GERMINATION

©2022 SETH RING

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ALSO IN SERIES

Domestication

Germination

Cultivation

CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Thank you for reading Germination

Groups

LitRPG

CHAPTER 1

This one is a failure as well.

Sighing, John stared morosely at the thick, golden wheat waving gently in the late spring winds. The heavy grains were plump and healthy, but the problem was that each contained a kernel of mana that would kill a regular human as soon as it passed their lips. Of the five one-acre parcels John had planted the previous year, he was currently staring at the one with the lowest mana concentration, but even that was likely to be lethal, especially if consumed in any quantity.

It seems like the problem is the plant can’t process the mana so it’s just storing it, which leads to the buildup. This would be great for beasts to eat, since their bodies can naturally process mana, but for normal humans and animals, it will kill them almost instantly.

Standing up from where he crouched, John reached out, picking some of the grains from a stalk and throwing them into his mouth. The mana in the grains was absorbed into his body as he crunched on the hard seeds, immediately brought under his control by his maxed-out Mana Control skill. The trace amounts of mana hardly made a difference as the mana in his body continued to flow out, powering the Mental Model skill he was currently using.

He had picked up the incredibly useful spell in the ruins of the Mage’s tower he had explored the previous fall, and over the winter his near-constant use of the skill had allowed him to grow it to thirty-eight points. As it continued to work, sucking away his mana, he idly opened his status, expanding it to show his skills and quests.

Name: John Sutton

Age: 28

Class: Mage

Spells: 1

Active Quests: [Grow Wheat]

Skill List: [Mana Breath: 00], [Arcane Tongue: 00], [Mana Sense: 00], [Mana Reinforcement: 00], [Mental Model: 38]

Skill Points: 0

Spell List: [Fireball (Basic)]

Quest List: [Prevent the Apocalypse], [Grow Wheat]

Doom Points: 73/100

At least I was able to get my Doom Points down. I’m lucky using Mental Model doesn’t count toward generating more of them, otherwise I’d be up near one hundred by now, if not well over.

The Mental Model skill hadn’t been the only thing he’d found in the ruins. From the adventurers who had led him to the ruins he had recovered a full set of water spells that led all the way from the apprentice level up to legendary. Though he hadn’t decided what he wanted to do with them, they were beyond valuable in a world that had lost ninety-nine percent of its magical knowledge.

Closing his status, John turned and let his eyes sweep over the farm, taking in the idyllic setting. When he had arrived at the farm eight months earlier, it had been run-down and starting to fall apart, despite Ellie’s and Ben’s best efforts. The constant harassment from the bandits of Wolf Den had added to the general disrepair of the farm, but the main problem had just been that there was too much for a young woman and pre-teen boy to handle alone.

Today, the Sutton Farm that appeared in his view was nothing like the broken-down Burrows homestead he had gotten the deed for. Their herd of cows had grown to nearly forty after their latest batch of calves were born and the chickens had expanded to nearly three dozen, providing them with a steady stream of eggs. Glancing back at the twenty acres of regular wheat ripening in the sun, John had trouble keeping the smile from his face. After having spent a decade scrabbling around in the mud, desperate to preserve his life, there was something truly fulfilling about seeing things grow and mature thanks to the hard work of his hands.

Hearing the chime of a bell, John glanced toward the house where Ellie was calling everyone for dinner. Over the winter he had continued to expand his new home, finishing the bathroom and combining the two smaller rooms into one large room for Ellie. Ben had started spending most of his nights in the bunkhouse with Thomas and Even, so Ellie had the room in the house to herself.

“Mr. Sutton,” a thin young man of around twenty years old greeted John as he walked past the cheese cellar.

“How was the delivery this morning, Even?”

Even had been helping on the farm over the winter and had proven himself to be as hard working as anyone. He mainly took care of the milking with Thomas and handled the daily milk, butter, and cheese deliveries the farm made around the valley. Though John still didn’t know much about Even, he had come highly recommended by Sven and had proven his work ethic through his steady efforts.

“It went well. We’ve got three special orders from the village, and even one from the Esters.”

“Oh? What do the Esters want?”

“It’s Mrs. Esters’ birthday soon, so Mr. Esters stopped me and asked me to add a bit of cheese to their order. He paid me already.”

“Great. Add one of the small wheels of brie and one of the stamped cheese cutters Gofreid brought us. I’ll ask Ellie to write a note to send along as well.”

A wide smile crossed Even’s face, and he nodded enthusiastically as he made a note on his order forms. From the little John did know about Even, he knew the Esters had been one of the families that had helped Even out when the orphaned young man was all alone.

“Yes, sir!”

Nodding to Even, John turned to go up onto the porch, stopping when a shadow fell over him. Looking up, he saw a majestic-looking rooster staring down at him from the roof, a haughty look on his face. Sigvald had grown by more than a foot over the winter and was nearly four feet tall thanks to the steady diet of condensed mana crystals John had been feeding him. His red and orange feathers gleamed in the light, almost appearing to carry a metallic sheen, and the thick dark-blue and violet tail feathers that jutted almost five feet into the air behind him gave him a regal look. A black leather eyepatch Ellie had sown up for him covered one of the rooster’s eyes where he had been injured last fall by an adventurer’s blade, and even though his eye was perfectly fine, the rooster continued to insist on wearing it.

Rolling his eyes, John reached into his pocket for some of the mana-infused grains he had grabbed for further study and flicked them up at the rooster. Eyes gleaming, Sigvald grabbed them out of the air with his beak with lightning-fast strikes, returning to his proud look a moment later. Ignoring the prideful bird, John walked up onto the porch and into the kitchen. Nothing much had changed about the kitchen apart from adding hot water to the sink, and after washing his hands, he dried them on the hanging towel and took his seat. Ellie was still putting everything on the table, and John found himself following her with his eyes as she bustled about. Catching him looking at her, Ellie smiled and gestured toward the fields behind the house.

“Any luck?”

“No,” John said, shaking his head. “Still having the same problem. The wheat is picking up the mana, but it’s just storing it. It can’t actually process it. I need to figure out a way for the plant to use the mana itself.”

“I guess that just leaves the night flowers.”

Thinking about the flowers Ellie was talking about, John nodded. They had planted the flowers he’d received from the grimm in pots in the cheese cellar, and under the magical light of the mana lamps the flowers had been thriving. Though they had not tested it again, John remembered the effect the exposed flower had had on the surrounding plants clearly. Somehow, exposing the flowers to sunlight transformed them into a mist that caused other plants to bloom almost instantly. Considering that the night flowers were practically made from mana, John was very interested in how they allowed other plants to absorb the mana they were made from.

“Yeah, we might have to start some experiments with them. However, that will need to wait until after harvest.”

The door opened, and John saw a short man walk into the kitchen, followed by Even and Ben. Though he had always known that his former adjutant was highly adaptable, John continued to marvel at how well Thomas had settled into his role as farmhand. With an instinctive sense for what needed to be done and an almost obsessive level of organization, Thomas completed not only his own tasks, but much more, leading John to the suspicion that if Thomas were to leave, Sutton Farm would quickly fall apart. Sticking close to his side was Ben, who was still learning how to handle a dagger in the early mornings before the first milking started.

Everyone sat down at the table and Ellie started passing out the food, loading generous portions onto each person’s plate. As they ate, they talked about the farm and what still needed to be done to get ready for the harvest time that would soon be upon them.

“Gofreid will be back soon, right?” Ellie asked, looking at John.

Shrugging, John dipped a piece of his bread crust into his soup and popped it into his mouth.

“I’m not sure. I would expect him soon, but the passes are just starting to clear, so it might still be a month before the caravans can make it through.”

“Okay, that should give us enough time for the first aged batches to finish up, but I’m a bit worried that with harvest approaching we won’t have time to keep our cheese production going.”

“Thomas and I can handle the harvest,” John said. “Do you want more help with cheese?”

“Maybe,” Ellie nodded. “Between cooking and cleaning and the garden, I feel like our production has fallen behind.”

“Well, keep your eye out. If you see someone you’d like to bring on, let me know.”

After lunch had ended, everyone went back to work, and John headed for the pasture where Ferdie was kept. The giant bull was happily munching on grass at the far end of the field, but when he caught sight of John, he trotted over. Putting down the new post he was going to use to repair the fence, John grabbed the old one and pulled it out of the ground. Time and the elements had weakened it, and he had seen a split running down it after Ferdie had gotten too excited while using it to scratch his back.

Tossing the broken post aside, John pushed the new post into the ground, easily sinking it an extra two feet down. Patting the ground around it to make sure it would stand up straight, he glanced around to make sure no one was near and then used a tiny blue flame to burn the cutouts into it for the rails. The fence was more for show than anything, since the cows never strayed far from Ferdie when they were out of the barn, but John still made it strong, just so he wouldn’t have to fix it again for a long time. Hearing a deep moo, John finished resetting the rails and looked up at Ferdie, who was looking at him expectantly.

“What’s up?”

Mooing again, Ferdie jerked his head and then trotted toward the far end of the pasture where a large rock stood. Realizing the bull wanted him to follow, John slipped through the fence. Thanks to the higher-than-average mana content of the valley, the grass in the pasture grew quickly enough for the cows, but due to the high yield of corn in the fall of last year, they had been able to switch to a better diet over the winter and were still feeding the cows a nice feed mix of corn, hay, and silage. There was a lot to farming that John still didn’t know, but he was having tremendous fun learning.

At first, John thought the rock had grown, but he quickly realized it had just been pushed up at an angle by the plant that was growing under it. Throughout the winter, John had been feeding Ferdie mana crystals almost daily, but at least once a week the bull demanded an extra crystal for the plant he was caring for, and the effect was obvious. From a small plant with a few of the broccoli-like pods, the plant had grown by at least a dozen times. Ten branch-like structures had spread from the thick trunk of the plant, and as John walked over they swayed lightly as if welcoming him.

Huh, what a strange plant.

John had seen the plant absorbing the mana from one of his mana crystals and hadn’t thought too much about it, figuring it was just like the other plants that stored up the mana in pockets, but as he examined it now, he was surprised to see that far from having pockets of concentrated mana, the plant actually had a mana circulation system that was much closer to Ferdie’s. Instead of pulling mana in through its roots to store in its leaves and flowers like a normal plant, this strange thing seemed to work the opposite way. Mana was being pulled in through the delicate pod structures at the end of branches that looked like broccoli. The mana it was taking in this way was being funneled back through the trunk system and being sent down into the roots.

Curious. I wonder if it has any nutritional value?

Abruptly, the plant seemed to curl in on itself, its branches turning over to reveal small thorns while it tucked its pods down close to its trunk. Clearly able to sense the potential threat John posed, the plant continued to tighten until it looked like a tough, spiky ball, leaving John shocked. Next to the plant, Ferdie let out an angry moo, as if chiding John for scaring the plant. Giving John a look, the bull huffed on the plant and pawed the ground.

“Sorry, sheesh. It was just an idle thought,” John said, holding up his hand defensively.

Ugh. I really am going crazy. Why am I apologizing to a plant?

About to turn around, John suddenly froze as a blue window popped up in front of him.

[New Quest Generated: Discover the Secrets of Intelligence]

[Discover the Secrets of Intelligence: You have encountered two animals with near-human levels of intelligence and a mana-consuming plant that exhibits unplantlike behavior. Discover the secret to the three beings’ intelligence by finding the main root system of the strange plant.]

CHAPTER 2

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Ellie said, looking closely at the plant.

After getting a quest out of nowhere, John had called Ellie over, hoping she would be able to shed some light on the plant. Ellie had been trained as a Witch by her grandmother, so John had his fingers crossed that she would have encountered something like it before, but watching her examine the plant, that hope vanished.

“I’m sorry. I wish I could be of more help.”

“No, that’s fine. It’s not like this blasted game ever makes anything easy.”

“Pardon?”

Realizing he had just said his thoughts out loud, John waved his hand.

“Nothing, don’t worry about it. I just thought it might be something pretty unique. It can absorb mana like a beast and seems to understand us to some extent.”

“Like Sigvald and Ferdie?”

“Yeah. Actually, something tells me that this plant has something to do with Ferdie’s intelligence. Though, I have no evidence and it’s more of a hunch than anything else.”

“Do you think the plant is magically active?”

“It’s highly magically active,” John nodded, crouching down next to the plant. “These pods pull ambient mana in from the air, feeding it into the main body of the plant. Those trace amounts of mana aren’t much, but it’s at least as good as what a beast could do. Possibly even better.”

Her face lighting up, Ellie crouched down next to John.

“Oh, that’s great! It gives us a new angle for the wheat, right?”

Over the winter, John had shared his goal for the wheat with Ellie, and they had been working together to keep track of the progress the plants were making. Or not making, as the case might be.

“It does, but I don’t know anything about grafting or cross-pollinating plants. Especially from different species.”

“It’s a shame we don’t have my grandmother’s notes,” Ellie said, looking wistful. “She had a lot of books on plants and growing things. But I had to leave all of that behind.”

“Do the books still exist? If they do, we could recover them.”

“Probably, but they’re not in the valley. We lived in a small forest to the northwest of Kingsmouth.”

“That’s the city closest to the valley, right? I think I came through there on the way here.”

“Yes. After she died, I lived in Kingsmouth for a number of years and then came here, to the valley. It’s at least a two-week trip there and back, but maybe we could hitch a ride with Gofreid’s caravan to go to the city and then take a trip out to the house.”

“Hmm. It’s not very safe outside the valley,” John said, shaking his head. Seeing Ellie’s sad expression, he held up his hand. “Let’s revisit the topic when Gofreid comes. For now, however, I want to know if you’ve made your decision regarding finishing your class.”

Ellie’s face grew still as she heard John’s question and her fingers twisted in her apron. Ever since the day when John had told her there might be a chance of completing the class ceremony her grandmother had started with her, she had been caught between hope that one of her longest-held wishes might come true and a gnawing fear that she would fail, completely severing her last connection to her grandmother.

Seeing that she was still torn, John didn’t rush her. Choosing to undergo a class ceremony wasn’t typically a dangerous thing, though it certainly could go wrong. The real danger for Ellie was that she was actually on the cusp of failure. Her grandmother had managed to stop the process halfway through, right before Ellie’s mana vessel completely cracked, but the cracks had already started to form. Even if they were able to pick the right element to use as her medium, it would be a challenge for Ellie to make it through the ceremony.

“If you’re still not sure, you can have more time to think about it. I can just feel a storm building, so there will probably be a good one coming on Friday.”

“It will be on Saturday, early in the morning,” Ellie said after glancing up at the sky.

“Saturday then. It should be a good chance for us to test the hypothesis that your medium is storms. But like I said, we can just forget about it if you want more time to decide.”

Shaking her head, Ellie’s eyes took on a determined look and she stood up.

“No, there’s no value in pushing this off. But would you mind if I talked this through with you one more time? I know I’ve just been repeating myself, but it helps me to get my head around all of it.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

Taking a deep breath, Ellie closed her eyes for a moment. Opening them and meeting John’s gaze squarely, she began to slow talk through her thoughts.

“There are two possible outcomes if we go through with this. First, if we picked the right medium, I should be able to complete the class ceremony, making me an apprentice level Witch. That would allow me to use the spells my grandmother taught me, and if we were able to recover her library, I could learn more spells. However, the other option is that the medium isn’t right and it will crack my mana vessel, preventing me from ever using mana again.”

“Correct. Or it might just kill you outright,” John said, his voice placid.

“Right. It might just kill me.”

Falling silent, Ellie’s eyes dropped to the gently waving branches of the strange plant, and she crouched down again, tucking her knees under her chin. Watching her, John could sense the intense turmoil boiling in her mind. No one was entirely free of the fear of death, though it was honestly not something he had thought about for a long time. About to tell her to just forget it, he was surprised when Ellie nodded her head.

“I’ll do it. I’m tired of living in limbo like this. And I don’t want my grandmother’s legacy to rot away to nothing. I’ll do it.”

“Alright. Then we’ll start the process this Saturday,” John said, standing up and offering Ellie a hand.

Missing the slight blush on her cheeks as she took his hand and rose to her feet, John’s mind spun as he developed a plan.

“We’ll want to take it in steps, and the first step is to try and confirm your medium. You mentioned that your grandmother talked about having an instinctive connection with the stars, right? That being out under starlight made her really happy? That is what we’re going to test for with the storm. First, do you feel a strong connection? Does it make you happy? Once we’ve determined those things, we’ll either proceed with the rest of the class ceremony, or we’ll put it on pause and re-evaluate. If we do decide to go through with the class ceremony, we’ll need to introduce mana into your body to kickstart the process again. I think I have a solution for that, but we have some testing to do before we know if it will work.”

“Can’t you use your mana?”

Pausing, John was a little unsure how to answer. They still hadn’t talked about his actual class, but he was starting to suspect that Ellie knew he wasn’t a Royal Knight like he’d pretended to be. Even if that was the case, he wasn’t sure if he was ready to have a conversation about what one of the only two mages in the world was doing hanging out on a farm on the outskirts of the empire. Though, to be fair, after reading the note Storm Master Kelvis had left behind, John wasn’t sure there were only two mages left. According to the note, there were other legendary or even sage level mages who were still hiding in the shadows.

“My mana is, um, a bit too potent for your body to handle. It’s also oriented toward flame, which will make converting it into your own mana much harder.”

“You mentioned that last time. But I don’t quite understand.”

“Since you’re determined to go through with this, come with me. I have a book for you to read that should shed some light on it.”

Saying goodbye to Ferdie and the strange plant, John and Ellie walked back to the house where John got out the Basic Arcanum, the book that had been kept in the safe next to the Mental Model skill scroll. All winter he had been working his way through it, and he could feel his knowledge around magic had bloomed tremendously. Even the most simple of the chapters had opened up whole new worlds for him. While he had been powerful enough to brute-force his way through nearly any problem before, his new understanding of why mana acted as it did allowed him to refine his abilities to an astounding degree.

“You mentioned that you were taught how to read runes, right? Can you read this?”

Frowning, Ellie put her finger on the cover of the book and began to trace the runes.

“Um… Simple? No, Basic, uh, arcane?”

“Close, Basic Arcanum. This is one of the things we pulled out of the ruined tower. It’s a primer for apprentice level Mages.”

Drawing in a sharp breath, Ellie pulled her finger back as if it’d been burned. Slightly surprised by her response, John cocked his head to the side.

“Why are you afraid? Your grandmother was a Witch who used magic.”

“Yes, but she wasn’t a Mage. She always warned me that Mages were dangerous and their magic was even more dangerous.”

“Oh?” John’s eyebrows rose. “I thought magic was just magic. Is there a difference between Mage and Witch magic?”

Nodding, Ellie took a moment to think before she answered, doing her best to recall the conversation from such a long time ago. While she was thinking, John filled the kettle and put it on the stove to start the water boiling. Seeing what he was doing, Ellie got two cups from the cupboard. Placing them on the table, she let out a small sigh.

“As best I can remember, the difference is in how well the mana works with the world. Witches have a medium, and that medium ensures that the mana remains natural, which allows it to return to nature once it’s been used. It’s the same for beasts. They use mana naturally, but once used, the mana returns to the world, rejoining what my grandmother called the great cycle. Mages are different. They pull mana out of the great cycle and force it into different shapes by imprinting it with their will.

“But the stronger their will, the harder it is for mana to return to the great cycle. This is why there are forbidden lands now where the Mage’s forbidden-level spells were unleashed. That mana, which should be part of the great cycle, has been locked out of returning to nature because of the remaining will of the Mage who cast the spell. Grandmother said that Mages dominate the world, instead of existing alongside it like Witches do. And that domination twists their hearts. That’s why we had to hide our existence.”

Falling silent, Ellie returned to the cupboard for the honey while John stood by the stove, lost in thought. What Ellie was saying resonated with not only his experience, but the information he had learned from Basic Arcanum. The first and most basic skill apprentice mages were taught was meditation, which was really just a glorified way of seizing mana from the world and storing it for future use. The focus from there was in understanding how the world worked to better bend it to the Mage’s will.

Stifling the helpless laugh that rose in his chest, John stared morosely down at the kettle. Far from the normal path, he had stumbled into magic from the opposite end. The brutal world he’d landed in demanded that he first learn to bend the world to his will before he knew even the first thing about it. No one had taught him anything about magic, and even his attempts to convince Katrine to pass on what her master, Storm Master Kelvis, had taught her proved fruitless. Instead, he was forced to stumble his way forward, transforming himself into something outside the realm of possibility in the process.

Shaken from his spiraling thoughts by the whistle of the kettle, John let out his breath to clear his head and brought the kettle to the table to fill up the teapot Ellie had prepared. The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes as they waited for the tea to steep, each occupied with their own thoughts. Once the tea was ready and Ellie was pouring it, John tapped the book on the table.

“Well, however dangerous their understanding, I’ve read through it, and their ideas certainly are interesting. I think it would be helpful for you to read through. They have a systematic understanding of mana that makes it really easy to understand. For example, they actually reference the situation you’re in currently, which means they had a good understanding of how class transference works. I think we can benefit from that. Reading their books won’t harm you, even if you don’t like their ideas, but I’d be happy to discuss what you think about them. The runes are a bit archaic so I’ve done a translation of the more old-fashioned words and terms, but you should be able to work it out.”

Nodding, Ellie took a sip of her tea and pulled the book in front of her. Slightly hesitant, she opened the cover and looked at the first page. While it was not the first time she had seen John’s handwriting, she was surprised by how crisp and firm it was. Taking another sip of tea, as if fortifying her heart, she flipped to the first page. John’s notes had been added in the margins in small but perfectly ordered letters, and the same script ran under all the ancient runes that ran across the pages.

“Thank you, I’ll read over this.”

“If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I don’t know if I’ll be able to help you answer them, but I’ll try,” John said, shrugging.

Watching Ellie start to read, John sipped his tea, his mind drifting to the small box and three books that still sat in his room. The three tomes contained Storm Master Kelvis’ lifetime of research. Though he had skimmed through them, John’s overall knowledge of magic was way too low to have any sense of what the research was talking about. It was almost like an elementary school student trying to study a doctoral-level dissertation. There was simply too much information he was still missing. His hope was to begin making up the difference through Basic Arcanum and his new Mental Model skill. The real thing weighing on his mind at the moment, however, was the six water spell scrolls in the small box he had recovered from Catherine.

CHAPTER 3

It had taken every ounce of self-control John had to stop himself from immediately learning the spells when he had opened the box in the fall, and since then he hadn’t dared to open it again. Chief among his fears was that he would use them and the spells would vanish forever, just like the skill scroll that had transformed into ash in the ruined library. In all the years he had been in this world, he had only ever seen one other spell scroll, the fireball scroll he had learned his first and only spell from. While that spell scroll hadn’t disintegrated, it hadn’t been usable after he’d learned the spell.

Since he had no idea how spell scrolls were created, he was hesitant to absorb what might be the last spell scrolls in the entire world. He had been poring over Basic Arcanum, trying to see if he could find some information regarding the transmission of spells while having his Mental Model skill work on the question in the background, but so far he hadn’t come up with a solid answer. No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than he heard a soft sound that wasn’t really a sound in his mind and blue boxes started flashing across his vision.

[Query: How are spells transmitted between Mage levels?]

[Answer: According to Basic Arcanum, spells are learned after being purchased or gifted. Purchasing spells likely requires a significant investment, considering that the apprentice is assumed to only possess a single spell. This is unlike skills, as there are three allusions to skills that are not currently possessed. Further, the only way to bypass this cost is to have a master of a higher rank. Considering the bitterness that can be detected in the tone of the text, it’s clear that this is not a requirement that can be bypassed, making it highly likely that a Mage is required for the creation of a spell scroll. Basic Arcanum also mentions schools of magic lost to time, making it likely that spell scroll creation is not a universal skill. If known information is correct, spell scrolls are created by Mages recording their knowledge on a specially prepared material. Anyone who activates the spell scroll then has a chance of learning the spell.]

[Certainty: 86%]

Frowning, John closed his eyes and considered the blue box of text he had just read, thanks to his Mental Model.

A chance of learning the spell? If there’s only a chance, then what is the failure rate for learning a spell?

[Query: What is the failure rate for learning a spell?]

[Answer: Impossible to determine accurately with current knowledge.]

This makes learning the spells risky. Unless, of course, I can figure out how to activate the skill for creating spell scrolls. Huh, I wonder if Katrine knows how to do it? If that’s the only way Mages can pass down spells, I’m sure she does, since Storm Master Kelvis probably didn’t want his magic to die off with her. Plus, she’s talked about finding an apprentice before. But that brings up another question. Why wouldn’t Kelvis have given his research to her? Was there something that kept him from passing it over to her? He put it in the tower a good year before we were summoned, and he had at least a year and a half after to retrieve it, but instead he left it there. I wonder if it was because of those figures he mentioned. The ones who thirst for immortality.

As much as John wanted to learn the spells, he hadn’t survived by rushing into things. It had been the detailed and meticulous thought process that Thomas had beaten into his very bones that had allowed him to survive situations that should have killed him a hundred times over. Now, as he faced the possibility of learning a whole new type of magic, he wanted to make sure he was handling it properly.

He had also considered giving them to Ellie, but that thought had been rejected quickly, since they could only be used by someone with the Mage class. In his case, he had been granted the class as soon as he arrived, allowing him to use the precious fireball spell scroll. Since the type of magic Mages and Witches did was different, it was highly likely that Ellie wouldn’t be able to learn from them, even after she got her class, but he wanted to keep them just in case.

The other major consideration that he had to keep in mind was the interaction between his current elemental bent and the elemental affinity of the spells. Nothing he had read in Basic Arcanum had indicated that Mages operated on the basis of elemental affinity, and the book even went out of its way to explain how the traditional separation of elements was actually an archaic idea. Despite that, it was clear that most Mages focused heavily on particular types of spells. Storm Master Kelvis, for example, not only used wind-based spells, but also water and lightning spells. However, from what John could remember, all of his most powerful spells were based on wind manipulation.

In the same way, John only had a single spell, but through the perfect mana mastery granted him by his Mana Control and Mana Reinforcement, he had been able to bend that simple fireball into a million forms. Even if he were to go and face Storm Master Kelvis today, John was convinced his single fireball spell would not lose out to the legendary Mage’s spells. But that focus on fire magic also came with a downside, in that John had no idea if he could even learn spells of other elements. According to the introduction to magic it wouldn’t be a problem, but adding a whole suite of water-based spells to his repertoire made John genuinely nervous.

Heh, maybe it will just result in me only being able to make hot water. Regardless, if Ellie is successful with her class ceremony and becomes a Witch, I’ll learn the spells. In the meantime, I should probably start trying to figure out how to get the spell scroll creation method. I wonder if I could simulate it with Mental Model?

[Query: Can Mental Model simulate skills?]

[Answer: Yes. Anything can be simulated given enough time and mana.]

“Um, John?”

Snapping out of his daze, John saw that Ellie was looking at him from across the table. Blinking, he realized he had been grinning into thin air, his cup half raised to his lips. Clearing his throat, he placed his cup down without taking a drink.

“Ahem. Yes?”

“I don’t understand this section. It says that mana isn’t inherently elemental? But that’s completely different from what my grandmother said.”

“Ah, yeah. That gave me pause as well. Most of the time when we see mana, it’s through its elemental manifestation. Fireballs, lightning bolts, steam jets, wind blades, you know, all that stuff. But they seem to be trying to make the point that all mana is neutral and just takes the shape of the element, powering it up. Um, for example, you know how both Sigvald and Ferdie are practically beasts? Well, the mana inside them is totally the same. It’s hard to describe if you can’t see mana, but there’s no difference between the mana that circulates in them. But even though they carry the same mana, they manifest it differently. Sigvald transforms it into metallic armor, like a Knight, while Ferdie transforms it into a mixture of fire and earth, sort of like magma.”

“Magma?”

“Superheated soil. Anyway, the point is that they’re both using the same source but it’s taking the shape of their ideas. Honestly, I have no idea if that’s correct or not, but that’s what the book is arguing for. How did your grandmother describe it?”

Taking a moment to think about it and organize her thoughts, Ellie picked up her spoon, taking a spoonful of tea from her cup. Holding it above the cup, she slowly angled the spoon, allowing the tea to dribble back down.

“Mana is borrowed from the world, and spells return it. The effect of the spell is like the splashes that are created when the mana returns to its natural place in the great cycle. Maybe this is the difference between Witches and Mages? Witches use mana that has already taken its shape, whereas Mages reshape mana to suit themselves?”

“That’s highly possible. We’ll have to keep exploring this after you get your class,” John said, smiling. “The more we can learn about the Mages of old, the better we can improve our own classes.”

Nodding, Ellie went back to reading while John carried his cup to the sink. Seeing that she was completely engrossed, he smiled and left her to her reading. As he left the house to find Thomas, his mind ran through all of the things they needed to do to get ready for the upcoming harvest. According to his books and the information he’d gathered from Thomas, the steps of the harvest were fairly straightforward, but it would be time-consuming to do by hand. Finding Thomas in the barn, John leaned over the stall where the middle-aged man was working.

“So, I’ve been thinking about this, and I feel like using a scythe will take forever since someone will have to gather and bundle all of the wheat afterward. Are there any machines people use to make this easier?”

“There is something called a grain cradle,” Thomas said, straightening up and wiping the sweat from his forehead. “It’s a simple series of long ribs that run parallel to the scythe’s blade, catching the wheat as you cut it. With some practice, you can catch the wheat as you go.”

“Yeah, but that still means using the scythe. I wonder if we could make a reaping machine of some sort. Something with a blade that cuts as the wheels turn. Then we could hook up Ferdie and have him cut the wheat.”

“I’ve never seen anything like that, sir.”

“Yeah, but just because you haven’t seen it doesn’t mean we can’t build it. I wish Gofreid would bring that forge he said he found. It would be great to be able to create stuff here on the farm.”

“I could retrieve a forge for you, sir.”

“Do you know about a forge around here that doesn’t belong to Gerret?” John asked, his eyebrows rising.

“Accidents have been known to happen, sir.”

Staring at Thomas’ completely serious expression, John rubbed his forehead. While he appreciated the way his subordinates enjoyed making his desires come true, the slightly murderous willingness to achieve those desires had been one of the main reasons he had fled the capital in the first place.

“No, absolutely not. We have access to another forge, it’s just a bit of a walk and is too unwieldy to bring over to the farm. I can use that forge until Gofreid brings us our own. How long do you think we have until we need to start harvesting?”

“Ideally it should be some time in the next three or four days, sir.”

“Got it. Then I better get started, huh? Alright, hold down the fort here. I’ll be back.”

Going back to the house, John saw that Ellie was still devouring the book. A list of questions was starting to grow next to her, and as he walked into the door she didn’t even look up. Putting on a pot, John got a stew started and set the temperature low. Walking over to the table, he got out some more pieces of paper and began to sketch. Though his knowledge when he came to this world had not included how gears worked, as the only Mage the nation of Lepiera possessed, improving all the siege weapons had fallen to him. Desperate study driven by a burning desire to survive on the battlefield had given him a beyond-practical understanding of basic engineering, and that had been further sharpened by years of continued development.

That foundational knowledge had been enough to allow him to use the little he knew about modern machines that had been common on earth to begin closing the distance between the basic knowledge of this world and the sorts of machines that could be found in his previous world. First, John made a simple list of the things the machine would need to be able to do, ranked from most important to least important. Once he had a list of what he needed, he began sketching the rough shape of a few of the combine farming machines he remembered from earth.

His newest skill began to work overtime as he started to narrow down the design to something he could use. Without engines, the cutting mechanism would have to work from the torque generated by the forward movement of the machine. While John was tempted to create an engine so all of that could be made easier, he knew that would be impossible in a short time frame. Figuring he would take everything a step at a time, he focused on a simple way of transferring the rotation of an axle into a horizontal movement.

During one of the wars, he had experimented with a siege catapult that wound itself by being moved forward, so it was not a new concept for him, and soon the basic structure of the device had been completed. From there it was just a matter of time until the machine had been fully drawn out. Looking something like a lawn mower, it boasted three large wheels set in a triangle that supported a wide set of blades that scissored together as the machine moved forward. A five-pronged guard on the front of the reaping device would serve to separate the wheat into channels, and after it was cut the stalks would hopefully fall to one side, where they would slide off the guard and fall into a pile.

Looking at the design, John corrected a few things and then began to turn it into components, creating a list of the separate pieces it would need. The biggest challenge would be the weight of the whole thing, but he figured that he could use wood for some of the pieces to try and lighten the assembly. If he couldn’t lighten it only he would be able to push it, so he spent a bit of time figuring out how to make an attachment that would allow Ferdie to pull it along. Pleased with what he had come up with, John took his papers and, after a final check, bundled them together.

CHAPTER 4

After dinner was over and the dishes washed up, John took a large sack and set off for the Keller Farm and the forge hidden in the mountain. The pipes he had made there were working well, and he was excited to put his newest idea to the test. Until Gofreid brought the promised forge, he would have to make do with the smelter hidden in the old iron mine. He had thought about making his own forge using the raw material he could pull out of the old mine, but since he didn’t have the proper facilities, any forge he could create wouldn’t last. Rather than that, he figured he would just make his first pieces for the reaping machine in the smelter.

Dashing through the woods, he soon came to the abandoned farm and saw that the buildings had deteriorated even further. Already in bad shape when he had purchased it in the fall, it had only gotten worse over the winter. The heavy snow and ice had collapsed one of the barns, and the house was missing a few windows that had busted out from the ice that had formed in the window frame. After checking the closed-off entrance to the mine, John headed up the mountain, quickly arriving at the large boulder he had set up to block off the entrance to the smelter. Dropping down into the shaft, he let himself free fall for a second before gathering the mana around him, slowing his descent.

The smelting room was no different than he had left it, and after a moment it roared to life, fed by his magical flames. With bright blue fireballs lighting every corner of the room, John took out his plans and arranged them on the desk that sat in the corner of the room. The water that had filled this room had largely ruined the wood, but it would stand well enough to hold the plans he had drawn up. Starting with the frame, John began transferring pig iron into the smelter, using it as a furnace as he folded and pounded the metal into steel.

Without the precision equipment that modern production facilities would have, it was hard to be absolutely precise, but attention to detail and making a few jigs allowed him to get relatively close. It also helped that he could shape the metal with his bare hands. After developing the frame, he created the axle and began to make the gears. The mechanism that was going to move the blades took the longest to create, but John had already warned everyone at the farm that he wouldn’t be back until he was finished, so he didn’t have to worry about losing track of time.

Brushing soot from his hands, he stepped back and surveyed what he had built. It was a large, misshapen monster of a machine that made him feel like bursting out laughing, but John knew that if it worked, it would revolutionize farming. Pushing it back and forth across the floor, he winced when the metal shrieked. He had no grease on hand, and it was clear from the sound that the metal made as it rubbed together that it had been a major oversight. Quickly stopping so he didn’t make the gears seize, he took the gear assembly apart and checked them for damage.

Seeing nothing a buff wouldn’t get out, John repaired the gears and then began work on the outer shell. Unlike the solid gears he had already made, he transformed the ingots into thin, wide plates that he welded together with a fingertip. Heating the plates, he bent them into shape, forming a shell that was only two millimeters thick. Even as thin as it was, the entire thing was quite heavy, so he cut it into pieces with his handy finger torch and added tabs to give him a spot to attach them all together. Once the shell was added to the machine it looked much better and John was satisfied.

Closing down the smelter by pulling all of the heat out of it, he carried the reaping machine up the wide shaft and put the large boulder back into position. The sun had only just started rising in the east, so he set off for the farm. While carrying the metal machine was awkward, John still made good time and soon arrived back at the farm just as everyone was leaving the house after breakfast. Seeing him, Ben waved.

“Hey, Mr. Sutton! How did it go? Is that it?”

Putting the machine down in the yard, John patted it happily.

“Yup, this is the beast.”

“Oh wow, can we see it work?”

“Ben, give Mr. Sutton a chance to get some breakfast. He’s been working all night.”

“But by the time he’s done we’ll be doing chores!” Ben protested to his sister, earning him a laugh from John.

“I have to grease the gears before we use it either way. Tell you what, after I eat breakfast you can help me apply the grease and then we’ll see if it works. I have no idea if it will fly or fail, but either way, it should be an exciting time.”

“Sure!”

With the plan set, John stepped inside to wash up and get some breakfast while everyone else headed off to take care of their chores. Originally, John had been concerned that taking time off to build machines that may or not work was going to be a waste of time, but after thinking about how much time a reaper would save if he could manage it, he decided it was going to be worth it. Not only because it would mean he wouldn’t be stuck personally cutting down all the wheat, but because it would give them the ability to do more in the same amount of time.

John had been having visions of increasing the amount of land they farmed to better allow them to test different theories and also to improve the efficiency of their cow’s milk production. With more food, they would be able to diversify their income, but more importantly, they could keep more cows, allowing their cheese production to ramp up. As he ate breakfast, his mind was full of all the plans he had for the farm, but first he had to make sure the wheat reaping machine actually worked.

Finding some of the grease they used on the farm for the cart and the wheels on the milk trolley, John called Ben over and together they took the machine apart and began greasing it. While it was in pieces, John got out a file and sharpened the blades until they gleamed in the morning light. Once the harvester was put back together, John wheeled it over to one of the plots of wheat that had been treated with mana and told Ben to stand back. In the distance he could see that Thomas, Even, and Ellie had gathered and were watching to see how it worked. Taking a deep breath, he lifted the machine into position and lined up the forks with the edge of the field.

Starting back a few feet, he pushed the handles forward, feeling the heavy machine lurch into motion. The large wheels carried it over the ground smoothly and the snick snick of cutting blades were loud in the quiet morning air. As soon as the machine entered the wheat, they began to cut, knocking the wheat down. The cut stalks fell over onto the guard and were carried to the side, where they fell into an uneven row. Seeing that it was working as intended but that the angle of the guard that was catching the wheat stalks wasn’t quite right, John stopped and backed the machine up.

Standing in between the machine and the people watching, John pretended to fiddle with something while he quickly heated and reshaped the metal. Pulling the extra heat out of it, he tried it again, this time getting a nice, neat pile of wheat that extended down the row next to the machine. Hearing an excited whoop from behind him, John grinned and finished the row. Though the mana-infused wheat wasn’t dangerous unless ingested, John had still warned Ben to avoid touching it, so, leaving the row of wheat laying on the ground, he turned the machine around and flipped the guard so it would toss the cut stalks the opposite direction.

Thanks to the large wheels, the machine had little trouble bumping over the ground, and the low blades did a good job cutting the wheat that was divided into the five channels. Soon another row of wheat, this time facing the opposite direction, was dropped along the length of the field. Once he hit the end of the row, John called Thomas over and gestured to the wheeled harvester.

“What do you think? We could probably build this out to include a thresher as well, which would turn it from a harvester into a combine.”

Not understanding even half of what John was saying, Thomas nodded as if he completely agreed.

“It’s not quite as fast as the scythe, but I can see how it’s an improvement. You’ll save at least three times the amount of time tying the bundles into sheaves.”

“Oh, it can speed up, I was just checking to make sure there were no problems. Actually, that’s a good question, I wonder how fast it can go. Let’s find out.”

Spinning the machine around, John flipped the guard and lined it up. Walking forward at a steady pace, he cut into the wheat and then sped up until he was almost jogging. It only took him about half the time to cross the field, and though the cut wasn’t quite as nice, it was more than good enough. Pleased with how it worked, John quickly finished the one-acre field. It only took around twenty minutes to turn the field into neat rows of cut wheat stalks, which made John even happier, as that meant that it would be relatively easy to harvest all their fields in a single day.

With Thomas’ help he learned how to tie up the sheaves, and they piled them up in the cart that Ben brought around. While Thomas and Ben moved the wheat into the barn to dry, John continued to harvest the other mana-infused fields, finishing by lunch time. After lunch, he helped Ellie with the new batches of cheese and then finished tying up the harvested wheat. As he bundled the wheat stalks, he found some small mice chewing on the kernels of wheat that had fallen.

I wonder if I should do something about them? If the mana doesn’t kill them, we might end up with a bunch of super mice running around.

Eyes narrowing as he imagined a horde of mice shooting fireballs out of their eyes like Ferdie, he laughed and finished tossing the sheaves into the cart. If a horde of mutated mice did form, he would deal with it the way he dealt with all threats. The next day, apart from the milking, the entire day was spent harvesting the twenty acres of wheat that hadn’t been enriched with extra mana. John pushed the harvester, cutting the wheat into neat rows, while Even, Thomas, and Ellie bundled them. Ben followed along and put the wheat in the cart. Once it was full, he and Even would take it back to the barn and then, after unloading it, would bring the cart back.

By the time dinner rolled around, they were almost finished and everyone apart from John was both mentally and physically exhausted. John had been sucking in mana like it was water so he was completely fine, but he recognized everyone else was dragging. Calling it for the day, he found himself practically walking on clouds as they headed back to the house. Not only was he happy that the harvester had worked right out of the gate, but he felt like they had actually made a big dent in what needed to be done. It would have taken them the better part of a week to harvest all twenty-five acres without the harvester, but they had chopped that time drastically, which meant it shouldn’t be a problem to start increasing the scale of their farming efforts.

After harvest came threshing, but first they had to wait for the sheaves to dry out properly. To their amazement, and Ben’s horror, it only took a single night for the gathered wheat to dry out perfectly. Complaining bitterly, Ben began moving the sheaves he had only just piled up over to the threshing devices Thomas had shown John how to build. Using the fork-like devices, they quickly separated out the grains, gathering them into bags. Without a fancy machine to do the threshing for them, it took most of the rest of the week before they had finished the harvest, and by the time the end of the week had arrived, everyone was sick of seeing wheat.

Putting the final bag up in the top of the barn, John let out a groan and stretched his back. He wasn’t tired or even particularly sore, but the repetition of the same movements for multiple days had made him stiff. Jumping down from the loft, he headed for the cheese cellar to see how Ellie was getting along. The closer they got to Friday night, the more nervous she grew, but he could also see the determination in her eyes growing stronger. She was at the cheese table, holding the shaping paddles as she stared off into the distance, completely lost in thought. Seeing a wisp of hair on her cheek, John suddenly felt a ridiculous urge to tuck it behind her ear, but instead he quietly stepped backward and shut the door. Letting out a loud cough, he shuffled his feet on the steps as if he was walking down them and opened the door noisily.

This time, when he entered the cheese cellar, Ellie was skillfully shaping the cheese to get it ready to wax. They had added a pot of the wax Gofreid had brought them, and after finishing her wheel she placed it with the others. Turning, she smiled at John and waved him over.

“How are today’s batches?” John asked, picking up a slice that had been discarded and nibbling it.

“They’re good. I don’t know what it is, but the milk we’re getting is better every day. I think the cows we got from Keller Farm are finally starting to match the standard of our cows.”

“Great. That’s really good to hear.”

“What about the wheat? Get it all bagged?” Ellie asked.

“Yeah. Finally. I’m definitely making a thresher and hopper for bagging for the next harvest. What a drag.”

“Haha, it is a lot of work,” Ellie said with a smile. Pushing the wisp of hair out of her face, she peeked at John. “I’m about to dip these wheels. Would you like to give me a hand?”

“I would be happy to,” John said, stepping up next to her.

CHAPTER 5

“Go inside the barn. I’m telling you, you stupid bull, a storm is coming!”

Leaning on the fence, John idly watched Ben arguing with Ferdie out in the field. The day had passed quickly, and Friday night had arrived with no sign of a thunderstorm. Despite the clear skies, everyone on the farm had learned to take Ellie’s warnings about weather seriously, so they had spent the evening making sure the windows were tightly closed and the cows were all in the barn. Out back the chicken coop had grown into a chicken house, and after shooing all the chickens inside, Ellie went to look for Sigvald. She found him on the top of the cow barn, his eye fixed on the horizon.

“John! Can you tell this stupid chicken to get down? He’s going to get blown away.”

Straightening up as he heard Ellie’s yell, John glanced up at the roof of the barn and the rooster perched there. Sigvald’s feathers were fluffed and he looked even more majestic than usual, though John could easily tell it was more from nervousness than anything. A small frown came to his face as he turned back to look at Ferdie. Despite Ben’s best attempts, the massive bull may as well have been made from stone for all the attention he gave the young boy. Instead, Ferdie stood in the field, his eyes looking toward the northeastern horizon.

That meant, of course, that the bull was just staring at a copse of trees on the edge of the pasture, which is why John hadn’t understood that something was off initially. Unable to see past the trees from his position, he hopped the fence.

“Ben, leave him alone. He knows better than us what’s coming, so he’ll be fine. Thomas will be spending the night in the barn and can help him if need be. Tell your sister to leave Sigvald alone. I’ll be right back.”

Without waiting for a response, John sped up, somehow crossing the pasture in only a few steps. Seeing him hop over the far fence, Ben’s eyes lit up with wonder, and he quickly ran to talk to his sister to tell her what he had just seen. The forest beyond the pasture was terribly quiet, with not a single sound. Since he had sealed his presence, John knew it wasn’t him who was causing the strange stillness of the forest and his mind flashed to the area near Wolf Den. When he’d walked through the forests at the foot of the mountains where Wolf Den sat, he had noticed the stillness of the forest and assumed that some sort of dangerous predator had been present.

But for the unnatural stillness to have spread all the way to his farm was not a good thing. In the natural world, beasts and mutants were the ones who ruled the top of the food chain, and as far as John knew, they would be the only types of creatures who could create this effect. Frowning, he was about to turn around when a sudden thought struck him. There was another creature who could create this effect. Undead.

In his days in the military, mutants and beasts had been fairly common, but he had only run across an undead monster once. The result of experiments by an ancient branch of Mage called a Necromancer, the undead creature was a corpse animated by a complex set of spells that allowed it to move like it was alive. John’s frown deepened at the thought. According to the stories, undead were endowed with an endless life force, and only by crushing the mana vessel they carried could they be killed. If there were undead monsters in the valley, things would get quite messy.

Mana flared around John, flowing in through his nose and passing through his lungs. As the molten feeling poured down into his feet, he flickered like a flame, flashing forward. It quickly became apparent that the strange stillness extended across the whole valley, but John didn’t find any indication of undead, making him wonder if it was just the size of the storm that was coming. Many times, animals seemed to have a better sense for these things than humans did. Unable to find anything, John gave up his investigation and headed back to the farm. Crossing through the pasture again, he saw that Ferdie was still staring into the distance restlessly.

“If there’s anything you can’t handle, just call me,” John said, patting the big bull on the shoulder.

Ferdie turned a big eye on him and pawed at the ground, as if saying he would be perfectly fine on his own. Laughing, John patted Ferdie again and headed for the house. As he passed by the barn, he saw Thomas in the doorway of the cow barn. The middle-aged man was packing a pipe, and as John walked closer he lifted it up to his mouth. Stopping next to Thomas, John snapped his fingers, causing a spark to jump into the pipe’s bowl and light the shredded tobacco.

“Thanks.”

Nodding, John gestured to the valley stretched out before them.

“It’s really quiet out there.”

Drawing on the end of his pipe, Thomas blew out a ring of smoke and nodded, his eyes sharp and clear.

“Something will be using the storm as a cover to hunt. You can tell from the way all the animals have gone still. It’s probably hunted before under similar circumstances.”

“If so, I’m sure there would be local myths about it. I’ll have to ask Ellie and Even if they know anything. Keep an eye on the animals. I don’t want to wake up in the morning missing cows.”

“Yes, sir.”

Night came quickly, shadows stretching across the valley like creeping fingers as the sun sank in the west. Sitting on the porch as he watched the sky darken, John heard the rustle of Ellie’s skirt as she brought him a cup of tea. Taking it with a nod of thanks, John took a sip and glanced up at her.

“Are you ready? This storm seems like it will be a big one.”

“Will it be dangerous?”

“The storm? No, it shouldn’t be. But the ceremony itself might be. The danger will be from the mana in you. Without a Witch here to guide you, you’ll have to handle the mana on your own.”

Taking a moment to think about it, Ellie squared her shoulders and nodded.

“I’m ready.”

“Good.”

Falling silent, they remained quiet as they looked out over the farm that was rapidly being taken over by the darkness. The encroaching darkness brought an eerie chill with it, causing Ellie to shiver slightly, but a moment later the porch seemed to warm up, driving the chill away. Blinking, she was about to say something when John spoke up.

“I was meaning to ask. Are there any local stories about a creature that hunts during heavy storms?”

Thinking for a moment, Ellie nodded.

“Yes. Though from what I understand, it hasn’t happened in nearly a decade. Um, I think it’s called the Storm Wyrm? A giant mountain wyrm that comes out when its tunnels get flooded. Remember how Ben was mentioning the spectres? The short creatures that live underground? Well, according to the legends, they’re not the only thing down under the valley. There’s also a giant wyrm that comes out once a decade to snatch some cattle.”

“Interesting. Does it come out near the foot of the mountains over by Wolf Den?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve certainly never seen it and have only heard secondhand tales about it. It was one of the stories the villagers tell their kids to keep them in line. You know, like, eat your vegetables because the Storm Wyrm doesn’t like to eat kids who taste like beans. That sort of stuff.”

“Huh, does it work?”

“Unlikely.”

“Yeah, I always hated eating my veggies. Wild, when you think about it, because they’re delicious. Mmm. Anyway, Thomas is keeping a lookout and we have Ferdie and Sigvald here as well, so the farm will be fine. We’ll be heading north a bit. There’s a nice hill there that I cleared a while back.”

Nodding gratefully, Ellie sat down and took a sip of her tea. For the next few hours they just chatted quietly, talking about whatever came to mind as they waited for the storm to start in earnest. Just after midnight the first drops started to fall, and Ellie put her cup down, taking a deep breath. At her side, John blinked in surprise as he saw a tangible change come over her. A wide smile lit up her face as she breathed in the sweet, wet air the storm winds carried ahead of the clouds.

“Ah, I’ve always loved late spring storms,” Ellie said, her outstretched hand catching one of the sporadic drops that were falling on the farmyard. “They bring the promise of summer with them. It’s like each drop carries a million possibilities.”

“Come, it’s time to go.”

Standing up, John gestured for Ellie to follow him, and the two of them stepped off the porch. It would have been simple for John to carry Ellie, arriving at the hill he had picked in mere moments, but he had a feeling she needed to spend as much time getting used to the storm as possible. It was only a hunch, but he had learned to trust his hunches over the years, so they trudged through the quickly growing mud as the storm swept over them.

Rain came down in great big sheets, pounding the buildings, trees, ground, and their heads and shoulders. The amount of water that fell from the sky was astounding, and both were soaked almost immediately. Thankfully, the rainwater wasn’t freezing and the storm brought warm air with it, making it bearable. Hearing Ellie’s happy humming as she splashed through the quickly forming puddles, John smiled to himself.

Well, at least we can check off one thing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this happy before, which means, from the way she described her grandmother, that storms are almost certainly Ellie’s medium.

Trekking across the muddy fields, they worked their way through the forest and soon arrived at the small hilltop John had prepared. He wasn’t sure what Ellie would need as far as environment in order to complete her class ceremony, but he figured anything that brought her closer to the storm without infecting her with other people’s mana was a good thing. Leading her up to the hill, John stopped about halfway down and gestured for her to continue up by herself.

“I’m going to stay here. Remember, all you have to do is try to stir the mana in you. When you feel it beginning to move, put this on your tongue,” John said, handing Ellie a colorful petal. “It should melt immediately and kickstart your class ceremony. At that point it will be do or die, so you’ll want to do your best to attract the storm. Maybe try one of the Witch ceremonies your grandmother taught you. Do whatever feels natural to you, no one will be watching.”

“You aren’t staying?” Ellie asked, her mood clearly faltering.

“Do you want me to? I assumed that as a Witch, your ceremonies were private.”

It took a moment for Ellie to respond, but when she did it was with absolute certainty.

“I’m afraid that something will go wrong. It has been almost twenty years since I last performed the Witch’s Dance. I would feel better if you were nearby.”

“Then I’ll be here.”

Taking a deep breath, Ellie walked up to the top of the hill, John trailing her by about twenty feet. Hesitating only slightly as she reached the top of the hill John had cleared off, she unclipped her coat and removed her shoes, exposing her toes to the cold mud. The feeling seemed to send a thrill through her as she straightened in the pounding rain. Her hands lifted, almost involuntarily, pressing up toward the sky like lightning. At that moment a loud boom shook the valley as lightning crackled across the sky and thunder rumbled. Lit up by the sharp blade of lightning, Ellie could hardly contain the joy that spread through her.

Hundreds of memories flashed through her mind as she stood in the pounding rain, bringing waves of emotions that buffeted her like the raging wind that blew through the valley. She had always loved watching storms, but this was the first time she had willingly thrown herself into one, and the feeling it brought bordered on euphoria. Unbidden, the mana that resided in her chest began to move, swirling around.

Her grandmother had left the mana in her body as a means for her to protect herself, but over the years she had used it three times to keep herself from harm and it had been depleted to almost nothing. She knew that the next time she used it, it would be gone forever. The thought of losing that connection to her grandmother pained her, but Ellie knew that her grandmother’s greatest wish had been to pass on her class. Fortifying her heart, Ellie stimulated the mana swirling in her chest and placed the colorful flower petal John had given her in her mouth.

An indescribable rich flavor flowed across her tongue and shot down her throat, joining with the mana in her chest. Immediately, the traces of pain that had been poking at her vanished. The new mana from the flower petal was at least a hundred times more powerful than the small traces of mana she had already possessed, and as the new mana swirled through her, she suddenly had the feeling that the whole world would bend to her command.

Ellie’s outstretched hands slowly spun as she brought her hands down. In a trance, she stepped forward, her body bursting with barely restrained energy like a thundercloud heavy with rain. Spinning, her feet suddenly beat a quick tattoo across the hilltop, sending water and mud flying. Perfectly in sync with the storm around her, she flashed to the side as lightning split the sky again, her body shaking in the thunder that followed.

Watching her move, John found himself mesmerized. Ellie’s motions weren’t those of a trained dancer, but they contained a primal joy that was so infectious he found himself wanting to join in. Though he suppressed the impulse, he found a restlessness growing in him as he saw Ellie spinning, her wet skirt sweeping across through the air like an unstoppable wind. Blinking, mana flooded his eyes, revealing a colorful world filled with the flow of mana.

To his astonishment, Ellie’s movements were even more perfectly blended with the world when he examined the movement of mana in the area. Every twist of her body, every flick of her fingers, matched the mana that surrounded her. Another crack of lightning raced across the sky, and John saw something around Ellie shatter as all the mana built up by the storm began to race into her body. Eyes narrowing, John drew his own mana closer around him. This was it. The moment when Ellie would succeed or fail.

CHAPTER 6

Keeping a careful eye on Ellie, John did his best to keep his own mana in check. Now was the moment when Ellie needed to force the mana inside of her into a proper mana vessel that belonged solely to her. By following the guide her grandmother had left in her body, she would be able to build her own container for holding mana, allowing her to manipulate mana on the scale of a class holder. John had never done this himself—his mana vessel had been created as soon as he appeared in this world, so he found it strangely nerve-wracking to watch Ellie do it.

Mana from the storm continued to swirl around Ellie, growing thicker by the moment until John started to worry that it was simply going to be too much. As the mana piled up, it began to force the torrential rain away, pushing back the drops of water and creating a barrier of wind around the dancing young woman. The thick mana was being absorbed into her body at a tremendous rate as she twirled and stomped, mimicking the movement of the storm that raged above their heads.

With each moment that passed, the mana in Ellie’s body grew stronger. Strangely, it did not grow in volume so much as it continued to become more and more refined. John’s mana was impossibly pure thanks to his maxed-out Mana Breath skill, but that had taken him ten years of constant practice. While Ellie’s mana was not yet approaching the level of purity he possessed, it was easily the same as John’s had been when he had around twenty skill points in his Mana Breath skill.

The idea that she would have the mana purity of someone in the titled class holder stage from the moment she started was astounding but would also explain why the Witch class was so feared. Mana purity was, in many ways, equivalent to the strength of a refined metal. The more foreign substances that were mixed in with the mana, the weaker and more brittle it was, making it easier for others to break. A higher level of purity in their mana was not only what allowed higher levels of class holders, like titled, legendary, or even sage level class holders, to dominate the classes lower than them, but it also made their spells more effective.

At each of the breaks between the ranks, roughly equivalent to the twenty-five point, fifty point, and seventy-five point level, the class holder’s mana purity would undergo a qualitative change, purifying and becoming compressed. As the class holder built up their mana again, it all took on that new level of purity, further widening the gap between them and their lower-level opponents. Furthermore, it was a compounding effect, which meant that while the difference between regular class holders and titled class holders was not insurmountable, the difference between titled class holders and legendary class holders was nearly insurmountable.

Though he wasn’t one hundred percent sure, John was convinced that Storm Master Kelvis had been a sage class holder, putting his skill with manipulating mana, and subsequently his mana purity, at above seventy-five points before he died. While there were occasionally differences between class holders in the same level, that was the only way John could explain how the Storm Master had managed to kill three legendary level mages before he died.

Bringing his wandering attention back to Ellie, he saw the mana from the storm was beginning to peak. The swirl had slowed slightly, as if it knew that Ellie was starting to get saturated. Blinking, John swapped his vision again and looked at the mana swirling inside of the dancing young woman. Quickly growing more condensed, the mana seemed to clump together, forming a thick cloud that seemed to contain small flashes of lightning, a howling wind, and pelting rain. John had never seen such a mana vessel before, and almost as if to make sure he blinked twice and checked again.

Must be some sort of Witch-specific thing. I’ve never seen that before. Hey, as long as it works, what does it matter what it looks like?

The mana continued to die down until the pounding rain was once again able to touch Ellie’s skin, but the thunderous nature of the storm seemed to have been sapped away, and the storm turned into a steady drizzle rather than a powerful, raging tempest. Turning dizzying circles, her face raised to the rain, Ellie came to a sudden stop, her arms outstretched. Though John did not understand how the native class holders managed to know about themselves, they clearly had some sort of instinctive insight into their own state, because Ellie clearly knew she had succeeded in her class ceremony.

“Congratulations,” John said, walking to the top of the hill.

Spinning around, Ellie’s face was covered in the widest grin John had ever seen, even as tears dripped from the corners of her eyes mixed with the rain. Throwing herself forward, she wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her head into his shoulder. Completely frozen by the unexpected contact, John didn’t know how to respond at first, but when Ellie’s grip didn’t let go, he gently returned the hug.

Already the mana that had flooded into her body had reshaped her skin, muscles, and bones, making them firmer and stronger than any normal person’s, but John was still gentle in his touch, not wanting to accidently hurt the happy young woman. Soaked by the rain, they stood on the hilltop like that for a moment until Ellie seemed to gather herself. Her face as red as a ripe tomato, she let go of John’s neck and took a step back, her hand sliding down his arm as it came away from her waist.

“Thank you, John. Thank you. Without you, I wouldn’t have known this was possible. Without you, I wouldn’t have had the courage to try it. I….” Hesitating slightly, she let out a laugh as if she couldn’t believe the words were going to come out of her mouth. “I’m a Witch. I can continue my grandmother’s legacy!”

“Seriously, congratulations. It was entirely your own work. Whatever that dance was, it worked perfectly, and you handled the mana from the storm like a pro.”

“Pro?”

“A professional. Someone who gets paid to do something.”

“Hah. I thought I had a full vocabulary, but you’re always coming up with such novel ways of saying things.”

“I’ve covered a lot of distance in my life,” John said, cracking a smile. “What sorts of skills did you pick up with your class?”

Closing her eyes, Ellie focused her mind and spoke slowly.

“Apart from spellcasting and Storm Dance, which looks like how I recharge and improve my mana, it looks like I have a skill called Truesight, and another called Rain’s Vitality. Truesight should help me see things as they are, whereas Rain’s Vitality allows me to borrow the life-giving property of the rain to increase the effect of potions I make. Oh, and I have another skill. Crone’s Salt Curse. That should be the food-based curse my grandmother left me.”

“Four skills on top of spells is really good. Most new class holders only get two skills. Even if we say one of them was left by your grandmother, three new ones is tremendous,” John said, looking impressed.

“These abilities are amazing,” Ellie said, her eyes going wide as she stared down at her hand. “Is this what class holders feel like all the time?”

“Yes, but that feeling of absolute control will fade with time. And a good thing too. They call it the ascension high, and it can get you killed if you’re not careful. It can cause you to completely misjudge your strength and challenge enemies entirely outside of your league because it gives a false sense of power.”

“Challenge enemies?” Ellie seemed confused. “Why would I challenge enemies?”

Laughing, John gestured to the mountains in the far distance. They were impossible to see in the darkness and rain, but Ellie could imagine them so clearly she knew what John was referring to.

“I know it’s been some years since you left the valley, Ellie, but the world out there is not an idyllic, pastoral paradise like this valley is. Outside of here, people are scrabbling for every scrap of food, every scrap of authority, every scrap of power they can get their hands on. And they’re more than happy to stab anyone who gets in their way. You’re a class holder now, so don’t be surprised if you suddenly find yourself drawn into trouble that never would have bothered with you before.”

Looking slightly crestfallen, Ellie nodded and clenched her fist, looking determined. Smiling, John patted her shoulder lightly.

“But don’t stress about it. One thing at a time. Have you tried activating your skills? Do any of them require specific components?”

“Um, Rain’s Vitality requires rainwater. Storm Dance doesn’t require anything but is most effective in a storm. Um… Crone’s Salt Curse needs food, of course. Oh, it looks like Truesight just needs mana,” Ellie said, brightening.

Blinking her eyes, she looked out at the rainy world, marveling at the beautiful sight. She traced lines of mana that fell out of the sky to enter the earth, filled with shifting colors and prismatic hues, feeling the tremendous connection the mana inside of her had to the mana that filled the rain. Breathing in the amazing view, she turned back to John and froze, so shocked that the scream that rose unbidden to her lips died in her throat.

Where the calm-looking farmer had stood a moment ago was an entirely different entity, unlike anything Ellie had ever seen in her life. The mana-filled world had been beautiful, but the same word could not apply to John. Instead of the gently shifting hues of mana, she saw an abyss in the shape of a person. A black hole that devoured every speck of light and color around it by sucking them up through his nose. Where John’s eyes and mouth should have been, she caught glimmers of light so bright that even the thought of them was blinding, but the rest of his body was covered in a devouring darkness.

As terrifying as John’s figure was, what actually shocked her was the tiny glimpse of what she saw hiding in the darkness that made up his figure. Skeletal figures, their bones fused with melted scraps of armor screamed silently as they tried to claw their way out of the shadows behind John. The longer she looked, the more she saw, until every inch of her vision was covered with a flame-filled battlefield covered by a blood-red sky.

Realizing that something was wrong from how pale Ellie was becoming, John snapped, and Ellie was shocked out of her skill. As her Truesight faded, John’s face returned to its normal look and the world returned to the calm drizzle that had been falling since Ellie’s class ceremony had succeeded. Drained from using her skill and still shaken from what she had seen, Ellie staggered, and John caught her before she fell into the mud. Clutching his arm, she looked into his eyes, as if searching for the terrifying sight she had just seen. Instead, she just saw the same deep calm she had come to expect, tinged with a hint of sorrow she had never noticed before.

“Be careful,” John said, his voice serious. “The world is not always what it appears to be, and sometimes seeing the truth is even more dangerous than you could imagine. Did you use Truesight on me?”

Not able to trust her voice, Ellie nodded mutely.

“I am a higher class level than you are, which means that my body and mana act as a natural suppressant to yours, so you probably saw some pretty wild things. If your mana was at my mana’s level, or even higher, you would see something completely different. So don’t dwell on what you saw too carefully. I have a similar ability, which is why I can detect mana, and when I look at people with a higher class level than me I see the same thing. Which reminds me, I would avoid using the ability on Thomas unless you don’t feel like sleeping for a week. Ugh, that was terrifying. Sorry, I should have warned you.”

Laughing weakly, Ellie leaned her head against John’s strong arm for a moment longer before straightening up.

“No, it’s my fault. My grandmother warned me about trying to peek at the secrets of the world, but I didn’t listen.”

“Let’s head back to the house. As the ascension high fades, probably by morning considering the purity of your mana, you’ll start to feel the drain of using mana and your body being changed. After that you’ll feel like you were hit by a, um, cart, for about two days. But then you’ll begin to recover and we can start exploring your abilities. Do you have any spells?”

Following John back to the house, Ellie nodded.

“Yes, I remember three spells. Call Familiar, Whispering Wind, and Infuse Potion. The first will let me bind a familiar, Whispering Wind is for sending messages over a distance, and Infuse Potion just lets me add magic to mundane potions.”

Three? Ugh, I’m so jealous.

“And that’s just what I remember,” Ellie said, oblivious to the green-eyed monster who was eating John up inside. “There are dozens more back at my grandmother’s cottage. I wasn’t able to get back into it because of the enchantments, but with Truesight I should be able to now. If we go to her home, I should be able to recover her entire library of Witch spells.”

“A whole library, huh? Well, we’ll certainly have to do that. Then when you’re a powerful Witch you can protect all us lowly peasants.”

“Hah, I hope so.”

Continuing to tease Ellie, John led the way through the woods and to the farm. Both were completely soaked, so after they hung up their coats by the stove, Ellie went to take a hot shower. As soon as he heard the water turn on in the bathroom, John snapped, drying out the wool coats and his clothes nearly instantly. Changing into other clothes, he picked up the small box of spell scrolls he had recovered from the adventurers and left the kitchen. Seeing Thomas in the barn, he gave him a small wave and vanished into the forest to get some distance from the house just in case something went wrong. For the first time since he had entered this world he was about to increase the number of spells he knew, and not just by one.

CHAPTER 7

The spell scrolls were exactly as he remembered them when he opened the ornate box, as were the notifications that popped up.

[New Spell: Summon Water detected.]

[New Spell: Water Arrow detected.]

[New Spell: Downpour detected.]

[New Spell: Raging Waters detected.]

[New Spell: Greater Storm detected.]

[New Spell: Apocalyptic Flood detected.]

[Please select a spell to learn.]

