave his orders to his bolstered Soul Servants. ¡°Roam around and help the Star Oni, wherever you can. Help them get to safety, or join their brethren.¡±

    Jasper howled and Birdy cawed, taking off in separate directions, as Nick took Elrash¡¯s weapons and fannie pack¨CNick really needed to fix the manly pouch fashion on Orion. Not having time to deal with the contents, he belted it around his chest and over his shoulder.

    Then, he dashed off. He didn¡¯t have to go very far to see Myron battling with Thresh. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t really understand what he was looking at. It was like a giant glass sphere had appeared, looking a lot like a massive snow globe floating in the clearing.

    Bright lights from stars and clashes with vines were within, the stars and some noxious looking multicolored gas obscuring the contents of the dome. Thresh sounded pissed as his muffled shouts reached the outside of the thing, along with Myron¡¯s taunting laughter. That was a good sign, but Nick didn¡¯t understand how he could help.

    Nick tapped the glass from the outside, and realized the dome was actually quite sturdy. Looking closely, he now realized that Thresh was kind of¡­small, and he was fighting against some sort of illusion of stars, but he couldn¡¯t see Myron at all.

    ¡°What¡¯s this, Myron? You sealed yourself off to fight this Thresh? That¡­kind of defeats the purpose of my help.¡±

    An image of Myron appeared in front of Nick made of stars, the man smiling, and then he heard his voice.

    ¡°Not to worry, Young Lord. My artifact can hold him off for a little longer, and it even prevented the bandits from helping him. And at small personal cost to me, that I promise you. I am happy about your success, but I am in need of a different kind of help at the moment.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    Myron grimaced. ¡°I¡­made a mistake. I need you to help my daughter.¡±

    ¡°Daughter, you say?¡±

    Myron¡¯s depiction narrowed his eyes on Nick. ¡°If you¡¯re not her Fated, don¡¯t even think about it.¡±

    Nick arched his brow at his term. ¡°I was just playin¡¯ anyway. But how would I know that, if that were the case?¡±

    Myron snorted. ¡°If you are, she¡¯ll know almost right away. Probably, anyway¨Cyou are a weird one, after all. They are trying to capture my daughter, and have become somewhat successful at dragging her away, and capturing the other Star Oni women. With her captured, they just might be able to ransom or coerce the rest because without her, my people are finished.¡±

    That sounded a bit strange to Nick, why would one girl matter like that? ¡°How do I find her?¡±

    A star suddenly appeared in front of Nick, and Myron continued, ¡°This star will guide you. Do be¡­careful, around her. And around all of our women, for that matter.¡±

    Nick groaned. ¡°Damn, I help you guys, and I¡¯m not good enough for any of your women by default? A shame.¡±

    Myron chuckled. ¡°Not that¨Cif you are Fated, you have my people¡¯s blessings and will be celebrated. However, our women are what you might call berserkers. They are just as likely to attack someone like you as they are to understand you¡¯re there to help them, though they all know what you look like thanks to the image provided. Our men give them a wide berth in battle, guiding them in various ways. So be careful, or you just might get flattened by mistake.¡±

    As if in response to his words, a loud crash occurred nearby. One of the larger Star Oni women struck a smaller devilsaur so hard with a downward swing, that it left a large crater and shattered the stone ground underneath it. Nick was not so sure he could take such a blow head on without Monstrous Blow in counter.

    Nick¡¯s eyebrows were raised in shock. ¡°Gotcha, fair enough. They do look pretty tough. I¡¯ll follow the star.¡±

    Myron gave a wolflike grin. ¡°Good. Do hurry. I don¡¯t think I can hold him in here for too much longer, dumb as he is, and that Devilsaur Matriarch is getting closer. She seems like she¡¯s on a stroll, walking slowly toward us and indifferent to their deaths now, but as soon as enough of them die, I think she will change her tune. At that point, many will die¨Con both sides.¡±

    Nick chased after the star, donning his Cloak of Twilight: Darkness. His movements began to blur, as he dashed with haste. Feeling the darkness roil around his body and enhance it, once again, he tried to focus his thoughts and actions on the importance of speed, in saving these people.

    How, for heroes, sometimes it didn¡¯t matter how strong they were or how hard they fought. Or how badly they wanted to save someone. If they didn¡¯t arrive on time, then all their efforts were meaningless.

    As he passed enemies fighting in the forest, he cleaved them in two, sent Blade Waves, or let his Frost Aura wash over them and sent chains wrap around them, granting aid as he passed by. He even found an opportunity to Judge a group of five men clustered together, drinking their essence and capturing their souls for future Redemption Pacts.

    He spotted Jasper fighting some Devilsaurs, protecting several Star Oni, and he heard Birdy¡¯s caws some distance away as he neared where the star was taking him. Sending several Blade Waves as he flipped and dashed through the air, running on it, he helped bring several fights to a favorable conclusion.

    The Star Oni appeared to be faring decently well, as he only saw a few of the purple people had died, but dozens upon dozens of the bandit corpses were everywhere. Thankfully, it seemed the Star Oni that died were aged, their hairs nearly white instead of the black that most seemed to have.

    Still, many of those still fighting were wounded, and he hoped they would head to the cave rather than picking more fights. Many were working their way to the cave, grouping up and facing off against the Devilsaurs or the bandits.

    The Devilsaurs looked a lot like decent-sized red raptors, and they had some form of curse magic they were using, which was a bit alarming. A sickly black and red haze would appear around their targets, and it seemed the more of them that were attacking a single target, the weaker that they would become. Then, they entered a frenzy around corpses and blood, empowering themselves.

    They were clearly pack hunters, and they had a preference for going after the strongest targets¨Coften the Star Oni women. Thankfully, it appeared the Star Oni had done a good job to keep them from grouping up, and also used the bandit armies as a shield against them. Perhaps, this was their fate reading at play.

    He reached a clearing, and what he found there was more than a little surprising. A large bulk of the enemy forces had numerous Star Oni surrounded, and using special equipment and magic. Nets were covering several of the large Star Oni women, and it appeared the nets were draining or weakening them, besides. They were tainted or cursed, from what he could tell.

    The Star Oni men were trying to hack away at the nets to free them, but the cutthroats were firing poisoned darts through what looked like blow-guns, and shooting poisoned arrows at them that appeared to put them all to sleep. Others were attacking them in melee and with magical shadows as well.

    It was nearly three or four hundred versus just four dozen, a mixture of men and women. The bandit¡¯s numbers had simply overwhelmed them. With how many bandit¡¯s corpses lined the ground, it appeared more than half the original army had surrounded just a third of the Star Oni forces in an attempt to capture them.

    The star continued to where the daughter was, showing him the location. She had pink hair, and was being especially dragged away from the rest. Her people fought with fervor to rescue her, but it wasn¡¯t looking good, just as Myron had warned.

    Nick didn¡¯t have a lot of time. Charging his Soul Blade, he dashed toward the largest cluster of the enemy army with haste, his blade brightening. It was a use of one of his irreplaceable tools, but he simply did not have a better option. Reaching the back of the army, he swung his blade horizontally.

    With a roar, his Soul Blade sent the Essence Burst: Blade Wave of pale blue light cutting through a large swath of the enemy bandits. The sound was so loud that it shook the whole clearing, the light so bright that his action couldn¡¯t be missed¨Cexactly what he wanted.

    The light blue wave was nearly a dozen yards across, and shot through the numerous enemies at near the stomach level, cleaving many and covering the rest in a thick layer of frost that passed through them like a frozen wind. Nick didn¡¯t think he killed more than thirty or forty with his opening, but he had weakened dozens more by slowing and freezing them as the winds persisted through a large portion of the army to one side.

    Perfect for his Frost Aura to finish them off.

    Using his mastery of mana aura, his Frost Aura was pushed out to the maximum radius next, freezing all the bandits as he leaped across the battlefield with several dashes through the air and sending more Blade Waves out.

    Nick¡¯s chains swirled around him as he guided them with his mana aura, wrapping around some enemies and just knocking into others, interrupting their archery or dart shooting. Many now turned to him and started to make an effort to counter him, but he blitzed through the center of the battlefield far faster than any could respond as he swung his blade against unprotected bodies and limbs, and the rest, he deflected with his mercurial cape.

    Catching a large group together, he cast Judgement. Much of his essence was restored as he drank down nearly a dozen of their sins, his body replenished. Arrows and darts bounced off the barrier Judgement created as he was stopped, but it had no issue dealing with this level of attacks.

    The many cutthroats now paid attention to Nick, though several now moved toward Myron¡¯s daughter with increased urgency. They must have noticed the increased fervor the Star Oni took to protect her, or perhaps, the sparkling sack at her waist¡­

    ¡°What is he?¡±

    ¡°That looks like the Lord of Frosthaven. Did Elrash lose?¡±

    Nick needed to decide what to do. While he thought he could fight these people nearly endlessly, he didn¡¯t have a lot of time. Devilsaurs roared as they converged on this group from the distance, their number in the dozens.

    Once they arrived, the Star Oni would surely suffer losses, or Nick would be forced to fight even more for longer. He¡¯d have nothing left in him to aid Myron.

    It was then that he noticed something with his new sight. The essence surrounding the nets was heavily focused on Soul Essence. It was a large part of what weakened or otherwise detained them.

    Nick spoke in the words in Archaen, infusing them with mana and essence like Rebecca had taught him, ¡°Star Oni, I free you of the shackles that bind you.¡± Through the power of the soul, Nick influenced the world with his mere words. His target: all the Star Oni¡¯s souls. His mana wrapped around them with his intentions, Nick only capable of accomplishing this with ease due to being seen as an ally.

    The effect was immediate, his words briefly empowering their souls to alleviate the curses burdening them. The Star Oni princess¡¯ club struck a man about to hold a knife to her with a crack, his body being flung through the air as her strength was restored.

    His bones were absolutely shattered, and she shredded the bindings of the cursed nets with another wave of her spiked club. The same then began to occur all over the battlefield, and Nick was relieved that nearly two dozen Star Oni women could now rejoin the fight. The men had protected them from being put to sleep within their nets, and now they would recover. And slay tons of bandits.

    Nick continued his assault, now with the help of the Star Oni, but he eventually reached Myron¡¯s Daughter¨Cthe star floating above her head. She was absorbed in the fight, chasing down the now fleeing bandits. Her club was explosive, sending the smaller men¡¯s bodies flying and crashing into others with every swing. She was a bit smaller than most of the other Star Oni women, he noticed, but seemingly just as strong.

    Nick stood near her, focused on watching her back as she took out another bandit. ¡°Hey lady, it¡¯s time to get to the cave. The Devilsaurs are coming soon.¡±

    Her response was a growling voice, ¡°Eat this, you shit!¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Nick barely turned in time to see a big bat covered in spikes swinging for his head horizontally. Twisting his body, he swayed backward under it easily, but the woman wasn¡¯t done. She flowed into a series of strikes with immense force behind each blow, and Nick just twisted or dashed out of the way of each one.

    ¡°Stop.¡± She swung her bat, ¡°Running.¡± Her voice was even angrier now as she swung again, ¡°And FIGHT me!¡±

    Nick parried her last downward swing, having it crash into the ground, and stepped toward her. Stowing away his blade in its shoulder holster for the moment, he grabbed her wrist with both hands, preparing to twist the weapon out of her large hand. However, when his essence-filled gauntlet touched her skin, there was an explosion of rainbow-colored light.

    Thinking it was some kind of attack, he immediately continued his plan despite being blinded. He twisted her arm and wrist, causing her to drop her bat¨Cbut found there was no resistance from her. He spun his body into her and threw her over his shoulder, causing the large woman to land on her butt.

    As his vision returned, Nick¡¯s eyes met the girl¡¯s, and he thought he saw some coherence in them suddenly.

    A reddish hue entered her purple cheeks, and her breathing picked up. ¡°Y¨CYou¡­r¡­¡±

    ¡°Me?¡± Nick asked.

    ¡°Ss¡­¡± Her voice was quiet, he was just barely able to hear it.

    ¡°Hm?¡±

    ¡°Sorry. For attacking you.¡±

    ¡°Oh, no biggy. You good now? We really need to go.¡±

    Nick moved to her front and pulled the arm he was still holding to lift her up, the weight of her surprising. While she was big, it was definitely even more than that she was a head or so taller than him.

    The girl looked extra embarrassed about this, and was reluctant to let go of his hand, which Nick thought was kind of funny. She was so angry and wild just moments before¨Clike she didn¡¯t give a shit about anything but fighting, but now, she looked like a lost puppy.

    When he turned back to the many fighting Oni who had cleaned up much of the enemy, they were all looking at him strangely. ¡°What¡¯s going on? We need to get moving. The big devilsaur is almost here. You should get moving toward either the cave or the Patriarch now.¡±

    Nick heard some murmuring among them, but it was in another language. The girl even shouted something too, and they seemed to be focused on him even more now for some reason. That made sense, Nick realized. He did kind of just save them all, along with their princess.

    A man immediately took control, which only made the girl more embarrassed, it seemed. The wounded and weaker among the group headed toward the cave, while another started heading toward the other groups and the Patriarch.

    Just as Nick was about to head toward the Patriarch with them, the woman grabbed his sleeve, blushing. The girl was nearly eight feet tall, an entire head above him. Her pink Asian robes definitely made her stand out, but holding that vicious looking spiked bat was a contrast to her behavior.

    ¡°I¡¯m Shara,¡± she said, with a small voice.

    Nick arched his brow. What was with this girl? ¡°I¡¯m Nick... Anyway, we need to get going, or we¡¯re going to have to fight a horde of devilsaurs. The Patriarch needs my help. I need to get back and help him out, or all is lost.¡±

    That seemed to get her look to become serious.

    She said, ¡°I¡¯ll go on ahead. I greatly appreciate your help!¡± With that, she let go and stomped off to join up with her allies, who had already rushed off. They did not quite head directly toward the Patriarch though, as it seemed their plan was to gather more allies. Now that he had a chance to look, he noticed that stars were drifting in front of some of the males.

    The Patriarch must have been guiding them all from the beginning. Nick¡¯s respect for him just went up another notch.

    He would need to hurry back to him now. If Myron fell, then all his efforts would be for nothing.

 Book 3 - Chapter 41 - The Struggle for Victory

    Visibility was relatively low in the dense jungle, but from what Nick had seen, the Star Oni were largely winning against the bandits. Between Nick and his Soul Servants¡¯ help, combined with their intelligent strategies of utilizing the devilsaurs to take out their enemies, the scales had truly been pushed into the Star Oni¡¯s favor. Of course, that Myron was playing the tactician or general role while he fought Thresh had a significant impact.

    Nick passed Shara in a blur, his speed aspect of his Heroic Concept starting to truly become a part of it. It was almost as if he had added another fragment to it, the influence on it starting to become substantial, but not yet as much as an Early Concept on its own. He was certainly much faster than the result of Dash, the skill, even without his Concept. Now he moved in a blur, faster than just about any enemy he¡¯d faced.

    He imagined when he reached the next level, where it would be at Early Mastery, he might just reach Middle Mastery in the main one, the two linked together. Through his Heroic Redemption and Salvation, he would be empowered to be a hero, his speed and strength increased by a significant amount. More than if he simply had a strength or speed Concept, he was sure. The power of the valorous light and evil darkness was special, at a completely different level of performance.

    Thankfully, Birdy and Jasper had been doing a lot of work in aiding the Star Oni. Several of the enemies they slayed must have had some weaker Concepts and fragments, as throughout his fighting he had gotten some mental energy back, enabling him to run his Cloak of Twilight for a while longer.

    His Judged souls also must have given him something as well, and the weight of their sins was not enough to slow him down.

    Facing Elrash, he had only used his Frost Aura laced with his Concept for a short period, so he still had a fair amount in the tank.

    Unfortunately, Thresh was someone that would take a lot out of him, and the Devilsaur¡­ he doubted he could even hurt the thing without his Concept, but he had built himself up for some time. Perhaps¡­ he could make it happen.

    He quickly arrived back at the Patriarch, and it seemed it was just in time.

    The glass dome and stars surrounding the Patriarch shattered, revealing a very angry Thresh as well. Myron looked wounded, and more than a little diseased or poisoned¨Chis skin covered in splotches of purple and green.

    Thresh¡¯s voice was taunting. ¡°I told you¨Cyour efforts are useless. But I have to admit, you Outlanders are stronger than I gave you all credit for.¡±

    Myron had trouble breathing. ¡°You¡­ have impressed me too, in a way. Your mastery of the Dao would make you an elite of The Realms. But my efforts were not useless. Reinforcements will soon arrive.¡±

    Thresh snorted, as he turned and spotted the incoming Star Oni men and women. They were stomping toward them in the distance and gathering as they aided one another, and should arrive in another minute or less. ¡°Is this all? You know as well as I do that a few Second Stratum warriors hardly matter in a fight like ours. You need more than triple this for them to matter.¡±

    Nick arched his brow at that. He had kept to the shadows somewhat, but he was surprised Thresh hadn¡¯t seen him because a shift in Myron¡¯s expression told Nick that he had. It seemed this Thresh was built like a poisonous tank, and felt he didn¡¯t need anything else to win a fight.

