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.
THANK YOU FOR READING
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 Qube was designed to die...

As the cheerful childhood NPC companion who helps the [Player]

learn the world during the start of the game, it was only natural that
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On the way, they pick up equally unlikely party members, with Qube
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 The gods chose him. He said no.
After his parents died, Alex Roth had one desire: become a wizard.
Through hard work, he was accepted into the University of Generasi,
the world’s greatest academy of wizardry...

Fate, however, had other plans.

On his eighteenth birthday, he is Marked by prophecy as one of his

kingdom’s five Heroes, chosen to fight the Ravener, his land’s great
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Rather than die or serve other Heroes like past Fools, he takes a
stand, rejects divine decree…and leaves. With his little sister, his
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hoping to research the mystery of the Ravener. He’ll make lifelong
friends, learn magic from mad wizards, practice alchemy, fight mana
vampires and try to pay tuition.

There’s one small problem. The Mark insists on preventing the Fool
from learning and casting spells, while enhancing skills outside of
divinity, combat, and spellcraft…
…that is, unless he learns to exploit the hell out of it.
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the only thing that can save it.

Good things come to those who wait. Damien Vale didn’t, and he
ended up bound to an Eldritch creature from beyond the reaches
of space. It has lived since the dawn of time, seen the world born
and destroyed countless times, and wants to be called Henry.
Unusual companion or not, Damien was still determined to go
to a mage college and study magic. He wants nothing more than
to live normal life as a researcher, but if Henry’s true nature is
revealed, he’ll be killed.
To top it all off, Damien’s teacher is a madman from the front
lines of war, his alcoholic dean suspects something is awry with
his companion, and Blackmist might possibly be the worst school
in history. Damien has to prevent the end of the world, but he isn’t
even sure he’s going to make it through Year One at Blackmist.

Read Blackmist now!

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