Gingerly removing the first spell from the box, he held the small scroll in his hand. Thinking back on the first time he had seen a spell scroll, John found he was no less excited to learn this basic water spell.

Hah, unlimited flame power and I’m practically giddy to learn a basic spell. What a weird world I fell into.

[Would you like to learn Summon Water?]

Accepting the prompt, John felt the mana in the scroll ignite. Entering his eyes, it rushed into his brain, imprinting the knowledge of the spell on his mind. Even without him asking, it was cataloged by his Mental Model skill, organized into component pieces and analyzed against what he already knew of magic. Watching the scroll carefully, he saw that it hadn’t disintegrated like the skill scroll had.

Being stored in the sealed box probably allowed the material to weather the passage of time a bit better. The mana each scroll contained was what was keeping them in good shape, but as soon as that was taken away, the other crumbled. This one is more like the fireball spell scroll I used. Hm, I wonder if I could keep this and re-use it? Maybe I could practice making scrolls of my own. At the very least, this should give me a sense of what material they used for scribing scrolls.

Closing the box with the five remaining scrolls to avoid any mistakes, John sat down cross-legged and put the box down beside him. Stretching his hand out, he mumbled the incantation for Summon Water under his breath, moving his mana as the spell indicated. With a popping sound, a bead of water appeared over his outstretched palm. So still that it almost looked like a bit of glass, John could sense the small vibrations it was picking up from his breathing. Blinking, he cast the spell again, this time silently, causing another water bead to appear.

Focusing his mind, he tried to split the water beads the same way he would split a fireball, but to his surprise, it completely failed to do anything. Eyes narrowing, he thought about it for a moment and then snapped his fingers, causing the two water beads to split into one hundred drops that lined up in perfect formation in front of him. Each of the new water beads were tiny, only a single drop of water, and as he brought them back together with a thought, they formed back into the two water beads he had initially summoned.

Okay, I get it. The fireball is just using mana as a heat source and oxygen as a fuel, so no matter how many times I split it, I can just pump more into it to make the new fireballs the same size as the original. But this water spell is summoning actual water, not just an ignition point. Which means, when I split it, the mass remains the same but splits across however many water beads I make. I wonder if I can change that.

Soon lost in his experimentation, John sat in the forest manipulating the water beads he was summoning and dispelling until the sky began to lighten in the east. There were still heavy clouds but the rain had mostly let up, and as he stood up he saw some of the drops of water dripping from the trees. Struck by a sudden thought, he snapped his fingers, summoning a water bead that began to spin, pulling moisture from the air. As it sped up, the water that was dripping from the leaves began to curve, spinning around the water bead and then joining it. Once the water bead was the size of his head, John snapped his fingers again and the water bead vanished into thin air.

Hold on. How did that even work? Where did it even go? Wait, where is it even coming from in the first place? Okay, now I have so many questions.

Staring down at his hand wasn’t helping him at all, so he picked up the box of spell scrolls and carefully put the expended scroll away. As much as he wanted to learn all the spells right now, there was work to do on the farm, and he knew it would not do to rush things. The more time he spent with each level of the water spells, the less likely he was to fail to learn the next spell, at least that was what his gut was telling him. Besides, it had been a while since he had visited the grimm, and he planned on taking Ellie out to train now that she had gained her class. Learning the new spells would have to wait.

Over the next few weeks, John split his time between working with Ellie to make cheese, studying the Basic Arcanum book, and practicing his new water magic spell. Just like the fireball spell he knew, it was considered a novice level spell, but he had no problem bending it to all sorts of fantastic uses. Soft and not very good at cutting, the water beads excelled at absorbing energy, and soon John grew adept at forming shields, bludgeoning weapons like hammers, and even small rain showers.

When combined, his Fireball and Summon Water spells produced all sorts of strange and wonderful effects, and John even figured out how to make the two elements mimic each other. Watching the water bead dance like a flame and seeing the flames flow like water was honestly one of the more entertaining things John had seen in a long time, and he found himself summoning fire beads and water sparks whenever he had down time.

He also took Ellie out to the hilltop to teach her some basic self-defense and help her get used to her increased speed and strength. All class holders possessed considerably more power in their physical bodies than normal people, and it was easy for someone who had just ascended a level to have trouble controlling themselves. While he couldn’t teach her anything about magic, he felt as if he learned a lot from the discussion on Basic Arcanum and the lessons on magic that Ellie remembered from her grandmother.

Once he felt like he had sufficiently mastered the Summon Water spell, he went deep into the woods and opened the box again, accepting the prompt to learn the second spell in the set, Water Arrow. Interestingly, he found that he could faintly sense the failure rate of the spell scrolls now that he had learned the first spell of the set. Summon Water had been a novice level spell, so there had been no requirement to learn it, and Water Arrow and the third spell, Downpour, didn’t give him any concern. The fourth spell, however, was different. When he looked at the spell scroll for the Raging Waters spell, he could feel a slight sense of unfamiliarity, as if there was something about it that was too foreign for him to understand.

That feeling of incongruity grew stronger as he looked at Greater Storm, and it practically screamed at him when he examined Apocalyptic Flood, the legendary water spell. John had no idea how spells were categorized, except that the first two spells he had learned were considered novice spells by the system. As he learned the second spell, Water Arrow, it appeared on his list of spells.

Name: John Sutton

Age: 28

Class: Mage

Spells: 3

Active Quests: [Grow Wheat]

Spell List: [Fireball (Basic)], [Summon Water (Basic)], [Water Arrow (Apprentice)]

With a flick of his finger, the new spell he had learned manifested in the air above his hand, instantly shooting forward and slamming into the tree he was aiming at. Like Summon Water, the Water Arrow spell summoned a bead of water, but it also added a huge amount of rotation to the water bead that caused it to lengthen and fly forward. The high-speed rotation not only allowed the stretched-out water bead to fly faster, but it also helped increase the penetrating power of the attack.

Casting Water Arrow again, John held up his hand, causing the arrow to spin in place so he could examine it. The high-speed rotation quickly began to stagnate, but as he watched how it slowed down, his Mental Model skill was working overtime. Eyes gleaming, he snapped, and an exact copy of the Water Arrow appeared in the air, only it was completely made from blue flame.

[A new spell has been discovered! You have learned Flame Arrow!]

Seriously? This game is the literal worst. I’ve been throwing arrow-shaped fireballs for at least eight years and I never got a new spell!

Examining his status again, he saw that Flame Arrow was listed as an apprentice level spell, just like Water Arrow. A slight grin curled at the corners of his lips as he looked at the four other spells he still had spell scrolls for. If the spells he was learning from the scrolls could be used as templates for new spells, he had just opened up a whole world of possibility. Not only did it mean he could develop fire versions of the various spells, but it also opened up the possibility of developing completely new spells as he built out his knowledge about magic.

Since he hadn’t sensed any danger from the next spell scroll, he went ahead and learned Downpour as well. Like Summon Water, Downpour was not an attack spell but rather seemed to be an environmental spell. According to what he had learned from Basic Arcanum, spells could be categorized into three different targeting branches: single target, multi-target, and environmental. Unlike Summon Water and Water Arrow, Downpour didn’t create water or summon it from wherever the other spells were getting it. Instead, it worked by gathering moisture from the area and accelerating the process of forming rain clouds. After casting it once, John didn’t bother trying to create a fire version and instead looked at his spell list again.

Spell List: [Fireball (Basic)], [Flame Arrow (Apprentice)], [Summon Water (Basic)], [Water Arrow (Apprentice)], [Downpour (Acolyte)]

His new spell was an acolyte level spell, and unlike the novice and apprentice level spells actually took him more than a snap of his fingers to cast. He had always been a bit confused by the longer cast times of other mages, and indeed had won a few fights simply because he had been faster at casting than his opponents, but now that he had gotten his hand on a acolyte level spell, it was easier to understand why they had been so slow.

Presumably, as he learned spells with higher levels, each level would be slower to cast than the level before it but would, in return, be stronger. Given that he had accomplished everything with a novice level fireball spell, John wasn’t quite sure what he would end up using more advanced spells for, but he figured it couldn’t hurt to learn more magic. Happy with what he had achieved, John set his Mental Model to work on deconstructing the Downpour spell and headed for the mountain quarry.

It had been almost two months since he had gone to exchange items with the grimm, but he hadn’t seen them or any new items and suspected they were hibernating for the winter. The mountains that surrounded the valley lay heavy with snow almost all winter, making travel difficult and forcing all the animals either down into the valley or into hibernation. Now that the snow was melting away, he was hoping the grimm had become active again.

Dashing through the forest, John reflected on the way he used mana. The three new spells he had learned over the last month and a half were challenging his understanding about how mana was used by normal Mages. Almost every application of mana he had developed came from his Mana Reinforcement skill, which allowed him to shape mana around and inside his body. As his ability with Mana Reinforcement grew, he learned to apply those same abilities outside of his body, projecting his mana outward into the world. In some ways, he was more like a beast than a Mage in the way he handled mana.

Mana Reinforcement was powerful, but what gave him his edge was the combination of the beast-like skill Mana Reinforcement and the Mage skill Mana Breath, which allowed him to replenish his mana in real time by seizing the mana around him. Since mana could not be destroyed but could be repurposed, it meant that even his enemy’s mana could become his power. The spells he was learning, however, were different in that they did not directly manipulate mana the way he did, but rather twisted a small amount of mana into a shape that produced the result the Mage desired without the Mage’s direct influence.

Though the power and flexibility of John’s method was much greater, there was no denying that the efficiency gain of traditional spells was tremendous. During the many years he fought against enemy Mages, John had been unable to figure out why his enemies never seemed to tire as fast as he did, but as he learned the water spells, it became immediately apparent that they had just been more efficient with their casting.

According to what Ellie had told him, Witches passed on their knowledge of spells through books, so John was looking forward to getting a peek at the spell books Ellie’s grandmother had left behind. Though there were distinct differences between the way Witches used mana and Mages used mana, he was hoping he would be able to learn enough to start building spells of his own. Thinking about creating spells, John darted up the side of the mountain and came to a stop on the peak.

The flat boulder he had placed up on the top of the mountain was still there, and John sat down for a moment, looking back over the peaceful valley. He had never expected to make so much progress with his class when he came to the valley. Instead, his whole goal had been to live a life without using magic as much as possible to avoid increasing his Doom Points. Yet, no matter how many times he cast the lower-level spells, it seemed he din’t generate any Doom Points and he quickly found himself growing more and more at ease with using them. Letting out a helpless laugh, John shook his head and jumped down the back side of the mountain into the quarry. It was time to see what the grimm were up to.

CHAPTER 8

Dropping down into the quarry, John found the small stone table where the exchanges normally happened. To his happy surprise, it had been cleared off and a few of the colorful flowers sat on the table. The grimm had no idea what he was interested in, so they tended to bring any old piece of human junk they found to try their luck. When he didn’t exchange for the random items, they would move them into a pile a few feet away from the table when they brought the next batch of stuff, leading to a growing trash pile sitting nearby.

Beside the flowers, there were two other things—a child-sized mask and a dagger made from crystal and bone. Curious about the two extra items, John examined them closer. Stiffening when he realized that both carried traces of mana, he picked up the mask. Only slightly larger than his hand, the mask was made from a thin wood that had been bent into something resembling a theater mask that curved to fit on a face. The eyes were cut out to allow for the wearer to see but the nose and mouth were not. The nose was carved as two exaggerated nostrils, but the mouth was a crooked affair with teeth that poked from the bottom jaw like the rising tusks of a boar.

Reaching down, John picked up the crystal-and-bone dagger, trying to see if he could pick up any details from it. Carved from a solid piece of crystal, the blade of the dagger was firmly attached to the bone handle, almost as if it had grown out of the end of the bone. However, on closer inspection, John realized that the two materials had actually been ingeniously fused together using mana.

These are way too small for most people to wear, and definitely too small for the grimm. Though, it really looks like a grimm’s face. Huh, curious. I’ll take these.

Leaving three condensed mana crystals, John looked around but didn’t see the grimm nearby, so he took off again after picking up the flowers, heading over the mountain and into the valley. Life on the farm was always full, and for the next few weeks it maintained the same general rhythm. Between chores, practicing magic, and researching the colorful flowers, time passed quickly for John, and before he knew it, a dozen carts were rolling up the drive toward the house, Gofreid waving enthusiastically from the bench seat of the first cart.

“Mr. Sutton! How wonderful to see you again! I feel like it’s been ages. Haha, I hate being cooped up for the winter, but the mountain passes simply don’t care about our feelings.”

Nodding to the chatty merchant, John watched him jump down from the cart.

“What’s in the carts?”

“A veritable horde of goods. Some are for the town, but most are for you. I’ve got the forge you asked for, along with a good bit of metal, a cart of coal, and quite a few other things. Plus, I thought you might be ready to sell your wheat, so I wanted to make sure we had the space for it on the way back.”

Blinking in surprise, John stared at Gofreid for a moment. The merchant had last been in the valley before the deep winter snows blanketed the passes and made travel in and out of the valley impossible. It had been months since he had last been on the farm, but he seemed to have a good sense of the timing of their harvest. Seeing John’s impassive look, Gofreid hid his nervousness behind a smile and tapped his head.

“It’s part of being a merchant, Mr. Sutton. Empty cart time is a profit killer. I did some rough calculations based on what you told me regarding your corn harvest and when you planted the wheat, which told me you would either just be done with your wheat harvest or you would be in the middle of it. From the state of your fields, I see the former is true. I’d be honored if you would think about letting me transport it to the city.”

“Hmm. I’ll think about it. Come into the house. Ellie is there.”

Inside, Ellie was working on the bread they would eat for their dinner, but when she saw John and Gofreid come in she quickly finished up and put a cloth over it to let it rise.

“Would you like tea?”

“Yes, madam. That would be wonderful. I have to admit, I’m parched after traveling for so long.”

“I told you to call me Ellie.”

Giving Ellie his best smile, Gofreid nodded his head as he took the cup of tea she offered, but it was clear from the way he didn’t answer that her request was entirely out of the question. Once she had finished pouring tea for John and herself, she sat down and looked at the books Gofreid had put on the table. Gesturing to them, the merchant explained.

“These are the account books. I’ve sold out of the stock of cheese you entrusted to me the last time I was here, and I have to say, this has the potential to become the most profitable business I’ve ever engaged in. The small stock is working really well, and already we’re starting to see adoption by the highest society. Surprisingly, we’re seeing an even greater adoption by the merchant class. My initial idea was to take it to other merchants because many of them have the connections needed to move goods in high society, but to my astonishment, many of them bought as much as they could for their own personal use, intending to give them as gifts.

“In fact, they got so popular among the merchants that many of the nobles who came to me had to be turned away. I have two dozen orders already, and that’s just from the noble families. That isn’t even counting the orders I have from other merchants. The account books show what we’ve collected so far, which orders we’ve delivered, and which we still owe. It also shows the total we earned. A tidy sum, to be sure.”

“Why are these totals not matching?” Ellie asked, her fingers pointing halfway down the last page. “Given the price we agreed on and the product we gave you, the total amount of gold is too high.”

“Ah, yes, if you look at the second, fourth, and sixth pages, you’ll see the selling price doubled. That should account for most of the discrepancy. The rest is from people paying larger amounts of their orders in advance to try to guarantee their spots. If I had let them, the other merchants would have snatched up our whole stock before we even shipped it.”

“This… this is incredible,” Ellie said, staring wide eyed at the total that was written at the bottom of the ledger page. “You made six hundred and fifty-three gold?”

“Not quite, but close. Around four hundred and twenty of the gold is free and clear. The other two hundred and thirty gold is for orders we still need to fill. Of the four hundred and twenty gold, two hundred and fifty-two gold are yours. The rest will go to the company and be used to increase our distribution network.”

“What about your profit?”

Hearing Ellie’s question, Gofreid put his hand to his chest as if he was touched by her concern.

“This is called a strategic reinvestment, madam. I could take the profit out now, but if I did that, it would slow the growth of the endeavor. By leaving the profit in, I can make sure that the growth rate remains high. On the other hand, you have to buy supplies and pay for labor to make the product, so it makes sense for you to take your profit out.”

Seeing that Ellie was going to protest, John lifted his hand to stop her. Ever since she had become a class holder, her mind seemed to be operating even sharper than normal. However, his tolerance for all this business stuff was not very high, and it was clear that Gofreid was still doing his best to make sure they got the majority of the profit from the endeavor, so he was content to leave it as it was.

“Thank you, Gofreid,” John said, “all of this looks good. Since this will be our farm’s main source of business, the development of the sales channels is particularly important to us, so we would like to make a twenty-five-gold investment in it.”

Seeing Ellie mouthing something from the corner of his eye, John stifled his internal sigh and corrected his words.

“I’m sorry, we’d like to make that a fifty-gold investment.”

“Ah, of course! Of course. I would be happy to help with that. Do you have a particular thought about what that gold should be spent on?”

Gesturing to Ellie, who had sat up straight at the merchant’s question, John fell silent as she began to speak.

“Yes. We would like it to be spent on a dedicated cart and guards to make trips from the valley. As our product is increasing, we need a more regular pick up of our goods and delivery of our supplies. Establishing a regular team that would make the trip between the valley and Kingsmouth would give us the chance to get our supplies twice a month instead of only once. Plus, from what I remember, you used to only make the trip into the valley three times a year but now you’re coming every month, which I’m sure has made the rest of your business difficult. Since our business is beginning to operate smoothly, I don’t think you need to continue coming so often, but this would allow us to still get what we need.”

Looking slightly crestfallen, Gofreid had to admit that Ellie’s proposal was sound. He had been falling behind in much of his work due to his efforts to make sure John was happy, and it would be a welcome break to be able to hand off the responsibility of picking up the cheese from Sutton Farm. At the same time, he was staking his future on serving John and Sutton Farm, and as a result, showing his face on the farm was a must. Peeking at John, he saw that, like normal, the calm-looking farmer had no issue with what Ellie was proposing, so he nodded.

“That is a wonderful idea. Since shipping and distribution should be my responsibility, and it will be taking a load from my shoulders as well, I will match your investment. We will need to hire adventurers to make sure the cheese is safe, especially as it continues to grow in popularity. Any product that is well loved by nobles is certainly at risk of being targeted by bandits.”

Happy to be done with the discussion, John stood up.

“Great. Glad we worked that out. If you’re having trouble with bandits, talk to Thomas. He might have some ideas. Oh, and when will you be leaving?”

“Thank you, I will,” Gofreid said, hurrying to stand up. “I have a few deliveries to make around the valley, and then I’m thinking about leaving in two days. Would that suit you?”

“Yeah, that’s fine. Leave your carts here and we’ll load them up.”

“Of course. Will you be selling in the capital city?”

“No, Kingsmouth. I know that prices are higher in the capital, but that would take us two months instead of two weeks.”

“True. I’m sure you have much to do. Haha, work never ceases, does it? I’ll introduce you to a few of the trustworthy merchants I know of in Kingsmouth. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some deliveries to make. Madam, thank you for the tea.”

After Gofreid left, Ellie sat quietly at the table, unconsciously playing with her spoon, her forehead furrowed in thought. Taking his seat again, John added more tea to his cup and warmed up the cold liquid with a hint of mana. As steam curled up from the top of his cup, Ellie tapped the table with her spoon, her eyes lighting up as if she had figured out what had been bothering her.

“He knows you! Gofreid knows you! That’s what has been bothering me!”

Glancing at her, John’s lips curved slightly in a small smile, and he raised his eyebrows.

“He must know who you are,” Ellie continued. “There’s no other reason I can think of that he would be treating us like this. I’ve heard a lot about Gofreid from the complaints of the villagers at Fairford, and all of it was bad. Skinflint, miser, knows how to squeeze water from a stone, those are the sorts of things everyone said about him. But here he is trying to give us as much money as possible. Hah! I knew something was off. He must know you. But that means you’re probably not just a retired captain in the Lepierian Army.”

Narrowing her eyes, Ellie stared at John as if she was trying to see through him. When his expression didn’t change at all, she let out a sigh and looked down at her tea. She still remembered the sight of John revealed by her Truesight skill. The strange darkness that covered him, the blinding glimmers of light that shone from his eyes, the impossibly large crowd of screaming skeletons that grasped at his back. She would have had to be an idiot not to realize that John was anything but a typical person by now, and Gofreid’s behavior was just one more confirmation that the quiet farmer was not quite what he represented himself to be.

“Alright, I admit it,” John said, raising his hands in mock surrender. “I climbed a good bit higher than captain during my time in the army. Gofreid saw me once and then recognized me when he first visited the farm with Halden. Much of his behavior is because of the connections I have from my time in the army.”

“Hmm, I would say that’s thirty percent true,” Ellie said, giving John an appraising look as she stood up. “But don’t worry, I’m not a prying Witch. You can have your secrets.”

Amused by the supercilious look she was giving him, John finished off his tea and carried it over to the sink where Ellie was starting the dishes. Leaning down to place his cup in the sink, he looked down at Ellie, noticing the pink in her cheeks and the growing redness on the tips of her ears. Unsure what that was about, John felt his heart beating strangely as he straightened up. Feeling the sudden urge to escape, John took a small step back and cleared his throat.

“Ahem. I better see if they need any help unloading the forge.”

As he fled the room, he did not see the happy smile on Ellie’s face as she turned to watch him leave.

CHAPTER 9

Rather than saying that Gofreid had brought a forge, it was more accurate to say he had moved an entire blacksmith’s shop. The equipment took up five of the carts, and as it was unloaded, John realized he had completely overlooked where he would put all the equipment. After some thought, he decided he would build a stone building for it, so for the time being he had Gofreid’s men put everything in one of the barns. On top of the forge, bellows, and anvil John had requested, Gofreid had also brought considerable material, a smelter with two dozen casts for commonly used farm tools, hammers, tongs, and countless other items.

The cart of coal the merchant had mentioned earlier turned out to be closer to two carts of anthracite coal, the hardest and best type of coal that could be found. Catching John’s stare, Gofreid just coughed nervously and quickly changed the subject. Once everything was unloaded, he said goodbye and hurried off to make his deliveries, leaving ten of the dozen carts he had left behind to be loaded up with wheat.

Looking over the things Gofreid had brought, John was quite pleased. The quality of the forge was good, and all the tools showed the clear care of a master craftsman. While John couldn’t claim to be a master blacksmith himself, he understood enough about blacksmithing to appreciate what he was looking at. Seeing Thomas walk over, John jerked his thumb over his shoulder.

“I’m thinking of putting the shop out past the smoking barn. Though, if I’m honest, I’m half tempted to take down the smoke barn and rebuild it further down. That would let us use its foundation for the forge.”

“Were you thinking of an enclosed building?”

“No, something open-air. I’ll probably be the one using it the most, and temperature doesn’t really bother me. Hmm. Actually, if we’re leaving in a couple days, I don’t know that we’ll have time to tear down the smoke barn and rebuild both. I’ll just bring some stone over to drop a foundation.”

“Of course, sir. Should I start loading the wheat?”

“No, we might get rain tonight or tomorrow night, so I say we wait. It won’t take that long to load up, and I’d rather keep it in the barn for now.”

There were still a few boulders laying around from when John had built the large barn, so he moved them over to the spot he had picked out for the forge building and began to cut them apart. Digging out a three-foot pit that was thirty feet wide by forty feet long for the foundation, he cut the boulders into long, flat flagstones and crushed the rest of the stone into fine gravel, creating a solid base for the floor. After the gravel he put down the thick, two-inch flagstones that he cut from the boulders, creating a solid floor. Thanks to his mana his cuts were incredibly precise, and the floor fit together almost exactly.

To help deal with the heating and cooling of the stone, John mixed up some mortar and ran it between the flagstones, running a finger along the joints to smooth it out. With the floor finished, he took stock of the stone they had left and made a nighttime trip out to the local river where he pulled the boulders. Gathering a few more boulders, he carried them back to the farm, returning twice to get more. On his last trip, he had just picked up a boulder when he caught sight of something poking from the dirt under the boulder he had just moved.

Placing the stone down, he crouched to get a closer look, his eyes narrowing as he realized it was a pale hand. Picking up a stick, he poked some of the dirt aside and began to examine the body, making sure not to touch it. The boulder he had just moved was fairly large and had clearly been rolled over onto the corpse after it was buried, but it looked as if whoever had buried the body had been in a hurry, since it was not completely covered.

Frowning, John put the boulder back, covering up the body again. Picking a different boulder, he carried it back to the farm and then knocked on the door of the bunk house. A moment later, Thomas appeared and John gestured for him to follow. Hooking up the horse to their cart, John grabbed some hay for the back of the cart and tossed a tarp in. Taking shovels, the two men headed for the river, arriving at the boulder when it had just started to get light. Moving the boulder aside, John gestured for Thomas to take a look.

“I’d say at least three months,” Thomas said after examining the exposed flesh of the corpse.

“So, they were killed during winter?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm. Well, let’s dig them out and get them to town. Maybe someone can identify them.”

Careful not to damage the corpse further, John and Thomas dug around the body and lifted it out, placing it in the tarp. Hearing Thomas’ sharp intake of breath, John looked over at him. While Thomas hadn’t seen the number of corpses John had during his time in the military, it wasn’t far off, so John knew the middle-aged man couldn’t be afraid of the dead body.

“There are two more.”

“Two more bodies?” John asked, letting out a low whistle.

“Young woman, around fifteen from what’s left of her dress. And an older man. I’d say in his sixties.”

“Well, this just got much worse. Let’s get them in the cart.”

By the time John and Thomas had finished excavating the grave, there were five bodies, all in various states of decomposition. While not a trained coroner, Thomas had more than ample experience with the ways that a person could be killed and was easily able to identify the causes of death. Pointing to the marks on the ribs and spine of the skeleton they unearthed at the bottom of the grave, he explained.

“Long dagger with a leaf-shaped blade, thrust to the heart. You can see where the blade scraped the bone, leaving clean cuts, which means the blade was moving really fast. That makes me think it was a skill. No regular person could slice bone like this. Chip it, sure, but this is a cut. The killer should be a class holder.”

“Are all of them the same?”

“Yes, though the young woman was strangled as well,” Thomas said, pointing to the discoloration on the body’s neck. “From behind with a garrote. You can see where the wooden handle bruised the skin on her spine. However, it was clearly done after she was dead. You can see from the type of bruising that her heart wasn’t beating when the garrote was used. Strange.”

“What a mess. Well, let’s get them to the village.”

Despite John’s calm expression, Thomas could feel the grim air that hung around his boss as they drove the cart back to Fairford. By the time they arrived at the inn, the sun had been up for an hour and the village was bustling. Jumping down from the driver’s seat of the cart, John strode into the inn. Seeing Sven in his usual spot, John walked down to the end of the bar and gestured for Sven to come down to join him.

“Morning, John. What can I get you?”

“Breakfast, for me and Thomas. Two ales as well. But before that, where would I go if I had crimes to report and the bodies to go along with them?”

Eyes going wide, Sven carefully placed down the glass he was holding and looked past John at the cart that was out front. Seeing Thomas leaning against the cart, carefully watching the people passing by, Sven grimaced.

“You said crimes? As in multiple?”

“Mmhm.”

“Oh no. I’ll take you over to the jail. Give me a second.”

Letting the waitress know he was going to be leaving, Sven put the towel he normally carried over his shoulder down on the bar and walked out with John. With Thomas leading the horse, they walked down the street to where the village’s small jail stood. A squat stone building, the jail did double duty as a morgue, and with the help of the sheriff, they unloaded the bodies onto the table that dominated the main room. The first thing the sheriff did as he unloaded the bodies was flip them over to look at their backs. Seeing the telltale sign of the murderer who had been loose in the valley for the last few years, he let out a depressed sigh.

“Five people? How on earth are we supposed to deal with this? The village is already upset from the murders this fall. I thought we were in the clear since there were no more deaths this winter, but clearly that wasn’t the case.”

It was impossible to identify the two heavily decomposed corpses that were so old they had been reduced to almost nothing but bone, but three of the corpses were only a few months old at most. After looking them over, the sheriff shook his head and made a note in the jail’s log.

“This is, without question, Herbert, his son, and granddaughter. They have, well, had, a small hunting cabin out on the edge of the valley. Moved into the valley maybe four years ago? They mostly kept to themselves and only came into town once or twice a year. They were standoffish folks, even when they did come in.”

“Probably because they were wanted criminals,” Thomas remarked, causing everyone to look at him in surprise.

Gesturing to the bodies of the two men, Thomas pointed to the small tattoo both men carried on the back of their necks.

“That is the tattoo of a conscription legion. Conscription legions don’t disband, and the last one was wiped out in a skirmish with Allera six years ago. If they were all the way out here, they probably deserted the unit, which is a crime punishable by immediate execution.”

Silence fell as Thomas finished speaking, and everyone looked down at the bodies of the two men, lost in their own thoughts. Finally, shaking his head, the sheriff grimaced.

“Well, nothing for a corpse to be charged with. I better get Halden to let him know.”

“Is anything being done about the murderer?” John asked in a quiet voice.

“As much as can be done,” the sheriff said, his tone depressed. “But we have no clues at this point. George is trying to keep an eye out, but that’s about all we can do.”

“I see.”

“Thanks for bringing them in at least,” said the sheriff, giving John a pained smile that clearly indicated he would have much rather for John to have left the bodies buried.

“Of course. If you find any leads, let me know. We’d be happy to help apprehend the criminal.”

Leaving the bodies in the jail while the sheriff headed off to find Halden, John, Thomas, and Sven headed back to get breakfast. Despite having handled corpses that morning, John and Thomas were so inured to dead bodies that they put down a hearty breakfast with no problem. While they ate, Sven sat with them, nursing an ale as he talked about what was already known about the murderer.

The main piece of evidence at the moment was that none of the victims ever showed a scared expression, indicating that they had all been killed while they were unaware. That either pointed to someone familiar with the victims, or someone who was ambushing them while they were facing the other direction. Given what Thomas had identified the latter was more likely, and after sharing a glance with Thomas, John decided to share. Putting down his knife, he stabbed the end of his fork into a piece of steak and lifted it to his lips.

“From what we saw, it has to be a class holder. Probably a Rogue. Maybe even an Assassin.”

Growing exceptionally still, Sven looked across the table at John, who was eating his steak without a care in the world. Thomas, on the other hand, was staring straight at the innkeeper. Swallowing, Sven looked at Thomas for a moment and then spoke carefully, making sure to keep both of his hands visible.

“An… an Assassin? That’s a rare class.”

“Yup. With a twelve-inch, leaf-shaped blade. Thin tip and edge, but with a thick tang for stabbing, almost like an awl.”

Letting out a small sigh of relief, Sven carefully reached for his coat, stopping when his fingers were just about to touch his lapel. The innkeeper had only met Thomas once, but he knew enough people like him to know that if he were to suddenly pull out a knife, he would be dead before it cleared the sheath.

“May I?”

Thomas didn’t react, but John nodded his head as he took a drink.

“Mm.”

Putting just his fingers into his coat, Sven pulled out a moon-shaped punching dagger with a triangular spike on the end and placed it on the table. Gesturing to it with his chin, he shook his head.

“The murders started well before I arrived in the valley. And even so, that’s only for brawls I can’t get out of. I’m a Rogue subclass, but all my skills are oriented toward gathering information. But there are no other Rogues in the valley that I know of.”

“That’s what we thought,” John said, pretending that the situation had never been tense. “Which is why I’m leaning toward someone of the Assassin class. One of the primary skills of the Assassin class is the ability to perfectly mask their mana while it’s not in use. Anyway, keep an eye out. If you find anything, let me know. Thanks for breakfast.”

Watching John and Thomas leave from the doorway of the inn, Sven was just turning to go back inside when he saw Halden and the sheriff walking over. Seeing Halden looking after John, Sven quietly filled the others in on what he had learned. Already slightly strained, Halden’s face grew slightly whiter, and he closed his eyes. There was no question that the townsfolk would be beating down his door as soon as they learned about the deaths, and he wasn’t looking forward to it. As the horse carried them out of the village, John glanced over his shoulder and saw the three men talking quietly on the porch. Thinking for a moment, he turned back to Thomas.

“You head back to the farm. I’ll be back around lunch.”

“May I ask where you’re going, sir? Just in case the madam asks?”

John’s words hung in the air, even as his body vanished from the seat beside Thomas.

“I’m going to go visit Haver.”

CHAPTER 10

Sprinting through the woods, John kept a careful watch for people who might see him. Few of the valley’s residents were out at nighttime, but the same could not be said during the day. There were at least one hundred hunters spread around the valley who provided for themselves by hunting, fishing, and trapping. Many of them were people who, for their own reasons, wanted to be left alone, and John was more than happy to oblige. Besides a small detour to avoid a fisherman at the river, his trip to Wolf Den was easy enough, and soon he stepped into the strange, still area at the foot of the path that led up to the bandit fort.

Pausing, John looked around a little but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, so with a shrug he headed up the mountain. Having learned their lesson from the first time John had come up the path, the two men watching the road ran away as fast as they could when they spotted him, not even bothering to warn the guards at the gate. Surprised by their abject fear, John stared after them until they vanished into the forest.

Shrugging, he continued to climb the mountain, arriving in front of the gate and the terrified guards. Recognizing one of them from the first time he came, John lifted his hand in greeting, pointedly ignoring the exaggerated flinch it elicited from the guard.

“Morning. Is Haver in?

“Y… yes! Let me go get him!”

“No! I’ll go. You stay here.”

“I’m not staying with… I mean, no, I’ll go.”

As amusing as it was to watch the two guards fight to abandon their comrade for the safety of the walls, John was on a short schedule. Waving to get their attention, he pointed to the gate.

“If you open the gate, I can go in myself.”

“Ahaha, yeah, that’s true,” one of the guards laughed nervously while the other grew white-faced.

“Look, you two won’t be able to stop me, and I guarantee that trying will only get you in trouble with Haver. Open the gate and pretend you never saw me. That’s the best way to do it.”

Sharing a glance, both the guards seemed to come to the realization that John was right at the same time. Hurrying to open the gate, they returned to their places on either side of the now-open entrance and stared straight ahead, ignoring John completely. With a low chuckle, John strolled into Wolf Den, nodding to the bandits who were all staring at him. The tension rose for a moment, but a loud voice cut through it before it could build to the point of exploding.

“Stand down, idiots! Or I’ll bash in your heads myself!”

Seeing Haver striding down the street with Wale trailing him, John smiled.

“Haver.”

The Wolf King held a small wolf pup that was staring at John with unbridled curiosity, and as he came to a stop the pup tried to jump down. Tightening his grip, Haver glared at John, a distrusting look in his eye.

“I thought we were going our separate ways. What are you doing here?”

“I can’t come talk to my friend?” John asked, continuing to walk forward.

“You have friends here?” Haver asked, looking around. “I only see a bunch of thugs who would love nothing more than to stick a knife in your kidney.”

“Good thing I have tough kidneys,” John said, grinning. “Good to see you too.”

Grumbling something resembling a greeting under his breath, Haver jerked his head for John to follow him back to the large hall at the center of the fort. Seeing that even more bandits had gathered around, the Wolf King growled and his aura exploded outward, smothering the area and causing all the bandits to cower.

“Get back to what you were doing! Bunch of fools. You couldn’t even scratch him if you all got a free attack, so why are you so eager to go to your deaths?”

Hearing Haver’s roar, the bandits paled and scattered. Less than thirty seconds later, John, Haver, and Wale were all alone. Still grumbling, Haver led the way back to the large hall, holding tight to the small wolf pup. Inside the hall, Haver conscientiously avoided the large, throne-like chair on the raised dais that he normally sat on and brought John to a small office where a large map was pinned to the wall. When John looked at the map with interest, Haver coughed loudly and gestured to the chairs scattered around the room.

“Have a seat.”

“Thanks,” John said, remaining standing next to the map.

Grinding his teeth, Haver did his best to keep his temper reigned in.

“Ahem. So, what can I do for you?”

Finally turning around, John took a seat and smiled at Haver.

“The murders in the valley, know anything about them?”

“You mean the backstabbing killer?”

“Is that what they’re called?”

“Uh, I’m not sure. That’s what we call them,” Haver said, glancing at Wale. “Wale, do we know anything about the murders?”

Shaking his head, the thin bandit gave John a hard look as he replied to his boss’ question.

“No. It’s not one of ours. We wouldn’t do something that stupid.”

“I figured as much,” John said with a shrug. “But I thought I would check, just in case. Which brings me to what I wanted to say. I’m going to be leaving the valley for two weeks to sell the wheat we’ve grown. The farm will be fine since Thomas is staying, but I wanted to ask you to keep an eye on the rest of the valley. Consider it like I’m hiring you to scout for the two weeks I’m gone.”

“Hire?” Wale asked before Haver could speak. “What are you paying? Our services don’t come cheap.”

Giving Wale a smile that wasn’t really a smile, John chuckled mirthlessly.

“My goodwill.”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Haver said quickly, glaring at Wale, who cowered back. “It’s only neighborly to look after things while you’re gone. I’ll send out my wolves to make sure nothing happens.”

Standing up, John glanced at the map once more before nodding to Haver.

“Thanks. We’re going to Kingsmouth. Anything you want?”

“No, we’re pretty good on supplies,” Haver said before pausing. “Actually, could you deliver a letter for me?”

“Sure.”

Waiting while the Wolf King quickly wrote a letter, John continued to examine the large map. One of the biggest challenges he had faced when he came to this world was the lack of any sort of reliable navigation system. For someone who had grown up with GPS, the complete inaccuracy of the maps present in this world had proven to be a nearly fatal shock on more than one occasion. He had never thought about maps as a matter of security, but ever since some bad intelligence had trapped him and a unit of soldiers in a ravine with no way to escape besides cutting their way through the enemy, he had grown sort of obsessed with creating the most accurate map of his surroundings possible.

Scanning the map inch by inch from the top right corner down to the bottom left corner, John firmly implanted the details of it into his mind so he could copy them onto his own map. He had continued to update it after getting George’s map of the valley, adding information from the areas he had been to. The bandits of Wolf Den were well-versed in the mountains and the surrounding areas, so there was plenty of detail on their map that John’s didn’t possess, along with notes regarding merchant routes, where rich people lived, and other things that would interest a bandit.

“Here you go.”

Taking the letter from Haver, John said goodbye and left Wolf Den, heading for the farm. The trip went smoothly, and the sun had just risen to the center of the sky when he got back. After a quick lunch, he helped Thomas and Even load up the bags of wheat into the empty carts. The rest of the day was spent working on finishing the stone building John had started. Cutting blocks of stone, he built nine six-foot-tall pillars, with thick squared logs set into them around the edge of the stone floor. Those pillars held up the long beams that ran the length of the building, which in turn held up the slightly sloped roof.

Rather than a traditional pitched roof, the roof was a foot higher at one end than at the other and sloped down across the whole length of the large building. On the raised side, a much smaller, steeply pitched overhang was added to keep the rain out. Between Thomas and John, they were able to finish everything apart from adding the slate by the time night fell, and early the next morning when Gofreid arrived with all his men to pick up the carts, John recruited them to lay slate, managing to do the entire thing in a single shot.

After serving a big lunch to the exhausted drivers, John got his bag ready and came out to the kitchen to talk to Ellie about what to do while he was gone. To his surprise, she was standing there with her own packed bag, telling Ben to make sure he fed the chickens properly. Turning around when John walked in, Ellie saw the look on his face and her smile faltered slightly. Everyone else in the room bolted for the door, and within seconds the large kitchen was empty apart from John and Ellie.

“What’s this?” John asked, nodding at the bag.

“I’m coming with you to Kingsmouth.”

“I told you, it’s not safe outside the valley.”

“But I’m a class holder now. I can take care of myself.”

“It’s not even safe for class holders,” John said with a frown.

“Then why are you going?”

Caught off guard by her question, John looked at Ellie squarely and realized there was no way he was going to be able to persuade her to stay. Rubbing his forehead, he sighed. Part of the reason he didn’t want to bring her along was because he would be hard-pressed to hide his magic from her if anything did happen, but he also recognized that hiding it forever was a pipe dream. If she didn’t already understand what he was she would eventually, so there didn’t seem to be much point trying to keep it under wraps.

“Fine. But you have to promise me you’ll listen to what I say.”

Ellie’s face lit up with a wide smile as she heard John’s words.

“Of course!”

Picking up her bag, she opened the door, stopping when she saw everyone standing on the porch staring at her.

“Ahem, madam, if you would come this way. We’ve reserved a seat for you on the third cart,” Gofreid said, trying his best to clear the awkward air.

“Will I be riding with John?” Ellie asked, suddenly hesitant.

“Of course, of course. As long as Mr. Sutton doesn’t mind driving?”

Stepping out of the kitchen in time to hear the question, John nodded.

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

After saying goodbye to everyone on the farm, including Sigvald and Ferdie, the caravan left, making their way back to Fairford, where they picked up a dozen more carts and nearly thirty mercenaries who had been living in a camp on the outskirts of the town. In a massive procession, the caravan wound its way out of the valley and began the long trek toward Kingsmouth.

From what John could remember, the river town of Kingsmouth was a relatively large, walled city that served as the southern trade hub for Lepiera. The kingdom had only been around for about twenty years, and during that time Kingsmouth had grown from a quiet fishing village to a fortified bastion designed to be used as a retreat path for the nobles in the capital. A few years ago, the war with the neighboring country of Pleya had ended with the victory of Lepiera and their ally, Allera, rendering the fortress unnecessary, and since then it had grown by leaps and bounds.

During the wars many people were forced out into the wilderness, and Kingsmouth served as the link between all those people and the kingdom, allowing natural resources from the wilderness to flow into Lepiera’s center and refined goods to flow back out. Large armed caravans like the one they were part of were not uncommon on the road to Kingsmouth, as that seemed the only way to avoid the ever-present threat of bandits.

With twenty-four carts, Gofreid’s caravan was a juicy prize, but the thirty mercenaries and two drivers per cart made it imposing enough that few bandit groups would be willing to risk their lives attacking it. The exception would be bandit groups like Haver the Wolf King’s, but Haver clearly valued his life too much to even consider attacking a caravan John was part of, let alone a caravan carrying John’s goods. According to Gofreid, the only other bandit group that compared was past the mountains once they reached the plains.

On his way to the valley, John had been by himself and had been bothered by bandits almost constantly until, annoyed, he had wiped out three groups in row. After that they had left him alone, but a caravan like this was a prime target for the horse bandits that rode the plains. Unlike many people who lived in cities or out in the wilderness, the horse bandits were generational bandits who had been forced to the wide plains after their nation was destroyed nearly one hundred and fifty years ago. With their farmland obliterated by forbidden spells, they were forced to turn to banditry to survive and had since developed a distinct culture. Still relying on raiding to survive, caravans of food were their favorite target, which was why John had volunteered to come along for the first trip.

Keeping the cart in line, John and Ellie didn’t talk much as they left the valley, each lost in their own thoughts. It had been years since Ellie had last been outside the valley, and her thoughts were far ahead on what they might find in her Grandmother’s home. John, on the other hand, was trying not to scare the horses, who seemed unusually wary of him. The horses pulling the carts were strong animals, bred for the heavy loads they carried, and the whole caravan made good progress despite getting off nearly half a day late due to having helped John roof his forge. Heading up into the mountains, they spent their first night in a camp that overlooked the valley and the next morning left the valley behind, beginning the five-day journey to the city.

CHAPTER 11

“You know, when I was young, I always imagined travel would be fun,” Ellie said, staring out at the slowly moving mountains. “But as I grew older and started traveling, I realized I was entirely wrong. Travel is terribly boring. Being in new places is fun.”

“As long as everyone isn’t trying to kill you,” John said.

“True. That makes new places much less fun.”

“Did you do a lot of traveling after you left your grandmother’s house?”

“Enough to put a bad taste in my mouth,” Ellie said, glancing at John with a smile. “But now that I think about it, it could have been all the people trying to kill me.”

“Yeah, they tend to put a real crimp on things. Hopefully we’ll have a nice, peaceful, boring trip to and from the city. If I’m honest, in the early days, traveling was my favorite time.”

“Oh? You don’t find this dull?”

“Well, for me, travel was the only time someone wasn’t trying to kill me. At least, that’s what it felt like. Granted, that travel tended to be from one battlefield to another, so at the end of the day, it was really just a big blur of trying to stay alive. It’s strange how many people seem to have that same experience.”

“It’s true,” Ellie nodded, her expression growing troubled. “My grandmother used to say that this world was not long for destruction and that the people in it were simply living in the final moments of a world being torn apart.”

“She was a wise woman, your grandmother,” John said, instinctively checking his Doom Points.

Doom Points: 73/100

“Do you believe this world is at its end? Are we in the apocalypse?”

“No, not yet. Life in the valley is pretty good, and the farm sure doesn’t feel like the apocalypse to me. And I think, so long as we stay vigilant, we should be able to keep it from getting there. Out here, however,” John paused, gesturing to the mountainous terrain around them, “out here, it’s a different story. You’ve been in the valley for the last few years, so you better prepare yourself. Things were bad a year ago when I came to the valley, and I bet they’ve gotten worse.”

“What sorts of things?”

“Poverty. But not just a lack of resources. No, it’s the dangerous kind of poverty. The ‘I don’t have any food and I’ll kill for a mouthful of bread’ sort of poverty. But the problem is that it’s not just poor people. Everyone has been infected with the mindset. You know, it’s more than that though. Sure, there’s not enough to go around, but people are resourceful and can survive on very little. The real problem is when everyone feels like they don’t have enough and that stabbing their neighbor to get his share is an acceptable option. Sure, sometimes people need a good stabbing, but never because they have something we don’t. Unfortunately, very few people seem to share my sentiments regarding this.

“When I left the capital city, which is supposed to be the shining gem of our kingdom, I was mugged three times before I was able to make it out of the gate. And only once was it by an actual mugger. The other two times were gangs of women and kids. Completely wild, but they saw me making my way through their alleys and figured my gear would sell for a good penny. What shocked me is how happy they were to attack me when I didn’t give in. Though, I guess nothing trains a population that violence is an acceptable solution to their problems like two hundred years of war.”

“Isn’t the war over?”

“It is, but when I left tensions with Allera were causing the peace to start to break down.”

“Allera? Aren’t they our ally?”

“Sure, but they don’t have any food either, and the only land that still works for growing edible food is here in Lepiera. We’ve been sending them as much food as we can, but honestly, there’s not enough to go around, so tensions have started ramping up. I’m sure that the empress of Allera has no desire to go to war, but the nobles under her seem to really like the idea. Hah, as if killing each other might actually help us. That’s one of the reasons I retired and left for the valley. I have no desire to rejoin the war.”

For the next mile, Ellie sat quietly as they rumbled along. Finally, her eyes rising to the tall flag fluttering proudly on their cart, she spoke again.

“What about the Eternal Flame? Doesn’t the Ecclesia say he’ll save us?”

John had been flabbergasted when Gofreid sheepishly gave them a flag to put in their cart. The way the merchant practically ran away after giving it to him should have given him a clue as to what it was. The familiar blue flame motif on a deep red flag had nearly caused John to fly into a rage, and it was only after a long moment of internal debate that he didn’t rip Gofreid’s head clean from his body right then and there. Ellie had taken it from him happily and strung it up on the flagpole that rose behind the cart’s driver seat, joining the other twenty-three carts. The practice of using a flag to identify the power behind a caravan was common enough, but it was rare that the flag of the Ecclesia would be used directly.

“The Eternal Flame? Hah.”

Sneering, John spit to the side, causing Ellie to gasp. Ignoring her startled stare, John took a deep breath to calm the storm raging in him.

“The Eternal Flame can’t even save himself, let alone everyone else. Listen. I was there, on those battlefields. Every. Single. One. The Eternal Flame did nothing but destroy. People like to talk him up, they like to glorify what he did for us, but do you know why the world is the way it is? Because that maniac couldn’t control himself, and in the last fight against Pleya he wiped out an entire country. I was on that battlefield and witnessed it firsthand.”

Quailing slightly under the intensity of the venom in John’s voice, Ellie steeled her courage and reached out to touch John lightly on the arm. His body was so warm it was nearly scalding, but she kept her hand on him.

“But in doing so, he saved our nation. At least, that’s what the stories say,” Ellie said quietly.

Letting out a sigh, John nodded.

“That’s true. Pleya had two legendary Mages who were hellbent on establishing themselves as the rulers of the continent. Who knows how much damage they would have done if they’d been allowed to run wild. But the price… it was too much. Many of my friends died that day. Killed by insane Mages.”

“You cannot blame the Eternal Flame for the work of mad Mages.”

“But what if he’s one of them?” John asked, turning to stare at Ellie. “Do you know any Mages who aren’t utterly insane?”

“The Witch of the Wind, Empress Katrine of Allera.”

“Hah, she’s too weak to be mad.”

Realizing he had just spoken too much, John shut his mouth before he accidentally incriminated himself. For the next few miles, they sat in silence until Gofreid finally called for them to make camp for the night. As they began to circle the carts, Ellie finally spoke up, her voice quiet and defensive.

“I… I don’t have the experience on the battlefield that you do, but I think he’s trying. I think the Eternal Flame is doing his best to save the world. After my grandmother died, I wandered for a long time. I nearly died many times, and it was the Ecclesia’s priestesses who took me in. They didn’t have to, but they saw I was in need and helped me. They were the ones who gave me food and a job so I could earn enough money to start a new life in the valley. And I saw them helping so many other people as well, even when it meant they didn’t have enough for themselves, all because the Eternal Flame taught them how. I saw the Ecclesia’s priests protect others, even when it meant getting injured for it. All because the Eternal Flame showed them that they could. He was the one who showed them how to help the world. He might be an insane Mage, but if that’s true, it’s a madness this world needs more of.”

Opening his mouth, John realized he was unable to find the words to reply. After a moment, he parked the cart and jumped down. In the pink glow of the setting sun, the maroon flags snapping in the mountain wind seemed to bring him back to days long ago. Blinking, John felt his heart stir as the flames of anger in his chest died down.

“I’m sorry,” John said, unable to bring himself to look at Ellie. “You’re right. However much I might resent the Eternal Flame, the work of the Ecclesia deserves my respect. If it weren’t for them, I certainly wouldn’t be here either.”

Hesitating as if he was going to say something else, John finally closed his lips and hurried to unhitch the horses. Watching him work, Ellie found that her heart was breaking, though she didn’t know why. Lifting her head to look once more at the fluttering flag, she breathed out, fortifying herself, and then got to work, getting out the tents for the night. After John had finished picketing the horses he came over to help her, and then the two of them joined the rest of the caravan workers for dinner. A few of the mercenaries were there eating as well while the rest kept watch for bandits.

Despite being one of only a handful of women in the caravan, Ellie didn’t seem to be at all bothered and carried herself with a calm assurance, even when some of the men stared a little longer than was polite. Getting food for herself and John, she carried it over to him and sat down next to him to eat.

“Will we be out of the mountains tomorrow?”

“We should be,” John said, scooping up some of the stew from his bowl with a bit of bread. “It’ll depend on if we can get out without a fight or not.”

“Do you think we’ll be able to?” Ellie asked, looking around at the mountains that surrounded them.

“Honestly, it’s a roll of the dice at this point. Bandits aren’t the only threat in these mountains. They’re filled with beasts, and we’re literally made from food.”

“Hah, that’s true, we are.”

Night fell quickly in the mountains and after dinner it was already almost completely dark, so everyone who was not on watch went to bed. It didn’t take John long to fall into his normal, nightmare-filled sleep, but a sound in the middle of the night woke him up with a start. Instantly alert, he realized someone was scratching on the side of his tent.

“Yes?”

“J… John…. Some… something is… is coming.”

Even before Ellie managed to stammeringly whisper the words John was out of his tent, standing next to her, his warm hand on her shoulder. Clutched in her hand was the small crossbow he had taken from Catherine and the herbalist pouch was slung across her shoulder. She was even wearing the leather armor they had recovered from Sandra.

“Come into the tent,” John said, not wanting to alert anyone else until he knew what Ellie was talking about.

Pulling her into his tent, he opened his pack and got out the set of leather armor Grimes had been wearing and slipped into it. The spots Ellie had stabbed through the armor had been repaired and reinforced with thin metal plates, and it had been adjusted to fit his broader shoulders. Once his daggers were strapped across his waist and his sword was in his hand, he looked at Ellie. Her face was still white, but now that she was out of the cold mountain air and in his tent she was no longer trembling.

“Alright, speak slowly. What’s going on?”

“I… I saw something coming. Darkness was creeping toward our camp. It came like a mist, but that mist was filled with terrifying creatures that lurched unnaturally. But the most terrifying part was the darkness itself. It moved as if it was alive. And it was looking at me. I can’t describe it, but it seemed to know I was here.”

“Were you using magic to look at it?” John asked, his forehead furrowing and his grip on his sword tightening.

“Y… yes,” Ellie said, twisting her fingers together. “I was using a spell to see if we were going to have a peaceful night. When the wind spirit answered negatively, I asked it to show me the threat. It tried to show me what was in the darkness, but before I could see anything the spirit was destroyed.”

“Counter-scrying. That means we’re dealing with a magic user,” John said, his voice grim. “Hopefully not a full-fledged Mage. Some sort of darkness magic maybe? We need to find out from Gofreid if there are any bandits around here with magic users. Otherwise, we could be dealing with a kobold shaman or another beast caster. Come on, I need you to explain this to Gofreid.”

Leaving the tent, they had just straightened up when a throaty scream sounded from the hillside, startling the camp awake. The scream echoed from all around the camp, throwing everyone into confusion as it became impossible to hear where the enemies were coming from. Frowning, John stretched out his hand and snapped, causing all the screams to cut off abruptly as the sound of the click forced everything in the surrounding area to a standstill. Unsheathing his sword, he lifted it in the air, causing a blue glow to light up the camp as flames burst to life on his sword.

“Prepare for an all-out defense! The enemy comes!”

Mercenaries boiled out of their tents, throwing on their armor and checking their weapons as they ran to their positions. Though slower by a few steps, the drivers followed after them, clutching their weapons as they struggled to get into any armor they had. From a tent near the center of the camp came Gofreid and the captain of the mercenaries, a hulking Barbarian with a crimson beard and two heavy axes. Seeing John’s shining sword, the Barbarian’s eyes lit up, and he began to shout orders to the defenders.

CHAPTER 12

“Things are going to get wild in a minute. Do your best to stay with Gofreid,” John said curtly, striding toward the merchant, who was clutching an ornate short sword.

Behind him Ellie looked around nervously, her crossbow clutched to her chest. Where John’s shout had galvanized the mercenaries to action, the Barbarian’s roars had forced them into their pretrained routines. Torches lit up all around the circle as the mercenaries passed the three small fires that had been smoldering in the camp. Dropping the torches into the sconces attached to the sides of the carts, they created a solid ring of light as the first of the bandits came running out of the darkness.

Dressed in little more than rags, the bandit had a crazed expression on his face and carried a crude wooden club with a spike through it in one hand, and a rusty hatchet in the other. Screaming hoarsely, he charged the cart line, trying to jump up to attack the mercenaries on the cart, only to get stabbed by two spears and thrown back. Undeterred by his wounds, he lifted himself up, blood streaming down his chest. Despite the gaping wound in his shoulder that revealed his bones to the world, he lifted his hatchet and charged again, this time going down to a stab in his throat.

“They’re drugged,” the red-bearded Barbarian said grimly. “Let’s just hope there aren’t too many of them.”

Screams continued to echo through the mountains as more and more crazed bandits threw themselves at the mercenaries without a single thought for their survival. Like wild animals, they did their best to claw their way into the circle of the carts, only to be driven back by the sharp spears the mercenaries wielded. Standing in the center of the circle, John’s gaze was not on the desperate struggle; instead, his attention was completely fixed on the hillside that was cast in darkness.

There was a strange sensation in the darkness, as if it were a tangible, living thing, but John could tell that it was actually the aura of a magic user that had been spread out to give a shadowy, gloomy characteristic to the area. That must have been what Ellie had sensed when she had been scrying. Hoping that it meant there was only one enemy caster, John weighed his options and then turned to Gofreid and the Barbarian mercenary leader.

“There’s an enemy magic user,” John said, gesturing for Ellie to explain what she had experienced.

Unsure if it was okay to tell the others about her ability to use magic, she looked at John, who realized he had never briefed her on how to talk to other class holders. Quickly continuing to speak before she said something they would all regret, John let out a cough.

“Ahem, she has a precognition skill and woke me up as the enemy was approaching.”

Eyes widening, Gofreid stared at Ellie and then at John, completely shocked that Ellie was a class holder. Despite the tenseness of the situation, he scanned back through his mind as he tried his best to remember if he had ever disrespected her in any way. While Gofreid was having a mini panic attack for a reason completely unrelated to the current circumstances, the Barbarian smiled happily. He had assumed that he was the only class holder in the caravan but now found out that there were actually two more, and while one of them looked like she would be completely useless in a fight, the other had a flaming sword.

“I… I saw a growing darkness, with lurching bandits,” Ellie said, her voice catching.

“Lurching?” the red-bearded Barbarian asked, frowning. “Not drugged up and screaming? Are you sure they were lurching?”

Being questioned seemed to help Ellie fortify her spirit, and she nodded seriously.

“I am. They moved unnaturally, with a jerking motion.”

Looking at each other, John and the red-bearded Barbarian spoke at the same time.

“Undead.”

“Undead.”

Snapping back to the present just in time to hear the words from the two class holders, Gofreid let out a shriek and then covered his mouth.

“Undead? As in a Corpse Thief?”

Shrugging, John continued to scan the defensive line, looking for the telltale signs of the undead.

“Or a Witch Doctor,” he said. “That might be more likely, since we’re seeing drugs involved. Regardless, we better let the mercenaries know before they get killed by a bandit they’ve already put down.”

“I’ll handle that,” the red-bearded Barbarian said, stepping forward and raising his voice. “Oi! Listen up! Our enemy is out of their minds, but their bones are not as strong as our steel. Just watch the slippery buggers, because there might be undead hiding among them! Don’t let your guard down. Set the corpses on fire and kick them out of the circle!”

John was impressed with how little panic there was among the mercenaries as they immediately set about doing exactly what they were instructed to do. Using their weapons and sometimes their hands and feet, the mercenaries pushed the bodies of the dead bandits off the carts and picked up the torches to toss down on them. As if they could sense the incoming fire, mana swelled among the dead bandits and they began to moan, their limbs flailing as they started to push themselves to their feet.

“Haha, you were right!” the red-bearded Barbarian shouted, nearly deafening Ellie as his voice boomed across the battlefield. “You know the drill, boys! Bring the circle in! Spears out! Let them push past steel if they want to get to our flesh!”

Hurrying to retreat, the mercenaries rushed into the center of the camp, making a circle inside of the three burning fires. Joining up shoulder to shoulder, the mercenaries all turned and faced outward, their spears held outstretched. While the mercenaries were defending the carts, the drivers had dumped more wood on the fires which were now jumping, keeping the entire area inside the carts well-lit. It was into this circle of light that the shambling, jolting undead began to stagger.

Their wounds still fresh, the zombie bandits began to charge forward, their hoarse screams from before replaced with low pitched groans. From the mountainside came even more noises, as out of the darkness a large wave of undead staggered toward the circle of light. Steel met undead flesh, but the zombies had no sense of pain and did their best to push forward. Standing in the middle of the defensive circle, the red-bearded Barbarian continued to bellow out commands, telling his men how to defeat the enemy.

Yet despite their cooperation, the mercenaries had a terrible time trying to keep the undead back. In ever growing numbers the undead pressed in around them. From where she stood in the center of the circle, Ellie saw one monster lose its legs to a heavy slash of a spear and then try to crawl forward to bite the mercenary who had cut it down. The fighting was fierce and the enemy felt endless, and no matter how many of the undead they hacked apart, more seemed to crawl down from the hills. Noticing that the mercenaries were starting to flag, John glanced at the red-bearded Barbarian but found that the mercenary leader was instead looking at him, as if waiting for him to take charge.

“One of us needs to take down the leader. Once the magic user is dead, the spell that keeps animating these bodies will collapse as well,” John said. “The other person will stay here and fight, prioritizing keeping as many of our mercenaries alive as possible.”

“Great! Do you know where the leader of these maniacs is hiding?” the Barbarian asked, his voice booming over the moans of the undead and shouts of the mercenaries.

Shooting a glance at John, a determined look came over Ellie’s face, and she muttered something under her breath. Blinking, she swept the hillside with her gaze, coming to a stop for a fraction of a second on a small copse of trees.

“There! In those trees!”

Lifting his warhammer, the Barbarian was about to rush out of the closing circle when John stopped him.

“You stay here and deal with the undead. Your hammer will be better for it. Remember, you have to crush the crystal in their brains, or they won’t stop.”

Not waiting for a response, John’s body seemed to blur, blue flames flashing around his legs as he wove through the defenders. Passing through the lurching undead, his sword stabbed out, leaving burning holes in half a dozen zombie’s skulls. The undead zombies had a natural aversion for his blue flame, and with moans, the few that survived his high-speed charge lunged away. Watching him vanish into the darkness, the red-bearded Barbarian let out a loud roar as he activated his rage and stormed forward, his warhammer smashing the zombies apart. As he charged forward, he roared out with a voice that shook the mountains.

“You heard him, boys! Target their heads!”

Tuning out the fight behind him, John narrowed his focus and darted through the undead horde. Despite it being nighttime, he could see perfectly thanks to the mana that flooded his eyes, and his steps were sure and nimble as he carved his way through the flood of zombies. Flickering with magical blue flames, his sword stabbed out again and again, each time unerringly piercing through the zombies’ eye sockets, open mouths, or nose cavities to stab into their brains, ending their unlives with merciful speed. Down below, Ellie watched as the blue flame danced its way up the mountain, twisting this way and that with a supernatural vigor.

As he advanced, John made sure to keep his attention away from the trees where Ellie had spotted the enemy. Anyone who played with magic that could create undead was typically abhorred by the entire world and had to skulk about in the shadows on the outskirts of society. Such a life naturally bred great cunning, and John had no desire to chase a crafty enemy all over the mountains.

Ducking under a flailing lunge, John’s sword swung at what seemed to be an impossible angle and jumped straight up, stabbing through the bottom of the zombie’s jaw and driving up into the monster’s brain. As blue flames cooked the inside of the zombie’s head, John kicked, throwing the monster’s corpse away. At the same time, he could feel his enemy’s magic creeping up on him. Dark tendrils of mana probed his mana, looking for a way to pierce through his defenses. The dark mana was slimy and cold, like the rain-slicked hand of a decomposed corpse thrusting through the soil. It was not the first time he had felt such mana, and feeling it again sent a shock through him.

He swung his burning gaze over to the trees, his mana spiking out of control as the memories of his last fight against someone who had this sort of mana flashed through his mind. This was not the mana of a Corpse Thief, or even a Witch Doctor, like he had suspected. No, this was the mana of the most reviled of Mages, the Necromancer. Where the Corpse Thief and Witch Doctor could raise hordes of undead through their skills, the Necromancer had perfected the art. In John’s last and only fight against a Necromancer, he and his soldiers had been forced to fight against an endless horde of undead minions, watching as their fallen friends were added to the evil Mage’s army. Just like a Mage, the Necromancer studied magic to bend the world to their will, but in this case the magic they studied dealt with the manipulation of people’s minds and bodies. Wherever a Necromancer went, death followed behind, usually closely and walking on its own feet. Though John’s army had eventually triumphed and he had managed to mortally wound the Necromancer, he hadn’t been able to confirm the evil Mage’s death, a fact that had always caused him regret.

With a flash, John appeared among the trees, his flaming blade slicing through them like they were twigs. With a strange scream, the robed figure lurking between the trees vanished, a zombie taking their place. As they lifted their hand to cast a spell, John appeared in front of them, his sword stabbing toward their head. Barely jerking back in time, the hood of the robed figure tore as the sharp point of John’s sword slashed through it. The burning fabric fell away to reveal a completely hairless woman with strange markings on her face and a grinning skull tattooed on the side of her skull. Off-balance, the bald woman tumbled to the ground as blue windows flashed across John’s vision.

[+1 Doom Point.]

[The apocalypse draws closer.]

Practically snarling through his gritted teeth, John turned his stab into a downward slash, intending to separate the woman’s head from her shoulders, but right before his sword connected it was repelled by a dark shield of mana that appeared around her. Another strange scream rang out as the woman vanished in a burst of darkness, zipping across the mountain to reappear between some rocks. No sooner had she staggered to her feet than John appeared like an avenging angel, his eyes glowing bright with blue flames.

Again his sword fell and again the shield appeared, blocking his attack at the last moment. Eyes narrowing as he tracked the mana racing away again, John snapped his fingers, activating the mana in his feet to dash after the escaping Necromancer. From his Mana Control it was clear that the powerful mana that was keeping the undead zombies active was not actually the Necromancer’s but instead belonged to some sort of powerful artifact she held. What had thrown John off guard was that the Necromancer was clearly a new class holder and had not even reached the titled status.

Reappearing as she did, John finished casting his spell and four Water Arrows appeared in the air over the Necromancer’s head. Madness filled her eyes as she saw John appearing and, lifting a shaky finger, she spoke in a voice that was mixed between a growl and a shriek.

“My master will find you and flay your flesh from your bones. He will use your blood to bind your soul in an everlasting covenant to serve him as a slave!”

[+1 Doom Point]

[The apocalypse draws closer.]

Feeling his mana spiking again, John let out a breath that completely incinerated everything around them, burning the vegetation and rocks so quickly that they produced no light. As the dark mana shield sprang up around her, the Necromancer watched in horror as the ground transformed into a sheet of glass from the heat John’s breath contained. Despite the simplicity of his action, the mana his breath contained was so powerful that it caused the dark mana shield to writhe, nearly breaking apart. Just before her movement spell could activate again, her dark mana shield fell away and the four Water Arrows slammed into her, piercing through her spine, her lungs, her heart, and her skull.

CHAPTER 13

In the moments when the Necromancer had tried to escape from him before, John had seen the tiny gap between the two spells she had used. Her shield was being powered by a grinning skull that was tied to her belt while the escape spell was something she was casting herself. However, the dark mana shield could not be used at the same time as the shadow escape spell, and there was a brief moment between when the shield deactivated and her escape spell took form that John had seized.