    And Nick supposed that was true. Despite losing much of his bark and vines tanking numerous blows, they had all grown back, and he looked nearly as strong as when they started. He merely needed to outlast his enemies through his poisons, and he would eventually win through his defense and regeneration.

    Myron gave a weak, but proud smile. ¡°I don¡¯t know about that, Thresh. This old man has a lot more tricks up his sleeve than just the Star Prison, too. I did say I would make you ruffians pay dearly, did I not?¡± He grinned as he withdrew another treasure, filled it with essence, and tossed it into the air at Thresh. It looked a lot like a Rubik''s Cube with many more cubes on it to Nick, and it began shifting and unfurling into something much larger as it moved through the air.

    ¡°You!¡± Thresh was pissed, to say the least. With a roar, he prepared to leap as he spewed out a wave of noxious fumes, but the blocks started to shoot at him like shots out of a gun, smacking into him before he could complete his jump. He was quickly surrounded by them as they grew and interlocked, despite his efforts to pry them open with his vines.

    The treant roared in anger as he tried to part the cubes from his humanoid body, but the cubes only bulged from his efforts, and stuck to him like glue as the larger cube built around and surrounded him.

    Thresh slammed his fists and roots into the cubes from the inside, but it seemed they were resistant to force, reminding Nick of a mixture between padded walls and a foam-like substance.

    Myron chuckled, grinning at the treant¡¯s anger. ¡°That¡¯ll give us another minute to talk, Young Lord. It seems he¡¯s strong and sturdy, but his Daos are all based on poison and disease, it seems. The cubes become useless if we attack from this side, so it¡¯s best we wait it out. I see you got there in time to rescue her. Excellent work.¡±

    That confirmed his suspicions, that he was watching everything through his stars. ¡°Yeah, though¡­ she¡¯s on her way here, I think. Here, let me help you with your wounds.¡± Nick walked toward him.

    Myron sighed. ¡°I know. That¡¯s¡­not exactly optimal, but I¡¯ll take it over her being captured and used against us. You can heal me?¡±

    Nick nodded, and wanting to skip to the end of what might be an argument, he gave his Oath. ¡°I have a healing spell that should help you. I give my Oath that I will cast it with the full intention of aiding you.¡±

    The weight of his Oath washed over Myron, and he frowned. ¡°What was that?¡±

    Nick said, ¡°It¡¯s Soul Magic. I gave you my Oath. If I violate it, it will destroy my cultivation. You should feel that it was true.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. Like swearing against the heavens? How strange. People of your strength normally can¡¯t¡­never mind. Please proceed, we don¡¯t have a whole lot of time.¡±

    Nick moved closer to Myron, and cast the spell he thought would help Myron out: Soul Mend.

    His spell wrapped around Myron¡¯s and as he spotted it, the other¡¯s soul within him, soothing and restoring them both partially. In all, the effect was small. The man and the other¡¯s Soul was substantial, far beyond what Nick imagined a Third Stratum person¡¯s Soul could actually be.

    Myron shook and trembled, Nick imagined in shock. He cast it again, aiding the two souls further. At that point, Nick knew the man was likely at the limit of how much he could be helped at this time.

    ¡°That¡­how? You can heal wounds of the soul?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a power of my race. We¡¯re true masters of the Soul, enabling us to heal it. You¡¯re a lot stronger than me, or maybe I could do even more.¡±

    Now, Nick used his own recovery item, placing the pill in his mouth. Lumos had crafted a pill from some of the special waters collected from the Test of Supremacy. Combined with essence fruit and a treasure obtained from Silverbrook, it was a proper mental energy restoring treasure, enabling him to use his Concept just a little more. The effect was soothing, reminding him a lot of a more potent energy whiskey that Jasmine always gave him.

    Myron sighed, talking over Nick¡¯s recovery. ¡°That¡¯s more than enough. I wish I knew this sooner. I¡¯d have tried to avoid so many of this man¡¯s diseases and poisons¨Cmade different trades. But you just returned another chunk of my strength.¡± He then ate a pill, which healed him a little more and restored the essence within him.

    His essence rose a substantial amount and his body straightened. Nick guessed he somehow had restored thirty percent or more of his original reserves somehow, which was more than a little surprising.

    With a pleased sigh, Myron pointed in the distance. ¡°Go back into hiding, your strange cloak helps with that, right? Look for the best moment to strike. Unfortunately, your odd power is interfering with mine. The longer you stay out of the fight, the more damage I should be able to do with my abilities.¡±

    Nick frowned. ¡°That¡¯s some bullshit right there old man, you need some serious help to beat this guy, and I can¡¯t just hold this Cloak forever¨C¡±

    ¡°Now, now, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t have confidence in you, Young Lord¨CI can see that you can influence this fight plenty now¨CI am truly impressed. My power is related to divination, and you being near really screws with it. Tell you what, I will be a little more aggressive than I would usually be, and try to make an opening for you quickly.¡±

    Nick arched his brow at that. That made a sort of sense, based on what he had learned about his people and their need to change Archaen Law for immunity against divinations. ¡°Fine. But if it ain¡¯t looking good, I¡¯m not just sitting still while I watch an old man get a beat down.¡±

    Myron snorted, and started preparing stars around him as Nick skulked into the shadows¨Can easy action considering how thick the underbrush was. His Cloak helped him feel at home within the shadows, and he found a place off to the side, in between where the Star Oni were coming from.

    He arrived at his hiding spot as larger stars started appearing, their lights starting to look ominous as they began to hover around Thresh¡¯s cubic prison.

    A cube was ripped off, and a beam of light from the orbiting stars shot directly where the cube had been removed. This enraged Thresh underneath further, and two more were ripped off in quick succession. The same thing occurred with Myron targeting those points, and he dashed in with his spear to stab into the treant underneath, unleashing a blast of light through his spear.

    That action caused the whole thing to lose cohesion, as roots burst outward, tearing the prison apart, and two cubes even flew out toward Myron, striking and knocking him back. A wave of noxious-looking gas was then blown out, a Concept enhancing the blast, which Myron barely avoided by leaping into the air. To Nick¡¯s surprise, he had no issue just floating there.

    ¡°This ends now.¡± Thresh¡¯s roots stabbed into the ground, and his body began to grow slightly as the area surrounding him became desiccated and diseased.

    This reached out even further than the gas had, and Nick could feel the power behind this Concept or Convergence Skill that was building. Now, he was thankful he had waited to understand what this enemy could even do.

    Floating in the air, Myron twirled his spear above his head in response, which drew in the stars into its orbit, and toward his spearhead. It glimmered brightly, the gathering stars building into an attack.

    ¡°Star Piercer.¡±

    His spear shot out a prismatic light, like a shooting star. Thresh¡¯s roots twirled around in front of him, forming a thick shield. But a tiny star persisted through slowly, like a glimmering snowflake drifting through the wind. As the small star reached Thresh, it exploded in a burst of light, sending him flying through the air. He tumbled across the ground, but unfortunately, he was thrown away from where Nick was standing.   The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Despite Thresh being knocked back and much of his bark being blasted off, he looked otherwise fine. But vines then burst out of the dust from the ground, stabbing into Myron¡¯s legs where he was floating in the air and releasing a poison. The treant started walking toward Myron with a grin, taking his time.

    ¡°Gotcha. Only a matter of time now.¡±

    Myron had cut the two offending vines and fell to the ground, and Nick could tell the poison had weakened Myron further, the man groaning in pain as he fought it off.

    Thresh chuckled, and while Nick was about to leap out since he had walked closer, it seemed that the treant was distracted by what he saw in the distance rather than Myron as he turned his head to the side. ¡°How lucky. Your treasury came walking back to me. I¡¯ll be right back.¡±

    The group of Star Oni had been near, but seeing her father wounded, the daughter had rushed ahead of the rest, toward him. It seemed she wanted to give him a decorated pouch.

    Myron shouted, ¡°Daughter, look out!¡±

    Thresh crouched as he filled himself with essence, and leaped through the air with surprising speed. Nick decided this was as good a time as any. He drew up as much essence as he could, empowering himself with his Heroic Concept, his body blazing with chains of essence before leaping into the air.

    Bouncing on air, he dashed through the space between with intense speed, and approached Thresh from the side. With his Soul Blade filled to the brim with darkness and light, it started to vibrate. Thresh spotted him coming, but could do little more than bunch up his vines in a makeshift shield for a moment because Nick was simply moving too fast.

    Elongating his blade, he stabbed at the man¡¯s Soul at the center of his chest. Nick pierced through the shield and bark-like flesh, and nearly reached his Soul Core. But Thresh¡¯s weight diverted his blade slightly, causing him to only scratch the core, his blade piercing nearly entirely through the middle of his chest and out the other side.

    He was forced to let go of his Soul Blade rather than continuing to cut through the plant-like body, however. The body was just too dense from the weight of his Concepts for him to hold on to the hilt.

    It was a shame because had Nick been strong enough, he could have cut the man mostly in half from the center from the momentum alone. Frost continued to spread from the inserted blade, but he withdrew his Soul Blade using his Resonance trait, sending it flying into his hand.

    Thresh tumbled to the ground, his body crashing into and shattering a tree as he landed. ¡°You!¡±

    Thanks to Nick¡¯s diversion, he didn¡¯t land anywhere near Shara, and several Star Oni women with clubs passed her now and the men held her back, providing her with some protection.

    Nick could feel Thresh¡¯s aura wavering from his attack. A wound to the Soul Core was a powerful one, even a tiny scratch. Now, his aura was in turmoil, and on top of that, he was definitely fatigued. Myron had truly worn Thresh down.

    ¡°Yeah, me. Your buddy is long-since dead, by the way.¡±

    Whatever Thresh was going to say next was lost because a different Star Oni woman arrived at Thresh, who was attempting to stand. The purple woman was covered in starlight. It was reminiscent of what Eirwen could accomplish, and her bat crashed into Thresh¡¯s side with a crack, despite his vine-covered defense.

    The blow shattered much of the remaining bark protecting him, and several other Star Oni women and men then joined in the attack. Thresh responded by letting out a poisonous gas, but the Star Oni men countered with their own starlight dust, protecting the women who otherwise ignored it, as they continued hitting his body. Thresh¡¯s roots whipped out, but the spiked clubs blocked and tore them away.

    This wasn¡¯t without cost, of course. The protection did not keep the poison from reaching them completely, and they seemed to be impacted even if the potency was lessened by their magic, their skin starting to be covered in green and purple sores. They fought on in spite of that, in an attempt to wound the enemy leader.

    Nick covered himself with the light Cloak of Twilight, protecting him from the gas, and then cut into Thresh¡¯s extremities as he weaved between the Star Oni. His white blade of light infused with his Concept cut into the tree man¡¯s leg, then his arm with powerful swings, then a beam of starlight from Myron struck Thresh, shredding his chest further.

    Thresh¡¯s fists and vines punched out toward the Star Oni, but the berserkers were large and strong. Their star-covered clubs and bats crashed and pierced into his body, their own Concepts fueling their large bodies¡¯ powerful blows.

    The Devilsaur Matriarch¡¯s roar shook the valley, and its thunderous footsteps were getting closer. Several of the Star Oni were now facing off against a large grouping of Devilsaurs, having to split their efforts. If they didn¡¯t win soon, it was going to be utter chaos.

    Myron laughed, but started coughing from his wounds. Despite the pain, a smile remained apparent. ¡°Dozens to matter, is it, Thresh? You looked down on my people a little too much, and you led your people poorly. We have crushed your army, and now you will be shattered and broken, like all enemies of the Fatestrider Clan.¡±

    Thresh roared, and spun his vines with enhanced power. He knocked many of the Star Oni away, and then his vines rushed out and pierced some of their limbs, the Star Oni shouting in agony.

    ¡°Those people are only bodies, meant to corral your people and capture them, nothing more. Now that I am here, your fate has been sealed.¡±

    Those words matched the ominous change in the essence in the clearing, as the weight of Thresh on reality increased. A shiver went down Nick¡¯s spine, as darkness was drawn out from his body. The man was perhaps just as evil as the Bishop, billowing the evil darkness from his soul. Nick itched to Judge him, but knew it was far too dangerous.

    Thresh started to activate a Convergence Skill, or infused his Path into his poison, and Nick knew whatever he was going to do was going to be powerful. Several of the Star Oni grunted in pain, as it seemed their bodies were being drained of something¨Cand Nick was reminded how the ground had become desiccated when he grew, before.

    Nick had to act now. Drawing in the essence from the surrounding area and much of his own, he activated his own Convergence Skill. The power of his Path and Concept converged, drawing out the strength of his Kingdom and the Ice from his Crown, his Core.

    Chains made up of the power of his Pacts rose up in front of him, spiraling and linking together with ice, forming a large gauntlet, bigger than Nick¡¯s entire body. It then flew forward and crashed into Thresh¡¯s chest, wrapping around it and his arms in a steely grip.

    Frost spread rapidly along Thresh¡¯s vines, and Myron landed a stab into Thresh¡¯s back with his spear, as Nick dashed forward with his Soul Blade. Thanks to the vines freezing, two large Star Oni women freed themselves from their bindings and struck Thresh on the shoulders with downward swings, bringing him down to his knees.

    Blurring with enhanced speed and strength, Nick¡¯s blade of pale blue light pierced his bark between two fingers of the inexorable gauntlet toward Thresh¡¯s Soul Core. More noxious fumes were ejected as Nick¡¯s frost overwhelmed his plant-like flesh, and the core was finally impaled by Nick¡¯s Soul Blade.

    The light left Thresh¡¯s eyes, but the fumes covered Myron and the party of Star Oni, their bodies covered in disease and poison. Nick¡¯s Cloak covered him, preventing the Concept from invading him too heavily, but he was forced to protect himself with much of his stored faith energy within his body and Concept to fully shrug it off.

    The Trial prompt changed, indicating that Thresh was dead, and the Star Oni would be victorious¨Cexcept that not enough of the Clan were yet at the cave. They had to defeat the Devilsaur Matriarch or have more arrive at the cave for victory.

    As much as Nick had wanted to Judge Thresh, he was forced to avoid it. When he had judged the Bishop in the past, he had nearly exploded from the stress of Judging someone half a Stratum above him. If it weren¡¯t for Irene¡¯s efforts, perhaps he would have died. And he knew that the difference between the Third Stratum and the Second, for a Lord, was even more substantial. Since he had just Judged Elrash, he wasn¡¯t about to risk it.

    With Thresh dead, he was exhausted and forced to cancel his Cloak of Twilight.

    The rest of the Star Oni arrived, having dealt with the small horde of devilsaurs.

    The Star Oni princess ran over to her father, speaking her native language. They started a sort of argument, which left Shara both embarrassed and angry by how red her face became, but Myron reluctantly agreed to something. She then handed over the ornate pouch, and he took several pills out and handed it back.

    It seemed he was originally going to refuse, but with her impassioned plea, he took them with a grimace. Much of the poison started to lighten on his skin, but Nick could tell he was nearly on his last legs. Taking pills forever didn¡¯t work, and he was likely just about poisoned by the pill toxicity itself by now. The energies inside the pills were shocking, and Nick was tempted to ask for some himself.

    ¡°Are you good to move now, Myron? We need to get to that cave.¡±

    He was rotating his arm, and testing his footing. ¡°It seems¡­ I can move, and maybe have one last attack in me. But¡­ I think I¡¯ll need a lot more than that.¡± Myron pointed to the side, and the Devilsaur Matriarch then arrived through the clearing, roaring in anger, along with a dozen of the smaller devilsaurs.

    And the Matriarch lived up to her name. She was easily twice the size as the rest, at about the size of the Alpha Drake Nick had faced. Her tail had a bladed spike on the end, and her claws looked exceptionally long¨Clike large curved swords at the end of her reptilian fingers.

    Her color was darker, with jagged black lines running across her red scales. The reptile¡¯s yellow eyes glowed with intelligence and pride, her snout raised as she looked down on the Star Oni and Nick. It walked like it had all the time in the world, as its young rushed forward toward Myron and his forces.

    The Matriarch had cut off half the forces with its entry, a few of her young now split and chased after some of the Star Oni that had run towards the cave.

    Nick didn¡¯t have a whole lot of resources left. He had pushed his Heroic Cloak of Twilight to its limits, and his head was pounding from the mental energy used from using both of his Convergence Skills. This was in spite of him being fed energy from Jasper and Birdy, and using the restorative pill provided by Lumos.

    The one thing he had plenty of was mana and essence, at over half his total resources. Each time he Judged, he restored much of it. He had used a lot to create numerous chains as he fought Elrash, but he had gotten most of his mana back.

    The Matriarch looked most interested in Myron, her steps taking her in his direction.

    Myron said, ¡°It wants me because my body is that of a Nascent Soul cultivator¨Cthe Fourth Stratum. I want you to leave me. I will delay them here, while you take my daughter and the rest of our Clan to the cave. It¡¯s the only way.¡±

    Shara looked desperate, her eyes nearly shedding tears. ¡°Father no¡­ please! You must come with us. We¡¯re so close¡­ You can make it!¡±

    ¡°Daughter, that¡¯s enough. You know my days are numbered, that I will die soon because I have defied fate for far too long already.¡± He showed his wound, which held the other spirit inside. ¡±My Fated is dead now. You know what that means.¡±

    While Nick understood Myron¡¯s need to sacrifice himself, Nick saw another path. The spirit inside him still lived, and with some effort, Nick could save them both.