Even as mana began to wrap around her body to transport her away, the rotating Water Arrows stabbed deep into her body. Ripping through her skin and muscles, the spells dug through her body until they slammed into her bones. Even then, the powerful rotational force could not be stopped, crushing and shattering her bones. Death came instantly to the Necromancer, despite her supernaturally strong body, as John’s mana completely overwhelmed her.

Seeing her corpse explode into chunks, ripped apart by the four Water Arrows, John’s expression did not change. Bloody water splattered toward him, but before it could get close it evaporated into nothingness under the heat radiating from his body. Eyes narrowed, John saw a shadow burst forth from the Necromancer’s corpse, attempting to flee into the sky. Recognizing the spirit of the Necromancer, John’s lips curled back in a grim smile, and he reached out with his hand. The last time he had fought against a Necromancer he had not managed to kill them because he was unaware that Necromancers could separate their spirit from their body.

This time, however, that was not the case. Bringing his fingers together, he transformed the surrounding mana into a cage and trapped the fleeing spirit, bringing it to a halt. In the instant before the mana cage closed in and incinerated the Necromancer’s spirit, John felt a deeply malevolent gaze settle on him as an eerie eye opened up inside the trapped spirit. Instantly recognizing the mana signature of the legendary Necromancer he had fought all those years ago, John just sneered and met the gaze clearly.

[+1 Doom Point]

[The apocalypse draws closer.]

Clenching his fist, the mana cage closed completely, erasing both the eye and the female Necromancer’s spirit from the world. As the trapped spirit died, the spell that had been animating all the bandits’ corpses began to fall apart. In the moment before he pulled his mana back, John sent out tiny tongues of flame that traced along the lines of mana, burning away the gloomy, dark feeling until they reached the now-inert corpses. Down at the camp, the beleaguered mercenaries let out a cheer as the zombies began to erupt with blue flames, falling to the ground and burning away.

Taking a breath, John pulled all his mana back, locking it into his lungs and chest where it roiled with the fury of a fire storm. It took a moment to get it under control, but once he did, he immediately checked his Doom Points.

Doom Points: 76/100

I can’t believe I picked up three Doom Points just to deal with a non-titled class holder. That shield was easily at the legendary level though, which means that this Necromancer was probably an apprentice. Ugh. The last thing this world needs is a Necromancer training apprentices.

Crouching, John began to examine the remains of the Necromancer’s corpse, completely unbothered by the blood that was splattered everywhere. Any time his fingers got close to the watery blood, it simply evaporated. John had spent a long enough time scrabbling around on the battlefield that he was an efficient looter, and a few minutes later he was walking back down the mountainside toward the caravan camp. As soon as she saw the blue flame from his sword, Ellie ran over to him, her crossbow still clutched to her chest.

“John! Are you okay?!”

Blinking, John felt the question strike at his heart. He was not quite used to this new side of herself that Ellie was showing, though he couldn’t quite say he disliked it. It was a strange feeling for him to have someone ask after his well-being.

“I’m fine. I killed the magic user.”

Before Ellie could say anything else, a booming voice washed over them and the red-bearded Barbarian stomped over, his bloody warhammer resting on his shoulder.

“Haha! Well done! You ended that really fast, which was good. My name is Belsker Redbeard, captain of the Redbeard Mercenary troop!”

Staring blankly at Belsker for a second, John couldn’t resist making a comment.

“Is it because you have a big red beard?”

“Hey! You’re sharp! Haha, yup, they get their name from me, and I got it from my big red beard.”

Watching Belsker happily stroke his beard with a blood-covered hand, John had to suppress the urge to shudder. Instead, he looked around the camp as he walked over to where Gofreid was standing, Ellie and Belsker trailing close behind. The mercenaries were all tending to the injured and trying to clean up their weapons while the drivers were doing their best to repair the damage that had been done to the carts. Seeing that everything was in hand, John sheathed his sword and joined Gofreid. The merchant had never once panicked during the attack, though given that he knew John’s identity, it made sense.

“Thank you, your em… Mr. Sutton,” Gofreid said, bowing. “We were lucky to have you with us. Madam Ellie as well. Without your warning, we would have been caught unprepared. Please rest assured, we will clean up the camp and dispose of the bodies so you can get some rest.”

Looking around, John nodded. Everything seemed well in hand, so he and Ellie went back to their tents to try and catch a bit more sleep before morning’s light. When the sky began to turn gray before dawn, the camp was up and bustling as they got ready to go. The drivers and mercenaries were more than happy to put as much distance between themselves and the sight of the attack as possible. Though the zombie’s corpses had been dealt with using fire, it was nerve-wracking being near them.

As the caravan got underway, Ellie sat a little closer than normal to John, her hands clutching her crossbow. She was still dressed in the leather armor she had worn the night before and there was a grimness about her mouth that had not been present when they set out on the trip. Glancing over at her, John couldn’t help but smile.

“You shouldn’t need that today,” he said, gesturing to the crossbow.

“I know, but it makes me feel better,” Ellie said plainly.

“Haha, fair enough. You did really well last night. Most people would have passed out as soon as the first zombie attacked.”

“Those were zombies? You said it was a type of undead monster, right?”

“Correct. They’re made from the fusion of magic and corpses. There are a number of classes that can create and control zombies, but those were from a proper Necromancer.”

“What is a Necromancer?” Ellie asked, some of her tension vanishing as her curiosity kicked in.

“Necromancers are the worst kind of Mage,” John said, shaking his head. “They tend to be people obsessed with living forever, and the path they use to do it is studying death. But they’re generally reviled as completely evil. And rightly so.”

Realizing that Ellie was staring at him, her eyes narrowed dangerously, John pulled away subconsciously.

“What?”

“You fought a Mage last night?”

“Uh, not a powerful one,” John said hurriedly. “She was really more of an apprentice. She even mentioned how her master was going to flay me alive or something. Besides, Mages only really get dangerous once they hit the legendary stage. Titled Mages are nothing to sneeze at, of course, but even they can be killed if you understand how their spells work.”

“So I take it you’ve done this before,” Ellie said, looking down at the crossbow on her lap. “Fought Mages, I mean.”

Relieved that he had been able to play it off, John nodded.

“Oh, yeah. Back in my army days, I got promoted because of my ability to take down enemy spell casters. A tremendously useful skill on the battlefield, considering how dangerous a Mage can be in a mass fight.”

“And last night? Is that what gave you the courage to go out and fight against the Necrem… Necromancer?”

“Sort of. Fights are, at their core, a battle of information. A really famous guy once said that in a fight, the commander who had more information and could do more calculations as a result would win almost every time. I knew where the enemy was, I knew what sort of magic they were using, and I knew what their level was, so I was able to make more calculations than they could.”

“How did you know what level she was?”

“The type of undead she commanded,” John responded, twitching the reins to adjust the cart’s direction. “Higher level Necromancers will have stronger minions. Undead take a long time to create and are a Necromancer’s primary weapon, so keeping them undamaged is important. If she had possessed higher level undead minions, she would have thrown them against us at first to ensure the maximum number of her zombies survived. But higher level undead are harder to control. Every undead minion that is added to the group puts more pressure on the master, so she would have had to have been a titled class holder, or even a legendary class holder if she had shown higher level undead. That’s why we waited for a moment before running out to kill her.”

Letting out a sigh, Ellie shook her head.

“I don’t understand how you know all of this stuff.”

“Same way you know how to milk a cow,” John said, his voice grim. “Entirely too much practice. Undead are actually fairly common on battlefields where necromantic magic has been used in the past. So you always have to be on the watch for them. But it’s not entirely bad, you know. Necromancers often have some of the best gear, since they’re relatively powerful.”

“Gear?”

Nodding, John took out three things from his pouch and held them up for Ellie to see. There was a ring with a strange symbol on it, a grinning skull, and a magically locked book with runic writing on the spine.

“Recipes… of bones?”

Impressed by Ellie’s attempt to figure out the runes, John pointed to the first rune.

“This rune is grimoire, which is basically the same as a spellbook. This should contain some of the spells the Necromancer was using. This skull is a defensive artifact she was using to protect herself. It’s ruined right now because it was bound to her spirit, and she’s dead. And last, we have this ring. I have no idea what it is, but it probably serves as an identifier for whatever group she was part of.”

Thinking for a moment, Ellie snapped her fingers.

“You’re saying she was part of a group because she was controlling so many undead. If undead take a long time to create, then there’s no way she could have created all those zombies by herself. Additionally, supporting that many undead was probably beyond her ability. Since she mentioned a master, she probably was just controlling the undead her master had created. Plus, if she was supporting all the zombies, she probably didn’t have a lot of concentration or mana left to cast offensive spells.”

“One hundred points,” John said, smiling. “That’s exactly the sort of calculation that lets us win fights before they even start. This ring was acting as a medium through which her master was raising the undead. She was really just here to be a conduit for his spell casting. Which is the other reason legendary Mages are dangerous. They can do crazy things like casting their spells through an intermediary from a really long distance away. I have no idea how, but they can. It never pays to underestimate a legendary Mage.”

“Have you fought against a legendary Mage?” Ellie asked, peeking at John from the corner of her eyes as she fiddled with the ring.

“I have,” John said, his voice grave. “Let’s just say that when legendary Mages fight, things get messy. Spells might appear neat and simple, but when they start to mix, the result is unpredictable. I’m lucky I escaped with my life.”

Falling silent, he took the ring back from Ellie and took a good look at it. The signet showed the same skull that had been tattooed on the side of the Necromancer’s head but with an infinity symbol where the eyes should have been. John had never seen this exact symbol before, though he had seen a similar version of the skull before. To his knowledge, he and Katrine had been the only remaining Mages in the world, but it was clear that one of his old enemies, Kythov the Eyeless, had managed to survive.

John had first encountered the evil Mage while trying to defend against Pleya’s aggression. While they were being attacked on their northern border, Kythov had transformed an entire city into undead and marched them to war, seeking to overthrow the city John and his troops had been defending. After a terrible fight, they barely managed to overcome the waves of undead, and it was clear they weren’t going to survive the next attack. In a desperate bid, John and a team of his best soldiers had assaulted the Necromancer’s camp, fighting the evil Mage himself.

The Eyeless had only just become a legendary Mage and was still not used to his newfound power, allowing John and his team to destroy Kythov’s body. With his spirit hurt and his mana burning up, the Necromancer had fled back into the mountains, relinquishing control of the countless undead he had commanded. Now, it was clear that Kythov the Eyeless was back, and undoubtedly out for revenge.

In John’s mind, the only saving grace was that the Necromancer he had killed had been barely trained and was clearly under the influence of Kythov’s mind control, acting as a sort of puppet for the legendary Necromancer to control. Unfortunately, he had felt Kythov’s gaze clearly, which meant his enemy now knew exactly where he was. If he wasn’t careful, Kythov’s undead minions would be coming straight to his new home, bringing death and destruction with them. Just the thought of it was enough to make John’s blood boil.

“I want to learn.”

Startled out of his thoughts by Ellie’s emphatic statement, John blinked and looked at her.

“You want to learn Necromancy?”

“No, I want to learn to fight,” Ellie said, clenching her fist tightly.

CHAPTER 14

“Fighting is nothing to joke about, Ellie. What brought this on?” John asked, turning his head to look at the young woman.

They were just beginning to descend from the mountains and the wide plains stretched out before them, bathed in the light of the midday sun. Staring off into the wide-open distance, Ellie pondered the question for a moment before responding.

“I hated the feeling of being unable to help last night.”

“First, you were helpful. I’m skilled in combat, but it would have been much harder for me to identify where the enemy was. You did it in a few seconds. That was a large part of the reason the fight ended so quickly. Regardless, none of your skills are suited to fighting,” John replied. “It’s not that it’s impossible for you to learn to fight, of course, but I think you would be better suited to a support or a healing role.”

“Like that Herbalist? Catherine?”

“Yup. She was both support and healing. She carried potions and bandages and seemed to have a skill related to handling plants in some way. Your skills give you a natural affinity for potions, making them much more effective. Besides, then you can pass yourself off as an Alchemist, which is much less scary for people than walking around calling yourself a Witch.”

Thinking for a moment, Ellie shook her head.

“An Alchemist is fine, as are potions. But I want to learn to fight. You said that fights are about knowledge, right? Then I should be able to use Truesight to give me an edge. Last night, when we were attacked, I had a flashback to when the adventurers attacked the farm, and I never want something like that to happen again. I don’t want to leave my fate in someone else’s hands.”

Nodding seriously, John looked at Ellie, as if checking to see that she meant what she said.

“If you’re sure, then I’ll teach you. There are some options for fighting styles that make good use of potions, so we wouldn’t have to ignore the skills you have. But it won’t be easy. Just ask your brother Ben.”

“I’m up for it,” Ellie said, straightening her shoulders.

Glancing at her profile, John nodded seriously.

“I believe it. Tonight I’ll show you a set of exercises you’ll need to practice until you can do them to my requirements. Once you’ve mastered those, I’ll begin to teach you for real.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course. I’m all for people being able to defend themselves. Just so long as you understand that fighting is a dangerous business. There’s never any guarantee that you’ll come out unharmed, believe me. I had to learn the hard way.”

For the rest of the day, the caravan continued down the mountain road, stopping to camp when the land began to even out. That night, just as he had promised, John showed Ellie a simple movement routine. The basic movements weren’t particularly hard to do for someone with a class holder physique, but coordinating them smoothly was a challenge for anyone without excellent physical control. Since Ellie had only recently become a class holder, the movements would help her coordinate her improved strength and reaction time, making it easier for her to pick up the combat skills he would show her later. The set of movements had been taught to John by Thomas when he first started training, and rather than building strength, they had helped him develop better control of his mana-enhanced muscles.

Practicing them a few times under his supervision, Ellie took to them naturally, making him suspect that she would be much more adept at combat than he had initially been. It helped that she had been working on a farm and doing other labor for much of her life and was quite strong even before she became a class holder, and the mana-enhancement had only magnified that. Grumbling under his breath about how unfair the world was, he left her to practice the exercises and retreated to his tent to unlock the Grimoire of Bones. The lock had been set with the dead Necromancer’s mana, so it only took him a moment to undo the mana lock and open the book up.

Scanning through it, John was pleased to see that not only were there a number of spells recorded in it, there was a considerable amount of research as well. Much of it had to do with the preservation of spirits and the bodies they inhabited, and from the excited scribbles in the margins, it was clear the Necromancer had been helping her master delve into the secrets of immortality. From what he could gather, the ultimate goal of the research was the creation of a Lich, a legendary level undead which was functionally immortal.

Committing the book to memory, John snapped his fingers and created a blue tongue of flame that rapidly devoured the grimoire. Watching it carefully to make sure it was truly gone, John smiled wryly. If anyone else had gotten their hands on such research on immortality, they would have been beyond excited. On the other hand, he didn’t care one single bit. His only interest was in understanding the spells and how they fit together so he could create spells of his own. As for learning more about immortality, he was the one person in this entire world for whom it was entirely useless.

Once he was sure that nothing of the journal remained in the world, he took out the skull artifact to examine it. It was clearly broken, otherwise he never would have allowed Ellie to touch it. Necromantic artifacts had a way of corrupting the mana of the people who touched them. A large crack ran down the center of the skull and all the mana had dissipated completely. Despite the damage, the material was worth studying. John had never had the time to get into the creation of artifacts, though he knew that many high-level mages specialized in such things.

The war with Pleya had been fought, in part, because of such knowledge, but before the Lepierian Army had been able to find the workshop of Pleya’s legendary Mage the madman had destroyed it, setting off a powerful explosion in the process that sent John’s mana haywire. The resulting destruction ended the war and obliterated Pleya from the map, leaving nothing but an ash-filled wasteland where storms of flame still sprang up.

Without the knowledge of how to create artifacts, John had been forced to rely on the few he could scrounge up. Now, however, he felt like he was starting to understand how they were put together, and every artifact he could examine helped deepen his knowledge. The same was true for the infinity skull ring which, like the skull, had lost all its magic when the Necromancer lost her life. Still, the material was uncommon, and John benefited from examining it in detail.

The next morning came quickly, and once again the caravan got underway as soon as the first hints of light started to poke their way over the horizon. Grassland stretched in every direction, but despite it being empty, John knew it was no less dangerous than the mountains. Every day around lunch, Gofreid would stop by to talk to John and Ellie, mostly to check if there was anything they needed, but this time he was clearly distracted when he was talking to them. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what his nervous glances toward the horizon meant and, finally, John asked him what was wrong.

“The scouts have been seeing more horse tracks than usual.”

“Horse bandits?”

“Most likely. Things have been worse than normal recently with how much food has been sent over to Allera, and the horse bandits are feeling more of a pinch than anyone. That makes us a prime target.”

“Hmm,” John turned to scan the horizon. “What are our options?”

“We could hurry on ahead, but because of the attack two nights ago, our men are tired. The other option is to rest for a day, but that increases the chances that we’ll be surrounded. If they surround us, we can pretty much give up getting back to the city with our goods, if at all. I… I don’t feel like I can make the decision, so I thought I would come and talk to you about it.”

Turning to look at Gofreid, John nodded casually.

“Sure. Let’s rest. We’ll maintain camp for the rest of the day and then move out tomorrow morning like normal.”

An expression of profound relief came over Gofreid’s face, and his tensed shoulders relaxed. Laughing happily, he quickly excused himself and hurried back to the head of the caravan. The call to circle rang down the line, and the tired drivers began to follow the circle around until they had formed their defensive camp. Getting down, Ellie helped John with the horses, unhooking them and picketing them on the lush grass. Seeing her look toward the horizon a few times, John leaned down and plucked a long blade of grass. Chewing on the end, he looked at her.

“What are the winds telling you?”

“They’re out there. A lot of them.”

“Nervous?”

“You aren’t, so why would I be?”

Laughing, John grabbed their tents from the cart and began to set them up while Ellie started to prepare their lunch. As they ate quietly, John kept an eye on the drivers and mercenaries. Despite the threat of raiding horsemen, the people that Gofreid had hired were professional to the core, and they quickly settled down to get as much rest as possible. Thanks to the wide-open plains, the guards keeping watch had a great view and were able to keep an eye on the empty landscape.

John and Ellie rested as well, doing their best to prepare for what they knew was coming. Close to dinner time, Ellie, who had been doing her best to translate a section of Basic Arcanum, suddenly looked up, her eyes growing wide. Looking around, she saw John standing a few feet away and relaxed. Shutting the book, she carefully stowed it away and picked up her crossbow. Crouching, John looked at her calmly, waiting for her to explain.

“There are hundreds of horsemen coming. They’re using some sort of skill to mask their horse’s hooves.”

“That explains the lack of vibration. And it’s about dusk,” John said, looking at the sky. “They’ll probably take advantage of the sun’s position on the horizon to hide their approach. Smart. Can you get a better estimate of their numbers?”

“Um, let me try.”

Chanting something under her breath, Ellie took out a small pinch of sand and tossed it into the cup of water that was sitting next to her. The sand drifted into the cup, quickly mixing with Ellie’s mana and shifting to create a runic number.

“Seven hundred. At least.”

“That’s at least three tribes, though it could be more. Looks like we’re in for an exciting night,” John said, laughing. “Come on, let’s go tell Gofreid.”

Making their way over to Gofreid’s tent, John saw that the merchant was just starting to eat with Belsker. Gofreid had tried to get Ellie and John to eat dinner with him the first few nights, but after being firmly rebuffed, he had gotten the picture that John wanted to maintain as much distance as possible on the trip and had stopped bothering them. Now, seeing them walk over, he hurried to jump up.

“Ah, Mr. Sutton! Madam Ellie! We just sat down to eat! Would you like to join us?”

“No, but we’ll have a lot of guests soon enough. Seven hundred of them.”

Sitting down, Gofreid’s eyes grew wide as he stammered, “Seven… seven hundred?”

“Yes.”

“Seven hundred horse bandits are a lot of horse bandits,” Belsker said, his fork trembling slightly as he put it down.

“Correct,” John agreed. “Which is why we need to play this right. They should be here in about twenty minutes.”

Jerking up to his feet, Gofreid looked between Ellie and John and then took a quick turn around the tent.

“What do we do? There’s no way we can fight off that many bandits.”

Realizing from the way he kept glancing at John from the side of his eyes that Gofreid was only putting on a show, Ellie had to cover her mouth to hide her smile. Despite the seriousness of the situation, it was sort of funny to her how Gofreid just assumed John would take care of everything.

“Start dinner for the drivers and mercenaries. Oh, and set a few more plates here in your tent. When they arrive, I’ll handle them.”

Belsker started to stand up to speak, but Gofreid put his hand on the large mercenary leader’s shoulder and pushed him down.

“That sounds great. Thank you. I’ll instruct the cooks to get dinner started.”

Turning around, John headed for his tent to get his sword and then, with Ellie accompanying him, headed for the side of the circled carts where he thought the horse bandits were most likely to come from. Climbing up onto the cart, he stared out over the grassland. Because of the sun that was just about to dip over the horizon, visibility was actually quite low when staring directly west, but that didn’t stop John in the slightest. Pushing mana into his eyes, he magnified his vision and quickly spotted the tiny figures of the horse bandits in the distance. Smiling slightly, he turned to Ellie and nodded.

“You were right. They are coming for us.”

“Are we going to have to fight?”

“I hope not. That’s a lot of people to kill our way through,” John said lightly. “If we can, we’ll convince them that we’re not worth trying to chew on.”

Watching John as he turned back to look out over the horizon, Ellie was struck with just how relaxed he was. John was often curt in his speech and guarded in his expression, though he had been getting better, and the few times she had seen him in this almost easy-going, relaxed mood, he had been about to engage in a fight. The realization caused her heart and mind to tremble as she tried to imagine what sort of life he must have lived to be more comfortable in the tension of imminent battle than in everyday life. Realizing she was staring, she turned her eyes away, a slight blush on her cheeks. After a moment of thought, she slung her crossbow over her shoulder and climbed up on the cart next to him to wait for the horse bandits that were rushing toward them.

CHAPTER 15

The sight of the horse bandits streaming across the plains in the fading light of day was impressive, and as they got closer they broke into a full gallop, causing the earth to shake. Standing tall on the cart, John and Ellie faced the incoming horde of horsemen, the mercenaries and drivers all gathered behind them. Close enough that their faces could be made out, the horse bandits didn’t try to hide themselves anymore and with a shout they split apart, urging their horses as they moved to surround the circled carts.

Dressed in chain-and-leather armor stitched together with fur and patches of hide, the horse bandits reminded John of the pictures he had seen of Mongol warriors when he was young. They were fierce looking, their faces tanned and toughened by the long hours they spent on horseback. A variety of weapons hung from their saddles and belts, clattering around as they skillfully maneuvered their horses.

Hearing Ellie’s breath catch as a large horse pushed out of the crowd, John saw a horse bandit with a bright blue turban coming toward them. The horsemen had all stopped on the edge of arrow range, ready to back up if the defenders tried to take shots at them, but this bandit seemed to be completely unafraid of the threat of arrows as he walked his horse forward. A powerful-looking bow was strapped to his saddle and a long halberd stood upright behind him. Fluttering from the end of the halberd was a blue flag with a black eagle stitched on it, wings outstretched.

Stopping a few dozen feet away from the cart John and Ellie were standing on, the bandit examined them carefully. There were less than a hundred members in the caravan, and many of them weren’t outfitted properly for battle. Compared to the seven hundred bandits surrounding them who were armored and armed to the teeth, the turbaned bandit felt like the balance of power should have been clearly tilted in his direction, but there was something about the casual way the leather-armored swordsman standing on the cart was looking at him that gave him pause.

Silence fell over the caravan as John waited for the bandit who had approached to speak, and it soon spread out to the savage-looking horse bandits as well. Leaning forward, the horse bandit rested his hands on the pommel of his saddle as he patted his large horse’s neck. The entire time his eyes were fixed on John, trying to figure out why John looked so relaxed. Finally, as the strange silence stretched into minutes, he straightened and spoke in a gravelly voice that carried over the caravan.

“I am Zayaat the Slaying Wind, Khan of the Flying Eagle tribe and war leader of the Five Tribe Alliance. You have trespassed on our land. Put down your weapons and forfeit your goods and your blood will not be fed to the grass.”

Hearing a stir behind him, John just smiled and lifted his hand in greeting.

“Pleased to meet you Zayaat. I’m John Sutton. We were just about to have dinner. Would you like to join us?”

Taken aback by the strange offer, Zayaat’s eyes narrowed. He was about to speak when he saw John gesture to the flags that flew over the caravan.

“You look like a wise and powerful leader, Zayaat, which means you undoubtedly recognize our flag. And if you know our flag, you understand who it is that guarantees our safe passage through these lands.”

Letting out a laugh that sounded more fierce than funny, the horse bandit turned his horse in a circle, gesturing widely with his arm. As he turned back to face John, he pounded his fist on his chest, producing a loud thud.

“All this land is ours, as far as a horse can run in three days. The Eternal Flame has no claim on them anymore.”

“Have you asked him about that?” John asked, a genuine smile of amusement crossing his lips. “The last time I checked, these plains, the mountains, and everything beyond belonged to the nation of Lepiera, and Lepiera is ruled by the Ecclesia.”

“They do not rule here,” Zayaat said, spitting on the ground, his expression tough. “These lands are ours by birthright, and the laws of the Ecclesia do not stretch to them. I will say it once more—lay down your weapons and surrender yourselves and you will avoid a swift death.”

“I’m sorry, but that’s not an option,” John replied, shaking his head. “We’re on a time schedule and were already delayed for half a day to meet you. Tomorrow morning we’ll leave this camp, and within two days we’ll arrive at Kingsmouth, where I will sell the grain we carry.”

Perking up, Zayaat stared at John unblinkingly, even as Gofreid’s gasp rang out behind him. Like almost everyone in this world, the horse bandits were chronically short of food, and the fact that the caravan was carrying grain made them an even more tempting target than normal. The temptation was so great that Zayaat almost ordered his men to attack right then and there, but a sliver of rationality shot through him right before he spoke, causing the words to die on his lips.

Staring at John, who was looking at him calmly, the horse bandit’s eyes rose to the flag that flew over John’s head, bearing the symbol of the Eternal Flame. Noticing Zayaat’s hesitation, John’s smile grew slightly, and he jumped off the cart and walked forward until he was only ten feet from the bandit’s horse. Lowering his voice, he spoke quietly so that only the horse bandit leader could hear.

“I don’t think I need to tell you how important this shipment of grain is. It’s not that large, only ten or so carts, but it’s potentially the first of many. No doubt you could destroy us and seize it, but I happen to know that the Eternal Flame is placing a lot of attention on it. And when I say a lot, I mean a lot. Enough that if you do, there’s no doubt that the Eternal Flame will be visiting your camp and the camps of your allies.”

Eyes narrowing, Zayaat leaned forward, fixing John with a glare.

“You’re outnumbered by more than seven to one and you’re threatening me?”

Letting out a laugh, John shook his head.

“Hah, no. This is not a threat. This is a solemn promise. If you touch this caravan, the horse bandits’ history will end with you and your generation. Everything you’re working toward will collapse in a flame that cannot be quenched. There will be nowhere you can run, nowhere you can hide from the destruction that will be rained down on your people.”

As he spoke, John stepped forward, his gaze beginning to dance with a heat that forced the warhorse Zayaat rode to shied away. Bringing his horse under control, the bandit leader realized his horse was trembling under his touch, clearly terrified by John. Torn, Zayaat momentarily didn’t know how to respond. Backing down in the face of a threat like this would damage his image in the eyes of his followers, making it impossible for him to lead, but there was something in his heart that was screaming at him that John’s words were entirely true. Licking his lips, he was about to speak when John’s voice continued, this time slightly louder.

“Which is why you and the other Khans should come and have dinner. As travelers on the great road, we would be happy to share our salt with you. Naish er, bayshir.”

Freezing, the bandit leader looked incredulously at John, unable to believe what he had just heard. With a jerk of his reins, Zayaat turned his horse around and trotted back to the other horse bandits, speaking in a low voice with a few of his companions. Seeing the Khan gesturing to him, John walked back to Ellie, and with the help of a dozen drivers they moved the cart aside so there was a clear pathway into the camp. Still nervous, Gofreid hurried over, his eyes constantly drifting toward the horse bandits in the distance.

“What’s happening? Are they letting us go?”

“No. We’ll have dinner first. And then they’ll decide if they’re going to kill us all,” John said, smiling.

“Ah, I was hoping that killing us was off the table.”

“They could also take us all as slaves, but that would leave evidence, which they cannot afford to allow.”

Staring out at the bandits, Belsker hefted his warhammer and rested it on his shoulder, frowning.

“Then why bother with dinner? If there’s going to be a fight, we should get it started.”

“Because we’re going to convince them at dinner that there’s a better way,” John said quietly. “A way that we can all survive. Hopefully they’re wise enough to listen.”

Hearing the bleak note in his voice, Ellie instinctively reached out to touch his arm, causing John to look over at her.

“How do you know they’ll come and eat with us?”

“I served with a man from among the Moritoi in my army days. He was the sixth son of a Khan who had been killed in a battle between tribes and he fled to hide in the Lepierian army. He taught me much about their culture and beliefs. Chief among them is the idea that all of us, no matter how much enmity we have, are co-travelers on the great road. As co-travelers, the most precious thing that can be offered is the food, or more specifically, the salt that sustains us. I invited them to feast with us, which has a quasi-religious connotation and prevents them from viewing us as enemies until the feast is over.”

“Uh, I didn’t understand any of that,” Belsker said, rubbing his head.

“Don’t worry about it. Just don’t hit anyone until I tell you to,” John said, smiling wryly at the red-bearded Barbarian.

Letting out a booming laugh, Belsker gave John a thumbs-up.

“I can handle that. I’ll wait for your word.”

A small group of horsemen broke off from the larger group and rushed forward, quickly arriving at the circle of carts. Pulling their horses to a stop, five figures jumped down, Zayaat in the lead. Ignoring the mercenaries who nervously clutched their weapons, the five bandits strode forward as if they were walking into their own camp and stopped in front of John and the others.

“We will feast with you,” Zayaat said, his lips pulling back to reveal his teeth. “For the sake of the great road.”

Giving a small bow, John gestured to the middle of the camp where a table had been set up with the food the cooks had prepared.

“Welcome, warriors of the Five Tribe Alliance.”

Leading them to the table, John indicated for them to take their seats and sat down at the head of the table, pulling Ellie to sit next to him. After a careful glance at the five powerful-looking warriors, Ellie took her seat, ignoring their stares. Once everyone was sitting down, John lifted a jug of wine and stood up. Pouring a bit of the wine onto the ground, he looked at Zayaat.

“May your camp be wet with wine and your blade wet with the blood of your enemies.”

Again, the bandit leader was shocked by John’s words, but the other warriors who were with him found nothing out of the ordinary. Jumping to his feet, one of the warriors, a burly man with a red face, lifted the wine cup that had been put in front of him, sloshing the wine in it liberally as he let out a shout.

“Bayshir!”

Lifting their cups, the other warriors echoed the cry. With the toast made, the five warriors all dug in, eating quickly as if they had never seen food before. Seeing that Ellie had not put anything on her plate, one of the warriors pushed a few pieces of meat onto her plate, gesturing for her to eat up. Unsure what she should do, Ellie glanced at John and saw him give a slight nod, so she began to eat as well. As the meal progressed, the warriors ate seriously, as if they were performing an important ritual, and the food on the table quickly vanished. Seeing that the meal was coming to an end, John instructed for more wine to be brought to the table.

Gofreid wanted to bring out more food for the warriors, but John had expressly forbidden it, so the merchant just waited nervously as the horse bandits completely cleaned the dishes that had been set out. Once the last bite was swallowed, John set his cup down forcefully, drawing everyone’s attention. Staring across the table at Zayaat, he began the next round of negotiations, speaking slowly and calmly.

“We are happy to have shared our salt with the warriors of the great road. Tomorrow we will leave this camp and head for the city.”

Smiling ruefully, Zayaat took a drink before he replied, his eyes straying to the flag that rose over all the carts.

“But if you go to the city, how are we to feed our children?”

“Yours are not the only children that need to be fed.”

“That is true, but they are ours. It is not for us to worry about other people’s children.”

“You have enough wealth, why not just buy food?” John asked, causing all the horse bandits at the table to look at him sharply.

“Hah, do you know what would happen if we were to appear before the gates of your city?” one of the bandits asked, a savage smile on his lips. “What market are we to go to that would not shut their gates on us?”

“Onggur is correct,” Zayaat said, shaking his head. “We are not welcome in your markets, so where would we buy food? And even if we were welcomed in the market, no one would sell to us at a fair price.”

“Then come with us,” John replied. “The plains are dangerous for caravans such as ours. Escort us to the city and we will agree to sell you a quarter of our stock at five percent below market price.”

“Did you not hear me?” Onggur said, slamming his hand on the table and rising threateningly. “The moment we approach the city the gates will shut and the army will be after us. Besides, why would we want a quarter of the grain you carry when we can simply slit your throats and take it all?”

“Because,” John said, leaning forward to stare at the horse bandit, “the lives of your entire tribe depend on it.”

CHAPTER 16

Before anyone could react to his somber words, John leaned back and continued to speak, picking up his cup as he did so.

“Think about it. Food is becoming even more scarce as the years pass. Until now, you have relied on raiding the caravans that come through your land and the settlements that sit on the edges of the plains. However, you know as well as I do that such a life is not sustainable. Why else would you have gathered the tribes together? Clearly you’re gearing up to attack larger towns because you cannot support yourself on the little bits of plunder you can get from the smaller settlements.

“But the truth is that no one has food. There just simply isn’t enough to go around. The wheat we carry is a drop in a bucket. It wouldn’t even last your warriors a month, let alone your wives and children back at your camps. If you don’t change your approach, you’ll pillage all there is to pillage and your people will starve. I’m offering you another option. You have sheep and cattle, and the settlements have grains. Rather than attack, why not trade with them?”

Sensing the outburst about to come from Onggur, John held up his hand to stop him and took a drink from his cup. Slamming it down onto the table, he roughly wiped his lips with the back of his hand and stood up. A flicker of flame appeared around his feet as he vanished from where he was, causing the eyes of the warriors at the table to constrict in shock. Moments later John was back, holding one of the flags in his hand. Stabbing the pole into the ground next to the table, he stared around the table, holding everyone’s attention as he spoke slowly.

“Under the Eternal Flame, everyone is welcome so long as they come in peace. As long as you trade under this flag, no one will reject you.”

Silence followed his words as the warriors considered what he said, each mulling over their own thoughts. Finally, Zayaat slapped the table and rose to his feet, facing John squarely across the table.

“You would have us put down our centuries of tradition to become herdsmen and merchants? What of our warriors? What of our blood heritage? How will we face our ancestors if we let our swords go rusty?”

Shaking his head, John gestured to the tall mountains that rose up behind them, looming over the plains.

“If you wish for battle, there’s more than enough to go around. The mountains and the lands beyond them are full of beasts and monsters that will give even the most skilled among you the fierce fight you seek. I’m just telling you to turn your blades to things that profit you. Robbing and raiding appears to profit you in the short-term, but it’s no different than swallowing poison. I don’t expect you to make a change immediately, but you need to understand that you’re standing at a crossroad, and there’s only one path to life.”

“What you speak of is too grand a change for us.”

Looking at the warrior who’d just spoke, John agreed.

“That’s true. But today you can take the first step toward it. All of you are cunning warriors. You know my words are true. Come, escort us to the city and I will guarantee you have a place to trade.”

Slamming his hand on the table, Onggur pointed a meaty finger at John and spoke with a sneering voice.

“You say we should trust you, yet you claim you can change the relationship between our peoples with a single word. What reason do we have to believe you? Who are you that you can ensure the city allows us to come in?”

“It’s not about who I am,” John said, pointing up at the flag above his head. “It’s about who I represent. Anyone who challenges those who come in peace under this flag challenges the Eternal Flame. And you know how that turned out for the last people who did so.”

“Hah, fine,” Onggur said, sitting back down. “Zayaat, what do you say about this idea? Shall we sell our swords to this man?”

Silence fell over the table as everyone waited for the Khan’s answer. Instead, he gestured to the flag above John’s head.

“The Eternal Flame is the protector of Lepiera, not our protector. We are, and always have been, a nation unto ourselves. Will the Eternal Flame guarantee our sovereignty, or will he demand that we put aside our identity to join with your nation?”

Letting out a short laugh, John made a waving motion with his hand as if dismissing Zayaat’s words.

“The Eternal Flame protects people, not nations. He doesn’t care who you are or how you choose to rule yourselves, so long as you don’t go around killing the people under his protection. If you stand under this flag, you belong to the Ecclesia and have the same rights as everyone else. Whether you do so as a separate nation or as part of Lepiera does not matter one bit.”

Nodding, Zayaat turned to the others at the table.

“What of you, merchant? Do you agree with what he’s saying? Will advancing under this flag allow us to trade?”

“Yes,” Gofreid nodded, his eyes shining as he imagined all the profit to be had if the horse bandits decided to start engaging in trade. “Yes, absolutely. He is completely, totally trustworthy.”

Seeing that the Khan was looking at him next, Belsker held up his hands and shook his head.

“I’m just a mercenary. I don’t presume to speak for the Eternal Flame. But I do know that if you fly that flag, everyone who follows him will consider you part of their flock.”

“And you? What do you think?” Zayaat asked Ellie, who looked up in surprise.

“Me?”

“Yes. You sit at the table of warriors, so your opinion must be counted,” Zayaat said, nodding seriously.

Glancing up at John nervously, Ellie saw he was nodding at her, so she smiled and looked back at the Khan.

“He can be trusted.”

“Hah! So be it,” Zayaat slapped the table and rose to his feet. “We will escort you to your city in the morning. As for advancing under the flag of the Eternal Flame, that must be considered at length.”

“You won’t regret it,” John said, bowing.

“I hope not. Otherwise our blades will be wet with your blood,” the Khan said, grinning. “We’ll go make camp, but before that, I would like to know how you understand our traditions well enough to call for a feast that did not insult us.”

Straightening, John returned Zayaat’s smile.

“A blood-bound brother who was a hankhu, an outcast prince of your people. His eyes have been open to the sky for six years, but his spirit remains with me.”

“Your memory of him brings honor to his tribe,” Zayaat said, bowing his head to John.

Watching as the horse bandits left their camp, Belsker let out a giant sigh of relief. Shaking his head, he wiped his wet palms on his shirt.

“I can’t believe they agreed to that. I really thought we’d be buried here. Haha, I already picked my spot in the ground too.”

Smiling at the loud Barbarian’s words, Ellie just shook her head and went back to her tent. Her nerves had been on edge the whole time, and she was looking forward to collapsing into bed. Gofreid, on the other hand, was practically bursting with ideas and quickly retreated to his tent to begin writing them down. He was a firm believer in the Eternal Flame and as such had never been truly worried about the horse bandits once John had agreed to handle them. Instead, he was thinking to himself that the horse bandits would need a regular trading partner if they did begin to trade with Kingsmouth.

Watching Gofreid run off, John could only shake his head. After letting the drivers who were watching from a distance know what was happening, he walked back to where his tent was set up and sat down. As night fell and the brilliant stars emerged, John remained sitting, carefully controlling his breathing as he meditated. Around one in the morning, his eyes snapped open and he vanished from where he had just been sitting. Appearing next to Ellie’s tent, he scratched on the fabric door. A moment later, Ellie stuck her head out of the tent and John indicated for her to follow him quietly.

Without anyone being the wiser, they slipped through the carts and then past the thick line of horse bandits that still surrounded the caravan. Thanks to the training she had been doing over the last few days, Ellie had no problem keeping up with John as they headed out onto the open plain. Quickly covering a bit more than a mile, they saw a dozen figures standing in the darkness and approached them. Completely armored, the horse bandits waited in the darkness of night with their weapons drawn, clearly ready for a fight. When they saw John and Ellie appear from the darkness, they let out low shouts and Onggur stepped forward and clapped John on the shoulder good-naturedly.

“We did not know how much your brother told you about our traditions, but it’s clear you truly are one of us!”

“Haha, Onggur speaks the truth!”

“Welcome, brother!”

Waving for the others to be quiet, Zayaat stepped forward to face John, his halberd balanced on his shoulder.

“You have come, so you must understand what will happen.”

“The test of blood,” John said, nodding. “Only through matching steel will we know brotherhood.”

“Well spoken. These are the most powerful warriors of our tribes. You may choose from among them, and should you be victorious in combat against them, you will prove yourself worthy of our brotherhood. Will your companion fight as well?”

Ellie, who still didn’t know what was going on, paled slightly as she heard Zayaat’s question. To her relief, John shook his head, but his next words made her freeze.

“No. She is a Wise Woman. It would not be a deathless night if she were to fight.”

Murmurs broke out among the gathered warriors as they stared at Ellie with wide eyes, slowly backing up to give her more space. Looking around, Ellie was shocked when all the warriors beside Zayaat and Onggur looked away, refusing to meet her gaze. Feeling John’s hand on her shoulder, she looked at him and caught a wink. Still lost, she tried to control her expression, but she didn’t know what a Wise Woman would look like and only ended up making her expression look a bit silly. Bowing low toward her, Zayaat clasped his hands together.

“Forgive me, I did not know I was in the presence of a Wise Woman. I meant no disrespect.”

“That’s fine,” Ellie said, waving her hand.

“There is no need for such formality among brothers,” John said, stepping between them and drawing his sword. “Bring your warrior and I will prove my truth.”

Turning around to look over the warriors who had just been clamoring to fight against John before he arrived, Zayaat could only shake his head and sigh when he saw that everyone was avoiding his look. If John was just a regular warrior none of them would back down, but to have a Wise Woman following him put him in a completely different category. Even Onggur, who had been chomping at the bit, had grown strangely subdued. Cursing under his breath, Zayaat turned back to John and slapped his chest.

“It would seem your companion has frightened all my powerful warriors, which leaves only me with the courage to face you. Come, let us cross our weapons. Establish the circle!”

With excited yells, the warriors of the plains formed a large circle around John and Zayaat. Taking Ellie to the edge of the circle, John instructed her to stay there.

“What’s happening? I still don’t know what’s going on! And what is a Wise Woman?”

“A Wise Woman is the Moritoi term for a Witch. They’re justifiably respectful of Witches, so even if something were to happen to me, it will give you a measure of safety among them. But don’t worry, this is just a friendly spar to help with relations.”

“A friendly spar? That weapon looks like it could chop you in half!”

“Hah, it does, doesn’t it? Don’t worry, I’m a lot stronger than I look. Just hang out here and cheer for me. But not too loud, alright?”

Turning around, John unsheathed his sword and tapped the pommel on the silver bracer on his forearm. The magical shield the bracer contained sprang to life, eliciting surprised murmurs from the watching warriors. Stretching his neck from side to side, John walked out to face Zayaat, who was waiting in the middle of the circle, his halberd still resting on his shoulder. Stopping around fifteen feet away, John held out his sword in front of him.

“For the glory of the journey!”

“For the glory of the journey!”

Both of their voices overlapped as they sprang forward, steel clashing as their weapons met in the air. With his first strike blocked, Zayaat dropped his stance slightly and spun his halberd around, stabbing out with the sharp point on the end. Blocking the attack on his shield, John took a quick step forward to get inside of the long weapon’s range and slashed with his silver blade. With a jerk, Zayaat blocked the attack with the shaft of his halberd, using the force to retreat a step. An excited shout rose as the watching warriors grew excited by the skillful exchange.

Standing among them, Ellie felt her heart jump every time the sound of the metal weapons colliding rang out. Her breath catching in her throat, Ellie clenched her fist as she cheered John on silently. She was confident in him, but seeing the sharp blade of Zayaat’s halberd cutting toward him she couldn’t help but feel worried for his safety. As much as she wanted to look away, she had asked John to train her to fight, and she knew he’d brought her to help her grow more accustomed to it.

Stepping back to avoid a slash toward his foot, John dropped the edge of his shield to block the halberd as he lunged forward, his sword stabbing toward Zayaat’s throat. Back and forth the two fighters moved, quickly falling into a rhythm as they traded attacks. Blocking and dodging, they seemed completely evenly matched as they fought on the open plain under the gleaming stars.

CHAPTER 17

Sliding his shield forward, John intercepted a stab and deflected it up over his shoulder as his sword cut toward the Khan’s shoulder. They had been fighting fiercely for nearly fifteen minutes and neither had managed to land a blow on the other. The watching warriors had long since fallen silent, awe clear in their eyes as they watched the two combatants struggle back and forth. Neither of the fighters was using their skills or mana, making them surprisingly evenly matched, though John had a clear strength advantage.

Zayaat was a consummate warrior, and every one of his blows took maximum advantage of his long weapon. To John’s surprise, his opponent was more of an agility-based fighter and rarely engaged in contests of direct strength, instead using his halberd more like a spear than an ax. When he did chop at John, Zayaat leveraged his weapon’s extra length to generate the power of the attacks. Recognizing that it was a fighting style optimized to be used from horseback, John did his best to pressure the Khan.

With a clang that shook the air, Zayaat parried a slash and bounced backward, his halberd stretched out in front of him, the spike tracking with John’s throat. A faint bead of sweat had formed on the Khan’s forehead, but he didn’t dare wipe it. While John had been having a fairly leisurely fight, Zayaat was having an entirely different experience. Over the years he had fought countless times, but never had he encountered anyone whose body was so strong and dense.

The leader of the horse bandits prided himself on his ability to read his opponents, but the first engagement with John had made it clear that his assessment of the calm-looking man was entirely off. With wrists that were stronger than steel, John seemed entirely unbothered by any sort of impact, whether he caught them on his shield or his sword. As quick as lightning, the counterattacks John casually threw out forced him to stretch his concentration to the maximum, often moving desperately to block the smoothly flowing sword.

John fought more like a dualist than a normal warrior, but the shield he carried was used with the practiced ease of someone who had been on a thousand battlefields and developed an instinctive sense for defending against stray attacks. Every move was calculated and led into another move, and the fight had quickly been forced into a nearly predictable tempo. No matter how many times Zayaat had thrown off the tempo with a powerful attack, within a few exchanges they were pulled right back into it.

Sensing his exhaustion starting to grow, Zayaat realized he had been outclassed. Part of him wanted to call up his mana and unleash it toward John, hopefully ending the fight swiftly, but a more rational part of him told him to call it here before he embarrassed himself completely. His warrior sense was telling him that the calm-faced fighter in front of him hid a truly terrible monster and it was better to keep it sealed. Now, staring at John over his halberd, he saw that John had stepped back and lowered his sword. Breathing a secret sigh of relief, Zayaat straightened, lifting the point of his halberd into the air.

“You are a powerful warrior,” John said, holding his sword behind his shield as he bowed slightly to the Khan. “I hope it’s not a problem that I couldn’t overcome you.”

“A problem? Hah!” Onggur shouted, storming the circle and patting John on the shoulder happily. “That was one of the fiercest fights I’ve ever seen! Incredible, incredible! Being able to fight with Zayaat for any length of time would be impressive enough, but to fight him to a standstill is incredible.”

Holding up his hand to quiet the clamoring warriors, the Khan planted the end of his halberd in the ground and looked around.

“How do the watching warriors judge?”

Without pause, the group all spoke together.

“We have witnessed the warrior’s truth!”

Turning to Ellie, who was the only one who didn’t speak up, Zayaat bowed his head respectfully.

“Wise Woman, have you witnessed our brother’s might?”

Turning her head and looking at John, who had put his shield away and was examining his sword for damage, she smiled happily.

“I have.”

“Good. The trial has been passed,” Zayaat said gravely, turning to John. “The truth of your road has been acknowledged and you are granted a seat among us. We will heed your words and council regarding the future of our tribes. For now, we will march with you under the banner of the Eternal Flame. As for the future, we will see what it brings.”

Returning to Ellie’s side, John got something out of a bag he had brought along, letting the cloth unfurl to reveal one of the deep red flags that hung from the flagpoles on the carts. Spreading it out so the blue flame motif could be clearly seen, John gave it to Zayaat with a smile.

“Thank you for giving me the chance to hold a trial. I brought this just in case I passed.”

“Somehow I doubt you ever considered you’d lose,” Zayaat muttered in a voice only John could hear as he grabbed the flag, causing John’s smile to widen slightly.

Declining the warrior’s offer of wine, John and Ellie quietly made their way back to the caravan camp. As they approached the carts, Ellie glanced over her shoulder at the resting horse bandits. Seeing her sigh, John raised his eyebrows at her, silently asking what was on her mind.

“I’ve often heard of them. The horse bandits I mean. But in the stories they’re violent and savage and will kill their own mothers if it means getting their hands on another gold.”

“Stories are very rarely true,” John said, shrugging. “But that doesn’t mean they don’t contain truth. They are violent and savage. But they value their mothers more than their own lives. Just not other people’s mothers. Theirs is a culture of necessary violence. At least, that’s what they believe. Hopefully that will change over time.”

“They seem to carry a comradery and fairness I found surprising.”

“Faced with overwhelming force, most people do,” John said, his voice revealing his cynicism. Seeing Ellie looking at him, he lifted his hands in surrender before she could say anything. “Look, it’s true that they’re good to their own, which is why we had to go tonight. First of all, to introduce them to you and let them know you were a Witch, which increases both our standings in their eyes and makes them want to get on our good side.

“And second, to complete the ceremony so that we can be considered one of their kind. After tonight, we are both officially Moritoi. You, because who wouldn’t want a Witch on their side, and me because I didn’t lose the trial. Word about tonight’s fight will spread faster than a wildfire. Believe me, tomorrow you’ll notice an immediate change, since this caravan now belongs to their tribes by proxy. Oh, do you know how to ride a horse?”

“A horse? Um, I’ve ridden one a few times,” Ellie said, slightly confused by the sudden change in subject.”

“Good. For now, get some sleep. You’ll find out tomorrow.”

True to John’s words, the dawn had just started to crack over the horizon when the Moritoi were up and ready to go. They even helped the caravan drivers hook up their horses. Unlike the stocky draft horses the caravan used for pulling their carts, the Moritoi’s horses were built for speed and endurance, but the horse bandits had no trouble handling the draft horses. When Ellie tried to climb up in the cart she was stopped by Onggur, who had brought over two powerful-looking horses and presented her with the reins of the mare.

A beautiful dapple grey, the mare seemed quite intelligent and immediately took a liking to Ellie, trying to nibble at her hair. Laughing happily, Onggur presented the other horse, a large blue roan stallion to John. Unlike the mare, the stallion was a bit feistier, but after John blinked at him the horse became completely docile and stood absolutely still.

“We saw you were riding in a cart, so as a welcome gift I wanted to give you these horses. My tribe raised them both. You won’t find a better trained horse in the world than a Moritoi horse.”

Nodding his thanks, John found himself having to reevaluate the loud Moritoi leader. Both horses were clearly trained for combat and in prime health, and for Onggur to give them away so casually was a clear indication that he was much sharper than he let on. After arranging for someone to drive their cart, John helped Ellie up into her saddle and got up on his horse after surreptitiously feeding both horses a mana crystal. As they got underway, the caravan moved swiftly with their new escort. The horse bandits didn’t always stick around the caravan, often riding off this way or that to scout, but at least two hundred of them were always in sight.

Over the next two days, Ellie got a firsthand taste of what John had been talking about as the Moritoi were exceptionally polite to her, even going so far as to bring food and bedding for her horse. She had fallen in love with her new horse, and after John showed her how to leak mana from her hand for the mare to lick at, the feeling was clearly mutual. John and the stallion had a slightly different, and clearly hierarchical relationship, but after feeding the stallion a steady diet of mana crystals, the horse was completely won over.

“I’m going to call her Storm,” Ellie announced on the second day.

Sitting comfortably in his saddle, John looked over and nodded. Riding almost nonstop for two days, Ellie’s body had adjusted to riding as her superhuman muscles and reflexes learned the proper technique. It also helped to be surrounded by hundreds of some of the best horsemen in the world, and she had quickly picked up tricks from watching them.

When they had left the farm, she had been dressed in a long skirt and blouse like a normal farm girl, but less than a week later she had almost completely transformed. Wearing high-quality leather armor, with her hair pulled back in a ponytail and a crossbow strapped across her back, she looked every bit the adventurer as she sat confidently on her new horse. Smiling slightly, John patted his own horse’s neck.

“I’m calling him horse.”

“What? That’s terrible,” Ellie protested, looking more affronted than the stallion did. “You can’t not name your faithful steed.”

“You’ve read too many books,” John said, shaking his head. “I’ve probably had more horses killed out from under me than horses you’ve seen in your life. Halfway through my military career I just stopped riding on them because we were getting so many complaints from the logistics department. If I’ve learned one thing in my life, it’s never name an animal you’re going to eat or lose to enemy fire.”

“Oh, that’s really terrible.”

“I know, you already said that.”

“No, I mean that all those poor animals died. How cruel to force them into battle.”

Feeling a vein throb in his forehead, John took a deep breath and kept his teeth clenched, settling for just a nod. Thankfully, Ellie didn’t continue down that train of thought.

“But the good news is you’re a farmer now. There’s no need for you to go to war. So you need to at least name your horse. He’s a blue roan, so how about Shadow? Or Dreamer? What about Granite? Um, Rocky?”

Just when John thought that Ellie would never run out of names, he heard a shout and looked ahead, seeing the city of Kingsmouth in the distance. Pointing it out to Ellie, he was gratified when she stopped trying to come up with a name for his horse and instead focused on the approaching city. Before they got close, Gofreid, John, and Ellie met with Zayaat and Onggur to talk one final time. The majority of the Moritoi horsemen had vanished into the great plains, leaving only one hundred to escort the caravan into the city. At John’s request, they had put their flags away and rode as hired mercenaries under the flag of the Eternal Flame.

Zayaat could not come into the city since he was the leader of the Five Tribe Alliance, but Onggur had no such problems and seemed to be looking forward to seeing what city life was all about. Accompanying John and Ellie, he sat quietly behind them as they approached the city gate, riding alongside Gofreid’s cart which was at the center of the line. Stretched out twenty-four carts long, the caravan was an impressive sight, made even more impressive by the thirty mercenaries and one hundred mounted Moritoi that accompanied them.

There was a stir at the gate when the caravan got close enough for the guards to recognize the horse bandits, but luckily Gofreid knew the captain who was on duty and was able to explain that they were acting as guards rather than coming as a raiding force. However, when it became apparent that the Moritoi were going to enter the city, things grew tense once more. Walking his horse forward, John jumped down and looked at the guard captain who was resolutely refusing to allow them into the city.

“Captain, who is the ranking member of the Ecclesia in the city?”

Unsure who John was but seeing how deferential Gofreid was, the guard captain straightened up and saluted, just in case John was someone important.

“Councilwoman Celira, sir.”

“I see. Could you send someone to get her? The Ecclesia is the one employing these Moritoi and will guarantee them while they are in the city.”

Having seen the flag the caravan came under the guard captain was not that surprised, and less than ten minutes later a small carriage brought a woman dressed in a plain crimson robe. Hopping down from the carriage, she took a moment to straighten her white hair and compose herself before making her way down to the gate. Nodding a greeting to the bowing guard captain, her eyes swept over the caravan, stopping for a moment on Gofreid before coming to a rest on Ellie. After a moment, she looked away and turned to the guard captain.

“I was told there was a situation at the gate that required my assistance, Captain. How may I be of service?”

“It’s not me, Councilwoman. The gentleman who wanted to see you is right there.”

Seeing the guard captain point to John, the councilwoman blinked in surprise. She had assumed that John was simply a class holder accompanying Gofreid and had not actually looked at him properly. Bowing her head slightly, she apologized.

“I am sorry for my impoliteness, sir. How may the Ecclesia serve you today?”

CHAPTER 18

With the attention of the entire caravan, all the other people going in and out of the gates, the guards, and the highest-ranked official in the city looking at him, it would have been no surprise if John had gotten nervous. Instead, he smiled and took out a piece of paper to hand to Councilwoman Celira.

“These Moritoi have been hired by the Ecclesia to protect this grain shipment. They are to be allowed into the city and given access to the market. And furthermore, any other Moritoi who come under the flag of the Ecclesia are to be treated as members in good standing.”

Taking the paper, the Councilwoman examined it while listening to John’s words. A faint flash of mana seeped from her fingers into the paper, causing a flame pattern to appear on it. Stiffening slightly, Councilwoman Celira passed it back to John and nodded.

“Very well. Captain, I believe you heard this gentleman. The Ecclesia will act as guarantor for the Moritoi guards with this caravan.”

Sensing that whatever was going on was clearly over his head, the guard captain bowed and stepped aside, no longer blocking the way.

“Welcome to Kingsmouth,” Councilwoman Celira said, gesturing to the open gate. “Please be advised that horses cannot be ridden in the streets except by military personnel.”

Nodding, John gestured for everyone to get down from their horses and follow Gofreid into the city. While they all passed by, he saw Councilwoman Celira stealing glances at him.

“I did not catch your name, sir.”

“You can call me John.”

“John?”

“Yeah. Just John is fine. Thank you for your help, Councilwoman. Someone will probably contact you with more details later, but you should be ready for a new era in our relationship with the Moritoi.”

“Is that right? I had heard that the tribes were perpetually at war, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

“I think you will find a lot of things about them surprising. If you will excuse me.”

Watching John and Ellie walk into the city with the caravan, Councilwoman Celira pursed her lips, her mind working furiously. John had just handed her a blank order, the Ecclesia’s highest ranked identification, making him, at the very least, one of the advisors to the Eternal Flame. Curiosity blossomed in her heart, but she suppressed it and got to work making sure the city knew to expect the Moritoi warriors who were streaming through the gate.

Kingsmouth was a port on a large river that ran from the great plains into the hilly region of Lepiera where the capital city sat. Thanks to the money the nobles had sunk into it, a large stone wall surrounded both the city and the port, creating a safe, secure home for the many merchants who used it as their base of operations. With access to the entire southern region of Lepiera, it had grown from a sleepy fishing town to a large, bustling trade hub, and in the year since John had last been through it had only gotten busier. Driving the carts to the large, three-story inn that Gofreid used as his base of operations, the workers began to unload them, storing the grain in the big warehouse behind the inn.

Many of the horse bandits had never been in a proper city before, and as they led their horses through the cobblestone streets they gazed in awe at the buildings on either side. Kingsmouth was home to an eclectic mix of people from all over the continent, so their strange clothing didn’t elicit much of a reaction from the locals, though their slack-jawed stares did. Luckily for the peace of the city, the swords, spears, and axes they carried kept anyone from making their comments out loud.

“Welcome to my home,” Gofreid said, ushering John and Ellie into the inn. “This is where all the magic happens. Well, not actual magic, haha, but my kind of magic. There will be a lot of meetings with both merchants and nobles over the next few days, and most of them will take place here. Once we’ve sold everything we can here in Kingsmouth, the ship we’ve contracted will take us to the capital city, where we’ll finish selling our goods. Will you be coming to the capital? I have a small mansion there and I would love the opportunity to host you.”

Shaking his head, John looked around the inn’s general room.

“No, we’ll be staying here for a few days and then making our way back to the valley. We’re only here to see that we get a good price for the wheat.”

“Of course. I would be happy to arrange some meetings between you and some of the different grain merchants if you’d like.”

“That would be wonderful, thank you. If you could, I’d also like a record of recent prices.”

“That should be simple enough. It’s a bit of a shame, really, since prices have been controlled by the Ecclesia for some time,” Gofreid said, before remembering who he was talking to and freezing. “But only a shame for us merchants. It really is a wonderful thing for the people that the Eternal Flame takes such good care of the common people. Why, just the other day I was remarking…”

“Gofreid,” John interrupted, “be quiet.”

“Yes, sir.”

John and Ellie were given rooms on the top floor of the inn, and John gave Ellie the room with the better view. As someone who had grown up in a modern city, he found the sight of the bustling city rather underwhelming and had no desire to spend his time staring at it. Despite having lived in the valley for years, Ellie had no desire to go wandering around Kingsmouth, so after having dinner she retreated to her room to study her spells. Figuring that someone would come get him if anything important happened, John followed her example.

The next morning found both of them meeting with a portly merchant Gofreid introduced as his friend Cormick. An ever-present smile was plastered on Cormick’s face, never fading even after a dozen of the Moritoi burst into the inn’s general room, fully armored and armed to the teeth. After realizing they were looking for breakfast, Gofreid got them settled down and returned to the table where the others were sitting.

“I really need to remember to explain that they don’t need their armor and weapons in the city. Crime is very low here.”

“Good luck with that,” Cormick remarked. “From what I understand, the horse bandits like their swords as much as they like their horses.”

“Sure, but you don’t see them bringing their horses to breakfast, do you?” Gofreid retorted, sitting down. “But enough about that, I have a lot of meetings today, so let’s get down to business. Mr. Sutton, I wanted to introduce you to Cormick because he’s one of the few honest grain merchants in the city.”

“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Sutton. Mrs. Sutton.”

“Oh, we’re not married,” Ellie said, blushing.

“My apologies,” Cormick said, not looking apologetic in the least. “Gofreid here tells me you have wheat to sell? Wheat is the majority of my business, so if we can agree on a good price, I’d be happy to take it off your hands.”

“What does Gofreid mean when he says you’re one of the few honest grain merchants in the city?” Ellie asked.

Looking across the table at the young woman, Cormick’s mind spun. On the way here, his friend had warned him over and over again that he couldn’t afford to miss out on this contract, and while Cormick was not particularly sure why a small farm out in the middle of nowhere was so important to him, Gofreid had been making big moves over the last year and Cormick wanted a piece of whatever it was his friend had found. For a second, his eyes shot over to the calm-faced farmer who was eating his breakfast and then darted back to the young lady.

“Ah, unfortunately, despite the fact that it’s illegal to sell grain for more than one gold per bushel, many of the grain merchants find ways to do it. Some of them require that all their customers pay a certain amount of gold each month to be on the list of approved buyers, some accept expensive gifts. The Ecclesia does its best, but it’s a corrupt world we live in.”

Looking up from his breakfast, John cocked his head to the side.

“How much are you paying for wheat? We have seven hundred and fifty bushels.”

“Well, that’s a good question. If I’m being honest, currently my biggest customers are other merchants who can buy my wheat at a gold per bushel and still sell it for a profit. I’ve typically been buying at four bushels of wheat for three gold coins.”

“We’ll sell at one gold per bushel,” John said calmly, sticking his fork into a bit of egg on the edge of his plate.

“One gold? Are you serious?” Cormick asked, turning to glance at Gofreid, who was trying to signal something with his eyes. “Maybe I wasn’t clear. I can’t sell the wheat for more than one gold. That would leave me with no profit.”

“Correct. We would sell you seven hundred and fifty bushels that you wouldn’t be able to make profit on. And in exchange, we’ll give you something worth a hundred times that.”

Perking up, Cormick started at John, waiting for him to continue.

“First, the Moritoi will be starting to use the market here in Kingsmouth. The fact that I can introduce you to the man who will be their representative is easily worth the seven hundred and fifty gold you won’t make profit on, but to demonstrate our sincerity I’ll give you another tip, this one worth just as much. The Ecclesia will be doing a surprise audit on all the grain sellers in the city, in, oh, three hours. Anyone found out of compliance will be forfeiting their stock, which will be sold to the merchants who have not been found to be corrupt at five bushels for one gold.”

Staring at John incredulously, Cormick heard a loud sound next to him and realized Gofreid had just slammed a thick wallet down on the table. Looking between the wallet and his friend, Cormick heard him speak hurriedly.

“There is eight thousand gold in merchant guild writs there. You’ve been trying to get me to invest for years, and I think it’s about time. I want in. Twenty-five percent.”

Pushing back from the table, John stood up and nodded to the two merchants.

“Remember, three hours. You can leave the gold here and we will pick it up on our way back through. Ellie and I have a trip to make and are going to leave a bit early, but we’ll see you back in the valley, Gofreid. Don’t forget about setting up a regular caravan, I’m sure Onggur would be happy to help you organize it if you hired Moritoi to guard it.”

Saying goodbye to the two merchants, Ellie followed John out of the room and they went upstairs to pack. Quickly throwing her stuff together, she joined him at the stable where their horses were being kept. By the time they got there someone had passed the word along, and Storm and the stallion were already saddled and ready to go. Petting her mare’s nose, Ellie peeked at John. As if he could sense the question on her lips, John just shook his head but kept silent.

Sensing the storm cloud that seemed to hang over his head, Ellie just kept her silence and followed as John began to lead the way toward the city gate. Along the way they stopped by the Ecclesia office, where he had her hold the horses while he stepped inside. Once he was done, he came out and they headed for the gate. It was not until they were out of the city and mounted up that he said anything.

“I’m sorry. That was very sudden. But there are times I have trouble controlling myself and I’m afraid a lot of people might have died if I didn’t leave. Corruption, especially at the expense of the people, is not something I can stand. I asked Councilwoman Celira to look into it and bring the perpetrators to justice, but I’m afraid that if I stay, things will get messy.”

“What do you mean by messy?” Ellie asked.

“Merchants who are corrupt rarely only represent their own interests. There are almost always corrupt nobles behind them who give them the courage to practice their corruption. The Ecclesia will punish the merchants and censure the nobles without destabilizing the country more than necessary. If I was there, it’s likely that everyone involved would lose their head, no matter how high up the chain they go.”

“You must have been a lot higher up in the military than a captain, Mr. Sutton.”

Recognizing the teasing note in her voice, John gave her a small smile.

“I was there when the Ecclesia was founded, so I still have a bit of pull.”

“Well, regardless of how much of a big shot you were, I’m glad you did something about it,” Ellie said, her expression serious. “In my experience, those who climb the ladder of society rarely remember what life is like on the bottom rung.”

Trotting along, they followed the riverbank north, making good time. It was still morning and the traffic on the road was not very heavy. Most of the goods traveled by boat, but they did occasionally see carts piled high with goods heading for Kingsmouth. Taking a ferry across the river, they turned northwest and started the ride into the hilly country that made up much of Lepiera’s core. The sky soon grew overcast and a small rainstorm blew up, but rather than stop they continued on their way, pushing into the rocky hills until the river was little more than a thin ribbon on the horizon.

Though it had been nearly twenty years since she had last been to her grandmother’s house, Ellie seemed to be able to find the way easily, and after a few hours of travel they found a small cleft between two hills just wide enough for someone to lead a horse through. Riding up to it, she stopped Storm and gestured to the deep crack.

“Beyond here is a small hidden valley. Inside the valley is a cave system, and beyond that is my grandmother’s house.”

“Shall we press on or rest here for the night?”

“I don’t know what’s changed since I was last here, but I do know that there were beasts in the valley. I think we should wait for daylight. There’s a small underhang in the crevasse that will keep us dry.”

“Sounds good,” John nodded, swinging down from his horse. “I think Merlin is getting tired anyway.”

“Merlin?”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m going to call my horse. It’s the name of a famous Mage from a storybook I read when I was a kid.”

Hopping down from Storm, Ellie paused and looked at John’s horse as he led him into the rocks.

“Merlin. I like that.”

CHAPTER 19

About thirty feet into the cleft between the hills was a hollowed-out space that was eight feet tall and around twenty feet deep, providing just enough space for the two horses to bed down and for a fire to be made. Ancient ashes in the corner of the space showed where others had lit a fire in days past, and after collecting some wood from outside John got a fire going. Despite being soaked, the wood couldn’t help but burn in John’s hands, and soon a cheerful little fire was reflecting light and heat throughout the space.

Since there was no space for a tent, Ellie got out the bed rolls and set them up near the fire. Ever since they left the valley she had been doing her best to learn as much as she could about traveling and life as an adventurer, and she had taken to it so quickly that John felt she might have missed her calling. The horses were fed with mana, so there was no need to go out and get forage for them, and as the rain continued to blow outside, Ellie started dinner.

While she was working on the food, John slipped out of the cave, heading back out to the edge of the crack. Keeping his presence entirely contained, he scanned the path they had taken to get to the hidden valley, watching for any sign of movement. For the last few hours he had been feeling as if someone was tailing them, but he hadn’t been able to find any signs that his feeling was accurate. After watching for a bit, he let out a sigh and walked back into the cave, taking off his rain-slicked leather armor to let it dry in the warmth of the fire.

On the ride over they had both gotten completely soaked by the cold rain, but the warmth from the fire seemed to be incredibly effective, and they were more than warm enough after changing into dry clothes. Hanging up their wet garments, it didn’t take them long to dry out. Dinner was quick but filling, and after cleaning up they sat quietly, listening to the falling rain, the crackle of the fire, and the noises of the horses, each occupied by their own thoughts. After a bit, John spoke softly, his voice echoing around the space.

“Do you know what sort of beasts we’ll face in the valley?” John asked, looking over at Ellie.

Ellie had changed out of her leather armor as well, returning to her farm girl look, though she still wore pants instead of a skirt. Looking up from watching the dancing flames, she shook her head.

“I’m not entirely sure. When I left I saw fresh claw marks high up on a tree, and then the same claw marks on a rock. I never actually saw the beast itself.”

“Claw marks? That means a bear or big cat. Did they look like clear cuts or a mess of scratches?” John asked, drawing three distinct lines on the ground with his finger.

“They were distinct. I remember them clearly. They looked like someone had drawn perfectly horizontal lines deep into the stone.”

“Do you remember if there were three or four cuts?”

Thinking for a moment, Ellie shook her head.

“No, I’m sorry, I don’t.”

“Anything else about the markings you remember?” John asked. “Smells? Discoloration in the tree?”

“Um, I remember there was a fishy smell and the top of the tree was dying. Like, everything above the cut looked like it had started to rot.”

“How high up in the tree was the marking?”

“I was really young, but I think it was maybe ten feet? The claw marks were probably a foot long.”

Rubbing his chin, John thought about it for a moment before speaking.

“There are a number of beasts that fit that description, but most of them have been eradicated from Lepiera. Assuming it’s still alive, we’re probably dealing with a warp beast of some sort.”

“Warp beast? What’s that?”

“It’s an incredibly annoying set of beasts that have active camouflage, a powerful jump, and some sort of toxin in their tail, like a scorpion. Many warp beasts look different, but they all have those same characteristics. The good news is that they’re solitary creatures, not pack creatures, so if it is a warp beast and it’s still in the valley, it shouldn’t be too dangerous.”

Turning her head to gaze at the rain that was still falling, Ellie let out a sigh.

“You know, part of me still can’t believe we’re actually here. It’s crazy to think about how long it’s been since I went back. Originally I thought I would only leave for a few months, but one thing led to another and sixteen years passed, just like that.”

“Why’d you leave in the first place?”

“My food supply was running low. While my grandmother was alive she would leave for a few days every month and return with supplies, but after she died I was only able to make it two years before supplies started to run low. I decided to risk a trip to get supplies, but after I left the gates closed and I couldn’t get back in.”

Frowning slightly, John looked at Ellie as she poked a stick into the fire.

“My grandmother set up some sort of defensive spell around the house that transforms into a maze when you get close. I spent over a month in it but was never able to figure it out. Finally, my supplies really did run out and I had to leave. When I got to town, I realized there were people interested in finding out the location of her house and decided not to go back. Ever since then I wandered around, doing what I could to survive, eventually ending up in the valley. But now, since I have Truesight, I should be able to open the maze. Grandmother always said that only those who could truly see would be able to get through her spell.”

Talking about what had happened all those years ago seemed to have opened the floodgates in Ellie’s mind, and as John continued to listen she spoke of her early memories and the difficult years that followed her grandmother’s passing. She had been fourteen when John had been dropped into this world, and the constant wars he had struggled to survive had impacted her just as much. Hearing her describe the difficulty of finding basic necessities like food and shelter during those years, John was once again reminded of just how broken this world had become.

Later that night, as they went to bed, he found himself lying awake, his mind full of his own memories of the war. Drifting off into a fitful sleep, he dreamed of the crimson battlefield, filled with reaching skeletons and towering flames. Walking through them, he suddenly chanced across a burned building that had been reduced to little more than rubble and ash. Finding it familiar, he stopped, the sea of skeletons behind him stopping as well. Walking around the building, he saw another nearby.

A large bull skeleton lay on the ground, and he immediately recognized it as Ferdie as he heard the hoarse mooing that was echoing from its exposed skull. Staring around at the devastation that surrounded him, John realized he was seeing the ruins of his farm and a terrible thought struck him. Spinning around, he saw two skeletons, one taller, one shorter, holding hands. The ever-present flames had melted the bones of their hands together and he could still make out the tatters of Ellie’s dress hanging from the taller skeleton’s shoulders.

With moaning cries they reached out toward him, bony fingers grasping as if they wished to take his skin to cover their exposed frames. Behind him the remains of the barn fell in with a crash, and John woke up with a start to find that one of the logs in the fire had just collapsed.

[+1 Doom Point.]

[The apocalypse draws closer.]

An ashy taste filled John’s mouth as he waved the blue windows away and got up. It was early in the morning and light was just starting to filter into the crack between the hills. The rain had stopped at some point in the night, but everything was damp. Adding a few sticks to the coals to coax the fire back to life, John heard Ellie stir. Taking the kettle, he stepped outside and created a water bead with Summon Water, controlling it to fall into the kettle. With a little help from his temperature control it was soon boiling, and he got breakfast ready.

Handing a cup of oatmeal to Ellie, who was still blinking the sleep from her eyes, John quickly ate his food and then washed up the dishes. After cleaning up the camp they got their armor back on and set out, leading their horses through the crevice and into the hidden valley. As they came out of the crack in the rocks, John was stunned to see a beautiful little valley stretch out in front of them. Less than a mile long and only half as wide, it was beyond picturesque, with a tall waterfall that transformed into a small bubbling stream winding its way between meadows and forests.

“This is it. My grandmother jokingly called it the outer garden. The manor is beyond that waterfall.”

“Beautiful,” John said, his eyes carefully looking over every inch of the valley. “But you were right about the beasts. There is something here.”

Looking around, Ellie couldn’t sense anything at all and glanced at John.

“How do you know?”

“The silence. We can hear wind in the trees, we can hear the water, but there are no birds or insects. That only happens when a dangerous predator is nearby, and only a beast has the aura to make an entire valley like this fall silent. We just need to tread carefully.”

Swallowing, Ellie unhooked the small crossbow from her back and held it in front of her. Hesitating for a moment, she looked at John.

“Should I engage the mechanism now, or would that be silly? I’m worried I won’t have time to draw it if something happens. But if I draw it now, it could accidentally go off.”

“Great question. As you get better with it, you’ll probably become more confident in your ability to draw the crossbow when needed, but it won’t hurt it to keep it engaged.”

Taking out one of the bolts, Ellie cranked the hand crossbow back and clicked the bolt into the groove, making sure it was firmly in place. Keeping her finger off the trigger, she took a deep breath and nodded that she was ready. Urging Merlin forward, John led the way down into the valley, doing his best to avoid the woods when possible. As they got down to the bottom of the valley, he indicated for Ellie to stop. Seeing Merlin pulling at the reins, he loosened them, allowing his horse to grab a mouthful of the lush grass that covered the valley floor.

The feeling of being followed had grown even stronger once they had entered the valley but a quick glance behind them hadn’t shown anything. Jerking his head, he gestured for Ellie to get closer, and when she guided Storm over he spoke in a low voice.

“I think someone might have followed us into the valley. But they’re using some sort of masking skill. Stay calm to avoid alerting them, but I need you to see if you can spot anything out of the ordinary.”

To her credit, Ellie’s expression didn’t change as she listened to John’s words, but he did see that her fingers tightened their grip on the crossbow.

“I’ll hold the horses and pretend we’re going to set up camp. How is your mana?”

“It’s good. The storm yesterday provided a lot of mana for me.”

“Great.”

Swinging himself off Merlin’s back, John took the reins from Ellie as she slid down from Storm and led the horses off to the side. While he picketed them out of the way, he expanded his senses to their fullest extent, trying to spot the mysterious figure tracking them. In the middle of the meadow, Ellie crouched down, her finger tracing something on the ground. After a moment, she stood up and lifted her hand, palm out as she muttered something under her breath.

A slightly charged feeling filled the air as she pushed her mana into the spell, and even though he couldn’t see anything, John felt the mana concentration over her palm drastically increase. Closing her eyes, Ellie seemed to be concentrating, but John’s sharp gaze didn’t miss her fingers sliding down onto the trigger of her crossbow. Frowning, he was about to speak when Ellie jerked around, jumping back as her crossbow came up. Steadying the end with her outstretched hand, she pulled the trigger, the click of the mechanism loud in the still forest.

Shooting out from her crossbow, the bolt slashed through the air, causing bright red drops of blood to fly as it passed a figure that suddenly appeared at the edge of the meadow. The bolt had torn across the top of the figure’s shoulder, breaking the skill he was using to hide his presence from John and Ellie and forcing him to reveal himself. Swearing as he clutched at his shoulder, the man was just as surprised he had been discovered as Ellie was that she had actually hit someone.

In that moment of hesitation, the hidden man pulled out a curved short sword and dashed forward, clearly intending to cut Ellie down. Throwing aside her crossbow, she dodged to the side, her hands going to the long dagger John had given her when they set out on the trip. Holding her dagger tightly, she got her first good look at the man who had just attacked her.

He was dressed in a rather loose-fitting green and gray outfit that broke up his silhouette, and as he moved the shine of blackened chainmail could be seen underneath it. Only about five and a half feet tall with dark hair and even darker eyes, it was his short stature that had saved him from getting a crossbow bolt in his heart a moment ago. Not wanting to give John a chance to intervene in the attack, the short man dashed forward again, his short sword chopping at Ellie’s neck. As Ellie was about to retreat he suddenly accelerated, moving supernaturally fast as he closed in. Without thinking about it, Ellie stepped forward and stabbed with her dagger, the green tint on its edge catching the light and causing the short man to abandon his attack, turning his charge into a roll that carried him under Ellie’s stab.

Popping up at her back, he was surprised when Ellie pivoted and brought her dagger backward, nearly cutting his throat with her wild slash. Though her movements were untrained and clumsy, there was an explosive power in each one of her movements that made it difficult to get close to her. Watching from the side, John almost jumped into the fight until he saw her lips moving slightly and her empty hand twitching at her side.

Suddenly pointing forward, Ellie spoke a strange word and the air above the meadow abruptly darkened. The smell of rain and wind roiled through the area as a bolt of lightning as thick as an arm dropped out of the sky, slamming into her attacker with enough force to throw him from his feet. Lightning coursed through him, burning his clothes and hair and completely stunning him. With a scream he tried to activate another skill, but Ellie, sensing the gathering mana, spoke again, her finger still outstretched. Blood drained from her face as her mana was consumed but a second bolt fell, shattering the skill the short man was trying to use and killing him instantly.

CHAPTER 20

The stormy smell faded from the air, but the smell of burning hair remained as the short man twitched on the ground. Lowering her trembling finger, Ellie sagged, barely catching herself as her breath came in great gasps. The powerful lightning spell had drained most of her mana, and using it twice in such rapid succession had completely exhausted her. Turning, she tried to take a step and her legs gave out. Before she could fall to the ground, John’s arm circled her waist, keeping her from face-planting into the meadow’s grass.

Gently lowering her to the ground, John gave her a wide smile.

“That was incredible. Congratulations on winning your first fight as a class holder.”

Leaning her head against his chest, Ellie let out a low chuckle.

“Hah, if only I hadn’t exhausted myself to do it. It seemed like a good idea, but I would be helpless if it hadn’t worked.”

“You were in a bit of a rush, but it wasn’t necessarily a bad choice,” John said. “Especially since I am here to back you up. Just take it easy for a moment. Try meditating and see if you can get some of your mana back. I’ll check on our friend.”

Making sure Ellie wasn’t going to fall over, John started to stand up, only to find that Ellie had not let go of him. She had grabbed onto his arm when he kept her from falling and still had an unconscious death grip on his wrist. Sensing her trembling through her fingers, John sat down next to her, his arm still wrapped around her. Realizing that adrenaline was probably still coursing through her, John stayed with her for a few minutes until she got herself under control and released his wrist.

“I… I’m sorry, I… I guess I’m a bit shaken,” Ellie said, her blush adding a drop of color to her pale face.

“It’s only natural, Ellie. Much better to feel this way than to feel nothing. I would only be worried if you were a stone-cold killer.”

Realizing she was still resting her head on John’s chest, Ellie’s blush grew stronger and she reluctantly moved her head away. Glancing over at the short man’s body, she saw that his fingers were still spasming slightly and she had to suppress the urge to throw up.

“Is he still alive?”

“Nope. Completely dead. That twitching is an aftereffect of lightning. Getting hit the first time erased his defenses and the second bolt fried him. He was gone before he hit the ground.”

Standing up, John walked over to get a better look at the body. Unbothered by the burning smell, he rummaged through the still-smoking clothing, finding a few weapons and a belt with a dozen pouches. A closer examination revealed some other items hidden in secret pockets, and soon he had everything laid out on the grass. Most of the items were gear for solo camping or trapping, but there were a few things that stood out, including an encrypted note, a map marked with the location of the valley they were in, and a signet ring that bore a mask with the now-familiar infinity symbol where the eyes should have been.

Opening up the encrypted note, John pushed mana into his eyes, watching as the letters and numbers rearranged themselves into something he could read thanks to his skill, Arcane Tongue. Reading over it, his eyes narrowed and he glanced at Ellie. Seeing his look, she slowly got up.

“What is it?”

“This note,” John said, handing it to her. “It’s from Earl Vacek. This guy was named Mask Two or something stupid like that and was supposed to capture you. Apparently, someone recognized your armor and the earl wanted to find out what happened to Sandra, the last owner.”

“Earl Vacek? I don’t know any earls,” Ellie said, shaking her head.

“Earl Vacek is the noble who hired the Red Coral adventuring party. It’s likely he’s looking for information about what happened to them. And more importantly, what happened to the item he wanted from the ruins.”

“That means there will be more people after us,” Ellie said, her voice steadying. “I better practice my spells a bit more. By the way, how can you read this? I can’t understand a single word of it.”

“When I was in the military we ran across a lot of enemy codes,” John said, dodging the question. “Our attacker was also carrying this.”

Taking the ring John was holding out, Ellie looked at the symbol on it, her forehead furrowing.

“That’s the same double loop symbol the skull ring has.”

“Correct. It’s a symbol for infinity. I’ve seen it before, but it’s a bit strange to have run into it again here.”

“Does this mean there’s a connection between the earl and that Necromancer?”

“I certainly hope not, but it does seem likely. It smells like something big is happening out of sight. And speaking of out of sight,” John stood and pointed at the waterfall in the distance, “I think we should check out this hidden entrance you were mentioning.”

“Should we do something with his body?”

“No, leave it for the beast that’s lurking in the woods,” John said, his eyes shooting toward the nearby trees. “No need to waste our time on it.”

Taking their horses, they made their way toward the waterfall, soon arriving at the deep pool the waterfall fell into. Though Storm and Merlin were both rather skittish, the lure of mana trumped their fear of the sound, and Ellie and John were able to get them into the cave hidden behind the sheet of water.

“We should probably leave them here,” Ellie said, looking at the small winding tunnel that headed further into the cliff.

“Agreed. If we take too long or get stuck in the defensive spell, they can wander out and have some grass.”

“Will that be safe?” Ellie asked. “What about the beast prowling around?”

“I think it’ll be fine. Besides, I don’t think we’ll be gone that long.”

Leaving Storm and Merlin in the cave, John and Ellie continued forward into the tunnel, slowly making their way along until it began to get too dark to see. Ellie’s mana had recovered a bit and she offered to summon some wisps for light, but in order to save her mana for using Truesight, John just pulled out his sword and shield, using the soft light from the magical shield to light their way. The passageway twisted this way and that and soon split. Thinking carefully, Ellie was about to take the left passage when John called for her to stop.

“Were there any beasts in this cave? I mean back when you lived here with your grandmother?”

“Not that I know of,” Ellie said, shaking her head. “Why?”

Crouching, John pointed to a thin spider web strand that ran across the bottom of the passage. Nearly invisible in the darkness, it took Ellie a moment to see what he was pointing at. When she did, she let out a gasp and looked around at the darkness as if expecting to see spiders creeping out of the cracks in the walls.

“This is the thread of an arachnid gigantis. Giant spider, basically. It sets traps like this to alert it when prey enters its hunting ground. Unfortunately it’s a pack beast, so if there’s one, there are probably more. We can try to move through quietly, but their sense of hearing is excellent, so it’s almost impossible that we’ll be able to avoid it.”

Instead of replying, Ellie unslung her crossbow and decisively cocked it, dropping a bolt into the groove with a click. Letting out a laugh, John swung his sword, cutting through the spider thread.

“Haha, my thoughts exactly.”

With his flaming sword held out in front of him, John led the way into the tunnel, Ellie sticking close behind him. As they walked forward they began to see more signs of the giant spiders, but the flames from John’s sword made short work of the webs that covered the passage. Looking at the burning fragments, Ellie glanced at John.

“Are the spiders poisonous?”

“Venomous, but yes. They have a neurotoxin that overloads the nervous system, shutting it down.”

“What’s the nervous system? Do you mean it makes you afraid?”

“Ah, no, um. Your nervous system is all of the, um, nerves in your body? Uh, it’s what allows your brain to control your body. The venom blocks that, which prevents your body from moving since it can’t get signals from your brain.”

Unsure she was following what he was talking about, Ellie just nodded.

“So it paralyzes you.”

“Yeah, it paralyzes you.”

Continuing to walk forward, John carefully cleared out the spider webs from the passages Ellie directed him to. The cave was a maze of different passageways, and while Ellie assured him they weren’t going around in circles, John wasn’t entirely convinced. Eventually, however, the passage widened out into a large cavern. Stepping out into the room, John stopped, his mana-enhanced hearing picking up the scrape of chitinous legs on stone.

“Careful, I think we found our friends.”

Lifting her crossbow, Ellie looked around carefully and began to mumble something under her breath. Slowly walking forward, John ignited the flame on his sword, increasing the amount of light in the room. The flames came to life, accompanied by a skittering sound that echoed around the room as the spiders lurking in the shadows retreated. Before they could hide, three small wisps of light appeared around Ellie’s head and began to swirl, spreading out to light up the room with a white glow.

Light flooded the room, revealing dozens of monsters clinging tightly to the walls and ceilings of the cave. Seeing dozens of red eyes glinting in the light, Ellie stifled the shriek that rose to her lips and John stopped moving forward. Lifting his shield and sword, he quickly scanned the room. It was hard to keep track of the spiders as they moved over the walls and ceiling, but he did his best to keep as many of them in his view as possible. Each about the size of a large dog, the spiders were covered in hard chitin and had small serrated spikes protruding from their legs. Clicking mandibles flashed as they looked at John and Ellie, causing a shiver to run down Ellie’s spine.

“What’s through that passage?” John asked, his voice abnormally quiet and calm.

“There are a few more chambers like this and then the spell maze.”

“Alright. We might need to move quickly, and if we do, I’m just going to grab you and go, so don’t freak out. If you have to shoot, aim for the eyes, but be careful—they’re quick. Now, follow me, we’re going to move slowly. Hopefully we can avoid spooking them.”

Carefully and with smooth, stable movements, John began to make his way toward the cavern’s exit, Ellie sticking as close to his back as possible. Doing his best to keep from startling the spiders any more than they already had, John thought they had made it when a deep hiss echoed through the tunnels, shaking the walls and sending the giant spiders into a frenzy. Their eyes glowed as they launched themselves from the walls toward John and Ellie, fangs and talons outstretched.

This time, Ellie wasn’t able to suppress her scream and instinctively pulled the trigger on her crossbow. The bolt shot out, cutting through the air next to one of the spider’s heads, completely missing and vanishing into the darkness. In front of her, John intercepted one of the attacking spiders with his shield, throwing it away with a step forward and slam. The spider let out a screaming hiss as it was thrown away, vanishing into the darkness, but John and Ellie had no time to celebrate as more of the spiders swarmed toward them.

Spinning, John grabbed Ellie around the waist with his shield arm and took off running, sprinting through the cave’s exit. As they ran she struggled to reload her crossbow while his blade flashed, cutting a giant spider in half. Ellie finally managed to get another bolt loaded and leveled the crossbow, clicking the trigger just as one of the spiders pounced. The bolt shot into its face, stabbing through one of the red eyes and cutting into its brain. Collapsing instantly, the spider was quickly trampled by its brothers and sisters who continued to charge after them.

“Good, keep that up,” John said, his sword moving so fast it looked like a blue blur as he cut his way through the spiders that were swarming toward them. “Hold on!”

Abruptly increasing his speed, he expanded his shield and blasted through the spiders who had clogged the entrance to the next cavern. This one lacked the deep pit and instead was covered with rocky outcroppings that all seemed to hide more giant spiders.

“How are there so many of them?!” Ellie yelled, staggering as John put her down.

“Get up on that rock! There has to be a queen in here somewhere. That’s the only way there could be this many without them hunting each other.”

“A queen?” Ellie asked, pulling herself up on a rock behind John as he chopped apart a pouncing spider. “That sounds like terrible news.”

“It is. But that hiss we heard? That’s probably a queen. And it sounds like she’s on her way here.”

John had no sooner finished speaking than another hiss shook the cavern. Grimacing, John heard the twang of the crossbow and another of the giant spiders fell.

“Speak of the devil.”

“Well, maybe we shouldn’t have,” Ellie quipped, reloading the crossbow. “Can we take our words back?”

“Hah, I don’t think that’s how this works,” John replied, crushing a spider with the edge of his shield and kicking its twitching corpse away. “But when she gets here we can ask her.”

At the exit to the room a large spider leg poked into the cavern, followed soon after by another. A dragging sound echoed off the walls as a massive spider crawled into the room. With a body that was easily twenty feet long and at least ten feet tall, the giant spider queen was a sight to behold. Thick chitin plates covered her body and the spikes that ran up her legs looked as sharp as daggers. Letting out another ground-shaking hiss, the giant spider queen lifted herself to her maximum height, dwarfing John and Ellie. Looking at the monster who was staring at them from an uncountable number of eyes, Ellie swallowed and shook her head.

“No thanks. I don’t think I want to talk to her at all.”

CHAPTER 21

Stalking toward John and Ellie, the giant spider queen clicked her mandibles threateningly, her eyes fixed on what she clearly assumed was her next meal. Watching the approaching monster, John lifted his shield and waved his flaming sword to the side, warding off one of the giant spiders that was creeping closer.

“The most dangerous thing about fighting a giant spider queen is that it becomes hard to guard against all of the smaller, but no less dangerous, giant spiders. In a second she’s going to attack, either by spitting venom at us or charging. You can tell which one by watching her because she’ll lift her front legs if she’s going to charge and will expand her mouth if she’s going to spit. How’s your mana looking?”

“I’ve got about thirty percent of my mana restored,” Ellie said, her voice surprisingly calm.

“Great. Keep your mana for keeping yourself alive. If she charges, I’ll deal with her and you can keep picking off the small spiders. On the other hand, if she starts to spit, put a bolt straight down her throat. The goal is to pop the sack that stores the venom. Giant spiders aren’t completely immune to their own venom.”

Shifting her stance slightly, Ellie lifted her newly loaded crossbow and held it ready. Despite the precarious situation, she felt a wave of confidence welling up inside of her. Much of it had to do with John’s calm demeanor, but there was also a sense of strength that stemmed from her experiences over the last few days. Now, facing down the largest spider she had ever seen, she was nervous but ready.

As if sensing the challenge in Ellie’s gaze, the giant spider queen let out a silent roar, intending to launch a glob of venom at her. Ellie responded by pressing the trigger of her crossbow, sending a bolt flying through the air toward the giant spider queen. At the same time John jumped to the side, his sword slashing through the heads of two giant spiders that abruptly charged. Jerking her head slightly when she heard the sound of the vibrating crossbow string, the giant spider queen felt the bolt glance off of the side of her mouth, leaving a deep gouge as it was turned to the side.

Frustrated that she had missed, Ellie hurried to load her crossbow again as the giant spider queen’s mouth moved. Looking down at her crossbow, she finally got the bolt loaded and looked up just as the giant spider queen spit out a glob of venom at her. Even with her supernaturally quick class holder reflexes, Ellie wasn’t sure she was going to be able to avoid the attack, but John flashed in front of her, blocking the flying venom with his shield.

“Keep calm and shoot again. You have three seconds before she charges, so take your time to aim.”

Sure enough, the giant spider queen’s mouth was slowly closing from its stretched-out state, and Ellie could see the slightly inflamed crimson sack in the spider’s mouth. Lining up her shot, she let the second bolt fly and then immediately started to reload the crossbow, not waiting to see where her attack landed. This time the bolt flew true, piercing into the venom sack in the giant spider queen’s mouth and ripping it apart. Gooey venom erupted from the spider queen’s ripped skin, causing her to rear back, hissing wildly.

“Great shot! She’ll be moving into close combat mode, so get ready. Stay on your toes and don’t be afraid to be mobile. Watch for giant spiders taking advantage of her attack.”

Listening to John’s calm instructions, Ellie clicked another bolt in place and looked around, her crossbow swinging around as she took stock of the giant spiders starting to press in. Next to her John kept his eyes on the giant spider queen as she waved her front legs in the air, bringing them down angrily with enough force to crush a stalagmite. As the shards of rock flew through the air the monster charged forward, intent on turning John and Ellie to mush.

Stepping forward, John’s sword stabbed straight toward the spider queen’s eyes even as his shield intercepted one of her pounding legs. The shockwave that resulted blew dust in all directions, but John didn’t transform into a smear of paste on the ground as the giant spider queen thought he would. Instead, he didn’t react at all, his sword continuing along its original trajectory toward the spider queen’s eyes. A sense of danger shot through the monster’s cunning brain and her legs pumped explosively, throwing her body back with surprising agility.

Yet even as she flew back, the blue flame-covered blade John held continued to grow larger in her compound eyes as John accelerated to keep pace with her. Like a heated knife being thrust into a pool of water, the flaming blade slid into one of the giant spider queen’s eyes, dealing tremendous damage. Letting out an even louder hiss that shook the cavern and sent the other giant spiders scurrying away in fear, the spider queen jerked her head back, getting free of John’s blade and trying to push him away with her massive front legs.

Catching one of the blows with his shield, John turned a somersault, landing next to Ellie, who was lifting her crossbow to aim at the spider queen. Seeing that John was out of the way, she let her bolt fly, managing to pierce another eye. With two large disruptions in its vision, the spider queen went absolutely berserk, rushing over and trying to use her bulk to crush her attackers. Seeing it coming, Ellie pulled something from the pouch at her side and threw it at the monster. A second later, the potion she had thrown shattered and a noxious cloud enveloped the approaching giant spider queen. Slinging her crossbow onto her back, Ellie began to mumble something and pointed her finger at the large creature.

Already, white foam was starting to drip from the spider queen’s jaws as the venom she’d swallowed slowed her body down. The cloud of poison Ellie had deployed took effect, causing the white foam to turn a sickly green, and a spasm shook the queen, nearly jerking the monster from her feet as Ellie’s spell compounded the poison, boosting its effect tremendously. Though it wasn’t effective enough to kill the giant spider queen on its own, Ellie had bought enough time for John to advance and land another blow on the monster’s head.

Even as his sword bit into the monster’s skull, Ellie was loading another crossbow bolt, her eyes constantly scanning for other dangers. The level of calm professionalism John saw her exhibiting made his eyes light up. Though it wasn’t unheard of, it was rare to find anyone so calm and in control of themselves during their first real combat against a magical beast. There was some roughness to her actions, but she was staying level-headed, and not even the threatening aura that spread from the spider queen could shake her. Part of that could be attributed to the purity of her mana, but the majority of it was a result of her mental strength being higher than normal.

The giant spider could sense death looming over her as the poison in her system began to liquify her organs, but running never entered her brain. She had never known a day in her life when she was not the biggest, baddest creature around, and even now, with death only inches away, she elected to double down on her attack, striking at John with her fangs. Dodging back, John brought the edge of his shield down on top of the two extended fangs, pinning the monster to the ground as he stabbed his sword over the top of his shield.

With a squelch, the blade stabbed through one of the spider queen’s eyes, this time making it to the monster’s brain. Blue flames surged into the giant spider’s skull, instantly killing the beast. Despite the fact that she was dead, the spider queen’s body continued to thrash for a moment, but John kicked it away before her flailing legs could hit him. With a whoosh, the blue flames found the poison and began to burn even more fiercely, soon reducing the corpse of the giant spider queen to ash.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Ellie started to put down her crossbow but then caught sight of John who still stood with his shield up, his eyes sweeping the cavern carefully as he checked for threats. When he didn’t see anything, John gestured for Ellie to follow and the two of them made their way toward the exit, keeping a watch out for more giant spiders. After their queen was destroyed, the beasts seemed to have vanished, hiding deep in the cave system from Ellie and John. With the light from Ellie’s spell the way was well-lit, and after walking for half an hour they hadn’t seen even a single giant spider.

Eventually, the tunnel opened out into a wider cave, and John caught a glimmer of natural light streaming in through a gap in the ceiling. Pointing at the cave exit that appeared in the distance, Ellie smiled widely.

“That’s the exit. We’ll find the front gate right through there. But as soon as we leave the cave, we’ll be caught in the maze spell.”

Carefully making their way forward, they soon came to the end of the tunnel, and John saw another small valley stretching out before him. Much smaller than the valley they had passed through earlier, this valley contained a large manor house and what looked like some fields that held a garden, an orchard, and a small lake. Rather than the witch’s cottage John was expecting, it looked more like a noble’s country mansion. Confused, John looked at Ellie, but she was distracted, gazing at the house with a longing expression, clearly lost in her memories.

Taking another step forward, John suddenly stopped, his eyes narrowing. It was terribly faint, but at the last moment he sensed a hint of mana in front of him. Expertly blended into the earth and stone at the cave’s exit, it formed an illusory net that completely covered the area. Scanning the rock nearby, John realized the mana net actually extended as far into the stone as he could sense. The slight curve to it suggested that it covered the entire valley in a bubble, making it impossible to approach from any direction without getting caught in it. Stepping back, he looked at Ellie again. After a moment, she came back to her senses and her eyes flashed as she activated Truesight.

“This is the beginning of the defensive spell. There is a path that leads through it, and with Truesight I should be able to find the way. However, we’ll have to maintain contact. It can be really easy to get lost in here, and I don’t know what will happen if we get separated.”

“Are there any dangers, or does the maze just make you lost?”

“The only danger is starving to death, as far as I know,” Ellie said, shrugging.

“Okay, then let’s go.”

Reaching out, John grabbed Ellie’s hand, holding it firmly. Shocked by the sudden touch, Ellie nearly jerked her hand away, but John’s grip was too strong and she managed to recover before embarrassing herself. Taking a deep breath to get her rapidly beating heart under control, she focused on the spell in front of her as she took a step forward. As they entered the range of the spell nothing seemed to change, but John immediately felt the mana trying to seep into his body. Though it was impossible for the spell to get through his mental defenses, he still saw the surroundings changing under his eyes. The peaceful valley vanished, replaced by smoke and sulfur.

An ever-shifting hellscape of boiling lava and hissing gas appeared all around them as Ellie stopped, her hand holding John’s tightening slightly. Frowning, John looked around, unable to understand what he was seeing. He had assumed the spell would simply use mana to confuse his senses, making it difficult to proceed, just as other illusion magic did. However, given his mental defenses, it shouldn’t have been able to affect him at all. Yet, as he stood amidst the burning landscape, he felt as if he had genuinely been transported to a new, hellish world. For a moment he considered using his own mana to crush the spell, but ultimately decided to let Ellie deal with it.

On top of not knowing how the spell was tied together and what sort of situation he would find himself in if he just tried to brute force it, using a forceful method would undoubtedly result in an increase in Doom Points. Besides, it seemed wise to let Ellie get as much practice as possible with her skills. Feeling a slight tug on his hand, he followed Ellie as she walked forward, her Truesight discerning the safest path forward. Walking along a small stone path between two flowing streams of lava, John could feel the heat of the molten rivers on either side of his body and was completely floored, his respect for Ellie’s grandmother increasing by leaps and bounds. The spell they were walking through was far beyond a simple illusion, and he found he could actually manipulate the heat as if it were coming from a flame in the outside world. Ellie paused for a moment, and then, with a deep breath, turned right and walked forward into the river of lava. Following close behind, John was ready to grab her, but to his surprise the world shifted around them and he found that the path rose up under their feet. After winding through the flame-covered hellscape for nearly an hour longer, Ellie suddenly gasped and pointed ahead at a large circular stone that stood on its side in the distance.

“That’s the entrance!”

Tugging John’s hand, she hurried to approach the stone, reaching out to touch it with her fingertip. With a thrumming sound, the world shifted around them as soon as her finger made contact with the stone and the original valley they had seen from the cave’s exit appeared around them. The interior of the valley was full of life, and John felt a strange sort of energy in the air he couldn’t quite place. Sensing a presence he hadn’t sensed before, John looked toward the manor house just as the front door opened.

A figure floated out of the house, rapidly approaching where Ellie and John stood. Unsure if what he was seeing was correct, John blinked his eyes, but the figure remained the same. Dark-blue and glowing, the figure appeared to be an eight-foot-tall giant man whose feet didn’t quite meet the ground. Thick muscles dominated his uncovered chest, and a pointed goatee on his chiseled face combined with his bald head and pointed ears gave him an almost sinister look. A pair of baggy pants, a wide sash, and cloth shoes with a pointed and curled toe completed the picture, and as he floated to a stop in front of Ellie and bowed, John heard a soft bass voice that seemed to come from everywhere at once.

“Welcome back to Star Manor, my lady.”

CHAPTER 22

Staring at the large blue man, Ellie blinked, her eyes growing wet.

“Vexus. It… it’s good to be back.”

“Evening approaches. May I prepare dinner for you?”

“Thank you, dinner would be great.”

With a nod, the blue man turned around and floated away, a faint light glimmering from under his glowing skin. Watching him leave, Ellie took a deep breath and turned to look at John, who was still staring after the floating man.

“That is Vexus, my grandmother’s familiar. He… he’s a star djinn. I didn’t think he would still be around.”

“A djinn? Like a genie? Does he grant wishes?”

“Genie? I don’t know what that is,” Ellie said, shaking her head and beginning to lead the way toward the house. “And I don’t know about wishes, but he protects the manor and tends the gardens. He cared for me when I was young as well.”

Amused by the idea of a genie butler, John took a closer look at the manor. Larger than it first appeared, it was a sprawling affair with two large wings and a wide front porch. It took a moment for John to realize what was bothering him about it, but when he did he stopped dead in his tracks. The architecture of the manor was familiar to John, too familiar. Styles in this world, especially for the rich, were highly gothic, and most noble houses looked more like the famous churches of John’s previous world than homes.

In contrast, Star Manor was built in an Edwardian style that was plainer and had larger windows. Considering how closely it resembled the stately manor homes John had seen pictures of on the internet, John almost felt as if he had been transported back to earth. Feeling John stop, Ellie realized they were still holding hands and released her grip. John, however, was completely distracted by his thoughts and continued to hold onto her hand, oblivious to her mounting blush. When he finally came to himself, he naturally let go of her hand and pointed up at the impressive-looking building.

“Did your grandmother build this?”

Taking a moment to gather herself, Ellie shook her head.

“I don’t think so. She said it had been in the family for a long time. My earliest memories are here, playing in these rooms. Come on, I’ll show you the way to the dining room.”

As they walked up the stairs, the door opened and Vexus welcomed them in. Seeing that John was carrying a backpack with camping gear, he offered to take it and then escorted them to the dining room.

“Please, sit. Dinner will be served in a moment.”

“Thank you, Vexus.”

“It’s my duty, my lady. No thanks are needed,” Vexus said, his face impassive.

Watching him leave, John heard the door on the other side of the room open and, turning his head, saw Vexus walk out of the hall carrying a platter with two bowls of steaming soup. Quickly looking back, he caught sight of the blue skin of the star djinn’s back just before the door shut. Noticing his confusion, Ellie let out a laugh.

“Vexus can, um, duplicate himself. That’s how he takes care of everything by himself.”

Unable to get his head around how weird this experience was, John just shook his head and ate his dinner. The meal was six courses in total, and easily rivaled any meal he had ever had in the noble houses of the capital city. As it wound to a close, Vexus came back into the room and waited quietly by Ellie’s side. With a slight tremble in her hands that John nearly missed, Ellie put her fork down and looked at the blue djinn.

“Thank you for the meal, Vexus.”

“My lady, with this I have completed my tasks. Please proceed to the library, where you will find a message from your grandmother. You may take your companion if you so choose. I will depart in six hours.”

Without waiting for a response, the giant blue man turned and floated out the door, leaving John and Ellie by themselves.

“What does he mean he will depart in six hours?” John asked, his eyes narrowing.

Just as lost as John, Ellie shook her head.

“I have no idea. It’s been too long since I was last here. We should go to the library and see what my grandmother left.”

As she led the way through the halls of the manor, John could tell Ellie was doing her best to keep herself together. He could only imagine how emotional he would feel if he suddenly got the chance to return to earth and walk through his old home. The sight of Ellie’s emotional turmoil caused his heart to heat up strangely, and John found himself trying to come up with a topic to distract her.

“You said that Vexus is a familiar, right? What is that exactly?”

“Hm? Oh, a familiar is something Witches get. A lot of Witch spells deal with spirits, and it’s possible to bind a spirit into a familiar. It’s sort of like a pet and sort of like a companion. Though it’s strange, since familiars usually vanish when their master dies. That’s why I was so shocked to see Vexus here. He wasn’t around when I left the manor previously.”

“So, when Vexus said he would be departing in six hours, he’ll be vanishing? If there’s a message your grandmother left, maybe he was waiting to deliver it.”

Nodding, Ellie opened a large door, revealing a spacious library with built-in shelves on every wall. The shelves were absolutely packed with books, causing John’s eyes to open wide with excitement. Near a large window was a desk that looked like it had seen countless years of use. So far there wasn’t a single thing in the manor that reminded John of a witch, but Ellie was treating it like it was totally normal, so he didn’t quite know how to react. Following her into the room, he saw she was heading for the desk. Sitting in the middle of the desk was a crystal ball sitting next to a thick book and an eighteen-inch wand made from a gnarled root.

Stepping back to give Ellie some room, John walked over to the bookshelves and began to scan the titles of the books, seeing what he could find. Strangely, even though he could see that the books had titles, it was entirely impossible for him to read them. It was almost as if a layer of mana lay over them, preventing him from seeing the information. Blinking, he put more mana into his eyes, but even that didn’t work and the book titles remained blurred. Undeterred, he reached for a red, leather-bound tome and tried to pull it from the shelf, only to feel a tremendous amount of resistance, as if the mana that was keeping him from seeing the books was also binding it to the shelf. Just as he was about to rip it free, he heard a light sound behind him.

“Excuse me, sir? Can you please not do that?”

Not recognizing the voice, John turned around and realized Ellie was gone. In her place stood an elderly lady with a large amount of white hair swept up into an impressive updo. Eyes narrowing, John looked around but didn’t see Ellie anywhere in the library. Letting go of the book, to the old woman’s relief, John took a step forward, his mana starting to swell. The relieved expression in the old woman’s eyes faltered slightly as her eyes met John’s completely emotionless stare and she realized things were about to get very bad, very quickly.

“Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Dame Esmerelda Stoke, Seer of the Glimmering Star and the former owner of this manor.”

“Ellie’s grandmother?”

“Yes, though not by blood. However, I did raise her as my own after my daughter brought her back here. More than that is for Ellie to tell you.”

“Excuse my blunt language, but aren’t you supposed to be dead?” John asked, his mana not abating in the slightest.

“Ah, yes. I am. This is a vestige, a fragment of myself that I left behind to instruct Ellie should she ever manage to become a Witch. It was activated by her entrance to Star Manor’s grounds and will fade away shortly. At that time, Vexus will return to his home in the stars, taking the manor with him. Before that nothing may be taken out of it, save for the two items I have left for Ellie.”

“You mean I can’t read these books?” John asked, his face still expressionless but his voice dipping dangerously low.

“As much as it embarrasses me to admit it, I don’t think I, or even Vexus, would be able to stop you if you chose to. However, doing so would destroy Star Manor, completely erasing the Glimmering Star inheritance from existence. Your benefit would be fleeting at best, and the damage to Ellie would be tremendous.”

Feeling the slight threat in her words, John’s eyes narrowed and he took a step forward, his eyes nearly burning holes in her.

“Then I suggest you explain what’s going on, quickly.”

The air in the library had taken on a hazy look as it warped under the intensity of the mana that was coming off John, and cracks started to appear around him. It had only taken him an instant to understand he had been affected by something similar to the defensive spell that surrounded the manor when Dame Stoke had appeared, and now it began to break apart as it failed to contain John’s mana. Her eyes darting to the growing cracks, Ellie’s grandmother began to speak rapidly, making sure to be as clear as possible.

“Thousands of years ago, a single Mage appeared in this world and opened a portal, summoning a party of class holders to assist him in defeating the beasts that dominated the world. Before they died they passed their classes down, and along with them their official inheritances. My ancestor was one of those who came to this world from another world. She passed down her official inheritance, Star Manor, to her daughter, who continued to pass it down. With it came the star djinn, Vexus. He and the manor are one entity, and he is bound to only share his knowledge with the official inheritor. Unfortunately, that requires a Witch with a star medium, so when I tried to leave the inheritance to Ellie, well, it failed. I have left as much knowledge as I can for her, but all the information I received about other worlds has been left out.”

[+1 Doom Point.]

[The apocalypse draws closer.]

Reigning in his mana as Dame Stoke fell silent, John carefully thought about what he had just heard, at the same time dismissing the window that had popped up in his vision. The idea that classes had only been created a few thousand years ago was surprising to him, but remembering what little he knew about the summoning spell indicated it had been used previously. It made sense that others would have been summoned, and if they had been granted classes like he had when they arrived it would explain how the classes were passed down. However, if what Dame Stoke was saying was true, he also wouldn’t be able to examine any of the books left in the Star Manor library.

“You said that Vexus and the Star Manor are the same entity? Who picked the shape of the house?”

Confused by the question, Dame Stoke took a second to answer, almost as if she was listening to something.

“The original master, Dame Eliana Stoke. Ellie is named after her.”

“So the long and short of it is that I’m locked out of all the information here?” John asked, gesturing past the rapidly healing cracks in the air toward the bookshelves. “I can’t read any of it?”

“That is correct, sir.” Dame Stoke said, her voice trembling slightly. “However, I do not understand why you would want to.”

Brows furrowing, John was at a slight loss, not understanding Dame Stoke’s comment. Seeing his expression, she shifted back slightly and a blue figure appeared, floating in front of her. Realizing that Vexus probably thought he was going to get angry, John shook his head and shrugged.

“Why would I not want more information? Every piece of knowledge helps, doesn’t it?”

“To what end?” Vexus’ voice was deep, and unlike its normal flatness carried a genuine curiosity. “Spirits like us are bound by our nature and cannot change. You are eternal, so why seek for a greater place?”

“Because I don’t understand why,” John replied. “I don’t understand why I am the way I am. I don’t understand why the world is falling apart. I don’t understand how I’m supposed to fix it, if it can even be fixed. I feel like I don’t understand anything. And I don’t know when the last time you took a walk outside your walls was, but anyone who might be able to explain it to me is either dead or as looney as a waterfowl and intent on murdering me. Which leaves me to figure it out myself. And honestly, the temptation to take this place apart to try and see if I can figure out how it ticks is pretty strong right now.”

“You should know that it will serve no purpose for you,” Vexus said seriously. “All my knowledge is contained here, in my body. To destroy me is to destroy that knowledge as well. My time in this world is coming to a close, and as much as could be extracted has already been granted to the lady. Seek her approval if you would understand the secrets of the stars.”

Staring at the completely expressionless djinn, John could see the complete detachment he held. It was clear that Vexus was less of an actual being with thoughts and feelings and more of an automaton that carried out orders. Closing his eyes for a moment, John rubbed his forehead. This wasn’t the first time he had arrived at a dead end in his quest for understanding, and he was sure that it wouldn’t be the last. Getting himself under control, he opened his eyes and nodded at Dame Stoke.

“Fine. I won’t take this place apart. Anything else?”

Stepping out from behind Vexus’ floating figure, Dame Stoke bowed low to John, her waist bending completely and her hands coming together in front of her chest.

“Please take care of Ellie. She is not my granddaughter by blood, but she may as well have been. Knowing that she is with a being such as yourself gives me great hope that she will not only survive in this harsh world, but thrive. Please, do not abandon her like so many others have.”

CHAPTER 23

When Ellie awoke from her daze and turned around, John was standing quietly behind her, a thoughtful expression on his face. Though this trip had not resulted in the wealth of magical knowledge he had been hoping for, Ellie had clearly benefited and the mystery surrounding this world had been peeled back slightly. According to what Dame Stoke had claimed, the original intent of the class holders had been to fight against the beasts that filled the world. That objective had clearly been achieved, but what was most interesting to John was the idea that the first Mage had come from somewhere else rather than being native to this world. It brought up curious questions about where the system and classes he used came from, but John already had enough on his plate to worry about it at this point.

Chief among those things was the lady in front of him, who was clearly trying to hold back her tears. John had courageously faced down overwhelming odds on the battlefield, terrifying fights against beasts that could swallow him whole, and insane Mages bent on his complete destruction, but nothing had prepared him for the complete paralysis he felt when he saw Ellie’s trembling lips. Stretching his hand out, he froze and was about to drop it when Ellie suddenly rushed forward and hugged him.

For the second time her hot tears leaked out, wetting his shirt. This time, however, her cries were not cries of relief, but of loss. Without having to be told, John knew she had just seen her grandmother for the last time and all the pent-up feelings of sadness she had been managing for the last twenty years were now being poured out onto John’s chest. Though he had never known his grandmother, John found it easy to empathize with Ellie. In the years since he had come to this world he had seen too much loss, too much death, and left too many things behind.

Yet, even as Ellie exhausted her feelings, John found himself wondering about his own heart. It was impossible for him to deny that something in him had changed after the end of the war against the nation of Pleya. His feelings, already hardened by the years of warfare, had turned to granite and his heart had completely died, along with any tolerance he had possessed. It had been a long time since he had considered himself human, but seeing Ellie’s sorrow, it was clear that a piece of him was gone, burned up in the flames of the magic he had been forced to perfect. Sniffing, Ellie pulled herself together and stepped back, wiping the last few tears from her eyes.

“My grandmother… she told me everything. She told me about my mom, and the history of this place. She left me what she could, but there’s nothing else we can take from here. I’m sorry, this trip has been a waste.”

Shaking his head, John looked at Ellie squarely, meeting her eyes as he spoke calmly.

“Not a waste. I’ve had a great time. Plus, you’ve managed to get something that will help you, by the looks of it. What did your grandmother leave you?”

Lifting up the items that had been left on the desk, Ellie showed them to John.

“This is the crystal ball she used for a lot of her spells, and this is her wand. Both are used for casting spells.”

“And is that her grimoire?”

“Yes, she recorded her spells here for me. You can read it if you like.”

“Better yet, once you learn them, you can teach me,” John said, looking around the room. “It sounds like this place is going to go away soon. Did she talk to you about the inheritance?”

For a moment John thought Ellie was going to burst into tears again, but she held it together as she nodded.

“Yes. She said we weren’t actually related. After my m… her daughter brought me back, she died without telling my grandmother where she found me. From what my grandmother pieced together, my mom was mortally wounded while fighting against some bandits while escorting a carriage. I was the only other survivor, so she brought me here to Star Manor. Whoever my family was, they’re long dead.”

“I’m sorry, Ellie. It’s difficult to find out that so much of what you believed to be true wasn’t true.”

“But it does explain why I lacked the star medium,” Ellie said, doing her best to smile. “In a way, I’m happy to know I’m actually from a different bloodline and not just a failure.”

“Not a failure in the least. I don’t know if you saw the size of the two lightning bolts you dropped on that guy’s head yesterday, but that doesn’t seem much like failure to me.”

“Haha, thanks.”

Hearing the door open, Ellie and John turned and saw Vexus float into the room. Bowing his head slightly, the star djinn gestured toward the door.

“My lady, it is time for you to leave. I will be going home soon, and it would be dangerous for you to remain here.”

“Of course. Thank you, Vexus.”

“As I have stated, my lady, it is my job.”

Escorted by the blue butler, John and Ellie left Star Manor. Walking out through the front door, John looked up at the strangely modern facade of the house. He had to admit that encountering the manor had been one of the strangest experiences of his life. Sure, being pulled into a fantasy world and taught magic was odd, but then to encounter a fully modern home guarded by a typical-looking blue djinn was even stranger. It had, however, explained why Ellie was so comfortable with the modern plumbing he had installed. While inside Star Manor he had peeked into one of the bathrooms and seen flushing toilets. Pausing on the steps of the manor, John turned around and looked at Vexus.

“Tell me, if you can, how many other inheritances still exist.”

The djinn’s face didn’t change at all as he blinked at John, as if deciding whether it was worth it to answer the question. After a few seconds, he gestured to the manor house.

“There is one other inheritance, beside this one. Or, rather, it is assumed to be an inheritance. The Mage who summoned my initial contractor left a doorway when they retreated that cannot be opened, but I do not know where it is since I cannot leave this place. After I return to the stars, only that lost doorway will remain.”

“What will you do once you return to the stars?” Ellie asked, her eyes showing a slight wetness as she looked at the impassive djinn.

“I will rejoin the stars, waiting for one with the temperament and aptitude to summon me once again,” Vexus replied, showing a sense of happiness for the first time since John had first seen him.

“Thank you, Vexus. For your service to my grandmother, and all her ancestors,” Ellie said, bowing. “Thank you for taking care of me when I was young. I know you don’t want my thanks, but I am thankful.”

Opening his mouth to reply, the star djinn paused, shooting a strange glance at John. Time almost seemed to stutter as mana surged in their surroundings, but after only a second it was gone and everything returned to normal. Waving his hand, Vexus caused the spell that encompassed the manor to gently push against John and Ellie, carrying them back into the tunnel. As they landed, his voice echoed in the cave.

“Your feelings are noted, my lady. If you will excuse me, it is time for me to go.”

A shining light burst from the cave’s exit, causing Ellie to shield her eyes, squinting in the glimmering rays. Not blinking once, John stared at the glowing house as it began to shift and warp, slowly shrinking down until it was little more than a glowing ball that landed in Vexus’ blue hand. Giving John a nod, the djinn held up his hand as the first star appeared in the gray evening sky. The glowing ball in his hand shot off, vanishing into the sky in a moment and merging with the star. A moment later Vexus followed, flying up and disappearing as he merged with the small point of light.

Within a few seconds the light faded and the night flooded in, leaving the small valley desolate and empty. Not only had the manor house vanished, but gone also were the gardens and orchard. The only thing that remained of the lake was a muddy depression that looked like it would dry up at any moment. Turning around, Ellie didn’t even look at the place her grandmother’s house had been, instead walking away down the tunnel. Following after her, John stayed quiet, letting Ellie work through her thoughts.

Though they were passing through the giant spider’s territory, the death of the giant spider queen must have been fresh in the beasts’ minds, because they saw neither hide nor hair of the creatures as they wound their way through the tunnel. After a few hours of walking, they arrived at the end of the tunnel where they had entered earlier that day. Stopping, Ellie still didn’t look back, as if afraid that in doing so she would see the empty valley where the Star Manor had been.

“It’s sort of surreal to me that the manor is gone. It’s always been in the back of my mind that if I needed to, I could run back here and hide from the world. But now it’s gone. My grandmother is… gone. It’s strange, but I almost feel more nervous stepping out of the cave now than I did all those years ago, since once I leave, that’s it. It’ll be gone forever.”

“Gone, maybe, but not erased,’’ John said, tapping his head. “Your grandmother, the manor, will still be here. But I get what you mean. It was sort of like a safe haven for your mind and heart, right? Often the idea of having something is just as important as actually having it. But losing a home like this just means we need to work all the harder to make a new one. You know, after my parents died I felt like I had lost that place, that home you’re talking about. Hah, I haven’t thought about this for years. It was rough, and even though my aunt took me and my brother in, it was tough. She did the best she could, but there was a hole in me that just refused to close.”

Nodding, Ellie’s eyes searched John’s face.

“Exactly. It feels like it won’t ever close. Does it ever heal?”

“Sort of,” John said, shrugging. “They say time heals all wounds, but I don’t think that’s true. It just helps us build up our calluses.”

“Then how did you learn to deal with it?”

“You build your home in the one place no one can take away from you,” John said, laying his hand on his chest. “You build it in your heart. That way, no matter where you are, no matter what your circumstances, you are home. Hah, this conversation took a weird turn.”

“No, I appreciate it. I do. Build my home in myself. I like that idea.”

Walking out into the cave behind the waterfall, they found Storm and Merlin resting quietly, and after making sure their horses were fine John looked at Ellie.

“Do you want to cross the valley tonight, or should we camp and go tomorrow morning?”

“If I’m honest? I’m completely exhausted,” Ellie said, shaking her head.

“Then let’s camp. Nothing wrong with taking some time to rest. It’s been an emotionally intense day.”

While Ellie set out their beds, John took the pot from his pack and filled it up from the falling water at the cave’s entrance. Looking around, he didn’t see any firewood, so he stepped outside and broke up some branches to use for his fire. Despite the dampness, the wood burst into flame as soon as he flicked a spark at it with the flint and tinder, and he began feeding the broken branches into it. Once the fire was going, he hung the pot over the flames and added spices and dried meat, planning on making a beef stew.

They had brought small, round sourdough loaves with them, and while the beef stew cooked John took his dagger and cut out the top of the loaves, hollowing the bread out of the center. Once the stew was finished, John poured it into the hollowed-out bread and got out a block of cheese. The cheese was cut into thin strips and laid over the top of the hot stew, melting nicely onto the edges of the tough crust.

A common practice for travelers, Ellie accepted the bowl made from bread without question and began to eat the stew. Quickly polishing off his portion, John ate another helping and then began to rip the stew-soaked bread apart, chewing it up with a few more slices of cheese. Ellie seemed especially hungry after such an emotionally charged day and ate three helpings, cleaning out the pot.

After washing up, John saw that Ellie had taken out the grimoire her grandmother had left behind, so he gave her some space and headed out of the cave. Outside the stars had come out in full force, casting the valley in beautiful, soft light. Finding a small stone near the foot of the waterfall, John took a seat and began to meditate, making doubly sure to keep his mana contained to avoid contaminating the area. As he breathed in and out, his thoughts grew calm, even as the mana he was constantly injecting into his Mental Model skill increased. After a few minutes, he saw the notification he had been waiting for.

[Mental Model has grown in effect and efficiency.]

[Mental Model: 39]

[Query: Why did Vexus think I was a spirit like him?]

[Answer: Of all observed qualities, the most similar was purity of mana. Examination of Vexus’ mana indicates a purity of nearly 87%, which would not be achievable even by a sage level class holder. Vexus likely assumed that only spirits possess mana purity of such a level or higher. The second most similar was volume of mana. It is likely that Vexus, due to his nature as a spirit, was able to estimate current mana reserves and assumed that only a being tied to a natural mana source could allow a being to possess such reserves. More information is needed in order to generate a more accurate answer.]

[Certainty: 67%]

Hmmm. How long would it take to figure out why I gained a Doom Point at the manor, while other times I don’t? I was doing so well on this trip too.

[Query: Why are Doom Points gained?]

[Answer: It is impossible to determine this accurately with current knowledge without spending a significant amount of time on this question. Estimated time until an answer is available, 8344 hours. Please acquire more knowledge related to Mages to reduce the estimated time.]

Almost a year, huh? Well, I better get working on it.

CHAPTER 24

The next morning, John and Ellie packed up all their camping gear and began the trip back to the city. The plan was to swing by Kingsmouth to pick up the gold from the sale and then head straight back to the valley. It had been almost a week since they had embarked on the trip, and both were excited to get back. As they crossed the valley John kept a watch out for the warp beast he suspected was creeping around but didn’t see anything. Like he had suspected, the corpse of the mercenary who had attacked Ellie had vanished, undoubtedly filling the belly of whatever beast prowled the valley.

When they got to the narrow crack that led out into the wider world, John went first, leading Merlin while Ellie and Storm followed behind him. He had fed both horses a condensed mana crystal that morning, so once they had passed through the hills and re-emerged into the wider world, the horses were happy to get the chance to run. Giving Merlin free rein, John concentrated on keeping a watch for dangers while they ran through the hills toward the road.

After an hour the horses began to tire and slow down, and Ellie’s head jerked up, staring at the hillside in front of them. With only a few more hills to pass before they arrived at the road that ran alongside the river, they had made much better time than on the trip to the hidden valley. Seeing the intent look on Ellie’s face as she stared up at the hills, John pulled on Merlin’s reins, slowing him down.

“Find something?”

“A large group. Maybe a dozen people? All armed and waiting.”

“For us?”

Ellie’s brow creased slightly, and she tilted her head to the side slightly as if she was listening to something jabbering in her ear. After a moment of silence, she turned to John and nodded.

“Yes, we’re the only other people for at least a mile. They’re between us and the road, but too far from the road to be ambushing anyone there. I think they are after us.”

“Any indication who they are?”

“No, the spirits can’t give me that kind of information, though they are saying that they’re wearing some armor.”

“So, adventurers or soldiers,” John said, gazing up at the hill with narrowed eyes. “Got it. Well, do you want to avoid them or confront them?”

“I think they’ve spotted us,” Ellie said, pointing with her chin toward the side of the hill where a boulder rested against a tree.

Injecting mana into his eyes, John saw the figure Ellie was pointing to. Crouched down between the trees and the boulder was a figure dressed in dark leather armor that looked a lot like the armor John and Ellie wore. The hidden watcher was clearly staring straight at them, and John suspected that if they tried to find a new path, they would find themselves chased. Glancing at Ellie, he noticed she had already unslung her crossbow and loaded it. Her expression carried a firmness that had not been present when they set out on this trip, and John was suddenly glad they had come, even if he hadn’t gotten the magical knowledge he was looking for.

“What’s the plan?” John asked, leaning forward on the pommel of his saddle.

“See what they want and then break through if they’re not friendly?”

Eyebrows rising, John glanced at Ellie.

“Do you think we can take twelve people by ourselves?”

Suddenly growing nervous, Ellie looked at John, her eyes searching his face.

“Is… is that a lot? Are they much stronger than the spiders? I don’t really know much about this sort of thing.”

“True. You’ve only really been in situations we were able to keep under control,” John replied, nudging his horse forward. “Fighting people is typically much trickier than fighting against beasts or monsters like the undead. The biggest problem we have right now is that we don’t know how many of the twelve are class holders. If they are an adventuring party, we should expect all of them to be class holders, which will make the fight much harder. It would be better if they were mostly soldiers, since that would reduce the overall number of class holders. Does that make sense?”

Following behind John, Ellie nodded her head, her expression serious as she listened carefully to his words.

“Yes, it does.”

“But since we know they’re aware of us, we can assume they’ll likely chase us if they see us run. While running isn’t a bad thing, running while being chased by class holders, especially class holders with ranged weapons, is a dangerous bet. Much better to face the threat head-on, if you can.”

Heading up the hill, John and Ellie kept a careful eye out for the enemies Ellie’s wind spirit had spotted, and when they arrived at the top of the hill they found them arranged in a half circle blocking the road. Scanning over them with a practiced eye, John slowed Merlin so Ellie could ride next to him. As they approached the waiting group, he spoke in a low voice only she could hear.

“You can tell from their armor that they’re all from the same force, but look at how they’re standing. There are four in front, which means they are probably class holders, while the rest are just normal mercenaries. If they had uniform equipment we might consider them soldiers, but based on the variety in their armaments, they’re only mercenaries. However, most class holders run in teams of five, which means we need to be careful of another class holder or two hiding among the mercenaries. Keep your crossbow ready.”

Swallowing, Ellie nodded, her eyes carefully sweeping the group they were getting closer to. The group was made up of eight men and four women, all dressed in the same high-quality leather armor John and Ellie had scavenged from the Red Coral adventuring group. Not seeing any symbols or group markers on their armor, Ellie turned her attention to the four people who stood at the front of the group. Three men and one woman stood a step closer to John and Ellie, and as they approached one of the men held up his hand for them to stop.

“Greetings,” the man said, his gaze darting between John and Ellie before settling on Ellie.

Pulling on Merlin’s reins, John maneuvered his horse between the man and Ellie, his face completely impassive.

“Greetings. Can I help you?”

“You are Sutton, right? Of Sutton Farm?”

“Not very polite to ask for someone’s name without giving up your own,” John said, looking around at the rest of the group. “I could get the wrong impression and start thinking you didn’t have the best intentions toward us.”

“Haha, why would that be the wrong impression?” the man asked, trying to look past John. Returning his gaze to meet John’s, he leered up at him. “You would be entirely right. We’re here for the woman. You can scamper off if you’re particularly attached to your life, but she has to come with us.”

Kicking his foot free of his stirrup, John swung his foot over Merlin’s back and slid to the ground. Landing lightly, he saw that Ellie was about to follow him and get off her horse, but he waved his hand, indicating for her to stay where she was. With his hand resting on his sword’s pommel, he walked forward until he was only a dozen feet from the smirking mercenary.

“Who do you work for?” John asked, his calm gaze sweeping the enemy party. “And have you been warned about the consequences of what you’re attempting?”

The man’s smirk turned into a sneer as he listened to John’s question, and with a jerk he pulled out the curved short sword that rested at his waist. Brandishing it toward John, he spoke in a grim voice.

“Warned? Heh, yeah, we were warned. We have to bring her back alive. You, however, only have one more chance before I cut your stomach open and spread your guts across the ground.”

Letting out a sigh, John turned to Ellie and pointed at the man blocking his way.

“As you grow in experience, you will learn that some people are too far removed from reality to bother with. Their minds have grown addled, and nothing you do or say will be able to cut through their warped perception of reality. Though all people deserve a chance, when you encounter this sort of person, the only real option is avoiding them or dealing with them directly.”

As soon as his last words rang out, John moved, flames bursting from his feet as he shot toward the leader of the enemy group. His sword sprang from its sheath in one smooth motion, darting for the enemy leader’s throat even as John’s magical shield sprang open. Caught off guard by the suddenness of the attack, the enemy leader threw himself backward, his curved short sword lifting to try and deflect the silver blade darting toward his throat. The rest of the enemy party had been just as surprised, and their moment of shock cost them dearly.

With almost a sixth sense, Ellie raised her crossbow at the same time as John moved and pulled the trigger. A twang echoed in the air as the crossbow bolt shot into the crowd, slamming into the leather-armored chest of one of the women. Her short scream was abruptly cut off as the bolt punched through her armor, crushing her sternum and breaking her spine. Clearly trained for this sort of thing, Storm was not bothered by the sound of the ringing crossbow string and jumped sideways, beginning to circle around the enemy as Ellie began to reload her crossbow.

In the center of the group, John’s sharp blade sped up, slipping past the curved sword and through a tiny gap between the enemy leader’s armor and helmet. Feeling his blade bite flesh, John’s wrist flicked, drawing a crimson stroke through the air as hot blood sprayed. Borrowing the momentum as he turned, he thrust his shield forward, slamming it into the leader with a crunch, launching the unfortunate man back into the rest of his teammates. Without waiting for the enemy to catch up, John was already on to the next attack, his blade slashing toward one of the other men standing out front.

Clearly some sort of fighter, John’s new target managed to react better than his leader had, jumping back and bringing his two short spears up in front of him. The spears were only around three feet long and carried a curved hook on the back of their blades that allowed them to double as axes. Though John had never faced this sort of weapon, he wasn’t concerned as he pressed forward, his silver sword flickering in the afternoon light.

Blocking a strike, the Fighter felt his weapon shake and his expression turned ugly. Every single one of John’s attacks was powerful enough to shake his grip on his weapon, and he was forced to retreat to keep from dropping his spears.

“Get him!”