    Nick grinned. ¡°The girl says you gotta make it, she¡¯s not ready to give up her dad. And, your people still need their Patriarch, it seems. Maybe get on her back? She¡¯ll carry you, and I¡¯ll slow the Matriarch down for you all to get away. I think you need to at least see your people reach safety, or maybe you¡¯ll haunt me after your death.¡±

    Shara¡¯s smile was wide as she nodded enthusiastically, but Myron frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t be foolish. You are strong for your cultivation, but it is only that. This Devilsaur¡­it¡¯s like facing another Thresh, perhaps stronger, and you don¡¯t have me to wound it and exhaust it this time. Well, it¡¯s probably smarter than he was, too¡­¡±

    Nick snorted. ¡°You think some overgrown lizard scares me? You must really look down on me if you think I¡¯m gonna get beat by some dumb-ass demon lizard. Not only that, but I am not alone¨Cand I don¡¯t just mean your people, or even the bird and the wolf I brought. I¡¯ll beat it, or escape.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what that means, but it¡¯s foolish to throw your life away for old bones, someone that is only going to die no matter what, like me. We¡¯re strangers to you, don¡¯t you have a responsibility to live for your own people?¡±

    The Star Oni started facing off against her young who had rushed forward, but Myron was guiding them away toward the cave with his stars, as they fought while backing away.

    With the devilsaurs heading toward those that fought Thresh, they didn¡¯t have long before they would need to face them along with the Matriarch, but every moment of recovery would help.

    ¡°I am the Lord of Frosthaven, but I walk the Hero¡¯s Path. It means I need to try, even when things are difficult. It doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll throw away my life like some martyr to save you, but it does mean I¡¯ll risk it and give it a shot. I got enough essence to slow the thing down, and I¡¯m confident in getting away if nothing else.¡±

    Myron gave him a proud, but calculating look, and looked at his daughter, who looked at him pleadingly. He sighed. ¡°Your Path, your Dao, is it? I see. I¡¯m impressed with your resolve and your valor for strangers such as us. Let us try to make a miracle, then.¡± He turned to address Shara, and the remaining Star Oni with narrowed eyes. ¡°But I will not allow my people to throw their lives away for me, and that is final. I¡¯d rather burn my soul away and never enter the cycle of reincarnation, if it means any more of you die for me. We¡¯ve lost enough of our brethren.¡±

    Shara shrunk under his glare, and reluctantly agreed. The Star Oni men prepared to flee, by creating a smokescreen made of stardust.

    Nick chuckled as he watched this Matriarch speed up its approach in their direction with eyes narrowing in anger. It seemed it didn¡¯t like the idea that much of her food was preparing to get away. Jasper and Birdy had arrived a distance away, and they were preparing to aid Nick when he ordered them.

    He drew his Soul Blade once more, and took a deep breath before letting it out. ¡°Fair enough, Myron. I can understand your doubts, but I think you¡¯ll find I¡¯m quite good at creating miracles. It¡¯s time for you to see a real hero in action.¡±

 Book 3 - Chapter 42 - The Devilsaur Matriarch

    The glimmering stardust blasted in all directions before it faded away. Myron and his daughter, and the handful of poisoned Star Oni, were gone. Nick had felt with his Soul Sense where they had gone, but he could not even see them after they exited his radius.

    However, Myron left behind a body that looked like his, but was actually his magic¨Cmuch like the image he showed when Nick found him fighting in the giant snow globe. To Nick¡¯s magical senses, other than his Soul Sense, he couldn¡¯t even tell that it was different from Myron at all. Once again, Nick was impressed with his deception.

    He knew it wouldn¡¯t buy a lot of time, however¨Cthis was not truly him, of course. But it gave the Star Oni a small head start. One that they just might need.

    As the Matriarch and her young approached Myron¡¯s double, Nick got to it. He pushed out his Frost Aura, and began sending Blade Waves at the devilsaurs. His practice with the skill had nearly reached perfection, and his aim allowed the frosty blades to strike almost as hard as if he were standing right in front of the monsters. The strikes against the Second Stratum demon reptiles were devastating, wounding and slowing them with every swing of his blade.

    And Nick swung fast, the waves rapidly being sent at them as he dashed and slashed across the jungle clearing. Each of the six devilsaurs got struck and slowed, and Myron¡¯s star-covered body pretended to flee in the other direction. Suddenly, with a burst of essence and a large leap, the Matriarch blew right past them all in a blur.

    Stars shot out and blasted into the Matriarch, and despite Myron¡¯s double running away, the Matriarch¡¯s jaws landed on the body with a snap of finality. Nick was shocked at just how quickly the large monster had moved. It seemed, at least for a burst of sudden speed, she could be extremely fast if she wanted or needed to be.

    The desired devouring of the fourth stratum body didn¡¯t match the Matriarchs expectations, and its head swiveled as it tried to sense where Myron had disappeared to.

    Nick¡¯s Blade Waves struck the distracted Matriarch in the back, and he hit her with a Frost Shock. The ice washed over the giant demon, very little sticking to its powerful body as he continued sending more waves, and more shocks.

    The Matriarch looked at him with contempt. Roaring, her wounded young then dashed toward him, and she turned and chased toward the cave, after Myron and the Star Oni. Given that they were a Trial objective, and the most tasty morsels for her to consume, the Matriarch was unwilling to focus on him and let them get away.

    Nick wasn¡¯t sure at what level Orion was guiding the monster, but its mindset was likely influenced by the Trial in some way.

    As her young rushed forward to kill and eat him, their bodies flashed with dark essence.

    Combining some faith essence stored in his flesh with mana and his soul magic, he spoke in Archaen. ¡°None shall bind me.¡±

    Nick¡¯s Soul was already far more powerful than any Second Stratum warrior had any right to be, but a bubble of Soul Magic and faith essence added additional protection. The curses from the devilsaurs washed over his body and soul, ineffectually.

    Thanks to this, he continued his Blade Wave assault on the fleeing Matriarch. His Frost Aura continued freezing the herd, adding to his work to wound and control them as he dashed around them, chasing after the large demon.

    The demon reptile was rushing after the Star Oni, and Nick still needed to slow it down, or else she would catch up to them. Which was why now was the perfect time. Birdy and Jasper burst forth from the treeline from the side and to the front of the dashing Matriarch, a wave of feathers and two large spears of ice being fired at the same time.

    The Matriarch tilted its head and slowed somewhat, its eyes taking on an odd expression at the pair.

    Visible confusion. Just what was that, a bird was riding a wolf?

    The confusion ended as its instincts kicked in. Two dozen feathers and two ice spears were heading toward it, and the demon protected itself with dense essence.

    Birdy¡¯s smattering of feathers were laced with her Concept, and they still pierced into the Matriarch¡¯s flesh all over its body. Ice started to cover around where they struck, and the devilsaur roared in anger at the damage caused, but continued its dash toward the distant cave.

    Jasper¡¯s spears of ice crashed into the Matriarch¡¯s chest as well, but Nick noticed rather than piercing, they shattered against her tough hide. Instead of being damaged, it was like the demon reptile was hit with two spear-shaped snowballs.

    Thankfully, the ice stuck to its skin, chilling the monster further. And the momentum behind the blows was like two clubs smacking into the reptile from nearly the front, almost halting her in her tracks. Which was why Nick started to catch up, and land more generous Blade Waves onto her back¨Ceven with his aim, the further a foe was, the weaker the wave could potentially hit.

    Each step toward her was matched by a swing of his blade, and his dashing Double Jump sent more waves striking into her back.

    The attacks merely scratched her skin, but once again, added onto the chilling effect. His Frost Aura was only laced with a fraction of his Concept as he was not using it, and it started to impact the monster as he got into range. Jasper and Birdy split up, with the demon bird taking to the air, and continued their frosty assault. The Matriarch continued stomping toward the cave once more, but her run was clearly slowing down.

    And her six young chasing Nick were¡­mostly dead. They had tried to continue their pursuit of Nick despite their wounds, but their efforts couldn¡¯t keep up while covered in Nick¡¯s Frost Aura, and were freezing over. Birdy flew around the Matriarch in circles as it sent more piercing feathers, giving off cawing laughter at the demon reptile, teasing it.

    Jasper howled in its pursuit, and was able to maintain its distance as it flung more spears of ice at the Matriarch. Nick switched his focus to the monster¡¯s legs, his Blade Waves striking and cutting into it, building wounds up and freezing the legs.

    The Boss-level monster slowed, and Nick caught up and changed his Soul Blade¡¯s focus, to send a wide spread of frost. Like a powerful hose of snow, he sprayed the monster down with ice-cold frost. He dashed around and even added multiple Frost Shocks, until the reptile noticeably slowed its charge.

    At this point, the Star Oni were going to get away to the cave safely, unless something changed.

    And the demon knew it. As the Matriarch¡¯s hate-filled eyes turned to him, Nick planted his feet, preparing to fight by drawing upon his icy core. He wanted to give the monster the perception that if she turned for a moment, she could run him down and eat him, ending the annoyance quickly to continue her pursuit.

    The Matriarch roared as she filled herself with bestial essence, and leaped at Nick with a blur. Nick barely ducked under its sweeping taloned foot in time, the monster soaring over him. If Nick hadn¡¯t seen its burst of speed when it tried to swallow the fake Myron, he just might have died from the opening alone. While it was slower than the original leap, it wasn¡¯t by a lot.

    He wasn¡¯t out of the woods yet. The monster¡¯s tail sought him out as she flew by, a blade whipping at his prone form with intense speed. Triggering Power Strike, Nick was in luck when Monstrous Blow triggered as well, his arm bulging with strength as essence was drawn in. He deflected the whipping tail, but he was sent flying away from the sheer amount of force.

    Skidding, the Matriarch turned and changed direction rapidly, screeching in anger. However, that was when Nick sprung his trap. He had nearly emptied his Crown of the Frost King, his core of ice, and had prepared as many chains as he could muster.

    The series of braided chains rose from the ground and wrapped around the Matriarch¡¯s legs. He then sent even more Blade Waves as he strafed the monster, and Jasper bit down sharply on her leg, his Concept piercing deep and sending frost into her.

    Jasper attempted to shake its leg and dig his teeth into it further, shredding scales from its leg. Meanwhile, Nick¡¯s braided chains were finally sending a fair amount of cold into the monster¡¯s body, freezing its legs significantly.

    It was then that the air suddenly changed. The Matriarch became serious, its eyes turning black. Nick got an ominous feeling, as dread filled him. The hairs on his neck and arms stood on end, and the sharp feeling of death looming caused him to leap backwards.

    The demon reptile roared, and an aura spread out, like a horrifying miasma. It was a powerful curse aura, far beyond what Nick had ever faced. The curse drained Jasper in mere moments, its essence devoured into the demon¡¯s body, much like Nick¡¯s Judgement. Nick felt a bit of rage seep into his mind from his loyal Soul Servant being killed, but its soul returned to his core nearly instantly, safe.

    It was a Concept of consumption, and it appeared the monster weakened and drained everything around it.

    The Aura spread out, and Nick just barely got out of the range of it because he had leaped away in time. The aura just barely touched his foot, and like a poison, it began to spread up toward his leg.

    And that wasn¡¯t all that was devoured. The nearby devilsaurs Nick had frozen started to drain into the Matriarch, including a nearby corpse of a dead one, essence streaming into its mouth. Now, it became clear why she hadn¡¯t cared at all about her young.

    They were merely fuel for her to face stronger enemies. Removing the essence from his armor, Nick¡¯s Soul Blade flashed, cutting off his left leg beneath his shin.

    The black lines on the Matriarch¡¯s scales pulsed, its body filled with black and red essence. It raised its claw into the air as it looked toward Nick, energy surging into the bladed claw.

    ¡°Aw shit.¡±

    Retrieving his shield from his back, he just barely crouched and raised it in time as the devilsaur swung its claw in Nick¡¯s direction. A blade of black and red malicious energy came at him with intense speed, reminiscent of Kaya¡¯s own Essence Carry.

    He drew out all the faith essence in his necklace, and drew up everything he could as he used Harden Skin on his shield. From his wives, the prismatic devotion energy gathered onto his shield, and from the Enhanced Soul Pact Connection, Eirwen¡¯s Omnibarrier, boosted by her starlight Concept arrived, adding yet another protective barrier.

    In spite of all of this, the magical barrier and then physical shield was smashed by the immense force, knocking his arms wide, and the blade of essence sliced into his chest, sending him flying. Blood scattered around him, and Nick just barely held on to his consciousness.

    Following his orders, swooping down, Birdy caught him with her talons and carried him away, rising into the sky. The Matriarch roared as it tried to tear at its chains, but Nick infused the last of his mental energy, his Concept of Dominion into his chains as his head swam with dizziness. As a last gift with a laughing caw, Birdy had sent feathers of sharp ice slamming into the Matriarch¡¯s face and eyes.

    While the braided chains still wrapped around the demon reptile¡¯s legs did eventually tear and shatter, the Matriarch¡¯s essence-filled charge to catch up wasn¡¯t enough. The two got away, heading toward the cave.

    Rebecca¡¯s healing through their paired ring arrived, healing Nick¡¯s wounds, sending warm and¡­ loving energy, somehow. The cut had run down from his right shoulder to his stomach, nearly gutting him. The healing stopped all the bleeding, including on his amputated foot, though the frost had mostly taken care of that. She pushed as much healing as she could, until much of his wounds were healed and Nick was finally safe. His foot was still gone, and he would need some focused healing for a lot more than the ring could provide remotely.

    When Nick and Birdy arrived at the cave, he finally understood why it would provide safety. Orion had altered its cave to where the Matriarch itself could no longer fit inside. Perhaps, it had moved or otherwise swapped her den. The entrance was long and sturdy, and even twisted on the inside. Even after the Trial completed, the Devilsaur Matriarch wouldn¡¯t be able to follow at all.

    The Star Oni Patriarch and his daughter were waiting for Nick at the entrance, and Birdy deposited Nick on a shard of ice it quickly created, and started dragging him inside.

    Myron narrowed his eyes on him, as Shara helped her father inside.

    ¡°Wiped out to the point your servant had to carry you, and lost a foot against that monster? Not bad, you did just as you promised. I made it, but I don¡¯t think it was worth your effort. Thresh¡¯s poison¡­ I¡¯m not sure I can make it, or if I even should.¡±

    Nick¡¯s cheeks heated a bit. His wounds were originally much worse than that, before Rebecca¡¯s healing. If Birdy hadn¡¯t been so fast, maybe Nick might not have made it away at all. Nick simply had not expected that level of attack and so quickly. He could have made a foot or peg out of ice, and ran quickly into the air even with just one foot, but that possibility of survival and escape to the cave was dubious at best.

    ¡°It¡¯ll have been worth the risk, I know it.¡±

    At the end of the winding narrow cave, there was eventually a large enough opening for the Star Oni to gather, with most already spread throughout the larger cavern. There were lamps for light, and many were sitting on chairs and resting in tents. They must have been able to retrieve them from spatial pouches and similar.

    As the three arrived inside, Nick received a prompt, and he felt the dome shift. Perhaps, it had even moved the angry devilsaur matriarch somewhere. Because he imagined otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have given up and at least pounded on the entrance angrily for a time.

    [Heroic Trial: Fate of The Star Oni is Pending-Completed. As a man who walks the Hero¡¯s Path, it¡¯s your duty to do everything in your power to rescue the innocent, the downtrodden. The Star Oni are victorious, but some still might die as soon as their restrictions return. You have been granted additional time within the Trial, to save them. ]

    [Partial Heroic Reward Granted: Granting Trial Closure flexibility for Soul Pact Offer.]

    A prompt appeared in front of Myron, and the rest of the Star Oni. ¡°What is this, Pending-Completed? But we won! This¡­Orion.¡± Myron spat, before he stumbled to the ground. Shara fussed over him, lifting him up and supporting him. Her look at her father was pained, and filled with worry.

    Shara continued reading the prompt for him, ¡°It seems it is holding off on Trial Closure because it is waiting for the third party, Nick, to make an offer to us. That this is a benefit it is offering us.¡± She looked over at Nick, her eyes having an odd look to them. Starlight seemed to swirl within, but Nick had trouble reading her expression.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    It was odd. It was like she had regrets. About what?

    Myron was weak, truly on his last legs. Nick saw that it was the same for those that had faced Thresh as well. The green and purple sores on their skins, if anything, had gotten a little worse. The poisons and diseases contained within the gas Thresh used were laced with his Concepts, and persisted even in his death. Not only that, but if the Trial closed, their essence limitations would return. They would die within mere moments, unable to fight against the poisons. That must be why this should be considered a partial reward, extending the Trial period so that he could save them.

    Many Star Oni were wounded, but it appeared around a hundred and twenty of them had survived. That their enemy wanted to capture them at first had helped, but it was certainly a testament of Myron¡¯s leadership and sacrifice that so many still lived against an army of over a thousand, with devilsaurs preying upon them.

    Myron grimaced in pain. ¡°I don¡¯t know what your offer is, but I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s already too late for me, Young Lord. I did want to see your city before I passed, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll make it.¡±

    ¡°Why? There¡¯s still a chance, you can live to see tomorrow. And we¡¯re lucky. The Trial in pending-completed state means I can maybe create another miracle.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean? Our medicine can¡¯t keep up with this poison. We are a bit lucky that the Trial has not taken away my strength yet, though. And no, I cannot live for much longer, even without the poison.¡±

    Myron opened his robe and showed his wound on his chest, an angry, pulsing scab and veins near his heart. ¡°I mentioned it before, but my Fated¨Cmy wife, is dead. For us Star Oni, when that happens, it¡¯s time for the pair to die. We merge our Fates, and when we do, we are destined to die with our Fated on the same day, at the same time. My wife did something¡­ a forbidden thing, to give a piece of her soul to sort of come along with me. All so that I may continue to live and guide our clan to our new home, making sure her sacrifice wasn¡¯t for nothing. We have fought this off for some time to bring our clan to a brighter future, and with yo¨C¡±

    Shara pinched him suddenly, interrupting him. She then glared at Myron.

    Myron coughed. ¡°With my people safe from Blackthorne, my work here is now complete.¡±

    Nick frowned at the man, and pointed at his chest. ¡°What, she¡¯s sort of still alive in there, isn¡¯t she? I healed her a bit earlier. I think there¡¯s enough of her in there, and I can save her too. Then you don¡¯t have to defy fate any longer.¡±

    Myron sucked in a breath. ¡°What! You¡­ don¡¯t you dare lie to me.¡±

    Nick chuckled. ¡°I can¡¯t actually lie, unless it¡¯s to protect someone. As long as you and her accept my Pact, I can save you both given enough time, and that¡¯s a promise. I want to offer to you and your people a chance at Salvation. If they become my Followers too, I can even heal this poison from them.¡±

    ¡°You can really bring Mother back? And it¡¯s not¡­necromancy, or unorthodox magics?¡± Shara interjected.

    Nick arched his brow. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what that second thing is, but I¡¯m sure it¡¯s not what you¡¯re thinking. Anyone who becomes my Follower is connected to me and can be brought back, recreating their original body with enough time. It¡¯s something that a combination of my magic and Orion makes possible, and even supports. My Soul Mend can also heal Followers, and I can remove afflictions like the poison from Thresh from them. But only my Followers, it¡¯s just how my magic works.¡±

    Myron seemed to realize something, perhaps remembering the prompt before. ¡°That¡­ I see. This is the offer Orion wanted us to hear then, is it?¡±

    Shara pleaded with Myron, holding his smaller hands in hers. ¡°Father¡­ Please?¡±

    Myron frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t like this. Our people did not fight hard through the cosmos against a horrible, fate-consuming enemy to become someone¡¯s slaves. We then ran away from this Blackthorne to avoid being enslaved!¡±

    Nick shook his head. ¡°My Followers are not slaves. Just as Followers have a responsibility to live up to their end of the Pact and obey their Archaen Lord, I must live up to mine, my duties as a Lord of Orion. Let me address you and your people, and through the magic, you will know the truth. This is not the end of the Star Oni, but a new beginning. A home for your people is waiting for you on the other side of these mountains, I promise you.¡±

    Thanks to Trial Closure still pending, the protective dome remained. Before he began his Soul Pact, he spoke in Archaen, infusing his mana into his voice. ¡°I call to the spirits of the Fatestrider Clan. Those who died in this Trial, hear my plea. Come near, and listen to my Soul Pact.¡±

    Myron frowned, and tilted his head. ¡°What was that? You spoke in that language while you faced the enemy¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later, maybe.¡±

    The spirits in the surrounding area, those that recently died, approached. The valley was massive and some died miles away, but Nick¡¯s call with Soul Magic reached far beyond where his mere voice would reach.

    Having no corporeal bodies, the spirits drifting quickly arrived, though Nick imagined it was far from all of them. Those that too much time had passed, likely had lost much of their minds if they were in the first or second stratum. Still, he saw nearly three dozen spirits, which was a more than welcome sight.

    His eyes went white, the magic of the Soul Pact taking over.

    ¡°Fatestrider Clan, as a Lord of Orion, I offer you a Soul Pact. Should you choose to accept, I will protect your lives with the power of my magic and grant you a home in Frosthaven, with all the benefits and responsibilities of being a Citizen. You will keep your Clan in the capacity that you wish to, so long as you follow Archaen Law. Together, we will face the Trials and Tribulations of Orion, along with the enemies of Frosthaven. I will never use or squander your people, and I will protect you the same as I protect my own, as is my duty. If you so choose, I will aid you in being reborn, to follow the Rule and Law of Orion, and do my best to allow you to walk a Path.¡±

    As always, the magic of the Soul Pact filled in any blanks, or items Nick didn¡¯t mention. The people would understand what those benefits and responsibilities were and what Archaen Law was, and that Nick was bound just as they were to do their best to fulfil the promises contained within.

    The soul within Myron¡¯s chest lit up, pulsing.

    Myron felt his chest. ¡°Is that¡­ I think she¡¯s telling me to accept. We both must¨CI can feel it.¡± His whole body trembled, tears threatening to spill from his watery eyes. ¡°I thought all was lost, for me¨Cfor us. But if you can give her back to me¡­ I suppose for that alone, it¡¯s worth becoming your Follower. You will¡­truly help my people find a new future?¡±

    Shara suddenly whispered to her Father in her Outlander language, Nick unable to understand her. ¡°Father! He¡¯s my Fated, remember? Even if he had left you for dead, he¡¯d have soon become the Patriarch anyway! This way, we can all be happy and together. You can feel it, can¡¯t you? He is bound to be righteous and good, to never tell a lie. This¡­ Archaen Law thing is a big deal.¡±

    Myron chuckled, replying to her in his own language with his eyes narrowed. ¡°Yes, but you have not yet left your Mark. Why are you being so shy about telling him, daughter? If he¡¯s your Fated, for the safety of the Clan, it¡¯s best you leave your mark to merge your fates, and tell¡­¡°

    Shara growled. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare say anything! You promised before¡­¡± Her expression softened, and became more pleading, ¡°I¡¯ll tell him when I¡¯m good and ready¨Che¡¯s already protecting all of our fates, is he not? He risked it all for us, and he doesn¡¯t even know much about our people yet¡­and, I am still in shock. I don¡¯t know anything about him either, which is rare for our people. Most of my cousins and friends grew up knowing about their Fated from a young age, with very few exceptions.¡±

    Myron grimaced, and hesitated. ¡°It¡­fine. I suppose that¡¯s true, it¡¯s rare for a Fated to be outside the Star Oni. His power is a strange one, but perhaps, no stranger than ours. I guess¡­ I was just being stubborn about semantics.¡±

    He smiled, and continued, ¡°And of course, like your mother, you¡¯re always right. In the first place, since he¡¯s your Fated, there was only one way this ended: with you and him leading the Star Oni together¡­ unless, of course, you chose to Defy Fate, as is your choice as a Star Oni woman.¡± Myron grinned, his last words teasing.

    Shara blushed. ¡°F-Father! Enough about me, just hurry up and accept!¡±

    Myron met Nick¡¯s eyes, and answered in Orion Common: ¡°We accept. And as acting Patriarch of the Fatestrider Clan, let it be known that I wish all will accept so they may be protected and live on, here on Orion. Fate has guided us here to this new home, and it is here that we must work hard to make our Clan rise once again.¡±

    The Patriarch accepted along with his Fated in his chest, and one by one, the numerous Star Oni became Nick¡¯s Followers, even the girl, Shara. Some of the spirits of the fallen Star Oni accepted as well, joining him within his Soul Core.

    Not all did, however, as it appeared that they considered their lives complete. And some, it was clear he couldn¡¯t revive their Fated, so they had simply rejected it and drifted away. Still, nearly two dozen in total had accepted, so this was a big win for Nick. With just what he learned from the knowledge crystal over a few hours, he had saved even more lives.

    The weight of Myron and his Fated¡¯s Pact was significant, to the level where it was much like he judged Elrash again. He felt the weight of his promise for protection, and even placing their Soul into a Soul Servant instead would prove quite challenging.

    [Heritage Quest Milestone: 500 Followers Reached]

    [Earned Trait: Follower Nexus]

    [Your wives, and up to five subordinates, can be appointed to accept Followers on your behalf, and you have unlocked a Heritage Structure for purchase that handles this same function.]

    [Heritage Quest Milestone: Third and Fourth Stratum Equivalent Followers Obtained]

    [Earned Trait: Weight of Pacts, +4 Soul]

    [Your Soul Pacts now also protect your Soul, strengthening its defenses. The effects of Soul Fortress have increased, and your soul should now be capable of judging and absorbing more powerful foes, and in larger numbers.]

    A bright light filled him, and his Soul Core shifted. For a moment, he saw and felt hundreds of chains cast out from it in all directions, all across the sphere. Then, the sphere twisted causing the chains to wrap and overlap around the sphere partially, and it was like a lattice was created from these bonds, the weight of his Pacts protecting his Soul Core.

    It was a welcome bonus, as it¡¯d been a long time since he gained anything from his Heritage Quests. At the same time, he groaned. If only he could have convinced Myron sooner somehow¡­he could have Judged Thresh.

    Still, it was pointless to worry about what-ifs and maybes. Changing his focus, Nick worked to remove some of their poisons, and used Cure Affliction on Myron. Drawing out the last of his faith energy from his necklace, he was better able to overwhelm Thresh¡¯s poisons, despite them being infused with his Concepts.

    Healing Myron¡¯s dense, special body with Soul Mend took way too much out of him, so he only did some first aid, for now. He had a lot of Star Oni to do the same for. The half dozen who were poisoned, combined with Myron¡¯s healing medicine, Nick was able to take them away from death¡¯s door.

    The rest of the people lined up, and Nick did his best to restore his new Followers, eating his essence fruit and jerky, and even drank half a canteen of the energy whiskey. The improved Soul Mend truly helped a lot in situations like this.

    After a time, finally, a wave of golden light exploded outward, and Nick received the Trial prompt from Orion.

    [Heroic Trial: Fate of the Star Oni Completed.]

    [Facing the rival Lord of Silverbrook, you stood unwavering with your Kingdoms¡¯s Path, and defeated Elrash. You rescued numerous Star Oni, protecting their future, then aided the Fatestrider Patriarch in his defeat of Thresh, defeating an enemy far above you. You heroically guarded the Star Oni¡¯s retreat, facing an enemy nearly an entire stratum above you. Buying any time at all was a major accomplishment, and you lived to tell the tale. Then, you saved what remained of the Star Oni, healing them and preventing the loss of their great Outlander heritage, and expanded your Followers. You have truly Tested yourself, and have become more.]

    [Reward: Boss Essence, Spark of Insight and Major Enlightenment, 32,325 Hero¡¯s Path DP, 19th Heroic Ordeal Floor Equivalent has now been Completed.]

    Nick received an ornate box in his hand, the sudden appearance not that shocking because he had experienced it within the Ordeals numerous times before. Opening it, a decorated bottle sat inside.

    Something pulsed inside the transparent bottle, a golden light that moved around and could hardly be contained, like living lightning flexing against its prison. As it flickered in his eyes, he was reminded of a moment during his Enlightenment in front of Seraphara¡¯s Mirror of Truth.

    Where the hawk of light and the raven of darkness fought, and where their energies crossed, formed a mysterious golden energy. Somehow, this bottle contained everything.

    He was thankful for it. With his pounding headache, Nick was not in a position to be able to consume some kind of Enlightenment at the moment, and he would enjoy this back at his Concept Chamber.

    Nick wasn¡¯t sure precisely what it was, but he thought it was either going to help him a lot with his Heroic Redemption, because of the golden light, or thanks to the name, this was like a one-size-fits-all Enlightenment. That it would help him with whatever Concept he imagined when the spark touched him.

    Then, the amount of DP gained was significant. The fact that it involved over a hundred Star Oni facing enemies, some of which were in the Third Stratum, made it fit in Nick¡¯s mind. He had only fought for at most fifteen minutes, but had gained so much potential for his kingdom and himself. A major enlightenment on its own was something that could create an Early Mastery Concept on its own, or upgrade one into middle mastery.

    It was a shame he was unable to defeat the Devilsaur Matriarch, but thinking on it, it would have been nearly impossible for him as he was today. The only way he might have managed it even if he was completely fresh, is if he sacrificed Myron¡¯s life, and the lives of many Star Oni. That wouldn¡¯t have been very heroic at all.

    He noticed that many of the Star Oni received special rewards, much like his. Boxes, vials, and some with special pills. They did not hurry to consume them, however, as it seemed they received a message about Orion recommending them to be initiated into Orion first.

    Those in the first stratum, including Shara, were covered in golden or prismatic light, receiving some form of tempering. Nick imagined this tempering was one that would stick around when they were initiated, the people receiving Traits or improving their affinities, bloodlines, and more, based on their actions.

    Shadowvale¡¯s Conquest eventually ran to its conclusion, and Nick received a prompt about merging it into Frosthaven. Seraphara¡¯s Inquisition would be able to continue for up to three days before Closure, and then once again the cities could be merged.

    Confirming with Eirwen, Luna and Jasmine through their special connection, Nick went ahead and selected to Merge Shadowvale with Frosthaven. By the time Trial Closure was done in three days, they would have captured all the bad guys and be ready to be transported home.

    Nick was somewhat worried that bandits might have gotten away from the Trial and escaped, but not overly much. There were still devilsaurs left, and he knew they would hunt them down. Not only that, but they were nearly a thousand miles from anywhere. They would take months to sneak through the jungle, and likely, not guided and protected by their numbers or Elrash and Thresh, they would die to the dangerous jungle.

    Shara and Myron both sat across from Nick, recovering from their battles with Birdy picking  a high place in the cavern to roost.

    Myron¡¯s status in the clan became quite apparent, with how each of the Star Oni treated him, asking him for orders and bowing to him. The Star Oni men would rest for a time, and they would soon start scouting the caves, while the women stood guard over any nearby branches or entries within in the caves.

    Shara asked in a small voice, ¡°This¡­ Orion. What does initiation to it entail?¡±

    Myron added, ¡°Yes, I am interested in this as well. What will it do to our people?¡±

    Nick replied, ¡°When we get home to Frosthaven, I¡¯ll be able to help your second stratum and above folks be reborn so that they can cultivate here on Orion. That includes you and your wife, Myron. As for those in the first, I think the initiation involves attuning your dantians to the essence of Orion. What that will mean for your cultivation arts, I am not entirely sure, but I believe a large majority will be compatible, the same with your Daos, your Path. Not everyone must initiate, but I think it¡¯s very limiting if you do not.¡±

    He added, ¡°The essence outside an Ordeal¡¯s control radius is very wild, and not appropriate for cultivators¨Cnot even Outlanders. The beasts cultivate it through conflict and consumption, and from special treasures. My understanding is, that to cultivate it would be like taking in the essence from monster cores. It¡¯s full of impurities to cultivators, and would be a major detriment. Even that within the city isn¡¯t exactly perfect, it¡¯s only that which is gained from Orion¡¯s Rewards that is perfectly suitable.¡±

    Myron rubbed his chin. ¡°Interesting, that matches what we¡¯ve learned ourselves. I¡¯m looking forward to what this entails, especially seeing my wife and being able to cultivate again without being restricted. But before we can move, it¡¯s clear we need to spend some time and recover. If we start heading through those caves, we may lose people to monsters.¡± He grimaced. ¡°To think¡­we¡¯re down to only a hundred and twenty from nearly two hundred.¡±

    Nick smiled. ¡°Almost a hundred and fifty now roughly, actually.¡±

    Myron frowned, as he looked back at his people. ¡°What? I counted¡­ wait¡­¡±

    Nick grinned. ¡°Many of those that died in the final battle: I was able to form Soul Pacts with them, as not too much time had passed. It helped that many of them were in the Third Stratum, even if they were limited.¡±

    Myron was moved. ¡°That¡¯s¡­truly a miracle. We still lost more than fifty of us since arriving on Orion, but to think that many of our people made it. You¡¯ve made a believer out of me, Young Lord. Your heroism, combined with your power over life and death, has truly brought our Clan Salvation, just as you promised.¡±

    ¡°Wait until you see Frosthaven. There might be threats inside this cave, and I might need to fight with a peg leg, but I can¡¯t wait to show you your new home.¡±

    Shara smiled, but at Nick¡¯s attention, she blushed and looked away shyly. Some of the Star Oni that overheard the mention came over and thanked Nick for his efforts. He met with all his new Followers, but eventually begged off to rest.

    Moving through the caves was not likely to be all that easy. The Star Oni men made for good scouts, and he would hear a report after a nap.