The other two class holders charged forward, one holding a spear and the other wielding a heavy club. Stabbing toward John’s back, the spear holder saw a silver flash as John’s sword deflected the point of his spear. At the same time John intercepted the club with the edge of his shield, deflecting it into the spear. Sensing another attack coming, he lifted his right foot, avoiding the short spear that tried to hook it. Along the edge of the fight, Storm was still moving swiftly around the group as Ellie finished loading her crossbow. As she lifted it to point at one of the enemies rushing toward her, Storm leapt, creating a smooth, stable platform for Ellie to fire from.

Another twang and another short scream signaled the death of another one of the mercenaries and Storm landed, quickly changing directions to create some distance from the charging enemies. One of the mercenaries, faster than the others, jumped forward, his axe swinging down toward Storm’s rear legs when a powerful force slammed into him from the side, throwing him across the top of the hill. Neighing aggressively, Merlin rushed over and stomped him furiously, crushing his arm and battering down his defenses until a rock-hard hoof caught the mercenary’s temple, killing him.

Still fighting with the three class holders, John kept a careful eye on Ellie and the two horses. Storm was doing a great job keeping Ellie out of harm’s way as she loaded her crossbow and sent the bolts flying into the enemy, while Merlin was carefully protecting Storm’s back and sides. Confident they would be fine, John blocked a strike from a spear and spun around, his shield knocking the incoming club away.

Charging forward, his sword stabbed toward the class holder wielding the club, forcing her back on her heels. Sensing an opportunity, the other two class holders started to charge forward when John abruptly changed direction, flames flickering under his feet as he vanished from where he was and reappeared behind the spear-wielding class holder. With a swing of his sword, he cut straight through his enemy’s arm, at the same time punching with the edge of his shield into the small of the Fighter’s back.

A loud crack echoed and the Fighter let out a scream, falling to the ground. Sharing a look, the two remaining class holders seemed to realize they were outmatched and came to the same conclusion that being anywhere was preferable to being here. Turning in two different directions, they began to escape as fast as they could, but before the club-wielding woman could get more than two steps away, a wind whipped up and clouds began to gather. The breezy blue sky suddenly grew dark with clouds and a lightning bolt the size of an arm dropped from the sky, slamming into the female class holder.

Concentrating on the other escaping class holder, John still felt the rapid build-up of mana and grimaced. Ellie had deployed her spell much more rapidly, thanks to the assistance of the wand her grandmother had left for her, and it was clear from the way the female class holder collapsed that it had grown more powerful as well. Yet revealing her magic also meant that every single enemy had to die. John had lived for so long knowing he could not reveal his magic to the world that he had forgotten that Ellie was new to all of this and didn’t understand the consequences if it got out she could use spells.

Blue flames sprang to life around his blade as John took a step forward, appearing behind the fleeing enemy and cutting his head from his shoulders with a swift stroke. Spinning around, he drew one of his daggers and threw it in a smooth motion, pinning another enemy to the ground. In the blink of an eye he had moved through the crowd of enemies who still stood, his flashing blade transforming to a blue streak as he cut them down.

CHAPTER 25

In less than a minute, the enemy mercenaries had been wiped out, cut into pieces by John’s burning blade. Coming to a stop, Ellie hurriedly climbed down from Storm’s back and ran behind some rocks, her face bloodless. Pretending he couldn’t hear the sound of retching as Ellie threw up whatever was in her stomach, John waved his hand, causing the flames that still burned on some of the corpses to recede. With another wave a hot wind sprang up, carrying the thick smell of blood and burnt flesh away. Though it wasn’t entirely gone, it was better than it had been a moment before.

John had spent so long on the battlefield that it honestly didn’t bother him anymore, but from Ellie’s reaction it was clear he was alone in that. Giving Ellie plenty of space, John quickly looted the bodies, making sure to do a check for any identifying marks. Flipping over the mercenary leader, he found a small metal plate tucked into a hidden pocket at the mercenary’s waist. Pulling it out, he flipped it over and frowned. Once again he saw the same sideways eight symbol for infinity. He had never encountered this symbol before except when he had fought Kythov the Eyeless, and he had just assumed it was intended to symbolize the Necromancer’s quest for immortality or his empty eyes.

Yet now, in less than a week he had encountered it numerous times, on enemies who appeared to be unrelated to each other. It clearly spoke to something happening behind the scenes, something that was running under the surface that most people would never encounter. Putting the plate away with the two rings he had recovered from the Necromancer and Assassin, he took stock of the situation. From the sounds of it, Ellie had completely emptied her stomach, and after a few more minutes she walked out from behind the rocks, weaving unsteadily. After helping her mount up, John climbed up on Merlin and they continued on their way. As they rode Ellie could not help but glance back, wincing when she saw the circling vultures begin to dive toward the corpses they had left behind.

“I’m sorry. I’ll get used to it eventually.”

“I sincerely hope you don’t,” John said, shaking his head. “Nothing good comes from violence, but this world seems to have been dragged into a descending spiral of conflict. Every moment you live without losing yourself to it is a win.”

Falling silent, Ellie thought for a moment and then let out a sigh.

“Sometimes, if you want something, you have to give up something else. I want to protect myself, my brother, the farm. And if I have to give up my distaste for violence, so be it.”

Nodding seriously, John jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the scene of death they were leaving behind.

“That’s not a bad conviction to hold. In fact, as we just saw, it’s almost necessary to live in this messed up world. But if you are going to do it, you need to do it properly or you’ll invite more risk than is necessary. I’ve set up some personal rules I use to govern conflicts and they’ve served me well. First, only engage if you’re comfortable with the situation going all the way. Second, if it starts, end it quickly. That means no monologuing, no arguing, no debate, no giving your opponent an opportunity to get their bearings. Third, cheat if you can. Fights are never fair, so take every single advantage you can get. And finally, and most important for you, do not, under any circumstance, use your magic if you’re not going to do everything in your power to kill every single witness.”

Stealing a glance at John, Ellie saw that his face was completely serious. Turning to look at her squarely, John repeated himself.

“That last one is the most important by a mile. If nothing else, make sure you follow that rule. Apart from me, no one is allowed to know you’re using real spells. It’s fine for people to think you have a Wise Woman or Shaman class, since they’re not true magic users. But if anyone besides me finds out that you can cast true magic, they need to be silenced. I know it probably sounds like hyperbole to you, but I’m not joking in the slightest. Anyone who knows you’re a magic user needs to die.”

“Is it because magic users are so feared?” Ellie asked.

“Partially, but the real problem is the people who will want your power for themselves. They’ll find you, capture you, and try to extract your ability to cast spells by force. For some reason, there’s a legend that magic is the path to immortality, so every madman and every crazy woman obsessed with living forever will be hunting you as soon as they discover you have spells.”

“Ah,” Ellie said, quickly falling silent as she thought about John’s words.

Her silence continued as they crossed the river and began to head down toward Kingsmouth, and she only spoke again once they were alone on the road.

“I sort of thought that becoming a Witch would end my problems, but now it’s sounding like I’ve invited more.”

“Heh. If there’s one thing guaranteed in this stupid world, it’s problems,” John said with a wry smile. “Magic can solve some of them, but there are a surprising number of problems that are better solved without it. One of the marks of someone who knows what they’re doing is that they know when to leave their magic aside and solve their problem with skin and steel.”

Seeing that Ellie’s brow was furrowed, John raised his eyebrows and waited for her to speak.

“What about the Moritoi? The horse bandits? You told them I was a Wise Woman. Will that cause problems?”

“No,” John shook his head. “That’s a really good question though, and exactly how you should be thinking. Wise Woman is a hereditary class that’s a mix between a Herbalist, an Alchemist, and a Fortune Teller. All three of those classes are probably derived from the Witch class, but none of them have the spell casting ability of a Witch. It’s sort of like how Spell Blades are a derivative of Mages. They have some spell casting abilities, but they’re fixed, and they can’t learn regular spells the way a Mage can. So long as you only show effects and abilities other Wise Women have shown before, it won’t be a problem. But spells like your lightning bolt need to be kept under wraps. That’s not the sort of ability class holders possess.”

After a moment of silence, Ellie looked over at John, curiosity clear in her gaze.

“Does magic lead to immortality?”

Smiling bitterly, John nodded.

“Probably. Like I said, stories almost always have a kernel of truth in them. But even if it does, what good is it?”

“You wouldn’t want to live forever?”

“And see everyone I’ve ever cared about die? I’ve had more than enough of that, thank you. As far as I’m concerned, immortality is for the birds.”

“Haha, I’ve never heard that expression, but I think I can guess what it means. What if you had another immortal companion?”

“Sure, that might be okay, but what if you got into an argument with them?” John asked. “Can you imagine how annoying it would be to have a fight that lasted one hundred years?”

“Oh my, that would be really uncomfortable,” Ellie said, covering her smile with her hand. “That’s why you’d want to make sure you really liked the person you were immortal with. Immortal lovers, isn’t that how the stories go?”

“Sure, but even lovers fight. When I was in the military one of the other captains brought his wife along, and it seemed like he got kicked out of the tent every night. We used to joke that if we ever were sieged by the enemy troops, she could probably scare the enemy off with her volume alone. On top of that, she was deadly accurate with, well, whatever came to hand.”

Laughing and chatting with each other, they continued down the road toward Kingsmouth. The trip back to the city was quick and soon the gates came into view, bustling with merchants and workers going in and leaving. After entering through the busy gate, they made their way to the inn Gofreid owned. When the merchant heard they were back, he ran out to greet them.

“Mr. Sutton! Madam! Welcome back! I trust your trip was successful? Please, come in. You must be tired.”

“We’re not staying,” John said, shaking his head. “We’re here to pick up our money and hear what happened with the grain merchants.”

“Ah, yes, of course. Let me just get the gold for you. Are merchant guild writs acceptable? A thousand gold is a lot to carry.”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

“Perfect. Please, come in.”

“No, we’ll stay out here. Prepare some food for us to take, we’ll be riding back to the valley immediately.”

“Just the two of you?” Gofreid asked, looking slightly concerned.

“Mmhm. We can move faster that way.”

Seeing the amusement on John’s face, Gofreid suddenly remembered who he was talking to and slapped his forehead.

“Ah, right, of course. Let me arrange things for you.”

Within five minutes, he had brought two packs of supplies and a wallet carrying the money they were owed converted into paper writs. As he handed the wallet to John, he lowered his voice and leaned in slightly.

“You were right, sir. The grain merchants were all audited. The Ecclesia seized all their books, and anyone who was found guilty of corruption was sent to jail while their goods were sold for less than a tenth of market price. It was astounding. Cormick sends his profound thanks.”

“He bought the tip, so it has nothing to do with me,” John said, taking Merlin’s reins. “We’re headed for the valley. See you in a few months.”

“Safe travels,” Gofreid replied, bowing. “May the Eternal Flame guide your, uh…”

“I’m sure he will,” John said, smirking.

The trip out of the city was smooth, and once they had left the gate John and Ellie mounted up and took off, heading across the plains. On their trip to Kingsmouth they had been forced to set a temperate pace and stop every day because of the horse-drawn carts, but now since it was only the two of them, they were able to move much quicker. Mana-fed horses barely got tired so long as they weren’t being run constantly, and John and Ellie were excited to get back to the valley, so they decided to keep moving instead of stopping to camp for the night. When Merlin and Storm started to lag they stopped for a few hours to catch a bit of sleep and then continued on.

The wide plains seemed empty and slightly desolate, but both Ellie and John knew that could change in an instant. Keeping an eye out for dangers, they continued to head toward the mountains that loomed in the distance. The following night, as they approached the mountains, they saw the lights of fires reflecting into the sky and stopped.

“Is that a caravan?” Ellie asked, looking at the glimmering light.

“I think it’s probably a Moritoi tribe,” John replied. “It looks too big to be a caravan.”

“Should I send a wind spirit to scout it?”

“No, save your mana. Just in case they’re less friendly than I think they’ll be.”

Though they weren’t trying to be quiet, John and Ellie still managed to get within a few hundred feet of the camp before the pounding of hooves sounded and a group of scouts swept up to them. Armed to the teeth, they looked just as fierce as the horse bandits who had surrounded the caravan on the way to Kingsmouth. This time, however, when they saw the horses John and Ellie were riding they appeared much more friendly.

“Hold! You approach the Burning Grass tribe! State your name and tribe.”

Stopping, John made sure to keep his hands in plain sight as he spoke.

“I am John, blood-bonded brother of Zayaat the Slaying Wind, Khan of the Flying Eagle tribe. I am escorting the Wise Woman of my tribe back to her home.”

A murmur broke out among the scouts and they all quickly bowed to Ellie, causing her to stiffen. With as much fear as respect, the leader of the scouts greeted her respectfully even as one of the scouts turned and rushed toward the camp.

“You honor our tribe with your visit, wise one. We will prepare a feast for you immediately. Our tribe’s Wise Woman has been speaking of her interest in meeting you. Please honor us by sharing our salt.”

Unsure what to say, Ellie looked at John, but he remained silent so she just gave the scout leader a small smile.

“Thank you.”

The scouts escorted them into the camp, and soon John and Ellie found themselves surrounded by a large crowd of Moritoi. There were many women and children in the group, along with dozens of men who were armed just like the scouts. Everyone kept a respectful distance and anywhere Ellie looked the Moritoi bowed toward her respectfully, causing her to blush and fix her gaze straight forward. Soon an elderly lady pushed her way through the crowd, followed by a teenage girl who gazed at Ellie and John curiously. Stopping in front of Ellie, the elderly woman bowed her head, her hand held to her forehead, palm out.

“Your presence honors our tribe! We have heard of you from the whispers that drift on the plains. And of your companion, who is the blood brother of the leader of the Five Tribes. I am Ataya, Wise Woman of the Burning Grass tribe.”

Returning the bow with a curtsey, Ellie smiled at the Wise Woman.

“Thank you for your welcome. I am Ellie, Wise Woman of, um, Sutton Farm.”

“I welcome you to our tribe. I would host you myself, if that’s acceptable. Please, come, eat.”

From the corner of her eyes, Ellie could see John’s imperceptible nod so she accepted graciously, much to the elderly lady’s delight. Following Ataya toward the tent where the feast had been set up, Ellie turned to John, giving him a helpless look.

“I don’t know what to do,” she whispered, clearly flustered. “What if I mess up?”

“Just relax,” John said, smiling at her. “Wise Women are not called wise for nothing. Ataya understands the situation well enough that she won’t put you on the spot. If for no other reason than offending you would force me to fight the chief of this tribe to the death.”

“Is it okay that I said I was from Sutton Farm? That probably sounded stupid. Maybe I should have said I was from the valley?”

“Ellie, just take a deep breath. You’re going to do great. This is a private feast between wise women, but I’ll be right outside. Treat this as an opportunity to learn more about the Moritoi and the role of a Wise Woman.”

Breathing in through her nose, Ellie held the air in her lungs for a moment before breathing out, calming herself down. Under John’s encouraging gaze she entered the tent with Ataya, leaving John outside.

CHAPTER 26

Standing at the door of the tent, John consciously avoided listening to the murmurs from inside, giving Ellie and the Wise Woman Ataya their privacy, instead taking the opportunity to soak up the sights and sounds of the Moritoi camp. The camp was filled with the smells of dinner being cooked, reminding John of his days in the military camps, but there was a sense of peace present among the horse bandits that had been missing among the troops. Letting his gaze wander over the camp, John saw dozens of children peering at him from the corners of the tents, their eyes wide with curiosity.

A tent flap opened and a young woman came out, carrying a tray of dishes she brought over to John. Behind her trailed a middle-aged man whose weathered skin testified to years spent in the saddle. Recognizing her as the young woman who had followed Ataya, John waited for them to approach, assuming they would be carrying the food into the tent. To his surprise, they stopped in front of him and the young lady put the tray down on the ground. The middle-aged man stepped forward and saluted John with his fist on his chest in a typical warrior salute.

“Greetings, Brother John. I am Baidar, vice chief of the Burning Grass tribe. It is our honor to have a warrior as powerful as you visit us. We have brought some food for you to refresh yourself.”

“Well met, Brother Baidar,” John said, returning the salute. “I am standing guard at the moment, but I appreciate the food. Thank you.”

“Of course!” Baidar replied with a smile, clearly happy at the way John had addressed him. “We’ll leave it for you and not bother you as you complete your duty.”

After a few more pleasantries the vice chieftain left, his head up and his shoulders back. The young woman, however, stayed next to John, staring at him with wide eyes. She was quite striking, with large, expressive blue eyes and jet-black hair pulled back in a complex braid falling to her waist that created a startling contrast. Seeing that John was looking at her properly for the first time, she smiled at him, causing her face to light up.

“Greetings, I am Yaya, apprentice to the Burning Grass Wise Woman.”

“Hmm.”

Unconcerned by John’s distant behavior, the young woman took a step forward and picked up one of the bowls from the tray, holding it out to John with two hands.

“Please, this is a soup made from bone marrow. It is only given to the Wise Woman at her road feast, but there was some extra so I brought it for you.”

Shaking his head, John refused to take the bowl.

“Thank you for your kindness, but I am standing guard.”

Putting the bowl down, Yaya blushed slightly, the pink just adding to her loveliness as she seized the opportunity to take another small step forward, putting herself within arm’s reach of John. Gazing up at him, she spoke softly, her hands twisting together in front of her stomach.

“Of course, how foolish of me. You are a powerful warrior and it is clear you take your duty seriously. That is an admirable quality. Few warriors really take their responsibilities seriously these days, so it is refreshing to see one who does.”

As she spoke, Yaya’s eyes continued to sweep John’s face, looking for any sign of encouragement, but all she saw was an emotionless mask that set off warning bells in her mind. Biting her lip, she shot a glance toward the tent and then looked at John again, giving him a slightly pitiful gaze. She was truly a lovely young woman and her expression was enough to awaken a desire to protect in even the fiercest warrior, but John’s calm face didn’t even twitch.

“I… I wonder…”

Letting her sweet voice trail off, Yaya took another small step forward and started to reach out, causing a change in his expression for the first time. Watching the tent John was guarding from the corner of her eyes, Yaya missed the dangerous look that sprang up in his eyes as her hand got closer to John’s arms. At the same time the tent flap opened and Ellie stepped out, the Wise Woman following behind. Taking in the situation with a single glance, Ellie moved as quickly as the wind, appearing next to John and taking his arm in hers.

Shocked by Ellie’s abrupt appearance, Yaya paled and fell back, nearly stumbling over the tray of food. At the entrance to the tent Ataya shot a glare at her, half angry, but with a good amount of helplessness and anger mixed in. Seeing the defiant look in Yaya’s eyes, Ataya turned back to Ellie and John, bowing her head.

“Please forgive my clumsy apprentice.”

“Oh, it’s fine. Though you should teach her not to touch strange warriors. It could be dangerous. Thank you for hosting me.”

“It was my honor.”

Straightening up, Ataya’s gaze happened to meet John’s and any ounce of happiness she had been feeling fled as her blood ran cold. The look in his eyes was anything but friendly, and suddenly the tight grip Ellie had on his arm looked less like a loving hold and more like she was restraining him. Unsure what could have caused the change, Ataya looked again at her apprentice and then down at the tray of food. John, seeing her gaze, did not say anything but instead saluted her and led Ellie to Storm, helping her mount.

Swinging up onto Merlin, they rode out of the camp, causing murmurs to break out among the Burning Grass tribe. As they reached the edge of the camp, John saw Baidar who was staring at him in dismay. Stopping his horse, John nodded at the vice chieftain.

“Brother Baidar, thank you for your hospitality. We will continue our journey now, but if the great road wills, our paths will cross again.”

The air of relief that washed over the vice chieftain was palpable, and he bowed to John and Ellie.

“May your road be smooth.”

“Thanks.”

With Ellie following close behind, John led the way out into the plains, heading for the mountain pass where they had entered the plains a few days before. As they rode out under the stars, Ellie urged Storm forward until they were riding side by side.

“What happened? Why did you look like you were about to kill everyone there?”

Hearing her question, John shook his head and clenched his fist, trying to moderate his surging emotions.

“I have a low tolerance for betrayal. That young woman, the Wise Woman’s apprentice. She was trying to feed me something in the soup.”

“Poison?” Ellie asked, expression growing angry as she stared back over her shoulder at the Moritoi camp.

“More likely a love potion of some sort,” John said, shaking his head.

“Oh, is that right? A love potion?”

Laughing, John reached out and grabbed Storm’s halter, preventing Ellie from turning the mare around. Looking like she was ready to go back and rain lightning down on the young woman, Ellie sulked as they continued traveling toward the mountain. Eventually, she seemed to have worked through her anger and turned to look at John.

“What is a love potion? How does that work? How do they make someone fall in love?”

Missing the calculating look in Ellie’s eyes in the darkness, John scratched the back of his head as he answered.

“Love potions are just potions that make someone more, um, pliable? They lower inhibitions, sort of like alcohol. But they don’t have a noticeable intoxicating effect, which makes any decision made while under their influence more permanent, since the person making the decision feels like they were sober minded when they made it. In the military, they were used to get confessions out of enemy spies. Most nations had a version of it, so the recipe was fairly well known and it’s not much of a surprise she would have known it.”

“Do you know the recipe?” Ellie asked, her voice hopeful. “I’d like to see it, for, um, research. And to add to my knowledge, so, uh, I can pretend to be an Alchemist.”

“Sure, I know a couple. Some of them are more effective than others, but they’re probably all worth studying. I’ll write them down when we get back to the farm.”

“Thank you.”

Riding in silence for a few more minutes, Ellie glanced back at the Moritoi camp that was barely more than a glimmer in the darkness.

“The Wise Woman, Ataya, seemed to be determined to make friends. Do you think she was involved with her apprentice’s attempt to, uh, you know.”

“Unlikely,” John shook his head. “Which is why the tribe survived. Ataya would have known that a potion like that wouldn’t have worked on me. Even if it was strengthened, I would have noticed the effect and been able to suppress it with my mana. At which point, it would have been tantamount to a declaration of war, not only with me, but with any of my blood-bonded brothers, including Zayaat and the leadership of the Five Tribe Alliance. She would not be so foolish.”

“Because you’re a titled class holder, right? That’s why it wouldn’t work on you?”

Looking over, John saw that Ellie was staring straight at him, so he mumbled something and nodded noncommittally.

“Mmm.”

“What is your title? I don’t think I’ve ever heard you mention it,” Ellie said, her eyes still fixed on John.

“I’ve had a couple,” John said, waving his hand. “But I meant to ask you, do you have any desire to see if we can find the Necromancer’s lair? We’ll be passing through that section of the mountains, and I thought it might be good to see if there’s anything we need to destroy. The last thing we want is for some mook to stumble on it and learn necromancy.”

“Mook? What’s a mook?”

“Ah, an unimportant character who’s just there to fill space.”

“Sometimes I wonder where you get all these words,” Ellie said with a smile. “I would be fine with that. Maybe we’ll find more information about that eight symbol.”

“True. Let’s make camp for now and then we’ll continue on in the morning.”

Finding a nice flat spot, John and Ellie set up their tents, and after a quick dinner they bedded down for the night. One of the spells Ellie had learned from her grandmother allowed her to summon small grass spirits that would make a sharp whistling sound whenever something passed by them, and by summoning them in a circle around the camp she was able to make a makeshift alarm so neither of them had to stay up to keep watch. Early the next morning they were up and traveling and quickly arrived at the mountains. Starting their way up the path they had traveled to get to the plains, they found the site of the battle where they had fought against the undead monsters.

The undead corpses had been destroyed when the Necromancer died, but the signs of battle were still evident on the ground and it wasn’t difficult to track the path the undead had taken to set up the ambush. Despite it being about a week later, there was still a slightly unpleasant stench in the air wherever the zombies had passed, making it simple to track them back through the mountains. Picking their way over the difficult terrain, John and Ellie had to get down from their horses, leading them up the rocky mountains until they came to a partially destroyed wooden wall.

The wood was burnt and falling over, and it looked like a hole had been ripped into it, allowing John and Ellie to advance with their horses. Through the hole was a rundown bandit camp that had been the scene of a furious fight. Dried bloodstains and the marks of licking flames gave testament to the extent of the damage done, but there were no bodies to be found anywhere. Looking around, Ellie used her foot to turn over a pile of broken wood, revealing a shattered sword. Shaking her head, she scanned the empty camp.

“This must have been where all those zombies came from.”

“Correct. It looks like the Necromancer came here and attacked this bandit camp to get more bodies. That’s the worst part about necromancers, really. The powerful ones benefit from death, so as long as they can kill someone, they have nearly endless strength. It doesn’t look like we’re going to see the Necromancer’s hideout, but I want to check the buildings to see if there’s anything left.”

Nodding, Ellie followed John into the destroyed buildings, helping him pick through the destruction. Apart from some gold coins in a locked drawer and a few daggers decorated with small gems, everything else had been stripped from the camp. The only other thing they found were food supplies that had been left exposed and were now ruined by the elements, so they headed back outside.

“Should we try to track the Necromancer to wherever she had been before she came here?” Ellie asked.

“No, I don’t think it would be worth it. I bet we’d just find another of these camps,” John said, gesturing to the destruction around them. “From the size of her horde, it was pretty clear she was clearing bandit camps to build a large army, so it’s unlikely she had a base of operations nearby. I say we head back to the valley and the farm.”

Smiling, Ellie patted Storm on the neck and looked at John.

“That sounds good. I’m ready to go home.”

Retracing their steps to the road, they mounted up and headed for the valley, making good time and arriving at the edge of the mountains by evening. Rather than camp they just pushed on, riding down into the peaceful landscape. Though it had only been about a week since they had set out with the caravan for Kingsmouth, Ellie felt as if she was returning an entirely different person.

While she had been a class holder before she left, she now had access to a large portion of her grandmother’s personal legacy and was learning all sorts of useful spells. She had not only seen her first fights but had directly defeated another class holder and even fought against a powerful beast. While the thought of battle still caused her to grow nervous, she was now confident in her ability to protect herself. Furthermore, she had been accepted as the equivalent of a Wise Woman among the Moritoi, ensuring that if the need ever arose, she would be able to find protection in the camps of the horse bandits. As the quiet farm appeared under the starlight, Ellie couldn’t help but smile. She had left the valley a farm girl and returned something entirely more.

CHAPTER 27

As they approached the farmyard, John’s mana-enhanced vision caught sight of a shadow perched on top of the house and another blending in with the porch posts. Riding into the yard, John swung down as the shadow on the porch stepped forward into the starlight.

“Welcome back, sir. Ma’am.”

“Hello, Thomas. How was the farm while we were gone?”

“Quiet, sir. Everything has been going as it should. No problems to report,” Thomas said, coming over to take Ellie’s horse.

“Thank you, Thomas.”

“Of course, ma’am. I hope your trip went well.”

“It did. Better than I could have hoped, honestly.”

“Good to hear, ma’am.”

Taking her bag, Ellie walked to the house while John and Thomas headed for the barn to stable the horses. As they entered the barn, John saw two flaming eyes from out in the pasture light up and stare at him curiously for a moment before they winked out. Stopping, John’s forehead furrowed slightly and he looked at Thomas. The farmhand seemed to know what he was wondering about and shook his head.

“I didn’t show him how to do it, sir. That bull figured it out all on his own.”

“Huh. Is that right?” John said in amazement. “Wild. How were Ben and Even?”

“Fine. Ben misses his sister, but he has been bunking with us and I’ve been running both of them extra hard during the morning training. That Ben, he has a knack for it, sir.”

“Yeah? Thinking about making him your disciple?” John asked, stripping the tack from Merlin while Thomas took care of Storm.

Nodding, the middle-aged man hung up the harness and saddle after examining them and got a bag of feed from the corner, scooping out the corn mixture for the horses. As they worked, John remained silent, waiting for Thomas to continue. Once both horses were fed and they were beginning to rub them down, Thomas nodded again.

“I am. I’ve been looking for a disciple for a long time. And he’s picking everything up quickly enough that I think, by the time he’s eighteen, he should meet the requirements for my class. I’d like to take him as a secret disciple at first and then promote him to my official disciple when he turns fifteen.”

“I’m fine with it, but you’ll need to talk to Ellie,” John said.

“Of course, sir. It appears the madam has successfully gained her inheritance.”

“Yup. But mum’s the word. The last thing we need is a bunch of people crawling around trying to pry her spellcasting method out of her.”

“Of course, sir. I’ll keep a careful watch.”

“Good. Pay careful attention for signs of undead in the valley as well.”

“Undead?”

“Yeah, we ran across a Necromancer on the way out of the valley. I killed her, but she had built up a sizable force so we’ll want to be careful. Oh, and tell me, have you ever seen this symbol?”

Getting out the two rings and small plate, John handed them to Thomas, who frowned as soon as he saw them. Turning them over in his hands, he examined them carefully for a moment before speaking. Used to his methodical and detail-oriented approach, John waited patiently for him to speak, using the time to feed mana crystals to the two horses. Letting out a small sigh, Thomas put the three items down on the table and stepped back, vanishing into the shadows. A moment later he returned the same way, a book held in his hand. Flipping through, he found the entry he was looking for and showed it to John.

“This is a book that all the kingdom’s high-level intelligence officers were issued when they started. It’s not up to date now that the Ecclesia has taken over, but it does record this symbol. The organization is called Infinitum, and according to what’s written here, is composed of those seeking to open the door of the immortal, which bears this symbol.”

“You mean the door of the first Mage?”

“Yes, sir. It’s been lost for millennia, but this organization claims to know where it is. There are many branches of this organization, though none of them are really connected. At least, to my knowledge. But all of them bear the infinitum, this figure eight symbol.”

“Great, just what we need, a crazy, immortality-seeking cult. Can you let Haver know to be on the lookout for undead as well? That Necromancer was a bit too close to the valley for comfort.”

“Of course, sir.”

“Thanks. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Have a good night, sir.”

Waving, John headed into the house as Thomas disappeared into the shadows once more, setting out under the stars to pay a nighttime visit to Haver the Wolf King. After taking a quick shower, John lay down in his bed, but sleep was far from him and he simply lay there, staring up at the dark ceiling. He had learned much about the history of magic in this world from the trip and he was still processing all of it.

According to what the spirit of Dame Stoke, Ellie’s grandmother, had told him, all the classes came from a single source. The original Mage, who had presumably stepped out of the door marked with the infinitum symbol, had summoned four people to this world—a Warrior, a Ranger, a Rogue, and a Witch. After training those four people how to use their classes, the Mage led them to defeat the beasts that ruled this world, ushering in an era of tremendous prosperity for humanity.

The class holders began to pass parts of their classes down, splitting their classes into smaller, more specialized classes that were easier for the people of this world to handle. Over time, that led to the current class system, as well as the intense fight between Mages who were following the school set up by the first Mage.

All because people wanted to live forever. What a waste. And according to Dame Stoke, the four original classes have been cut off, with only the Mage inheritance remaining. Assuming, of course, that the infinitum door actually holds a Mage inheritance. More likely it’s some sort of portal to travel from this world to some other. I should probably get around to finding it at some point. But first I have an apocalypse to stop.

The next morning, John, who had slept fitfully dreaming of blood and flames and grasping skeletons, stumbled out of bed and waved aside the blue window that popped up. However, the next notification caused his eyes to open wide, jerking him into an alert state.

[+1 Doom Point.]

[The apocalypse draws closer.]

[Current Doom Points: 79/100. Dangerous Beasts will begin to gather in the hidden corners of the world, preying on the weak and helpless.]

Stifling a curse, John sat down and began to meditate, getting his mana under control. His Mental Model continued to work furiously on why he gained Doom Points, but the estimate for its completion was still a year away, so he had to figure out a way to prevent his Doom Points from reaching a hundred before then. The fastest way to reduce Doom Points seemed to be quest completion, so he opened up his quests to take a look. He had three quests—[Prevent the Apocalypse], [Grow Wheat], and [Discover the Secrets of Intelligence]—but two of them weren’t possible to complete quickly. Both [Prevent the Apocalypse] and [Grow Wheat] would probably take longer than a year anyway, leaving his last quest, [Discover the Secrets of Intelligence], as the only viable alternative.

It was about time to plant the spring wheat, and John wanted to cultivate more fields since the harvester had worked so well, but he was sure there would be time for him to dig into the strange plant that seemed to be connected to the sudden increase in Ferdie’s and Sigvald’s intelligence. Having gotten himself under control, John stood up and walked into the kitchen just as Ellie was serving eggs.

Ben, Thomas, and Even were all sitting at the table, staring at the eggs with rapturous attention. As soon as the eggs were on the table, they all began to scoop them onto their plates, practically fighting to get them out of the pan. Raising his eyebrows, John looked at Ellie, who just shrugged. A moment later the mystery was solved as Ben shoveled some eggs into his mouth, groaning with what sounded like ecstasy.

“Uhhh, these are so good. I’m so happy to be eating human food again! Ellie, these are so good.”

His mouth full of eggs, Even nodded along seriously, his eyes wide and his cheeks bulging. Though he didn’t say anything, it was clear from the speed with which he was eating that Thomas felt the same way. Shoving more eggs into his mouth, Ben groaned again.

“Seriously, Thomas burnt everything, and Even’s food was even worse. Next time, if you’re going to leave us alone, I’ll just go live on tree roots. They’d be more edible than the awful food we’ve been eating all week. These are soooo good!”

Laughing, Ellie got out some more eggs for her and John as the others finished off what was in the pan. After stuffing themselves full, Ben and Even left to do the milk delivery while Thomas headed for the barn, leaving Ellie and John to eat their breakfast. Once he was finished, John got out the map of the area to start looking for the best area to create new fields. Seeing what he was doing, Ellie came over to help him plan. After deciding on another ten acres that were near the existing fields and only lightly wooded, John headed out to get Ferdie.

The giant bull had grown even larger in John’s absence, now standing almost at John’s head, and both his horns and hooves had taken on an almost stonelike quality that gave him a savage look. Sigvald had changed as well, growing by a few inches and gaining an even stronger metallic sheen to his feathers. Bringing Ferdie along, John headed for the area they had picked and walked its perimeter.

He had thought about doubling the area they were going to use for growing wheat, but Ellie had suggested they take things slow to avoid generating so much work they needed to hire more people. Seeing the wisdom in her words, John decided on ten acres. The land included a small hill, but it wasn’t too steep so John was confident the harvester would still work well on the slope. Picking the first tree, John swung, his axe blade biting deeply into the trunk. With a tug and twist, he pulled it free and then sank the axe into the tree again, nearly cutting it down. A third blow dropped it, and it collapsed to the ground with a loud thud. Quickly trimming it, he called Ferdie over and the bull rolled it over to where they were going to make the pile.

For the rest of the day John stayed busy chopping down trees. About midday Thomas joined him for a few hours, working on trimming the trunks for Ferdie to pile up. John had intended to hook Ferdie up to the tree stumps that were left over but the bull just breathed on them, burning them up with incredibly hot flames. Looking over the hundreds of stumps, John figured that would be much faster and shrugged, feeding the happy bull a crystalized chunk of mana.

Over the next few days they finished clearing the ten acres, and then John hooked up the plow and he and Ferdie began prepping the land for planting. Thanks to the forge Gofreid had brought, they didn’t have to run into town to get basic tools, and John spent an hour making a heavy, pull-behind rake to help smooth out the disturbed soil. Once the ground was all prepped, it was time to plant the spring wheat, and he got Ellie and Thomas to help him.

After spreading the seeds, they ran the rake over the fields again, covering the wheat with about an inch and a half of soil. According to John’s farming book, summer wheat didn’t need as much soil coverage as winter wheat did but it did need more water, so that night John slipped out of the house and headed to the fields. Looking up at the clear night sky, John admired the stars for a moment before his lips twitched into a small smile.

Looks about right for a sudden summer rainstorm.

Taking control of the surrounding mana, John snapped his fingers and pointed up into the air. Moving to another area he repeated the process, casting a total of four spells in a few minutes. Thick clouds whipped up as the Downpour spell began to take effect and soon steady rain began to fall, drenching the fields. The rain was localized and steady, completely soaking the fields within twenty minutes without getting any of the farm’s buildings wet. Pleased with the outcome, John snuck back into the house, missing Ellie’s curtains twitch shut.

With planting done, John turned his attention to solving the pressing problem of his ever-growing Doom Points. Ellie was largely occupied with making cheese and studying the spells her grandmother had left her, so John took it upon himself to begin trying to figure out the quest. Thankfully, the quest description itself had contained a clue about where to start, so he pulled it up once again.

[Discover the Secrets of Intelligence: You have encountered two animals with near-human levels of intelligence and a mana-consuming plant that exhibits unplantlike behavior. Discover the secret to the three beings’ intelligence by finding the main root system of the strange plant.]

Root system, huh? I wonder if that means that both Sigvald and Ferdie are intelligent because of the plant. I know it’s filtering mana into its root system, but how do I trace it without digging it up? Hold on. If Ferdie and Sigvald became intelligent because of it and can understand basic language, maybe the plant can too? Why don’t I start by trying to talk to it?

Heading out to the pasture, John came to the large rock that was sheltering the strange plant and carefully moved it to the side. As soon as the rock was moved the plant seemed to sense him and gently waved its leaves and stems. It appeared happy to see him, but as he looked at it he had no idea how to begin trying to communicate with it. Feeling slightly silly, John looked down at the plant.

“Uh, hey. How’s it going? Um, do you understand me?”

Hearing a snort that sounded suspiciously like a laugh, John looked over and saw Ferdie sniggering nearby. Feeling even sillier, John flicked a small piece of dirt at Ferdie, causing the bull to snort again and prance away. Shaking his head, John crouched down and covered his hand in mana, reaching out to touch the plant, trying to establish a direct connection with it.

CHAPTER 28

John’s hand stretched out, approaching the plant, but to his surprise the plant’s leaves and stems trembled and withdrew, seeming to want to avoid him. Frowning, he pulled his hand back and stared down at the strange plant. As if it could feel the heat from his gaze, it pulled itself back, tucking itself behind its leaves like it was giving itself shade. Trying again, John stretched out his hand, but the plant continued to pull away, avoiding touching him at all costs. Confused, John was about to poke the plant when a slight discoloration on one of the leaves sparked something in his mind.

Hold on. The first time it sensed me it tried to take my mana but then it retreated, as if it got burned. At the same time, the mana crystals Ferdie has been sharing aren’t a problem. The difference has to be in the element. Mana attached to my body has a hint of my flame element, while the mana crystals are elementally neutral. I wonder how it would feel about water mana?

Looking around to make sure no one was in sight, John snapped his finger, creating a water bead that floated in midair. Sticking his finger out, he poked the water bead and then pushed it down toward the plant. Hesitantly at first, the strange plant stretched out its stems and came close to the hovering water bead without touching it. John could see the stems pulling in trace amounts of mana, testing to see if the mana around the water bead was dangerous. As soon as it pulled the mana in, it began to tremble again, but this time with excitement rather than fear, and its leaves curled up and around the water bead as the stems began to suck at the mana that held the water bead together.

Watching it carefully, John could follow the trail of mana as it was absorbed by the stem and then carried down through the branches of the plant into the trunk and then down into the root system, disappearing underground. Eventually the root system vanished from his vision, going so far underground he couldn’t track the mana anymore. Sitting back on his heels as he watched the strange plant absorb all the mana, John tried to come up with a solution.

The plant couldn’t communicate clearly, which meant he would have to either figure out a way to communicate with emotion, or he would have to figure out how to get Ferdie to do it for him. Some sort of communication was obviously happening between the bull and the plant, but John had no confidence in being able to get any information back. While he was thinking about it, the water lost all the mana holding it in a floating bead shape and collapsed, falling to the ground. Clearly happy, the plant waved its leaves and stem and they approached John’s finger, which still had a trace of the water mana from the Summon Water spell.

It took a bit of concentration, but John gathered more water mana to his fingers, letting the plant stems suck it off his hand. The sensation was strange, and John could tell that the suction was getting slightly stronger as the plant realized how pure his mana was. Closing his eyes, he tried to convey his feelings to the plant, with limited success. Before his trip the plant had clearly been able to feel the shift in his emotion, so John assumed it would be able to get a sense of his current feelings.

Roots. Roots. Where are your roots?

No matter how much he thought about the roots, or tried to project the feeling, the plant just happily sucked at his mana, not responding at all to his attempts. Growing slightly annoyed, he pulled his hand back. Frustrated, he stared down at the plant that was waving its stems around, trying to find his hand again.

“Look, I’ve got more mana than you could eat in a thousand lifetimes, but you’re not going to get another drop if you don’t play along. I need to know where your main root system is. If you can tell me, I’ll give you enough mana to stuff you full.”

Freezing, the plant remained completely still for a full minute. If it hadn’t been for the fact that the wind was blowing around it, John might have thought it had lost its ability to move at all. Curious, he brought his hand close, but it didn’t react at all.

Huh, I seem to have broken it.

Just as John was about to stand up, one of the leaves reached out and gently touched John’s wrist. A pulse of mana so weak he would have missed it if his senses were not stretched to their limit tried to push into his hand. Capturing the trace of mana, John pulled it into his body, bringing it to his mind. The mana was so weak it couldn’t push through his skin, but he carefully guided it to his mind where a picture appeared. At first John thought it was just a picture of darkness, but suddenly mana began to glow in the air, crawling in a twisted pattern. Though the first part of the mana faded into blackness by the time the pattern finished, John knew exactly what he was looking at.

Those are the runes for Shadow Tower! No way, is this thing trying to tell me that its main body is the Shadow Tower?

“Hold on. Can you tell me where this is? Where the entrance is?”

Again, the plant paused for a full minute before another pulse of mana appeared. However, as John watched the image it created, it was the same as the last one. Exhausted, the plant sagged, the leaf falling away from John’s hand as the entire plant collapsed to the ground. Quickly creating two mana crystals, John laid them down on the stem of the plant, causing it to quiver a brief thank you before it settled down to try and restore some of its energy.

Standing up, John looked around and, sure that no one beside Ferdie was looking, cut the boulder into a few pieces with a quick slice. Setting up two of the rock slices on their sides, he placed the last slice on the top, creating a little stone hut for the strange plant. Ferdie had come back over and was hanging out near him, mooing piteously, so he fed the bull a mana crystal and then headed for the house.

If it really does exist in the Shadow Tower, then my next step is figuring out the spell that’s in the books. Storm Master Kelvis’ note said that the books contained the spell to find the tower, and I’m sure the quill and compass have something to do with them. I guess it’s time to do some serious studying. Maybe I can work on the next spell in the water series as well.

Before going into the house to peruse the books Storm Master Kelvis had left behind, John stopped by the barn to see how Thomas was getting along and then the cheese cellar to see if Ellie needed a hand. As much as he wanted to rush into his room and crack open the books, life on a farm required nearly constant work and he didn’t want to leave anyone hanging.

The cheese cellar was cool but bright thanks to the mana lamps, and he found Ellie wrapping the last few wheels of cheese for the day. With John’s help, she finished dipping them and they stacked the wheels on a shelf in the back. Double-checking that everything had been rotated properly, John put the last wheel of cheese in place and then walked over to the potted plants that had been growing in the cheese cellar. Each pot had multiple flowers in them and they were blooming really well.

“They look like they’re doing really well,” John said, gesturing to the multicolored flowers.

“They really are. This environment seems to be perfect. They really like the trace mana coming off the lamps.”

“Have you figured out how they reproduce?”

“I’m guessing it has to do with mana density. Once the mana they absorb is strong enough, they create a seed that shoots out of the root system and sprouts.”

“Great. It looks like we have enough to start using on the wheat. I want to try to see if using these flowers will produce a change in the wheat seeds. It’s a long shot, but worth a try at least. Though we still need to figure out why they melt in the sun.”

Poking one of the trembling leaves, John shook his head.

“This world has a lot of mysteries, and I have a feeling some of them we’ll never get to the bottom of.”

“All we can do is keep learning and trying,” Ellie said, smiling. “And speaking of learning and trying, I want to summon a familiar.”

Imagining Ellie summoning Vexus, John blinked and nodded.

“Sure. When were you thinking?”

“There’s going to be a storm in two days. Maybe that night?”

“Sounds good. Anything you need from me?”

“Um, yes. Summoning a familiar is, um, tricky. There’s no telling what will show up. And if it goes wrong, I might need some help making sure whatever I summon doesn’t escape. The summoning is half of the spell, and the second part is binding it. Hopefully I’ll summon a positive or even neutral creature. But it’s also possible that I’ll summon a negative creature, in which case, I’ll need help protecting myself until I can bind it and banish it.”

“I can do that.”

“Thank you,” Ellie said, looking relieved.

That night, when everyone was settling down, John sat in his room and got out the items Storm Master Kelvis had left, along with the journal that recorded the life of the Mage who had stayed in the Shadow Tower two hundred years ago. Placing them on the bed in front of him, John let out a sigh. This wasn’t the first time the pieces of a puzzle had just fallen into his lap, and if someone tried to tell him there was no force pulling strings behind the scenes, he wasn’t sure he would believe them.

The fact that he would encounter the journal, the ruins of the Mage tower, and a plant that claimed to be from the Shadow Tower was simply too strange to just be a coincidence. Putting that thought aside, he opened up the journal and skimmed it quickly, refreshing himself on its contents. He had already memorized the entire journal, but looking at it again brought it to the forefront of his mind and made it easier for him to remember it. Placing the journal down, John picked up the three books Storm Master Kelvis had left and opened the first one. All three of them held notes on magic that was much more advanced than John could understand.

What he found funny was that many of the effects Kelvis described were things John could do with pure mana control, but considering how that increased his Doom Points, John was more interested in understanding the magical theory in the book. Carefully reading over it, he stopped his Mental Model, pausing the analysis of Doom Points, and began to try to puzzle out the pieces he was missing from the combination of Basic Arcanum and the Storm Master’s notes.

John had never been a particularly studious person by nature, though his life circumstances had forced him into learning how to study in order to navigate academia, but the advantage of his Mental Model skill could not be overstated. His brain seemed to process information on an unconscious level, spitting out answers and follow-up questions like a ticker tape machine. Before he realized it, most of the night had passed and John found it was nearly morning. Tearing himself away from the books, he meditated quietly until it was time to get up and then began the chores for the day.

That night saw him right back at it, and once again he spent the whole night completely immersed in learning about magic. At one point he’d realized it wasn’t enough to simply work out the problems so he had begun to write them down, doing his best to master the incredible information he was learning. On top of the theory the books contained, he also had a complete set of water spells he could use for reference, and he made good progress in understanding how spells were constructed in the first place.

This time, he managed to catch a few hours of sleep before the morning sun rose in the east, and as the day dawned bright and hot, he went out to check on Ben and Even’s practice session. Thomas had not been joking about working both Ben and Even hard, and seeing them took John back to the torturous days when he had first arrived in this world. Deciding it had been a bad idea to come and see what they were doing, John hurried off to start his chores for the day.

His spell deconstruction was going well, but John put it on the back burner and began to get ready for Ellie’s familiar summoning ritual. He had gotten a bit more information from her and wondered if the spell would work for him. Most Witch spells relied on the Witch’s medium to gather mana that was purer than normal, but John’s mana was already incredibly pure. In fact, it was considerably purer than the mana Ellie gathered from storms. According to what Ellie had told him, she would use that storm mana to call a being from outside of the world that had an affinity with storms and then, using the second part of the spell, bind it to herself until her death. So long as she had storm mana, the familiar could use that mana to manifest into this world, just like Vexus did.

As she grew stronger, and her mana grew more powerful, so too would the familiar, until it could use its full power in this world. The difficulty lay in her medium. Where stars were considered a neutral medium, storms were considered a negative medium and were most closely tied to aggressive creatures. While it wasn’t impossible she would summon a neutral or even positively aligned creature, it was more likely that whatever she summoned would try to attack her, which is why she wanted John to come along. So long as she could hide behind his shield while she bound the creature, she figured it wouldn’t matter if the creature was antagonistic or not.

CHAPTER 29

Once the chores were done for the day and everyone was settling down for the night, John sat on the porch, watching the rain come in. The storm looked to be a big one, but most of the storm’s fury seemed to be venting itself over the mountain. Like a misty sheet being pulled toward the farm, the clouds crawled forward, dropping a steady deluge of rain down on the forest. Hearing the door open, John looked up and saw Ellie standing there. This time she was dressed in her leather armor to avoid having her dress soaked by the rain.

“Ready?”

Nodding, Ellie looked out at the approaching storm.

“Yes.”

Stepping off the porch, they began walking toward the woods, reaching the edge of the forest as the first of the raindrops pounded into the leaves overhead. By the time they made it to the hilltop, the rain was coming down full force and they were completely soaked in less than a minute. John had to resist the urge to create a mana barrier to keep the water off him, but Ellie was having trouble keeping the wide smile off her face. Spreading out her arms, she let out a delighted laugh as she exulted in the rain.

“What do you need me to do?” John asked, raising his voice to make himself heard over the wind.

“Just stand there unless the creature I summon looks like it’s going to kill me,” Ellie said, joy gleaming in her eyes.

Stepping back, John watched as Ellie took out the wand and the crystal ball she’d gotten from her grandmother. The way she’d described it, the summoning spell had already been cast inside the crystal ball, which acted as a temporary spell storage device. All she had to do was create a conduit through herself by drawing mana in from the storm to feed into it. Holding up her wand, she began to pull mana from the rain that fell around her, channeling it through her body and into the crystal ball that rested in her palm.

By John’s standards, the process was painfully slow, but given how recently Ellie had completed her class ceremony, the fact that she could do it at all was quite impressive. Mana continued to trickle into the wand, causing its wooden body to light up with an intense glow as it was condensed and moved to the crystal ball. The more mana that filled the crystal ball, the stronger the glow grew until it looked just like one of the mana stones John used in the mana lamps.

Rain fell on Ellie’s skin, but despite the cooling effect John could still see the beads of sweat forming on her skin. It was rare for magic users, whether Mages or Witches, to channel mana through their bodies, and John knew full well the pain it caused. Still, Ellie bore it without complaint, using the feeling of rejuvenation she received from the storm to offset the pain caused by the mana coursing through her. As the minutes ticked by it clearly became more and more difficult, but Ellie did her best to hold on until, finally, the crystal ball in her hand lit up, jumping up into the air to hover a dozen feet in front of her.

Pointing her glowing wand at the floating crystal ball, she spoke the command phrase and a pulse of energy radiated out from the crystal ball, passing through the world and hurtling into the void beyond so fast it was almost imperceptible. As it was, it felt like little more than a flick in the back of his mind. As the spell took effect, Ellie’s body sagged slightly, but she managed to keep herself on her feet as she turned to look proudly at John.

“That’s the first part. Now, we have to wait for a few minutes. Once we receive the knock, we’ll open the gate.”

“Knock? What’s that?”

“Um, I think it’s a signal? That’s how the creatures show they’re interested. The strength of the knock will help me determine the relative strength of the creature, but if I pass them up, I can’t call them again.”

“So it’s a gamble?” John asked.

“Yes. If I hear a knock, I have to choose to keep it or wait for another.”

No sooner had Ellie finished speaking than a light burst from the floating crystal ball. The light was bright but only lasted for a short second before fading away. Blinking, Ellie didn’t react and soon the light had vanished completely.

“That was a knock, I think. I’m just going on what was written in the description. The notes my grandmother left said I needed to wait until the light lasted at least four seconds.”

Another burst of light radiated from the crystal ball, lasting three seconds before it began to die out. With a rapt gaze, Ellie watched as the crystal ball began to light up, carefully counting the seconds to see if she should answer the knocking creatures. After eight shorter lights, a bright light lit up the crystal ball, this time tinged with a sharper light that caused John to think about the lightning that flashed in the distance. It quickly reached four seconds and then five, six and seven. When it finally started fading at ten seconds, Ellie let out an excited cry and pointed her wand at the floating crystal ball.

The glowing wand shot out a light that pierced through the light that was still shining from the crystal ball, forming a swirling rift that sent a beam of light into the sky, cutting through the storm clouds. A terrible humming sounded as the air split apart and a green limbed creature forced its way through, staring down at John and Ellie from a height of fifteen feet. Beady eyes fixed on them, sending sparks jumping through the air and two massive scythe-like arms hovered over their heads. The monster that stood before them had four powerful legs and insect wings, reminding John of a flesh-covered mantis.

Lightning covered the monster, sending powerful sparks into the air as it arced between the large blades on its front body and the six antenna that danced on its head. With a terrifying shriek it took a step forward, its blade slashing down toward Ellie’s unprotected head, too quickly for her to react. At the last second, John appeared in between Ellie and the monster’s lightning-wreathed blade, drowning the monster’s screech with the ringing sound of the blade deflecting off John’s shield.

“So, how were we supposed to banish these things if they’re hostile?” John asked, eyeing the monstrous lightning mantis.

“I have to bind it. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to summon it!”

“We can worry about being sorry later, right now we need to deal with it!”

Shocked into action as John parried another attack aimed at her, Ellie quickly began activating the second part of the spell to try and cast the monster back out of the world. Stabbing out with his flaming sword, John felt the point of his blade deflect off the mantis’ armor, leaving a groove but not quite managing to get through it. Stepping to the side, he blocked another pounding strike and chopped down with his own blade, attempting to carve a piece of the monster’s blade-like arms off. This time he barely made a dent, but the attempt clearly infuriated the mantis who pressed into him, trying to crush him under its superior weight.

Groaning as the monster slammed into him, John heaved, throwing it to the side. Unfortunately, the mantis’s wings blurred and it managed to keep its balance, hovering just off the ground. Not waiting for it to get its bearings back, John dashed forward, his sword stabbing toward its beady eyes. Bringing up one lightning-covered blade, the mantis blocked John’s attack, at the same time swinging its other blade to try and cut him off at the waist. Spinning to catch the attack on his shield, John was sent flying through the air, slamming into a nearby tree.

None the worse for wear, John bounded forward as soon as he got his feet under him, but the lightning mantis was already moving toward Ellie. Swearing, John was about to unleash his mana completely when a loud crowing caused the mantis to hesitate. Out of the storm Sigvald darted down, claws raking savagely across the mantis’ wings, forcing it to drop to the ground as fast as possible. Just when it had turned to deal with the giant rooster’s sharp spurs, the ground shook and two crimson trails streaked up the hill, gouging deep into the mantis’ side.

A scream of pain echoed from the creature as it tried to free itself from where Ferdie’s molten horns had burned holes in its chitinous plating. Letting out a cheer, John jumped forward, his shield blocking one of the flailing blade arms and preventing it from digging into Ferdie’s back. Sigvald attacked again, dropping out of the sky, more like an eagle than a rooster, his powerful wings sending raindrops flying. Each time he struck the monster the lightning that covered it charred his feathers, but he never once stopped trying to peck the monster to death.

Finally freeing itself from Ferdie’s horns, the lightning mantis barely escaped the bull’s pounding hooves and flashed back to try and gain some distance. Keeping a close eye on it, John checked on Ellie and saw that she was struggling to generate enough mana to complete the second part of the spell. Like a double-edged sword, summoning a more powerful creature meant that more mana had to be used to bind it, and it was taking her a long time to gather the mana she needed.

For a brief second John considered revealing himself completely and lending her the support she would need to bind the lightning mantis, but ultimately the habit formed of countless years of hiding who he really was won out and he threw himself at the lightning mantis, fighting together with Ferdie and Sigvald to try and buy Ellie more time. Back and forth across the hilltop they fought, locked in a deadly struggle whose only outcome was death. Doing his best to help Ferdie avoid any deadly attacks, John quickly realized that without unleashing his mana, there was simply no way for him to deal any significant damage to the monster.

That realization was reinforced when a burst of lightning ran across the monster’s body, causing the gouge in its chest armor left by John’s sword a moment before to heal completely. Even the two holes in its side, left there by Ferdie’s powerful horns, were beginning to knit together.

“Ellie! Any idea what this thing is?” John yelled after getting thrown back again by a powerful strike.

“I…” panting, as she tried to manage the mana flooding through her, Ellie struggled to speak. “I think it’s a storm spirit. The… the shell is… is just a… body it’s creating! But you can’t kill the spirit! If you do… if you do, it will just re… reform somewhere else. We… we have to banish… banish it!”

Blinking, John flooded his eyes with mana, completely transforming his vision. The world stripped back as all the mana in his line of sight was laid bare before him. Just as Ellie had said, the creature in front of him was the manifestation of mana condensed to the point that it took on a physical shape. Inside the center of the lightning mantis was a smaller entity that glowed with a bright light, almost like a wisp.

The true body of the spirit was actually a fragile thing, but its impeccable control of mana allowed it to create a body that could rival even the most powerful of beasts, causing it to be a force to reckon with. Realizing Ellie was right, John saw that things were worse than they appeared. Even if Ellie could gather the necessary mana, there was no way her mana would be able to reach the true body of the storm spirit to take effect, which meant that the body had to be split open if they were going to banish it.

Resisting the urge to rip the monster apart with his bare hands, John glanced back and saw that Ellie was almost at her limit. Rapid calculations ran through his head as he tried to come up with the best solution, but before he could his hand was forced. Ellie, already acting well beyond her capability, suddenly lost control of the spell, causing it to surge toward the storm spirit. In that moment, everything seemed to happen at once.

The gathered mana spun forward, shooting toward the storm spirit, which threw back its head and screeched in anger. It had come because it had sensed a powerful being in this world, but when it arrived it had only found a weakling who was borrowing the forces of a pathetic storm. The thought of being bound to a weak master was abhorrent to the storm spirit, so it had struck out, aiming to end the spell by killing the one who had cast it. Now, despite its clear superiority, the weakling was trying to bind it, making it furious. Sneering mentally, the storm spirit waited for the weakling’s magic to dissipate against its powerful body, but before that happened it noticed the man with the shield moving.

[+1 Doom Point.]

[The apocalypse draws closer.]

Stepping forward at an impossible speed, John’s sword rose and fell and the body of the storm spirit, constructed from mana and harder than the finest metal, simply sheared in half. The only thing stronger than mana was purer mana, and John’s was the purest.

[+1 Doom Point.]

[The apocalypse draws closer.]

For a moment the storm spirit felt the horrifying mana of the being that had drawn it to this world, causing it to freeze in place, not able to mount even a single ounce of defense in the face of the overwhelmingly powerful mana that carved past it. In that moment of inaction, the unthinkable happened. Ellie’s spell, which never would have managed to get through the storm spirit’s defenses, enveloped its body, branding a powerful spell into the core of its very being. Woken up from its stupor as the spell started to take effect, the storm spirit was about to force its body to self-destruct when an iron-like beak fell onto its true form, gobbling it up in one quick gulp.

No one, not even John, had noticed when Sigvald, still wearing his eyepatch, had flown down to attack the storm spirit’s mantis body. The rooster had arrived a moment after John’s attack and saw the gleaming storm spirit in the center of the lightning mantis’ split-open body. Not particularly bright, his bird brain had assumed the gleaming thing was a large piece of crystalized mana. Overwhelming desire had awoken in the proud rooster’s chest, and like a shot he had braved the destructive forces of unraveling mana to seize the prize for himself. Crushing the fragile spirit with his beak, he swallowed it down and spread his wings, letting out a crow of triumph so loud it forced the storm to a standstill.

CHAPTER 30

Magic that was wildly stronger than Sigvald could control swirled around the rooster, empowering his cry and racing through his body. It carried with it the spell Ellie had cast, but instead of binding to the storm spirit it was firmly planted into the muscles and bones of an egotistical rooster, absorbing all the mana that had belonged to the storm spirit and forcefully binding it to Sigvald’s body. Under John’s astonished gaze, the mana he had cut away from the storm spirit began to boil, rushing into the rooster under the control of the spell Ellie had cast.

In a completely bizarre turn of events, the rooster’s body began to transform, simultaneously growing stronger as the pure mana of the storm spirit flooded into him and weaker as the spell forced the mana into a sealed state to bring Sigvald in line with Ellie’s level of strength. Sigvald’s feathers, already metallic, began to shine with a sharp light, and a bluish-white streak of lightning crawled across his tail, lighting up the night. Though the rooster’s strength was being suppressed, the power of his body was growing dramatically, and John could see his feathers growing stronger than steel.

“Ellie, what’s going on with your spell?” John asked, his eyes still on Sigvald, who was continuing to transform. “Ellie?”

When he didn’t hear a response, he turned his head to look and saw that Ellie was slumped down in the dirt, her body trembling as some of the mana that had belonged to the storm spirit ran back through the connection she had formed with Sigvald and imprinted into her own body. Rushing over, John did his best to keep his own mana from mixing in with the mana surging through the air as he checked Ellie. Her body was terribly cold, but her pulse was fine and she didn’t have a fever, so he wasn’t too worried. Thanks to her class holder status her body was incredibly resilient, and the storm spirit’s pure mana was improving her even further.

She might be a bit woozy when she woke up, but John was confident she would be fine. The bigger problem was that the spell she had cast was still operating. Normally it would have failed if she had fallen unconscious, but the crystal ball was keeping it going, and if he was any judge, it was currently binding Sigvald to Ellie as a familiar. Unsure how to stop it, John just watched in bemusement as the eye-patch-wearing rooster was transformed into some sort of strange lightning bird with metal feathers and then as the spell completed, making Sigvald into Ellie’s familiar.

It wasn’t as if John couldn’t have broken the spell apart, that would have been as simple as waving his hand, though it would certainly have cost him at least one Doom Point. No, the problem was that he simply didn’t understand magic well enough to know what would happen if he broke the spell. John had never felt his lack of magical knowledge more acutely than he did at this moment, but all he could do was watch as the spell finished, the excess mana being released into the atmosphere. A wave of excess mana spread into the sky, breaking apart the clouds and causing the storm to slowly abate.

As the last dregs of rain faded away, Ellie stirred, her eyelashes fluttering. The first thing she saw when her eyes opened was John’s profile, and following his gaze she caught sight of Sigvald standing under the fading rain, his head raised and his wings stretched out. A deep sense of connection fluttered through her heart and the rooster’s head snapped around, his gleaming eye staring at her. With majestic steps he strutted over, cocking his head to the side as if asking how she was.

“I’m fine,” Ellie responded, pushing herself into a sitting position. “What happened?”

“I have no idea,” John said, shrugging. “Or rather, I know exactly what happened, but I have no idea how bird brain here survived it. He ate the storm spirit halfway through your spell taking effect, so he ended up absorbing both the spell and the storm spirit. Or something along those lines. Honestly, I fully expected fried chicken after he gobbled it down. Then again, nothing about these animals is normal.”

As if to illustrate his point, Ferdie trotted over happily, blood still streaming down the giant bull’s body from where the monster’s blade had stabbed into him. Molten rock dripped endlessly from his horns and hooves, sizzling as it fell to the ground, cooling in the night air. Pushing against John’s chest with his big nose, he stuck out his long tongue, clearly waiting to be rewarded for his efforts. Sigvald, seeing that Ferdie was looking for a mana crystal, let out a cry and tried to flutter up onto the bull’s back, only to be blocked by a burning horn. Lightning glittered dangerously in Sigvald’s eye as he dodged the waving horn, but before he could make a move, Ellie’s tired voice brought him back to the ground.

“Sigvald, cut it out.”

Fluttering down to stand next to her, Sigvald preened his feathers, looking as if he had never intended to stray from Ellie’s side. Letting out a groan, she tried to get up, only to realize she was too drained. When John reached out to take her hand Sigvald stretched out his wing to block him, but a glare sent the poor rooster cowering behind his new master, much to Ellie’s amusement.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think I can stand up,” Ellie said, taking John’s offered hand.

“Not a problem,” he replied, crouching and sliding his hand under her legs.

Transferring his other hand to her back, he picked her up easily and walked down the hill. This was the second time he had carried her like this, though this time she was alert and slightly embarrassed. Tucking her head so he couldn’t see her red cheeks, Ellie tried to remain still to make it easier for him. Behind them stalked Sigvald, his head bobbing as he tried to keep up, while Ferdie followed after the rooster, happily chewing on the mana crystal John had given him.

The storm had broken, but the leaves, still wet with rainwater, continued to drop water on John and Ellie as they made their way through the woods and back to the house. It was after midnight and Ben was sleeping in the bunkhouse, so, despite Ellie’s protests, John carried her all the way into her room. As they walked back, he had used his mana to surreptitiously dry them both off but, after pushing him out, Ellie went to take a shower while John walked back outside to make sure Ferdie and Sigvald were okay. To his surprise, the rooster had nearly gotten the kitchen door open and was trying to come inside. Shooing Sigvald back out, John gave him a hard look and then shook his head.

What’s the use arguing with a rooster? I bet Sigvald will be even more stuck-up than normal. Though Ferdie seems to be able to hold his own. I wonder how he’s getting so strong. It can’t just be from the diet of mana crystals I’m feeding him. It’s almost as if he’s using a mana breathing method.

Walking over to the pasture, John saw that Ferdie had already put himself away, even closing the gate. Leaning against the fence, John watched until he saw Ferdie’s molten horns fade into black, indicating he had gone to sleep. Shaking his head in wonder, John went back to the house. He had no idea why Sigvald and Ferdie had appeared, but it was clear to him that if the giant bull and rooster had not, the night would have ended with a lot more destruction. As it was, a single strike powerful enough to cut apart the storm spirit’s body had earned him two Doom Points, bringing him a step closer to the end of the world.

As much as he wished he could simply use his strength to solve his problems, each time he did, he inched toward a problem that no amount of strength could solve. Resolving to redouble his efforts to figure out the spell that would lead the way to the Shadow Tower, John headed to bed after spending some time meditating and getting himself back in order. When he walked out of his room the next morning, Ellie was already up, seeming none the worse for wear after their close call. Apart from Sigvald’s tendency to hang around Ellie when she was outside, everything else seemed to have remained the same, so John threw himself into the study of the notebooks Storm Master Kelvis had left behind.

The valley was growing warmer every day as the spring rains gave way to summer heat, and soon the wheat stubble began to show. John and Ellie had been treating one of the patches with the colorful flowers, but apart from growing faster than normal, they showed no other changes. Still, John wasn’t upset as he had assumed any significant change would require at least a few iterations. A few weeks after the wild night when Ellie got her familiar, a couple visitors stopped by the farm, so John put down his books and walked out to meet them. Looking slightly uncomfortable, Haver stood at the entrance to the yard, not quite inside the farm proper, while George was standing by the porch.

Both George and Haver had their eyes on the roof of the porch where Sigvald liked to perch. Seeing that the rooster was still giving them the stink eye when he came out, John bent down to pick up a rock, but Ellie, who had walked out after him, waved her hand and the haughty bird quickly left. Putting down his rock with some regret, John invited the two men in. George accepted, but Haver shook his head.

“No, but thanks. Your place makes my wolves nervous, so I’ll be on my way. Honestly, it gives me the shivers too,” Haver said, turning to scan the shadows by the barn, as if he was afraid someone would jump out. “I just swung by to tell you I’ve picked up some tracks. They’re a valley over but it seems to be the same thing Thomas mentioned. Gangs of bandits. Maybe a few beasts as well.”

Nodding gravely, John stepped off the porch to walk over to talk to Haver.

“Thanks for letting us know. What kind of number are we talking about?”

“At least two hundred. Probably more. Enough that folding in a mid-sized bandit group probably wouldn’t be an issue. I’ve had my wolves on the hunt, but we haven’t seen anything inside the valley or even for twenty miles around. My guess is that the Necromancer you killed had our valley as part of her territory. But if there are Necromancers out and about, we need to call for some Holy Knights or something like that. My wolves are next to no good against undead, so don’t even ask, alright? I don’t mind scouting since we can outrun them, but I don’t want to get involved in a fight, okay?”

“Heh, I get it. Thanks for your help on this.”

“Sure. With the way things are going, I’m pretty sure I’m going to be retiring early, so it’ll pay tenfold to make sure this valley is safe. If you wouldn’t mind me as a neighbor, of course.”

“Happy to have you, as long as you leave my cows and people alone,” John said, a slight smile gracing his lips. “Oh, and I wanted to mention. We might have found another ruin. You want in? This one will be way safer than the other one. Better team too.”

“Can you swear it’s not an abandoned Mage tower?” Haver asked, his tone only slightly sarcastic.

“No, but can anyone? I’m confident it’s not an abandoned Mage tower.”

Staring at John, Haver’s eyes narrowed and he let out a sigh.

“Fine, tell me when.”

“Haha, great. I knew I could count on you.”

“Yeah, whatever. I’ll see you later.”

Watching Haver vanish into the woods, John couldn’t help but grin. Though they hadn’t started off on a good foot, the longer he interacted with Haver, the more he liked the Wolf King. Heading back to the house, he found George nursing a cup of tea at the table. Ellie had fresh cookies out, so John got a cup of tea for himself and sat down, picking up a couple of the cookies to chew on.

“Every time I come out here, this place looks better and better,” George said, gesturing out the window with the cookie he held. “And the cookies get better and better.”

Rolling her eyes, Ellie, who was sitting at the table, leaned over and pushed the cookies toward George.

“Oh, stop, George. You don’t have to butter me up to get more cookies.”

“Haha, a man’s gotta do what he’s gotta do, and if I told you that you were getting prettier, I might get my clock cleaned by Mr. Sutton here,” George said, smiling shamelessly and throwing a wink at Ellie.

“Why would I stop you from telling the truth?” John asked, joining in the fun.

Blushing slightly, Ellie hid her face behind her cup and rolled her eyes again as George let out a hearty laugh and slapped the table.

“Hah! Hear that? It’s not just these old eyes that think that way.”

“Enough silliness, George,” Ellie said, putting down her cup. “You’re normally guarding the valley entrance. What brings you our way?”

Growing stern, George finished his tea and put his cup down. Looking between Ellie and John, he spoke seriously.

“Strangers in the valley. Wearing leather armor like that Red Coral team. A nobleman is with them too. Asking around without seeming to ask around, if you know what I mean.”

“I do,” John nodded. “How many are we talking about?”

“Nearly twenty. Most if not all class holders, and all heavily armed and geared for camping. If I didn’t know better, I would have said they were a private army instead of mercenaries. I figured you might want to know, since they’ve been asking around for a Sutton and accompanying lady.”

Sensing Ellie tense up, John smiled reassuringly at her and then looked at George, his eyes frighteningly calm.

“And what have they been told?”

“Told? They’ve been told to try the next valley over,” George said, letting out a snort. “You’re one of our own now. The valley folk have been telling me how you’ve been helping them this winter, giving milk and cheese on credit. You’re one of ours, and we don’t give up our own. But I thought you should know, seeing as there’s no telling if someone will let something slip.”

CHAPTER 31

Stretching to get the stiffness out of his shoulders, John put down the research journal he was reading and looked at the notes he had assembled. It had been a few days since George had stopped by to warn them about the strangers in the valley poking around, and John had been spending nearly all his time digging out the secrets contained in Storm Master Kelvis’ journals. He had been hoping to figure out the spell for activating the compass before the people looking for him found the farm. Staring at the spell written out before him, John’s eyes traced over it, doing his best to commit it to memory.

Unlike the spell scrolls which imprinted someone else’s knowledge of a spell directly into the mind of the person learning it, learning spells this way was incredibly time-consuming and required a significant amount of concentration, which is why John had spent the last two days sequestered in his room. Holding out the compass-like device he had gotten from the ruins, John held the quill in the other hand and began to activate the spell. The first time he spoke the arcane command words, he felt a large chunk of his mana twist together, rushing into his brain as the spell was branded there, becoming a permanent part of him.

[A new spell has been discovered! You have learned Kelvis’ Greater Scrying!]

In his hand, the compass lit up and John touched the quill pen to it, setting the target as the mana of Storm Master Kelvis’ favorite student. Kelvis’ Greater Scrying was an advanced version of a tracking spell, and the Mage had left behind the quill pen he’d used to carve the runes on the door of the hidden tower.

If that didn’t work, John intended to use the journal he’d recovered from the grimm, since that carried the mana of Storm Master Kelvis’ student who had been living in the tower. The spell ensured that the compass would point toward the place with the largest concentration of the student’s mana, hopefully leading them to the tower. Even if he or she had passed away, which was exceedingly likely given that it had been two hundred years since the Shadow Tower had been established, the compass would point toward her bones, as they would carry a remnant of her mana.

There was always the chance she had been completely destroyed, of course, which was why John was hoping the spell worked as Kelvis had intended in the first place. As the spell bound the trace of mana contained in the quill to the compass, John saw the needle in the center spin around three times and then snap to a northwestern heading. Turning the compass, he saw the needle remain absolutely fixed in the same direction, causing a smile to grow on his face. With the compass set, it was time to gather a team and head for the tower.

Before that, however, John opened up the small, ornate box and took out the Raging Waters spell scroll. Accepting the prompt, he felt the knowledge rush into his head, imprinting into his mind. Resisting the urge to try the spell out right there, he toggled his spell list and took a look at the two spells that had been added. Both were mage level spells, and if John had lived in the world before the wars, he would have officially been recognized as a true Mage.

Spell List: [Fireball (Basic)], [Flame Arrow (Apprentice)], [Summon Water (Basic)], [Water Arrow (Apprentice)], [Downpour (Acolyte)], [Raging Waters (Mage)], [Kelvis’ Greater Scrying (Mage)]

Closing the list, John stood in his room for a moment longer, lost in thought. The process for learning magic without a spell scroll was time-consuming, but the result it produced was undoubtedly better. John wasn’t sure if it was because the spell scroll imparted someone else’s knowledge of a spell, but the spells he had learned on his own, specifically Flame Arrow and Kelvis’ Greater Scrying, were both noticeably more efficient than the other spells he knew.

Shaking off the desire to begin remaking his other spells then and there, John let out a low laugh and walked out to the kitchen. He had always thought scornfully of the Mages who locked themselves away to study magic, but the further into it he got, the more seductive it was and the stronger the impulse to ignore everything else became. Not finding anyone in the kitchen, John headed for the barn to see if he could find Thomas. The middle-aged man was forking hay for the pregnant cows, so John grabbed a pitchfork and helped him. Working in silence, they finished quickly and then hung their tools up.

“I’m going to be heading for a ruin soon. I’m guessing Ellie will want to come, so you might have the whole farm again. Oh, and Sigvald too. So it will just be you and Ferdie. Think you could handle twenty class holders if they decided to raid the farm?”

“Will there be any spell casters?”

“No, I don’t think so, but no guarantee.”

“If there are no spell casters, I should be fine, sir. Ah, it might be a challenge if there are more than two legendary class holders, but otherwise we’ll manage.”

“Alright. Thanks.”

“Do you know how long you’ll be away, sir? The summer wheat will be ready for harvest in around three weeks.”

“We’ll try to be back before that, but you know how these things are. Thankfully, we shouldn’t be leaving the mountains around the valley.”

“Understood, sir. We also need to decide what to do with our steer. We have three of age, and another two who will be of age in a few weeks.”

“Hmm. What are our options?”

Leaning against the doorpost of the barn, Thomas gestured to the cows out in the pasture.

“We either butcher them ourselves or we send them to be butchered. If we’re selling them out of the valley, we’ll have to cross the great plains, which might be a challenge. The biggest problem is finding people who can afford them. Buying a beef cow is expensive.”

“What about the Moritoi? Would they buy them?”

Eyebrows going up, Thomas looked at John for a moment before responding.

“They’re not friendly to the nation, sir.”

“Sure, but you know how I feel about the nation, Thomas. Besides, some of them are trading under the flag of the Eternal Flame.”

“In that case, the Moritoi would be the best trading partner. Though we would probably want to gather a bigger herd before we went to trade. We can talk to some of the other farmers and see if they have any steer to send along.”

“It never stops, does it?” John said, laughing. “Let’s leave that for when I get back. For now, I’m going to see about pulling our new friends’ attention away from the farm. Hopefully they’ll bite and follow me into the mountains.”

“Good luck, sir.”

“Thanks.”

Leaving Thomas to his work, John walked down into the cheese cellar where Ellie was busy making cheese. When she saw him, she smiled and pushed a wisp of hair out of her face.

“Did you figure it out?”

Pulling up a tall stool, John sat next to Ellie and pulled one of the drained bags of unformed cheese over and opened it up. The feel for forming cheese had never left him and, after washing his hands, he began to skillfully squeeze the crumbly cheese into a wheel.

“Yeah, I did,” John said, “which means we have another ruin to explore.”

Trying to hide the excitement in her eyes, Ellie patted the cheese wheel she had been working on and started heating the wax. Playing it cool, she pulled over another bag to begin shaping it.

“When are you thinking of going?”

“Probably tonight. I need to put a team together, as ruins can be pretty dangerous. I was thinking of getting Haver, and maybe George. Ideally we should have five people, but Thomas needs to stay here.”

Fortifying her courage with a deep breath, Ellie turned to look directly at John.

“I’ll do it. I can do it. And I have a familiar, which is almost like having another person. I can handle healing, and I can fight too.”

“Are you sure? It’s going to be dangerous. Probably way more dangerous than going to your grandmother’s house. This is a Mage’s tower. Potentially an active Mage’s tower.”

Nodding firmly, Ellie began to dip the wheels of cheese they had made.

“All the more reason I should come. If there’s magic someone has to deal with it, right?”

“Hah, true. Alright. I’ll go get Haver tonight and we’ll leave tomorrow.”

After dinner John dashed through the forest, quickly traveling toward Wolf Den where the bandit king made his home. Inspired by his experience with the strange plant and its reaction to the different kinds of mana he summoned, John had been trying to figure out how to use air mana to power his quick movement ability, but so far he’d no luck. Already fast, John had discovered he could use fire mana’s explosive quality to accelerate even quicker, creating the teleporting effect he used to get around. Unfortunately, he didn’t know enough about the air element to understand how to use it properly.

Water mana, on the other hand, had proved to be quite effective. His newest spell, Raging Waters, had given him a hint, and after a bit of practice he found he was able to use trace amounts of water mana on his feet to push him forward with the force of a flash flood. While it wasn’t quite as fast as his fire-mana fueled ability, it was easier to sustain and allowed him to avoid leaving burning flames in his wake. The bits of water he left behind were quickly absorbed by the ground as he surged forward, weaving his way between the trees.

Arriving at the foot of the mountain path, he slowed to a normal run to avoid scaring anyone and headed up. When he got there, he found that the gate only had one guard and the fortress beyond the gate looked quite empty. Seeing him, the guard straightened up and saluted.

“H… hello, Mr. Sutton, sir!”

“Is Haver around?”

“N… no, sir! He is out until tomorrow.”

“Got it. Can you give him a note for me?”

“Yes, sir!”

Giving the guard a bemused glance, John quickly wrote out a note. Seeing the guard holding onto it as if his life depended on it, John shook his head and said his goodbye, quickly escaping down the mountain. Figuring it might take Haver an extra day or so to be ready, John swung by the farm to get his horse and then, leaving a note for Ellie to meet him in town, headed for the mountains to see if he could train his new spells. When he had last examined the two remaining spells in the ornate box, he had still felt like there was a bit of a chance of failure, so he wanted to get used to Raging Water, hoping that would increase his familiarity with water-based spells.

Finding a secluded spot, John made sure Merlin was well out of the way and then began to practice. Stretching out his hand, he recited the command phrase for Raging Waters, causing a blue glow to light up around him. A dozen water beads appeared all around him and shot forward, stretching out into thick pillars of water. Twisting together, the water pillars slammed into the tree in front of him, smashing it into splinters and washing it away.

Surprised by the power of the spell, John closed his eyes and replayed what had just happened. Like Summon Water, the spell had summoned a bunch of water beads, but instead of stopping at one, it had continued to summon them, much like the spell Downpour did, turning the water beads into pillars of water. The rotational force of the pillars was borrowed from the Water Arrow spell, combining with the principles from the earlier spells to create a new, more powerful spell.

Stretching out his hand, John clicked his fingers, casting it again. As the powerful wave of water washed through the same place, carrying away the remains of the tree, John felt the increased mana drain. Casting spells silently made almost no difference at the novice and apprentice level, and only a tiny difference at the acolyte level, but the difference in mana cost between a normal and a silently casted mage level spell was significant enough that he actually noticed it.

After a couple more tests, John closed his eyes and let his Mental Model work. Standing quietly for a few minutes, he suddenly extended his hand and snapped, causing twelve blue flames to appear around him. Just like the Raging Water spell, the tongues of flame grew into twisting pillars of flame that combined in front of him, mixing into a giant beam of fire that ripped through the forest like a dragon’s breath.

[A new spell has been discovered! You have learned Twisting Flames!]

Letting out a delighted laugh, John pulled the burning flames back into his body with a quick inhale, sucking them into his lungs. Feeling the burning in his chest, John was suddenly struck by an idea. Closing his eyes again, he set Mental Model to work, quickly generating and rejecting a dozen spell structures until he found something he thought would work. Speaking a command word, he felt the mana that should have transformed into flames twist, trying to escape his control. Ruthlessly crushing it, he revised the spell structure and tried again, using his powerful control of mana to test another dozen iterations of the spell.

Hah, I’m probably the only Mage in history that’s ever been able to crack a new spell structure through brute force.

Nearly twenty minutes later, John spoke a new command word and the mana that he had gathered flowed smoothly from his mouth, transforming into a devastating gout of blue flame. Extending ten feet from his lips, the flames licked at the ground, incinerating the grass and melting the ground. Breathing in, he pulled the heat back, causing the earth to harden into a smooth, almost stone-like substance, but he was too excited to notice.

[A new spell has been discovered! You have learned Dragon’s Breath!]

[Mental Model has grown in effect and efficiency.]

[Mental Model: 40]

This is perfect! Just call me a Dragon Warrior! If I can develop more spells like this, I should be able to start using more magic when I fight, which will reduce the likelihood of me needing to use my personal mana. Hopefully that will mean fewer Doom Points overall.

Since the spells he cast used mana from his surroundings to empower their effects, the flames they produced were significantly weaker than the flames John could produce directly with his pure mana, but in most fights they would be more than sufficient. Rather, John was just happy to have discovered a way to use magic without immediately racking up more Doom Points. Checking the sky, he saw that he had at least an hour until it was time to meet Ellie in town, so he got back to work creating spells.

CHAPTER 32

The sun was just starting to climb over the mountains when John rode his horse into Fairford, immediately noticing a difference in the village. Normally the town would be bustling as people started their day, but as he rode down the main street, John barely saw anyone out and about. A subdued air hung over the village, and it was clear from the sidelong glances John got that he wasn’t the only one who felt it. Stopping at the inn, John got down from Merlin and tied his horse up to the hitching post next to Storm, who was already tied there.

Stepping up onto the porch, he took a moment to survey the town but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Judging from Storm’s presence Ellie was probably already in the inn, so he walked inside. As the door opened, everyone turned to look at the door, their expression showing clear relief when they recognized John. Ellie was sitting at the bar, talking with Sven, and as John came in she turned and smiled at him. As she turned back to the bar he saw a flash of something on the back of her neck that looked like a tattoo, causing him to blink.

Walking up to the bar, he greeted Sven with a nod and sat down next to Ellie. While Sven went to grab his food, he turned to her and tapped the back of his neck.

“Get some new ink?”

“Ink?”

“A tattoo. Looks like Sigvald?”

“Ah, is that what it is?” Ellie asked, turning her back to him and moving her hair so he could see it clearly. “I saw there was something there but couldn’t get a good look at it. It’s probably my familiar mark.”

Poking up over the leather armor she was wearing, the tattoo extended down onto Ellie’s back, only leaving the head and beak of the bird visible. Noticing it even showed the scar that ran across Sigvald’s eye, John nodded.

“Yeah, it’s Sigvald. Most of it is hidden behind your armor though. That reminds me, we should get a big mirror for the bathroom.”

“Big mirrors are tough,” Sven said, sliding John’s plate in front of him. “Transporting glass is always so tough.”

“True. Maybe we could make one. That might be easier.”

“I think Gerret has some polished sheets people were buying a few years back. Might be able to make something with that.”

“I’ll talk with him,” John said, turning to glance at the quiet room. “Looks like someone’s cast a spell over the town. What’s got everyone so scared?”

Glancing around, Sven lowered his voice and leaned forward.

“The big gang of mercs on the edge of town. If you stick around for a bit, you’ll be able to see them. Three of them are staying here. The noble and his two bodyguards. They usually come down around nine, but the mercs will be in at any moment to get some food.”

“George mentioned them. Said they were looking for me?”

“Not explicitly, but they did describe the armor you two are wearing. It’s awfully close to what they’re wearing, so if they see you they’ll probably put it together.”

Shooting a glance at John, who was calmly shoveling forkfuls of food into his mouth, Ellie turned back to Sven.

“Want us to leave? So there’s no trouble?”

Shaking his head, Sven gave her a mirthless smile.

“Nah. They should know better than to make trouble in town. We’re protected. More likely they’ll try to get you out of town before they try anything.”

Looking up, John stared at Sven for a second.

“I heard there were twenty of them, all class holders. That seems like more than the town can handle. There are what? Half a dozen class holders here?”

“And a new Ecclesia office,” Sven said, smiling. “It’s only a Priestess and two Holy Knights, but if the noble does anything to us, the Ecclesia will eventually find out and then it’d be curtains for them. Speaking of the Priestess, here she comes.”

Turning around on her seat, Ellie saw a beautiful woman in a white robe with a blue flame motif coming into the inn. Hair as black as midnight framed her bronze skin, and her bright green eyes carried a gentle look that made Ellie feel at ease immediately. Despite her perfectly shaped features, the Priestess was not intimidating in the slightest, and Ellie found herself returning the smile that came her way. Nudging John, who was still turned around, Ellie had trouble tearing her eyes from the Priestess, only snapping out of her daze when the Priestess walked over.

“Hello, my name is Evangeline Belluci, Priestess of the Eternal Flame. But you can call me Eva. I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“Pleased to meet you. My name is Ellie Stoke and this is John S…”

“Just John,” John said without turning around.

Glancing over, Ellie realized John had put the hood of his cloak up and was busying himself with his food. Though she didn’t know why he was so clearly uninterested in interacting with Eva, she adapted quickly.

“We live on one of the farms out in the valley and are just passing through town this morning.”

“Ah,” Eva’s eyes lingered on the back of John’s head for a moment before she smiled sweetly and looked at Ellie. “Well, if you ever need anything, please don’t hesitate to come by the Ecclesia office. We offer free healing, food, and help with shelter. We also offer free education and subsidized business loans for enterprising people.”

“Thanks, we’ll stop by if the need arises.”

With another gentle smile, Eva nodded and walked to the tables, stopping to chat with the townsfolk. Seeing that Ellie was still watching her go, Sven let out a low laugh.

“Only been in town a week and already knows everyone like she grew up here.”

“She’s so pretty,” Ellie said, awe mixed with a hint of envy in her voice.

“Poison is what she is,” John said darkly, his voice so quiet that only Sven and Ellie could hear him. “Once they get their claws into you, they try to control your whole life, all under the guise of helping you.”

“Well, she can control me any time she wants,” Sven said, shaking his head. “But don’t let the Holy Knights that are with her hear you talking like that. They practically worship the ground she walks on. They’ll be in once the mercs arrive.”

“John, should we leave?” Ellie asked.

“No,” John spoke firmly, “we told Haver we would meet him here. We’ll stay till he arrives.”

“Hold on,” Sven said, his eyes opening wide. “Haver is coming? Oh no, this is bad. That nobleman, Earl Vacek? He knows that Haver was part of the group that went out with the Red Coral team. He’s looking for him.”

“Earl Vacek is here?”

Instead of speaking, Sven gestured with his chin toward the stairs where a hawkish man was walking down, two beautiful women dressed in leather armor trailing him. The earl carried himself with the typical air of a nobleman, and it was clear from the sneer that seemed to be pasted on his mouth that the rudimentary comforts of the village’s inn did not meet his exacting standards. Carrying a cane topped with a skull in his ring-adorned hand, the earl stopped at the bottom of the stairs, looking around for an empty table. Choosing a table next to where Eva had just taken a seat, he said something to one of his guards and then walked with mincing steps over to the table.

“Do you know him?” Ellie asked John as she watched the woman Earl Vacek had spoken to coming toward the bar.

“I’ve run across him in the past,” John replied, turning back to his food.

Striding up to the bar, the female guard slapped her hand on the wooden surface to get Sven’s attention.

“Barkeep, three breakfasts with your finest red wine. And put some legs on it, we’re going to be leaving soon.”

“Of course, ma’am,” Sven answered, bowing his head.

As he disappeared into the back, the guard woman turned her head and caught sight of Ellie, who was observing her curiously. About to turn away, she saw Ellie’s leather armor and stopped for a second. The construction of it was close to her own armor, but it was different enough that she thought she might have been mistaken. Ever since they had gotten back to the valley, John had added thin metal plates to the outside of the armor and Ellie had sown in some cloth strips, making it look less like the armor they had scavenged from the Red Coral team.

For a moment she seemed like she would say something, but after hesitating she went back to the table where Earl Vacek sat to wait for Sven to bring their food out. Finishing up his breakfast, John downed the rest of his ale and pushed his plate back. Seeing Sven come out with the meals for Earl Vacek and his guards, John nodded to the innkeeper.

“As satisfying as ever.”

“Great, I’ll pass your compliments along. You said you’re waiting for Haver, right? When is he coming?”

“Some time this morning, probably. Oh, that reminds me. Is George around? I was hoping to hire him.”

“No, he got a job leading a hunting party. He’ll be out of the valley for at least another week. Why? What are you looking for?”

“Huh, shame. We found another ruin and I want to put a team together to check it out.”

Eyes brightening, Sven gave John a measured look and picked up one of the glasses he seemed to be perpetually polishing.

“Who’s in your team right now?”

“It’s me, Ellie, and Haver. But Haver’s got his wolves and Ellie here has a companion of her own. We’re good on front line and combat, and Ellie will cover support. We’re just looking for someone to scout and act as trapfinder. Know anyone else we could tap?”

Thinking for a moment, Sven put the glass down and threw the towel across his shoulder. Resting his forearms on the bar, he looked between Ellie and John as if weighing something.

“What about me?”

“You?”

“Yeah. I’ve done my share of adventuring back in the day, and while I don’t have a title, you won’t find a better trapfinder this side of the capital. Besides, things are getting a bit tense around here, and getting out of town for a week or two sounds like a great idea.”

This time it was John’s turn to look at Sven. He had known Sven was a class holder from the moment he had first walked into the inn, but other than that he knew relatively little about the man, which carried a significant risk. Since Haver was not around yet to ask, John tapped on the bartop.

“You have references?”

“Sure,” Sven said, smiling happily. “Here you go.”

With a flourish, a bright silver token marked with an open bag of money appeared in Sven’s hand, held so that only Ellie and John could see it. With another flourish it was gone, leaving Ellie blinking.

“Thieves’ Guild?” John asked, his eyebrows rising. “What’s a big shot like you doing out here?”

Sven gave John a lopsided grin and tapped the side of his nose.

“If I told you I’d have to leave, now wouldn’t I? What do you say? I cut my teeth on the capital city’s catacombs and got my promotions back before the Ecclesia took over.”

Seeing that Ellie was lost, John lowered his voice and explained.

“The catacombs are where nobility are buried. They take the safety of their possessions very seriously.”

“Hah, seriously is an understatement,” Sven said. “They trapped every single inch of those tunnels. I can’t say I’m the best scout, but I can sniff out a tripwire from a mile away.”

“Fine. As long as Haver is fine with it, you can come. He and Ellie can cover the scout duties. Pay is a ten-percent split with a six-gold guaranteed minimum and a four-gold hazard pay bonus.”

“That sounds good to me. When are you leaving?”

“I meant to leave this morning, but I have a feeling that’s not going to happen.”

“Yeah, it’ll take me until this afternoon to get my gear set up. How about leaving first thing tomorrow?”

“Are you sure you’re not just trying to get us to rent a room from you for a night?” Ellie asked, causing Sven to laugh.

“Actually, that’s a great point. I only have one room open, so maybe we should get on the road tonight, since I doubt you two want to share a room with Haver.”

“Absolutely not,” Ellie said, shaking her head.

Winking at her, Sven was about to say something when his expression changed, growing slightly severe. A moment later the door opened roughly and a group of fifteen leather-armored mercenaries walked in, talking loudly. Ellie examined them closely as they entered, but John’s attention was on something outside. Seeing him stand up, Sven swore under his breath and reached under the counter for the short sword that was hidden there. One of the mercenaries, a big man with a shock of blond hair, looked around the room, his booming voice interrupting all conversation.

“Who owns the horses outside?”

Looking around, the mercenary didn’t wait for anyone to respond and continued to speak.

“They’re good horses and I’ve taken a fancy to them. I want to buy them. Whose are they? Speak up.”

In the following silence, John’s voice echoed loudly even though he just spoke in a normal tone.

“Tell your men to get their hands off them.”

Swinging his gaze around to John, who was half turned toward him looking out the window at the mercenaries who were standing around Merlin and Storm, the blond mercenary took a step forward, his bright teeth flashing as he smiled.

“Name your price.”

“I won’t repeat myself,” John replied dully, his gaze still directed out of the window.

Despite the lack of an edge to John’s voice, the blond mercenary felt his hand drifting toward the handle of the short axe on his belt. Restraining himself, he was about to say something when he heard a commotion outside and the three mercenaries who had been hanging out near the horses suddenly stumbled into the room, nearly falling down. A few seconds later the door opened again and Haver walked in, a cold look on his face. Dressed in his spiked leather armor and carrying his wolf tooth club on his shoulder, he presented a dangerous picture, but what really sealed the deal were the three large wolves that trailed him. Through the window, John could see that there were at least half a dozen other wolves hanging out on the porch and in the street, making it obvious why the mercenaries retreated.

CHAPTER 33

“Are those your horses?” Haver asked as soon as he saw John sitting at the bar.

“They are. You want to buy them too?”

“Buy them? Hah, I’m not that rich. They’re nice though. Especially that mare. Morning, ma’am.”

Smiling at the Wolf King, Ellie nodded her head at his greeting.

“Hello, Haver.”

“Alright, are we ready to go? This village smells, almost like something dead got dragged in here. Where is George?”

Completely ignoring the blond mercenary, Haver sauntered over to the bar and leaned on it, nodding to Sven.

“George is out, but Sven volunteered to act as his replacement,” John said, turning his back on the mercenaries. “So long as you vouch for him, we’ll leave as soon as he’s ready.”

Infuriated by the casual disregard, the mercenary leader took a step forward, his hand reaching for John.

“Hey, I was talking to you!”

As he spoke he gripped John’s shoulder tightly and spun John around. Or at least, he tried to. When John didn’t move in the slightest, a sudden cold sweat appeared on the mercenary leader’s forehead and he stepped back, dropping his hand like it was burned. Ever so slowly John turned around, his face completely and utterly emotionless.

“I’m sorry, I thought our conversation was over. You wanted to buy my horses. They’re not for sale. Was there something more you wanted to discuss?”

“Is there a problem, Hill?”

One of the pretty guards had risen from the table when Haver came in and now stood nearby, her hand resting threateningly on her sword. Her eyes scanned John and Ellie, resting for a moment more than was comfortable on Ellie’s face before she turned her attention to Haver. It was clear from her aggressive tone of voice that she was giving the mercenary leader a chance to start something, but to the surprise of almost everyone in the room, the blond mercenary shook his head and took a step back.

“Uh, no, no problem. I, I was mistaken.”

Frowning slightly, she looked at him, but the blond mercenary refused to meet her gaze. Annoyed, she clicked her tongue and pointed at Haver.

“Are you the one they call Wolf King?”

“I am,” Haver replied without straightening up. “What of it?”

“Earl Vacek has some questions for you. Come with me.”

“Does he? He has two perfectly good legs. Let him come over here.”

Sneering at Haver, the earl’s guard took a small step forward, her hand tightening on her sword.

“Are you sure you want to ignore the count’s order? That’s not the wisest of choices.”

“Oh, come off it,” Haver said, sneering right back at her. “This isn’t the capital where your precious nobles are pampered and their every whim is catered to. If the earl wants respect, he’ll have to start the same way everyone else does out here in the wilds. He’ll have to earn it.”

Eyes narrowing, the guard’s face grew ugly, and she took another short step forward, just about to draw her sword. Haver matched her look for look and stood up straight, staring down at her as if he was ready to brawl at any moment. Just when John thought a fight would erupt, a dry cough interrupted the tension and Earl Vacek made his way over, the tip of his cane clicking against the floor.

“No need to come to blows, Mela, it’s not worth it. Besides, it’s only a matter of a few feet, and as Mr. Haver says, my legs work perfectly well.”

Looking at the gathered people, the earl’s lips curled up in a polite smile and he nodded his head.

“I am Earl Dominik Vacek, sixth earl of house Vacek.”

“Haver the Wolf King. The only one.”

Ignoring the sarcasm in Haver’s voice, Earl Vacek turned his attention to John and Ellie, but neither of them introduced themselves. Ellie had been about to, but seeing John keep his mouth shut, she decided to follow his example. After the silence stretched for almost half a minute and it became clear that John was not going to introduce himself, the earl’s smile became slightly friendlier and he spoke to John.

“And you, sir? Might I have the pleasure of knowing your name?”

“John.”

“John?”

“Yes.”

“Are you from the valley?”

“No.”

From the way his eye was twitching, it was clear Earl Vacek was doing his best to avoid blowing up at John’s short answers, but the earl had spent too long in the halls of political power to lose it with a farmer in a small village on the outskirts of the nation.

“Hmm, have we met before? You look awfully familiar. How do we know each other?”

“I don’t think we do,” John said, shaking his head.

“I’ll have to think about it. Now, where was I? Oh, right, I was about to ask Haver the Wolf King some questions. This past fall, I believe you worked with a team of adventurers who called themselves the Red Coral group? Is that correct?”

“I did,” Haver nodded, “and nearly ended up dead because of it. If you find them, I have a serious bone to pick. They owe me compensation for abandoning me to die in a ruin.”

“Ah, is that what happened? They were to retrieve an item for me and never showed up. I was wondering if you knew where they might have gone,” Earl Vacek asked.

“Was it an ornamented box? The last time I saw it it was in the Herbalist’s hands. Catherine? You’ll have to find her if you want more information. When I eventually got out, I saw her tracks heading toward the great plains, but I came back to the valley rather than chasing her.”

Pursing his lips, Earl Vacek fiddled with one of the many rings he was wearing, looking like he was thinking. After a few seconds his eyes constricted and he slowly turned his head to stare at John. While most of the other people in the room were unsure what was going on, John knew exactly what was happening. The ring the earl was using carried a scrying spell quite similar to Kelvis’ Greater Scrying and it had just locked onto him. Considering he was the last person to touch the box, John thought it was a safe bet the scrying spell would continue to point toward him. While it would have been simple enough for him to disrupt the spell, being tracked by the earl suited him just fine.

What did they used to call it? Aggro?

Amused by his thoughts, John smiled slightly at the frozen earl, shocking him out of his stupor. Seeing that Earl Vacek was appraising him with fresh eyes, John just waited. He had spoken with the earl a number of times in the capital city, but never without his flaming mask of blue fire. Fairly early on in his career in the military he had taken to wearing it at all times, which was why most people didn’t recognize him. Those who had seen him before he began wearing the mask, like Gofreid, were mostly dead by this point, killed by the brutal wars that swept the nation. Still, the more he spoke, the more likely it was that the earl would remember his voice or mannerisms, so he thought it would be better to remain quiet.

“John, right? Were you one of the people hired by the Red Coral adventuring party?”

“Yup. Front line,” John said.

“Hmm, I see. Would you mind accompanying me to my camp? I’d love to talk to you about your experience with them. You see, it’s quite concerning to me that they never reported back.”

“Sorry, we’re on a schedule and need to leave shortly. Maybe when I come back.”

Slightly thrown off by John’s blunt refusal, a flash of anger streaked across the earl’s face and his grip tightened on his cane.

“What if I insist?”

Giving the earl a genuinely amused smile, John pointed behind him.

“Talk to them first, and then we can chat about it.”

Turning his head, Earl Vacek’s expression stiffened when he saw the two heavily armored men standing there staring at him. Dressed in half plate armor with heavy chainmail shirts, the two Holy Knights carried large swords slung across their backs and round shields with a blue flame motif. Standing between them was the exceptionally pretty Priestess.

“Is there a problem, Earl Vacek?” Eva asked, her sweet voice carrying the faintest sense of censure.

“A problem? Of course not, Priestess Eva. I had simply invited these gentlemen to my camp for a private discussion, but they did not want to come. Nothing to get worked up about.”

“I see. In that case, might I ask you to be on your way? You’re blocking the path into and out of this gentleman’s business.”

Bowing his head slightly, Earl Vacek gave Haver and John long looks and then led his guards out of the inn, the mercenaries following close behind. Left facing Eva, John gave her a curt nod and tried to turn away, but before he could she spoke to him.

“Excuse me, sir, I have this striking feeling that I know you. Have you ever been to the capital city before?”

“I must have one of those faces,” John said, shrugging. “Earl Vacek thought he knew me too. Sort of strange but I’m sure there are plenty of people who look like me. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have some planning to do.”

Not giving Eva time to respond, John turned around, leaving her with her mouth open. Seeing her awkward look, Ellie smiled apologetically at her and spun around on her stool, relaxing the tight grasp she had on her wand. The younger of the two Holy Knights started to step forward, irritated by John’s impoliteness, but Eva stopped him, shaking her head. With a bow toward John’s back, she led the Holy Knights out of the inn, causing it to finally return to peace. At the bar, Sven shook his head.

“Wow, I really thought I would be picking up broken furniture today. That was really close.”

“If you’re sad about it I can break a chair for you,” Haver said, smirking.

“No, no, I’d much rather my furniture stays in one piece, thanks. Let me get my stuff together and we can go.”

Watching Sven disappear, Haver spoke in a voice only Ellie and John could hear.

“You realize the earl is going to come after us, right? He won’t leave it laying.”

“I do,” John nodded, “in fact, I’m counting on it. The last thing we need is a power-hungry noble running around the valley with nineteen class holders while we’re not around. If we can get him to bring his forces after us, it will be simple to ensure he doesn’t return.”

Letting out a low whistle, Haver looked at John, impressed.

“And here I thought I was the bandit. You really want to take out a noble? Aren’t you afraid of the army coming down on you?”

“No,” John said bluntly. “First, all signs point to a war with Allera in the next year or two, so they won’t have time. And even if they did, nobles are forbidden from leaving their holdings unless it’s to go to the capital, by the order of the Eternal Flame. I don’t know why the Priestess is ignoring that fact, but Earl Vacek is not allowed to be here, since it’s not his territory. If he vanishes, no one will do anything.”

“Well, either way, I think this warrants hazard pay,” Haver said, holding up four fingers. “That’ll be four gold.”

Opening his pouch, John counted out four gold coins and put them in Haver’s outstretched hand. Before he could put the pouch away, he felt a tug on his arm and saw that Ellie had her hand out as well. Rolling his eyes, he counted out four more gold and gave them to her, causing Haver to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Sven asked, walking out of the back with a bag. “Hey! Are you handing out hazard pay? Great, I have a few things to pick up at the general store and that will help.”

Lamenting that it had only taken a moment for him to become twelve gold poorer, John let out a sigh and stood up.

“Once you’ve finished your shopping, we’ll head out. Does everyone have a horse? Or do we need to swing by the stable?”

“I’ve got one,” Haver said, calling to his wolves who were laying at his feet.

“Me too. I’ll be right back. Anyone need anything from the store?”

Shaking his head, John followed Haver out onto the porch. There were a few mercenaries loitering around, not even bothering to hide that they were watching John and the others, but John paid them no mind. After double-checking the horses, they mounted up and headed for the store to wait for Sven. Once he was ready, the four of them headed out of town, accompanied by Haver’s wolves.

“Where is Sigvald? I thought he’d be with you,” John said, looking back at the town that was falling behind them.

“He is here,” Ellie said, reaching up to tap her neck. “That’s the point of the marking.”

“Huh, interesting. Sometime you’ll have to break down how that works for me,” John said, his interest piqued.

Heading out of town, they took the path toward the mountains, making good time on the smooth road. Right before the path started to climb, John got out the compass and checked their direction. Closing his eyes, he visualized the map he had of the valley, trying to determine the best path to take. Leading the group off the path, he brought them along the mountains for a few miles and then cut in, heading up into the hills. Though they couldn’t see anything behind them, all of them understood that the earl and his forces would be following, so no one said anything about stopping to make camp.

When darkness fell they got down from their horses and led them to avoid accidental injuries as they went deeper into the mountains. The night was bright with starlight, so they continued forward, weaving their way through the mountains. Based on the map John remembered, the compass’ needle was pointing to an area close to the quarry where he’d met the grimm, and as they continued their journey, John wondered if they would run into the tall creatures.

Without stopping they moved through the mountains, keeping up a steady pace to try and preserve their horses’ energy for as long as possible. Merlin and Storm were both mana-fed and had no problem keeping up, but by the time the sun was starting to rise the other two horses were starting to lag, so John called for a brief break. While Haver sent out his wolves to scout, John took the horses to rest and Ellie and Sven started a fire for breakfast.

CHAPTER 34

The mountains in the early morning were beautiful and the air was crisp, allowing uninhibited sight for what seemed to be miles. Standing with the horses, John took a moment to appreciate the wild beauty spread out before him. Feeling a nibble at his pocket, he pushed Storm’s head away, but she brought it right back, intent on finding a treat.

“Fine, but only because we’re on a trip,” John said, condensing mana into a crystal.

Normally he wouldn’t have given mana to the other horses, but once they sensed it they stared at him with piteous eyes until he caved in and made mana crystals for them as well. Putting their pickets into the ground, John joined the others for a quick breakfast while Haver updated them on the situation.

“It looks like we have a tail, but they’re probably half a day’s travel behind. They’ll have to conserve their horses, so it’s unlikely they’ll be able to catch up, but as soon as we stop they’ll start closing the distance. We can either try to hide our trail or just outpace them, but once we get to the ruins all that will be out the window.”

“How about traps? Can we trap our trail to make it harder for them to follow?” Ellie asked, causing the three men to stare at her. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I just didn’t expect to hear a question like that from you,” Haver admitted. “But yes, traps are certainly an option. Another option would be finding a place where we can block off the path with a rockslide or something like that, but that will make it harder for us to retreat if we need to.”

“For now let’s just continue as we are,” John said. “If we want to trap this camp and maybe one other place on the path, that will force them to be cautious and allow us to gain some more distance, but the reality is we’ll have to face them at some point. I’m aiming for it to happen in the ruins where their advantage of numbers can be mitigated.”

Nodding, Sven raised his hand.

“What sort of ruins are we heading to? You mentioned ruins, but that’s about it.”

Getting out a notebook where he had recorded what he knew about the Shadow Tower, John took out a folded piece of paper and unfolded it, showing the runic script the strange plant had projected to him. Craning their heads, the rest of the team looked at the runes and then turned to look at John. Ellie was the only one who could read the runes, but even she found it easier to allow John to translate.

“Shadow Tower. It’s a Mage tower built by the tower master of the other ruin we explored.”

Leaping to his feet, Haver stared down at John, his eyes blazing with alternating anger, fear, and eventually, resignation. While Sven’s reaction was more muted, the fear he felt was still clear on his face. Only Ellie reacted positively, leaning forward to get a better look at the runes.

“You told me it wasn’t a Mage’s tower!” Haver said, pointing at John.

“False. I told you it’s not an abandoned Mage tower. To my knowledge, it has never been abandoned. In fact, I have strong reason to believe that the Mage who lived there is still alive,” John said calmly, ignoring the finger pointing at his face. “I did tell you it was a ruin, which isn’t precisely true, but I’m sure you can understand why I didn’t want to publicize the details in town.”

“So we’re just going to break into a Mage’s home? You really are crazy,” Haver said, taking a step back.

“No, if the Mage is still alive, they’ll welcome us happily. At which point, I’ll take care of what I need to take care of, pay the two of you, and you’ll be free to go home. If, on the other hand, the Mage isn’t alive, we’ll explore the ruin. I’ll complete what I need to, we’ll split the loot, and then you’ll be free to go home. Either way, this will be a simple run.”

“Simple? Simple?!” Haver practically screamed, causing the wolves who were with him to jump to their feet, teeth bared. “How is exploring a Mage’s tower simple?!”

“Stop shouting and sit down,” John said, rolling his eyes. “I’m not worried about it, so why are you worried about it?”

“You’re not worried about anything! And it’s freaking me out!”

Despite his shouting, Haver did sit back down, causing the wolves to slowly subside as well. Sven, seeing that Haver had lapsed into silence, slowly raised his hand.

“Um, I don’t mean to doubt you, but, you know, are you really sure this is a good idea? I heard that a lot of Mage towers have really terrifying beasts.”

“Exactly! Like thorn bears!”

“This one is just plants,” John said, shaking his head. “I don’t think there will be any thorn bears. The Mage who probably still lives there was pretty obsessed with plants.”

“I’d bet a gold piece they’ll try to eat us,” Haver muttered.

Ignoring Haver, John tapped on the paper with runes.

“Like I said, there’s a decent chance the Mage will still be alive, so we’ll just be in and out.”

“What if they’re not alive?” Sven asked. “I can open locks, but magic is way beyond what I can do.”

“Ellie here has that covered,” John said, not hesitating to throw her under the proverbial cart. “Her class has the ability to see mana patterns, so we should be able to get through magical locks and traps without any problem. As for beasts and the like, that’s what I’m here for. Any other questions or complaints?”

Sensing that the last question was aimed at him, Haver thought for a moment and then raised his hand.

“Yeah?”

“Is it too late to mention that my mother died and I need to go back home and plan her funeral?”

“Yes,” John said, nodding. “I’m sorry to hear about your mother, but desertion will not be tolerated. Everyone has already been paid, so we’ll see it through to the end. Next question.”

“Will we be safe?”

Pausing, John turned and looked at Ellie, who had asked the question. When John had mentioned where they were going she had been completely on board, but now, listening to the responses from Haver and Sven, she realized they might have gotten into something that was truly dangerous. Looking at her slightly pale face, John’s smile disappeared, his face returning to its normal calm. Meeting her gaze, he nodded.

“That’s impossible to know. There could be many hidden dangers, but what I do know is that we’ll all come out of there alive.”

“I’m going to hold you to that,” Haver said, his face serious. “I’ve already been left for dead in a Mage tower once and I don’t care to repeat it again.”

“I got you out alive, didn’t I? And this time I’ll ensure your wolf doesn’t have to die for you.”

Considering John’s words for a moment, Haver nodded.

“Fine.”

Looking between Haver and John, Sven’s eyes brightened.

“Hey, if Haver trusts you to carry us through, I guess I will as well. But regardless, we should probably get going.”

“Agreed. I’m guessing we still have at least a day of travel,” John said, standing up. “If possible I’d like to complete it without camping. The further ahead of the mercenaries we can get, the longer we’ll have to prepare for the fight with them.”

“Why are they so intent on chasing us?” Sven asked.

“They think we have some box the Red Coral team looted from the ruins,” John replied. “The earl clearly values it since he wouldn’t have risked leaving his lands otherwise. Regardless, right now we need to focus on making it to the tower. If the Mage who lived there is still alive, the earl’s fate will be sealed.”

Tearing down the fire, they dug up some dirt to put it out and then cleaned up the rest of camp while Sven set up a few basic traps to try and slow the mercenaries down. Mounting up, they continued to cross the mountains, following the direction the compass was indicating. The terrain they were crossing was grueling, and by the time evening started to fall even the mana-fed horses were starting to droop. Checking the compass, John frowned slightly. According to the spell that had been cast on the compass, they were only about a mile from the location of the tower, but based on his memory of the map there was nothing but a mountain there.

“Let’s stop here. We’ll camp while I figure out which way to go.”

Getting down from Merlin, he tossed the reins to Ellie and climbed up on a small hill nearby to try and survey the landscape. Darkness was coming quickly as the mountains blocked the sun, but to John’s mana-enhanced eyes, everything was still as clear as day. Unable to see anything but an unbroken mountain rising in front of him, John disengaged the problem his Mental Model was working on and started figuring out how to hide a tower. After a few minutes his eyes snapped open.

[Query: How is the hidden tower accessed?]

[Answer: The tower exists underground in an inverted shape from the old tower. Likelihood of the tower being built in a dormant volcano is high, as the tower has been described as having access to a mana stone mine and a view of the sky. Mana stone mines are more likely to form near volcanic activity, and the volcanic throat would grant a view of the sky. Should the assumption be correct, possible entrances include the throat (less than fifty percent chance) and volcanic tunnels formed by a lava flow (eighty-five percent chance). Conclusion—determine if the mountain is volcanic and look for a low-lying area within a mile of the mountain to examine for lava tubes.]

Volcano? Is this mountain a dormant volcano? Regardless, the compass is pointing toward it, so I know our entrance is somewhere around here.

Recalling the map again, John found a few spots where there could be lava tubes formed by the flow of lava in days past and asked Haver to send out his wolves to check them out. While the team had dinner, the wolves quickly covered the distance to the areas John had marked out. The one he was most interested in was only a mile or two from the quarry where he had met the grimm, and he had a sneaking suspicion that was where they would find the entrance to the Shadow Tower. Only twenty minutes later, long howls echoed throughout the mountain and Haver’s head rose.

“You were right. They picked up something near the mine. There are a few tunnels there. And also danger. Intense danger.”

“Perfect. That’s where we’ll go. We’ll leave the horses at the quarry and then make the rest of the trip on foot. As for the danger, we’ll deal with it when we get there.”

Following John’s directions, they quickly made their way to the abandoned stone quarry, arriving as the final threads of light vanished, plunging the mountains into a deep darkness. Making sure to avoid the area where he normally traded with the grimm, John unsheathed his sword and shield, lighting up their way as they headed for the tunnels. The closer they got, the more tense Haver seemed to become, until finally he stopped, causing the rest of the team to stop as well.

“There’s something watching us,” he said, his eyes darting around. “A lot of somethings. And they’re not friendly.”

“Where are they?” Sven asked, looking around nervously.

Spinning around, Haver’s eyes scanned the underbrush but didn’t find anything out of the ordinary.

“I don’t know, but my wolves are getting really nervous.”

Sending mana into his ears, John magnified his hearing until his breathing sounded like thunder in his ears and then began to filter sounds out, stripping the sounds of the mountain away like layers from an onion. A faint, rapid-fire clicking caught his attention and then an even fainter roar, vibrating through the earth, sounded from up ahead, causing his head to lock onto a tunnel hidden behind a rock.

“This way!”

Darting forward, he followed the growing sound of battle into the tunnel, his companions close behind him. Only three of Haver’s wolves followed him into the tunnel, the rest dispersing into the woods to guard the area. As they got closer to where the battle was being fought, the others started to hear the roars and growls echoing from the walls. Mixed in with the sounds were hisses, and rapid clicking seemed to come from every direction at once, creating a disorienting effect. Checking to make sure everyone was bearing it well, John sped up, moving through the passage quickly. Rounding a corner, the team spilled into a large cavern filled with light from glowing mushrooms and some sort of glittering moss that grew across a large part of the ceiling.

Towering pillars of stone connected the floor and ceiling and rough platforms had been put together around them, looking like a primitive treetop village. Defending the platforms were tall, white-fur-covered humanoids who waved their clawed hands and crude bats as they fought off hundreds of large bugs that looked like a cross between a centipede and a dragonfly. Sometimes hovering in the air, sometimes scurrying along the walls, the insects swarmed toward the grimm, trying to pull them down from their homes, only to get smashed back by savage blows.

“The tall, furred ones are friendly, but don’t stray too close to them,” John said, beginning to move forward. “Ellie, now’s the time to call Sigvald.”

Thrusting her wand forward, Ellie spoke a command in a low voice and an echoing crowing shook the cavern as lightning burst from her back. A moment later the rooster’s head rose, his single, uncovered eye glaring murderously at the insects in front of him. Connected to Ellie’s feelings, Sigvald could sense Ellie’s disgust toward the insects, and as far as he was concerned, that was a death sentence. Lunging over her head, he flew into the cavern, lightning bolts arcing from his wings in one of the most impressive displays John had ever seen. Unfortunately, the impressive display nearly exhausted the bird’s strength and he quickly wheeled around and retreated to Ellie’s side.

Pausing, John glanced at Ellie, who was staring wide eyed at Sigvald. Shaking his head, he stepped forward and lifted his sword, igniting the blade with blue flames. The insects reacted to this new threat by throwing themselves toward him, but John didn’t even blink. Lifting his sword to his face, he cut it sharply down at an angle, at the same time activating his new Dragon’s Breath spell. The insects hurtling toward him were met with a gout of flame that charred their wings off even as it boiled their insides and cracked their shells. Stepping over a still-burning insect corpse, John let out a low shout and darted forward into the crowd of insects, his burning blade carving through them with ease.

CHAPTER 35

The blue flames streaming from John’s blade left streaks in the air as he slashed and cut, like paint left behind by an artist’s brush. Without pause he continued to paint a picture of destruction, cutting a wide swath through the insects who were all rushing toward him. Despite their innate quickness and the high maneuverability their dragonfly wings gave them, they were unable to escape John’s silver blade. Chunks of insect bodies fell to the dirt, burning silently as the magical blue flames slowly devoured everything they touched.

Spinning around, John unleashed a slash, using the streaming flames from his sword as cover to activate his Flame Arrow spell. The blue flames shot forward, burning through a couple insects hovering near one of the platforms. Using the edge of his magic shield to chop another insect in half by pinning it against the ground, John stomped on its head and then jumped forward, chasing down the nearby insects.

Advancing behind him, Haver and Sven watched in horrified awe as he ripped through the swarm of insects like he was taking an afternoon stroll. There was an effortlessness in the destruction John wrought that spoke of entirely too much practice. Sharing a glance with Sven, Haver suppressed his shudder and focused on swinging his wolf tooth club, smashing it down on one of the insects who had survived John’s rampage.

Sven was using a short sword, the supernatural strength his class granted him allowing him to pierce through the tough chitin armor that covered the monsters. Hearing a triumphant crowing, the Rogue glanced back over his shoulder and saw Sigvald ripping apart an insect with his sharp claws. The silly bird made a grand entrance but quickly ran out of energy, forcing him to retreat to his master’s side. To his delight, however, he quickly realized that his mana-reinforced feathers were too tough for the insect’s claws and mandibles to get through, allowing him to fight with impunity.

As soon as the rooster discovered this, his courage returned and he rushed out to kill any nearby insects, always returning to strut in front of Ellie before fluttering after his next target. Resigning herself to playing audience for her stupid familiar, Ellie reserved her magic, watching for any major threats that might arise. The fight against the giant spiders in the cave system outside her grandmother’s home had given her a healthy fear of beasts that lived in swarms, and she wanted to be ready if the flying centipedes had some sort of queen version.

Up on the platform, the grimm who were fighting against the insects were at first confused by the team’s entrance and then excited as they saw John and the others attacking the insects. Letting out roars, they redoubled their efforts to crush their enemies. Many of them wielded stone clubs that they whipped through the air with enough force to crush the insect’s armor and rupture their insides.

As big as they were, the grimm had the natural agility of apes, and the insects grew hard-pressed to avoid their ferocious attacks. The smaller grimm didn’t have clubs of their own but instead used sharp claws and their heavy fangs to rip the insects apart, completely ignoring the centipede’s sharp claws and snapping mandibles. Inspired by John’s fierce attacks, the grimm seemed to enter a frenzy, quickly driving all the attacking insects from the platforms and even chasing them down to the ground.

Scanning the room, John saw there were still thousands of insects, but between his charge and the grimm’s fierce attacks, the attacker’s numbers had been thinned out considerably. Smashing his shield forward, John disrupted the attack of a lunging centipede and then sliced it in half with a neat upward slash. Turning, he continued the motion, bringing his sword around his head in an arc, cutting through the wings of another centipede trying to attack his neck. The battle seemed to be well in hand, but the fact that the insects hadn’t yet fled set warning bells ringing in his head.

“Haver! Sven! Retreat to where Ellie is! Ellie, can you give me a reading on trouble?”

The two men quickly disengaged from the monsters they were fighting, joining up with Ellie, who had crouched down and was drawing something on the ground. Mumbling something under her breath, she blinked and looked around, her attention caught by something at the edge of the cavern.

“John! There are two big centipedes coming!”

Glancing in the direction Ellie pointed, John didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but he knew that didn’t mean much. Moving his head back to avoid a whipping tail, he reached out and grabbed one of the insect’s wings, snapping it off with a twist of his wrist as his blade darted out, stabbing through the centipede’s head. Throwing the burning corpse at another approaching insect, John kept his attention on the area Ellie indicated. A moment later he heard two loud buzzes as the large centipedes came into view.

Each one was at least ten feet long and as thick as a barrel. Six pairs of wings protruded from their backs, flapping furiously to try and keep the heavy monsters airborne. The sharp legs that dangled from their chitinous bodies were longer than normal and gleamed evilly in the soft light from the underground flora. As they got closer, John saw that their heads were missing the normal pincers their smaller brethren had and instead each had a pulsing tube that looked like it was used for shooting out some sort of liquid.

Even as he watched, his incredible eyesight caught a drop of viscous glowing liquid drip from the mouth tube of one of the insects. As it splashed to the ground it froze the stone it touched, causing it to crack apart from the abrupt contraction. Eyes narrowing, John advanced to face the new threat, his sword quickly clearing the area around him.

“John, there are more of those things coming!”

Hearing Ellie’s shout, John nodded and swung his sword, unleashing a Flame Arrow at the giant centipede in the front. The twisting flames shot toward the monster, who tried to move to the side to avoid it. Unfortunately for the flying centipede, John’s mana control was immaculate, and a simple thought was enough to adjust the flaming arrow’s trajectory. Seeming to realize it wouldn’t be able to escape, the monster spat a bead of the glowing phlegm, managing to hit the Flame Arrow squarely. With a loud hiss, the two attacks canceled each other out and the flying centipede continued to advance.

By this time the other flying centipede had gotten closer to John, but before he could engage it, he heard a loud roar that shook the cavern and a large white-furred figure jumped down from one of the wooden platforms. With unnatural agility the grimm ran forward, leaping into the air, his weapon raised. Unlike the other grimm this one wielded a long staff made of gnarled wood, but that didn’t make it any less deadly than the stone clubs. Bringing his staff down so fast it nearly vanished, the grimm chopped it into the centipede’s fluttering wings, causing a hiss of pain to burst from the flying monster.

Figuring that the twelve-foot-tall grimm was more than capable of dealing with one of the large centipedes, John focused on the other, advancing explosively even as the monster spat another glob of freezing phlegm at him. Feeling it splash on his shield, John sensed the change in temperature immediately. Against any other kind of shield the abrupt contraction of the supercooled material would have been catastrophic, but John’s shield, made entirely of mana, simply rippled. With a thought he summoned another Flame Arrow to intercept the next attack, and then he was on top of the flying centipede, his sword and shield intercepting the monster’s long, slashing legs.

Stabbing his sword out, John felt it bite into the centipede’s armor, so he shifted his weight forward and thrust, using his mana-fueled strength to pierce through. Letting out a shriek, the centipede fell back, but John’s blue flames were already inside its body, burning through its organs and erupting from its mouth and eyes. Thrashing about, the flying centipede fell to the ground, but just as Ellie had said, there were a dozen more where this one had come from, the drone of their wings causing the air to vibrate.

Not that far away, the large grimm finished off his own flying centipede by ripping the centipede’s wings from its body and shoving them into the monster’s eyes. Stomping on the insect a few times to make sure it was dead, the grimm let out a triumphant roar and turned to face the new enemy quickly approaching. As he swung around, John got a good look at him for the first time and quickly realized he knew the tall grimm.

Clearly the grimm that had been leading the small party when he first encountered them almost a year ago, the grimm had colored the fur on his face and chest blue, making it look like the front of his body was awash with blue flames. Seeing that John was looking at him, the grimm roared and slapped his chest, his eyes constantly darting to the sword tJohn was carrying. There was a healthy amount of fear in his eyes as he looked at the gleaming silver blade, but it was nearly drowned out by the desire and envy he felt for the blue flames that licked at the air all around it.

The corners of John’s lips twitched slightly, and he turned his attention back to the large insects flying toward them. Killing all of them wasn’t going to be a problem, but doing so without taking casualties would certainly prove to be a bigger challenge. Eyes narrowing, John put his shield away and took out one of his daggers as he began to run forward, shouting over his shoulder as he advanced.

“Keep the grimm alive!”

Before anyone could respond, his body vanished in a burst of flame and he reappeared in front of one of the giant flying centipedes, stabbing it through the eye with his burning sword. Blue flames ignited around the blade of his dagger as he kicked off the dying insect, turning in the air and chopping through the wings of another flying centipede with a backhanded strike from his dagger. Landing on the ground, he heard fighting break out behind him but paid it no mind as he continued to cut the centipedes apart.

Haver, Sven, and Ellie had formed a small triangle and were doing their best to kill as many of the swarming insects as possible. With snapping teeth, Haver’s wolves darted in and out of the triangle, jumping out to bite apart centipedes that got close before retreating to the safety of the formation before they could be surrounded. Sigvald, on the other hand, did n’t care about being surrounded at all and was rampaging through the insects like a steel storm. Seeing a new wave of insects surging toward the platforms on the stone pillars, Ellie pointed the wand she held in her left hand.

“Siggy! Protect those creatures!”

Looking quite offended by the shortened name Ellie had just used, Sigvald still obeyed her command, spreading his wings and giving a powerful crow as he shot through the air toward the crowding insects. Smashing into them with his wings, he threw the centipedes this way and that as he raked at them with his sharp claws. Lightning arced from his tail, burning holes in the insect’s hard carapaces as his beak slammed into them, crushing anything it touched.

Watching the giant rooster smashing his way through the insects, Haver put Ellie near the top of his mental list of people to avoid making angry. While he knew she was a class holder, he had assumed she was similar to the other healers he had known. Instead, she had a pet lightning bird whose feathers were so tough they could shrug off the centipede’s bites like they were nothing.

“I really gotta figure out a way to get away from this farm,” Haver muttered, shuddering as he thought about the middle-aged man who would occasionally appear in his room in the middle of the night to pass along messages.

“What did you say?” Ellie asked, glancing over her shoulder.

“Nothing. I didn’t say anything.”

Turning her attention back to the spell she was operating, Ellie used her dagger to block a lunging centipede, throwing it to the side where the waiting jaws of Haver’s wolf snapped shut on its back, cutting it in half. A slight tremor in the earth under her feet caught her attention and she crouched, placing her hand on the ground. Out of the dirt a small earth spirit peeked its head, rubbing against her palm as it whispered what it had found. Doing her best to translate the feelings and broken images she was receiving, Ellie stiffened and looked toward the far end of the cavern where John’s flashing blade drew blue streaks in the darkness.

“The leader of the centipedes is coming,” she muttered, standing up. “Sven, can you get John a message?”

Glancing across the battlefield, Sven’s eyes narrowed as he looked to see if he could find a clear path to where John fought.

“Yes. What’s the message?”

“Tell him the leader of the centipedes is on the way here. It will be another minute or so, and there’s another wave of giant centipedes before it arrives, but it’s coming quickly.”

His face growing pale at her words, Sven nodded seriously.

“Alright, I’ll tell him.”

Taking a deep breath, Sven’s body blurred as he took off, weaving his way through the battlefield with supernatural grace. Brushing past buzzing insects, he ducked and wove his way through the crowd of flying centipedes, arriving near John within a few seconds.

“Ellie says the leader is coming after one more wave of giant centipedes!”

“Got it, thanks,” John replied, dodging a stabbing leg and lopping it off with a casual swing of his burning dagger. “I’ll retreat to join you.”

Happy to back up, Sven darted away to rejoin the others as John finished off another giant flying centipede. The large grimm with the blue painted fur was smashing the huge insects apart with his long wooden staff, and it took John a moment to get his attention. When he finally did, he pointed back at the large pillars and began to retreat, moving backward as he guarded against the attacks of the centipedes. Getting the idea, the large grimm let out a loud roar and swatted one of the centipedes away as he began to retreat as well.

CHAPTER 36

As John retreated, the few remaining large flying centipedes surged forward, their tube-like mouths spitting globs of freezing phlegm. John did his best to intercept the attacks that came close to him with his flame-covered weapons, causing the supercooled liquid to evaporate away before it could do any damage. The large grimm took a different track, letting the attacks land on his white fur where they simply melted away, failing to have any effect. Curious about how the grimm was managing to do that, John blinked, sending mana to his eyes the next time he saw a freezing attack about to land.

As the phlegm landed on the grimm’s fur, John saw mana rush through the grimm’s skin, forming a small area of heat that fought against the dreadful cold the slimy attack carried. The response seemed to be unconscious, probably developed over years of fighting against the centipedes and their freezing attacks. Slashing three times in rapid succession, John sent out three Flame Arrows, managing to get one of them through. The twisting flames burned a hole in a giant centipede, causing it to careen sideways, tangling up with another flying centipede and spreading the flames that burned on its body to the other centipede’s wings.

Reaching the rest of the party, John waved his dagger, extinguishing the blue flames that burned around it. Sliding it into its sheath, he kept his eye on the enemy. More of the large flying centipedes were appearing at the far end of the cavern where he had been fighting a moment before, and his sharp hearing could pick up the clicking sound of an even larger creature making its way toward them.

I wonder if this is one of the beasts my notification was talking about. Either way, it can only blame its own bad luck for what’s about to happen.

Continuing to send out Flame Arrows while waving his sword, John missed the strange look Ellie was giving him, but even if he had seen it, he would n’t have thought much about it since his attention was almost entirely occupied by the thirty-foot long centipede currently crawling into the cavern. Haver and Sven both took a step back as the gigantic monster lifted its head, letting out a hissing roar that set the stones on the ground jumping.

Not to be outdone, the large grimm straightened up to his full height and slammed his chest, bellowing out a challenge of his own. Lifting his staff, he pointed it at the giant centipede like a spear and howled, causing all the other grimm who still stood on the platforms to howl as well. Jumping up and down, they slammed their weapons against the thick stone pillars, producing a strong vibration that caused the entire cavern to shake.

With another howl the large grimm began to stride forward, its exposed fangs gleaming against its blue fur. Realizing the grimm was about to throw himself at the giant centipede, John stepped forward, but before he could get close three grimm hurried down from their platform and banged their stone clubs into the ground in front of him. Hooting at him, they gestured to the large grimm who was starting to speed up. It was clear they wanted him to stop, so John stopped where he was. Surprised by the complete fearlessness the grimm showed, John suppressed his desire to join the fight and stayed still to watch.

Seeing the grimm coming alone, the giant centipede hissed again and raised its large body even higher. Hanging in the air for a moment, the monster threw its body forward, intending to use its large size and thick armor to completely crush the offending grimm into paste. At the last moment the grimm jumped out of the way, using his thick staff to propel his body into the air. Turning a somersault in the air, he brought his heavy stick over his head and slammed it down with enough force to crack the monster’s armor.

Enraged by the attack, the centipede coiled around, its legs scything like the ripping teeth of a chainsaw. Letting out a deep howl, the grimm managed to dodge, once again using his staff to propel himself. Slamming another attack down, the grimm continued to dodge as the centipede tried to land a solid hit on him. Watching the two creatures fight back and forth, John was both impressed and concerned.

The fact that the grimm could keep up with the giant centipede was astounding, and a testament to the power of the white-furred creatures, but even though his pounding attacks were dealing some damage to the gigantic insect’s carapace, it was clear the fight wouldn’t end in his favor. Already the attacks of the monstrous centipede were getting closer to landing on the nimble grimm, and if the fight continued it would not end the way John preferred.

This might be a dumb idea, but whatever. Let’s help him out.

Sensing that the fight was starting to turn against him, the large grimm let out a loud roar and jumped, lifting his staff in both hands, clearly intending to stab it down into the centipede’s body. The large monster saw an opportunity to end the fight and burst into action, moving substantially faster than it had until this point. Turning over, a dozen of its spear-like legs shot toward the grimm who was in the air while its snapping pincers closed in on the grimm’s neck.