 Book 3 - Chapter 43 - Kaya - The Battle of Shadowvale

    With Nick gone for his Heroic Trial, the two armies met in battle in the forest valley clearing. The battle lines on the Noblefrost Army¡¯s side were orderly and well-coordinated, but the bandit and mercenary forces were spread out and chaotic. Many of them used Sneak abilities and similar, disappearing from view.

    With the shadows came numerous monstrous beasts, but the Noblefrost Army was ready to deal with the ambush predators. The numerous elemental shamans, led by Agatha, covered the battlefield with a rain of ice shards and freezing winds.

    For the Noblefrost Army, the winds and shards had nearly zero effect. A vast majority of the army had at some point or another received a Trait from the first floor in the Path of Kings Ordeal, which granted a small amount of frost resistance. The monsterfolk, especially the Wolfen, often had two or more traits related to frost and ice, and if anything, they were empowered in the freezing cold.

    On top of that, their entire army wore Frostiron armor over treated drake scale. This aided in their protection against the frost when they sent essence flowing through their equipment.

    But for the enemy army, the cold and rain of shards interrupted their stealthy movements, making their Sneak abilities useless. The shards of ice pierced their flesh, and slowed their march.

    The bandits had their own archers, which quickly found spots high in the trees to rain attacks down against their army. However, the Orc scouts, combined with many Scalefolk and Wolfen, had also taken to this role.

    Supported by the many shamans, and the fact that their army was well-armored, the archers quickly began to influence the battlefield much more drastically than the enemy¡¯s archers. Their powerful shots enhanced by shamanic magic found vulnerable places on the enemy¡¯s bodies, and dealt devastating blows.

    Kaya¡¯s Roar skill stunned a small group of bandits, as she transformed into a large, angry red panda, wielding axes in her three tails, and a large, wicked one in her hands. The drums beat in her mind, sending feral essence throughout her body. She began her dance with her axes, her body swaying and spinning to a tune only she could hear.

    Her feral essence pierced their flimsy armor with ease, and with every swing, she dealt a debilitating blow. Their goal was to capture as many of these people as possible, so she focused on wounding and maiming the enemy soldiers rather than dealing the death blow.

    Her steps sped up and slowed, interrupting her enemy¡¯s timings, controlling the tempo of battle as she cut through the enemy¡¯s lines. Kaya¡¯s target was the enemy elites in the back, wanting to quickly put an end to the battle.

    Because unlike Nick¡¯s other wives, she had very little in ways she could support Nick from afar. Eirwen and Rebecca both had a method to assist him through the Trial he was facing. As always, Kaya was sure that Eirwen was observing Nick, ready to send an Omnibarrier or some other beneficial spell at a critical moment. For Rebecca, the sense of need would come through her ring.

    The best Kaya could offer was sending her desire and trust that he would succeed, and trying to bring this battle to a quick conclusion. She could feel her Devotion Core responding, the essence being carted off to their heroic mate. With every swing of her axe and every movement she made, Kaya moved with purpose.

    As the shadow beasts began to flank the army, a series of lights rose above the two armies, and scattered away their protective shadows. The ice had revealed many of the panthers, rats, wolves, giant snakes, spiders, and other predator insects, as it was easy to see figures when they¡¯re being struck by falling ice or freezing winds. However, they were still protected by the thick mist-like shadows.

    Until now. Seraphara¡¯s elite Clergy drew up nearly a dozen Light of Wisdom orbs, which were then fed by the lower-level clergy, making the orbs grow with their faith essence and mana. The shadows shrunk away from the bright, faith fueled lights of Seraphara¡¯s Wisdom where the two armies met, and now even the sun above them was visible, the darkness of the valley penetrated. Then, beams of light started striking out, damaging mercenaries and shadow-predators alike.

    Renzou could be seen, leading his unit of future Town Guard of fifty men and women, and Lothar charged forward, to fight near his many warriors. He was there less as a combatant, and more of a deterrent. The enemy¡¯s elites were strong, and if they were allowed to fight unchecked, they would slay many of their warriors.

    Fang led the Wolfen along with Ironclaw, howling as she protected the tribe of warriors. Luna¡¯s new totem pulsed, covering their tribal warriors with a protective sheen of ice. The special spirit inside had several spells and auras, and this one formed a lesser version of Fang¡¯s Frost Guardian armor on all allies within about ten to fifteen meters of Luna.

    Sable was sneaking through the shadows, and Jasmine too was cutting through the enemy forces, focused on finding the enemy elite that denounced her master. She covered enemies with webbing, holding her glowing spear above her head and dispelling shadows surrounding her.

    Rebecca and Irene were with their clergy, which stood next to the barrier containing those that surrendered or otherwise desired the Noblefrost Kingdom¡¯s protection. Kaya could see Rebecca¡¯s worry, as she knew Nick might end up needing her help in his personal struggles.

    As many of the shadow predators were cleaned up, the orcs started getting rowdy, shouting and laughing as they faced off against their enemies. The bandits and mercenaries clearly weren¡¯t their match, most of the bandits unable to pierce their skin or thick armor.

    Andross and Zarog threw away their weapons, and started beating up the bandits with their fists. Many of the orcs followed their lead with a laugh, and Kaya realized this was a good method for capturing as many of these mercenaries as possible. Not only that, but this gave the newer forces more opportunities to make a larger impact and be challenged.

    As Kaya neared the rear of the enemy lines, a familiar small spirit appeared in her peripheral near her shoulder¨CShak¡¯terra.

    The troll pointed to shadows in the distance. They were thick and ominous, not pierced by Seraphara¡¯s Wisdom on the outskirts. And Kaya was sure more powerful shadow predators besides the elites were likely waiting.

    ¡°Take care here, wild one. They are getting pretty desperate, as they see the writing on the wall. Their leader looks to overwhelm and perhaps ransom one of you wives of the lord, in hopes to buy their freedom.¡±

    Kaya snorted. ¡°Good luck with that. But I¡¯ll be careful, thanks.¡± She realized that perhaps that could be a good plan, one the enemy might not expect. ¡°Can you gather the rest of the girls, and send them to reinforce me?¡±

    ¡°Baiting them out? I can do it. There are many enemies there, and there also some stronger, stealthy beasts on the way. Be wary.¡± The spirit disappeared, leaving Kaya.

    Finally, Kaya spotted one of the stronger mercenaries. He wore a thick shield, and looked to be a coal-skinned orc. But Andross suddenly arrived, after having his glaive thrown to him. With a laugh, he began his duel with the stronger mercenary.

    With a roll of her eyes, Kaya continued her search, until a creature leaped from the nearby shadows. Its gangly, long limbs ended in thick, bone-like claws. The ghoulish appearance combined with the deer-like skull made her quickly remember what it was.

    It was a wendigo, and it was already charging up from the death energy from the several handfuls of deaths that did occur across the battlefield. This one was strong and deep in the second stratum, and Kaya had to quickly seize back the tempo of battle from the surprise attack.

    Roaring, she swung her axe with enhanced, feral strength to defect its large claws, and countered with her tail axes, before her Feral Strike landed against its face and caused it to become disoriented.

    Spinning and sending her tail axes into its chest with a thunk, she brought her larger axe down with her sharpness Concept, cleaving through its defenses and cutting it in half. As it died, she was forced to dodge to the side, her Soul Sense catching a stealthy enemy¡¯s assault.

    A shadow mantis chased after her, and swung its scything limbs, forcing Kaya on the back foot. Then, another attacker appeared, one of the elite mercenary warriors, leaping from the tree with two swords of his own.

    Kaya chuckled at the challenge, facing the shadow mantis and the mercenary at the same time. It was a barrage made up of the two mantis sickles, and the warrior¡¯s two curved swords that she danced and deflected.

    A third and a fourth attacker appeared, one with a net and the other with shackles. Which was why Kaya didn¡¯t hesitate.

    Charged Strike had been building for some time, but she used her Convergence Skill: Whirlwind, instead. She spun, sending waves of cutting, feral essence, combined with her sharpness Concept. The attack devastated the Shadow Mantis, and the mercenary barely blocked the attacks with his own Essence Carry, his own Concept fueling his defense.

    The net was destroyed, and the man carrying it was killed as he was cut in half. The man with the shackles was wounded, and then two more men leaped out of the shadows.

    Shak¡¯terra appeared, shrouded in essence, and sent out a wave of curse energy. As it washed over them, the men appeared to become fatigued, their movements sluggish, and energy started draining toward the troll spirit. Her spell was laced with Concepts, the weight Kaya could feel coming from them surprising.

    ¡°Help is on the way, wild one. These guys really want you, I guess these boys must really like redheads? What do you think?¡±

    Eirwen¡¯s arrow glimmered stardust, empowering Kaya¡¯s Traits as it flew over her and struck one of the bandits. Using the opening, Kaya released her Charged Strike as she swung her battleaxe downward, landing her attack on the man with two swords. The essence carried downward, cutting the man deeply, sending blood scattering onto the ground. He groaned, falling to the ground from the wound.

    Shak¡¯terra snickered. ¡°Not bad! There¡¯s a lot more, though.¡±

    A dozen monsters came out of hiding and charged her, including giant spiders, insects, tigers and panthers, and a handful of bandits with nets and shackles. Kaya was starting to run out of essence, but she was not worried. Because help had arrived.

    Luna¡¯s defensive frost aura from her new totem covered her, and Fang¡¯s shield slammed into an approaching bandit. More powerful bandits jumped out of the surrounding trees, but Fang and Luna were not by themselves.

    In formation, numerous Noblefrost monsterfolk women joined Fang, fighting the monsters back. They stabbed and shot elemental spells, knocked enemies back, and controlled the battlefield. In all, they were early in the second stratum, but they were fighting like a well-coordinated team. Their smaller sizes allowed them to crowd the larger enemies with their shields, making them unable to fight back¨Cbecause they were strong for their size.

    Kaya joined them in their assault, finishing off the stronger elite enemies which Shak¡¯terra had cursed.

    Suddenly, the power of a Concept appeared, behind Kaya. A man rose from the shadows, but his target wasn¡¯t Kaya¨Cit was Luna. The man was powerful, and Kaya guessed he was in the Third Stratum just from his aura alone. Shadows rushed to grasp and capture Luna, but she just smiled.

    Her totem showed a silhouette of some kind of ice beast, its head held high, noble and proud. It looked a bit like a scaled stag, and it blasted the incoming man with a wave of frost. His shadows leaped to protect him, but he grunted in pain¨Cwhatever it was the totem used, it bypassed the protection they provided, completely shredding them and blowing him back.

    Then, Sable appeared, her monstrous frost shadows taking a bite out of the man, spreading its deadly frost.

    He roared, and activated a Convergence Skill, which drew in most of the shadows from the area. Given that the extra shadows had been pooled from the entire valley, the amount of them that were concentrated on him was shocking.

    However, a powerful explosion of light erupted above them, like a second sun in the sky. It cast all the shadows away, and was almost blinding not even looking in the same direction, after experiencing the dark for so long. The weight of the Concept was clearly higher, from Kaya¡¯s feeling, and the amount of essence used was superior. The man was completely blinded, but he swung his sword in Luna¡¯s direction, which was easily blocked by her with her spear.

    A beam of light shot at him then, which wrapped around his arms and legs. The intensity of the light from it was nearly blinding once again, and his flesh burnt as he howled in pain. Wait¡­was that a thread of light also around his crotch, too?

    Jasmine sounded bored, as she stepped out from behind a nearby tree. ¡°There you are. I was looking all over for you, you cowardly trash.¡±

    ¡°You¡­ How?¡± He choked. ¡°Please¡­ please don¡¯t kill me. Let me live.¡± The man sounded resigned, and Kaya noticed that his throat was burnt, probably from the very first attack from Jasmine.

    Jasmine walked closer, her large body looming over him. ¡°You¡¯re begging for mercy now? But you seemed so confident, before. That Master was fleeing because he was cowardly, despite is actions being Ordained by Orion. Have you changed your mind? Repented?¡±

    ¡°I was wrong, and I am sorry. Your Master¡­ is clearly not cowardly.¡±

    Jasmine smiled and leaned down, then tapped his cheek twice with her palm, in a condescending way. ¡°Good boy. Not to worry, you poor, pathetic thing. I will not kill you.¡±

    The man was out of breath, and groaning with pain. ¡°That¡¯s¡­a relief. I¡¯ve never done anything to your¡­ Master, after all. I was just following orders.¡±

    Jasmine¡¯s look was cold as she stood back to her full height. ¡°Oh, but you have done much wrong. You worked for true scum, a trash that works against my Master. Your sins are many, and you will pay for all of them. Your suffering will be endless¡­and tasty. I cannot wait.¡±

    ¡°No, but¡­you said!¡± His voice cut out as Jasmine sprayed him with more webbing, covering his mouth first, then his eyes, and the rest of his body. A cocoon was formed in time, which hardened to near-stone, with light pulsing through it within mere moments.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    Kaya noted, ¡°That¡­ almost felt a bit mean.¡±

    Jasmine arched her brow. ¡°What do you mean? He¡¯s a bad guy. He deserves torment and justice. Especially for what he said about Master. He lied in his apology too, didn¡¯t he?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right about that first and last part, but¡­ Well, you¡¯re not going to actually like¡­ eat him, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course not.¡±

    Kaya gave a sigh of relief, but Jasmine grinned. ¡°Master will, of course. And I will enjoy it as he does. Oh, Elrash was just. So. Delicious! That I¡¯ve captured this tasty morsel for Master to Judge, fills me with immense joy.¡± Jasmine looked at the many disarmed and debilitated enemies, her eyes taking on a manic light. ¡°So many are here to be gifted to Master, and are just waiting to be consumed.¡± She then shivered as she hugged herself with her four arms, and licked her lips.

    ¡°Er¡­ right.¡± Kaya wasn¡¯t sure if she should be thankful or jealous that Jasmine could share Nick¡¯s experiences as he Judged these enemies.

    The enemies defeated, Kaya took another look at Fang¡¯s battle partners. All of them were covered in armor and held polearms or shields, some clearly having focused on shamanic magic. One even had totems, much like Luna.

    In all, there were nine evolved Noblefrost monsterfolk following Fang around. They fought in a coordinated way, and Kaya was more than a little impressed at how they did. But they followed Fang to battle, and it seemed that they were continuing to follow her, like ducklings. Kinda like¡­ how Luna, Fang, and Sable followed Eirwen and herself around¡­

    Kaya asked, ¡°Who are your friends, Fang?¡±

    Fang beamed. ¡°Oh! These are the girls that want to be Boss¡¯s mates. They¡¯re working hard to earn his favor!¡±

    Jasmine clapped her four hands together, holding them next to her head, framing it. She looked pleased as she addressed them and Fang. ¡°My, that¡¯s wonderful! So many already evolved and doing their best. Master loves smart, loving, and hard-working good girls. Surely, if you devote yourselves to him, he¡¯ll eventually smile upon you with his love.¡±

    Sable chuckled, arriving next to Fang. ¡°Yes, they are a cute bunch. Luna and I have spent some time with all of them as well. I just know our Alpha is going to love to spend time and meet you girls when he gets back.¡±

    Luna nodded. ¡°Such a bunch of sweet, beautiful girls. When Boss returns, I know he¡¯s going to love them.¡±

    The girls all smiled, listening intently. The wolfen girl¡¯s tails were wagging, while the reptilian scalefolk and naga had their tails lashing in excitement. There were three each of the scalefolk, naga, and wolfen.

    Kaya frowned. ¡°All of them? But¡­nine new mates, Fang? Isn¡¯t that¡­¡±

    Fang¡¯s face fell, her ears going flat on her helmeted head. ¡°Oh. Oh, no. I didn¡¯t realize¡­¡±

    Kaya patted her shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s fine. These girls haven¡¯t even met him in person or talked to him at all yet. I¡¯m sure they will understand¡­¡±

    Fang looked sad for a moment, then continued. ¡°You¡¯re right, we¡¯ve failed him. Boss is about to enter the third stratum, and is now Alpha of so many cities and even more folk. Of course, it¡¯s not enough, we need to find way more mates for an Alpha as amazing as him!¡±

    ¡°No, wait¨C¡± Kaya should have realized she might get the wrong idea, but Fang¡¯s tail was already wagging faster than before as she turned to the monsterfolk girls, ignoring Kaya¡¯s pleas.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, girls! Let¡¯s go catch some more bad guys, and then look for more mates for Boss! There¡¯s gotta be some more here in Shadowvale!¡± She howled, which the girls copied, and then ran or slithered off together. Luna and Sable left as well, leaving only Kaya and Jasmine standing there, muffled sounds still coming from the rock-like cocoon.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­too many,¡± Kaya finally finished, mostly to herself. ¡°That¡¯s not even including the priestesses.¡±

    Jasmine chuckled, and licked her lips. ¡°This should be fun. There¡¯s going to be a lot of little masters running around here soon enough.¡±

    With the final elite was defeated on the battlefield, the remaining forces broke and attempted to flee. However, the dome was still present, which meant none would ultimately be able to get away. As the Conflict had determined, victory meant their surrender into slavery or death was Ordained by Orion.

    ¡°Oh! Looks like they are trying to get away, hehe.¡± Jasmine gave a feral grin. ¡°Can¡¯t have that.¡± She rushed off, shooting webbing into the many people¡¯s legs, tripping them.

    [Conquest Complete. Seraphara¡¯s Inquisition may continue over the next 72 hours. Conquest Closure must be decided by Lord Noblefrost within 24 hours. Shadowvale, and its Ordeal ¨C The Path of the Shadow Predator, is now under his rule and ownership.

    Blackthorne¡¯s Altar of Subordination has been purified and sublimated into your kingdom, and a backlash has been caused due to how it was destroyed.

    Personal Rewards will be provided based on contribution.]

    [Kingdom Reward: Merge Option Available (Free), Purified Altar of Subordination (Altar of Offering), Seraphara¡¯s Holy Wisdom (Defensive Building)]

    [Personal Reward, enhanced due to personal risk from Archaen Husband¡¯s Heroic Trial: Minor Enlightenment, Codex: Kenbu of Endless Blades (Ideal, Epic Rarity)]

    It seemed this Kenbu was some kind of sword, or blade dance. She had been utilizing a dance to build her body and focus her mind on the tempo of battle, and it seemed that this was like an upgraded version.

    Kaya¡¯s mind then drifted into a vision, and numerous people throughout the battlefield were also granted enlightenment or tempering. Time seemed to stop for everyone else except for those being rewarded, enabling only a brief moment to have passed while they received their benefits.

    While her first vision appeared to focus on the sharpness of a wandering swordsman¡¯s blade, she received a new vision that drew her eyes to something else entirely.

    Various scenes played before her, where warriors of all kinds fought, wielding blades of different varieties. A shield was shattered, an arm was cleaved off, a swung axe landed onto a man¡¯s back with a meaty thunk.

    And in many, blows were deflected or parried, or blades scraped off armor and shields rather than causing any damage. The blades were sharp, and the angle of attack was good. But some just didn¡¯t cut.

    Kaya started feeling the difference between the attacks that were successful, and the ones that weren¡¯t.

    It was the weight. The strength behind the blow. The transfer of momentum. In the final scene, a powerful cultivator with an axe as the focus. He was facing another, one who had barriers surrounding them in protection.

    The axe wielder raised an ethereal axe high over his head with both hands, its size larger than the alpha drake they fought, like he was going to chop wood.

    The axe fell, containing a heaviness that felt like it contained the weight of the world itself. The barriers of the enemy cultivator shattered, the blade cutting through all their defenses and shredding the enemy in two. The ground beneath buckled under the weight, and a cut line extended into the distance.

    The vision completed, she couldn¡¯t help but reflect on her fights, and those she had seen fight. Even her first vision was remembered, of how the heaviness or weight of the attack influenced the blade¡¯s ability to cut. It wasn¡¯t just the speed of a blow and the sharpness of it, but the transfer of momentum to the blade, that increased the cutting and armor-shredding power.

    Of course, her axe dance included the transfer of momentum in her movements to deal devastating blows. However, she didn¡¯t make it a part of her, nor did she focus on its importance in her actions and thoughts.

    As a red panda beastfolk, she excelled in strength, precision, and speed. If she mastered this, she could greatly increase the cutting power she could bring about against enemies with thick hides.

    She would spend some time reflecting on this, and make it hers within her Enlightenment chamber.

    Spotting Eirwen, Kaya jogged across the battlefield. Their people had done well, and many were still binding their downed enemies with rope, and their own shackles, separating the defeated from the dead.

    Arriving at Eirwen, Rebecca joined them as well. Kaya asked, ¡°Any news on Nick¡¯s fight? I felt¡­like he really needed us for a moment there.¡±

    ¡°He really did. It¡¯s looking like¡­ he¡¯s gonna make it, Rebecca healed him through her ring. This last fight was tough. Like, Lava Elemental kind of tough. He¡¯s wounded, but mostly fine now. He won, and should complete the Trial after he gets some new allies.¡±

    Rebecca looked a little relieved, and Kaya smiled, her tails lashing behind her. ¡°New allies! Is he going to be back soon?¡±

    Eirwen grimaced. ¡°He and I have my doubts he¡¯s going to be granted a portal back. However, based on what he¡¯s learned, he¡¯s on the other side of the mountain range to the Northwest of Frosthaven. He¡¯ll have to traverse a cave, or it¡¯s a long ways around.¡±

    Eirwen then shared her Map of Frosthaven and the surrounding area, and told her a little about these Star Oni. Then, she also shared the point she believed Nick was, currently.

    The mountain range began nearly a hundred miles out from Frosthaven, and went North and South for probably a thousand or more, based on maps they had been granted. Then West for several hundred as well. Nick appeared to be over four to five hundred miles away, to Frosthaven¡¯s Northwest.

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised our Control Radius reached that far. And that¡¯s gotta be one long-ass cave.¡± Kaya noticed. ¡°Probably full of other dangers.¡±

    Eirwen tilted her head. ¡°An ass cave? Interesting choice of words there, Kaya.¡± She teased, and giggled at Kaya¡¯s blush¨Csomehow, this must be Nick¡¯s fault.

    The sheep girl continued, ¡°Apparently, the Devilsaur Matriarch had her nest there, until Orion moved her for the Trial and shifted the entrance. It¡¯s hard to know how it might have been before it was shifted, but the thought is that the Matriarch was too large to go deeper, and might have sent her young through to hunt instead.¡±

    Luna arrived and took a look, and was caught up quickly on their issue. She noted, ¡°How sure is he that it comes out on our side? If he¡¯s right, it means if we find the entrance on our side, we can enter and work to meet them half-way.¡±

    Eirwen sighed. ¡°He¡¯s not a hundred percent. Orion¡¯s logic made it a win condition. The Outlanders wouldn¡¯t actually escape Blackthorne¡¯s clutches without some kind of path home to Frosthaven, or maybe something else. If they had to head South again, it wouldl take months, and then they¡¯d be right back in his territory where they started. They¡¯d have to flee from Blackthorne¡¯s people all over again¨Cif he could scrounge up enough people to stop them, anyway.¡±

    Luna noted, ¡°How will we even find the entrance on our side if such exists? The mountains are massive in height, and stretch for hundreds of miles. That¡¯s a lot of area to search.¡±

    Rebecca nodded. ¡°I do believe there are some Ordeal structures focused on scouting, both enhancing it for those classes, or enabling us to scan areas for resources and more. We should have enough, or maybe Shak¡¯terra can help?¡±

    The spirit reappeared next to Eirwen. ¡°I should be able to speed up your search effort significantly, yes. Bring me over to these mountains and I should be able to find a cave within a few hundred miles, should it exist, within a day or so.¡±

    Sable chuckled, dropping down from the boughs of the trees above them. ¡°It sounds like this is going to be tough, but I got some good news. It turns out we did get a useful building by conquering Shadowvale. Perhaps, it might be useful for our current situation.¡±

    Kaya asked, ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°It seems this Elrash was able to use a Shadow Teleport, a power of the monolith, to cross over to a different location of the mountain range too, based on their Control Radius. Since we¡¯re merging the cities, and I¡¯m in tune with the shadows, I could probably use it to join Boss after the merger is completed.¡±

    Kaya said, ¡°That¡¯s definitely better than nothing¡­ But it will take a few days for the merger to complete. Really, I¡¯d feel a lot better if Winny or Jasmine could join him, too, or ideally, all of us.¡±

    Sable shrugged. ¡°You never know. We might get some better options than Elrash did. We¡¯ll have the DP from the Path of the Shadow Predator, and we can even spend that on Heritage stuff.¡±

    ¡°Hey guys! I found ¡®em!¡± Jasmine dumped a cocoon onto the ground in front of them, the shape inside it struggling against his bindings.

    Kaya squinted her eyes at the bound prisoner. ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°The fence sitter! Here. I think his name is Bo-ron or something.¡± The webbing unraveled, just revealing the man¡¯s head. He looked to be a bear beastfolk man, by the small ears on top of his head.

    The man was outraged. ¡°Fence sitter! I¡¯ll have you know¡ª¡± The bear beastfolk man then shrunk under Jasmine¡¯s glare, sighing before speaking more softly, ¡°It¡¯s Turon, and I wasn¡¯t even going anywhere! I¡¯ll have you know¡­ that I have always done my best to help the people of Shadowvale¨Cto make things¡­ as hospitable as possible under Blackthorne¡¯s rule. I¡¯ve had to make tough choices, but none you meet will say I didn¡¯t do my damnedest to help those that were struggling. I would have loved to join Frosthaven, but my hands were tied. Mayor Nelson and Elrash never would have let me or my family go, even if I wanted to.¡±

    He added, ¡°When Mayor Nelson was killed, I considered trying to escape to Frosthaven. But our new rulers were just as dangerous, if not more so, than Elrash was.¡±

    Kaya saw and felt that his soul matched his words, and he certainly believed what he said.

    Eirwen must have noticed this too. She said, ¡°I can see he speaks the truth, Jas. Maybe lay off a bit?¡±

    Jasmine rolled her eyes, and started looking at her nails. ¡°Fine. But I can¡¯t help but penalize him for not bending the knee just after meeting Master, even if it was just the one time. How foolish.¡± The webbing unraveled, and the bear beastfolk man was revealed. He began dusting himself off, and fixing his clothes.

    Rebecca said, ¡°We¡¯re going to begin our inquisition soon. What can you tell us of the people of Shadowvale? We only know what our scouts have told us, and it seems that most of the residents have kept themselves out of the fighting.¡±

    Turon cleared his throat. ¡°From my estimate, only about thirty percent of us chose the asylum choice, being teleported near Seraphara¡¯s Faithful. Nearly twenty percent had joined the fighting, either happy with Elrash¡¯s rule and its benefits¡­ or simply too afraid of the repercussions of not attempting to aid the mercenaries. The rest remain within Shadowvale, unable to fight or too concerned about similar, to make either choice.¡±

    Kaya noted, ¡°It¡¯s looking like we got our work cut out for us, then. There¡¯s likely at least a few opportunists in either group.¡±

    Eirwen added, ¡°Renzou¡¯s men along with the orcs are already headed to Shadowvale establish order, with the monsterfolk backing up Seraphara¡¯s Clergy, like planned. We¡¯ll work through the asylum seekers quickly, then head to the city. That should prevent any looting or riots. Thankfully, Orion¡¯s dome will prevent people from most savagery, as they¡¯ll know they can¡¯t really get away with their crime.¡±

    Turon nodded. ¡°This is true, and I¡¯m thankful for Seraphara¡¯s Faithful taking part in this Conflict. What¡­ is your plan? You don¡¯t plan on¡­ enslaving the three hundred or so that are left in the city, do you?¡±

    Eirwen replied, ¡°We plan on determining guilt and treating criminals like criminals, and mostly law-abiding citizens will be treated as future citizens of Frosthaven. Those who¡¯ve committed the heaviest of crimes will be enslaved or imprisoned. Criminals with forgivable, non-violent sins will work off their transgressions with community service or join the church, and the rest will be granted the opportunities and benefits of Frosthaven right away. ¡±

    Turon frowned. ¡°And¡­how will you determine guilt? There are few in town who hasn''t burnt a few bridges among their neighbors. Their testimonies will be useless, and things will quickly devolve into finger pointing and vengeance seeking. Are you sure this is the correct path?¡±

    Rebecca said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid for us to tell you precisely how, you must become Lord Noblefrost¡¯s Follower. But suffice it to say that few will be able to fault us in our investigation when they reflect upon it. In order for there to be law and order in a kingdom, justice must also be present. Do you not agree?¡±

    Turon looked a little surprised at that line of questioning. ¡°That¡­of course I agree. I just question¡­ how exactly one might accomplish this so perfectly. One cannot be all knowing of the truth, and not only that, Shadowvale was ruled by a tyrant, a lawless despot. Some people¡­ did what they needed to do to survive, me included.¡±

    Eirwen said, ¡°Let us worry about this for now, and just believe your concerns will be addressed. Among those in the city and of those asylum seekers, we¡¯ll be happy to allow you to look over those that have been sentenced before we carry them out.¡±

    She paused, and then continued, ¡°Now, the Noblefrost Kingdom very much values those like yourself. Those who work hard, have a valuable skill set, display valorous traits, and have such a positive reputation, have chances for important positions. But only if they become Lord Noblefrost¡¯s Follower. Are you willing?¡±

    ¡°Just what does becoming a Follower entail?¡±

    Eirwen smiled. ¡°Well, you see¡­¡±

    Kaya left Eirwen to it, knowing that Turon was likely to be convinced quickly enough.

    Walking away, she decided to take another look at the valley that was now theirs. The place was a bit dark and foreboding even during the day, but the grass, the plants, and the trees were made up of darker colors, with an iridescent sheen to them. They nearly sparkled as the light struck them, giving off a strange glow from some angles.

    While there were numerous predators in the valley, there were also many treasures that sparked the growth of these creatures, and drew them into conflict with one another. She knew once the valley was a part of Frosthaven, it would only gain in both beauty and value.

    The area around Frosthaven would change once again, the entire city and people becoming more.

 Book 3 - Epilogue

    The Wraiths of Keltharis marched down the road, finally in the correct direction: North. They had spent the last several weeks in the wilderness, wasting time traveling to numerous cities. It was only when she used her¡­feminine charms, that Anja finally heard the rumor they were needing to hear.

    Of mercenaries gathering for a ship to Silverbrook, the pay just right. That there was an Ordeal that was recently conquered, a Path of Kings¨Cone left unconquered for over a thousand years. That they would face a veritable bandit warlord, and Anya was getting a little excited to meet their new liege.

    Anja had spent far too long frozen, and before that, under the watchful eyes of parents with good intentions. Aside from keeping her family¡¯s ancient promise, she would finally have a few years of freedom.

    She¡¯d do everything she could to make the coming years fun and exciting, and¡­ make her parent¡¯s teeth grind when they learned of all the things she did, or perhaps didn¡¯t do. That¡¯ll show them!

    ¡°What¡¯s that smug look on your face for, Sister?¡±

    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t understand, little brother.¡±

    Henrik snorted. ¡°Oh, I wouldn¡¯t? You weren¡¯t looking proud of yourself because you found that hint about our Frostalf, would you? It¡¯s not fair. I can¡¯t just show a little cleavage and make a guy stupid and loose-lipped, spilling every rumor they¡¯d ever heard, in an attempt to earn your favor.¡±

    Her brother was totally off about what she was thinking about¨Cthe pitfalls of being the oldest daughter¨Cbut she would play along. Anja smirked. ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t know about that. There are some men bound to be interested in your fair, pale blue skin and elvish looks, a line might even form in the right place. Just¡­perhaps you might have difficulty dissuading them from the idea that you¡¯re not at least a little into men, with how you style your long hair¡­ and your mannerisms. Are you sure that you¡¯re not? That bear beastfolk man that made his interest clear was probably able to give you a night you¡¯d never forget.¡±

    Henrik paled in remembrance. ¡°That¡¯s not funny, Sister. I don¡¯t want some bear man¨Cliteral or figurative¨Cwanting to put things into my holes. I want to have a fair and pretty girl hanging off of me and listening to all my words, and all of her hair to be on top of her head¨Cmaybe a tail¨Cpreferably.¡±

    ¡°Fairer and prettier than you? And perhaps you should try closing your mouth and listening for once instead, Brother. It¡¯ll help give the illusion that something meaningful is happening inside that noggin¡¯ of yours.

    ¡°That¡¯s not nice, Sister. Oh-look. Try to look weak for a minute. These bandits might not come out otherwise.¡± Henrik tore his shirt, altered his aura to look like a beginner¡¯s. Then, he reached inside his coin purse at his waist. It began to bulge out and get bigger, as he filled it with chips of ice, by casting a simple ice magic cantrip.

    Anja had sensed them coming, but hadn¡¯t thought they would be so stupid. All fifteen of the Wraiths were armed, with little belongings on them besides their weapons. She herself was wearing threadbare clothes, having only traded the bare minimum from their hunting¡­ and from slaughtering a handful of bandits.

    Anja did wear her Sageblade at her waist, which looked like a black, ornate, expensive sword. But¡­ well, their auras alone should dissuade anyone from attacking¡­if they used their magical senses to check their skill, anyway.

    Besides. Would bandits really think a group of trained knights were easy to rob? Even the way they walked should give it away.

    Anja rolled her eyes. ¡°If you entrap them just to slaughter them, it¡¯s not fully an act of Valorous Good, you know.¡±

    ¡°Whatever. C¡¯mon, hurry up! Do yours.¡±

    Anja just gave him the look, and Henrik scoffed.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be such a sourpuss. I¡¯ll make sure my soul is at least good and gray before we meet our new liege. Would hate for our new liege to hate me right off the bat, of course. Or¨Cwait. Maybe that¡¯s better?¡± He tilted his head, his eyes getting a vacant look as he thought.

    She sighed. ¡°I¡¯m not liking where your thoughts are going already, Brother.¡±

    His smile grew wider, and he started gesticulating wildly as his idiot plan came together. ¡°No¡­no, this is better! We are supposed to serve and help him, right? But can he really get a good challenge in this backwater? If anything, don¡¯t you think our help will hurt him?¡± He then spread his arms wide with a goofy smile, as if he had made the perfect case for betraying their cause.