John heard Ellie gasping behind him, and his eyes lit up as he saw his chance. Surreptitiously snapping his fingers, he controlled the mana around the grimm, causing it to form into a shield of sorts that slowed the centipede’s thrusting legs. At the same time he focused on the end of the staff, creating a blue spark that blossomed into a burning spearhead. As shocked as the centipede was by the sudden appearance of the flaming blade, the grimm didn’t waste the opportunity, stabbing down with all his might.

[+1 Doom Point.]

[The apocalypse draws closer.]

Despite the notification that popped up, John was pleased with the effect he had created as he watched the grimm stab the blue flame spear tip straight through the monster’s head. Like a finger through fresh cream, the blue blade burned through the hard chitin armor that protected its brain. With a terrified shriek, the monstrous centipede tried to jerk its head back, but the tall grimm wasn’t about to let it go. Bracing one foot on the monster’s pincer, the grimm pressed down with all his powerful might, sending his weapon straight through the centipede’s brain and into the bundle of nerves that controlled its body. Cutting through them caused the thrashing monster to stiffen and collapse to the ground with an earthshaking thud.

A roar of victory rose from the grimm as he lifted his staff, thrusting the burning blue blade into the air. Still controlling the flames blooming from the end of the staff, John listened to the happy roars from the grimm on the platforms and smiled. The grimm leader had clearly overestimated his ability to take on the giant centipede, but a bit of magic had completely turned the tide. John wasn’t sure why he had such a soft spot for the white-furred creatures, but it was obvious to him he derived much enjoyment from them.

All around the cavern the remaining centipedes fled as fast as they could, leaving John’s party and the grimm behind. Still standing on top of the giant centipede’s body, the grimm leader used the burning blade to cut it open, hooting with excitement when he pulled out a gleaming stone. Holding it up in triumph, he jumped down and ran toward John, stopping when he was a dozen feet away to show it to him.

“Very nice,” John said, looking with interest at the large mana stone.

“Is that a mana stone?” Haver asked, his eyes wide.

“I think so.”

“And it just came out of that beast, right? Doesn’t that mean that was a legendary level beast?”

Shaking his head, John turned around and saw that Ellie and Sven were both staring at him, waiting for an answer.

“No, it was titled at the most. But it would have eventually become a legendary beast. It’s rare to see a mana stone of that size form in a beast, so it must have been getting close.”

“Uh, hey guys?” Haver said, interrupting John. “I don’t mean to change the subject, but we, uh, we’re surrounded.”

Looking around, the team saw that Haver was right. But instead of being surrounded by flying centipedes, they were surrounded by three dozen grimm staring at them with studied interest. Extinguishing his sword, John slid it into his sheath, indicating for the rest of the team to put their weapons away, which they did with considerable reluctance. Stepping forward, he was about to extinguish the magical flame on the end of the staff he was still maintaining when the large grimm shook his head violently and pulled the staff back. Listening to its hooting, John had no idea what it was trying to say, so he turned to Haver, who just shrugged.

“I can talk to wolves, not all creatures. Sorry.”

Catching sight of Ellie licking her lips, John raised his eyebrows slightly and turned to her.

“Ellie, do you have a skill that could help?” he asked, emphasizing the word “skill.”

“Uh, actually, I think I might. It isn’t guaranteed to work, but the skill I use to communicate with the spirits for scouting might work.”

“Great, give it a try. I have a strong feeling these creatures are our ticket to the tower, so being able to communicate with them would be helpful.”

“Alright, hold on for a moment.”

Slightly nervous, Ellie closed her eyes and recalled the spell she was going to use. Mumbling something under her breath, she opened her eyes and walked forward, slowly approaching the leader of the grimm. Wary at first, the creature shied away when she started to reach her hand out, but when she stopped he seemed to realize what she wanted to do. Inching closer to her, the grimm looked around at the rest of his tribe and heard them murmuring. Gathering his courage, he reached out the rest of the way and touched her hand, stiffening as if he was shocked.

Jumping back, he let out a proud hoot, causing the rest of the tribe to hoot and howl as well, slapping the ground and each other’s backs in excitement. Taking her own step back, Ellie’s eyes blinked as she tried to process the information that rushed into her head.

“Any luck?”

“Um, yes. They’re excited because their chieftain is brave enough to kill the great many-leg monster and touch the cursed people.”

“Cursed people?” Sven asked, looking confused.

“Cursed with no fur,” Ellie said, her eyes hazy as she continued to translate.

“Ah, well. I guess that makes sense,” Sven said, rubbing his head.

Stepping up next to Ellie, John touched her gently on the shoulder.

“Can you ask them about the Shadow Tower? We need to get there before the earl and his people arrive.”

Nodding, Ellie turned to the grimm leader and held her hand out, indicating for him to touch it again. Less hesitant this time, the grimm leader pressed one of his large fingers against Ellie’s palm. For a moment they stood there quietly before the grimm leader looked at John and pointed at his sword and then at the flame that was still burning on the end of the staff.

“He knows where the door to the tower is, but he says it doesn’t open any more. It’s beyond the blooming flowers, that are, were, guarded by the many-leg monster. He says that since you both serve the fire head god he will take us, but he wants you to teach him how to make the fire-head-god fire on his root stick.”

“Fire head god?” John asked, his eyes growing wide.

Communicating with the grimm for a moment, Ellie nodded.

“He’s describing a flying man with a flame where his head should be. He said they give offerings and the flame head god brings back mana stones? Small mana stones? Edible mana stones? I don’t understand the last part. Something that they eat that makes them stronger.”

Biting his lip, John turned his face away, unsure what to do. He had not considered what would happen if Ellie met the grimm, but it was clearly too late to hide the fact that they were the source of the colorful night flowers he had been bringing back. He just hoped she wouldn’t put two and two together, but given how sharp she was it was unlikely she would miss the obvious connection. Letting out a small cough, he turned back to her and nodded.

Let what comes, come.

“That’s fine. I can show him how to control the blue flame if he leads us to the tower. However, I’ll need that mana stone, or a mana stone like it.”

Closing her eyes, Ellie sent John’s words to the grimm, who let out a happy shriek and practically threw the mana stone at John. Catching it, John gestured for the grimm to pass over the staff as well. Holding both of them, he was about to start working when he saw Haver and Sven staring at him, wide-eyed.

“Ah. I need some space.”

Looking around, John saw a large pile of rocks and quickly walked around them, followed by the curious grimm. With Ellie’s help, he finally shooed them away, and once he was by himself got to work. Taking the mana stone, he activated his Mental Model skill and, using what he had observed about skill and spell scrolls, began to put together a model for enchanting it. He had observed a significant number of artifacts during the ten years he had lived in this world, and now those memories were dissected by the Mental Model as it figured out how the enchantments worked. Once he was relatively confident he understood the process, he took a moment to mimic the way the grimm naturally rotated their mana and then began to push his mana into the crystal.

The process was slow, but John didn’t let himself be rushed. Instead, he methodically formed the spell he had come up with, making sure every line was perfect. Once he was happy with how it was formed, he activated his mana, planting a seed of flame into the mana stone, dyeing it blue. Last, he rotated his mana the same way the grimm did, causing the seed of flame to sprout into a blade that projected above the mana stone. The magical shield on his bracer worked the same way, accepting mana the user poured into it and projecting the shield.

Holding the long staff in one hand, John brought the mana stone to the end and used a tiny flame blade to carve a spot for it, seating it firmly in the end. Not very happy with how loosely it fit, he thought for a moment and then summoned a bead of water to soak the end of the staff. Once it had absorbed the water, he pressed the wood together tightly, nearly covering up the mana stone, and then drew the water out of the staff, causing the wood to shrink down, gripping the stone tightly. Activating it a few more times to make sure it worked properly, he nodded and carried it out from behind the rocks to the waiting crowd.

CHAPTER 37

Leading the way through the mountain, John observed the tunnels they were walking through. His skill, Mental Model, had indicated it was highly likely that the tower had been built in an old, inert volcano, and the further into the mountain they passed, the clearer the evidence grew. The tunnels, once filled with magma, had been widened, presumably by Storm Master Kelvis, and a number of plants and fungus had taken hold in them.

The soft glow released by the glittering moss that covered many of the walls was supplemented by the glowing patches of mushrooms that dotted the tunnel floor. Even more light was being let off by Handsome, the leader of the grimm who was carrying his new artifact proudly, keeping a small flame extended from it to provide light for the party. Ellie had explained that the grimm leader’s name was really Tallest-grimm-with-the-shiniest-fur, but the party had shortened it to Handsome at Sven’s suggestion to make it easier to say. Handsome couldn’t yet project a full blade like John had, but he was slowly getting the hang of it, and even the short flame he produced was deadly.

After nearly half an hour, the party slowed down and began to proceed cautiously. According to Handsome’s explanation, the many-legged monster was not the only beast who coveted the blooming flowers that lay outside of the Shadow Tower, so it was wise to proceed carefully. Ellie had already warned the grimm about the mercenaries, so the village had been evacuated and the entire tribe was coming with the party.

Soon a rainbow of colors began to play on the walls and ceiling of the tunnel, and a moment later the group stepped out into a wide cavern with a large stone archway carved at one end. The stone door was covered in runes, and looked surprisingly similar to the door Haver and John had entered when they went into the ruined tower with the Red Coral adventuring group. Yet, no matter how impressive the door looked, it paled in comparison to the wide field of flowers that spread out across the cavern floor. Despite the stillness, the brightly colored petals swayed as if there was a wind blowing through them, casting an intoxicating scent into the air.

Carefully watching Ellie, John saw her eyes open wide, but there didn’t seem to be any other emotion besides surprise, so he breathed a sigh of relief. He knew she would have to discover the truth about him eventually, but he honestly didn’t know if he could handle it right now. Stepping forward, he crouched down and reached out to touch one of the flowers only to be stopped by Handsome, who gestured for Ellie to come over to translate.

“Handsome says that flowers are dangerous. If you touch them, the mana devourers will come. If you want them, you have to separate the roots before you touch them.”

“Mana devourers? What are they?”

Communicating the question, Ellie waited for Handsome to respond and then shrugged.

“He’s not sure. He’s never seen one, that’s just what his elders told him. I asked him how we could get to the door and he said we have to go across the ceiling.”

As if to illustrate what he said, Handsome crouched and then leapt up into the air, catching a stalagmite that hung down with his powerful grip. Hanging there, he let out a hoot and the party found themselves swept up by the grimm, who hurled themselves up into the air, grabbing onto the roof. Swinging, they threw themselves forward, grabbing onto the rocky ceiling, traversing the upside-down surface almost as quickly as they had moved through the tunnels. Carrying the party with them, they quickly arrived at the stone door and climbed down it, depositing John and the others on a stone free of the flowers near the door.

“The last time we opened a door like this, we had a key,” Haver said, squinting at the rune-covered door. “But at least this time we don’t have a horde of gnolls chasing us.”

“You guys encountered gnolls?” Sven asked, his eyes wide.

“Yeah, at the other ruins we went to. I definitely thought we were going to die, but one of the adventurers happened to have a key to the magic door. It was pretty wild, though in retrospect probably less dangerous than going inside.”

“What are you trying to say?” John asked, raising his eyebrows.

Shrugging defensively, Haver held up his hands.

“Look, I’m just saying it isn’t too late to turn back. We could borrow the grimm’s strength and wipe out the earl and his men and just go home instead of wandering into another Mage tower. I’ll happily cover everyone’s fees.”

“No can do. Besides, we’ll be fine,” John said, smiling. “You saw the fight against those centipede beasts, didn’t you?”

“I have no doubt you’ll carry us through,” Haver said, shaking his head. “I’m more worried about my mental state after I get out of here. A man can only take so many shocks before he goes crazy.”

“Oh, come on. You’ve seen more than your share of terrifying creatures and yet here you are, fit as a fiddle.”

“I’m not talking about beasts,” Haver said scornfully, crouching down to pet one of his wolves. “I’m talking about you.”

Ellie quickly covered her mouth to try and stifle her laughter but a giggle escaped before she could contain it, lightening the mood considerably. Quickly straightening her face, she looked at John.

“How do we find out if the Mage is still alive and living here?”

“Simple,” John replied, gesturing toward the door. “We knock.”

Stretching out his hand, he closed it into a fist and shut his eyes, making a rapping motion toward the door. Though there was no sound, everyone present felt the air shudder, and a deathly silence fell over the cavern as even the flowers stopped moving. Remaining in his position, John carefully followed the disturbance in the mana he had created as it swept through the door. The runes that covered the door began to light up, but there was no other reaction and after a minute they began to subside again, returning to their inert state. Letting out a sigh, John opened his eyes and shook his head.

“Nothing. Chances of the Mage being dead or away are pretty much one hundred percent. I’ll open the door.”

Jumping from the stone they were on to the door, John clung to the carvings, keeping himself from touching the flowers that had resumed their trembling. He had no idea if the mana devourer that Handsome mentioned was real, but either way he didn’t care to find out. Taking control of the mana in the doorway, he studied the runes for a moment and then began to reorganize them, reconnecting them into new patterns. Minutes ticked by as he worked steadily, and after a quarter of an hour the door lit up completely and began to swing open.

Letting out a cheer, Ellie waited until the doorway was open enough and then leapt over, easily clearing the flowers. As everyone jumped over, Handsome climbed down from the stone door frame, jabbering excitedly as he stared into the hallway that stretched deeper into the earth. Straightening up, he lifted his staff and then patted his chest proudly. Seeing everyone staring at her blankly, Ellie shrugged her shoulders and held out her hand. After communicating with the grimm leader for a moment, she smiled and nodded to him, causing the rest of the grimm to hoot loudly and hurry to climb down.

“He has declared that he will lead his tribe on an epic journey of exploration to plumb the depths of the mysterious doorway that has puzzled his people for centuries.”

“Isn’t that what we’re doing?” Sven asked, flinching as a ten-foot-tall grimm nearly landed on him.

“Something like that,” John replied. “Ellie, if they’re coming, they need to understand that we can’t ensure their safety. Plus, there are enemies chasing us.”

“I’ll tell him.”

A moment later, Ellie turned to John and nodded.

“He understands, but they talked about it earlier and they’re excited to serve alongside the champion of the fire head god. That’s you. The champion, I mean. Since you use the same flames as the fire head god.”

Staring blankly at Ellie for a second, John processed what she had said and then smiled weakly.

“Ah, right. As long as they understand the risks. Sven, before we go, can you trap the doorway? Also, Ellie, do you have a way to set up something that will tell us if the mercenaries come in?”

“Yes, I do. But do you really think they’ll come in?”

“Absolutely,” John said. “Remember, Earl Vacek is the one who hired the Red Coral team to explore the ruins of a Mage tower, knowing full well what it was. There’s no way he would pass up a chance to come into a tower like this.”

After waiting for Sven to set up his traps and explaining to the grimm that they couldn’t touch them, Ellie cast a spell on the doorway, asking a small air spirit to come and tell her if anyone came through.

“Everyone ready?”

Seeing the team nod, John activated his shield and drew his sword, leading the way into the Shadow Tower. Like the tunnels outside, the main passageway that led into the Shadow Tower was covered in glowing moss, but there was a distinct lack of the glowing mushrooms, and as they went further in they saw more and more of the walls. The moss seemed to fade away, replaced by a viny lattice that stretched across the walls and ceilings, dipping in and out of the stone walls and dotted with glowing flowers that cast enough light to see. Shivering slightly, Haver stopped, causing everyone to halt.

“I feel like we’re about to walk into the mouth of a giant creature,” Haver said, his voice barely a whisper.

Looking around, Ellie nodded, clutching her wand tightly.

“It does feel like that. Almost as if the flowers are watching us.”

“Be that as it may, we’re continuing in,” John said, gesturing forward. “We should be coming into the tower proper in a second.”

Following him forward, everyone instinctively kept away from the wall until they saw a sight that stopped them dead in their tracks. The tunnel emptied out onto a large balcony that revealed the full scale of the shadow tower. Open air stretched above them, rising until it met a strange warping veil that separated them from the sky outside of the top of the mountain. Below them stretching into the darkness was the main shaft of the volcano, seeming to fall endlessly into the earth.

The tower itself was fairly well lit thanks to the flowering vines that covered the walls, revealing the levels that were stacked up like rings around the volcano shaft. Each ring was connected by a series of bridges that stretched across the shaft to the level above and the level below, creating a dizzying structure that reminded John of a strangely twisted ladder. Peering up at the levels that stretched above them, Sven let out a whistle.

“Wow. That’s… impressive.”

“It is. It was created by a legendary Mage for one of his students,” John said, walking to the edge of the balcony and looking over the railing into the shaft that sank deep into the earth. “Unfortunately, I don’t know if we should be going up or down. We’re looking for the library and the laboratories. I doubt we’re going to find any posted signs, though this does seem to be set up as a school of sorts, so maybe we’ll be lucky and things will be marked. Everyone, keep a sharp eye out. We have no idea what we’re going to find down here, but as long as we take it easy, we should be good.”

“Are we heading up or down first?” Haver asked, looking up the shaft at the higher levels.

Shrugging, Ellie pointed up at the sky.

“I would guess that the higher levels are the ones where the Mage lived, since they’re closer to the sun, but that’s just a guess.”

“That’s as good a guess as any,” John said. “Let’s start at the top and work our way down.”

With Sven in the front checking for traps, the party slowly made their way forward, followed by the grimm who were tightly grouped together, chattering in hushed voices as they stared at everything around them. Walking up the sloped bridge, they got to the next level and stopped again. Unlike the level they had just come from, this level was one giant circular room, carved out of the stone and filled with lush vegetation. Plants of all sorts mixed together, creating what looked like a thick forest dotted with fantastic colors.

Night flowers dotted the ground, and strangely shaped trees grew over them as multicolored lights darted this way and that, landing on the plants before shooting away. The sight made John wonder if he had just walked into a surrealist’s depiction of a fairy garden, but the sickly sweet smell that drifted out of the forest told him what he was staring at was very real, and very dangerous. Seeing some of the grimm start to move toward the plants, John snapped his fingers, creating a shockwave that woke everyone from their sleepwalking state.

“We need to move. We’re heading to the next level,” John said, pointing up the next ramp, which was a quarter turn around the shaft. “This forest is dangerous, so everyone needs to keep an eye on the people around them.”

Seeing Ellie start, John turned to look at her.

“My spirit said that a large group has just entered the doorway. They just ran straight through the night flowers and are moving quickly.”

“Hmm, they were closer than I thought. It also means we’ll see them in the next few minutes. Let’s get moving.”

Leading the way through the strange forest, John did his best to avoid the plants as much as possible, sticking close to the railing that ran around the edge of the balcony. To a certain extent, it didn’t matter any more since the mercenaries were clearly just barging through and had likely alerted whatever it was the grimm had warned him about. As they hurried along a shout rang out below them, and looking down, they saw a crowd of armored people pointing at them. At the front of the group stood Earl Vacek, his typical sneer plastered on his face as he stared up at John.

CHAPTER 38

“They’re moving really quickly,” John said, “everyone get ready for a running fight. We’re going to head to the next level. I don’t want to fight in the forest.”

Speeding up, John led the group forward, not worrying about avoiding the plants anymore. As they brushed past them the night flowers began to sway even faster than normal, their petals straining as they whipped back and forth. The sense of dread Haver had been feeling grew stronger, and it was with some relief that he stepped onto the bridge that led up to the next level. Underneath them the mercenaries sprinted forward, not bothering to slow down at all. Hearing a hooting question, John glanced at Ellie, who translated.

“Handsome wants to know if those are the enemies we talked about. He’s wondering if any of them are stronger than the many-legged monster.”

“You can tell him that at least a handful of them are as strong, if not stronger. We need to be really careful.”

Speeding along, the team quickly got to the next level, but John was starting to notice that the grimm were glancing back a lot, clearly unhappy to be running away from the enemy chasing them. The large ape-like creatures were easily amused and easily angered and seemed to wear bravado as armor. Looking around, John saw the floor they had arrived on was as much of a forest as the previous floor, though the plants spread out among the night flowers were considerably different.

I guess Storm Master Kelvis’ student eventually figured out how to grow plants underground. Let’s hope we picked the right direction, because I have a feeling things are going to get really hairy in a moment.

Sprinting around the edge of the balcony as they made their way to the next bridge, John looked over at the mercenaries who were rushing toward the bridge that led to the level they were on. Once again, the intense desire to simply step out into the air and transform the mercenaries into ash with a snap of his fingers surged in John’s chest, but he pushed it down. It was growing harder and harder to ignore the desire, but he had already climbed above eighty Doom Points, and wiping out the mercenaries would cost him a couple more at least. Besides, there was something off about Earl Vacek, and until he knew what it was he didn’t’t want to risk anything.

Urging the group to continue running, John had to push some of the grimm who stopped to roar at the mercenaries to get them to move. Seeing one of the mercenaries stop and draw a bow, John grabbed one of the grimm and shoved him forward as an arrow whistled past the spot the creature’s head was a moment earlier. Seeing another arrow about to come, John was about to cast a Flame Arrow when he heard a ripping sound and an entire tree flew past him.

Abandoning his attempt to fire, the Ranger hurried to get out of the way as the tree slammed into the railing where he had been standing, breaking the stone apart as it fell away into the deep shaft. The grimm who had hurled the tree roared at the Ranger, shaking his fist, as all around him the other grimm decided this was a great game. Grabbing whatever they could get their hands on, they began to hurl them at the mercenaries who were starting to run up the ramp toward their level.

“You three head up to the next level,” John said to Ellie, his voice grim. “The grimm aren’t going to back down now, so it’s time to fight.”

“What about you?”

“I’m going to try to keep as many of them alive as possible. We’ll probably be retreating to you, so I’ll need you to set up a defensive position at the top of the ramp.”

“Alright,” Ellie said, her voice shaking slightly.

After watching to make sure the others would be able to get up to the next level smoothly, John’s attention turned back to the mercenaries running up the angled bridge toward them. The desire to wipe out the mercenaries rose in his chest again, and for a moment he seriously considered just collapsing the whole bridge, killing all the mercenaries in the process. Gritting his teeth, John unleashed another Flame Arrow as he pushed the idea of collapsing the bridge away. He wanted to avoid damaging the tower as much as possible, since he had no idea what sort of defensive mechanisms might still be active.

Instead, he drew his sword and slashed out, sending out a Flame Arrow that caught one of the mercenaries in the front, causing him to let out an anguished scream as the flames burned through his armor. Roaring in excitement, one of the grimm lifted her stone club and rushed down the ramp toward the mercenaries. A heavily built man who looked like a Barbarian burst out ahead of the group, his skin turning bronze as he activated his rage.

Meeting the swinging stone club with his fist, he smashed it into pieces, his other hand striking the grimm in the chest, causing her to shriek in pain and stagger back. Sneering, the Barbarian stomped toward her, his fists rising like a boxer. Undeterred, she stood up and bared her claws, only to suffer a devastating right cross that shattered the bones in her jaw. As she reeled the Barbarian closed in, confident in finishing the fight right then and there when the grimm suddenly lunged toward the edge of the bridge.

Instinctively closing in, the Barbarian suddenly felt a sense of lightness as the grimm turned and bit into his armor-covered side and then threw herself off the bridge. A scream ripped from the Barbarian’s throat as he flailed, trying to find something to catch onto. Unfortunately, there was nothing but a mile of air between him and the ground. Equally adrift in the air, the grimm kicked off the Barbarian, twisting herself out of his reach. Just when John thought she would join the mercenary in falling to his death, he realized that two other grimm had already jumped off the side of the platform. The male grabbed onto the bottom of the bridge while the female grabbed onto his foot, swinging out until her feet were in the falling grimm’s path. Gripping the outstretched foot tightly, the extended chain of grimm swung back like trapeze artists, grabbing onto the bottom of the bridge.

The Barbarian had long since vanished into the abyss that stretched out below them, and the mercenaries, rightly worried about the grimm’s insane agility, slowed down, buying time for John to continue sending Flame Arrows at them. Climbing back onto the side of the level where John and the grimm were, the female grimm whose jaw had been broken chattered angrily at the mercenaries, throwing some branches she had found at them. Like most beasts, the grimm were terribly resilient, and already her body had regenerated most of the damage she had suffered. Seeing that the mercenaries were about to reach the top of the bridge, John tugged on Handsome’s arm and pointed up at the next level.

“We’ll make our stand there. Come on.”

As much as Handsome wanted to stay and fight, he found that he couldn’t resist John’s tugs and was quickly dragged away. Letting out a loud scream, he pointed up at the next bridge, making a swinging motion with his arms. Letting out whooping howls, the grimm abandoned their attacks on the mercenaries and dashed away, covering the ground in giant leaping bounds. Taken aback by the unbelievable speed they showed, John sprinted along, barely able to keep up despite his superior strength.

Before he stepped onto the bridge, he looked back and saw the mercenaries rushing after them. However, what he was looking for was beyond them, in the depths of the plants that dominated the floor. Seeing some movement, a smile crossed his lips and he turned to continue running. When they got to the bridge to the next level only some of the grimm bothered running across it. The others dropped off the sides, vanishing underneath it.

A few moments later, the mercenaries arrived and realized that the grimm who they had seen hanging on the underside of the bridge were impossible to see when standing on top of the bridge. Sliding to a halt, the mercenaries looked at each other, the screams of the Barbarian still fresh in their minds.

“What are you doing?! Get up there!”

When no one moved, the earl’s guard glared around at the mercenaries, causing them to take a step back.

“I told you to get up there!”

“After you, ma’am,” one of the mercenaries said, gesturing for her to lead the way.

Sneering, she took a step forward as if she were about to step onto the bridge when she saw two glittering eyes staring at her from under the railing. Unnerved, she stepped back, nearly bumping into the mercenary who had been about to follow her.

“What are they doing under there?”

“Waiting to pull us off and throw us to our deaths, most likely,” the blond mercenary leader said from the back of the group.

Stalking forward, Earl Vacek glared at the mercenaries.

“Then kill them when they lift their heads or shoot them off the bottom of the bridge. I don’t care how you do it, but I expect you to start advancing up the bridge immediately. Anyone who hesitates will get thrown over the edge by me.”

None of the mercenaries doubted that the earl would hesitate to do exactly what he said, so there was an immediate surge toward the bridge as the mercenaries began rushing up to the next level. A tense few seconds passed, and just as the mercenaries thought they might have imagined the grimm threat, roars rang out and six grimm appeared on the sides of the bridge. Clawed hands grabbed the mercenaries and tried to pull them off the side of the bridge. Of the three mercenaries who were grabbed, only one managed to grab onto one of his companions, preventing himself from being pulled off the bridge, and the other two were soon hurtling into the darkness to their doom.

“Stay in the middle! Push forward!”

The blond mercenary leader shouted to his men, trying to urge them forward. Realizing that if he didn’t rally them even the fear they felt of the earl would not stop a rout, the mercenary leader swore and pushed his way to the front.

“Follow me!”

Charging up the bridge, the blond mercenary saw John’s sword wave and threw himself to the side as a Flame Arrow shot past him, stabbing into the throat of the mercenary who had been following close behind him. Saying a silent apology, the blond mercenary had just jumped up when he felt claws dig into his side and back. Screaming in fear, he whipped around, his terror-fueled blow severing an arm from the grimm who had grabbed him. Stabbing the beast repeatedly in the chest, he staggered back, kicking her repeatedly until she fell away, vanishing over the edge of the bridge.

A ragged cheer broke from the mercenaries even as howls of rage filled the air from the grimm. Surging forward, the vicious fighting continued as the grimm tried to drag the mercenaries from the bridge and the mercenaries tried to cut the grimm down. By the time the mercenaries had made it halfway across the bridge, the losses to both sides had started to mount, and John was thinking about calling for another retreat. While only three grimm had died in exchange for the seven mercenary losses, that was still more than John wanted to bear. Glancing at Ellie, he saw that her hands were clenched tightly and made his decision.

“Ellie, tell Handsome we’re retreating again. We’ll move up another level. I’ll hold them back while the grimm retreat.”

Stepping forward while Ellie communicated the message, John raised his shield and charged forward, his feet pounding on the stone bridge. Seeing him coming, the blond mercenary let out a scream and charged forward, his sword waving wildly. Handsome’s roars, echoed by the other grimm, let John know that they were about to retreat, so he focused on disrupting the enemy’s formation as much as possible. At the last second before he collided with the blond mercenary, John leaned back and swept his foot across the ground, knocking the blond mercenary’s feet out from under him. After a half-second delay, he slammed his shield forward, throwing the airborne mercenary back into the crowd. Quickly moving their weapons away to avoid accidentally stabbing their leader, the mercenaries were bowled over as he slammed into them.

“Mr. Sutton, why do you drag this out?”

Seeing Earl Vacek stalking over the bridge toward him, John gave the earl a small smile and nodded.

“I wouldn’t have thought you were in a rush to die, Earl Vacek. But if you are, I would be happy to oblige.”

“Oh, I wasn’t talking about my death,” the earl said, waving his cane dismissively. “No, I’m talking about the box you stole from me. If you return it to me, we’ll turn around and leave. You can continue to explore this ruin to your heart’s content.”

“You want to leave?” John asked, raising his eyebrows. “I think it’s a bit late for that.”

Hearing the certainty in John’s voice, the earl frowned and looked around.

“What are you talking about?”

“One of the problems with getting too intent on your pursuit is that it becomes hard to pay attention to your surroundings,” John said, pointing at something behind the mercenaries. “I was hoping we could do this without major trouble, but that possibility is long gone.”

For a moment the earl just stared at John, almost as if he was wondering if John was trying to trick him. Not seeing any sense of deceit in John’s expression, Earl Vacek risked a glance over his shoulder and let out a startled shout. From out of the forest crept strange creatures that looked like headless humanoids formed from twisted roots. Where their hands should have been were flowers with sharp petals, and as they moved forward on two legs the flowers swung back and forth, as if searching for the presence of food.

“I mean, if you think you can fight through two floors of those things, be my guest,” John said, shrugging.

Staring at the strange creatures slowly moving toward him, the earl’s sneer faded into a grimace.

“Mela, Fen, take five mercenaries to block those things. Everyone else, charge!”

CHAPTER 39

Catching a blow on his shield, John shifted his feet back and stepped forward sharply, throwing the mercenary attacking him off-balance. A subtle twist of his shield caused the large axe the mercenary was holding to slip to the side, and a swift kick to his thigh caused him to collapse. Intercepting a mercenary who was trying to get past him, John swung his sword, forcing the mercenary back. The bridge was too wide for one person to defend but somehow John was doing it, shifting back and forth as he slowly worked his way back toward the upper floor. Down at the bottom of the bridge, the headless flower creatures had begun attacking the mercenaries Earl Vacek had sent to block them.

Using their sinuous arms, the flower creatures smashed themselves into the mercenaries, paying no attention to the attacks that were chopping them to pieces as they tried to wrap themselves around the mercenaries. Finally, a Fighter got too involved in the fight and stepped forward to help his attack reach one of the monsters and a lashing flower managed to wrap around his feet. As soon as the vine wrapped around his foot it jerked sharply, whipping his feet out from under him and dragging him screaming into the forest.

Their faces paling, the mercenaries backed up, trying to form a tighter defensive line. Blades slashed as they cut into the monsters that pressed forward. One large monster lifted its flower hand and charged forward, ignoring the chopping axe as it wrapped its flower hands around a shield. Moving faster than she had ever moved before, the mercenary pulled out a dagger and sliced through the tough leather shield strap, jumping back as the flower monster pulled the shield violently, throwing it away.

Stepping into the space where the mercenary had been, one of Earl Vacek’s guards stabbed the flower monster with her spear. There seemed to be no way to stop the monsters apart from chopping them into little pieces, and as the spear blade slipped off of the tightly twisted wood that made up the monster’s body, Mela had a sinking feeling they were all going to die.

“We need to retreat! Get onto the bridge itself!”

Following her directions, the mercenaries backed up, doing their best to keep their formation tight. Unfortunately, their efforts proved futile as the seemingly sluggish flower monsters suddenly began to launch themselves through the air. Some of the monsters missed the bridge and fell into the depths, but more of them managed to grab on. As they grabbed onto the stone their bodies twisted themselves into every crack and crevice on the bridge, providing their brethren with better places to hold.

Soon the end of the bridge was crawling with the headless horrors, and Mela and Fen had to continually back up to keep from being surrounded by the crawling monsters. Blocked by John at one end and chased by a swelling horde of wooden monsters trying to drag them into the depths of the forest on the other, the mercenaries found themselves hard-pressed and soon began to rush at John with greater vigor.

Sensing they were about to start growing desperate, John tapped his shield with the pommel of his sword, causing it to flash with a blinding light. Turning around before anyone could react, he ran, reaching the end of the bridge in an instant. This was the third level that seemed to be part of a forest, and as he began to sprint around the edge of the balcony to head to the next bridge, John sensed something change in the air. The strange woods writhed and the flowers began to sway violently as hundreds of the wooden flower monsters lumbered forward.

Judging the distance between himself and the bridge, John knew he wouldn’t make it just running, so he pushed mana into his feet and shot forward, covering dozens of feet with every step. Behind him, the mercenaries realized they were about to be trapped between two hordes of flower monsters and began to despair. Even Earl Vacek’s face twitched, growing pale. When he saw no chance of salvaging the situation, he lifted his cane and twisted the top, causing a needle to emerge from the eye socket of the round skull.

Without hesitation he stabbed it into his hand, causing blood to trickle from the wound it made. A thick, black mist streamed from the skull, seeping into the wound on his hand. The blood dripping from his wound began to turn black and a painful scream tore the air apart as his body began to warp. John kept moving as he watched, a deep sense of disgust rising in his throat as he saw the earl’s transformation complete.

Two powerful bat wings spread from the earl’s back and his arms, lengthening until they hung by his knees and ending in long, sharp claws. Fangs grew from in his mouth, forcing his lips apart, and his clothing ripped to shreds as his muscles swelled. Spreading his arms, he let out another scream and jumped into the air, his wings carrying him aloft. Under the ragged remains of his clothing, John caught sight of a large mana stone that had been embedded in his chest, pulsing with dark light.

Flying up into the air, the earl threw his cane away and stabbed his sharp claws into his side, grunting and screaming as he pulled something out. As he approached the bridge that would take him up to the others, John saw that it was a short dagger that pulsed with dark light. Vacek’s gore-slick hand finally pulled the dagger free and its blade extended into a broadsword, formed entirely from blackish mana. Hearing a shout, Vacek’s head turned toward Haver, who was at the top of the bridge.

“Retreat!”

Hearing John’s shout, the transformed earl turned and gave him a mocking smile and then shot toward the Wolf King, his powerful wings allowing him to cross the distance in a flash. No slower, John sprinted up the bridge, crossing it in burning strides. Sensing John closing in, the earl spun around and hacked down with his mana blade. Bringing up his shield at the last second, John felt the force being transmitted through his body and swore, jumping backward as the bridge began to crack.

That is at least legendary strength, maybe even greater.

Sensing the damage the attack did to his shield, John landed in a crouch, continuing to slide back as the force of the blow dissipated. Hovering over the bridge, Vacek let out a mocking laugh and stabbed down with his sword, cutting the bridge apart. Not content with just taking out the center, he swung his sword three more times in rapid succession, completely destroying the bridge and making it impossible to cross.

“Do you wish you had listened to me now?” he asked, staring with burning eyes at John.

“No,” John replied seriously, shaking his head. “I make it a point to never listen to people as ugly as you.”

Sneering at John, Vacek looked back over his shoulder at the upper floor, where Ellie and the others stood.

“Maybe I should capture one of them and rend them limb from limb in front of you. Maybe then you’ll change your tune. All I want to know is where the box is.”

“Even if you know where it is, it won’t help you,” John said, shrugging. “Have you ever heard of a bloodline lock? I still had one from my days in the army. You might find the box, but you’ll never get it open.”

His already hideous face grew even more terrifying as Vacek’s eyes bulged, ripping slightly at the corners. Glaring at John as blackish blood dripped down his face, he swore and pointed his sword at John.

“You used a bloodline lock on it!”

“That’s right. Good luck finding out whose bloodline it is, too. You’ll never get it open without it.”

Staring at John with his bulging eyes, Vacek suddenly smiled and spun in the air, staring at Ellie, who was standing beside Haver and Sven. Seeing who he was looking at, John’s face blanched and he ran to the edge of the bridge, stopping when he couldn’t go any further.

“Ellie! Run!”

The earl’s lips split open in a horrifying smile as he laughed loudly. His voice had transformed along with the rest of him, and the grating laughter mixed with the terrified screams and shouts from the mercenaries trapped below him. Seeing John’s response from the corner of his huge eyes, Vacek was confident he had guessed correctly. Before he came to the valley, he had done his research and heard about John and the young woman who lived at his farm from the Red Coral adventuring team’s report.

Flapping his wings powerfully, Vacek shot through the air toward Ellie who was still staring at John, her face white. Feeling an arm wrap around her, she came back to her senses as an apologetic voice sounded in her ear.

“Sorry for the imposition, ma’am.”

Picking Ellie up, Sven fled even as Haver lifted his club up and stepped forward. Turning his head, he shot Handsome a look and jerked his thumb at Ellie and Sven, who were disappearing into a doorway.

“They’ll need you. Keep her safe.”

He had no idea if the grimm understood him or if they just didn’t want to tangle with the winged monstrosity hurtling toward them, but at Handsome’s howl all the grimm fled, quickly vanishing from view. Feeling rueful, Haver issued another command and the three wolves who followed him sprinted after Sven and Ellie, letting out whimpers as they looked back at the Wolf King’s back. The last to go was actually the dumb bird, Sigvald, who had been following Ellie closely this whole time. After a moment of hesitation, Sigvald turned and seemed to nod to him, taking off after Sven and Ellie. Gritting his teeth, Haver turned back and stared at Vacek.

“I really am an idiot,” he muttered under his breath, getting ready for what was likely his last fight.

Vacek came in fast, his wings tucking behind his body as he rolled to the side, trying to dodge past Haver. Eyes narrowed, Haver let out a loud shout and dodged to the side, his wolf tooth club slashing at the earl. Landing his blow, he felt a tremendous amount of feedback. If he hadn’t already been convinced that he was outclassed by whatever the earl had become, he was now. The earl’s muscles were powerful and his skin was tough enough that the wolf teeth on Haver’s club barely left a scratch. Still, he managed to drive the earl off course, causing him to crash into the ground.

Roaring in rage, the earl spun toward Haver and jumped forward, opening his wing and slamming it into the Wolf King. Trying to crouch and absorb the blow, Haver suddenly felt claws sink into his shoulder and a powerful force lifted him from his feet, throwing him back. The world spun, and then Haver was falling. As he plunged he caught a glimpse of John’s face, staring down at him from the broken bridge.

Watching as Sven and Ellie fled, John’s mind seemed filled with a million thoughts, all crowding together. Everything had spiraled out of his control too quickly for John to react, and every time he came up with a plan it felt like another variable emerged to completely destroy it. Originally he had planned to lure the mercenaries into the tower and use the tower’s defenses to wipe them out, but things had started to go sideways once the grimm refused to retreat.

Thankfully he had managed to get them to head further up when he sensed the flower monsters approaching, but the earl’s transformation had destroyed his plan once again. With less than twenty seconds of his true power at his use, he had been carefully observing Vacek’s new form to make sure he wouldn’t accidentally end the world when trying to deal with him, but just when felt like he had a good gauge of the earl’s strength, the situation changed again.

As a matter of insurance, he had planted the suggestion that keeping Ellie alive was necessary, and given the earl’s obsessive desire for the box John had taken from Catherine, he was confident the earl wouldn’t harm her. The bloodline lock he had mentioned to the earl could only be opened with fresh blood from the same person whose blood had been used to lock it. Of course, he hadn’t actually used a bloodline lock, but Vacek would never dare doubt John in case he destroyed his only chance at getting to the contents of the box.

Yet, when the earl turned and shot toward Ellie, John felt a spike of fear and fury unlike anything he had ever felt before. The feeling had been so strong he had been forced to lock the mana around him, sealing himself from moving to avoid blowing apart the entire mountain and everyone along with it. That moment of inaction had caused him to miss his opportunity to stop Vacek and forced him to rapidly change his plans as Haver fell into the depths of the tower. John could feel a headache building as he pushed his Mental Model to its limits, but that didn’t stop him from pumping mana into the skill as he tried to come up with an optimal plan. Another second passed and Haver fell further, causing John to sigh.

I’ll just have to trust Sven and the grimm. And Ellie.

Crouching down, John grabbed the bottom of the broken bridge and let himself fall forward, as if he was going to topple down into the pit. When he was angled toward Haver he pushed off, accelerating so sharply that the counterforce blew the remaining bits of the bridge apart. The boom echoed through the tower, but John was already gone, having closed half the distance to Haver. To his credit, the Wolf King hadn’t given up and was trying to angle himself toward one of the bridges, though without much luck. Sensing himself slowing down, John narrowed his eyes and abruptly accelerated again, flames surrounding his body for a brief second.

[+1 Doom Point.]

[The apocalypse draws closer.]

Two seconds later, Haver heard a noise and turned his head, only to see John whizzing by. A steel-like grip latched onto him, pulling him at an angle as he changed course with John, flying toward one of the lower floors. With an earthshaking boom they landed, sending cracks radiating through the floor as they slid across it. Letting out a groan, Haver tried to get up but a sharp pain in his side had him gasping for breath. Rolling over, he opened his pouch and got out a vial, gulping down the contents.

The burning pain in his side faded somewhat and he rose unsteadily to his feet, looking around to try to find John. When he finally spotted him through the dust, he saw John staring into the darkness, clearly hesitating about something. Still woozy from the landing, Haver shook his head, trying to clear it. Suddenly the memory of what had just happened shot through his mind, and he looked up at the tower that rose almost a mile into the air.

“Ellie! What about the others?”

“They’re being chased by Vacek,” John said, his voice unnaturally calm. “We need to get back to them, because there’s almost no chance they’ll survive against him. He’s a legendary level monster at the very least, and I’m willing to bet that isn’t the only trick he has up his sleeve. Unfortunately, he’s not our only problem right now.”

For the first time, Haver noticed the sickly sweet smell that surrounded them. A shuffling sound intruded on his hearing, and in the dim light filtering into the deep level from the volcano’s shaft he saw the twisted figures of the headless flower monsters.

CHAPTER 40

The soft creaking of the flower monster’s wooden limbs was loud in the deep silence that shrouded the floor John and Haver were on. Spinning around, the Wolf King bristled as he discovered they were completely surrounded. Beside him, John appeared frozen as he thought furiously. He wanted nothing more than to fly back up to where Vacek was and rip the earl’s spine from his body, but the brightly lit notification that he had earned another Doom Point was a clear reminder that he was only seventeen Doom Points away from failing his quest to prevent the apocalypse.

Doom Points: 83/100

Even though he still wasn’t sure exactly what caused the Doom Points to go up, he had noticed that every time he unleashed his mana they climbed steadily, and getting back to the floor he had jumped from would take him at least a few seconds. Yet, at the same time, every second he delayed increased the likelihood that Vacek would catch up to Ellie and Sven.

Maybe I should just let the apocalypse come. It honestly can’t get much worse than it is.

Despite his increasingly negative thoughts, John shook off the feeling of inevitability and turned his thoughts to figuring out how to get out of the current situation without ruining the world. The flower monsters continued to creep closer, their flowers twisting this way and that as they tried to discover exactly where John and Haver were standing. Drawing a dagger from his boot, Haver looked around but didn’t see his wolf tooth club anywhere. He had lost his grip on it when Vacek had knocked him into the pit and it had vanished into the darkness.

Unable to come up with any good ideas, John placed his hand on his sword and began to draw it when a thin wave of mana washed over him, causing him to freeze in place. Slowly returning his sword to his sheath, he reached out to Haver, indicating the Wolf King should put away his dagger. Looking at him like he was crazy, Haver gestured to the approaching monsters.

“Are you serious? We’re about to get squeezed into pulp.”

Despite the fact he was whispering, Haver’s voice drew the flower monster’s attention and they began to close in on the two men.

“Yes,” John said, nodding seriously. “We don’t need it right now. I’ll tell you if we have to fight, but it will only hurt at this point. Follow me.”

Without waiting to see if Haver would listen, John stalked into the darkness, tapping on his bracer. Badly damaged by Vacek’s attack, the shield bracer sputtered and a small glowing shield sprang up, giving them some light. It also revealed the full extent of the flower monsters that surrounded them, causing Haver to blanch and hurry after John to avoid being left behind. Packed so thickly they seemed to be one giant twisted root system, there were easily a thousand flower monsters revealed by the light of John’s shield, so Haver just put his dagger away.

As John got close to the flower monsters, they suddenly surged forward, wrapping their bodies around his limbs. About to struggle, Haver saw that John wasn’t reacting at all and let out a small sigh. Nothing about his life had been normal since he had met John, but at the same time the strange farmer always seemed to come out on top, so Haver stifled his fear and let the flower monsters surround him.

Picking John and Haver up, the flower monsters suddenly began to move, practically flying through the darkness as they were pulled along. Roots came out of the floor, grabbing them and passing them along, and more flower monsters added themselves to the structure, forming what looked like a cage around the two men as they moved through the darkness. Reaching what seemed to be a wall, the entire structure they were trapped inside suddenly changed direction, shooting up into the air. Thanks to the spluttering light from John’s shield, they could see they were still moving through the tower’s tunnel system, but the further they went the more tangled roots they found.

Bright flowers dotted the root system, adding splashes of glowing color here and there, and occasionally one of the flowers would attach itself to the growing formation around John and Haver. Normally when they did the formation would shift and change directions, moving quickly down passages and up tunnels that had been dug vertically into the earth. Looking over, Haver saw that John’s face had resumed its normal mask of calm so he kept quiet, leaving John to think and instead focusing on observing where they were going.

After almost five minutes of incredibly rapid travel, they suddenly burst out into a massive room, coming to a shuddering stop. Releasing their hold, the flower monsters melted away into the darkness as light began to flood the room, nearly blinding John and Haver. The first thing John noticed as the glare faded was the massive tree trunk that dominated the center of the room. At first glance it was a mass of twisting roots all intertwined like a giant mangrove tree, but the closer John looked, the clearer it became that the entire thing was made up of the flower monsters who had brought them from the bottom of the tower.

Under the roots that were spread over the floor, walls, and ceiling of the room, John could make out tables and old bookshelves, their contents dusty and abandoned to time. A variety of strange devices sat in the corners of the room, clearly unused. The feeling John got from the room was that of a laboratory, abandoned to a jungle for centuries. Seeing some movement from the large tree trunk, John injected a bit of mana into his eyes, examining the shifting plant.

A weak light pulsed from the center of the trunk, causing John to walk forward to get a better look. When Haver saw him moving toward the tree trunk he reached out to grab John’s shoulder, but John dodged him with a neat sidestep and approached the thick trunk. As he got close, hundreds of thousands of buds emerged from the tree, opening up to reveal bright flowers that seemed to stare at John. For a moment Haver thought they were about to pounce, but instead, peeling away from the trunk of the tree, they parted, forming a doorway of flowers. In the center of the doorway was a twenty-foot-tall plant with a single, beautiful purple flower bud and a dozen fleshy pods that looked like broccoli waving gently beside it.

“What… what is that?” Haver asked, his voice a whisper.

“A friend,” John replied. “I hope.”

Stepping forward, John saw the flower recoiling and all around him the flower monsters bristled, growing agitated. Realizing what was going on, John restrained his mana even further and cast Summon Water where Haver couldn’t see it. Multiplying the spell, he controlled the water beads to float up in front of him, pretending to look at them with wonder as they surrounded his body.

“Haver? Have you ever seen a plant that can cast magic?”

Shaking his head, the Wolf King came closer, reaching out to touch the dancing water beads. Watching in awe as the water began to dance around his hand, he looked at the purple flower bud in awe.

“No. I… this is incredible.”

Much more comfortable with the water mana that surrounded John, the flower swayed forward and the agitated flower monsters grew still again. Raising a leafy vine, the plant reached out to touch John’s head, gently caressing his hair and coming to rest on his forehead. A thin thread of mana tried to intrude into his skin from the leaf, so he carefully peeled back his natural defenses, allowing the mana to enter his mind. A million pictures seemed to flash through his head, causing a dull ache, but soon they began to slow, and amidst the images a voice echoed.

THE END HAS COME. I AM BEGINNING.

Frowning slightly, John sent the smallest amount of mana he could back through the leaf, attempting to communicate with the purple flower.

What do you mean the end?

A crimson sky unfolded in John’s mind, choked by the smoke of flames that raged as far as the eye could see. Grasping skeletons rose from the flames, only to disintegrate into ashes, destroyed by the flames that surrounded them.

YOU. THE END. ALL THINGS BURN.

His frown deepening as he dismissed the image, John tried to clarify.

You mean that I am the end? I will destroy all things?

YES. OR NO. A BEGINNING.

Another picture intruded into John’s mind, a picture of the valley he had called home for the last year. He saw himself sitting on his porch, staring out over a field of golden wheat, a large tree with purple flowers and fleshy pods standing in the distance. Struck by the utter peace of the scene, John felt his breath catch in his throat.

I don’t understand. Are the scenes one after the other? Are they exclusive? What do I have to do?

ENERGY. PROTECTORS MULTIPLIED. BALANCE DESTROYED. MANA NOT PURE ENOUGH.

As if sensing John’s confusion, a set of pictures flashed through John’s mind, leaving him stunned. In them, he saw a short woman entering the tower and beginning experiments. After hundreds of failures he could feel her despair, but she continued on until she found the mana stone mine. A feeling of excitement raced through John as he watched her continue the experiments until she created a small, multi-colored flower that bloomed, even in the darkness. Yet from there the experiments began to change, growing hurried and disorganized until he saw the first of the flower monsters appear. In every picture thereafter he saw the flower monsters multiplying, always staring at the woman, who looked more and more nervous.

The next image he saw was of the woman, now white-haired and bent, sitting cross-legged on a table, a small purple flowered plant held in her upturned palm. Even though the image was still, like a picture, John got the feeling that the woman was staring at him, entreating him for help. One last image appeared in his head, causing a shiver to run down his back. In it, he saw brightly colored flowers starting to bloom all over the mountainside and what looked like a mutated deer with a bright flower growing from the back of its skull chewing on the corpse of a beast.

ENERGY. PLEASE. NEED BALANCE. OR THE GUARDIANS WILL DESTROY ALL.

Even as he listened, he could sense the plant’s voice was fading, as if communicating with him had used up all its energy.

How do I give you energy?

A faint image flashed in John’s mind, vanishing so quickly he would have missed it if he hadn’t had Mental Model active. The scene showed a spot at the very top of the tower. Connected by bridges, it was a platform that hung over the volcano’s shaft. A weakly pulsing crystal sat there, wrapped in thick roots that stretched down into the depths. Yet John barely paid attention to the crystal, all his attention locked on the two figures who were rushing up one of the bridges to the platform. Recognizing Ellie and Sven, John’s eyes widened.

I need to go there, now!

Taken aback by the intensity of John’s thought, the purple flower recoiled slightly. After a moment of thought, its leaf came off John’s head and retreated. At the same time, a weak pulse of mana lit up the purple flower bud, causing the flower monsters to begin trembling violently. Looking around, Haver swallowed nervously.

“Uh, John? What’s going on?”

“They’re taking us to meet up with Ellie and Sven. Hold on.”

Rushing down from the tree, flower monsters surrounded John and Haver, binding their arms and legs again as they formed another sphere-like structure around them. Thanks to the light in the room, the two men got a better look at what was happening as they started moving. The flower monsters connected themselves into a giant chain that acted as a vine, pulling the ball that held them along the tunnels and passages. Realizing they were moving many times faster than he had thought, Haver wondered what would happen if the ball was suddenly opened and they were let go.

Trying to erase the image of their brains being splattered against the stone walls from his head, Haver shrunk down as much as he could and concentrated on staying still. Beside him, John was also concentrating. But unlike Haver, he was concentrating on his own writhing mana. Whatever happened, he was approaching the limit of what he could do without triggering the apocalyptic scenario the purple flower had shown him. The best he could come up with was killing Earl Vacek as soon as he saw him and hoping he had enough space left to inject energy into the crystal the strange plant had shown him.

He had no idea how much energy he would need to give the plant for it to regain the balance it was seeking, and if he couldn’t kill the earl fast enough it wouldn’t matter anymore. Closing his eyes, he began to consider his options, trying to simulate the maximum strength the earl could use. To completely overwhelm the transformed man, he would need to use at least twice as much strength, but considering that cutting apart the storm spirit’s body had given him two Doom Points, he was worried that even if he killed Vacek he would gain at least four Doom Points, potentially even more.

Locked in the wooden cage, they flew through the passageways of the tower, going this way and that but always proceeding up toward the top of the tower. The Shadow Tower was massive, and the longer they traveled, the larger John realized it was. Besides the central area that had been created by Storm Master Kelvis, there were countless other passages that had clearly been excavated later. Everywhere they traveled they saw the root system stretching out, but John had already realized he was actually looking at tens of millions of the flower monsters.

Though he had no idea how things had gotten to this point, the idea of the flower monsters continuing to grow and proliferate made John shudder. There was something incredibly creepy about them and the way their flowers followed his every twitch, so anything he could do to reduce the potential of them being unleashed on the outside world was fine with him. It had occurred to him, of course, that the purple flower might not be telling the truth and that he would actually be making things worse by giving it the energy it was asking for, but at this point John had simply ceased to care. His only focus was on saving Ellie and Sven, and everything else could be left for later.

CHAPTER 41

When Sven grabbed Ellie, her instinctive desire had been to struggle free and try to fight, but a voice in the back of her head screamed at her that doing so would be a death sentence. Even without using her Truesight ability, she could sense the power radiating from the winged monster Earl Vacek had transformed into. As he darted toward them Sven sprinted away, moving faster than she ever could have despite the fact he was carrying her. As he ran Ellie gripped her wand firmly, starting to prepare a spell. Unlike the lower floors, this floor was not filled with plants, though the twisting roots still covered the walls.

Instead, it seemed to be made up of hallways and rooms, lacking the open concept of the other floors. There was no bridge up to the next level, but they could see more levels rising up to the top of the tower where there was a platform floating in the middle of the volcano shaft, held in place by bridges that stretched out from the top floor. Darting into a hallway, Sven passed through it with two bounding steps and took a hard turn into one of the rooms. With a leap he cleared a staircase, moving up onto an upper landing and heading through a door.

Finding himself in another hallway, he continued to sprint forward, trying to put as much distance between them and Earl Vacek as possible. Behind him came the wolves, Sigvald, and some of the grimm. With a burst of speed Sigvald barreled into her, vanishing with a flicker of lightning, leaving Ellie speechless. She had always imagined her familiar would accompany her fearlessly, but instead she got an overly proud and easily frightened bird brain rooster. Seeing a doorway coming up, Ellie pointed at it.

“Take a left there.”

Despite his uncertainty now was not the time to argue, so Sven did what Ellie said, turning left into a long hallway. The grimm and wolves easily kept pace with them while the grimm began to split off, heading off in all directions. Soon, Handsome was the only grimm still with them, and after another minute he reached out to touch Ellie’s hand before turning and dashing in a doorway.

“Where are they going?” Sven asked, watching the grimm leader disappear.

“They’re going to act as decoys,” Ellie muttered, her voice low. “He said to hide until John comes back.”

“Now that is some sage advice. Where are we headed?”

“Take the second right and then an immediate left. And then let me down.”

Nodding, Sven darted into the second doorway in the hall and ran to the left, heading up a flight of stairs. Bursting through another doorway, he saw they were on the next floor up and skidded to a stop, putting Ellie down. His breath was coming in great gasps, but thanks to his class holder physique he quickly got his breathing under control. This time Ellie led the way forward, running at a swift jog into the twisting corridors and rooms. Each turn she made brought them through the confusing layout, and within a few minutes they had ascended another floor after having traveled halfway around the tower.

Dropping into a walk, Ellie closed her eyes, communicating with her air spirits to try and figure out where Vacek was. Her face paling, she opened her eyes, looking back at Sven with a grim expression.

“John and Haver are gone. I don’t know where they went.”

“Which means the winged monster is probably coming after us, right?”

“Yes, he’s two floors down still, searching around. He seems to have been confused by our path.”

Grinning, Sven tapped the side of his nose with his finger.

“Doppelganger Paths, a Rogue ability that makes false trails. With the number of splits, it’ll take him a while to find out where we went.”

“Unless he just flies out into the center shaft,” Ellie said. “Let’s get under cover.”

Slipping into one of the rooms, they began to walk through the twisting halls. Most of the rooms they went into hadn’t been used for what seemed like hundreds of years and there was thick dust everywhere. Glancing backward, Ellie saw the footprints they were leaving and turned to Sven with a questioning look. The Rogue saw what she had been looking at and shrugged.

“I don’t know how it works, but the ability mimics any trace we might have left, heading in different directions. Unless he has the ability to hear heartbeats, there’s no way he’ll be able to track us.”

“That can’t be ruled out. But even so, there are a lot of us spread out. I’m more concerned about Haver and John though.”

“Haver is a tough one,” Sven said, shaking his head and crouching down and leaning against the wall. “He’ll be fine. Doubly so if John is with him.”

“As strong as a monster who can fly and break apart a stone bridge with a slash?” Ellie asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Well, maybe not that strong, but if John is with him, he’ll be perfectly safe.”

“John’s the one I’m worried about.”

“Hah! Why?”

Seeing the strange look Ellie was giving him, Sven waved his hand and stood up.

“Seriously, John is the last person you should be worried about. Everyone in this entire tower could die and he would be totally fine.”

When Ellie’s look didn’t change, Sven froze and paled. His eyes widening, he covered his mouth with his hand.

“Oh no. No. Do you not know who he is? Oh, this is bad. I am so dead.”

Eyes narrowing as she watched Sven’s over-the-top reaction, Ellie took a small step forward, her hand on her wand.

“Who is he?”

“If you don’t know, I can’t say,” Sven said, shaking his head. “Absolutely not. My lips are sealed. You’ll have to ask him yourself. Nope. Nope.”

“Sven. I don’t appreciate secrets being kept from me.”

Trying to step back, Sven found that Ellie kept pace with him, her fierce eyes boring into him. A cold sweat broke out on his back as he felt Ellie’s mana leaking out of her. Though she wasn’t a titled class holder and couldn’t control her aura, Sven’s senses were abnormally sharp and he could tell she outclassed him in terms of both mana and strength. Swallowing, he took a deep breath and shook his head again.

“I’m serious, Ellie, I can’t tell you. Just forget that I said anything, okay? And let it be. Besides, I think we have visitors coming.”

Looking down at the three wolves who had followed them, Ellie saw they were staring down the hallway, their teeth bared and fur bristling. Muttering something, she cocked her head to the side and then grimaced.

“Some sort of humanoid creature, running on hands and feet. No eyes, but really big nostrils and sharp teeth.”

“Ghouls,” Sven said, his voice shaking slightly. “They’re an undead beast. How are there ghouls here?”

“What are the chances the earl could have brought them in or summoned them?” Ellie asked, taking her crossbow off her back and loading it. “He might have ties to a Necromance, which is probably how he transformed into that monster. I saw him stab himself with something in his skull cane.”

“A Necromancer? Ugh, this keeps getting better and better,” Sven complained, spitting on the ground. “I don’t know if ghouls can be summoned, but I wouldn’t put it past them. Dirty grave robbers. Ghouls track through their sense of smell, so we need to get out of here.”

Cocking her crossbow, Ellie looked at Sven.

“What are our chances of killing it?”

“If it’s a normal ghoul? Ambush? Should be pretty easy. But if it’s a titled level ghoul like a ghoul warrior or a matriarch, we’re going to be in trouble.”

“Then let’s find out. Get your daggers out, this might get messy.”

Walking down to the corner, Ellie waited for a moment and then stepped out, lifting her crossbow and pulling the trigger with one smooth motion. The crossbow bolt ripped through the air, slamming into the ghoul’s head as it walked through the doorway. Without time to react, the monster screamed and fell, clutching at the bolt that stabbed through its skull. Shaking slightly but determined, Ellie loaded another bolt as she walked forward, Sven a step behind her with his short sword drawn.

Still moving despite the bolt in its head, the ghoul struggled to get up, but before it could regain its feet another twang ran out in the hallway, followed by a thud and a gurgle as Ellie’s second bolt cut through the ghoul’s mouth, severing its spine and shattering against the far wall. Staring at the still-twitching corpse, Ellie loaded another bolt but Sven stopped her.

“It’s dead. No need to waste another bolt. But we need to go. Ghouls are pack creatures, and its shriek probably alerted its companions.”

“Alright, let’s go. But I haven’t forgotten our conversation,” Ellie said, giving Sven a stern look. “I expect you to tell me exactly what you meant when we’re out of this situation.”

“Hah, if we live, I’ll tell you whatever you want.”

With the wolves trailing behind, Ellie and Sven began to move, winding their way through the tower as they headed for a higher floor. As they hurried along, Ellie carefully sensed for Sigvald. Her cowardly familiar had retreated to the tattoo that bound them together and was currently trying to restore the lightning power he had squandered while they were fighting the flying centipedes. Seeing her shaking her head, Sven looked at her.

“Something wrong?”

“No. My companion is just being a coward.”

“Wait, me?”

“No, the rooster.”

“Oh, I was wondering where he went.”

Lifting her hair up, Ellie turned to show him her neck, but the Rogue blanched and waved his hands, averting his eyes.

“I didn’t see anything, I’m not looking.”

“It’s only my neck,” Ellie said scornfully.

“Better safe than sorry. That’s how I’ve lived my life until now and it’s worked very well for me, thank you.”

“Not working out so great now,” Ellie said, leveling her crossbow at the door they were headed toward. “We’ve got more company. There are two of them this time.”

Lifting his sword, Sven took a deep breath and launched himself forward as the ghouls came charging into the room. Crossing the room with his signature long jump, he ducked under one of the ghoul’s slashing claws and stabbed his short sword up through the monster’s throat, piercing into its tough skin. Twisting his blade to try to make as large a wound as possible, he dodged away as a twang announced Ellie’s crossbow bolt. The bolt slammed into the other ghoul, catching it in the shoulder and sending it stumbling back.

Growls rumbling in their chests, the three wolves launched themselves forward, slamming into the ghoul Sven had wounded, their teeth ripping chunks of flesh from its legs and arms as they pulled it to the ground. Falling into a roll, Sven ducked a flailing claw and slashed with his short sword, cutting through the thigh bone of the ghoul Ellie had hit. The only way to kill most undead was to destroy their brains or to remove their heads so he didn’t stop moving, turning another somersault to get out of its range.

Seeing one of the wolves suffer a wicked slash, Sven doubled back, sinking his short sword into the downed ghoul’s skull and holding it down as the monster thrashed about. Ellie had reloaded her crossbow and was advancing, her eyes locked on the crippled ghoul. Blinking, she suddenly swung to the side and fired. The bolt ripped through the air as the ghoul suddenly dashed to the side, seeming to run directly into the path of the bolt. With a scream it fell to the ground, its limbs twitching in its death throes.

Swinging her crossbow behind her, Ellie hurried over to the wounded wolf, pulling a vial out of her pouch as she ran. The claws of the ghouls were highly toxic, and already the wounds on the wolf’s side were starting to turn black and pustulent. As she came over the wolf tried to retreat, clearly worried about passing on the poison starting to course through its body, but Ellie fixed it in place with a glare.

“Lay down!”

Meekly lowering its head, the wolf lay down, exposing its side to her. Uncapping the vial, she poured half of it onto the wound, using a cloth to clean the wounds. The rest of the vial she poured down the wolf’s throat. Within a few seconds the wolf’s flesh began to knit back together and the poison vanished. Cleaning his blade off, Sven stared at Ellie and the vial in her hand. It was incredibly rare to see first-class potions, and from the fact Ellie had just used it on an animal, it was clear she had no idea what kind of value it had.

Each and every first-class healing potion was considered equivalent to an extra life, and Sven had only ever had one in his entire life. He had paid a king’s ransom for it, and it had saved his life after he had suffered a mortal wound. Despite looking for another he had never found one, so seeing Ellie use it unhesitatingly on the wolf made him feel like crying. Comforting himself with the fact that she probably would have done the same for him, he moved to check the doorway. It was clear so they continued moving, quickly ascending to the top floor.

Considerably smaller than the others, the only place left to go was to the center platform where they could see a large crystal that thrummed weakly. They could hear the ghouls behind them closing in, so, after sharing a glance, they decided to try their luck crossing the platform. The plan was to head across, using the platform to get to the other side of the tower and then begin descending to find John and Haver, all while trying to avoid Vacek and the undead ghoul he had summoned.

Unfortunately, nothing seemed to go to plan, and as they crept across the first bridge a ghoul emerged from behind them, letting out a loud screech. The sound was piercing and echoed throughout the tower. Swearing, Sven turned and hurled a dagger at the ghoul, hitting it in its open mouth. Though he succeeded in silencing the monster, the damage was done, and a dozen other screams echoed throughout the tower as the other ghouls began appearing on the top two floors. Sprinting for the center platform, Ellie heard the sound of wings beating against the air and looked over as Earl Vacek’s monstrous face rose above the side of the platform.

CHAPTER 42

With a powerful stroke of his wings, Earl Vacek shot up into the air, his bulging eyes fixed on Ellie. A wicked smile covered his face as he hovered over the deep pit, and the mana stone embedded in his chest glittered with an evil light. Ellie had never seen a vampire from the legends, but she had heard the stories and felt that Earl Vacek fit the bill perfectly. All around the top floor the ghouls raced to cut Ellie and Sven off. Backing up, they stood back to back, the wolves guarding at their sides.

“Uh, I don’t mean to be a pessimist, but I don’t think this could have gone worse,” Sven said, watching the ghouls carefully.

“It does seem to be like that,” Ellie said, gripping her crossbow tightly.

Moving closer to the platform they were on, Vacek stared down at Ellie. The blood at the corners of his eyes had dried but Ellie could smell the stench his body carried, making her want to vomit. Opening his mouth to reveal sharp teeth stained with blood, Vacek spoke in his broken voice.