    Anja groaned. ¡°Stop talking¡­and looking, like an idiot. I know that the second part is challenging, but please do your best.¡±

    He continued, ignoring her objection, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better if we became a foil? A challenge that they must overcome? Orion loves that, doesn¡¯t it? We could claim a Dark Kingdom of our own from some bad guy, and then¨C¡±

    Anja¡¯s heart beat, flooding her body with essence. Drawing upon her Concept, her body was empowered with Superiority as she dashed toward her brother.

    He was ready and waiting for this, but his Concept of Drain was overpowered in but a mere instant, as her gauntleted fist slammed into his face. Then his stomach, causing him to double over, and then she tackled him to the ground with her knee on his chest and grasped him by the throat, as she put a hand on her Sageblade¡¯s hilt.

    Henrik paled, and Anja¡¯s voice came out with authority.

    ¡°I said I don¡¯t like it. We came here with a duty, an ancient promise to be upheld. I understand you are unhappy, appearing on this Frontier Shard thousands of years after it opened¨CI am not much happy about it either. We are true elites of Keltharis, and we deserve our own shot at ownership of a Shard, not some scraps at another¡¯s table. Let us see if this Heir holds up to his bloodline, and then if he is not up to the measure, then and only then can we consider other options. Are we clear?¡±

    He had trouble breathing, with her gauntlet grabbing his neck and freezing his blood. ¡°Yes¡­ Sister. Ice-crystal clear.¡±

    She let him go, helping him up from the ground and dusting him off. In all, perhaps she was a little unfair to her little brother, overpowering and bullying him a bit. ¡°Good. Now, if nothing else, you will definitely get your duel against the Heir, and so will I. And maybe he has some worthwhile subordinates to sate your curiosity. The mercenary said there were orcs and beastfolk there too, did they not? You know that they make good fighting and drinking partners, if nothing else.¡± She elbowed him, and waggled her brows. ¡°And I heard there are some sort of nuns there, and they¡¯re all pretty.¡±

    Henrik snorted, a small smile touching his lips. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s true. I suppose it might not be too bad. They¡¯re also already fighting some kind of Dark Kingdom it sounded like, too, even if the recruiters all denied it.¡±

    She nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. And then¨C¡±

    A voice interrupted them, and she realized that her fight with her brother had distracted her a little too much from her surroundings.

    ¡°Well, well, well, look what we have here. It looks like some noble children have some valuable toys, and heavy coin purses to boot! Hand them over quietly, or I¡¯m afraid your mommy and daddy will be paying to get your bodily remains.¡±

    Her jaw dropped¨Cshe was completely dumbstruck, as she looked at the bandit. He was still in the first stratum, and his equipment looked so terrible she wouldn¡¯t even pick it up off the ground if it was laying there, free.

    It was true that she and her brother should look about nineteen or twenty years old, but that¡¯s the case for most reborn elites¨Cthat would change as she increased in stratum, and based on their desires.

    And of course, Anja was pretty¨Cobjectively speaking. The Wraiths of Keltharis mixed vampiric and frost spirit heritage which led to elvish, beautiful feminine traits¨Cher long white hair, hauntingly blue eyes and well-proportioned body led many a man to act foolish around her.

    The bandits saw her and her brother fight, and thought they could win? Meanwhile, Henrik was grinning like an idiot again.

    Anja narrowed her eyes on the bandit. ¡°You¡­are you just really desperate, or some special kind of stupid?¡±

    Now it was the bandit man¡¯s turn to be dumbstruck. ¡°What? No. How dare¨C¡±

    Calling upon her magic, she drew and swung her Sageblade from her waist in one motion, and a cone of ice shards erupted from her swing. They impaled the man, his rant cut off as they cut deeply into his chest and began freezing him over, the man¡¯s body toppling to the ground.

    ¡°In that case, on the behalf of the Wraiths of Keltharis, I condemn the bandits before me. You extorted us on the road, threatening death in broad daylight within lawful, civilized territory. Your sentence: Death by ice and blood. In your next life, strive to be better to your fellow man.¡±

    The rest of the wraiths drew their swords of blood and ice, not having their own Sageblades. The bandits were numerous, but covered in frost and wielding blood, the wraiths cut through the superior numbers with ease. Anja slayed several bandits in quick succession, and absorbed the frozen, purified blood of her enemies through her Sageblade, using her Trait and empowering it.

    Cultivating as she fought, from Orion¡¯s Reward, she enjoyed the thrill of combat, a smile touching her lips as she slayed the last bandit in a hurry.

    Henrik laughed. ¡°And you berated me for wanting a fight. You enjoyed that more than any of us.¡±

    ¡°Yes, well¡­ in life, one must endure the bad, and enjoy the good, is that not right? Besides.¡±

    She reached out her hand to one of the frozen¨Cover corpses, and drew up the cold and the blood. The corpse broke into numerous pieces, and began orbiting her. After a moment, the chunks became a white and red mist, then wrapped around her armor, which at this time was only a gauntlet.

    Anja continued, ¡°We are empowered by our enemies. At this moment, I feel practically naked. We¡¯ll need to fight many more than just scrub bandits if I¡¯m ever to complete my armor.¡±

    The other Wraiths were doing the same in the background, absorbing the frost and the blood, the rest crumbling to the ground.

    Henrik shrugged, and did the same to another, drawing icy blood into his shield instead. ¡°Be that as it may, you didn¡¯t have us join those mercenaries. There was a ship heading almost straight to Frosthaven. We could have been there in a month without issue. They¡¯d have been happy to have us all join their mercenary caravan.¡±

    Anja put her a hand on her hip. ¡°Just what are you trying to say, Brother?¡±

    ¡°I think you wanted to hoof it because you wanted chances to explore, to adventure. Or maybe to find a Roaming Trial. You¡¯re just as much a battle-junky as I am!¡±

    In one quick motion, she drew a coin from her pouch at her waist and she flicked it at his face, smacking him right in the forehead.

    Henrik rubbed his head. ¡°Ah! Shit, what the hell was that for?¡±

    ¡°For once, your thoughts are worth a copper. You might be right, but it wouldn¡¯t do for us to show up to our future liege empty-handed, now, would it? And if we enjoy ourselves while we¡¯re at it¡­ that¡¯s not exactly a crime, now is it?¡±

    Henrik¡¯s face lit up. ¡°Now we¡¯re talking! Yeah, and we won¡¯t be useful if we show up in the First Stratum, anyway. Let¡¯s get moving now, we have essence to burn! Hey, I wonder if these scrubs have a hideout?¡±

    He held up his Sageblade, the eye suddenly opening on the ornate hilt. It looked around, and was likely speaking with Henrik in his mind, casting several spells. ¡°Found it! It¡¯s that way,¡± he pointed with the blade. ¡°If they have enough money, maybe we can get mounts¡­or maybe a vehicle!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t look too excited, brother. It seems there are no motorized vehicles, and the tamers on this Shard are rather pathetic. It¡¯s nothing but weak horses and lizards, or¡­¡± she shivered, ¡°Farm animals.¡±

    Henrik snorted. ¡°Rather just run there, then. It¡¯ll be faster.¡±

    The Wraiths took off at a jog, and then began leaping through the forest. By enhancing their spirits and reducing their corporeality, their bodies became lighter. Their partially spirit bodies allowed them to float through the air and dash through the forest rapidly, their speed supernatural.

    And they could unfreeze the blood that made up their armor, making it become liquid and lighter.

    They had just begun traveling, but Henrik opened his mouth. Again. ¡°Aw man, now my coin purse is all wet! Winter¡¯s supposed to be coming, but it¡¯s still hot out here. I sure hope it¡¯s cold in this Frosthaven place. It¡¯s gotta be, right? You wouldn¡¯t call it something like that unless it was?¡±

    She groaned. ¡°For the love of Orion, could you shut up for a whole minute for once, Henrik? You just lost the copper you earned.¡±

    Henrik side-eyed her, the group continuing their run, half-floating through the forest. ¡°Well, if saying something smart earns me a hit in the face with a coin, then maybe I just won¡¯t say anything smart¨C¡±

    She flicked another coin and smacked his forehead, the man once again interrupted. Chuckling, she said, ¡°Duly noted, Brother. From now on, say something stupid, like that, and a copper will be your reward. If it¡¯s dumb enough, maybe a shard of ice, or a large rock just might be next.¡±

    Henrik groaned, his expression indignant. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­keep my thoughts to myself for a bit.¡±

    ¡°Now you¡¯re learning. If only you learned that sooner, House Bloodbayne might have accepted your courting proposal.¡±

    Henrik nearly tripped, his eyes lighting up in recognition. ¡°House¡­ Wait, what? You talked to her¡­ what did she say? She thought I talked too much, that¡¯s why she said no? You never told me this!¡±

    She groaned. ¡°This is going to be a long trip North¡­¡±

    ***Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    Nick woke up from his nap, and tried pushing his Soul Mending, the healing component, into his foot. Unfortunately, it looked like that particular spell, if it was capable of restoring a limb, would take him quite some time. He couldn¡¯t really tell whether it was regrowing it or not. For a Soul Servant, there was no difficulty, but for a Follower or himself¡­

    Creating his¡­ peg, he created some ice to replace his foot. Testing it, it was terrible, he¡¯d rather just hop on one foot like a weirdo. He tried a few other options, and what seemed to work the best was him taking out a new shoe from his pouch. He attached it with ice, but he also filled it with his essence as if he were attempting to absorb an attack¡­and with that, it was like he had a viable prosthetic, since it had a tiny bit of flex to it, but was still supportive.

    Walking out of his tent, he found Myron and Shara sitting cross-legged in their own, the tent door wide open. While there were a few niceties in the tent like mats and short tables, many rocks and cavern debris were present within.

    Shara smiled, and Myron nodded at him. He said, ¡°Pardon the mess, Young Lord.¡±

    Nick chuckled as he walked in. ¡°No problem at all, we are in a cave, after all.¡±

    Myron spotted his prosthetic. ¡°Ah¡­interesting¡­choice¡­¡±

    Nick was still walking around, testing it out. ¡°Still trying it out. Unfortunately, I might have to wait until we get to Frosthaven to heal it. Even if my spell might be capable of it, it might take me too long.¡±

    Myron nodded. ¡°Your powers to heal are certainly strange. Unfortunately, limited to the first stratum like my healers are, I doubt they will be much better than that. However¡­ I suppose¡­¡±

    Shara scowled at Myron. ¡°Father! Don¡¯t be stingy. Nicholas is our people¡¯s savior, and currently our lord. He received that wound in service to our people, surely there¡¯s something in that pouch that might help his situation?¡±

    Myron narrowed his eyes on his daughter. ¡°Being stingy is why there¡¯s anything in that damn pouch! If not for me, it¡¯d be nothing but a pretty bag.¡±

    Shara glared at her father at first, but then her eyes turned pleading and watery. She looked down on him, from where they were sitting, but she still gave her best puppy dog eyes and adorable pout.

    This seemed to work much better on Myron, and he eventually groaned and reached into the bag. ¡°Fine. It¡¯s not¡­ life-threatening, but perhaps I still have a¡­ few pills left, that might aid you in this.¡±

    Nick felt the partial truth there, and decided to point it out. ¡°A few, you say?¡±

    Myron shivered. ¡°Er¡­ a few dozen, perhaps. But they¡¯re now irreplaceable!¡± He tossed Nick a pill, which he swallowed after taking off his ice and shoe prosthetic.

    ¡°Direct the healing energy to your foot.¡±

    Nick did as directed, and the healing energy contained within the pill was immense. It felt a lot like Rebecca was healing him, his flesh being restored to its original state. Even after his foot was restored, the healing continued and brought it closer to its previous strength.

    When the healing energy ran out, his foot was no longer a problem. With just a few meals of second stratum meat and maybe Birdy hunting some things, his foot would be restored in no time.

    ¡°Thanks for that, that helped a lot. I¡¯m all good now.¡±

    Shara gave him a wide smile. ¡°Wonderful. Would you like tea, Lord Nicholas? Father?¡±

    Myron nodded at his daughter with a smile, and Nick answered, ¡°I¡¯d like that, thanks.¡±

    She got up, her body towering over them both. It was surprising just how tall she was, especially when Nick was now sitting. She then took out several items, placing them and sitting between Nick and Myron, before Nick realized she was going to prepare it in a traditional, Asian manner.

    There was a stone container of water, a ladle, a sort of whisk, and a bowl. Taking out some tea leaves with a powerful, pleasant odor, she began her preparations.

    It felt like a sort of ceremony, and Nick knew that one wasn¡¯t really supposed to talk during this.

    He waited patiently as she prepared the tea, her motions measured and practiced. Nick looked over her kimono, noticing that it had changed from her usual pink one. It was now a more golden one with purple and pink flowers, with a sash and elaborate tassels. Her pink hair was styled upward in layers with an elegant comb, and her slender neck was shown.

    Her two Oni horns matched her purple flesh, and she had a tender look as she whisked the leaves and made the perfect consistency for the tea.

    Eventually, she served the tea, and the two men took their first drink. It was filled to the brim with essence, and revitalized his body even further.

    Shara smiled at him. ¡°You looked like you wanted to say something?¡±

    Nick scratched his neck. ¡°I love the tea, by the way. I was just thinking that¡¯s a pretty¡­is it a kimono, or what do your people call them? The pink one you wore in battle suited you, but I like how elaborate this one is, and how your hair is done up. You look great.¡±

    Her smile was beaming. ¡°It¡¯s our cultural robes, and thank you! I¡¯m pleased it¡¯s had an impact on you.¡±

    The quiet portion of the tea ceremony completed, Nick now spent more time enjoying it. Myron seemed a little too pleased about this interaction with his daughter, making Nick feel a little strange. Wasn¡¯t he saying not to think about his daughter, unless he was this Fated thing he mentioned?

    Myron broke the silence, after a pleased hum. ¡°When you arrived, you were talking to that Elrash. It was mentioned you were assaulting Shadowvale. Does this¡­ Orion, tell you about this? Are all of your compatriots okay?¡±

    Nick nodded, ¡°Yes, it did. I had to choose whether or not to merge its Ordeal into our city. It looks like my people were successful. Shadowvale is mine now, and it seems things went pretty well. We¡¯ve captured most of the bad guys, and our people have gotten some excellent rewards. We had very few deaths of my Followers, and I¡¯m pretty happy how everyone performed.¡±

    Shara tilted her head, ¡°You know how they performed? How do you know all that? Orion tells you all of that?¡±

    ¡°No, it mostly only told me the Kingdom Reward, which was a few buildings. Some Followers joined me in my Soul Core when they died, which is how I can revive them, so I knew about that. But I can see through the eyes of a few of my wives when I focus, and I can see their rewards from Orion too.¡±

    Shara froze. ¡°W-Wives? A¡­ as in more than one¡­¡± She seemed to get a little dizzy, and leaned up against a rock next to her. Suddenly, her face twisted, and it looked like she had swallowed a bitter bug.

    Nick nodded. ¡°Yes. You see, I¡¯m the last of my kind, and of my Noble Family. I need to raise numerous Heirs to give my people a chance at survival, and rebuild my Kingdom to its former glory. Because my race is also being hunted by some kind of crazy evil race.¡±

    Myron had a thoughtful frown, but he remained quiet as he drank his tea and watched his daughter.

    Shara eventually said, ¡°I¡­see¡­ So¡­ just how many wives are there?¡±

    ¡°So far, you mean?¡±  Nick had to think about his answer, his eyes gazing at the ceiling as he counted them. ¡°Well, seven, I guess. But there¡¯s probably a half-dozen or more waiting to join that number back at Frosthaven.¡± He chuckled. ¡°Maybe more, already?¡±

    Suddenly, Nick heard a shattering sound. Looking down, a shower of stone and dust seemed to be emanating from Shara¡¯s position. Did¡­she just crush the boulder she was leaning on with her bare hand?

    ¡°What was that?¡±

    Shara hesitated. ¡°N¨CNnn¡­ A boulder broke. So anyway, that¡­seems like a lot.¡±

    Nick¡¯s eyebrows were at the top of his head¨Che was not about to force her to explain her action, and by the look on Myron¡¯s bulging eyes, he wasn¡¯t about to either.

    He let out a breath. ¡°Tell me about it. But they¡¯re all really great, and they all get along. Before they became my wives, their expectations were set. Actually, it seems most of them would prefer it this way, and believe that having more partners makes me a¡­ more desirable partner.¡±

    He added, ¡°Beastfolk and monsterfolk often have a pack or tribal mindset, and a Lord¡­ anyway, I love them all, and I wouldn¡¯t trade any of them for the world. Most of my wives are my partners. When I arrived on Orion, I was truly alone, no friends or family at all. I was saddled with the burden of having to revive an entire fallen kingdom and race, all by myself and without knowing anything about the world. My wives have helped build me up, but also my Kingdom to what it is today, with hundreds of followers and thousands of citizens.¡±

    Shara frowned, her eyes searching the ground in front of her, her breaths getting heavier, before she let out a calming breath. ¡°I see. That sounds¡­ wonderful for you. Excuse me. I¡¯m¡­gonna go for a walk.¡± She got up gracefully, and walked out of the tent, leaving Nick and Myron together with their tea.