“You have run well, considering your weakness, but you have nowhere left to go. Save yourself the pain you will suffer and tell me, where is the box?”

Moving her face back to avoid the terrible smell that rolled out of his mouth, Ellie returned his stare defiantly.

“What box do you mean? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Do not play with me, woman! I will cut your skin from your body and feed it to my pets if you anger me, so do not try my patience! I want to know where the box is!”

“And I’m telling you, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ellie said, shrugging.

“Fine! If you wish to play it that way, I don’t mind. After all, it will be your suffering, not mine. Seize them! Leave only the woman alive!”

As soon as they heard his command the ghouls rushed forward, intending to rip Sven and the wolves limb from limb while they captured Ellie. Firing off her crossbow, Ellie started to load it again but realized she wouldn’t have time so she dropped it and got out her dagger, holding it in her right hand as she drew her wand with her left. Behind her Sven let out a breath and drew a second short sword, reversing his grip on it. Instead of waiting for the ghouls to come to him, he leapt forward, kicking one of the ghouls in the side of the head even as he leaned back to avoid an attack.

His short swords blurred as he slashed at the ghoul’s hands, trying to cut them off, but the monster was too fast and managed to deflect his blades with its long claws. Another ghoul charged over, forcing Sven to dart to the side to avoid its stab, but before it could capitalize on it a wolf dashed forward and bit into its leg, pulling it off-balance with a tremendous jerk. Letting out a low shout, Sven swung his short sword, cutting the ghoul’s head from its body.

On the other side of the platform, Ellie was facing down three more ghouls with the other two wolves. Holding her dagger in front of her, she did her best to calm her beating heart. She had faced down other class holders before and the ghouls by themselves didn’t scare her, but Vacek hovered at the corner of her vision, presenting a very real threat. She only had a couple casts of her lightning spell, and even though she knew it was incredibly unlikely it would be able to do significant damage to the earl, she wanted to at least try.

However, to even get to that point she would have to deal with the more immediate threat. Letting out the breath she was holding, she lifted her wand and pointed it at the ghoul on her left. Seeing her attention shift, the ghoul on the right launched itself at her, followed closely by the ghoul in the middle. Stepping back, she dropped her wand and grabbed something out of her pouch, throwing it at the ghoul on the right. With lightning speed she caught her falling wand and spoke a word, causing a clap of thunder to echo across the platform.

The ghoul on the right felt something in its mouth and bit down, causing the potion to explode into a green mist that quickly began to melt its flesh from its bones, causing it to scream and scratch at its face. Even as that ghoul struggled with the poison, the other felt the full blast of the thunderclap and staggered, growing disoriented. Seizing its moment of hesitation, the two wolves by Ellie’s side jumped forward, biting into the ghoul and dragging it forward. Smashing its face into the ground, the ghoul tried to struggle back up, but Ellie’s dagger stabbed firmly into the back of its head, punching through its thick skin and skull and making a mess of its brain.

Unnaturally coordinated, the wolves jumped back as Ellie kicked the monster away. Her breath coming fast, she backpedaled, avoiding a stab from the third ghoul. She was incredibly grateful for the strict training John had been putting her through every day since they had left on the trip to Kingsmouth. Even though she was lacking practical experience, her body moved as she wanted it to, allowing her to keep up with the ghouls. She was helped, of course, by the fact that they didn’t actually want to kill her and were being very careful with their attacks, but still, if this fight had happened after she first became a class holder she would have already suffered a defeat.

Hovering in the air, Vacek’s expression warped and he let out an angry roar. Hearing it, the ghouls all fled back to the top floor, leaving Sven and Ellie on the central platform facing the irate earl. With a flap of his wings he moved toward the platform, landing on the edge with a thud.

“Enough of this foolishness. You will take me to the box. Now!”

“Is he still on that?” Sven asked, in a not-quite whisper. “You already said you don’t know where it is. Is he stupid or something?”

Holding her weapons in a white-knuckled grip, Ellie nodded, trying to get her breathing under control.

“Hah, I think so.”

Ignoring their banter, Vacek started walking forward, his long arms rising to grab Ellie.

“He also seems impatient,” Sven muttered, lifting his short swords as he stepped in front of Ellie. “And here I thought he was going to wait for John to arrive. I guess we’ll have to go for a couple rounds first.”

Seeing Sven in front of him, Vacek’s lips twisted in a sneer and his large body blurred as he shot forward. Slashing claws met silver steel as Sven blocked the first attack with crossed short swords, but the follow up was too quick and Earl Vacek’s claws tore through Sven’s chainmail shirt. Gasping as the bloody gashes on his side burned, Sven jumped forward, stabbing up into Vacek’s armpit as he ducked under his outstretched arm. Unfortunately, the earl was too fast and dodged back, his foot lashing out to kick Sven away.

Flying backward through the air, the Rogue tried to turn over in the air to land with his feet, but before he could Vacek’s wings propelled him forward and he slammed a clenched fist into Sven’s side, sending him flying a different direction. Letting out a grunt of pain as his ribs snapped, Sven slammed into the ground, rolling over a dozen times until he was stopped by one of the roots that covered the ground. Standing up, his eyes widened as he saw a flower peeking at him from over the railing.

Blinking, he tried to process what he was seeing, but Vacek was on him too fast, punching him in the chest. Bringing his swords up to prevent his sternum from being crushed, Sven felt his swords vibrate wildly and one even buckled, broken by a casual punch. Realizing while he was midair that he was about to slam into the pulsing crystal, he hurled his broken sword at Vacek and tried to activate one of his abilities to get away. Letting out a booming laugh, the earl swatted the sword away and caught up in an instant, his arm rising to slash at Sven’s throat.

Before his arm could fall, Vacek felt the air around him change and he abandoned the attack, lifting one of his wings over his head to protect his skull. A boom echoed through the tower as a bolt of lightning fell out of the air, crashing into Vacek. Burning a hole in his wing, the lightning continued to crash down, sending sparks dancing across his body. Screaming in pain and fury, Vacek shot backward, flying off the platform, his bulging eyes darting around as he looked for the source of the lightning bolt. Sensing the smell of a storm in the air, he quickly dodged again, but no more lightning fell.

Trying as best as she could to control her breathing to avoid giving away how exhausted she was from casting the lightning spell, Ellie pulled a potion from her pouch and tossed it to Sven. Grabbing it from the air, Sven shoved it into his mouth and crunched down, ignoring the cuts to his gums and tongue as he chewed it up, glass and all. The potion flowed through his body, healing the cuts on his side and knitting his bones back together, allowing him to stand up without pain in his side.

“He’s a tough bugger,” Sven said, his eyes never leaving Vacek. “I’ll protect you as long as I can, but if we don’t get a miracle soon, neither of us will walk out of here in one piece.”

“We’ll be fine,” Ellie insisted, her voice shaking slightly. “We’ll be fine.”

“Heh. Not the first time I’ve heard that, but I am afraid it might be the last. I’ve got a bad feeling that ugly mug over there isn’t patient enough to let us wait for a miracle. If there is another side, I’ll see you there.”

Opening her mouth to say something, Ellie saw Sven jump forward, appearing in front of her as Vacek abruptly accelerated, shooting toward her. The earl’s wings beat powerfully, making it look like he had teleported, his claws reaching for Ellie’s neck. Despite all her training, she was still a beat too late, and her spell had barely even started when the earl’s clawed hands reached toward her, growing large in her eyes. Just before they arrived, her body was struck from the side and she was thrown to the ground as Sven appeared where she had just been.

Watching with growing horror, she saw a furious expression twist Vacek’s face and his claws stabbed straight through Sven’s chest, leaving bloody holes as he ripped the Rogue’s chest open. A bright light blazed in Sven’s eyes, flashing a golden blue as he stabbed out with his short sword, managing to wedge it in between Vacek’s neck and collarbone. The light in his eyes grew stronger even as his hot blood sprayed from his body, and Sven let out a roar, shoving his sword forward with superhuman strength, burying it to the hilt and then twisting, snapping the hilt of the sword off.

All at once, Vacek let out a scream of pain and staggered back, letting go of Sven, who crumpled to the ground. Ellie, already on the ground, scrambled over to Sven’s body, fumbling with her pouch. Taking out a vial of potion, she crushed it with her hand, letting the liquid drip into the gaping wound in his chest. The first didn’t seem to be working, so she grabbed another one and then another. Vacek was still reeling from the attack, desperately trying to get the sword blade out of his neck, but because of Sven’s final action he couldn’t get a good purchase on it. The Rogue’s eyes still carried the bluish-gold glow that had awoken in them a moment earlier and he looked up at Ellie, a smile on his face. Seeing his lips moving, Ellie tried to hold back her sobs.

“The Eternal Flame burns forever. Tell him it was my honor to serve.”

“What? No! No!”

Trying to get another potion out of her pouch, Ellie felt Sven’s hand grab hers, carrying surprising strength. Lifting his head up, he looked her straight in the eye.

“Take care of him. He saved us, but he needs to be saved even more.”

As soon as the words left his lips, Sven stiffened and the blue in his eyes grew stronger, almost as if he was staring at the bright summer sky. The smile on his face grew until it was almost blinding to look at and his body relaxed for the final time. Sensing his spirit leaving, Ellie let out a heartrending scream, causing the entire tower to vibrate. Everywhere the flower monsters stopped, their flower petals shaking as they turned to look toward the top of the tower. Even Vacek, who had finally gotten a hold of the blade and pulled it out, froze, his bulging eyes beginning to bleed as they strained his skin.

Standing up, Ellie turned to face Vacek, her eyes burning with tears. Her wand pointed toward him as she screamed again and the rumble of thunder answered her. Clouds began to gather despite the fact they were separated from the outside sky, and the air grew dark with rain and charged with a tingling force. From her back spread wings, crackling with lightning, as Sigvald emerged from the tattoo on her neck. The bird’s eyes burned crimson with fury and his beak opened to let out a deafening crow. Despite being pathetically weak compared to the monster in front of him, Sigvald felt the pain and anguish of his master fully and launched himself at Vacek, his beating wings sending lightning bolts raining down on his enemy.

Still racing through the tunnels in the wooden sphere, John heard Ellie’s scream echoing through the tower and it cut straight to his core. The mana he had been trying so desperately to contain erupted and he vanished, leaving nothing but ash behind. Even Haver felt the blistering heat as John shot off, forcing him to rip off the bracer and pauldron he was wearing before they melted. John flew forward, burning his way straight through the walls of the tower and out into the open shaft of the volcano, the stone in front of him evaporating.

[+1 Doom Point.]

[The apocalypse draws closer.]

Paying no mind to the blue window, the air around him boiled, and he shot up toward the platform at the top of the tower where a lightning storm had formed.

CHAPTER 43

Hanging in the air at the top of the tower, Vacek battled against Sigvald, slashing with his claws and smashing the giant rooster with his wings as he tried to avoid the lightning strikes that poured off Ellie’s familiar. Empowered by her anger and sorrow, the bird paid no mind to the attacks that flew toward him as he tried to peck out the transformed earl’s eyes and rip his throat apart with his claws. Feeling his skin burn as a bolt of lightning slammed into his chest, Vacek let out a roar, batting Sigvald aside.

Tumbling back to the platform, the rooster tried to take off again but one of his wings drooped, clearly broken. Sneering, Vacek was about to lunge forward and finish the job when a wave of heat rose toward him, making him think for a moment that the dormant volcano was going to erupt again. Darting backward, he stared down in astonishment as John rose like a rocket. Arriving in front of Vacek, John didn’t bother speaking as he slapped out with his hand, causing a giant swath of air to explode with blue flame.

Terror engulfed Vacek’s mind as he watched the flames manifest. He had served in Lepiera’s wars for many years, and during all that time he had grown to know and fear the figure in front of him with every fiber of his being. The only guarantee on the battlefield was that where the Eternal Flame burned, nothing survived. That instinctive terror, carved into his bones, saved his life as he fled as fast as he could, his wings straining against that air.

[+1 Doom Point.]

[The apocalypse draws closer.]

Letting out a tsk when he saw that his strike missed, John clicked his fingers, multicasting his Fireball spell. Hundreds of blue fireballs burst to life in the air, completely sealing the top of the tower as John shot toward Vacek. Covering his fist in blue flames, he punched forward, obliterating everything in front of him. Barely getting out of the way, Vacek tried to fly away again only to find himself staggering through the air. Looking down, he realized most of his leg and part of his wing had been burned away. Only after he saw they were gone did the pain set in as the blue flames continued to lick at his body.

The mana stone that was implanted in his chest glowed brightly and his leg began to grow back, but the blue flame refused to die out, causing him tremendous pain. Screaming with fear and pain, his eyes turned red and blackish blood began to drip from where the mana stone was embedded. Realizing something was going to happen, John slapped out again, with even more force than he had used the first time.

[+1 Doom Point.]

[The apocalypse draws closer.]

Dark light burst from the mana stone even as John’s attack reached Vacek, and the earl screamed in agony as the flames engulfed him, threatening to erase him from existence. At the same time a foul energy John was growing increasingly familiar with surrounded Vacek, fighting to regenerate his body in the face of the destructive power of John’s flames. As his body was simultaneously burned away and restored, Vacek began to change, his bones breaking out of his skin and growing grotesquely large.

[+1 Doom Point.]

[The apocalypse draws closer.]

Sharp spikes erupted from his charred skin, only to begin burning away under the blue flame, and he threw his head back and let out a terrifying roar. Eyes narrowing, John took a breath, causing all the fireballs he had already cast to begin to spin, picking up speed as he exhaled. As the air flowed from his lungs, the hundreds of fireballs transformed into Flame Arrows and stabbed into Vacek, tearing apart the dark light that surrounded him. A moment later the breath John had exhaled reached the transforming earl and he began to transform into ash.

[+1 Doom Point.]

[The apocalypse draws closer.]

Giving the vanishing earl one last look, John blurred and reappeared next to the root-wrapped crystal. It only took a single look for John to understand what had happened atop the platform, and the lingering blue glow in Sven’s lifeless eyes sent a stab of pain through his heart. He couldn’t even begin to count the number of times he had seen such a sight, but each and every one made him want to die all over again. Not daring to look at Ellie, he stepped forward, his hand reaching out.

[+1 Doom Point.]

[The apocalypse draws closer.]

As the mana began to flow out of him, sinking into the large crystal, John felt fury building in him. The persistent messages informing him about the approaching apocalypse were about to drive him mad, so he closed his eyes and focused on pouring power into the crystal, counting the seconds. Already his Doom Points had reached eighty-nine and were still climbing. In his head he could feel the notifications arriving, even if he couldn’t see them.

Ninety, ninety-one, ninety-two, ninety-three, ninety-four.

Panic, hidden at the bottom of his heart, began to climb as his mana flowed out. He could sense that the crystal was reaching its capacity, but every second that passed brought him closer to the very thing he had been trying to avoid.

Ninety-five, ninety-six, ninety-seven.

About to stop, he heard a voice echoing in his head, much stronger than it had been before.

ALMOST.

Gritting his teeth, he sent more mana into the crystal, packing as much power as he could into it.

Ninety-eight.

A gentle buzz resounded, and John desperately shut off the mana flowing out of him. Forcing it back down, he sealed himself off once again, binding his mana into his body. Almost afraid to open his eyes, he knew that keeping them closed wouldn’t change anything. In trying to prevent the threat that the purple flower had shown him, he had come within seconds of destroying the world.

Doom Points: 98/100

He could feel his heart settling into its normal, icy state, but despite the emotionlessness that engulfed his mind, he felt two shattering pains in his chest that caused his breath to catch. The first was the sight of Sven’s breathless body, and the second was the look he imagined Ellie was giving him right now. Unable to make himself turn around and face her, John stared at the glowing crystal and desperately tried to keep himself together.

The person occupying his thoughts was sitting on the ground, staring up at John, her eyes lost in a haze. When Sven had died she had nearly broken down with grief and anger, and it had only been Sigvald’s courage that had kept Vacek away from her. Then, when her familiar was beaten back, Ellie knew that she was going to die, following Sven to that other side he spoke of. That knowledge was clear in her mind, and surprisingly, she found herself growing calm.

She had experienced much in her lifetime, more than any person ought to, but as she faced her death she thought mostly of others. She thought of Sigvald, who would perish with her. She thought of Ben, who she had loved like a brother, and even like a son. She remembered her grandmother’s kind glances and soft hands that soothed her when she woke in the night, terrified from a bad dream. She even remembered Vexus, her grandmother’s blue familiar and his attentive but emotionless care.

But what she remembered most was the feeling of John’s arm around her on the two occasions he had carried her. She remembered the despair she had felt when she thought she would be dragged off to Wolf Den, and then the incredulous hope when he not only let her and Ben stay but actually defended her against the villagers at Fairford. That faint hope had bloomed into joy when he continued to accept them and even involved them in the running of the farm. As much as she felt sadness that she would never see the people she loved again, what broke her heart was thinking about how John would feel to lose not one, but two people in this tower.

John was an enigma to her, and though she had done her best to express her growing feelings for him, she still had no idea how he actually felt about her. There were so many mysteries that surrounded him, but in the clarity of the moment before the end, she finally understood. Sven’s words could not have been clearer, and far from being repulsed, she felt an overwhelming amount of compassion for John.

The stories of the Eternal Flame, the war god of Lepiera, were too many to count. He had grown from a nobody to a living deity. Leading the army, he had defended the nation against impossible odds. Establishing the Ecclesia, he had transformed the lives of the common folk, breaking the chains of slavery that bound them. It was not an exaggeration to say he had saved the world a thousand times over in the ten years since he had appeared.

To find out that John was this legendary figure made Ellie’s breath catch in her throat. Not out of awe or reverence, but because she could clearly see the scars that such a story had left behind. John had saved the nation of Lepiera from annihilation yet seemed to carry a deep dislike for it. He had established the body that served and ruled, yet he spoke of them scathingly. He killed callously, yet he seemed to bear the life of everyone around him as his personal responsibility.

In front of her, Vacek’s eyes bulged as he started to move toward her, and Ellie felt a profound regret sweep through her. She had no more strength to resist, having poured all of it into her familiar, but even if she could, it would not change the outcome. Watching the monster moving toward her in slow motion, she remembered Sven’s last words and regretted she would not live to fulfill them. Then the situation changed so fast it took her breath away, and the miracle that Sven talked about occurred.

A fiery god rose from the depths of the tower, carried on blue flame that burned of bright death. She watched as, with a wave of his hand, he set the air alight, forcing the earl to flee. It only took seconds for the being in front of her to erase Earl Vacek from the world, and when she blinked the death that had seemed so certain to her had faded into nothing. Turning, John had looked over the platform, his burning eyes passing over her as if she were nothing more than another rock or a twisted root decorating the ground, and a pang of fear shot through her.

She had seen that look in his eyes before, normally before someone died, and she hated that it was directed at her. Trying to open her mouth, she found herself completely smothered by the aura that surrounded John. Even though he was clearly trying to control it, the mana in his body was so strong that it warped the air around him. Normally that sort of difference in mana between beings would make the weaker party instinctively grovel, but all Ellie felt was an intense desire to hug John.

As John passed by her, walking over to the glowing crystal, Ellie felt the pressure increasing. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to stay upright, counting the seconds as John began to pour mana into the large crystal. She had no idea why he was doing it, but as the seconds passed, her astonishment grew. In the first second, the amount of mana that had flowed out of him was exponentially more mana than she had ever possessed. In the next second, it was more mana than her grandmother had held, even at the height of her power.

There were no words to describe what Ellie was witnessing. It was as if John stood in a completely different world from her, and everyone else. All of a sudden, she felt as if she understood the distance at which he held everyone and everything. A deep desire awoke in her heart as the final words of the spirit of her grandmother echoed in her head. A short nine seconds passed, but to Ellie it felt like it stretched into eternity. As John stopped putting mana into the crystal and the cloak of blue flame fell away from him, Ellie felt a healthy dose of fear running through her.

What if he did live in a different world? What if he really was too far away to touch? For a second that fear grew, gnawing at the strength of her legs. Yet when he didn’t turn around and she felt the intense loneliness radiating from him, she found herself lunging to her feet and rushing toward him. Before he could react, her arms wrapped around him and her face pressed against his back. Clutching him tightly, as if afraid he would suddenly fly away, Ellie didn’t say a word. John, frozen with shock, said nothing either.

This was not the first time he had experienced this strange phenomenon around Ellie, but just like the meal he had once shared with her at the farm, her simple action completely destroyed the intense mental turmoil that plagued him, blowing it away like dandelion seeds in the summer wind. Warmth from Ellie’s arms spread through his chest, thawing the heart he was so desperately trying to keep frozen. As it thawed, John found tears springing to his eyes. Though they evaporated before they could fall, he knew that they weren’t just for Sven who lay on the ground, but for every single person he had lost or failed to save since coming to this world.

The feelings he had sealed away so long ago boiled up and flowed out of him as the heart he was so afraid would break was held together by Ellie’s strong grip. In silence they stood there, not moving even when the wolves crawled out of the rubble to greet Haver, who had been brought up by the wooden cage, or when the grimm emerged from where they had been hiding. The silence continued to stretch, but no one moved. Even the flower monsters who lined the tower, their flower faces staring up at the platform at the top of the tower, remained silent, standing perfectly still.

“He could have lived,” John said, finally. “He could have lived if I hadn’t been so worried about myself.”

Feeling Ellie’s head shaking on his back, John fell silent again.

“He could have lived if he’d just walked away. Vacek was after me, not him. He could have escaped. I saw how quick he was. He chose his path of his own will. And you have to choose yours.”

Listening to Ellie’s muffled voice, John felt her arms tighten around him.

“But please don’t choose a path without us.”

CHAPTER 44

Feeling Ellie’s arms drop away from his chest, John let out a small sigh and turned around. His normal calm had returned, and despite being only two Doom Points away from failing his quest, he felt there was no immediate danger. It had been a close call, but the bright light in the crystal behind him indicated that the mana he had poured into it had been enough.

“Thank you.”

Staring at him, Ellie seemed a bit unsure how to respond to his gratitude, but John felt like the words coming out of his mouth needed to be said.

“I think I might have lost it for a moment. So thank you. And I’m sorry. There are many things about my past that I’ve hidden.”

Lifting up her hand, Ellie had a stubborn look on her face as she interrupted John.

“And that girl in the village isn’t the first person I killed. We all have things from our past that we hide. You can tell me when you’re comfortable telling me. And if that’s never, that’s fine.”

“That’s kind of you, but the secrets I hold are enough to drag the whole valley into oblivion,” John replied.

“A bit melodramatic, don’t you think?”

Hearing Haver’s voice, Ellie turned to smile at the Wolf King.

“Exactly,” she said, nodding in agreement. “To me, you are John Sutton, owner of Sutton Farm. And…”

Realizing what she was about to say just before the words came out of her mouth, she blushed and mumbled something in a voice too low for John to hear. Curious, he looked at her, but she shut her mouth firmly and stared at him with wide eyes, causing Haver to chuckle. Sensing the awkwardness in the air, the Wolf King stood up and walked over to Sven. Crouching next to the Rogue’s body, he closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

“What a mess.”

“Indeed,” John agreed, his voice solemn. “And we might not be done yet. Ellie, I think we have a lot to talk about, but before we can do that we have to get out of here, which might prove more difficult than anticipated.”

Looking around, Ellie saw that the flower monsters that had begun to gather when she screamed were crowding around on the top floor of the tower. As she looked over the edge, she saw that every other level, all the way down the tower, was just as tightly packed with the headless monsters. Seeing them squeezing in tighter and tighter as they tried to get into a position where they could stare at the platform hanging over the tower’s shaft, Ellie suppressed a shudder. Looking slightly incredulous, Haver gestured at the gathered monsters.

“Hold on, do you mean we’re going to have to fight our way out of all of that?”

“I hope not, but there’s always a chance,” John nodded seriously. “Better to stay alert than assume we’re safe. Besides, my power is significantly limited.”

“Limited? You mean that obliterating a legendary class monster with a wave of your hand is limited?”

“No, I mean that I can’t use that level of strength again or the consequences will be beyond catastrophic,” John said, his voice slightly depressed. “I’m limited to my physical abilities and some spells. But hopefully it won’t come to that.”

Sensing a small wave of mana coming from the crystal, John held up his hand, asking for the others to wait while he communicated with the purple flower again. Reaching out, he touched the glowing crystal, allowing the mana to permeate his body.

Are you all good now?

YES. BALANCE IS RESTORED. COME SPEAK TO ME.

I don’t know if you can see this, but I’m not so sure your guardians are going to be excited about that.

THEY SIMPLY SEEK THE GREATEST SOURCE OF MANA. THEY WILL LEAD YOU.

A scene appeared in John’s head of the wooden cage structure he and Haver had traveled in before, and a moment later a long vine appeared, stretching above the platform. On its end was another wooden cage, though this one was much larger and looked more comfortable than the first one they had been whisked away in.

COME. MUCH TO DISCUSS.

“Do they want us to get into that again?” Haver asked, looking at the wooden sphere.

“I think so,” John said, walking over to where Ellie was healing Sigvald.

The proud bird had remained silent and still ever since John appeared, able to sense the intense feelings Ellie had been dealing with. But once that situation was under control, the rooster began to act pitiful, trying to win sympathy from his master. Using one of the last potions she had, Ellie healed Sigvald’s broken wing by pouring a bit of the thick liquid onto his feathers and then giving him some to drink. Crouching down next to her, John clenched his fist, forming a small mana crystal that he tossed to the bird.

“Well done.”

Perking right up, Sigvald grabbed the mana crystal out of the air with a swift peck and then let out a triumphant crow. Spreading his wings, he vanished into the tattoo on Ellie’s back to absorb the mana that John had given him and recuperate from his injuries. Seeing Ellie and Haver staring at him, John shrugged.

“What was that?” Ellie asked, staring at his hand.

“Condensed mana crystal. Sort of like a concentrated version of the mana you feed to Storm.”

“And they’re edible?” Haver asked, his eyes staring at John suspiciously.

“Only for beasts. If you ate it, you would be dead from mana poisoning in a few seconds. Maybe faster. Come on, let’s take our ride. We don’t want to keep our host waiting.”

“What about Sven?”

“We bring his body with us. We’ll find a place to bury him in the valley.”

Crouching down next to the Rogue’s body, John was still for a moment. Sven certainly wasn’t the first of his companions he had lost, and the majority of the others had simply been left where they fell, abandoned to the wild elements. As much as John had wanted to give them proper burials, there had never been time. Shrugging off the fluttering emotions that rose in his chest, John carefully picked up Sven’s body and carried it to the wooden cage.

Stepping inside, he felt the cage shift slightly as if accommodating to his presence. Ellie and Haver got in after him, along with Haver’s wolves, who looked exceptionally nervous. With a jerk the thick vine moved, pulling the cage down into the tower’s central shaft. Hanging in the air, Haver swallowed, remembering his last plunge down through the tower. Thankfully their descent was controlled, and soon they were pulled into one of the levels and dragged into the tunnel system that ran around the outside of the tower.

The vine moved quickly, but it was still a ten-minute journey before they arrived in the large chamber where John and Haver had met with the purple flower before. As the wooden cage deposited them in the center of the room, John realized it had changed significantly. Last time there had been hundreds of thousands of flower monsters, all twisted together to form a giant tree trunk that wrapped around the purple flower. But this time, the only thing in the space was the flower itself, which had grown significantly.

The flower monsters were nowhere to be seen, and even the vine that had carried them into the chamber soon withdrew. The roots were still spread out over the walls and ceiling, but as John watched they began to withdraw as well, vanishing into the walls until only their shining flowers remained visible, giving the room light. In the center of the room, the purple flower trembled and began to shift, so John placed Sven’s body down and stepped forward, his hand moving to his sword.

THERE IS NO NEED FOR THAT, SHINING ONE.

The voice that echoed through the minds of the team was powerful yet soft, carrying a motherly quality that brought comfort with it. Eyes narrowing slightly, John watched as the purple flower bud twisted and began to open up, slowly revealing a short woman of indeterminate age sitting cross-legged in the center of the petals. Realizing he had seen her before in the images the flower had sent him previously, John’s breath caught in his throat.

“Who are you?”

Slowly opening her mouth as if rediscovering her voice after a lifetime of not using it, the woman spoke in that same voice that had been projected into their minds a moment before.

“My name is… Rebya. The flower of promise.”

Not reassured in the slightest, John’s grip on his sword didn’t slacken as he took another step forward and spoke, his voice firm.

“What are you?”

Rebya’s eyes opened for the first time, glowing with bright purple as she met John’s. Despite her very human look and manner of speech, she was clearly not human at all. The mana she displayed was that of a plant, yet she was capable of speech and complex thought like a human, and John wasn’t yet sure it was a good thing. Sensing the threat in his voice, Rebya did not recoil, instead shaking her head at him.

“I told you. I am the flower of promise. Born of a woman’s obsession with the task her master gave her.”

“You are not the Mage whose form you bear?”

“No, she is long dead. She gave the last of her life for me, using her own life and experiences as the fuel for my birth. It has been one hundred and thirty years since she drew her last breath. Yet in some ways she lives on through me, as my being was formed from her experiences. It was her overwhelming desire to save this world, and I was born of that obsession. As it was hers, so it is mine.”

Carefully thinking about what the flower was saying, John let out a small groan and shook his head. He had already given her his mana, so there seemed to be little reason to be suspicious now. If anything, he had created the threat he felt from her, so it would be silly for him to start worrying about it now. Dropping his hand from his sword, he took a step back and bowed his head slightly.

“Nice to meet you, Rebya.”

“Likewise. I am sorry I cannot offer you more welcoming accommodations, but the last one hundred years have been difficult. It will take me some time to restore this tower to its proper function.”

“Are you talking about the flower monsters?”

“Monsters? Oh, the guardians? Yes. They sought mana on my behalf, intending to use it to complete my creation after my creator passed away upon awakening me. But in order to find more mana while still protecting me, more and more guardians had to be created, slowing my awakening. It was only a few years ago that I finally gained enough mana to complete my awakening.”

“And that giant crystal you had me fill up? Was that so the guardians wouldn’t leave?”

“Yes,” Rebya nodded, a smile crossing her lips. “With my reserves full, the guardians will fall into slumber until such a time as they are needed again. They will return to rest, allowing me to regain full control over my root system. Currently it has been acting with some autonomy, but now that the fail safes are no longer triggered, my systems are starting to return to normal. It will take some time, but within a few months I should be able to restore the tower to working order.”

Hearing a bunch of words he didn’t know, Haver glanced at Ellie, but she seemed to be following the conversation fine so he was too embarrassed to say anything.

“What do you mean when you say working order?” John asked.

Falling silent for a moment, Rebya gestured and roots spread toward John and the others, twisting together and rising up to form stools. Gesturing for them to sit, she turned her face up toward the ceiling as if she could see through the mountain that separated them from the sky and began to speak softly.

“It may be simpler if I explain from the beginning. I will do my best to relay the truth, though it must be understood that I only know what I know, and ultimately that is limited to the perspective of one person.”

“I understand,” John said, taking his seat.

Seeing him sit down, Haver and Ellie both sat down as well, their eyes fixed on Rebya. It wasn’t every day, after all, that one got to listen to a sentient plant created by a Mage expound on history. Once everyone was settled Rebya began her story, her gentle voice almost hypnotic as she recalled the memories buried in the very fiber of her being.

“Tower Master Kelvis created this tower almost single-handedly, over years and years of siphoning funds from the academy tower he was the master of.”

Holding his hand up to stop her, John asked a question to clarify something he had wondered about for a long time.

“Sorry, but is Tower Master Kelvis also known as Storm Master Kelvis?”

“Yes. They were the same person. The Tower Master had reached the state of a legendary being even before he became a Tower Master, but hid his ascension for personal reasons. It was his desire to use this tower to hide from the world after faking his death so he could research the sage level in peace.”

“But the war broke out first,” John said.

“That is correct. The war broke out and his plan changed. He had been revealed as a legendary mage and so he went to join the war effort, hiding his most brilliant student here along with as much magical knowledge as he could collect. He, like many other Mages, had been secretly studying immortality, through his study of plant life. The idea was that his student would guard the knowledge and research he had been doing until he returned from the war to continue working on it. Yet that was not to be.

“The war stretched on, and even though he managed to break into the sage level, he was unable to devote enough time to research, eventually reaching the end of his lifespan. According to my calculations, that should have been some time within the last five years, though his summoning of otherworlders may have increased the drain on his life force. Though he failed in his wish, his student was more driven and creative than he could have imagined, and through her obsessive experiments I was born.”

CHAPTER 45

Listening to Rebya talk, John was struck with a surreal feeling, as if he had just unlocked something. Seeing no new notifications pop up, all he could do was shake his head and focus on what she was saying.

“The research Tower Master Kelvis and his student undertook sought to answer a question. Was it possible to graft a plant’s ability to live forever into a human’s body? Their research on the surface had to do with creating a plant that could live on and process mana, but underneath the goal was always the same goal all Mages thirst after. Immortality. It was this research that eventually led to my creation. The idea was simple. If a plant’s life span couldn’t be grafted into a human due to differences in biology, could a human’s consciousness be transferred to a plant?”

“It would seem they were successful,” John said, his eyes narrowing slightly as he stared at the woman sitting on the purple flower.

“Only partially. Tower Master Kelvis, and subsequently his student, assumed humans were only the sum total of their experiences, and based on that assumption my creator’s last act was giving me all of her thoughts, desires, memories, and experiences. Yet when I awoke, I was myself. I learned from my creator’s experiences, but we are distinct in spirit. Over the last one hundred years my thoughts grew sharper and more divergent from the memories she left and I began to understand who I was. Today, you are faced with one whose ideas and desires lie far beyond what the Tower Master and his student dreamed.”

“Is that right? And what are your desires?”

“First and always, for life. I wish to see and experience the world. I have begun that already, by spreading my branches all over the valley.”

“Wait, so that plant in the pasture is part of you? Are you the one responsible for Ferdie and Sigvald?” Ellie asked, her eyes widening.

Nodding, Rebya held out her hand, causing a small seed to appear. As they watched, they saw the seed sprout into a vine-like plant with broad leaves and small fleshy pods that trembled lightly.

“Most of my strength has been spent preventing the guardians from venturing out to strip the mana from the world, but what I could spare was used to develop new ways of absorbing mana from the world. The mana mine that once lay under this tower has long been exhausted, resulting in the millions of guardians you’ve seen. I was forced to develop other methods, and this plant is the result. By spreading it throughout the mountains and the valley, I’ve been able to begin absorbing enough mana to regain some of my compromised functions.

“However, there was an unintended side effect. Animals that ate my plant began to experience fractured visions of what I experienced, drastically increasing their intelligence. At first it was a major setback, but then something strange started to happen. The animals who grew intelligent began to protect the plants, guarding them with jealousy. This protection allowed me to grow and flourish beyond what I had hoped. Your familiar and the bull who lives on your farm are examples of this. In fact, it was the mana crystals the bull shared with me that gave me the strength I needed to call you here.”

As soon as Rebya finished speaking, a series of windows popped up in John’s vision and a profound set of relief washed over him.

[Completed Quest - Discover the Secrets of Intelligence: You have encountered two animals with near-human levels of intelligence and a mana-consuming plant that exhibits unplantlike behavior. In the depths of the hidden Shadow Tower you have discovered the secret to the three beings’ intelligence by finding the main root system of the strange plant.]

[Reward: -5 Doom Points.]

[The apocalypse retreats.]

[Reward: +1 Skill Point.]

Doom Points: 93/100

Though the quest hadn’t removed as many Doom Points as he had hoped, John felt like he had more breathing room than a moment before. However, the fact that it hadn’t led to a follow-up quest was disheartening. The optimal situation would have been an easy-to-solve quest for another quick reduction in points, though when he thought about it, he realized he might have been better off just staying in the valley, since this quest had given him more Doom Points than it had removed.

“What of the grimm?” Haver asked, still thinking about what Rebya had just said. “Were they the same sort of thing?”

Shaking her head, Rebya smiled.

“No, they were already here when the tower was created. I don’t know more of their history than that.”

“Hold on,” John said, frowning slightly. “How did you end up on the farm? When I brought Ferdie back he was as dumb as a brick. Were you already there, or did you come after I arrived?”

“It was after. I had a presence in the valley, but it was only after you came that I spread a root to your farm. The voice of the world had spoken of you, and so I came to find you.”

“Pardon? Did you say the voice of the world?”

Cocking her head to the side, Rebya looked at John with her green, glowing eyes.

“Yes. Do you not hear it?”

Still frowning, John scratched his chin and shrugged.

“I’m not sure. What does it sound like?”

“It speaks to me in visions of the future, describing the paths life might take. Some of the images I shared with you are from the visions the voice of the world has granted.”

Hmm, I wonder if it’s like a version of this system. But why would mine show up like a game if hers doesn’t?

“Do you see messages in boxes?” John asked, a hopeful note in his voice.

“Boxes? No. As I said, I see the future in pictures, showing me the possible outcomes of my actions. The voice speaks to all of those who grow beyond the legendary state, and for the last thirty years I have seen images of the world burning almost every day. But ten years ago, that changed. There was a surge of mana and a portal opened, summoning the heroes. It was then that the voice of the world began to show me something different. A possibility, though slight, for a different future. That possibility led me to you and your mana that burns like the sun.”

Holding up his hand to stop Rebya, John shook his head and changed the subject.

“We can speak more about that later. Tell me, what happened to the knowledge stored here by the Tower Master? Can we access it?”

“Not yet,” Rebya shook her head. “In their haste to feed me mana, the guardians absorbed even the trace amounts of mana that protected the books and scrolls, destroying them forever. Yet, in my memories are stored every one of those books and scrolls. My creator was obsessive and pored over every single word of every book in the extensive library, even managing to open and read the Tower Master’s private research. Though it will take me some time, all those books can be recreated. If you desire, I can prioritize that functionality.”

Squinting at the plant woman, John’s inbuilt skepticism leaked out.

“Hold on. You’ll just give it to us?”

“Yes,” Rebya said, holding up two fingers. “My second desire is that the knowledge I possess would be shared appropriately and not lost to the ages. By sharing it with you, I will help ensure it outlasts this world.”

“Explain that.”

“You are eternal, and even the destruction that has been foretold will leave nothing but a scar on your heart. It’s one of my strongest desires to protect the knowledge I’ve been entrusted with, and so I give it freely.”

“Just to me, or to others as well?”

“It will depend on how close to immortality they are,” Rebya said with a shrug. “I have seen the end of the world, and in it you stand, untouched by the flame. Even I will not survive, so giving you my knowledge will help it to live on.”

Hearing the sharp intake of breath beside him, John closed his eyes and refocused his mind. Rebya kept coming back to the topic of the end of the world, and as much as he wanted to avoid it, he knew it was important. For a long time the knowledge that the apocalypse was coming had felt like his secret, so to hear another being talk about it so clearly shook what he knew about the world.

“How accurate are these visions?”

Letting out a light laugh, Rebya stared at John, her green, glowing eyes seeming to stare into his heart.

“You tell me, bringer of the end, how accurate are they?”

Smiling ruefully, John massaged his forehead.

“Okay, so they’re accurate. Then how do we stop them? How do we get to that other vision?”

“Only you can answer that,” Rebya said, returning John’s smile. “Just as the voice of the world told me to find you, it must have told you how to stop it.”

Nodding, John reached into his pouch and pulled something out. Holding it up, he revealed a small seed.

“Wheat. I need to grow wheat that can grow through absorbing mana and process it in a way that won’t kill anyone who eats it.”

Falling silent, Rebya shut her eyes for a moment. A few seconds passed, and she nodded.

“I can help you with that. I, myself, am such a plant, and it shouldn’t be too difficult to cultivate wheat with that trait. However, the research we would need must be processed first. I will prioritize retrieving it.”

“How long will it take?” John asked, frowning. “I can’t stay here, and I can’t afford to fly back and forth.”

“It will take two weeks if I make it my top priority. In order to begin cataloging my memories properly, I need to bring the tower back online, which means repairing years of damage and neglect. However, now that my energy reserves are full I should be able to communicate with you on the farm. My roots grow deep in this world, and so long as one of my shoots is nearby, I should be able to project my voice to you.”

Letting out his breath, John closed his eyes for a moment, reminding himself to be patient. It would likely take at least one planting season to complete the quest even if he got the information today, so waiting another two weeks wouldn’t be a problem.

“That’s fine. We’ll wait for your word.”

Raising her hand, Ellie looked back and forth between John and Rebya.

“Umm, can I ask a question? What’s going on with those night flowers? The ones that explode into mist when they’re taken outside in the daytime? They were growing out by the entrance of the tower and have five-colored petals?”

“Oh, the sagaf? They’re an early attempt at creating a flower that didn’t need sunlight to grow but were rejected as a dead end, evolutionarily. They have reached optimal development so that branch was abandoned.”

“Did you call them sagaf?” John asked, not quite sure he had heard Rebya correctly.

“Yes. Sagaf. Sunlight Averse Growth Acceleration Flower. It’s an acronym, which is where you take the first letter of each word to create a shortened version of that word for ease of use. That’s what they were called by my creator.”

From his experience in school in his past world, John was familiar with the way Rebya talked, but it was clearly foreign to Ellie and Haver, who were both completely lost. He could see the influence otherworlders had on the way Mages conducted themselves, which strengthened his belief that the first Mage must have come from another world as well. Rebya, as a being formed from the experiences of a Mage, had inherited many of those methods of thinking and speaking. After taking a moment to think over everything he had learned, John looked at Rebya.

“What are your plans going forward? You’ve spoken of two different desires you have. Are there others?”

“Yes,” Rebya nodded seriously, leaning forward on the flower she was sitting on. “I desire to see the level beyond sage for myself. Both Tower Master Kelvis and my master grew to the legendary level, and the Tower Master even became a sage, but I wish to understand what is beyond that. I seek the infinitum.”

“It’s not that great,” John said flatly, causing Rebya to smile.

“Be that as it may, I wish to understand it for myself.”

“I’m sorry, hold on. I’m lost again, which seems to be my constant state these days,” Haver said, holding up his hands. “Can someone explain to me what you’re talking about? What is a sage? And what is infinity?”

“Infinitum is the word used to describe the immortal, the endless. When the first Mage passed down his knowledge of spells, he was asked by his disciple what the pinnacle of strength was. His answer was that it started with the infinitum. When he left he placed a symbol on the door of his inheritance, telling his disciple that only those who broke through the level of sage could open it. That is why the level past sage has been given that title.”

“And now there’s a secret cabal of murderous, magic-wielding psychopaths who go by that name,” John chimed in. “They’re likely responsible for the earl and the Necromancer we fought, and a whole bunch of other scum.”

“Okay, but that doesn’t explain what a sage is,” Haver said, looking between John and Rebya. “They’re more powerful than legendary class holders?”

“Correct. Titled class holders can control their aura and legendary class holders can shape it, right? Well, sage level class holders can control mana that’s not theirs. They don’t just set mana in motion, they can wield it as if it was their own.”

“And beyond that?” Ellie asked, her eyes shining brightly as she stared at John. “What’s beyond that?”

“Beyond that, your mana becomes purer than the world’s mana,” he said quietly, giving a shrug. “But my path was different from other Mage’s paths.”

“Hah! I knew it! I knew you were a Mage!” Haver screamed, jumping up and pointing a finger at John. “I knew it!”

Startled by the outburst, John stared at Haver with wide eyes as Ellie burst out laughing.

“I guessed it after we came out of those other ruins! How else could you open the magic locks? Why else would you be gathering magical stuff! And that flame arrow! I knew it was a spell!”

Listening to Haver rant for a moment, John held up his hand, confused.

“Hold on. Did you not just see what happened on top of the tower? Do you not know I’m the Eternal Flame?”

Haver’s mouth dropped open and he stared at John, his eyes growing so wide John feared they would pop right out of his skull. So shocked he couldn’t speak for a full minute, he finally closed his mouth and backed up a step.

“What? Are you joking? Is he joking?”

Smiling happily as she looked at John, Ellie shook her head.

“No, I’m afraid not.”

CHAPTER 46

Almost an entire day had passed since they’d entered the volcanic tunnel under the mountain, and as they emerged from it Haver let out a happy sigh. After speaking with Rebya, they had made their way back out of the tower, leaving behind the grimm who had all been trapped by the tower’s guardians. Saved from being fed to the purple flower, the grimm had been ecstatic to see John and the others, but to John’s surprise Rebya had requested they stay behind to assist her in reactivating the tower. The flower woman had assured John she would take good care of them, and after talking to Handsome the grimm had agreed to move into the tower to assist with some of the things Rebya found difficult to do.

Breathing in the fresh mountain air, Haver sighed again and crouched to rub the heads of his three wolves. In many ways, he felt like he had a new lease on life. Over the last twenty-four hours he had felt like his life hung from a thread countless times. He had explored a Mage’s tower, fought terrifying monsters, nearly fallen to his death, met creatures out of legends, lost a friend, conversed with a strange creature born from magic experiments, and discovered he had been adventuring with and occasionally yelling at the most powerful being in the entire world. It made the sun in the sky and the air in his lungs all the sweeter.

Ellie, on the other hand, seemed be determined to stick as close to John as possible. Her mouth was full of questions about him and his life, to the point where John had to cover her lips with his hand to get a break. Blushing slightly, she had fallen into a sheepish silence, but every time he looked at her he could see the questions burning in her eyes. Hurrying to find their horses, John tried to avoid meeting Ellie’s gaze as much as possible in case she took that as permission to start asking questions again.

They had stashed their horses out of the way, and when they arrived at the spot they found them happily chomping on the grass. Seeing Ellie, Storm let out a light whinny and trotted over, easily pulling up the picket they had planted in the ground. Merlin followed at a more leisurely pace after nudging the other horse with his nose and flicking his ears toward John, as if to say, “see, I told you they would be back.”

Mounting up, John saw Ellie looking back at the mountain, her expression somber. Moving Merlin over next to her, he asked her what she was thinking about.

“I can’t help but imagine Sven will be lonely,” she said. “I know that’s silly.”

“We’re more likely to be lonely than he is,” John said, nodding. “But I think he would be happy to have been buried at the top of a Mage tower. Rebya said we can visit his grave any time, and there’s no safer place in this world. Especially once the tower’s defenses get set up again.”

“Did you know he was a member of the Ecclesia?”

Shaking his head, John picked at the stitching on his saddle, his eyes downcast.

“No. It’s been some years since I was involved in the daily operations, and he was likely one of the watchers, which would have made it even less likely that I would have recognized him. Back when we first started, we put together a group of people who took normal jobs all over the nation, acting as a massive information network. I know it’s still in operation today, and it’s made up of people from all walks of life. I don’t know how he recognized me unless Thomas said something to him, but from what you said, he must have known who I was before he agreed to come with us.”

“I never imagined he would put himself in harm’s way for me, but he didn’t ever hesitate,” Ellie said, her voice subdued. “Before he died his eyes changed, almost like the fire you use burned in him. He really believed. In the Ecclesia. In you.”

“But was it worth it? I’ve known countless people who believed in it. And do you know what most of them got? Death. It was so common in the early days that they called it blue-eyed ascension. I know, I shouldn’t be talking this way about it, about something I started, about something that has done so much good, but I feel like I die inside every time I see someone like that.”

Shaking her head, Ellie looked at the mountain landscape they were passing by.

“I don’t know. I don’t know if it was worth it, but he certainly thought so. All I know is that, when I face death? I hope I can do it like that.”

Falling silent, they traveled without speaking for the next few hours, each lost in their own thoughts. John led the way up past the quarry and around the cliff, entering the valley closer to where the iron mine was located. Stopping his horse, John looked up at the sun, judging how long it would take them to swing by the inn. As much as he hated what he needed to do, he had learned long ago not to shirk his responsibilities.

It took them about an hour to get to the village of Fairford, and Haver separated from them at the edge of town. Going into the inn, John was happy to see it almost empty. The waitress who worked with Sven was named Ester, and according to John’s knowledge their relationship was only that of an employer and employee, but he still sat her down to talk to her about what had happened. To his surprise, Ester just nodded quietly and got out a letter to give to him.

“Sven had a feeling he wouldn’t be back. But he didn’t tell me why. He just left this letter and told me to give it to you if you came back, or Thomas out at your farm if you did not. Thank you for telling me.”

Taking the letter, John opened it up and spread it on the table so Ellie could read it as well.

You may not remember me, but I was one of those rescued from Gelvin’s prison when the old national army set fire to the city. You led the Ecclesia through the fires to rescue us even though the warden and guards had already fled. As I watched you carry the wounded out of the burning city, fighting through the enemy to save even one more person, I vowed that day that I would devote myself to living as the Ecclesia did. We are the flame that burns for the people, the flame of hope. I have no one in this world but my brothers and sisters in the Ecclesia, and when I saw you again I knew my chance had come to repay you for the life you gave me. I have a feeling I am not long for this world, but even if that’s true, I know the flame that burns in my heart cannot be extinguished. It will continue to burn long after I am gone, bringing the hope and light and warmth it gave to me to others.

All hail the eternal flame.

Taking a deep breath, John closed his eyes and placed his forehead on the edge of the table, covering his face with his hands. Feeling a soft hand on his shoulder, he took another breath and straightened up, doing his best to hold it together. It had been a long time since he had thought of the term “eternal flame” as anything but his title, but reading the letter had brought with it a flood of memories.

In the darkest hour of his days in the military, he and his companions had made a solemn oath, swearing to never let the flame of hope die out among the people. They had jokingly called themselves the Ecclesia, an assembly of the downtrodden, and spoke about how they would bring hope to their shattered nation despite knowing they faced certain death. The next day had brought miracle after miracle, and the majority of them had walked away from what should have been their end, their spirits burning with a new passion, a new fire. The eternal flame.

“We should tell Eva,” John said, smiling wanly at Ellie.

“And then we should go home,” Ellie said.

“Yeah. Let’s go home.”

Standing, John put the letter in his pocket and took another look at the bar. Though he hadn’t known Sven long and death had long ago ceased to bother him, there was something about this death weighing on him. Shaking his head, he followed Ellie out of the inn and down the street to where the Ecclesia had set up their office. One of the Holy Knights was outside but ran to get Eva when John mentioned the nature of their visit.

“I’m truly sorry to hear that,” Eva said, bowing her head slightly after John explained. “What is to happen with the inn?”

“I would suggest it be given to Ester, Sven’s employee. She was the one doing most of the cooking anyway, and I would like to donate to a fund, managed by the Ecclesia, to help keep it running.”

“That’s very kind of you,” Eva said, smiling brilliantly. “What would you like to give?”

Taking out the one-hundred-gold note he had prepared, he gave it to her. Staring at it in surprise, she looked up at John, curiosity clear in her eyes.

“He was dedicated to the eternal flame, even to the point of death, and his eyes were as blue as the summer sky. He found his flame, and his memory should be honored as such.”

“I didn’t know you were a believer.”

“I was, once. Maybe I will be again.”

Clasping her hands in front of her chest, Eva bowed her head deeply.

“That is why the eternal flame still burns. I thank you on behalf of all the Ecclesia.”

Nodding, John turned and walked away, leaving Eva staring after him. Looking curiously between John and Eva, Ellie poked his arm.

“What was that about? His eyes being as blue as the summer sky?”

After helping Ellie up onto Storm, John climbed into his saddle and they began to ride out of town, making their way toward the farm.

“One of the original members of the Ecclesia was a member of the Moritoi horse bandits. He was that exiled prince I talked about. Well, in Moritoi tradition when someone dies, it is said they open their eyes to the sky, looking for the great road. We adopted something similar, saying that our companions found their flame. After a while we began to notice that many of our brothers and sisters seemed to have an instinctive knowledge of their deaths and they would burn with a strange fire, an unconquerable flame that turned their eyes blue.”

“That’s amazing.”

“Amazing? No, it was the worst. Seeing the eyes of someone you love light up with blue and knowing that was the last time you would ever speak to them? It was awful. But it is also what saved our nation. Where the eternal flame burns, hope appears. That was never about me. That was always about the flame of self sacrifice that took so many to the grave. The peace we have, the safety? It was built on their bones.”

Blinking, Ellie wiped at the water pooling at the corners of her eyes. Still, she smiled at John, twitching her reins to move Storm closer.

“Then they should be honored as heroes. And Sven among them.”

Looking up at the darkening sky, John nodded, a million memories flashing through his mind.

“That’s right.”

The farmyard was quiet when they rode in, but as soon as Ben heard the sound of their horses he ran out of the barn, shouting and jumping with excitement.

“Thomas! Even! They’re back! Ellie! Welcome back!”

“Thanks,” Ellie said, swinging down from Storm. “How are things going?”

“They’re great! Two of the cows gave birth and one of the calves has a red spot around one of its eyes and Thomas said I could name her so I called her Strawberry, since it looks like a strawberry. And Mr. Sutton, Thomas says I’m really catching on quickly and said we could go for some special training to the mountains once you got back for actual combat experience! Can I go?!”

“I said we might go, Master Ben, not that we would go,” Thomas said, following Ben out of the barn at a more sedate pace. “Welcome back, sir. Ma’am. I trust your trip went well.”

“Overall,” John replied, handing Merlin off to Even, who had come out from the bunkhouse. “Though we lost Sven. I wasn’t aware he was a watcher.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, sir. Should I inform the Ecclesia?”

“No need, I already did. How have things been here?”

“Everything has been running as it ought, sir. As Ben probably informed you, we’ve delivered two calves, both born last night.”

“Yeah, he mentioned.”

After going into the house and getting changed, John came out to the porch and saw Ellie sitting there, her hair still wet from her shower. After a moment of hesitation, he flicked his finger and her hair dried instantly, causing her to sit up in surprise. Feeling it, she looked up at him, her eyes wide.

“That’s convenient.”

“Hah, being a Mage isn’t all downsides,” he said with a lopsided smile. “So, when did you figure it out?”

“That you were a Mage? Probably for a few months. I never would have thought you were that Mage, but I’ve seen you casting spells here and there. Like those rain spells you were casting to help the corn grow.”

“You saw that? I was almost positive you were asleep.”

“I was, but my spirits are always awake.”

Narrowing his eyes, John stared around at the air.

“Spirits, huh?”

“Oh, stop it. You’re scaring them,” Ellie protested, standing up.

The top of her head only came up to his nose, giving a whiff of her summery fragrance. Staring down at her bright eyes, John found himself suddenly emboldened and his smile returned.

“As long as I don’t scare you, I’ll be fine.”

Ellie was bolder still and her hand reached out to grab onto his shirt. Pulling him close, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him swiftly on the cheek. The touch of her lips was like the fluttering of a butterfly on his rough skin, but long after she had pulled back and fled inside the warmth they carried remained on his cheek, burning hotter than any flame he had ever held.

CHAPTER 47

Far across the world, in a marble palace perched high up on a hill, a nobleman hurried toward the throne room. Sweat dotted his brow despite the spring chill in the air, and he slowed to a walk as he got near the wide doorway. There were no guards save for the statues of warriors that stood at each side of the archway, but he still stopped before passing through the door. Doing his best to even out his breathing, he swallowed and straightened his waistcoat over his bulging stomach. Saying a wordless prayer to any deity who would listen, he strode into the throne room, doing his best to project a confident air.

Tapestries hung from the rafters of the long room and two rows of pillars formed a pathway down the center of the room, leading to a raised dais. The wings of the room, which should have been filled with nobles attending court, were completely empty, and the only person in the entire room was the woman lounging indolently on the throne.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”

“Slow down, Duke Benoit, catch your breath.”

Empress Katrine’s voice was husky and slow, fitting her lazy look perfectly. A handsome woman, the empress carried a sharpness hidden in her eyes that sent a shiver down the duke’s spine. She was dressed in a sky-blue dress with silver and crimson embroidery and wore a large ruby at her throat, playing with a scepter she held.

“One must not rush, isn’t that what you told us all those years ago?”

Feeling his breath catch in his throat as the empress shot a look at him from the corner of her eyes, the duke hurried to bow. He had served the late emperor and his father before him, but he had never had as much trouble facing them as he did facing the empress, despite the fact that she was almost a quarter his age. Trying to gather himself, he suddenly noticed the silence in the throne room and looked around.

“Your Majesty, where is everyone?”

“Hmm? Oh, we sent them home.”

“But, Your Majesty, there are important matters to attend to in court today!”

“More important than their lives?” the empress asked, letting out a low laugh. “Court is over, my dear duke.”

“Your Majesty, I must protest!”

“Protest all you want, but we already sent them home. No need to create more confusion by dragging them all down to hell.”

Swallowing, the duke tried to think of what to say but words failed him. The empress wore the look of a careless ruler, but Duke Benoit knew exactly how hard she had worked to keep the nation together after her late husband had died. Fiercely loyal to the crown, he had served her as best he could, and seeing the air of disinterest she projected made the reality of their crumbling country all the more painful to watch.

“Did you have something to report, my dear duke?”

Reminded about the news he brought, Duke Benoit winced and bowed his head, suddenly afraid to add to her burdens. There had been nothing but terrible news for the last year and a half, and he was afraid any more might cause her spirit to break. Sensing from his uncharacteristic hesitation that the news was dire, Empress Katrine sat up slowly, transforming from a languid noble woman into a regal ruler.

“Duke Benoit. We would like to know what you have to report.”

Trembling slightly, the duke bowed low.

“The food that Lepiera sent. It… it was… it was destroyed.”

A mocking smile spread across the empress’ lips, and she leaned forward slightly.

“All of it?”

Nodding sadly, the duke straightened up.

“Yes, Your Majesty. Crowds at the southern gate rushed the shipment, and in the confusion the caravans caught on fire.”

Letting out a pealing laugh that echoed loudly through the empty throne room, Katrine clutched her stomach. After her laughter subsided she stood up, her expression almost happy. Pointing to the door of the throne room and the city that lay beyond the palace walls, she chuckled.

“And let me guess, are they now saying we burned the supplies rather than let them be distributed to the citizens?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Hah, of course they are. As if we would stoop so low. But then, public opinion is such a fickle thing, isn’t it, Duke Trogh?”

Hearing the empress addressing someone behind him, Duke Benoit spun around and saw a thin, vulture-like man slowly making his way into the throne room. Beside him were a number of other nobles, known supporters of the duke, and half a dozen cloaked figures. Duke Trogh was the leader of those nobles who opposed the empress’ rule, and they had been working for years to undermine her. Now, thanks to their efforts, public opinion had turned against the empress and they were riding the rising wave. Walking forward, Duke Trogh didn’t bother to bow or even greet the empress, stopping at the foot of the dais and staring up at her scornfully.

“It’s time for you to step down from your ill-gotten throne, witch!”

Stepping back, Katrine sat down on the throne, the smile fleeing from her face. With a frosty imperiousness she stared down at the thin duke, matching him glare for glare. Where his carried glee and indignation, hers was colder than the wind in the deepest winter. When she didn’t speak, he sneered.

“Your supporters have fled and you’ve been abandoned by everyone of any importance. Your crumbling nation is a testament to your lack of qualifications for ruling, and even now the people clamor at the gate, seeking your blood. What do you have to say for yourself?!”

Letting out a small sigh, the frosty expression on Katrine’s face melted away and she turned to glance out one of the large windows, looking away to the south. Just when Duke Trogh was about to speak again, her husky voice spread through the throne room.

“He warned me about this, did you know that? He predicted this would be the outcome. Our way of thinking was too different. He said that if we wanted to help this messed-up world, we would have to help people change their beliefs before we tried to change their lives. But I was young. I was so young. Did you know I wasn’t even sixteen when I arrived here? A fifteen-year-old girl who had known nothing but peace, nothing but a regular school life. Thrust into a bloody war.”

Interrupting the empress, the duke spoke in a mocking voice.

“What does this have to do…?”

Crushing pressure slammed down on Duke Trogh, nearly driving him to his knees. It only lasted a moment, but it caused the duke’s sentence to choke off in the middle.

“Shut up,” Empress Katrine said, shooting a glare at the duke. “I’m monologuing. Now, where was I? I was young? No, I already said that part. Ugh, this is why you shouldn’t interrupt people, Duke Trogh. It throws them off. Ah, yes. A bloody war. I nearly died, you know, but I didn’t. I was saved by the most handsome of prince charmings. But he wasn’t a prince. He was an emperor. The emperor of a small, weak, insignificant nation. And I was young. And in love. So when he asked me to come and save his people, I said yes. Like a fool, I said yes.

“I was warned about the outcome, but I didn’t listen because I was in love. And for a time, I was proved right. We fought together, defeating enemy after enemy until none dared stand before us. I wanted to leave because I had already seen the writing on the wall, but the emperor insisted I stay. Insisted I marry him. And I was still in love. So we were married, for six blissful months. But you all know what happened after that, don’t you? Because you killed him. Poisoned by those who had cowered behind him for so many years.

“Hah. I should have killed you all then. It would have fit the name you whispered behind my back. But I didn’t. Because I was still in love, and he begged me with his dying breath to keep this nation he loved together. Ah, whatever, this is getting way more depressing than I thought it would be. Let’s just cut to the chase.”

Standing up, the empress walked to the edge of the platform and stared down at the duke and his followers, her eyes coming to rest on the robed figures. Lifting her scepter, she pointed it at them.

“And who are you? Are you this spineless worm’s backers? Because I know he would never have the courage to speak to me this way if he didn’t have someone backing him up.”

Slowly lifting up his hand, the first robed figure revealed his face. A sideways figure eight was tattooed on his cheek with a silver snake threaded through it. Bowing to the empress, he spoke in a gravelly voice.

“Greetings, Empress Katrine. The Infinitum sends its regards.”

“Of course it’s you snakes. Not content slithering around in the grass?”

“The plans of the Infinitum are too numerous to count and our aims are not for mortal minds to worry about.”

“Hah, what a bunch of pretentious fools. Do you really think you’ll be able to defeat me here?”

Bowing again, the tattooed man spoke calmly.

“Yes, we do. Your supporters have fled, your people have turned against you. While we couldn’t have defeated you at the height of your power, we are confident your power has waned.”

“And what makes you think Lepiera will allow you to get away with this? They are allies of the imperial throne, not of a cult of madmen.”

“Do you really believe you can rely on them? No matter how powerful the Eternal Flame is, there’s nothing a dead man can do.”

“Dead?” Katrine said, her brow furrowing.

“Yes. Dead. A year and a half ago we poisoned him with the deadliest poison in the world, and there has been no movement in his chambers since then. I’m sorry to disappoint you, Empress, but a dead man cannot save you.”

A slow smile spread across Katrine’s face as she shook her head, looking at the tattooed man with a hint of pity in her gaze.

“Wow, you are all way stupider than I thought. You know why they call him the Eternal Flame, don’t you? One hundred and seventeen. That’s the number of times people claimed he was dead in the last ten years. That’s like once a month for ten whole years. Hah. Do you really think you succeeded where so many have failed? Pathetic. But a better question would be, why do you think I need him to come and save me?”

As she finished speaking the air in the throne room began to pick up speed, rushing around with enough force to cause the noblemen to stagger. Stepping forward, Katrine hung in the air, her arms outstretched as she used the air currents to support herself. Down below the steps, Duke Trogh pointed a shaking finger at her and opened his mouth to speak, but a soft click sounded and the top half of his head suddenly flew away, splattering the marble floor with blood.

“I told you to shut up,” Katrine said, not even looking at the duke’s corpse.

In the center of the throne room the noblemen began to back up, their expressions horrified. Rushing forward, the robed figures threw back their robes to reveal their pale faces. Most of them wore tattoos of the Infinitum symbol combined with a skull or a snake, and they began to activate their spells immediately. Letting out a laugh, Katrine waved her scepter, causing six more Wind Blade spells to activate with rapid clicks. Floating to the side to dodge a poisonous arrow, she spoke a command and a shield of wind sprang up around her. Flying forward, she summoned a whirling windstorm and threw it at two of the enemy Mages.

“Hah, how pathetic. Did your masters send you here because they hated you?”

Staring up at Katrine, the tattooed man who had first spoken pointed at her, his voice trembling.

“You! You’re a legendary Mage!”

“Oh? You only discovered that now? That’s too bad. Honestly, I can’t believe you thought you would have a chance.”

With another wave of her scepter, she summoned six more Wind Blades, sending them at one of the Mages. Desperately trying to block, he managed to defend against two of them, but the other four tore his body to pieces, causing blood to fly through the air, caught up in the swirling storm. Another Poison Arrow spell flew toward her, but it was deflected by the wind shield that swirled around her. Laughing, Katrine shook her head.

“Do you know, Witch of the Wind wasn’t always my title. Just like the Eternal Flame wasn’t always called the Eternal Flame,” Katrine said, her tone almost happy. “Come, let me show you why they called me Blood Storm.”

A short five minutes later the throne room was in shambles, and the only two people left alive were Empress Katrine and Duke Bernoit. Blood splattered the walls and pillars and the tapestries that had hung gracefully from the ceiling were reduced to little more than rags. Looking around, Katrine tapped her scepter in her palm, slowly floating down to the blood-slicked floor. Just before she touched down she seemed to think better of it and remained hovering to keep her dress clean.

“Have we found where the Eternal Flame went?”

“No, Your Majesty, though there seem to be some clues around Kingsmouth.”

“We cannot wait any longer. Soon Infinitum will begin to send legendary class holders against me, and I won’t be able to defeat them. Heh, if he can pretend to be dead, why can’t I? Actually, that’s a great idea. Come, my dear duke. Let us leave this cursed city behind.”

Taking the crown from her head, Katrine twisted the metal with her bare hands, causing it to snap apart. Tossing the broken crown to the ground, she began to float out of the throne room, the duke trotting along beside her, his feet leaving bloody footprints across the floor. As they vanished through the doorway, their conversation echoed in the empty palace halls.

“Your Majesty?”

“Hmm? Yes?”

“What did they call him?”

“What?”

“What did they call the Eternal Flame? Before he was the Eternal Flame?”

“Hmm? John?”

Katrine stopped for a second, countless emotions flashing across her face. After that moment passed, she dropped to the floor and walked forward, her voice barely a whisper.

“Armageddon. They called him Armageddon.”

* * *

The story continues in Book 3, Cultivation.

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ALSO IN SERIES:

Domestication

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