    ¡°Huh¡­ What¡¯s up with her?¡±

    Myron looked left and right, his face taking on a look of concentration. Nick got the feeling he was searching for the right words, as he drank his tea.

    He set his tea down. ¡°She¡­ is not used to this world yet. She¡¯s worried about the people, the customs. It seems the people of Orion are¡­ perhaps a little different from what she expected. I would not worry about this, as she just needs some time to accept that things might be different than she originally pictured.¡±

    Nick arched his brow at Myron. A lot of his words felt like partial truths, obscuring the real reason. There was clearly something up, and it likely had to do with this Fated thing, but he left it alone because he could feel the intentions of Myron were good. Also, Myron did believe the last part.

    ¡°Huh. Well, I already gave my promise, my Pact. I¡¯m going to do everything I can to make sure you and your people are welcome, Myron. That¡¯s not to say it¡¯ll all be sunshine and rainbows: the people of Frosthaven might have their own stigmas against Outlanders like yourselves, and of course, Blackthorne is after us. But there¡¯s law and order within Frosthaven, and you will be treated like any other citizen of it.¡±

    Myron smiled. ¡°And I thank you for that in advance. Heavens know, that two Clans often have difficulty getting along.¡± He grinned. ¡°I look forward to letting some other poor soul take the lead in managing that for once. So what¡¯s the plan for you, and us, once we get back to Frosthaven? This Blackthorne¡­¡±

    Nick sighed. ¡°No rest for the wicked, huh? Well, I have a special resource that must be earned and claimed, the Frostspire Mines¨Cbut it¡¯s full of ice demons. Supposedly, some are in the Third Stratum. Then, underneath Frosthaven, is a special place called The Barrows. I have several challenges to unlock benefits there, a Heritage left by my people. I¡¯ve only recently gotten strong enough to face those challenges, so soon after I rejoin my wives, we¡¯ll be looking to challenge them.¡±

    Myron looked more than a little excited about this, the stars in his eyes lighting up. ¡°An ancient Heritage? Please, tell me more about this.¡±

    Nick chuckled at his excitement, and told him a little about the mall. How there were four separate wings with special challenges, that would likely unlock special resources or structures¨Cjust like what had already been unlocked.

    ¡°Fascinating. You must hurry, and claim your birthright! This is common among powerful cultivator clans. Your bloodline must truly be special.¡± Myron looked Nick over again from head to toe, and suddenly had a proud smile on his face.

    ¡°Why are you looking proud about this, old man? You¡¯re acting weird.¡±

    Myron coughed. ¡°I¡­ uh¡­ Never mind this. Now, I can feel you are nearly on the cusp of Golden¨Cthe Third Stratum. But your Foundations are not quite at where they should be for a true elite, there is much you can do to prepare. You aren¡¯t going to rush it to face this Blackthorne, are you?¡±

    Nick shook his head. ¡°Actually, I¡¯m not all that worried about that guy any longer. We just gained a defensive building, and we¡¯ll have another before he could conceivably arrive. As strong as he might be, he cannot deny geography or the need for numbers¨Can army. I plan on preparing my foundations for a few months, then I¡¯ll enter the Ordeal in hopes of reaching the Third Stratum when I come out. We should have more than two or three months before he could possibly arrive there, and that¡¯s if he left today.¡±

    He added with a grin, ¡°And it¡¯s not just me that will get stronger. Our army is growing in both numbers and strength, and his people have only shrunk in numbers as we have won victories over him. I have mercenaries and freed monsterfolk slaves coming, your people, and more. I¡¯ll get Silverbrook and maybe even other Kingdoms involved, and we¡¯ll outclass his army in every way possible by then.¡±

    Myron grinned, but he had a thoughtful frown on his face. ¡°Your world is strange, that people cannot fly on implements. A few months, then? Good¡­good. That should hopefully be enough time for¡­¡± He coughed again, and got a weird look on his face. ¡°Anyway, how is it that you ascend here on Orion?¡±

    ¡°For Ordeal Owners, we fight within the Ordeal and once we¡¯ve completed the 20th Floor, it will grant resources tailored to us, provided the difficulty was enough¨Cthat we were properly Tested. Then we¡¯ll use our Concept or Ascension Chamber, where we cultivate and ascend. That¡¯ll be another thing I need to upgrade soon.¡±

    Myron frowned. ¡°Just what is an Ordeal, anyway? That¡¯s the towers, right? While we learned a little from our¡­interrogations of the bandits, many of them had never actually been inside one. It felt a little complicated, for how people cultivated.¡±

    Nick snorted. ¡°How much time you got, buddy?¡± He let out an exaggerated breath. ¡°Settle in, this is gonna take a while.¡±

    He did his best to explain the logic of Orion, the Ordeals and their Tests, Trials, and Tribulations. Paths, Ordeal Owners, and more. He told him about a few of his adventures, giving examples of what it was like inside of them.

    Myron had found it all fascinating, though it didn¡¯t make him nearly as excited as his ¡®ancient heritage.¡¯

    ¡°Interesting, so it¡¯s kind of like what we set up for our young ones. We often build pocket realms that include challenges, so that new cultivators can compete to earn these resources. After all, if you merely grant a novice everything they need to excel without conflict, they will simply become a greenhouse flower that wilts under any kind of adversity. But to think it¡¯s on such a large scale, these Shards¡­and then Ordeals are tied to a Kingdom¡¯s development. And these Paths¡­it almost sounds like your Fates are tied to your citizens¡­very peculiar¡­ I wonder¡­¡±

    The man froze at Nick¡¯s gaze. Nick asked, ¡°You wonder?¡±

    Myron frowned in thought, and was seemingly searching for his words. ¡°This¡­ Pact is difficult to get used to. While I don¡¯t want to lie to you, it still feels weird to even¡­ lightly obscure something from you. I¡¯m sorry, Young Lord. I made a promise to someone, and I intend to keep it. I¡¯ll have to keep that particular thought to myself.¡±

    Nick shrugged. ¡°Fair enough, old man, anytime you aren¡¯t comfortable answering my questions it won¡¯t really bother me. How long before we hear from your scouts? My wives will likely be heading in from the other side in the next few days, so if there¡¯s any danger, we should be able to wait for them to arrive with some of my forces, in order for us to receive some help.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s reassuring, and it shouldn¡¯t be too much longer before we hear from the scouts, unless something has gone wrong. I just had a thought, however. Why do you think Blackthorne¡¯s people were also given the path, the objective to flee through the cave in the mountains?¡±

    Nick snorted¨Che had already thought about this exact detail. ¡°Because if you lost, Thresh would have been able to attack Frosthaven through them, penalizing me for my failure if I just ran away when I lost. It increased my personal risk to the maximum. They could have taken a shortcut to Shadowvale if they wanted, too.¡±

    Myron blanched. ¡°Merciless heavens. Orion truly is cutthroat, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s like it called you out here to a death trap, from what was a certain victory. You prevailed, but only barely.¡±

    Nick grinned. ¡°It is. But that¡¯s why the rewards were as good as they were. And that¡¯s why when I conquer the 20th Floor, I definitely won¡¯t be far from challenging Blackthorne, that¡¯s for sure.¡±

    Myron grinned back, and looked a little proud with how he looked over Nick again. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. The fact that you wounded Thresh so, and delayed that Devilsaur at your realm of cultivation, your stratum, was quite impressive. Still, someone at the peak of the Third Stratum will be quite different from someone at the beginning of it. You would do well to improve your Foundations, maximizing all your methods to power before ascending.¡±

    ¡°Worry about yourself, old man. I¡¯m going to need to give you and your wife, and all those in the Second Stratum or above, new bodies, then we¡¯ll see if your people are as good as you think you are. I can¡¯t wait to hear how you sweat your ass off in the sweltering jungle, or manage the many bugs and sandstorms in the hot and dry desert in the Path of Kings Ordeal.¡±

    Myron chuckled, and gave him a proud smile. ¡°Bring it on. My wife will crush this Lava Elemental with her tetsubo with ease, there¡¯s not a single doubt in my mind about that.¡±

    Nick couldn¡¯t help but smirk at that. It was definitely true that the Star Oni women were something else. If she was a true elite, maybe it wouldn¡¯t even be that challenging for them. At the same time, however, if they weren¡¯t Tested, that means their rewards, their gains, would be less.

    However, already having the mastery of the Dao, would quickly translate to having Concepts, much like Jasmine. Because it was already a part of their soul, it wouldn¡¯t take long to be able to manifest it on Orion.

    ¡°Patriarch! We have news.¡± A man¡¯s voice entered the tent, a little distressed. He rushed inside, carrying a scroll.

    ¡°What did you learn?¡± Myron asked.

    The man spread out the scroll on Myron¡¯s table, revealing an¡­empty scroll. The man then waved his hand, and it was like he spilled stardust on it. Within moments, the map transformed into a three-dimensional drawing.

    He tapped his hand near the lower-left corner of the map. ¡°We¡¯re here, in the western portion. As you can see, the cave descends rather rapidly. However, after a dozen miles roughly, the cave opens up to an underground world. It¡¯s quite expansive.¡±

    Nick¡¯s eyes widened with shock. The tunnel in the drawing expanded to the north and east, and it looked like an immense valley, one that rivaled the area of Shadowvale, potentially hundreds of miles across, if he was reading the map correctly. However, that wasn¡¯t what made Nick alarmed. The formations drawn looked a lot like¡­

    Myron pointed, ¡°There¡¯s a road here? Heading to this very cave, to the Southeast toward Frosthaven, and then into the North?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Now, underground, and limited to the meridian cleansing¡­the First Stratum, that is¡­ our connection to starlight is low. However¡­ around this area, about two hundred or so miles to the North at the base of the valley, appeared to be the makings of some sort of city. And, at the center¡­ a Tower.¡±

    Nick was more than a little alarmed now. He asked, ¡°What about the residents? What kind of people did you see?¡±

    The man shook his head. ¡°We could not see the city well at all, it was obscured by something, a strange mist or a fog¨Cwe could only barely make out the tower, and the structures underneath. We did not see any people underground, not even on the roads. Only monsters. As soon as we obtained this information, we fled to make our report. We wanted to get a better view, but weak as we are on this world, we knew this could be foolish.¡±

    Myron nodded. ¡°You did good. Excellent work.¡±

    The scout eventually left after a few more answered questions, and Nick was left to stew on the issue. They had to cross through this underground world to get his new people to home as promised, but that was just the start of his concerns.

    Based on the scout¡¯s description, Nick was guessing that it was a Monster Kingdom. And, it was just as close to Frosthaven as Shadowvale was originally. From it, could be a opportunity for his people. Or perhaps, the greatest danger to his people and Kingdom yet.

    END OF BOOK 3

 Book 3 - Preorder Announcement and Stub Notice

    Hey guys! It''s that time again. Soul Knight Book 3 is available for Preorder on Amazon, releasing January 30th, 2025. I plan to pull it down on or around 1/26, so do your best to read it before then if you don''t want to get stuck. As always, I will provide the scribblehub/royalroad version to anyone who asks on my discord after 1/30.

    US Store Link: https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B0DTFXNDJ2</a>

    So please give it a preorder, wishlist, or download when it comes out, and tell your friends!

    The book will be available on Kindle Unlimited, so that means anyone subscribed can give the book a read for free. I have added all the fixes people provided me, as well as all my personal edits and additions. There is easily an extra 20-30k words in book 3 that were added in my second and third pass, and so there is plenty of content not seen here on Scribblehub/Royalroad. There is even an extra explicit/bonus scene that I plan on adding, though as usual, they are not required in order to enjoy the story.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    In other news, Bonded Summoner Book 7 is going to be my next major focus, and if I do end up writing a few chapters here and there for Soul Knight book 4 before then, it would be mostly considered a bonus. I will first be releasing chapters onto Patreon, and then continuing here on Scribblehub/Royalroad after sufficient chapters have been accumulated of either series. It will probably be a little more than a month here for BS7 t begin, but I will be continuing.

    Soon, there will also be a Bonded Summoner Omnibus (Books 1-3) released for both Ebook and Audio, so it will be a great time to get into the books within the next month! My plan is to price at either $0.99 or $2.99 USD, which will be less than $1 per book, a fantastic deal. It will be 1 Audible credit for the 3 books, 48 hours of performed audio by skilled narrators, so that is amazing as well.

    Anyway, I hope you guys really enjoyed Book 3 just as much as the others, and are looking forward to book 4. I can''t wait to begin writing it in about 3-4 months from now. Thank you all for reading and your feedback, and I hope I''ll see you all again next time.

 Book 3 is now available on Amazon! 1000 Pages of epic Tower Climbing goodness!

    Hey, everyone! JJ here. Book 3 is now available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited.

    You may have already read it here, but Book 3 contains several new scenes and fluffy moments with the girls, as well as nearly 30,000 words of detail. Big thanks to Zeroreader for also providing many many grammatical errors and fixes this time, improving the overall quality of the amazon release.

    Book 2 is now also available on Audible, for 20 hours of professionally narrated goodness by Alyssa Poon (Primary Narrator, plus voices for all the girls) and Evan Jordan (voices for all male characters). Both are rated fantastically, hundreds of listeners enjoying the value. Audible always has a deal for 2 credits for only $0.99 each to start, and I think it''s a great way to experience the book. I especially love Winny, Rebecca, and Jasmine''s voices. Even Lumos''s automaton voice is very well done and I thought Alyssa did a fantastic job. https://www.audible.com/pd/Soul-Knight-Audiobook/B0D6GXHYDX</a>Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B0DTFXNDJ2 - Amazon US Store link.

    In other news, for those of you that didn''t catch it, Bonded Summoner 7 will be my next book I work on. I might sneak a few soul knight chapters here and there (not sure yet), but that will be my focus, and I will soon be releasing the chapters onto Patreon first. We probably have about a month before we''ll see them posted on Bonded Summoner here on RR/Scribblehub

    I will be releasing a Bonded Summoner Omnibus that includes books 1-3, for only $0.99 USD. I will likely increase the price later to $2.99, so look out for my post soon! It''s likely to be set for Feb 20th release.

    https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/61830/bonded-summoner-stubbing-book-6-615

    Make sure to watch there! Thanks so much for all your support, and I hope you''ll continue to enjoy and read my books. See you guys next time.

 Bonded Summoner Omnibus Release + Announcements

    Hey guys. Bonded Summoner Books 1-3 are now available on both Kindle for only $0.99 in a single package, and Audible for a single credit (48 hours of professionally narrated Audio!)

    You can find the Ebook here on Amazon: https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B0DVWFPTP1</a>

    And the 48 hour audiobook on Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/Bonded-Summoner-Omnibus-Books-1-3-Audiobook/B0DVZTTSP5</a>

    As for if there are any differences in the Ebook from previous versions, there isn''t much (beyond the Scribblehub/Royalroad version, that is -- on the Kindle version there are bonus chapters, many new scenes, a proofreader cleaned up the book, and more). I had a proofreader go through books 2 and 3 for errors and clean up the books a little further much like they did book 1, though looking at it as I re-read it, I may have somehow introduced a few. Frustrating. Somehow accepting the modifications added or removed spaces in weird places, creating a typo. Unsure why, but I cleaned up like 2 dozen of them just from my read through. I doubt I found them all.

    ANYWAY, if you purchase the ebook for $0.99 or audiobook, or give it a download and re-read on Kindle Unlimited and leave a rating, it helps me a TON! If you got time, it''s an excellent one to give the story a good reread -- after all, BS7 is on the horizon. It''ll help you get refreshed on the story and ready for the new book!Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    For those that follow me on Patreon, I recently released Chapter 6 for Bonded Summoner Book 7 for the Legendary supporters, and the Prologue for the Epic Supporters, and I am releasing it on a M/W/F schedule. I am making excellent headway on the book, and that means a few things. That means that chapters should resume here on RR/Scribblehub for Bonded Summoner on Monday, March 3rd, and I should finish the book in a little over a month or so, and get back to writing Soul Knight 4.

    I''ve already been plugging away at Soul Knight Book 4, so hence the announcement here for that. I may release chapters on Patreon here and there once I feel I''ve made enough progress, and that means I will eventually resume here on RR/Scribblehub, perhaps before Bonded Summoner 7 has been completed -- I''m not sure yet. I don''t want to make promises, but I''ve already got a couple of chapters mostly done. I really don''t want to go over 6 months without writing a chapter from either of my 2 series again, so I will definitely do my best to work on it frequently.

    So just watch here: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/61830/bonded-summoner-stubbing-book-6-615</a>

    For updates, and soon BS7 will begin airing once more. In about a Month I will have more news. I actually update about each month on the 8th, you can subscribe for free like a mailing list where I only really give updates monthly and about releases. I won''t spam you guys (though it might feel that way when things all align, audiobook releases + new book all at once, etc). https://www.patreon.com/c/JJBookerson</a>

    Thanks for all your support guys, and I''ll see you guys next time.